Once a month for the Retro Gaming Club, for now, I hope to post a mini review of three retro games I have played so you can see if they are worth trying out or not. The list is very long when you consider all of the retro consoles that existed before the three main consoles that exist today: PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch. Sadly, a lot of games are forgotten or never enjoyed by many gamers because the console is no long available, or the game was never re-released on future generation systems.
For now, I’ve been focusing on the NES and SNES library of games from Nintendo Switch, but I am looking at getting the Capcom Arcade Stadium which includes 30 or so games from the arcade era. Let me know in the comments what you thought of this month’s three games, and what you have been playing as well, retro or not!
Pop’N TwinBee – 1993, SNES 🎮🎮🎮🎮 out of 🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮
Pop’N TwinBee is a game from the Super Famicom, which is the SNES in Japan. I had never heard of it so I wanted to give it a try. It looks like a cutesy Japanese games for teens, so I expected it to be easy and a breeze to beat. How easily I forgot that SNES or NES games can look simple, but are quite challenging like Pop’N TwinBee.
It’s a shooter game, where you play as what looks to be a robot and you shoot your way through various enemies in colorful stages. The game is not violent at all, which is good for those looking to avoid that. You receive upgrades as you defeat baddies and battle a boss at the end. It’s very simple and not a long game, but the amount of shots fired at you can be overwhelming, especially with all the colors from the background.
I didn’t beat it, but I saved my state to what I believe is near the end or at least half-way. I am not a big fan of shooters, but for those that are you will enjoy this one.
Watch the long play of the game here.
Tuff E Nuff – 1993, SNES 🎮 out of 🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮
Tuff E Nuff is another random game I wanted to try on the SNES from the Nintendo Switch. I’ve never seen the cover before, and now I know why. It isn’t that great of a game, even though I really enjoy fighting games. The game starts by explaining the state of the world in the future, which is basically Mad Max if you have watched that movie.
Short story is, the world is devastated and you have to beat some guy who thinks he’s king of the world and knock him off his throne. You play as one of four characters and battle your way through a tower. The controls are not very good, as the attacks don’t react as quick as you press
Watch the long play of the game here.
Sengoku 3 – 2001, NEO GEO 🎮🎮🎮 out of 🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮
For the last game on this month’s list is Sengoku 3. This is a beat’em up title from NeoGeo, similar to Final Fight which is what it reminded me of. Basically, instead of playing as Haggar or Cody, you play as various ninja’s who are fighting what seems to be undead warriors from Japan. As always, evil has risen it’s head against the world and a team of powerful ninjas appear to save the land from destruction. Each of the four characters you can pick from have different attacks and movements, so it’s fun to try each one. Later on you get access to two more characters, which you fight as bosses first before they are playable.
The controls aren’t that great, so it’s easy to get hit since the attacks don’t always connect. Where the controls lack, the graphics look pretty detailed for a game from 2001. It is challenging, as the enemies have a decent AI so it will avoid your attacks sometimes. Overall, it’s a different style of beat’em up that I believe fans of the genre will enjoy.
I played this one on Amazon Prime Gaming, so if you have Amazon Prime you may have access to it for free!
Watch the long play of the game here.
Comment below on what games you’ve been playing recently, if you have played any of these, or what are some classic retro games you would recommend me to try out! Also, be sure to check out my first Retro Gaming Club post and why I started this column.
God bless, and keep on gaming!