This game allowed me to bludgeon a bootleg version of that mother ♥♥♥♥♥♥ Sam (the irritating green guy) from QBert with a pick-axe. 10/10

Ok...now for an actual review.

Cash Cow DX is what would happen if you threw Sonic the Hedgehog, Mappy, Super Mario, QBert and Donkey Kong Country in a blender and wrapped it up in an early Taito aesthetic. The OST is also fantastic- if you liked the OST to Donut Dodo then you are going to love the equally bouncy and energetic nature each of the game's tracks provides.

I'm not necessarily a score chaser, but I can appreciate that there's a lot of nuance to scoring. There's the E-X-T-R-A bonus (again with Bubble Bobble) that seems pretty essential to getting bigger scores on top of stockpiling diamonds to multiple your mon-cough-mooney. This game also does one of my favorite things and exchanges your extra lives for more points when you finish a round. Last, but not least, there's also the "Holy Cow" bonus for completing a stage without dying.

I will say that the controls have a steeper learning curve than Donut Dodo. Your character bounces on his udders and it can make movement seem jarringly slippery at first. Stick with it though- this game is just as fun as Dodo. Just remember that there's no timer and take things slow and methodically- my first mistake was trying to play this game like Donut Dodo tbh.

Far better than Final Fight in every department except the graphics. In many ways, this kinda feels like a Master System or NES game with a suped-up appearance thanks to the extra bits. It still has some hang ups from that era too, including super cheap bosses that will knock half or even three quarters of your life bar off and the only (reasonable) way to beat certain enemies is to exploit their AI and incessantly loop them into throws or stun locks. The sequels are all far better on all cylinders in regards to balancing, but this is still worth playing as a history lesson and to see where the franchise started.

It's honestly just okay in my opinion. It seems like people either love or absolutely hate this game, but I can't help but find myself gravitating somewhere in between. One hand, the concept of "SMB1, but harder" isn't necessarily a bad thing to me considering I've beaten the original too many times to count (including several times under the influence of our world's magic mushrooms...heh) and I can appreciate that concept. That being said...the hammer brothers spam, the dumb wind gimmick and springs that launch you at inconsistent heights and speeds are really god damned annoying and keep me from coming back to this game as much.

Although unofficial, I think there are a handful of hacks out there nowadays that do the whole "Mario...but for super players!" thing far better. SMB Special: 35th Anniversary comes to mind as far as the original game goes. Bandicoot's Super Mario World hacks (especially Crown Tale which I loved cringe story aside) also fit this bill nicely. None of those games get as hard as this one, but offer a comfortable step up in challenge IMO.

The master system truly was this odd but wonderful system for me as a child. I was lucky enough to get one at a yard sale in the summer of 2003 when I was 7 years old and at the peak of my sonic obsession. Sadly, the lot we got did not include this game but it did include a lot of other games such as Alex kidd and Ghostbusters.

I didn't get to play this until I unlocked the gamegear version on sonic adventure dx around the same age. At that time, I'm pretty sure I got to the jungle zone and gave up at the boss.

As an adult, I've probably finished this version about a dozen times and still enjoy coming back to it. Design wise, I always liked how the emeralds were found within the levels instead of an awkward special stage that feels more like a tech demo than anything (a recurring theme with the mainline genesis installments imo). I also like its arcade approach to scoring...it's really nice to hear that counter ticking down at the end when you manage to finish the game with all the emeralds and 20+ extra lives remaining.

Would I say it's better than the Genesis game? Not really. It suffers a lot due to the slowdown in Labyrinth zone. So much so that I'm such my everdrive didn't just snap in half. Why they chose to recreate this zone in the first place kind of boggles my mind when marble zone would've been a better candidate considering the difference of pace in this version. Sonic 1 8 bit is far more platforming heavy to be sure, and marble garden would've made more sense but oh well.

As it stands, it's well worth checking out and I'd say it's my favorite master system platformer besides the original Alex Kidd.

About as good as SMW rom hacks get. I was a little worried that it was going to be some kind of weird fetish hack given how Peach is depicted (and as an asexual I've just got no interest in such a thing) but it's actually really freaking wholesome. The aesthetic reminds me a lot of Super Mario Maker- but without the janky physics since this is built off SMW. A few standout moments include a sweets world where you'll find yourself jumping into a bottle of cola and swimming through it (castle of illusion anyone?) and a whole ass recreation of Buoy Base from SMG towards the end. 100% worth a play. Can also confirm it works perfectly on a super everdrive x5/snes model 3 setup for those who like to play on the original hardware.

A surprisingly decent Sonic clone that's really only held back by the fact that it's on Game Gear. As such, it suffers from screen crunch and dropped inputs (or at least what felt like dropped inputs consistently enough).

