Arkanoid is a 1986 block breaker arcade game developed and published by Taito. In North America, it was published by Romstar. Controlling a paddle-like craft known as the Vaus, the player is tasked with clearing a formation of colorful blocks by deflecting a ball towards it without letting the ball leave the bottom edge of the playfield. Some blocks contain power-ups that have various effects, such as increasing the length of the Vaus, creating several additional balls, or equipping the Vaus with cannons. Other blocks may be indestructible or require multiple hits to break.
Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) is a music video game, developed by Konami, released in arcades on September 11, 1998, in Japan. Dance Dance Revolution is a unique game involving dance and rhythm that defined the genre. It involves timing and balance by having players use their feet instead of their hands like typical video games. In March 1999, the game was released for North American arcades, and for European arcades under the name Dancing Stage. Players and game critics were caught off-guard by the game's addictive qualities winning the new franchise many merits to its design.
Twinkle Star Sprites is a competitive vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game created by ADK and published by SNK in 1996. It was ADK's last production for the Neo Geo. Two players are each in separate, side-by-side, vertically scrolling levels. Combinations of shots and timed power-ups damage the other player. These attacks also serve as counters to the opponent's attack.
Romstar Inc. was a video game distribution company based in Torrance, California that started operations in 1984. They originally started as the first American distribution arm for SNK. They were known for licensing arcade games from major makers for distribution. Among Romstar's clients include Taito, Capcom, SNK, Toaplan, and Seta. They also made games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Game Boy. The ultimate fate of the company is not known. Games continued to be released using the Romstar name until at least 1994. It is also partnered with Capcom in 1993 to form Game Star, an electromechanical factory in Arlington Heights, Illinois that Romstar had a 30% stake in. In 1995, Capcom would later fully take over Game Star to form Capcom Coin-Op, a pinball manufacturer.
Wonder Boy is a 1986 platform game published by Sega and developed by Escape. Originally designed for arcades, it was later ported to the SG-1000, Mark III/Master System and Game Gear video game consoles by Sega, and to the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC home computers by Activision. The game is also known as Super Wonder Boy for its Sega Mark III release in Japan and Revenge of Drancon for its Game Gear release in North America. A high definition remake of the game, titled Wonder Boy Returns, was developed by CFK and released on Steam on October 12, 2016. Wonder Boy was rereleased in 2022 as part of Wonder Boy Collection for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 which includes its versions on arcade, Master System, SG-1000 and Game Gear.
Arkanoid: Revenge of Doh is an arcade game released by Taito in 1987 as a sequel to Arkanoid.
Irritating Stick, also known as Ucchan Nanchan no Honō no Challenger: Dengeki Iraira Bou Returns, is a PlayStation video game published by Jaleco Entertainment.
Elevator Action Returns, also known as Elevator Action II, is a 1994 run and gun video game developed for arcades and published by Taito. It is the sequel to Elevator Action (1983) with a grittier, more realistic setting. It retains the elevator-based gimmick from the original, but expands the gameplay system and replaces the spy motif with a new scenario involving a paramilitary team fighting against a terrorist group.
Pulstar is a horizontally scrolling shooter released for arcades by SNK in 1995. Players control a starship in its mission to eradicate the Solar System of a hostile race of aliens that threaten mankind. Its gameplay has been compared to the R-Type series for its similar premise and mechanics; players must complete each of the game's eight stages by destroying constantly-moving formations of enemies and avoiding their projectiles. There are power-ups that can be collected that provide additional abilities for the player. It runs on the Neo Geo MVS arcade system board.
Mitsue Aoki is a Japanese manga artist best known for the manga series Koume-chan ga Iku! which was adapted into a 12 episode anime series by the studio Gainax. Her works include short gag manga, story manga, yonkoma and essays.
Breakers is a fighting game developed by Visco Corporation, which was released for the Neo Geo. It was followed up by Breakers Revenge in 1998 and Breakers Revenge Chicago developed by exA-Arcadia and to be released in July 2024.
