1988 in video games explained

1988 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest III, Super Contra, Super Mario Bros. 2, Mega Man 2, , and Super Mario Bros. 3, along with new titles such as Assault, Altered Beast, Capcom Bowling, Ninja Gaiden, RoboCop, Winning Run and Chase H.Q.

The year's highest-grossing arcade games were After Burner and After Burner II in Japan, Double Dragon in the United States, Operation Wolf in the United Kingdom, and RoboCop in Hong Kong. The year's bestselling home system was the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom) for the fifth year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video games were Dragon Quest III in Japan and Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt in the United States.

Events

• Out Run wins Game of the Year at the 5th Golden Joystick Awards, for the year 1987.
• June – Nintendo releases the last issue (#7) of Nintendo Fun Club News.
• July – Nintendo releases the first issue of Nintendo Power magazine.
• December - Namco releases their first 3D polygon video game, Winning Run, running on the Namco System 21 arcade board.

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1988, according to the annual Gamest and Game Machine charts.

Rank	Gamest^[1]		Game Machine^[2]
	Title	Manufacturer	Title	Type	Points
1	After Burner	Sega	After Burner / After Burner II	Cockpit cabinet	3624
2	World Stadium	Namco	Operation Wolf	Upright cabinet	3569
3	Gradius II	Konami	Final Lap	Deluxe / Standard
4	Out Run	Sega	Kyukyoku Tiger (Twin Cobra)	Conversion kit	3192
5	Final Lap	Namco	World Stadium	Conversion kit	3105
6	R-Type	Irem	R-Type	Conversion kit	3074
7	Super Hang-On	Sega	Out Run	Deluxe cabinet	2921
8	Street Fighter	Capcom	Hi Sho Zame (Flying Shark)	Conversion kit	2109
9	Kyukyoku Tiger (Twin Cobra)	Toaplan	Galaga '88	Conversion kit	1990
10		Taito	Gradius II	Conversion kit	1939

Hong Kong and United States

In Hong Kong and the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade games of 1988.

Rank	Hong Kong	United States
	Bondeal^[3]	Play Meter	AMOA^[4] ^[5]
			Dedicated cabinet	Conversion kit
1	RoboCop	Double Dragon^[6]	Double Dragon	Shinobi
2	Chequered Flag	Out Run, After Burner, Operation Wolf, Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja	Twin Eagle, Heavy Barrel, Capcom Bowling, Time Soldiers
3	Devastators
4	P.O.W.
5	Vindicators
6	Sky Soldiers	colspan="2" rowspan="5"
7	Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja
8	Blasteroids
9	Vigilante
10	Xybots

United Kingdom

Operation Wolf was the top-earning arcade game of 1988 in the United Kingdom.^{[7] [8]} The following titles were the top-grossing games on the monthly arcade charts in 1988.

Month	Title	Manufacturer	Genre
January	Operation Wolf	Taito	Light gun shooter	^[9]
February				^[10]
March				^[11]
April
May
June	Street Fighter	Capcom	Fighting	^[12]
1988	Operation Wolf

Best-selling home systems

Rank	System(s)	Manufacturer	Type	Generation	Sales
					Japan	USA	EU	Worldwide
1	Nintendo Entertainment System / Famicom	Nintendo	Console	8-bit	1,590,000^[13]	7,000,000^[14]		8,590,000+
2	Mark III / Master System	Sega	Console	8-bit	240,000^[15]	^[16]	^[17] ^[18]	1,435,000+
3	Commodore 64	Commodore	Computer	8-bit				1,250,000^[19]
4	IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC)	IBM	Computer	16-bit		1,229,000^[20]		1,229,000+
5	Macintosh	Apple Inc.	Computer	16-bit				900,000
6	PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16	NEC	Console	16-bit	830,000			830,000
7	NEC UltraLite / PC-88 / PC-98	NEC	Computer	8-bit / 16-bit	,000^[21] ^[22]	+^[23]		795,000+
8	Mega Drive / Genesis	Sega	Console	16-bit	400,000			400,000
9	Amiga	Commodore	Computer	16-bit				400,000
10	Compaq PC	Compaq	Computer	8-bit / 16-bit		+		365,000+

Best-selling home video games

Japan

The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1988 in Japan, according to the annual Family Computer Magazine (Famimaga) charts.^[24]

