Prior to formally starting my “beat the entire NES library” challenge, I was plugging away at completing tons of games for my own fun, without any blogging involved. I’ve got 70 completed NES titles under my belt from back then, so I thought a blitz of mini reviews would be a good way to easily let those games have a presence on my “completed” list. I’ve done two posts like this in the past here and here, if you wanna check them out. For now, here’s six more mini-reviews for your reading pleasure!

1. The 3-D Battles of WorldRunner (Square / Acclaim, 1987)

Another early entry for the team that would go on to create Final Fantasy, The 3-D Battles of WorldRunner is a fun Space Harrier knockoff with some especially impressive graphics and ridiculously catchy music for 1987. Gameplay mostly consists of navigating Jack the WorldRunner through a world filled with fifty foot long pits that he can leap over in a single bound. There’s plenty of enemies too, but for the most part, it’s all about the jumping. The game uses a scrolling technique similar to those that many racing games utilized back then – with some clever visual tricks, it makes the game feel wider in scope than it technically is. Though this isn’t why the 3D is in the title, oh no; it’s there because the game is optionally playable with 3D glasses! Now I haven’t seen a pair of 3D glasses since I was about ten years old so I can’t comment on the actual quality of the 3D effect, but the fact that it’s there is neat all the same. A bit later into the game, the mechanic of jumping along the tops of poles to make your way across even wider pits is introduced; this is where WorldRunner stumbles a bit. Jumping across these poles is ass. Your timing and positioning needs to be pixel perfect to clear these, and in my opinion, these sequences bring down the overall experience somewhat. It’s still a great game though; one I’d say was worth checking out if it piques your interest. Or you could just play Space Harrier instead…

2. Adventures in the Magic Kingdom (Capcom, 1990)

Adventures in the Magic Kingdom is a Disney-themed collection of extended mini-games, with Mickey Mouse breathing down your neck as he watches your every move. You pick what mini-game you want to tackle by walking up to it on the fun, colourful hub world that vaguely resembles the real Disneyworld (circa 1990 at least). The six mini-games are based off of real Disneyworld attractions, and are relatively substantial and varied. The mini-games range from racing, first-person space shooting, trivia questions, and steering a runaway train to safety. The most memorable of them all have to be the side scrolling Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean levels that play like Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins for kids; these sequences could’ve easily been expanded into full length games with Capcom’s panache behind it. The soundtrack is one of the earlier works by the legendary Yoko Shimomura, and it’s excellent as well. Anyway, once you finish all the mini-games without getting a game over, you win! Adventures in the Magic Kingdom is short, simple and solid, as most of Capcom’s Disney NES lineup tended to be; I finished this one in a little over an hour. Definitely worth a look if you like action games, easy games, Disney, or Capcom’s output.

3. Clash at Demonhead (Vic Tokai, 1990)

Man, what a good game. Playing as S.A.B.R.E. agent and general cool guy Billy Blitz, you explore a surprisingly sprawling world that needs saving from demons. Gameplay is fluid runnin’, jumpin’ climbin’, and shootin’ that’s just challenging enough to still be entertaining, coupled with metric boatloads of Metroid-esque exploration. Tons and tons of multiple exists and paths make the game feel massive, the scope of which was rarely seen on the NES. The graphics are brilliant and varied, and keep things fresh as you wander around the world. The game’s characters are all highly expressive for the time, and the cut scenes are pretty humorous as well. Clash at Demonhead is unique and fun as hell, and a highly underrated title in the NES library. It’s a shame there’s never been a sequel, a re-release, a remake, or…anything else, really. Thinking about this game getting a loving modern coat of paint makes me salivate, so fingers crossed, no matter how unlikely it may be. All Vic Tokai does these days is deal in phone communication services, dammit! Clash at Demonhead is absolutely worth a look for any fans of action, exploration, or 8-bit games in general. Don’t miss it!

4. Color a Dinosaur (FarSight Studios, 1993)

The perfect game doesn’t exis–

HOLY SHIT

5. Felix the Cat (Hudson Soft, 1992)

A super cute platformer by Hudson. I’ve never read the comics and haven’t seen the show in nearly 30 years, so I can’t really say whether or not it’s a faithful adaption of the source material…but it’s a nice, accessible game with some especially snazzy graphics and animation, and pleasing palette choices for each level. Collecting Felix heads scattered around the levels lets you upgrade your weapon; what that weapon changes into varies wildly from level to level, which keeps things feeling fresh. It’s short and crazy easy though – famously one of the easiest NES game of them all. I think I died a grand total of 4 times my whole time playing, and with the frequency you collect 1 UPS at, that wasn’t a big deal. Easy doesn’t equate to bad though; far from it. It’s fun, and that’s the most important thing of all! Any platformer fan should give Felix the Cat a fair shake. It’s the cat’s meow.

6. Legend of Kage (Taito, 1987)

An action game where you play as a dude in feudal Japan, trying to save the kidnapped princess from the evil Yoshi (no relation). The jumping in this game is out of this world, and probably the most famous thing about it; you soar high into the sky and cling to trees like some souped up ninja to make your way to the end of the level. Enemy ninjas fly at you from every angle, but taking them out is fast and fluid. It’s hard though; enemy spawns are random every time, meaning there’s no memorizing patterns to get the upper hand here – with one-hit kills and only three continues, it’s a rough ride. But the trade off is that it’s technically not long at all; one loop takes about five minutes, if you can manage to survive that long. If you want to get the true end, however, you need to survive four loops, which is much easier said than done. The key to success is equal parts luck and skill, but the controls are extremely satisfying (at least to me). I would definitely it play again sometime, but thanks to its punishing difficulty, Legend of Kage won’t be for everyone! One-hit kills and the floaty jump are an instant “no” for many a gamer, but if you feel up to a challenge with some ninja action, I’d say Legend of Kage is worth a go.