by Brett Weiss
Spaceship Factory.
of vertical scrolling to allow Mowgli to scale
trees and cliffs and otherwise explore all the
Joust
areas of each level. Also released for the Game
P
Boy, Genesis, and SNES.
UBLISHER: HAL America. DEVELOPER: HAL
Laboratory. Non-Scrolling Platform, 1 or 2
players (simultaneous). 1988.
Jurassic Park
PUBLISHER: Ocean. DEVELOPER: Ocean. Over-
Joust for the NES is a solid port of Williams’
head View Free-Roaming Shooter/Adventure,
1982 arcade classic, despite slightly downgraded
1 or 2 players (alternating). 1993.
visuals, weaker sound effects, superfluous intro
Jurassic Park for the NES turns Steven
music, and missing “survival wave” levels. The
Spielberg’s 1993 film into a satisfying shooter/
soft, wing-flapping accuracy of the controls re-
adventure game. Players guide paleontologist
mains intact, as do the basic objectives. Players
Dr. Alan Grant as he runs around shooting and
must keep their knight-mounted ostrich aloft
bombing dinosaurs while avoiding volcanic
and out of harm’s way in order to attack enemy
rock, sparks, electrified gates, and other obsta-
Buzzard Riders. To defeat a Buzzard Rider, the
cles. Grant must also travel up river on an
player’s mount must be positioned higher when
inflatable raft, collect dinosaur eggs to earn
the two make contact. Players should beware
pass cards for entering buildings and accessing
the pterodactyls, which must be met head on
computer terminals, guide Tim Murphy (John
(but are better avoided), and The Troll of the
Hammond’s grandson) through a Triceratops
Lava Pits, who lurks below and can reach up
stampede, and more. The game is somewhat
and pluck the player’s ostrich out of the air.
similar to its SNES counterpart, but with in-
Also released for the Atari 2600, Atari 5200,
ferior (though still nice) graphics and no first-
Atari 7800, and Atari Lynx. Joust spawned a se-person segments. Also released for the Game
quel ( Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest for the ar-Boy.
cades) and at least two imitators ( Balloon Fight
for the arcades and NES and Sir Lancelot for Kabuki-Quantum Fighter
the Atari 2600 and ColecoVision).
PUBLISHER: HAL America. DEVELOPER: Human
Corporation. Side-Scrolling Platform, 1 player.
The Jungle Book
1991.
PUBLISHER: Virgin Games. DEVELOPER: Euro-
com Entertainment Software. Side-Scrolling
In the year 2056, Earth’s defense computer
Platform, 1 player. 1994.
has been infected by a virus, and it is up to the
Quantum Fighter to save the day. Converted
Based on Disney’s 1967 feature film (which
to raw data and transferred into the computer’s
was inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s “Mowgli”
circuits (which include such oddities as a river
110
CLASSIC HOME VIDEO GAMES, 1985–1988
and imbedded monster faces), the hero must
as flying sticks, birds, and gusting winds.
battle the infestation, which consists of such
Daniel-San performs standard punches and
enemies as robots, birds, mutants, blue pen-
kicks as well as two special moves: the drum
guins, humanoid lizards, flame throwers, and
punch and his trademark crane kick (which
snapping teeth. A whip-like Kabuki hair attack
Ralph Macchio performed so memorably in the
is the primary weapon, giving the game some-
1984 feature film). Bonus stages find Daniel
thing of a Castlevania feel, but players can also avoiding a swinging hammer, breaking ice
punch, kick, shoot fireballs, lob quantum
blocks, and catching flies with chopsticks.
bombs, and wield a fusion gun and a remote
control bolo. Kabuki-Quantum Fighter com-
Karnov
prises six timed stages, most of which are fairly
PUBLISHER: Data East. DEVELOPER: Data East.
brief. The platforming action, which features
Platform Shooter/Side-Scrolling Platform, 1
standard jumps as well as flips, includes such
player. 1988.
typical constructs as icy platforms and con-
Karnov for the NES is a nice port of Data
veyor belts.
East’s 1987 arcade game, but it does have some
differences. The title character, a circus strong-
Karate Champ
man, can take two hits instead of just one. Lev-
PUBLISHER: Data East. DEVELOPER: Data East.
els four through eight have been redesigned,
Fighting, 1 or 2 players (simultaneous). 1986.
and the final boss is a three-headed dragon in-
Karate Champ for the NES outfits the
stead of a wizard. Gameplay is essentially the
gamer in traditional white karate clothes, fac-
same as Karnov runs, jumps, and shoots (sin-
ing an opponent who is clad in red. Fighters
gle, double, and triple fireballs) his way through
can pull off a variety of moves, including lunge
nine levels of soldiers, demons, gargoyles, pi-
punch, low punch, front kick, back kick, round
geons, tricky platforms, and other enemies and
kick, jumping kick, foot sweep, squat, block,
obstacles. Throughout the game, Karnov can
and more. Rounds last 30 seconds or until a
collect such helpful items as boots (for double
fighter gets two points. As in most modern
jumping power), boomerangs, wings, a shield,
fighting games, Karate Champ employs a best
a swimming mask, and ladders. His ultimate
two-out-of-three format. There are nine fight-
goal is to retrieve the Lost Treasure of Babylon
ing locations, each with different backgrounds,
and defeat the evil Ryu (a huge dragon, not the
such as palm trees, cliffs, or a desert. At the end
Street Fighter character).
