Technos company NES games (1990)

Original advertisement published in VG&CE (June 1990)

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Game developers can also make good print ads

Technos was a prolific Japanese developer during the 80s and a better part of the 90s. Now defunct, the company nevertheless left its mark on the console and arcade fronts with such classics and Double Dragon, Super DodgeBall and River City Ransom.

Gate of Thunder for Turbo Duo and TG-CD (1993)

Original advertisement published in Turbo Force (January 1993),

a pack-in magazine of Electronic Gaming Monthly.

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Possibly the best system-starter game ever

By 1993, NEC had tried and failed to establish the PC-Engine brand in North America. Their Turbo-Duo system would be their last effort to break Nintendo’s and Sega’s fierce control of the American video game market.

Battle Chess for NES (1990)

Original ad published in the September 1990 issue 

of Electronic Gaming Monthly (no. 14).

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Great artistic concept but slow gameplay

Animated battle chess is possibly the only subgenera of games that originated from the Star Wars scene were the heroes are playing the space version of the game. Ironically enough, the Star Wars version of the game, released in 1993, is still considered the best realization of the concept. 

Rolling Thunder II for Geneses (1992)

Original ad published in the April 1992 edition of EGM (no. 31)

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Spy vs. spy with and lots of guns

A competent port of good arcade side-scrolling action game, Rolling Thunder II became well-known as one of the better Genesis offerings by Namco thanks to its outstanding soundtrack and sound effects. Gameplay was smooth and responsive, very Shinobi-like, something that makes or breaks this kind of fast-paced shooting games. Even though the graphics on Sega's console could not compete with those of the arcade, they were still noteworthy, specially when you take into account that the home-console port featured additional levels and cut scenes between stages.

Stolen for PS2 (2005)

Original ad published in the April 2005 edition of EGM (no. 190)

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Female objectification combined with a poor man's Metal Gear Solid

Riding high on the Metal Gear Solid/Splinter Cell wave that propelled those franchises through the better part of the new millennium, Stolen presented itself as a sexy clone of those games, as you can probably guess by the printed material shown above. Sadly, it was a mediocre effort.

Wizardry: Knight of Diamonds (1992)

Original ad featured in the July 1992 edition of GamePro magazine.
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A classy RPG gets some handsome marketing 

The Wizardry series represents one of the more fortunate collaborations between Japan and the Western world. It was originally developed in the West by Sir-Tech for Apple machines, yet gained a second life when Japanese developer Asciiware re-released it on popular consoles like the NES. The second installment of the game was a continuation of that logic.

Splatterhouse 2 for Genesis (1992)

Original ad featured in the July 1992 edition of GamePro magazine.
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A gory follow-up to a 16-bit classic

Most retrogamers will fondly remember the original Splatterhouse, released in 1990 for the original TurboGrafx-16. It’s a good side scroller that became very famous for its shockingly gory level design and constant references to classic horror films, starting with the protagonist himself.

The sequel, now released for Sega’s Genesis, which was far more popular than NEC’s machine, is considered the best of the trilogy. It’s a fun and dumb sidescroller that emphasizes tenacity in place of actual gaming skills. Punch and punch away until to reach the final boss. Enjoy the gory, big sprites, and the superb music. That’s it.

Now the artwork is very kid-friendly, even though this kind of game was not meant to be played by children. The box-art is anything but scary and that same illustration is replicated in the background of the ad. Same goes for the particular font used at the top of the page: it’s more playful than frightening. 

The printed page does feature some neat game screens of different levels of the game. Six in total. That alone would be enough to entice most players to buy the game. Sadly, the copy leaves a lot to be desired. It’s banal and does nothing to expand on the original game, which had been released on a different game system all together.

Splatterhouse 2 for Genesis print ad copy

Just when you thought it was safe to play video games again.

Splatterhouse 2

Terror comes to the Sega Genesis in Namco’s stomach turning sequel to the smash hit Splatterhouse. That’s right, lock your doors. Splatterhouse 2 is raging. Rick’s buffed, bad and back. Ready to trash anything to save his girlfriend Jennifer. Love is never pretty.

Eight levels of horror.

Eight megabits worth of gross graphics and chilling sounds.

Gnarly new weapons and bosses

Bone crushing action

Zealous zombie zonking!

Swinging good time!

Horrific hurls!

Eye popping boss encounters!

Warning: This game may not be appropriate to younger players.

Namco

The game creator