Retro - News
February2020
Poll Box Art Brawl #28 - Mario Bros.
Super! Hang on...
Welcome back, you beautiful people, to another edition of Box Art Brawl, the series where regional box art variants get subjected to public scrutiny and ranked according to their beauty by you lovely lot. Last week we had a true classic in the form of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which unsheathed its Master Swords and did...
January2020
News Tecmo Bowl Brings American Football To Hamster's Arcade Archives Series This Week
More retro goodness
This week sees the release of the retro sports title Tecmo Bowl on the Nintendo Switch eShop. As usual, it supports 1-2 players and will set you back $7.99 / £6.29. Here's the rundown: "TECMO BOWL" is an American football game released by TECMO in 1987. Experience matches as a player of either the WILDCATS or BULLDOGS...
News The 64Mate Steps Up Its Game With 64DD Compatibility And Tower Stacking
Watch out, Sega
Remember the 64Mate? It's an all-in-one Nintendo 64 storage add-on that was announced last December for Kickstarter. If you missed our original post, it's basically a compartment that can be attached to the underside of the console. In an update on Twitter, the creators have announced the 64Mate is "stepping up" its game with 64DD...
Feature The Most Expensive Retro Games For Nintendo Systems
12 rare games to keep an eye out for
Make no mistake, we've got endless love for chunky plastic cartridges and proper printed manuals (remember those?), but the convenience of digital games is hard to deny and over the last decade or so digital distribution has taken off to the point where often physical versions aren't even an option these days...
Random Super Mario 64's Shifting Sand Land Becomes A Dungeon In This Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Mod
The ultimate crossover?
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64 are considered to be some of the greatest games of all time. To this day, there are still many people enjoying them on a regular basis. There's also a community dedicated to modding and speed-running these classic N64 titles. One individual known as Kaze Emanuar...
Random This Mod Turns The Virtual Boy Into A Proper Console You Can Play On Your Television
Easier on the eyes
The Virtual Boy wasn't exactly Nintendo's finest hour. Despite this, the device was arguably ahead of its time and over the years has developed a cult following. In 2018, for example, an indie developer released a Virtual Boy emulator for the Oculus Rift headset - allowing users to play this short-lived generation of Nintendo...
Talking Point How Much Is Your Video Game Collection Really Worth To You?
Sentimental value rarely equals hard currency
Chibi-Robo earns his keep. It's happened to everyone at one time or another. Whether due to changing life circumstances or sheer curiosity, most of us will have looked at our video game collection and wondered how much hard cash we could get for it. We've interviewed serious collectors in the past and...
Book Review Japansoft: An Oral History - A True Treasure You Need To Read
Celebrating the unsung heroes with this exceptional book
A few years ago, British journalist and author John Szczepaniak launched a Kickstarter campaign with a grand vision – to document the memories of some of Japan's most influential yet underappreciated games developers. The result was an extensive three-volume series (and accompanying
Poll Box Art Brawl #27 - The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
Hey, listen! *splat*
And here we are once more for another edition of Box Art Brawl, the weekly battle between regional variants of retro game box covers to find out which one you think deserves gold medal in the looks department. Last week Super NES classic Castlevania: Dracula X bared its teeth and got down to bloody battle until the Japanese...
News You Could Get Your Hands On A Polymega Early Thanks To Its Upcoming Beta Test
Early (retro) access
All-in-one retro console Polymega is due to launch this year, and the company behind it has just announced a beta test program which will give a lucky number of applications early access to the hardware. If you've already placed your preorder and you apply via the website before 5PM PST on January 31st, you could be selected to...
Anniversary Super Smash Bros. Turns 21 Today
And look how far it's come!
On 21st January 1999, the original Super Smash Bros. was released for the Nintendo 64 in Japan. Over the last 21 years, Smash has become one of the most celebrated, adored, and hype-inducing series available on Nintendo's platforms. The character selection screen in Super Smash Bros. with all characters unlocked...
Poll Box Art Brawl #26 - Castlevania: Dracula X
Whip it good
Welcome back for another edition of Box Art Brawl, the weekly vote to see who triumphs over the first and second losers in a box art beauty pageant. Three regional versions of the same game cover battle it out to see who is the sharpest looker. Last week we had a returning series in the form of Resident Evil 2. We looked at the N64...
News 'Secret Screen' Nintendo 64 Prototype Resurfaces More Than 20 Years Later
Designer says Sega took the idea
While not exactly being the most commercially successful Nintendo console, the iconic N64 remains a firm favourite in the minds of gaming fans to this very day. Despite this, we doubt there are too many people out there who have seen this little oddity before. Retro gaming fan and preservationist Shane Battye has...
