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Game » consists of 5 releases. Released Feb 19, 1993
Sure, these days have almost every game sporting the newfangled 3D, but way back when, everyone had to live with plain old 2D. 2D, or two dimensions, limit the game to scrolling backgrounds, but some games even now make use of this basic concept.
Extraterrestrials appear in many video games in a variety of styles. Sometimes they're evil, sometimes they're benevolent, and sometimes they're very similar to humans.
Any being that is humanoid in appearance, with amphibian-like features. This covers frogs, toads, salamanders and newts (caecilians look too much like worms).
Games that have animals (except humans) as the main character. The character must be playable.
Anthropomorphism is the concept of an object, concept or character that has human qualities or traits, such as speech, a level of intelligence similar or higher than a human's and self consciousness. "Anthro" means "of human" and related to the concept of humanity.
Levels that progress forward by themselves at a fixed rate.
Many males, and some females, experience pattern baldness, a gradual loss of hair.
Belt scrolling is a 2D perspective, side-scrolling action with downward camera angle. The character is able to move not only sideways, but also vertically within a limited area, giving pseudo-3D depth. Mostly used by beat 'em up brawlers, this term is mainly used in Japan and comes from the conveyor belt like viewpoint.
Winged, usually flying creatures, many of which enjoy perching on branches and defecating on unfortunate victims below.
Bosses are enemies that fight you at the end of a level or at a significant point in the story.
Cartoon physics refers to games which do not conform to regular physics, but the "laws" are for a humorous bent rather than conforming to reality. Sometimes it ignores physical laws, like gravity, or tweaks them, like not being totally blown away by dynamite.
A concept in games with multiple characters, a screen with pictures of all playable characters with the possibility of stat listings.
Special codes or button combinations used to gain powers or advantages in a game. Generally hidden.
Cooperative play in games allows humans to play together as a team to accomplish a task. Instead of playing against a human opponent, the team must defeat an AI. Cooperative Play in some games also means 2 human versus 2 human, this occurs in some Billiards games. (Scotch Doubles / Doubles)
A crossover occurs when a character from one franchise makes a special appearance in a game from an unrelated franchise. Some games are specifically designed to be crossovers that bring together characters from two or more franchises.
Pressing the A button while facing left makes player character punch in that direction. Pressing A while facing right...makes them punch left.
Earning an extra life, either by collecting a 1up or by hitting a certain score.
Enemies that prefer to keep a distance to the ground, and swoop down occasionally to do some damage.
Commonly seen in brawlers, typically with the word "go" next to it, this is an indicator in side-scrolling games of which way to go, and usually an indicator that all of the enemies in an area have been defeated.
Any stealth operative or athletic character knows this ability. Necessary if you're hanging on a ledge and don't want to fall.
Health is a value that gauges how much damage players can take in a game before they die or pass out. Also known as life in some games. Health is usually represented by a bar or a percentage instead of an exact amount. Found in most non sport games
In many games there is a ranking system, the players with the highest point value are listed in a "high score" table.
A parallel projection technique used in 2D sprite-based games to fake the appearance of 3D depth.
It's arguably the one move that symbolizes the medium to those outside it. The ability to jump, be it onto a building, a platform, or a skull, is one of the all time most important abilities ever put in a video game.
a jumping or leaping kick often portrayed in action movies.
From Beat-em-ups to fighting games to modern FPS, one dude hitting another has made an enjoyable pastime.
Two or more characters are featured on the game's box art.
Sometimes one playable character just isn't enough.
A partner is someone in a duo that shares the same status and/or billing. In video games, you often switch from one to the other because they have different strengths and weaknesses.
Side-scrolling games present the world as viewed perpendicular to the direction the characters are facing on screen. With a heavy focus on lateral movement, objectives are often met by moving from one end of a stage to the other.
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