Retro - News
March2018
Video Ever Wondered Why Joysticks Are Always On The Left?
It's probably not why you think, either...
Like night following day and grass being green, joysticks being on the left-hand side of a controller has been a solid rule in gaming since what seems like forever. While you could argue that the recent shift to twin-stick pads may run counter to this perspective, the left-hand stick is always your primary...
News Still Looking For A NES Classic Mini? Grab A Double Pack On The Nintendo UK Store Right Now
Less than £130 for both Classic Mini consoles
Are you still in the market for a NES Mini? The miniature throwback has become incredibly hard to find, unlike its SNES counterpart, but Nintendo has just put up a tidy little deal on its official store. Right now (if you're quick) you can head over to the Nintendo UK store and pick up the NES Mini...
Hardware Review Shika Arcades SOZU.S1 Isn't Just The Ultimate SNES Stick, It's A Work Of Art
Bamboo-zled
The humble video game controller is one of the most important elements of interactive entertainment; it is your interface to an immersive virtual world and any shortcomings it may have (Kinect, we're looking at you) impact massively on your overall enjoyment. It's equally true, however, that not all controllers are created equal, and as...
Deals Check Out These Retro-Bit Famicom And Super Famicom Cart Collections
Many games, one cart
We recently took a look at Retro-Bit's classic game collections sold in the US, classic NES and SNES games lovingly put onto reproduction carts with fancy packaging - a must-have for retro game collectors. It just came to our attention that Retro-Bit is selling a bunch of new retro classic game collections on Play-Asia which...
News Zany Super Famicom Great Battle Series Gets Translated Into English
AGTP celebrates 19 years with five simultaneous translations
One of the longest-running franchises that sadly remains niche in the West is Banpresto's Compati Hero series. Based on super-deformed gashapon toys you can still collect from vending machines across Japan, it marked the first time several franchises crossed over to create an...
News This Faithful Fan-Made Brawler Is Mega Man Meets Smash Bros
Blue Bomber beatdown
Do you love yourself a bit of Mega Man? Can't wait until the release of the Mega Man Legacy Collection and Mega Man Legacy Collection 2? Well, how about a fan-made creation that takes the classic retro platforming of the Blue Bomber and transforms it into a multiplayer brawler, a la Smash Bros? Mega Man Arena - which you can...
Random You Can Now Play NES Games In 3D And In Virtual Reality
The 3DNES gets a VR makeover
Back in 2016, we covered the launch of 3DNES, an emulator that took the 2D data of an NES game and rebuilt it in the wonders of three dimensions. Well, the little bit of software is still going and has just received one of its most intriguing updates - support for VR! Yes, you'll now be able to experience the likes of...
News Hyperkin's New SupaBoy Has Superior Coloured Buttons And A 4:3 Screen Option
The best portable SNES just got better
The Hyperkin SupaBoy has already been revised once - resulting in 2016's SupaBoy S - but the company isn't done with the machine yet. The SupaBoy SFC is the latest variant and brings with it some notable upgrades. The most welcome is the ability to toggle between 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratio by holding down...
February2018
Hardware Review Hyperkin Supa Retron HD: Time To Dust Off Those SNES Carts
UPDATE: UK launch now confirmed for March
For a wide range of reasons, the public's interest in retro gaming has arguably never been higher. New players are being drawn into this fascinating corner of the industry to explore the origins of characters like Mario and Sonic, while veterans who still bear the scars of the '80s and '90s console wars are...
News The Internet Is Pouring Some Serious Salt On That PC Port Of Chrono Trigger
Why couldn't it just port the DS version?
Let's not beat around the bush, Chrono Trigger is one of the greatest RPGs of all time, so it's understandably one of those games treated with an almost palpable sense of reverence. So when Square Enix, seemingly out of nowhere, released a port on PC, fans old and new rejoiced. Until, that is, they realised...
Feature Shining A Light On Ikegami Tsushinki, The Company That Developed Donkey Kong
And the legal battle that shocked Nintendo
As one of Nintendo's earliest hits, Donkey Kong has a special place not only in the company's illustrious history, but in the realm of gaming in general. Despite its advanced years the game continues to capture the imagination of players, and has recently been thrust back into the spotlight thanks to its...
News Oh Boy, Sonic The Hedgehog Was Almost Human
"The main character was a human boy"
Sonic the Hedgehog is one of gaming's most iconic characters, and ranks alongside Mario and Mickey Mouse when it comes to international recognition. However, Sonic designer Naoto Ohshima has revealed that the speedy chap was human like Mario in his original design pitch, rather than an animal. Speaking...