Poll Box Art Brawl #25 - Resident Evil 2
Biohazard REturns
Welcome again to Box Art Brawl, the weekly bout that sees regional variants of retro games compete to see which has the most attractive box-based visage. Last week featured a load of old balls - monkey balls, that is - as Super Monkey Ball 2 bounced off itself in battle. You lovely people decided that the European variant was the...
News Arcade1Up Is Reviving A Sega Classic That Has Never Been Seen Outside Of Arcades
And its NBA Jam cabinet is looking sweet, too
If you follow the retro gaming scene closely, then the name Arcade1Up will instantly ring a bell. This relatively new company scored a sizeable coup by gaining the licence to create an arcade cabinet containing Konami’s classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game, and it has followed up that...
News This Cube-Like Console Play Will Play Every Game Boy Game On Your TV
The next in the Retron line of consoles from Hyperkin
Hyperkin has just lifted the lid on its next games system, the Retron Jr., which plays Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games on your TV. The cube-like system connects to your television via HDMI and outputs in 720p. It comes bundled with a SNES-style wireless ‘Scout’...
News This New Handheld Wants To Heal The Scars Of Gaming's Most Infamous Console War
Say hello to the Super Retro Champ
Back in the early '90s, Sega and Nintendo were bitter enemies, with their respective consoles fighting for dominance of living rooms all over the globe. There may be some of you who still consider this battle to be unfinished business, even in 2020, which is why My Arcade's Super Retro Champ could be a remarkable...
Poll Box Art Brawl #24 - Super Monkey Ball 2
Super Monkey Brawl
Welcome to the twenty-fourth (!) round of Box Art Brawl, the weekly regional box art battle that sees you settle the score and vote for the best regional cover design or a retro video game. It's the first brawl of 2020 - we hope you all had a spectacular start to the New Year and are ready to scrap once more! Last week we had a...
December2019
Poll Box Art Brawl #23 - Snowboard Kids
The kids were all right
Welcome to a festive edition of Box Art Brawl, where regional box art variants battle each other for the honour of your vote. Christmas is over, New Year is approaching, so it's time to hit the slopes as the snow settles in the interim. Last week Star Wars Episode I: Racer raced itself to the podium and t'was decreed by you...
Feature Why You'll Never Get To Play Your Favourite Retro Game On Switch
Companies really do want your money, but at the right price
A few weeks ago while scrolling through Twitter, a particular video clip caught our eye. It showed Slipstream, a 1995 F1 arcade game from Capcom. Using Sega’s System 32 board, it was produced in very limited quantities for the Latin American market and never saw wide release. As you can...
Feature How Pirate Television Helped Sega Beat Nintendo In The UK
"We were The Rolling Stones to Nintendo's Beatles"
The year is 1992. In a typical British household a typical British family is huddled around the television, still unsure about what has just transpired during the ad break of their typical British soap opera. Nestled among the traditional commercials for washing powder and breakfast cereal is a...
Feature 30 Weird And Wonderful Peripherals From Nintendo's History
Playing with power... and a whole lotta plastic
Nintendo’s history as a manufacturer of playing cards and toys means the company has always been very comfortable with expanding out from with video game console under the TV into the wider world of peripheral accessories and novelties. These extra lumps of plastic and electronics that interface with...
Feature I Think My Game Boy Predicts The Future
“What evil might this forbidden technology unleash?”
The Game Boy turned 30 last month – to the shock of those of us realising we are therefore well over 30. Where did the past go? I think it went into a nook at the end of my bookshelf – at least that’s where I found my old DMG-01, the original Game Boy. Like many reading this, I’m sure,...
Feature The Man Who Lost Tetris
The almost unbelievable story of Robert Maxwell
Media tycoon Robert Maxwell’s influence on the UK and international games’ software industry is the stuff of legend. As Dan Ackmerman’s writes in The Tetris Effect, Maxwell’s part in the international battle for the rights to Tetris resulted in legal battles between his son, Kevin Maxwell,...
Feature Your Beloved Games Console Is Slowly But Surely Dying
Parts failure. Power issues. Creepy-crawlies. Your system is under attack
"Everything put together falls apart" is the kind of sage-like adage that you often hear elderly relatives offering up over the dining table in-between moaning about Brexit and discussing the weather, and is a phrase most people under the age of 30 will surely dismiss out of...
Feature GoldenEye Dev David Doak On Shaking (And Stirring) The FPS Genre On Console
"All we could see were the bad things"
You couldn’t escape it. It was here, rife and potent. It ploughed a path through conventional gaming conversations from the casuals to the parents of gamers that had to put up with the noise, the screaming and the not going to bed because if you didn’t kill John with thirty-seven remote mines stuck to the...
