Page 14 - Old School Gamer Magazine Issue #43 FREE Edition

Throughout the '90s and well into the '00s, Blockbuster was the place to be. This magical movie
and video game rental store was
an icon in every neighborhood, housing a seemingly endless supply of entertainment. The walls and displays were packed with VHS tapes, DVDs, and game cartridges galore. To sweeten the pot even further, Blockbuster even offered a handful of exclusive video games that you could only rent in stores, spanning consoles like the Super Nintendo, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and beyond. Over a dozen unique titles have been confirmed as Blockbuster exclusives, but despite their inconsistent quality, these rare and odd games have surged in value over time. From the hidden gems to hot cash-in trash, let's
take a look at all of those elusive exclusives and relive the retro gaming memories that could only be found at Blockbuster.
CLAY FIGHTER: TOURNAMENT EDITION (SNES, 1994)
(SNES, 1993), featuring much of
the same gameplay but with a few notable changes. As in the original, Clay Fighter: Tournament Edition presents a Street Fighter II-style fighting experience, but with cartoonish claymation characters. In addition to minor bug fixes and power balancing, Tournament Edition also contains new stages, game modes, speed and difficulty options, along with an improved intro cutscene. Overall, this was an exceptionally fun game to play with friends and was a good start to the Blockbuster exclusive program.
FINAL FIGHT: GUY (SNES, 1994)
improvements than your average Capcom re-release, Final Fight: Guy was another quality version of the excellent beat 'em up and a solid rental overall.
EEK! THE CAT (SNES, 1994)
THE ENIGMATIC LINEUP OF
BLOCKBUSTER EXCLUSIVE GAMES
by Matthew Owen
One of the very first Blockbuster games, Clay Fighter: Tournament Edition started a trend that would continue for most of the exclusive era. In essence, this is just an enhanced version of the 2D fighter from a year prior, Clay Fighter
Another revised release of an existing game, Final Fight: Guy
is a home version of the classic Capcom beat 'em up, Final Fight (Arcade, 1989), but this port lets you play as the orange ninja warrior, Guy. Perfect for couch co-op, you and a friend fight your way through the grimy Metro City to rescue the mayor's daughter, Jessica, defeating countless waves of gangsters and thugs along the way. While Guy was a fan-favorite character in the arcade original, he was unfortunately removed
in the regular SNES port due to space restrictions on the game cartridge. Though it offers far fewer
Unfortunately, not every Blockbuster game was a winner, and this is definitely a lowlight in the collection. Based on the mid- '90s cartoon of the same name, Eek! The Cat is basically one long escort mission disguised as a side- scrolling platformer. Playing as the eponymous cat, you guide an old granny across the stage, dodging obstacles and traps, but with awkward controls, muddy graphics, and very little explanation, it gets boring fast. Worse yet, the game
is little more than a revised reskin of Sleepwalker (Amiga, 1993),
both titles being created by CTA Developments. A disappointing example of an already underwhelming game disguised
as something new and marketed to kids, Eek! The Cat wouldn't be the last stinker of the bunch.
THE REN & STIMPY SHOW: FIRE DOGS (SNES, 1994)
There are several Super Nintendo games based on the quirky cartoon,
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OLD SCHOOL GAMER MAGAZINE • ISSUE #43