Author Archives: R

Retro Review: “Splatterhouse 2” (SEGA Genesis, Festival of Dread Special)

Of all the games I’ve owned, sold, repurchased, etc., over the years, I’ve never sold any of my original Splatterhouse games. Why? Because braining demons with blunt objects and watching their unholy essence spray from their freshly-cracked skulls is good ol’ family fun. Wholesome shit, am I right? My personal experience with the Splatterhouse series went like this: Splatterhouse (TG-16 version), Splatterhouse 3, and finally Splatterhouse

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Box Art Bombshells: “Black Belt” (SEGA Master System, 80s August Special)

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade since We’re marking this festive occasion with an all-new installment of Box Art Bombshells, where we reveal the completely fabricated super really-real events that inspired some of the wackiest and weirdest box art from gaming history. This time, we’re revealing the hidden truth behind Black Belt, the martial arts action game released on

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Retro Game Review: “Thunder Force II” (SEGA Genesis, 80s August Special)

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of everything 80s. Derp. Despite being primarily famous as a 90s console the SEGA Genesis (aka Mega Drive) was actually released in 1989, so the launch games and other early titles can still lay claim to being entertainment artifacts of the 80s. One such launch game is Thunder Force II. I know what

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Brick Bashing Never Changes… “Arkanoid – Eternal Battle” Coming in 2022

Bricks to right of them,Bricks to left of them,Bricks in front of themVolley’d and thunder’d;Storm’d at with shot and ball,Boldly they rode and well,Into the jaws of Death,Into the mouth of hellRode the Vaus. On Monday, game publisher Microids announced that a new Arkanoid game is in the works, and is currently scheduled for a 2022 release. Developed by French

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Review: “Gynoug” (PS4)

Ratalaika Games has been on a roll with their efforts to introduce old-school shooters to modern audiences. Following October’s release of Gleylancer, Ratalaika is once again tapping the 16-bit archive to bring Gynoug (aka Wings of Wor in the US) back to life.* Originally released in 1991 for SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive, Gynoug is a horizontal shoot ’em up that blends elements

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“Kao the Kangaroo: Complete Kaollection” Now on PC, New Game Coming in 2022

On Tuesday, ZOOM Platform released the Kao the Kangaroo: Complete Kaollection for PC. Sure, the full trilogy has been available on PC platforms for a while, but the big news is that a brand new Kao the Kangaroo game is currently being planned for 2022. Originally created by Polish developer Tate Multimedia, the Kao the Kangaroo games are 3D platformers

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Retro Review: “Night Warriors” (SEGA Saturn, Festival of Dread Special)

It’s 1996, and Capcom was being a total tease by not releasing Street Fighter III. Instead, Capcom was intent on flooding the fighting game market with X-Men: Children of the Atom, the Street Fighter Alpha series, and what is arguably their most adventurous take on the fighting genre up to that time: the Darkstalkers series. Released under the title Vampire:

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Box Art Bombshells: “Vampire – Master of Darkness” (SEGA Game Gear, Festival of Dread Special)

Welcome back to the Festival of Dread, The Splintering‘s month-long celebration of all things devilish and demented! We’re marking the occasion with a new edition of Box Art Bombshells, where we reveal the completely fabricated super really-real events that inspired some of the wackiest and weirdest box art from gaming history. Today, we’re the Castlevania-like 2D action platformer for the

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Review: “Gleylancer” (Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PS4)

Retro shoot ’em up aficionados have plenty to celebrate of late, given the increasing number of re-releases and collections of classic shooters recently landing on pc and consoles. The latest of these is Gleylancer (not Gley Lancer, ya’ dummy-dums!), a sci-fi horizontal shooter originally developed by Masaya and released for the SEGA Mega Drive in 1992 exclusively in Japan.* Now,

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Sexy Shmup “Waifu Discovered 2: Medieval Fantasy” Coming to Switch on 14 October

Publisher Eastasiasoft recently announced that the sexy shoot ’em up Waifu Discovered 2: Medieval Fantasy will be coming to Nintendo Switch on 14 October. Developed by One-Hand-Free Studios (*snick!*), Waifu Discovered 2 is already available on PC via Steam. The game certainly has a unique premise for a 2D shoot ‘em up. You see, an evil spell has been cast

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Retro Gaming Retrospective: “M.U.S.H.A.” (SEGA Genesis)

Nintendo recently announced that SEGA Genesis games are coming to the Nintendo Switch via a Switch Online “Expansion Pack”, so I thought the time was right to highlight one of the most prized games included with this additional subscription service: M.U.S.H.A. This write-up is a bit more in-depth than a standard “review,” so I’m winging it with the whole “retrospective”

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Box Art Bombshells: “Congo Bongo” (Colecovision, 80s August Special)

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade since Istanbul was still Constantinople! We’re marking this festive occasion by introducing an all-new feature here at The Splintering: Box Art Bombshells, where we reveal the completely fabricated super really-real events that inspired some of the wackiest and weirdest box art from gaming history. We’re kicking off

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Who Should Play Samus Aran in a “Metroid” Film? (80s August Special)