Rank	Title	Platform	Developer	Publisher	Genre(s)	Sales
1		Famicom	Chunsoft	Enix	Role-playing	3,800,000^[25]
2	Super Mario Bros. 3	Famicom	Nintendo R&D4	Nintendo	Platformer
3	Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium '87	Famicom	Namco	Namco	Sports (baseball)	< 1,300,000^[26]
4	Kyūkyoku Harikiri Stadium	Famicom	Taito	Taito	Sports (baseball)
5	Captain Tsubasa (Tecmo Cup Soccer Game)	Famicom	Tecmo	Tecmo	Sports (association football)	< 700,000^[27]
6	Momotaro Densetsu	Famicom	Hudson Soft	Hudson Soft	Role-playing
7		Famicom	TOSE	Bandai	Role-playing / card battle	< 530,000^[28]
8	Saint Seiya: Ōgon Densetsu	Famicom	TOSE	Bandai	Action role-playing
9	Final Fantasy	Famicom	Squaresoft	Squaresoft	Role-playing	< 520,000^[29]
10	Gegege no Kitaro: Youkai Daimakyou (Ninja Kid)	Famicom	TOSE	Bandai	Platformer

United Kingdom and United States

In the United States, the NES Action Set bundled with Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt was the best-selling toy of 1988.^[30] The same year, Super Mario Bros. 2 became one of the best-selling cartridges of all time,^[31] Super Mario Bros. 2 and were the top-selling cartridges during the holiday season,^[32] and The Legend of Zelda and Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! each crossed sales between 1987 and 1988.^[33]

The following titles were the top-selling home video games of each month in the United Kingdom and United States during 1988.

Month	United Kingdom		United States
	All systems	ZX Spectrum	Weeks 1-2	Weeks 3-4	Platform
		Out Run	Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!^[34]	Top Gun^[35]	NES
		Platoon^[36]	Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!^[37]
			Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!^[38]	The Legend of Zelda^[39]
		We Are the Champions^[40]	Ice Hockey^[41]
	Steve Davis Snooker^[42]	^[43]	Ice Hockey	The Legend of Zelda	NES	^[44]
	(ZX Spectrum)^[45]		Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!^[46]	The Legend of Zelda^[47]	NES
	Football Manager 2^[48]		The Legend of Zelda	Double Dragon^[49]
	Football Manager 2^[50]	European Five-a-Side	R.B.I. Baseball	Double Dragon^[51]
	Bomb Jack^[52]	Football Manager 2	Double Dragon		NES	^[53]
	Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge^[54]	Bomb Jack	Super Mario Bros. 2		NES	^[55]
	Last Ninja 2^[56]					^[57]
	Operation Wolf^[58]	RoboCop^[59]				^[60] ^[61]
1988			Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt		NES

Top-rated games

Major awards

Japan

Award	2nd Gamest Awards (December 1988)^[62]	3rd Famitsu Best Hit Game Awards (February 1989)^[63]	3rd Famimaga Game Awards (February 1989)^[64]
	Arcade	Console	Famicom
Game of the Year	Gradius II	Dragon Quest III (Famicom)
Critics' Choice Awards		Dragon Spirit (PC Engine) Sangokushi (Famicom) Nobunaga no Yabō: Zenkokuban (Famicom) Family Circuit (Famicom) Captain Tsubasa (Famicom) Chô Wakusei Senki Metafight (Famicom) Rockman (Famicom)
Best Arcade Conversion		R-Type (PC Engine)
Best Playability			Super Mario Bros. 3
Best Scenario / Story		Final Fantasy (Famicom)
Best Graphics	Forgotten Worlds	Alien Crush (PC Engine)
Best Music / Sound	The Ninja Warriors	Galaga '88 (PC Engine)	Dragon Quest III
Special Award	After Burner II
Original / Frontier Spirit / Spotlight	Syvalion	No-Ri-Ko (PC Engine CD-ROM²)	Captain Tsubasa
Best Character / Character Design	Bravoman (Bravoman)	Dragon Quest III (Famicom)	Super Mario Bros. 3
Best Game Company
Best Action Game		Super Mario Bros. 3 (Famicom)
Best Shooter / Shoot 'Em Up	Gradius II / Ultimate Tiger	Gradius II (Famicom)
Best RPG		Dragon Quest III (Famicom)
Best Action RPG		(Sega Mark III)
Best Adventure Game		Famicom Detective Club (Famicom) Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (Famicom)	Famicom Detective Club
Best Simulation / Strategy Game		Famicom Wars (Famicom)
Best Sports Game	World Stadium		Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium '87
Best Puzzle Game		Tetris (Famicom)
Best Value for Money			Dragon Quest III
Best Ending	Gradius II
Best Performance		Ninja Ryūkenden (Ninja Gaiden)
Best Commercial		Famicom Wars (Famicom)

