This Month in Retro December 2022
Hello all and welcome to This Month in Retro! After two console launch months and a break, we return to 1994 where we... funnily enough have another console launch! Though this time I won't dedicate the entire article to said console since it was the PlayStation 1 in Japan. As big as PlayStation is now, people at the time were still uncertain what this completely new company would bring to the table, resulting in a launch line-up that is better left forgotten. Most of it was just Mahjong and Shogi after all. My original plan was actually to have a Christmas-themed TMIR, but there wasn't a single Christmas-themed game released this month soo... we have a very normal month to look at. A very tame month even, since November 1994 was absolutely nuts when it came to game releases, so they cooled down a bit to prepare for the year after. Except for in Japan where they still continued to pump out absolute bangers, and this month is especially special for me in that regard. Why? Well, find out when you reach the Japanese side of today's This Month in Retro!
The usual still applies: I take a look at some of the highlights released this month, as well as the low hanging fruit and the hidden gems. If they have a RetroAchievements set, great! I'll tell you all about how to approach the set based on community feedback. If the game doesn't have a set, then maybe I can somehow convince you to put a set request in. While doing so, I take a look at what critics had to say (only before 2000 since we want opinions of the time from them, not now), what fans around the internet think of the game, and maybe put some sales figures and the legacy it has left behind. Data from the 90s can be a bit wonky however, so please keep that in mind. Without further ado, let's take a look at the releases of December 1994!
I already slightly eluded to it, but the western side this month took it a bit slower compared to the month before where we had such massive hits as Donkey Kong Country. That's not to say that this month was complete drought though, as there were still somehow two Mario-related games released!
| Game |
|---|
 Tetris and Dr. Mario (SNES)
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| Release dates | NA: December 30, 1994 |
| PAL: November 3, 2000 | |
| Sales | ??? |
| Average score | 87% (MobyGames, based on 7 reviews) |
What's better than one puzzle game? If your answer is two, then you are a genius. Tetris & Dr. Mario are enhanced remakes of the originals for the NES and Game Boy. Both games feature the same block- or pill-dropping gameplay beloved by puzzle fans all over the world, with the unique feature being the "mixed match" multiplayer mode. In this mode, two players have to play matches between both games interchangeably to end up with the most points at the end. If you only prefer one of the two games though, don't fret as there is still an independent multiplayer mode for both. Features from both the originals have been taken as well, such as the music and A/B-type modes from Game Boy Tetris. Suffice to say, for fans of both puzzle games this ended up being a really neat package, with the unique multiplayer mode getting the most praise. Fans are unsurprisingly in agreement since well... it's Tetris and Dr. Mario but better and in one package. It would be hard to mess this up, and fortunately, they didn't.
The achievement set covers both games and will test your skill in both to the max. After all, both puzzle games have higher difficulties and speed, and you won't be getting the mastery if you can't beat either while enduring multiple matches back to back.
| Game |
|---|
 Wario's Woods (NES)
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| Game |
|---|
 Wario's Woods (SNES)
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| Release dates | JP: February 19, 1994 (NES-version only) |
| NA: December 10, 1994 | |
| PAL: November 3, 2000 | |
| Sales | ??? |
| Average score | NES: 80% (MobyGames, based on 1 review) |
| SNES: 67% (GameRankings, based on 1 review), 65% (MobyGames, based on 5 reviews) |
And that wasn't the only Mario-related puzzle game either! Released on two consoles at the same time with the NES version being the last officially-licensed NES game in North America, Wario's Woods is another object-falling puzzle game, but this time with Toad waiting at the bottom to line them up together horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Both monsters- and bombs drop, and the player needs to get rid of all the coloured monsters by having at least one bomb in the line-up. Toad does have a few moves up his arsenal to make it easier, give that he isn't able to reach everything. Oh, and as for why the game is named after Wario... he's the villain who only shows up during cutscenes, as he took over the peaceful woods and branded them as his own. That's the only relation it has to Wario really. Critics at the time weren't too fond of the game however, citing it as being a bit too complex--especially on the controls side. And of course, critics loved to compare such a game to other similar games in the genre, and mentioned that it couldn't compete with either Dr. Mario or Tetris. It was seen as nothing more than a Tetris clone with a slightly unique twist, but fans were a bit more positive on it, mostly appreciating the difficulty that came with it.
