I come from the generation that was awe-inspired by the stunning eight bits of the Nintendo Entertainment System, so I get no small amount of satisfaction from seeing games that far surpass that top toy of 1985 being produced for play on any common web browser. Add to that the fact that many of these excellent games are programmed by fewer than three people and it becomes apparent how far the art of game design has come. The following are three excellent browser games that debuted in April 2009.

Berzerk Studio finished production on its stunning action RPG, "Hero's Arms" and released it on April 7th. It's a humorous homage to the original Zelda for the NES. Players take their protagonist, a snotty, pint-sized warrior, on a hack-and-slash quest through an expansive world filled with dungeons and monsters. Unlike in Zelda many of the upgrades and add-ons for your character aren't mandatory, but they can make the game easier and more fun to play. Of course, if you wanted to, you could take on the final boss with nothing but a sturdy twig and a determined attitude. What really makes this game stand out is its gorgeous art and surprising depth. Elements like magic attacks, experience-boosted stats and clever puzzles elevate "Hero's Arms" far beyond a mere Zelda clone.

In the middle of the month, Cool Buddy Games released the English translation of the highly involved Japanese strategy game "The Great War of Prefectures". Based in the Feudal period of Japan, players start out with a single prefecture under their control and build up their armies to take over neighboring sections. What the game lacks in graphics it make up for in depth and ease of pick-up. There are ten different types of soldiers available, "labs" for upgrades and even the ability to call upon gods to aid your army. The interface requires only the mouse, so it's easy to dive into a game that would otherwise be intimidating. "The Great War of Prefectures" is ultimately a game for players who are willing to invest the time to go all the way through it and who don't mind the learning curve.

Up-and-coming designer JGOware premiered its first top-down shooter, RetroShoot in early April. It's a creative though occasionally frustrating game that puts the player in control of only their ship's movement, as the guns are on auto-fire. In most cases, the shooting portion of the game is just meant to clear a path. Most of "RetroShoot" involves dodging wave after wave of unique enemies and collecting powerups, most of which have a defensive bent to them. The screen changes angles regularly as a means of disorienting the player and at least half of the waves contain one-of-a-kind enemies that each need to be approached in a different way. While most of the game is skill-based, a big part of it relies on the luck of getting the right powerups at the right time. With a little fixing, "RetroShoot" could be a great time-waster.