****************************************************************************
** Duo, PC-Engine and TurboGrafx-16 Reviews **
****************************************************************************

Edition: 961107-pm/HuCard

This list contains ratings for HuCard games only please check the
corresponding file "reviews.cd" from the turbo-list server for a
the CD review list.

The Rating System:
------------------

The rating system is based upon "grades" (and I know that scares
most of you, however. ..). An A receives 4 points, a B gets 3, a C gets
2, a D gets 1 and anything less (F) gets a 0. You can also append a
plus ("+") to a score and add 0.3, and likewise a minus ("-") which
will deduct 0.3. One exception is the A which can have up to two
pluses ("++") following it, resulting in a score of 4.6. The five
catagories are then summed up (with longevity counted twice) and then
the result is divided by 6 to get the "Overall" score.

If you would like to add to a review or possibly change a rating, please send
me mail (bt@cpac.washington.edu) and your comments will be taken into account!
Thanks!

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# Aeroblaster (HuCard) Review by Bryan Duvan.
-----------
Also known as Air Buster (Genesis). This is a side-scrolling shooter
game which I truly like because of the simultaneously two player gameplay.

GRAPHICS : A (Very nice... especially in the later stages)
SOUND : B (Could be better)
MUSIC : B (Very nice... above average)
GAMEPLAY : A (Needs a joystick)
LONGEVITY: B (Grade A if play with two players. Keeps you coming back for
more)

OVERALL : 3.40
PLAYERS : 1 or 2

IMPROVEMENTS: The smart bomb has to go... it takes too long to power-up!

COMMENTS : Grab your buddy and play this baby. Guaranteed to make your
fingers go numb.

EXPRESS: B, You really realize how fast paced this game is on the express.
There's always the com-link so two of you can struggle.

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# Afterburner II - (JHuCard) - Reviewed by Mark Yoshimi
--------------
This rendition of the arcade hit, in my book, is the best conversion yet.
I have played both the Sega Master System, the Sega Genesis versions of
After Burner II, as well as two different versions for the Commodore Amiga,
and I none of the forementioned even come close to the playability as the
PC-Engine conversion. Graphics are sharp with detail, playability is supurb
without any hint of graphics slow-down, the music and sound effects are very
impressive. Here is a quick synopsis of After Burner II if you have never
seen or played it in the arcade. The scrolling is in a 3rd person perspective
behind your F-14 fighter. The scrolling is simillar to that of Sega's
Space Harrier. I believe that Sega used the same graphics engine to produce
both games. The object of the game is to shoot down as many enemy fighters
as possible with the use of a falcon cannon and a batch of missles that will
automatically lock-on to its target. At the same time, the player must
dodge and outfly the enemy's missles. A boost of acceleration is at the
player's command as he can hit the afterburners for a quick boost. Also
contained in the options menu is a graphics demonstration mode where the
player can mess around with some of the game's sprites (vector balls).

I belive that this HuCard is hard to find, but if you have the opportunity
to grab a copy, buy it. It's a great game........

GRAPHICS : A (Better than average, extremely well rendered graphics)
SOUND : A (Clear sound)
MUSIC : B+ (Above average, catchy tunes)
GAMEPLAY : A+ (Fun to play, excellent response and control)
LONGEVITY : A- (Play it again and again)

OVERALL : 3.91
PLAYERS : 1

EXPRESS : Gameplay is much more challenging on the TE because of the
small screen. I find it much more difficult to see enemy missles
and dodge them.

COMMENTS: My only problem with this game is that it is very hard. But if I
were able to finish it in 10 minutes, I would probably never play
it again. Another complaint is that it only allows one continue.
After that, you have to start all over again. Anyone have any
cheats? ;)

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# Air Zonk (HuCard) [TGX040084]
--------

Zonk gives new meaning to the term "Cyberpunk" as he flies through 5
stages of super-fast horizontally scrolling shooting action. The
parallax scrolling is fantastic and there is enough variety in the
powerups to keep your interest. One unique feature about this game is
your ability to pick up a "satellite" shooter and merge with it.

GRAPHICS : A+ (much improved over the original Bonk series and with
more detailed graphics and use of colors... you will
recognize many of the same characters here as in the
original Bonk adventures and the way the game designers
updated them to a more futuristic level is awesome)
SOUND : A (nice explosions and shooting sounds)
MUSIC : A- (cool music... not annoying)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (as with all shooters, this game would be much better
with a joystick)
LONGEVITY: B+ (there are 3 modes of play with 1, 3, or 5 lives... level 4
is an interesting horizontal, then vertical scrolling stage...
you'll want to play again to find out what some of the
other powerups do or try to beat the game with 1 life!)

OVERALL : 3.65
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: There are only 5 levels in this game. They're all challenging,
but the game is a bit too short!

COMMENTS : The scrolling is fast, flicker-free, and even Sega shooter fans
who have "seen it all" will be impressed by the graphics in this
cart. There was a lot of advance notice (hype) surrounding this
game. It was well worth the wait. While it is no Gates of Thunder,
Air Zonk is a cool shooter in its own right and is now the
"official" mascot of Turbo Technologies. Move over, Sonic!

EXPRESS: A, This is one of the few shooters that works well with the express.
The enemies are usually large enough to see clearly on the express and it is
somewhat slower paced than other shooters.

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# Alien Crush (HuCard) - review by Bt Garner
-----------
Early attempt at Pinball for the TG-16 (etc).

GRAPHICS : B (can't complain, but no praise here either)
SOUND : A- (it's a pinball machine, whatcha expecting?)
MUSIC : C (gets annoying rather quickly)
GAMEPLAY : B (Looks like pinball, sounds like pinball, plays like pinball)
LONGEVITY: B- (see improvements and comments, below)

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1

OVERALL: 2.85

IMPROVEMENTS: Music turn off switch (or perhaps some variation?) Also,
the "flip screen" effect (going back and forth between the upper and lower
half of the playing field) is very annoying.

COMMENTS: This game is the precursor to Devil's Crush. If you have limited
funds and want a good pinball game, go for Devil's Crush instead, it has a
larger playing field, smooth scrolling and music which doesn't seem to be as
annoying. Plus, the graphics are better.

EXPRESS: A, definitely has all the charm and enjoyment of the big screen
(although occasionally the ball can get going so fast that it is hard to
follow).

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# Andre Panza Kick Boxing (HuCard) [TGX040068]
-----------------------
Almost all the sights, sounds, and realism of professional kickboxing.

GRAPHICS : A+ (The boxers are surprisingly detailed and realistic, but
the characters are two-dimensional, reminiscent of earlier
sports games for other systems)
SOUND : A (Realistic hits, grunts, and digitized referee voice)
MUSIC : B (Only a title screen tune)
GAMEPLAY : A (This game plays better with a Turbopad than a joystick,
especially when you have to make a diagonal move. The feel
is still a little sticky in the beginning, though,
especially since your boxer is pretty cruddy at first)
LONGEVITY: B+ (If your reflexes are pretty good, you can probably beat
Andre Panza, the top guy, in one long night of playing.
All you have to do is stay in the gym and build up your
abilities. The game is good for relieving frustrations)

PLAYERS : 1 or 2
IMPROVEMENTS: Make the referee say more than just "1, 2, Go!" Make the
game three-dimensional!

OVERALL : 3.48

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# Aoi (Blue) Blink (JHuCard) [HC90030] - Review by Thomas Baetzler.
----------------
Blue Blink is a Mario-ish jump'n'run game which is probably aimed at the 
younger players. Published by NHK as a "Visual Book", it features short
intermission scenes in which a character in the game tells you something in
japanese. From my point of view, it seems that you do not miss any vital
clues when you aren't able to understand a word of it.

Just as in Mario, levels are accessed via a "world" map where you navigate
from location to location. Each of those location is then a level in the
real game. Some levels have several exits, so that you can reach different
other locations by using a particular exit. Each of the five worlds in the
game has a boss level where you have to defeat a particularly nasty
creature.

One peculiarity of the game is that in most levels, you control a group of
three characters at once. Actually, you only control the leading character,
while the other two follow its lead and copy every move just like the two 
shadows of your Ninja in Ninja Spirit. By pressing the select button on 
the pad, you can cycle through the available characters, and thus choose 
between the different abilities these characters posess. The selection of 
your three characters for each level out of the five characters available 
in total is done by the game for you.

As implied above, the jump'n'run part of the game is very similar to the
games of the Mario series: You navigate a more or less difficult obstacle
course by moving from left to right on a horizontally scrolling playfield.
Enemies are either avoided, or dispatched with a few well-placed shots.
>From time to time, you'll stumble about collectibles like coins, freeze
or shatter bonuses, or a key that will open a door for you. Sending a few 
blasts out into the blue is recommended from time to time to discover 
hidden artifacts. 

GRAPHICS : B+ (Neat comic style graphics)
SOUND : B- (Some jump'n'run noises)
MUSIC : B+ (A number of neat tunes, some actually quite good)
GAMEPLAY : B- (Lacks a challenge, somehow)
LONGEVITY: C (Probably too short to have much replay value)

OVERALL : 2.67
PLAYERS : 1

COMMENTS
I'm not too sure why Blue Blink doesn't make me come back for more
after a round of play - somehow, it lacks a real challenge. Maybe it's the
lack of frantic jump action when you try to avoid a horde of enemies or
cross a crumbling chasm in other games. Maybe it's because I'm looking for
neat contraptions like swings, springs, slides or anything like that. Or
maybe it's because Blue Blink is basically a kid's game with a difficulty
level adapted to their abilities. Either way, I'd recommend that you see
for yourself before buying this.

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# Atomic Robo Kid (JHuCard) - review by atam@mailbox.syr.edu
---------------
A Shooter/Platform game.

GRAPHICS : A- (Better than average, extremely well rendered graphics)
SOUND : B (Decent sound, good heavy bass explosions)
MUSIC : B (Above average, nothing spectacular)
GAMEPLAY : A (Fun to play, excellent response and control)
LONGEVITY : A (Play it again and again)

OVERALL : 3.62
PLAYERS : 1 [?]

COMMENTS: This games was supposed to be released in the US but Treco never
did. It's a shooter but on some levels you can run around. The
graphics are smooth and well rendered, taking full advantage of
the PCE's graphic capabilities. A well mixed soundtrack, using
fades and other neat audio effects. As for gameplay, tons of
power-ups and at times you can trade lives for weapons. The end
bosses are huge, some can't fit entirely on the screen and are
not just a stiff still plate. The game follows a SD humorous
style.

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# Ballistix (HuCard) Review by Jeff Graham.
---------
For those of you who haven't played the game, a little background info is
needed. You play a gunner firing little balls at a target ball trying to get
the ball to the goal on the other side of the field. Sounds easy, right?
Wrong!! It's not that easy to direct the ball once it starts moving, and it
does move fast at times (I've not been able to follow it at times). Also,
various power-ups and obstacles are on the playfield causing havoc: all
firing balls to player one, all to player two, opponent can't fire, gate
(blocks your goal so your opponent can't score) 4-, 8-, and 16-way split of
the firing ball, etc. Obstacles including bumpers, warp gates (moves ball
"underground" to the other gate, arrows that redirect the balls (target and
firing).

Players start with 15 firing balls. When those are gone you have to wait for
them to slowly regenerate. To make things worse, about every 5 seconds, the
firing balls for both players are swapped (ex: you have 8 opponent has 0, balls
swap, now you have 0 and opponent has 8; annoying and frustrating if your about
to score).

There are 100 levels in the game; when you play level 100 it starts back at
level 1. You can set various options such as ball speed, CPU difficulty,
length of match, number of goals to win a game, starting level (2-player only),
and gravity (primarily used on the 1-player solo game).

GRAPHICS : A (Very smooth and VERY fast)
SOUND : B- (Decent sound of your shots and ball bouncing)
MUSIC : B (Not a bad tune, not a great tune; mildly annoyting after
a while)
GAMEPLAY : A (Solo game very addictive; see comments for 2-player game)
LONGEVITY: B+ (You'll want to play again, but extended playing will make you
very frustrated; I have a hole in the wall and a busted
controller as proof)

PLAYERS : 1 or 2
IMPROVEMENTS: Improve the graphics on the power-ups: several of the symbols
look very similar, and I'm sure you can't tell the difference
in symbols on the Turbo-Express; change that tune; give wider
range for difficulty levels (there are only four; the computer
moves like a spaz on all four levels; the only difference in
difficulty I could see was the rate at which the computer
regenerated balls to fire at the target ball); allow the
players to turn off the ball switching option; add a level
designer ("That's a LOT of add-ons!" - Ed.)

OVERALL : 3.38

COMMENTS : This is a great game for one player, but when you play two player
the game is terribly unbalanced. I played a 10 match game against
a friend, with me as player 2. He beat me nearly every match
because he regenerated firing balls faster than I could. This was
the case for nearly every stage we started on. A call to the
hotline was answered by a moron saying "It's supposed to play that
way. Try it with the turbo switches in the lowest position." (Why
allow different firing rates if they want you to play with the
slowest firing rate).

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# Batman (JHuCard) - review by atam@mailbox.syr.edu
------
Overhead Adventure/Puzzle game

GRAPHICS: A- (Very detailed, even though characters are about 1" tall)
SOUNDS : B (Average)
MUSIC : B+ (Cool music, though repetitive)
GAMEPLAY : A (Very responsive, excellent)
LONGEVITY : A (Passwords are helpful, about 64 stages)

OVERALL : 3.67

COMMENTS: Get this Sunsoft import if you can. Absolutely fun, addictive
like Bomberman. It's basically like Crack Down (a Sega Genesis
game) but more original. Each stage you have different goals
from setting charges in Axis Chemical to cleaning paintings in
the museum. The cinemas, simply amazing (better than some CD
cinemas) a treat between every 8 levels. Graphically, another
game that takes full advantage of PCE's capabilities. Plus
you'll get a kick out of the last stage where a stumpy Batman
fights a stumpy Joker who attacks you with chattering teeth.
On the cute side, but it was an officially endorsed Batman game.

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# Battle Lode Runner (JHuCard) [HS 93054] Review by Michael Mahon
------------------
An updated version of this computer classic, very addicting. If you like
Bomberman you will like this game, even if you have never seen/played any
prior versions. There is a Puzzle Mode and a Battle Mode. Battle mode
supports up to 5 players with a TAP. With 1 player the other 4 players
default as COM players. Puzzle mode is for 1 player only, you can enter
passwords, start a new game or Select any of the 50 stages to play. The
50 Puzzle Stages are completely different from the Battle Screens as
far as I can tell.

GRAPHICS : A (Nice Improvement over LodeRunner)
SOUND : B (Good..)
MUSIC : B (Very nice...)
GAMEPLAY : B (Game play is like to Bomberman'93 in BATTLE MODE
and the Original LodeRunner in PUZZLE MODE)
LONGEVITY: A (Excellent.. if you finish the 50 Stages you can
create your own.)

OVERALL : 3.5
PLAYERS : 1 - 5

IMPROVEMENTS: Should game shoud have been a LINK game for the Turbo-Express!

COMMENTS : I like the ability to play any Stage, as it was with my AppleII
version many moons ago.

EXPRESS: You will not see any of the EDIT/CREATE options if you play this
game on the TE (or any other system with no Battery-Backup)

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# Battle Royale (HuCard) Review by Bryan Duvan.
-------------
Wrestling game in which you and couple of your buddies can unleash angers
and frustrations by kicking and punching each other. You have to throw
them outside of the ring in order to be the champ.

GRAPHICS : C+ (So-so graphics, but nothing ground-breaking)
SOUNDS : C (Too many pings and pangs)
MUSIC : C (Could be better)
GAMEPLAY : B (Needs a joystick!)
LONGEVITY: C (Very repetitive)

PLAYERS : 1 to 5
IMPROVEMENTS: Should add more moves (ie. body slam, suplex, throw others
to the ropes, etc) instead of just punches and kickes.

OVERALL : 2.22

COMMENTS : Hopefully, Turbo Technologies will bring out another wrestling
game because this game * SUCKS * IMHO.

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# Beach Volleyball (JHuCard) - review by Johnny Yeung
----------------
Title says all, it is a game about Beach Volley. You can choose 2 out of
4 players from one of the many country, and match against your friend or
the computer.

Graphics : B
Sound : B-
Music : C+
Gameplay : B-
Longevity : B

Overall : 2.78
PLAYERS: 1 or 2

Comments : A good choice if (a) You like sports/volleyball games; (b). the
stuff is 2nd hand.

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# Blazing Lazers (HuCard)
--------------
Once in a long time a game emerges which takes the basic shoot-everything-
or-die scenario and spices it up to make for a truly worthwhile contest.
That game is Blazing Lazers. You begin the game with a ship with limited
firing power and defense mechanisms. By capturing power pills, you can
arm your ship with one of four different missile types and one of three
different defense aids. You must shoot your way through nine levels of
scrolling landscapes and background scenery. Your enemies are many and
varied. Each has a certain "best" way of killing it. Others are more
easily avoided. A big "boss" midway and at the end of every level taunts
the player and hinders further progress. The graphics and sound in this
game are fantastic. Backgrounds are very detailed. A computer voice
announces the type of weapon or defense aid you received when picking up
a power pill. There is very little flicker in this game (unlike R-Type).
The standard Turbopad is adequate for gameplay although a joystick is
recommended. Easily equals the best Genesis shooters available.

GRAPHICS : A (Very detailed backgrounds)
SOUND : A (Nice explosions and computer voice)
MUSIC : B+ (Catchy theme tunes)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (Use a joystick!)
LONGEVITY: A- (You will want to play again and again!)

OVERALL : 3.67
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Improve the stereo image. Make some of the bosses harder
to destroy. Have a 2-player mode!

EXPRESS: A-, a good shooter for the Express, although some smaller things
can get lost.

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# Bloody Wolf (HuCard)
-----------
You are a Rambo-like character out on a mission to save your people and
destroy all enemies. Lots of weapons to choose from.

GRAPHICS : C- (Looks like a Nintendo game... spotty graphics)
SOUND : B (Nice intro theme, but nothing spectacular throughout)
MUSIC : B- (Music is annoying)
GAMEPLAY : B (Better with a joystick... especially when fighting the bosses)
LONGEVITY: B- (A challenging game marred by bad programming)

PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Redo the graphics!

OVERALL : 2.63

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# Bomberman (HuCard) or (SCD) [TGXCD1027]
---------
Move around in a maze setting up bombs and praying that the enemy will
get close enough to them when they eventually set off.

GRAPHICS : A- (Nice cartoon-like graphics)
SOUND : B (Nothing more than nice explosions and bleep sounds)
MUSIC : B+ (Catchy tune, but annoying after extended play)
GAMEPLAY : B- (Controls are a little too sensitive and the character has a
tendency to move more than expected)
LONGEVITY: A (This game is Fun with a capital "F"... a winner!)

OVERALL : 3.50
PLAYERS : up to 5

IMPROVEMENTS: Better sound effects.

