Arcade Games That Were Innovative and/or Ahead of Their Time (1990s)
WIP du är vid 1992
1990:
Race Drivin' (ARC, 1990/AMI/PC/MD, ) - Racing (Cars)
-3D/Polygonal graphics
-Ramp jumps
-Loops
-Satisfying crashes
-Replays
Cadash (ARC, 1990/MD/PCE) - Platform Adventure-lite/ARPG (leveling, towns w/ shops, linear - maze dungeons w/ some detours for items, can skip a minor part of dungeon 2 and most of dungeon 3), Side view, 2-Player Co-op, Time limits in the ARC ver. only (can buy more time or cast a spell to add more as the priestess)
-Four different playable characters (ninja, mage, cleric/priestess - female protagonist, fighter)
-(Some) new gear shows on the avatars
-Some large sprites
-Two passwords/skip codes on PCE only (use one of two special names when starting a new game)
-Very minor ability gating (have to backtrack a little at one point to get a magic item needed to go through a wall, brief gnome transformation to enter small buildings in one town)
-No maps, No fast travel
Bonanza Bros. (ARC, 1990//MD, 1991/PCE?) - Stealth Action/Maze Platformer, Collectathon, 2-player vs. Split-screen
-Early stealth gameplay
-Play as a criminal
-Mini-map (shows treasure and player locations as well as the basic layout)
Mercs (ARC, 1990/MD, 1991) - TD Run 'n Gun, 3-player Co-op (ARC only, 1-player on MD)
-Various large and detailed sprites
-New Original Mode on MD with different playable characters, a shop, and a level up system (lets you control character stat growth)
-No strafing
Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (ARC, 1990) - Isometric Run 'n Gun, 3-player co-op, Hostage Rescue
-Charge attack (Shadow Land, R-Type, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, etc.)
-Transform into a robot (similar to ESWAT)
-Dance attacks (basically smart bombs with a longer animation here)
-The main boss attacks you from above during the level in the beginning (Shinobi, ESWAT)
-Context sensitive melee attack (Shinobi)
-"I love you Michael.... to DEATH!"
-Pretty good ending cutscene
Smash TV/Super Smash TV (ARC, 1990/SNES, 1992) - Multi-Screen Arena Shooter/Maze Shooter, 2-player Co-op, TD view
-Choose your path (a map is briefly shown between rooms)
-Bonus rooms (find all ? symbols to get to the hidden final stage?)
-Large bosses
-Interesting theme (reality tv/gladiators taken to the dystopian extreme)
-The arcade game had twin stick controls allowing for strafing - Robotron: 2084
-Intense and fast-paced action
Aliens (ARC, 1990) - Beat 'em up/Run 'n Gun, Rail Shooter and Side view segments, 2-Player co-op, Mainly tilted view
-Good visual variation
-Radar showing enemy locations in the side view segments
-Good animation overall, Good number of sprites on screen at once, Large and detailed sprites
-Move while shooting (MM1) and crouch while moving and shooting (it's slower though) - unusual for a slanted view beat 'em up
-Get to control the mech from the movie
-Good use of a QTE (quick-time event) during the final boss
-Some cool weapons (flamethrower, homing rockets)
-Satisfying sfx
-Slightly diverging paths in some stages
-Mini-bosses
-Bombs (rare, small area of effect)
Snow Bros. (ARC, 1990/MD, 1993) - Single Screen Action Platformer, 2-player co-op, Hidden time limit until a ghost appears and tries to kill you (Bubble Bobble)
-Some innovative mechanics (turn enemies into snow balls which you can then kill other enemies (if you manage to kill everything in one go items worth a lot of points appear) with or use as platforms (you can also push them around to position them strategically)
-Inflated mode (basically an invincibility mode - you become twice as big, can fly around and touched enemies die immediately)
-Secret areas? (spell Snow by first collecting the snow bro icon making blue blobs appear, then collect a letter from them, then you'll enter a secret area)
-Good bosses overall (harder and somewhat more complex than in Bubble Bobble)
-Large and expressive boss sprites
-Gender twist - there's a fake final boss after 49 levels and afterwards the roles get reversed (the bros' princess girlfriends (?) have to rescue them instead)
-Password save on MD (short)
-Some invincibility time is given if you can bounce a snowball against a wall or a second ball
Chiki Chiki Boys (ARC, 1990/MD, 1992) - Action Platformer/Hack 'n Slash (side view), 2-player Co-op (ARC & PCE CD only)
-Choose your path for the first three levels
-Smart bomb spells - Defender
-Nice in-level transitions (sub areas tie together where on MD the screen goes black and the player appears in the next one))
-Two additional power ups here (a clone power up (shoots projectiles for a short period of time) and a magic shield power up (blocks 3-4 hits but also prevents magic from being used) – both are rare)
-Can’t pick between the two brothers in 1-player and they don’t have different strengths?
-Some bosses and enemies have one additional attack here (some of the small vampiric flying enemies can latch onto the player from behind and prevent magic usage, pink fish mini-boss can block, rock monster (first boss) + bouncing ball + scorpion + the clown’s first form can all knock the player into the wall (stuns you for a second or so)
-Full ARC vs MD comparison: https://minirevver.weebly.com/chiki-chiki-boys-md.html
Blue's Journey (ARC, 1990) - Action Platformer/Hop 'n Bop Platformer w/ AA/RPG elements, 2-Player Co-op (player 2 can jump in at any point)
-Shops (buy different weapons and gear - for example a safe that lets you keep items for longer) and NPC encounters (similar to Wonder Boy in Monster Land)
-Alternate paths through levels
-Choose your own path (between two levels at a time?)
-Good enemy variation
-Turn small at one point (run faster and jump longer - similar to New SMB DS, can't attack)
-Item inventory (Monster World 1?)
-Warps at a cost (can select destination but the further you want to go the higher the price)
-Duel and other mini-games (similar to Yoshi's Island)
-Pick up and throw enemies (can stack several enemies on top of each other before throwing for a wider projectile) - SMB2-3
-Can choose not to fight bosses (causes a fake game over screen)
-Alternate endings
-Good bosses overall
-Smart bombs - Defender
Magic Sword (ARC, 1990/SNES?) - Action Platformer/Hack 'n Slash w/ AA/RPG elements (side view), 2-Player Co-op
-Plays like a mixture of Astyanax/Alisia Dragoon/Black Tiger (features familiar/sidekick characters that attack when you do and can be killed and leveled up for example)
-Pick starting level out of ~6 floors
-Weapon upgrade which can be dropped if you take too much damage but you can pick it up again
-Good enemy and background variation
-Some enemies can open chests and eat the key in them (you get it back by killing them)
-Gameplay tips in some level transition scenes - STUN Runner?
-Some large and detailed sprites
-Alternate bad ending (yes/no prompt at the end)
-Hidden chests which can be detected by having the crystal ball
-Smart bomb (costs life) - Defender
-Dialogue text can be sped up
-HP drains like in Wonder Boy (hunger mechanic of sorts) but the speed can be adjusted here
-6-way aiming with the wizard sidekick
Alien Storm (ARC, 1990/MD, 1991) - Beat 'em up (tilted view), Light Gun-style segments, Auto-Scrolling segments w/ moon jumps, 2-Player Co-op
-Desperation attack
-Running
-Sci-fi horror theme
-Semi-ranged attacks
Hammerin' Harry (ARC/NES, 1990) - Beat 'Em Up (Side View)/Action Platformer
-Comical tone w/ funny voice samples
-Expressive characters
-Some large sprites
-Ground pound/stomp move (stuns some enemies)
-Good variation
-Harder modes have some new enemies
-Good bosses overall
-Armor and jump upgrades
-Good environmental interaction with some decent physics for the time
Rod Land/Rodland/Rod-Land (ARC, 1990/AMI/C64/NES, 1991) - Single Screen Platformer/Action (no jumps), 2-Player Co-op, Collectathon?, Time limit (invisible, enemies first turn quicker and then disappear; Time limit on extra mode as well (invisible))
-Unlockable second quest on ARC
-Some interesting mechanics (scoring, create ladders (u/d+attack), stun enemies, collect all flowers to turn enemies into turnips which can then yield letters - spell extra to gain a 1-up (similar to Bubble Bobble))
The Super Spy (ARC, 1990) - FP Gallery Shooter/FPS/Beat 'em up (2.5D) w/ some RPG elements (exp point leveling), Hostage Rescue,
-Smooth scaling and large sprites
-Melee and ranged attacks - Dynamite Duke
-Ducking, sidestepping and blocking
-Weapon upgrades and repairs (some deteriorating weapons)
-Stunning punch attack (right hook)
-Explosive objects which can be used to hit enemies by blowing them up with guns
-Mini-bosses
Liquid Kids/Mizubaku Daibouken (ARC, 1990/PCE, 1992/SAT, 1998) - Action Platformer, Hidden bonus levels (pretty lame single screen affairs)
-Charge attack
-Some alternate paths (between second and third stage)
-Some large sprites
-Small detours for items - SMB?
-Speed shoes (train icon - small boost per item but it's accumulative and can't be reversed, disappears after the sub level is completed) - The Goonies MSX
-Very forgiving checkpoints
-Water plants to grow them into platforms - Later used in Mickey Mania
-Combo kill enemies (5+) to find weapon upgrades (rate of fire, size of ball, charge speed and finally a catch-all upgrade) and power ups (timed invincibility, smart bomb, 1-up) - Bubble Bobble?
-PCE ver.: Easier than the Arcade ver. (missing some enemies and hazards)
Rolling Thunder 2 (ARC, 1990/MD, 1991) - Action Platformer/Run 'n Gun, Cover Shooter, 2-player Co-op
-Dodge system (see Blackthorne)
-Flash bombs which blind enemies
-Touching enemies doesn’t hurt/no contact damage - Shadow Dancer
-Life bar upgrades
-Sometimes hilarious cutscene texts
-Enemy grenades hurt other enemies - systemic element/consistency
-Nice artwork stills between levels
-Flamethrower
-Two endings (beat the unlockable hard mode)
-Password save on MD
-Ammo-based weapons (you really need to conserve ammo later on)
Dark Seal (ARC, 1990) - Isometric Hack 'n Slash/Maze Action w/ RPG elements (somewhat open ended levels with minor detours for treasure chests, D&D-inspired world and minor gameplay elements (status effects, item inventory, spells, classes), strength and temporary shield power ups, no shops, no hub map or level select screen, no puzzles), 2-player Co-op
-4 different playable characters (knight - stronger physical attack, wizard - stronger magic, bard - poison immunity and long reach, ninja - fast movement and wide but short ranged attack)
-Some large and detailed sprites
-Pretty nice boss death animations overall
-Mini-bosses in most levels
-Character select after using a credit
-Some good bosses
-8-way aiming and movement - Gauntlet
-Temporary transformations
-Speed upgrade (it's pretty rare though and it’s both on a timer and lost after losing a life)
-Respawn on the spot even after continuing (no chance to go back and pick up items)
-Can't jump except when in boulder form (not useful for reaching new areas - just used as an attack)
Magician Lord (ARC/NG, 1990) - Action Platformer, One Maze level
-Shapeshifting (ninja, lizardman, ice knight, bomb chucker, electro dude/Raijin)
-Some cool effects
-Good variation
-8-directional shot (only as lizardman though and very short ranged and slow to change directions while firing)
-Pretty good bosses overall
-Some large and detailed sprites
-Respawn on the spot (you’ll warp to a checkpoint on NG and back to the beginning of the stage after a credit is used (alternate set rom - tested in kawaks)
-In the alternate set rom you'll have a lifebar of 6 (3 for transformed state) and start with 3 standard HP but changing the difficulty to 3 or lower increases it to 8 (4/4 split) – not sure if 8 is enough to offset the new checkpoint system (can't access difficulty options unless you're emulating?)
Cyber-Lip (ARC/NG, 1990) - Action Platformer/Run 'n Gun, 2-player Co-op;
Out Zone/OutZone (ARC, 1990) - Run 'n Gun (can't move backwards in a level), Optional escort mission of the company mascot hidden in the first level, 2-Player Co-op, TD view
-Many large and detailed sprites
-Three levels of weapon upgrades and upgradeable energy bar
-Strafing via two of the weapons
-Some interesting weapons (Sci-fi morning star weapon/spinning ball, flamethrower though it kinda sucks)
-Temporary shield power up - Gradius?
-Connected levels (manually walk into the next level)
-Smart bombs
-Can trigger Zero wing & Truxton & Flying Shark cameos/power ups by playing well (two of which work like gun drones)
-Makes good use of the environments for its level designs
-Very good enemy variation
-Auto-fire
-Partially destructible environment
-Good bosses overall (some have several destructible parts)
-Some hidden items
-Fuel mechanic - River Raid
Blood Bros. (ARC, 1990) - Cabal-like/Proto-TPS (2.5D), 2-player Co-op
-Second player character is native american
-Throw dynamite at airplanes and zeppelins
-Good bosses overall (final one has several parts to destroy, two of them move back and forth in the background and one of these (giant snake) has some nice sprite scaling on it)
-Destructible environment (extra points for larger targets, several levels of damage) - Shoot Out, Rampage
-One boss with multiple destructible parts (purple base)
-Two dodge moves (invincibility during them but you can't cancel or change direction while performing them)
-Wild west setting - Gun.Smoke
-Tons of sprites on screen without slowdown
-Most enemy projectiles can be shot down - Popeye, Spelunker
-Many large and some very large sprites
-Can gain more dynamite by juggling a tin can over and over in each level - Similar to Gangster Town?
-Can't credit feed during boss fights (the fight resets)
-Somewhat comical (your avatar "dances" into the horizon after you beat a stage like in Cabal)
-Temporary machine gun power up (Dynamite Duke)
Dragon Saber (ARC, 1990/PCE, ) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-player Co-op
-Fantasy theme and dragon avatar (Dragon Spirit)
-Impressive music (YM2151+C140)
-Some large and detailed sprites
-Hit points (4) in a shoot 'em up
-Negative power ups (lose one weapon level)
-Can make bosses die from a timer if you don't hit them
Parodius Da! (ARC, 1990)/SNES?) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up, 2-player Co-op;
Air Buster/Aero Blasters (ARC/PCE, 1990/MD, 1991) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up, 2-player Co-op
-Speed tunnel sequence (Gradius II or III?)
-Good enemy variation
-Respawn on the spot even when losing a credit (you lose all shot power though and it's hard to recover later on)
Raiden (ARC, 1990/PS1, ) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-player Co-op
-Military/sci-fi hybrid theme
-Frequent checkpoints (after using a continue) + post game over assistance (if you die several times you'll get a P power up (fully upgrades your ship), two sub weapons (semi-homing or high damage)
-Good bosses overall
-The screen also scrolls sideways a bit (unfortunately a bit loosely so it can lead to unfair deaths)
-Air and ground enemies (your weapons hit both) - Xevious
-Somewhat destructible scenery - Shoot Out, Rampage, SMB
-Fairy power up gives you back some of your power ups after death (hard to get?)
-Mini-bosses
-Pretty intense action in the last levels
-Respawn on the spot (with the default weapon but you do get three bombs)
-The game continues in the same area after a beaten boss (just showing the score in between levels; similar to Truxton and other 80s shooters)
-Shrapnel from your destroyed ship kills nearby enemies
Pit-Fighter (ARC, 1990/Multi) - Fighting/Arena Fighting, Tilted view, 2-player vs.
-Large digitized sprites (Journey (1983), Reikai Doushi)
-Dynamic camera zoom effect
-Weapons (placed in the ring) - can throw barrels and even bikes
-If you get pushed into the crowd it'll push you back into the ring and sometimes a drunk guy in the crowd will enter the ring and try to punch you though he's easily taken donw
-Roll move
-One female fighter
-Can kick an opponent while they're down
-Can stand on parked cars near the ring's edge
-Temporary strength power ups
-Sometimes you'll fight two opponents at once
Carrier Air Wing (ARC, 1990) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Ikari III (ARC, 1990) - Run 'n Gun/Beat 'em up, Top Down View, 2-player Co-op;
NAM-1975 (NG, 1990) - Cabal-like/Proto-TPS (2.5D), 2-player Co-op;
Gun Frontier (ARC, 1990/SAT, 1997) - 1991?, Horizontal Shoot 'em up
G-Loc (ARC, 1990) - ? FP view Plane Combat (Arcade-style Flight Combat Sim);
A.B. Cop (ARC, 1990) - Rail Shooter (Killathon w/ time limited levels), Hover Bike-based
-Can jump (although you need power ups to keep doing it)
-A few branching paths within some levels - Outrun
-Speed booster (unlimited uses) - Spy Hunter, Super Hang-On
-Can't die, only run out of time
1941: Counter Attack (ARC/PCE/SGX, 1990) - ? Vertical Shoot 'em up; military theme
Galaxian^3 (ARC, 1990/PS1, 1996) - ? Light Gun Shooter/FMV Rail Shooter, 4-Player Co-op
Columns II (ARC, 1990) - ? Matching Puzzle/Falling Block Puzzle
NAM 1975 (NG/ARC, 1990) - Cabal-like Shooter/Proto-TPS, 2-player coop
-Fight alongside the rescued damsel NPCs (they stay until you die)
-Comedic tone (intro, interrogation scene, "Now we are called heroes, but the hell continues")
-Voice acted cutscenes (pretty frequent, skippable, minor animation; kinda bad VA but it does help the humour)
-Throw grenades at aircraft (Blood Bros? same year)
-Dodge roll move (invincibility time during it; Shoot Out and Cabal) and run move
-Some cool weapons (bazooka, flamethrower) however they don't last long. Upgraded grenades are almost like smart bombs though you can only carry 3
-Partially destructible environment - Samurai, Pengo, Mr. Do's Castle, Lode Runner, Shoot Out
-Fairly impressive music (FM+samples) for an early game
-Difficulty options affect enemy reaction time+rate of fire of some bosses
-Can destroy enemy grenades
-Some hidden power ups (Fantasy Zone 2?)
-Some explosive barrels - Rush & Crash/Speed Rumbler
-Respawn on the spot even after using a credit (can also be used during boss fights up until the final one)
Race Drivin' (ARC, 1990/AMI/PC/MD, ) - Racing (Cars)
-3D/Polygonal graphics
-Ramp jumps
-Loops
-Satisfying crashes
-Replays
Cadash (ARC, 1990/MD/PCE) - Platform Adventure-lite/ARPG (leveling, towns w/ shops, linear - maze dungeons w/ some detours for items, can skip a minor part of dungeon 2 and most of dungeon 3), Side view, 2-Player Co-op, Time limits in the ARC ver. only (can buy more time or cast a spell to add more as the priestess)
-Four different playable characters (ninja, mage, cleric/priestess - female protagonist, fighter)
-(Some) new gear shows on the avatars
-Some large sprites
-Two passwords/skip codes on PCE only (use one of two special names when starting a new game)
-Very minor ability gating (have to backtrack a little at one point to get a magic item needed to go through a wall, brief gnome transformation to enter small buildings in one town)
-No maps, No fast travel
Bonanza Bros. (ARC, 1990//MD, 1991/PCE?) - Stealth Action/Maze Platformer, Collectathon, 2-player vs. Split-screen
-Early stealth gameplay
-Play as a criminal
-Mini-map (shows treasure and player locations as well as the basic layout)
Mercs (ARC, 1990/MD, 1991) - TD Run 'n Gun, 3-player Co-op (ARC only, 1-player on MD)
-Various large and detailed sprites
-New Original Mode on MD with different playable characters, a shop, and a level up system (lets you control character stat growth)
-No strafing
Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (ARC, 1990) - Isometric Run 'n Gun, 3-player co-op, Hostage Rescue
-Charge attack (Shadow Land, R-Type, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, etc.)
-Transform into a robot (similar to ESWAT)
-Dance attacks (basically smart bombs with a longer animation here)
-The main boss attacks you from above during the level in the beginning (Shinobi, ESWAT)
-Context sensitive melee attack (Shinobi)
-"I love you Michael.... to DEATH!"
-Pretty good ending cutscene
Smash TV/Super Smash TV (ARC, 1990/SNES, 1992) - Multi-Screen Arena Shooter/Maze Shooter, 2-player Co-op, TD view
-Choose your path (a map is briefly shown between rooms)
-Bonus rooms (find all ? symbols to get to the hidden final stage?)
