Do You NintenKnow: January 2024

Below is a set of clues for games that have a notable US release date anniversary (5, 10, 15, etc.) in the current month. See if you can figure out the title before clicking the blurred image to find out if you were correct! Head down to the comments when you’re finished and reminisce about the personal memories that were dredged up. Remember that these are going by the release date in the United States. Have fun!

January 1989

Hudson Soft developed and published this title which had originally released on home computers in 1983 but gained much more notoriety on the Famicom in 1985 and eventually the NES in America in 1989. It’s a maze-based game where the main character uses explosives to destroy rocks and find doors to the next room. Items can be picked up that enhance your explosives and make it easier to reach your goal. The box art makes the character look more like Samus Aran than the robot with an antenna that we’ve become accustomed to over the years.

January 1994

Capcom released this very late NES sequel based on a popular Disney cartoon. Lead your chipmunk character through each stage as you pick up objects like acorns, balls, and crates and throw them at the enemies. The game can be played by yourself, or team up with a friend who controls the other chipmunk from the dynamic duo. Can you take down Fat Cat and save the day?

Capcom wasn’t only stuck in the past as they also released this spin-off SNES title the same month which reinvigorated the blue bomber and featured plenty of distinguishing characteristics from the main series. Sigma is now the villain, and the main character has new tools at his disposal to oppose him including a wall jump and Ride Armors to pilot. There are still stages that can be completed in any order, complete with a boss that will give a unique weapon ability to the hero when they’re defeated. This game rocks. Quite literally in Japan. Oh, and the soundtrack is awesome as per usual for the series. Storm Eagle’s stage music is a personal favorite.

January 1999

Three Capcom titles in a row and this one first appeared in the arcades in 1998 but was ported to plenty of other systems including the Game Boy Color and N64. It’s the classic falling block puzzler with a Disney makeover. This is one of the few N64 games played entirely in 2D. Experience the separate stories of Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Minnie as they puzzle their way to eventually face Pete, the big baddie of this game.

After seeing plenty of other established franchises transition to 3D on the N64, Konami did the same with their popular spooky series. You’re able to choose between the magic-wielding Carrie Fernandez or the more traditional Reinhardt Schneider who uses an iconic whip as his weapon. Dracula is back again. And you have to thwart him again. Weird!

Nintendo published this Kemco Game Boy Color title which has an interesting history. Originally, this game was released for the Game Boy in Japan in 1997 as the fourth game in the Kid Klown series. However, the game was given a Looney Tunes coat of paint and released as the third title in a separate series in North America starring the famous “What’s up Doc” rabbit. The same thing happened with the first two titles in the series as they first featured Roger Rabbit and Mickey Mouse, respectively, in Japan and Europe before getting the Looney Tunes treatment for the US. Strange. Anyway, collect keys in this platformer to move on to the next level and eventually save Lola Bunny. Kind of a boring outcome for such a twisting backstory.

January 2004

Sega published this 3D platformer on the GameCube featuring the company’s blue blur along with plenty of other “iconic” characters from the series like Big the Cat and Vector the Crocodile. You play as a team – which contains three of these characters – and switch between them on the fly to complete levels. This title is closer to the series’ linear games on the Genesis as opposed to the open-world titles that preceded it. For the first time in the series, this game was also developed as a multi-platform title to release simultaneously on the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. All players, regardless of their system, could enjoy the sexiness(?) of Rouge the Bat!

EA Sports BIG (I can still hear that startup voice) published this multiplatform sports title for the GameCube which showcased an arcade-style twist on American football. Instead of 22 players on the field at once, this game pared the action down to seven-on-seven contests with no fouls. It’s similar to another arcade football series, but this one is played on the road…literally. It also uses the Gamebreaker system like it’s basketball cousin which is activated when the player earns enough style points. This allows players on offense to score touchdowns more easily and those on defense to force more turnovers. If you ever wanted to play football while a song by Korn featuring Nas is blaring through your speakers, this is your chance!

January 2009

This Konami DS title was a sequel to a Wii game and once again stars Kai. While the Wii game utilized a first-person perspective, this DS title opts for a top-down perspective. Kai is still shaking trees, lifting rocks, etc. to collect small electrical beings as he tries to find his way back to his universe following a mishap with a magical bus named G.G. Yup, that checks out.

January 2019

Suda 51 and Grasshopper Manufacture released this spin-off title for the Nintendo Switch starring the anime-loving Otaku assassin that fans have grown to love. The hero and Badman are sucked into a video game console and must play their way through different games, defeating “bugs” along the way. There are many different types of gameplay on display including hack-and-slash and racing. The post credits scene featured a tease for the eventual return of the main series.