Ninja Ryukenden(Ninja Gaiden)-PC Engine Review

What if I told you that Ninja Gaiden was released on the Turbografx-16? What if I told that this was not only true, but it was quite a bit better than the NES original? Well.....only one of those statements is actually true.

Released in 1992 by Hudson Soft, Ninja Ryukenden would be another great PC Engine title that would never leave Japan. Far too late to be a viable American release, it was also likely brought down by complex licensing issues on this side of the world. Let's take a look at this lost Japanese gem.

This game is essentially a port of the 1988 NES/Famicom original. Controls are very similar to that game. You jump with one button, slash your sword with the other. Like the original, you and also use shurikens and magic attacks via orbs and power-ups found throughout the levels. The controls feel slightly more responsive than the original. However, the original's controls were already quite responsive.

Like the 1988 game, the difficulty persists here. The original Ninja Ryukenden (Gaiden) is considered to be one of the hardest NES/Famicom games. This difficulty persists, and you will find yourself throwing the controller in anger more than a few times. You will die.

 The PC Engine's colour-palette gives the game a much needed graphical boost. While not lush and complex, the drab NES/Famicom fleshy look has been replaced by a more "crayola" look. Like so many other PC Engine titles, the colours look bright and vibrant, very child-like. Ryu's sprite is very small however, a curious choice to say the least. Despite this, the game looks arguable better than the SNES/Super Famicom port found in Ninja Ryukenden/Gaiden Trilogy.

The soundtrack has largely been redone. While the NES/Famicom had adequate sound, it was a bit harsh and metallic at times. This music sounds a lot more clear and brighter, but not as "classic" or burned if your brain.

As one of the first games to use cutscenes, Ninja Ryukenden was the forerunner of modern games. These scenes are still present in this version. Apparently, an English translation (or Chinese) can be unlocked in a secret menu. I have yet to try this feature of the game. The story appears to be largely the same, with Ryu Hayabusa on a mission to seek vengeance for his father.

For fans of the NES/Famicom, that version will certainly be more familiar and therefore nostalgic. If you have yet to play Ninja Ryukenden, I would consider this a superior version. That being said, the game is extremely valuable and hard to find today.

+Updated visuals
+Great sound and music
+Tight controls

-Very similar to original
-Hard to find and expensive today
-Still difficult as f^&$

Rating-8.5/10

JGC Feature-The Atari 2800

Despite its Asian-sounding name, Atari was as American as apple pie. Released in 1977, Atari's VCS brought the company millions of dollars in the pre-crash era of 1977-1982/83. Selling millions of units in North America and Europe, the company would try and expand its growing home console market to Japan in the early 1980s. This move would be the first high-profile failure of an American console in Japan.

Released in the Fall of 1983, the Atari VCS/2600 was rebranded as the Atari 2800 in Japan. Eschewing the wood-grain finish of the original 1977 model, the 2800 resembled its bigger brother, the Atari 5200. Later, pretty much the same design was used for the Atari 7800. The design of the 2800 would also be used by chainstore Sears when they released their Telegames II console around the same time.

Only a small library of the hundreds of 2600 games would make it to Japanese shores. Luckily, E.T. was one of them (not!). Besides E.T., Atari classics such as Centipede, Missile Command, Joust, and Yars Revenge would be released in Japan. All in all, about 30 games were released in Japan. American computer and electronic companies have struggled for many years to make a dent in the Japanese market. Like the Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, the 2800 was an American console that the Japanese buying public was not ready to welcome. This technological "xenophobia" has continued until today, with the notable exception of the Japanese success of Apple. Another factor compounding the early death of the 2800 was its late release. By 1983, the immensely popular Famicom had been released by Nintendo. In addition, the Sega SG-1000 was also on the market. Both consoles (especially the Famicom) offered far superior sound and graphics for almost 100 dollars less. With the explosion of the Japanese 8-bit computers at the same time, there was no room for the over-priced 2800.