-Large bosses
-Interesting theme (reality tv/gladiators taken to the dystopian extreme)
-The arcade game had twin stick controls allowing for strafing - Robotron: 2084
-Intense and fast-paced action
Aliens (ARC, 1990) - Beat 'em up/Run 'n Gun, Rail Shooter and Side view segments, 2-Player co-op, Mainly tilted view
-Good visual variation
-Radar showing enemy locations in the side view segments
-Good animation overall, Good number of sprites on screen at once, Large and detailed sprites
-Move while shooting (MM1) and crouch while moving and shooting (it's slower though) - unusual for a slanted view beat 'em up
-Get to control the mech from the movie
-Good use of a QTE (quick-time event) during the final boss
-Some cool weapons (flamethrower, homing rockets)
-Satisfying sfx
-Slightly diverging paths in some stages
-Mini-bosses
-Bombs (rare, small area of effect)
Snow Bros. (ARC, 1990/MD, 1993) - Single Screen Action Platformer, 2-player co-op, Hidden time limit until a ghost appears and tries to kill you (Bubble Bobble)
-Some innovative mechanics (turn enemies into snow balls which you can then kill other enemies (if you manage to kill everything in one go items worth a lot of points appear) with or use as platforms (you can also push them around to position them strategically)
-Inflated mode (basically an invincibility mode - you become twice as big, can fly around and touched enemies die immediately)
-Secret areas? (spell Snow by first collecting the snow bro icon making blue blobs appear, then collect a letter from them, then you'll enter a secret area)
-Good bosses overall (harder and somewhat more complex than in Bubble Bobble)
-Large and expressive boss sprites
-Gender twist - there's a fake final boss after 49 levels and afterwards the roles get reversed (the bros' princess girlfriends (?) have to rescue them instead)
-Password save on MD (short)
-Some invincibility time is given if you can bounce a snowball against a wall or a second ball
Chiki Chiki Boys (ARC, 1990/MD, 1992) - Action Platformer/Hack 'n Slash (side view), 2-player Co-op (ARC & PCE CD only)
-Choose your path for the first three levels
-Smart bomb spells - Defender
-Nice in-level transitions (sub areas tie together where on MD the screen goes black and the player appears in the next one))
-Two additional power ups here (a clone power up (shoots projectiles for a short period of time) and a magic shield power up (blocks 3-4 hits but also prevents magic from being used) – both are rare)
-Can’t pick between the two brothers in 1-player and they don’t have different strengths?
-Some bosses and enemies have one additional attack here (some of the small vampiric flying enemies can latch onto the player from behind and prevent magic usage, pink fish mini-boss can block, rock monster (first boss) + bouncing ball + scorpion + the clown’s first form can all knock the player into the wall (stuns you for a second or so)
-Full ARC vs MD comparison: https://minirevver.weebly.com/chiki-chiki-boys-md.html
Blue's Journey (ARC, 1990) - Action Platformer/Hop 'n Bop Platformer w/ AA/RPG elements, 2-Player Co-op (player 2 can jump in at any point)
-Shops (buy different weapons and gear - for example a safe that lets you keep items for longer) and NPC encounters (similar to Wonder Boy in Monster Land)
-Alternate paths through levels
-Choose your own path (between two levels at a time?)
-Good enemy variation
-Turn small at one point (run faster and jump longer - similar to New SMB DS, can't attack)
-Item inventory (Monster World 1?)
-Warps at a cost (can select destination but the further you want to go the higher the price)
-Duel and other mini-games (similar to Yoshi's Island)
-Pick up and throw enemies (can stack several enemies on top of each other before throwing for a wider projectile) - SMB2-3
-Can choose not to fight bosses (causes a fake game over screen)
-Alternate endings
-Good bosses overall
-Smart bombs - Defender
Magic Sword (ARC, 1990/SNES?) - Action Platformer/Hack 'n Slash w/ AA/RPG elements (side view), 2-Player Co-op
-Plays like a mixture of Astyanax/Alisia Dragoon/Black Tiger (features familiar/sidekick characters that attack when you do and can be killed and leveled up for example)
-Pick starting level out of ~6 floors
-Weapon upgrade which can be dropped if you take too much damage but you can pick it up again
-Good enemy and background variation
-Some enemies can open chests and eat the key in them (you get it back by killing them)
-Gameplay tips in some level transition scenes - STUN Runner?
-Some large and detailed sprites
-Alternate bad ending (yes/no prompt at the end)
-Hidden chests which can be detected by having the crystal ball
-Smart bomb (costs life) - Defender
-Dialogue text can be sped up
-HP drains like in Wonder Boy (hunger mechanic of sorts) but the speed can be adjusted here
-6-way aiming with the wizard sidekick
Alien Storm (ARC, 1990/MD, 1991) - Beat 'em up (tilted view), Light Gun-style segments, Auto-Scrolling segments w/ moon jumps, 2-Player Co-op
-Desperation attack
-Running
-Sci-fi horror theme
-Semi-ranged attacks
Hammerin' Harry (ARC/NES, 1990) - Beat 'Em Up (Side View)/Action Platformer
-Comical tone w/ funny voice samples
-Expressive characters
-Some large sprites
-Ground pound/stomp move (stuns some enemies)
-Good variation
-Harder modes have some new enemies
-Good bosses overall
-Armor and jump upgrades
-Good environmental interaction with some decent physics for the time
Rod Land/Rodland/Rod-Land (ARC, 1990/AMI/C64/NES, 1991) - Single Screen Platformer/Action (no jumps), 2-Player Co-op, Collectathon?, Time limit (invisible, enemies first turn quicker and then disappear; Time limit on extra mode as well (invisible))
-Unlockable second quest on ARC
-Some interesting mechanics (scoring, create ladders (u/d+attack), stun enemies, collect all flowers to turn enemies into turnips which can then yield letters - spell extra to gain a 1-up (similar to Bubble Bobble))
The Super Spy (ARC, 1990) - FP Gallery Shooter/FPS/Beat 'em up (2.5D) w/ some RPG elements (exp point leveling), Hostage Rescue,
-Smooth scaling and large sprites
-Melee and ranged attacks - Dynamite Duke
-Ducking, sidestepping and blocking
-Weapon upgrades and repairs (some deteriorating weapons)
-Stunning punch attack (right hook)
-Explosive objects which can be used to hit enemies by blowing them up with guns
-Mini-bosses
Liquid Kids/Mizubaku Daibouken (ARC, 1990/PCE, 1992/SAT, 1998) - Action Platformer, Hidden bonus levels (pretty lame single screen affairs)
-Charge attack
-Some alternate paths (between second and third stage)
-Some large sprites
-Small detours for items - SMB?
-Speed shoes (train icon - small boost per item but it's accumulative and can't be reversed, disappears after the sub level is completed) - The Goonies MSX
-Very forgiving checkpoints
-Water plants to grow them into platforms - Later used in Mickey Mania
-Combo kill enemies (5+) to find weapon upgrades (rate of fire, size of ball, charge speed and finally a catch-all upgrade) and power ups (timed invincibility, smart bomb, 1-up) - Bubble Bobble?
-PCE ver.: Easier than the Arcade ver. (missing some enemies and hazards)
Rolling Thunder 2 (ARC, 1990/MD, 1991) - Action Platformer/Run 'n Gun, Cover Shooter, 2-player Co-op
-Dodge system (see Blackthorne)
-Flash bombs which blind enemies
-Touching enemies doesn’t hurt/no contact damage - Shadow Dancer
-Life bar upgrades
-Sometimes hilarious cutscene texts
-Enemy grenades hurt other enemies - systemic element/consistency
-Nice artwork stills between levels
-Flamethrower
-Two endings (beat the unlockable hard mode)
-Password save on MD
-Ammo-based weapons (you really need to conserve ammo later on)
Dark Seal (ARC, 1990) - Isometric Hack 'n Slash/Maze Action w/ RPG elements (somewhat open ended levels with minor detours for treasure chests, D&D-inspired world and minor gameplay elements (status effects, item inventory, spells, classes), strength and temporary shield power ups, no shops, no hub map or level select screen, no puzzles), 2-player Co-op
-4 different playable characters (knight - stronger physical attack, wizard - stronger magic, bard - poison immunity and long reach, ninja - fast movement and wide but short ranged attack)
-Some large and detailed sprites
-Pretty nice boss death animations overall
-Mini-bosses in most levels
-Character select after using a credit
-Some good bosses
-8-way aiming and movement - Gauntlet
-Temporary transformations
-Speed upgrade (it's pretty rare though and it’s both on a timer and lost after losing a life)
-Respawn on the spot even after continuing (no chance to go back and pick up items)
-Can't jump except when in boulder form (not useful for reaching new areas - just used as an attack)
Magician Lord (ARC/NG, 1990) - Action Platformer, One Maze level
-Shapeshifting (ninja, lizardman, ice knight, bomb chucker, electro dude/Raijin)
-Some cool effects
-Good variation
-8-directional shot (only as lizardman though and very short ranged and slow to change directions while firing)
-Pretty good bosses overall
-Some large and detailed sprites
-Respawn on the spot (you’ll warp to a checkpoint on NG and back to the beginning of the stage after a credit is used (alternate set rom - tested in kawaks)
-In the alternate set rom you'll have a lifebar of 6 (3 for transformed state) and start with 3 standard HP but changing the difficulty to 3 or lower increases it to 8 (4/4 split) – not sure if 8 is enough to offset the new checkpoint system (can't access difficulty options unless you're emulating?)
Cyber-Lip (ARC/NG, 1990) - Action Platformer/Run 'n Gun, 2-player Co-op;
Out Zone/OutZone (ARC, 1990) - Run 'n Gun (can't move backwards in a level), Optional escort mission of the company mascot hidden in the first level, 2-Player Co-op, TD view
-Many large and detailed sprites
-Three levels of weapon upgrades and upgradeable energy bar
-Strafing via two of the weapons
-Some interesting weapons (Sci-fi morning star weapon/spinning ball, flamethrower though it kinda sucks)
-Temporary shield power up - Gradius?
-Connected levels (manually walk into the next level)
-Smart bombs
-Can trigger Zero wing & Truxton & Flying Shark cameos/power ups by playing well (two of which work like gun drones)
-Makes good use of the environments for its level designs
-Very good enemy variation
-Auto-fire
-Partially destructible environment
-Good bosses overall (some have several destructible parts)
-Some hidden items
-Fuel mechanic - River Raid
Blood Bros. (ARC, 1990) - Cabal-like/Proto-TPS (2.5D), 2-player Co-op
-Second player character is native american
-Throw dynamite at airplanes and zeppelins
-Good bosses overall (final one has several parts to destroy, two of them move back and forth in the background and one of these (giant snake) has some nice sprite scaling on it)
-Destructible environment (extra points for larger targets, several levels of damage) - Shoot Out, Rampage
-One boss with multiple destructible parts (purple base)
-Two dodge moves (invincibility during them but you can't cancel or change direction while performing them)
-Wild west setting - Gun.Smoke
-Tons of sprites on screen without slowdown
-Most enemy projectiles can be shot down - Popeye, Spelunker
-Many large and some very large sprites
-Can gain more dynamite by juggling a tin can over and over in each level - Similar to Gangster Town?
-Can't credit feed during boss fights (the fight resets)
-Somewhat comical (your avatar "dances" into the horizon after you beat a stage like in Cabal)
-Temporary machine gun power up (Dynamite Duke)
Dragon Saber (ARC, 1990/PCE, ) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-player Co-op
-Fantasy theme and dragon avatar (Dragon Spirit)
-Impressive music (YM2151+C140)
-Some large and detailed sprites
-Hit points (4) in a shoot 'em up
-Negative power ups (lose one weapon level)
-Can make bosses die from a timer if you don't hit them
Parodius Da! (ARC, 1990)/SNES?) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up, 2-player Co-op;
Air Buster/Aero Blasters (ARC/PCE, 1990/MD, 1991) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up, 2-player Co-op
-Speed tunnel sequence (Gradius II or III?)
-Good enemy variation
-Respawn on the spot even when losing a credit (you lose all shot power though and it's hard to recover later on)
Raiden (ARC, 1990/PS1, ) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-player Co-op
-Military/sci-fi hybrid theme
-Frequent checkpoints (after using a continue) + post game over assistance (if you die several times you'll get a P power up (fully upgrades your ship), two sub weapons (semi-homing or high damage)
-Good bosses overall
-The screen also scrolls sideways a bit (unfortunately a bit loosely so it can lead to unfair deaths)
-Air and ground enemies (your weapons hit both) - Xevious
-Somewhat destructible scenery - Shoot Out, Rampage, SMB
-Fairy power up gives you back some of your power ups after death (hard to get?)
-Mini-bosses
-Pretty intense action in the last levels
-Respawn on the spot (with the default weapon but you do get three bombs)
-The game continues in the same area after a beaten boss (just showing the score in between levels; similar to Truxton and other 80s shooters)
-Shrapnel from your destroyed ship kills nearby enemies
Pit-Fighter (ARC, 1990/Multi) - Fighting/Arena Fighting, Tilted view, 2-player vs.
-Large digitized sprites (Journey (1983), Reikai Doushi)
-Dynamic camera zoom effect
-Weapons (placed in the ring) - can throw barrels and even bikes
-If you get pushed into the crowd it'll push you back into the ring and sometimes a drunk guy in the crowd will enter the ring and try to punch you though he's easily taken donw
-Roll move
-One female fighter
-Can kick an opponent while they're down
-Can stand on parked cars near the ring's edge
-Temporary strength power ups
-Sometimes you'll fight two opponents at once
Carrier Air Wing (ARC, 1990) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Ikari III (ARC, 1990) - Run 'n Gun/Beat 'em up, Top Down View, 2-player Co-op;
NAM-1975 (NG, 1990) - Cabal-like/Proto-TPS (2.5D), 2-player Co-op;
Gun Frontier (ARC, 1990/SAT, 1997) - 1991?, Horizontal Shoot 'em up
G-Loc (ARC, 1990) - ? FP view Plane Combat (Arcade-style Flight Combat Sim);
A.B. Cop (ARC, 1990) - Rail Shooter (Killathon w/ time limited levels), Hover Bike-based
-Can jump (although you need power ups to keep doing it)
-A few branching paths within some levels - Outrun
-Speed booster (unlimited uses) - Spy Hunter, Super Hang-On
-Can't die, only run out of time
1941: Counter Attack (ARC/PCE/SGX, 1990) - ? Vertical Shoot 'em up; military theme
Galaxian^3 (ARC, 1990/PS1, 1996) - ? Light Gun Shooter/FMV Rail Shooter, 4-Player Co-op
Columns II (ARC, 1990) - ? Matching Puzzle/Falling Block Puzzle
NAM 1975 (NG/ARC, 1990) - Cabal-like Shooter/Proto-TPS, 2-player coop
-Fight alongside the rescued damsel NPCs (they stay until you die)
-Comedic tone (intro, interrogation scene, "Now we are called heroes, but the hell continues")
-Voice acted cutscenes (pretty frequent, skippable, minor animation; kinda bad VA but it does help the humour)
-Throw grenades at aircraft (Blood Bros? same year)
-Dodge roll move (invincibility time during it; Shoot Out and Cabal) and run move
-Some cool weapons (bazooka, flamethrower) however they don't last long. Upgraded grenades are almost like smart bombs though you can only carry 3
-Partially destructible environment - Samurai, Pengo, Mr. Do's Castle, Lode Runner, Shoot Out
-Fairly impressive music (FM+samples) for an early game
-Difficulty options affect enemy reaction time+rate of fire of some bosses
-Can destroy enemy grenades
-Some hidden power ups (Fantasy Zone 2?)
-Some explosive barrels - Rush & Crash/Speed Rumbler
-Respawn on the spot even after using a credit (can also be used during boss fights up until the final one)
1991:
Street Fighter II (ARC, 1991/SNES, ) - Fighting, 2-Player vs.
-Set a new standard for the genre
-Combos and throws
-Combo attacks (stringing several moves together with the right timing to stunlock the opponent; early unintentional emergent gameplay mechanic)
-Pretty large and memorable character roster
-World traveling theme
-Can make your opponent dizzy by playing well
-Large and detailed sprites
-Projectile attacks triggered via button combos
Steel Talons (ARC, 1991) - 3D Flight Combat Sim (Chopper-based)
-Smooth polygonal 3D gameplay w/ a good draw distance (fog instead of pop-in)
-Mission select screen (4 at a time)
-Mini-map, compass and enemy radar
-Secondary viewport showing a zoomed in sprite-based view of your current target
-Lock-on feature (After Burner?)
-Arrows showing where enemy fire comes from if the enemy is off-screen
TMNT IV/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (ARC, 1991/SNES, 1992) - Beat 'em up/Hack 'n Slash, 4-player (ARC)/2-player Co-op, Some auto-scrolling levels
-Partially different levels and bosses on SNES
-High jumps
-Running and running attacks - Golden Axe through there are more attacks here
-Throw enemies into the screen or ground slam them to hit other enemies
-Three different jump kicks
-Very good visual variation
-Some large and detailed sprites
-Impressive music
Rampart (ARC, 1991/MD/SNES/PC, 1992) - RTT (Turret Shooter/Tower Defense/Base Construction hybrid), 3-player (ARC/C64/PC only)
-Randomized wall parts (similar to Tetris blocks)
-Capture more forts by surrounding them with walls
-Best music on PC (MT-32)
Growl (ARC/MD, 1991) - Beat 'em up w/ some Platforming, 4-Player Co-op (1-Player on MD), Mini-games (free animals from cages)
-Animal rights theme (fight poachers)
-Some bizarre over the top elements (a spiked ceiling falls and kills all enemies on screen when continuing, bad guys controlled by a giant caterpillar, some bosses throw cars and even tanks)
-Ranged weapons
-Can attack enemies down on all fours
-Blow enemies to pieces with the rocket launcher
-Animals sometimes attack enemies as they run away
-Many sprites on screen
-Grenades which bounce off of characters and walls
-Some large sprites and a multi-jointed final boss
-Enemies can hit each other with certain attacks - systemic element/consistency
-Ranged weapons
-Pretty good voice samples and fairly impressive FM music
-Four different characters (very similar though besides their stats), Can switch character after using a credit
-Some dialogue during gameplay (River City Ransom, Golden Axe)
Sunset Riders (ARC, 1991/SNES, ) - Run 'n Gun, 4-player Co-op (ARC, 2-player on consoles), Light Gun-style bonus level (horse riding chase on MD)
-Sliding
-8-way aiming - Venture, Contra
-Pretty impressive music
-Wild west theme - Gun.Smoke
-Four different characters (spread vs rate of fire - shotgun is better in 1-player)
-Pick up and throw the enemies' dynamite
-Comical tone (some racial and geneder stereotypes)
-Some good bosses,
-You're invincible while jumping up/down a level or from a rope - Shinobi?
Bomberman/Dynablaster (ARC, 1991) - Maze Action/Arena Combat, Killathon, Single Screen, 4-Player Co-op
-4-player vs. battle mode in the JP ver. only (also lets you play against CPU/AI opponents)
-Several levels of upgrades (speed, blast size, number of bombs you can place at once)
-Remote controlled bombs power up
-Temporary invincibility power up
-Some large sprites
-Some good bosses like the bouncing star that splits into smaller and smaller stars
-Expressive sprites
-Some interesting enemies (dragon that can trigger bombs, teleporters, enemies that hide in blocks)
Detana!! Twinbee (ARC, 1991/SAT, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-player Co-op
-A non-intrusive text pop-up tells you what you've just picked up
-Ship linking power up (link to the green ship to gain a shield to the side you chose (1 extra hit) and extra fire power)
-Charge shot (air to air only) - R-Type
-Clone trail power up - Ninja Spirit?
-Pretty good variation
-Air and ground attacks - Xevious
-Some good bosses (the third one makes you use the charge shot to spin its shield and reveal the weak point)
-Cutesy theme (except for the final boss) - Sky Skipper, TwinBee, Fantasy Zone
-Shield power up (only appears on levels 1-2?) - Gradius
-Smart bombs (trigger when touched, rare) - Defender
-Some nice effects (parallax, scaling, linescrolling for a pseudo 3D effect on one of the backgrounds, raster effects), Large and detailed bosses overall, Pretty impressive music
Avenging Spirit (ARC, 1991/GB, ) - Action Platformer, Collectathon-lite (3 keys)
-Possess and control enemies in ghost form
-If the player has all three keys upon reaching the final leg of Stage 6, he can open a kidnapped girl's cell and possess her to help her fight her way out. If not, he must abandon her and face the syndicate's leader alone
-The above affects the ending
The Simpsons: Arcade Game (ARC, 1991) - Beat 'em up (tilted view), 4-Player Co-op, Simple button masher mini-games between some levels (funny scenarios though - a bit like Wario Ware)
-Nice level transitions, Very good animation overall, Scaling effects, Some large sprites and one multi-jointed sprite
-Very good visual variation
-One ranged weapon (limited ammo, no ammo counter) and some throwable objects
-Some good bosses (bowling ball has multiple phases)
-Comical tone
Crossed Swords (ARC/NG, 1991) - Hack 'n Slash w/ AA elements, 2-Player Co-op, TP view (Super Punch-Out style)
-Choose your path for the first three levels?