COMMENTS : This surprise game comes on the 3-in-1 SCD disc that comes
with the Duo. At the title screen, press up, right, down, left,
and II to get a chime. Press RUN for the game.

EXPRESS: A++, Bomberman is just one of those games that is made for this
handheld. Hook up the link and kill your best friend. Now that bomberman
is out on the super nintendo, its popularity will really take off. Lets
hope TTI catches on and really pushes the express. If you've got one, get
this game!

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# Bomberman '93 (HuCard) [TGX040093] - review by Bt Garner
-------------
Bomberman cop to the rescue! The evil Bomberman clone has dispatched
6 really bad, evil and *BIG* bosses to the 6 planets in the Magellen
system, each one stealing a component of the systems' computer. It's
up to you (as Bomberman cop) to regain the 6 missing computer chips,
and then face your ultimate nemesis Bomberman clone (well, your ultimate
nemesis until the next instalment, that is). Conveyer belts can move you
(and your bombs) along more rapidly (or slowly, depending on the direction
that you want to go)

GRAPHICS: A (wonderful)
SOUND: B (standard bomb noises. ..)
MUSIC: A (more great tunes)
GAMEPLAY: A (The turbo pad works well)
LONGEVITY: B+ (some of the levels are pretty easy [bosses included], but
then others are real tough [D, F and G come to mind]).

OVERALL : 3.55
PLAYERS : 1 to 5

EXPRESS: A++, Here we go again! Great for the express.

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# Bomberman '94 (JHuCard) [HC93065] - review by Bt Garner
-------------
The little guy is back, and he's got more tricks up his sleeves then
he knows what to do with. This is the latest in the continuing Bomberman
saga, pretty much like the others (destroy all the baddies as you make
your way to the level exit, then finally destroy a stage boss). But
that's where the similarities end. The graphics are improved, the
stage layouts are intriging (not just rectangles) - and you can call on a
few friends to help when you need it (kangaroos [5 different ones], or
an occasional rail-car - hopping in a rail car first thing is a good
move since it eliminates all of the blocks that are on the tracks, and
also kills any goons on the tracks also!).

GRAPHICS: A (beautiful, the 6 different levels all have different backgrounds
and different enemies to blow up as well)
SOUND: B (nothing special, typical bomb noises, hmmm. ..)
MUSIC: A (some of the finest ever on a HuCard, really)
GAMEPLAY: A (The turbo pad works well)
LONGEVITY: B (The game is easier than previous outings [well, maybe not on
the later levels], but it is still fun to play, and
of course, there's always head to head mode)

OVERALL: 3.50
PLAYERS: 1 through 5

IMPROVEMENTS: More levels, please? A difficulty setting, perhaps. ..
COMMENTS: Bomberman just is about as good as it can get for action/
strategy games, and this latest installment is no disappointment.

EXPRESS: A++ same as above.

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# Bonk's Adventure (HuCard) [TGX030028] or (SCD) [TGXCD1027]
----------------
You are Bonk and you're off on an adventure to save Princess Za. Like
Sonic and Mario, Bonk is TG-16's color mascot (I say "color" because
HudsonSoft released Bonk for the Gameboy)!

GRAPHICS : B+ (The cartoon-like graphics could be improved)
SOUND : B+ (Lots of bleeps and bloops in the right places)
MUSIC : A- (Catchy tune which is sparse and unannoying)
GAMEPLAY : A- (The Turbopad is adequate here, but a joystick would be better)
LONGEVITY: A (You will want to play again and again)

PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: The graphics have been improved in Bonk's Revenge.

EXPRESS: A, Bonk will really keep you playing on the express. It's just as
good here as on the home system.

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# Bonk's Revenge (HuCard) [TGX040058] or (SCD) [TGXCD1027] -
-------------- Review by Bryan Duvan.

Sequel to Bonk's Adventure. You're Bonk trying to save Princess Za's
planet once again.

GRAPHICS : A (Much better and faster than its predecessor... Bonk's Adventure
was basically a linear game... Bonk's Revenge has you climbing
vertically as well as horizontally... check out how Bonk climbs
vines!)
SOUNDS : A (A bit more complex than the simplistic sounds of Bonk's
Adventure)
MUSIC : A (Very nice music)
GAMEPLAY : B (I like the multiple spins in Bonk's Adventure than the single
spin here)
LONGEVITY: A (Extremely long game to master... lots of tricks you need to
learn... two practice modes get you in gear for the challenge!)

OVERALL : 3.83
PLAYERS : 1

COMMENTS : Very nice game... Hopefully, Bonk 3 will be better than the first
two.

EXPRESS: A, As with Bonk I, the large characters make this game well suited
for the express, bravo NEC.

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# Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure [TGX080097] - Review by By Garner
---------------------------- (Comments2 by Darin Reid)

Everyone's favorite head-banger is back in this triquel (Tri + Sequel) to
The TG's favorite mascot (I know, but I don't count Air Zonk, OK?)

8 stages adorn this latest attempt, as you (and a friend, if so desired)
attempt to conquer King Drool the Third. Do not be fooled into complacency,
however, this game starts off relatively easy, but gets much more difficult
by the middle of the third stage.

Another new feature is the ability for Bonk to grow to a huge character,
or shrink to an itsy-bitsy character. In order to get to some areas, you
will need to do one or the other

GRAPHICS: B (same old, same old.. ..)
SOUND: B+ (the same. . .)
MUSIC: B (could use some improvement, very monotonous)
GAMEPLAY: A- (a little better than BR, but not as good as BA)
LONGEVITY: A (New levels, plus 2P Co-op mode saves it).

OVERALL: 3.50
PLAYERS: 1 or 2

COMMENTS: A Vs mode would have been a nice feature (something where you
could battle another Bonk in either 2P or Vs Computer mode).
Additionally, in 2P mode, you have to share hearts (life meter), so it can
be tough (also there are areas where you need to be careful and if you get
to an area, whereas your partner down't you may have to backtrack far enough
so that he can see to get out of the area (kind of the same limitations
that one experiences in Dungeon Explorer).

COMMENTS2: Bonk 3 is a *great* game. It has tons of items, paths, and
great graphics. Nothing can beat seeing a giant Bonk on the screen,
almost filling the entire height of it. If TTI/HudsonSoft had
released more games of this quality TTI might not be in the situation
it's in now.

You can be giant or small, mad or fiery mad. The any two from the first
can be combined with any two from the second category. You can be giant and
fiery mad, or small and mad, etc. Also, when Crushed by something Bonk turns
into a crab(!), letting him fit in small places, like when he is small Bonk.

There is a beautiful in-pipe shooshing effect. When you enter a pipe Bonk
becomes stretched out and squished (width wise), like someone crawling through
a pipe that is too small for them.

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# Boxyboy (HuCard)
-------
This is a puzzle game which involves pushing blocks into bins. Not as easy
as it sounds!

GRAPHICS : A- (Spitting image of Bomberman in terms of graphics)
SOUND : C (Nothing spectacular here)
MUSIC : B (Good tune, but gets annoying after awhile)
GAMEPLAY : A (This game is so simple to play that a Turbopad is perfect)
LONGEVITY: A (A first-rate puzzle)

OVERALL : 3.45
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Improve the music.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Bravoman (HuCard) Review by Bryan Duvan.
--------
Same old punching and kicking game with the only exception that your
arms and legs extend.

GRAPHICS : A (Nicely done in the underwater scene)
SOUNDS : C+ (Pings and pangs)
MUSIC : C (Repeats itself every stage)
GAMEPLAY : B (Pad is sufficient for this game)
LONGEVITY: C (Same old things except different stages... punch... kick...
punch)

OVERALL : 2.55
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Include weapons to fight enemies.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Bubble Gum Crash! (JHuCard) Review by Teh Kao Yang.
-----------------
Menu driven adventure game with some arcade sequences mixed in. Based on the
popular Anime series of the same name.

GRAPHICS : B (Has nice pictures of the Knight Sabers)
SOUND : C
MUSIC : C
GAMEPLAY : C (Boring and repetitive)
LONGEVITY: C+ (Pretty long and difficult, but not worth playing over)

PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: This game should have been done on CD. More freedom to explore
and harder puzzles would be nice.

OVERALL : 2.27

COMMENTS : This is the only video game I know of that features the popular
Knight Sabers. However aside from some nice graphics the game isn't that
interesting. Playing isn't much more than reading a lot of boring Japanese
text, but some arcade sequences spice it up a bit. It's worth checking out
for the Bubble Gum Crisis fans.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Cadash (HuCard) Reviewed by Pete Ikusz
------
Cadash is a 1 or 2 player side-scroller a la Legendary Axe, with more of a
storyline and D&D feel. You initially get to select to play 1 of 4 characters.
The story begins in a king's castle and you quickly move to the underground
caverns. Between levels, there are cities where you can purchase armor, get
rest, etc.

GRAPHICS : B+ (Some pretty nice screens and characters.)
SOUND : A-
MUSIC : B- (Could have been better.)
GAMEPLAY : A- (Plays as expected.)
LONGEVITY: B+ (Lots of stuff to do, as with Axe, it's a pain having
to continue from the start everytime though.)

OVERALL : 3.33
PLAYERS : 1 or 2

IMPROVEMENTS: Better music. Not bad overall for a HuCard game though. And
A Save feature would come in quite handy.

COMMENTS : Great for 2 player action. Compares favorably to the
Legendary Axe series.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Champions Forever Boxing (HuCard) Review by Darin Reid
------------------------
Good ol' Boxing brought to the Turbo, featuring Muhammed Ali, George Foreman,
Larry Holmes, Joe Frazier, and Ken Norton.

GRAPHICS : B (digitized photos are good, the profile only fighters need work)
SOUND : B (good punch noises, the crowd gets annoying)
MUSIC : B+ (Nice hip-hop, house sample music, needs some during the match)
GAMEPLAY : B (Alright, but your hands can go numb after 12 rounds)
LONGEVITY: A (keeps you coming, especially in 15 year mode)

OVERALL: 3.38
PLAYERS: 1 or 2

IMPROVEMENTS: get the boxers to face the screen, and face away from it, not
just left and right profiles. You can fight less than 12 rounds
in Exhibition mode, but not career fights.

COMMENTS: I thought the Turbo line had no good Sports games until I played this
and Davis Cup Tennis. The part that keeps you most interested in
this game is the 15 yer career option. You get to follow your boxer
(chosen from three no ones) through 15 fights for 15 years, trying
to get him (and keep) the heavyweight title. It's even better with
a TurboBooster-Plus or CD or Duo, you get to save the career.

Nice effects include the boxers' faces getting bloodier as the match
goes on, and sweat flying off after a particularly good puch.

TIP: Powerup the Jab, and use it a *lot*. Never get into a slugging match
with the former champs, you'll lose!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Chase H. Q. (HuCard) [TGX030096] - review by Bt Garner
-----------
Taito's arcade (?) game brought to the home screen. You control a car
and must first chase after an evil suspects (ranging anywhere from
terrorists to drug dealers -- heaven forfend!). When you catch up to them,
you need to repeatedly ram them with your own vehicle until their car
becomes disabled and you can arrest them!

GRAPHICS: B- (non descript, at best)
SOUND: B+ (ok - get the jobs done. .. )
MUSIC: C (gets real old, real quick)
GAMEPLAY: D (very difficult with a turbopad, why are the controls on
the express a little easier to use?)
LONGEVITY: C (aside from Gameplay problems, it is a very difficult game
to play).

OVERALL: 2.17
PLAYERS: 1

COMMENTS: As stated above, this is a hard game to not only beat, but also
to get a pattern for (which you may find as an asset). However, it is very
frustrating to speed up to the bad guys and then either bump another car,
or have time run out and then the car gets so far away that the distance is
the same as it was at the onset of the stage.

IMPROVEMENTS: Well, at some parts in the game, the road will split, and
although the game will tell you that you need to go in one direction, you
don't have to. Not that there's any benefit in *not* going that way (we
have it on good authority that if you *do* go the wrong way, then your
meter saying how far away the bad guys are will be rest to zero -- this
may or may not affect you depending upon how close to the bads guys you
are ever able to get), since the scenery and cars seldom change in a stage.

EXPRESS: B+, ok, but the Gameplay problem (for the most part) is still there.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Chew-Man-Fu (HuCard) [TGX020035] - review by Jeff Hildebrand
-----------

If you like to play two-player games with your roommate/spouse/friend-
who-hangs-around-too-much-because-*you*-have-a-TurboGrafx, then this is
the game for you (unless you want to get rid of the aforementioned
friend =).

Basic gameplay is pretty simple. You control a fatally cute little
girl who can latch onto the four big balls that are scattered about the
screen and push/pull/kick them about. The objective is to place the
four balls (each a different colour) on four similarly matched tiles.
And do it while beating bad guys, saving your buddy's butt, and before
the timer runs out. Each colour of ball has a different power. Blue
is fastest, red kills bad guys best, black breaks down walls best, and
green has no special power. Out to stop you are a handful on nasties
sent by the evil Chew-Man-Fu. There are lots of goodies you can pick
up that will assist you in your task - too many to detail here.

This game is BIG. The blurb on the back boasts 550 levels. This is
only partially true. The 550 levels are broken up into 10 "games"
each composed of 5 "areas" and 5 "extra rounds". Each "area" has
10 "rounds" to complete. If you play through a single "game" you
will see just about all the different screen layouts there are. If
you continue to play the next 9 "games" you will see these same
layouts again (and a few new ones) but they may be in a different
"area" this time. Since different "areas" have different bad guys
in them you will probably need to use a different strategy to
complete it. After you complete the 5 "areas" in a "game" there
are 5 "extra rounds" that you must complete which consist purely
of killing off a couple of bad guys. For these levels, each
player gets a special gold ball which has all the best attributes
of the four coloured balls.

Chew-Man-Fu also has a Kick-Ball option, where you can play two-man
soccer, and an "Edit Mode" where you can design your own levels and
save them (if you have backup RAM).

GRAPHICS : A- (Cute, colourful, well-animated)
SOUND : B (Nice variety, but nothing special)
MUSIC : B (Non-instrustive, speeds up when timer runs out just
to help get the adrenaline flowing!)
GAMEPLAY : A (Controls seem a little funny when you are pushing a
ball, but after a while it makes sense)
LONGEVITY: A+ (Mixing different bad guys with different screens
keeps things interesting, and there is a way to
make it even more "interesting"!)

OVERALL : 3.70
PLAYERS : 1 or 2

IMPROVEMENTS: Fix the password - if you restore your game with the
password you have only 3 lives and no diamonds!

COMMENTS : As if 550 levels is not enough, try playing with the
"Golden Balls" cheat. Now the 4 balls are all gold
coloured, but they do not act like the gold balls you
are used to! The ball will only reveal its true colour
when you place it on the correct tile. If you are
observant, you can make a good guess at a ball's true
colour. This makes the game much harder - another
550 levels to conquer! 1100 levels is insane.

I love some of the weird things your Wizard pal says
to you: "you are a model of courage and charisma" and
"now it is time to relax and eat rice" are two of the
more humourous things he says.

When you are pushing a ball, the controls seem to work
as if you are actually controlling the ball and dragging
the little girl behind.

EXPRESS: A, Everything in Chew-Man-Fu is very large - this game looks
like it was made for the TurboExpress screen. However, it
doesn't look like you can play a two-player game via
TurboLink, and some rounds seem nearly impossible if you
try to tackle them alone.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# China Warrior (HuCard) [TGX020008]
-------------
Side-scrolling punch and kick game with little variation.

GRAPHICS : A- (Absolutely HUGE graphic characters with no flicker)
SOUND : B- (Adequate punching and kicking sounds)
MUSIC : B (Music is annoying after awhile)
GAMEPLAY : B- (A little awkward with the Turbopad)
LONGEVITY: D (Despite its awesome visual and good audio effects, the game is
weak in its ability to capture the interest of the player)

OVERALL : 2.35
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS : Add more moves to the game.

EXPRESS: B+, works well on the small screen, but there's not much to work
with.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# City Hunter (JHuCard) [SS90001] - review by Bt Garner
-----------
Rather old PCE title based on the anime of the same name. You assume the
role of Ryou Saeba, "City Hunter." A Private Investigator who really knows
how to take care of business. Unless there's a good looking woman around.
Then he's a pervert. Who would have guessed?

Anyhow, you control Ryou around 4 different stages: an office building,
another building, a warehouse and a cruise liner. As you advance, you
will collect different weapons (you start of with a pistol, and can get a
grenade launcher, a rocket launcher and a laser gun). After you have
completed the first three scenes (in any order), you move onto the last
one.

What is a stage, well, you run around (back and forth), killing bad guys,
climb and descend stairs (and occasionally jump over something). Doors
are peppered everywhere, some lead to other parts of the "scene," others
have people behind them who can help you (either with information, items,
health, or guns), and each stage has a "SEXY GIRL" who will "heal" Ryou
(hey, that's how they're listed in the game credits!).

GRAPHICS: B- (same old thing over and over again, and some slow down).
SOUNDS: A- (guns shots, screams, doors, etc. . .)
MUSIC: A (good for a Hucard of this age. .. )
GAMEPLAY: B (all works as expected).
LONGEVITY: B (pretty easy once you figure out the layout of the scenes)

OVERALL: 3.23
PLAYERS: 1

IMPROVEMENTS: A longer game would have been nice, but I have a feeling
that the quality of the game would drop had it been made any longer.

COMMENTS: There is a password feature so that you can resume your gamplay
at any time, which is very nice. This game kind of reminds me of the old
Arcade Game "Elevator Action," only there's no elevators. Pity.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Columns (JHuCard) [TJ03002] - review by Bt Garner
-------
It's Columns - what were you expecting?

Columns of 3 jewels fall from the top of the screen, use the keys to rotate
them (I rotates them downward, II rotates them upward), and use the direction
key to move the entire column left and righ (or down, for a speedy drop).
Your goal is to line up as many similar jewels as possible -- if you get
three or more, the disappear from the screen, giving you some breathing space
for the next column which is coming down.

GRAPHICS: B (not great, but nice for such an early PCE game)
SOUND: A (minimal, but not much is needed)
MUSIC: A (at times I was looking for the CD, but you won't
have too much time to "enjoy" the tunes)
GAMEPLAY: B (the control pad lay out takes a little getting used to)
LONGEVITY: B (things move *very* fast, and will present themselves as
a challenge at the later levels).

OVERALL: 3.33
PLAYERS: 1 or 2

COMMENTS: For a 2 player game, you must have 2 Turbo Expresses and the
Turbo Link, this is the first title that I've even seen that has a multiplayer
mode that will not use the Turbo Tap.

EXPRESS: A+, looks real good. You'll be surprised (after level 12 things
go *very* fast).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Coryoon (JHuCard) [NX91004] Naxat Soft, 1991 - review by Robert
------- Kemmetmueller
A cute, colorful side-scrolling shooter where you control a little
dragon with a big head, who's out to... I dunno, it's Japanese. The
opening cinema shows your standard beautiful princess smiling at you
from a balcony as you hover nearby, and then a goofy floating wizard
cloud thing shows up and turns her into a little girl (oh, the horror!),
so you take off chasing it.