Random You Can Play Donkey Kong 3: The Great Counterattack Right Now
The Sharp X1 version is finally free
Back in the '80s and the '90s, Nintendo worked with third-party developer Hudson Soft to bring many of its NES and arcade titles to Japanese personal computers. Most of these ROMS have made their way to the West over the years, but one has remained locked away. That game is Donkey Kong 3: The Great Counterattack...
News Cult Super Famicom Title Majyuuou Is Making A Comeback
A second chance in Hell
Super Famicom cult classic Majyuuou - and possibly the finest Altered Beast clone you will ever get the chance to play - is getting a reprint this coming April, thanks to Columbus Circle. This 1995 KSS-developed horror platformer gathered quite a following thanks to its incredible pixel art, tight gameplay with...
Random There's Nothing Quite Like The Creator Of Sonic Doing An Impression Of Michael Jackson
"Jackson had made all of it with his mouth"
One of the most persistent anecdotes in the history of video gaming is Michael Jackson's connection with Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It's often been rumoured that he wrote the soundtrack for the game, having enjoyed a strong relationship with Sega during the early '90s. The story goes that when allegations...
News Mega Man Composer Addresses Similarity Between Elec Man's Theme And Journey's "Faithfully"
Manami Matsumae breaks her silence on plagiarism claims
With the great news about Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 and 2 coming to Switch being announced recently, we've got another slice of Blue Bomber-related news - this time going all the way back to the first NES game. In the world of games, a lot of minuscule things get dug up,...
Feature Getting The Best Picture Out Of Your Nintendo 64: The RGB Edition
Soupy visuals, begone!
You'll have to forgive us, but we're a little obsessed with getting the best picture quality out of dusty old game hardware here at Nintendo Life. Those of you with long memories may recall our early experiments with upscaling and scanline-generating devices many years ago, and more recently we've looked at the benefit of HDMI...
News Analogue's Super Nt Gets Its First Jailbroken Firmware
You can now run SNES ROMs from an SD card
When we reviewed the stunning Analogue Super Nt recently we commented that the console's SD card slot might be used to deploy jailbroken firmware that enhances the functionality of the machine - very much in the same way that custom firmware allowed you to do cool stuff on Analogue's previous device,...
News Super Famicom Exclusive JRPG La Wares Translated Into English
A late Valentine Day's gift from Dynamic Designs
Hot on the heels of its complete English translation of Princess Minerva last year, Dynamic Designs is back with a new translation release for yet another Japan only Super Famicom JRPG; Shin Seikoku: La Wares now joins the ever growing list of Super Famicom games that is now accessible to any...
Video How Overwatch Helped A Street Fighter Legend Overcome His Hatred Of Video Games
Akira "Akiman" Yasuda opens up on Capcom, designing games and loneliness
Even if the name Akira "Akiman" Yasuda means nothing to you, there's a chance you've been touched by his talent. Yasuda was the driving force behind many of Capcom's '80s and '90s smash-hits and has recently taken part in a superb interview with toco toco TV. Yasuda...
News Lost N64 Title 40 Winks Is Resurrected Thanks To Kickstarter
No, you're not dreaming
Back in 1998, Eurocom began work on a 3D platformer called 40 Winks which allowed you to enter a world of dreams and transform into a wide range of different characters. Sadly, when publisher GT Interactive began to haemorrhage cash the N64 version of 40 Winks - which was eventually released on PlayStation and is known in...
News Donkey Kong Scorekeeper Rubbishes Billy Mitchell's Claims Of Fabricated Footage
Mitchell's defence "does not make sense"
The saga of Billy Mitchell's Donkey Kong high score continues to rumble along following accusations from score-verifier Jeremy Young that Mitchell - who was a key figure in the cult movie King of Kong - used MAME to record his record-breaking runs on the game, as opposed to original hardware, as...
Random The SNES, Famicom And Mega Drive Are Reborn In These Custom Painted Gundam Figures
Mobile suit retro
Often described as the Japanese Star Wars, Mobile Suit Gundam is one of the longest-running sci-fi properties in the Far East and has millions of fans all over the globe. Gamers will of course be intimately familiar with the franchise thanks to the multitude of officially-licensed games that have appeared on practically...
News Data East Makes Its 2018 Debut On Switch Next Week With Gate Of Doom
Isometric RPG-light dungeon crawler on the go
Retro gaming fans rejoice, because next week will see Flying Tiger Entertainment joining Namco, Hamster and Zerodiv in the exclusive club of publishers bringing arcade game content to Nintendo's hybrid system. Gate of Doom (know as Dark Seal outside the United states) was released back in 1990 and along...
