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.
