Five more overlooked PC Engine games you need to play as soon as possible

First, my apologies for pretty much only including HuCards rather than CDs in my two "overlooked PC Engine games" posts. (Here's the first one, in case you missed it earlier.)

The fact is, these days I have far more experience with PC Engine HuCards than I do with CDs--especially when it comes to ones the masses have largely ignored. (This is quite the turnaround from when I was a teen and owned a TurboGrafx-16. At that point in my life, I much preferred the system's disc-based games to its cards.)

With that out of the way, here are five additional PC Engine games I think deserve a lot more attention than they currently receive.

Dragon Egg!--Before I get to why you should play this NCS-published HuCard, please understand it's probably the "worst" of the five games discussed in this post. It's also likely to provide the most limited thrills--thanks to the fact it can be breezed through in an hour or less if you're properly skilled. Still, I've had a soft spot for it ever since I first played it a few years ago. Why? Its female protagonist and her dragon companion (who doubles as both a weapon and a form of transportation, depending on how much he's powered up) are the main reasons, although its "early Mega Drive" graphics and gameplay aren't far behind.

Final Match Tennis--It probably seems strange that I would include a tennis game here. And, really, if you loathe the sport this HuCard depicts (in an arcade-y way), you're unlikely to get much enjoyment from it. Everyone else, though, should give Final Match Tennis a chance. It's easily one of the most accessible--not to mention fun--tennis games around, in my opinion, with only Super Tennis for the SNES (Super Tennis World Circuit for the Super Famicom) topping it. One area where this Human Entertainment-made card bests that TOSE-made cart: its snappier gameplay, which helps keep points, games and matches from becoming boring.

Genji Tsushin Agedama--At first glance, Genji Tsushin Agedama appears to be your standard 16-bit side-scroller. That assessment goes out the window as soon as you advance past the game's title screen. To begin with, almost all of its stages are of the auto-scrolling sort. Also, its power-up system is more like something you'd experience in a shoot 'em up (think Gradius or R-Type). Add to this backdrops that are as bright and colorful as can be plus some nicely drawn and animated enemy sprites, and you've got a PC Engine title that should have a far higher profile than does right now.

Makai Prince Dorabocchan--I turned up my nose for a long time at this platformer because I assumed it was nothing more than a poor man's version of Konami's Akumajō Special: Boku Dracula-kun. And, in a way, that's basically what it is. That doesn't mean it's a stinker that should be avoided like rabid skunk, though. It's not as graphically appealing as the aforementioned Famicom (and GameBoy) title, but it makes up for its comparably basic visuals with stages that provide players with an ample number of surprises and boss battles that are fun as they are thrilling.

Mesopotamia--Of all the PC Engine games highlighted here, Mesopotamia likely is the least ignored of the bunch. That's because Atlus both developed and published it (in North America, it's name was changed to Somer Assault). Also, this HuCard is as wacky as any to be made for NEC's Japan-conquering console thanks to its odd protagonist (if it can be called such a thing), which looks like a pink Slinky that can shoot bullets. To make your way through its many maze-like environments, you crawl end-over-end along their walls, floors and ceilings. One bummer: enjoying the scenery isn't an option due to the unfriendly (meaning tight) time limit that's imposed on each and every stage.

See also: previous posts about overlooked Famicom, PlayStation, Game Gear, GameBoy, GameBoy Advance and DS games

Pithy impressions of a handful of long-ignored PC Engine platformers: Berabo Man, Doraemon, Dragon Egg, Genji Tsushin Agedama, Momotaro Katsugeki and Pac-Land

I guess you could say that Anne Lee's #PlatforMonth has inspired me a bit since it was announced late last month. In the last week, I've not only written and published a pair of posts crammed full of platformer recommendations for folks who are planning to participate in this particular "community game-along," but I've also--gasp!--played a number of games that could be considered part of this most classic of genres.

Because the bulk of the platformers I've played in the last few days have been of the PC Engine variety, I thought I'd compile my (sometimes pithy) impressions of them here.