Poll Box Art Brawl #22 - Star Wars Episode I: Racer
Brawling? This is podracing!
Welcome to Box Art Brawl, the series where regional box art variants battle against one another to find out which has the highest midi-chlorian count. Last week Kirby returned to Dream Land for an Adventure on Wii and it was decided that the angry North American cover was best, with Japan coming in second and the very...
Feature Uncovering The Story Behind Nintendo's Most Bizarre Tie-In
‘90s Mario mania, posthumous endorsements and White Knuckle Scorin'...
Uncanny, no? It’s Saturday morning and we’re relaxing on the sofa with a coffee, idly scrolling through Twitter while MTV Classics plays in the background. The 1992 video for Roy Orbison’s posthumously released track 'I Drove All Night' plays. Now, we’re partial to...
News 23 Years On, And We Still Can't Believe This Classic SNES RPG Didn't Get A US Release
Time to celebrate with a new remix album
On December 19th, 1996, Terranigma was released in the west. Quintet's final SNES release and part of a loose trilogy which also includes the superb Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia / Time (and ActRaiser, if you're feeling generous), Terranigma ranks as one of the best RPGs to grace Nintendo's 16-bit system...
News Check Out What's Inside The Wizard's 30th Anniversary Blu-ray Release
Two discs, bonus features and new cover artwork
It always amuses us when people debate the best video game-based movie of all time, because, in our opinion, there's only one choice – and it stars Fred Savage. The Wizard may have been a critical and commercial dud on its initial 1989 release, but it has gone down in history as a cult classic and...
News Hamster Is Bringing VS. Balloon Fight To The Switch eShop Next Week
Likely to be the last Arcade Archives release of 2019
Like many other companies, Hamster looks like it'll be working right up until the end of 2019. Its next classic game (arriving in all regions next week on 27th December) is likely to be the final Arcade Archives release of the year. It's Nintendo's 1984 arcade release VS. Balloon Fight. This...
News Someone Has Already Offered $1.2 Million For The SNES PlayStation Prototype
Big money
The owner of what is believed to be the only remaining Super Nintendo PlayStation prototype (outside of Sony's archives) has decided to sell this extremely rare system early next year via Heritage Auctions, after knocking back a million-dollar offer previously. For the uninformed, this unreleased system is able to play both Super Famicom...
Poll Box Art Brawl #21 - Kirby's Return To Dream Land
Or Kirby's Adventure Wii to his PALs
And we're back with another Box Art Brawl, the series where regional box art versions of the same video game go head-to-head in a public vote to find out which is superior. Last week we had a real scrap on our hands when Super Smash Bros. for the N64 brawled with itself. Democracy prevailed to decree the North...
Random Reggie Probably Had A Bigger SNES Collection Than Most Nintendo Fans
"I had over 80 games on that system"
The former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé has always said he was a fan of the company and while we've heard many stories in the past about the time he spent with Mario and the other Nintendo mascots in his younger years, we don't ever recall him mentioning the sheer amount of games he actually...
News Hundreds Of Fake NES Mini Consoles Seized By Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce In The US
Estimated street value of $800k
The real NES Classic Mini sold by Nintendo Since the success of the NES Classic Mini, we've seen plenty of knock-off versions released that have no official ties with Nintendo. At a Triangle shopping center in Raleigh, North Carolina recently, an anti-counterfeiting
Gallery Unboxing Metal Storm, The NES Hidden Gem That's Getting A Second Chance
Irem's cult classic is available once more
While your typical console has plenty of AAA titles which gain plenty of attention and bumper sales, there are always a few underrated gems which slip through the cracks for one reason or another. Irem's Metal Storm is one such title; originally released in the US to positive reviews in 1991, it was...
Random Rare Forgot To Remove A Shotgun From Donkey Kong 64 Before Showing Miyamoto
There was a "look of horror" on his face
Last month, Donkey Kong 64 turned 20 years old. Since then, the development team behind the game has been doing the press rounds to celebrate the anniversary. During a recent interview with Games Radar, one of the creative leads George Andreas recalled a horrifying moment when Rare was showing the game to...
News The Amazing Story Of How One Man's Fib Created A Nintendo Empire
The lie that gave birth to Bergsala
If you're a Scandinavian resident then there's an excellent chance that the name Bergsala will mean a great deal to you. This company has been instrumental in distributing and marketing Nintendo's products in countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Finland, and, more recently, became an investor in SteamWorld...