The NES version doesn't have a set yet, but is currently claimed so maybe we'll see it soon! The SNES version does have a set, in which the players have to go through the lengthy story mode to beat every boss, and also make it all the way to round 199 in game mode! As indicated by people in the forums and comment wall, this is extremely tough to do, so a mastery won't come easy. Players have been asking for a rescore due to it being so difficult, so maybe some changes will happen to this set in the future as well!
That's enough puzzle games for today. There's only so many I can talk about before my descriptions growing stale after all. Instead, let's go see what the Atari kids were getting this month!
| Game |
|---|
 Bubsy in Fractured Furry Tales (Atari Jaguar)
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| Release dates | NA: December 9, 1994 |
| PAL: January ??, 1995 | |
| JP: July ??, 1995 | |
| Sales | At least 50.000 |
| Average score | 69% (MobyGames, based on 7 reviews) |
So, I stray away from the Nintendo consoles and the first character I come across is Bubsy huh? I see how it is. Alright, let's get this over with then. Bubsy in Fractured Furry Tales is the third entry in the much beloved Bubsy franchise, that has remained exclusive to the Atari Jaguar to this day. Like its two predecessors, this game is a 2D platformer starring Bubsy the Bobcat, taking place across worlds inspired by fairy tales such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Hansel and Gretel. However, these all end up corrupted and Bubsy is the chosen one set out to fix them. This game was part of an agreement between Atari and Accolade to bring five exclusive titles to their platform, with this originally being a port of the first game that ended up becoming its own project. It does still largely play like the first game for that reason... for better or worse. It didn't get bashed by reviewers too much as it did end up with an average score in the end, citing that the 14 Bubsy fans would really enjoy this, but others may look elsewhere due to high difficulty and sloppy controls. Player scores were far lower, but whether that's due to it being a bad game or just cool to hate on Bubsy is a question I can't answer. After all, it was on the Atari Jaguar; it was doomed from the start not to have many people play it, so it's rare to find opinions about it in the first place.
Despite its reputations, Bubsy in Fractured Furry Tales was the first achievement set to be released for the system! It's a pretty straightforward set without too many challenges, but it does cover the entire game and that's what matters the most after all. So if you can get the Jaguar emulator running fine and can endure this game, then a new mastery might end up in your possession!
Although it would be easy to give the title of "Worst game of the month" to Bubsy, it actually had some pretty fierce competition from games all about competition. This resulted in not just one, but two Fighting games aiming for that title. One of them is Rise of the Robots on the SNES, and as much as I would like to talk about it since it's a childhood game of mine, it was a game released on pretty much everything and also earlier than December. So instead, I'll just be talking about Kasumi Ninja today.
| Game |
|---|
 Kasumi Ninja (Atari Jaguar)
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| Release dates | NA: December 21, 1994 |
| PAL: December 21, 1994 | |
| JP: July ??, 1995 | |
| Sales | At least 24.000 |
| Average score | 62% (MobyGames, based on 7 reviews) |
There is no better way to describe Kasumi Ninja than by directly calling it a Mortal Kombat rip-off. That's not even meant to be mean-spirited as that was literally the intention behind the game: bring the ultra-violent fighting genre to the Jaguar. Digitized graphics are here, one-on-one fighting, and the bloodiest blood the bloody Jaguar has seen. So yeah, Mortal Kombat, just with a sprinkle of bad controls and slow gameplay. Ironically the story is kind of okay though? There is a secret island in the ocean where ninjas are trained, with three elder ninjas keeping the cosmic balance between good and evil to keep the netherworld portal closed. One of the elders is possessed, kills the others and wants to destroy the world. But yeah, despite the score still looking to be in the positive digits, it was panned by critics. Somehow a sequel was in the works, but that was cancelled once Atari went out of business, and probably for the better. Gamer opinions were yet again a bit tougher to find due to, y'know, this being an Atari Jaguar game, but the ones I could find do cite it as one of the worst fighting games ever so I think it's safe to say most people didn't like this very much.