Chozetsu Rinjin Berabo Man--There's no denying this side-scrolling platformer, known as Bravo Man in the States, never much appealed to me before TheGameroomBlitz suggested it in the comments section of this recent post. To be frank, screenshots of it (and, really, video of it, too) make it look like a complete turd. That, combined with the rather terrible word of mouth that surrounds this Namco-made HuCard, has been more than enough to keep me from giving it a go. Until last week, I mean. So, now that I've finally played it, what do I think of it? Surprisingly, I kind of like it. It's a low-rent game, no doubt about it, and it has a whole host of issues--the super-hero-ish protagonist is large and slow, the graphics are on the messy side--but it also has a certain charm to it that makes it more enjoyable than it has any right to be. In large part, that's due to Berabo Man's elastic limbs, which are used to dispatch enemies in lieu of a more traditional gun or laser, but for me it's also due to this game's curious cast of characters, which includes absurdly small tanks, cartoonishly squat ninjas and some other odd-looking creatures that look remarkably similar to Fantasy Zone's Opa-Opa.

Doraemon Nobita no Dorabian Night--Here's another PC Engine platformer that I've ignored over the years due to what I considered to be subpar graphics. In action, though, they're actually rather nice, if still slightly rough around the edges. Nobita no Dorabian Night's gameplay is similarly "acceptable," with some aspects being pretty interesting--Doraemon's stun gun being one of them--and others, like the overall blandness of the action at hand, being less so. At the end of the day, Nobita no Dorabian Night feels like PC Genjin's less accomplished cousin, which isn't exactly the worst thing you could say about a PC Engine platformer, if you ask me.

Dragon Egg!--Like the titles mentioned above, this NCS-developed platformer isn't all that impressive at first blush. The dark graphics and stiff controls made me think I was playing a bottom-shelf Mega Drive (Genesis) game early on, which wasn't what I was expecting based on some of the positive impressions I've read elsewhere. A few stages later, though, my opinion did a 180. That's when I'd collected enough power-ups to transform the lowly egg the Sayo-chan-esque protagonist had been using as a weapon up to that point into a small, Yoshi-like dragon who gladly popped his head out of a sack and aimed his fiery breath at any and all enemies in her path. That one detail was enough for me to add this game to my lengthy "to buy" list (so far I've only experienced it via emulation), despite the fact that I've only completed a few levels so far.

Genji Tsushin Agedama--What kept me from giving this colorful conundrum (it's part shmup, part platformer, after all) a proper once-over until recently? I honestly have no idea. It couldn't have been its graphics, which are both well drawn and brilliantly hued. Maybe it was its mouthful of a name, which just doesn't have the same appealing ring to it that games like Bravo Man and Dragon Egg! do? Regardless, I'm now beating myself up over that idiotic oversight, as Genji Tsushin Agedama seems to be a real gem of a PC Engine game (based on the few stages I've played through thus far, at least). The auto-scrolling levels do take some getting used to, it has to be said, but once that's out of the way the game is a thoroughly and surprisingly enjoyable romp.

Momotaro Katsugeki--Here's a HuCard I first played a few years ago due to a random recommendation I can't fully recall at the moment, only to find it decidedly underwhelming. Upon picking it up again last week, though, I had at least a slight change of heart. I still find it less thrilling than some folks do, but I now appreciate all of the things it brings to the PC Engine-platformer table, such as its colorfully diverse backdrops and its similarly varied actions and obstacles. This is another game that brings to mind the famed PC Genjin (Bonk's Adventure outside of Japan) series, by the way, and not only because of its visuals, although the titular Momotaro's projectile weapon (a peach-flinging sword, I believe) helps to give Katsugeki a different feel than its prehistoric predecessor.

Pac-Land--I have surprisingly vivid memories of encountering the arcade version of this game for the first time in a faraway arcade as a teen. This was back before the Internet clued us into every last release, mind you, and as such the very sight of a Pac-Man-themed platformer blew my young mind. I share this because I have a feeling it'll help explain my decades-long interest in this particular title, which is unabashedly derided by pretty much every other person on the planet. Yes, the bulk of Pac-Land's graphics look as though they were created by a five-year-old with very little artist talent. Yes, its gameplay alternates between boringly basic and hair-pullingly challenging (in the "cheap" sort of way). Still, I get a kick out of booting it up and running through at least a handful of its stages every now and then. That may be nostalgia talking, I admit, but I honestly think there's a little more to it than that--although probably only just a little.

Have any of you played the aforementioned PC Engine platformers? If so, please feel free to share some of your thoughts on them in the comments section below.

If you haven't played some or even any of them, maybe you should consider doing so as part of Anne's #PlatforMonth game-along event?