News Billy Mitchell Reacts to Accusations of Fake Donkey Kong High Score
"I’ve never even played MAME"
Billy Mitchell is a famed name in the competitive gaming scene, both for the records that he set on arcade games and for the role that he played in the story behind The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Recently, Mitchell’s achievement with setting the Donkey Kong high score has been called into question, with...
Review The Analogue Super Nt Is The Ultimate Way To Play SNES Games In 2018
Reborn, remastered, remarkable
If you're seriously into audio visual entertainment then chances are you'll have gone through the exciting (yet mildly scary) process of blowing an entire month's pay cheque on the latest television, Hi-Fi or associated piece of audio visual hardware. Like everything in life, how much you want to spend on this kind of...
News MSU1 Support For Yoshi's Island, Seiken Densetsu 3 And Final Fight 2 Is Here
Dinosaur babysitting, action RPG perfection and Mike Haggar's world tour
The Zeldix MSU1 community continues its incredible streak of MSU-1 audio project releases, with this week seeing the conclusion of two major projects from Conn and a nice Capcom surprise from Kurono and PepilloPEV. Without a doubt one of the greatest Super Nintendo (perhaps...
News Analogue's Christopher Taber Opens Up On The Super Nt And Future Projects
"I’m a Sega kid. Who knows? Maybe we’re already working on it"
Tomorrow, Analogue will start shipping its latest system, the Super Nt. Like the company's other consoles - such as the wooden Neo Geo and Analogue Nt Mini - this is a classic reborn; Nintendo'
News Got Bob Wakelin's Original Art For NES Contra? You're Sitting On $100,000
Game art collector wants to hear from you
When the legendary Bob Wakelin passed away last month he left behind an incredible legacy of artwork. Wakelin's associating with British publisher Ocean resulted in a flood of amazing covers, but he also did work for other companies, with the NES version of Contra being one of his most famous pieces. Now,...
News Billy Mitchell's Donkey Kong High Scores Come Under Doubt Amid Accusations Of Monkey Business
Meanwhile, Robbie Lakeman extends his world record score
Billy Mitchell is a video game icon who needs little introduction; he was one of the first players to gain mainstream recognition for his skill at arcade games, and more recently found fame in the documentary King of Kong, where he was positioned as the antagonist to Steve Wiebe's heroic...
Hardware Review Does The Retro-Bit NES Power Stick Give You The Advantage?
Microswitched marvel
These days, gamers are pretty comfortable with the fact that there are multiple control options available when it comes to playing on their console of choice. The basic, in-the-box pad isn't always the best that's on offer, and there are myriad official and unofficial controllers doing the rounds, each claiming to hold a...
Gallery Leafing Through Bitmap Books' SNES / Super Famicom Visual Compendium
You can order it from today
The SNES is so hot right now. Not only have we seen the SNES Classic Edition fly off the shelves amid rave reviews, we've also got the lovely new Analogue Super Nt to look forward to. To cap it all off, today sees the launch of Bitmap Books'
January2018
Video The 26 Best Game Boy Advance Games of All Time
Advance to the next level
Every Nintendo system has its gems, but to say we were a bit spoilt with the Game Boy Advance is an understatement. Game after game after game kept being released, and there were so many incredible ones our original list was well over double the size of this one. For the sake of brevity and my own sanity, we cut it down...
Video This Heartwarming Home Movie Shows The Moment Mega Man 2 Changed Everything
State of the art high resolution memories
Mega Man turns 30 this year, an event which will no doubt make many players feels really, really old. Capcom's series may be undergoing a revival of late thanks to the announcement of an all-new entry, but for many fans it never got any better than the NES sequel, which still ranks as one of the best action...
News SNES Classics Illusion of Gaia And Mystical Ninja Receive MSU1 Audio Support
Will and Goemon join the high fidelity club
Another week and another two major MSU-1 Audio projects released by Super Nintendo fans. Considering both these classic soundtracks come in at nearly one hundred tracks each this is no small feat. Two epic quests featuring brand new audio possibilities await you. Caught between the brilliance of both...
News This Could Well Be The Ultimate SNES Arcade Stick, And It's Made Of Bamboo
Wood you believe it
UK company Shika Arcades has produced what is shaping up to be the very best arcade stick option for SNES players - and it's made from bamboo. We're no strangers to gaming hardware fashioned from wood here at Nintendo Life, but this example looks like it could take things to the next level. Featuring Sanwa parts and...
Random Images Resurface From 1994 Showing Nintendo Destroying Counterfeit Games With A Steamroller
They see me rollin'
Nintendo games seem to be a particularly popular option for counterfeit product makers; the chances of finding a whole host of knock-off goods from any car boot sale or eBay search is scarily high. While we don't always see how companies such as the 'Big N' deal with such matters, these recently rediscovered photos show what is...