There is no real reason to seek out an Atari 2800 today. For all intents and purposes, the game carts and game selection is identical besides the unique game boxes, which do contain Japanese text and the 2800 logo. The system faded away very quickly, and Atari would retreat and avoid releasing the 5200 and 7800 in Japan, at least officially. The Atari Jaguar would be released in the early 1990s, however, it would suffer an equally dismal fate. Today, Japanese 2800 units are almost impossible to find. Reserved for hardcore Atari collectors, it is hard to imagine someone with a casual interest in Atari wanting one of these units.

Ganbare Goemon!-Karakuri Dochu-Famicom Review

Released in 1986, Ganbare Goemon (GG) for the Nintendo Famicom is considered one of the most popular games from Nintendo's 8-bit console in Japan. In fact, the game was popular enough to warrant a re-release on the Game Boy Advance as part of its "Famicom Mini" series that was released in the early 2000s and was known as the "Classic NES" series in the West. None of the Famicom Goemon games were released in the West. Playing the game, it is somewhat easy to see why.

GG for the Famicom is actually the second game in the series. A little-known arcade game was released earlier in 1986. That game, titled "Mr. Goemon" was quite different from the NES/Famicom game discussed here. In GG, you play as a Goemon Ishikawa, a legendary Japanese folk-hero who uses thieving from baddies as a sort of medieval Japanese Robin Hood figure. The graphics are quite good for a 1986 release, with big sprites and good animation. The backgrounds remind one of a primitive "Okami", heavily influenced by traditional Japanese woodblock paintings.

The music in the game is great. The 8-bit synthesized Japanese soundtrack adds to the ancient Japanese vibe. Very catchy and memorable, you will find yourself humming the feudal tunes for hours after you have put down the controller.

Comparisons between GG and Zelda have obviously been made. The goal of each stage is to collect three "passes" within a tight time-limit. The passes are hidden through the level, and can actually be quite hard to find at times. After each level, Goemon progresses to another province on his way to the final castle. Through his adventure, Goemon can pick up various weapon and equipment upgrades. At times, Goemon will enter a 3-D-like maze gameplay section where he must find his way out to the exit. These sections can be quite a crawl, literally. The choppy animation makes the experience quite slow and sluggish. Despite these sections, the overall gameplay is quite fluid and enjoyable.

Ganbare Goemon was a massive hit for Konami. The series would spawn several Famicom sequels, a revamped series on the Super Famicom, and even N64 games. Some of these games would even make it outside of Japan. However, the 8-bit GG games are largely forgotten outside of Japan. That is a shame, as the 8-bit games are quite enjoyable. Despite a few minor language hurdles (some menus), this title is largely playable for non-Japanese players.


+Great graphics for the time
+Very catchy soundtrack
+The game is very affordable today

-Some language barrier in menus
-Cultural references may be lost to Western audiences

Rating-8.3/10

History of the MSX-Part 2

Debuting in 1985, the MSX was soon upgraded in terms of specs. With now at least 64kb of main ram and more video ram, the MSX2 showed a fair amount of graphical finesse. Once again, Konami would lead the pack in terms of developers.

For fans of the Metal Gear series, the MSX2 was famously home to Metal Gear 1 (1987) and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (1990). Emulated versions of these games have appeared on many consoles and in many Metal Gear collections. Vastly different from their NES/Famicom counterparts, most fans consider the MSX2 versions of the games vastly superior to the ports on Nintendo's hardware. Other Konami releases of this time include an alternate version of Akamajou Dracula (Vampire Killer), Salamander (aka LifeForce), Ganbare Goemon, and Nemesis 3, part of the long-running Gradius series. Complete copies of many Konami releases are highly sought-after today. Metal Gear 2 complete can cost upwards of $600-800 for a complete copy. For MSX collectors, the Konami MSX games represent the utmost in what the platform had to offer.

