Nitro Ball / 1992 / Data East / Data East MC68000 Hardware

there’s a pretty decent chance you haven’t played this, unfortunately. i hadn’t even played it until tonight. here’s a brilliant thing that nobody else could’ve ever dreamed to do with the kind of finesse Data East did: make a top down run n’ gun with pinball elements. amazing game.

Joyful Road / 1983 / SNK / SNK Z80 Hardware

this isn’t even good, i just discovered it last night and can’t stop laughing at it

Brave Blade / 2000 / Raizing - 8ing / Sony ZN-1 Hardware

have i posted this one yet? either way, Brave Blade is a masterful piece of work from the guys at Raizing. makes awesome use of low-poly 3D to make every boss do a lot of really cool things. in the fire stage when the jet boss flips over and slams into the lava and transforms into a giant robotic phoenix thing? that blows me away. the scoring system is a ton of fun if you like fidgeting all over the screen to juggle items (which i do!)

i only had a brief chance to play this at one point on an expedition to a mall. i got home that evening and bought the PCB without hesitation. it’s a killer.

Ghostlop / 1996 (unreleased) / Data East / Neo-Geo MVS

speaking of (x)-alikes, here’s a Puzzle Bobble-alike, also produced by the masterful entertainers at Data East. really colorful graphics, goofy as hell sound effects and voices, and fast-paced gameplay. it’s kind of like a more controlled Puchi Carat (a pong-infused Puzzle Bobble-alike by Taito).

Diet Go Go / 1992 / Data East / Data East 68k Hardware

i’m one of those people that likes Bubble Bobble-alikes more than Bubble Bobble. Nightmare in the Dark, Zupapa, Funky Jet, Snow Bros, Tumblepop, Joe & Mac Returns, and… Diet Go Go. a really fun one from Data East with intensely colorful graphics running on some really great hardware for 1992. due to the pacing alone, it might just be the most absurd Bubble Bobble-alike. you gotta play it.

Starfighter Sanvein / 2001 / Success + A1 Games / Sony PlayStation

a common bargain bin dweller, it’s easy to overlook this one. but don’t do that. buy it instead. it’s an epileptic tour de force of PSX power. intense visuals, punishing gameplay, and a nigh-uncomparable rush when you do things right. intense.

Chelnov: Atomic Runner / 1988 / Data East / Data East MC68000 Hardware

a killer, largely forgotten arcade title with an absolutely incredible Genesis port / upgrade that will cost you next to nothing. pick this one up! Data East will forever be the king of “B movie” equivalent video games. they aren’t going to technically blow your mind, but you’re gonna love the cheese and fun factor.

DoDonPachi II: Bee Storm / 2001 / IGS / IGS PGM Hardware

the black sheep of CAVE’s DoDonPachi series, Bee Storm is developed by IGS as a test of the hardware for the possibility of future licensing of it from CAVE. reusing assets from DoDonPachi and having super simplified gameplay mechanics, this title gets the cold shoulder a lot. it’s actually a ton of fun! while it’s far from perfect, it’s got a strange modern-meets-classic shmup appeal to it and is very enjoyable.

this game isn’t emulated in MAME yet due to the protection used on the ROMs.

Bound High / Unreleased / Japan System Supply / Virtual Boy

one of the best titles on the Virtual Boy was unfortunately one that was set to be released the second year of the console’s life, after Nintendo had pulled the plug - and the rug out from many developers on a whim. fortunately, the prototype was pretty much complete and was eventually released to the wild: http://www.planetvb.com/modules/games/?u001d