Retro - Timeline
YesterdayFri, 4th Dec 2020
Poll Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade Of Light Is Out Today, Are You Getting It?
Experience a slice of Nintendo history
There are a lot of big releases this week, but one that stands out on the Nintendo front is Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light. Sure, it might not be a new release, but it is a slice of Nintendo history - marking the first time the 1990 8-bit Famicom title by Intelligent Systems has ever been...
Monday30th Nov 2020
News Sega Just Showed Off A Prototype Handheld For The First Time Ever
You're my Venus
Sega turns 60 this year, and the company has been celebrating that fact in a wide range of ways – one of which is a special video history lesson which runs through the company's home hardware lineage. This particular seminar was held by Sega producer and manager Hiroyuki Miyazaki and takes us from the early days of 1983's SG-1000...
Sunday29th Nov 2020
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel #69 - The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Nice
Welcome back to Box Art Brawl, our weekly(ish) contest between box art variants from around the world. Last time, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of both that game and its host system, we looked at SNES launch title Super Mario World. Thirty years! Time has its own Magic Cape, it se
Friday27th Nov 2020
News The Revo K101 Plus GBA Clone Now Comes With Fancy New Colours, But Not Much Else
2015's best GBA clone hasn't change much in 5 years
Remember the Revo K101 Plus? We took a look at this smart little Game Boy Advance clone way back in 2015, and passed the following verdict: If you're looking for a decent GBA system but don't like the tiny form factor of the Game Boy Micro -–and can't afford the revised G
Tuesday24th Nov 2020
Video 21 Nintendo 64 Games Everyone Should Play
In no particular order
The N64 may have failed to reach the same dizzy commercial heights as the NES and SNES, but it's unquestionably home to some of the finest video games Nintendo has ever produced, and rightfully holds a special place in the hearts of many gaming fans. On that topic, do remember when we asked you, our lovely readers, to rank...
Feature GBA Mod Company Creates The Game Gear Sega Should Have Released In 2020
Showing them how it's done
The Game Gear Micro was a neat little product and all, but it wasn't exactly practical – it's absolutely tiny, so playing it for longer than five minutes is an exercise in pain, and the fact that Sega only included a handful of games on each unit means you have to buy five different consoles to get the whole collection...
Monday23rd Nov 2020
News Capcom's Releasing A Mini-Arcade System Packed With Mega Man And Street Fighter Games
Coming this Christmas in Japan
The craze for micro-consoles shows no signs of slowing down, with Capcom now revealing that it is about to release a mini-arcade machine packed with classic titles. Dubbed the Retro Station, this tabletop unit has an 8-inch screen and weighs 2.1 kg. It comes with the following titles: Mega Man The Power Battle Mega...
Sunday22nd Nov 2020
Poll Box Art Brawl #68 - Super Mario World
It's a Mario, Mario, Mario, Mario World
Welcome back, you beautiful bunch, to Box Art Brawl — our regular poll to find out which of two or more vintage video game cover variants from around the globe is the best, better than all the rest (diew, diew, diew-diew, diew), better than anyone we ever met. Last time we watched F-Zero take itself to the...
Video A Look At Ocean Software's Cancelled SNES Game Green Lantern
That never got the green light
Green Lantern might not be remembered for much other than a failed movie starring Ryan Reynolds over the past decade, but long before this in the early '90s, British developer Ocean Software was working on a licensed Super Nintendo video game for the DC Comics hero. This unreleased project has been largely shrouded in...
Saturday21st Nov 2020
Hardware Classics The Super Famicom Is 30 Today
Still super after all these years
Originally published way back in March 2013, we thought we'd re-share this feature on the Super Famicom to commemorate its 30th birthday today. To many, it's the greatest video game console ever made. The Super Famicom — or Super Nintendo Entertainment System as it is more commonly known outside of its native...
News Sealed Copy Of Super Mario Bros. 3 Sells For $156,000
We've got another new world record
Earlier this year in July, a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. for NES sold for $114,000 USD. It set a new record for the most expensive video game ever sold. While most probably expected it to hold this record for some time, the highest price paid for a video game at auction has now been broken (again). Heritage...
Friday20th Nov 2020
Feature Banjo-Tooie Turns 20 - The Rare Team Tells The Story Of Bombs, Bugs And Bottles
"Bottles got what was coming to him"
Nowadays, there's nary a game that doesn't finish with a post-credits tease to tee up a sequel or spin-off. There's always a tantalisingly loose thread or Easter Egg hidden in the DLC hinting at a further instalment. It would be a very bold move, though, to name your sequel and directly reference it in a game...
Wednesday18th Nov 2020
News Puma Is Releasing A Pair Of NES-Themed Sneakers Just In Time For Christmas
Ride to the Future
Puma has been doing some neat sneaker collaborations of late, taking on both Mario and his erstwhile rival Sonic, and now the sports brand is back with a pair of shoes which celebrate the iconic NES console. The "Future Rider" sneakers are due for release on December 4th, 2020, and boast the famous NES colouring, a "Po
Monday16th Nov 2020
Soapbox Here's How I'd Fix The Pokémon Series
Alex decides to pika-part the mainline games
Soapbox features enable our individual writers to voice their own opinions on hot topics, opinions that may not necessarily be the voice of the site. In this piece, senior video editor Alex Olney explains how he would "fix" the Pokémon series... Pokémon is a series that has always been extremely dear...
Sunday15th Nov 2020
News The Untold Story Of The Bug That Almost Sank The Dreamcast's North American Launch
How disaster was averted
Sega may now be an ally to Nintendo, but at the turn of the millennium, it was still very much a rival, with its final games console – the Dreamcast – joining the N64 in a marketplace that was ultimately dominated by the Sony PlayStation. The Dreamcast might have been Sega's last throw of the dice in the hardware...
