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As a video game enthusiast, you likely have a lot of games. Some because they're just amazing, some because you were bored and had money to burn... and then there are your originals... the games you had as a kid or when the hobby was new to you, whether they're your actual originals or ones you've replaced. Either way, they're the games you had when you didn't have hundreds or thousands of others, and you played them to death, because who knew when you'd get another. For me, one of those was Kabuki Quantum Fighter for the NES.

I remember vividly paying $30 in combined allowance and birthday money shortly after I'd turned 11 at my local Wal-Mart, as it was one of the few that looked interesting in my price range. It looked like a cool futuristic platformer, so I grabbed it and fired it up. And I died. A lot.

Kabuki Quantum Fighter is a platform action game that immediately calls to mind Sunsoft's Batman or Vice: Project Doom. It is a dark, gritty game with bizarre characters and enemies where the main character's spirit is projected into a computer, and due to his genetic lineage, manifests as a kabuki warrior who prefers to attack by swinging his hair like a headbanger. The graphics are imaginitive and quite detailed, making whatever acid trip created this world really feel cohesive. The music is also quite good and fitting to the area designs, and the distinctive boss track leaves no question as to whether or not it's time to rumble.

Aside from your hair whip, you can kick when hanging from handles on platforms, punch while crouching, and after each stage, you gain a new secondary weapon that you use by spending chips, which are occasionally dropped by downed enemies. These are vital in a few spots in late stages, and are immensely helpful against the bosses, who are wildly varied in size, design, and attack patterns.

The game is short at only 5 main stages and a final boss fight, but it does feature cool story scenes in between. The levels are all of modest size, but they are great about the occasional difficult route options, which nearly always have nice rewards like 1-ups or large health refills.

I played the hell out of this game as a kid, and I sat down to play it tonight just to be as fresh as possible before discussing it, and I still cleared it on one credit after not having played it for a few years. Those originals are just like that... your hands remember what to do. It held up really well to my eyes, and I'd recommend it to any NES fan who digs on the likes of Ninja Gaiden or Castlevania.

Played it?