This game has the prettiest, deepest parallax scrolling I've ever seen.
The colors are bright, but not garish and disgusting like in "Fantasy
Zone". But you have no time to admire the scenery, because the screen
quickly becomes packed with moving objects!

Everything you shoot, turns into fruit (I feel a jingle coming on!),
which arcs into the air and falls realistically. You can catch the
fruit for major point accumulation, and earn tons of free lives. But
the fruit is everywhere. Bananas, grapes, watermelon slices, you name
it. The larger enemies produce large fruits. The whole screen looks
like "Ms.PacMan discovers bulimia", but slowdown never becomes bad
enough to be distracting.

GRAPHICS : A+ (as good as Lords of Thunder, but a whole different genre)
SOUND : B+ (kiddie voice yells "taxi!", "Klingon", or "thighmaster" when
you grab powerups. Well, it SOUNDS LIKE that in English!)
MUSIC : A (this is as good as a HuCard gets. up-tempo and catchy, too)
GAMEPLAY : C (just way, way too much crap flying around; can't see bullets)
LONGEVITY: B

OVERALL : 3.27
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Just make SOME of the enemies turn into fruit. Or at least
teeny-tiny fruit. Or make the enemy bullets be giant throbbing
things (there are no bright colors left that aren't already
used for fruit!)

COMMENTS : This is one you can show off to a Super Nintendo owner without
feeling ashamed. The easy level is doable by anyone, but it's
just so darn tempting to be greedy, you end up eating bullets,
too.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Cybercore (HuCard) [TGX030030] - review by Bt Garner
---------
Your basic overhead vertical shooter with a bug theme. You can blast and
bomb your way to save the world (this game is quite similar in game play
to Dragon Spirit, Xevious, 1943, etc. . .)

GRAPHICS: B (good for their time, I'm sure)
SOUND: B+ (not too annoying, which is good)
MUSIC: B (good variety, not overpowering)
GAMEPLAY: B- (a little choppy, but it all works as a package, so. ..)
LONGEVITY: B (tough, and enough variation to make you want to finish)

OVERALL: 3.00
PLAYERS: 1

COMMENTS: The later stages are quite challenging.. . OK, *very* challenging.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Cyber Cross (JHuCard) - review by atam@mailbox.syr.edu
-----------
Platform game.

GRAPHICS : C+ (A slightly earlier game, but no excuse for bad gaphics)
SOUNDS : C (Very cheesy sound effects)
MUSIC : C (Tacky, repetitive, ultimately, annoying)
GAMEPLAY : C+ (Stiff and nearly impossible to avoid enemies)
LONGEVITY : D (Hard, lousy game plus no continues)

OVERALL: 1.77
PLAYERS: 1

COMMENTS: Based on one of those live action (late '70's early '80)
Japanese television shows. You are some guy who powers up to
become a super hero (although the transformation is hysterically
funny becuase it's outright tacky). Anyway, there are three
armors available, and each one has two power levels. Graphics
are colorful but one layer, showing absolutely no field of depth.
It is a hard game with no continues and no extra lives. So you
have to finish the game with one tiny health bar with very few
chances to replenish it. Forgot the company that released it.
[bt: released by Face -- the same company that did Time Cruise]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Darkwing Duck (HuCard) - Review by Henry Cross
-------------
You're Darkwing Duck your mission is to get back the painting pieces and
reassemble them. To do this, you must get past the bad guys and their bosses.

GRAPHICS : A (This game has the best character animation's that I have seen on a Turbochip game, the backgrounds are nice)
SOUND : C+ (Sounds are plain and irritating.)
MUSIC : B- (I've heard worse see Double Dungeons)
GAMEPLAY : B (Controls suck)
LONGEVITY: C (Not much action or plot to keep you interested.)

OVERALL : 2.72
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Use these graphics in a game worthy of them.

COMMENTS: This game is fun for the kids, not much else.

EXPRESS: C, This game has big characters which makes them easy to see on
the express, but you would never know when you were being shot at, because
the bullets are even hard to see on a television.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Darius Plus (JHuCard)

See "Super Darius" in the file reviews.cd - this is the HuCard version.
Note that this HuCard can also be played on the SuperGrafx systems (with
out all of the flickering, this is the only dual system card known)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Davis Cup (HuCard) Review by Bryan Duvan. Additional notes by TurboKid.
---------
This tennis game lets you and four of your friends compete to see which
team can win the prestigous Davis Cup.

GRAPHICS : B (Nicely done on the animation)
SOUNDS : A (The sounds are great!)
MUSIC : C (Could be better)
GAMEPLAY : B (The split screen is hard when I first played, but after
a while, I got used to it)
LONGEVITY: B (Really fun when all four players play at the same time)

OVERALL : 3.00
PLAYERS : 1 to 4

IMPROVEMENTS: Graphics could be improved a little.

COMMENTS : Love the game... especially in practice mode.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Dead Moon (HuCard) [TGX040081] - review by Bt Garner
---------
A new comet is spotted in the outer reaches of the galaxy, the world's
scientists have determind that the comet will safely miss the earth by
sever hunder thousand kilometers, so a couple of probes are sent out to
gather information. As the probes get close enough to the comet to
start sending back data, the comet quicky chages it's path and destroys
the probes. Its new course has it heading directly for earth.

The UN decides that sending some missiles toward the comet to knock it
of of its course is the best option. This is done that instead of the
earth, the comet crashes into the moon, leaving, hopefully, nothing
more than another crator on the lunar surface (but that wouldn't be much
of a game, now would it?). More probes are send to the moon, to check out
the impact site, and hordes of (hostile) alien spacecraft are found.. ..

Short of the fancy description, this is basically just your slightly above
average horizontal, side-scrolling shooter. Powerups come in several
varieties, collecting similarly colored powerups increase the fire power
of that weapon, where as switching colors keeps you at the same level,
but just changes your primary weapon.

GRAPHICS: A- (nice, no flickering, large enemies)
SOUNDS: B+ (OK, but monotonous)
MUSIC: B+
GAMEPLAY: A- (the pad works well, and the game is challenging)
LONGEVITY: B+

OVERALL: 3.43
PLAYERS: 1

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Deep Blue (HuCard) Review by Bryan Duvan.
---------
Side-scrolling shooter underwater style.

GRAPHICS : B (I like the background of this game)
SOUNDS : C (So-so sounds... pings and pangs)
MUSIC : C+ (Decent)
GAMEPLAY : D (Horrible... would have been a B if the gameplay improved)
LONGEVITY: D (You die too easily in this game, so I hardly play it)

OVERALL : 1.72
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Need to improve on the control. Your movements are too slow to
react against the faster enemies.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Desperado (JHuCard)
---------
see "Dragon's Curse"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Detana! Twin Bee (JHuCard) [KM92004] - review by Jeff Coleburn
----------------

If there's one thing Konami is known for, it's shooters. This is no exception
to that trend, as it's simply one of the best Konami's put out to date.

This is another game with Xevious-style shoot-bomb controls, but it's drawn
more abstractly than high-tech shooters like Blazing Lazers; this is colorful
without being too cartoonish. Your ship flies over a vertically scrolling
landscape, blasting away at anything visible on the ground or in the air.
Shooting the floating clouds produces bells that can change color when shot;
yellow ones score points, while others speed you up, boost your weapons,
give you a shield or provide 'ghost' Twinbees that follow your movements
and provide more firepower.

Ground powerups can wipe out on-screen foes, give you three-directional fire
or summon a green Twinbee for fire support. If you like, you can grab onto
the green ship and link together, firing wide shots as one unit until you're
hit. You can also focus your firepower into one concentrated firebird-shaped
blast every few seconds, or (in two-player simultaneous mode) bounce off
your partner to send a wide barrage of fire across the screen.

The enemies come fast and furious; the ground targets often duck out of the way
just as you're getting them in your sights, while air targets travel in groups
and have a lot of variety. The bosses are large (the flying galleon in stage 2
is my favorite), the action never stops, and losing your powerups doesn't doom
you to lose your other ships in rapid order, as it does in so many other
shooters. While there are only five stages, this is one you'll return to 
often.

GRAPHICS: A (very colorful and well-drawn)
SOUND: A- (clear Japanese voices, lots of variety)
MUSIC: A- (very good for a HuCard)
GAMEPLAY: A+ (a top-notch shooter, simultaneous play is well-implemented)
LONGEVITY: A- (extremely addictive, though I wish it was longer)

OVERALL: 3.85
PLAYERS: 1 or 2 (simultaneous)

IMPROVEMENTS: More levels! More! More! More! Viva la Twin Bee!

EXPRESS: B-. Playable, but detailed enough that some things may slip by,
especially when whole squadrons of foes are piling on in later levels.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Devil's Crush (HuCard)
-------------
This is pinball with several twists.

GRAPHICS : A (Excellent detail... one of the best in this area)
SOUND : A (Good sound made great via Turbobooster)
MUSIC : A- (See previous line)
GAMEPLAY : A (The Turbopad is more than adequate for this game)
LONGEVITY: B+ (The game is fun for short durations)

OVERALL : 3.72
PLAYERS : 1

EXPRESS: B+, Gameplay isn't hindered on the express, it's just as fun here.
Don't get to save though.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Double Dungeons (HuCard) - review by Bt Garner
---------------
A 1 or 2 player game where you wade your way through 22 levels of a
dungeon. You kill things, you collect gold, you buy things. Then
you kill the person you're playing against. Each level is increasingly
larger, and thusly, more difficult.

GRAPHICS : B (OK - but nothing special)
SOUND : B (see "GRAPHICS")
MUSIC : D (one song, throughout all the dungeons, Yeow. ..)
GAMEPLAY : B (plays well enough)
LONGEVITY: C- (you'll want to play through once. maybe)

OVERALL : 2.23
PLAYERS : 1 or 2

IMPROVEMENTS: More musical variation. More variations of scenery.

EXPRESS: C-, There's not really anything to this game. Walls, slime,
skeletons, hawks, etc. Nothing moves, so it's not hard to see, and it's
not fun to play.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Download (JHuCard) [NAPH-1007] - Review by Bt Garner
--------
You have a loaded ship and must fend off the enemy in this side scrolling
shooter.

GRAPHICS : B (pretty good, plenty of detail)
SOUND : B+ (above average, gets the jobs done)
MUSIC : B+ (OK, but will get on your nerves after a while)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (no problem)
LONGEVITY: B (hard, at least there's a level password feature)

OVERALL : 3.17
PLAYERS : 1

COMMENTS: A good general purpose shooter, but not the best (Download 2
should be "preferred" over this one). Unlike DL2, you must choose a
primary weapon and secondary weapond before you play, you cannot change
during the middle of a stage (which was needed in some cases in DL2).
Another annoying aspect is that unless your weapon has been powered up, you
may never know that you lost a ship (when you lose a life, it doesn't
get replaced, your current weapon goes to "starting" level and that's
it). Also, a warning to parents, there is English profanity in this
game. ..

EXPRESS: C+, very difficult to see things.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Dragon Egg (JHuCard) [NCS91003] Masnya - review by Robert Kemmetmueller
----------
A decent platform game. If you like these runny-jumpy affairs, this is a
pretty good one. You're a teenage girl, and your grandpa (? some old
guy) puts a dragon egg in your backpack and sends you on your way.

As you acquire powerups, the egg starts to develop into a dragon.
Instead of clubbing enemies with your silly mushroom stick, the fire
button will make you swing the backpack with the now-hatched egg in it,
and the baby dragon will breathe a little flame at the enemies.
Eventually the dragon gets big enough where YOU ride IT, instead of you
lugging it around. Fully powered-up, the dragon even has limited flying
ability.

You can buy health and items to make the flame breath longer and other
junk, at shops along the way.

GRAPHICS : B
SOUND : B
MUSIC : C (yuchk, synthesized harpsichord! it fits tho, I s'pose)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (responsive controls, backtrack as far as you want)
LONGEVITY: B+

OVERALL : 2.98
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Dunno, it's already pretty good if you like runny-jumpies.
COMMENTS : Did I mention it was a runny-jumpy game?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Dragon Sabre (JHuCard) - Review by Paul Norkus
------------
Vertical-scrolling shooter that is the Japanese follow-up to Dragon Spirit.

GRAPHICS : A (Excellent Scrolling backgrounds and cool looking bosses.)
SOUND : B+ (Good sounds)
MUSIC : B+ (Good music)
GAMEPLAY : A (Feels good with a tap. Nice movement.)
LONGEVITY: A (Great game that you will keep coming back to.)

OVERALL : 3.80
PLAYERS : 1 or 2

IMPROVEMENTS: There is some flicker at times which appears to be part of the
way the sprites are handled (the cloud shadows in the first
level.)

COMMENTS : This game is great. The graphics are excellent and the gameplay
is fantastic. The music and sound are fine. It doesn't grab you but it
doesn't annoy you. There are lots of enemies and every level gets
progressively harder without becomming totally impossible. I haven't been
able to try it with two players though, which I'm sure would add even more
to the game. There are lots of different power-ups (and power-downs!) that
vary through the levels which make for a nice variety. This game is
definitly worth a purchase.

EXPRESS: A, as good (if not better) then Dragon Spirit, it's predecessor.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Dragon Spirit (HuCard)
-------------
Vertical-scrolling shooter where you take on the role of a dragon with
enormous firepower. Beautiful backgrounds will delight your eyes.

GRAPHICS : A- (Nice scrolling backgrounds... nice detail in dragon)
SOUND : A- (Nice explosions and bleeps reminiscent of Bomberman)
MUSIC : A (Cool soundtrack)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (Use a joystick!)
LONGEVITY: A- (A fun shooter!)

OVERALL : 3.68
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Improve the stereo. Add more detail to flying enemies.
Add a continue feature. This game should definitely
have a 2-player option like the Atari arcade version, but
that will be left for Dragon Saber, due out soon.

EXPRESS: A-, very good on the small screen. Shots are large enough to
see, colors are well defined. Now, if only I could turn the volume up
just a little bit louder. ..

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Dragon's Curse (Hu-Card) - Review by Henry Cross
--------------

O.K. Here's the story: You're handsome and all powerful Hu-Man going to fight
the mean old Mecha-Dragon. First you go through a series of little bad guys
that you stab with your sword. Then you get to the Dragon. What a wimp he
turns out to be...He can barely do damage to you. But uh-oh, what's that?
As you destroy the dragon, his "essence" seeks you out. When it catches you,
you become what the dragon was (hence Dragon's Curse.) Now you have to find
Mecha Dragon again to obtain the salamander cross which will restore your
handsomeness.

Your curses are as follows: Lizard Man, Mouse Man, Piranha Man, Tiger Man,
and Hawk Man. Each has a different ability, and you will need to use each of
them to get to the final dragon. There are five worlds : Desert, Sea, Jungle,
Cave, and Sky, and various shops along the way. Each world has its own
impressive soundtrack. You can find life hearts and healing potions,
charisma stones, and special weapons. You can buy different swords,
shields, and armor from the shops each of which has a different effect on
each of your characters, and some can be use to uncover special blocks or
break them. The special weapons are fireball, tornado, arrow, boomerang,
and thunder each of which has its own use.

GRAPHICS : A (Incredible color and fun animations. See below.)
SOUND : B (Simple Poke and Mario type sounds.)
MUSIC : A (Really fun Turbochip music.)
GAMEPLAY : A (Simple, but some strategy involved.)
LONGEVITY : A+ (I love it. It's much better than CATS. I'm going to
play it again and again.)

PLAYERS: 1
OVERALL: 3.93

IMPROVEMENTS: Make a sequel. And another. Allow you to use the Hu-Man
character at the end in maybe another level (his duck and poke attack is
really something to be seen.)

COMMENTS: This is hands down my favorite game (on any system.) It is not as
fast paced as Sonic the Hedgehog, but it's every bit as addicting, and it has
the best plot that I have seen in a video game. It's a real winner.

EXPRESS : A++ Another incredible aspect of this game is its use on the
Express. With its large characters, brilliant colors, incredible soundtrack,
and addictive game play, this is the MUST-HAVE game for the express. There
is absolutely no game like it. Sonic Chaos move over.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Drop Off (HuCard) Review by Bryan Duvan.
--------
This is break-out for the TG-16, you make you way through various levels
of items (things that need to be destroyed with your ball), and collect
a few interesting power-ups along the way (like the ability to scroll back
the ever falling fields which you are trying to destroy).

GRAPHICS : C (Decent)
SOUND : C- (All you hear is the ball bounces... ping... ping)
MUSIC : C (Needs a better tune)
GAMEPLAY : B (Turbopad is sufficient... very easy to use)
LONGEVITY: B (Very addictive if you're in Arkanoid freak)

OVERALL : 2.45
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Better tune and should have more diverse power-ups.

COMMENTS : This game lacks in graphics and sounds, but makes up for
it in gameplay and fun factor.

EXPRESS: A-, no problem with anything.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Dungeon Explorer (HuCard)
----------------
Explore dungeons and castle layouts, fight horrible monsters, find valuable
loot. This arcade RPG has it all!

GRAPHICS : A- (Makes excellent use of available colors)
SOUND : B+ (Appropriate sound effects)
MUSIC : A- (Nice theme song)
GAMEPLAY : B (Needs a joystick to move diagonally)
LONGEVITY: B (A little too frustrating in one-player mode)

OVERALL : 3.28
PLAYERS : up to 5

IMPROVEMENTS: Add skill levels. Playing one-player is too difficult!
Having the 5-player capability is a nice touch.

EXPRESS: B-, This game works fairly well with the express, but you can't
have 5 players.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Fantasy Zone (HuCard)
------------
Side-scrolling shooter with very cute graphics.

GRAPHICS : B+ (Very colorful cartoon-like graphics)
SOUND : B (Sounds only come from missiles and picking up coins)
MUSIC : B- (Annoying theme song)
GAMEPLAY : B- (Awkward without a joystick. Movement of your ship and enemy
characters are too slow)
LONGEVITY: C+ (An average shooter with nice touches)

OVERALL : 2.72
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Add more sound effects.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Final Lap Twin (HuCard) [TGX030020]
--------------
Racing game with three options:
1. Race by yourself against computer.
2. Race against your friend and computer.
3. Race as far as you can on a "quest."

GRAPHICS : B (Very nice... pretty details in the artwork)
SOUND : B (Average to good)
MUSIC : B (Nicely done)
GAMEPLAY : C (After racing for awhile, fingers and hand start to hurt)
LONGEVITY: B (In "quest mode," the game lasts awhile)

OVERALL : 2.83
PLAYERS : 1 or 2

IMPROVEMENTS: Improve on the gameplay.

COMMENTS : Not a bad game when you're competing against a friend.

EXPRESS: A, for the hand help driving experience, this is a good choice.
(would probably be even better with a TurboLink for head to head
competition)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Final Soldier (JHuCard) - review by hiryu@netcom.com
-------------
Final Soldier is part of the Super Star Soldier series, and is an excellent 
vertical-scrolling shooter. I will mostly compare it to Soldier Blade (my 
favorite Turbo shooter). 