-Shops
-NPC encounters
-Upgradeable lifebar
-Some branching paths (select from a menu which route to take)
-High and low attacks+blocking - Zelda II, Super Spy had blocking and ducking
-Special attack (works like a desperation attack if used when attacked or holding down at which point it also knocks back the enemy, works like a ranged attack if you hold up, always drains some life) - Similar to Alien Storm
-Some interesting magic attacks (area of effect stun, temporary shield, smart bomb, transform enemies into harmless scarecrows?)
-Good bosses overall
-Large and detailed sprites
Rogha Armor Force/Wolf Fang/Wolf Fang: Kuhga 2001 SS (ARC, 1991/SAT, 1997) - Auto-Scrolling Run 'n Gun (action platformer/shoot 'em up hybrid - see Atomic Runner), Mech-based, 2-player co-op
-Context senstitive melee attack (Shinobi, later used in Lords of Thunder)
-Some branching paths between levels (labeled hard or easy in the briefing)
-Alternate endings depending on if you picked the hard levels or not (four in total)
-Four different mechs to choose from - can also build your own custom mech before beginning (choose one of four parts in three categories - melee weapon/sub weapon/legs (body), can switch the legs/body during gameply after using a credit)
-Control the pilot in a small flying mech if your main mech gets blown up (can restore the main one but it's quite hard to pull off in most levels)
-Handles aiming pretty well for the time ("strafe" while shooting, can turn around while not shooting)
-Many large and detailed sprites
-Lifebar in a shoot 'em up/run 'n gun - Dragon Saber
-Charge attack which you can charge while shooting your main weapon (works similarly to a smart bomb attack)
-Somewhat in-depth difficulty options (player and enemy lifebar length options, enemy spawn rate frequency option)
-Slide move (down+jump) - Strider NES?
-You won't be damaged simply from touching most enemies/no contact damage (Shadow Dancer; here you'll also bounce slightly if you landed on an enemy or got pushed against the screen's edge and can keep bouncing repeatedly which is kinda fun)
-Pretty intense action
-Minor in-game transition cutscenes between levels and basic briefings before levels (both are skippable)
-Some dialogue during gameplay (doesn't interrupt it)
-Fairly impressive music (YM2151+OKIM6295)
-Gun drones/mascot robots (collected in the levels, they'll scatter when you get hit but can be picked back up) - Gradius
-Minor 2.5D elements (can move along some ramps in the background - basically turns gameplay into a standard shoot 'em up for minor segments in each level, first boss moves in the background but can be hit normally from the foreground)
-Instant charge meter refill power up (triggers when picked up though)
-Good bosses overall (most have multiple phases)
-Mini-bosses (these are repeated several times though)
-Respawn on the spot w/o upgrades - however the game gives you three power ups when continuing (1 HP, one weapon upgrade and one instant charge meter refill)
-Saturn/PS1: Arcade and special/tweaked mode (some legs have new abilites (dash, double jump) here and levels have been tweaked a bit), optional redbook soundtrack with new tracks, option for voiced briefings (can't be skipped if turned on and they disrupt the music), new CGI intro and ending cutscenes (decent), one extra level on SAT,
Two Crude Dudes/Crude Buster (ARC, 1991/MD, 1992) - Beat 'em up, Side view, 2-player Co-op
-Pick up and throw almost anything (cars, poles, larger vehicles, etc.)
-Throws
-Comical tone
-Post apocalyptic theme
-Fight an evil version of santa claus
-Jump up and climb platforms from below
Xexex/Orius (ARC, 1991) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up, 2-player co-op
-Great variation
-Lifebar and health drops
-R-Type style sub weapon system (pod with up to three octopus-like arms which you can shoot out and call back - attaches to bosses' weak points to kill them efficiently, charge shot)
-Additional homing missile sub weapon
-Various special effects (some pre-rendered sprites, linescrolling, scaling, rotation, raster effects, some huge and multi-jointed sprites, level 4, asteroids bouncing into each other, spinning tunnel segment, parallax)
-Good bosses overall
-Many large and detailed sprites, Pretty impressive music (mostly mono though)
-Upgrades for the main weapon also affects the charge attack
Joe & Mac/Caveman Ninja (ARC, 1991/MD, 1994)(Different on SNES) - 2-player Co-op, Action Platformer
-Alternate paths
-Charge attacks (Shadow Land, R-Type, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, etc.)
-Large and fairly detailed bosses (sometimes made up of several different sprites - one of these falls apart piece by piece as you fight it (mammoth))
-Shows bosses' healthbars
-Ride a dino (one of the river levels) - Golden Axe?
-Two alternate endings (just slightly different joke endings where the girls you saved are replaced by either a fat one or an ugly one - you have to guess by taking one of three paths after the final boss)
-"Surprised" animation at the start of boss fights - Battletoads?
-Not on MD: Clone/spirit weapon (can be shot upwards when charged), map screen, route selection screen sprites (just text against a single color bg here), invincibility power ups (pepper/booze), bomb blasts from chopper bombs, various animations (electrocuted player, squished player, enemy on fire, ash rain, lava area to mammoth cave transition, mini t-rex enemy, some ankylosaurus and skeleton dino patterns
Three Wonders/Wonder 3 Arcade Gears (ARC, 1991/SAT, 1998/PS1?, 1998) - H-Shooter/Platformer/?; 3 games in 1
Pu-Li-Ru-La (ARC, 1991/SAT, 1997) - Beat 'em up, 2-player Co-op; Surreal theme,
Captain Commando (ARC, 1991/PS1, 1998?) -
Total Carnage (ARC, 1991) - TD Run 'n Gun?,
Fatal Fury (ARC, 1991) - Fighting; Impressive music
The King of Dragons (ARC, 1991/SNES, ) - Beat 'em up/Hack 'n Slash, 2-player Co-op
-Some ranged attack characters - Alien Storm, Super Spy, Growl
-Upgradeable sword and shield gear - new ones have different sprites which also show on your avatar
-Good visual variety, Some large and detailed sprites and huge final boss sprite
Robo Army (ARC/NG, 1991) - Beat 'em up?
Vendetta (ARC, 1991) - Beat 'em up, ;
Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams/Cotton Original (ARC/PCE CD etc., 1991/PS1, 1999) - Shoot 'em up; Cutesy theme, JP mythology/horror theme
Sonic Blast Man (ARC, 1991/SNES, 1992) - Beat 'em up
Terminator 2: The Arcade Game (ARC, 1991) - Light Gun Shooter, 2-player Co-op; mounted guns,
Ghost Pilots (ARC, 1991) - Vertical Shoot 'em up;
Spider-Man: The Video Game (ARC, 1991) - Beat 'em up/Action Platformer Hybrid
Knights of the Round (ARC, 1991/SNES?) - ? Hack 'n Slash, 2-player Co-op;
Solvalou (ARC, 1991) - FMV Rail Shooter; 3D graphics, impressive music
Rad Mobile (ARC, 1991) - Racing
Starblade (ARC, 1991) - FMV Rail Shooter; 3D graphics, impressive music
Metal Black (ARC, 1991/SAT, 1996) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Power Spikes (ARC, 1991) - ? Volleyball, Side View;
Thunder Cross II (ARC, 1991) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Armed Police Unit Gallop (ARC, 1991) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Tank Force (ARC, 1991) - Maze Action/Arena Shooter w/ Defense element, Single Screen, Tank-based, 4-Player Co-op (with a minor vs. element in the score ranking)
-Some interesting weapons and power ups (shoot through walls beam, temporarily invincible base walls, time stopper - SMB2?)
-In a few levels fuel tanks can be blown up to destroy nearby enemies,
-Temporary mini form transformation (makes you small and fast like in NSMB DS)
-Fairly impressive music (YM2151 only)
-Pretty fast and intense action (the intensity tends to peter out at the end of a level though)
-Can destroy most enemy shots by shooting them - Spelunker
-Shows number of enemy reinforcements left
-Can hit but not damage your allies (they'll get knocked back slightly though)
-Smart bombs (in the form of air strikes - fairly rare and they trigger when touched though) - Defender
-Temporary shield/invincibility power up - Gradius
-Random element to which power ups you get and where they spawn - sometimes you get a great weapon or 1-2 air strikes at one point in a level and sometimes just points instead
Street Fighter II (ARC, 1991/SNES, ) - Fighting, 2-Player vs.
-Set a new standard for the genre
-Combos and throws
-Combo attacks (stringing several moves together with the right timing to stunlock the opponent; early unintentional emergent gameplay mechanic)
-Pretty large and memorable character roster
-World traveling theme
-Can make your opponent dizzy by playing well
-Large and detailed sprites
-Projectile attacks triggered via button combos
Steel Talons (ARC, 1991) - 3D Flight Combat Sim (Chopper-based)
-Smooth polygonal 3D gameplay w/ a good draw distance (fog instead of pop-in)
-Mission select screen (4 at a time)
-Mini-map, compass and enemy radar
-Secondary viewport showing a zoomed in sprite-based view of your current target
-Lock-on feature (After Burner?)
-Arrows showing where enemy fire comes from if the enemy is off-screen
TMNT IV/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (ARC, 1991/SNES, 1992) - Beat 'em up/Hack 'n Slash, 4-player (ARC)/2-player Co-op, Some auto-scrolling levels
-Partially different levels and bosses on SNES
-High jumps
-Running and running attacks - Golden Axe through there are more attacks here
-Throw enemies into the screen or ground slam them to hit other enemies
-Three different jump kicks
-Very good visual variation
-Some large and detailed sprites
-Impressive music
Rampart (ARC, 1991/MD/SNES/PC, 1992) - RTT (Turret Shooter/Tower Defense/Base Construction hybrid), 3-player (ARC/C64/PC only)
-Randomized wall parts (similar to Tetris blocks)
-Capture more forts by surrounding them with walls
-Best music on PC (MT-32)
Growl (ARC/MD, 1991) - Beat 'em up w/ some Platforming, 4-Player Co-op (1-Player on MD), Mini-games (free animals from cages)
-Animal rights theme (fight poachers)
-Some bizarre over the top elements (a spiked ceiling falls and kills all enemies on screen when continuing, bad guys controlled by a giant caterpillar, some bosses throw cars and even tanks)
-Ranged weapons
-Can attack enemies down on all fours
-Blow enemies to pieces with the rocket launcher
-Animals sometimes attack enemies as they run away
-Many sprites on screen
-Grenades which bounce off of characters and walls
-Some large sprites and a multi-jointed final boss
-Enemies can hit each other with certain attacks - systemic element/consistency
-Ranged weapons
-Pretty good voice samples and fairly impressive FM music
-Four different characters (very similar though besides their stats), Can switch character after using a credit
-Some dialogue during gameplay (River City Ransom, Golden Axe)
Sunset Riders (ARC, 1991/SNES, ) - Run 'n Gun, 4-player Co-op (ARC, 2-player on consoles), Light Gun-style bonus level (horse riding chase on MD)
-Sliding
-8-way aiming - Venture, Contra
-Pretty impressive music
-Wild west theme - Gun.Smoke
-Four different characters (spread vs rate of fire - shotgun is better in 1-player)
-Pick up and throw the enemies' dynamite
-Comical tone (some racial and geneder stereotypes)
-Some good bosses,
-You're invincible while jumping up/down a level or from a rope - Shinobi?
Bomberman/Dynablaster (ARC, 1991) - Maze Action/Arena Combat, Killathon, Single Screen, 4-Player Co-op
-4-player vs. battle mode in the JP ver. only (also lets you play against CPU/AI opponents)
-Several levels of upgrades (speed, blast size, number of bombs you can place at once)
-Remote controlled bombs power up
-Temporary invincibility power up
-Some large sprites
-Some good bosses like the bouncing star that splits into smaller and smaller stars
-Expressive sprites
-Some interesting enemies (dragon that can trigger bombs, teleporters, enemies that hide in blocks)
Detana!! Twinbee (ARC, 1991/SAT, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-player Co-op
-A non-intrusive text pop-up tells you what you've just picked up
-Ship linking power up (link to the green ship to gain a shield to the side you chose (1 extra hit) and extra fire power)
-Charge shot (air to air only) - R-Type
-Clone trail power up - Ninja Spirit?
-Pretty good variation
-Air and ground attacks - Xevious
-Some good bosses (the third one makes you use the charge shot to spin its shield and reveal the weak point)
-Cutesy theme (except for the final boss) - Sky Skipper, TwinBee, Fantasy Zone
-Shield power up (only appears on levels 1-2?) - Gradius
-Smart bombs (trigger when touched, rare) - Defender
-Some nice effects (parallax, scaling, linescrolling for a pseudo 3D effect on one of the backgrounds, raster effects), Large and detailed bosses overall, Pretty impressive music
Avenging Spirit (ARC, 1991/GB, ) - Action Platformer, Collectathon-lite (3 keys)
-Possess and control enemies in ghost form
-If the player has all three keys upon reaching the final leg of Stage 6, he can open a kidnapped girl's cell and possess her to help her fight her way out. If not, he must abandon her and face the syndicate's leader alone
-The above affects the ending
The Simpsons: Arcade Game (ARC, 1991) - Beat 'em up (tilted view), 4-Player Co-op, Simple button masher mini-games between some levels (funny scenarios though - a bit like Wario Ware)
-Nice level transitions, Very good animation overall, Scaling effects, Some large sprites and one multi-jointed sprite
-Very good visual variation
-One ranged weapon (limited ammo, no ammo counter) and some throwable objects
-Some good bosses (bowling ball has multiple phases)
-Comical tone
Crossed Swords (ARC/NG, 1991) - Hack 'n Slash w/ AA elements, 2-Player Co-op, TP view (Super Punch-Out style)
-Choose your path for the first three levels?
-Shops
-NPC encounters
-Upgradeable lifebar
-Some branching paths (select from a menu which route to take)
-High and low attacks+blocking - Zelda II, Super Spy had blocking and ducking
-Special attack (works like a desperation attack if used when attacked or holding down at which point it also knocks back the enemy, works like a ranged attack if you hold up, always drains some life) - Similar to Alien Storm
-Some interesting magic attacks (area of effect stun, temporary shield, smart bomb, transform enemies into harmless scarecrows?)
-Good bosses overall
-Large and detailed sprites
Rogha Armor Force/Wolf Fang/Wolf Fang: Kuhga 2001 SS (ARC, 1991/SAT, 1997) - Auto-Scrolling Run 'n Gun (action platformer/shoot 'em up hybrid - see Atomic Runner), Mech-based, 2-player co-op
-Context senstitive melee attack (Shinobi, later used in Lords of Thunder)
-Some branching paths between levels (labeled hard or easy in the briefing)
-Alternate endings depending on if you picked the hard levels or not (four in total)
-Four different mechs to choose from - can also build your own custom mech before beginning (choose one of four parts in three categories - melee weapon/sub weapon/legs (body), can switch the legs/body during gameply after using a credit)
-Control the pilot in a small flying mech if your main mech gets blown up (can restore the main one but it's quite hard to pull off in most levels)
-Handles aiming pretty well for the time ("strafe" while shooting, can turn around while not shooting)
-Many large and detailed sprites
-Lifebar in a shoot 'em up/run 'n gun - Dragon Saber
-Charge attack which you can charge while shooting your main weapon (works similarly to a smart bomb attack)
-Somewhat in-depth difficulty options (player and enemy lifebar length options, enemy spawn rate frequency option)
-Slide move (down+jump) - Strider NES?
-You won't be damaged simply from touching most enemies/no contact damage (Shadow Dancer; here you'll also bounce slightly if you landed on an enemy or got pushed against the screen's edge and can keep bouncing repeatedly which is kinda fun)
-Pretty intense action
-Minor in-game transition cutscenes between levels and basic briefings before levels (both are skippable)
-Some dialogue during gameplay (doesn't interrupt it)
-Fairly impressive music (YM2151+OKIM6295)
-Gun drones/mascot robots (collected in the levels, they'll scatter when you get hit but can be picked back up) - Gradius
-Minor 2.5D elements (can move along some ramps in the background - basically turns gameplay into a standard shoot 'em up for minor segments in each level, first boss moves in the background but can be hit normally from the foreground)
-Instant charge meter refill power up (triggers when picked up though)
-Good bosses overall (most have multiple phases)
-Mini-bosses (these are repeated several times though)
-Respawn on the spot w/o upgrades - however the game gives you three power ups when continuing (1 HP, one weapon upgrade and one instant charge meter refill)
-Saturn/PS1: Arcade and special/tweaked mode (some legs have new abilites (dash, double jump) here and levels have been tweaked a bit), optional redbook soundtrack with new tracks, option for voiced briefings (can't be skipped if turned on and they disrupt the music), new CGI intro and ending cutscenes (decent), one extra level on SAT,
Two Crude Dudes/Crude Buster (ARC, 1991/MD, 1992) - Beat 'em up, Side view, 2-player Co-op
-Pick up and throw almost anything (cars, poles, larger vehicles, etc.)
-Throws
-Comical tone
-Post apocalyptic theme
-Fight an evil version of santa claus
-Jump up and climb platforms from below
Xexex/Orius (ARC, 1991) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up, 2-player co-op
-Great variation
-Lifebar and health drops
-R-Type style sub weapon system (pod with up to three octopus-like arms which you can shoot out and call back - attaches to bosses' weak points to kill them efficiently, charge shot)
-Additional homing missile sub weapon
-Various special effects (some pre-rendered sprites, linescrolling, scaling, rotation, raster effects, some huge and multi-jointed sprites, level 4, asteroids bouncing into each other, spinning tunnel segment, parallax)
-Good bosses overall
-Many large and detailed sprites, Pretty impressive music (mostly mono though)
-Upgrades for the main weapon also affects the charge attack
Joe & Mac/Caveman Ninja (ARC, 1991/MD, 1994)(Different on SNES) - 2-player Co-op, Action Platformer
-Alternate paths
-Charge attacks (Shadow Land, R-Type, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, etc.)
-Large and fairly detailed bosses (sometimes made up of several different sprites - one of these falls apart piece by piece as you fight it (mammoth))
-Shows bosses' healthbars
-Ride a dino (one of the river levels) - Golden Axe?
-Two alternate endings (just slightly different joke endings where the girls you saved are replaced by either a fat one or an ugly one - you have to guess by taking one of three paths after the final boss)
-"Surprised" animation at the start of boss fights - Battletoads?
-Not on MD: Clone/spirit weapon (can be shot upwards when charged), map screen, route selection screen sprites (just text against a single color bg here), invincibility power ups (pepper/booze), bomb blasts from chopper bombs, various animations (electrocuted player, squished player, enemy on fire, ash rain, lava area to mammoth cave transition, mini t-rex enemy, some ankylosaurus and skeleton dino patterns
Three Wonders/Wonder 3 Arcade Gears (ARC, 1991/SAT, 1998/PS1?, 1998) - H-Shooter/Platformer/?; 3 games in 1
Pu-Li-Ru-La (ARC, 1991/SAT, 1997) - Beat 'em up, 2-player Co-op; Surreal theme,
Captain Commando (ARC, 1991/PS1, 1998?) -
Total Carnage (ARC, 1991) - TD Run 'n Gun?,
Fatal Fury (ARC, 1991) - Fighting; Impressive music
The King of Dragons (ARC, 1991/SNES, ) - Beat 'em up/Hack 'n Slash, 2-player Co-op
-Some ranged attack characters - Alien Storm, Super Spy, Growl
-Upgradeable sword and shield gear - new ones have different sprites which also show on your avatar
-Good visual variety, Some large and detailed sprites and huge final boss sprite
Robo Army (ARC/NG, 1991) - Beat 'em up?
Vendetta (ARC, 1991) - Beat 'em up, ;
Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams/Cotton Original (ARC/PCE CD etc., 1991/PS1, 1999) - Shoot 'em up; Cutesy theme, JP mythology/horror theme
Sonic Blast Man (ARC, 1991/SNES, 1992) - Beat 'em up
Terminator 2: The Arcade Game (ARC, 1991) - Light Gun Shooter, 2-player Co-op; mounted guns,
Ghost Pilots (ARC, 1991) - Vertical Shoot 'em up;
Spider-Man: The Video Game (ARC, 1991) - Beat 'em up/Action Platformer Hybrid
Knights of the Round (ARC, 1991/SNES?) - ? Hack 'n Slash, 2-player Co-op;
Solvalou (ARC, 1991) - FMV Rail Shooter; 3D graphics, impressive music
Rad Mobile (ARC, 1991) - Racing
Starblade (ARC, 1991) - FMV Rail Shooter; 3D graphics, impressive music
Metal Black (ARC, 1991/SAT, 1996) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Power Spikes (ARC, 1991) - ? Volleyball, Side View;
Thunder Cross II (ARC, 1991) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Armed Police Unit Gallop (ARC, 1991) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Tank Force (ARC, 1991) - Maze Action/Arena Shooter w/ Defense element, Single Screen, Tank-based, 4-Player Co-op (with a minor vs. element in the score ranking)
-Some interesting weapons and power ups (shoot through walls beam, temporarily invincible base walls, time stopper - SMB2?)