As the 1980s rolled along, floppy disks became the standard for most home computers. Many MSX2 models incorporated the FDD drives that were becoming commonplace on most computers of the time. Being a 3.5" drive, you can copy games to disk today if you have a 3.5" and some knowledge of DOS. However, finding a working FDD from a 30-year old computer can be a challenge. Despite the advent of the MSX FDD, most commercial games continued to be released on ROM cartridges. Many Japanese tech giants continued to produce MSX2 models. Today, the most common MSX2 models are from Sony and Panasonic.

Around this time, South Korean giant Daewoo released some MSX and MSX2 models under the Zemmix brand. These stripped-down MSX and MSX2 models eliminated the keyboard and FDD to simply play carts. These models are extremely rare nowadays and are rarely seen on the open market.

Far too many write off the MSX and MSX2 as Konami dominated. In fact, several other publishers were active developing for the platform. Enix contributed Dragon Quest 1 and 2, modified from the Famicom versions. Enix rival Squaresoft contributed King's Knight, Aliens (yes, based on the James Cameron movie), and even a port of the first Final Fantasy. Falcom would contribute ports of the first three games of the Ys series. For fans of RPGs, the system was full of them, at least if you could understand Japanese. For fans of shooters, Aleste 2 and Aleste Gaiden would make their way to the MSX2 platform. Few Western-developed games would make it to the system, despite its popularity in Europe and Brazil.

As the 1980s drew to a closer, the curtain began to draw to a close on the MSX standard. In the early 1990s, MSX2+ machines started to appeared. While not a drastic upgrade, the MSX2+ machines allowed some games to perform quicker and better. For example, the Konami shooter "Space Manbow" (pictured below) allowed for scrolling if you had a MSX2+. Scrolling was absent for most MSX2 games as the hardware struggled with this feature. Despite some hardware performance upgrades, the machines did not sell terribly well and were only made in Japan by a few companies.

By the early 1990s, the home console market had taken a massive bite out of the Japanese home computer market. On top on that, NEC remained the dominant force in Japan with its 16-bit computers such as the PC-9801. The MSX standard would see its swan-song in the form of the MSX Turbo R model.

The MSX Turbo R added a 16-bit processor to assist the aging Zilog Z-80. When activated (by switch), older games often ran much smoother and better on the Turbo R hardware. The machines are quite rare nowadays as they were only made by Panasonic. By 1994/95, MSX produced effectively ceased to be viable and production ended.

As Sony moved on to the Playstation, Panasonic to the 3D0,  and the world moved towards Windows-based computers, the MSX would get lumped in the swirling vortex of 1980s computer standards. However, unlike the Amstrad, Commodore 64, etc, the MSX did have a somewhat limited global base. Despite any success in North America, the machine has a solid hobbyist community today. New games and software are frequently released for the MSX.

In 2006, D4 publisher released a single-board version of the MSX called the MSX1chip. Adding SD and USB support, the system even plays original MSX carts. Like the C64, the MSX inspires a lot of nostalgia for the golden era of home computing. A curiosity in the West, but a massive part of Japanese computing and therefore gaming history.

Akumajo Dracula(Vampire Killer)-MSX Review

Released the same year as the Famicom Disk System original, Akumajo Dracula was also released for the MSX2 computer in Japan, Europe, and some other international markets. The game is known as "Vampire Killer" in the West, and this title easily differentiates it from Castlevania. While the game looks very similar to its Famicom/NES counterpart, the gameplay is radically different in many regards. Generally forgotten nowadays, the game is certainly a viable entry in the series. Let's take a look at a possible lost classic.

The game begins in a very similar fashion as the original classic. You roll up to Drac's castle and that ominous music plays and sends shivers down your spine. Once you enter the main hallway, you will start to notice the significant changes that this version makes to the Dracula/Castlevania formula. First of all, enemies come at you rather quickly and are fairly relentless. The game is actually quite a challenge at times. The second change is the "keys" that are scattered around the level. The brown keys open chests that are around the level. The white keys open the gate and end the stage.

