4 Major Game Anniversaries in July 2018 to Make You Feel Old

Bomberman (July 1983) – 35th Anniversary

Major Game Anniversaries in July 2018

The Bomberman name is still one that’s well known today, with Super Bomberman R being a launch game for the Nintendo Switch last year and coming to other consoles in 2018. The story all began back in July 1983, though. There are now more than 70 Bomberman games out in the wild, across all platforms, with the original being developed for home computers by Hudson Soft.

The games have always had quite a simple premise, seeing you try to defeat enemies as you make your way to the end of a level. The strategy comes in where you place the titular character’s bombs, and the action becomes even more frenetic in multiplayer. Therefore, you need to be aware of both the enemies, and your own bomb placement. Bomberman releases have slowed down in the last few years, especially compared to between 1990 and 2010, but R may be the start of a return.

Bionic Commando (July 20, 1988) – 30th Anniversary

Major Game Anniversaries in July 2018

Bionic Commando was originally an arcade game that was released in 1987, but Capcom released a version for home consoles, such as the NES and Amiga, on July 20, 1988. The NES version was quite different to the arcade version, in terms of gameplay, but that was changed for the Amiga version.

If you’re somehow unaware, like the rest of the series, the original game follows Nathan “Rad” Spencer. He is a futuristic fighter who is equipped with a bionic arm that helps him take on enemies and pass obstacles. A remake of the NES version was released on PC, PSN, and Xbox Live Arcade in Aug. 2008, before two new games (Bionic Commando and Bionic Commando Rearmed 2) released in 2009 and 2011 respectively. Unfortunately, the newer titles didn’t perform very well, critically or commercially.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (July 15, 2003) – 15th Anniversary

Major Game Anniversaries in July 2018

Undoubtedly one of the best licensed games of all time, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic turns 15 in a few weeks time. It takes place almost 4000 years before the formation of the Empire and you play as a Jedi who must go wherever necessary to thwart the plans of Darth Malak, a Sith lord. The decisions you make as you play determine which side of the fight you align with.

KOTOR has been very popular since its release, having sold more than three million copies by the end of 2007, and spawning the hit MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic. It was directed by Casey Hudson, the director of the Mass Effect games at BioWare, and is sitting at 94 on Metacritic. If you’d like to play it now, it’s available on Xbox consoles via the Backwards Compatibility service.

Persona 4 (July 10, 2008) – 10th Anniversary

Major Game Anniversaries in July 2018

Persona 5 and Persona 4 Golden may have truly brought the Persona series into the limelight, but it was certainly popular and well-respected beforehand. Persona 4 still kept the Shin Megami Tensei name when it originally released on PS2 in Japan in July 2008, and sees you play as a high-school student who has moved to the countryside from a big city, where you start to investigate some mysterious murders.

As you will know if you’ve played a Persona game before, it features turn-based combat, but puts a lot of focus on the story and your relationships with the other characters. As you start to investigate what’s happening in the town, you get the ability to summon personas, which are the characters that introduce the combat. The fifth numbered game finally released last year, but 4 turns ten this month, and hopefully we’ll see a remake of it released sometime in the future.