When it comes to Review Crew series, we've covered Nintendo Classics, PlayStation Plus, Limited Run Games, Retro-Bit Publishing and even individual franchises like Ninja Gaiden, but rarely do we talk about Ratalaika. That's because a lot of the games they release are from indie developers, but every so often they'll spend a few dollars to bring a long-forgotten 8- or 16-bit game and re-release it on modern consoles. This month, Ratalaika will give video pinball fans a real treat by resurrecting Dino Land on the Genesis, and recently they ported the Super NES action game Psycho Dream to everything from the PlayStation 5 to the Switch. That's cool news, but are either of these games worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Super Play, Mean Machines Sega and more classic magazines that reviewed these games back when they first came out. No, this is not one of those Psycho Dreams, we really are about to talk about Dino Land in this brand-new episode of Ratalaika Review Crew!


Psycho Dream is a rare example of a game that, despite never being released outside of Japan, still managed to get reviewed by American and European critics. That's because this game was set to come to America under the new name Dream Probe, but was scuttled when Renovation went through an extensive restructure in 1993. In case you've never heard of it, Psycho Dream is basically a Valis clone that traps a young girl in a dream machine science project. The critics were already a little split on the Valis series, so let's see what they thought of Psycho Dream.

For a game that never came to America, there sure are a lot of reviews. And what's great about this game is that there's a big disagreement amongst the critics. We're going to start with Electronic Gaming Monthly, who was on the lower end of the scale, giving Psycho Dream a disappointing 5.25 out of 10. Sushi-X summed it up this way: “At first glance, Dream Probe sounds interesting, and the graphics seem calm and pleasant. Once you get into the game, the constant flickering and slowdown get very annoying, and the music never changes between the levels. The action moves too slow and you can power up so easily that the challenge just isn't there.” Ed liked it a little more than Soosh, but still expected more from the game. “There is a good variety in the levels with plenty of nice scenery to look at, but when you play the game you find the power-ups are rather mild and the bosses slowdown the game too much. The music seems a bit repetitive and the sounds just don't grab you.”

If you think EGM hated Psycho Dream, that's nothing when compared to Super Play, who gave the game a 33%. “I guess there's a market for this sort of game, but I don't think Europe is it. Unless you're easily wowed by a few transparent guardians, or excited by parallax scrolling, you're not going to break into a sweat, let alone a smile, over this one. And just in case you have any niggling doubts that refuse to die on the edge of my rapier-like comments, slap it on easy mode and you'll see the entire game in one sitting. As long as you aren't overcome with boredom first.”

While Electronic Gaming Monthly may not have liked it, the sister magazines were a bit kinder. For example, Super NES Buyer's Guide gave it a 63%, which is not a good score, but a lot better than the 5.25 out of 10 we saw out of the flagship magazine. Electronic Games, on the other hand, actually gave Psycho Dream a passing grade – 85%. Of course, the highest score goes to GamePro, which went all the way up to a 4.5 out of 5. They loved it. “If the waking world has got you down, Dream Probe just might jazz up your mood. The hot-and-heavy action will definitely keep you awake. There's no rest for the wicked here.”

With scores that range from 33% all the way up to 90%, there's a real divide when it comes to the reviews. The overall average is a mere 63%, but magazines like GamePro and Electronic Games had no problem recommending it. This might be one of those hidden gems that's worth discovering.

With large video game cabinets pushing pinball out of the arcades in the early 1990s, we saw game developers try to attract the audience with a bunch of pinball titles that you could only do on a game system. I was always a fan of Devil's Crush, but you also saw major publishers throw their hat into the mix with games like Crueball and Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball. One you don't hear much about is Dino Land, the Wolf Team-developed hybrid that mixes pinball with a dinosaur-filled adventure game. It has bosses and power-ups and even a kidnapped girlfriend, because it's still a game from the 1990s. Were people wrong to ignore this game for nearly 35 years? Let's find out.

The first thing you're going to notice is that all of the reviews are from UK publications, despite the fact that I can't find a European release date. That's weird. Instead of figuring out why that is, I'm instead going to start with the lowest grade, which comes to us from Mean Machines Sega (and also MegaTech). They gave the game a 53%, calling it “a jolly, but fairly unchallenging pinball simulation which is letdown by jerky and unrealistic ball movement. If you're a pinball fan, look out for Devil Crush, which is miles better than this.”

For what it's worth, Mean Machines was the only magazine to be that, well, mean. As we look at other magazines we see Games-X give Dino Land a so-so score of 3.5 out of 5. “I must admit to having enjoyed Dino Land. Although it may only appear to be a basic simulation, it has, nevertheless, one or two oddities that makes it much better than other similar products. For instant, the guardian boss heralds as a unique idea for this genre of game, and the dinosaur theme that runs throughout is a small but nice touch. It is expensive and I suggest Dino Land may be best left to pinball fans.”

When it comes to the top score, that belongs to Sega Pro. Giving it a solid 81%, they concluded that “Devil's Crush will probably end up as the overall pinball wizard, but till it's released, Dino Land will provide many hours of table-tilting fun. The table is made up of two full screen sections, and the backgrounds change as your points tot up. Impressive, but soon tires.”

Both Sega Pro and Games X were right, this is a good little game that mashes up a couple of genres. While the results aren't perfect, it's still a lot of fun, and it offers some cool ideas, like boss fights and a multi-level story. Dino Land earned an overall average score of 68%, mostly because of Mean Machines. It's true that Devil's Crush is a better game, but Dino Land is still worth the $5 asking price.