Somehow though, this game ended up getting an achievement set! It features fights against all characters on various difficulties, with added requirements to not lose a round against them. While those may sound menacing, the game is so uh, specific that there seems to be specific strategies to accomplishing them. I'm not going to find out though, thank you very much.
...Let's just move back to Nintendo instead. The SNES was during its prime in 1994, so as much as I try to look at other consoles, all interesting releases simply just happened here. I just talked about two of the worst received games released this month, so time to move on to some better games. I'm going down the list first with games that already have a set, until we reach the ones that don't have one yet. So let's move on to some lightning rounds of interesting games released this month!
| Game |
|---|
 Biker Mice From Mars (SNES)
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| Release dates | NA: December ??, 1994 |
| PAL: January ??, 1995 | |
| Sales | ??? |
| Average score | 67% (GameRankings, based on 3 reviews), 68% (MobyGames, based on 8 reviews) |
First up is an adaptation of the animated series by the same name, Biker Mice From Mars. The series started in 1993 and lasted three seasons, and like anything that can be turned into a video game, Konami took a shot at it. It is a racer in an isometric perspective, where the player controls one of the mice through various races, earning money in the progress that can be used to upgrade your bike or hinder other racers. Each of the mice also have their own strengths in racing, so there's definitely a mice for every spice. It got an overall positive reception from the critics, and even more so from the fans who really enjoy this game.
The achievement sets focuses a lot on the upgrading aspect, with all bike- and weapon upgrades seeing their own achievement. Of course, due to how different the mice are from each other, beating the game as all of them will bring you closer to you goal as well, with the final obstacle being that you have to beat the game on the highest difficulty. From looking at the wall and the forums the set may be a bit buggy so do keep that in mind.
| Game |
|---|
 [Uniracers |
| Release dates | NA: December ??, 1994 |
| PAL: April 27, 1995 | |
| Sales | 300.000 |
| Average score | 79% (GameRankings, based on 5 reviews), 81% (MobyGames, based on 7 reviews) |
Sticking with the racing theme for now, we have a very unique one with Uniracers, or Unirally for our European brethren. It is unique in multiple ways in that it not only features unicycles without an actual rider on them, but also that the entire game takes place in 2D--something not commonly seen in racing games. And given that the unicycle isn't really known for being a speedy vehicle and rather for stunts, the developers integrated that in the gameplay as well, making you go faster after each successful stunt. And you really do go fast, so it's a good idea to read up on this game before playing because the developers were clever enough to make sure you always knew what was coming up by colouring the rails you're riding on. The reception on the game was positive from both the critics and especially the fans, but it unfortunately just wasn't meant to be as the game faced a lawsuit due to having the unicycles look similar to Pixar's Red's Dream. Pretty much everyone can agree that it is complete nonsense, except for the judge himself, resulting in the game having to cease producing copies and for it to never be seen again beyond the SNES, with no hopes of it happening ever either.
Go for gold with this achievement set, as there is an achievement in doing so for every tour! Master some tricks while you're at it and you'll have the mastery of this simple- yet effective set in no time!
Next up are a few games that don't have a set yet. Some of these look really interesting so if you got a set request remaining, one of these may be up for consideration!
| Game |
|---|
 Street Racer (SNES)
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| Release dates | JP: December 02, 1994 |
| PAL: December 08, 1994 | |
| NA: December ??, 1994 | |
| Sales | ??? |
| Average score | 80% (GameRankings, based on 2 reviews), 90% (MobyGames, based on 3 reviews) |
Super Mario Kart surely wasn't the only Kart Racer on the platform! Although if you were expecting this to be a Street Fighter Kart Racer, I'm sorry to disappoint but you wouldn't be far off either, since this game does take inspiration from both mentioned games and combines them into one, resulting in a go-kart themed game where you punch the other racers in the face. It also puts in a dose of comedy, having a bunch of unique characters that do also come with their own power-ups, encouraging to test out different characters. Aside from that, we have a standard racer here with multiple championships to go through! Though there weren't many reviews to be found by critics, the one that were online were all fairly positive, sometimes even calling it a Kart Racer that surpasses the king. Gamers were slightly less positive on it but still regard it as a solid racer for any fan to check out. Street Racer would also see multiple ports to systems such as the Game Boy, PlayStation, and Sega consoles, but the SNES version is generally agreed on to be the best.
