Retro - Timeline
Wednesday3rd May 2023
Soapbox 15 Years Ago, The Action Replay Ruined Pokémon For Me
Infinite Master Balls. Maxed out stats. Walking through walls.
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Ethan remembers a time when he flew too close to the sun... This is the power fantasy eight-year-old me dreamed of when I slotted an...
Saturday29th Apr 2023
Soapbox It's Time For A Zelda 1 Remake, Please
Or a 'temporal localisation', if you like
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, as TOTK anticipation increases to dangerous levels, Gavin explores why it's time for Nintendo to go back to a very specific well... Look, I'm all for...
Wednesday26th Apr 2023
News The Jurassic Park Games Are Getting A 30th Anniversary Retro Collection
"Hold on to your butts"
If you're eager to sink your teeth into some more retro game collections, you'll be pleased to know physical distributor Limited Run Games has announced a Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary Collection. This collection will be released at some point later this year. No platforms have been announced just yet. Attached to this...
Tuesday25th Apr 2023
Anniversary Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade First Launched 20 Years Ago Today
The West's first Fire Emblem game
Today marks the 20th anniversary of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, the seventh entry in the Fire Emblem series, in Japan. But what makes this title extra special is that this was the game that brought the tactical RPG series to the West. A North American release followed in November 2003, with Australia and Europe...
News This Kirby's Dream Land 2 ROM Hack Adds Colour To The Game Boy Classic
Includes other features "enhancing the overall experience"
Although Nintendo has officially called time on Kirby's 30th anniversary, fans of the pink puff are seemingly still going with all sorts of creations. One, in particular, that's caught the attention of the wider Nintendo community is a new ROM hack for the 1995 release Kirby's Dream Land 2 -...
Thursday20th Apr 2023
Random Fan Collects Over 1 Thousand Copies Of The Original Dragon Quest
Technically 'Dragon Warrior'
One person's quest (get it?) to accumulate a 'Mega Collection' of NES games has finally been achieved. FerrisonNA — who also goes by the username Ferris Bueller — is the proud owner of one thousand copies of the original Dragon Quest on the NES. Or, Dragon Warrior as it was known in the west back in 1989. FerrisonNA...
News Nintendo Director Wanted To Adapt 'Megami Tensei' Series, Says Novel's Author
SMT was almost a Nintendo franchise
Japanese author Aya Nishitani — most well-known for writing Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei, the first of a trilogy of novels that the whole Megami Tensei series from Atlus spawned from — has revealed that the director of Nintendo himself once approached the novelist about adapting his novel. In a detailed...
Tuesday18th Apr 2023
News Two Brand-New Game Boy Platformers Are Up For Pre-Order
Bitmap Soft is back with more neo-retro titles
Although you might not believe it, the Game Boy remains a vibrant platform for small devs continuing to explore the handheld's potential several decades after its 1989 launch and publishers are still producing physical games for it. Bitmap Soft is one of the most prolific publishers in this neo-retro...
Thursday13th Apr 2023
News Surprise! Eight Classic PolyGame Master Arcade Titles Are Out Now On Switch
Update: The IGS Classic Arcade Collection is out now worldwide
Update [Thu 13th Apr, 2023 17:20 BST]: IGS Classic Arcade Collection is now available to download worldwide on the Switch eShop. For £24.00 / $29.99 USD / 27,00€, you can pick up eight arcade classics from IGS' history. This could be a must-have collection for fighting game and...
Wednesday12th Apr 2023
Review Pokémon Stadium - The Original 151 Brought To Life With Style
Your stadium tour awaits
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in Switch's N64 library via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. With the Pokémon franchise being as super effective as it was during the late '90s due to its handheld games, trading cards, television anime...
Tuesday11th Apr 2023
Random Rare Co-Founder Tim Stamper Teases 'Dream 64' Development Cartridge
"Dream 64 does exist after all"
Update [Tue 11th Apr, 2023 00:05 BST]: Tim Stamper has now posted a follow-up tweet featuring video footage of Dream 64. In it, he notes how it was "probably" shown at Japan's Nintendo Shoshinkai show (Space World) in 1996. In the video, there's a pirate mentioning how "the Nintendo 64 treasure does exist after all"...
Monday3rd Apr 2023
Anniversary Capcom's Breath Of Fire Series Is 30 Years Old, And We Miss It
Come on, Capcom...
Today marks a milestone anniversary for Capcom's very first traditional RPG series. Breath of Fire launched on the Super Famicom on 3rd April 1993, kickstarting what would become a beloved franchise for many turn-based RPG fans. While North America would have to wait until the following summer to get their hands on Capcom's first...
News After 30 Years, Cannon Dancer Will Finally Be Out On Consoles Next Week
The unofficial sequel to Strider is almost here
Cannon Dancer - Osman — affectionately dubbed "the unofficial sequel to Strider" — will finally be playable on consoles from 13th April 2023 with both a physical and digital launch. After its original eShop release date slipped from both January and March to April (spotted by gosokkyu, via Tim
Sunday2nd Apr 2023
Ninterview Menko Cards And Niche Nintendo History - The Hunt For Mario's Rookie Card
A different kind of 'game card'
If you have ever read up on the history of Nintendo, you know that before it went into the video game business, the company began life by making cards and other novelties. The hanafuda and playing cards which Nintendo produced from its formation in 1889 took a back seat following the popularity of toys like the Ultra...
Friday31st Mar 2023
Random Bridgerton, Dungeons & Dragons Star Regé-Jean Page Is A Fan Of Chrono Trigger
Breath of Fire, too!
It's a pretty great time for movies about video and tabletop games right now. The Tetris movie just dropped on Apple TV+, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is out next week, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is out in cinemas today. And it turns out one of the movie's stars, Regé-Jean Page, is a pretty big fan of RPGs...
