Retro Imagery

 Genki is very proud of these latest images adorning the homepage kicking off with the Virtua Cop (as if you didn't know) inspired tribute above. Kikikaikai gets its own manga adventure below with even the pure Shinto priestess losing her rag.

 Space Fantasy Zone on the PC Engine has a luscious 80's feel to its artwork and is a fine tribute to a superb sixteen bit (?) console.

Our Graphic Designer was right to correct our suspect grammar, yet on this occasion we were making tribute to the fine shooter Zero Wing. (We compromised with the 's' on "Bases".) The graphics are from another sumptuous shmup in Border Down on the Dreamcast. Unfortunately other such grammatical and spelling errors on the website can't be so easily explained....

The mere text "Radiant Silvergun" is enough to get us excited about such a compact piece of programming. Believe the type.

Finally back to the modern era, we have the Platinum release of Muchi Muchi Pork & Pink Sweets on us now.  A true bargain - fingers crossed it'll be region fee....

Super Famicom Faves

From time to time our gaming customers ask for the odd recommendation. And having first owned a Super Famicom on a veritable family tree of import consoles, Genki certainly has a soft spot for its orangey red power light.
Personal favourites include the timeless Super Mario World (and the equally renowned Yoshi's Island and Zelda.)
More needy of a recommendation though is a charming platformer called Xandras Big Adventure. Heart breaking intro of the lovely little jelly baby style child poorly motivates Xandra to take no nonsense with a pitchfork and get out there amongst it. The disappearing rainbow platform level inspired by the Tanabata legend as a grand finale will live long in the memory of any gamer with perseverance.

Violinist of Hamelin is another fine platformer taking some inspiration from the Pied Piper and coming late in the product cycle, Nosferatu is a nice gothic platformer like Prince of Persia meets Castlevania with Another World graphics. It has a feel of Murnau's German original film, unless Genki has been a little sleep deprived of late.

Actraiser is a bit special especially for an early title, Assault Suits Valken is a belting shooter which was the first Genki can recall making fine use of avatars to build the plot in game. Speaking of shooters, Cotton 100% and Kikikaikai are off the higher echelons.
Goemon is great on the system, but we'll resists the urge to go off 'on one' about Ebismaru et al.
The Final Fantasy games do well, like the Front Mission and Romancing Saga series and Mother 2 is good fun with superb tongue in cheek humour.

Magical Taruruto Kun sells very well on the MD and has a snazzy Super Famicom version, Septentrion is a highly original title (but unfortunately also highly sort after,) Starfox and Metroid are two real classics requiring little introduction with Wild Trax being a late release deserving more attention.
Syo the Seal is a cutsey platformer with the World Soccer series showing why the Winning Eleven saga became so successful.

So hats off to the Super Famicom. Just remember not to ask for recommendations, unless you've got a good half an hour...

Made in Japan: Kikikaikai

Few will forget their first blast on Kikikaikai. The initial barrier was to be able to pronounce it to the local importer in the pre-internet days. And despite being just the early nineties, few gamers were sufficiently cross-pollinated with games of its ilk to understand the ensuing chaos. Not that it requires understanding with fast paced shooting fury the order of the day. Yet a randy raccoon tanuki friend that can deflect shots with his tail did raise a few eyebrows. The Shinto inspired Japanese blaster draws on mythology as necks extend inexplicably and one eyed umbrella ghosts hop past. Cultural references aplenty all in a luscious sprite based world driving gamers on to see more. Unrelenting pace as you the priestess battle against all the evil of underworld armed with nothing more than a purification branch. A Super Famicom classic.