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February 1994


Nvrland - For SNES
Lufia
Role-Playing Game | 12 MB
Release: Dec 1993
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One hundred years ago, the destructive Sinistrals were defeated by the forces of light. Now, the monsters have returned! Gather up the fiercest warriors and restore peace to the land! Lufia is an exceedingly well-done RPG by the folks at Taito, presenting crisp graphics, an enjoyable soundtrack, and an easy-to-use interface. Your off-beat characters explore the world from an overhead perspective and battle foes in Phantasy Star-like fighting sequences. Lufia hardly presents a revolutionary vision for RPGs, but this entry-level title should satisfy all players.

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Sony - For SNES
Skyblazer
Action-Platformer | 8 MB
Release: Jan 1994
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From Sony Imagesoft comes their greatest action cart yet revealed to starving gamers everywhere. Skyblazer is a side-scrolling action-adventure which puts you in the role of Sky: A hero tasked with a rescue mission versus one horrendous baddie named Ashura. Take down demons, locate magic points, and fight off huge, morphing bosses to save the day. Skyblazer is a blast, and gorgeous to look at too with vibrant graphics and Mode-7 aplenty. Your joy from these imaginative levels based in mythology may be fleeting as this is a short game, but a fun journey nonetheless.

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Sunsoft - For SNES
Rabbit Rampage
Action-Platformer | 12 MB
Release: Feb 1994
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Ehh, what's up Doc? Sunsoft is partnering with Warner Bros has developed an animated platformer named Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage. This right here is a quality license, and fortunately Sunsoft did it (mostly) right. Toon fans will love the endless references to the classics and fawn over the sprite art and attention to detail. All, of course, accompanied by lovely, nostalgic music. As Bugs, knock out baddies with clever Acme trinkets - Anvils ahoy! Play control isn't a highlight here thanks in part to poor hit detection, yet nevertheless this oughta be an enjoyable weekend rental anyway.

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RaisingH - For GENESIS
Wiz 'n' Liz
Platformer | 16 MB
Release: Jan 1994
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A wizarding duo is in desperate need of some ingredients to prepare their spells just right. Collecting the proper bits can only be achieved by nabbing up tons of "wabbits," odd alien rabbit creatures, which grants you power-ups, spell characters, time extenders, and more. This arcade-style game is in some ways a throwback to coin-ops of yore: A simple yet addictive concept that requires no prior research or combo memorization. Your main challenge is to beat the clock, and to do so you must run faster than a naked squirrel through each winding stage. Blast processing was made for this!

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SEGA - For GENESIS
Sonic 3
Platformer | 16 MB
Release: Feb 1994
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Hot on the tail of CD, Chaos, and Spinball comes the newest iteration in the main series of spiny adventures with Sonic 3. Sega surprised us with a release on February 2nd (hours before printing, no less! -Jet), and boy are we overjoyed. 3 is packed with brand-new enemies, giant zones to explore, and much-improved stylized graphics to boot. You'll meet Knuckles and Echidna, a dastardly foe duped into siding with Dr. Robotnik, as well as elemental shield abilities, cool bonus stages, and a battery save system! We've even seen Snowboarding Sonic in Ice Cap Zone! Sega's work speaks for itself. Well done.

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Traveller's - For GENESIS
Puggsy
Puzzle-Platformer | 8 MB
Release: Jan 1994
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Puggsy is a cute action/puzzle game published by Psygnosis for the Genesis. It reminds us of some similarly styled Amiga games, but it's rather rare that these are ported to home consoles. Your objective as the titular character is to wander across various technicolor stages as the titular orange alien to collect pieces of a broken spaceship. Much like Wiz 'n' Liz, Puggsy is fun and suitable for all ages, but this cart is waaay slow. Prepare for Mach Negative 10 because this alien is in no rush at all. The animations are done well enough for an 8 MEG cart, but this one's nothing too special.