News Retro Rules As Nintendo Switch's ACA Neo Geo Library Hits 1 Million Sales
One happy HAMSTER
HAMSTER's ACA Neo Geo ports have been a part of Nintendo Switch's digital library since the day it launched in March 2017, and that commitment to the platform has finally paid off with the announcement that the collective sales of all its Neo Geo titles have exceeded 1 million. That's a lot of retro love right there. The...
News It's Been A Bumper Month For Super Nintendo MSU-1 Audio Enhancement Patches
Pump up the volume
Love them or hate them, the MSU-1 audio enhancement patches are here to stay and the effervescent, passionate community of hobbyist hackers and music producers at Zeldix have been on a non-stop roll of releases during this month. We've rounded up most of those projects on this news post and who knows, one of your old...
Art These Fantasy Nintendo Hardware Breakdowns Are Just Magical
NES, SNES, Game Boy, DS and more get opened up (kind of)
Consoles like the NES, SNES and Game Boy may just be fashioned from circuit boards, chips and plastic, but they're a portal to a seemingly limitless world of possibilities and will, for many players, have provided a wondrous backdrop for entire childhoods. London-based artist Jing Zhang was...
News Check Out Nintendo's Original Headquarters
Back when they were still paying loans to Tom Nook
Though Nintendo has existed as a game company since the 80’s—still one of the longest standing institutions in the game industry—it’s actually been around in various other forms since 1889. In the nearly 100 years between then and its start as a game company, dabbled with taxis, love hotels,...
News Which Is Better - Sonic Mania Or Sonic CD? Iretrogamer's Power Team Debates It Out
Old vs new
We love Sonic Mania here at Nintendo Life - so much so former editor Thomas Whitehead gave the triumphant retro revival a glowing 9/10 back in 2017 - but did you much of its innovation follows in the footsteps of the equally ingenious Sonic CD? The Power Team over on the iretrogamer channel have had that very thought on the brain,...
Movie Review King Of Kong Meets Spinal Tap In Going For Golden Eye
"Rule no. 1: Absolutely no use of Oddjob"
Video games and movies often make uncomfortable bedfellows; just look at the Super Mario Bros. movie from 1993 and Jean-Claude Van Damme's equally risible Street Fighter flick. However, sometimes the combining of these two mediums can yield positive results; King of Kong is one notable example. Jim...
News This Year's Genesis 5 Smash Bros Tournament To Officially Partner With Nintendo
No, we don't mean that Genesis
Genesis? No we're not talking about the North American alter ego of SEGA Mega Drive or the first book of The Bible, we're talking about something even holier: Smash Bros! Based in the United States, Genesis is a semi-regular tournament that brings some of the best players from around the country (and the world) to...
Random GoldenEye 007 Mockumentary Aims To Be The Spinal Tap Of Video Games
Focuses on "deluded, cringe-inducing elite GoldenEye players"
An indie British film company is aiming to create the video game equivalent of Spinal Tap with Going For Golden Eye, which is described as "a love letter to the heyday of the N64 and the rivalries of couch multiplayer". Created by Woodhouse Pictures, the film focuses on the...
Random Counting The Screws In NES Cartridges Is A Big Deal For Collectors
Not all NES cartriges were screwed alike
Hardware revisions are a common practice in all manufacture industry, and video games are no exception; to either augment the original design with new features before a new unit replaces the existing one or to simply cut manufacturing costs by streamlining the production process. What no one might have...
News Unreal Engine Powered F-Zero X Concept Astonishes, Goes Fast
"YOU GOT UNREAL ENGINE POWA!"
CryZENx is back with another impressive Unreal Engine concept remake of yet another well loved Nintendo 64 franchise. Feast your eyes on the following footage of the Captain's old faithful Blue Falcon speeding at over 1,000 miles per hour around Mute City. Would you like to have a new F-Zero on the Nintendo Switch?...
News Build Your Own Game, Flash It To A Cartridge And Play It On Your NES With NESMaker
No assembly required
Coding remains the biggest barrier between day time dreaming video game producers and the real deal. So when products such as Super Mario Maker bridge over that barrier and let the common gamer creativity take over it usually results in something quite special. Currently already fully funded in a mere 48 hours
Rumour SEGA And Retro-Bit Might Actually Be Working On A Secret Retro Console
Dreamcast Mini anyone?
It wasn't so long ago that we reported on the exciting collaboration between SEGA and retro hardware maker Retro-Bit. Sadly, that partnership only extends to accessories for classic SEGA machines, but now the rumour mill has fired up yet again with murmurings that the two really are working on a secret project and said secret...
News GoldenEye 007 With Mario Characters Is The Crossover We Never Knew We Wanted
It's-a-me, a-Bond!