-In a few levels fuel tanks can be blown up to destroy nearby enemies,
-Temporary mini form transformation (makes you small and fast like in NSMB DS)
-Fairly impressive music (YM2151 only)
-Pretty fast and intense action (the intensity tends to peter out at the end of a level though)
-Can destroy most enemy shots by shooting them - Spelunker
-Shows number of enemy reinforcements left
-Can hit but not damage your allies (they'll get knocked back slightly though)
-Smart bombs (in the form of air strikes - fairly rare and they trigger when touched though) - Defender
-Temporary shield/invincibility power up - Gradius
-Random element to which power ups you get and where they spawn - sometimes you get a great weapon or 1-2 air strikes at one point in a level and sometimes just points instead
1992:
Virtua Racing/Virtua Formula (ARC, 1992), Racing, 8-Player Vs. (via link)
-Fully 3D
-Great framerate and pretty good draw distance for the time
-Rotating course maps
-Four camera angles
-Automatic or manual gear shift
-Skid marks, grand prix mode (longer races), relatively complex backgrounds with some NPCs, impressive music
Golden Axe: Revenge Of Death-Adder (ARC, 1992) - 4-player Co-op BEU, Some platforming segments
-Manually rescue people and some creatures from cells
-Catch enemies while they're talking or eating (the latter will throw their food on the floor)
-Torch switches in dark segments
-Optional switch puzzles
-Eat squid tentacles after cutting them off
-Some branching paths
-Beaten enemies leave corpses
-Good visual variation and overall animation
-New and better mounts (can jump attack, can pick up stuff while mounted - even the small turret weapons!)
-Pretty good use of scaling effects overall, Pretty nice spell effects
-Co-op move (go near a stunned enemy and attack at the same time)
-Mounts carry over to the next level
-GA1: Running tackles (GA1), Ranking system (same as in the prequel)
Gun Buster (ARC, 1992) - FPS, 2.5D (Mode 7-ish), 2-Player Co-op
-Shows a basic map of the level in the briefing
WIP
Fixeight (ARC, 1992) - TD View Run 'n Gun (can't jump), A couple of short shoot 'em up segments (you're riding a hoverbike and can tackle enemies - also if you lose a life the bike crashes into any enemy above your avatar), 3-Player Co-op, Spiritual sequel to Outzone, Time limit on levels (starts if you stand still too much, not too bad on Normal and Hard)
-8 different playable characters (different weapons and endings), Can switch character after using a credit
-Many large and detailed sprites (several mini-boss like enemies in each level)
-Some cool weapons like the ricocheting projectile for the robot (the sci-fi morning star weapon returns but it's worse here)
-Strafing via one of the weapons for each char (it still locks your aiming to upwards though like in Jackal) - Bullfight, Gun.Smoke
-More numerous and more aggressive enemies on Hard and above
-Makes good use of the environments for its level designs (bridges, twisting corridors, moving and re-appearing platforms, extending laser trap enemies)
-Very good enemy variation
-Some nice visual touches like the trees in level 4 and most explosions, Pretty nice intro cutscene
-Partially destructible environment (some bosses also have several destructible parts) - Shoot Out, Rampage
-Some good bosses (most of them go down rather quickly when upgraded)
-Some alternate paths through some levels
-Some hidden items?
-Respawn on the spot (lose all weapon and speed upgrades and all but three smart bombs but you regain one weapon upgrade and auto-use a free smart bomb when respawning)
-Basic hidden rank system (enemy projectiles become very fast if you don't die for several levels)
Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (ARC, 1992) - Fighting, 2-Player vs.
-Speed settings
WIP
Ninja Commando (ARC/NG, 1992) - TD View Run 'n Gun
Asterix (ARC, 1992) - Beat 'em up, 2-player Co-op
Wild West C.O.W. Boys (ARC, 1992) - Run 'n Gun, 3-player Co-op
R-Type Leo (ARC, 1992) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up, 2-player co-op
-Charge attacks return and they're homing here (your ship sends out up to two gun drones when firing it off)
-Good variation in level hazards (falling and partially crumbling platforms, moving platforms and "elevators", laser alarm traps, etc.),
-Some cool weapons (green laser - some of the beams home in on enemies on the vertical plane - blue ricochet spread beam)
-Some mini-bosses
-Some alternate paths through parts of levels
-Good bosses overall (some have multiple phases, the final one is kind of easy after the first phase)
-Some large and detailed sprites, Pretty good animation, Pretty good but short intro cutscene
-Pretty impressive music (YM2151+sampler used for music and samples for sfx, house/dance style)
-The gun drones aren't shooting nor solid while detached from your ship here like the pod in previous games (they could've let you pick between two ships)
-Respawn on the spot (lose all but one weapon upgrade as well as all speed however)
Viewpoint (ARC, 1992/MD, 1994) - Isometric Shoot 'em up
-Pretty good fake 3D/polygonal effect on sprites, Some large sprites
-Cool environments with traps and large creatures moving around
-Good bosses overall (some with multiple forms)
-Three types of bombs
-Gun drones that block regular enemy shots - Granada
-Charge shot - R-Type
-Occasionally great sounding music (better on Neo Geo overall)
-Hidden warp from lvl 1 to lvl 2 (beat the spinning "mini-boss" in lvl 1) - SMB
Heated Barrel (ARC, 1992) - Tilted View Run 'n Gun, 4-Player Co-op
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (ARC, 1992) - On Foot Rail Shooter (Scrolling Cabal-like/Proto-TPS)
X-Men (ARC, 1992) - Beat 'em up, 4-Player Co-op (there's also a 6-player cabinet with double screen width)
-Large and pretty well animated sprites, Huge explosions, Graphics are true to the cartoon/comic at the time
-Two kinds of jump kick (attack at the height of your jump to do the faster one)
-Six different playable characters (storm, wolverine, colossus, cyclops, dazzler, nightcrawler)
-Some memorable quotes (welcome to die)
-Traps also hit enemies - systemic element/consistency
-You can interrupt bosses during their intro speech
-Can hit enemies when they're down - Pit-Fighter?
Nitro Ball/Gun Ball (ARC, 1992) - Run 'n Gun w/ Pinball elements (levels look like they partially take place on pinball boards and feature some appropriate gimmicks, at one point per level you can temporariyl transform into a ball and knock things over by picking up a power up), Top Down view, 3-player co-op (check the options), Jackpot mini-game (seems hard to win at), Level timers (not too bad but you need to keep moving)
-Some large and detailed sprites
-Good bosses
-One or more optional timed challenge in each level (often similar to a mini-boss fight, you get a lot more points and sometimes power ups if you finish them)
-Optional paths in some levels (need to unlock them - sometimes not intuitive how to do it)
-Levels which scroll in more than one direction (Mercs)
-Pretty impressive FM music (YM2151+sampler chip)
-Pretty nice artwork between levels
-Shows bosses' health bars
-Timed special weapons (similar to Fantasy Zone - the timer (20 secs) is increased by picking up more of the same weapon)
-Respawn on the spot (lose your current special weapon and all bombs though you also gain two bombs)
Boogie Wings (ARC, 1992) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Last Resort (ARC/NG, 1992)
Warriors of Fate/Tenchi o Kurau II/Sanguozhi II (ARC, 1992) 2-player
Undercover Cops (ARC, 1992) - Beat 'em up, 2-Player Co-op
Bomberman World (ARC, 1992)? - Maze Action/Arena Combat
Aero Fighters/Sonic Wings (ARC/NG, 1992)
Fatal Fury 2 & Fatal Fury Special (ARC/NG, 1992)
Galactic Storm (ARC, 1992) - Rail Shooter; Impressive music
Bucky O'Hare (ARC, 1992)(Different) - Beat 'em up, Tilted view
Truxton II (ARC, 1992) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op
-Very good enemy variation overall
-Homing beam weapon
-Four (?) levels of upgrades
-Some very large and detailed sprites, Pretty good animation (shows larger enemy ships gradually falling apart as you damage them, some smaller ships moving in the far background of some levels)
-Fairly impressive music (OPM/YM2151+sampler chip)
-Bombs w/ some skill required as they do more forward damage and don't cover the entire screen's length
-Pretty good bosses overall (bosses tend to have multiple destructible parts (however it seems difficulty to pick off individual parts for most of them - for example the level 3 boss's gun drones take about as long to kill as the boss itself), some have more than one phase - it's actually easier to wait out the third boss but it takes several minutes)
-Can destroy a few enemy bullets - Spelunker
-One hidden power up container (the raisin man (?) from Zero Wing called Pipiru - level 5)
-Several mini-bosses per level - Truxton 1?
-The game punishes you for not dying with a rank system (more aggressive enemies and bosses, fewer bombs) and it's near impossible to beat in one life unless you use your bombs and weapons exactly right
Outrunners (ARC, 1992)
Knuckle Heads (ARC, 1992)
Puyo Puyo (ARC/MD, 1992) - Falling Block/Matching Puzzle, 2-player vs. mode (5 levels of handicap/starting speed setting)
-Attack move ("refugee beans"/rocks appear on the opponent's board when you clear enough beans in a row and combos produce more rocks)
-Pretty impressive music, Good animation
-Vertical scaling effect on the title logo
-Video tutorial (goes by quite fast but shows some advanced techniques for combos and rock clearing)
-The beans start falling faster and faster after a period of time and end up falling too fast to keep up with after a few minutes (in vs mode it takes a while though) - Tetris?
-Decent characters for a puzzle game and each tends to have a different tactic when playing against them
-4 chain combos are OP for vs mode (in later games there's offsetting so that if there already are a lot of beans on the board getting attacked then the attack is less severe, in scenario mode the super high speed from level 7 onwards makes it hard enough to pull off that it doesn't matter as much though)
Mortal Kombat (ARC, 1992)
-Digitized sprites (Mortal Kombat, Reikai Doushi)
-Air juggling by stringing various moves together (jump kick or uppercut to start) - Can do it once at times in SF2
-Gory finishing moves (fatalities)
-Block button+easier to counter after blocking but you also take minor damage while blocking
-First hidden character in a fighting game (Reptile)
Arabian Magic (ARC, 1992)
Lethal Enforcers (ARC, 1992)
Super Chase: Criminal Termination (ARC, 1992)
Fighter & Attacker (ARC, 1992)
Grid Seeker: Project Storm Hammer (ARC, 1992)
Art of Fighting (ARC/NG, 1992)
Exvania (ARC, 1992)
Cosmo Gang: The Video (ARC, 1992)
B.Rap Boys (ARC, 1992)
Soldam (ARC, 1992)
Warrior Blade: Rastan Saga Episode III (ARC, 1991) - Beat 'em up/Hack 'n Slash, 3-Player?;
Blazeon (ARC, 1992)
Hexion (ARC, 1992)
Dragon Gun/Divine Flame (ARC, 1992)
Mutation Nation (ARC/NG, 1992)
Baseball Stars 2 (ARC/NG, 1992)
Dark Seal II/Wizard Fire (ARC, 1992) - Maze Action/Hack 'n Slash w/ some AA elements (D&D-inspired world and minor gameplay elements (status effects, item inventory, spells, classes), Strength/speed/defense and temporary shield power ups, no shops, no puzzles, no hub map), Isometric view, 2-Player Co-op
-5 different playable characters (knight - stronger physical attack? and disease immunity, wizard - stronger magic, elf - higher movement speed, dwarf - confusion immunity and boomerang projectile attack, bard - poison immunity and long reach)
-Some large (even larger than in DS1) and detailed sprites, Pretty nice boss death animations overall
-Character select after using a credit
-Some good bosses (first dragon, desert witch)
-More interesting and varied levels overall
-8-way aiming and movement - Gauntlet
-Temporary transformations (same as in DS1), Transformations last almost half as long as in DS1 but are a bit more powerful (you are also invincible during them) and can be used against bosses (does little damage though)
-Later bosses appear to taunt/intimidate you during some levels (sometimes the current level's boss) - Shinobi, ESWAT
-Drop current items upon death so that you get a chance to pick them up (more even difficulty)
-Mini-bosses in most levels
-Hilariously cheesy cutscene dialogue
-Adds a basic combo attack for the elf and bard (mash the button for a stronger and wider attack to activate that is repeated for as long as you can keep mashing; the knight instead spins his morning star if you hold the button down))
-Fairly impressive YM2151 music
Bakuretsu Quiz Ma-Q Dai Bouken (ARC, 1992)
Final Lap 3 (ARC, 1992)
Cosmo Gang the Puzzle (ARC, 1992)
Super World Stadium '92 (ARC, 1992)
Zing Zing Zip (ARC, 1992)
Lucky & Wild (ARC, 1992)
Stadium Cross (ARC, 1992)
Andro Dunos (ARC/NG, 1992)
Arabian Fight (ARC, 1992)
Holosseum (ARC, 1992)
Explosive Breaker (ARC, 1992)
Quiz & Dragons: Capcom Quiz Game (ARC, 1992)
Desert Breaker (ARC, 1992)
Super World Court (ARC, 1992)
SD Gundam Neo Battle (ARC, 1992)
Riding Fight (ARC, 1992)
Virtua Racing/Virtua Formula (ARC, 1992), Racing, 8-Player Vs. (via link)
-Fully 3D
-Great framerate and pretty good draw distance for the time
-Rotating course maps
-Four camera angles
-Automatic or manual gear shift
-Skid marks, grand prix mode (longer races), relatively complex backgrounds with some NPCs, impressive music
Golden Axe: Revenge Of Death-Adder (ARC, 1992) - 4-player Co-op BEU, Some platforming segments
-Manually rescue people and some creatures from cells
-Catch enemies while they're talking or eating (the latter will throw their food on the floor)
-Torch switches in dark segments
-Optional switch puzzles
-Eat squid tentacles after cutting them off
-Some branching paths
-Beaten enemies leave corpses
-Good visual variation and overall animation
-New and better mounts (can jump attack, can pick up stuff while mounted - even the small turret weapons!)
-Pretty good use of scaling effects overall, Pretty nice spell effects
-Co-op move (go near a stunned enemy and attack at the same time)
-Mounts carry over to the next level
-GA1: Running tackles (GA1), Ranking system (same as in the prequel)
Gun Buster (ARC, 1992) - FPS, 2.5D (Mode 7-ish), 2-Player Co-op
-Shows a basic map of the level in the briefing
WIP
Fixeight (ARC, 1992) - TD View Run 'n Gun (can't jump), A couple of short shoot 'em up segments (you're riding a hoverbike and can tackle enemies - also if you lose a life the bike crashes into any enemy above your avatar), 3-Player Co-op, Spiritual sequel to Outzone, Time limit on levels (starts if you stand still too much, not too bad on Normal and Hard)
-8 different playable characters (different weapons and endings), Can switch character after using a credit
-Many large and detailed sprites (several mini-boss like enemies in each level)
-Some cool weapons like the ricocheting projectile for the robot (the sci-fi morning star weapon returns but it's worse here)
-Strafing via one of the weapons for each char (it still locks your aiming to upwards though like in Jackal) - Bullfight, Gun.Smoke
-More numerous and more aggressive enemies on Hard and above
-Makes good use of the environments for its level designs (bridges, twisting corridors, moving and re-appearing platforms, extending laser trap enemies)
-Very good enemy variation
-Some nice visual touches like the trees in level 4 and most explosions, Pretty nice intro cutscene
-Partially destructible environment (some bosses also have several destructible parts) - Shoot Out, Rampage
-Some good bosses (most of them go down rather quickly when upgraded)
-Some alternate paths through some levels
-Some hidden items?
-Respawn on the spot (lose all weapon and speed upgrades and all but three smart bombs but you regain one weapon upgrade and auto-use a free smart bomb when respawning)
-Basic hidden rank system (enemy projectiles become very fast if you don't die for several levels)
Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (ARC, 1992) - Fighting, 2-Player vs.
-Speed settings
WIP
Ninja Commando (ARC/NG, 1992) - TD View Run 'n Gun
Asterix (ARC, 1992) - Beat 'em up, 2-player Co-op
Wild West C.O.W. Boys (ARC, 1992) - Run 'n Gun, 3-player Co-op
R-Type Leo (ARC, 1992) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up, 2-player co-op
-Charge attacks return and they're homing here (your ship sends out up to two gun drones when firing it off)
-Good variation in level hazards (falling and partially crumbling platforms, moving platforms and "elevators", laser alarm traps, etc.),
-Some cool weapons (green laser - some of the beams home in on enemies on the vertical plane - blue ricochet spread beam)
-Some mini-bosses
-Some alternate paths through parts of levels
-Good bosses overall (some have multiple phases, the final one is kind of easy after the first phase)
-Some large and detailed sprites, Pretty good animation, Pretty good but short intro cutscene
-Pretty impressive music (YM2151+sampler used for music and samples for sfx, house/dance style)
-The gun drones aren't shooting nor solid while detached from your ship here like the pod in previous games (they could've let you pick between two ships)
-Respawn on the spot (lose all but one weapon upgrade as well as all speed however)
Viewpoint (ARC, 1992/MD, 1994) - Isometric Shoot 'em up
-Pretty good fake 3D/polygonal effect on sprites, Some large sprites
-Cool environments with traps and large creatures moving around
-Good bosses overall (some with multiple forms)
-Three types of bombs
-Gun drones that block regular enemy shots - Granada
-Charge shot - R-Type
-Occasionally great sounding music (better on Neo Geo overall)
-Hidden warp from lvl 1 to lvl 2 (beat the spinning "mini-boss" in lvl 1) - SMB
Heated Barrel (ARC, 1992) - Tilted View Run 'n Gun, 4-Player Co-op
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (ARC, 1992) - On Foot Rail Shooter (Scrolling Cabal-like/Proto-TPS)
X-Men (ARC, 1992) - Beat 'em up, 4-Player Co-op (there's also a 6-player cabinet with double screen width)
-Large and pretty well animated sprites, Huge explosions, Graphics are true to the cartoon/comic at the time
-Two kinds of jump kick (attack at the height of your jump to do the faster one)
-Six different playable characters (storm, wolverine, colossus, cyclops, dazzler, nightcrawler)
-Some memorable quotes (welcome to die)
-Traps also hit enemies - systemic element/consistency
-You can interrupt bosses during their intro speech
-Can hit enemies when they're down - Pit-Fighter?
Nitro Ball/Gun Ball (ARC, 1992) - Run 'n Gun w/ Pinball elements (levels look like they partially take place on pinball boards and feature some appropriate gimmicks, at one point per level you can temporariyl transform into a ball and knock things over by picking up a power up), Top Down view, 3-player co-op (check the options), Jackpot mini-game (seems hard to win at), Level timers (not too bad but you need to keep moving)
-Some large and detailed sprites
-Good bosses
-One or more optional timed challenge in each level (often similar to a mini-boss fight, you get a lot more points and sometimes power ups if you finish them)
-Optional paths in some levels (need to unlock them - sometimes not intuitive how to do it)
-Levels which scroll in more than one direction (Mercs)
-Pretty impressive FM music (YM2151+sampler chip)
-Pretty nice artwork between levels
-Shows bosses' health bars
-Timed special weapons (similar to Fantasy Zone - the timer (20 secs) is increased by picking up more of the same weapon)
-Respawn on the spot (lose your current special weapon and all bombs though you also gain two bombs)
Boogie Wings (ARC, 1992) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Last Resort (ARC/NG, 1992)
Warriors of Fate/Tenchi o Kurau II/Sanguozhi II (ARC, 1992) 2-player
Undercover Cops (ARC, 1992) - Beat 'em up, 2-Player Co-op
Bomberman World (ARC, 1992)? - Maze Action/Arena Combat
Aero Fighters/Sonic Wings (ARC/NG, 1992)
Fatal Fury 2 & Fatal Fury Special (ARC/NG, 1992)
Galactic Storm (ARC, 1992) - Rail Shooter; Impressive music
Bucky O'Hare (ARC, 1992)(Different) - Beat 'em up, Tilted view
Truxton II (ARC, 1992) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op
-Very good enemy variation overall
-Homing beam weapon
-Four (?) levels of upgrades
-Some very large and detailed sprites, Pretty good animation (shows larger enemy ships gradually falling apart as you damage them, some smaller ships moving in the far background of some levels)
-Fairly impressive music (OPM/YM2151+sampler chip)
-Bombs w/ some skill required as they do more forward damage and don't cover the entire screen's length
-Pretty good bosses overall (bosses tend to have multiple destructible parts (however it seems difficulty to pick off individual parts for most of them - for example the level 3 boss's gun drones take about as long to kill as the boss itself), some have more than one phase - it's actually easier to wait out the third boss but it takes several minutes)
-Can destroy a few enemy bullets - Spelunker
-One hidden power up container (the raisin man (?) from Zero Wing called Pipiru - level 5)
-Several mini-bosses per level - Truxton 1?
