Retro - Timeline
YesterdayMon, 2nd Aug 2021
Random 1990 Preview Of Sonic The Hedgehog Featured A Quirky Unused Enemy
Even Yuji Naka thinks it's a mystery
As the topic of game conservation remains relevant, so does retaining copies of games media such as manuals and magazines. Just recently @VGDensetsu shared an archive of a 1990 issue of Famitsu magazine, discovering some intriguing screenshots of an early preview build of Sonic the Hedgehog. Yuji Naka, such a...
News After Months Of Silence, Polymega Insists Pre-Orders Are Shipping Soon
September 12th is the new launch date
The Polymega is a remarkable system capable of running original software for consoles such as the SNES, Mega Drive, PC Engine and even Sega Saturn – but while the unit itself lives up to its potential, creator Playmaji has had something of a nightmare when it comes to actually getting it into the hands of...
Tuesday27th Jul 2021
Talking Point Which Game Stage Have You Replayed More Than Any Other?
Green Hill Zone Act 1 is my new-old timesink
The ability to devote entire days to nothing but video games is a past luxury unavailable to me right now, or in the foreseeable future, unfortunately. The addition to my life of small humans that look a bit like me has substantially diminished my available free time, and I've recently realised that it's...
Friday23rd Jul 2021
News Investment Scheme Opens Up Shares For Nintendo World Championships Cartridge
Along with other games, comics and more
It used to be that investors and traders were typically individuals with slicked back hair and expensive suits, shouting incomprehensible jargon into phones while surrounded by screens. Well, some do that, but nowadays lots of individuals do it with a few taps on a phone app. Whether through crytocurrencies...
Thursday22nd Jul 2021
Random Finally, Scientists Have Built A Robot Hand That Can Play Super Mario Bros.
Did someone say Power Glove?
Plenty of super-clever, super-talented researchers across the globe have been pretty busy trying to save the world recently, but hey, even scientists need to work on something fun every once and a while. For this team of researchers from the University of Maryland, that fun has arrived in the form of a robotic hand...
Soapbox Nintendo Switch Online's Library Is A Snapshot Of '90s Gaming Shelves
Nintendo took its rose-tinted specs and threw them in the bin
Another trio of classic games have just been announced for Nintendo’s subscriber-only Virtual Console replacement, this time Claymates, Jelly Boy, and Bombuzal. They all have one very special thing in common: They’re all games nobody asked for, and nobody wanted. Nintendo could have...
News Some Of The Original Terranigma Team Want To Revive The Classic SNES RPG
Digital re-release or remaster, we don't mind...
Despite only seeing release in Japan and Europe, 1995's Terranigma is regarded as one of the highlights of the SNES RPG library, and copies change hands for startling prices on the secondary market these days. Sadly, the game has never been re-released in any form, but that's something that some of...
News Collection Of Mint Condition NES Games Fetches $30,000 For Goodwill
Your feel-good story of the day
Pristine copies of classic games can always fetch a pretty penny – a copy of Super Mario 64 broke a world record recently, selling for an absolutely mindblowing $1.56 million USD – but when the money they can generate ends up going to a good cause, it all feels worth it. As reported by
News 25 Seconds Of New EarthBound 64 Footage Emerges Online
Travel back to 1997
At the beginning of this month, someone put a corporate Nintendo CD-ROM from 1998 on sale. The winner of the online auction was a Twitter user known as Zen, who paid the equivalent of $357 USD for the item, after discovering the disc contained footage of the cancelled N64 project, EarthBound 64 - also known back then as Mother 3...
Wednesday21st Jul 2021
Video How To Play Rare And Expensive Nintendo Games On A Budget
Zion shares some handy advice
The retro game market is booming right now. As you might have seen, a copy of the original Legend of Zelda game on the NES sold for $870,000 USD recently - making it the most expensive video game auction purchase of all time. The trend of paying top dollar for classic games, unfortunately, extends to th
Tuesday20th Jul 2021
Random John Romero's PC Port Of Super Mario Bros. 3 Turns Up On A Floppy In A Museum
Where it belongs
You may remember a few years ago when veteran game developer and DOOM legend John Romero released a video of a PC port demo of Super Mario Bros. 3 originally built as a pitch to Nintendo back in 1990. Well, the full demo has now turned up in a bunch of data donated to the Strong National Museum of Play in the US. The team that...
