6. The Three-Eyed One (Mitsume ga Tōru)

Now this is a really obscure game. I had never even heard of it until my friend Heidi over at retrovideogaming mentioned it to me. It’s so tricky to find I had to get my copy as a pirate cart! But luckily it is totally worth looking for.

Mitsume ga Toru started off as a manga created by Osamu Tezuka.  That name might sound kind of familiar to you and that’s because he is the creator of Astro Boy.  In 1992 it was developed into a Famicom game by Natsume staring Hosuke Sharaku, the last of the Three-Eyed Men.  Well to me he still looks like a boy!  Hosuke’s friend Wata Chiyoko is kidnapped by prince Godaru who rode in to destroy the city of Gomorrah the ancient tank.  If this sounds a little confusing to you the manga itself is based on Sharaku investigating actual historical ruins like Easter Island to help solve mysteries about them.  He also studies the ancient ruins that were left by his ancestors for him.  For this game you just have to worry about rescuing your friend.

This game contains five distinct levels all of which have a boss at the end.  Five levels doesn’t really sound like much but the game is challenging enough you won’t fly through it in an hour. At least I can’t fly through it that fast! You travel through areas like the city, jungle, desert, a level on a motorboat and to an abandoned ship. So there definitely is some originality to the levels!

In some ways this game is like your typical jump and shoot type game, but your weapon called “The Red Condor” switches it up.  There are 3 types of bullets for the Condor besides your default front facing shot, so you will have to be sure to purchase them from the store when you can.  Each type of bullet has its own advantages and disadvantages so you will have to practice with each one so you have an idea which will work best in each situation. This will be the key to your success.  You can waste a lot of time (like I did) trying to figure out how to get up a tall obstacle when you can use a special bullet that creates platforms for you to jump up.  So make sure you pick up as many red coins as possible so you can be fully stocked with ammo.

The environments and characters are really brightly colored and cheery.  Along with the catchy music this game is really fun to play.  I went into this game not knowing the story or Japanese and I still haven’t had any issues playing, I’m on stage 3 by the way. So check out the screenshots and if it looks like something you would enjoy be sure to hunt down a copy whether it be an official copy or a pirate cart like mine!

Right now on eBay.com there is a copy listed for $65.99

7. Dig Dug (Digu Dagu)

A lot of people are probably familiar with this game as it was an arcade game but I never really had an arcade near me when I was growing up so this was a whole new game for me when I played the Famicom version, as I was only familiar with Dig Dug II that actually was released on the NES.

You play as Dig Dug, a little blue guy (kind of like a smurf in white overalls) who is basically an underground exterminator who uses something like a bicycle air pump to exterminate his enemies.  There are only two types of enemies you will encounter, Pookas who are the cute red round guys with the goggles and Fygars the green dragons who breathe fire at you through the dirt.  Gotta be careful or if you get hit you will be BBQ.

Since this is based on an arcade game your objective other than just clearing levels is getting as many points as you possibly can.  This can be accomplished in several different ways. Just digging will earn you 10 points a block, which is alright but your time is better sent going after enemies.  Dropping a rock on an enemy will earn you 1000 points, if you kill 2 or more 1500 points each and any more than 2 is worth 2000 points for each enemy. Once you have dropped 2 rocks in the level other bonus items will appear for you in the middle of the screen, if you are able to get to it.  Fruits and Veggies or other bonus items like the ship from Galaxian, which is awesome by the way, for you to collect to get extra points. The item worth the most at 8000 points is the pineapple so if you see it be sure to grab it!  Also keep in mind that popping an enemy further down in the dirt is worth more so it may be worth trying to lure the enemies further down if you want to try to get max points.

This game originally came our in the arcades in 1982 (I wasn’t even born yet) its not the most graphically impressive game out there, but the sprites are cute and colorful and definitely get the job done.  At first sight this game gives the impression that it is very basic and simple, this is very deceiving.  It definitely requires some quick reflexes if you want to successfully evade and exterminate the enemy.