-The game punishes you for not dying with a rank system (more aggressive enemies and bosses, fewer bombs) and it's near impossible to beat in one life unless you use your bombs and weapons exactly right
Outrunners (ARC, 1992)
Knuckle Heads (ARC, 1992)
Puyo Puyo (ARC/MD, 1992) - Falling Block/Matching Puzzle, 2-player vs. mode (5 levels of handicap/starting speed setting)
-Attack move ("refugee beans"/rocks appear on the opponent's board when you clear enough beans in a row and combos produce more rocks)
-Pretty impressive music, Good animation
-Vertical scaling effect on the title logo
-Video tutorial (goes by quite fast but shows some advanced techniques for combos and rock clearing)
-The beans start falling faster and faster after a period of time and end up falling too fast to keep up with after a few minutes (in vs mode it takes a while though) - Tetris?
-Decent characters for a puzzle game and each tends to have a different tactic when playing against them
-4 chain combos are OP for vs mode (in later games there's offsetting so that if there already are a lot of beans on the board getting attacked then the attack is less severe, in scenario mode the super high speed from level 7 onwards makes it hard enough to pull off that it doesn't matter as much though)
Mortal Kombat (ARC, 1992)
-Digitized sprites (Mortal Kombat, Reikai Doushi)
-Air juggling by stringing various moves together (jump kick or uppercut to start) - Can do it once at times in SF2
-Gory finishing moves (fatalities)
-Block button+easier to counter after blocking but you also take minor damage while blocking
-First hidden character in a fighting game (Reptile)
Arabian Magic (ARC, 1992)
Lethal Enforcers (ARC, 1992)
Super Chase: Criminal Termination (ARC, 1992)
Fighter & Attacker (ARC, 1992)
Grid Seeker: Project Storm Hammer (ARC, 1992)
Art of Fighting (ARC/NG, 1992)
Exvania (ARC, 1992)
Cosmo Gang: The Video (ARC, 1992)
B.Rap Boys (ARC, 1992)
Soldam (ARC, 1992)
Warrior Blade: Rastan Saga Episode III (ARC, 1991) - Beat 'em up/Hack 'n Slash, 3-Player?;
Blazeon (ARC, 1992)
Hexion (ARC, 1992)
Dragon Gun/Divine Flame (ARC, 1992)
Mutation Nation (ARC/NG, 1992)
Baseball Stars 2 (ARC/NG, 1992)
Dark Seal II/Wizard Fire (ARC, 1992) - Maze Action/Hack 'n Slash w/ some AA elements (D&D-inspired world and minor gameplay elements (status effects, item inventory, spells, classes), Strength/speed/defense and temporary shield power ups, no shops, no puzzles, no hub map), Isometric view, 2-Player Co-op
-5 different playable characters (knight - stronger physical attack? and disease immunity, wizard - stronger magic, elf - higher movement speed, dwarf - confusion immunity and boomerang projectile attack, bard - poison immunity and long reach)
-Some large (even larger than in DS1) and detailed sprites, Pretty nice boss death animations overall
-Character select after using a credit
-Some good bosses (first dragon, desert witch)
-More interesting and varied levels overall
-8-way aiming and movement - Gauntlet
-Temporary transformations (same as in DS1), Transformations last almost half as long as in DS1 but are a bit more powerful (you are also invincible during them) and can be used against bosses (does little damage though)
-Later bosses appear to taunt/intimidate you during some levels (sometimes the current level's boss) - Shinobi, ESWAT
-Drop current items upon death so that you get a chance to pick them up (more even difficulty)
-Mini-bosses in most levels
-Hilariously cheesy cutscene dialogue
-Adds a basic combo attack for the elf and bard (mash the button for a stronger and wider attack to activate that is repeated for as long as you can keep mashing; the knight instead spins his morning star if you hold the button down))
-Fairly impressive YM2151 music
Bakuretsu Quiz Ma-Q Dai Bouken (ARC, 1992)
Final Lap 3 (ARC, 1992)
Cosmo Gang the Puzzle (ARC, 1992)
Super World Stadium '92 (ARC, 1992)
Zing Zing Zip (ARC, 1992)
Lucky & Wild (ARC, 1992)
Stadium Cross (ARC, 1992)
Andro Dunos (ARC/NG, 1992)
Arabian Fight (ARC, 1992)
Holosseum (ARC, 1992)
Explosive Breaker (ARC, 1992)
Quiz & Dragons: Capcom Quiz Game (ARC, 1992)
Desert Breaker (ARC, 1992)
Super World Court (ARC, 1992)
SD Gundam Neo Battle (ARC, 1992)
Riding Fight (ARC, 1992)
1993:
Virtua Fighter (ARC, 1993) - 3D Fighting, 2-Player Vs.
-Replay feature (skippable)
-Can hit a knocked out opponent with a special jump attack
-Can side-roll after being knocked down
-Good animation for the time
-Alternate outfits (hold up)
-Basic lighting effects and face textures
-Decent character roster (smaller than in SF2 though at 10 chars)
-Can block some throws
-Some unintentionally (?) funny moves and sfx - check out the facial expressions
-Ring outs
-Blocking and throws (SF2)
-Pretty impressive music
-Metal character texture (later used in Mario 64)
-Probably the first game to use motion capture
Daytona USA (ARC, 1993 - limited release, , full release in march of 1994) - Racing, 8-Player vs. via link
-Car damage
-Over the top physics
-Drifting
-Great framerate and pretty good draw distance for the time
-Good course variation and memorable courses
-Grand prix mode (longer races; VR), four camera angles (VR)
-Automatic or manual gear shift (VR)
-Skid marks (VR)
-Textured surfaces and reflection effect on car windows
-Relatively complex backgrounds
-Impressive sound and music
-Course maps (no longer rotating though)
-Hilarious soundtrack and funny commentary/partner voice
-Up to 40 cars in a race
-Rumble feature (crashes only)
-Dynamic difficulty balancing (rubberbanding)
Cyber Sled (ARC, 1993) - 3D Arena Fighting/Futuristic Tank Combat (2D explosions), 2-Player vs.
-Unusual twin stick controls (each stick controls one side/wheel of the sled (similar to a bulldozer) - later used in Virtual On)
-Strafing
-Training mode
-Semi-homing missiles
-Six different characters
-Impressive music
-No continues in SP
Ridge Racer (ARC, 1993) - Racing; 3D Graphics
Saturday Night Slam Masters (ARC, 1993) - Wrestling
Super Street Fighter II (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
Star Wars Arcade (ARC, 1993) - Space Combat Sim, FP and TP views, 2-Player Asymmetric Co-op; 3D Graphics, indoors shoot the core segments,
Ninja Baseball Bat Man (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
Samurai Shodown (ARC, 1993) - Weapon-based Fighting
-Introduced the Rage Gauge/POW bar/Anger Gauge to Fighting games (builds up as you take damage and when full you do more damage for a limited time or until you perform a super special move) - possibly inspired the desperation attacks in FF6 or the limit breaks in FF7
Cadillacs & Dinosaurs (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
NBA Jam (ARC, 1993) - Sports, Arcade-style
Batsugun (ARC, 1993) - Vertical Shoot 'em up/Bullet Hell, 2-Player Co-op
Mystic Warriors (ARC, 1993) - Run 'n Gun w/ several auto-scrolling segments, 4-Player Co-op, Side view
-Dodge move (roll). No invincibility time during one (can roll through most enemies though)
-5 playable characters (one of them (randomly picked?) gets kidnapped after the char select screen though)
-Pretty detailed difficulty options (8 levels, lifebar (up to 4 HP, 3 is default), lives per credit, coin worth)
-Nice boss introductions and level transitions (unskippable though)
-Very good variation overall
-Mini-bosses in most levels
-Comical tone (Sunset Riders)
-Good underwater segment
-Context sensitive melee attack (Shinobi)
-Can destroy smaller projectiles with the melee attack (rarely useful since it's hard to predict when a slash will happen at the right time to block something)
-Respawn on the spot after continuing (pretty hard to recover later on since weapon power ups are somewhat rare and don't appear during boss fights)
Fatal Fury Special (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
Mortal Kombat II (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
Raiden II (ARC, 1993) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op
-Easier to recover after death (the ship drops a couple of power ups)
-Very intense action
-More interesting bosses and they don't go down as quickly to close range fire
-One new weapon (homing laser) and bomb (spread)
-Good variation
-Fairy is still there (hidden somewhere in the background of some stages)
-Difficulty options (v. easy-hard - much slower enemy shots on easy)
-"Fusion" mode (combo spread attack in 2-player when one ship is placed right above the other)
-Game continues in same area after beating a boss - Twin Hawk or Truxton?
-Respawn and continue on the spot
The Punisher (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
SpinMaster (ARC, 1993) - Action Platformer/Run 'n Gun
Violent Storm (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
Gaiapolis (ARC, 1993) - TD View Hack 'n Slash/Beat 'em up
SegaSonic the Hedgehog (ARC, 1993) - Isometric Platformer; Trackball controls, whole game is a sequence of chase segments
Dungeon Magic (ARC, 1993) - Isometric Beat 'em up/Hack 'n Slash
Hyper Duel (ARC, 1993) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op
Cybattler (ARC, 1993) - Vertical Shoot 'em up/Hack 'n Slash
In the Hunt (ARC, 1993) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op
Metamorphic Force (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
Puzzle & Action: Tant-R - Mini-Game Compilation/Party Game
Mahou Daisakusen/Sorcer Striker (ARC, 1993) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player co-op (second player can join in at any point)
-Fast and intense action overall (Aleste/Spriggan-like gameplay, parts of level 5 is a bit slow)
-4 different player ships with a different pilot for each (fighter, witch, samurai, necromancer; different sub weapon projectiles and speed - necromancer seems the slowest followed by the witch)
-Many mini-bosses
-Many upgrades for the main shot? (grab the coins)
-Pretty good variety
-Fantasy/sci-fi theme - unusual for the genre but very similar to Spriggan
-One cool weapon (homing flamethrower, works differently for the necro (fast forward beams that go straight sideways as they cross paths horizontally with an enemy)
-Good visual variety, Various large and detailed sprites, Nice explosions and feedback from hitting enemies
-Can pick apart most bosses to gain more points
-Difficulty options (easy-very hard - more aggressive enemies and sometimes harder patterns on hard, lives per credit, cost per credit
-Good bosses overall (easy first one)
-Some interesting level design (castle where the walls move and attempt to crush you+some breakable blocks lining up to block your path - beating the mini-boss causes a dam to break and the level to get flooded, one coliseum-themed level which is basically a mini-boss rush (new bosses only) and with a crowd that throws power ups at you after each victory (also get more if you did well), one recurring mini-boss that returns after the finale - similar to Soldier Blade except not as well executed here, enemies that tackle blocks into you on level 5)
-Unique music track for each boss
-Smart bombs (gain a 2+ per level, eats up bullets during its blast, regain 3 bombs after death) - Defemder
-Gun drones (2) but can't change their formation - Gradius
-Touching walls doesn't hurt - Night Striker?
-Can make the gun drones spin around your ship once by doing by turning horizontally after moving in one direction for about half the screen but it doesn't seem to do anything (doesn't destroy either destructible or non-destructible projectiles) - could've been a tricky to use defensive maneuver?
Muscle Bomber Duo (ARC, 1993) - Wrestling
3 Count Bout (ARC, 1993) - Arena Fighting/Tilted View Fighting
Monster Maulers (ARC, 1993) - Fighting, 2-Player Co-op vs. CPU; Boss-like fights
Fighter's History (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
World Heroes 2 (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
Sengoku Ace (ARC, 1993) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Night Slashers (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up; Horror theme
Sengoku 2 (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
Eco Fighters (ARC, 1993) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Alien 3: The Gun (ARC, 1993) - Light Gun Shooter
Street Fighter II: Rainbow Edition (ARC, 1993) - Fighting; Switch character during a match, over the top broken mechanics
Dark Edge (ARC, 1993) - Mode 7-style 2.5D Fighting
Chou-Jikku Yousai: Macross II (ARC, 1993) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Power Instinct (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
Grind Stormer (ARC, 1993) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Martial Champion (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
Knuckle Bash (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
Crayon Shin-Chan Orato Asobo (ARC, 1993) - Mini-Game Compilation
Dragon Ball Z (ARC, 1993) - Fighting; Flight moves
Bomb Jack Twin (ARC, 1993) - Single Screen Action Platformer, 2-Player Co-op;
Superior Soldiers (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
Zero Team (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
Survival Arts (ARC, 1993) - Fighting, Mortal Kombat-like;
Magical Cat Adventure (ARC, 1993) - ? Platformer
Space Invaders DX (ARC, 1993) - Single Screen Shoot 'em up; Taito character cameos
Tinkle Pit (ARC, 1993) - Maze Action
Ultimate Tennis (ARC, 1993) - Sports; Pre-rendered graphics
Virtua Fighter (ARC, 1993) - 3D Fighting, 2-Player Vs.
-Replay feature (skippable)
-Can hit a knocked out opponent with a special jump attack
-Can side-roll after being knocked down
-Good animation for the time
-Alternate outfits (hold up)
-Basic lighting effects and face textures
-Decent character roster (smaller than in SF2 though at 10 chars)
-Can block some throws
-Some unintentionally (?) funny moves and sfx - check out the facial expressions
-Ring outs
-Blocking and throws (SF2)
-Pretty impressive music
-Metal character texture (later used in Mario 64)
-Probably the first game to use motion capture
Daytona USA (ARC, 1993 - limited release, , full release in march of 1994) - Racing, 8-Player vs. via link
-Car damage
-Over the top physics
-Drifting
-Great framerate and pretty good draw distance for the time
-Good course variation and memorable courses
-Grand prix mode (longer races; VR), four camera angles (VR)
-Automatic or manual gear shift (VR)
-Skid marks (VR)
-Textured surfaces and reflection effect on car windows
-Relatively complex backgrounds
-Impressive sound and music
-Course maps (no longer rotating though)
-Hilarious soundtrack and funny commentary/partner voice
-Up to 40 cars in a race
-Rumble feature (crashes only)
-Dynamic difficulty balancing (rubberbanding)
Cyber Sled (ARC, 1993) - 3D Arena Fighting/Futuristic Tank Combat (2D explosions), 2-Player vs.
-Unusual twin stick controls (each stick controls one side/wheel of the sled (similar to a bulldozer) - later used in Virtual On)
-Strafing
-Training mode
-Semi-homing missiles
-Six different characters
-Impressive music
-No continues in SP
Ridge Racer (ARC, 1993) - Racing; 3D Graphics
Saturday Night Slam Masters (ARC, 1993) - Wrestling
Super Street Fighter II (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
Star Wars Arcade (ARC, 1993) - Space Combat Sim, FP and TP views, 2-Player Asymmetric Co-op; 3D Graphics, indoors shoot the core segments,
Ninja Baseball Bat Man (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
Samurai Shodown (ARC, 1993) - Weapon-based Fighting
-Introduced the Rage Gauge/POW bar/Anger Gauge to Fighting games (builds up as you take damage and when full you do more damage for a limited time or until you perform a super special move) - possibly inspired the desperation attacks in FF6 or the limit breaks in FF7
Cadillacs & Dinosaurs (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
NBA Jam (ARC, 1993) - Sports, Arcade-style
Batsugun (ARC, 1993) - Vertical Shoot 'em up/Bullet Hell, 2-Player Co-op
Mystic Warriors (ARC, 1993) - Run 'n Gun w/ several auto-scrolling segments, 4-Player Co-op, Side view
-Dodge move (roll). No invincibility time during one (can roll through most enemies though)
-5 playable characters (one of them (randomly picked?) gets kidnapped after the char select screen though)
-Pretty detailed difficulty options (8 levels, lifebar (up to 4 HP, 3 is default), lives per credit, coin worth)
-Nice boss introductions and level transitions (unskippable though)
-Very good variation overall
-Mini-bosses in most levels
-Comical tone (Sunset Riders)
-Good underwater segment
-Context sensitive melee attack (Shinobi)
-Can destroy smaller projectiles with the melee attack (rarely useful since it's hard to predict when a slash will happen at the right time to block something)
-Respawn on the spot after continuing (pretty hard to recover later on since weapon power ups are somewhat rare and don't appear during boss fights)
Fatal Fury Special (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
Mortal Kombat II (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
Raiden II (ARC, 1993) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op
-Easier to recover after death (the ship drops a couple of power ups)
-Very intense action
-More interesting bosses and they don't go down as quickly to close range fire
-One new weapon (homing laser) and bomb (spread)
-Good variation
-Fairy is still there (hidden somewhere in the background of some stages)
-Difficulty options (v. easy-hard - much slower enemy shots on easy)
-"Fusion" mode (combo spread attack in 2-player when one ship is placed right above the other)
-Game continues in same area after beating a boss - Twin Hawk or Truxton?
-Respawn and continue on the spot
The Punisher (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
SpinMaster (ARC, 1993) - Action Platformer/Run 'n Gun
Violent Storm (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
Gaiapolis (ARC, 1993) - TD View Hack 'n Slash/Beat 'em up
SegaSonic the Hedgehog (ARC, 1993) - Isometric Platformer; Trackball controls, whole game is a sequence of chase segments
Dungeon Magic (ARC, 1993) - Isometric Beat 'em up/Hack 'n Slash
Hyper Duel (ARC, 1993) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op
Cybattler (ARC, 1993) - Vertical Shoot 'em up/Hack 'n Slash
In the Hunt (ARC, 1993) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op
Metamorphic Force (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
Puzzle & Action: Tant-R - Mini-Game Compilation/Party Game
Mahou Daisakusen/Sorcer Striker (ARC, 1993) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player co-op (second player can join in at any point)
-Fast and intense action overall (Aleste/Spriggan-like gameplay, parts of level 5 is a bit slow)
-4 different player ships with a different pilot for each (fighter, witch, samurai, necromancer; different sub weapon projectiles and speed - necromancer seems the slowest followed by the witch)
-Many mini-bosses
-Many upgrades for the main shot? (grab the coins)
-Pretty good variety
-Fantasy/sci-fi theme - unusual for the genre but very similar to Spriggan
-One cool weapon (homing flamethrower, works differently for the necro (fast forward beams that go straight sideways as they cross paths horizontally with an enemy)
-Good visual variety, Various large and detailed sprites, Nice explosions and feedback from hitting enemies
-Can pick apart most bosses to gain more points
-Difficulty options (easy-very hard - more aggressive enemies and sometimes harder patterns on hard, lives per credit, cost per credit
-Good bosses overall (easy first one)
-Some interesting level design (castle where the walls move and attempt to crush you+some breakable blocks lining up to block your path - beating the mini-boss causes a dam to break and the level to get flooded, one coliseum-themed level which is basically a mini-boss rush (new bosses only) and with a crowd that throws power ups at you after each victory (also get more if you did well), one recurring mini-boss that returns after the finale - similar to Soldier Blade except not as well executed here, enemies that tackle blocks into you on level 5)
-Unique music track for each boss
-Smart bombs (gain a 2+ per level, eats up bullets during its blast, regain 3 bombs after death) - Defemder
-Gun drones (2) but can't change their formation - Gradius
-Touching walls doesn't hurt - Night Striker?
-Can make the gun drones spin around your ship once by doing by turning horizontally after moving in one direction for about half the screen but it doesn't seem to do anything (doesn't destroy either destructible or non-destructible projectiles) - could've been a tricky to use defensive maneuver?
Muscle Bomber Duo (ARC, 1993) - Wrestling
3 Count Bout (ARC, 1993) - Arena Fighting/Tilted View Fighting
Monster Maulers (ARC, 1993) - Fighting, 2-Player Co-op vs. CPU; Boss-like fights
Fighter's History (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
World Heroes 2 (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
Sengoku Ace (ARC, 1993) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Night Slashers (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up; Horror theme
Sengoku 2 (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
Eco Fighters (ARC, 1993) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Alien 3: The Gun (ARC, 1993) - Light Gun Shooter
Street Fighter II: Rainbow Edition (ARC, 1993) - Fighting; Switch character during a match, over the top broken mechanics
Dark Edge (ARC, 1993) - Mode 7-style 2.5D Fighting
Chou-Jikku Yousai: Macross II (ARC, 1993) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Power Instinct (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
Grind Stormer (ARC, 1993) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Martial Champion (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
Knuckle Bash (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
Crayon Shin-Chan Orato Asobo (ARC, 1993) - Mini-Game Compilation
Dragon Ball Z (ARC, 1993) - Fighting; Flight moves
Bomb Jack Twin (ARC, 1993) - Single Screen Action Platformer, 2-Player Co-op;
Superior Soldiers (ARC, 1993) - Fighting
Zero Team (ARC, 1993) - Beat 'em up
Survival Arts (ARC, 1993) - Fighting, Mortal Kombat-like;
Magical Cat Adventure (ARC, 1993) - ? Platformer
Space Invaders DX (ARC, 1993) - Single Screen Shoot 'em up; Taito character cameos
Tinkle Pit (ARC, 1993) - Maze Action
Ultimate Tennis (ARC, 1993) - Sports; Pre-rendered graphics
1994:
The Outfoxies (ARC, 1994) - 1995 probably?; Arena Fighting, Side View; Dynamic (zooms in/out) camera, pretty impressive music overall
Virtua Fighter 2 (ARC, 1994) - 3D Fighting, 2-Player Vs.