Random Remembering When One Company Ruined Christmas For Some NES Owners
A chastity belt, but for your console
This Christmas, we'd imagine plenty of Switch consoles are going to make their way under trees all over the world, promising a legion of new players a pretty incredible holiday season. However, let's spare a thought for the kids back in 1989 who got a NES from Santa, only to find that their parents had also...
News Polymega Slips Into Early 2020, But It's Bringing Some Cool Stuff With It
Intelligent patches! New screen filters! Impressive compatibility!
Polymega's been in the oven for quite some time now, and, like so many new hardware projects, has been subject to a few growing pains. This ambitious system is aiming to be the ultimate retro box, allowing you to not only use your original games and controllers but also download your...
Poll Box Art Brawl #20 - Super Smash Bros.
A real brawler
Welcome back to Box Art Brawl, the series where we pit regional variations of video game box covers from back in the day against each other in a savage fight to the death. Okay, it isn't that dramatic - it's just a poll - but let's get into the spirit and pretend that the stakes are incredibly high this lovely Sunday afternoon, hmm?...
News Introducing The 64Mate, A New All-In-One N64 Storage Add-On "Launching Soon" On Kickstarter
Who needs the 64DD?
If you know your way around a Nintendo 64, you’ll know the base of the console can be connected to peripherals such as the 64DD. If you never got your hands on this hardware, it means you’ve probably never attached your legendary 64-bit system to anything in the past. Well, soon you might finally have a reason to lift up the...
Video Legend Of Zelda Fan Spends 24 Hours In Ocarina Of Time VR
Living in Hyrule
We've seen 24-hour gaming marathons before, but this particular story is slightly different. A YouTuber by the name of SwankyBox, who is said to be a "huge" fan of the Nintendo 64 classic, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, recently cut himself off from the real world and spent hours exploring the 64-bit land of Hyrule - while...
Feature Jason Brookes Talks Super Famicom, Import Gaming And Super Play
"The feeling of being part of a club was endemic in Super Play"
Earlier this week, former Super Play, EDGE and Famitsu staffer Jason Brookes passed away after a long battle with cancer at the age of 52. We're running a proper tribute to the great man soon, but in the meantime, here's an exclusive interview conducted with Jason back in 2017, but...
News Hey Nintendo, Can We Please Have Famicom Wars?
You know, the original Advance Wars game
After months of waiting, Nintendo has finally announced the next batch of SNES and NES titles will be added to the Switch Online service next week. There are a total of six titles coming to the libraries in America and Europe, but as usual, the line-up is slightly different in Japan. This time around, it's...
Gallery This Gorgeous SNES Pixel Art Book Will Make The Perfect Christmas Gift
272 pages of pixel-perfect goodness
Award-winning specialist publisher Bitmap Books has just announced an English-language version of Robert Bannert and Christine Bauer's Unofficial SNES Pixel Book – and you can order it today. Translated from the original German in collaboration with Elektrospieler, this 272-page tome is packed full of lovely...
Feature Jez San On Star Fox, Super FX And Teaching Nintendo How To Fly
"They’d never trusted a western company in that way before"
Jez San occupies a pretty unique place in the world of video games. He founded his company, Argonaut Software, while he was still a teenage schoolkid, and his free-roaming 3D shooter Starglider would become a critical and commercial smash-hit, paving the way for a relationship with...
November2019
News The SNES PlayStation Was Going To Have A Super FX Chip Built-In
"Then Sony and Nintendo fell out"
The Super FX chip was a groundbreaking piece of tech; a "console on a chip" which massively enhanced the SNES, allowing it to push polygons with aplomb. Created by Argonaut Software, a small UK-based firm, the chip was created when Nintendo enlisted the help of Argonaut's Jez San to assist the company in making 3D...
Poll Box Art Brawl #19 - Contra III: The Alien Wars
You mean Super Probotector: Alien Rebels, no?
And we're back for another edition of Box Art Brawl, our series of bloody bouts between video game box covers from video game territories across the globe. Konami up to its old tricks. Last week North America was deemed to have the best Donkey Kong 64 cover, winning the day with its brazen boldness...
News Old Japanese Magazine Reveals "New" Details About Nintendo's Axed Project, EarthBound 64
Step back in time
Nintendo's cancelled project EarthBound 64 – also known as Mother 3 – began its life in the mid-'90s as an N64 title, and was eventually released as a Game Boy Advance game in 2006. Although the Nintendo 64 title never saw the light of day, there's still a lot of interest in this axed project. In June this year, new footage of...
News Yo-Yo Shuriken Is A Brand New Action Game That's Just Released For The SNES
What year is it?
