Krusty's Fun House (1992)

One of several Simpsons games made around the late 80s and early 90s. This seems to be a forgotten one (probably because the Simpsons themselves only had a limited role) but in my opinion, it's by far the best of the franchise. I remember owning Bart vs the Space Mutants on the Spectrum in the early 90s which is okay, but when I played Krusty on my cousin's NES, I was hooked. Yes, it's a Lemmings clone (though I played this before Lemmings!) with some platformer thrown in, but it's done so very well.

The game was released on multiple platforms in 1992

Your basic gist is just like Lemmings. Krusty's Fun House has been infested with little purple rats who Krusty needs to solve puzzles to guide them to their doom via killing machines operated by other Simpsons characters! Brilliant in it's simplicity. By the time you get as far as level 2 though, you realise this is like all the other Simpsons games...very tough!

Bart is one of the characters helping Krusty smash some rats!

There are numerous baddies making Krusty's task tougher, from spitting snakes and pooping parrots, to lasers and robots. You only have a limited supply of ammo too, so don't dare waste it! There is usually a little cache of bonus boxes on every room, with extra lives, ammo, bouncy balls (used on some levels for breaking walls), food for power and occasionally secrets that open up other unreachable areas. But again, the further you progress in the game, the harder these often become to find.

The dreaded pipe puzzles!

Different items are introduced too as you progress in the game, and the puzzles become more and more complex. Some of the rooms on level 5 are truly painful, with that horrible combination needed of good thinking to beat tough puzzles, as well as speed to do them quickly before your rats get trapped somewhere you cant get them out of again. Having an infinite lives cheat when I played it as a kid was a godsend!

A scene from a room on level 5...you know this is going to hurt!

If you've never played it, play it now! It's better than Bart's Nightmare

Krusty's Fun House, released on Amiga, NES, DOS, Master System, Game Gear, Game Boy, and as Krusty's Super Fun House on Mega Drive and SNES in 1992

Donkey Kong Country (1994)

Well since I've been playing it a bit this week, why not?

Well the first thing I suppose anybody remembers about Donkey Kong Country is the graphics. Absolutely groundbreaking at the time, it was an incredible game to be released on the SNES just as the Playstation was soon to be released and 3D games were about to become the norm. But what certainly stood Donkey Kong Country apart from so many games that were graphically groundbreaking...it was a damn good game too.

Taking on one of the world bosses for the banana hoard!

Simple concept, Donkey Kong's banana hoard has been raided by King K. Rool and his army of Kremlings, so he and Diddy Kong have to go and get them back. Easy as that. The characters look good, there is an excellent mix of enemies, from the stumbling and jumping Kremlings, and all their various incarnations, to flying vultures and numerous aquatic enemies. There are plenty of allies to help you on the way too, some of whom in the form of animal 'helpers' like Rambi and Rhino who can bash through walls, and Enguarde the swordfish on the water levels. There are also the other Kongs, like Cranky who gives some pretty veiled advice, Candy who can save your game, and Funky who can switch you back to previous levels. The hidden bonus rooms also added to the fun, with numerous little games to win you extra lives or other bonuses.

Making use of one of the animal allies in an underwater level

The graphics certainly help add to the experience, as the game and it's backgrounds are absolutely beautiful, and the movement of the characters and their moves are seamless all over. What always struck me as better though is the music. It was the first game I ever played that had 'real' background music, rather than the tinny MIDI-esque stuff that was on everything else at the time. Dont get me wrong, I love all the old tunes, but to be playing a game with beautifully detailed 3D landscapes and with real music was mindblowing to my little 9 year old brain! The first time I got to a water level especially, I remember it looking and sounding totally jawdropping! Then there is the snow level where the blizzard gets progressively worse as you travel through the level, two minecart levels, and the factory level where the lights keep on going out! The game just showcases so much in terms of what looks good, but it never detracts from the game, just makes it even better!

The blizzard closes in on one of the snowy levels!

As I said at the very beginning, despite the fact I've played and completed the game so many times over the last 21 years, I still love playing it, and still find little things I've never found before! While you can never recreate that open mouthed wonder of playing a game for the first time, this is one that always takes me back to my childhood.

Donkey Kong Country, released in 1994 on Super Nintendo