Retro - Timeline
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 (Switch) - 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...
Thursday16th Feb 2023
Random Japanese Museum Wants To Reunite People With Their Lost Game Cartridges
Family-com reunions
Here's some balm for your soul on this Thursday morning: there's a museum in Japan that aims to reunite people with the Famicom games that they once owned (via Kotaku). Did you ever scribble your name down on an old game cartridge or box, only to sell it later on? You might just find it at the Named Cassette Museum in Tokyo...
Wednesday15th Feb 2023
Random Check Out These Photos From 1999's Smash Bros-Themed Wrestling Event 'Slamfest'
Pikachu takes to the ring
Back in 1999 Nintendo revealed a Super Smash Bros. marketing campaign which makes those "everyone is here" Ultimate trailers pale in comparison. The company hosted an event called Super Smash Bros. Slamfest '99 and it saw the likes Pikachu, Donkey Kong, Mario and Yoshi take to the ring in a wrestling match in front of a...
Tuesday14th Feb 2023
Talking Point 20 Years Of The Best Game Boy Ever - How Did You Get Your GBA SP?
Love letters to our SPecial ones
On 14th February 2003, Nintendo gave Japanese gamers a Valentine's to remember when it released the Game Boy Advance SP. Those outside Japan would have to wait until March to get their hands on this gorgeous clamshell redesign of the GBA which came — mercifully — with a front-lit screen (the back-lit AGS-101...
Thursday9th Feb 2023
Video Metroid Prime Remastered - Switch Vs. GameCube Comparison
Looks gooood. Can confirm.
Metroid Prime Remastered, you say? Geez, that shadow-dropped, like, 20 hours ago, gramps. Look, we've been busy, okay? Amongst documenting all the exciting news from the first Nintendo Direct of 2023, we Europeans had to squeeze in a few hours of shut-eye between then and now, too, so please forgive us for repeating a...
Monday6th Feb 2023
News Star Fox 64 Follow-Up Title Was Pitched For Wii U, But Retro Studios Passed On It
Planned with a puppet aesthetic
It has been a good few years now since we last checked in with everyone's favourite fox fighter pilot in Star Fox Zero (seven years, to be precise) and the chances of him returning to the Switch seem to lessen everyday. In the ensuing period while we wait (fingers tightly crossed) for news of a series reboot, the good...
Wednesday1st Feb 2023
Soapbox Wario Land 4 Deserves More Love, And Indie Devs Are Doing What Nintendon't
Wario wary? HURRY UP! and play
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Scott ponders how Mario's nemesis number 2 deserves more respect... In the conversation of all-time great video games you have many Nintendo faces who show up near...
The DK drama continues
New evidence has been uncovered that suggests Billy Mitchell did indeed cheat to attain his record-breaking Donkey Kong scores — the ones which Twin Galaxies removed from its record boards because they were allegedly achieved via emulation rather than original arcade hardware, and for which Mitchell is suing the...
Monday30th Jan 2023
Random Unused Bond Face Textures Finally Erased From Switch Online's Goldeneye 007 Code
Please sir, can I have some Moore?
If you were around in the late 1990s and happily poured many hours into GoldenEye 007, then you have probably come across the 'Four Bonds' hoax. This was a theory which stated that it was possible to unlock the face textures for previous Bond actors Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Timothy Dalton in the game's...
Friday27th Jan 2023
Review GoldenEye 007 - Aged And Flawed, But Still A Masterpiece Of Game Design
Gold-tinted specs?
Highly revered by countless N64 owners, GoldenEye 007 is often credited with kick-starting the first-person shooter craze on consoles. It not only showed that a good first-person shooter could be crafted for a machine other than a high-spec PC, but arguably also created the multiplayer FPS phenomenon on consoles. In fact, if it...
Video Learn About The Making Of GoldenEye 007 In This "Leaked" Rare Replay Documentary
Seen it already? Watch it again
The iconic first-person shooter GoldenEye 007 returns today after a 25 year wait. If you're not familiar with the game's history or are just curious to know more about this legendary N64 title, don't worry - Rare has got you covered. Back when it released its Rare Replay collection on the Xbox One in 2015, it...
Thursday26th Jan 2023
News Iconic GoldenEye "Gong" Sound Is Present And Correct In Switch Online Version
Update: Gong not gone
Update #2 [Fri 27th Jan, 2023 02:00 GMT]: GoldenEye 007 is now live on the Nintendo Switch Online service and it seems there's no need to worry. Sound the gong — everything sounds as it should! Update [Thu 26th Jan, 2023 21:05 GMT]: Digital Foundry’s John Linneman has stressed that while he "doesn't know" the exact...
