Games Released in February 1986

53 new games released in February 1986, with MSX being the most active platform. February 1 was the busiest day, with 35 new releases.

Top Platform

MSX

New Releases

53

Busiest Day

February 1

The Legend of Zelda

What was the most popular game of February 1986?

The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda is the first title in the Zelda series, it has marked the history of video games particularly for it's game mechanics and universe. The player controls Link and must make his way through the forests, graveyards, plains and deserts of the Otherworld to find the secret entrances to the eight dungeons and try to restore the broken Triforce. Among the game's mechanics, it was the first time we saw a continuous world that could be freely explored, power-ups that permanently enhanced the main character's abilities and a battery save feature that allowed players to keep their progress instead of having to start over. The gameplay balanced action sequences with discovery, secrets and exploration.

Which days had the most releases?

February 1 saw the most activity with 35 releases.

Game cover
Game cover

35 releases

February 1

Game cover
Game cover

8 releases

February 21

Game cover
Game cover

2 releases

February 4

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Game cover

2 releases

February 8

SunMonTueWedThuFriSat

Sat, Feb 1

35 releases

Sun, Feb 2

No releases

Mon, Feb 3

1 release

Tue, Feb 4

2 releases

Wed, Feb 5

No releases

Thu, Feb 6

1 release

Fri, Feb 7

No releases

Sat, Feb 8

2 releases

Sun, Feb 9

No releases

Mon, Feb 10

No releases

Tue, Feb 11

1 release

Wed, Feb 12

No releases

Thu, Feb 13

No releases

Fri, Feb 14

No releases

Sat, Feb 15

No releases

Sun, Feb 16

No releases

Mon, Feb 17

No releases

Tue, Feb 18

No releases

Wed, Feb 19

No releases

Thu, Feb 20

1 release

Fri, Feb 21

8 releases

Sat, Feb 22

2 releases

Sun, Feb 23

No releases

Mon, Feb 24

No releases

Tue, Feb 25

No releases

Wed, Feb 26

No releases

Thu, Feb 27

No releases

Fri, Feb 28

No releases

How did each week compare?

The first week of February was the busiest with 39 releases.

Week 2 (February 8–14)

3 releases
Son Son

Most popular release in Week 2

Son Son

The game is a 2-D sidescrolling platformer. The screen scrolls automatically, only stopping to fight major enemies. The screen features six continuous platforms that occasionally feature small gaps. Sonson and Tonton walk automatically across these platforms. Pressing up or down will cause them to jump up or down to the next platform. Pressing left causes them to move more slowly than the screen scrolls, essentially continuing to move forward but at a reduced pace. Pressing right does the opposite - SonSon and TonTon will move across the platforms faster than the screen scrolls. The duo have only one attack - the ability to fire energy blasts from their stalves. Touching an enemy or an unfriendly projectile causes the player to lose a life. If a player has any additional lives, they will return to the screen riding on a cloud that will give them temporary invincibility. If the player presses the control stick in any direction, the cloud will disappear and the character will resume its usual walking mode. The cloud will eventually disappear on its own if the control stick is not used. Power-ups come in the form of various fruits which produce points (with enough points giving the player an extra life). Gathering certain fruit will cause all enemies currently on a screen to turn into point-bearing fruits. Walking across certain platforms will randomly cause a bamboo shoot to sprout, yielding many extra points. It is possible to play the game co-operatively with partner who plays as TonTon (who is Zhu Wuneng in the original story).

Week 3 (February 15–21)

9 releases
The Legend of Zelda

Most popular release in Week 3

The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda is the first title in the Zelda series, it has marked the history of video games particularly for it's game mechanics and universe. The player controls Link and must make his way through the forests, graveyards, plains and deserts of the Otherworld to find the secret entrances to the eight dungeons and try to restore the broken Triforce. Among the game's mechanics, it was the first time we saw a continuous world that could be freely explored, power-ups that permanently enhanced the main character's abilities and a battery save feature that allowed players to keep their progress instead of having to start over. The gameplay balanced action sequences with discovery, secrets and exploration.

Which platforms saw the most releases?

MSX received 14 new titles in February 1986. The runner up was Arcade with 8 new titles.

MSX14 releases
Arcade8 releases
Family Computer Disk System7 releases
Commodore C64/128/MAX6 releases
SG-10002 releases
Amstrad CPC2 releases
MSX22 releases
Texas Instruments TI-992 releases
ZX Spectrum2 releases
Nintendo Entertainment System2 releases

What genres were most popular?

Sport was the dominant genre in February 1986 with 10 titles. Shooter followed closely with 10.

Sport10
Shooter10
Adventure9
Platform8
Arcade8
Puzzle7
Simulator6
Role-playing4
Racing3
Card & Board Game2
1986 Review
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