Friday24th Mar 2023
News Project EGG Could Bring MSX, PC-98, And Neo Geo Titles To Switch
From Wii retro specialists D4 Enterprise
D4 Enterprise has revealed that it's bringing games from its online digital storefront, Project EGG (Engrossing Game Gallery), to Switch in the future. The retro games distribution service acts as a place to play officially emulated rereleases of older Japanese PC, arcade, and console games. Announcing the...
Thursday23rd Mar 2023
M2's Masanori Yagi talks Assault Suits Valken Declassified
The Assault Suits mecha action games arguably deserve a little more attention than they enjoy here in the West. Back in the 1990s, their distinct blend of platforming and run ‘n’ gun design did indeed see ports from their native Japan to the rest of the world – sometimes in a heavily...
Review Assault Suits Valken Declassified - A Great Treatment Of A Mecha Classic
Assaulting the senses
Within a few steps into the world of Assault Suits Valken Declassified, it is immediately apparent that something distinct is going on. That’s because the steps themselves feel different. Compared to traditional run ‘n’ guns such as Metal Slug, for example, the movement in the Assault Suits Valken remaster is...
Wednesday22nd Mar 2023
Talking Point What's The Best Year In Gaming?
Cream of the crop
Games are so good, right? Looking back over the years and decades, it's difficult to actually think of a year that's been objectively bad in terms of gaming output; generally speaking, with the wealth of consoles and developers out there, there's always been at least a handful of games every year that spoke to us in a meaningful...
Tuesday21st Mar 2023
Random Street Fighter II Features In Japanese Commercial For Eye Drops
Wait till Ryu see this!
Unusual video game adverts aren't uncommon, but more and more we see product placements and advertisements for other items that use video games. But an ad for Rohto eye drops in Japan has caught people's attention because the whole commercial uses edited Street Fighter II footage. (Thanks for the tip, GreatSong1!) Posted on...
Monday20th Mar 2023
News Super Mario World Prototype Map Has Been Discovered
Mushroom island
The Nintendo Gigaleak has delivered once again. A prototype map from Super Mario World (that was found in the Gigaleak) has been fixed, and we can see what could've been for the first time ever. MrTalida shared the world of Super Mario World hacker and researcher
Thursday16th Mar 2023
News These Game Boy Posters Are Up For Grabs At My Nintendo Store (Europe)
Mario, Link and Samus for mere Platinum Points, plus postage
Nintendo has made the fetching Game Boy poster set above available in European My Nintendo Stores. Featuring key art from three handheld classics — Super Mario Land 2, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, and Metroid II: Return of Samus — these My Nintendo Store exclusives are...
Saturday11th Mar 2023
News Nintendo Highlights Classic Super Mario Games In New Switch Online Graphic
Celebrating MAR10 Day
MAR10 Day has been packed with all sorts of surprises this year from movie trailers to LEGO announcements, and if that's still not enough, you can always turn your attention to Mario's video game history. With this in mind, Nintendo has taken to social media to promote some of Mario's retro experiences - from the original
Thursday9th Mar 2023
News Never-Before-Seen Footage Of Scrapped Official GameCube LCD Screen Uncovered
Crystal clear
Footage of an official LCD screen for the GameCube from E3 2002 has been discovered. The footage has been shared by Adam Doree on YouTube, a media executive who has been in the industry for over 25 years and has worked at IGN, Ziff Davis, Mashable, Segaweb, Gamerweb, and Kikizo (via Eurogamer,
Review Metroid Fusion - An Infectious, Portable Pleasure
SA-Xcellent
This review originally went live in 2014, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in Switch's GBA library via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Released a full eight years after its phenomenal Super Nintendo predecessor, Super Metroid, 2002's Metroid Fusion is a well-paced, tense, atmospheric game and...
Tuesday28th Feb 2023
News The Original Pokémon Trading Card Series Is Returning As A "Premium" Set
Own a slice of Pokémon TCG history
If you've ever had dreams of owning the original Charizard card from the first Pokémon TCG series, you'll be pleased to hear The Pokémon Company is reviving this classic set. In the latest Pokémon Presents, Pokémon president and CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara teased this return with a brief clip showing two players...
Sunday26th Feb 2023
News Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection II Scores A Surprise eShop Release
Three classics + more
Remember that second collection of Valis that arrived on the Nintendo Switch last September in Japan? Well, Edia has now released it locally on the eShop for $44.99 USD. Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection II comes packed with three more entries in the Valis series. Players can revisit Valis IV (PC Engine), Syd of Valis...
Saturday25th Feb 2023
Soapbox Alone In The Dark On GBC Is A Bizarre Relic You Should Play At Least Once
Be afraid?
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Ollie sits down with the least loved entry in the current Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy library and finds an odd, twisted version of a game he loves... Alone in the Dark: The New...
Tuesday21st Feb 2023
News Star Fox Character Designer Celebrates 30th Anniversary With Special Artwork
30 years and counting
Nintendo legend and artist Takaya Imamura is today celebrating 30 years of the original Star Fox game in Japan, with a special drawing of the one and only Fox McCloud. He also shared a special message thanking Fox for supporting him and everyone else who has worked on the games he's appeared in: Inamura departed from...
Friday17th Feb 2023
Video Star Fox Dev Gets Nostalgic Ahead Of SNES Game's 30th Anniversary
Too old for a barrel roll now?
Star Fox is 30 years old next week — yes, really. The SNES on-rails shooter celebrates its 30th anniversary on 21st February, so Q-Games CEO and lead programmer on the original game Dylan Cuthbert has sat down and shared anecdotes, stories, and tips on the game, and how Star Fox has influenced his game development...
