Fizza

Started up Double Dragon NES for the 2nd time on NSO and am having a surprisingly good time. I abandoned it after getting to the 3rd Level but I plan to stick with it for a lot longer this time (hopefully even beating the game if I'm lucky), especially after finding that oh so beautiful beat-em-up cheese (JUMPING KICKS FOR DAAAAAAAYS).

I might also play a bit of Pokemon Puzzle League and Paper Mario 64 to wind down if I get the chance, though I've been taking things pretty easy with today being my brithday and all (happy 18th to me!).

I think there's something immensely amusing about the first job that Mitsuda took on after working on some of the most heartfelt, thought provoking RPG's of the 16-64 Bit era.....being about goofy Mario-themed parties.

And you know what? He and his co-composers utterly KILLED it.

The announcement of 2's remake and all the other projects in the works (as a sucker for Japanese culture, F looks really exciting) has gotten me really interested in Silent Hill as a series as of late. I don't currently have a way to play them myself (being a sole Switch owner is a blessing and a curse) but I'd love to try out the first two through emulation at some point.

All I really know about the series is that Laura's Theme is absolutely incredible, Pyramid Head is the textbook example of franchise oversaturation and a cute little shiba is one of the most iconic endings ever. In other words, I can't wait.

My guess is that it was probably this guy.

I've seen basically nothing for the 4 mainline SoR games (outside of 2 of course which I adore) so seeing this for the first time was certainly a surprise.

Definitely no qualms about them removing him though because YIKES.

Better late than never I guess? I'm definitely a bit sceptical about an origin story comic for Sagat (since I feel like that part of his story's been done to death at this point) but Udon's comics are usually pretty interesting so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now.

Great news! There's something about N64 shooters that, for a lack of a better term, hit different, you know? WinBack is a brilliant example of that for me: a game that definitely isn't the greatest in the modern day, but is filled with enough late 90's action movie cheesiness and classic polygonal glory that it's one of my all time favourites on the console (those gun sound effects are legendary). Can't wait to play Goldeneye for the first time when it comes to NSO and can't wait to play a version of Perfect Dark with mod support!

Sunderland looks bloody mortified, poor guy.

I'm intrigued by this remake. I've never played a SH game in my life but the idea of horror based around mental health has always interested me and, with this and a bunch of other SH projects coming down the pipeline, they certainly have my attention (makes me want to try out the first two to be honest. Maybe through emulation? Still up in the air as of now).

Bloober Team is a.....questionable choice for a dev though, no getting around that.

Never knew this existed before today but reading up on the story of this one honestly just makes me sad. A potentially fine game absolutely ruined by problems out of it's control. Oh well, at least it makes me interested in Space Quest?

My second favourite 3D Mario only to Galaxy. It is an absolute technical trainwreck in terms of level design and jankiness....but that's one of the main reasons I love it so damn much. You could fix all of it's issues through the power of mods but that point: is it still Sunshine at that point? SMS has so much brilliant personality and theming in Isle Delfino and all of it's residents and the combination of the movement and FLUDD makes platforming an utter joy to do. It's objectively the worst 3D Mario in my opinion.....but that also makes it one of the best games I've ever played

I'm not even joking: I thought for the longest time this was from Spy Kids. It's probably due to the overly hammy delivery but my god it's still one of the best scenes in media to me. Especially how Curry struggles to hold in his laughter near the end, that will always be absolutely priceless.

I'm getting deja vu.....

Now THAT'S a name I haven't heard in a long time. I'm certainly intrigued though, especially with the relative disappearance of light gun games outside of stuff like House of the Dead. Will they keep it like the older games or will they modernise it into a more traditionl shooter? Who knows....

I really liked Ninja Jajamaru-kun when I first played it on NSO (so much so I even made a Mario Maker tribute level of it!) so I'm very interested in this myself. I wasn't even aware it was getting a new entry this year which makes it even better!

Rip and tear.....the cud.

Never been able to play this one until now, I'm so excited. I said it over on NLife, but there's something uniquely special about N64-era racing games and Wave Race illustrates my point perfectly. Cannot wait to play it come Friday!

I've only played the remake version of Link's Awakening so far but it's easily one of my favourite Zeldas (and games honestly) of all time and the music plays a big part in that (I can't even begin to tell you how long I basked in the glory of Face Shrine) so this is really damn cool to see!