When you set up the game, you get to select what each of your main weapon
groups (Laser, E-Beam, and Fire, in addition to your normal Vulcan shots)
can do. For example, you can set up your Blue lasers to shoot out in one
large spear, in three short pulses, or as multiple blue bubbles (Pretty 
cool!). Some of these weapons are more useful than others (Stay away 
from the Fire 'Sol' weapon). You can also select the way your missiles 
will fire (front, homing, or back). 

As in Blazing Lazers and Soldier Blade, you can pick up little satellite 
buddies which tag along. However, they cannot be used as shields, 
they have a slow firing rate, and you only get to carry two of them 
around for use as super weapons. So it is much easier to get out of a 
jam in Soldier Blade than it is here, and you can't just sit in place
and blast away at a boss while your buddy soaks up all the hits. =)

Your fighter has three different cruising speeds, so you can quickly adapt
to any given situation (I thought that two speeds in Soldier Blade was 
perfect, although some people like a wide range of speed settings as in
Blazing Lazers). The gameplay is excellent, and you can set the 
difficulty to normal, hard, or expert. The game is quite challenging on
hard, and I have not completed it on the expert level; just way too
much stuff flying around on the Express; but now that I have a Duo, we
shall see. B) The game is definitely not as hard as Super Star Soldier,
where if you get hit halfway through some of the harder levels, you get 
to watch your entire contingent of ships die in rapid succession.

There is a lot of bright color used in this game. The graphics, especially 
the backgrounds, are quite well done, and there's not much flicker. 
There's some nifty warping SFX too. As in most Turbo shooters, you are 
assaulted by waves upon waves of pebble-sized enemies, but there is a 
good deal of variety to them. Boss sprites are on the small side, but are 
well-rendered for the most part. However, while very colorful, the 
graphics are not as good as they are in Soldier Blade. The music rocks, and 
ranks among the best for a Hucard. Nice sound effects too, and you get a 
digitized voice warning you of incoming bosses. Just as in Soldier Blade,
there are 2 and 5 minute modes for quick scoring contests.


GRAPHICS : A- (Pretty good)
SOUND : A- (Nice explosion sound effects)
MUSIC : A (Great music!)
GAMEPLAY : A (Good control, doesn't cry out for a joystick)
LONGEVITY: A- (All shooters get tedious eventually, but this game has 
plenty of options to try out) 

OVERALL : 3.80
PLAYERS : 1

EXPRESS : A Great on an Express (that is, easy enough to see
enemy shots, and it is possible to beat the game on
one set of batteries).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Galaga '90 (HuCard)
----------
The classic shooter based on Galaga '88 and the best Galaga translation on
any home system. A definite must-have for your "classics" collection.

GRAPHICS : B+ (As good as Galaga can get on a home system!)
SOUND : A- (an almost exact duplication of the arcade game)
MUSIC : A- (See previous line)
GAMEPLAY : A (The Turbopad is more than adequate for this game... simple
left/right movement with fire)
LONGEVITY: A- (A top-notch shooter that will keep you coming back for more)

OVERALL : 3.68
PLAYERS : 1

EXPRESS: A, good detail for the small screen.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Genpei Toramaden (JHuCard) [NC92001] - review by Bt Garner
----------------
The Japanese predecessor to "Samurai Ghost." This game, however is a little
different that the later version (also known as "Genpei Toramaden - Volume
2"). There are three different types of screens to play, there is the normal
kind (which is your basic "platform" type run/jump/slash game). There is
also a larger version of this (which is used through out SG), and then there
is also an overhead version of the first. As you make your way through each
stage, you may find yourself falling down a pit to an overhead "area,"
and often times, these will have sevel stage endings, so that your path
doesn't always follow the same way.

GRAPHICS: B (not bad, but not the greatest, either [shows its age])
SOUND: B+ (digitized voice, and a bunch od slash and bleep sounds)
MUSIC: B (ok, but can get on your nerves after a while)
GAMEPLAY: A- (not bad, the turbo pad works well)
LONGEVITY: B- (pretty tough, but there seems to be unlimited continues).

OVERALL: 3.06
PLAYERS: 1

COMMENTS: A password feature would be nice, so that you don't have to
start from the beginning every single time. Along with that a, backtrack
feature would be nice in case you get into an area which is particularly
difficult to get out of.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Genpei Toramaden - Volume 2 (JHuCard) [NC92002]
---------------------------
See "Samurai Ghost"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Ghost Manor (HuCard) [TGX040076] review by Kenley Fritts
-----------
You play the role of Arthur who is sent on a mission to save the town of
Anoraff from the evil clutches of Orb Gamut. Arthur has to find his way into
Orb's house (Ghost Manor), locate and defeat Orb to restore peace to the town.
Arthur must go through 7 levels while avoiding and/or destroying Orb's army of
evil monsters. Arthur must find the key to escape to each next level, then
finally find and defeat Orb. Each stage contains different items which Arthur
should find to aid him through his quest.

GRAPHICS : B+ (Nicely done, Arthur has some interesting movements & facial
expressions)
SOUND : B- (Fair variety of sounds, nothing spectacular)
MUSIC : C+ (Theme tunes are appropriate, but can get annoying after a while)
GAMEPLAY : A (Turbo Pad works very well, controls are responsive)
LONGEVITY: A- (Game is not easy to finish, and you will want to keep trying)

OVERALL : 3.28

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Maybe a 2 player mode where each player can switch turns between
lives. A level save might be nice, but it might make the game too easy.

COMMENTS: After playing this game for a while, I found that you can get much
further after discovering where to go to find the key to exit to the next level.
There are some traps, if you encounter them, that can transport you back to
previous levels. The only short comings of this game, is that it can become
frustrating when you reach a level, and then don't have enough lives or
continues to reach the next higher level.

EXPRESS: A-, this platform game is well suited for the Express. Large 
character animations and responsive movements make it enjoyable.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Gomola Speed (JHuCard) [UP02002] -Review by Thomas Baetzler.
------------
If asked to describe Gomola Speed in a single phrase, I'd sum it up as
"eat food, find exit", which is the basic formula of the game. The setting
is a dungeon seen from above, drawn in the typical Gauntlet style. But
this time, you're not a warrior, but a mere worm on the run from mean metal
bugs of all sizes.

Being a worm means that you consist of a head and a number of tail
segments. At the beginning of each level, most of your tail-segments are
floating around and must be collected so that you are able to eat food by
encircling it with your body. The fact that the food drifts around just
like unlinked body segments means that having fewer segments in the tail
makes the encircling harder, which results in a bigger score. Contact with
the enemy, explosions or shots will cut the tail and scatter the cut off
segments so that you have to collect them again, while only hit on the head
of the worm is fatal.

Your only weapons are timebombs which can be left behind on your
trail in the hope that some of your enemies will be near when they go off.
Being in the blast range will stun them for a while and make them
vulnerable, so that they can be encircled and digested just as food. But
beware, they'll be back after a while, and more aggressive than before. If
bombing doesn't help, you can still try to maneuver out of the danger zone
by pressing your speedup button. Other elements of the game include keys
which match color-coded doors, crumbling walls which can be blasted away,
and all the usual bonuses like treasures, limited invulnerability or extra
lives. While some of those extras are in fact stationary, others float
around like food, so that you have to be careful not to loose a life by
bumping into an enemy when chasing an extra life blob. It's a nice touch of
the designers that you can get an extra continue by herding a 1up to the
exit, though.

To complete a level, you have to eat all of the food, and then reach the
exit with all segments of your body attached. Every six levels or so,
there's also a boss character in your way. Defeat him, and you'll get to
see a short intermission scene. Some levels have several exits which lead
to different levels.

GRAPHICS : B (Nice Gauntlet-style graphics of about average quality)
SOUND : C+ (Nothing spectacular)
MUSIC : C (A selection of repetitive and rather short jingles)
GAMEPLAY : A- (Easy to understand, hard to master and potentially addicitive)
LONGEVITY: B+ (Level selection codes allow you to skip the "easy" levels)

OVERALL : 2.93
PLAYERS : 1

COMMENTS
Gomola Speed is a simple and fast-paced game with some puzzle elements
thrown in. It's something I can enjoy after a day's work on a computer,
when anything "deep" like a RPG would be way too much for me. I think it's
a good thing that the game is in fact self-explanatory - when you start a
new game, you'll get a short comment in english each time you do something 
for the first time. Also, after the first two tutorial levels, the
difficulty rises continuously and your quest for food and body parts
becomes quite soon a frantic chase. Having a well worn joypad at your
disposal helps a lot when playing the game, since this makes encircling
easier - you don't have as much problems hitting the diagonals as with a
new pad.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Hana Taka Daka (JHuCard) [TP03018] - Review by Thomas Baetzler.
--------------
Taito's Hana Taka Daka is undoubtedly one of the better horizontally
scrolling shoot'em ups for the PC-Engine. An introductory cinema outlines
the reason for your upcoming battle, but since there's virtually no
description on screen, we'll never know for sure what it's all about -
unless a kind soul supplies a translation of the japanese manual, of
course.

Anyways, you play the part of a flying bird-thing (probably a kami) which
has to blast its way through hordes of enemies without getting hit by them
or their shots. Occasionally, you'll find magic parcels which will give
you different kinds of shots and bombs, up to three drones to follow you,
or orbiting shields. If you get hit, you lose some of those extras, and you
get shrunk in the bargain. Of course, there are also some magic scroll
extras to be found, which will increase your size again, up to one size
above the starting point. Some of the parcels are placed in traps, which
will cost you a life if you are not careful enough.

Your objective in each level is to find two parts of a stolen seal. One of
those can be obtained by beating the boss of the level, while the other is 
stowed away in a hidden sub-level. This sub-level is accessed by blasting 
one particular innocent object. To make things a bit more interesting, the 
playfield is higher than the screen, so that it can scroll vertically, too.
Since there are several possible routes through a level, finding that object 
can take a few tries. In between the levels there is a short cinema where
you can see your newly recovered parts added to the seal.

Hana Taka Daka is a clever mix that borrows freely from other games of the
same genre: The drones and general graphic style are reminiscent of
Konami's classic Parodius, while the weapon expansion system and the 
fact that you can power up your main gun by keeping the firing button 
pressed are rather in the vein of IREM's R-Type. Still, it's clearly 
distinct from those two in with diagonally scrolling sections, and 
the general zany atmosphere.

Talking about features, there's a passcode system which lets you start over
at the beginning of the last stage you reached. On the option screen, you
can play all the sound effects and songs in the game as well as adjust the
difficulty level from easy over normal to hard. But even on easy the game
is still a challenge.

GRAPHICS : B+ (Cute comic graphics with a twist, just a bit of flicker in
when tackling the boss.)
SOUND : B- (Lots of different sound effects, but nothing spectacular.
Features some scratchy japanese speech samples. Ugh.)
MUSIC : B+ (Friendly, groovy tunes.)
GAMEPLAY : A- (Handles quite well. Three selectable levels of difficulty.)
LONGEVITY: B (Will probably take you a while to complete.)

OVERALL : 3.33
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS
Some way to skip over the (albeit short) cinemas at the start and in
between levels would be nice.

COMMENTS
Hana Taka Daka should appeal to people who like cutesy shooters. At
first, I was a bit disappointed with the game, because the graphics are -
well, different - from those of the "serious" shooters like the Soldier
series. Getting the hang of the game took me a few tries, but it was well
worth it. The comic style graphics feature nicely animated enemies, and
at times, they are even worth an occasional laugh, like when one of your 
enemies tries to catch you with a butterfly net. Of course, the final 
laugh is reserved for the game - lose a round and face your arch enemy 
cackling at you.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Heavy Unit (JHuCard) - review by atam@mailbox.syr.edu
----------
A basic shooter. ..

GRAPHICS : B (A little bit on the grainy side, overall, decent)
SOUNDS : C (Stinks)
MUSIC : C (Resembles sound effects, it stinks)
GAMEPLAY : D+ (Very slow response, close to zero mobility)
LONGEVITY : D (I sure as hell don't want to play it any more)

OVERALL: 1.56

COMMENTS: Notes: Thank goodness this Taito horror show was never released in
the US. Basic difficult shooter with horrible control. Highlight
it, occasional power-ups and the ability to change from fighter to
mecha. Stay away from this one, just borrow it from a friend then
make fun of him/her for buying it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Hit The Ice (HuCard) [TGX030095] - review by James Stepanek
-----------

GRAPHICS : A-
SOUND : B+ (I shouldn't really judge cause I don't care)
MUSIC : B+
GAMEPLAY : B
LONGEVITY: B+ (too early too tell really)

OVERALL : 3.33
PLAYERS : 1-4

IMPROVEMENTS: Now here I can have a field day. The game should get rid
of the fact that one of the skaters and the goalie are controlled at the
same time. This is really annoying and has lost me all kinds of games.
You should be able to choose which one you controll and have the
computer controll the other one.

COMMENTS : Fair warning to all who approach this game-IT IS NOT REAL
HOCKEY! It is a parody of goon hockey. The graphics are good, the
controlls work pretty well (except above gripe) and the ability to play
goon hockey is extrmely emphasized. The teams are selected from a
limited roster of players who can play for each team. Their main
differentiating feature is what cheap shot they pull. The manual is
quite amusing, and the game play has a lot of funny action. The game has
very little to do with real hockey though. It is 2 on 2 with no
penalties, and the skating isn't all that realistic. The sounds are
pretty good, but this is from very limited listening since I normally
shut off the game noise and listen to a CD instead. I would say that If
you want a real hockey game don't buy this game, get TV-sports Hockey
instead. This is like the Street Fighter of hockey. It is a game geared
more to a sense of humor than a sports enthusiast.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Impossimole (HuCard) [TGX040062] - review by Bt Garner
-----------
You assume the role of Monty Mole - and must protect an alien race from
a group of other aliens? Who came up with that storyline?

GRAPHICS : B (Adequate, but not really nice)
SOUND : B- (A touch less than adequate)
MUSIC : C (Gets real old, real quick)
GAMEPLAY : D (Not easy, see below)
LONGEVITY: D (No strong desire to play on a regular basis)

OVERALL : 1.78
PLAYERS : 1

COMMENTS : Well, not the greatest game ever put out for the Duo. In some
areas, you will be "hit" by an opponent - when this happens, you lose control
of Monty for a moment, of course the guy who hit you is "on you," so that
when you recover, boom, you get hit again. Very frustrating. ..

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Jack Nicklaus Turbo Golf (HuCard) - Review by Henry Cross
------------------------
This golf game is a really bad copy of Mean 18 for the PC. Mean 18 had its
limitations, but this game only has one course that is too painful to finish.

GRAPHICS : D (Worse than EGA, it's painful)
SOUND : F (Pong had better sound effects.)
MUSIC : D (Only at intro.)
GAMEPLAY : B (Not hard at all to play)
LONGEVITY : F (Who wants to play it?)

OVERALL : 0.83
PLAYERS : 1 to 5 tolerant people

IMPROVEMENTS: Create a golf game from scratch.

COMMENTS: The only good thing about this game is that the horrible music
is only at the intro.

EXPRESS: F-, I don't even want to play this game on a wide screen, but
boy would this game sure give the Express' speaker a workout with all
those ping ping beep beeps.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu - by Jeff Coleburn (vsp@netaxs.com)
----------------------------

The local evil wizard has captured your girlfriend, so it's time to punch,
kick, and otherwise pulverize the local denizens through five stages
(or at least that's how many are in the stage-select cheat) of scrolling
platform screens. Jackie (that's you) is nicely drawn in a cartoony,
slightly SD style, and the screens and enemies are colorful (if generic).

GRAPHICS: B+ (bright and colorful, but nothing to write home about.
Some vertical scrolling as well as horizontal.)
SOUND: A- (Jackie's HI-YA!s and HA!s are nice, and the YOWCH! when
he falls into spikes or fire is a howl; the rest are
mostly generic bleeps and thwacks)
MUSIC: B (it doesn't get TOO annoying)
GAMEPLAY: B (generic scroller, with a few minor special moves. The
pattern of enemies is rather repetitive.)
LONGEVITY: B+ (hard to say how long it'll take to master the whole game,
but it's fun if you happen to like scrollers.)

OVERALL: 3.1
PLAYERS: 1

IMPROVEMENTS: A little more variety in special moves, perhaps, and
some more stages; five of them can't last too long.

COMMENTS: This is a light-hearted game, from the powerup-spitting frogs
to the giant foot that kicks Jackie back into play in one stage.
Sort of like a Kung Fu Bonk, in other words. If you don't expect
too much going into it, it's pretty entertaining.

EXPRESS: Though I have no Express to test this on, it looks like it's
a natural for it; Jackie and the various enemies are large
sprites and colorful enough to stand out, and gameplay is
simple enough that things won't get lost in the shuffle.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Jin Mu Den Shoo (JHuCard) - review by Johnny Yeung
---------------

This game is a 3D 'chopping' game. You control your samurai and run towards
your enemies and kill them. This game is exactly like playing Space Harrier,
except that you are using a sword, not laser. BTW, you can power up your sword
and cast the fireball to your foes.

Graphics : B+
Sound : B
Music : B+
Gameplay : B+
Longevity: B+

Overall: 3.25
Comments: This game can make you real dizzy....

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# JJ & Jeff (HuCard) - review by Bt Garner
----------

You play the role of either JJ or Jeff, two bumbling detectives trying
to solve a kiddnapping mystery. However, don't let the premise fool
you. This is pretty much your typical run and attack platform game (for
attacking, you get to kick things).

GRAPHICS : B (a little above average)
SOUND : C (not so hot, especially the "simulated" voices ..)
MUSIC : B- (annoying)
GAMEPLAY : B- (quite difficult, considering)
LONGEVITY: B- (the game can be very frustrating since it boils down to
memorizing the patterns that your foes use)

OVERALL : 2.63
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Make the game a touch easier (perhaps a level select?),
improve the sound

COMMENTS : This title is probably only worth it for a very low price,
and if there is nothing else to choose from. If there is an
enemy that you can't kick, you can pull out your trusty spray
can to zap them, in the Japanese version you use your own
flatulence (no, I am not making this up!).

EXPRESS: A, This really is a pretty fun game, and the great big characters
are perfect for the express.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Keith Courage in Alpha Zones (HuCard)
----------------------------

EXPRESS: B+, It's still a pack in for the Turbografx, but it's still a solid
one. Works well here.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Ken and Kato (JHuCard)

see "JJ & Jeff"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Klax (HuCard) [J: TG90001] Review by Chris Fleming.
----
Klax is a strategy game where you attempt to catch colored tiles as they
come down a conveyor belt, and place them into patterns of rows, columns or
diagonals. Each wave (ie. level) has a different objective, such as
forming a given number of diagonals, or getting a certain number of points.
If this sounds easy or boring, you're in for a shock when you play it. Klax
is one of the most impossible games to master, and as addictive as Tetris.