Official development for Nintendo 64 may have ended over 15 years ago, but that hasn't stopped the impassioned modding community from keeping its library of memorable 64-bit hits alive with new updates and improvements. Rare's influential shooter, GoldenEye 007, remains a huge fan favourite, so of course one talented user has...
News Nintendo's Employees Once Went On Hunger Strike In Protest To Factory Closures
Back in 1955, that is
We'd all probably love to have a job at Nintendo these days, but back in the 1950s - when Ninty was a manufacturer of playing cards (specifically, a popular Japanese game called 'hanafuda') - things were a little different. Decades before its move towards video games, the firm was going through some internal struggles, which...
News This Portable Console Has Over 350 Built-In Games So You'll Never Be Bored Again
Retro-Bit's new Go Retro Portable arrives in September
While it's had to place its Super Retro Boy project on hold following an unfortunate trademark renewal earlier this month, throwback gaming hardware firm Retro-Bit continues to delve into the virtual vaults with its latest creation - the equally handheld Go Retro Portable. While the Super Retro...
Feature Rare's Local Game Shop Faces An Uncertain Future, Like Many Indie Retailers
"It can only continue with local support"
Those of you with long memories will recall that we ran a feature some time ago about Extreme Gamez, a small UK indie video game store. This particular shop might not seem especially noteworthy at first glance, until you realise that it is situated in one of the most historically important towns in the UK,...
News Hyperkin is Planning to Bring Back The Game Boy
The 'Ultra Game Boy', actually
With the incredible success of the NES and SNES Mini consoles over the last year or so, offering a modern and easy way to play classic games from those historic systems, many are now wondering whether or not we'll be seeing more consoles receive the same treatment. Potentially pipping Nintendo to the post, however,...
News It Appears That Nintendo Has Unfinished Business With The 1080° Snowboarding Series
Shreddin’ the gnar
1080° Snowboarding on the N64 and its sequel 1080° Avalanche on the GameCube are both fondly remembered arcade style snowboarding games, which were overshadowed a bit by EA's SSX series back in the day. Still it seems that Nintendo has a fond spot for the series as it's recently trademarked the name "1080° Ten Eighty"...
Soapbox Why You Should Consider Catching Big Air With Wii's Excite Truck
If you still have access to a Wii or Wii U, that is
Soapbox features enable our individual writers to voice their own opinions on a wide range of topics, opinions that may not necessarily be the voice of the site. In this edition, Dave Letcavage discusses his somewhat recent introduction to the divisive Wii launch game Excite Truck, and makes a case...
Random This Woman Loves Tetris So Much She's Going To Marry Her Copy
Some things you just can't make up
It's not often we're surprised by the internet anymore, but then it goes and throws a curve ball of truly epic proportions. Meet 20-year-old Noorul Mahjabeen Hassan from Florida. She prefers to go by the name Fractal Tetris Huracan, and her adopted moniker might give you an idea of the game she loves above all...
Video The 21 Best GameCube Games Money Can Buy
Here's hoping they 'switch' to Virtual Console
The Nintendo GameCube was woefully underrated in its time, failing to compete commercially with its rivals. Where it excelled however was in its quality of games, of which there are countless. That's why we wanted to show off just what this cuboid console can do, and show you the 21 best games for the...
Random The Creator Of Black Mirror Got The BBC To Play A Game Boy Tune To Millions
Picks Nintendo Switch as is his luxury item, too
Charlie Brooker's superb Black Mirror series may have catapulted him to global fame, but what viewers of the twisted yet utterly compelling science fiction show might not know is that he started his career as a games journalist in the UK before making the leap into comedy and TV writing. Brooker was...
News Kickstarter Retro Sensation Xeno Crisis Targeting Switch
Switch blast processing
Back in December we covered an up and coming Sega Mega Drive/Genesis game from Bitmap Bureau (yes, an actual old school cartridge that really works with Sega's old 16-bit beast). Xeno Crisis immediately caught our attention as well as piquing the interest of retro gamers everywhere. So much so that's it's smashed its...
News Creator Of The Starforce Pi Is Working On Something Nintendo-Related
But it's a one-off, sadly
The Starforce Pi is one of the most exciting developments in the world of retro hardware, but it's still not yet available to buy. Marcel J. de Haan - the man behind the project - has experienced issues in finding a suitable manufacturer for mass production and has recently declared that he's going to do everything...
Random Twitch Streamer Accidentally Sets New Tetris World Record
As you do
You know those times when you turn on your favourite classic NES title, casually play about with it for a while, and then accidentally set a world record in one of the most intense, concentration-centric video games of all time? Nope, neither do we. Amazingly, though, this very thing just happened to a Twitch streamer and it is rather...
