Tagged: eight-bit-junkyard

Rediscovering video games of the past The power-up item has always been an essential part of every video game adventure. Score a power pellet, hammer,...

“Kickle Cubicle” (Irem, 1990) “Kickle Cubicle” is a quaint curiosity. A puzzle game that blatantly borrowed its gameplay and design from two more popular games,...

games The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo, 1987) The TV commercials had started in late August. Despite the start of a new school year, all my friends and...

“Back to the Future” (Nintendo) Thirty years ago this summer, “Back to the Future” debuted in theaters. The massive hit led to two more films,...

“StarTropics” (Nintendo, 1990) When people ask me what my favorite video game is, I usually don’t hesitate: “Kid Icarus.” There you go. Easy as that....

Shadowgate (Kemco, 1989) There is nothing about “Shadowgate,” a decades-old first-person role playing game, that should work. Nothing. It was a port of a two-year...

With next week’s release of “Pixels” in theaters across the country, classic video games and their bright, blocky protagonists will be in the spotlight once...

“Super Mario Brothers 3” (Nintendo, 1988) “Frostbite” (Activision, 1983) “Ecco the Dolphin” (Sega, 1992) It’s summertime! School? Out. Temperatures? Rising. Swimmin’ hole? Still pretty cold...

“Excitebike” (Nintendo, 1985) “Super Hang-On” (Sega, 1987) They never tell you to beware the ides of June. But they should. Every year, like shiny metal...

“Altered Beast”  (Sega, 1988) I was a Roman centurion. I’m dead now. But death is no hurdle for the almighty Zeus. From the dark depths...

“Gauntlet” (Atari, 1985) “Metroid”(Nintendo, 1986) Video games have never been known for their realistic portrayals of women. This isn’t up for debate. Their portrayals of...

“Kid Niki: Radical Ninja” (Data East, 1987) The summer between third and fourth grade, I made two presumably simple follicular requests of my mother. The...

“Blaster Master” (Sunsoft, 1988) What do you think of when you hear “Blaster Master?” Many classic video game fans heap praise upon it. They say...

“Tapper” (Bally Midway, 1983) Hello, my name is Zach. And I’m a “Tapper”-holic. I’ve been awash in a sea of digital suds for 32 years....

“A Boy and His Blob” (Absolute, 1989) For the bulk of 1982 and into the beginning of 1983, Activision’s “Pitfall!” was the bestselling game in...

Winter Game Roundup The wind threatens your breath and sanity as your bitter tears harden on your face. Your skin is cracked and brittle. In...

Rediscovering video games of the past “The Battle of Olympus” (Brøderbund, 1989) When “The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link” was released in...

“CRYSTAL CASTLES” (Atari, 1983) The neighborhood arcade, once as ubiquitous in Anytown, U.S.A. as Burger Chef and Montgomery Ward, has all but vanished from the...

MEGA MAN 6 (Capcom/Nintendo, 1994) The sixth entry in any series is a tough sell. Anything popular enough to make it to a sixth iteration...