Time Crisis was, and is still a trendsetter in the Arcades. Along with it’s polygonal graphics (which were pretty cutting edge at the time and still hold up well even to this day), the game also added a key innovation to the light-gun genre: the Duck Pedal. When you pressed the pedal, you popped out from under cover ready to take on enemies. When the pedal was depressed, you hid behind a nearby object where you could reload. However, each section was on a strict time limit, so you couldn’t hide underneath forever. When you played the game with another person in the game’s sequel, they played on another screen that was hooked up to the arcade cabinet, and they saw the action from a slightly different viewpoint. This was in contrast to two people looking at the same screen and being forced to take every bullet shot at them like other light gun games have done for years. Time Crisis Project Titan was a PlayStation-exclusive entry in the series. Playing as Richard Miller of the V.S.S.E, you fight to clear your name for the attempted assassination of Cuba’s President. The game contains the series’ signature duck and hide action, and you can even hide in different places by shooting the yellow arrows while the player is hiding. Oh yeah, and if you didn’t get it with the original PlayStation port of Time Crisis, TCPJ comes with a guncon for PS1. Of course it’s painted in a day-glow orange color so police won’t recognize it as a real weapon. Although TCPJ’s graphics were a bit dated at the time compared to the rest of the series, the game is still a fun light gun shooter with a gimmick that’s still clever even today.

Remember back in the days when instead of Japanese developers making games that appeal to American audiences, it was the other way around? Well, not necessarily American developers making games for Japanese audiences, but rather American developers making Japanese-style games? Well, Shogo: Mobile Armor Division is a relic from that era. Developed by Monolith (F.E.A.R, Condemned, Blood 2), Shogo takes its inspiration from Japanese anime such as Robotech and Gundam, putting players in control of a big robot. Rather than being a mech simulator like Mechwarrior, Shogo is a straight forward first person shooter. Playing as a young man named Sanjuro, who is a commander in the UCS, you step into the midst of a war over the planet Cronus. Sanjuro’s brother, childhood friend, and girlfriend were killed during the war. The game features a mix of mech and on-foot sections. Taking a cue from role playing games, players can sometimes hit enemies with a ‘critical shot’ which does increased damage. The game even features multiple paths and multiple endings. It was Monolith’s first game using their Lithtech engine. The character models and sparse textures show thier age, although the plot is much deeper than most FPS titles from it’s day and the gameplay is as fast paced as ever. The source code was released for the game some years ago, and there is probably a modding community that still supports it. If you love old school fps games and anime tributes (as cheesy as they might be), then you’d do well to check this out. It’s available at gog.com on the cheap.

Moon Diver isn’t just a throwback to the days of old, it’s basically a time machine that takes you back to the good old days of video gaming. You (and up to three of your pals) take control of a super badass ninja and slash the shit out of everything in your way. The plot is your typical ‘save the world’ storyline you see often, but you’ll be too busy enjoying yourself to care. Just like all those old school titles, it’s HARD. Not like Ninja Gaiden or Castlevania thankfully, but it will give you a challenge. If you like classic side scrollers, please check this out. It’s even more fun if you bring along some buddies. There is even some downloadable content available for it as well. Oh yeah, if this looks a little bit like Strider, that’s because its director was Koichi Yotsui, who helmed the legendary Capcom classic.

Super Meat Boy is a clever throwback to 2D platformers of the past, bringing with it a insane sense of humor and an even more insane level of difficulty. As the title character, you set out to rescue your girlfriend Bandage Girl from Dr. Fetus, a fetus in a glass jar and tuxedo. No, I am not making this up. You pursue him throughout over 300 levels, along with hidden warp zones and alternate ‘Dark World’ versions of levels. The levels are chock full of hazards. You can expect to die and die often. At the end of the level, you are treated to a replay of your progress including all the death’s you’ve suffered trying to complete the level. You can unlock characters from other indie video games such as Braid’s Tim and Bit Trip’s Commander Video. Each of these characters has their own unique powers, and some are needed to access the game’s collectables. The game has a unique art style that smacks of retro 8 and 16 bit games, although it clearly won’t be for everyone due to it’s heavy difficulty. If you appreciate hardcore challenges and miss gaming’s classic era, then Super Meat Boy is for you.

Gradius: TIA is the sequel to Nemesis, a Game Boy-exclusive entry in the Gradius series. Despite its small scale, it’s just as enjoyable as any console or arcade Gradius. You play as a ship whose loadout you select before hand, and you are tasked with escaping your alien pursuers. Although there is no text, there is a bit of a storyline about escape, and at the end of the game, the hunter becomes the prey as you turn the tables. Strangely, there are several Gradius staples that are missing from the series such as moai statues, a space intro to each stage (each stage seamlessly flows into the next), and classic Gradius music. However, the variety of the game’s 5 levels make up for it, as you face off against increasingly bizarre alien creatures and huge bosses. The soundtrack is also pretty good for a Game Boy title as well. Hopefully this will be one of the first games that will be available when legacy Game Boy Games are made available on the 3DS shop.

Mortal Kombat Trilogy is a home console exclusive version of Mortal Kombat 3, designed for the Playstation and Nintendo 64, with Sega Saturn and PC versions being made available a year later and being ports of the Playstation version (meanwhile, the Genesis and SNES got crappy ports of Ultimate MK3 while the Saturn got a ‘just okay’ version of UMK3). It’s intention was to basically close out the current storyarc, as Ed Boon and company was beginning work on Mortal Kombat 4. It does so in a pretty big way, as Raiden and Johnny Cage (among others) were added to the cast so that players could play as every character who was ever in a Mortal Kombat game. Many of the characters have new moves that were never before seen in any previous MK, such as Baraka’s spinning blades and Kung Lao’s dive. There was a new character, Chameleon (on the PS1) or Khameleon (if you played on N64). This character could randomly switch between any of the palette-swapped ninjas (male for PS1 and female for N64) and adopt their movesets. There are also several battlegrounds from MK2 thrown in. The PS1 version of the game has a few select levels from MK1.
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While Interplay’s Clayfighter might not have been the best fighting game of the SNES days, it was certainly the most creative and original. At the least, it’s art style put it head and shoulders above other SFII rip offs. It also had a pretty creative ad campaign, which parodied other fighting games. When a meteor made of clay lands on in a circus, the clay infects the circus employees, transforming them into strange clay creatures based on their own personalities. Among them are an Elvis impersonator, an evil snowman, an blob of clay that can change its shape, and Helga, an opera singer. The animation style is unique, and the action will keep you in stitches. A “Tournament edition” was released, which fixed many of the game’s glitches and added some new play modes. There were a number of sequels released, and a DSIware/Wiiware revival has been planned. The game is available on Virtual Console. It may not be Street Fighter, but it will keep you in stitches the whole time you play it.

For this episode I did something very spur-of-the-moment and special in the form of a look at my own personal past, as I dig up games for the Commodore Amiga from over 15 years ago! Take a stroll down memory lane with me as I look at games I’d thought lost forever!

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