 These keys can often be hard to find. They are usually in walls that you break. Once you find the key that you need, you can simply move on. Sounds easy, right? Well, not exactly. This game is unforgiving. First of all, you are given zero continues......that's right.....zero. If you die three times, you start at the beginning of the game. This will have time and time again. Luckily, I assume most of you will be playing this one by emulation due to its high price and obscurity. Save often. Also, you lost all of your weapons when you die. Speaking of weapons, the famous Vania whip sucks in this game. The basic whip has terribly short range and it never seems to hit enemies properly. Most sub-weapons such as the cross and time stopper are present, but are activated and used with weird button combinations such as jumping and pressing buttons at the same time. This makes the game even more frustrating.

The familiar bosses return in this game. Death, the Bat, Medusa, and Dracula all exist to make your life miserable in this version as well. The boss battles are pretty much as hard, and you will have a hard time dealing with these baddies. Dracula is not quite as bad as the NES/Famicom version. However, his two forms will still likely kill you more than a few times before you send him packing.

After beating Dracula, you are treated to what is likely the worst ending of any Vania game. Seriously....terrible. The MSX version of Akumajo Dracula has some glaring flaws. Awkward controls, a lack of continues, and the confusing key system make it far less appealing than its Nintendo cousin. Completists might enjoy trying the game, however, I believe it is far inferior to the NES/Famicom is about every regard despite this game have fairly nice visuals and pretty much the same soundtrack. An interesting curiosity, but a game that can certainly be mostly forgotten.


+Nice visuals
+Great music and soundtrack
+Unique entry in series

-Lack of continues
-Health does not replenish when advancing to next level
-Awkward controls
-Very rare and hard to find

Rating-7/10

History of the MSX-Part 1

The MSX computer blurred the line between console and home computer. One can think of it as the Japanese equivalent of the Commodore 64, a mass-market home computer that certainly had quite the reputation of a games platform. This article will focus more on that side of things and take a look at some of the more memorable games that defined the MSX.

The MSX is largely seen as the brainchild of Kazuhiko Nishi. Nishi co-founded ASCII magazine in the late 1970s. Devoted to computing, the magazine soon branched out to software publishing. In the early 1980s, ASCII partnered with Microsoft with Nishi becoming the head of Microsoft's Japanese sales office in the form of ASCII Microsoft. Nishi soon sought to unify computer makers around the same hardware specifications. Like VHS in the home entertainment business, the MSX was meant to be a single hardware specification that could be produced by multiple hardware manufacturers. Supplied with a modified version of MS Basic, the MSX was met with massive enthusiasm among Japanese giants such as Panasonic, Sanyo, and Casio. By late 1983, the first units were on sale, mostly in Japan.

The MSX used a Zilog Z-80 8-bit processor. In terms of specifications, the MSX was initially very similar to both the Colecovision and the Sega SG-1000. MSX1 games are rather primitive in terms of graphics and sound.

Japanese game giant Konami was by far the most ardent supporter of the MSX. Perhaps the most famous MSX games were released by Konami. Some early MSX1 titles included Penguin Adventure (pictured), King's Valley, Gradius, Twin Bee, and countless others. Konami would remain a die-hard supporter of the MSX standard until the early 1990s into the MSX 2 era. Today, Konami MSX games can fetch hundreds of dollars each on online auction sites. Another big supporter of the system was Hudson Soft. Classic Hudson Soft titles such as Bomberman (pictured) and Binary Land soon found a home on the system.

Unlike most Japanese home computers of the time, the MSX was able to find a home outside of its native country. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, the MSX was became a somewhat popular home computer in Brazil, Europe, and in the USSR. Despite its modest success abroad, by 1985 it was painfully clear the MSX was technically outdated. Seeking an upgrade for the standard, the MSX2 standard would appear in 1985.

.......to be continued in part 2.......