Monday19th Jul 2021
News Here's Why That NES Zelda Sold For $870,000, According To The Guy Who Designed The Packaging
"A cartridge selling for such an astonishing amount is really about legacy"
Back when Nintendo conquered the living room for the first time with the NES, one of the key components of that success was branding – something which was handled by GIRVIN Design, headed up by Tim Girvin. The firm worked with Nintendo to create the 'look' of the NES...
News Four Lost NES, SNES And N64 Games Have Been Brought Back To Life, Pre-Orders Now Open
But only for a limited time
If you're big on your video game preservation and history, this latest batch of pre-orders will be right up your retro-collecting street. Piko Interactive, an American publisher that specialises in grabbing the rights to forgotten, never-released games from years gone by and giving them the development time they...
Thursday15th Jul 2021
Random Fancy A 'New' Copy Of F-Zero On The SNES? PixelHeart Has You Covered
500 units only
We're pretty used to seeing retro games getting reprints these days, but if you have a craving for 100% authenticity, then you might be more excited by the news that French publisher PixelHeart has 500 'new' copies of F-Zero on the SNES for sale. While some overly optimistic individuals might assume these are officially sanctioned...
Wednesday14th Jul 2021
News Evercade's 'Renovation Collection 1' Will Bring A Dozen Rare Games To The System
Features games never previously released in Europe
The Evercade is a rather intriguing physical-only handheld that we quite liked in our review last year, while a home console iteration that supports multiplayer, Evercade VS, is coming soon. In a little over a year the system has built up a unique collection of physical cart releases and bundles th
Tuesday13th Jul 2021
News Chip's Challenge Is Making Its Console Debut On SNES And SEGA Genesis
It's never too late
Though many gamers are focused on the latest shiny new games from Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, there's a market for 'new' releases on retro systems too. Now another one is going up for pre-order, in this case a game that'll be making its console debut on Super NES and SEGA Genesis / Mega Drive; yes, it is indeed 2021! This time...
News Slow Mole Is A New And Free NES Platformer, Cartridge Version Incoming
An 8-bit platformer that "makes everyone a speedrunner"
Forget your fancy Switch OLED, because it's time for a brand new game on Nintendo's other new and exciting games console, the NES. Erik Rosenlund, an animator who's taking the first step into the world of game development, has just released Slow Mole, a new game designed for the NES that can...
Monday12th Jul 2021
Feature Nintendo Hardware Refreshes Through The Ages
Nintendo's lineage of console updates and revisions
Update: Now with 100% more Nintendo Switch OLED Model and a new poll at the end. Enjoy! Mid-cycle hardware refreshes may sometimes feel like a relatively recent development, but console manufacturers have been releasing revised versions of their consoles since video gaming first entered the home...
News A Sealed Copy Of Super Mario 64 Just Sold For A Record-Breaking $1.56 Million
Just days after the previous record was set
Over the weekend, the world record for the highest-priced video game sale was well and truly smashed, with an ultra-rare copy of The Legend of Zelda on NES selling for a mind-blowing $870,000 USD. It's a number that's impossible for most of us to even comprehend, and we never would have expected to see a...
Sunday11th Jul 2021
Feature Treasure Games That Need Switch Ports Or Sequels
We’re going on a Treasure hunt
The aptly-named Japanese studio Treasure — in spite of its fondness for focusing on less popular formats and its infrequent and occasionally Japan-only releases — has long been a developer famed throughout all of game-dom for the consistent originality and sheer quality that runs through its work. Formed in 1992...
