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Coming Soon - Data East Arcade Classics
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/dataeastbook/dataeastbook.htm Our next book, due out in late July 2016, is Data East Arcade Classics! Data East was a pretty weird company, as much of their output falls into the "fun but arguably not actually good" category. Plus they did a lot of offbeat stuff like Karnov and Trio the Punch. But that's also part of what makes them such a fascinating c...
Famicom Bunko: Hajimari no Mori
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/famicombunko/famicombunko.htm Released in 1999 exclusively through the Nintendo Power download service for the Super Famicom, this adventure game seems like a simple summer love story, but it also makes very poignant commentary about the preservation of the environment and Japan's cultural traditions.
Your Weekly Kusoge: H.U.R.L.
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/kusoge/kusoge-hurl.htm FIrst person shooters were extremely popular around the time of Doom, but of course most were extremely violent. Millennium Media Group tried to make a goofy, kid-friendly FPS, which is admirable...but it did not turn out well.
bit Generations (Pt. 1)
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/bitgenerations/bitgenerations.htm A series of seven GBA titles released over the course of two weeks, the bit Generations games are aesthetically-driven and simple-but-pleasant little games. The first part of the article covers Series 1 (dotstream, BOUNDISH, and DIALHEX), which are on the more traditional side of things, with game elements that will be familiar to ...
Inventory: Mortal Kombat Klones
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/inventories/mortalklones.htmBeyond giving us ten games and several spin-offs, Mortal Kombat also inspired a legion of clones, rip-offs, and homages. This article covers over thirty of these titles - any 2D fighter featuring digitized live action or CGI characters, or otherwise featuring extreme amounts of violence - including Time Killers, Way of the Warriors, and ...
Mortal Kombat X (update)
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/mortalkombat/mortalkombat8.htm A little late coming, but we've updated our Mortal Kombat article with coverage of Mortal Kombat X, as well as adding the new character bios to thefirst page.
Croc
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/croc/croc.htm Argonaut, developer of the SNES Starfox games, pitched Nintendo an idea for a 3D platformer starring Yoshi. They struck it down. Frustrated, the team broke ties, continued to develop the game anyway, and created their own character: the wide-eyed crocodile Croc. While deriviative, it was a good alternative for those who wanted an N64-style 3D platform...
Omikron: The Nomad Soul
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/omikron/omikron.htm The first game from well known developer David Cage, Omikron features David Bowie in the role of a central plot-moving character who interacts directly with the player, looking like and voiced by Bowie himself, and even contributed to aspects of its design and aesthetics.
F-Zero (Part 2 of 2)
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/fzero/fzero4.htm The second (and final) part of our F-Zero article covers the beautiful F-Zero GX/AX, plus the remaining two Game Boy Advance games, which tied into an anime from around the same time.
Post Mortem / Still Life
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/stillife/stilllife.htmA trilogy of mystery adventure games from Microïds, the stories mix together mystical elements, psychic flashes, and utterly tone deaf comedy in a way that somehow works.
Red Comrades Save the Galaxy
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/redcomrades/redcomrades.htm A classic Russian comedy adventure game, the first in a series of five, that has recently been translated into English for the first time. It's about Communists from 1918 thwarting an alien invasion, and it's goofy as hell.
Dolphin Blue
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/dolphinblue/dolphinblue.htm It's Metal Slug meets anime Waterworld in this 2.5D run-and-gun released for the Atomiswave arcade board in 2003.
The Count Lucanor
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/countlucanor/countlucanor.htm Baroque Decay's The Count Lucanor, a loose take on the Spanish stories of Count Lucanor, done entirely in the style of a Studio Ghibli film (their comparison) and sprite based adventure games, with a bit of class from a classical soundtrack remade with chiptunes.
F-Zero (Part 1 of 2)
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/fzero/fzero.htmEven though F-Zero is part of Nintendo's long list of franchises that are only dug out from their vault for new Smash Bros. characters and trophies, it used to be one of the big names identified with Nintendo in the 16- and 64-bit days. As one of Nintendo's launch titles for the Super NES, it was a showcase of the system's capabilities as...
Actual Sunlight
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/actualsunlight/actualsunlight.htm Indie gaming has been involving for a good while, and one of its most popular subgenres in the western world has become the narrative game. Many of these developers are more interested in telling a story than presenting a traditional game for a player to have fun with, and it's been met with mixed responses, mainly due to how s...
April 2016 patron supported
Thank you so much for the support this month!
King and Balloon
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/kingballoon/kingballoon.htm An early variation on Namco's Galaga, where you fittingly protect a king from attacking balloons.
Cosmic Smash
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/cosmicsmash/cosmicsmash.htm Sega's high minded, artistic title with an abstract technological aesthetic, even though it's really just "squash meets Breakout".
Interview with Bobby Vandiver (Red Comet)
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/romhacks/redcomet-interview.htm Bobby Vandiver, better known as Red Comet, is an accomplished ROM hacking and the man behindTwilight Translations. He's released a number ofEnglish fan translation patchesfor games, including severalDragon Ball Ztitles, twoGundamtitles, and the beat-em-upStreets of Rage 3.
Technocop
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/technocop/technocop.htm This driving/shooting game by Gremlin Graphics had the questionable honor of introducing explicit gore to home consoles, years before it became a big issue withMortal Kombat.
Tattoo Assassins
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/tattooassassins/tattooassassins.htm Data East's pinball division tried to make their own Mortal Kombat II ripoff with Tattoo Assassins. We say "tried" because the game technically never came out, but it's still a testament to the absurd excess of the 90s fighting game market.
Baraduke
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/baraduke/baraduke.htm Gamers were shocked when Samus Aran revealed herself to be a woman at the end of Metroid, but technically Namco's arcade space shooter Baraduke beat Nintendo to the punch
500 Word Indies: Cast of the Seven Godsends
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/500wordindies/500wordindies-cotsg.htm Developed by Italy's indie game scene,Cast of the Seven Godsends emulates arcade classics like Rygar and Magician Lord, though with visuals that resemble a high-res Amiga game.
Ancient Domains of Mystery
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/adom/adom.htmAncient Domains of Mystery seems like a standard cRPG, and has many things in common with the genre: overworld map with towns and dungeons, quests, karma system. But the game is also a traditional roguelike with the level of complexity and difficulty similar to that of NetHack.
The Dark Spire
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/darkspire/darkspire.htm A first person dungeon crawler for the DS that directly replicates the feeling of the classic Wizardry titles, though with a stylish visual makeover.
JJ Squawkers
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/jjsquawkers/jjsquawkers.htm An eccentric arcade side-scroller from Athena featuring two crow brothers and their fight against evil.
Mamono Hunter Youko: Dai 7 no Keishou
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/mamonoyohko/mamonoyohko.htm Based off the 90s anime OVA, this Mega Drive action game is reminiscent of Valis, though playing it feels like navigating an alien world that’s hostile to your every move.
Your Weekly Kusoge: Family Dog
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/kusoge/kusoge-familydog.htm In the early 90s, there were a number of "adult" cartoon sitcoms after the early success of The Simpsons. These were all terrible (except The Critic) but one of them, Family Dog, had such high expectations that it got an SNES game tie-in. Like the cartoon, it is quite substandard.
Pony Island
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/ponyisland/ponyisland.htmA super creepy game about a piece of software that seems to be possessed by the devil. Not actually about ponies.
