Mitsume Ga Tooru/The Three Eyed One (NES/Famicom)

Mitsume ga Tooru is based on the same-titled manga and anime franchise from Osamu Tezuka. You play the role of the bald, three-eyed Hosuke Sharaku, who is supposed to be the last of his kind. The intro shows that another three eyed man named Prince Godaru invaded Sharaku’s city while riding on the ancient tank Gomorrah, Godaru then destroys a large part of the city and kidnaps Sharaku’s friend, Wato Chiyoko. From thereon, you play a sidescrolling/platforming action game similar to Mega Man, using Sharaku’s ability to shoot energy from his third eye and his ability to summon an ancient spear called the Akai Condor, which not only serves as a powerful offensive projectile, but also as an additional platform if you need to jump higher. There’s also a store that you can access at the beginning of each stage where you can buy upgrades for your health, weapons, etc.

Basically, if you enjoy Mega Man, you’ll enjoy Mitsume Ga Tooru. Especially because Mitsume ga Tooru isn’t punishingly difficult. There are a number of things that make it easier than even the least difficult Mega Man game, the most notable being the presence of a health bar, which means you don’t die from one hit. There’s room for mistakes in this game. The controls are fairly responsive and there’s no floatiness so it’s not difficult to do precision jumps despite Sharaku’s limited mobility. Besides, the Akai Condor will help you reach places beyond Sharaku’s jumping ability.

Lupin Sansei - Densetsu no Hihou o Oe! (Super Famicom)

Don’t let the title and the intro fool you into thinking that this game requires you to understand Japanese - Lupin Sansei - Densetsu no Hihou o Oe! can be enjoyed by people who don’t speak a single word of Japanese. In fact, it can even be played by people who don’t speak a single word of any language. It’s an action platforming game akin to Rolling Thunder.

In Lupin Sansei - Densetsu no Hihou o Oe! you control the infamous thief and womanizer, Lupin. And while the story is lost on someone who can’t understand the pre-level cutscenes, the goal is still fairly obvious – either sneak or fight your way through a level using his ability to punch and kick, jump, crawl, and use a wide variety of tools that include a pistol, a flash bang, a whip, and probably more as the game progresses.

Kishin Douji Zenki: Batoru Raiden (Super Famicom)

Kishin Douji Zenki: Batoru Raiden (Demon Child Zenki: Battle Raiden) is a sidescrolling action platformer for the Super Famicom, based on the manga/anime series that ran from 1992 to 1996, which focuses on a demon guardian spirit who’s been sealed away by a powerful monk and later revived by the monk’s descendant in the form of a bratty demon child.

The game is in Japanese and there have been no English ports, but it’s hardly a point of contention because the game can be played without any need to understand the story - just go from point A to point B while killing every monster that blocks your path. But in case the story is important for you and you’re a big fan of the series, it is worth pointing out that the game diverts a lot from the source, presenting a simpler version of events (many important characters won’t be making an appearance, for instance.)

Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo (Wii)

Let’s get this out of the way first. Unless you’re a REALLY, REALLY big fan of the Dragon Ball series – the one with Goku as a young boy with exceptional martial arts abilities, not the one where he’s a blonde man who can punch cities into dust – you’d best stay away from this title. That’s not to say that Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo doesn’t have any redeeming value. It’s a actually a decent game, Dragon Ball fan or not, and has extra content that would put other games to shame. It’s just that even with all the polish, graphical and content-wise, it still only comes off as a mediocre game.

Adding insult to injury, the Gameboy Advance’s Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure manages to do everything that Revenge of King Piccolo aspired to do and more, for a fraction of the hardware power. Which means Revenge of King Piccolo is further demoted from being a mediocre game to being an unnecessary one.