| Game |
|---|
 Metal Morph (SNES)
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| Release dates | NA: December ??, 1994 |
| Sales | ??? |
| Average score | 50% (GameRankings, based on 1 review), 61% (MobyGames, based on 2 reviews) |
Metal Morph is a blend between two genres, alternating between a run and gun and a rail shooter. But what the developers have added to differentiate itself from the competition in both genres is the titular MetalMorphosis. The main character and the ship he is controlling can transform into a metal blob at any time, navigating through otherwise inaccessible spaces and negating all damage. Still, not everything is at it seems, since the main character also dies in one hit. And with deaths having the potential to be very cheap such as being off-screen, this can lead to some anger moments. Critics and gamers also 100% agree with each other that the shooting segments weren't very fun, resulting in Metal Morph being a mixed and eventually forgotten game, leaving no legacy behind whatsoever.
| Game |
|---|
 Hurricanes (SNES)
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| Release dates | NA: December ??, 1994 |
| PAL: December ??, 1994 | |
| Sales | ??? |
| Average score | 53% (MobyGames, based on 6 reviews) |
Normally I wouldn't look twice at a game like this. I mean, it's football-related; everyone knows that football and I are arch enemies. But, to give credit where it is due, it is a platformer. Still with a football theme, but it is a platformer. Based on the animated show with the same name, Hurricanes follows two different protagonist going through 2D Platforming levels, using their football skills (also known as just kicking a ball) to prevent a villainous team from stopping them to participate in the World Cup. Simple premise, but what works that works. Critics didn't really think too much of it though, and gamers were pretty much on the same line: it's a functional game, just very much what you would expect from any 2D Platformer. But hey, if you aren't me and actually do like football, maybe this will interest you!
It is time to bring the western side to a close this month. There's one final game I wanted to look at... or rather, games, since we got both an SNES and Game Boy game with the same name! Hey, I talk about something not from the SNES, we're moving up!
| Game |
|---|
 [Tiny Toon Adventures: Wacky Sports Challenge |
| Release dates | JP: September 30, 1994 |
| NA: December ??, 1994 | |
| PAL: April 25, 1996 | |
| Sales | ??? |
| Average score | 69% (GameRankings, based on 2 reviews), 60% (MobyGames, based on 7 reviews) |
| Game |
|---|
 Tiny Toon Adventures: Wacky Sports (Game Boy)
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| Release dates | JP: 24 November, 1994 |
| NA: December ??, 1994 | |
| PAL: January ??, 1995 | |
| Sales | ??? |
| Average score | 56% (MobyGames, based on 8 reviews) |
Two for the price of one, what a way to end today's Western release. Tiny Toon Adventures: Wacky Sports is a sports party game, taking a bit of a more cartoony approach to some Olympic sports like bungee jumping and obstacle courses. This is one of the few games that works with the SNES Multitap, allowing up to four players at once. This doesn't apply to the Game Boy version however, which is completely single player and also features its own events, making both games share the same idea but with different gameplay. It's a very straightforward concept and one that should work well for any big cartoon, yet critics somehow weren't too fond of it. I couldn't really find out why since almost every negative review is in a language that's not English, but gamers are at least more positive on it... at least, the few I could find. I really wish I could find out more since they look like harmless games, but apparently they went completely under the radar. Fortunately that didn't mean too much to Tiny Toon Adventures as a whole since that series kept pumping out games at a nice rate, but these ones definitely aren't talked about often.
The Game Boy version does not have a set yet, but the SNES version does with a pretty extensive one at that! The game has a total of four difficulty modes, and the three highest have to be approached in regard to every event. Qualify, get some high scores, and beat the game as each of the four characters without losing a life! It is one of the older sets of the site but also one that doesn't have too many masters, so be prepared for a difficult journey.
