There are many nostaligic treasures to be found on the Virtual Console, but my favourite by far is the TurboGrafx library. Japan and America were lucky enough to have played these games when they were first released in the Eighties and Nineties, but over here it was a different story. NEC declined to release the console in Europe, and instead we had to make do with third-hand accounts of its brilliance, or else shell out for grey imports that were ridiculously expensive.

Now we’re able to experience the games for ourselves, I haven’t been disappointed. As an added bonus, all of the TurboGrafx games on the VC are free from the PAL conversion issues which have dogged all the Sega and Nintendo releases, so the games can be played without any slowdown or unsightly black borders on the screen.

Here are my five favourites, let us know what you think in the comments below.

5) SPLATTERHOUSE (600 points)

So you want some bloody violence and religious blasphemy in your interactive entertainment, but Manhunt 2 and Resistance are copping too much flack. You can always make do with SPLATTERHOUSE, the game which took inspiration from the “Friday the 13th” films and invented the survival horror genre. Even the hero of the game looks like Jason, complete with hockey mask and blood-splattered denim.

Let’s be honest, this game is rubbish. It’s a side-scrolling beat-up with clunky controls, and it really hasn’t aged very well. But it is remarkable in terms of its subject matter, with each stage spewing forth one grotesque horror after another. Alas, this version has been censored to remove the most offensive imagery (inverted crosses, malevolent embryo demons), but the evil atmosphere remains intact.

4) Bonk’s Adventure (600 points)

The unofficial mascot of the TurboGrafx was called “Bonk”, a cave boy with an abnormally large head. Sounds strange, but no more of an oddity than, say, an Italian plumber or a blue hedgehog. Bonk’s Adventure was the best-selling game on this platform, and whilst it looks like a Super Mario clone, it has a surreal charm that’s distinct in itself.

Bonk likes to head-butt his dinosaur enemies (hence the name) and use his massive jaws to grip onto the side of platforms. Most hilariously, he powers himself up by eating giant steaks. The graphics and colour-scheme are very jolly, as are the sound effects, all of which adds up to a diverting platform romp. Skeptics might wonder why they should bother when all the other Mario titles are readily available, but no list of TurboGrafx games would be complete without a Bonk.

3) R-Type (800 points)

The great grandaddy of every sidescolling shoot ‘em up since time immemorial, R-Type is a pixel perfect conversion of the arcade original. Barely ten seconds after you press “start” the screen is filled with alien beasties, missiles, and flying derbris, and the action is relentless.

But be warned, playing R-Type again will be a shock to the system. Why? Because it’s so bloody difficult. It belongs to an era where games don’t mollycoddle you and give you infinite lives and checkpoints. Either you’re man enough for the challenge or you can p*ss off, quite frankly.

2) Military Madness (600 points)

If you’re a fan of turn-based strategy games like Advance Wars - and if not then you’re no friend of mine - then you’ll certainly want to have a crack at Military Madness. Set on the moon in 2089, there’s a war between “Allied” and “Axis” powers for control of a Human colony. Assuming command of the Allied division, you must direct your units to engage with the enemy and capture their base.

This is a great meaty chunk of quality entertainment, built on the solid foundations of good design. Indeed, Hudson recently revived the franchise for playing on mobile phones. Strategy and guile plays a crucial role in each confrontation, and a second person can also assume command of the rival army to provide some friendly fire.

1) Bomberman 93 (600 points)

Ah yes, Bomberman, perhaps the single most essential purchase on the Virtual Console. The concept is simple to the point of idiocy: scuttle around a maze and try to blow up enemies and obstacles using bombs. But don’t be fooled, from this humble premise comes the most anarchic and addictive game in the whole world ever.

Initially players are limited to dropping one bomb at a time, but once you find some power-ups you can dramatically increase the range and speed of your explosions. Perversely, these same powers make it easier to kill yourself in the process. The undisputed king of multiplayer mayhem, it still feels as fresh today as when it was first released.

Wishlist

There are plenty more TurboGrafx games which have yet to appear on the Virtual Console. Two lost classics are Dracula X: Rondo of Blood and Buster Bros. The former is reputedly the greatest Castlevania game ever made. The latter is an arcade platformer where one or two players save the world from an invasion of evil balloons. It sounds silly, but it plays like heaven.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, October 13th, 2007 at 3:40 pm by Bulent Yusuf
Features, Nostalgia, Reviews, Top 5, Virtual Console.