-About 50% more moves per character
-Some chars can sidestep
-Very good animation for the time, Basic lighting effects and improved textures, Pretty impressive music, More complex backgrounds (especially the raft setting)
-Difficulty options affect ring size a bit
-Can hit a knocked out opponent with a special jump attack
-Playable Dural without cheats
-Secret ending (beat Dural?)
-Skippable staff roll?
-A bit easier to hit a knocked down opponent
-From VF1: Replay feature (skippable), alternate outfits (hold up), ring outs, blocking and throws (SF2), can side-roll after being knocked down (press block), mostly (?) escape-able throws (hard to time and read though), pretty easy to get a ring out
Ridge Racer 2 (ARC, 1994) - Racing; Impressive music
T-Mek (ARC, 1994) - FPS, Tank-based?, 2-Player vs. via link;
Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (ARC, 1994) - Beat 'em up/ARPG, 4-player Co-op
-Branching paths (you'll be given two choices at certain points via a dialogue prompt but there are also hidden paths in the stages)
-Pretty fast paced
-Four different characters (mainly differ in which spells they can use)
-Monetary system (buy HP and secondary weapons in shops) and level system
-Inventory for switching between magic/sub weapons on the fly
-Blocking (using a shield, a bit clunky to use) and countering (slam attack after blocking - need to be fast)
-Transfer money between players when in the shop (place your hand above someone else's and press C)
-Slam attack (Forward+A, hits for as hard as the third attack in a standard combo (4xA, see Turtles in Time) which can be cancelled by pushing in the other direction - can hit twice if done right
-Some cool spells (Polymorph)
-Most spells require some skill to be effective (unlike the smart bomb style of some games)
-Crouching (press C while pushing downwards - can attack knocked down enemies and more importantly pick up drops faster)
-Roll attack (done while getting up from crouching) - can also be used as a dodge move
-Slide/back roll (for dodging, a bit clunky to use)
-Stat boosting items (destroyable by the enemy) - lost upon death
-Good dialogue for an old beat 'em up
-Some chest traps also affect enemies
-No slowdown or flicker
-Can destroy enemy arrows
-Two jump attacks (downstab)
-Some very large and detailed sprites and one huge sprite (red dragon)
-Can pick up and throw chests
-Can speed up in-game cutcenes
-Optional super boss (red dragon)
-Hit knocked down enemies (attack when close, downstab, or slam attack (Cleric only)) - Renegade
-Running tackles (Golden Axe)
Samurai Shodown II (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Tekken (ARC, 1994) - 3D Fighting; Fairly impressive music
Gokujou Parodius! (ARC, 1994) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up; Pretty impressive music
WindJammers (ARC, 1994) - Sports (Air Hockey-ish)/Action
NBA Jam Tournament Edition (ARC, 1994) - Sports (Basketball)
Alien vs. Predator (ARC, 1994) - Beat 'em up, 3-Player Co-op (no friendly fire), one shooter segment and one SF2 mini-game style "beat up the machine" segment;
-Four different characters to choose from (some differing moves and weapons)
-Solid amount of moves and weapons (mid-air throw, wall bounce, dash stab, pile driver, mid-air ranged attack, break out move, uppercut)
-Each character has a default firearm and melee weapon (the latter can be dropped)
-Fast paced and fairly intense
-Decent storytelling for a beat 'em up (each cutscene can be fast forwarded as well)
-Decent combo options (team juggling, wall bounce with predator, grab two discs and keep throwing them, attack enemies bouncing off of the floor from a previous attack)
-Unlimited ammo power up (timed, gain one after each credit used)
-Good animation
-Health and ammo power ups stay on screen so you can be tactical and grab them when needed - Streets of Rage?
-Block attacks by using the "break out" move (press any two buttons at the same time)
-The "break out" move barely costs any life to use (hits enemies around you, doesn't work when grabbed or lying down)
-8 difficulty levels (config screen is hidden)
Cruis'n USA (ARC, 1994) - 3D Racing
Super Street Fighter II Turbo (ARC, 1994) - 2D Fighting
Darius Gaiden (ARC, 1994) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up; Partially pre-rendered graphics, impressive music overall
Virtua Cop (ARC, 1994) - Light Gun Shooter/Rail Shooter, 2-Player Co-op;
Killer Instinct (ARC, 1994) - 2D Fighting
-Detailed pre-rendered graphics with some 3D elements (skybox in canyon level, 3D rooftop arenas, the CGI cutscenes)
-FMV/faux perspective backgrounds
-Long combos
-Combo breaker moves
9 Ball Shootout! (ARC, 1994) - ? Billiards; 3D board with adjustable camera,
X-Men: Children of the Atom (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Street Hoop (ARC, 1994) - Sports (Basketball)
RayForce/Galactic Attack (ARC, 1993/SAT/PS1, ) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op; 2.5D elements, pretty impressive music
Elevator Action II/Elevator Action Returns (ARC, 1994) - Action Platformer, 2-Player Co-op; Pretty impressive music
Galaxian^3: Attack of the Zolgear (ARC, 1994) - Rail Shooter; 3D graphics
Super Sidekicks 2 (ARC, 1994) - Sports (Football/Soccer)
Battletoads (ARC, 1994) - Beat 'em up
Bust-A-Move (ARC, 1994) - Puzzle
Power Spikes II (ARC, 1994) - Sports (Volleyball);
Gunbird (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Karnov's Revenge (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Wing War (ARC, 1994) - 3D Flight Combat; Pretty impressive music
Operation Wolf 3 (ARC, 1994) - Light Gun Shooter; Pre-rendered graphics
Bubble Symphony (ARC, 1994) - Single Screen Action Platformer; Pretty impressive music
DarkStalkers (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Armored Warriors (ARC, 1994) - Beat 'em up
Gun Force II (ARC, 1994) - Run 'n Gun
Top Hunter (ARC, 1994) - Action Platformer; Extending arm mechanic
The Last Bounty Hunter (ARC, 1994) - FMV Light Gun Shooter; Wild west setting
Zed Blade (ARC, 1994) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Point Blank 2 (ARC, 1994) - Light Gun Shooter
Point Blank (ARC, 1994) - Light Gun Shooter
Desert Tank (ARC, 1994) - 3D Tank Combat Sim; Pretty impressive music
Raiden DX (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Denjin Makai (ARC, 1994) - Beat 'em up
Aero Fighters 2 (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Mazinger Z (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Art of Fighting 2 (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
The King of Fighters '94 (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Gururin (ARC, 1994) - Match 3 Puzzle
Bonk's Adventure: Arcade Version (ARC, 1994) - Platformer
Super Muscle Bomber: The International Blowout (ARC, 1994) - Wrestling
Drift Out '94 (ARC, 1994) - Racing, Isometric View; Pretty impressive music
Power Instinct 2 (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
World Heroes 2 Jet (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Alligator Hunt (ARC, 1994) - Rail Shooter/Cabal-like
Primal Rage (ARC, 1994) - Fighting; Pre-rendered characters
R-Shark (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Shippuu Mahou Daisakusen: Kingdom-Grandprix (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Twin Eagle II (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up; Pretty impressive music
Nebulasray (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up; Pre-rendered graphics, pretty impressive music
Golden Axe: The Duel (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Global Champion (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Jurassic Park (ARC, 1994) - Light Gun Shooter/Rail Shooter, 2-Player Co-op, Wagon-based;
BloodStorm (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Snow Bros. 2: With New Elves (ARC, 1994) - Single Screen Action Platformer?
Rapid Hero (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Joe & Mac Returns (ARC, 1994) - Single Screen Action Platformer
Revolution X (ARC, 1994) - Light Gun Shooter
Lethal Enforcers II: Gun Fighters (ARC, 1994) - Light Gun Shooter; Pretty impressive music
Blazing Tornado (ARC, 1994) - Wrestling
The Outfoxies (ARC, 1994) - 1995 probably?; Arena Fighting, Side View; Dynamic (zooms in/out) camera, pretty impressive music overall
Virtua Fighter 2 (ARC, 1994) - 3D Fighting, 2-Player Vs.
-About 50% more moves per character
-Some chars can sidestep
-Very good animation for the time, Basic lighting effects and improved textures, Pretty impressive music, More complex backgrounds (especially the raft setting)
-Difficulty options affect ring size a bit
-Can hit a knocked out opponent with a special jump attack
-Playable Dural without cheats
-Secret ending (beat Dural?)
-Skippable staff roll?
-A bit easier to hit a knocked down opponent
-From VF1: Replay feature (skippable), alternate outfits (hold up), ring outs, blocking and throws (SF2), can side-roll after being knocked down (press block), mostly (?) escape-able throws (hard to time and read though), pretty easy to get a ring out
Ridge Racer 2 (ARC, 1994) - Racing; Impressive music
T-Mek (ARC, 1994) - FPS, Tank-based?, 2-Player vs. via link;
Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (ARC, 1994) - Beat 'em up/ARPG, 4-player Co-op
-Branching paths (you'll be given two choices at certain points via a dialogue prompt but there are also hidden paths in the stages)
-Pretty fast paced
-Four different characters (mainly differ in which spells they can use)
-Monetary system (buy HP and secondary weapons in shops) and level system
-Inventory for switching between magic/sub weapons on the fly
-Blocking (using a shield, a bit clunky to use) and countering (slam attack after blocking - need to be fast)
-Transfer money between players when in the shop (place your hand above someone else's and press C)
-Slam attack (Forward+A, hits for as hard as the third attack in a standard combo (4xA, see Turtles in Time) which can be cancelled by pushing in the other direction - can hit twice if done right
-Some cool spells (Polymorph)
-Most spells require some skill to be effective (unlike the smart bomb style of some games)
-Crouching (press C while pushing downwards - can attack knocked down enemies and more importantly pick up drops faster)
-Roll attack (done while getting up from crouching) - can also be used as a dodge move
-Slide/back roll (for dodging, a bit clunky to use)
-Stat boosting items (destroyable by the enemy) - lost upon death
-Good dialogue for an old beat 'em up
-Some chest traps also affect enemies
-No slowdown or flicker
-Can destroy enemy arrows
-Two jump attacks (downstab)
-Some very large and detailed sprites and one huge sprite (red dragon)
-Can pick up and throw chests
-Can speed up in-game cutcenes
-Optional super boss (red dragon)
-Hit knocked down enemies (attack when close, downstab, or slam attack (Cleric only)) - Renegade
-Running tackles (Golden Axe)
Samurai Shodown II (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Tekken (ARC, 1994) - 3D Fighting; Fairly impressive music
Gokujou Parodius! (ARC, 1994) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up; Pretty impressive music
WindJammers (ARC, 1994) - Sports (Air Hockey-ish)/Action
NBA Jam Tournament Edition (ARC, 1994) - Sports (Basketball)
Alien vs. Predator (ARC, 1994) - Beat 'em up, 3-Player Co-op (no friendly fire), one shooter segment and one SF2 mini-game style "beat up the machine" segment;
-Four different characters to choose from (some differing moves and weapons)
-Solid amount of moves and weapons (mid-air throw, wall bounce, dash stab, pile driver, mid-air ranged attack, break out move, uppercut)
-Each character has a default firearm and melee weapon (the latter can be dropped)
-Fast paced and fairly intense
-Decent storytelling for a beat 'em up (each cutscene can be fast forwarded as well)
-Decent combo options (team juggling, wall bounce with predator, grab two discs and keep throwing them, attack enemies bouncing off of the floor from a previous attack)
-Unlimited ammo power up (timed, gain one after each credit used)
-Good animation
-Health and ammo power ups stay on screen so you can be tactical and grab them when needed - Streets of Rage?
-Block attacks by using the "break out" move (press any two buttons at the same time)
-The "break out" move barely costs any life to use (hits enemies around you, doesn't work when grabbed or lying down)
-8 difficulty levels (config screen is hidden)
Cruis'n USA (ARC, 1994) - 3D Racing
Super Street Fighter II Turbo (ARC, 1994) - 2D Fighting
Darius Gaiden (ARC, 1994) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up; Partially pre-rendered graphics, impressive music overall
Virtua Cop (ARC, 1994) - Light Gun Shooter/Rail Shooter, 2-Player Co-op;
Killer Instinct (ARC, 1994) - 2D Fighting
-Detailed pre-rendered graphics with some 3D elements (skybox in canyon level, 3D rooftop arenas, the CGI cutscenes)
-FMV/faux perspective backgrounds
-Long combos
-Combo breaker moves
9 Ball Shootout! (ARC, 1994) - ? Billiards; 3D board with adjustable camera,
X-Men: Children of the Atom (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Street Hoop (ARC, 1994) - Sports (Basketball)
RayForce/Galactic Attack (ARC, 1993/SAT/PS1, ) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op; 2.5D elements, pretty impressive music
Elevator Action II/Elevator Action Returns (ARC, 1994) - Action Platformer, 2-Player Co-op; Pretty impressive music
Galaxian^3: Attack of the Zolgear (ARC, 1994) - Rail Shooter; 3D graphics
Super Sidekicks 2 (ARC, 1994) - Sports (Football/Soccer)
Battletoads (ARC, 1994) - Beat 'em up
Bust-A-Move (ARC, 1994) - Puzzle
Power Spikes II (ARC, 1994) - Sports (Volleyball);
Gunbird (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Karnov's Revenge (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Wing War (ARC, 1994) - 3D Flight Combat; Pretty impressive music
Operation Wolf 3 (ARC, 1994) - Light Gun Shooter; Pre-rendered graphics
Bubble Symphony (ARC, 1994) - Single Screen Action Platformer; Pretty impressive music
DarkStalkers (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Armored Warriors (ARC, 1994) - Beat 'em up
Gun Force II (ARC, 1994) - Run 'n Gun
Top Hunter (ARC, 1994) - Action Platformer; Extending arm mechanic
The Last Bounty Hunter (ARC, 1994) - FMV Light Gun Shooter; Wild west setting
Zed Blade (ARC, 1994) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Point Blank 2 (ARC, 1994) - Light Gun Shooter
Point Blank (ARC, 1994) - Light Gun Shooter
Desert Tank (ARC, 1994) - 3D Tank Combat Sim; Pretty impressive music
Raiden DX (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Denjin Makai (ARC, 1994) - Beat 'em up
Aero Fighters 2 (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Mazinger Z (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Art of Fighting 2 (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
The King of Fighters '94 (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Gururin (ARC, 1994) - Match 3 Puzzle
Bonk's Adventure: Arcade Version (ARC, 1994) - Platformer
Super Muscle Bomber: The International Blowout (ARC, 1994) - Wrestling
Drift Out '94 (ARC, 1994) - Racing, Isometric View; Pretty impressive music
Power Instinct 2 (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
World Heroes 2 Jet (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Alligator Hunt (ARC, 1994) - Rail Shooter/Cabal-like
Primal Rage (ARC, 1994) - Fighting; Pre-rendered characters
R-Shark (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Shippuu Mahou Daisakusen: Kingdom-Grandprix (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Twin Eagle II (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up; Pretty impressive music
Nebulasray (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up; Pre-rendered graphics, pretty impressive music
Golden Axe: The Duel (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Global Champion (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Jurassic Park (ARC, 1994) - Light Gun Shooter/Rail Shooter, 2-Player Co-op, Wagon-based;
BloodStorm (ARC, 1994) - Fighting
Snow Bros. 2: With New Elves (ARC, 1994) - Single Screen Action Platformer?
Rapid Hero (ARC, 1994) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Joe & Mac Returns (ARC, 1994) - Single Screen Action Platformer
Revolution X (ARC, 1994) - Light Gun Shooter
Lethal Enforcers II: Gun Fighters (ARC, 1994) - Light Gun Shooter; Pretty impressive music
Blazing Tornado (ARC, 1994) - Wrestling
1995:
Cyber Troopers Virtual-On (ARC, 1995) - 3D Arena Fighting, Mech-based, TP View, 2-Player Vs. (via link)
-Decent arena level designs (ramps, small objects to take cover behind)
-Strafing (dashing)
-Bomb/stun attacks (knocks opponent over, can't be spammed)
-Context sensitive melee attack
-Fast paced and smooth
-Pretty good lighting and explosion effects
-8 playable characters (each has a fairly distinct playstyle though)
-Fairly impressive music
-Replays of finishing moves (VF1, a bit choppy though?)
-Time limit options - SF2?
-Space harrier reference ("get ready")
Sega Rally Championship (ARC, 1995) - 3D Racing, 4-Player Vs. via link, 2-player co-op mode (not sure how it works)
-Good physics for the time (also over the top) - different surfaces have different friction, jumps, rumble feature, drifting, great framerate and draw distance for the time, good course variation and memorable courses (three default courses and one unlockable fourth course (championship mode only)), automatic or manual gear shift, relatively complex backgrounds, pretty impressive sound, some nice effects (NPC chopper, water pools, mud after cars), practice mode (get to play on either course), textured surfaces and reflection effect on car windows, "Game over, yeah!", more advanced lighting, race length options
SAT: Split-screen mode, online play (Netlink), time attack mode with unlockable Lakeside track,
Tekken 2 (ARC, 1995/PS1, ) - 3D Fighting, 2-player Vs.
-Wide variety of characters (most of them have their own style and stage) and moves, nice intro cutscene, command list in-game, long and flashy combos, unlockable characters, alternate outfits, some unintentionally (?) funny moves/sfx/cutscenes, fairly impressive music, practice mode, skippable staff roll, good animation for the time, decent lighting effects, borrows some features from Virtua Fighter 2 (sidesteps, escape-able throws, dodges, reversals/counters and side-rolling when lying on the floor)
Soul Edge/Soul Blade (ARC, 1995/PS1, ) - 3D Fighting, Weapon-based; Impressive music
Fighting Vipers (ARC, 1995) - 3D Fighting
Super Sidekicks 3 (ARC, 1995) - Sports (Soccer/Football), Tilted View/TP View Hybrid;
Manx TT Super Bike (ARC, 1995) - 3D Motorbike Racing
Real Bout Fatal Fury (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Marvel Super Heroes (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Biomechanical Toy (ARC, 1995) - Run 'n Gun/Action Platformer, 2-Player Co-op?;
Samurai Shodown III (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Rave Racer (ARC, 1995) - 3D Racing
Guardians/Denjin Makai II (ARC, 1995) - Beat 'em up, 2-player coop, Shooting gallery bonus levels (easy to beat but hard to master?, short)
-8 different playable chars
-Large variety of moves for each char (context sensitive energy-using special move (punch+jump), uppercut and dash moves (hold punch then press down->up or back->front, flight dive punch attack as Zeldia (double jump then punch), running and running tackles/lunge moves, grabs and throws+pile driver, HP using breakout/smart bomb move, back attack)
-Vertical/sideways dodge move
-Branching paths on the hub map between levels up until the final level (choose between two at a time until level 5 so 9 levels total however each pair of levels share the same boss) - Dragon Buster, Castlevania III
-Can string some moves together for longer combos and there's a hit counter (10+ hits) - Alien vs. Predator ARC
-Some interesting level design (train ride, forest level where enemies in the background cut trees to make them fall into the playing field)
-Pretty good variety for the genre
-Some weapon pickups (sword, grenade) and they stay until you've taken too long to pick one up (7 or so secs?)
-Some bosses have 2 forms (final boss has 3)
-Some nice level transitions and boss intros - Sonic 3 & Knuckles, SMB3
-Some silly moments like enemies hiding under barrels and running away from you
-Some enemies can hit you while you're down but you can hit them as well with certain moves
-Cooldown mechanic: If you use too many energy-based special moves in a row then you're stunned for a bit waiting for the meter to recharge+you lose a bit of HP (some drops in the levels also recharge it; standing still charges your energy/power meter) - Nintendo World Cup MD?
-You don't instantly die from falling into pits (lose about 4 HP) - Zelda: A Link to the Past?