Akumajo Special: Boku Dracula-kun: Famicom Review

Like Namco before them (Splatterhouse: Wanpaku), Konami would take one of their most beloved Famicom/NES franchises(Dracula/Castlevania) and turn it into a cute platforming game. Never released outside of Japan, the game is a lost Famicom gem of a game.

You play as a younger incarnation of the evil Count who awakes to find his kingdom under control of the evil boss Galamoth. You head out on a mission to take down Galamoth and regain your power.

The similarities between this game and Dracula/Castlevania are largely superficial. The game actually plays more like Megaman/Rockman. While certain levels take backgrounds and enemies from Dracula/Castlevania games, Kid Dracula uses a charged fireball as his main weapon. The weapon is upgraded as the game progresses, and you can attain more powerful shots with longer/wider range. The fireball takes away a lot of the close-combat of Dracula/Castlevania games. You have a lot more range to attack enemies.

Various other upgrades/abilities such as the anti-gravity skill allow more variation in gameplay. The ability to turn into a bat (like Alucard in Castlevania 3) is another interesting dynamic and gives the game a "Kirby" like feel at times.

Sprites are large and detailed, and the games really shines the graphic department. The bosses are especially remarkable, very much resembling some of the bigger bosses from Rockman/Megaman.Just like that series, you gain special abilities after beating bosses. Many of the environments also remind of that series. The plethora of ladders also brings to mind the Blue Bomber.

A series of mini-games also break up the levels. You play the games to gain benefits such as extra lives. The games are weird and range from a roulette-type game to a near strip-show guessing game. The music is classic 8-bit Konami, and you are even treated to an alternate version of a famous Vania tune. The game is neither easy nor all that difficult, especially compared to the insane difficulty of the other three NES/Famicom  Dracula/Castlevania games.

Akumajo Special is a curious. Without very little Japanese text, it is hard to see why the game never made it to Western shores. Apparently, the game was cancelled when Konami got cold feet. A fairly collectable game nowadays, it will certainly cost you a fair price to get your hands on it. An interesting side-note in what is perhaps the most beloved Konami 8-bit franchise, the game at least deserves a play through.


+Great visuals for an Famicom/NES game
+Difficulty is very fair
+Not much knowledge of Japanese needed

-Might be too childish and cute for fans of the series
-Rare/expensive game nowadays
-Minigames require some knowledge of Japanese

RATING: 8.3/10

Jūōki-Altered Beast-Home Ports

Released in arcades in 1988, Jūōki (Altered Beast)  was one of the most famous Sega arcade games from the 1980s. Several ports of the game made it home. Japan Game Cave will take a look at a few of these ports and the main differences between each of them.








The most famous port in the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis port. As a pack-in game for the U.S. Genesis, the game is very cheap and affordable in this part of the world today. As a flagship title for the brand-new 16-bit console. The 16-bit port really showed off the power of Sega's new console. Sprites are quite large and detailed, and the game looks pretty close the arcade original. Sound is very good on the Mega Drive, contained voice samples just like the arcade original. "Rise from your grave" and "welcome to your doom" are some of the most famous voice samples in the game. The music is great sounding on the Mega Drive as well. Despite being beloved by so many, I find the Mega Drive/Genesis controller awkward and bulky, and I would recommend using a six-button controller if you are like me and find the three-button bulky. You won't be able to use any of the extra buttons on this game, but the six-button is far more enjoyable to use as it is lighter and less bulky. Easily the best home port.

As a child, I played the Sega Master System version of the game. This was the version of the game that I played first and is therefore quite nostalgic to me. If you have played the 16-bit version of the game, you might find the 8-bit version quite primitive. However, I still find the game quite enjoyable.

