Retro gaming has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years, with many people rediscovering the joys of playing classic video games from the past. In my opinion, there are several reasons why retro gaming is worth revisiting.
First, retro games are a nostalgiciac trip down memory lane. For many people, playing classic games brings back fond memories of their childhood and allows them to relive the experiences they had while playing these games for the first time.
Second, retro games are often simpler and more focused than modern games, which can be a refreshing change of pace. Without the distractions of high-resolution graphics, cutscenes, and complex storylines, retro games allow players to focus on the core gameplay and challenge themselves to improve.
Third, retro games are often more affordable than newer games. Many classic games can be purchased for a fraction of the cost of new releases, making them an affordable option for gamers on a budget.
Finally, retro gaming can be a great way to introduce younger generations to the history of video games. Many classic games are considered classics for a reason, and playing them can give younger players a sense of perspective and appreciation for the evolution of the medium.
Overall, I believe that retro gaming is a valuable and enjoyable pastime that is worth exploring for anyone who is a fan of video games. Whether you’re a seasoned gamer looking to relive old memories or a newcomer who is curious about the history of the medium, there is something for everyone in the world of retro gaming.
Welcome to issue #23 of the newsletter, thank for all of the feedback on the survey – it is appreciated and is already shaping the newsletter (for the better I hope) – I will do a separate edition to share the results with you all. If you still want to give your views, you can find the survey here.
Bomberman was released 37 years ago today (19/12/87) for the Famicom and a certain video game character turned 35 (17/12/87). His OG name was Rockman, can you guess who he is (answer at the bottom)?
Remember Baywatch? You will love Nostalgiatron.
News
Switch online has added 4 new Megadrive/Genesis games – including Columns [Eurogamer]. Link
The Daily Mail report on what they think is the largest video game collection in the world, worth an estimated $2.1m. I truly believe that retro is a wise investment. Link
The angels decided to pimp their iPad with colourful dots
A forgotten game called Scramble Training for the Sega AS-1 has been found at a car boot sale featuring some Michael Jackson video [NME]. Link
I wonder if this game was Bad?
The Wonderboy anniversary collection will be launching on January 26th for the Switch [Nintendo Everything]. Link
What is the secret of your power?
Articles
Redbrick have a feature on the gaming on the wars in the 90’s and the impact on wider gaming. I used to be team Megadrive (Genesis) as that is what my parents got me, but it’s hard to see it as being better than the SNES these days. Link
Lets just call them the two goats 🐐
Continuing the console history theme, Stratechery have a history go video games starting way back in 1958, its well worth a read. Link
Khabar Non Stop have a feature on the Rare “Play Boy” handheld that was never released (unfortunately). Link
Someones (was) gonna get sued
Destructoid have a feature as they revisit on Final Fight 3 on the SNES. Link
Take a look at what I’m wearing, people. You think anybody wants a roundhouse kick to the face while I’m wearing these bad boys? Forget about it – Mike Haggar
If you have a VR unit and want to recreate a working 90’s bedroom of your dreams, you need EmuVR (can be played without as well) [Lifehacker]. Link
4mm Acrylic “built like a tank” display cases for your retro games
Make Tech Easier have a run down about the best dedicated controllers for retro gamers. Link
Who knew there was a game called Millenium Falcon Challenge? Who knew there was a games console called the Tiger-R Zone. If you answered no to either question then you will enjoy this look at the “worst games console of all time” and a forgotten Star Wars game [California 18]. Link
Full disclosure, I never knew this existed until now.
Yahoo News has a gift guide on dedicated modern consoles to play retro games (and controllers). Link
Each tee is limited edition and individually numbered
Lists
The Hawkeye give their ranking on the classic MegaMan games. I never really played any of them and should really get around to doing so. Link
Rockman (spoiler alert for the question in case anyone reads this)
The Review Geek look at the top Mario games of all time, and there are some surprising entries amongst the more usual suspects. Link
Thats all for this week, the answer to the question is Mega Man (aka Rockman). The link to the survey is here – and please share with communities if you enjoy the newsletter. Thanks!
Last call for the survey on content – some very interesting and constructive responses so far and I will share the results in a future episode. You can find the link here and it will only take 2 mins of your time.
On this day (12th December) in 1960 – a character from Street Fighter was born. He likes John Wayne films, his hair and dog walking. Can you guess which character turning 62 today (answer at the end of the newsletter)?
I have broken the newsletter into new sections (thanks for the feedback) – let me know how this works for you as it will include all consoles in all sections (broken down as News/Features/Lists – NFL).
Everything else is just a flimsy plastic case
News
Final Fantasy V celebrated turning 30 – it was an iconic game in an iconic series, and Nintendo Life go into why it was a landmark in the series. Link
Such amazing artwork from Square Enix 😍
25 years later, the once cancelled Airball for the NES is being released (also available for GBA) by Retro Room Games – you can view the trailerhere.