As far as I can tell we never got a copy of this game in North American on the NES, only Dig Dug II was released here which is also good by the way. So if you want to play this you will need to pick up the Famicom version. The nice thing is you don’t need to know any Japanese, so you really don’t have any excuse not to play.

For some fun arcade action Dig Dug definitely fits the bill!

One eBay you can find it complete in box for $39.60, at the moment there aren’t any loose ones listed though mine was like $2.

Figured I would highlight 10 of my Famicom only games that never made it here from Japan. All of the titles are English speaking friendly so if you don’t speak Japanese no fret, these games are totally playable and enjoyable for everyone. They also have to be games that I own so that way you know that I have played them before.

So if you have a Famicom, Sharp Twin Famicom, a cartridge converter or top loading NES be sure to check all these titles out I highly recommend them! I’ve tried to include titles you might not find on other lists just so you can expand your own Famicom library cause I know how hard it is when you are trying to find new games to try but only find lists of the same games. Be sure to leave any comments and enjoy!

So check out the countdown in progress!

Game 10
Game 9
Game 8
Game 7

8.Quest of Ki (Kai no Boken)

Quest of Ki is the third addition to the Babylonian Castle Saga in 1988. Instead of being a sequel it is a prequel to the original Tower of Druaga which was released to the Famicom and arcades in 1984. As soon as I saw Arino challenge this game on Game Center CX I knew it was one that I wanted to try.

You don’t need to know Japanese to enjoy this game, but I’ll try to summarize what’s going on in the story so you have an idea.

Our heroine Ki has been sent by the goddness Ishtar (pictured above in the white) to the Druaga Tower to retrieve the stolen Blue Crystal Rod from the demon Druaga.

This is from the translated English ROM

To assist Ki on her journey Ishtar gives her a special tiara that allows her to fly (more accurately float) in the air.  This will be very useful as Ki is unequipped and can not attack the level enemies directly. There is one drawback you have to keep in mind though, Ki can crack her head on the ceilings or other platforms if you float too high. If he hits her head she will fall and be immobilized for a few moments making her vulnerable to enemies. There are also areas with spikes on the ceiling that you need to be sure to avoid too!

The goal in each stage is to find the key and use it to open the locked door which leads you to the next floor up the tower. Since Ki doesn’t have any weapons to attack her enemies, there are items hidden in treasure chests to assist you.  There are items that give Ki abilities like floating without touching the ground, barriers that protect her from one enemy hit, or extra live.  Then there are items that affect the enemies directly lie time stop that freezes all enemies for a brief period of time, crosses that chase vampires away and sleep that stops some of the monsters from moving for the remainder of the stage.  Now the game doesn’t want to be too nice to you. They have also placed some trap items into the boxes like poison which makes the timer count down even faster or the Zap that send you back down the tower.

Ki has to work her way up the tower to the 60th floor to retrieve the rod.  If successful 40 bonus levels will be unlocked that are not part of the main story. Once she reaches the top of the tower the story leads right into the story of the Tower of Druaga game.

Quest of Ki is a challenging side scrolling puzzle game that definitely isn’t for people who are easily frustrated, because you will die… a lot!! Luckily the game takes a little bit of pity on you and makes the enemy that killed you disappear for your next attempt, which is great so you don’t constantly keep getting killed by the same guy.  Plus if you strategize right it can be helpful.

There unfortunately isn’t a password system but the game allows you unlimited continues to retry the level you are on.  Plus there is a warp item that sends you further up the tower which is really helpful.

Just be careful though as you get closer to the end of the game there are warps that will send you down the tower instead of up.

Graphics wise this definitely doesn’t rank among games like Little Samson or Mega Man but they are still pretty good and not among the worst titles for sure.  I love how you see sprites from other Namco games like slimes from Dragon Warrior or Pinky from Pacman!

Music wise it’s nothing to write home about but if you have played Tower or Druaga it will definitely sound familiar to you and it’s not too annoying.

