Otogi was one of the small handful of Japanese developed Xbox games that turned out to be really, really good. Though published by Sega overseas (who, not coincidentally, also developed some of the best Japanese developed Xbox games), it was actually a product of From Software, those guys with new found popularity thanks to Dark/Demons Souls. They're a duology of action games focused on Japanese mythical beings, and they're quite pretty. Sadly, neither are backwards compatible on the 360, which means you'll need to lug that monstrosity out to your TV to give it a go, though the games themselves can be found quite cheaply.
As for as racing games go, I think everyone really remembers Pole Position as being the first really early arcade game in the genre. Yet Sega's Turbo actually predates it by roughly a year, and is a better game too. Boing! Docomodake is a puzzle platformer for the DS, starring a bunch of mushrooms, which are actually mascots for the Japanese mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo. And Dragon Breed is an outstanding shooter from Irem, which evolves some themes from R-Type with a high fantasy setting. It drives me nuts that there are several home ports for the relatively mediocre Image Fighter, yet the only home conversions Dragon Breed got were a few fairly okay European computer ports.
The latest PC Engine / Mega CD Music column has been updated to include tracks from After Burner III, Flashback, and Android Assault / Bari-Arm. Episode 20 of Game Club 199x discusses Looking Glass' oft-forgotten quasi-mech action game Terra Nova. And the fifth iOS Shooter Twin-Stick entry reviews Super Cyclone, 2079 Tilt!, Star Blitz, Alien Space and Alien Space Retro.
Hey, the links seem to be incorrect.
ReplyDeleteLinks work fine here, maybe they fixed it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, would a full article about 'From Software' be out of the question as they're a fairly newish company? I only ask as their games do seem to get alot of cult love.