Rolling a real 6-7 split: Dig Dug II / Championship Bowling | NES Works 166

Two games this episode that take a very different approach to the verb "split". In the aggressively mediocre Dig Dug II, you split the ground to sink massive chunks of earth beneath the sea, singlehandedly setting the plot of Waterworld into motion. Meanwhile, the excellent Championship Bowling has a more direct connection to the Virtual Boy library, seemingly being the introduction of Virtual Bowling developer Athena to the bowling genre. Although Athena did NOT develop this game. Its programmers' identity WILL shock you!! Yes, despite its more recognizable name, Dig Dug II is not the standout game this time. Championship Bowling is pretty great, offering a really fun and thoughtful take on the sport within the hardware limitations and significantly improving on its coin-op source material—and I didn't even touch on the most notable thing about the game (its four-player simultaneous support). Don't worry, that's coming in a future episode. Special thanks to Twilight Symphony Games for setting me up with Dig Dug II! Please support this documentation project through Patreon (www.patreon.com/gamespite) or by picking up some of the related books (www.limitedrungames.com/collections/books). AND you can preorder Metroidvania: The First Decade from a fine book chain or comic shop, such as B&N (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-history-of-metroidvania-jeremy-parish/1148489848 ). Thanks!