Games Released in April 1990

66 new games debuted in April 1990, with Family Computer being the most active platform. April 1 was the busiest day, with 12 releases. Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos was the most popular release of the month.

Which days had the most releases?

April 1 saw the most activity with 12 releases.

12 releases

April 1

10 releases

April 20

9 releases

April 13

7 releases

April 27

SunMonTueWedThuFriSat

Sun, Apr 1

12 releases

Mon, Apr 2

6 releases

Tue, Apr 3

1 release

Wed, Apr 4

No releases

Thu, Apr 5

1 release

Fri, Apr 6

5 releases

Sat, Apr 7

2 releases

Sun, Apr 8

No releases

Mon, Apr 9

No releases

Tue, Apr 10

1 release

Wed, Apr 11

1 release

Thu, Apr 12

No releases

Fri, Apr 13

9 releases

Sat, Apr 14

No releases

Sun, Apr 15

2 releases

Mon, Apr 16

5 releases

Tue, Apr 17

No releases

Wed, Apr 18

3 releases

Thu, Apr 19

No releases

Fri, Apr 20

10 releases

Sat, Apr 21

2 releases

Sun, Apr 22

No releases

Mon, Apr 23

3 releases

Tue, Apr 24

No releases

Wed, Apr 25

1 release

Thu, Apr 26

3 releases

Fri, Apr 27

7 releases

Sat, Apr 28

1 release

Sun, Apr 29

1 release

Mon, Apr 30

3 releases

How did each week compare?

The first week of April was the busiest with 27 releases.

Week 1 (April 1–7)

27 releases

Most popular release in Week 1

Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos

The Ninja Ryu is back to avenge the death of his father, and stop the Evil Ashtar. A year has passed since Ryu last faced his arch enemy, and still the activity down at the bottom of the realm of darkness continues. Ashtar, the evil lord who secretly controls Jaquio, is again on the move, and it is up to Ryu, the "Ninja Dragon" to put a stop to it. Use all of the secrets of the real Ninjitsu, along with the exciting audio and visual special effects and be drawn into the fantasy world of Ninja Gaiden II The Dark Sword Of Chaos.

Week 2 (April 8–14)

11 releases

Most popular release in Week 2

Crystalis

You must save the world from evil magic by finding the four powerful swords that form Crystalis. After the apocalypse, magic returns to Earth. A blessed group of good-intentioned sorcerers have used their new magical powers to rebuild the Earth, but an evil sorcerer named Dragonia has combined his supernatural forces with man-made technology to devastate the rebuilt Earth. It is your mission to recover four mystical swords, and combine them to form the ultimate blade: the Sword of Crystalis. This legendary weapon is the only tool which can put an end to Dragonia's black reign.

Week 3 (April 15–21)

22 releases

Most popular release in Week 3

Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi

Fire Emblem: The Dark Dragon and Sword of Light is the first game in the Fire Emblem series, developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. It was first released on the Famicom (known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System) on April 20, 1990. It takes place on the continent of Archanea. It stars Marth, a character who later appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee. The first time the game was released outside of Japan was in the form of a limited edition port for Nintendo Switch, under the same name, that runs a localization script in the background, but the original version of the game was never released outside of Japan.

Week 4 (April 22–28)

15 releases

Most popular release in Week 4

Final Fantasy III

Final Fantasy III is the third FF game for the Famicom. The turn-based battle engine has been improved: if the enemy is defeated, the next character will automatically switch to another enemy, and not hit the air, like in the previous two games. The game itself is, like the previous games, a top-down RPG where your characters travel in the overworld, sometimes entering cities and dungeons to buy equipment, rest and fight random encounters and bosses with turn-based combat. Final Fantasy III also introduces various series staples, such as the Job system and the Moogle species.

Week 5 (April 29–30)

4 releases

Which platforms saw the most releases?

Family Computer received 12 new titles in April 1990. The runner up was Game Boy with 12 new titles.

Family Computer12 releases

Game Boy12 releases

TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine10 releases

Arcade9 releases

Nintendo Entertainment System7 releases

Sega Mega Drive/Genesis5 releases

PC-8800 Series4 releases

FM Towns3 releases

MSX23 releases

PC-9800 Series3 releases

What genres were most popular?

Adventure was the dominant genre in April 1990 with 18 titles. Shooter followed closely with 18.

Adventure18

Shooter18

Arcade16

Puzzle12

Role-playing12

Sport10

Strategy9

Platform7

Visual Novel7

Hack and slash3

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