Final Fantasy III is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Family Computer. The third installment in the Final Fantasy series, it is the first numbered Final Fantasy game to feature the job-change system. The story revolves around four orphaned youths drawn to a crystal of light. The crystal grants them some of its power, and instructs them to go forth and restore balance to the world. Not knowing what to make of the crystal's pronouncements, but nonetheless recognizing the importance of its words, the four inform their adoptive families of their mission and set out to explore and bring back balance to the world.
Super Mario Bros. 3 is a 1988 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was released for home consoles in Japan on October 23, 1988, in North America on February 12, 1990, and in Europe on August 29, 1991. It was developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, led by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka.
The Legend of Zelda, originally released in Japan as The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu, is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo. The first game of The Legend of Zelda series, it is set in the fantasy land of Hyrule and centers on an elf-like boy named Link, who aims to collect the eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom in order to rescue Princess Zelda from Ganon. The player controls Link from a top-down perspective and navigates throughout the overworld and dungeons, collecting weapons, defeating enemies and uncovering secrets along the way.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the third game in The Legend of Zelda series and was released in 1991 in Japan and 1992 in North America and Europe.
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, titled Dragon Warrior IV when initially localized to North America, is a role-playing video game, the fourth installment of the Dragon Quest video game series developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix, and the first of the Zenithian Trilogy. It was originally released for the Famicom on 11 February 1990 in Japan. A North American NES version followed in October 1992, and would be the last Dragon Quest game localized and published by Enix's Enix America Corporation subsidiary prior to its closure in November 1995, as well as the last Dragon Quest game to be localized into English prior to the localization of Dragon Warrior Monsters in December 1999. The game was remade by Heartbeat for the PlayStation, which eventually was available as an Ultimate Hits game. The remake was ported by ArtePiazza to the Nintendo DS, released in Japan November 2007 and worldwide in September 2008. A mobile version based on the Nintendo DS remake was released in 2014 for Android and iOS.
Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation, titled Dragon Warrior III when initially localized to North America, is a 1988 role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix. It is the third installment in the Dragon Quest series and was first released for the Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan and later for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America. The game saw an enhanced remake for the Super Famicom in 1996 and the Game Boy Color in 2001, and a port to mobile phones and the Wii in 2009 and 2011. A version of the game for Android and iOS was released in Japan on September 25, 2014, and worldwide as Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation on December 4, 2014. It was the first time the game was given an official English subtitle. Later in 2024, another remake of the game titled Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, based on Octopath Traveler's style, was announced during the franchise's 35th anniversary livestream, and later confirmed in the June 2024 Nintendo Direct to release in November that same year for Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch.
Famitsu, formerly Famicom Tsūshin, is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage, a subsidiary of Kadokawa. Famitsu is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the form of special topical issues devoted to only one console, video game company, or other theme. Shūkan Famitsū, the original Famitsu publication, is considered the most widely read and respected video game news magazine in Japan. From October 28, 2011, the company began releasing the digital version of the magazine exclusively on BookWalker weekly.
1991 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Street Fighter II, Final Fantasy IV, Super Castlevania IV, Mega Man 4, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, along with new titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Battletoads, Lemmings, Sunset Riders, Duke Nukem, Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, and Streets of Rage. The year's highest-grossing video game worldwide was Capcom's arcade fighting game Street Fighter II. The year's best-selling system was the Game Boy for the second year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video game was Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, which was also the year's top video game rental in the United States.
1986 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Super Mario Bros. 2, along with new titles such as Arkanoid, Bubble Bobble, Castlevania, Dragon Quest, Ikari Warriors, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Out Run and R.B.I. Baseball. The year's highest-grossing arcade video games were Hang-On in Japan, Hang-On and Gauntlet in the United States, and Nemesis (Gradius) in London. The year's best‑selling home system was the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom) for the third year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video games in Western markets were Super Mario Bros. in the United States and Yie Ar Kung-Fu in the United Kingdom.
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride is a role-playing video game and the fifth installment in the Dragon Quest video game series, second of the Zenithian Trilogy. Originally developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix Corporation, Dragon Quest V was the first title in the series to be released for the Super Famicom video game console in Japan in September 1992. Dragon Quest V was the first game in the series to not be released in America due to programming issues at the time.
Romancing SaGa is a 1992 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Famicom. It is the fourth entry in the SaGa series. It was subsequently released for the WonderSwan Color in 2001 and mobile phones in 2009. A remake for the PlayStation 2, subtitled Minstrel Song in Japan, was released in both Japan and North America in 2005 by Square Enix. A remaster of Minstrel Song was released worldwide in 2022 for Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Windows.
Famicom Wars is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer. It was released on August 12, 1988, in Japan. It was later re-released on Virtual Console. It is the first game in the Wars series.
Shin Megami Tensei If…, stylized as Shin Megami Tensei if…, is a role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus in 1994 for the Super Famicom. It is a spin-off from the Shin Megami Tensei series, itself part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise. Since release, it has been ported to mobile devices, PlayStation and Microsoft Windows; it had also been re-released on the Virtual Console in Japan on Wii in 2011 and Wii U in 2013, as well as Nintendo Switch Online in 2021. The story follows a student of Karukozaka High School after their school is sucked into the realm of demons by a vengeful student's demon summoning spell going wrong.
Front Mission is a tactical role-playing game developed by G-Craft and published by Square, and was released in Japan on February 24, 1995, for the Super Famicom. Front Mission is the first main entry and the first entry overall in the Front Mission series. Front Mission is part of a serialized storyline that follows the stories of various characters and their struggles involving mecha known as wanzers. A direct port of the game was released for the WonderSwan Color in Japan on July 12, 2002.
Super Star Soldier is a scrolling shooter video game developed by Kaneko and originally published by Hudson Soft in 1990 for the Japanese PC Engine and in 1991 for the North American TurboGrafx-16. It is the sequel to Star Soldier, and part of a vertical-scrolling shooter series by Hudson Soft. According to the company, many people believed Super Star Soldier's graphics were the best of any HuCard game. Although the game was popular in Japan, it received less attention from the rest of the world.
Family Stadium, also known as Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium and Famista, is a series of baseball sports video games initially developed and released by Namco in Japan, and later developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The first entry in the series, Pro Baseball: Family Stadium, was released for the Nintendo Family Computer in 1986 and later in North America as R.B.I. Baseball, with the series being released on numerous home consoles, the latest being Pro Yakyuu Famista 2020 in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch. The series is considered a precursor to Namco's own World Stadium series of baseball games, released for arcades, PlayStation, and GameCube. The series has been a commercial success since, with over 15 million copies being sold as of 2016.
Ikki, known outside Japan as Boomerang and Farmers Rebellion, is a 1985 arcade game made by Sunsoft, and later ported to Family Computer. It is a multi-directional scrolling action game which contains some elements of a top-down shooter.
Shin Onigashima is a 1987 adventure game developed by Nintendo R&D4 and Pax Softnica. It was released by Nintendo on two disk cards for the Famicom Disk System. Shin Onigashima was produced by Shigeru Miyamoto with music by Koji Kondo. The game is the first in the Famicom Mukashibanashi series and was followed by Yūyūki (1989).
Castlevania, known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula, is a 1986 action-platform game developed and published by Konami. It was originally released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System in September 1986, before being ported to cartridge format and released in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in March 1987 and in Europe in 1988. It was also re-issued for the Family Computer in cartridge format in 1993. It is the first installment in the Castlevania series.
