Update 3/10 - Penguin Land, Hopper Robo, Bubbles, Martian Gothic, Game Club 199X Podcast: Electro Man, Pizza Delivery Boy

Sega's Penguin Land stands out to me because it was first Sega Master System game that wasn't just a Mega Cartridge (the standard designation for a cartridge using 1 megabit of ROM), but a Mega Cartridge Plus! Why the Plus? Because it had a battery backup, in order to save the user-created levels, showing a level of versatility that was relatively rare in console games back then. Of course, the game, which is an action-puzzler where you need to roll an egg downwards through a cave filled with polar bears, is incredibly difficult, to the point where I can't beat more than a single stage. But, it's got penguins! It's sort of an offshoot of Pengo, in that matter, even though they play differently. (Expect a Pengo article in the neat future too.) Anyway, there are a lot more titles in the series than the SMS game, which this article expounds upon.

Hopper Robo is another unique Sega game from 1983 - it's unfortunate it never caught on because the eponymous character is quite adorable. Bubbles is one of those Midway games that pops up on arcade compilations and no one's really heard of it since it's outclassed by other more popular titles, but is actually pretty good. And Martian Gothic, an overlooked survival horror game in the vein of Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil.

The iOS shooter article features Blast Fighter, Chopper Desert Storm, Orion Fighter (pictured), Codename Cobra Classic DX and Codename Cobra: Desert Storm Deluxe. For the latest episode of Game Club 199X, we have an unusual platformer from Poland. Originally published under the name Electro Body, Electro Man was later picked up and distributed by Epic MegaGames, the shareware distributor who later broke out and delivered such future hits such as Gears of War. Your Weekly Kusoge is Pizza Delivery Boy, which I think might be the first Wii game we've covered under this column, which is surprising given the huge fail-to-win ratio present on last generation's most popular system. And the spotlight article is Treasure's Mischief Makers, because it's one of those neat little side-scrollers that tends to get swept under the rug, both by fans of the company and by fans of the system.