News Retro-Bit Puts Super Retro Boy On Hold Following Game Boy Trademark Renewal
Oh boy
Remember the Super Retro Boy? It was one of the products Retro-Bit was supposed to launch during 2017, and would have accepted Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance carts. Equipped with a TFT HD scratch and shatter-resistant screen, a 2,500mAh battery and bundled with a 10-in-1 game cartridge, it was slated for an August release...
Random Here's What Star Wars: The Last Jedi Would Have Looked Like On The SNES
Spoilers contained within, young Jedi...
Star Wars has a long and proud history in the realm of video games (as well as a few bum notes), but one of the most memorable interactive adaptations has to be the excellent trilogy of titles on the SNES. We'd dearly love to see some of the modern movies recreated in this 16-bit style on Switch, but that's...
News 8Bitdo Firmware Update Fixes Controller Power Issues
Updated to Version 1.23
If you are the proud owner of one of 8Bitdo's SN30/SF30 Pro Controllers, you may be pleased to know that the peripheral maker has released a firmware update to address a known bug and to add extra features. The firmware has been updated to Version 1.23 and can be downloaded directly from 8Bitdo's support page. You can check...
News How DOOM On The SNES Pushed The Hardware To Its Technical Limits
Sound familiar?
DOOM recently launched on the Nintendo Switch and while technical compromises had to be made in order to get it to run on Nintendo's portable platform, we nevertheless praised it in our review for being a quality port that had enough of a flavour of the full-fat version of the game to be worthwhile. It's amazing to think that...
December2017
News Retro-Bit Announces R-Type Returns For Super Nintendo
Irem's Holy Diver also making a comeback on NES
Looks like Retro-Bit is once again targeting retro gamer's wallets in early 2018 with a couple of exclusive physical re-releases. R-Typepe Returns will bring both excellent entries of the series exclusive to the Super Nintendo (Super R-Type and R-Type III: The Third Lightning) in a single...
News Super Mario Land 2 Gets a Fan-Made Colour Treatment
Now with added plumber
We are still catching up with all the fan retro projects released during the Holidays. Often cited as the very best platform game on the original Game Boy (sorry Kirby Dreamland fans), Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins not only seemed to defy what was possible with the humble portable, but was also responsible for...
News 'Super Famicom Wars' And 'Princess Minerva' Translated to English
Plus ' U.N. Squadron' gets a spiffy MSU1 audio patch
Once again the Super Nintendo community made sure that this was yet another Christmas to remember if you are still playing around with Nintendo's 16-bit wonder. Three major projects were completed and released in time for the Holidays, including a complete English translation for one major...
Feature Homebrew Experts Mega Cat Studios On Surviving A Coffee Crisis And Coming Out Stronger
"We're really, really excited to be part of this retro renaissance"
Mega Cat Studios might not be a household name at present, but the company has been doing some incredible work in the realm of homebrew games development and has produced multiple physical NES carts over the past few years. We say down with Zack Manko, Mega Cat co-founder, to...
News Data East Arcade Titles Are Coming To Switch, Courtesy Of One Of Gaming's Worst Mascots
It's Turbo time!
Flying Tiger Entertainment has announced that it is bringing some of Data East's most beloved arcade titles to the Switch. Over 20 titles are coming to Switch, PS4, Xbox One and Steam, with the only confirmed game so far being the 1990 fantasy action release Gate of Doom (also known as Dark Seal). Games are expected to sell...
News The Donkey Kong World High Score Record Just Got Smashed To Bits (Again)
Robbie Lakeman wins back his title with a score of 1,230,100
In video games, there are high scores and then there are high scores. The long battle for Donkey Kong's biggest score definitely falls into the latter category; it's the holy grail of arcade scores and it's played host to some of the most competitive rivalries in history. Well, the arcade...
Random These N64 Box Art Covers Have Not Aged Well
In fact, most of them looked terrible at the time
We've all got plenty of fond memories of Nintendo 64 - which is why we're excited for the inevitable N64 Mini and its third-party friends - but that doesn't mean we look back on every game with a smile. In fact, just thinking about some those box art covers makes us a little queasy. Over on N64...
Video The Complete History of Phantasy Star
The other “Fantasy”
Though it happened a long time ago, the last month of 1987 has gone down in history as one of the most influential times in gaming. This week three long running, ground-breaking franchises were first released in Japan. Mega Man and Final Fantasy had already had their day earlier in the week. Now we turn to Phantasy Star...
News Sega Dreamcast, Saturn And Mega Drive Hardware Coming From Retro-Bit in 2018
The retro gods have smiled upon us
It's safe to say we're big fans of the retro-focused wonders coming out of Retro-Bit - including the brilliant Retro-Bit RES Plus and the wealth of classic titles on its Super Retro-Bit micro-console - so you can imagine how excited we are following the announcement that it's teaming up with Sega to bring a...