It looks great for an 8-bit game, and the sound is memorable, despite using the fairly weak SMS sound-chip. Quite a few people are critical of the game on Sega's 8-bit hardware due its jerky frame-rate and sometimes unresponsive controls. Also, the cave level has been omitted. Not a terrible port, but not nearly as good as the Genesis/Megadrive. The game was not released in its home country, likely due to the fading popularity of the Mark III (Japanese SMS) in its home country.


In addition to Sega ports, the game would also find its way onto the Nintendo Famicom in Japan only. The Famicom version is usually written off as an also-ran. Released by Asmik (famous for Sega ports), the game looks fairly bland even for a Famicom game. Sprites are very tiny, and the game has some very loud purple and green colours. Given the technical limitations of the Famicom, it really doesn't look that bad. Also, many have argued that this version plays and runs more smoothly than the SMS version. The game is quite different from other ports. It features 3 new beasts and levels, a different ending, and a very different look and feel.

I would argue that the Famicom port should be treated as an entirely different re-imaginging. Not terrible, but not even close to the original. On a positive note, the box art is amazing and probably one of the cheapest looking Famicom box designs (in the best possible way).

Another 8-bit port of the game (arguably 8-bit) would be released for the PC Engine. In fact, two versions of the game would be released for the PC Engine in Japan. The first would be released on Hu-Card and the second for NEC's new CD-ROM2 add-on. There are not many differences between each version of the game. Not a bad port, but it does make quite a few changes.

The PC Engine port sits somewhere between the SMS and Mega Drive version. Sprites and backgrounds are far-less detailed than the Mega Drive. The HuCard version omits the sampled voices, but the CD version brings back the samples. Slight colour palette differences are some other minor differences between the CD and HuCard. As a bonus, the CD version has two difficulties. This is great, as many have complained how hard the HuCard release is. Otherwise, the two ports are almost identical. For the CD version, you will need the 1.0 system card. This ancient system card is quite hard to find nowadays, and the game will freeze or lock-up without this card. As a result, many people avoid the CD version of the game.

Takara: Masters of the Port Part 1: 1992-1995-JGC Feature

The name Takara is near-synonymous with fighting games. Anyone playing fighters during the 16-bit era likely came across some of their games for the Genesis/Mega Drive or Super Famicom/SNES. Many of these ports were faithful versions of the original games. Many were sub-par ports that were vastly inferior to their Neo Geo counterparts. Japan Game Cave will take a look at some of their best and worst ports from the Neo Geo.

A little bit of background is needed before jumping into Takara's ports. The Neo Geo MVS was released in 1990 and soon made waves across the globe.  An international arcade smash, the technically gifted Neo Geo would soon make its way home in the form of the Neo Geo AES console. Far too expensive for the average consumer, companies began to look for other ways to get the games into the average family living room. Takara would seek to fill that void.

Founded in 1955, Takara would be a major player in the Japanese toy market. Their most successful product would be the creation of the "Transformers". Today, the Transformers empire is valued in the millions. Despite their success in the toy industry, Takara became involved in the growing home video game market in the 1980s. In the 1990s, their main focus would shift to porting Neo Geo games to various platforms.


Released in 1991. King of the Monsters was a fairly successful arcade game at the game. Players take control of giant monsters and battle it out in large city-scapes. Takara ported the game to the Super Famicom and later the SNES. The Super Famicom version features obviously scaled-down sprites and backgrounds, far less detailed than the huge sprites of the Neo Geo original. The game would also make it to the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1993. The game looks arguably worse on the Genesis, with less colours and detail in the backgrounds.

King of the Monsters 2 would also make it to both the SFC/SNES and Genesis/MD. Many say that the sequels are better for both systems, but most give the Nintendo console a slight edge due to the more colourful visuals and better sound. You choose. In any case, it can be argued that despite weaker visuals, King of the Monsters 1 and 2 made it home mostly intact.