Pulstar (ARC, 1995) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Indy 500: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (ARC, 1995) - 3D F1 Racing
WWF Wrestlemania (ARC, 1995) - Wrestling, 4-Player Co-op;
19XX: The War Against Destiny (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up;
NHL Open Ice: 2 on 2 Challenge (ARC, 1995) - Hockey, Tilted View, 2 Vs 2 mode?;
Bubble Memories: The Story of Bubble Bobble III (ARC, 1995) - Action Platformer, Single Screen, 2-Player Co-op;
Baku Baku Animal (ARC, 1995) - Matching Puzzle, 2-Player vs.; Chain mechanic (animal tile eats the corresponding food when dropped near it),
DonPachi (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, Bullet Hell Shooter, 2-Player Co-op
-Three different ships - can change after using a credit
-Intense action
-Rapid fire/laser shot dynamic (move slower but do more damage with the constant/laser beam)
-Perky commentator throughout the game
-Semi-hidden items (points?) - Fantasy Zone 2, Hellfire
-Seven levels of upgrades for the weapon (every other level increases the rate of fire)
-Two different bomb types (laser or smart bomb, both protect you from enemy bullets)
-Respawn on the spot (most weapon power ups and 1-2 bombs drop from where you died plus you regain 3 bombs automatically so you can fairly easily power up again)
-Satisfying explosions
-Kill counter (chaining kills gives more points, value of the first enemy in a chain has the biggest effect on the score)
-Fairly unique premise
-Rank system (changes the difficulty depending on how well you play - Zanac/Battle Garegga, goes to easy when on your last life)
Virtua Cop 2 (ARC, 1995) - 3D Light Gun Shooter;
Viper Phase 1 (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op; Pretty impressive music
Strikers 1945 (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op;
Street Fighter Alpha (ARC/PS1, 1995) - 2D Fighting
-Introduced mid-air blocking, throw recovery, and a kind of animation cancelling
The King of Fighters '95 (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Extreme Downhill (ARC, 1995) - TD View Skiing;
Virtua Fighter Remix (ARC, 1995) - 3D Fighting
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Metamoqester (ARC, 1995) - Fighting/Boss Rush, 2-Player Co-op vs. Bosses;
NightWarriors (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Stakes Winner (ARC, 1995) - Horse Racing, TD View;
Mortal Kombat 3 (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Alpine Racer (ARC, 1995) - 3D Skiing, FP View
Mega Man: The Power Battle (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Battle Arena Toshinden 2 (ARC, 1995) - 3D Fighting
Cool Riders (ARC, 1995) - Motorbike Racing; Very fast and smooth sprite scaling, jumps, pre-rendered sprites,
Aero Fighters 3 (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Gogetsuji Gaiden: Saikyou Densetsu (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Virtua Striker (ARC, 1995) - 3D Sports (Soccer/Football);
Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness (ARC, 1995) - Fighting?
Area 51 (ARC, 1995) - Light Gun Shooter/FMV Shooter;
Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (ARC, 1995) - Beat 'em up, 2-Player Co-op;
Kabuki Klash (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Chain Reaction/Magical Drop (ARC, 1995) - Match/Stacking Puzzle
P-47 Aces (ARC, 1995) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up;
World Heroes Perfect (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Cyber Cycles (ARC, 1995) - 3D Motorbike Racing
Dragoon Might (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Jackie Chan: The Kung-Fu Master (ARC, 1995) - Fighting; Pre-rendered sprites (digitized actors),
Double Dragon (1995) (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Space Invaders '95: The Attack of the Lunar Loonies (ARC, 1995) - Single Screen Shoot 'em up
Twin Cobra II (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Gekirindan (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op;
TwinBee Yahho!/Magical TwinBee (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op; Impressive music
Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Galaxy Fight: Universal Warriors (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Savage Reign (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Buster Buddies/Pang! 3 (ARC, 1995) - Action Puzzle/Single Screen Shooter
Juudan Arashi Gundhara/Gundhara (ARC, 1995) - TD Run 'n Gun
Desert War (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up/Hostage Rescue; Pretty impressive music
Suiko Enbu: Outlaws of the Lost Dynasty (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Namco Classic Collection Vol. 1 (80s ports/ARC, 1995) - Game Compilation; New music,
1996 WIP:
Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara (ARC, 1996) - Beat 'em up/AA Hybrid
Winding Heat (ARC, 1996) - 3D Racing
Sega Super GT (ARC, 1996) - 3D Racing
Super Dodge Ball (ARC/NG?, 1996) - Sports/Action
Sega Touring Car Championship (ARC, 1996) - 3D Racing
Samurai Shodown IV (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Aqua Jet (ARC, 1996) - 3D Water Scooter Racing
Metal Slug (ARC, 1996) - Run 'n Gun
Die Hard Arcade (ARC, 1996) - 3D Beat 'em up, Action mini-game
Real Bout Fatal Fury Special (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
X-Men vs. Street Fighter (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Neo Turf Masters (ARC, 1996) - Sports (Golf)
Sega Ski Super G (ARC, 1996) - Sports (Downhill Skiing)
Twinkle Star Sprites (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Street Fighter Alpha 2 (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Battle Garegga (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-player co-op
-3 planes (+ 2 hidden ones) to choose from
-You can customize each plane (set speed etc.)?
-Relatively advanced dynamic difficulty/rank system (which isn't explained or displayed by the game at all and is a bit unintuitive unfortunately) - the game keeps track of how many items are picked up, how powered up the player's ship is and even how many shots are fired, increasing the difficulty accordingly. The only way to decrease the rank is by losing a life (!). Limiting your upgrades and even suiciding is key to scoring higher and by extension surviving the game unless playing on easier modes
-Fairly deep scoring system (gain more by shooting invulnerable parts of enemies and bosses, pick up medal items in a chain for higher points - value resets if you miss one, some medals are hidden - found by bombing the scenery)
-Great bosses
-Lots of options (screen modes (3-5 are useless though), training to hard mode + edit mode, hit box options) - SAT only?
-You can watch someone 'super play' it to learn the more advanced mechanics (getting a higher score)
-Smart bombs (different for each ship, these nullify enemy bullets)
-Secret planes (easier to access in this version through the options)
-Can change gun drone formations (by the press of a button, the drones also attack through a separate button to your main gun),
-Remixed soundtrack option on SAT (sounds great, you can even adjust sfx volume)
-Mania mode in the SAT version (autofire, gun drone cycling options), the game hands out bomb ammo when you die (20 small ones = half a full bomb)
-Variable rapid fire rates (used for scoring higher by controlling your rank)
-Dying causes and explosion (the shrapnel does decent damage to larger enemies and nullifies bullets)
-Hidden power ups/points - FZ2?
Aquarium (ARC, 1996) - Matching Puzzle
NBA Hang Time (ARC, 1996) - Sports
Magical Drop II (ARC, 1996) - Matching Puzzle
Dancing Eyes (ARC, 1996) - 3D Action Puzzle/Erotic
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (ARC, 1996) - Matching Puzzle
Neo Drift Out (ARC, 1996) - TD Racing
Wave Shark (ARC, 1996) - 3D Water Scooter Racing
Puyo Puyo Sun (ARC, 1996) - Matching Puzzle
Time Crisis (ARC, 1996) - 3D Light Gun Shooter
Killer Instinct 2 (ARC, 1996) - Fighting; Pre-rendered sprites, 2.5D backgrounds
Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
The King of Fighters '96 (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Waku Waku 7 (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Bust-A-Move Again (ARC, 1996) - Matching Puzzle
Mace: The Dark Age (ARC, 1996) - 3D Fighting
Cruis'n World (ARC, 1996) - 3D Racing
Midnight Run: Road Fighter 2 (ARC, 1996) - 3D Racing
Dead or Alive (ARC, 1996) - 3D Fighting
OverTop (ARC, 1996) - Isometric Racing
Puzzle Bobble 3 (ARC, 1996) - Matching Puzzle
Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters (ARC, 1996) - Fighting/Vs. Action
Raiden Fighters (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Macross Plus (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Xevious 3D/G (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Salamander 2 (ARC, 1996) - Horizontal/Vertical Shoot 'em up Hybrid
Red Earth (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
RayStorm (ARC, 1996) - 3D Vertical Shoot 'em up
Air Gallet (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2 (ARC, 1996) - Misc. Action
Ninja Masters (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Breakers (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
The Ultimate 11 (ARC, 1996) - Sports (Football/Soccer); 2.5D (scaling),
Tokyo Wars (ARC, 1996) - 3D Tank Combat/Arena Combat
Art of Fighting 3 (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Gunblade NY (ARC, 1996) - 3D Light Gun Shooter, Chopper based
Sonic Championship/Sonic the Fighters (ARC, 1996) - 3D Fighting
Sonic Wings Limited (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Sexy Parodius (ARC, 1996) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Soukyuugurentai (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up; 2.5D elements
Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing (ARC, 1996) - 3D Racing
Tengai/Sengoku Blade: Sengoku Ace Episode II (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Osman (ARC, 1996) - Action Platformer
NBA Jam Extreme (ARC, 1996) - Sports
Alpine Racer 2 (ARC, 1996) - 3D Downhill Skiing
Street Fighter EX (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Star Gladiator - Episode 1: Final Crusade (ARC, 1996) - 3D Fighting
Storm Blade (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Back Street Soccer (ARC, 1996) - Sports
Hotdog Storm (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
1997 WIP:
Virtua Fighter 3 (ARC, 1997) - 3D Fighting, Area Arenas?
Beatmania (ARC, 1997) - Rhythm
Tekken 3 (ARC, 1997) - 3D Fighting
G Darius (ARC, 1997) - 2.5D Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Shock Troopers (ARC, 1997) - TD Run 'n Gun, 2-Player Co-op
Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
DoDonPachi (ARC, 1997) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Off Road Challenge (ARC, 1997) - 3D Racing
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Time Crisis II (ARC, 1997) - Light Gun Shooter
The Last Blade (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Motor Raid (ARC, 1997) - 3D Motorbike Racing
Rival Schools (ARC, 1997) - 3D Fighting
Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampire (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (ARC, 1997) - 3D Light Gun/Rail Shooter, Wagon-based
The King of Fighters '97 (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
The House of the Dead (ARC, 1997) - Light Gun Shooter; Cheesy horror theme
Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact - Giant Attack (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Magical Drop III (ARC, 1997) - Matching Puzzle
Neo Bomberman (ARC, 1997) - TD Maze Action
Fighting Bujitsu (ARC, 1997) - ? 3D Fighting
Sega Bass Fishing (ARC, 1997) - 3D Fishing Sim
Raiden Fighters 2 (ARC, 1997) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Battle Circuit (ARC, 1997) - Beat 'em up
Capcom Sports Club (ARC, 1997) - Misc. Sports
Street Fighter III: New Generation (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Pocket Fighter (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Vampire Hunter 2 (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Solar Assault (ARC, 1997) - 3D Rail Shooter
Money Puzzle Exchanger (ARC, 1997) - Matching Puzzle
San Francisco Rush: The Rock - Alcatraz Edition (ARC, 1997) - 3D Racing
Street Fighter EX Plus (ARC, 1997) - Fighting; 3D models
Virtua Striker 2 (ARC, 1997) - 3D Sports (Soccer/Football)
Strikers 1945 II (ARC, 1997) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
All-Japan Pro Wrestling featuring Virtua (ARC, 1997) - Sports
Samurai Shodown 64 (ARC, 1997) - 3D Fighting, Weapon-based
Downhill Bikers (ARC, 1997) - 3D Bike Racing
The Killing Blade (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Zero Gunner (ARC, 1997) - Vertical Shoot 'em up; 3D graphics
Mortal Kombat 4 (ARC, 1997) - Fighting; 3D graphics
Cotton 2 (ARC, 1997) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Groove on Fight: Gouketsuji Ichizoku 3 (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Cleopatra Fortune (ARC, 1997) - Stacking Puzzle
Arkanoid Returns (ARC, 1997) - Action Puzzle
Puchi Carat (ARC, 1997) - Stacking Puzzle
Rampage World Tour (ARC, 1997) - Action/Action Platformer
Police Trainer (ARC, 1997) - Light Gun Shooter
Bloody Roar/Beastorizer (ARC, 1997) - 3D Fighting
NFL Blitz (ARC, 1997) - Sports
Rabbit (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
1998 WIP:
Sega Rally Championship 2 (ARC, 1998) - 3D Racing
Cyber Troopers Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting/Arena Combat, Mech-based
Racing Jam (ARC, 1998) - 3D Racing
Dance Dance Revolution (ARC, 1998) - Rhythm, Floor pad/dancing stage controls with safety bar, 2-Player Vs. and Co-op; sustained notes mechanic, ranking for each note based on timing accuracy, double mode (1 player 2 floors), euro dance theme
Guitar Freaks (ARC, 1998/PS1, 1999) - Rhythm, 2-player vs.
Daytona USA 2 (ARC, 1998) - 3D Racing
Star Wars Trilogy Arcade (ARC, 1998) - 3D Rail Shooter/FP Combat Hybrid (Darth Vader duel)
Harley Davidson & L.A. Riders (ARC, 1998) - 3D Motorbike Racing
SoulCalibur (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting, Weapon-based
The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
The Last Blade 2 (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Puzzle Bobble 4 (ARC, 1998) - Matching Puzzle
Armed Police BatRider (ARC, 1998) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Psychic Force 2012 (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
The Ocean Hunter (ARC, 1998) - Light Gun Shooter
Radiant Silvergun (ARC, 1998) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
JoJo's Venture (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Metal Slug 2 (ARC, 1998) - Run 'n Gun/Action Platformer, 2-Player Co-op;
Play By Play (ARC, 1998) - Sports (Basketball)
Virtua Fighter 3tb (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Battle Tryst (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Gauntlet Legends (ARC, 1998) - ARPG/Maze Action, TD View
Street Fighter Alpha 3 (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Dynamite Cop (ARC, 1998) - 3D Beat 'em up
Tetris: The Grand Master (ARC, 1998) - Stacking Puzzle
Gradius IV (ARC, 1998) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Blazing Star (ARC, 1998) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
ESP RA.DE. (ARC, 1998) - Vertical Shoot 'em up/Bullet Hell Shooter
The House of the Dead 2 (ARC, 1998) - Light Gun Shooter
Gunbird 2 (ARC, 1998) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Fighting Layer (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Shock Troopers: 2nd Squad (ARC, 1998) - TD Run 'n Gun
Ehrgeiz (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting, Arena Combat?
Radikal Bikers (ARC, 1998) - 3D Motorbike Racing
Dangun Feveron (ARC, 1998) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Breakers Revenge (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
NFL Blitz '99 (ARC, 1998) - Sports (American Football)
Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Land Maker (ARC, 1998) - Matching Puzzle; Ricochet mechanic
Battle Gear (ARC, 1998) - 3D Racing
Street Fighter EX2 (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Vapor TRX (ARC, 1998) - 3D Racing, Flight/Hover-based Futuristic Vehicles
Asura Blade: Sword Of Dynasty (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Raiden Fighters Jet (ARC, 1998) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
California Speed (ARC, 1998) - 3D Racing
Daraku Tenshi: The Fallen Angels (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Motocross Go! (ARC, 1998) - 3D Motorbike Racing
Cyvern: The Dragon Weapons (ARC, 1998) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Bloody Roar 2 (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Dead Or Alive++ (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Tech Romancer (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Astra Superstars (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Area 51: Site 4 (ARC, 1998) - Light Gun Shooter
Evil Night (ARC, 1998) - Light Gun Shooter
Pachinko Sexy Reaction (ARC, 1998) - Gambling
1999 WIP:
Crazy Taxi (ARC, 1999/DC, 2000) - Racing/Taxi Driver Sim
Daytona USA 2 Power Edition (ARC, 1999) - 3D Racing
Power Stone (ARC/DC, 1999) - 3D Arena Fighting
Emergency Call Ambulance (ARC, 1999) - Racing/Ambulance Sim
Jambo! Safari (ARC, 1999) - 3D Hunting Sim/Driving Hybrid
Racing Jam Chapter II (ARC, 1999) - 3D Racing
Ferrari F355 Challenge (ARC, 1999) - 3D Racing
Strider 2 (ARC, 1999/PS1, 2000) - 2.5D Action Platformer
Hydro Thunder (ARC/DC, 1999) - 3D Boat Racing
Tekken Tag Tournament (ARC, 1999/PS2, 2000) - 3D Fighting
Dance Dance Revolution 2nd Mix (ARC, 1999) - Rhythm
Garou: Mark of the Wolves (ARC, 1999) - Fighting
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike - Fight for the Future (ARC, 1999/DC, 2000) - Fighting
Metal Slug X (ARC, 1999) - Run 'n Gun/Action Platformer; MS2 remake?
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (ARC/DC, 1999) - Fighting
Garou Densetsu: Wild Ambition (ARC, 1999) - 3D Fighting
San Francisco Rush 2049 (ARC, 1999) - 3D Racing
Bust a Move 2/Bust a Groove 2 (ARC, 1999) - Rhythm
L.A. Machineguns: Rage of the Machines (ARC, 1999) - 3D Light Gun Shooter
Road Burners (ARC, 1999) - 3D Motorbike Racing
Dead or Alive 2 (ARC, 1999) - 3D Fighting
Knights Of Valour Plus (ARC, 1999) - Beat 'em up
NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC (ARC, 1999) - Sports (Basketball)
Mr. Driller (ARC, 1999) - Action Puzzle
Knights of Valour (ARC, 1999) - Beat 'em up
Silent Scope (ARC, 1999) - 3D Light Gun Shooter, Sniping
Strikers 1945 Plus (ARC, 1999) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Virtua Tennis (ARC, 1999) - 3D Sports
Battle Bakraid (ARC, 1999) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle (ARC, 1999) - Fighting
Giga Wing (ARC, 1999) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Street Fighter EX2 Plus (ARC, 1999) - Fighting; 3D graphics
Gaia Crusaders (ARC, 1999) - Beat 'em up
Strikers 1945 III (ARC, 1999) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Cruis'n Exotica (ARC, 1999) - 3D Racing
Guwange (ARC, 1999) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Crisis Zone (ARC, 1999) - Light Gun Shooter
Prehistoric Isle 2 (ARC, 1999) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Offroad Thunder (ARC, 1999) - 3D Racing
NFL Blitz 2000 (ARC, 1999) - Sports
CarnEvil (ARC, 1999)
Brave FireFighters (ARC, 1999)
Final Fight Revenge (ARC, 1999)
Pachinko Sexy Reaction 2 (ARC, 1999)
Change Air Blade (ARC, 1999)
The Legend of Silkroad (ARC, 1999)
Cyber Troopers Virtual-On (ARC, 1995) - 3D Arena Fighting, Mech-based, TP View, 2-Player Vs. (via link)
-Decent arena level designs (ramps, small objects to take cover behind)
-Strafing (dashing)
-Bomb/stun attacks (knocks opponent over, can't be spammed)
-Context sensitive melee attack
-Fast paced and smooth
-Pretty good lighting and explosion effects
-8 playable characters (each has a fairly distinct playstyle though)
-Fairly impressive music
-Replays of finishing moves (VF1, a bit choppy though?)
-Time limit options - SF2?
-Space harrier reference ("get ready")
Sega Rally Championship (ARC, 1995) - 3D Racing, 4-Player Vs. via link, 2-player co-op mode (not sure how it works)
-Good physics for the time (also over the top) - different surfaces have different friction, jumps, rumble feature, drifting, great framerate and draw distance for the time, good course variation and memorable courses (three default courses and one unlockable fourth course (championship mode only)), automatic or manual gear shift, relatively complex backgrounds, pretty impressive sound, some nice effects (NPC chopper, water pools, mud after cars), practice mode (get to play on either course), textured surfaces and reflection effect on car windows, "Game over, yeah!", more advanced lighting, race length options
SAT: Split-screen mode, online play (Netlink), time attack mode with unlockable Lakeside track,
Tekken 2 (ARC, 1995/PS1, ) - 3D Fighting, 2-player Vs.
