Games Released in December 1989

833 new games debuted in December 1989, with Family Computer being the most active platform. December 1 was the busiest day, with 22 releases. The Duel: Test Drive II was the most popular release of the month.

Which days had the most releases?

December 1 saw the most activity with 22 releases.

22 releases

December 1

17 releases

December 31

15 releases

December 15

11 releases

December 22

How did each week compare?

The fourth week of December was the busiest with 28 releases.

Week 1 (December 1–7)

26 releases

Most popular release in Week 1

The Revenge of Shinobi

The Revenge of Shinobi, known as The Super Shinobi in Japan, is the continuation of Shadow Dancer - the arcade sequel to Shinobi. The game was the first Shinobi title developed exclusively for home consoles.

Week 2 (December 8–14)

20 releases

Most popular release in Week 2

Toki

The hero of the game is a young jungle-man named Toki. One day the evil wizard Dr. Stark kidnaps his girlfriend Wanda. When Toki tries to save her, he is turned into a monkey! Now Toki has to find Dr. Stark in his palace, rescue Wanda, and become a human being again!

Week 3 (December 15–21)

28 releases

Most popular release in Week 3

Herzog Zwei

Herzog Zwei is a Sega Genesis-exclusive game by Technosoft, published in 1989 (released in North America and Europe in early 1990). It is an early real-time strategy game, predating the genre-popularizing Dune II. Herzog Zwei combines the arcade-style play of Technosoft's own Thunder Force series with a simple, easy-to-grasp level of strategy. In Herzog Zwei, the player directly pilots a flying, transforming mech, a multi-role robot suited for utility and combat. Through the mech, the player purchases surface combat units, airlifts them across the battlefield, and issues them orders. These command activities can only be performed through the mech. Vehicles follow their assigned orders (which are fairly basic: patrol, garrison, capture base) until they either run out of fuel or are destroyed. Tactical re-deployment (mission reassignment, vehicle repair) involves a great deal of micromanagement, due to the required involvement of the mech.

Week 4 (December 22–28)

28 releases

Most popular release in Week 4

Double Dragon II: The Revenge

Technōs created once again a vastly different experience with Double Dragon II on the NES. The experience system was dropped, but the moveset still underwent a few changes. The elbow attack and turning jump kick are gone, but with the standard kick directed backwards they seemed a bit redundant anyway. There are two new ways to make enemies in a grapple suffer, elbow smashes to the head, and a high kick to propel them away. In the brief time window when the Lee brothers are crouching after a jump or after getting knocked down, it’s possible to perform a rising uppercut or a knee jump attack. The timing for these isn’t easy, but they are the most powerful moves in the game. On the NES, Double Dragon II is a much more innovative and unique sequel than in the arcade, but it marks also the time Double Dragon started its schizophrenic shifting between wildly different tones and gameplay styles. In a way it’s one of the best games to bear the Double Dragon name, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that Technōs had already started to loose a cohesive vision of what it meant to be Double Dragon, both in tone and in gameplay.

Week 5 (December 29–31)

19 releases

Most popular release in Week 5

The Duel: Test Drive II

The Duel: Test Drive II is a cross-platform racing game developed by Distinctive Software and published by Accolade in 1989. It is the second entry in the Test Drive series of video games.

Which platforms saw the most releases?

Family Computer received 22 new titles in December 1989. The runner up was TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine with 13 new titles.

Family Computer22 releases

TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine13 releases

Commodore C64/128/MAX10 releases

Sega Mega Drive/Genesis10 releases

Sharp X680009 releases

PC-8800 Series8 releases

Amiga6 releases

Game Boy6 releases

Nintendo Entertainment System6 releases

Arcade5 releases

What genres were most popular?

Shooter was the dominant genre in December 1989 with 28 titles. Adventure followed closely with 20.

Shooter28

Adventure20

Platform19

Sport16

Arcade15

Role-playing14

Strategy14

Racing9

Simulator9

Hack and slash8

1989 Review

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