For a long time I’ve been curious about Runark. I didn’t know about it when the it was new I only started to get familiar with it during my Internet hunting. On occasion I would see it and it was always pretty expensive. When I youtubed it I thought it look pretty good. I wasn’t able to get a great deal on it but I bought it anyways. It has great artwork and it’s in excellent condition.
Runark is Streets of Rages meets Indiana Jones. Except you’re not digging up ancient treasure or bringing a beat down to the criminal underworld you’re rescuing animals from evil poachers.
Ok, good enough… Plot was never a real concern for the 8bit and 16bit era.
There is a lot of variety to this game. Four Heroes to chose from, all sorts of in game weapons including plenty of items in the levels to interact with. It’s not as good as Street of Rage or Golden Axe and Runark is not afraid to re-use sprites but it’s still a really good game. This one surprised me.
Star Cruiser sucks but it’s in excellent condition and it will help fill up the shelves up.
Wrestleball looks like it could be ok but I doubt I’ll ever give it a real shot. It’s here to fill up the selves. It’s in excellent condition.
Speed Ball 2 is pretty close to the same game as Wrestleball but the graphics do seem to be a bit better. Again it’s in excellent condition and it will do it’s part too.
Runark
Star Cruiser
Wrestleball
Speed Ball 2
As always I’m pretty happy with cheap games that are in great shape even if the game itself isn’t that hot. And thank goodness the one expensive game is actually a good one.
Runark – $40.00
Star Cruiser – $6.00
Wrestleball – $3.00
Speed Ball 2- $12.00
Plus $15.00 for shipping. Which sets me at $19 per game… mostly thanks to Runark.
Retro Megabit 
Some nice additions there. I actually liked Star Cruiser a tiny bit (not for the awful “3D” engine though) because my copy came with some notes in the case from someone who seemed to be working on a walkthrough. Still, I got a headache from the “driving” or “flying” or whatever it is you’re doing in the game. Not Masaya’s best game, that’s for sure.
The two sports games are fun if you have a friend handy or dive into them as future versions of today’s sports. They’re sort of like Baseball 2020, or Mutant League Football – games you wouldn’t touch save for the oddball stuff.
As for Runark, if you loved the Genesis version, you’ll want to see if Taito Arcade Classics 2 ever came out where you are. It’s a PlayStation 2 game with almost 40 arcade perfect games including GROWL (which is what Runark is called outside Japan). I recall the Genesis version getting so-so reviews back in the day, so it’s good to see that someone appreciates it now. The version on the disc will have a smile stuck to your face for a week, I’ll bet (as will a bunch of other games in that collection)…
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Hey geelw,
Is there any video game that you have not played? 🙂 You are a true gamer. I had never heard of Star Cruiser before I bought it. And I understand what it’s like to see something in a game that many people over look or dismiss. Some of my favorite games were not very popular at all.
I do think both Wrestleball and Speed Ball 2 could be good fun games but I know for myself I’m just not that into the sports genre.
I checked out Taito Arcade Classics 2 and it does have come cool titles. Cadash being one of them. I didn’t even realize it but I have Cadash for the Genesis and my interest in now peeked. I’m check it out 🙂 Thanks geelw!
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Actually, The US Taito Legends and Taito Legends 2 aren’t exactly the same collections as the one you have. Taito Arcade Classics 2 has games not on either disc (which stinks, as I want to add it to the library and as I can only play NTSC games, i have to find the more expensive Japanese version for my import PS2).
Unless it’s hidden somewhere as a bonus (the case front says “over 35 games” and the back says “39 games” are on the disc), Cadash isn’t on either of the discs I have (boo!), but if I recall correctly from playing it a few times in the arcade, it’s definitely a bit better than the Genesis and TG-16 versions in a few areas.
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Yeah, I think you’re right. Just from a few screen shots it looks like the Arcade graphics are a fair bit better than the Genesis. I guess that’s to be expected. However, it would have been nice if in the Genesis version could chose between the four arcade characters instead of just two.
I got my PS2 modded so that I could play Phantasy Star Generation:1 and 2 and it’s even hooked up and ready to go as we speak… but, I’m afraid to branch out too far and start buying (more) games for other systems! 🙂 It can spin out of control. Sort of is already.
I recently picked up a Saturn with a bunch of games and a whack of NES and SNES games (including some Super Famicom games).
I’ve been playing with the idea of starting TheNintendoCollection… that’s how bad it’s gotten 😛
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Hmmm. Try looking up the US version, GROWL – I recall seeing it cheap on eBay a while ago while looking up some other stuff. Then again, I think it’s a weird game where the price jumps up for odd reasons…
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Most of those early arcade ports on the Genesis or Mega Drive are missing something from the original versions. Usually it’s extra characters in multiplayer games (Runark, Midnight Resistance) or less enemies on screen, but sometimes it’s levels being shortened, changed or cut out entirely (Atomic Robo-Kid) or even getting smaller characters than in the arcade version (The Punisher is a great example of the latter). It wasn’t until a bit later in the system’s lifespan that developers started doing more faithful ports or original games that really pushed the hardware, but fans of perfect emulation would disagree as they MAME away…
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You’re right… that Runark really brought up the average price per game. It’s good to know that the money tree is in full bloom again!
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Hey Jon,
I just paid the visa bill and I can tell you that the money tree is not in full bloom again… I’m going to have to take a step back from ebay for a while!
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Wow! Runark looks like fun! 😀 But the cheapest one I can find on Ebay is 60 USD 😦
Why does the good games always have to be so darn expensive?! Hahaha
I’m happy to see that you’re filling out your collection with beautiful games though, keep up the good work 😀
/mE
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If you own a Japanese PS2, you can scoop up the Taito Arcade Classics collections as well as others from Sunsoft, Capcom and I believe a few other publishers and get a ton of classic arcade games (Runark included). That’s probably the most economical route, although I know all of those PS2 imports are out of print, so they may be slightly expensive. Then again, with what looks like a lot of shops in Japan looking for cash, you could luck out and score these collections for a decent price…
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but I don’t have a japanese PS2.. 😦 and I never end up playing the systems in between, it’s either Xbox 360, or stuff older than the N64..
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Ah, I see… Hmmmm. It’s too bad that there isn’t a more dedicated “classic” arcade games section on XBLA, as all those Taito and other games absolutely deserve to be played. Someone needs to tell Microsoft that those HD remakes from Capcom and Namco are cool and all, but you really can’t have a great Arcade series without Taito’s history missing from it.
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Hi stopxwhispering! Yup, Runark is a fun game… and Yup for some reason all versions (Jap, PAL, NTSC) seem to be expensive. Sucks eh.
But now that you know about it and seem a bit curious put it on your wish list and maybe you’ll find it someday for a better price. Sometimes I break down and blow the lid off what I’d normally be willing to spend for a game 😦 But sometimes (less often) I wait and wait and get a great deal!
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