System: Sega Master System Release date: 1988 Double Dragon on the Sega Master System is the port that had absolutely no right to be as playable as it turned out – and yet here we are. This Double Dragon title took Technos Japan’s legendary 1987 beat-em-up – the one that defined a genre, invented co-op…
System: Sega Mega Drive Release date: 1994 Micro Machines on the Mega Drive is the game that proved the best racing title on a 16-bit console didn’t need to feature full-size cars, realistic physics, or a single straight piece of road. This Micro Machines title took Codemasters’ brilliant top-down racer and gave it the Mega…
System: Commodore 64 Release date: 1988 Netherworld on the Commodore 64 is the game that Hewson Consultants built when they decided scrolling shooters weren’t quite weird enough yet. This Netherworld title drops you into a surreal alien underworld bristling with bizarre creatures, strange organic architecture, and the kind of psychedelic enemy design that suggests the…
System: Sony PlayStation Release date: 1997 Tomba! on the PlayStation is one of the most charming, inventive and criminally overlooked games the platform ever produced – and the fact that original copies now sell for hundreds of pounds proves that the people who found it knew exactly what they had. This Tomba! title is a…
System: Sony PlayStation Release date: 1995 Jumping Flash on the PlayStation is the game that looked at the first-person perspective, decided it wasn’t being used ambitiously enough, and gave it to a robotic rabbit who can jump three times in mid-air and look straight down at the ground below. This Jumping Flash title arrived as…
System: Sony PlayStation Release date: 1998 MediEvil on the PlayStation is the game that gave us a hero who was killed by the very first arrow fired in battle and spent the next hundred years getting quietly more embarrassed about it. This MediEvil title dropped you into the skeletal remains of Sir Daniel Fortesque -…
System: Sony PlayStation Release date: 1995 Wipeout on the PlayStation is the game that walked into 1995, looked the entire games industry in the eye, and told it to grow up. This Wipeout title wasn’t just a racing game – it was a statement. Psygnosis built an anti-gravity racer set in 2052, handed the visual…
System: Atari Lynx Release date: 1989 Blue Lightning on the Atari Lynx is the game that Atari bundled with the handheld to show the world exactly what a colour portable could do – and in 1989, it absolutely delivered the goods. This Blue Lightning title is a behind-the-plane combat flight game in the spirit of…
System: Nintendo Entertainment System Release date: 1989 Faxanadu on the NES is the game that proves the side-scrolling action RPG was capable of genuine ambition long before anyone invented the phrase “Metroidvania.” This Faxanadu title dropped you into a dying World Tree, handed you a sword, a handful of gold, and an increasingly grim quest…
System: 3DO Release date: 1994 Demolition Man on the 3DO is the game that proves even Sylvester Stallone at peak 90s action hero couldn’t guarantee a good video game tie-in – but this one gets considerably closer than most. This Demolition Man title arrived alongside the film in 1994 and took the unusual step of…