of each match, the victor enters a special bonus
round in which knocking down flying objects
Kick Master
earns extra points. Thanks to poor controls and
PUBLISHER: Taito. DEVELOPER: Taito. Side-
choppy animation, Karate Champ is hopelessly Scrolling Combat, 1 player. 1992.
dated, but it’s a solid port of a historically im-
In Kick Master, players guide the titular
portant title, namely Data East’s 1984 arcade
hero as he runs, jumps, squats, and kicks his
classic, which was one of the first side-view,
way through eight areas, including Witches’
one-on-one fighting games.
Forest, Cavern of No Return, and Belzed’s First
Stronghold. The Kick Master begins the game
The Karate Kid
equipped with three fighting moves, but can
PUBLISHER: LJN. DEVELOPER: LJN.
add to his arsenal an assortment of fun, easy-
Fighting/Side-Scrolling Combat, 1 or 2 players
to-use combat maneuvers, including sliding
(alterna
ting, simultaneous). 1987.
kicks, double front kicks, double butterfly
The Karate Kid for the NES incorporates
kicks, and blazing flip kicks. In addition to
scenes from the first two Karate Kid movies and fighting skills, Kick Master can acquire such
offers two types of gameplay: one-on-one
magic powers as bouncing bulbs (fire balls),
fighting and side-scrolling combat, the latter
magic boots (for walking on otherwise deadly
of which includes platforms and such obstacles
surfaces), lightning, earthquakes, harpy flying
NINTENDO NES
111
(flight), pulse waves, force shields, and twin
the limitations of the titular angel’s primary
power (a shadow decoy). The game also has
weapon, which fires short-range arrows. De-
RPG-like qualities in which collecting coins
pending on the level (Underworld, Overworld,
raises the player’s experience points, which in
Skyworld, or Palace in the Sky), the action
turn increases maximum hit and magic points.
scrolls horizontally or vertically (up only,
Enemies include bats, frogs, Grim Reapers, big-
meaning falling to your death is easy to do),
eyed monsters, rat soldiers, karate soldiers, and
with players shooting an assortment of oddball
more. Despite uneven audio/visuals, Kick Mas-
beasts and mythological creatures. Items,
ter offers plenty of kicks for the action-oriented which include flaming arrows, mirror shields,
gamer. Includes password feature.
protective crystals, and more, are hard to come
by and are unusable if Kid Icarus is low on
Kickle Cubicle
strength. Backgrounds are solid black, but the
PUBLISHER: Irem. DEVELOPER: Irem. Maze/Ac-
columns, creatures, and other visuals are nicely
tion Puzzle, 1 player. 1990.
rendered. Along with Metroid, Kid Icarus was the first video game cartridge to include a pass-Viewed from overhead, Kickle Cubicle is a
word feature for saving progress. Followed by:
charming maze puzzler starring a baby-faced
Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (Game Boy).
fellow who walks around frozen fantasy lands
(Garden, Fruit, Cake, and Toy), rescuing in-
Kid Klown in Night Mayor World
nocents trapped in dream bags. Kickle can
PUBLISHER: Kemco. DEVELOPER: Kemco. Side-
freeze cutesy enemy creatures into ice cubes
Scrolling Platform, 1 player. 1993.
and kick them into the water to create ice path-
ways to otherwise unreachable areas. Enemies
Released late in the life of the NES, Kid
include such characters as Myrtle the turtle,
Klown is a typical side-scroller (run, duck, who uses her shell like a drill, and the Equalizer,
jump on platforms) with colorful graphics,
who shoots cannon balls. Addi-
tional elements, including ham-
mers (which turn cubes and knock
enemies away), springs (which
bounce cubes across the screen),
and rocks (which stop cubes), fill
the game with strategic challenges.
Includes password feature. Similar
to: Pengo (arcade, Atari 5200) and
The Adventures of Lolo (NES).
Kid Icarus
PUBLISHER: Nintendo. DEVEL-
OPER: Nintendo. Platform
Shooter, 1 player. 1987.
Set during an era “when
Gods and Man lived in harmony,”
Kid Icarus was an A-list title for
the NES that failed where such
franchises as Super Mario Bros.
and The Legend of Zelda succeeded.
Unlike the latter two games, which
are user friendly, Kid Icarus is
Four popular NES cartridges: Kid Icarus, Teenage Mutant
frustratingly difficult, thanks in
Ninja Turtles II—The Arcade Game, Ikari Warriors, and Bat-
part to tricky platform jumps and
tletoads.