United Kingdom

Award	Sinclair User Awards (December 1988)^[65]	6th Golden Joystick Awards (April 1989)^[66]
	Arcade	8-bit computer	16-bit computer	Console
Game of the Year	Operation Wolf		Speedball	Thunder Blade (Master System)
Best Arcade / Coin-Op Conversion		Operation Wolf
Best Graphics		Armalyte	Rocket Ranger
Best VGM / Soundtrack		Bionic Commando	International Karate +
Best Original Game	Dynamite Düx
Best Software House		Ocean Software	Mirrorsoft
Best Progammer		John Phillips	The Bitmap Brothers
Best Shooter / Shoot 'Em Up	Galaxy Force
Best Beat 'Em Up	Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja
Best Adventure Game		Corruption	Fish!
Best Simulation Game		MicroProse Soccer	Falcon
Best Racing Game	Power Drift

United States

Award	Computer Gaming World (November 1988)^[67]		Electronic Gaming Monthly (1989)^[68]	Computer Entertainer Awards of Excellence (January 1989)^[69]		VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (February 1989)^[70]
	Master System	NES	Console	Console	Computer	Console	Computer
Game of the Year			Double Dragon (NES)	Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES) Phantasy Star (SMS)		Zaxxon 3D (Master System)	Superstar Ice Hockey
Entertainment Program of the Year					Rocket Ranger (AMI) Wizardry IV (APL2) Bubble Ghost (GS) Captain Blood (ST) Pool of Radiance (C64) Battlehawks 1942 (PC) The Colony (Macintosh)
Arcade Conversion	Out Run	Arkanoid	Rampage (Master System)			Arkanoid (NES)
Best Graphics	Rocky	Side Pocket	Phantasy Star (SMS)	King's Quest IV	Side Pocket (NES)	Rocket Ranger
Sound / Soundtrack
Original / Innovative		Jaws	Blaster Master (NES)	Monopoly (Master System)	Battle Chess
Action / Arcade-Style	Space Harrier	R.C. Pro-Am	Contra (NES)		Chop N' Drop	Blaster Master (NES)	Skate or Die!
Shooter / Target Game	Missile Defense 3-D	Hogan's Alley
Best Adventure Game / Fantasy		The Legend of Zelda				The Legend of Zelda (NES)	Neuromancer
Best Strategy Game					Decisive Battles	Monopoly (NES)	The Fool's Errand
Best Simulation / Simulator					P51 Mustang Flight Sim PT-109 (Macintosh)		Test Drive
Best Sports Game	Great Volleyball	Pro Wrestling	Bases Loaded (NES)	Ice Hockey (NES) Great Basketball (SMS)	Star Rank Boxing (APL2) Fast Break (C64) Jack Nicklaus Golf (PC)	Bases Loaded (NES)	Super Bowl Sunday
Best Action-Strategy	Monopoly	Raid on Bungeling Bay					Tetris
Designer of the Year					Ezra Sidran
Best Educational					Mixed-Up Mother Goose
Most Humorous					Shufflepuck Café (Mac)

Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame

The following 1988 video game releases entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.^[71]

Title	Score (out of 40)	Developer	Publisher	Genre	Platform
(Dragon Warrior III)	38	Chunsoft	Enix	RPG	Family Computer (Famicom)
Final Fantasy II	35	Squaresoft	Squaresoft
Super Mario Bros. 3	35	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	Platformer

Business

• New companies: Eurocom, Image Works, Koeo, Stormfront, Visual Concepts, Walt Disney Computer Software
• Defunct: Aackosoft, Coleco, Sente, Spectravideo
• Activision renamed to Mediagenic
• Nintendo vs. Camerica lawsuit: Nintendo sues Camerica over the clone production of an Advantage joystick controller for the NES console

