Games

Unusually for Electronic Arts in the early 90s, this was a platform -shooter game with little or no adventuring or strategy elements. The game scrolls sideways, and has sections where precision jumps are required, either to clear rivers or collect bonuses. You carry a dagger to deal with the enemies, and must avoid contact with them. When killed, they leave coins to be collected - these are spent in the shop sections. Death loses you most of your coins, but they can usually be retrieved if they land on solid ground - making it better to be killed in combat than by drowning.

The game takes place in the seven-planet Valdi System (also known as the "Vadji" System according to the back of the European box). An evil space pirate, Kaiser Greedy, has made the planets' leaders obey him. The inhabitants of Planet Neer (Flora outside Japan) pray for a hero before Greedy's mind control snatches them. The desperate prayers reach the nebula of the Star Goddess, Oruto. She awakens one of her children, Ristar, with the sole purpose of granting the wishes of the innocent people. He must stop Greedy and the brainwashed leaders of each world in the galaxy, to restore peace to the galaxy. In Mega Drive versions outside Japan, Oruto is not seen. Instead, Ristar has a father figure, the Legendary Hero, who is a shooting star that protects the Valdi System. Rather than Oruto awakening Ristar, the Legendary Hero was kidnapped by Greedy, and it is up to Ristar to rescue his father as well. However, Oruto is still seen in the Game Gear version.

Rival Schools is a competitive fighting game produced by Capcom originally released as an arcade game in 1997 and ported to the PlayStation in 1998. Featuring plenty of new faces, and heaps of new moves to work with, this is a full conversion of the arcade game, with the added bonus of a second disk. In this second disk, you get new modes including Lesson (teach yourself new moves), Group (select two to four characters for a group battle), League (choose two to six characters and then fight in a league battle), Tournament (tournament battle with up to eight characters), Cooperate (four-player simultaneous player), one-player game, and a specialized versus mode.

When a ruthless gang led by Big Al invades their turf, it's up to the Brawl Brothers to take back their streets and send their rivals home with their tails between their legs. You can go at it alone or team up with a friend for some simultaneous two-player action as you kick, punch, and body slam your way to victory through six stages of no holds barred, hand-to-hand fighting action. There are all kinds of realistic street-fighting techniques to master, including body slams, leg sweeps, jabs, hooks, and uppercuts. If you want a fight but aren't feeling friendly, then turn the tables on your friend and go head-to-head for bragging rights and control of the streets. In RIVAL TURF, only the strong survive…can you take it?

After the Stranger has rescued Atrus, the master of "linking books", from the imprisonment caused by his sons, a new task awaits the hero. Atrus's wife, Catherine, has been taken by Gehn, his own father. Gehn has appointed himself as the one to rule the Age of Riven, and has driven his world to collapse. Now he holds Catherine hostage on Riven, hoping that his son will restore the book link to the Age and free him from there. The Stranger is requested by Atrus to travel to Riven and find a way to rescue Catherine. Riven is a sequel to Myst, and is very similar to its predecessor in gameplay style, controls, and visual presentation. The game world is presented as a series of computer-generated still screens; the player explores it in a point-and-click fashion. Interaction with the environment is possible only when said environment is highlighted as a "hot spot", and is also performed by simple clicking. Like its predecessor, Riven is heavy on puzzles, which rarely include using inventory items, but usually involve understanding and manipulating the complex environments and machinery of the game world.

The plot follows high school students Alex and Ryan (Kunio and Riki in the Japanese version) as they cross River City in an attempt to rescue River City High and Ryan's girlfriend Cyndi from the clutches of a villain called "Slick". Along the way, they battle with gangs of students (with names such as "The Generic Dudes" or "The Frat Guys") and several bosses and sub-bosses. Enemies will warrant a yell and drop money signifying their defeat, including the well known phrase "BARF!"

Game Boy Advance remake of the 1989 NES classic (and third installment in the prolific Japanese Kunio-kun series for the Japanese Famicom.) Slick, the meanest, most powerful gang lord in River City, has issued this ultimatum - and the entire town is powerless in a grip of fear. It's up to our two young heroes to battle their way past several dangerous city gangs, then defeat the gang lord to free the students of River City High and restore peace to the panic-stricken populace. Two players can team up (via link cable) and fight their way through sidescrolling levels using punches and kicks. The action only uses two buttons, but players can also pull off special moves and upgrade their characters RPG-style. Features a story mode, and a battle mode.

Hook, line and sinker, you're part of a long line of fishing folk. From father to son and mother to daughter, knowing where and what to fish was always part of your family mangrove tree. Only one thing is missing from the long list of accomplishments, a fish that shook hooks for generations: The River King. Perhaps today, perhaps this cast, you'll feel the strum of a tight line as the legendary giant pulls you into angling immortality. Play as one of four family members. Assist villagers and other shoreline folk. Win it all in fishing and cooking contests. Take on crafty critters in tricky trivia challenges.