If you are a fan of any of the Babylonian Castle saga games or puzzle games that incorporate side scrolling action you may want to check this one out.  Or if for some reason you enjoy playing difficult games like me this is definitely one to try. So far I have only been able to get to level 24, but let me know how you do! I’ll definitely be playing again soon cause I know I can do better than only 24.

You can find this game on eBay for around $30 if you want to add it to your collection.

Top 10 Unique Famicom Games – 9                                                                                                                Top 10 Unique Famicom Games – 7

9. Moai-Kun (Mr.Moai)

The game that gets the 9th spot on my list is Moai-Kun published by Konami in March of 1990. It’s a cutesy Easter Island themed puzzle game, I know that sounds weird but you control a Moai statue (Mr. Moai according to the title) that has to rescue the other little Moai before the time runs out. Once you rescue the others you have to get to the door to make your get away.  That sounds easy enough but you will be surprised to see how much of a challenge this game will give you.

This game isn’t just a simple puzzle game, there are some platforming elements incorporated for you to use as you try to find a way to rescue all of your crying comrades. There are 56 levels in the game and luckily it features a password system so you will be able to resume your play from where you left off. Most of the stages will require some strategizing and planning ahead since some of the stages can be quite challenging and will really work your brain! If you break a block you need later, or move something where it shouldn’t go, you might screw yourself over later on. So it definitely requires some thinking which makes the game more appealing. Luckily for the player the graphics are very cute and bright, and the music is quite catchy so it will take a long time to get sick of it which is good for repeated playing.

For the most part each of the stages will have only one solution, or a few may have a couple solutions that will be very similar. If you screw up, which happens a lot at least to me, you can just hit the select button to reset the stage but this will cost you a life. The one good thing is that every time you successfully complete a stage you will earn one extra life for your Moai, which you are going to need!

You may be required to defeat enemies that are in your way (by dropping rocks on them or head butting them), breaking blocks, pushing rocks, using bombs or jumping. Beware of spikes, even though you are made of stone you will lose a life if you touch them. When I recorded footage of my play through, I went through a lot of lives since I didn’t plan ahead carefully enough, you really feel the pressure when the timer is counting down!

Once you get a little more familiar with how the levels work it gets easier to plan ahead. But watch out for the large helmet enemies as they throw spears at you, and with the wrap around screen it’s easy to not realize you will get hit. This is a fun and addictive little puzzle game that you should check out if you are a fan of games like this that really make you think!  Plus if you like playing games no one has really heard of, Moai Kun will probably do the trick!

On ebay you can get it for around $23 if you are lucky enough to find it, it took me quite a while to find one so keep checking!

Top 10 Unique Famicom Games – 10                                                                                             Top 10 Unique Famicom Games – 8

Wow it’s already Friday?! Time goes by way to fast! Anyways, it’s time for another Famicom Friday!

For today my pick is a little arcade game put out by Capcom called Son Son.

In the game you play as either Sonson a monkey or Tonton a pig. When the game starts you see that 3 of their animal friends are kidnapped and it’s up to monkey and pig to rescue them.  Can’t speak or read Japanese? No problem!  There is no real text and the one line of text I did see was in English so there is definitely no problem to play this game if you don’t speak Japanese.  The goal is to eventually arrive at the statue of Buddha. Wikipedia tells me that the story is apparently based on a Chinese novel called Journey to the West, which is basically about a monks pilgrimage to enlightenment, if you want check out more info on it here

The game is a 2D side scroller which kind of reminds me of Ice Climbers on the NES but instead of moving vertically you move horizontally.  The idea is to collect as much fruit and power ups as possible while avoiding or taking out a multitude of enemies.  The game can be played with 1 or 2 characters co-op, with one person controlling Sonson and the other Tonton. The screen is constantly scrolling so you have to move fast to move between the platforms to collect stuff and avoid the enemies.  So far my highest score is 119380 but I’m sure I could beat that, I just keep dying because of simple mistakes!

So if you want a quick and easy to play game this will definitely meet your needs, besides being very addictive.  If you don’t have a Famicom, you can also check it out on the Wii’s Virtual Console! Here is my run of my highest score so far…