Astro Marine Corps

I think people who enjoy seeing consoles and computers pushed to their limits in clever ways will find a lot to like here if they can put themselves outside of their comfort zone. So much of the run and gun genre seeks to empower the player with similar types of power fantasies and make the player feel like a one man army, but AMC turns that idea right on its head. You think you’re getting Predator or the later Rambo movies or something, but it turns out you’re actually getting The Thing in AMC 1 and some good old fashioned cosmic horror in AMC 2!

Gate of Doom

I know I’m playing armchair game designer here, but I really feel like Gate of Doom would become something great with just a handful of changes. Increase the default movement speed, rebalance some enemy damage output (or just give players full health when respawning), make magic usable in boss fights, and make the power-up items permanent and you’d have a much more reasonable game that actually feels like a proper blend of action and RPG elements. As it is now, Gate of Doom wears the skin of a D&D campaign and does so very well, but when you actually get your hands on it, it just feels like a less polished and poorly balanced take on contemporaries like Gauntlet, Cadash, and The King of Dragons that were all doing the same thing more effectively, to say nothing of the excellence that the Capcom D&D games would achieve just a few years later.

Tengoku Yoitoko

Despite my problems with its endgame, Tengoku Yoitoko is absolutely worth trying. It’s rare to see a game with such an unusual combination of elements and a take on platforming that’s more than just “jump on enemy, they’re dead”. When it’s at its best, this game consumes your thoughts in a way that makes you eager to slowly peel back its layers and see what secrets it has in store for you. Its combination of RPG and platforming elements makes you think about them and how they manage to come together in such an interesting way and I had a lot of fun taking notes and piecing together the NPC hints to figure out how to tackle the game’s challenges.

Imperium

While it doesn't do anything surprising or exceptional, Imperium is a good time. It plays well, takes a lot of notes from other beloved shoot 'em ups (Compile ones in particular), and is bolstered by a solid soundtrack by the underappreciated Tenpei Sato of Disgaea fame.