Saturday10th Jul 2021
News This Ultra-Rare Copy Of The Original NES Zelda Just Sold For $870,000
It's now the most expensive video game collectable ever
Update [Sat 10th Jul, 2021 07:30 BST]: Well, it's official - a week later the same Legend of Zelda NES cartridge has now sold for $870,000 USD. This not only surpasses the amount Super Mario Bros. sold for, but also makes it the highest-priced video game that has ever been sold at an auction...
Friday9th Jul 2021
News Nintendo Plugs Its NSO Zelda Games Ahead Of Skyward Sword HD's Release
Experience Link's classic adventures while you wait
Next week sees the release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD on the Switch. Although it's only an updated version of a 2011 Wii title, Nintendo has been promoting it non-stop since it was originally announced. It's now using the lead-up to the game's release to promote Link's classics...
Wednesday7th Jul 2021
News Another Nintendo Console Has Gotten An Upgrade, But It's From 18 Years Ago
GBA SP battery tech finally catches up with screen upgrades
You can keep your fancy-pants Switch OLED Models, chum – for retro fans, the news that the GBA SP is getting a battery upgrade is arguably more exciting ('arguably' being the operative word here). While older Nintendo systems like the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance have been subject to...
Saturday3rd Jul 2021
Soapbox Super Metroid Showed Me I Had The Right To Exist
Samus & Me
My first experience with the Metroid series was relatively unremarkable: I just bought Super Metroid for my SNES, back when a brand new SNES game was something you could just walk into a local shop and buy. I took its oversized box home, flipped through the glossy Player’s Guide, and noticed something odd — Samus Aran, the...
Friday2nd Jul 2021
Hands On Retro Handheld Face-Off - Anbernic R351 Vs Retroid Pocket 2
Which should you pack in your pocket?
As portable technology has progressed over the past decade, we've seen a host of gaming handhelds that don't run physical games but are instead focused on emulation, replicating the performance of consoles like the Game Boy, SNES, Mega Drive and even Nintendo 64. We've covered quite a few of these on the site...
News 16mm Film From Nintendo's 1974 Wild Gunman Arcade Cabinet Has Been Found
Reach (very carefully) for the sky
As highlighted by @katewillaert on Twitter, Ben Solovey (thefairshot on instagram) has managed to uncover two reels of 16mm film that were originally part of Nintendo's Wild Gunman arcade cabinet from 1974. While Nintendo console gamers will probably be more familiar with the NES port of this light gun shooter (or
Thursday1st Jul 2021
News DidYouKnowGaming Shares Rare Pokémon Lore From An Official 'Lost' Pokédex
Fascinating details from the IP's early days
If you're a fan of early-gen Pokemon games and the franchise lore, which we suspect many are on these pages, then a recent video by DidYouKnowGaming? is certainly worth a look. A project that's evidently been in the works for some time, it translates and shares intriguing details that weren't previously...
News Take A Look At 'Planet Hop', A Charming New Game Boy Title
Platformer aims to include at least 72 stages
Though the hardware is long discontinued, there's something about the Game Boy that continues to attract eager coders and game makers. Part of it will be nostalgia and ongoing admiration for the system, while there's also a distinct challenge to making games that fully utilise modest retro hardware...
News After Almost 3 Decades, You Can Finally Read The Comic For SNES Classic 'Skyblazer' Online
Originally published in UK magazine 'Manga Mania'
Skyblazer is one of those 'AA' SNES titles that no one seems to talk about enough these days. Developed by Ukiyotei – the same studio which produced the equally underrated Hook for the same console and would later create the two excellent Metal Slug games for the Neo Geo Pocket Color – Skyblazer...
News This High-Grade Nintendo World Championships Cartridge Could Fetch Over Half A Million Dollars
Was previously traded for a mint Tom Brady card worth $556,000
If you're a regular reader of the site then you'll be aware of the significance of the Nintendo World Championships cartridges. These were carts issued at the famous 1990 event which boasted unique challenges for participants to test their skills on. They were never intended to make...
