Introduction Konami released Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse in Japan in December 1989 and in North America the following year. It is a prequel set centuries before the first game, starring Trevor Belmont, an ancestor of Simon, who is called upon to stop Dracula when the count’s forces overrun Wallachia. Where Castlevania II had experimented with…
Introduction Snow Bros. was created by Toaplan as a 1990 arcade game and brought to the NES in 1991, with Capcom handling publishing duties for the home release. Players control Nick and Tom, two snowmen on a mission to rescue a pair of princesses from a demon king, and the core idea is simple but…
Introduction Aero the Acro-Bat 2 was developed by Iguana Entertainment and published by Sunsoft, released for the SNES in 1994 as a direct sequel continuing the acrobatic bat mascot’s adventures, this time facing off against a new villain plotting to take over Aero’s circus for a criminal scheme. It refines the original’s tail-spin and glide-based…
Introduction 8 Eyes was developed by Thinking Rabbit and published by Taxan, released for the NES in 1990 as an action-platformer following a knight named Orin traveling to eight castles across Europe to recover jeweled orbs stolen by a corrupt duke, accompanied by a trained falcon that assists in combat. Players wield a sword for…
Introduction Animaniacs was developed and published by Konami, released for the SNES in 1995 as a platformer based on the Warner Bros. animated series, starring the Warner siblings Yakko, Wakko, and Dot as they explore the Warner Bros. studio lot searching for hidden items across cartoon-themed stages. Players can switch between the three siblings at…
Introduction ActRaiser 2 was developed by Quintet and published by Enix, released for the SNES in 1993 as a sequel that dropped the original’s town-simulation half entirely to focus purely on side-scrolling action, a significant structural departure that divided longtime fans. Players once again control a knight possessed by a benevolent deity, but instead of…
Introduction Aero the Acro-Bat was developed by Iguana Entertainment and published by Sunsoft, released for the SNES in 1993 as a mascot platformer starring a circus-performing bat named Aero, created partly in response to the wave of attitude-driven animal mascots that followed Sonic the Hedgehog’s success. Players guide Aero through circus-themed stages using acrobatic moves…
Introduction Ristar was developed and published by Sega, released for the Genesis in 1995 as a platformer starring a star-shaped hero who navigates stages by stretching his elastic arms to grab distant platforms, enemies, and handholds rather than relying on a standard jump-and-attack moveset. Combat centers on grabbing enemies and headbutting them, a deliberately simple…
Introduction Donkey Kong Classics was developed and published by Nintendo, released for the NES in 1988 as a two-in-one compilation bundling faithful home ports of the original 1981 arcade Donkey Kong alongside its 1982 sequel Donkey Kong Jr. Rather than adding new content, the compilation’s value was in preserving both arcade classics accurately on a…
Introduction Wonder Boy in Monster World was developed by Westone and published by Sega, released for the Genesis in 1991 as the fifth entry in the Wonder Boy series and the first to fully commit to the action-RPG structure the later Monster World games would refine. Players control Shion, a young adventurer who can purchase…
Introduction Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse was developed by Traveller’s Tales and published by Sega for the SNES release in 1994, built to celebrate Mickey Mouse’s 65th anniversary by sending players through stages recreating classic Mickey cartoons across different eras of animation. Each level reproduces the visual style of a specific short,…
Introduction Castlevania: Bloodlines was developed and published by Konami, released for the Genesis in 1994 as the only mainline Castlevania game to appear on a Sega console during the series’ original run. Set in 1917 against the backdrop of World War I, players choose between whip-wielding vampire hunter John Morris or spear-fighting Eric Lecarde as…