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Every publisher has a list of projects that never found their way onto store shelves. Though they were finished and tested, company politics or financial turmoil caused them to be shelved, for what was thought to be the rest of time. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology (read: internet), games like Fido Dido are becoming available for play.
When the Mega Drive debuted in Japan in 1988, it began a long run of quirky Japanese games based on franchises most westerners had never dreamed existed. It’s understandable then, that most of these series never left the Land of the Rising Sun. Take the platformer Osomatsu-kun: Hachamecha Gekijo, or Nonsense Theater in English, for example. Could you imagine anyone on your street playing this instead of Golden Axe or Ghouls ‘n Ghosts? We can’t either. Still, it’s something to check out, at least out of curiosity.
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.
Taito’s list of arcade conversions to the Genesis is pretty big, much larger still if one includes those titles left behind in Japan. One such game was the adorable platformer New Zealand Story, which tells the tale of a little kiwi named Tiki who is out to save his girl and friends from an evil Walrus. Featuring adorable visuals and some of the most brutal platforming action of the era, this is one game that lures you in with its cuteness, only to then lash out and cut your throat, kind of like Chucky.
Let me see if I’ve got this right. Marko’s Magic Football was originally released in Europe on the Mega Drive, Mega CD, and Game Gear, and all made it across the pond to the U.S. except for the CD port. Eventually, the Sega CD version finally saw distribution in 2003 by Good Deal Games, which undoubtedly made all those who bought the incredibly expensive European original very unhappy. During the conversion process, the name was chopped off, no doubt due to America’s insistence in calling the sport “soccer,” but regardless of what it’s called, Marko is still a solid platformer that’s worth checking out.