Toejam and Earl and getting a film (The Verge)! Link
Features
Nintendo Life has a nice feature on Christmas gifts for Nintendo fans. Link
Etsy has it all.
Essentially Sports looks at the gaming life of Elon Musk as he suggested the Atari 2600 was his first console. Link
CRT’s and Retro Gaming go together like ET and landfill – the smallest CRT ever released was the Panasonic CT-101, so of course someone has hooked it up to a NES to play retro (TecheBlog). Link
What is this? A TV for ants?
Abernic are launching the RG35XX which comes in a Game Boy style case and comes with 2 Micro SD Card Slots, a 2100mh battery and an IPS screen with HDMI out and an A9 processor (Notebook Check). Link
A good looking device, but has to be #2
Hackster have info on modding a Game Boy Advance to be a wireless whole house remote. Link
And Peta Pixel have a feature on 3D printing new lenses for the Game Boy OG camera – 2 bit all the way baby. Link
An Elegant Camera for a More Civilized Age
Wired review the Evercade EXP (spoiler 7/10). Link
Want some geeky, retro inspired Christmas Tree decorations? Gizmodo has got you covered! Link
From Hallmark of all places!
Chained Echos is getting rave reviews for modern consoles – it is a 16 bit (retro) inspired RPG which looks great. He is the YouTube launch trailer. Link
They liked to watch….
Khabar Nonstop have a feature on the Nintendo seal of quality that adorned many of the best games. Link
CBR has a feature on why Kiddy Kong was so controversial (I never knew he existed 🫣). Link
He does look annoying.
Final Weapon has a feature on gaming in the 90’s. Link
Reutir looks at 8 bit compatibility on modern OS’s. Link
Lists
Gamespot have a long list of the greatest NES games of all time – and inspiration to revisit some of these classics. Link
CBR love a list, so when the decided to share us their best Nintendo games with the worst endings we just had to feature it. Link
And GameRant has a list of the 6 N64 games with the best cut scenes. Link
10 things you did not know about the Atari 2600 (Adafruit). Link
Cultured Vultures has a list of the 20 best N64 games of all time. Link
#11 was a Japanese only release – any ideas?
No one: The Gamer: The 7 best Alligators in video games. Link
And finally
Thanks for reading, please help me to improve by giving your feedback on the survey (link here).
39 years ago this week the innovatively named ”Baseball” was launched on the humble Famicom. You can play one of the granddaddy of sports games here.
Thanks to those that have shared their feedback on the survey – if you have not, I would be very grateful if you could spend 2 mins letting me know what you like or don’t like about the newsletter so that it can be improved. Here is the link.
Game Rant has some weird ports of retro fighting games. Streetfighter 2 on the Spectrum anyone? Link
Contestants in this year’s tournament were feeling blue.
There is a new trailer for the Super Mario Bros. film. Link
Some footage of a lost Metroid games for the N64 has surfaced (The Gamer). Link
Ruetir has some interesting (or not) facts about Donkey Kong. Link
A lot going on in this picture
There is a new multi-game changer for the Game Boy Colour, which is totally crazy, but sometimes crazy is cool (Hackaday). Link
Complicated solutions for simple problems
Tech E Blog has a complete history of Super Mario Kart and why is was made. Link
Mario Kart v1
Destructoid has a list of the 5 best games for the N64, not as obvious a choice as you might have thought. Link
Other
ABC News have a feature on the rise of demand for retro consoles. Link
Destructoid has compiled the best consoles that are the worst to collect for. No mention of the 32x! Link
If you know, you know.
Make Use Of have an article on which modern console is best for retro gaming (the ones you can hack usually…). Link
What is this? A Commodore for ants?!
Want to know the best 10 Sega Genesis games that were made in the 21st century? No? Well either way CBR have a list. Link
None sighted thus far in the 21st century
And CBR also has a look at some cancelled Konami games which might have been nice had they actually seen the light. Link
Pong has turned 50! Yahoo/Engadget have an interview on its creation. Link
Spokesman has an article on how to care for some of the retro consoles, nothing ground-breaking but definitely some “good to know” points made. Link
That’s all for this week, a gentle nudge to give your feedback on the newsletter if you have 2 mins you can spare. Please do share the newsletter with friends and retro communities if you enjoy it.
27 years ago this week Mega Man X3 was launched for the SNES in Japan. You can play it here.
This newsletter is still a work in progress, but if you can find 2 mins to fill in this survey so I can understand what kind of news is most popular it would be helpful for me to collate the proper selection. You can find the survey here (and thanks very much).
DualShockers have a list of 10 of the best villains from NES RPG’s. Niche, but provides a good visual for the cover of the newsletter. Link
Dude on the left is packing some interesting pants.