Remember when I teased at the beginning that the Japanese side this month would be a bit more special to me? Well, here we are. You may have heard of the backlog site Infinite Backlog before. There was a news post made both in the Discord community as well as on the site itself. Very recently, a list feature was introduced where people can create their own personal- and/or informational lists to the public. I myself took a shot at this as well, resulting in three separate lists:
- All Western-released RPGs on the SNES
- All Japanese-exclusive RPGS on the SNES with fan-translation
- All Japanese-exclusive RPGS on the SNES without fan-translation
And it just so happens that this month, a surprising amount of those lists were released. I'll go only over the translated ones since the non-translated ones will be tougher to get a set due to how much knowledge of the Japanese knowledge is needed. This includes the following titles:
- The Last Battle
- Sugoro Quest ++ Dicenics
- Albert Odyssey 2
- Hao Taikai Ryu Knight
I'll also go through them a bit quicker since like I said, the amount of Japanese games released this month is pretty high and I can't talk in-depth about every single one while also talking about non-RPGs. So let's get on to it!
| Game |
|---|
 Wonder Project J: Kikai no Shounen Pino (SNES)
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| Release date | JP: December 9, 1994 |
There's no better place to start than with the only game that has an achievement set, and very recently too! Wonder Project J: Kikai no Shounen Pino is technically not an RPG, but it's difficult to truly attribute one genre to this game so close enough. This game is loosely based on the story of Pinocchio, with the main protagonist being a robot named Pino, developed by Dr. Geppetto, and accompanied by a fairy named Tinker. It's not even hiding the inspiration really, but that's fine since Wonder Project J is a really interesting and unique game where you raise the robot to become more human, with a ton of emotions to keep in mind while doing so. As a result, most people refer to this game more as a "Life Simulation" game, and that would definitely be closest to what it is. Very unique, and also a highly impressive game for the system that did end up seeing a sequel due to its success.
If you want the mastery, it is time to prove whether you have what it takes to make the lovable robot into a human. Raise all its emotional stats to the max and activate circuits in the heart, and that mastery will be yours in no time.
| Game |
|---|
 Dokapon 3-2-1 - Arashi wo Yobu Yujo (SNES)
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| Release date | JP: December 2, 1994 |
Since we were talking about one game that defies genre, we might as well cover the next one too. If you've heard the title Dokapon before, you're probably familiar with them being board games with a heavy emphasis on RPG mechanics, like leveling up, gaining gear, and battling it out. Dokapon 3-2-1 is exactly that as well, and it coincidentally is also the game where the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii title Dokapon Kingdom is a remake of. It is the second game in the franchise by the same name, where a group of heroes duke it out with each other to see who can save the kingdom first rather than making the logical decision of working together. Overall the games are pretty fun, but I hope you can deal with a bit of RNG getting in the way of your prize!
| Game |
|---|
 Daikaijuu Monogatari (SNES)
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| Release date | JP: December 22, 1994 |
Alright, let's move on to the true RPGs, starting with Daikaijuu Monogatari, commonly known by the unofficial fan-translated title Super Shell Monsters Story. A hero is summoned from another world due to the awakening of the evil demon king Fat Badger, and this hero must go out to find friendly shell monsters around the world to form a team and defeat this evil once and for all in turn-based combat that looks to be similar to games like Lufia in terms of display... and high encounter rate. It's a solid game all-around which resulted in it getting a sequel on the same system, as well as a manga adaptation.
It was very surprising to me that after the strong months we've had on the Japanese side in the past few issues, that I really had a lot of trouble to find interesting games to talk about. Meanwhile, the Western side had more than enough to talk about as indicated by the list at the end of the segment. How the tables have turned huh? Regardless, I hope I was able to bring some unknown Japanese games to your attention, because as a retro community, these are exactly the games we want to know about and appreciate for what they are.
As mentioned before, there were three contenders for Game of the Month on the western side. Chrono Cross would win on the score side from the critics, but it ended up very divisive when players got their hands on it. Meanwhile Mario Tennis has an overall consistent opinion and, let's be honest, the sales are higher simply because it is Mario while the other is an RPG. The worst game could potentially be Lil' Monster, but it's tough to say due to how unknown in it. I didn't actually talk about the game, but the title of worst game would probably belong to The Ring: Terror's Realm for the Dreamcast. Not a lot of people were fond of this attempt at Survival Horror. It's pretty much the only game I looked up where there was far more negative opinions to be found rather than positive.
We go back in time again next month to the year 1986, where we will see a smaller release for a console over in the west for the first time. What system am I talking about? Find out next time in This Month in Retro!
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