Classic Game - SonSon 2 (PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16)

SonSon 2 is the sequel to the classic Capcom arcade title from 1984. Developed by NEC Avenue (under license from Capcom) this sequel never saw an arcade release and was only released on the PC Engine – or TurboGrafx-16 as it is know in the USA and Europe – in 1989. Whereas the original was a forced scrolling affair that had you moving your little monkey boy between different planes to shoot at the approaching enemies – a strange combination of horizontal shmup and platform game, SonSon 2 is more of a standard 2D platform adventure. Like its predecessor, SonSon 2 is clearly inspired by the Chinese novel 'Journey to the West' – more commonly recognised in the West from the tacky 1960's TV show, 'Monkey'. You play as Son Goku and must rescue your buddies from an unknown monster. As the game is entirely in Japanese, this is as much as I can tell you.

Weird Japanese Games - Gekisha Boy (PC Engine)

Having played retro games for more years than I care to mention, I am used to the oddness that comes out of Japan. Games featuring bodily functions, sexual assaults, samurai cats, unidentifiable creatures spouting profanities, or just any weird shit you can think of, are commonplace in the land of the rising sun. So a game about a photographer taking pictures of exciting newsworthy events in order to impress his boss doesn't seem too odd does it? The game was released in 1992 on the PC Engine, a console that was hugely popular in Japan, but never really took off in the USA or Europe. The 8-bit machine was home to some extremely bizarre titles, such as Kato-Chan & Ken-Chan, a cutesy platform game that included fart attacks and urination.

The fact it never saw the light of day outside its homeland, and was on a console known for weird games, was enough to set the oddness alarms bells ringing, so it was with some hesitation and curiousity that I fired up Gekisha Boy.