Scuttlest

Best of Best (originally released in 1994)

The game can be best described as what you’d see in the background of a TV show because they couldn’t get the rights to have Street Fighter or Tekken in the background.

This is not a good game, but it serves as an excellent example of how bad the Street Fighter II clones could get.

Astyanax (originally released in 1990)

Take on the role of a high school student who's suddenly pulled into the fantasy world of Remlia and must team up the a fairy named Cutie to save Princess Rosebud and return home.

There's another Astyanax also made by Jaleco for the arcade. While it has the same general gameplay loop, it's completely different in terms of stages and story.

The game's title is pronounced uh-stai-uh-naks, if you were wondering.

Final boss of Super Mario Land.

Fought in a shmup style. Pretty easy as his only attack is a separating tri-shot. Though the game lagging from too many projectiles on screen at once might throw you off.

Gameplay by me.

Abadox (originally released in 1989)

A shooter game that bounces you between left-to-right stages and top-to-bottom stages. Notable for a more organic/body horror approach to its enemy design, barring one robot stage out of nowhere.

KickMaster (originally released in 1991)

A fairly standard platformer game, but with an RPG-like improvement system, starring a protagonist who has not skipped leg day. Ever.

Several of the game’s bosses have impressively large and detailed sprites, though they are generally not animated.

Trojan (originally released in 1986)

Set in a post-apocalyptic setting, advance through stages armed with a sword and shield... or armed with your fists and feet if you lose your weapons.

A port of an arcade game with more balanced difficulty, and some alterations to the level designs.

Sword Master (originally released in 1990)

A simple but challenging sidescroller. While the game can be beaten in less than 20 minutes, it’s difficulty will ensure you’ll be playing longer than that.

Has some nifty visuals, like parallax scrolling in some backgrounds, which was quite impressive for the time period.

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of The Holy War (originally released in 1996)

The fourth entry in the Fire Emblem franchise, back when the series was only being released in Japan. Stands out in the franchise with almost exhaustingly large maps, and a generation feature where the second half of the game has you play as the children of the protagonists of the first half.

You really need to be in a particular mindset to play this game. My own playthrough took me two weeks to get through.

Werewolf: The Last Warrior (originally released in 1990)

Go between your weak human form and your super powered werewolf form across five levels. Can be quite difficult until you completely understand your werewolf powers.

Originally meant to be a Wolverine game until Data-East lost the license. Marvel fans will notice obvious knockoff versions of classic villains like Juggernaut or Brood or Magneto.

Mendel Palace (originally released in 1989)

Also known as Quinty in Japan. This is a sort of puzzle game where you flip tile/card floors to throw your enemies away. Send them into the wall to defeat them.

This was the first game ever made by Game Freak, who you may better know as the developers of Pokémon.

Moon Crystal (originally released in 1992)

Released exclusively in Japan late in the NES lifespan. The jumping and climbing feels very Prince of Persia inspired.

Sprite animations are extremely fluid for an NES game. Check it out yourself, screenshots really don’t do it justice.

Time Diver: Eon Man (intended to release in 1993)

This game never got released, but still exists as a more or less complete prototype.

Play as the Eon Man and rescue hostages across multiple time periods. As a late NES game, it boasts impressive visuals for the system. Some bosses even have attacks that could almost be described as an NES attempt to do Mode 7.

In Star Fox 64, the boss fight on easy route Venom is against an enemy running down a hallway.

As a bit of trivia, this hallway is not endless. If you can survive roughly 8 minutes, you will reach a wall that will kill you. While the average player should kill the boss long before then, the devs still put a generous 1-up right before the wall.

The Great Giana Sisters (originally released in 1987)

Created to be a Mario-like game on other systems Nintendo wasn't releasing their games on. Giana Sisters was evidentially declared too similar to Mario, prompting Nintendo to send a Cease-And-Desist letter and getting the game pulled shortly after its release.

Despite this, the game has become a cult classic in certain circles.

Isolated Warrior (originally released in 1990)

A shoot em' up played from an oblique perspective. Aiming can feel slightly off as it comes from the protagonist's gun, which is off-center from his body.

Heart of Darkness (originally released in 1998)

Starring a boy who travels to another world to rescue his kidnapped dog.

Most noted for it's... surprisingly brutal death scenes. The game is rated E for Everyone, so it's not outright gory, but the boy's death sequences can be something else.

Another World (originally released in 1991)

A young scientist embarks on an unexpected adventure when an experiment gone awry transports him to an alien planet and he forms an unexpected partnership with a local alien.

Screenshots from the Amiga version of the game.

Road Runner’s Death Valley Rally (originally released in 1992)

Based on the famous Looney Tunes cartoons, play as the Road Runner and evade Wile E. Coyote’s attempts to capture you. Very good visuals that capture the spirit of the cartoon.

Unfortunately, the gameplay is less impressive. It’s like they wanted to make their own Sonic game, made levels that required speed, but then have enemy placements and level design that punish trying to go fast.

Valkyrie no Bouken: Toki no Kagi Densetsu (originally released in 1986)

Released exclusively in Japan, its name translates to "The Adventure of Valkyrie: The Legend of the Key of Time".

Released a few months after the first The Legend of Zelda, it was essentially Namco's own take on the genre.

The King of Dragons (originally released in 1991)

Fight with mini-boss, Dark Apprentice.

Gameplay by me.