Notable releases

Arcade

• April – Namco releases Assault, which may be the first game to use hardware rotation of sprites and the background.
• August – Sega releases Altered Beast, later ported to the Mega Drive/Genesis where it was packaged with the console in North America and Europe.
• December – Capcom releases Ghouls 'n Ghosts, the sequel to Ghosts 'n Goblins.
• December – Namco releases Winning Run, the first polygonal 3D arcade racing game.
• December – Technōs Japan releases , the first sequel to Double Dragon, released during the previous year.
• Atari Games releases an official arcade version of Tetris as well as Cyberball and Toobin'.
• Namco releases World Stadium, Berabow Man, Märchen Maze, Bakutotsu Kijūtei, which is the sequel to Baraduke, Ordyne, Metal Hawk, World Court, Splatterhouse, which is the first game to get a parental advisory disclaimer, Mirai Ninja, Face Off and Phelios.
• Williams releases the violent, drug-themed NARC, beginning a run of major hits for the company.

Home

• January 2 – Electronic Arts releases Wasteland.
• January 5 – shareware game The Adventures of Captain Comic is one of the first NES-style scrolling platform games for MS-DOS, setting the stage for a subsequent shareware boom.
• January 8 – Konami releases Super Contra.
• January 14 – Konami releases Konami Wai Wai World the first ever crossover game features cast of all star characters from various video game franchises & non-video game properties such as characters from blockbuster movies.
• January 29 – the first commercial versions of Tetris are released.^[72]
• February 10 – Enix releases Dragon Quest III.
• March – R.C. Pro-Am is released and becomes a hit for the NES, drawing attention to UK developer Rare.
• July 20 – Capcom releases Bionic Commando, for NES/Famicom based on the 1987 arcade game of the same title.
• August – Zortech releases Big Bang.
• October 5 – Origin Systems releases , which includes a time-of-day system and daily schedules for non-player characters.
• October 9 – Nintendo revamps Doki Doki Panic and releases it as Super Mario Bros. 2, for the Nintendo Entertainment System in America and the PAL region. Birdo made her debut in this game and released in Japan as Super Mario USA in 1992.
• October 23 – Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. 3 for the Famicom in Japan. First appearance of the Koopalings.
• December 1 – Nintendo releases in America. The game had been released nearly two years earlier in Japan on the Famicom Disk System, before America even saw the first The Legend of Zelda.
• December 9 – Tecmo releases Ninja Gaiden for the NES/Famicom.
• December 17 – Square Co. releases Final Fantasy II for the Famicom as the second installment of the Final Fantasy series.
• December 24 – Capcom releases Mega Man 2 in Japan, eventually becoming the highest-selling installment of the entire Mega Man franchise with a total of 1.5 million copies sold.
• Pool of Radiance the first of the SSI Gold Box games is released, the first computer RPG officially based on Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.
• Superior Software release Exile on the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro. A complex arcade adventure, it is the first with a full physics engine.
• Sega releases Phantasy Star outside Japan for the Master System, the first in the company's most successful series of role-playing video games.
• Electronic Arts releases John Madden Football for the Apple II, starting its highly successful line of American football games.
• Interplay's animated chess program Battle Chess is released for the Amiga, then widely ported.
• Pioneer Plague makes use of the Amiga's 4096 color Hold-And-Modify mode, something not thought possible for animated games.
• AMC Verlag releases Herbert for the Atari 8-bit computers.

Hardware

• October 29 – Mega Drive released in Japan.
• Nintendo buys the rights to Bandai's Family Trainer and re-releases it as the Power Pad.
• Namco releases the Namco System 21, the first arcade system board specifically designed for 3D polygon graphics.

