Gekkan PC Engine #04 (April 1992)   DOWNLOAD ALL AVAILABLE PAGES(.pdf) ▼ 

Immediately upon reading the list below, you will sputter in disbelief, "What?! F1 Circus '91 was ranked ahead of all other titles. Really?" Indeed, for many PCE fans outside of Japan, these results may have been surprising.

TOP TEN PCE GAMES 1991

1. 01. F1 Circus '91 (2,764)—SPORTS
2. 02. Pro Yakyuu World Stadium '91 (2,428)—SPORTS
3. 03. PC Genjin 2 (Bonk's Revenge) (1,869)—ACTION
4. 04. F1 Circus (1,542)—SPORTS
5. 05. Ys III–Dawn of Ys (1,299)—RPG
6. 06. Populous (961)—STRATEGY
7. 07. Power League IV (829)—SPORTS
8. 08. World Jockey (812)—SPORTS
9. 09. Dragon Slayer–Legend of Heroes (800)—RPG
10. 10. Zero 4 Champ (767)—SPORTS

NOTE: Although the HuCARD version of Populous made the list, the later CD•ROM² release Populous–The Promised Lands offered several additional themed worlds.

However, once you digest this information and analyze it, you will discover a trend: racing games were incredibly popular on the PCE in 1991. Indeed, racing games account for three spots: F1 Circus '91 (the newest release) occupies first place, the prior year's F1 Circus holds a firm third place, and, finally, Zero 4 Champ coasts into tenth place.

Furthermore, if we include racing games in the general genre of "sports" (as common practice dictates), another trend emerges: 60% of the Top 10 games for 1991 were sports titles. The popularity of baseball in Japan is well-known, so it is not surprising that Pro Yakyuu World Stadium '91 (#2) and Power League IV (#7) made the list. What is surprising, though, is that Namco's World Jockey occupies eighth place. Horseracing? Yes, horseracing. Although World Jockey supported up to four players—making it a potentially popular party game—I am still at a loss to explain its popularity.

GOLDEN AGE OF HuCARD: 1991 was clearly dominated by HuCARD releases, which comprise 80% of the Top 10. Only two CD•ROM² titles made the list: Ys III–Dawn of Ys (#5) and Dragon Slayer–Legend of Heroes (#10). Jump forward a mere year to the Top 10 PCE Games of 1992 and the situation has completely reversed itself—70% of the titles are CD•ROM² games, with only three HuCARD's making the list.

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