Garou Densetsu (Fatal Fury in the West) is one of
SNK's most beloved franchises. Released into arcades in 1991, the Neo Geo original was one of the first major fighting games to challenge Street Fighter 2 and its dominance. The game would come home to the SFC in 1992. Like King of the Monsters, Garou Densetsu would take a graphical hit coming home. Sprites are again noticeably less detailed than the Neo Geo. However, like most SFC/SNES games, the sound is quite good, making effective use of the SFC's sound capabilities. The Mega Drive/Genesis version was not quite as faithful as on the Nintendo console. Murky background and tinny sound would mar the port of GD on the Sega console. Most prefer the SFC/SNES port to the Genesis/MD.

Garou Densetsu 2 (Fatal Fury 2) was released in 1992 in the arcades. Vastly expanding the character rooster (you could only play as three characters in the 1-player mode of the original), the game was another success for SNK. The SFC is quite faithful the Neo Geo original in this author's opinion. Vivid colours, great controls, and excellent sound make the SFC/SNES port as close as one could with a 16-bit console. As for the MD/Genesis port, many argue that it plays faster and better due to the "blast processing" on Sega's hardware. I believe that the Sega version does not look as good or sound as good, but this is certainly up for debate. What is clear, Takara produced quality ports of Garou Densetsu 2 for both 16-bit consoles. Much better than the first Garou game. Garou Densetsu Special, an expanded version of Garou 2 would make it home to the SFC/SNES, but failed to make it Sega's console.




I have never played this version of the game, but have heard great things about it. Takara also released portable versions of Fatal Fury. A Gameboy port of Fatal Fury 2 was released in 1994. Also, a Sega Gamegear port was released in 1993. Many criticize the portable ports as mere cash-ins, having little value. I have not played either portable Takara games.

Another one of SNK's major franchises was Ryuuko no ken. Known as Art of Fighting in the West, the series became famous for its massive sprites and scrolling backgrounds. Released in 1992, the game would find its way home for all of the 16-bit consoles (and even the PC Engine). With sprites this huge, sacrifices were going to be made. Both versions of this game suffered coming home. The scrolling was omitted in the Genesis/MD version, and the sound and music are generally quite poor. In the SFC/SNES version, the scrolling remains, but is vastly subdued compared to the Neo Geo. Character sprites look almost as bad as on the Sega console.

Ryuuko no ken 2 would come home only to the Super Famicom, and only in Japan. Many regard the sequel as a much better port. Characters looks better animated and detailed but still pale in comparison to the Neo Geo original. Developed by arcade developer Saurus, it is one of the best SFC fighters. The game was actually ported outside of Takara's oversight, and many consider that the reason why it was vastly superior than most of Takara's 16-bit ports. World Heroes would find its way home to the 16-bit consoles, but this porting was done by Saurus, Sunset, and Mid-West with mixed results.











After the massive arcade success of Samurai Spirits (Samurai Shodown in the West) in 1993, Takara would bring the game home to the Super Famicom and Mega Drive. Vastly inferior ports would also find their way to the Gameboy and Gamegear. While the SFC took the advantage for most 16-bit Takara games, the SFC is a pile of garbage. Yes, it keeps all characters including Earthquake (he has a massive sprite in the arcade version), but it just plain insults the original game. Characters are reduced to a microscopic size and backgrounds look flat and dull. The sound is ok, but nothing special. The Genesis/MD version has much bigger characters, but omits Earthquake entirely from the game. I would rather omit a character than shrink the game. The SFC/SNES port has to be one of the worst atrocities that Takara committed during the 16-bit era.






The legacy of Takara has to be understood within the technical constraints of the day. Arcade hardware such as the Neo Geo was much more technically powerful than home consoles hardware. Takara ports are a mixed bag to say the least, some decent and close, others are completely off the mark. They are strange curiosities today. There are dozens of ways to play the Neo Geo originals, and they are always vastly superior to Takara ports. Takara brought home some of the biggest games of the day for kids like me who didn't have a Neo Geo at home, and for that, they do have a special place in my heart. Takara would not finish their ports with the 16-bit era, more would come.......to be continued in part 2......