The character is surprisingly versatile for a GG standards- he can slide, wall jump, slide and power up a Wario-like shoulder barge that is more or less this game's spin dash. The visuals are also really good for the handheld.

There is an unofficial port to the Master System on SMSPower under their "hacks" section. I decided to try it out for myself on a Mega Everdrive and, for the most part, it works well. Better field of view with some glitched graphics as the tradeoff- especially in round 5. Just be sure to plug a second controller in, as "down" on its d-pad acts as the start button.

As was the case with Tanuki Justice, I'm surprised people on here seem to dislike this game.

Flying Hero is a vertical cute 'em up with an aesthetic that reminds me of Kirby above all else. You get three different power ups (although one of them is pretty much useless), bombs and homing missiles on top of the ability to curve your blasts by tapping the shoulder buttons. In addition, you have a hit point system similar to some Compile games where getting hit will just take you down a level with death occurring if struck holding a tier 1 weapon.

The way powering up actually works in this game is a bit confusing. Unlike most other shmups, collecting the same weapon two or three times will not increase its strength. Instead, you need to collect three cupcakes for level 2 and another three to be at full power. It sounds confusing, but even an idiot like me was able to adjust. It's also quite easy to manipulate this system- just avoid the cupcakes if you have two (kept track of in the right hand corner of the screen) and full power. Next time you get hit, you can just snag the third one and be back at the tier you were on before.

Design wise, flying hero really doesn't do anything too unique other than the curving shot trick but it more than makes up for it in charm. The whole time I was playing...it felt like something I would've loved as a kid had I discovered it in the early 2000s around the same time I was enamored with Kirby, monkey ball and klonoa. Sure, Twinbee is better, but I still found a lot to like here in the seven stages presented.

I do have two grievances to bring up other than the somewhat odd powerup system. First, your character sprite is pretty damn big for a shmup. It's a good thing that the bullet density is kept pretty low or else this would've made the game frustrating. It also explains why the health system is so forgiving- this would not have bode well under normal shmup rules. Second is that none of the three speeds really felt right. Speed 1 was a bit too slow, speed 2 is zippier than I would've liked, and I only used 3 on the final boss' last phase since he charges at you incessantly.

That said, the game is still worth playing especially if you're looking for an easier entry in the genre to play and finish in under an hour. Just don't expect it to be among the best of the best or brimming with originality.

It's Drill Wisp- The Game.

In all seriousness this is a serviceable bite sized platformer with pacing similar to that of DKC. Like Ristar, it takes one primary mechanic (being the drilling in this case) and stretches it to its absolute limit. Some of the things this game does with the mechanic are pretty fantastic. The game is at its best when you're using the thing to blast through chunks of ice to scale a waterfall or powering up a giant robot to plow through obstacles.

Unfortunately, the game's combat is just not fun and it just so happens that two of the major levels (bear in mind this game is only four worlds long and personally took me 3.5 hours to finish) decide to focus on this aspect. 4-4 was absolutely fucking miserable as it crams in an overly long elevator sequence and a mini-boss with no checkpoint in between.

As mentioned before, this is also a really short game. Typically, I don't have a problem with this but it left me wanting more in a bad way. It feels more like a demo or early access edition. Baffingly enough, the game apparently took eight years to make. You'll most definitely get more than I did out of it if you happen to be apart of the speedrunning niche, as there are time trials and the par times are pretty unforgiving. Even then, it's still kinda anemic in content.

As one other reviewer has suggested- wait for a sale. (Unless you're obsessed with speedruns)

Peak Adventure Island. The NES game is known for being difficult to the point of being absolutely fucking broken by the time you reach its eighth world. I should know because I actually beat the stupid thing as a teenager before shelving it and never touching it again.

This game is basically what the NES original should've been. It's easy on the eyes (you even get to see Master Higgins make an ass of himself in little intermission cutscenes after finishing a world), has decent music and manages to be tough-but-fair instead of a tedious trial and error gauntlet. It's very doable on one continue, but it's worth noting that you get infinite credits. (No need to be aware of a stupid ass cheat that demands a prerequisite item to even work- Hudson really learned their lesson)

The controls still feel a little bit off, and that's really my only gripe. Higgins can still slip and slide on most terrain, but I will say the skateboard feels infinitely better to control than it did in any of the other games. Getting to the end of the stage with it also grants a big points bonus (which matters when it comes to racking up extends), and you will feel like a badass for doing so.

If you're going to play any Adventure Island, this is the one to go with. Super Adventure Island comes as a close second.

It's a cute, really easy and really short platformer that (unfortunately) wastes its potential.

You play as a girl with an egg that will eventually hatch into a baby dragon after you whack it into enough enemies (kind of fucked up...but whatever gets the job done I guess). After powering it up a few times the dragon matures and you'll eventually be riding it Super Mario World style. Not only this, but you get a fire breathing attack with infinitely better range. This game operates a bit like a shmup though- dying just once will revert you back to just the girl with (presumably) a new egg.

