Feature Volume Afterword
Konami's Late 1993 Was Already Three Studios
Volume I caught Konami in the four years its cabinet voice was the brand. The seam to Volume II was already on the studio's desk by late 1993 — three doors, one house style.
Nothing matches.
PC Engine · TurboGrafx-16 · 1992
After farming out two PC Engine sequels to Kaneko and Now Production, Hudson built the third Star Soldier itself — in six months, on a halved HuCard, and made the apex of the line.
Super NES · Mega Drive · Genesis · 1994
In eight days of September 1994, Konami shipped two Sparkster sequels by two different teams. The one without a 2 in its name kept the original's charge, sword, and shoot-em-up nerve.
Game Boy · 1989
Super Mario Land is the one mainline Mario that Shigeru Miyamoto didn't design. Gunpei Yokoi's handheld engineers built it instead, and everything strange about the game is their fingerprint.
Long-form criticism of older games that hold up today — no nostalgia required.
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