The Sega Megadrive was never short of great games, but developer Treasure managed to create a smash with Gunstar Heroes, it’s very first commercial release in 1993. Back then the name Treasure was relatively unknown, well before they received worldwide acclaim for games such as Bangai-O, Sin & Punishment and Ikaruga. Gunstar Heroes uses the…
Strider Hiryu – Capcom’s Arcade Hero My first introduction to Capcom’s Strider was not through the arcade cabinet, but the excellent Megadrive port, which was like nothing I had seen before, with it’s huge sprites and fantastically varied levels and incredible bosses – it was an arcade revelation. At it’s heart, Strider is a side scrolling…
The best trackball arcade game? In the early 80’s we were at the height of the nuclear arms race, and the Doomsday clock representing our proximity to a nuclear war between the west and the Soviet Union was at 11:57. Released at the start of the escalation in 1980, Missile Command was a game that…
Battlezone: The Game That Brought 3D to the Arcades When Atari released Battlezone in November 1980, it marked a watershed moment in arcade gaming. Here was a game that placed you inside a tank, navigating a three-dimensional battlefield filled with enemy vehicles and geometric obstacles. Developer Ed Rotberg and his team had created something genuinely…
Introduction to Gradius Few games have left as lasting an impact on the shoot ’em up (shmup) genre as Gradius. Released by Konami in 1985, this arcade classic redefined side-scrolling shooters with its innovative power-up system, intense difficulty, and unforgettable soundtrack. It spawned multiple sequels, and was released on multiple home consoles and computers, with…
The space themed Laserdisc sequel to Dragon’s Lair It was a wet summer holiday in 1984 and I was with my cousin in an arcade on Canvey Island in Essex. Frankie Goes to Hollywood was in the Top 10 with “Two Tribes”, and the famous fight scene between Reagan and Chernenko was blasting out of…