-Wide variety of characters (most of them have their own style and stage) and moves, nice intro cutscene, command list in-game, long and flashy combos, unlockable characters, alternate outfits, some unintentionally (?) funny moves/sfx/cutscenes, fairly impressive music, practice mode, skippable staff roll, good animation for the time, decent lighting effects, borrows some features from Virtua Fighter 2 (sidesteps, escape-able throws, dodges, reversals/counters and side-rolling when lying on the floor)
Soul Edge/Soul Blade (ARC, 1995/PS1, ) - 3D Fighting, Weapon-based; Impressive music
Fighting Vipers (ARC, 1995) - 3D Fighting
Super Sidekicks 3 (ARC, 1995) - Sports (Soccer/Football), Tilted View/TP View Hybrid;
Manx TT Super Bike (ARC, 1995) - 3D Motorbike Racing
Real Bout Fatal Fury (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Marvel Super Heroes (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Biomechanical Toy (ARC, 1995) - Run 'n Gun/Action Platformer, 2-Player Co-op?;
Samurai Shodown III (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Rave Racer (ARC, 1995) - 3D Racing
Guardians/Denjin Makai II (ARC, 1995) - Beat 'em up, 2-player coop, Shooting gallery bonus levels (easy to beat but hard to master?, short)
-8 different playable chars
-Large variety of moves for each char (context sensitive energy-using special move (punch+jump), uppercut and dash moves (hold punch then press down->up or back->front, flight dive punch attack as Zeldia (double jump then punch), running and running tackles/lunge moves, grabs and throws+pile driver, HP using breakout/smart bomb move, back attack)
-Vertical/sideways dodge move
-Branching paths on the hub map between levels up until the final level (choose between two at a time until level 5 so 9 levels total however each pair of levels share the same boss) - Dragon Buster, Castlevania III
-Can string some moves together for longer combos and there's a hit counter (10+ hits) - Alien vs. Predator ARC
-Some interesting level design (train ride, forest level where enemies in the background cut trees to make them fall into the playing field)
-Pretty good variety for the genre
-Some weapon pickups (sword, grenade) and they stay until you've taken too long to pick one up (7 or so secs?)
-Some bosses have 2 forms (final boss has 3)
-Some nice level transitions and boss intros - Sonic 3 & Knuckles, SMB3
-Some silly moments like enemies hiding under barrels and running away from you
-Some enemies can hit you while you're down but you can hit them as well with certain moves
-Cooldown mechanic: If you use too many energy-based special moves in a row then you're stunned for a bit waiting for the meter to recharge+you lose a bit of HP (some drops in the levels also recharge it; standing still charges your energy/power meter) - Nintendo World Cup MD?
-You don't instantly die from falling into pits (lose about 4 HP) - Zelda: A Link to the Past?
Pulstar (ARC, 1995) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Indy 500: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (ARC, 1995) - 3D F1 Racing
WWF Wrestlemania (ARC, 1995) - Wrestling, 4-Player Co-op;
19XX: The War Against Destiny (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up;
NHL Open Ice: 2 on 2 Challenge (ARC, 1995) - Hockey, Tilted View, 2 Vs 2 mode?;
Bubble Memories: The Story of Bubble Bobble III (ARC, 1995) - Action Platformer, Single Screen, 2-Player Co-op;
Baku Baku Animal (ARC, 1995) - Matching Puzzle, 2-Player vs.; Chain mechanic (animal tile eats the corresponding food when dropped near it),
DonPachi (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, Bullet Hell Shooter, 2-Player Co-op
-Three different ships - can change after using a credit
-Intense action
-Rapid fire/laser shot dynamic (move slower but do more damage with the constant/laser beam)
-Perky commentator throughout the game
-Semi-hidden items (points?) - Fantasy Zone 2, Hellfire
-Seven levels of upgrades for the weapon (every other level increases the rate of fire)
-Two different bomb types (laser or smart bomb, both protect you from enemy bullets)
-Respawn on the spot (most weapon power ups and 1-2 bombs drop from where you died plus you regain 3 bombs automatically so you can fairly easily power up again)
-Satisfying explosions
-Kill counter (chaining kills gives more points, value of the first enemy in a chain has the biggest effect on the score)
-Fairly unique premise
-Rank system (changes the difficulty depending on how well you play - Zanac/Battle Garegga, goes to easy when on your last life)
Virtua Cop 2 (ARC, 1995) - 3D Light Gun Shooter;
Viper Phase 1 (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op; Pretty impressive music
Strikers 1945 (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op;
Street Fighter Alpha (ARC/PS1, 1995) - 2D Fighting
-Introduced mid-air blocking, throw recovery, and a kind of animation cancelling
The King of Fighters '95 (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Extreme Downhill (ARC, 1995) - TD View Skiing;
Virtua Fighter Remix (ARC, 1995) - 3D Fighting
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Metamoqester (ARC, 1995) - Fighting/Boss Rush, 2-Player Co-op vs. Bosses;
NightWarriors (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Stakes Winner (ARC, 1995) - Horse Racing, TD View;
Mortal Kombat 3 (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Alpine Racer (ARC, 1995) - 3D Skiing, FP View
Mega Man: The Power Battle (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Battle Arena Toshinden 2 (ARC, 1995) - 3D Fighting
Cool Riders (ARC, 1995) - Motorbike Racing; Very fast and smooth sprite scaling, jumps, pre-rendered sprites,
Aero Fighters 3 (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Gogetsuji Gaiden: Saikyou Densetsu (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Virtua Striker (ARC, 1995) - 3D Sports (Soccer/Football);
Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness (ARC, 1995) - Fighting?
Area 51 (ARC, 1995) - Light Gun Shooter/FMV Shooter;
Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (ARC, 1995) - Beat 'em up, 2-Player Co-op;
Kabuki Klash (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Chain Reaction/Magical Drop (ARC, 1995) - Match/Stacking Puzzle
P-47 Aces (ARC, 1995) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up;
World Heroes Perfect (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Cyber Cycles (ARC, 1995) - 3D Motorbike Racing
Dragoon Might (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Jackie Chan: The Kung-Fu Master (ARC, 1995) - Fighting; Pre-rendered sprites (digitized actors),
Double Dragon (1995) (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Space Invaders '95: The Attack of the Lunar Loonies (ARC, 1995) - Single Screen Shoot 'em up
Twin Cobra II (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Gekirindan (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op;
TwinBee Yahho!/Magical TwinBee (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-Player Co-op; Impressive music
Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Galaxy Fight: Universal Warriors (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Savage Reign (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Buster Buddies/Pang! 3 (ARC, 1995) - Action Puzzle/Single Screen Shooter
Juudan Arashi Gundhara/Gundhara (ARC, 1995) - TD Run 'n Gun
Desert War (ARC, 1995) - Vertical Shoot 'em up/Hostage Rescue; Pretty impressive music
Suiko Enbu: Outlaws of the Lost Dynasty (ARC, 1995) - Fighting
Namco Classic Collection Vol. 1 (80s ports/ARC, 1995) - Game Compilation; New music,
1996 WIP:
Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara (ARC, 1996) - Beat 'em up/AA Hybrid
Winding Heat (ARC, 1996) - 3D Racing
Sega Super GT (ARC, 1996) - 3D Racing
Super Dodge Ball (ARC/NG?, 1996) - Sports/Action
Sega Touring Car Championship (ARC, 1996) - 3D Racing
Samurai Shodown IV (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Aqua Jet (ARC, 1996) - 3D Water Scooter Racing
Metal Slug (ARC, 1996) - Run 'n Gun
Die Hard Arcade (ARC, 1996) - 3D Beat 'em up, Action mini-game
Real Bout Fatal Fury Special (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
X-Men vs. Street Fighter (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Neo Turf Masters (ARC, 1996) - Sports (Golf)
Sega Ski Super G (ARC, 1996) - Sports (Downhill Skiing)
Twinkle Star Sprites (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Street Fighter Alpha 2 (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Battle Garegga (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up, 2-player co-op
-3 planes (+ 2 hidden ones) to choose from
-You can customize each plane (set speed etc.)?
-Relatively advanced dynamic difficulty/rank system (which isn't explained or displayed by the game at all and is a bit unintuitive unfortunately) - the game keeps track of how many items are picked up, how powered up the player's ship is and even how many shots are fired, increasing the difficulty accordingly. The only way to decrease the rank is by losing a life (!). Limiting your upgrades and even suiciding is key to scoring higher and by extension surviving the game unless playing on easier modes
-Fairly deep scoring system (gain more by shooting invulnerable parts of enemies and bosses, pick up medal items in a chain for higher points - value resets if you miss one, some medals are hidden - found by bombing the scenery)
-Great bosses
-Lots of options (screen modes (3-5 are useless though), training to hard mode + edit mode, hit box options) - SAT only?
-You can watch someone 'super play' it to learn the more advanced mechanics (getting a higher score)
-Smart bombs (different for each ship, these nullify enemy bullets)
-Secret planes (easier to access in this version through the options)
-Can change gun drone formations (by the press of a button, the drones also attack through a separate button to your main gun),
-Remixed soundtrack option on SAT (sounds great, you can even adjust sfx volume)
-Mania mode in the SAT version (autofire, gun drone cycling options), the game hands out bomb ammo when you die (20 small ones = half a full bomb)
-Variable rapid fire rates (used for scoring higher by controlling your rank)
-Dying causes and explosion (the shrapnel does decent damage to larger enemies and nullifies bullets)
-Hidden power ups/points - FZ2?
Aquarium (ARC, 1996) - Matching Puzzle
NBA Hang Time (ARC, 1996) - Sports
Magical Drop II (ARC, 1996) - Matching Puzzle
Dancing Eyes (ARC, 1996) - 3D Action Puzzle/Erotic
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (ARC, 1996) - Matching Puzzle
Neo Drift Out (ARC, 1996) - TD Racing
Wave Shark (ARC, 1996) - 3D Water Scooter Racing
Puyo Puyo Sun (ARC, 1996) - Matching Puzzle
Time Crisis (ARC, 1996) - 3D Light Gun Shooter
Killer Instinct 2 (ARC, 1996) - Fighting; Pre-rendered sprites, 2.5D backgrounds
Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
The King of Fighters '96 (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Waku Waku 7 (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Bust-A-Move Again (ARC, 1996) - Matching Puzzle
Mace: The Dark Age (ARC, 1996) - 3D Fighting
Cruis'n World (ARC, 1996) - 3D Racing
Midnight Run: Road Fighter 2 (ARC, 1996) - 3D Racing
Dead or Alive (ARC, 1996) - 3D Fighting
OverTop (ARC, 1996) - Isometric Racing
Puzzle Bobble 3 (ARC, 1996) - Matching Puzzle
Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters (ARC, 1996) - Fighting/Vs. Action
Raiden Fighters (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Macross Plus (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Xevious 3D/G (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Salamander 2 (ARC, 1996) - Horizontal/Vertical Shoot 'em up Hybrid
Red Earth (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
RayStorm (ARC, 1996) - 3D Vertical Shoot 'em up
Air Gallet (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2 (ARC, 1996) - Misc. Action
Ninja Masters (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Breakers (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
The Ultimate 11 (ARC, 1996) - Sports (Football/Soccer); 2.5D (scaling),
Tokyo Wars (ARC, 1996) - 3D Tank Combat/Arena Combat
Art of Fighting 3 (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Gunblade NY (ARC, 1996) - 3D Light Gun Shooter, Chopper based
Sonic Championship/Sonic the Fighters (ARC, 1996) - 3D Fighting
Sonic Wings Limited (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Sexy Parodius (ARC, 1996) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Soukyuugurentai (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up; 2.5D elements
Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing (ARC, 1996) - 3D Racing
Tengai/Sengoku Blade: Sengoku Ace Episode II (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Osman (ARC, 1996) - Action Platformer
NBA Jam Extreme (ARC, 1996) - Sports
Alpine Racer 2 (ARC, 1996) - 3D Downhill Skiing
Street Fighter EX (ARC, 1996) - Fighting
Star Gladiator - Episode 1: Final Crusade (ARC, 1996) - 3D Fighting
Storm Blade (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Back Street Soccer (ARC, 1996) - Sports
Hotdog Storm (ARC, 1996) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
1997 WIP:
Virtua Fighter 3 (ARC, 1997) - 3D Fighting, Area Arenas?
Beatmania (ARC, 1997) - Rhythm
Tekken 3 (ARC, 1997) - 3D Fighting
G Darius (ARC, 1997) - 2.5D Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Shock Troopers (ARC, 1997) - TD Run 'n Gun, 2-Player Co-op
Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
DoDonPachi (ARC, 1997) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Off Road Challenge (ARC, 1997) - 3D Racing
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Time Crisis II (ARC, 1997) - Light Gun Shooter
The Last Blade (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Motor Raid (ARC, 1997) - 3D Motorbike Racing
Rival Schools (ARC, 1997) - 3D Fighting
Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampire (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (ARC, 1997) - 3D Light Gun/Rail Shooter, Wagon-based
The King of Fighters '97 (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
The House of the Dead (ARC, 1997) - Light Gun Shooter; Cheesy horror theme
Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact - Giant Attack (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Magical Drop III (ARC, 1997) - Matching Puzzle
Neo Bomberman (ARC, 1997) - TD Maze Action
Fighting Bujitsu (ARC, 1997) - ? 3D Fighting
Sega Bass Fishing (ARC, 1997) - 3D Fishing Sim
Raiden Fighters 2 (ARC, 1997) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Battle Circuit (ARC, 1997) - Beat 'em up
Capcom Sports Club (ARC, 1997) - Misc. Sports
Street Fighter III: New Generation (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Pocket Fighter (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Vampire Hunter 2 (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Solar Assault (ARC, 1997) - 3D Rail Shooter
Money Puzzle Exchanger (ARC, 1997) - Matching Puzzle
San Francisco Rush: The Rock - Alcatraz Edition (ARC, 1997) - 3D Racing
Street Fighter EX Plus (ARC, 1997) - Fighting; 3D models
Virtua Striker 2 (ARC, 1997) - 3D Sports (Soccer/Football)
Strikers 1945 II (ARC, 1997) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
All-Japan Pro Wrestling featuring Virtua (ARC, 1997) - Sports
Samurai Shodown 64 (ARC, 1997) - 3D Fighting, Weapon-based
Downhill Bikers (ARC, 1997) - 3D Bike Racing
The Killing Blade (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Zero Gunner (ARC, 1997) - Vertical Shoot 'em up; 3D graphics
Mortal Kombat 4 (ARC, 1997) - Fighting; 3D graphics
Cotton 2 (ARC, 1997) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Groove on Fight: Gouketsuji Ichizoku 3 (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
Cleopatra Fortune (ARC, 1997) - Stacking Puzzle
Arkanoid Returns (ARC, 1997) - Action Puzzle
Puchi Carat (ARC, 1997) - Stacking Puzzle
Rampage World Tour (ARC, 1997) - Action/Action Platformer
Police Trainer (ARC, 1997) - Light Gun Shooter
Bloody Roar/Beastorizer (ARC, 1997) - 3D Fighting
NFL Blitz (ARC, 1997) - Sports
Rabbit (ARC, 1997) - Fighting
1998 WIP:
Sega Rally Championship 2 (ARC, 1998) - 3D Racing
Cyber Troopers Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting/Arena Combat, Mech-based
Racing Jam (ARC, 1998) - 3D Racing
Dance Dance Revolution (ARC, 1998) - Rhythm, Floor pad/dancing stage controls with safety bar, 2-Player Vs. and Co-op; sustained notes mechanic, ranking for each note based on timing accuracy, double mode (1 player 2 floors), euro dance theme
Guitar Freaks (ARC, 1998/PS1, 1999) - Rhythm, 2-player vs.
Daytona USA 2 (ARC, 1998) - 3D Racing
Star Wars Trilogy Arcade (ARC, 1998) - 3D Rail Shooter/FP Combat Hybrid (Darth Vader duel)
Harley Davidson & L.A. Riders (ARC, 1998) - 3D Motorbike Racing
SoulCalibur (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting, Weapon-based
The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
The Last Blade 2 (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Puzzle Bobble 4 (ARC, 1998) - Matching Puzzle
Armed Police BatRider (ARC, 1998) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Psychic Force 2012 (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
The Ocean Hunter (ARC, 1998) - Light Gun Shooter
Radiant Silvergun (ARC, 1998) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
JoJo's Venture (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Metal Slug 2 (ARC, 1998) - Run 'n Gun/Action Platformer, 2-Player Co-op;
Play By Play (ARC, 1998) - Sports (Basketball)
Virtua Fighter 3tb (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Battle Tryst (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Gauntlet Legends (ARC, 1998) - ARPG/Maze Action, TD View
Street Fighter Alpha 3 (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Dynamite Cop (ARC, 1998) - 3D Beat 'em up
Tetris: The Grand Master (ARC, 1998) - Stacking Puzzle
Gradius IV (ARC, 1998) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Blazing Star (ARC, 1998) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
ESP RA.DE. (ARC, 1998) - Vertical Shoot 'em up/Bullet Hell Shooter
The House of the Dead 2 (ARC, 1998) - Light Gun Shooter
Gunbird 2 (ARC, 1998) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Fighting Layer (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Shock Troopers: 2nd Squad (ARC, 1998) - TD Run 'n Gun
Ehrgeiz (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting, Arena Combat?
Radikal Bikers (ARC, 1998) - 3D Motorbike Racing
Dangun Feveron (ARC, 1998) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Breakers Revenge (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
NFL Blitz '99 (ARC, 1998) - Sports (American Football)
Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Land Maker (ARC, 1998) - Matching Puzzle; Ricochet mechanic
Battle Gear (ARC, 1998) - 3D Racing
Street Fighter EX2 (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Vapor TRX (ARC, 1998) - 3D Racing, Flight/Hover-based Futuristic Vehicles
Asura Blade: Sword Of Dynasty (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Raiden Fighters Jet (ARC, 1998) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
California Speed (ARC, 1998) - 3D Racing
Daraku Tenshi: The Fallen Angels (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Motocross Go! (ARC, 1998) - 3D Motorbike Racing
Cyvern: The Dragon Weapons (ARC, 1998) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Bloody Roar 2 (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Dead Or Alive++ (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Tech Romancer (ARC, 1998) - 3D Fighting
Astra Superstars (ARC, 1998) - Fighting
Area 51: Site 4 (ARC, 1998) - Light Gun Shooter
Evil Night (ARC, 1998) - Light Gun Shooter
Pachinko Sexy Reaction (ARC, 1998) - Gambling
1999 WIP:
Crazy Taxi (ARC, 1999/DC, 2000) - Racing/Taxi Driver Sim
Daytona USA 2 Power Edition (ARC, 1999) - 3D Racing
Power Stone (ARC/DC, 1999) - 3D Arena Fighting
Emergency Call Ambulance (ARC, 1999) - Racing/Ambulance Sim
Jambo! Safari (ARC, 1999) - 3D Hunting Sim/Driving Hybrid
Racing Jam Chapter II (ARC, 1999) - 3D Racing
Ferrari F355 Challenge (ARC, 1999) - 3D Racing
Strider 2 (ARC, 1999/PS1, 2000) - 2.5D Action Platformer
Hydro Thunder (ARC/DC, 1999) - 3D Boat Racing
Tekken Tag Tournament (ARC, 1999/PS2, 2000) - 3D Fighting
Dance Dance Revolution 2nd Mix (ARC, 1999) - Rhythm
Garou: Mark of the Wolves (ARC, 1999) - Fighting
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike - Fight for the Future (ARC, 1999/DC, 2000) - Fighting
Metal Slug X (ARC, 1999) - Run 'n Gun/Action Platformer; MS2 remake?
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (ARC/DC, 1999) - Fighting
Garou Densetsu: Wild Ambition (ARC, 1999) - 3D Fighting
San Francisco Rush 2049 (ARC, 1999) - 3D Racing
Bust a Move 2/Bust a Groove 2 (ARC, 1999) - Rhythm
L.A. Machineguns: Rage of the Machines (ARC, 1999) - 3D Light Gun Shooter
Road Burners (ARC, 1999) - 3D Motorbike Racing
Dead or Alive 2 (ARC, 1999) - 3D Fighting
Knights Of Valour Plus (ARC, 1999) - Beat 'em up
NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC (ARC, 1999) - Sports (Basketball)
Mr. Driller (ARC, 1999) - Action Puzzle
Knights of Valour (ARC, 1999) - Beat 'em up
Silent Scope (ARC, 1999) - 3D Light Gun Shooter, Sniping
Strikers 1945 Plus (ARC, 1999) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Virtua Tennis (ARC, 1999) - 3D Sports
Battle Bakraid (ARC, 1999) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle (ARC, 1999) - Fighting
Giga Wing (ARC, 1999) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Street Fighter EX2 Plus (ARC, 1999) - Fighting; 3D graphics
Gaia Crusaders (ARC, 1999) - Beat 'em up
Strikers 1945 III (ARC, 1999) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Cruis'n Exotica (ARC, 1999) - 3D Racing
Guwange (ARC, 1999) - Vertical Shoot 'em up
Crisis Zone (ARC, 1999) - Light Gun Shooter
Prehistoric Isle 2 (ARC, 1999) - Horizontal Shoot 'em up
Offroad Thunder (ARC, 1999) - 3D Racing
NFL Blitz 2000 (ARC, 1999) - Sports
CarnEvil (ARC, 1999)
Brave FireFighters (ARC, 1999)
Final Fight Revenge (ARC, 1999)
Pachinko Sexy Reaction 2 (ARC, 1999)
Change Air Blade (ARC, 1999)
The Legend of Silkroad (ARC, 1999)