An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform games. Multiplayer online battle arena and some real-time strategy games are also considered action games.
Ninja Gaiden is a media franchise based on action video games by Tecmo featuring the ninja Ryu Hayabusa as its protagonist. The series was originally known as Ninja Ryukenden in Japan. The word "gaiden" in the North American Ninja Gaiden title means "side story" in Japanese. The original arcade version, first two Nintendo Entertainment System games and Game Boy game were released as Shadow Warriors in PAL regions. As of 2008, the series has shipped over 7.7 million copies.
Shining Force is a 1992 turn-based tactical role-playing game for the Sega Genesis console. It is the second entry of the Shining series of video games, following Shining in the Darkness. While primarily a traditional fantasy-themed game, it contains some science fiction elements.
The Shining series is a brand of role-playing video games published by Sega, who owns the property. The first game, Shining in the Darkness, was a first-person dungeon crawler with randomly encountered, turn-based battles. The next game released in the series was Shining Force, which was a turn-based strategy style tactical role-playing game with battle scenes acted out with sprites. Other directions include Shining Soul, a dungeon crawl action role-playing game with roguelike elements, and a number of traditional Japanese role-playing games. Shining Resonance Refrain was released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Steam PC and Nintendo Switch worldwide across 2018.
Shining in the Darkness, released as Shining and the Darkness in Japan, is a 1991 role-playing video game for the Mega Drive/Genesis video game console. It was one of the first role-playing games released for the system, and was the first in the Shining series.
Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos, known in Europe as Shadow Warriors II: The Dark Sword of Chaos, is a side-scrolling platform game developed and published by Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This is the second installment in the Ninja Gaiden trilogy for the NES and was released in North America and Japan in 1990, and in Europe in 1992. An arcade video game version was also introduced by Nintendo for their PlayChoice-10 system in 1990.
Shining Force II is a tactical role-playing game for the Mega Drive/Genesis console developed by Sonic! Software Planning in 1993. Its storyline is not directly connected to the original Shining Force, although a Game Gear title Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict links the two games' plots.
Shining Force III is tactical role-playing game released for the Sega Saturn. In Japan, Shining Force III refers to a collective three separate game releases - Scenario 1, Scenario 2, and Scenario 3, released across late 1997 and 1998. Each scenario follows a different perspective of a character in an overarching narrative across a shared game world and gameplay mechanics. In North America and Europe, only the first entry, Scenario 1, was translated into English, and was simply titled Shining Force 3 for its release in mid-1998.
Phantasy Star is a series of console role-playing video games and other supplementary media created by Sega. The series debuted in 1987 on the Master System with Phantasy Star, and continues into the present with Phantasy Star Online 2 and other extensions of the Phantasy Star Online sub-series. Each of the games in the series features a science fantasy setting featuring a cross-genre combination of magic and technology.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 1992 platform game developed by Aspect and published by Sega for the Master System and Game Gear. It is the sequel to the 8-bit Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) and follows Sonic as he attempts to get the Chaos Emeralds back to rescue his friend Miles "Tails" Prower from Dr. Robotnik. Like the first Sonic the Hedgehog, players run through levels at high speeds while collecting rings and defeating enemies. Although it shares the same title with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Sega Genesis and their releases coincided, the games have little in common and share no levels.
Lunar: Eternal Blue is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts in association with Studio Alex for the Sega CD as the sequel to Lunar: The Silver Star. The game was originally released in December 1994 in Japan, and later in North America in September 1995 by Working Designs. Eternal Blue expanded the story and gameplay of its predecessor, and made more use of the Sega CD's hardware, including more detailed graphics, longer, more elaborate animated cutscenes, and more extensive use of voice acting. Critics were mostly pleased with the title, giving particular merit to the game's English translation and further expansion of the role-playing game genre in CD format.
Shining Force CD (シャイニングフォースCD) is a 1994 strategy role-playing game developed by Sonic! Software Planning for the Sega CD, and a remake of the games Shining Force Gaiden and Shining Force Gaiden II that were originally for the Game Gear. Although the game went largely unnoticed upon release in 1995, it has gained a cult following and is considered to be one of the best titles released for the Sega CD platform.
Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict is a 1995 tactical role-playing game for the Game Gear, taking place between the games Shining Force and Shining Force II. It was released after both games, with the intention of connecting their plots. Despite its name, it is not directly story-related to Shining Force Gaiden or Shining Force Gaiden II, also released for Game Gear. Unlike most of its predecessors, the game was never released outside Japan. English patches have been created by fans for players who cannot speak Japanese.
Ninja Gaiden, released in Japan as Ninja Ryūkenden and as Shadow Warriors in Europe, is an action-platform video game developed and published by Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Its development and release coincided with the beat 'em up arcade version of the same name. It was released in December 1988 in Japan, in March 1989 in North America, and in August 1991 in Europe. It has been ported to several other platforms, including the PC Engine, the Super NES, and mobile phones.
Valis III is a 1990 action-platform video game originally developed by Laser Soft, published by Telenet Japan and NEC for the TurboGrafx-CD. A Sega Genesis version was released in 1992. It is the third entry in the Valis series. It stars Yuko Asou, a Japanese teenage schoolgirl chosen as the Valis warrior and wielder of the mystical Valis sword after the events of Valis II. King Glames, wielder of the sword Leethus, leads denizens of the dark world to conquer both Vecanti and Earth, seeking refuge for his people amid the destruction of their planet. Together with the demon warrior-maiden Cham and her sister Valna, Yuko must prevent Glames from destroying both worlds. Through the journey, the player explores and searches for items and power-ups while fighting enemies and defeating bosses.
Last Armageddon is a 1988 post-apocalyptic role-playing video game for the NEC PC-8801, MSX, Sharp X68000, MS-DOS, PC Engine CD-ROM², and Nintendo Family Computer. The game was exclusively in the Japanese language until an English translation patch was created for the Nintendo Famicom.
Ninja Gaiden (忍者外伝) is an action video game released for the Game Gear in 1991 by Sega with license from Tecmo. It stars Ryu Hayabusa and is part of the Ninja Gaiden series, although it features a plot not connected to any of the other Ninja Gaiden games. The gameplay is similar to previous Ninja Gaiden games where the player jumps between platforms defeating and avoiding enemies.
Ninja Gaiden is a side-scrolling, hack & slash, platform-action video game developed by SIMS and released by Sega for the Master System in 1992, with license from Tecmo.
Shining Force Gaiden: Ensei – Jashin no Kuni he is a 1992 tactical role-playing game released only in Japan for the Game Gear. It takes place 20 years after the Shining Force, and is the first game in the Shining Force Gaiden series.
