Retro Gaming Australia

Madden NFL 99 is considered to be a major turning point for the series with the introduction of the franchise mode, which lets you take the helm of a team and steer them through fifteen seasons, chopping and changing your lineup to make it the best it can be. It was also the first of the Madden games on the PlayStation to feature 3D models for the players.

Konami struck while the TMNT iron was hot in the early 1990s, and found success on all formats. The Game Boy games aren’t quite as popular due to their more subdued promotion, but Back from the Sewers features some pretty nice sprite and sound work considering the system it’s on.

Shadow Warriors was the European name for Ninja Gaiden, used due to negative connotations with the word ninja in European media (see Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles). This ad is for the home computer version of the game, which was based on the arcade version rather than the more famous NES version.

Croc 2 is the second and seemingly final instalment of the popular 3D platforming series developed by Argonaut. We can assume that the second game did not achieve the success of the first, and that combined with Fox’s game division shutting down sealed the character’s fate.

Metal Gear Solid was one of the biggest hits of the 1998 rush, and its impact on video games through the use of high production values and cinematic cutscenes is felt to this day. Gaming needs more Cybernetic Ninjas.

Konami tried to revive its beloved Blades of Steel hockey game in 1998 with NHL Blades of Steel ’99 for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. The game was not a success due to Konami abandoning the arcade style gameplay that made the original famous, and trying to mimic the simulation-style gameplay of EA’s NHL offerings.

Despite being released 3 years into the 5th generation era, Madden NFL 98 was still using 2D sprites for its players – a factor that lead to Sony’s NFL GameDay 98 being the go to game for football fans in 1997 and 1998. While Madden NFL 99 would return the series to glory, the 98 game serves as a reminder that EA’s behemoth was not always invincible.

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars is the first in a series of cultishly popular point and click adventure games developed by Revolution Software. A Kickstarter campaign for the fifth game in the series is currently underway.

Davis Cup World Tour is regarded as the best tennis game on the Mega Drive due to its ridiculously large tour mode, which enables you to compete in a huge number of tournaments while building your player. This ad was censored in a number of publications due to the woman’s bare arse.

2 on 2 Open Ice Challenge is to hockey as NBA Jam is to basketball – over the top arcade style gameplay with ridiculous moves and high scoring matches. Despite what the ad says, the game did eventually leave the arcades with a PlayStation port.