Gallery Cracking Open Retro-Bit's "New" Old NES And SNES Games
Data East and Jaleco classics are back!
Remember those terrible cardboard boxes that Nintendo games used to come in, way back when? The company thankfully moved onto more civilised plastic cases in the GameCube era, but NES, SNES, N64, Virtual Boy, Game Boy and Game Boy Advance titles all came in easily-crushed cardboard packaging which, for modern...
Video This SNES Classic Mini Teardown Explores the Similarities to the NES Model
One small difference, but it leaves plenty of questions
It's been known for a good while that the innards of the SNES Classic Mini are pretty much the same as the NES Classic Mini. It makes perfect logistical sense for Nintendo and no doubt means solid profits on each unit, but it also raises questions around supply issues and what Nintendo may need...
News Unofficial Nintendo GameCube Anthology Book Hits Kickstarter
By the book
Remember the superb N64 Anthology we covered a while back? Well the team behind that excellent tome are now producing a sequel in the shape of the GameCube Anthology. A crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter has gone live, and currently sits at just shy of 29,000 Euros - the target goal is 40,000 Euros. The final book will be 360...
Feature Testing The Best RGB SCART Cables Known To Humanity
These ones pack-a-punch
Not all retro gaming AV cables are created equal, despite what you may have read or heard. Unlike HDMI – which is a digital signal – the analogue realm is subject to wild variances when it comes to quality, and the pursuit of the perfect audio visual setup has become the lifelong objective of many a retro gamer. Some will...
News Hyperkin Has Created A Prototype Portable Nintendo 64 Mini
But it may not enter production, before you get too excited
Accessories maker Hyperkin is apparently working on a portable Nintendo 64 system. The news comes from Hyperkin Senior Account Manager Ramon Navos-Moral, who (rather foolishly, it should be said) posted the following images of a functioning prototype system on his Facebook page: The...
Gallery Checking Out 8Bitdo's New SNES Classic Edition Wireless Gamepad
New look, same quality
While the biggest news to come out of 8Bitdo recently is the launch of the excellent SN30 Pro controller, the company has also released another notable product: the SNES Classic Edition Wireless Gamepad. As the title suggests, this is a controller aimed at those who have purchased a SNES Classic Edition and are looking for a...
Hardware Review Retro-Bit Super Retro-Cade: A Treasure Trove Of Vintage Gaming Goodness
Finally, a legal way to play Boogie Wings in your home
It's fair to say they we weren't all that impressed by the Retro-Bit Generations, 2016's attempt to bring a selection of classic Data East, Capcom and Jaleco titles to the home. An odd library, terrible emulation and general sloppiness made it a product to avoid, despite the tantalising promise...
Random Check Out This Japanese Guide to Classic LCD Games
Yes, that includes Game & Watch
There are lots of gamers out there who seem to love physical media. Whenever a digital-only game gets a sudden print run on card or disc, people go crazy! Also, plenty of gamers love books - especially books on games. There have been countless tomes released over the last few years; practically every topic has been...
News Resident Evil Nearly Got its Start on the SNES
Whaaa?
Resident Evil is arguably the most prominent horror franchise in existence, spanning several consoles over a few generations, starting on the PlayStation. Though the series has taken some very different directions with all its spin-offs and sequels, the original still stands as a classic that is revered by many, even if it hasn’t aged all...
Random Check Out Tobu Tobu Girl, a New Game Boy Release
There's even a physical edition
Above is a teaser trailer from last year for Tobu Tobu Girl by Tangram Games, a game in which you try to continually go higher by bouncing off enemies and flapping your arms. It's pretty darn charming, and it's out now. Yep, it's a freshly released Game Boy title, which can be downloaded for free via its official...
Random An In-Depth Look at Kato-chan & Ken-chan, Another Strange Classic Game From Japan
They’re still kicking
Time again for a look back at some retro gaming! There was a TurboGrafx-16 game that graced the Wii Virtual Console back in 2007 called J.J. & Jeff. That game was originally known as Kato-chan & Ken-chan, and was quite well-known back in Japan. The game was changed in a few key areas when brought to the West - namely...
November2017
News ActRaiser and Wolfchild Get The MSU1 Digital Audio Enhancement Treatment
Of Gods and human-wolf hybrids...
A couple of rather interesting MSU-1 audio enhancement patches released this week. The first is one of the most often requested patches ever since byuu released the chip itself, while the second will surely bring fond memories to Commodore Amiga and Atari ST owners. ActRaiser remains a unique work of art; it...
