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Ah, licensed games. It seems that at some point, any movie making over a certain amount of money has to have a video game tie-in. Sometimes, the game is better than the film, and sometimes it’s worse. Most often though, the two suck about equally. 3 Ninjas Kick Back is one such title, and anyone who thinks that a trio of children could qualify as anything even remotely ninja-like deserve to spend a half hour in the company of the real thing – while dressed as a pirate. Oh yeah, I went there.
The 16-bit era distinguishes itself for having produced some amazing platformers, and a lot of those were really, really hard. Some weren’t as amazing, but they sure did get the “hard” part right. Mentrix’s Warnder was one such title, and while it was quite faithful to the arcade original, most players remember it for being brutally difficult.
Some of today’s younger gamers might not know the name Henk Nieborg, and that’s a shame. As one of the most pronounced pixel artists in gaming, his work has adorned such classic titles as Lionheart (Amiga), Shadow of the Beast (multi-platform), and The Adventures of Lomax (Playstation). The first game he designed himself was a little platformer for the Mega Drive/Sega CD called The Misadventures of Flink. Incredibly detailed and bathed in some of the most gorgeous artwork of the era, Flink was equally remembered for being very, very long – and hard (damn hard, if I do say so myself).
Life in prehistoric times must have been really hard. Aside from the whole “hundreds of ferocious dinosaurs out to eat you” thing, you had other cavemen stealing your women when you weren’t looking! For Joe & Mac though, such adversity wasn’t a problem; it was an excuse to kick some caveman tail. So great was their arcade anger, so powerful was their strength, that the duo found their way to several consoles, including the Genesis.
Virgin Games is a company most Genesis owners associate with mega hit Aladdin, David Perry’s masterpiece of animation and visual excellence. The company did indeed have a knack for recreating the Disney magic, and one of the more overlooked titles in its repertoire is Pinocchio. Decidedly easier and lower key than Aladdin and the Lion King, it nonetheless featured most of the elements that made those titles so great.