While Klax can be found on most game systems, not to mention your local
arcade, the TG-16 version of Klax has several outstanding features. First
and foremost is the price. At $15.00, this game's a steal. Another very
good feature is the extent to which you can customize the game. You can
change everything from the difficulty level to the background brightness,
but my personal favorite option is widening the playfield size: perfect for
less eyestrain on your TurboExpress!

Klax's graphics look sharp, although some of the tile colors tend to look
the same when things start moving fast. The sound is quite amusing, with
applause when you finish a wave, and musical serenades when you make an
especially good move, among others. All of the sounds and voices are
digitized, and add to the game, rather than detract from it. Unfortunately,
all of the sounds and voices were digitized at too low a sample rate, as
they are fuzzy-sounding (a minor point, I know!).

GRAPHICS : B
SOUND : B
MUSIC : B
GAMEPLAY : A
LONGEVITY: A

OVERALL : 3.50
PLAYERS : 1

COMMENTS : Overall, I would highly recommend Klax. The gameplay is easy,
the longevity is high, the difficulty is high, the game is addictive, and
the price is low. What more could you want?

EXPRESS: B, text is difficult to read (but most of the time you will not
need to read it), and the screen gets way too blurry when the blocks start
coming really fast.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Legend Of Hero Tonma (HuCard) [TGX040083] - review by Bt Garner
--------------------
Playing the role of Tonma, you must use your skill and cunning to rescue
the princess. Your basic platform (run, jump and shoot) type of game with
7 levels. Some of them are tough!

GRAPHICS : B+ (Pretty impressive)
SOUND : B+ (Not bad, but not the greatest either)
MUSIC : A (Cool music)
GAMEPLAY : B (tough, gets very hard with the turbopad)
LONGEVITY: B+ (leaves you with that, "I know I can do it *this* time" feeling).

OVERALL : 3.36
PLAYERS : 1

EXPRESS: B+, looks ok, but a few items are so small that they go either unseen
or are mistaken for other things.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Legendary Axe (HuCard)
-------------
You are a Barbarian on a quest ala Castlevania-style (run, jump and slash).

GRAPHICS : B+ (Good use of the available colors)
SOUND : A (Cool sound effects)
MUSIC : A (Catchy them tune)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (Turbopad adequate, but a joystick would help)
LONGEVITY: B (There's enough to do in this game to keep you coming
back for more... but starting back at the beginning of
the game can be a drag!)

OVERALL : 3.43
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Add a continue feature. There is a secret continue feature,
however.

EXPRESS: C+, Because of the large characters, it plays about the same as the
home system, but there are some areas that seeing becomes really difficult.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Legendary Axe II (HuCard)
----------------
Again, you are a Barbarian on a quest ala Castlevania-style.

GRAPHICS : A (Much improved graphics over its predecessor!)
SOUND : A (Cool sound effects)
MUSIC : A (Cool music)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (Like its predecessor, this game would be more playable with
a joystick)
LONGEVITY: B+ (Because the game is more visually appealing, I would play
it over its predecessor)

OVERALL : 3.65
PLAYERS : 1

EXPRESS: B+, Like LA1, the characters are big, but the scenery is still
difficult (some enemies "shoot" you and the "bullets" are difficult to see.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Liquid Kids (JHuCard) [TP03020] - Review by Thomas Baetzler.
----------
Liquid Kids by Taito is a typically japanese cuddly-type jump'n run game
which might be named as one of the successors of the classic Bubble Bobble
game: this time, you're an ugly duckling armed with watery bubbles which
will quench fire, or stun your enemies. The game is organized in worlds
which feature a set of levels all done in the same graphical style, and 
of course an extra-nasty boss creature. Unlike Bubble Bobble, the levels
scroll vertically and/or horizontally, and you have to face off hordes of
enemies aswell as spikes and other static hazards to make it alive through
to your family's nest. Collectible boni like extra lives, invincibility
pills or water taps which give you bigger water bubbles or a faster firing 
rate even out your odds agains your enemies. The experienced player can
also find any number of shortcuts, which will warp him through the levels.


GRAPHICS : B (Up to par for the genre of the game. Just a bit of flicker
when there are many enemies of the screen)
SOUND : B (Typical jump'n run noises)
MUSIC : B+ (Nice but short tunes for each world)
GAMEPLAY : A- (Quite a lot of fun, but has a steep learning curve)
LONGEVITY: B (Still fun to tackle once in a while after some time)

OVERALL : 3.33
PLAYERS : 1

COMMENTS:
Liquid Kids might not be eveybody's favourite, but in my book, it is a
decent enough game to enjoy. Since the game is straightforward, you don't
miss much by not being able to read the japanese intermission texts -
they're probably something like the usual "Well done!" stuff. As mentioned
above, the learning curve of this game is quite steep - the first world is
dead easy to complete, and no indication of the rest of the game. When you
start tackling the third and fourth world, you'll really be grateful that
you have 6 continues to get anywhere in the game.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Lode Runner Lost Labyrinth (JHuCard) [PV1004] - review by bt garner.
--------------------------

Not to be confused with the 1993 release of "Battle Lode Runner," this is
the PCE version of the original Apple/C-64 "Lode Runner."

The premise of the game is this, you run around a bunch of mazes (56 of
them), and have some bad guys chasing you. The object of each round is
to collect all of the gold, note that the bad guys can pick up and carry
gold too, but only one ore at a time. In order to release the gold, the
guy must fall into a hole, which you dig (the I button digs to the right,
the II button digs to the left). In time, these holes will fill (and if
an bad guy is in them when the hole fills, he is killed, but soon replaced).

Mazes consist of blocks (some destroyable, some not), ladders, ropes and even
fake blocks (which you may fall right through).

GRAPHICS: B (virtually identical to the C64 graphics, not great, but
they're not needed).
SOUND: C (see "graphics.")
MUSIC: C (annoying, glad that it only plays for a limited time)
GAMEPLAY: A- (very close to the original, but *much* better with 2 buttons!)
LONGEVITY: B (Fun, and fairy close to the original)

OVERALL: 2.62
PLAYERS: 1

COMMENTS: This game does not seem to work with all TG-16s. Of the 2 that
I have, one of the machines made the game very difficult since it would
kill me for no apparent reason, or I would fall into holes that were not
visible on screen (different from the "fake blocks," as mentioned above).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Magical Chase (HuCard) [TGX040086] - review by Bt Garner
-------------
Copyright 1993 from Quest. You get to play the role of Ripple, a witch's
apprentice who has done the unthinkable! She opened up the magical book
of her teacher [an evil witch], and released 6 demons. Now, she must fight
(well, "shoot") her way through 6 levels in order to capture the demons
and return them to the book, else the witch will turn her into a toad!

Okay, that's the premise, what you actually have here is your basic 6 stage
shooter. Each stage has a mid-boss and a regular boss. After you shoot
creatures, they will elave either gems or candy (or other treats) behind.
Collect the gems to purchase better weaponry and more life, collect the
candy to regenerate your life meter (the shop where you purchase these is
run by Halloween Jack, a pumpkin headed guy. ...) You also have two stars
that rotate around you and act like satelittes for you (Topsy and Turvy are
their names). The I button acts as a lock toggle, so that if you get them
where you want them, you can lock them there. Pressing it again, frees
them.

The stages are well drawn (very bright and colorful), and there is very little
flickering. The game provides three levels of play, on the easiest, you can
only go through the first 3 stages, so you are encouraged to complete the
game on either the normal of difficult level.

GRAPHICS: A- (nice, very entertaining.. if you can take time to view them)
SOUND: A- (nothing too exciting, but more than adequate)
MUSIC: B+ (good, but monotonous)
GAMEPLAY: B- (controlling the stars is "difficult")
LONGEVITY: B+ (things start off easy, but get very hard by the time you reach
the 4th stage)

OVERALL: 3.33
PLAYERS: 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Being able to finish the game on the Easy level would have
been nice.

COMMENTS: This was one of the last HuCards made domestically, so it's rather
difficult to find. If, however, you like shooters (cute shooters), then it
may well be worth your time to find it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Mesopotamia (JHuCard) [AT03001]
-----------

See "Somer Assault," althoguh this version has a different opening, and no
"Shattered" crystal ball at the end like the US version. Also the bosses
names are not just the astrological names spelt backwards.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Military Madness (HuCard) [TGX030015]
----------------
Maneuver your forces over land and sea in this hex-grid strategy game which
has been consistently voted one of the best games on the TG-16 and on ANY
home system!

GRAPHICS : A (Finely-detailed graphic pieces and gameboard)
SOUND : B+ (Only cheap booms and bleeps)
MUSIC : A- (Theme tune gets annoying after awhile!)
GAMEPLAY : A (Turbopad is more than adequate)
LONGEVITY: A

OVERALL : 3.83
PLAYERS : 1 or 2

IMPROVEMENTS: More realistic sound effects (explosions).

COMMENTS : I must admit, I was no fan of hex-grid games until I played this
game! There are enough arcade-like elements to keep fast action
gamers happy and enough strategy elements to keep the rest of you
happy. This is a top-notch TG-16 title!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Moto Roader (HuCard) - review by Bt Garner
-----------
The year is 2015, and violence has been eliminated from the city streets.
And instead, has been placed on the race track. In this futuristic racing,
shoot em up game you (and up to 4 of your closest friends, er, enemies)
compete for points and cash. The cash can be used to upgrade your car
for faster racing, and more firepower (bombs & grenades).

GRAPHICS: C+ (unremarkable)
SOUND: C (vroom, vroom, boink, vroom. ..)
MUSIC: B+ (pleasently surprising)
GAMEPLAY: B (avoid stering option "B")
LONGEVITY: B+ (great fun at parties!)

OVERALL: 2.87
PLAYERS: 1 to 5

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Neutopia (HuCard) - review by Bt Garner
--------
A Zelda-type game for the Duo. You assume the role of Jezetta, and must
save a troubled land from a beast invasion. What is your reward? Well,
a princess, of course. You make your way through 4 worlds, and each of
these has 2 shrines (mazes) where your goal is to rescue a gem (which
is the embodied soul of one of the former leaders of the land). Once the
2 gems for a "world" are retrieved, the gateway to the next land opens up.

GRAPHICS : A- (not the most elegant, but better than most)
SOUND : A (wonderful, the sound of the flame is hot!)
MUSIC : A (beautiful for a card, very appropriate and eerie tunes)
GAMEPLAY : A- (very few mistakes are made with the pad)
LONGEVITY: B+ (game gets very tough in the last world)

OVERALL: 3.50
PLAYERS: 1

EXPRESS: B+, This game works well with the express. The characters are not
as large as they could be, but the contrast is good and the play is fun.
([bt]: Note however, that some of the text is hard to read. .. )

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Neutopia II (HuCard) [TGX060078] - review by Bt Garner and Jeff Hildebrand
-----------
After Jezetta battled Dirth for control of the land (and won, oddly enough),
peace had returned to the land, but soon afterward, hordes of evil beasts
started showing up on the land - rumor was the Dirth was planning his
comeback.

In this sequel, you assume the role of Jezetta's son, and must free the
trapped soles of Neutopia -- including your father, who has been lost.
Gameplay in this Zelda-esque tale plays just like the first, you must solve
a crypt (maze) and beat the level boss before capturing some item that
will permit you to go onto the next level.

GRAPHICS: A- (not much improvment here -- not that it was needed)
SOUND: A (again, well done - especially the flame [stop the flame puns
garner!])
MUSIC: A- (Same old Stuff -- strangely familiar. . .)
GAMEPLAY: A (8-way direction is possible now! yeah!)
LONGEVITY: A (another difficult quest)

OVERALL: 3.90
PLAYERS: 1

IMPROVEMENTS: In Neutopia, if you hit a character with the flame wand
they always moved *away* from you. Now they fly off in any
direction - sometimes at you (and hitting you and doing damage!).
The old was was better. The flame wand in Neutopia also had about
six different strength levels (maybe more) - now it has, what,
three? The top level is just as strong, but having more levels
was nicer (but having different wands is nice too =)

EXPRESS: A-, again the text can be difficult to read, but the characters
and objects show up very well -- my main gripe is with the passwords, *very*
difficult to figure out sometimes. . .

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# New Adventure Island (HuCard) [TGX040080]
--------------------
You are on a quest to save a loved one .. .

GRAPHICS : A+ (very colorful and detailed graphics... just take a look at
the many expressions on your character's face!)
SOUND : B+ (the sound and music are a little tinny... there is an annoying
ringing sound through several parts of the music, although the
panning effect in the beginning is pretty cool)
MUSIC : B+
GAMEPLAY : A- (good control with or without a joystick)
LONGEVITY: A- (a lot of challenge here... the seven levels will take quite a
while to master)

OVERALL : 3.67
PLAYERS : 1

COMMENTS : While I was playing this game, I came to the realization of
how much better the graphics in this game are versus Super
Adventure Island and Super Mario World on the SNES. The colors
are brighter. The play is a little more peppy. I actually
liked using the TurboPad with this game.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Night Creatures (HuCard) [TGX040069] review by Kenley Fritts
---------------
You've been bitten by a bat! But the bat was Hecate, the Queen of Darkness.
You are doomed to live as a Creature of the Night - unless you can break
the spell. In order to break the spell, you must destroy Hecate. Also, you
are slowly changing, metamorphosing into some hideous creature. By dawn your
transformation will be over; if you do not destroy Hecate by then, you will
become a Night Creature forever and the game will end.

You must fight your way through 9 stages of the game to reach Hecate's Den
and destroy her. Be careful, if you see your girlfriend, she might be
Hecate trying to trick you. You will gain special powers that allow you to
change your shape into that of a Bear, Badger, Owl, or Wolf to help defeat
your enemies. You collect special items and weapons along the way which
help you on your journey. Each item and weapon can and should be used to
destroy certain creatures and bosses.

GRAPHICS : B- (Not terrible, but not great)
SOUND : C (Sparse variety of sounds)
MUSIC : C+ (At least there is music)
GAMEPLAY : B- (Turbo Pad is okay, good variety of items and monsters)
LONGEVITY: C+ (Challenging? Good thing it has a save feature)

OVERALL: 2.38
PLAYERS: 1

IMPROVEMENTS: An option that would allow you to increase number of continues.

COMMENTS: Frustrating at times where you have to either decide if you can
kill the monster with the appropriate weapon, or flee (if you can).
IMO, I'm sorry that I got this game, but that's how it goes when
you need to find out for yourself how a game fairs. In comparison
to Ghost Manor, it doesn't have the fun factor, but I might be a
little premature on this, since I didn't get very far into it.

EXPRESS: B+, game is playable on the Express. Some enemies and items are
hard to see at times.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Ninja Spirit (HuCard)
------------
Side-scrolling slash/chop/hack game in the spirit of Shinobi.

GRAPHICS : A (One of the best in this area)
SOUND : A (Everything is RIGHT here, too)
MUSIC : A (A funky Japanese tune is carried out in each level)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (A joystick would improve gameplay considerably)
LONGEVITY: A- (You will want to play again and again)

OVERALL : 3.78
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: The wolf howling sound in the intro was not too realistic.
2-player option would be nice.

COMMENTS : One of the best 4-MEG Hu-Cards!!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# The Ninja Warriors (JHuCard) Review by Laly Thao.
------------------
This is a port of the arcade game with the same name. Personally, one of my
favorite arcade games, so I was google eyes over it, but very disappointed.
The graphics and sound are not up to par with the HuCards nowadays, but I
attribute that to the lack of knowledge then. I think this card was released
in either '88 or '89.

As far as the story is concerned, you are a robotic ninja sent on a mission
to regain the government from a dictator. Walk and jump while slashing
away at soldiers, dogs, cyborgs and other robotic ninjas.

GRAPHICS : B- (The streaks of blood are there :-))
SOUND : B- (The "swish" that occurs when you press the button to slash
with your knife is present. There are a lot of other nifty
sounds missing though.)
MUSIC : B- (Not as great as the arcade. I think it's only two or
three voices which is constantly interrupted by the
sound effects...or what little sound there is.)
GAMEPLAY : B (Joystick would prevent thumb sore after prolonged playing.)
LONGEVITY: B (It's nice to turn it on and rampage for a couple of minutes.
There are limited continues, so it gets frustrating if you
get far and then lose all of your continues...ack.

PLAYERS : 1 or 2
IMPROVEMENTS: This game could use some sound as well as hyped up graphics.

OVERALL : 2.85

COMMENTS : I wouldn't buy this game new, but probably would pick it up used
if the price was right simply because it's the next best thing to
the arcade. This would be a good CD game because the original
arcade music could be used, and as I stated, if the graphics were
improved a bit more, this would be a great port of the arcade.

And, speaking of CD games, I think I saw this title as a CD
release for the Mega Drive CD system. It's worth checking
out when it's released (if you liked the arcade game as much
as I did).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Operation Wolf (JHuCard) [NAPH-1010] - review by Bt Garner
--------------
Excellent adapation of the arcade game by the same name. This is a first-
person perspective shooting game, you have a limited number of grenades and
magazines for your semi-automatic weapon, as the scene moves slowly (left
to right, and sometimes vice versa) you must shoot all the enemies who pop
up in front of you - some are in tanks and helicopters (needs to be shot more
than once, or you must use a grenade). Some enemies have bullet-proof vests
(hint: shoot their heads). And of course, there are some who you don't want
to shoot (nurses). You have 4 levels to make it through (and sometimes
a fifth if you get spotted while parachuting in).

GRAPHICS : A (Beautiful. Looks exactly like the arcade version).
SOUND : A (Ditto - see above for graphics)
MUSIC : NA (not applicable - there is none)
GAMEPLAY : A- (The turopad is a bit difficult to aim, not that a stick would
improve the situation any, mind you)
LONGEVITY: B+ (If you like shooting people, this is for you. ..)

PLAYERS : 1 or 2 (sim).
IMPROVEMENTS: Perhaps having your crosshairs light up (a la Xevious) when you
have the target "locked on"

OVERALL : 3.66

EXPRESS: A-, fairly easy on the Express, although shooting at some of the
bonuses are a little tough.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Order of the Griffon (HuCard) [TGX040072]
--------------------
A full-length feature-packed "official" D&D adventure on a HuCard!
Order of the Griffon places your party of 4 (out of a possible 21 characters)
in a land-roving, dungeon/cave-spelunking setting. The graphics are
exceptional. The land is strewn with detail and the little characters have
easily distinguishable features, a little more comical than the popular
Dungeon Explorer. The background music is bar none. My only gripe here is
that the music gets annoying after awhile, especially during battle sequences.

Griffon is less action-packed than Dungeon Explorer, but there are definitely
a greater variety of objects to use and player statistics play a large role
in party development. There is a save game/password feature (your choice) to
keep you continuing your adventure for days. The game is fairly difficult at
first mainly because you have to get over the controls, but once you know them
well, gameplay is rather intuitive (watch out for hitting the RUN key too many
times!). Be sure you choose a well-rounded party before you begin the game!