Inverse has a nice article on how Nintendo need to treat their older games with more respect. Link
Forbes looks back at the lessons learned on consumer values from the OG Game Boy. Link
Crunchyroll has announced Hime’s quest for the Game Boy Color and PC, as reported by Gematsu. Link
Is that Miles hiding on Hime’s head?
Destructiod gives their view on the best 5 Pokemon games (60% retro). Link
Pixel art is the best art.
A modder has created the worlds smallest Game Boy, TecheBlog report. Link
Game Baby?
The SnesDev Party team have announced the release of Supercooked! a cooking co-op game that works with the OG 16-bit hardware and emulators. Looks like fun! RealotakuGamer has more. Link
The younglings!!!!
Rare is a publisher of distinguished quality, but there have been a surprising number of games that there cancelled. CBR do what they do best and provides a list of them. Link
Reur goes deep on the story of Star Fox 2 – the lost game. Worth a read if you are a fan. Link
Furries in space.
Back to Rare, Diddy Kong Racing turns 25 and Exputer takes a look back on why you should not judge a game by its cover. Link
Others
California 18 feature a look at the Sega offices in Japan. Link
Bounding into Comics take a look at some very interesting Sega Genesis/Megadrive ROM hacks. Link
Is that a cigar in your mouth?
Game Asylum look back at the Atari 7800 catalogue – an underrated console? Link
Hacker Noon looks back at some film-to-game conversions that are worth a look. No ET. Link
Cultured Vultures give their view on the 20 best Sega Genesis games ever. Link
Only #20?
Duealshockers have a piece on what Atari was like before the crash of ‘83. Link
Box art was amazing back then.
For the Atari 50 celebration, they developed a new Atari Jaguar emulator from the ground up. GameRant reports. Link
Best console logo ever?
And that’s all for this edition – hope that you enjoyed it. If you missed it at the beginning or forgot, and you have a spare 2 mins – it would be very much appreciated if you can share your feedback on the newsletter (link here).
Welcome to issue #19, the nights get longer so a perfect time to dust off some retro games and get around to playing thatgame you have been waiting to play.
Discussing all things 80’s and 90’s like Going Live and Coco Pops
32 years ago today the SNES was launched in Japan and a life was never quite the same again. With that came one of the greatest games ever - Super Mario World – and you can relive this masterpiece here.
Hard 4mm Acrylic Cases for Nintendo, Sega and many many more.
TecheBlog look back at the nemesis of school children in the 80’s or 90’s (which I never knew existed) – the “Homework First” (below). Link
I would have left home if this ever appeared in my childhood.
Did you know gaming have released an insightful video (30 mins) about every Zelda game that was never released. Link
Is Zelda the greatest gaming series ever?
Comicbook Gaming look back at Namco’s Star Wars game for the Famicom which had Darth Vader turn into a scorpion, a shark, a pterodactyl, and a Wampa - not canon. Link
Dad?
Some good people have made every issue of Nintendo Power magazine available for download. Not all hero’s wear capes. Link
CBR have a deep, well written view on the state of Retro Gaming. Joke, it’s a list of the 10 SNES games that are not as good as you remember. Link
Harsh. Harsh. Harsh. (But to be fair they provide good visuals for the newsletter).
I love a limited edition console, my Pikachu N64 is one of the highlights of my collection. Dual Shockers look at the rarest Nintendo variants. Link
MTV Gamecube!
Shigeru Miyamoto Turns 70 and Bolly Inside look back at the career of one of the most influential names in gaming. Link
The Escapist give the “Definitive View” of the Virtual Boy (their words not mine). Link
Virtual boy is a weird name, sounds like an invisible friend.
Event Hubs look at Atari’s attempts to compete with Virtual Fighter and Tekken - and created one of the worst fighting games ever - The First For Life. Link
This was not the box art.
The Gamer take a look at the Atari 50 collection which has just been released and getting some good reviews. Link
And the rest is history
Not Hardware report that Streets of Rage is being made into a film with the writer of John Wick on board. Not holding out much hope, but loved the game series. Link
Attack of the clones
And that’s a wrap! Thanks for reading and if you can share with others I would be extremely grateful!
Another good article from Reutir, shines a light on interesting topics – this time they turn their attention to the history of RockStar and Nintendo. Link
Would love to see what this might of looked like
Everyone knows Super Mario Bros. but did you know Game Over was not the end and you could continue with a simple button combination 😲. GeekyRant gives more details. Link
Den of Geek are back with a list that tells us all about the “Best NES games released outside of Japan”, and I am sure some are well worth a go. Link
Can you name any of these?
Starfox is one of the iconic SNES games and pushed the hardware, and some cleaver modder has now pushed it further with the release of the ROM hack Starfox EX – which contains SNES mouse support, 5-player mode and 17 levels with battles against some of Nintendo’s icons. PCGamer delve into more detail. Link
They are threatening words indeed Luigi.