Saturday14th Nov 2020
News The Hidden Secrets Of Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. Game & Watch
See them yourself!
Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. Game & Watch has just been released and while it might be based on the company's classic hardware, this new version contains a number of hidden secrets. For your convenience, we've rounded them all up into a single post (thanks, Nintendo) - take a look below: Finish Super Mario Bros. and...
Friday13th Nov 2020
Poll Rate Your Favourite SNES Games
Help us assemble the top 50 Super NES games ever
It varies from person to person, of course, but your favourite console generation is often the one you played most in childhood — in that impressionable pre-to-early teen sweet spot where a foundation of gaming memories are formed. That's when you play the classics you return to later in life for...
Hardware Review Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. - A Gorgeous Object That Leaves You Wanting More
Time to shine?
Looking back on the history of Nintendo as a maker of video games, it's clear that the Game & Watch line was a significant step; not only did it allow Nintendo's core developers to hone their skills with snappy, engaging titles, it also gave them the opportunity to evolve their hardware talents, coming up with innovations such as...
News Polymega's Launch Is Delayed Until Early Next Year
But there's good news, too
If you're one of the many people who gleefully pre-ordered the Polymega two years ago, you're probably wondering where your system is – especially as the revised launch window of November is already slipping away fast. While Playmaji – the company behind this retro wonder-console which can play NES, SNES, Mega Drive,...
Wednesday11th Nov 2020
News Chinese Firm Which Ripped Off The NES With Jackie Chan's Help Has Filed For Bankruptcy
So long, Subor
While most of the world grew up with the NES (or Famicom), there are numerous examples of unofficial clone systems becoming incredibly popular in certain regions over the years – one of which was China. The Chinese market, like that in Brazil, was flooded with "Famiclone" systems which basically replicated the performance of...
Random Playing Switch With A 1977 Atari Joystick Is Neat, If A Little Impractical
Bridging a 40-year gap of gaming tech
The two pieces of tech may well be 40 years apart, but it's possible to play on a Nintendo Switch with a 1977 Atari joystick. YouTube channel Will It Work?, which we've featured on the site in the past thanks to a project which got a Wii Nunchuk working with Mario Kart Tour on mobile devices, has shared a new...
Tuesday10th Nov 2020
News Turns Out This Kickstarted HDMI-Ready N64 Is A Bust
Buyer beware
N64 fans know that out of the box, the console doesn't exactly give you the best possible picture – which is why we've seen aftermarket options appear like RGB mods or external HDMI adapters. However, the king of the hill has to be the superb
Monday9th Nov 2020
News The Game Boy Is Getting A New Wonder Boy And Ys-Inspired Adventure
Say hello to Coria and the Sunken City
Remember when we recently reported on the fact that the Game Boy was getting a brand-new RPG title in 2020? Well, if that brought a smile to your face, then you're going to be very pleased to hear that the plucky little console (and its more powerful sibling, the Game Boy Color) is getting another new release...
Sunday8th Nov 2020
Feature How A Donkey Kong Clone Almost Scuppered Nintendo's Ambitions In The West
This Kong be CRAZY
The following feature is an excerpt from Ken Horowitz's excellent Beyond Donkey Kong: A History of Nintendo Arcade Games and has been reproduced here with the kind permission of both Horowitz and the publisher. 1981's arcade smash-hit Donkey Kong created a surge in revenue that lifted Nintendo’s prospects for its North...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel #67 - F-Zero
From zero to F-Zero
Welcome to Box Art Brawl, the weekly vote to find out which of two or more regional box art variants has what it takes to win your hearts and minds. Last time we boarded the Halloween train with a trio of Resident Evil 0 covers. While Japan and North America scarpered to lock themselves in the WC when the ticket man came, the...
Monday2nd Nov 2020
Reminder Rate Your Favourite Wii Games
Help us assemble the top 50 Wii games ever
Reminder: This is a final call to rate your favourite Wii games before we publish the top 50 very soon. You'll still be able to rate the games and affect the ranking after the list goes live, of course, but there's nothing quite like the moment of anticipation, is there? We've added several games that were...
Saturday31st Oct 2020
Poll Box Art Brawl #66 - Resident Evil 0
From hero to zero
Welcome to Box Art Brawl, the battle between box art variants from around the globe scrapping to win your vote. Last time we lost our collective minds in the company of Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, although we regained our composure enough to see the metaphysical North American and European version win with nearly...
Friday30th Oct 2020
News Banjo-Kazooie Composer Posts Remixes For Halloween, With A Full Album Coming
Banjo-KazooiEP
There are myriad spooky levels throughout the history of video games, although one of the best has to be Mad Monster Mansion from Banjo-Kazooie (officially known as The Best Video Game Of All Time™ around these parts — when this writer's around, at least). Composer Grant Kirkhope recently put out a remix of that level's creepy...
Thursday29th Oct 2020
News 2020 Isn't All Bad, Because The Game Boy Is Getting A Brand-New RPG Called Dragonborne
And you can pre-order it right now
2020's been a pretty torrid year by all accounts, but there's some light at the end of the tunnel – for those who love Nintendo's legendary Game Boy, at least. Indie studio Spacebot Interactive has announced that it will ship a brand-new RPG for the monochrome marvel early next year, and that pre-orders are open...
Video The History Of Nintendo's Game & Watch Range
Pocket power!
For many people (your humble scribe included), Nintendo's Game & Watch series served as an introduction to the wild and wacky world of video games. These pocket-sized devices familiarised a generation with the likes of Mario, Luigi and Donkey Kong, and were one of Nintendo's biggest successes in the games sector until the NES and...