GRAPHICS : A- (very nice detail here and there... some full-screen displays
would've done the trick... this game should've been a CD
title!)
SOUND : B+ (sound effects aren't very complex, but do the job when used)
MUSIC : A- (a little annoying after awhile, but very high quality)
GAMEPLAY : A- (takes a little getting used to at first, but works out quite
nicely afterwards... since there aren't any fast action arcade-
like sequences, the Turbopad works just fine)
LONGEVITY: A (you're gonna' like this one!)

OVERALL : 3.73
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Speed up the game a bit. See comment below.

COMMENTS : In the battle sequences, you must first "search" for the
enemy before setting up your characters for battle sequence.
Since the battlefield can be fairly large, moving the slow
cursor around can be awkward and annoying.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Ordyne (HuCard)
------
Side-scrolling shooter with cute graphics. Not as cute as Fantasy Zone,
but has faster and better gameplay.

GRAPHICS : B+ (cute graphics... very, very little flicker)
SOUND : B+ (better sounds than Fantasy Zone, not as good as R-Type)
MUSIC : B (opening credit screen is silent)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (definitely needs a joystick)
LONGEVITY: B+ (a fun side-scrolling game... but lacks a certain something...
allows for two-player play, which is definitely a plus)

OVERALL : 3.25
PLAYERS : 1 or 2

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Pac-Land (HuCard) [TGX020021] - review by Bt Garner.
--------
Pac Man in your standard run and jump type game - based on the arcade game.

GRAPHICS : B+ (Not great, but they're supposed to look silly)
SOUND : A- (sounds like the arcade to me)
MUSIC : C (gets real annoying, real quick)
GAMEPLAY : A- (You have your choice of play modes, making it feel the
way that you want it to)
LONGEVITY: B- (once you finish the frist 32 rounds, it then becomes near
impossible)

OVERALL : 3.02
PLAYERS : 1

COMMENTS : despite what you may think, this game gets incredibly tough after
a while (for example level 29), but the first few levels do seem
to be aimed at the younguns.

EXPRESS: B, This game has got some of the simplest two-dimensional images
available on the Turbografx, and if the express had a green and white mode,
you would think you were playing a Game-Boy. It works well.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Parasol Stars (HuCard) - review by Bt Garner
-------------
Ths Story of Bubble Bobble 3. ..this is Working Design's implementation of
the arcade game BB3. In this game, you play Bubby (or if in two player
mode, Bubby *and* Billy), and you need to clear each level of the nasties
who, for some unknown reason, are trying to stop you. Your weapon? A
bumbershoot (yes, I'm being serious). When you first hit a beastie with
your trusty umberella, he will ball up (like a potato bug), then you may
use your weapon of mass destruction to pick up the nasty and send him
flying acrosss the screen to his imminent demise. If he encounters any
of his cohorts while being thrusted across the pixels, he will give you
some assistance in wiping them out as well. Some enemies take several
hits to be fully stunned, before you can do the toss thing.

Sound corny? It is, but it is also very fun, the graphics aren't the best
thing that we've ever seen on the Duo, but they are still detailed enough
to make the screen quite appealing.

GRAPHICS: B+ (a bit grainy, but more than adequate)
SOUND: A- (good stuff -- though somewhat limited)
MUSIC: A- (a wide variety of melodies, good for it's day).
GAMEPLAY: A (wonderful - and the 2 player mode is great)
LONGEVITY: A (fun fun fun)

OVERALL: 3.77
PLAYERS: 1 or 2

EXPRESS: B+, your score is hard to read, and sometimes the beasts on screen
get lost in the Expresses small screen, but this is more the fault of the
viewer, then the fault of the system.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Parodius (JHuCard) [KM92003] Review by Teh Kao Yang.
--------
8-meg HuCard of the very original and funny shooter from Konami.

GRAPHICS : A- (Graphics almost rival that of the SNES version)
SOUND : A- (wonderful - the cat's meows are fantastic!)
MUSIC : A- (good for a HuCard)
GAMEPLAY : A- (Missing 2 levels from the SNES version)
LONGEVITY: A- (very entertaining)

OVERALL : 3.75
PLAYERS : 1 or 2 (non-sim play)

IMPROVEMENTS: Why are the two levels missing?

COMMENTS : SNES fans should be familiar with this wacky shooter from Konami.
It plays similar to the Gradius series but that's where all similarity ends.
It is identical to the SNES version in almost all respects except for the
sound and two missing levels. The intro is better and longer than that in
the SNES version. Some stages actually look better IMHO than the SNES.
For example, in one of my favorite stages, the attack of the 500-foot dancing
girl, the girl shakes her hips while in the SNES version she doesn't.

[bt: There are a few points in the game where flickering and slowdown are
present - for instance shooting at the 500 ft woman while having your ship
fully loaded will produce some pretty nasty blocks to flicker]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Power Drift (JHuCard) - Review by Paul Norkus
----------- Comments2 by atam@mailbox.syr.edu

Remake of the arcade driving equivalent.

GRAPHICS : B+ (Pretty true to the original.)
SOUND : B (The voice effect is pretty good for a HuCard.)
MUSIC : B (Its there like the original.)
GAMEPLAY : C+ (Very difficult to drive.)
LONGEVITY: B+ (Get's frustrating after a while.)

OVERALL : 2.83
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: The driving is very poor. I never feel I can turn hard
enough no matter which driver I choose to be so I end up
careening into the walls or falling over the sides of bridges.

COMMENTS : I got this game from a recommendation of the guy from Die-Hard
when I bought my Turbo Express. The graphics are like the arcade but the
driving is very difficult. You have to get third place on each of the nine
levels to advance to the next. If you're a fan of this game, you might
like it, but otherwise I would pass on it unless you can get it at a
discount. COMMENTS2: Asmiks excellent translation of the Sega arcade game.
You get to choose your driver (my personal favorite is Geronimo, the guy
who flips the bird every time he passes other cars. I was surprised by the
quality of this game. Check it out.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Power Golf (HuCard) - Review by Henry Cross
----------
This is the golf game that Turbo Golf could never hope to be. One course
really limits your play though.

GRAPHICS : B (Simply yet sufficient)
SOUND : A (Sounds like the ball going in the cup.)
MUSIC : A+ (Who'd have thought a golf game with cool music.)
GAMEPLAY : A (Really simple to master.)
LONGEVITY : B (This is a fun game, but there is too little to do.)

PLAYERS : 1 or 2
OVERALL : 3.55

IMPROVEMENTS : Add more courses
COMMENTS : This is the fun golf game for the Turbografx. If they would
issue it on CD with a large selection of courses, it could be incredible.

EXPRESS : B+, It's a little hard to see the pin placement from a distance,
but since it doesn't move, you have time to find it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Psycho Chaser (JHuCard) [NX90003] - Review by Thomas Baetzler.
-------------
Psycho Chaser by Naxat is another entry from the popular vertically scrolling
shooter genre. Since the game manual is completely in japanese, we can only
speculate about the setting, but in the game itself, you're a playing heavily 
armed cybord jogging up a surrealistic corridor full of evil aliens. The
game comprises at least five long levels - I've played the first three, and
seen two others in the attract display of the game.

To defend youself, you have four weapon systems at your disposal: a flame
thrower that shoots straight ahead, a multiway shooter that fires straight
ahead aswell as diagonally backwards, a side-blaster, and a smart
self-guiding energy vortex. Pressing the I button cycles through those
choices in turn, while the II button fires the weapon. Additionally, you
can acquire up to three missile launchers whose fire cover your forward 
diagonals a bit.

Your enemies are out to get you by all means - get rammed or hit by their
fire, and you'll lose one of your five lives. Besides that, there are
obstacles in the scrolling background that will block your progress. If you
get drawn below the bottom of the screen, you'll lose a life, too. To even
out the odds a bit, there are all sorts of collectible extras that can be
set free by shooting your enemies - extra firepower, speedup, invincibility
and extra lives are all there.

Each level in the game has several several restart points, so you don't
have to start all over once you've reached a certain point. However, most
of those restart points as well as the end of the level can only be reached
once you've defeated the boss guarding them. With the completion of each
level, you get a number of powerup points, which can then be used to
upgrade your weapon systems.

There are many different enemy units in the game, and each class has it's
own distinctive behaviour. The general rule of survival is to blast them as
soon as they enter the display, before they get a chance to fire at you. If
you get too involved in dodging them, you'll end up in a cloud of enemy 
crossfire. Being too trigger-happy down't help either, because your own
fire tends to obscure enemy shots floating towards you. 

GRAPHICS : B (Colorful but a bit minimalistic)
SOUND : B (Some explosions and shooting noises)
MUSIC : B- (Neat and varied tunes - a bit short, though)
GAMEPLAY : A- (Fast paced shooting action)
LONGEVITY: B+ (Should take you some time to master)

OVERALL : 3.17
PLAYERS : 1

COMMENTS
Psycho Chaser is one of those rare games where I had to change my
inital assessment of a game. I thought it would be yet another bland
and boring shooter - but several prolonged playing sessions taught me to
appreciate the good sides of the game. Since the difficulty level is just
right for me, I get neither too frustrated, nor too bored. The controls are
direct, and you usually have a fair chance to outmaneuver heavy enemy fire.
All in all it's a fun game.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Psychosis (HuCard) - review by Bt Garner
---------
Strange and (at times) very surreal shooter. Five stages of nasties that
are in *your* mind. Several power ups available after you shoot certain
enemies. The key to winning is learning how to control the satelittes that
are around your ship (they can be rotated to protect you from various things).

GRAPHICS : B+ (Not bad, a little bit of flicker on the "heavy" levels)
SOUND : B (enough to get by, but nothing really special)
MUSIC : B+ (for a card, this is very good, there are different
songs for each level [5], so you don't get too bored
with them)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (probably nothing that a joystick couldn't solve. ..)
LONGEVITY: B+ (a very tough shooter, but one that you want to play again)

OVERALL : 3.25
PLAYERS : 1

EXPRESS: B-, very hard to see some of the baddies. ..

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Puzznic (JHuCard) [TP02011] - review by Bt Garner
-------
The PCE version of the puzzle game "Blocks" (and "Brix"). You start off by
selecting a level on a particular stage (stage 1 would be a good place to
start), there you can choose from one of 8 levels (each is different). On
each level you need to clear 5 (give or take a couple) screens of blocks,
by matching up similar blocks. Easy you say, right? Wrong. Varying
playfields make it quite challenging (and, at times, seemingly impossible).
After all, if you have 7 blocks of one type on the screen, and for every 2
that you line up, they dissappear, whatcha gonna do with the extra one?

After you've completed all of the screens for a particular level, you can
then proced to the next stage. The game also features a password option so
that you can return at a later time (and the password screens all have very
nice anime-type pictures on them).

GRAPHICS: B+ (simple, but effective. think "Tetris")
SOUND: A- (nice)
MUSIC: A- (quite pleasent for a HuCard)
GAMEPLAY: B- (pretty simple, with one slight flaw -- see "COMMENTS")
LONGEVITY: A- (lots of different screens to conquer)

OVERALL: 3.47
PLAYERS: 1

COMMENTS: Gameplay could have been a little better. To Move a block, you
need to place your cursor on the block, and then hold it until you want to
release the block. It would have been much more natural to have the first
tap of the button "capture" the block, and the subsequent tap to release it.
Under the current scheme it is very difficult to capture a block that is on
a moving platform (although my suggested scheme wouldn't help any, would it?)

EXPRESS: B (some of the more complex blocks are hard to distinguish)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Rabido Lepus Special (JHuCard) - review by atam@mailbox.syr.edu
---------------------
Shooter, Side Scroller

GRAPHICS : A- (Grainy, but colorful, well above average)
SOUND : B (Your generic video game sound effects)
MUSIC : B (Your generic video game music ie, sounds computer generated)
GAMEPLAY : A- (Fine tuned and very responsive)
LONGEVITY : A- (Keeps you busy, moderate difficulty)

OVERALL: 3.43

COMMENTS: It's a cute Japanese shooter where you're bunny spaceship vs.
hordes of menacing mecha. A few power ups, you can shoot, fly
run on the ground, punch things. Has great graphics, detailed
multi-layer backgrounds and takes full advantage of PCE's color
palate. Only drawback is that it gets extremely hard towards
the last levels. On the plus side, the instructions come with
an offer to buy a plush version of the main character, which is
a white aerodynamic bunny with red shoes and boxing gloves.

EXPRESS: A- large enough graphics, but there are still a few things just a wee
too small to disern on the tiny screen

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Raiden Trad (HuCard) - Review by Henry Cross
-----------
You can't get much closer the the original than this one. A classic shooter.

GRAPHICS : B+ (This is Raiden Trad)
SOUND : A (This is Raiden Trad)
MUSIC : A (Good Music)
GAMEPLAY : A- (You'll Be hooked)
LONGEVITY : A (You come back to this one.)

PLAYERS : 1
OVERALL : 3.83

COMMENTS: Maybe the Jaguar can improve on this one. Maybe.

EXPRESS: This one can be VERY frustrating on the express. The slightly
slower flight speed (compared to other shooters) doesn't help when the
screen gets full of, well everything.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# R-Type (HuCard)
------
The classic side-scrolling shooter that is all the rage.

GRAPHICS : B+ (Take away the flicker and slowdown and this would be a clear A)
SOUND : A (Some of the best sound effects on the TG-16... the sound
effects were duplicated EXACTLY)
MUSIC : A (Same for music)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (Definitely needs a joystick)
LONGEVITY: A- (The TG-16 is THE machine to play this game, folks!)

PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Improve the stereo. Get rid of the graphics problems.
Have a 2-player option.

OVERALL : 3.67

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Saint Dragon (HuCard) Review by Teh Kao Yang.
------------
Side-scrolling shooter. Conversion of an old Jaleco arcade shooter.

GRAPHICS : C+ (A lot of flicker)
SOUND : D+
MUSIC : D (Horrible annoying music)
GAMEPLAY : D-
LONGEVITY: F (I didn't even bother trying to finish it)

PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Too many to mention

OVERALL : 0.88

COMMENTS : This is by far the worst TG-16 game I have ever seen. Everything
about this game sucks. Too bad since the arcade game was a real classic and
this is the only known port of it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Salamander (JHuCard) [KM91002] - review by Bt Garner
----------
An early shooter from the collective PCE gods known as Konami. Unlike other
Konami shooters, this game has specific power-ups (some drop options, some
drop shields, etc). Also, another nice feature of this game is it's 2P mode.
Yes, you read that right. Two people can play at the same time. The game is
quite difficult to master, and there appears to be a large variety in the
different kinds of enemies that will attack you.

GRAPHICS: B+ (right up there with the Gradius series)
SOUND: A- (shoot, bang, shoot, bang. .crash, ouch!)
MUSIC: A- (decent)
GAMEPLAY: B (control is a bit sluggish, but excusable)
LONGEVITY: B- (may be too tough for it's own good, although it's not
as bad as a 2P nightmare we know as "Legion")

OVERALL: 3.18
PLAYERS: 1 or 2 (simu)

COMMENTS: A good game to pick up used (for a reasonable import price,
mind you). Although you might be happier with Parodius, or Gradius. I
guess all I can say is, if you find 'em, buy 'em.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Samurai Ghost (HuCard) [TGX040085] - review by Bt Garner
-------------
Side scrolling run/slash/jump and hack 'em up game. Your land has
been run over by dark ones, and only you can save it. One problem,
you're already dead. The old hag of the Styx will bring you back to
life as you battle your way through 6 <?> levels, each one with (surprise,
surprise) a boss at the end of it.

GRAPHICS : A+ (very nicely done, your character is huge and has very
fluent motion).
SOUND : A+ (plenty of voice samples and sound effects, again, very
nice. ..)
MUSIC : A- (Not bad for a 4Meg card, although in some of the
tougher levels, it can get annoying as you hear it over
and over, and over, and. .. )
GAMEPLAY : B+ (Joystick, please. ..)
LONGEVITY: B+ (Although appealing for the senses, some parts of the game
are way too tough).

PLAYERS: 1
OVERALL: 3.70

COMMENTS: Not a cart that you will finish in a night. If you take away the
RPG part of Ys 3, this is what you would be left with - no strategy (other
than that needed on individual enemies) is required.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# S.C.I.: Special Criminal Investigation (JHuCard) - review by
--------------------------------------- atam@mailbox.syr.edu
Racing/Shooting

GRAPHICS : B+ (Not bad, it has its ups and downs)
SOUND : B+ (Sound effects are top notch, except for the voices)
MUSIC : B (Average background music)
GAMEPLAY : A- (After reconfiguring the controller, gameplay is excellent)
LONGEVITY : A- (You can play it over again, loads of fun)

OVERALL: 3.45

COMMENTS: The sequel to Taito's Chase HQ, but the twist this time is to
shoot the car to death rather than ram it to death. A joypad
is highly recommended because it is a forward perspective driving
game which resembles Atari's Road Blasters. The funny part is
when you start blasting the guy and there is a lame digitized
voice saying "okay" every time he's hit. Good game.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Shockman (HuCard) [TGX040087]

See the review for Shubibinman 2, this is the US version (the Japanese
version is also known as "Overhauled Man 2")

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Shubibinman 2 (JHuCard) [NCS 91001] Review by Laly Thao.
-------------
Not sure exactly what the storyline is, but this game offers variety which
is a plus for me (i.e. In stage one, you play the character and run, jump,
and shoot while. In stage two, you're piloting a submarine, and in stage
three, you're piloting a plane. In each stage, the visual gameplay changes).
Additionally, there is an intermission in between stages. I can't read
Japanese, so I couldn't tell what was going on, but the action is hot and
heavy.

GRAPHICS : A (Impressive for a card. Explosions in the latter stage when
piloting the plane are very good.)
SOUND : A- (It really uses the sound chip well.)
MUSIC : A (Again good use of the sound chip.)
GAMEPLAY : A
LONGEVITY: B+ (Good for a few romps, but once you're done, it's basically
over unless you like the game enough to play it again.)

PLAYERS : 1 or 2
IMPROVEMENTS: A password save or some sort of stage select would be nice.
After slaving for hours to get to a stage then turning it
off because you have to do something gets nervy after a while.

OVERALL : 3.72

COMMENTS : I purchased a TurboTap and another controller in anticipation
of buying this game later on. One player was fun. Can't wait
to have two of us blowing away the hovering mechs and sewer
monsters.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Sidearms (HuCard)
--------
Side-scrolling shooter with nice graphics and lots of power-ups.

GRAPHICS : A- (Nice visuals)
SOUND : A (R-Type-quality sound effects)
MUSIC : A (Catchy theme song)
GAMEPLAY : B (Turbopad play suffers; a joystick is needed)
LONGEVITY: B (With a joystick, this game would be an A- here)

OVERALL : 3.45
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Bring back the two player option that was in the arcade.
When you played with two characters in the arcade, and they merged
you had better control over your firepower.