Did you know there was an N64 Zelda game that never got launched, Ruetir give details and the story behind Zelda 64. Link
Game Informer has a nice feature on a visit to Japan’s Mario Themed amusement park. Really want to visit this place. Link
Welcome to issue #17! On the 9th November 1996 Sonic 3D Blast was released for the Genesis. 3D is a very optimistic word for this game, but you can play it here.
KitGuru report that the next Sega mini console will be decided by fans. Which would you like to see (a mini Saturn would be cool). Link
SVG report one how a lost ”Risqué” Sega Saturn game was finally found. Link
Risqué indeed.
Other
A nice article on Japan’s love affair with gaming, lots of retro goodness covered – thanks to Time Square Chronicles. Link
GameRant list the best consoles of the 80’s. Which would you pick as #1 (comments below). Link
Popular Mechanics have a nice article looking at the 50 years of Atari and question how the pioneer of home gaming failed to capitalise on their early start. Link
Thats all for this week, thanks for reading and if you have any suggestions you can let us know on Instagram, or Twitter– or just drop a note in the comments.
The “obligatory” Halloween edition. Instead of celebrating a birthday, I will share my personal favorite horror genre game – Splatterhouse 2 on the Megadrive (Genesis). You can play this game here.
Dualshockers have a list of the 10 strangest games released on the Super Nintendo. Link
A scary clown riding a rat with a needle as a sword into battle is worthy of the word “strange”
Classic Nintendo controllers are now compatible with IOS and tvOS 16.1 California 18 is reporting (adaptor needed). Link
Past meets present
Destrictoid has a feature on the SNES version of Jurassic Park. Link
Special $.99 Assic Park
If you are a Gamecube user and use the Game Boy Player – there is a hack that The Gamer is reporting on that makes it much better. Link
Go Nintendo look at some spooky Nintendo worlds/levels. Link
No one:
Absolutely no one:
CBR – 10 Mario Enemies That Would Make Good Pets. Link
All shit pets in my opinion.
Just in case you are not done with lists (they get a surprising number of clicks according to my data) Dualshockers look at the 10 strangest 10 N64 games. Link
Bloodshot eyes and holding a bud Budweiser. Da fuck…?
Game News 24 has an article in memory of Reiko Kodama, the Grand Dame of Sega” who sadly passed away. An impressive life. Link
Sonic has now passed more than 1.51 Billion unit sales and downloads report Shacknews. Link
Other
Gamefreaks 365 have a feature article on Ms. Pac-Man, worth a read on the OG female lead character. Link
iTechSpot has a list of 5 games (mostly retro) based on scary movies. I can think of many more.. Link
For those of you that collect games, you might interested to know that Analogue is releasing a final batch of their Sega SG and Nintendo NT – they are beautiful machines and play original games. Link
A bit list heavy this week (but it is Halloween) – Screenrant looks at the 10 worst gaming system accessories. Link
If this is one of the worst, what are the best…?
PC Mag looks at the worst arcade conversions of all time. Link
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter, and wishing you all a spooky Halloween!
Welcome to issue #15, this week – 34 years ago this week the Sega Genesis was launched in the USA, so I use this an an opportunity to play one of the best platform games ever – Sonic the Hedgehog – you can play online here.
You know that Donkey Kong was originally about Popeye right? No? Then you might want to check out CBR’s 10 (surprise surprise) incredibly confusing facts about Nintendo. Link
Brings a whole new meaning to Bomber Man
Last week the NES turned 37 years old, probably the most iconic consoles of all time and Out Kick take you on a trip down memory lane to celebrate this birthday. Link
So many dead ducks
Nintendo has always walked its own path when it comes to hardware and gaming, not always following logical convention and having some massive hits. Gear Rice look at 7 Nintendo products that were different from the rest. Link
Hit or miss when looked at now?
The director of Super Smash Bros – Sakurai – has released some information of the original Smash Bros prototype (minus Mario). Worth a look if you are a fan of the series, Reutir report. Link
Megazone was the magazine for Sega in Australia, but it was also owned by the sole distributor of Sega products. Read more about the shady history courtesy of Super Jump Magazine. Link
Screen Rank look at 10 hardest Genesis/Megadrives they still have not beaten (below). Link
Ghouls and Goblins in hard game list shocker.
Other
Remember back in the day there used to be a lot of brands trying to break into games, with varying degrees of success. California 18 look back at 10 brands (below) that made the decision to release games (mostly retro). Link
Not so greeeeeat
There is a new website that offers 23 emulators to test your rooms playable via a browser. Find it in this link.
The Gamer look at the best of the 8 bit fighting games. Link
Pixel beauties
Thats it for this week, thanks for reading and gives us a like and/or a share if you are enjoying the newsletter (and if you are not, then please let us know what we can do better!).