We're positively swimming in new Nintendo Switch releases every week at this point - our constantly overflowing inbox serves as a regular, major indicator of this (send help) - but we don't expect to see new games arrive for the nearly-30-years-old SNES. That's exactly what we've been treated to today, however, with the launch of...
News This 1985 Promotional Flyer Reminds Us That The NES Almost Looked Very Different
R.O.B. had a different name, too
While the NES is famous for being the console that established Nintendo as a world-leader in the realm of video games, it's vital to remember that when it was initially pitched to US retailers, success was by no means a sure thing. The Video Game Crash of 1983 had knocked retail confidence in games consoles and...
Feature The Game-Changing Nintendo VR Headset That Never Was
"We had cool stuff working"
Argonaut Software is a name that long-time Nintendo fans will be intimately familiar with; the UK-based firm worked with Nintendo on its Super FX chip, the cartridge-based hardware that made titles like Star Fox, Stunt Race FX and Yoshi's Island possible. However, Argonaut's interest in tech didn't end there; the company...
Hardware Review How Does The Carby GameCube Component Cable Compare To The Real Deal?
Component or HDMI, that is the question
If you're of a certain age you'll understand the struggles we went through to get the absolute best picture quality out of our consoles back in the day. The GameCube was no different; in fact, we remember paying well over the odds for a modified Component-to-RGB Scart cable in order to get our NTSC GameCube...
Feature Hands-On With Tobu Tobu Girl Deluxe, A Challenging New Game Boy Title With A Cute Look
You go, girl
Making a new Game Boy game in the modern era takes a lot of guts, but Tangram Games has done just that with Tobu Tobu Girl Deluxe. Successfully crowdfunded to the tune of €40,972, this is a simplistic yet challenging action title which tasks you with getting to the top of the screen using a wide range of skills while avoiding hazards...
Poll Box Art Brawl #18 - Donkey Kong 64
Walnuts, peanuts, pineapple smells
He-he-here we go! It's time for Box Art Brawl, our weekly look at which region got the best box art of a particular retro release. Last week the North American version of Ninja Gaiden on the NES absolutely trounced the competition, with the Japanese variant a distant second and Europe left stumbling in a daze...
News Playtonic's Steve Mayles Releases Special Donkey Kong Country Artwork To Mark Its 25th Birthday
As other staffers share mementoes from the period
Donkey Kong Country turned 25 yesterday, an event which is sure to have made many of us feel very old indeed. To celebrate the anniversary, Playtonic's Steve Mayles – who worked on the game during his tenure at Rare – has posted a special piece of artwork showcasing the game's heroes: Mayles...
News Hamster Is Bringing Konami's Hyper Sports To The Switch eShop Next Week
On your marks, get set, go!
Hamster is next week releasing Konami's 1984 title Hyper Sports on the Switch eShop for $7.99 / £6.29. The title arrives on 28th November and will allow up to four players to participate in seven events. These sports include swimming, skeet shooting, long horse, archery, triple jump, weight lifting, and pole vaulting...
Hardware Review Hyperkin Admiral - Wireless N64 Controller Goodness
Cut the cord
Anyone who's ever crammed around a TV with a Nintendo 64, GoldenEye 007 and a few friends will know the struggles that the short cord on the N64's controller caused. Few companies have tried to remedy this in the past with controller extensions – and controllers that just don't hit the mark – but no one has really succeeded...
Anniversary Feel Old Everyone, Donkey Kong Country Turns 25 Today
And the birthdays keep on comin'!
Hmm. It's almost like video games themselves are conspiring to make us feel our age recently. Earlier this week Super Smash Bros. turned 20 in the PAL region, and today we posted about Pokémon Gold and Silver re
Random Super Mario Land Has Been Ported To The SNES, And It Looks Amazing
If only it were official
Super Mario Land is one of the most beloved entries in the early Mario canon, despite the fact you can finish it in an evening and it has rather crude visuals, even by Game Boy standards. Still, it was, for many gamers, their first taste of 'Mario-on-the-move', and its gloriously oddball shooter levels, engaging soundtrack...
News Samurai Shodown Is Still On Course For 2019 Release In Japan, Pre-Load Now Available
While the western version is scheduled for early 2020
Update (Wed 20th Nov, 2019 18:00 GMT): The news that the western launch of Samurai Shodown wouldn't be happening until 2020 had some people assuming the that the Japanese version – pencilled in for 12th December – would also be impacted. However, that's not the case and you can pre-load the...
