Including and especially the bad ones
Year: 1985
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Pinball
Games that pretended to be something else used to be a really cool thing. “Check it out!” the game would say, “I’m a slot machine!” “I’m a pachinko machine!” “I’m a video poker game!” “I’m a monopoly simulator!”
“I’m a pinball machine,” seemed to be one of the more popular choices.
Year: 1985
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Racing – Chase
There are things that a racing game can do to make itself stand out in an otherwise vanilla genre. Some incorporate powerups, items or weapons. Some allow you to improve on your vehicle. Some employ novel control schemes. Some just show the game from a different perspective. Mach Rider takes a novel approach to the problem of keeping you interested in what otherwise amounts to bland gameplay: it arbitrarily kicks your ass.
Publisher: Nintendo
Year: 1985
Genre: Brawler – Side-Scroll
There was something of a martial arts craze in the 80’s brought on by the likes of the Karate Kid, The Last Dragon and Gymkata. Ok, maybe not so much Gymkata. Point being that it is generally agreed that in the 80’s, everybody was Kung Fu Fighting.
Year: 1985
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Platform – Top-Scroll
Few games capture the true essence of the Esquimaux peoples of the arctic circle, expressing the spirit and character of the proud native heritage they all bear within them. This game isn’t one of them. This is a game about hitting polar bears with a hammer.
Year: 1985
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Shooting – Zapper
Growing up I wanted to be a great many things. I wanted to be an engineer, I wanted to own a pet shop, I wanted to be an investment banker (no, really) – a great many things. I never once, though, wanted to be an officer of the law. You know why? Because people shoot them!