112
CLASSIC HOME VIDEO GAMES, 1985–1988
charming music, and lighthearted gameplay.
filled gaps, and jumping on rock platforms that
One unusual thing about the game is the
move up and down, Kid Niki is truly a product weapon of choice wielded by the blue-haired
of its time. Players guide the titular, spike-
protagonist: balloons. Not only can balloons
haired hero through seven cartoon-like rounds
be thrown at the various fish, hedgehogs,
(a forest, an icy world, and the like), using a
snakes, bugs, and other enemies, they can be
spinning sword to battle birds, foxes, masked
used to float, jump higher, and find hidden
devils, flying kites, and other standard enemies,
treasures and doors. Levels include Forest, Toy-
along with such memorable bosses as Death
land, Beanstalk, Ice, Candy Land, and Castle.
Breath and Stone Buddha. Despite spotty col-
At the end of each level is a bonus stage, in
lision detection during boss fights, Kid Niki can which the titular clown, viewed from behind,
be beaten within a half hour by most anyone
throws strawberries at hearts and fruit to earn
with some degree of platforming experience.
energy and extra lives. Beating the game reveals
It’s a fun game, though, and does a very nice job
a secret code for unlocking a harder mode of
of imitating the original arcade version, which
play. Followed by: Kid Klown in Crazy Chase
Irem released the previous year.
(SNES).
King Neptune’s Adventure
Kid Kool and the Quest for the Seven
PUBLISHER: Color Dreams. DEVELOPER: Color
Wonder Herbs
Dreams. Side-Scrolling Shooter/Adventure, 1
PUBLISHER: Vic Tokai. DEVELOPER: Vic Tokai.
player. 1990.
Side-Scrolling Platform, 1 player. 1990.
In King Neptune’s Adventure, players guide
In Kid Kool, the chubby, dorky looking
the titular merman as he endeavors to retrieve
title character (who looks nothing like the cool
a stolen orb and eight valuable treasures. The
kid on the box) must journey through seven
good king swims up, down, right, and left, and
levels (including Mountain Bulb and Aridian
he can shoot bouncing light shots, detonate
Desert), running, jumping, pole-vaulting (a
bubble bombs, collect sea horses (for extra
minor part of the game), and battling creatures
lives), and kill stingrays (to refill health). There
with such names as Snapping Dragon, Wooly
are nine levels to journey through: King’s Cas-
Sprite, Doorgnat, and Synthetico. The Kid can
tle, The Maze, Open Ocean, Sunken Ship, Deep
jump on most of his enemies, but his most ef-
Sea, Dark Castle, Volcano, Atlantis, and Inner
fective weapon is Wicky, a short, two-legged,
Chamber, each filled with such enemies as pi-
mop top little creature who frequently appears
ranhas, jellyfish, crabs, dragons, and sharks.
along the ground and can be picked up and
Some exploration is involved, an
d players must
thrown. Other helpful items include extra time
grab keys to open specific doors. The graphics
and temporary invincibility. Like Sonic the
are decent enough, but the game is marred by
Hedgehog, Kid skids when he comes to a run-
cheap hits and limited animation. Unlicensed.
ning stop. Gameplay resembles Super Mario
Bros. , but is nowhere near as clever or as full of King of Kings: The Early Years
secrets and surprises. It’s hard to believe this
PUBLISHER: Wisdom Tree. DEVELOPER: Color
juvenile game was produced by the same com-
Dreams. Side-Scrolling Platform, 1 player.
pany responsible for Golgo 13.
1991.
King of Kings is a surprisingly good plat-
Kid Niki: Radical Ninja
former with nice graphics, solid gameplay, and
PUBLISHER: Data East. DEVELOPER: Data East.
perky renditions of “We Three Kings,” “Go Tell
Side-Scrolling Platform, 1 or 2 players (alter-
it on the Mountain,” and “What Child is This?”
nating). 1987.
The game, one of several religious titles from
Using such dated terminology as “rad
Wisdom Tree, is divided into three selectable
dude” and employing such side-scrolling staples
stages: The Wise Men, in which players ride a
as rescuing a girlfriend, jumping over water-
surprisingly agile camel while collecting gifts
NINTENDO NES
113
for baby Jesus; Flight to Egypt, in which Joseph
Hawaii; Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro; and
and Mary take baby Jesus to Egypt on a sur-
The Great White Beach, Australia. Multi-tap
prisingly nimble donkey; and Jesus and the
adapter required for four-player action.
Temple, which finds Jesus’ parents looking for
him. Depending on the level, the game has
King’s Quest V
players: avoiding creatures (such as bees, scor-
PUBLISHER: Konami. DEVELOPER: Konami.
pions, and mice); dodging falling objects
Third-Person Graphic Adventure, 1 player.
(rocks, ice, spikes, and the like); jumping on
1992.
ledges and platforms; spitting on or kicking en-
emies; and jumping over polar bears, chasms,
Adapted from Sierra On-Line’s point-
and other obstacles. Health-replenishing Bible
and-click computer game, which was called
trivia appears at various points throughout.
King’s Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go
Yonder! (the CD-ROM version of which boasted
King’s Knight
digitized voices and hand-painted backgrounds),