See also

• 1988 in games

Notes and References

1. December 27, 1988. 第２回ゲーメスト大賞 〜 年間ヒットゲームベスト100. 2nd Gamest Awards – Best 100 Hit Games of the Year. Gamest. ja. 29 (February 1989). 25–41 (41). alternate url
2. Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: '88 / "Game of the Year '88" By Game Machine . . 348 . . 15 January 1989 . 10–1, 26 . ja .
3. 6 April 1989. The World's Largest Arcade. ACE. 20 (May 1989). 23.
4. AMOA Awards Nominees . . 1988-09-10 . 27 . Cash Box Pub. Co..
5. Coin Machine: AMOA Jukebox, Games & Cig Vending Awards Winners . . November 26, 1988 . 30 .
6. 1988 . . December 1994 . 20 . 13 . 80 .
7. Operation Wolf. Retro Gamer. 153. 34–41. Martyn. Carroll. April 2016.
8. Reviews: Operation Wolf . . November 1988 . 86 (December 1988) . 20–5 .
9. Street Life . . February 1988 . 27 (March 1988) . 22–3 .
10. Street Life . . 10 March 1988 . 28 (April 1988) . 22–3 .
11. Street Life . . 13 April 1988 . 29 (May 1988) . 38–9 .
12. Top Five Dedicated Games . . 18 July 1988 . 77 (August 1988) .
13. 小川 (Ogawa). 純生 (Sumio). 2010-12-14. テレビゲーム機の変遷 —ファミコン、スーパーファミコン、プレステ、プレステ2、Wiiまで—. Recent Developments in Video Game Technology in Japan — Famicom, Super Famicom, Play Station, Play Station 2 and Wii —. 経営論集 (Keiei Ronshū). ja. March 2011. 77. 1–17 (2). 0286-6439. https://web.archive.org/web/20150725185700/www.toyo.ac.jp/uploaded/attachment/3049.pdf. 2015-07-25. 2021-12-06. Toyo University Academic Information Repository (Toyo University).
14. News: Penenberg. Adam L.. 1994-04-17. Games Designer Faces Crucial Tests On Videos' Content. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-12-07. 0362-4331.
15. Book: Tanaka. Tatsuo. Network Externality and Necessary Software Statistics. August 2001. Statistics Bureau of Japan. 2.
16. News: Holiday Gift Guide: Fantasy Games Remain Popular With Young Video Fans . 8 December 2021 . . 1 December 1988 . 21.
17. Europe: consoles contre micros . Europe: consoles against microphones . . 23 . fr .
18. March 1988. Las Vegas, un coup de joystick dans le sable. Las Vegas, a joystick in the sand. Tilt. fr. 52. 18–23 (19).
19. Web site: Reimer. Jeremy. 2005-12-15. Total share: 30 years of personal computer market share figures. live. 2021-11-27. Ars Technica. en-us . https://web.archive.org/web/20120607023023/http://arstechnica.com:80/features/2005/12/total-share/ . June 7, 2012.
    • Web site: Jeremy Reimer . 2012-12-07 . Total Share: Personal Computer Market Share 1975-2010 . Jeremy Reimer.
20. The Bandito. September 1989. Roomers: Number Crunching. Amazing Computing for the Commodore Amiga. 4. 9. 67-70 (69-70).
21. Book: Dedrick. Jason. Asia's Computer Challenge: Threat or Opportunity for the United States and the World?. Kraemer. Kenneth L.. 1998-08-20. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-028398-8. 83.
22. Book: Japan Electronics Almanac. 1990. Dempa Publications. 145. The domestic shipment value of personal computers in fiscal 1988 totaled (up 23 percent over fiscal 1987); the domestic shipment volume was 1,375,000 (up 14 percent over 1987). The value of domestic shipments has recorded annual growth. Conversely, the volume of domestic shipments of personal computers stabilized at the 1,200,000-nit mark for four years beginning in fiscal 1984. However, this volume began to increase rapidly in fiscal 1988..
23. 8 January 1990. Amid industry pessiminism, micro sales rose. Computerworld. IDG Enterprise. 24. 2. 34. 0010-4841.
24. グーム売上ベスト10 . Best 10 Game Sales . . 12 February 1989 . . 116 . ja.
25. Fujii. Daiji. 2005-06-10. The Birth of "Final Fantasy": Square Corporation. 岡山大学経済学会雑誌 (Okayama Economic Review). Okayama University. 37. 1. 63–88 (67–71). 0386-3069. Okayama University Scientific Achievement Repository.
26. Web site: Japan Platinum Game Chart . The Magic Box . 15 March 2021 . January 1, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080101043949/http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-JPPlatinum.shtml . dead .