Anniversary Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo 64 Is Now 20 Years Old In Europe
Smashin' it mate
It's time for the birthday bumps! Yes, with time moving irrevocably and irritatingly forward, the original Super Smash Bros. turned 20 today - or a version of it did. Having had its Japanese launch in January 1999 and its North American debut in April, Europe finally received the N64 crossover brawler on 19th November exactly two...
Random So, Someone Made A Portable SNES Out Of... A SNES
Because why not?
Over the past few years, we've seen hackers and modders create some pretty impressive pieces of hardware based on existing classic systems. Portable N64s, GameCubes and even Wii Us have come and gone, each one trying to turn a beloved platform into something subtly different.
Poll Box Art Brawl #17 - Ninja Gaiden
Or Shadow Warriors to us and our PALs
Roll up, roll up for Box Art Brawl, the contest where regionally different covers of the same game battle each other to see which one stands up to the scrutiny and discerning eyes of the modern era. Last week 49% of you decreed that the Japanese cover of Banjo-Tooie was better than the rest, with the North...
News Nintendo 64 Sales Have Seen A Dramatic Rise On eBay This Year
Nostalgia's a powerful thing
eBay has released its 'Most Wanted' holiday shopping guide, highlighting the most popular products that are trending in shopper's wish lists this holiday season. Surprisingly, the 23-year-old Nintendo 64 seems to be having something of a resurgence. In a press release covering some additional insights from the guide, it...
News Konami Hasn't Completely Forgotten About Its Mystical Ninja Goemon
Is he making a return?
It has been a while since we heard from Konami's Goemon series. In fact, the last proper game he starred in dates back to 2005 during the Nintendo DS generation. Since then, the mystical ninja has resurfaced here and there, and most recently showed up in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as Mii Fighter costume in September. Now,...
News Go Retro With The 8BitDo N30, A Wireless Mouse Inspired By The NES Controller
Just don't try to play Super Mario with it
Remember the Super Nintendo mouse? It was originally designed for the 1992 release Mario Paint and was eventually made compatible with multiple other games on the system. The system's predecessor – the NES – didn't ever receive an official accessory like this, but now, after 34 years, there's at least a...
Feature The Story Of Blizzard's Diablo Junior, The Game Boy Epic That Never Was
“A Diablo-lite game with a town and lots of dungeons? I'd eat that up”
Modern-day Nintendo fans may be able to enjoy the thrills of Diablo III on the move in 2019, but at the turn of the millennium, options for Nintendo-loving dungeon explorers were far more limited – although the outlook could have been quite different. Following Diablo II's...
Poll Box Art Brawl #16 - Banjo-Tooie
Bear-and-Bird-based brawling
Come one, come all - we're about to begin the Box Art Brawl! Yes, welcome back to the weekly battle where we throw three versions of box art from the same game into a ring to determine which one wins the beauty pageant and which one(s) deserves to be boxed up forever. Last week Super Mario took on his continental...
PSA Make Sure You're Buying The Right Mega Drive Mini This Holiday Season
Nostalgia hit
Rejoice! The Sega Mega Drive (or Genesis to our American friends) is back in business this holiday season. As you'll know if you read our review of the gorgeous little thing, the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Mini finally does justice to a console and catalogue that has suffered some appalling treatment over the years, with a variety of...
Poll Box Art Brawl #15 - Super Mario Bros.
Obscure Japanese platformer
Welcome back to Box Art Brawl, the ongoing series where we examine three video game cover variants from across the globe and vote to find out which won is the toppermost of the poppermost. Last week we looked deep into the eyes of cinematic sci-fi platformer Flashback. It was decided that the Japanese variant, with its...
October2019
Feature The Most Memorable Ghosts In Nintendo Games
Spooks, spectres and ghosts that stuck around
It's close to midnight, and something evil's lurking in the dark... Well, perhaps. Yes, Nintendo Switch has its fair share of true horrors, but there's a fair chance that any ghost you happen across on Nintendo platforms could be a Casper-like friendly phantom. With Halloween almost upon us and Luigi up...
Feature 25 Years Ago, Nintendo Took On The Might Of Street Fighter With Killer Instinct
Ultra combo!
The technological sands may have been shifting dramatically back in 1994, but the ripples from the groundbreaking impact of Capcom’s Street Fighter II were still being felt in the games industry. While the 32-bit era was looming and sophisticated new games machines were introducing players to the immersive thrills of 3D worlds, the...
Feature Luigi And Video Gaming's Other Palette Swap Heroes
Clones that became stars
Luigi’s Mansion 3 releases in just a couple of days and rounds out a trilogy of excellent games featuring gaming's most famous sidekick in the starring role. Over the years Luigi has grown from mere clone to become a beloved Nintendo character and developed something of a cult following along the way. Perhaps his cowardice...
