Retro - Timeline
TodayTue, 18th Jun 2019
Gallery Flicking Through Sega Master System: A Visual Compendium
Bitmap Books' latest epic is up for pre-order now
UK publisher Bitmap Books' latest Visual Compendium is now available to buy, following its successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. The next in the company's long-running series of books which focus on a single format (past entries include the NES and
YesterdayMon, 17th Jun 2019
News This FPGA-Powered Mega Drive / Genesis Flash Cart Can Play CD Games
A world first
Spanish company Terraonion – the same team responsible for the excellent Super SD System 3 for the PC Engine – has lifted the lid on its next project in a special ‘Terraonion Direct’ broadcast. (Wonder where it got that idea from?) The big news is the firm has created the world’s first Mega CD / Sega CD FPGA optical disc...
News A Forgotten (And Kirby-Free) HAL SNES Title Has Been Preserved For The Ages
Anyone for golf?
Some great news for retro gaming enthusiasts as the year of noteworthy Super Nintendo efforts continues unhinged. Reports of successful preservation of HAL Laboratory's Special Tee Shot prototype and subsequent public release means that we can all now enjoy the isometric mini-golf game that was meant to show up as a regular SNES...
Video The Making Of SNES Classic Star Fox And The Super FX Chip
And so, the Lylat System was born
Whether you're a diehard fan of the series, or even just familiar with the team thanks to the Super Smash Bros. games, Fox, Falco, Slippy, and Peppy hold a special place in the hearts of many Nintendo fans (yes, we're including Slippy here). The series' Lylat System was born in 1993, when Star Fox (known as Starwing...
Saturday15th Jun 2019
Feature The Making Of The PC Engine, The 8-Bit Wonder That Took On Nintendo
With new 'Mini' hardware on the way, we look back at this 8-bit wonder
This piece was originally published in 2012. With the news that Konami is producing a PC Engine Mini, we thought you might like a fresh look. Enjoy! Western gamers tend to consider Nintendo and Sega as the two major players in the 16-bit war. On European and American soil this...
Random Have We Been Missing A Zelda Easter Egg In Mario 64 All These Years?
Amazing planning, or sheer coincidence?
Easter eggs in video games aren’t a new thing, but it’s rare to spot one decades after the event – but that’s what Twitter user Hitei he’s found in Super Mario 64. There’s a picture in Peach’s castle which we’ll all have dashed past many, many times over the years, and Hitei thinks this image...
Friday14th Jun 2019
Video Cadence Of Hyrule Guitarist And Grant Kirkhope Combine For Epic Banjo-Kazooie Collab
Turn it up to 64
In what is quite possibly one of the best videos of all time, and amazingly relevant considering what's been going on in the world of Nintendo this week, you're about to see Cadence of Hyrule guitarist FamilyJules rock out to a classic Banjo-Kazooie track with none other than the game's original composer, Grant Kirkhope. Unless...
Random God Of War Artist Shows Us How The Battletoads Reboot Should Have Looked
Can you imagine?
Beloved Rare franchise Battletoads made an appearance at this year's E3, albeit sadly not for a Nintendo platform, in the form of a new three-player beat 'em up. It all looks pretty fun and all, but just imagine if it looked like this. The artwork comes from Raf Grassetti, Art Director at God of War studio Sony Santa Monica. We've...
News Hyperkin Isn't Quite Sure What Route To Take With Its N64 Clone Console Yet
"We don't we know what the end solution might be"
At E3 2019 this week, our video producer Zion Grassl had the chance to catch up with Terence Calacsan from Hyperkin and have a chat about the Retron Ult - an N64 clone that is "super early" in development. It's compatible with Nintendo 64 cartridges, controllers, targeting 720p HD output and will...
Wednesday12th Jun 2019
News Atari's Take On The "Classic Edition" Trend Will Cost You At Least $250
Or $390, if you want to go all-in
We've reported on the Atari VCS (not that one, the new one) in the past, mostly out of morbid curiosity; it's not a Nintendo system but given the popularity of 'classic' retro consoles – such as the SNES Classic Edition and Mega Drive Mini – we found the whole concept incredibly interesting, as well as little...
