1986 is squarely in I-like-the-games-I-played-as-a-kid territory for me, which means I won’t be voting for anything on the NES. Instead, I’m pulling from the Master System, Arcade, and various computers, particularly the C64.
Out Run is of course a brilliant game. Most of my time with it was actually only a few years ago, playing the Mega Drive version set to easy on my Nomad (on easy I could get through all the courses). One of my favourite forum posts/descriptions of a game is about Out Run:
OUT RUN
WIND IN MY HAIR
FEELIN’ GOOD
Sadly I can’t find the original now, so I’m quoting from memory.
Bubble Bobble I played mostly on C64 and SMS. The core gameplay feels good, I love that you pop bubbles with your characters’ spiky backs, it’s full of mystery with all the hidden things letting you skip levels and gain bonuses, and the music is a contender for the catchiest tune of all time.
Defender of the Crown came out in ‘86, though I played the ‘87 C64 version. Even on C64 it had fantastic graphics and music. It was a bit complicated for young me - I never figured out the jousting and my main goal was usually getting a catapult to knock down castle walls. I revisited as an adult and still couldn’t get anywhere - those Norman lords would consolidate more territory than I could and just wipe me out.
My actual choice for game of the year, 1987, is
I don’t really remember how I first played Rolling Thunder. I think we had an Amiga for a while and I played it on that, though screenshots of the Amiga version don’t look as familiar as the arcade game. Anyway, I played it as a kid and then it sank into the depths of my memory, occasionally resurfacing as a “what was that game?”, until at some point I sat down and figured it out, and eventually played through it on PSP via a namco collection which allowed saving between stages. A lot of the appeal is aesthetic:
Look at that beautiful dingy building.
Those tyres and sandbags!
The crates! The visuals may not have the same effect on you if they aren’t buried somewhere in your childhood memories, but I really do think it’s a good looking game. Gameplay-wise, it’s sort of a run and gun, though more of a saunter and run. You walk, jump, crouch, shoot, and duck in and out of doors. Early on you can react to enemies, but in later stages it’s a bit of a memoriser. The controls are responsive, the game can be beaten, and moving through it feels great (when it isn’t frustrating).
Best of all, though, is the vault. Hold up and jump and you’ll jump absurdly high. If there’s an upper platform with a rail, your character will grab the rail and vault over it onto the higher floor. Hold down and jump and he’ll vault over the rail to the floor below. I wish I had a gif of it rather than these still shots. Holding up and down to move between levels isn’t unique, of course, but it just feels so good in this game.
I think if I were making a top five 1986 games Rolling Thunder might not top it, but in a top one list it takes it for me.