Super Metal Crusher is an impressively ambitious idea for 1991 that tragically falls flat on its face. The sheer number of attributes and options you have at your disposal mean nothing when you're expected to watch your robot wander about and hope for the best. A startling lack of gameplay variety and reasons to learn how the game works makes the experience lose its shine very quickly, but to its benefit, there's little else out there like it...
It doesn’t have much “meat” on its bones and it still finds a way to overstay its welcome, but Pippols is an overall enjoyable romp that feels pretty fresh even in a genre as crowded as shoot ‘em ups. The lane changing mechanic adds a lot of strategy to what would otherwise be a simple game, and the aesthetics and premise give the game a unique identity that still stands out for its procurement-based mission compared to the majority of its contemporaries that purported eradication as the only solution to their conflicts. Konami was at their absolute peak during the 8 and 16-bit eras of gaming, and this game serves as but one of many examples of why they were one of the big names to look for on the MSX. With fun gameplay and impressive technical flourishes for its platform, Pippols is one of those games that you could bring out and show off to get people interested in the ol’ computer that could.
If the experience of playing Ghost Building Company was just a bit more polished, just a bit more smooth and consistent, this would be one of the best games on the Game Boy. It’s a joy to play through for its spectacle and simplicity, but the uneven difficulty towards the end can make it take far longer to complete than a portable game session should go on for. Despite its problems, it wears its horror influences on its sleeve in a way that feels familiar yet ambitious compared to what other games of the time often did and its visual style is simply superb enough to make the whole thing worth struggling through.
Austin Powers Pinball is an experience that's so minimalist and unremarkable that it almost feels pointless to play. It offers nothing that other pinball games don't and it doesn't make proper use of its license during a time where people were hungriest for it. But beneath it all, it has a degree of value as a fascinating cultural artifact of a time long past and that's pretty groovy in its own way...
Ephemeral Enigmas 