News Konami Just Revealed The PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 Mini
UPDATE: Japanese titles also confirmed
Konami – which holds the rights to the PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16 brand via its ownership of the now-defunct Hudson Soft – has lifted the lid on yet another retro-themed micro-console. This time, it's NEC / Hudson's legendary PC Engine, the system which took Japan by a storm in the late '80s and came to the...
Monday10th Jun 2019
News Limited Run Partners With Lucasfilm To Re-Release Classic Star Wars Games
Fingers crossed for a Switch release
Limited Run Games today held its second annual E3 2019 video presentation. Right before the end of the showcase, the physical distributor made an incredibly exciting announcement, revealing it would be teaming up with Lucasfilm Games to release definitive collector's editions of classic Star Wars titles. As...
Friday7th Jun 2019
News A Second Namco Collection Has Been Revealed For The Evercade Handheld System
Galaga, Pac-Attack and more
The new Evercade system is starting to sound more and more appealing with each announcement; this time, a second batch of Namco classics has been confirmed for the handheld system. If you've missed the news on this one, Evercade is a new handheld console that can connect to your TV (sound familiar?). You can pick up...
News Polymega's "Next Gen" Light Gun Controller Will Let You Play Duck Hunt On Your HDTV
And House of the Dead and Time Crisis!
Light gun-based video games are as old as the games industry itself – in fact, the very first consoles came with gun accessories which could be used to shoot objects on-screen. However, these devices were heavily-reliant on CRT technology found inside old television sets, and the move to flat-screen, LCD and...
Thursday6th Jun 2019
News Save Up For Your Switch Games With This Officially Licensed Donkey Kong Money Box
Super Mario Savings!
Saving up for all of your favourite video games can be tricky, and while even the coolest of money boxes can't help you to buy them all, it can certainly help you store your cash in style. This officially licensed Donkey Kong money box is set to release next month, available directly from Merchoid. It stands at 30cm tall and...
News Solomon's Key Joins Hamster's Arcade Archives Series On The Nintendo Switch
Magical
Hamster is adding Tecmo's 1986 release Solomon's Key to its Arcade Archives line on the Nintendo Switch. The title supports 1-2 players and will set you back $7.99 / €6.99 / £6.29. From June 6th, 2019, Arcade Archives Solomon's Key will be available digitally for Arcade Archives, the downloadable series by HAMSTER for Nintendo Switch...
Wednesday5th Jun 2019
News New Banjo-Kazooie Merch Fuels Fresh Speculation Over A Series Revival
Update: Banjo teased as Smash DLC by prominent leaker?
Update: In the original version of this article (which you can read below), we speculated that - if anything - the new Banjo-Kazooie merch might be linked to a potential remake. Now, it would seem that the idea of Banjo appearing as a DLC fighter in Smash Ultimate is perhaps the more likely...
News There's Actually A Third Version Of The Sega Mega Drive Mini
The Asian variant also has exclusive games
With all the news yesterday concerning the final games announced for Sega's upcoming Mega Drive / Genesis Mini console, it's easy to get a little confused over the regional exclusives for each version of the console. To add to that confusion there's also a third version of the plug-and-play mini console to...
News Mega Drive Mini Port Of Darius Is "Totally New" And Not Based On "Fan Work", Says Sega
A new conversion is approaching fast!
Update: A few eagle-eyed Darius fans have noticed a striking similarity between the new version of Darius included on the Mega Drive / Genesis Mini and an unofficial port created by 'bedroom coder' Hidecade. This has led to some assuming that Sega and M2 have used Hidecade's work as the basis for this port...