Boong-Ga Boong-Ga, sometimes advertised in English as Spank 'em, is an arcade game developed by a South Korean company, Taff System. It is the first arcade game to simulate kancho—a popular children's prank in Japan and Korea where the victim is poked with two fingers in the anus whilst distracted.
Fire Pro Wrestling Returns, known in Japan as Fi-Pro Returns, is a professional wrestling video game that was released in 2005 in Japan, and was released on November 13, 2007, in North America and February 8, 2008, in Italy, Spain and Portugal. The game is part of the Fire Pro Wrestling series.
Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture, known in Japan as Moyashimon (もやしもん), is a Japanese manga series by Masayuki Ishikawa. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen magazine Evening from July 2004 to June 2013 and moved to the magazine Monthly Morning Two, where it concluded in January 2014. The series follows Tadayasu Sawaki, a first-year college student at an agricultural university, who has a unique ability to see and communicate with microorganisms. Del Rey Manga licensed the manga, but only released two volumes in English in North America. An 11-episode anime television series adaptation, animated by Shirogumi and Telecom Animation Film, aired between October and December 2007 on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block. An 11-episode live action adaptation was aired on Noitamina between July and September 2010. An 11-episode animated second season titled Moyasimon Returns aired from July to September 2012.
Dance Dance Revolution Extreme is a music video game by Konami and is the eighth release in the main Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) series. It was released on December 25, 2002, for Japanese arcades, on October 9, 2003, for the Japanese PlayStation 2, and on September 21, 2004, for the North American PlayStation 2. This game is the ninth release in North America, but despite having the same name as its Japanese counterpart, its gameplay and soundtrack is significantly different and won the Video Music Awards in 2005 on MTV for Best Video Game Soundtrack.
Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, known as Street Fighter Zero in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 2D arcade fighting game by Capcom originally released in 1995 for the CP System II hardware. It was the first all new Street Fighter game produced by Capcom since the release of Street Fighter II in 1991. The working title for the game was Street Fighter Legends.
Pretty Rhythm is a Japanese multimedia franchise produced by Syn Sophia and Takara Tomy Arts aimed at girls in elementary school. The Pretty Rhythm franchise was first launched in July 2010 with the rhythm and dress-up arcade game Pretty Rhythm: Mini Skirt. After the original Pretty Rhythm games ended service in July 2014, Takara Tomy began publishing the PriPara spin-off series from 2014 to 2018. It was then followed up by Kiratto Pri Chan in 2018, with all series grouped under the collective name Pretty Series. A spinoff media franchise, King of Prism, was launched in 2016 focusing on the male characters featured in the 2013 anime Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live, which was aimed at an older female audience.
Arkanoid: Doh It Again is a Super NES and Windows game. It was first released by Taito in Japan on the Super Famicom and Windows, while Nintendo published the Super NES version in Australia, the US, and the UK. It's the third installment in the Arkanoid series after the original 1986 arcade game and it's sequel Arkanoid: Revenge of Doh.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. It is a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII-2, it concludes the storyline of Final Fantasy XIII, and forms part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis subseries. It was released in 2013 in Japan and 2014 in North America and PAL regions, and was ported to Windows in 2015 and Android and iOS through cloud gaming in 2016 in Japan. Lightning Returns employs a highly revamped version of the gameplay system from the previous two games, with an action-oriented battle system, the ability to customize the player character's outfits, and a time limit the player must extend by completing story missions and side quests.
Quester is a 1987 block breaker arcade game developed and published in Japan by Namco. Controlling a paddle-like craft, the player is tasked with clearing each stage by deflecting a ball towards a formation of bricks towards the top of the screen. Power-up items are hidden in some blocks, which can increase the size of the player's paddle, a barrier that prevents the ball from moving off the screen, and a forcefield that will release eight other balls when touched.