Video We Almost Had A 2D Banjo-Kazooie Platformer On Game Boy Color
Original design documents tell the tale
With the bear and bird now perfectly playable in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the love for Banjo-Kazooie has felt particularly strong as of late. You'll no doubt be aware of the original N64 game, its sequel Banjo-Tooie and more, but did you know that the series almost received a 2D platformer on the Game Boy...
News DMG Deals Damage Is A Game Boy Game Where You Smash Up Old Tech As A Game Boy
Celebrating Game Boy's 30th anniversary
Forget the fact that it's 2019 for just a moment and allow yourself to enjoy the idea of popping a brand new Game Boy game into your beloved childhood console. If this sounds like a dream come true, you might want to check out DMG Deals Damage. Released earlier this year by Ludoscience, DMG Deals Damage has...
Poll Box Art Brawl #14 - Flashback
Look into my eyes
And we're back once again for a Box Art Brawl! This is the series where we look deeply at three video game cover variants (yep, games used to always come in physical boxes, kids!) and use some good old fashioned democracy to decide which one is best. Last week we looked at three versions of Goemon's Great Adventure on Nintendo 64...
Video The Original Luigi's Mansion Might Have Been Spookier On The NES
Just in time for Halloween
Unless you've been living under a rock, you have probably heard by now a new entry in the Luigi's Mansion series is on the way to the Switch later this month. Nintendo's even gone as far as making October 2019 the month of Luigi. Also lining up with the arrival of Luigi's Mansion 3 is the release of the above video by the...
News Unreleased Super NES Prototype Tarzan: Lord Of The Jungle Emerges After 25 Years
Me Tarzan, you game
A playable prototype for a planned Super Nintendo game called Tarzan: Lord of the Jungle has been unearthed by Gaming Alexandria and a collection of assets and documents have also been made available on the site alongside an article detailing the game's history. The side-scrolling platformer was originally scheduled for release...
News Retro And Legacy Editions Announced For Aladdin And The Lion King
Pre-orders open later today
Retro video game lovers are in for a treat later this month when Aladdin and The Lion King arrives on the Switch. As part of this launch, multiple physical editions have been announced. The first two are Switch-exclusive Retro Editions for $49.99 each. Both of these come with an exclusive poster, a retro-style manual and...
News Dentist Snaps Up Collection Of Ultra Rare Retro Video Games For US$1.02 Million
A "watershed moment"
A video game fan named Eric Naierman, who also happens to be a dentist, recently forked out $US1.02 million for a bunch of first-edition sticker-sealed video games. While he's not the first person to do something like this, it's a reminder of the inflating retro market prices. So, what do you get for parting with this amount of...
News Earthbound Creator Shigesato Itoi Felt 'Indebted' To Nintendo When Pitching Mother
"I owe a lot to Mario"
In a wide-ranging interview with GameCenter CX the creator of the Mother series, known as Earthbound in the west, has shared a trove of gaming memories and tidbits about the series' development with the show's presenter 'Arino Kacho'. As you may well already know, the Japanese show features comedian Shinya Arino in the role...
Feature How Switch Brings Back Game Boy Multiplayer Memories
A link (cable) to the past
Quite apart from the huge number of great games coming to the system every week, one result of Switch’s success that we’ve really enjoyed is how it has brought back a focus on local multiplayer gaming not seen since the N64 days. Online is still king, of course, but we’d argue there’s nothing quite like the rush of...
Anniversary The Game Boy Color Turns 21 Today
They grow up so fast
Nintendo's Game Boy Color was first released in Japan 21 years ago today on 21st October 1998. A successor to the original beast that was the Game Boy, the Game Boy Color unsurprisingly featured a colour screen, giving Nintendo's handheld games a whole new lease of life. While we sadly don't have exact figures for each of the...
Poll Box Art Brawl #13 - Goemon's Great Adventure
Mystical Ninja 2, x3
Smell that? Yes, that aroma of blood, sweat and tears can only mean one thing: it's time for Box Art Brawl, the series where we lock box art variants of the same game in a cage and see which one survives to the bitter end according to votes from you bloodthirsty lot. Last week North American Trevor Belmont triumphed over his...
Feature Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rescue-Palooza! Is The Turtles Game You've Always Wanted
"I’ve wanted to see every NES and Game Boy game get a SNES do-over"
From the silver screen to the small screen to the even smaller screen on your Game Boy, the world’s favourite comic book pizza-lovers have featured on displays of all dimensions. But, while the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles originated in pen and ink, many people remember them...
