These later NES games are where it's at. I love the dark, action-packed cyberpunk style of this game, which was already enrapturing and cool before I learned the Japanese version was based on a pre-existing TV show. I also love how there are multiple combinations of powerups you can put together for different assistance drones. The graphics and sound are also among the best on the system. The game can be a bit overly difficult with some truly durable bosses, but that's the nature of the NES. No passwords, but it's relatively short and has infinite continues.

I thought this would be derivative of Zelda 1 in the natural sense that it's an early top-down open world action/adventure game, but it's a pretty direct ripoff. From the moats to the staircases to the Keese and Stalfos to the enemies spawning in as puffs of smoke when you scroll onto a screen, the game constantly says "Hey, Sega can make Zelda too!" The only real distinguishing qualities this has over Zelda 1 are magic spells, more NPCs, only having one weapon/item button, and a greater emphasis on environmental traps in dungeons.

Despite being blatantly unoriginal, it's actually kinda fun. The world map is too big for a game so repetitive, though, and a bit confusing. This game is decently well made, but I only recommend it if you really like Zelda 1 and want something else like it.

Almost exactly the kind of remake you'd want for any 8-bit game. The visuals aren't just lovingly recreated, they're reimagined with so much new detail and gorgeous animation. The art style is a bit different than the original intent, but it looks so good I don't mind, and if you do mind then there's a button to instantly switch to the old graphics. The soundtrack, which was just alright in the original game, got equally gorgeous remixed orchestrations that elevate them quite a lot, and there are even multiple situational remixes of songs that were originally re-used identically in the original game. If you miss the original soundtrack's energy and percussion, the original audio is also a button press away. In terms of presentation, this is a remake that manages to have more personality than the original game, and that is highly commendable.

The gameplay, on the other hand, is left mostly untouched except for slightly better controls. If you were already a huge fan of the original, this must be perfect, but there were just a couple aspects that didn't age well that I wish could've been addressed. One is that a very useful item is hidden behind holding up on the D-pad in a random dead end, which I absolutely would not have discovered without a guide. Another is that the enemy balancing is very inconsistent. On the same screen there will be enemies that barely chip you and enemies that take you out in two hits. The Japanese temple area features red ninjas that throw shurikens at you which you block with your shield, then later you find identical red ninjas that throw identical shurikens which, for whatever reason, are unblockable. Aside from stuff like that, this game is really pretty easy, especially the final boss which was a joke.

Also, the way the Tasmanian sword works is a little annoying. You have to keep switching to it if you want to change between forms. Earlier in the game, you get an item that allows you to break blocks with your sword, and you can do that with any sword instead of having to equip one specific sword, so why not have transformations work that way? This is a nitpick, but this and the aforementioned enemy balancing could've very easily been solved, as this is a remake after all. I guess they really wanted to stick as close as possible to the original, and that's certainly better than if they'd have went too far and dumbed the game down. But those changes definitely would've made the game better for me.

This is still the best way to play the best Sega Master System game, which was quite an ambitious game for its time. The design of the interconnected world is generally great, and having different forms you're cursed into throughout the game is really cool. I didn't really like walking my ass all the way back to the area I was in whenever I died, but at the same time the game's world would probably feel tiny if it had checkpoints. Overall, recommended if you like this type of game.

This is easily the most ambitious Adventure Island game. Adventure Island 4 (only for Famicom!) comes close by being a Metroidvania, but this goes even further than that by adding small RPG elements like random encounters on the overworld and several sets of armor and weapons. Between these things and the magic spells you can collect, you could say there's a lot of Zelda 2 influence.

This is definitely my favorite Adventure Island game. It's pretty much a great game, the actual design is quite fun. But it does feel a little undercooked, or at least under-budget. The graphics are somewhat lacking for a late SNES game. The backgrounds can be a little ugly and sparse, and the animation is noticeably limited. The game transitions between areas by abruptly cutting to black, which feels really cheap, and every scene change takes a few seconds to load in which is very unusual for a Super Nintendo game. When you kill a boss, the screen cuts to black and then it drops you back in the room but with the treasure spawning in. I don't remember running into any bugs that actually messed with the gameplay, but all of these things give the vague feeling that this game is held together by duct tape, which is an odd impression for a 16-bit adventure game of this scope to leave.

This is still a unique and enjoyable game, and the music is great. I just wish it'd been a little more polished.

In terms of the wider Adventure Island series, Super Adventure Island is a bit all over the place. The graphics are probably the best in the series, and the music is smooth and very crisp for SNES. Like New Adventure Island, it dispenses with AI2 and AI3's dinosaur mounts and inventory system, but it also distinguishes itself more from the NES games by moving at a slightly slower pace and introducing more types of jumps. The hunger meter rarely decreases much and you're never short for weapons, but the actual level design can be brutal as ever before too long. There's also a more novel variety in the levels, such as the one where you're swimming through the insides of a whale.

This would be above New Adventure Island for me if not for one glaring annoyance: two continues. Run out, and it's back to level 1. That game had infinite continues, and even Adventure Island 1 had a way to activate infinite continues, so there's no reason for this game to be kicking me back to the start. This game's not quite good enough to get away with that.