Again, it's a really cool concept but unfortunately the level design is just too simplistic and the enemies and bosses basically pose no threat at all provided you stay powered up. This isn't exactly difficult to do (at least on normal) as you'll always be coming across wonder boy-like shops selling hearts, heart containers and upgrades. Farming isn't really necessary either- even on my first go I always had enough coins and then some to get what I needed.

As others have commented, the difficulty does in fact vary wildly between settings. Playing on hard really highlighted the balancing issues for me after sleepwalking through normal. As mentioned earlier, Dragon Egg! works off shmup logic and with everything doing insane damage on hard, chances are that you'll be suffering gradius Syndrome due to dying in spots where you need the dragon.

As it stands, it's a good way to kill a half an hour if you stick to normal. It's not as if you miss out on anything ending-wise as this isn't some pretentious Konami title that insists you play on hard. It just could've been a lot more with proper balancing and less generic level design.

Somehow, they managed to make this sequel more redundant and more frustrating than the arcade original- and this was supposedly designed with home consoles in mind. It's literally the same game with a few different backdrops, two different enemy types and quite frankly it starts recycling enemies even sooner than the first.

I finished the game with an A ranking as Thunderhead, and I don't care to play it again. Even if GA1 is far from the masterpiece the pre-Sonic genesis crowd claim, it's still far more enjoyable.

I'll be honest and say that I simply don't "get" this game after trying it out for about 45 minutes, and this is coming from somebody who adores Dynamite Headdy to no end and had a lot of fun with Gunstar Heroes despite feeling it was a tad overrated.

Yeah, the graphics are absolutely amazing and show what a farce the (at the time) six year old Genesis hardware could be as it neared retirement. I'd never argue against that for a second.

There are also some mechanical improvements over Treasure's last run and gun that I want to point out. Dashing, parrying and hovering around felt pretty intuitive and I liked the idea of parrying bullets to regain health in the heat of battle. Being able to swap between fixed and free shot is also an improvement.

The decision to have you swap weapons in real time when the game is throwing everything but the kitchen sink at you, however, just seemed super idiotic. This was not a problem in Gunstar Heroes, which came out two years prior. You were able to pause and switch weapons no problem. If we want to go back even further, Thunder Force III also let you do this five years prior. (Granted, that's a shmup and not a run and gun) This was the number one thing that made me shelve the game after getting through a handful of the game's bosses tbh.

Also not a fan of how the only difficulties available are "supereasy" and "superhard". It just seemed a little pretentious not to have a middle ground.

For now, I think I'll just stick with Headdy/Gunstar/Treasure Land Adventure as those are games from this company that I have always enjoyed immensely.

It's a platformer on the NES based off a licensed IP where the developers actually understood that the target audience would be younger kids. Surprisingly, most of the game seemed to be based off the 50's version of the Felix universe and not the trippy late 80's movie that might have still been relevant when this was released. It's a simple-yet-charming A to B platforming affair that may even be breezier than Kirby's Adventure (often described as one of the easiest NES games in many lists), but still a very good time. In terms of Taito's platformer output on the console, I'd put it above the Flintstones and Jetsons games but just below Panic Restaurant (which is top dog in my opinion).

I've also finished the Game Boy version at some point, but from what I can remember, it's the exact same game with minor alterations to the sprites.

There isn't a whole lot I can say about this game that hasn't already been said about a trillion times by now, so I'll just leave it at this:

This game is a lot of fun if you're just going through it at your own pace and playing it through any%. The first and second floors are very strong in the level design department, although Shifting Sand Land's 100 coin star is pretty tedious. The third floor has some doozies, but I remember feeling like a genius for figuring out an unintentional way of getting the star on the far-off mushroom in Tall Tall Mountain as six year old.

The game really drops off in quality by the last two courses, which are not only super linear (contradicting the design philosophy of being more open ended that the game has used up to this point) but exist over a huge ass bottomless pit.

The beauty of this game's collect-a-thon nature is that you can skip all of the badly designed courses. You'll still have to collect more than half of the game's power stars, but there is more than enough leeway to ignore Tick Tock Clock and Rainbow Ride (and then some). Go for all 120 stars, however, and it really puts things into perspective and suddenly all of those comments about the game aging poorly start to make sense. I have a feeling there's a reason that I never bothered to get all of them until a year or two ago.

I'll also highly recommend Super Mario 64 Plus for PC while I'm here. It's a highly customizable experience that lets you tweak the gameplay to be as close to (or as far removed) from the vanilla game as you'd like. Just want to play at 60 FPS with all of the growing pains in tact? Go for it. Want that buttery smooth 60 FPS with a side of no boot-outs and a much better camera? It's there too.