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Dynamix - For SEGA-CD
Stellar-Fire
Action-Shooter | CD
Release: Dec 1993
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Stellar-Fire is a first-person shooter brought to you by Dynamix. If you've played an ariel combat simulator, or any game remotely like 1980's BattleZone, you will understand the gist. Dynamix developed this as a futuristic spaceship-like shooter with some basic use of polygonal graphics for the sparse enemies. Two big plusses are the catchy soundtrack played via CD-quality sound and the sense of speed achieved in the player vehicle. Other than that, Stellar-Fire can feel awful repetitive. Static, lifeless backgrounds and a severely limited weapon cache remind you Sega-CD just isn't 32-Bit.

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Virgin- For 3DO
Night Trap
Action-Puzzle | CD
Release: Jan 1994
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Congressmen beware! It's the stuff of nightmares! Night Trap, an FMV action title originally released on Sega-CD, has launched on 3DO consoles worldwide. The good news is that the 3DO iteration is superior in a thousand ways to its Sega relative, from a crisper, full-screen picture to tighter play control. Your objective is to monitor security cameras to protect Kelly and her teenage cohorts from the slithery Augers. While viewing a camera's feed, spring traps on the Augers to lock them away, then -quick!- move to the next feed. It's nothing special in '94 and the gimmick ages fast. Way overrated.

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Imagitec - For JAGUAR
Raiden
Scrolling Shooter | 24 MB
Release: Dec 1993
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Say hello to the ultimate arcade game conversion. Raiden, the shoot-em-up classic from the arcades, is a perfect dupe for Jaguar This cart sounds and looks totally identical to the original. You take control of a fighter plane flying over enemy territory, shooting down foe aircraft, blasting apart tanks, and avoiding missiles. Raiden showcases parallax scrolling and engaging audio quality, with no slow down despite massive objects on-screen. Simply put, no other system is capable of this. What's the downside? This isn't 1991! We're left still waiting for those true 64-Bit games on the Jag, as this sure ain't it.

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Capcom - For Game Boy
Mega Man IV
Platformer | 8 MB
Release: Dec 1993
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Get ready for another entry in the exciting action-adventure series from Capcom. That's right, Mega Man returns for his fourth entry on the Game Boy portable. Drawing elements from IV and V on NES, Capcom re-introduces robot masters along with their special weapons. Sprites are easily definable on the tiny, green-and-white screen of the aging Game Boy, and they move astoundingly quick. The Blue Bomber can also now spend P-Chips on items at Dr. Right's Lab, from Weapon Chargers to E Tanks! Our PPM Crew found Mega Man IV the best Mega yet on a portable pushed to its limits.

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Capcom - For Game Boy
TMNT III
Platformer | 8 MB
Release: Dec 1993
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Turtle Power is back again on Game Boy in Radical Rescue, an action-adventure title available in stores now. Staring Michelangelo (the turtle, not the artist), the player must navigate the complex Fortress maze and rescue his three friends! Once each turtle is rescued, you may switch out to another based on his abilities and fighting style. Play control is fair but underwhelming for a Konami platformer. Graphics do the small screen justice, however, and the music is rather bouncy! This is a bit of a challenge, and you'll be checking your map often, but turtle fans of all ages will love it.

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THQ - For NES
Ren & Stimpy
Action-Platformer | 4 MB
Release: Nov 1993
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"Eediots!" The troublesome twosome has made it to the ol' NES in The Ren & Stimpy Show: Buckaroo$!. Face down an assortment of kooky stages and wacky hazards as both of your favorite Nicktoon animal pals. You'll like it... if you're a major fan of the cartoon first and foremost. The graphics on Buckaroo$ are commendable considering the hard limits of 8-Bit tech, but boy oh boy, is the Nintendo hanging by a thread or what? Little separates this substandard platformer from the plethora of others available for NES, and if given the choice we'd rather play Veediots! for SNES.

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