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Most everyone loves the Golden Axe series. The main trilogy is considered sacred by hack-‘n-slash fans, but all cringe when talk of the spin-offs comes up. For some reason, Sega was never able to really capture the same magic (vases) with later outings, and most of what’s out there is better left untouched. Case in point: Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe for the Game Gear. Is it trying to be like Zelda II? If so, we don’t think Link has too much to worry about with this one.
When most people think of the Sega CD, they think of full-motion video games. Yeah, there’s more than a fair share of those on the add-on, but there are also a lot of quality titles, including some great platformers. Some games, like the CD version of Chuck Rock II, are more than just cartridge games with CD soundtracks. There are lots of neat visual effects and one cool cinematic intro sequence that makes this the definitive version to own.
Long after the 16-bit era has ended, gamers in the west are finally beginning to enjoy these titles through emulation and the efforts of companies such as Super Fighter Team. One beat-’em-up that conjures forth images of Capcom’s Knights of the Round is Never Ending Soft’s Shui Hu Feng Yun Zhuan (known to many outside Taiwan as Water Margin: Beneath the Clouds) is a two-player experience that most definitely should have been localized.
Rare’s Snake, Rattle ‘n’ Roll is widely considered to be a classic on the NES. A few years back, we reviewed the obscure Mega Drive version, but how about we take a closer look at the two? Well, staff writer Doug Jackson did just that, and his findings are now available in the latest installment of our Side by Side series.
The concept of “eductainment” games on consoles never really seemed to make sense. Aside from your Sesame Street kind of fair, there really seems to be no reason for the genre to exist. Still, developers churn them out, and publishers press and release them, so some is obviously buying them. That was probably the philosophy used by Software Toolworks when it released San Diego Zoo Presents: The Animals!. Simple and dull, it’s nothing more than an excuse to throw some full-motion video on a disc and call it “multi-media.”