27. Web site: Game Search . Game Data Library . . 12 September 2021.
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29. Web site: 日々是遊戯：もっとも売れたのはどれ？ 歴代「FF」シリーズの出荷本数をまとめてみました. ITmedia Gamez. December 13, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181214164315/http://gamez.itmedia.co.jp/games/articles/0912/17/news104.html. December 14, 2018. live.
30. Tops in Toyland . . 1989 . 106 . 80 . U.S. News Publishing Corporation . Best-selling toys of 1988 (...) 1. Action set (Nintendo).
31. Game Boy Cartridges: Super Mario Land . . 1989 . 37 . 48–52 . 32 . Last year, "Super Mario Bros. 2" became one of the best selling cartridges of all time..
32. News: Schultz . Sean . Nintendo Power Set tops list for Santa . 13 September 2021 . . 3 December 1988 . 13.
33. Book: Lindner . Richard . Video Games: Past, Present and Future; An Industry Overview . 1990 . . United States .
34. Top Ten Videogames . . February 1988 . 6 . 11 . 1 .
35. 19 February 1988. U.S.A. TOP 10: 2月5日. U.S.A. Top 10: February 5. Famicom Tsūshin. 1988. 4. 16. ja.
36. Street Life . . 12 May 1988 . 30 (June 1988) . 40–1 .
37. Top Ten Videogames . Computer Entertainer . March 1988 . 6 . 12 . 1 .
38. Top Ten Videogames . Computer Entertainer . April 1988 . 7 . 1 . 1 .
39. 9 April 1988. U.S.A. TOP 10: 4月15日. U.S.A. Top 10: April 15. Famicom Tsūshin. 1988. 9. 10. ja.
40. Street Life . . 14 June 1988 . 31 (July 1988) . 50–1 .
41. 20 May 1988. U.S.A. TOP 10: 4月28日. U.S.A. Top 10: April 28. Famicom Tsūshin. 1988. 10. 10. ja.
42. All Formats Combined Chart. Computer and Video Games. 81 (July 1988). EMAP. 15 June 1988. 20 December 2021.
43. Street Life . . 12 July 1988 . 32 (August 1988) . 22–3 .
44. 17 June 1988. U.S.A. TOP 10: 6月3日. U.S.A. Top 10: June 3. Famicom Tsūshin. 1988. 12. 10. ja.
45. 15 July 1988. Charts. Computer and Video Games. 82 (August 1988). 9, 11.
46. Top Ten Videogames . Computer Entertainer . July 1988 . 7 . 4 . 1 .
47. 29 July 1988. U.S.A. TOP 10: 7月15日. U.S.A. Top 10: July 15. Famicom Tsūshin. 1988. 15. 10. ja.
48. 16 August 1988. Charts. Computer and Video Games. 83 (September 1988). 9, 11.
49. 2 September 1988. U.S.A. TOP 10: 8月19日. U.S.A. Top 10: August 19. Famicom Tsūshin. 1988. 17. 10. ja.
50. 16 September 1988. Charts. Computer and Video Games. 84 (October 1988). 9, 11.
51. Top Ten Videogames . Computer Entertainer . September 1988 . 7 . 6 . 1 .
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53. Top Ten Videogames . Computer Entertainer . October 1988 . 7 . 7 . 1 .
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55. 11 November 1988. U.S.A. TOP 10: 10月28日. U.S.A. Top 10: October 28. Famicom Tsūshin. 1988. 22. 10. ja.
56. 16 December 1988. Charts. Computer and Video Games. 87 (January 1989). 9, 19.
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58. Web site: Cundy. Matt. 25 December 2007. Every Christmas Top 10 from the last 20 years. 9 March 2021. GamesRadar. 11.
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63. '88 ベストヒットゲーム大賞 . '88 Best Hit Game Awards . . 3 February 1989 . 1989 . 3 . 6–9 . ja.
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66. 16 May 1989. Golden Joystick Awards 1989. Computer and Video Games. Future Publishing. 92 (June 1989). 62–3.
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68. 1989. The 1989 "Player's Choice" Awards. Electronic Gaming Monthly. 1989 Buyer's Guide. 18–20.
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70. Katz. Arnie. February 1989. The Year's Best Video And Computer Games: Our Editors Pick The Outstanding Cartridges And Disks Of 1988. VideoGames & Computer Entertainment. 2. 56–68.
71. Web site: 週刊ファミ通クロスレビュープラチナ殿堂入りソフト一覧 . Weekly Famitsu Cross Review Platinum Hall of Fame Software List . https://web.archive.org/web/20081027205828/http://geimin.net/da/db/cross_review/index.php . Geimin . ja . dead . October 27, 2008 . 24 February 2021 .
72. Web site: New Software Game: It Comes From Soviet. The New York Times. 1988-01-29.