EXPRESS: C, This one falls into the shooter doom category. It is far too
fast paced to play well on the express.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Silent Debuggers (HuCard) Review by Jeffrey Naiman and TurboKid.
---------------- Comments2 by the Underware Man

The Soliders of the future are intrested in only one thing MONEY, it is
this passion that traps you and fellow Slient Debugger inside the now
abanded space station OHME. While here you Must do Two things: 1 solve a
mystery that will hopefully end in a tidy profit and 2 Survive, despite
there being about oh 2 hundred aliens all out for your blood the
station's computer has decided to self distruct just to keep things
intresting.

GRAPHICS : B (Blocky motion, aliens don't look good)
SOUND : B+ (The game's proximity sensor gets faster and louder when
aliens approach, and the effect is really good)
GAMEPLAY : A- (You really get into this! It's like Aliens!)
MUSIC : B- (There is only music during the intermissions, a decision I
think works well, but you can't skip the intermissions.
Annoying!)
LONGEVITY: B- (The first few games are fun, but it loses its novelty)

PLAYERS : 1

OVERALL : 3.01

COMMENTS : The game is very different from most videogames because of the
pseudo-3D effect. Chasing monsters through the maze and having monsters
stalk you really makes your heart pound, but it wears off. This is a good
game to get used or on sale.

COMMENTS2: This game is a personal favorite and as close to a "doom like
game" as the Turbo players are going to get. The game is set in a 3-d
perspective with some good cinemas thrown in between. Weapons are also
avalable but if you try to get anything beside the machine gun and grenade
launcher you're wasting your time.

As a foot note set aside an hour at least! without a password you're not
going to play this one just for something to dowhile you kill 10 minutes.

IMPROVEMENTS: A Password would be nice, however it might make the game to
easy, also the ending hints at a sequal sooo where IS IT?

EXPRESS: C, hard to read the text used throughout the game.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Sinistron (HuCard)
---------
Side-scrolling shooter with nice graphics.

GRAPHICS : A- (Folks, this game has parallax scrolling, which Genesis
owners have been bragging about for the longest time...
check out the scenes which look like clones of T-Force III
for the Genesis!)
SOUND : A- (Nice explosions, missile firing)
MUSIC : B+ (Music starts annoying you after awhile)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (This game needs a joystick for top scores)
LONGEVITY: B+ (It's addicting, but also frustrating... luckily, the game
allows you to continue at either the beginning of a stage
or a special checkpoint... if you've reached it)
PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Some of the backgrounds (especially in the first stage)
are a little simplistic. Improving these backgrounds
would improve the overall "look" of the game tremendously.

OVERALL : 3.43

EXPRESS: B+, not a bad game for the handheld, but the screen (at times)
is a little too small for one to be able to absorb all of the surroundings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Soldier Blade (HuCard) Review by Teh Kao Yang.
-------------
Latest entry in the Star Soldier series. Vertical scrolling shooter with 7
levels.

GRAPHICS : A (Great backgrounds, has a special graphics mode)
SOUND : A (Has some digitized voices, great sounding explosions)
MUSIC : A (Great adrenalin-pumping tunes)
GAMEPLAY : A (Very intense and interesting levels)
LONGEVITY: A- (Hard to finish on normal setting; impossible(?) on hard)

PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Add more different weapons, improve the colors.

OVERALL : 3.90

COMMENTS : Soldier Blade is a vertical shooter, similar to Super Star Soldier.
It's just as intense and fun as Super Star Soldier, with a few improvements.
There are a lot of special background effects in this game that I thought
couldn't be done on the TG-16. A lot of parallax scrolling and line scrolling
(probably simulated though) are used in the backgrounds. But the most awesome
thing is that you can play the game in a different graphics mode! If you pick
the "arcade" mode the screen is converted to a narrower size similar to those
used by vertical shooters in the arcades. The resolution is increased and the
colors and graphic details stay the same. It looks really fantastic. This is
the first TG-16 game I've seen that uses this higher resolution in the actual
gameplay.

The bosses and enemies are some of the most spectacular ever seen in a shooter.
A lot of the bosses have very original weapons and nasty surprises in store.
The bosses are very hard to kill, since they keep changing forms and attack
patterns as you damage them. Most of the enemies are also HUGE compared to
those found in other TG-16 shooters. The overall impression you get when you
play this game is that you feel like you are playing a real arcade shooter, not
a TG-16 game.

My complaints are that you only have 3 different weapons to choose from, and
the weapons don't look as good as they did in Super Star Soldier. Also the
game doesn't seem to use that many colors, thus it doesn't look as bright
or colorful as some other games. You also only have 2 different speed
settings, fast and slow. I wish there was a medium setting for easier control.

It would be hard for me to compare Soldier Blade to Super Star Soldier, one
of my favorite TG-16 shooters. They're both great games in their own respects.
Super Star Soldier has brighter colors and more interesting weapons, but
Soldier Blade is more graphically impressive.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Somer Assault (HuCard) [TGX040089] - review by Bt Garner
-------------
What rolls down stairs, alone or in pairs? It's Somer Assault - you control
a Slinkie (tm) type character on your way through 12 levels rooted in
astrology. You can even enter your birthday for an, "unexpected surprise"
when you reach the level which corresponds to your zodiac sign.

GRAPHICS : B+ (top notch - the detail is wonderful, but some occasional
flickering)
SOUND : B (not great, but definitely enough to get the job done)
MUSIC : A- (good choice for the background music [in mono or stereo!])
GAMEPLAY : A- (starts off easy, but gets very tough real quickly)
LONGEVITY: A- (plenty of areas to check out)

OVERALL : 3.51
PLAYERS : 1

EXPRESS: A+, works well on the express, the shots are easy to see, as all
all of the enemies and the levels. And you can even read the writing!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Sonic Spike (HuCard) - Review by Henry Cross
-----------
This is a one player (bummer) volleyball game. You get to pick and modify
the player's stats (stamina, strength, speed, etc.) and the type of game to
be played (standard, or points for side outs)

GRAPHICS : B (Looks like the dodge ball arcade game.)
SOUND : A (Grunts and slams)
MUSIC : B- (Gets a bit irritating.)
GAMEPLAY : B- (You'll need some practice to beat the computer.)
LONGEVITY : B (It's fun to beat the computer, but that's your only option.)

PLAYERS: 1 through 4
OVERALL: 3.07

IMPROVEMENTS: This could have been a killer multi player game.
COMMENTS : It's a fun game, but man to be able to slam like that on
your friend... Maybe that's why it's one player, they didn't want you
to hurt your friend's feelings.

EXPRESS : B- This game gets a little harder on the express, because the
ball moves so fast sometimes that it's hard to figure out where it's headed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Son Son II (J HuCard) - review by Bt Garner
----------
What would you get if you crossed your basic run of the mill platform game
with something semi-related to Donkey Kong Jr (and throwing in a touch of
Ys, just for the heck of it)? Well, it might resemble Son Son II. But
then again maybe it wouldn't.

You assume the role of some guy (who look ssuspiciously like a little
monkey) whose three friends have been killed, er, kidnapped (why our
hero wasn't taken I will never know -- maybe the bad guy doesn't like
monkey-men, or perhaps he knows that it just wouldn't make a good game)
by an evil being. MST fodder? You betcha

GRAPHICS: B (so-so, so what? - this *is* and older PCE title. ..)
SOUND: C (Cheezy)
MUSIC: C- (Cheezier)
GAMEPLAY: B+ (no complaints, I guess)
LONGEVITY: B- (I may want to find out what happens to monkey-man).

OVERALL: 2.57
PLAYERS: 1

COMMENTS: Some of the graphics are actually pretty good (and humorous),
and there is no flickering (that I've seen), but for soem reason, I have
a hard time keeping my eyes glued on this one.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Space Harrier (HuCard) Review by Chris Fleming.
-------------
Space Harrier is, well, uh, Space Harrier from the arcades, of course. You
are a hero type person with a jet pack and a laser blasting anything that
moves (or doesn't move) in various 3D landscapes, with a behind-the-first-
person view. There are 16 levels, plus 2 bonus rounds to gain mucho extra
points. As far as I can tell, the levels are identical to the arcade
version. Each level features a variety of nasties and plant life to blow
apart, and on most levels, there are obstacles which cannot be destroyed.
There is a boss to destroy at the end of each level. There isn't much else
to the gameplay - no powerups or special weapons - just keep that thumb on
the fire button and blast away.

Space Harrier is one of my all-time favorite arcade games next to OutRun,
so this part of the review is probably rather biased (apologies). The
fascination I've always found with Space Harrier in the arcades, was not
with the gameplay, but the move and shoot aspect. The true joy of this game
is in the 3D graphics. The feeling of real motion over and through the land
features adds a huge amount to its excitement. The TG-16 game is very true
to the original arcade game, and none of this excitement is lost. The
graphics are quite well done. The land rolls by very quickly and the 3D
effect with bitmap scaling is extremely convincing. This is a far better
game than the so-called Space Harrier II for the Genesis (which seems rather
strange to me since both games were created by Sega!). There is some minor
flickering with some of the larger boss critters, but in no way does it
interfere with the game. Each level is relatively short, which makes
repeated play not as tedious as other shooters I've played. Some nice
features are, (very) rapid fire (saves wear and tear on the thumb), a
continue mode, and the ability to change the effect of the up and down
directions on the Turbopad. The sound, however, is marginal. The music and
voices ("Get ready!", "You're doing great!") are very fuzzy, and the voices,
in particular, are hard to make out. The game is pretty damn difficult
(although the boss critters are pretty easy if you can get to them), and I've
yet to pass level 11. All in all, this was worth every penny of the $20 I
spent on it.

GRAPHICS : B
SOUND : B
MUSIC : B
GAMEPLAY : A
LONGEVITY: A

OVERALL : 3.50
PLAYERS : 1

EXPRESS: A+, A fast paced, three dimensional shooter on a hand-held... It
can't be done. Shut up and check this out! Why the Turbo Express is not
the biggest selling handheld on the market, I haven't go a clue.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Space Invaders (JHuCard) [TP02008] - Review by Bt Garner
--------------
The PCEngine version of the classic arcade game, with a few extra twists.
In addition to the normal "arcade" version of the game - there is also a
"Super Space Invaders" included - this version features shields, time stop,
etc, plus such added difficulties as zigzagging bombs and multiple direction
bombs.

GRAPHICS : A- (an exact duplication on the arcade version, the super version
is ok, but not great)
SOUND : A (duplicated as well)
MUSIC : B (see comment for "Graphics". .. )
GAMEPLAY : A (plays like the arcade, execpt for the button controls)
LONGEVITY: B (I'd rather waste time with Galaga '90. . .but uh. . .)

PLAYERS : 1
OVERALL : 3.45

COMMENTS: another beautiful translation that will never see the light of
day here in the US (too bad). The arcade version is about as clsoe to
having the stand-up in your living room, and the "super" adds enough to
make you want to progress from one level to the next (different aliens to
shoot, different power ups, etc). If you like the classics, this is a must
have (along with Xevious).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Splatterhouse (HuCard)
-------------
You are a man inflicted with an evil curse which has left you with a
hockey mask stuck on your face. Your only hope is to find your girlfriend
who can remove the mask from your face. If this description sounds stupid,
it is! The game is great, though.

GRAPHICS : A (Nice cartoon-like graphics... some gross things included)
SOUND : A (Nice job on sound effects and monster wails)
MUSIC : A (Nice theme tunes)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (Needs a joystick)
LONGEVITY: B+ (I find myself playing for short spurts at a time)

PLAYERS : 1

OVERALL : 3.65

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Strip Fighter II (JHuCard) [T4955754200984] - review by Bt Garner
----------------
Oh what have the Taiwanese given to us now? This is a parody of Street
Fighter (and unlike previous reports, is actually just a regular HuCard,
not a 20 mB card like SF2). There are only 6 "fighters," and hence, only
6 "backgrounds," "songs," etc.

Story Line? I don't think so. . .instead what you have is your typical
fighting game (best of 3 "matches"), and if you win (on a sufficiently
high enough "level") you're treated (word used liberally) to a T&A tease
shot (scantily-scad female) after your first victory, then the same shot
(sans clothing) after your second (don't get too excited about the second
shot, as the a-hem, genital areas are "digitally scrambled"). Like SF2,
each fighter has her own "special move," however, unlike SF2, most of these
are outlined in the manual.

GRAPHICS: B+ (nothing too spectacular [pardon the pun])
SOUND: B (some voice, blah blah blah. . .)
MUSIC: C (repeats, annoying. . .not worth it)
GAMEPLAY: B+ (the pad is easy to use)
LONGEVITY: C (this should be considered one of those "novelty" items...)

OVERALL: 2.60
PLAYERS: 1 (or 2 in Vs mode).

EXPRESS: D (not made for the express, the screen is corrupted... it is
still playable, just not as enjoyable since the screen is so disorderly
[your score is scrolled down to the bottom of the screen. . .])

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Super Star Soldier (HuCard)
------------------
Vertical shooter that is a sequel to Blazing Lazers.

GRAPHICS : A (A little less detailed than Blazing Lazers in some areas,
for example, the ring weapon... a little more detailed in
other areas, such as enemy motherships)
SOUND : B+ (The sound effects are of similar quality to Blazing Lazers,
except there's no voice!)
MUSIC : B+ (A good effort here)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (As in most TG-16 games, a joystick would definitely help)
LONGEVITY: A- (A very fun game... much more intense than Blazing Lazers...
frustrating at times, esp when you're near the end of a
stage and you must start over again when you die)

OVERALL : 3.55
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Hello, Computer Voice... Where are you? You were in
Blazing Lazers, but now you're gone...

COMMENTS : Not as good as Blazing Lazers, but definitely more intense.

EXPRESS: B+, Lots of color saves this game from total shooter doom, but I'd
rather not throw my express across the room.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Talespin (HuCard) Review by Bryan Duvan.
--------
Same as the television show, Talespin.

GRAPHICS : A (I love the artwork on the plane scene)
SOUND : B (Could be better)
MUSIC : A- (Theme tune included)
GAMEPLAY : B (Joystick is recommend)
LONGEVITY: B (Keeps you busy on a rainy day)

PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Could make the game a little harder.

OVERALL : 3.28

COMMENTS : Recommended for kids, but not for adults.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Tiger Road (HuCard) - review by Bt Garner
----------
While out meditating in the country side, your eveil nemesis broke into
the shrine and stole the 4 scrolls that tell of the "Tiger" attack. With
revenge on your mind, you set out to conquer the 5 levels of Tiger Road
in order to get back the scrolls, and beat the cause of all these problems
(whatever his name is).

Side scrolling platform game, where you jump and attack your way to victory.
Well, that's the goal, anyway.

GRAPHICS: B+ (pretty nice)
SOUND: C- (boring)
MUSIC: B- (annoying)
GAMEPLAY: B- (your high jumping ability may allow you to jump right into
an enemy who is off-screen, spiffy guys. . .)
LONGEVITY: B (not easy)

OVERALL: 2.73
PLAYERS: 1

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Timeball (HuCard) [TGX020034] - review by Jeff Hildebrand
--------

The premise of this game is very simple. On the screen are a bunch of
tiles, many of which have a piece of "pipe" on them. One tile space
is empty so that you may slide tiles in that row or column. There is
a small ball that starts moving through the pipes - you must arrange
the pipes in such a way that the ball travels through every piece of
pipe on the screen. There are 100 puzzles built into the game and
a construction kit so you can make your own. To increase the
difficulty, you can select from four speeds at which the ball will
move.

After successfully completing a round, you will be awarded bonus
points for the number of shifts you had to make and for speed. The
speed bonus comes from using button II to temporarily increase the
speed of the ball - the longer the ball moves faster, the greater
your bonus.

GRAPHICS : C (The plainest graphics I have ever seen - there are
about 8 colours used in total)
SOUND : C (There are three sounds - the beep when your cursor
moves, the tinkle when the ball breaks, and the
click when you move tiles)
MUSIC : B (Two okay tunes, and blissful silence)
GAMEPLAY : A (Controls are simple in the extreme, no surprises or
problems here)
LONGEVITY: B (Once you're done, you're done. This would be a C
if there was no construction set)

OVERALL : 2.8
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: Let me turn off what few sounds there are! The beep
every time you move your cursor becomes annoying while
you are still selecting the screen to start on.

The music is not bad for computer-generated stuff, but
it repeats too quickly - a common malady - surely there
must have been room on this HuCard to squeeze in longer
tunes...

Make this game more visually stimulating. My wife was
interested in this game because it reminded her of an
arcade game with the same basic gameplay (called "Locomotion"
I believe). This game had a little train (instead of
the ball), tracks (instead of pipe) and little stations
along the way where you picked up passengers (you got
points for picking them up on-time or early - a
motivation for using the "speed up" button). I am
sure that Trains was a treat to watch; Timeball is not.
Sliding tiles are grey, non-sliding tiles are white.
The pipes are all the same colour and your (*very small)
ball is silver. Maybe if they had made the game more
interesting visually they would have had an excuse to
add some more sound effects. This game looks bland,
which is really too bad because there is a pretty good
puzzle game hiding in here.

COMMENTS : If you like puzzle games like Boxyboy and Tricky Kick then
check out Timeball. It's been around for a while, so you
should be able to pick it up pretty cheaply.

Turn down the sound (so you can get rid of the beeps and
clinks) and put on a CD.

Build sadistically hard puzzles (or impossible ones =)
to torment your puzzle-game-addicted friends!

EXPRESS: B-, this game is not so fast that you can't play it on the
TurboExpress, but the ball is *so* tiny. Given the lack
of detail in this game, I wish things were a little
bigger.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Time Cruise (HuCard) Review by Kevin Kramer.
-----------
Video Pinball just keeps getting better! Time Cruise is the latest (and I
think greatest) video pinball game for the TG-16. It is very reminiscent of
Devil's Crush, but it is definitely not a sequel to it. Time Cruise has
expanded the main playing field to seven screens. Scrolling both vertically
and horizontally. There are also six bonus stages that are reached by
entering time warps (hence the games name). The bonus stages consist of
both pinball action and puzzle action. For instance, you can warp back
millions of years and try to kill amoeba-like creatures in standard pinball
fashion, or you can be warped to the future and try to manipulate the ball
through a puzzle by tilting the board (like the ball in the maze game that
has the knobs on the sides that tilt the playing field). All in all, a very
fine game.


GRAPHICS : B (Adequate, but nothing spectacular)
SOUND : C+ (Nice and subdued; nothing overwhelming)
MUSIC : C+ (Good music but, as always, gets repetitious)
GAMEPLAY : A (FUN!!)
LONGEVITY: A (I can see playing this off and on for years)

PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: The pinball physics are a little "funny" sometimes.
Maybe some sort of two-player cooperative game, one person
ends up sitting and watching for quite a while (just like
in Devil's Crush)

OVERALL : 3.27

COMMENTS : It is nice that TTI is putting out some different games for
the system. Time Cruise is a great change of pace from the
kill-or-be-killed games.