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade since the discovery of the Pythagorean Theorem! Though certainly not the first female video game character, Samus Aran from 1986’s Metroid is still considered by many to be the First Lady of gaming. It should therefore come as no surprise that the topic of a Metroid film keeps

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Retro Review: “Last Battle” (SEGA Genesis, 80s August Special)

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade since the Trojan War! Despite being a prominent presence of the 90s gaming scene, many forget that the SEGA Genesis (aka Mega Drive) was actually released in 1989. So today, we’re continuing our 80s coverage by reviewing one of the console’s launch titles: Last Battle! *Note: Did

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Retro Review: “Knight Rider” (NES, 80s August Special)

Welcome back to 80s August, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of the greatest decade since orange met chicken. Today we’re going to do a full detail on Knight Rider, the 1988 Nintendo (NES) game developed by Pack-In-Video Co. and published by Acclaim. And at the mention of the name “Acclaim”, I know that there are eyes rolling and stomachs churning. Does

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Battle Robot Space Fish in “G-Darius HD”, Coming Soon for Switch, PS4

Taito and ININ Games have partnered up to release G-Darius HD, a remastered port of 1997’s arcade title… G-Darius. Developed by M2, G-Darius HD will be available physically and digitally for Nintendo Switch and PS4 later in 2021 (that’s for both North American and European territories). While the Darius shoot ‘em up series dates back to the mid-80s (or as

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Retro Review: “Jungle Strike: The Sequel to Desert Strike” (SEGA Genesis, Attack Helicopter Week Special)

Welcome back to Attack Helicopter Week here at The Splintering! We previously reviewed Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf in Attack Helicopter Weeks of years past, so this year, we’re diving into that game’s sequel: Jungle Strike for SEGA Genesis. Published by Electronic Arts in 1993 for multiple platforms, Jungle Strike: The Sequel to Desert Strike is very much like

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Retro Review: “Airwolf” (NES, Attack Helicopter Week Special)

Welcome back to Attack Helicopter Week here at The Splintering, where we celebrate all things attack helicopter, whether good or bad! And today we have “bad” in spades, folks, as we’ve chosen to subject ourselves to critiquing Airwolf published by… Acclaim. (*Shudder!*) So everyone find your seat, buckle up, and keep your hands close to yourself, because it’s going to

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“Hentai Vs. Evil” Censored on Consoles, Especially PlayStation Platforms

Axyos Games’ risqué third-person horde shooter Hentai Vs. Evil was released for PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch in May. Originally available on PC (via Steam), Hentai Vs. Evil features several fetching heroines who must save other cute girls from a demon invasion. While the Steam version of Hentai Vs. Evil features a fully nude mode (up, down & all around),

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Retro Review: “Daedalian Opus” (Nintendo Game Boy, Monochrome May Special)

Welcome back to Monochrome May, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of black and white entertainment! Today we’re going to pick apart a lesser-known puzzle game for the Nintendo Game Boy, Daedalian Opus. Published by Vic Tokai in 1990, Daedalian Opus is a Tetris-inspired twist on tangram puzzles. What’s a tangram puzzle? Tangrams are designed around rearranging various two dimensional shapes called

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Retro Review: “Mortal Kombat” (Nintendo Game Boy, Monochrome May Special)

Welcome back to Monochrome May, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of black and white entertainment! Given the recent release of the latest Mortal Kombat feature film, we thought we’d take this opportunity to look at another abysmal MK abortion in the form of Mortal Kombat for the Nintendo Game Boy! Released by Acclaim on September 13, 1993 (aka “Mortal Monday“), the

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“Flashback 2” Coming to PC, Consoles in 2022

On Tuesday, Microids announced that a sequel to the 1992 sci-fi adventure game Flashback is in the works for both PC and consoles. Aptly titled Flashback 2 (for now), very little was revealed about the project. However, the original game’s creator, Paul Cuisset, is back for the sequel. Both Cuisset and Microids CEO Stéphane Longeard released statements on Flashback 2’s

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Senran Kagura – Neptunia Crossover Coming in August; New Trailer Released

Compile Heart has opened an official website for Senran Nin Nin Ninja Taisen Neptune: Shoujo-tachi no Kyouen, the action RPG crossover featuring characters from both the Senran Kagura and Hyperdimension Neptunia universes. You can check out the details below, followed by the announcement trailer and latest screenshots. ■ Story “Game Ninja World,” a world where all ninja gather. As the

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“Castlevania: Resurrection” Prototype for SEGA Dreamcast Discovered

A prototype of the cancelled SEGA Dreamcast Castlevania game has been discovered by Sega Dreamcast Info Preservation Games, a French Dreamcast preservation website. Titled Castlevania: Resurrection, the 3D action adventure game was intended as a soft reboot of the Castlevania series. The prototype itself is a pre-E3 demo from 1999, and features five playable environments and a boss fight. While

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Retro Review: “Superman” (SEGA Genesis)

To celebrate this week’s release of Justice League: the Snyder Cut on HBO, we’re  polluting cramming The Splintering chock full of content for Justice League-related games. In consideration of high political tensions in the United States, we’re also going to attempt to make this review 100% politics-free. Without further ado, let’s see how truth, justice, and the American way fare

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