Games of the Year - 2016

I'm a bit late with this but finally I've gotten around to the now-traditional 'Games of the Year' post! As mentioned in another recent post, it's been an eventful year for me, and one that's seen a few changes too, not all of which were welcome, and as a result, what was looking like a good, productive year blog-wise actually ended up fizzling out in a largely unspectacular and somewhat frustrating way.

I'll be back though, hopefully with a vengeance as there are still tons of things I want to write about here. As always, whether you are chance visitors or long-term readers of my page, I hope you continue to enjoy my various posts. Feedback is always welcome, positive or negative - what would you like to see more of or less of? In the meantime, here are the Top Ten Best Games I reviewed during 2016:

10. Wonder Boy by Sega (1986) - Arcade

This Sega classic was actually supposed to be the first game I ever reviewed here at Red Parsley, I'm not sure why it took me so long. Oh well, least I got to it, even if it did take me 6 years! It was worth the wait too - the runny leapy action might be a bit unforgiving but it's great fun, and it still plays really well. (full review here)

9. Twinkle Tale by Toyo Recording Co (1992) - MegaDrive / Genesis

The MegaDrive sure had a varied selection of shoot 'em ups available for it and this was one of the more creative ones, casting you as a young apprentice magician who has to charge around its various magical lands on foot laying waste to all sorts of monsters! Hard to find but well worth the effort. (full review here)

8. Continental Circus by Taito (1987) - Arcade

Known more for its unusual name than anything else back in its day, this Taito circuit racer was perhaps unfairly overlooked by many, including me at the time, for playing it for the first time now reveals a rather impressive game that would've been a blast to get stuck into in the 80's. Give it a try if you can! (full review here)

7. Granada by Wolf Team / Telenet (1991) - MegaDrive / Genesis

Another MegaDrive shooter and another one that's a little different from the usual fare. This time we're in command of a small but powerful tank which must be guided around maze-like stages taking out all sorts of formidable defences. It's a tough but action-packed game, and has a great soundtrack too. (full review here)

6. Fantasy World Dizzy by Code Masters (1989) - ZX Spectrum

Every Speccy fan loved Dizzy back in the day and this was arguably his best game. It continued the style of the previous game, including the highly appealing graphics, but was bigger, not so unfair, and even found time to introduce Dizzy's family! It took me ages to find all the hidden coins though. (full review here)

5. Street Fighter 2 by Capcom (1991) - Arcade

Once undoubtedly the greatest fighting game ever created, SFII has of course now been superseded many times over, notably by its own updates and sequels, but surely no one can doubt its impact at the time or influence over the years? It's still great fun to play now too. A legend in its own time. (full review here)

4. Super Aleste by Compile / Toho (1992) - SNES

I think this was the first SNES game I bought with my own money and it went on to be the one I spent the most time with, probably out of all of them. Lots of stages crammed full of frenetic blasting action, lovely graphics, and tons of weapons to play with... What more could you ask for from a SNES shooter? (full review here)

3. Star Wars by Atari (1983) - Arcade

This classic comes from what many call the golden years of the arcade and holds a very special place in the hearts of many gamers. It's rather short but the vector graphics are still very appealing, as well as the speech sampled directly from the movie of course, and it's always a thrill to play. (full review here)

2. Bomberman '94 by Hudson Soft (1993) - PC Engine

It seems like a Bomberman game pops up every year in these lists and this one is arguably the best yet. It was the only game in the series to appear on the MegaDrive and both versions are fantastic - tons of stages, colourful graphics, catchy choons, and the four-player battles never get old! (full review here)

1. I Am Level by Smiling Bag (2014) - Mobile

Back when I posted my review of this game I was very sad to learn that its author, Stew Hogarth, sadly passed away about a year earlier. I'm sorry to say I never spoke to him personally but the passion he had for retro gaming was clear judging by this wonderful game which is still the best mobile game I've played... (full review here)