EXPRESS: A+, very good on the express, although some of the bonus stages
get a little difficult (but they are on the big screen too, so. ..)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Toilet Kids (JHuCard) [MR92005] - review by Jeff Coleburn
-----------

If you're easily offended or looking for a hard-core shooter, turn back now.
This game is just plain silly, is full of bathroom humor, and probably isn't
the one with which to show off the Turbo's capabilities.

Still here? Good. With all that in mind, this game isn't THAT bad. It's
a variant of Xevious at heart; the vertical-scroller shoot-bomb-dodge play
mechanic is similar, and the flight patterns of some enemies are very familiar.

Your intrepid little hero is sucked into a toilet in the opening cinema (with
a discreet crotch shot, no less); he emerges with a toilet-shaped hovercraft
and a need to kick some ass. He (and a female partner, should you choose
the simultaneous 2-player version) flies off to defend his toilet in the
name of all that is right and good.

However, what stands between him and the final boss is, well, er, turds.
Hordes and hordes and hordes of turds. Some are stationary, small and bombable
to earn extra lives, some are quite large and bombable to release powerups,
but most are flung by your cartoony enemies (crabs, skunks, rhinos, gorillas,
fish, flying genitalia[!], lots of bare-assed critters) in an attempt to knock
you out of the sky. Each of the four stages has a mini-boss at the halfway
point and a final boss at the end; an extra life is earned by taking out
each final boss.

The cartoony graphics are VERY plain, and wouldn't even look good on an NES.
The sound effects are mostly shooting sounds, a chirpy Japanese voice shouts
out powerup names when you catch them, and the one tune per stage is
bouncy without being _too_ annoying. There's a lot of things to shoot,
a lot to bomb, and simply hordes of flung turds to dodge, especially on the
two higher difficulty levels (out of three).

The novelty factor (Hey! It's ANOTHER turd-flinging animal! Look! It's a
helicopter with a bare ass hanging out the front!) will wear off relatively
quickly, though most people will have their eyes bug out the first time
they see it. Once the humor value wears off, what you're left with is a
no-frills Xevious variant with bosses -- which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

GRAPHICS: C- (my Atari 7800 did it better at times)
SOUND: C+ (generic -- what, no WHOOSH when the toilet attacks in the
opening cinema?)
MUSIC: B- (nothing to write home about)
GAMEPLAY: B (decent shooter mechanics, the two-player feature is nice,
and the difficulty's about right)
LONGEVITY: C+ (not one you'll drag out every week, but a decent diversion)

OVERALL: 2.38
PLAYERS: 1 or 2

EXPRESS: B. Most of the critters and bullets are big enough to work well,
but some of the projectiles are yellow and split up when shot; these can 
probably get lost easily.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Tricky Kick (HuCard) [ITGX10004] - Review by Bt Garner.
-----------
A puzzle game where you have 60 levels. Each level is a board consisting
of obstacles and objects, the objects can be kicked, the obstacles
cannot. Your goal is to line up like objects by kicking them into each
other, when you do this they dissapear and once all of the objects are
gone, you can advance to the next level.

GRAPHICS : B+ (Fair)
SOUND : A- (Not too much to do here, kick and destroy. ..)
MUSIC : B+ (6 different songs, but they still can get annoying. ..)
GAMEPLAY : A (Turbopad works well, your only enemy is the clock)
LONGEVITY: A- (enough to keep active minds off the streat for a while)

OVERALL : 3.00
PLAYERS : 1

IMPROVEMENTS: turn the music off, please let me turn the music off. ..
Also, the "Run" button serves as the "Give up" button (when you've gone
too far and made it impossible to solve a level), all too often I will
hit Run, thinking it's the Pause button and have to start over - a
confirmation to giving up would suffice as well, I guess....

EXPRESS: B, This one works just fine on the express.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Turrican (HuCard)
--------
You are the Turrican cyborg on a mission to destroy all bad guys!

GRAPHICS : A- (Nice job on graphics... excellent opening screen)
SOUND : A- (Very good sound)
MUSIC : A (Nice theme tunes)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (Needs a joystick)
LONGEVITY: B+ (Frustrating at times... need long rest periods between games)

PLAYERS : 1
IMPROVEMENTS: Get rid of color interleaving. It's not necessary!

OVERALL : 3.55

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# TV Sports Basketball (HuCard) - Review by Greg Nelson
--------------------
TV Sports Basketball is a mediocre rendition of basketball for the TG-16.
As a 1-player game, it holds little excitement and doesn't leave one
wanting to play more and more. Its only saving grace is its multi-player
capacity. If you have several players, all of you can take on a computer
team, which is fairly fun.

TV Sports Basketball includes 8 teams, each with 12 players. The players
will tire during the course of the game and need to be replaced. Also,
each player on each team has different abilities for passing, shooting, etc.
Some people might like this, but I find it annoying to have to be
familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of fictional players.
Also, the players' numbers are only seen during passing, so it's hard
to get the ball to your best shooter regularly.

While the ball is being brought up court, both the offense and defense can
choose a play to be run when the players reach the frontcourt. This is
done by moving the joystick in one of four directions and pushing a button.
The play is then executed by pressing "Select". This allows some control
of the computer teammates, which is a nice feature.

The play action of the game is OK, nothing more. All one can really do is
move around and shoot on offense or attack on defense by pressing a button.
With several players, all on one team, this is more fun, as the real
players can shake the computer defenders and open themselves up
for shots.

The graphics of this game leave a lot to be desired. They consist of
1) An overhead view of the frontcourt, with inch-high, identical players,
2) A side view of midcourt, where play-calling, but no gameplay, takes place,
3) A substitution screen, listing the players for each team,
4) A sportscaster screen with generic blurbs about the action during the
previous quarter.

Good points: No annoying music during gameplay, fairly good sound effects,
secret play-calling allowed.

Bad points: Only 4 play choices to control your computer teammates, poor
graphics, no close-up action, pointless "league-play" option.

GRAPHICS: C
SOUND: B+
MUSIC: B (Lack of music gets at least a "B" in my book.)
GAMEPLAY: C+
LONGEVITY: B-

OVERALL: 2.67
PLAYERS: 1-5

EXPRESS: F; This game is unplayable on the Express. One can't read the
players' ratings or see the numbers of the players during play.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# TV Sports Hockey (HuCard) Review by James Stepanek.
----------------
One of the original games out for the TG-16, this is still quite a
reasonable fascimilie of hockey for the machine. It has a good sense of
humor, relatively simple controlls and reasonable graphics. It has a
pretty good amount of options in the way of team variety, and different
lines. The writers did not go to the trouble of buying proffessional
rights or anything, so they just banked on good old nationalism to stir
up rivalries. There are about ten teams each with three lines which you
can switch between during a game. The lines are composed of homogeneous
players with identical stats in a line. Granted, this shows something of
a lack of sophistication, but when you switch between controll of
different players in a line it is comforting. The game allows options of
a tournament or individual games, given that the games last as long as a
real hockey game (three 20 minute periods) I doubt anyone will play many
tournaments. Up to 5 players can play, on separate sides or on the same
side. This is one feature that I have found to be quite entertaining,
since it can be more fun (and less aggravating) to cooperate with a
friend than compete. This also allows a group of friends to staff a full
line, which I have yet to try due to a lack of controllers. The other
big plus to the game is the way in which it simulates fighting and
penalties. If you check someone real hard, you go to a fight screen in
which the two players slug it out, and whoever gets decked gets the
penalty. Also the probability of fights breaking out is determined by
which set of rules is chosen. All in all it is a pretty good hockey
game, not stellar, but a worthwhile purchase for $25 or under.

GRAPHICS : B+ (smooth animation, decent color, but nothing really exciting)
SOUND : B (pretty good... grunts when you check people, noise from
skates, etc)
MUSIC : C+ (occasional bursts of charge music, but no national
anthems or such)
GAMEPLAY : B+ (controlls are good enough, except for the problem of
controlling the goalie at the wrong time by accident)
LONGEVITY: A- (this is an arbitrary ruling because if you play it by
yourself it is B or B-, but with the variety of
multi-player options it is an A. Also, I really don't play
sports games by myself much so this is subjective)

PLAYERS : 1 to 5
IMPROVEMENTS: The game could probably use better sound. The graphics are
adequate. Add an option so that when you change control from one player
to another on defense, you don't have the option of becomming the goalie
(I've lost many games that way).

OVERALL : 3.22

COMMENTS : A good hockey game to have if you just like the game and
don't need to go ga ga over NHL stats. Especially good if you have
buddies to play it with.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Veigus Tactical Gladiator (HuCard) - review by atam@mailxbox.syr.edu
-------------------------
Platform/Shooter

GRAPHICS : A- (Well rendered although at times choppy)
SOUND : B (Average)
MUSIC : A (Excellent even though it's a HuCard)
GAMEPLAY : C+ (Kind of stiff)
LONGEVITY : C+ (The game had potential, failed due to lousy control)

OVERALL: 2.93

COMMENTS: An original game, you could choose your weapons, divert power
control different parts of your body etc. This game
was released in the US with the same name. The game has the
graphics not to mention excellent music to be a winner but
forced scrolling and stiff controls made this one average.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Victory Run (HuCard) Review by Chris Fleming.
-----------
In Victory Run, you are the driver of a rally car, trying to complete the
Paris to Dakar road rally. There are eight stages each of which you must
complete within the allotted time, or you're out of the race. In addition,
you must dodge the traffic, avoid slick road patches, and handle various
road conditions. A 4-gear manual shift transmission is your only choice,
but that little roadster can really haul (230 km/h-140 mi/h). And if this
weren't enough, you also have to deal with failing car parts; after all,
8000 miles on crummy roads is a long ways.

While I normally love driving games, this one left me a bit dissappointed.
First, the good things. The controls in the game work well, with button I
as the accelerator, button II the brake, up and down operate the gear shift,
and left and right move the car left and right. I was a little worried that
with the gear shift on the thumb pad, I might accidentally shift when I
didn't want to, but this doesn't seem to be the case, and works quite well
(unlike the default control setting in Sega's Monaco GP!).

The music is pleasant and sounds like good driving music. That is, it
won't put you to sleep, nor does it detract from the task at hand. Each
level has a different soundtrack (actually, I think there are only 4 BGMs in
the 8 stages), but the music sounds very similar for each stage, so that you
know it's different, but it's hard to tell what is different about it.
That's a nice design effort, I think! The sound effects are ordinary car
sounds, with tires skidding, and engine noise, but really track well with
engine RPM and road conditions. Another good thing is the level variation
in the road. Bumps are really bumps, and can send you airborne.

Now for some of the more unfortunate game features. While the game controls
work well, the car you're driving steers like a tank. Going around sharper
corners is tough, and the graphics make it look like you're always facing
forwards. Weird sensation. And speaking of graphics, they are not that
well done. The scaling of on-comming objects is very jerky, and the road
direction signs are so small as to be unnoticeable. There isn't really
anything above average in the backgrounds or landscape. I think what I find
most attractive about driving games (and driving in real life) is the
sensation you feel for going very fast over land on windy roads in a low to
the ground, sports car (although racing around traffic is attractive in games,
it's not what I do in real life!). Because of this, I think that driving
games really require good graphics to be successful games. And in this
case, Victory Run's average graphics don't excite me enough to come back
for more.

GRAPHICS : C
SOUND : B
MUSIC : B+
GAMEPLAY : B
LONGEVITY: C

PLAYERS : 1

OVERALL : 2.55

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Vigilante (Hu-Card)
---------

EXPRESS: C, This one works alright on the express, it's just not too terribly
fun to play.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Volfiev (JHuCard) [Taito] - review by Bt Garner
-------
Although an older title, this is still a great game to get a hold of (you
may know it better as "Qix Plus" released for the Genesis).

As you've probably already guessed, the premise is Qix-like, you control a
marker (uh, a ship), and must draw rectangular areas. As you draw, enemies
will try to run into you (or your line) - either will cost you one ship. If
you completely enclose an area, the playing field decreases by that amount of
space and you continue - attempting to control 75% (or more!) of the playing
field.

But it's not that easy. You have objects bouncing around trying to touch you
and your line. You have enemies shooting at you (and your line). Stall
for too long and the sparks will come out and hunt you down (destroying
you -- and your little line too!). Unlike the original, you do have some
firepower to play with - if you enclose a region that has a special
flashing marker, you can collect a power up - lasers, speed, or time stop.
Lasers allow you to shoo minor enemies, and time stop make all enemies
on screen freeze for a moment (actually 15 seconds) -- a perfect opportunity
to encircle the main enemy of the level and reap a huge bonus for going over
95%.

GRAPHICS: B (not much, but compared to the original arcade game, how could
you get any worse?)
SOUND: B (not a lot, but again, not a lot needed)
MUSIC: C (nothing worth commenting on).
GAMEPLAY: A++ (wonderful)
LONGEVITY: A++ (I know I can beat this level, I know I can)

OVERALL: 3.63
PLAYERS: 1

COMMENTS: The mere thought of a game getting such mediocre marks in the
top three categories, yet acceling in the latter 2 sends a shiver up my
spine, but this game has it. Not eye-candy by any means, but it is a
fun game, another one of those, "If you liked the arcade version, you'll
like this one" type of game.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Wonder Momo (JHuCard) Review by Teh Kao Yang.
-----------
Cute Anime girl beats up bad guys game.

GRAPHICS : B- (Some nice Anime-style cinema displays)
SOUND : B-
MUSIC : B-
GAMEPLAY : C
LONGEVITY: B-

PLAYERS : 1

OVERALL : 2.58

COMMENTS : This old and rather obscure 2-meg HuCard by Namco features Momo,
a girl who can transform into a superhero. She beats up assorted bad
guys in an unknown number of progressively difficult stages. The game has
lame graphics and awful gameplay. You have very few moves and very little
space to move around. However, I decided to check out this game because of
seeing the cute Anime girl on the cover art.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# World Class Baseball (HuCard) - review by Bt Garner
--------------------
A 2-player look into America's favorite [sic] pasttime. There are several
modes of play - oddly enough, the most interesting is letting the
computewr play a game against itself. Well, maybe not. There is the
obligatory 2-player mode, and also the challenge mode where you battle
progressively harder teams in an attempt to win the pennant.

GRAPHICS: B- (nothing special, but it does get the job done)
SOUND: A- (pretty good. ..The crack of the bat, eh?)
MUSIC: B- (ok, but gets annoying after a while [whay does that happen?])
GAMEPLAY: C+ (takes a little getting used to)
LONGEVITY: C+ (maybe someone who is more of a baseball fan would. . .)

OVERALL: 2.67
PLAYERS: 0, 1 or 2

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Xevious (J HuCard) [NC90004] - Review by Bt Garner
-------
The PCEngine version of the classic arcade game, with a few extra twists.
In addition to the "arcade" version of the game - there is also a souped
up version feturing harded end bosses, power ups, and even a story line
(that is, unfortunately in Japanese).

GRAPHICS : A (an almost exact duplicate of the arcade)
SOUND : A (duplicated as well)
MUSIC : B+ (gets an "A" for the arcade part, the down grade is
the annoying music on the souped up version).
GAMEPLAY : A+ (if you loved the arcade, you'll love this. ..)
LONGEVITY: A+ (see comments for "Gameplay")

PLAYERS : 1
OVERALL : 3.98

COMMENTS: About the only thing that I didn't liek about this arcade port
is the fact that your TV is turned the wrong way (the arcade had a monitor
that was taller than wide, and this gave you adequate time to find all of
the hidden things, here, however it is difficult). Other than that, a
beautiful translation.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Yo' Bro (HuCard) - review by Jeff Hildebrand
-------

Maybe I'm not familiar enough with the California scene, but this game
sounds like a pre-quel to "Camp California". They're both set in
California, they both feature "Beach Boys" music, and they both have
a little bear-cub with a skateboard in them (although I don't know
how much of a part he has in Camp California).

Like I said, the game is set in California - the home of weirdness -
so of course some strange...stuff is going on. Some mad scientist
has released his mutants and machines on the state and of course you
("Little Bro") have to clean up.

I could not believe the number of options I was presented with when
I started this game. Music and sound effects can be disabled
independently. For each player (1 or 2) you can set, how quickly
LB turns on his skateboard, the fashion in which he is controlled,
the difficulty of the game, the number of lives you start with and
how often you get extra lives.

Gameplay is pretty simple. Skate around picking up wandering kids,
blasting roving baddies, and destroying their bases. These bases
are stationary and occassionally emit a roving baddie. To complete
the level you must destroy all the bases. To complete his mission,
LB has a stunning array of weaponry 4 types of slingshot, a freeze
gun, 3 types of rocket launchers, and 3 types of grenades. There
is an equally wide variety of nasty types to kill off.

GRAPHICS : A (City buildings are plain, but LB, kids, and bad guys are
colourful and well-animated)
SOUND : B- (There are not enough sound effects, see Improvements)
MUSIC : A (4 Beach Boys tunes, quite well done. If they're not your
cup of tea, they are easily turned off)
GAMEPLAY : A+ (turning speed, control type, and game difficulty allow
you to tune the game exactly to your skill level)
LONGEVITY: B (There are only 30 levels, but there are plenty of secret
rooms to find)

OVERALL : 3.50
PLAYERS : 1 or 2 (alternating)

IMPROVEMENTS: There are very few sound effects in this game. Swarms of
bees move on complete silence, bouncing "spinach balls" (I'm
not kidding!) should make some noise. It seems like the
designers didn't want to interrupt the music with other sounds.

A simultaneous two-player mode would be interesting.

Add more levels. I'm not that interested in playing the same
levels over and over at higher difficulties.

Fix the saved-game. This is not mentioned at all in the
instructions, but if you have some kind of backup RAM you
can continue a game at the beginning of the level you were
on - but only if you RESET the game to quit! If you lose
all your lives and decide not to continue you can not
continue later.

COMMENTS : This is a neat little game - not overly hard unless you make
it that way. Pick it up if you can get it for a couple of
bucks.

EXPRESS: B+, most stuff is big enough to see, and the game is not
particularly fast paced. The shots fired by some of the
bad guys will be hard to see.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Do You Have Reviews?
--------------------
Certainly, one man's opinion is not enough to base your decision to rent or
purchase a game. If you have had any experience with a certain game and
would like to share your experiences with other fellow Turbografx-16 owners,
please send your reviews my way. I will take all of your comments into
account and adjust my grades accordingly based on their soundness and wisdom.
Credit will be given to the original reviewer. Please use the review format
presented below and send them to bt@cpac.washington.edu. Thanks!

Please, please, PLEASE follow the format of the reviews for everyone's sake!
The idea is to give other gamers the most clear and concise information
possible!

Special thanks to:
-----------------
The following people were integral or most helpful in my assembling these
reviews for all you TurboDuo, Turbografx-16, and PC-Engine gamers.
Thank you all!

Bryan Duvan, Chris Fleming, Tin Yau Fung, Jeff Graham, Brad Hamlett,
Pete Ikusz, Kevin Kramer, Jeffrey Naiman, Paul Norkus, Sergey Shimkevich,
James Stepanek, Laly Thao, David London and of course a special word of
thanks to Clarence Din [cd] who started this project.

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