There are those games that defined a generation. Mention Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy or Metal Gear Solid and any gamer worth his salt will know what you're talking about. There are also the titles that are so horrendous, so three week old carton of milk bad, that any gamer will cringe at the mere mention of a title like Shaq-Fu, Bebe's Kids, or Deadly Towers.

But what about the games that are neither? What about the titles that may have been good games, even great ones, but due to unseen circumstances never caught on like they should have, resulting in full bargain bins around the country? This is the column for them: The Island of Forgotten Games.



Hagane: The Final Conflict

Quick, name a popular ninja franchise that got three games on the NES, and absolutely no sequels in the 16-bit years? If you said Ninja Gaiden, you'd technically be right (Ninja Gaiden Trilogy doesn't count, doods.) But there was a game that took up the mantle, and not only did what the Ninja Gaiden series did, but also gave a 16-bit taste of what the future had in store for our stealthy friends.

The plot is your typical clan versus clan story, with the bizarre addition of the Holy Grail to the story. But that doesn't really matter, what really matters is that this game OOZES style thanks to designs by creature designer and film-maker Keita Amemiya, responsible for gonzo Japanese cult film Zeiram.



Game play-wise, this takes a lot from it's ninja action fore bearers, particularly Ninja Gaiden, but ESPECIALLY Shinobi and Strider. This game plays like a whacked, cracked-out version of Shinobi. The move list for Hagane is INSANE, he not only does the usual jump and sword attacks (which look suspiciously like Strider's sword swing) but he has some crazy flipping and dodging moves, as well as some awesome elemental Xi-powers.



Let me just get this out of the way: This game is HARD. HARD like rocks being shoved into your boxers and ground against your nuts hard. But what makes it rewarding is actually learning Hagane's moves and the timing it takes to pull those moves off effectively. Once you have a decent grasp of Hagane's mechanics, the game feels much more fluid, much like the X-Box revival of Ninja Gaiden, it rewards the player for knowing how to BE a bad-ass ninja instead of just slamming buttons.



Why Didn't it Catch On?

I honestly have no idea. Maybe the game was far too difficult for the average ten year old of 1994? I'm sure Hudson didn't advertise this game adequately, as I never heard of this game until a few years ago on the recommendation of a friend. Nonetheless, this remains a buried gem on the SNES, and deserves to be found by the hardcore looking for a challenge. Used copies usually go for between fifteen to twenty five bucks, so keep your eye out and grab it if you find it, it's well worth the play through.