Keith Courage in Alpha Zones (TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine review)

Developer: Advance Communication Company
Publisher: Hudson Soft, NEC
Released: 1989

Keith Courage in Alpha Zones is an action-platformer that was packed-in with the console in North America.

+ Has similarities to Wonder Boy in Monster Land (1988, Sega Master System) in terms of gameplay and upgrade options.

+ Being able to upgrade weapons is a great incentive to keep playing, and the game even affords you unlimited continues.

- Level design leaves a lot to be desired, as there's copy/pasted layouts and little difference between each area.

- Overworld areas only feature rudimentary platforming, while underworld sections include far too many leaps of faith.

- Relentless enemy respawning, as they attack incessantly from all angles and often knock you back into instant death pits.

- Grinding to pay for more powerful weapons can be excessive, especially as your coins halve with each continue used.

- Controls never feel tight enough, as they're too stiff in the overworld and too slippery when adopting the Nova Suit.

Somer Assault (TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine review)

Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus
Released: 1992

Somer Assault is an action game where you control a Slinky spring toy.

+ Your Slinky is nimble, and while the controls are unusual it offers 8-way fire by strategically positioning yourself on platforms.

+ Includes a ton of power-ups that give you a multitude of ways to attack the levels, and unlimited continues are on offer.

+ Learning how to shave off precious seconds by traversing the stages using the jump button to stick to platforms is great fun.

- Power-ups released from destroyed enemies pass by far too quickly, leaving you with little chance of actually collecting them.

- Reverse controls icon serves no purpose but to annoy players, especially as the stage timer is already rather stingy.

- Countdown timer displays a 60-second warning that momentarily freezes the action and takes you out of your flow. 

- Finale boss rush artificially lengthens gameplay, and the music / SFX can resemble the harsh tones of the Atari 7800.

Batman (PC Engine review)

Developer: Sunsoft
Publisher: Sunsoft
Released: 1990

Batman is a maze game that was only released in Japan.

+ Fans of the Bomberman series of games will find lots to enjoy due to similarities in maze layouts and power-up items.

+ New paths open up as you explore Gotham City's maps, and foes can be shot through walls for a strategic advantage.

+ Music is top-tier with bass-heavy tracks that set a gritty mood, and there's some excellent cinematic cut-scenes.

- Level objectives aren't engaging and the game's repetitive nature is its Achilles heel in terms of longevity.

- Using arrows to transport you around levels is a tedious chore and the game never makes you feel like a superhero.

- Batman is momentarily inoperable once a batarang is launched, which often leaves you in harms way from rear enemies.

- Bosses are entirely absent until the finale, and even the battle against Joker is lacklustre in its simplicity and scope.

Bonk's Adventure (TurboGrafx 16 / PC Engine review)

Developer: Hudson Soft, Atlus, Red Company
Publisher: NEC Home Electronics
Released: 1990

Bonk's Adventure is an action-platformer that was later ported to the Commodore Amiga (1992) and NES (1994).

+ Level design often includes multiple platform paths through each stage, and there's lots of variety to keep you engaged.

+ Wide array of enemy types and there's no hint of slowdown despite the bosses featuring gigantic and detailed sprites.

+ Gaining invincibility and ploughing through enemies is a joy and feels more visceral than in Super Mario Bros. (1985, NES).

+ Being able to repeatedly bash airborne enemies from below almost becomes a fun little mini-game in its own right.

+ Using the turbo button to continually spin through the air is entertaining and allows you to efficiently cross large areas.

- Bonk has a slight wind-up to his movements and attacks that can sometimes leave you in harms way when trying to react.

- Enemies have an annoying habit of suddenly appearing in your path, leading to many unfair, cheap hits.

The Legendary Axe (TurboGrafx 16 / PC Engine review)

Developer: Victor Interactive Software
Publisher: NEC
Released: 1989

The Legendary Axe is a side-scrolling action-platformer and one of the launch games for the TurboGrafx 16 console.