Random You've Seen The NES Classic, Now Check Out The CoolBaby HDMI HD Video Game
Cool, baby!
While Nintendo's U-turn on discontinuing the NES Classic Edition means that the thousands of people who missed out last year will now get a better chance of owning one, for a time it seemed like the Japanese company really was going to walk away from a profitable revenue stream. In that void came the clones; cheap knock-off replicas of...
News It's Going To Be Hard To Resist These Super Mario 3 Pin Badges
Pixel perfection
Super Mario Bros. 3 was, for a time, regarded as the best video game ever to emerge from Nintendo's development studios, and it arguably remains one of the finest 2D platformers in existence. All of which naturally means that any piece of official merchandise related to this esteemed NES classic is going to catch our attention and...
Hardware Review 8Bitdo SN30 Pro Gamepad: The Best Switch Pro Controller?
One pad to rule them all
If you take your video game controllers seriously, then chances are you won't need any introduction to 8bitdo. This peripheral maker has been crafting superb pads and accessories for some time now, many of which take more than a little inspiration from Nintendo's own controllers. Over the years we've seen excellent...
Hardware Review Hamy NES And SNES HD Classic
The best of both worlds?
Love them or loathe them, clones of retro systems are here to stay. Over the past few years we've seen numerous unofficial attempts to replicate the performance of vintage systems, some more successful than others. In recent years the arrival of authentic takes on this concept – such as the NES and SNES Classic Editions...
Buyers Guide Nintendo SNES Classic Mini
A Link To The Past
Hot on the heals of 2016's excellent NES Classic Mini is the obvious SNES Classic Mini, or Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Nintendo Entertainment System if you want the full name. Fully loaded with 21 games (including never before seen Star Fox 2), the Super Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Edition system has the original...
News Hideki Kamiya Would Love To Remake Viewtiful Joe
Henshin A Go Go Baby!
Viewtiful Joe and its sequel were among some of the best games released on the GameCube. This side scrolling beat 'em up had impressive cel-shaded graphics for its time and unique slo-mo fighting mechanics which made it lots of fun to replay time and time again. PlatinumGames' Hideki Kamiya often likes to...
Anniversary The Super Famicom Is Now 27 Years Old
It's got a mortgage and two kids as well
To many retro gamers it doesn't get much better than the Super Nintendo, otherwise known as the Super Famicom in its native Japan. This year Nintendo celebrated this 16-bit wonder with the release of the SNES Classic Mini, which was a timely reminder of how great the console was. It was on this console that...
Video This Could Be The Most Awesome Gaming Room Ever
We're still waiting for our invite
If you're keen on following YouTube-based retro gamers then chances are you're already familiar with Aussie super-collector Joel "Last Gamer" Hopkins. This guy literally has everything, from the rarest games to the most desirable vintage systems. His collection - and the building it's housed in - has undergone...
News Nintendo Promises More SNES Classic Edition Stock Is On The Way
A second chance
Did you miss your chance to pick up a SNES Classic Edition the first time around? You had to be quick on the pre-orders as they sold out almost immediately and mostly ended up on a certain well known auction site, but such is life. Thankfully, Nintendo of America has promised that more stock of the Super NES Classic (and indeed the...
News GameShell Looks Like A Game Boy, But Offers So Much More
Modular console is coming to Kickstarter
Every now and then a cool Kickstarter campaign comes along which catches our attention, and GameShell certainly fits into that category. On the surface it looks like a humble Nintendo Game Boy, but this modular system has the potential to be a really interesting entry in the handheld arena. While the...
News Gradius III Gets the MSU1 Digital Audio Enhancement Treatment
Option!
Shmups! We love them and we are not shy to admit it.The Super Nintendo always fell short to the lush number of shmup offerings present on the PC Engine, Mega Drive and even the NES / Famicom. Yet whisper Axelay in the wind and a wave of awe will overcome everyone. However, today's news is in regard to another classic Konami shmup, the early...
News Super Famicom Exclusive Sutte Hakkun Gets Translated Into English
Ink in, ink out, scratch head, restart level
It is quite amazing to see the number of Super Famicom exclusives that not only would have probably done well in the West if released during the console's peak years, but also still mix it up with current generation offerings. For your consideration, Sutte Hakkun (gesundheit) by Nintendo and the very...
Feature Diggin' In The Carts Host Nick Dwyer On How Video Game Music Has Come Of Age
"Cool things have been happening within the sphere of video game music"
While video game music has always had its fans, the appreciation for game soundtracks and the people who create them has arguably never been higher. Part of this is due to the incredible nostalgia attached to some of gaming's most iconic tunes, but it's also because video game...
Retro - Features
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