News Who Needs A Game Boy Classic Edition When You've Got The Analogue Pocket?
The maker of the Super Nt and Mega Sg is back
Hardware specialist Analogue is famous for its reference-quality clones of retro systems and has already made a name for itself with products like the Super Nt and Mega Sg, both of which harness FPGA technology to replicate the performance of classic systems on a hardware level. The company has today...
News Castlevania's Harder Arcade Version Is Coming To Nintendo Switch Tomorrow
VS. Castlevania
Hamster has revealed that the next Arcade Archives release to launch on Switch is none other than VS. Castlevania. You'll be able to get your hands on it starting from tomorrow, 17th October. The game was originally released as an arcade title back in 1986 and is very similar to the NES game which launched the year after. Retro...
News Relive The Glory Days Of Podracing With This Re-Release Of Star Wars Episode 1: Racer For N64
Available later this week
Limited Run Games is at it again, re-releasing old Star Wars games on classic systems. This time around it's the Nintendo 64 version of Star Wars Episode 1: Racer getting the special treatment. It'll be available from the LRG website on 18th October for $89.99. Here's what you can expect: Star Wars™: Episode 1 Racer...
News Classic Nintendo Mini Game Released In 1974 Found After 20-Year Search
49 down, one to go
Before becoming a juggernaut in the video game industry, Nintendo got its start manufacturing and distributing hanafuda cards. There was also a period between 1971 - 1976 when the company created a mini game toy series, comprised of 50 different games in total. One of these is supposedly called "Driving Shot"...
Poll Box Art Brawl #12 - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Another crack of the whip from Konami
And we're back with Box Art Brawl, the series where box art variants from other sides of the planet meet up and fail to work out their differences without resorting to physical violence. Last week was a particularly bloodthirsty bout with Final Fight taking itself down to Chinatown. Despite flaws in each of the...
Feature "Nintendo Killed My Son!" - Pulling Apart A Tragic Headline More Than Two Decades On
How a single story rocked the games industry
Video games have often been blamed for many of society's ills, and only this week has the news broken that a Canadian family intends to take Epic Games to court over the addictive nature of Fortnite, which, they claim, has "ruined" the lives of their children. The case cites the classification of 'video...
Poll Box Art Brawl #11 - Final Fight
Almost certainly NOT the final fight
Welcome to this week's Box Art Brawl, the ongoing series where box art variants from around the world face off against one another to find out which is the fairest of them all. Who wins? You decide. Last week we featured GoldenEye 007 and the world's best known (and therefore presumably worst) secret agent...
Video This Stunning Trailer Turns The Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Sequel Into A N64 Game
"Not in development"
When Nintendo revealed a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was officially in development at this year's E3, the darker tone was immediately noticeable. In fact, we sort of got Majora's Mask vibes, as there was so much doom and gloom present within the teaser trailer. With this in mind, a modeler and animator...
Guide Where To Buy Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Mini
Get your retro Sega fix
It feels like it has taken an eternity for Sega to get around to releasing its own answer to the NES and Super NES Classic Editions. While the much-disliked AtGames has plopped out wonky Genesis / Mega Drive clones for years now, this new venture promised to be something different – and
News Train Up And Compete In Hamster's Latest Arcade Archives Release Karate Champ
Or wrestle cows on the beach
After being announced much earlier this year, Karate Champ is now finally being added to Hamster's Arcade Archives series this week on the Nintendo Switch. This is an action game that was originally released by Data East in 1984. Here's some additional information about it, courtesy of the official press release:...
Random Game Freak Had Plans For A Virtual Boy Title But Never Got Around To Making It
Pokémon Red?
Whenever the developer Game Freak is mentioned, you probably think about the mainline Pokémon video game series. That's not the only series it has worked on over the years, though. Little Town Hero is coming to the Switch later this month and there was a point in the Japanese company's history when it had an idea for a Virtual Boy...
Video Ever Wondered What An 8-Bit Ni no Kuni Would Look Like?
New trailer gives Level-5's JRPG a retro makeover
With software coming thick and fast to Switch these days, it's never been easier for a game - even a damn fine one - to get lost in the crowd. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch released on Switch way back on 20th September, but we wouldn't be surprised if it passed you by in the rush of great...
News Cripes, That SNES PlayStation Prototype Is Up For Sale Now
Time to remortgage the house, then
A few years back, a pretty incredible event occurred: a SNES PlayStation prototype was discovered in the wild. Owned by Terry Diebold (and discovered by his son in a box of junk that was about to be thrown out) the unit is the only known example outside of Sony's archives and dates back to the time when
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