News Hyperkin's Next Party Trick Is A Nintendo 64 Clone
Say hello to the 'Ultra Retron'
Console and accessory maker Hyperkin has revealed the next entry in its long-running line of clone systems: the Ultra Retron. This N64 clone plays original carts and outputs over HDMI. It has four controller ports and is compatible with original N64 pads, although Hyperkin is also shipping the system with its own...
News Mega Drive / Genesis Mini Gets Tiny Mega CD, 32X, And Carts, But There's A Catch
Update: Now available for pre-order on Amazon Japan!
Update: The bundle is now available for pre-order on Amazon Japan. Feast your eyes on these shots: While the cartridge included is for Sonic the Hedgehog, it's notable that the game isn't actually on the Japanese version of the console. Seeing as most people will already own multiple versions,...
News Here Are Your Nintendo Switch Online NES Games For The Month Of June
Fight, drive and play
Nintendo has announced the three games coming to the Nintendo Switch Online NES service in the month of June. Both North America and Europe will receive Double Dragon II: The Revenge, Volleyball and City Connection. These games will be released on the service on 12th June. Below are the full details about each title, courtesy...
Tuesday4th Jun 2019
News Mega Drive Mini Games List: All 42 Titles Revealed
Yes, 42! Extra games for all!
Update #3: The final 10 games for the upcoming Sega Mega Drive Mini have been revealed including two surprise extra games in the form of a brand new port of Darius from Taito - a game which never originally came to the Mega Drive (although Darius II did) - and possibly the rarest game on the system, Tetris! Here is the...
Guide Where To Pre-Order Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Mini
Get your retro Sega fix before the scalpers
It feels like it has taken an eternity for Sega to get around to releasing its own answer to the NES and SNES Classic Editions. While the much-disliked AtGames has plopped out wonky Genesis / Mega Drive clones for years now, this new venture promises to be something different – it's finally time for the...
Monday3rd Jun 2019
A brawl in the family
For a system that's no longer in active production, the Nintendo 64 has sure seen a lot of new controllers recently. We reviewed the Tribute64 pad not so long ago, and now it's the turn of the Retro Fighters Brawler64 – a pad that was crowdfunded on Kickstarter as a "next generation" offering for Nintendo's much-loved 64-bit...
Saturday1st Jun 2019
News Previously Unseen Footage Of EarthBound 64 Emerges Online
Take a trip back to 1996
One Nintendo 64 game that never saw the light of day, in the end, was EarthBound 64 – also known as Mother 3. The project started out life as a Super Nintendo release before being moved across to the Nintendo 64 and was eventually axed in August 2000. It ended up arriving on the Game Boy Advance in 2006 and since then, all...
News Super Famicom Exclusive Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 English Fan Translation Released
The epic tale of Prince Leif, twenty years later
You might have noticed that the first half of 2019 has been rather exciting for Super Nintendo fans worldwide – with several new hardware and fan projects ensuring that the old 16-bit powerhouse remains relevant to this day and age. This latest news will do very little to dimmish such a trend...
Feature Here's Why Perfect Dark Has Three Different Covers
Three regions, three covers - but why?
Perfect Dark is perhaps one of the most accomplished games in the N64 library. It built on the solid work seen in the sublime GoldenEye 007, pushing the host hardware to its limits and making excellent use of the N64 Expansion Pak to deliver the kind of visuals that rival systems could only dream of. It remains...
Tuesday28th May 2019
News Three New Collections Announced For Upcoming Retro Handheld Evercade
Namco are on board, plus new carts from Interplay and Atari
The makers of the Evercade, an upcoming handheld console that connects to your TV and plays collections of retro games which come on cartridges, have announced three new carts, each containing a fresh selection. The biggest news is that there's a new publisher on the platform in the form...
Sunday26th May 2019
News The N64 Version Of Joanna Dark Joins The Totaku Collection This September
Relive the glory days
If you still have fond memories of the original Perfect Dark game on the Nintendo 64, you'll likely be interested to hear Totaku has announced a figurine based on the Carrington Institute agent, Joanna Dark. This particular figurine is expected to join the series later on this year in September and follows on from the previous...
