Wireframe 2019

Interface

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Developer Profile / Game Freak

Mendel Palace

NES 1990

Here it is: the first game from Satoshi Tajiri and

artist Ken Sugimori. And while there doesn’t

seem much of a link between this top-down,

tile-flipping action-puzzler and Pokémon at first

glance, it already shows glimmers of Game

Freak’s talent for making an addictive game out

of a simple concept, and dressing it all up with

appealing character designs.

Pulseman

Mega Drive 1994

Game Freak’s take on the Mega Man jump-and-

gun formula, Pulseman comes charged with a

hint of Sonic the Hedgehog’s speed and attitude

• not to mention a dash ability that allows its
  title character to spin around the screen or
  hurtle along electrical cables like the pipes in
  Sonic 2’s Chemical Plant Zone. Like Mario &
  Wario, this one’s another likeable obscurity.

Drill Dozer

Game Boy Advance 2005

Despite some strong competition, Drill Dozer is

one of the most engaging action platformers

on the GBA, with novel controls – you control a

pink-haired heroine who can drill through walls

and enemies alike with her tank-like mecha –

and the kind of captivating character and stage

designs we’d expect from the developer.

A minor handheld classic.

Smart Ball

SNES 1991

A charming and imaginative platformer only

slightly marred by some fiddly controls, Smart

Ball – Jerry Boy in Japan – involves stretching

and squashing your way through towns, sewers,

and even an ingeniously designed stage on a

tiny rotating moon. Oddly, the US edition cut out

much of the game’s backstory, but did improve

the controls somewhat.

Magical Taruruuto-kun

Mega Drive 1992

A little-known manga and anime outside Japan,

Magical Taruruuto-kun had several video game

tie-ins, and Game Freak’s was arguably the best:

a platformer with huge sprites and cute enemies

that could be viewed as prototypes for a certain

band of pocket monsters. Look out for a weirdly

violent helicopter attack scene that interrupts all

the pastel-shaded whimsy.

Mario & Wario

SNES 1993

One of the few SNES games to make good use

of the console’s mouse peripheral, this platform-

puzzler – which plays a little like Lemmings – is

a miniature delight. Like too many of the games

on this list, Mario & Wario was only released in

Japan, making it one of the most undeservedly

obscure titles in Mario’s long history. A Switch

revival surely beckons.

Super Freak

10 games that aren’t Pokémon

Because there’s more to Game Freak than Snorlax and Pikachu

01 02

05

03

(^0406)