As mighty warrior Gogan, your mission is to rescue your childhood friend Flare who has been kidnapped by an evil cult named the Jagu. There's five zones (with multiple acts each) and your only method of attack is a short-range axe; however, your strength can be boosted by collecting Power Supply icons, and attack speed is increased by obtaining Wing items. The action resembles Castlevania (1986, NES) down to its medieval setting and obligatory knock-backs when you take damage. However, it does have a number of unique features. Firstly, rather than attacking at will, you need to time your attacks and wait until your power gauge metre is full in order to do the most damage; it's a clever mechanic that forces you to occasionally retreat while recharging, and this cat-and-mouse game is an effective strategy that keeps the combat engaging. Managing to power-up to full strength is thrilling, as one swing kills most enemies instantly while the screen flashes white to signify the massive damage being done! The game also does a terrific job of adding new enemy types into the mix that all look and fight differently, and some of the bosses become regular foes in subsequent zones which is an interesting idea. This does make the game incredibly hard at times though and it's certainly not for the faint of heart. The platforming doesn't help matters, as your jump is floaty and mid-air adjustments are overly sensitive. While the level design is strong, zone 5 is a huge misstep as it suddenly tasks you with navigating endless, boring corridors filled with enemies and a maze-like layout in order to reach the boss.

The Legendary Axe is more of a thinking man's action game and for the most part it succeeds in being an entertaining hack-and-slash adventure. Its brutal difficulty will test your patience at times, but the sleek level design, cool attack mechanics and enemy variety will likely have you coming back for more.

Random trivia: A sequel called The Legendary Axe II was released on the TurboGrafx 16 in 1990.

China Warrior (Turbografx-16 review)

Developer: Hudson Soft
Publisher: Hudson Soft
Released: 1989

China Warrior is a side-scrolling beat-em-up that was first released on the PC Engine in Japan in 1987.

There's four stages with three acts each and your mission is to defeat the evil horde and return peace to the Kungfu Province. You automatically move forward and use the I button to punch and II to kick; however, five different attack moves can be performed by holding a direction on the d-pad including Jump Kicks and Low Thrusts. A special attack can also be performed by pressing I + Right which makes your hand double in size for a massive blow! The gameplay is similar to Kung Fu (1985, NES) and Vigilante (1989, Turbografx-16) as it consists of you mowing down endless waves of enemies. Each stage has set patterns and enemies are able to attack you from the side as well as with projectiles from above. The stages are short and require lots of memorisation but the action is rarely enjoyable due to the lack of variety and slightly laggy controls. Too much trial and error is needed and with only three lives and no continues the harsh difficulty seems like a cheap way to lengthen the experience. Each stage has three bosses and they all have different attacks and abilities. However, there's not a great deal of strategy or timing involved and most fights end up with wild button mashing. The special attack comes in handy for some of the later bosses though as you can wipe out a large portion of their health bar in one hit. On a plus note the game does have an impressive 32 enemy types, the music is fantastic and the graphics feature gigantic sprites and gorgeous backgrounds; your character's facial expression even changes depending on how much life you have left!

China Warrior has a few things going for it but unfortunately there's some shallow gameplay beneath its flashy visuals. The action is too repetitive and the core mechanics aren't interesting enough to carry it through a whole game.

Random trivia: The game has been re-released several times including on the Wii U Virtual Console, the PlayStation Network in Japan and mobile phones.

Vigilante (Turbografx-16 review)

Developer: Irem Corp.
Publisher: NEC
Released: 1989

Vigilante is a side scrolling beat-em-up game that has many similarities to Irem's 1984 Arcade title Kung-Fu Master.

You play a martial artist who must travel through five levels to defeat The Skinheads and rescue your girlfriend Madonna. Your journey will take you through New York City Streets, The Junkyard, a Bridge, a Back Street and a Construction Yard. Working your way from left to right you have to take out the constant stream of enemies attacking you from both sides using punches, kicks and flying kicks. You'll also want to look out for the special nunchucks that appear as they allow you to dish out punishment at a faster rate. There aren't many different enemies but some require strategy rather than straight-up brawling. For example, the ones in yellow tops have batons and they'll quickly kill you unless you duck and use your low kick. Learning these patterns is key to being successful in most parts of the game. The levels are short and when you get to the end you'll face a boss. These are devoid of imagination and each one is generic and boring to fight. The gameplay as a whole is unremarkable - not to mention repetitive - and once you're familiar with the enemy types you can breeze through all the levels in 15 minutes. The action only takes place across one plane; this means can't move towards the foreground or background and it seems almost archaic by 1989 standards as this was the same year that Final Fight and Golden Axe were released in the Arcades. The background graphics are excellent though and perfectly convey the level settings with some nice parallax scrolling. The music is distorted and the voice samples are scratchy and difficult to decipher.

Vigilante isn't necessarily a bad game but it's just very limited and outdated given its release schedule. If it would have had more variety it could have been semi-decent but in reality it arrived 3-4 years too late to be considered an acceptable gameplay experience.

Random trivia: This version of Vigilante was re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in 2007, as well as on the Wii U Virtual Console as a Japan-only exclusive in 2015.