Cannon Spike

Also known as: Gunspike (Japan)

Developer: Psikyo

Cannon Spike is a bit of a unique game. It's not quite a twin-stick shooter….and it's not necessarily a shooter of any kind, either, as you may find yourself brawling through enemies along with the shooting…I guess Cannon Spike is just a Cannon Spike game. I guess? Anyway, in Cannon Spike, you shoot/brawl your way through ten stages. Each stage is an enclosed area full of enemies. As you fight your way through each area, especially in the later stages, you'll have enough bullets, lasers, and shrapnel flying around that you'll feel like you're playing a bullet hell shooter. Making through all of these stages can be done with a handful of Capcom favorites like Cammy from Street Fighter, Arthur from Ghosts 'N Goblins, and Mega Man from…well, Mega Man. As much as I like Cannon Spike, it isn't without its faults. The controls do take some time to get used to - I mentioned earlier that this wasn't a twin-stick shooter, but I think if it was, that could have gone a long way in the controls department…even if Psikyo would have had to make the second stick the A, B, X, Y buttons, I feel like it would have been a smoother learning curve. Still, once you're used to the controls (like the aspect where you are unable to change the direction that you're firing in until you stop shooting), there's plenty of fun to be had here.

Review added: 02/17/2024

Capcom vs. SNK

Also known as: Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 (Japan)

Developer: Capcom

Capcom vs. SNK covers kind of a wide range, doesn't it? A better name for this game would have been Street Fighter vs. King of Fighters since, minus a couple of characters, pretty much every playable character is from one of the two franchises. That minor complaint aside, Capcom created a nice fighting game that provided a dream match for fans of fighting games, pitting characters from two of the best 2D fighting game franchise against each other...or teaming them up, depending on how you play, I suppose. Capcom vs. SNK is a team-based game, but it’s not simply 2-on-2. A “ratio” system is used, where each fighter is given a rating between 1 and 4. Your goal at the start is to assemble a team where the total equals four, but it can’t go any higher. So if you pick a fighter ranked at 4, that’s your whole team. Likewise, you could select four fighters ranked at 1.It adds some nice variety as you play through – it’s not the same routine with different faces every time. Along with your fighters, there’s also a choice between which kind of attack meter that you want to use…or as this game calls it, which “Groove” meter that you want to use. The SNK Groove is based off of the Extra meter from some of the King of Fighters games and the Capcom Groove is based off of the meters found in the Street Fighter Alpha games. The fighting itself seems to learn more towards the SNK-style of fighting, despite the fact that Capcom developed this game. Anyway, Capcom vs. SNK isn’t quite the masterpiece that many of us hoped that it would be, but if you're a fan of either fighting franchise, this is still definitely worth checking out.

Review added: 04/13/2019

ChuChu Rocket!

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Sonic Team

I will be completely honest with everyone reading this…up until when I recently revisited this game, so I could add it to this list, I never understood the appeal of ChuChu Rocket. Yes, it was different. Yes, it was interesting…But I also always thought it was so dull. Now that we’re two decades removed from its release, I finally see what all the hoopla was about. Better late than never, right? Anyway, the idea of the game is that you want to get mice into a rocket ship by placing arrow tiles on the ground to force them into a specific direction. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, as you play, eventually cat-like creatures appear on screen too. If they enter a rocket or catch a mouse, it’s game over. The game has a few pre-loaded levels, but the real appeal was to create your own and share them online, as well as download the levels of others, essentially making the replay value infinite. Multiplayer was also well done, which could be done with friends in front of the television with you or online - another solid online feature added in. In the early days of console internet gaming, ChuChu Rocket! was definitely one of the best examples of how to successfully implement internet features into a game. If the idea of a strategic puzzle game sounds interesting to you, that doesn’t involve falling blocks or blobs, then give ChuChu Rocket! a try.

Review added: 04/15/2019

Cleopatra Fortune

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Altron

Cleopatra Fortune is an odd puzzle game that plays kind of like Tetris in that blocks fall from the sky and stack on top of each other. The catch here is that instead of matching blocks, you want to entomb the sarcophaguses and gems that fall with the blocks, which gives you points and clears up the level, allowing you for more room for burying more mummy caskets. You’re also able, like Tetris, to line the blocks up in a row to eliminate them. The real fun, much like in some other puzzle games, is when you get the hang of the game enough to be able to stack everything up so that when you finally entomb everything that it creates a chain reaction resulting in a nice, long combo. While not a top-tier puzzle game by any stretch, Cleopatra Fortune is still a decent puzzle game that might be worth checking out if you find the concept interesting, or if you’re a fan of matching puzzle games.

Review added: 04/21/2019

Crazy Taxi

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Hitmaker

Crazy Taxi was a blast in the arcades, and while you can't sit in a booth with a steering wheel and a gas pedal while playing this at home, maneuvering around the city using a controller is nearly as fun. With a premise that doesn't sound like it would be too enjoyable - drive people around from location to location as quickly as possible – one wouldn’t expect Crazy Taxi to be such a fun game. But it is. It can be frantic fun trying to get your customers from where they are to where they want to be within the time limit…but the real fun is when you begin to realize that the roads don’t hold you and you start finding shortcuts to get everyone where they need to be faster. There are also special “moves” that you can learn to really master this game, but it’s also pick-up-and-play friendly – you could easily do a run of a decent length without ever learning any gameplay mechanics aside from hitting the gas, going in reverse, and hitting the brakes. As much as I love Crazy Taxi, I was never all that great at this game (I don't think I ever got better than a class A licence) but that has never prevented me from enjoying it one bit and I still love pulling this game out from time to time so I can go out and make some crazy money.

Review added: 03/30/2019