Japan’s Hanabi festival is, among other things, an excuse to get the fireworks out. It also marks four weeks of retro gaming madness on Virtual Console, as Nintendo excavates the archives in search of long-forgotten classics and games that never saw European release – often for good reasons.

Today we have Pulseman and Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen. The former deserves the “cult” tag that Nintendo is quick to bestow it. It’s a Mega Drive action/platformer from 1994 that follows the bizarre story of a scientist who fathers a half-human/half-virtual child that can channel electricity and use it as a weapon. Dad and lad then become mortal enemies and, oh, the leccy-related japery that follows etc. Pulseman was a bit of a looker for its time and, crucially, was made by the same outfit responsible for the Pokemon series – indeed, fans will see many similarities between the two.

Meanwhile Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen is a true rarity, only ever getting a marginal release on Super NES outside of Japan and still costing a small fortune if you try to buy it on its original format. The real-time strategical gameplay will suit patient players with a fondness for moving little icons around on large, scaling maps. Mode 7-powered visuals a-plenty, though. It was published by Enix too, which should be all the recommendation some gamers will need.

Moving on, and the coming weeks promise more obscurities, with the occasional gem or three chucked in for good measure. Here’s how Nintendo details ‘em:

Bomberman '94 – Turbografx
This version of Hudson Soft’s acclaimed action game for up to five players was never released outside of Japan – until now!

Zoda’s Revenge: StarTropics II – NES
Re-join Mike Jones, ace pitcher and part-time adventurer, in this sequel to the classic StarTropics – previously available only in North America.

MUSHA – MEGA DRIVE
Pilot your Metallic Uniframe Super Hybrid Armour, in this US version of the all-time favourite vertical-scrolling shooter.

Smash Table Tennis – NES
Hone your table tennis skills as this Japan-only sporting classic – previously unseen outside of Japan – comes to Europe for the first time.

DETANA TWIN BEE – Turbografx
This cutesy vertical-scrolling shooter was originally released only in Japan, but now you can enjoy its charms on Virtual Console in Europe.

Kirby’s Dream Land 3 – Super Nintendo
Join Kirby the powerful pink puffball in his adventure against the mischievous King Dedede, in this colourful platformer available in Europe for the first time.

There’s more spiffy than iffy in that little lot. Bomberman is a reliable multiplayer laff-party in most of its many guises, you won’t ever go too far wrong with Kirby, we’ve particularly fond memories of Twin Bee and MUSHA is a vertical scroller to test the reflexes of hardcore shootists everywhere. Price-wise you’re looking at 900 points apiece, which seems about right to us. In fact it’s a veritable barg in a couple of instances...