One of the best SNES games just got even better, you love to see it. Definitely going to be testing out the character select at some point because god does this makes practicing against specific opponents like Nick Bruiser or whatnot so much easier!

I guess you could call it a Lite smattering of inspiration?

I'll see myself out.

It's nice to have such big bells and whistles in terms of game selection and presentation, but it does all go to waste with that kind of lag doesn't it? Worse still, you probably wouldn't be able to fix it unless you made fixes to future machines. The tagline really does sum it up best: so close, yet so far.

Is it fair to say I'm not OK?

As someone who's always been very interested in the Fatal Fury games but have never had a reason to pick them up.....I now have a reason to pick them up. AND I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER BABY AAAAAAAAAAAH

Despite how much I absolutely despise this song (and how I'm annoyed that it was the DC version Sony went with for their PS Plus retro game selection), it possesses such an air of amateurish energy that I find it hard not to make a slight smile whilst listening to it. It's no wonder it became a meme later on in life: how do you make something so obviously awful?

If there's one game I would absolutely add to that list, it's Mario's Picross: great tactile feedback when drilling out holes, an amazing soundtrack and some surprisingly clever puzzles for a SNES game. I've put over 25 hours into it and it's something I can always come back to and have a great time.

Also, Super Punch Out being there is incredibly based, well done

I remember trying Streets of Rage 2 for the very first time when it came out on NSO and I just couldn't get into it. However, I absolutely loved the music that was playing and I decided to persevere so I could listen to more of those sweet jams. Fast forward to today and it's both one of my favourite Mega Drive game of all time, one of my favourite beatemups of all time AND one of my favourite games of all time. Just goes to show: don't judge a book by it's cover; you may just be surprised.

Looks like great classic Bomberman, though I feel the backgrounds of J-pop songs (which even saying that sentence sounds like a fever dream) may be a bit too distracting for a game all about situational awareness. Still, definitely an interesting take on the series, no doubt about that.

I know it's been out for over a decade at this point, but seeing Skyrim as a 'retro' game makes me feel absolutely ancient.

The sands of time aside, it's fascinating seeing the legacy of Skyrim coming from a series which, up to that point, had been very highly regarded but not necessarily a big part of the wider gaming sphere. Skyrim however came out at possibly the perfect time: right when the hype for a new entry hit it's peak and also right when Youtube started blowing up. A perfect storm that led to it becoming one of the most iconic open world games of both a generation and of all time. Funny how things like that work out, isn't it?

Great idea for an article series! I wasn't around for the box era (NES-N64/PC, GB-GBA, etc) myself but seeing how neatly folded and carefully preserved this one is gives me nostalgia for a time I never even knew about until recently. I'd say the video game boxes that give me the most nostalgia would be old DS cases. Something about all that chunky plastic holding a tiny game cartridge endeared me to them from the moment I saw them and it's stayed that way ever since. I suppose it is just a matter of what ones you saw everywhere growing up.

I had no idea these existed before and wow was the era before major IP's were established absolutely bonkers. How....the ****......did they get away with having Sagat and Balrog LITERALLY DECAPITATE KEN.

The 90's were wild man.

Absolutely bonkers sales. I know this is across all games but still: 38 MILLION. Just.....wow!

I have a high amount of respect for Mega Man as a series though I've unfortunately never been able to play any of his games before. I plan to correct that at some point though, between the Legacy Collections, 11 and whatnot. The Blue Bomber is an incredibly interesting series from both a gameplay and lore perspective and one I'll almost certainly be giving a go in the future! Let's just hope that future isn't 20XX.....

There's something both really nice looking yet also occasionally unsettling about old Street Fighter art. It's certainly iconic, don't get me wrong, but some of them just look..... off (like the SNES version's boxart for example).

I'd say the point where the series finally nailed it's art (for both the games and covers in fact) would definitely be the Alpha and 3 series. They both go for very different aesthetics (Alpha goes fully anime whilst 3 goes fully underground punk) yet the art is consistently brilliant between them. For example:




And that's not even mentioning the gorgeous spritework at play in both games as well!

Brilliant idea for a site, can't wait to see what all happens here! I may not be the most up-to-speed with retro but I feel like being here for a while will certainly make me!

@BloodNinja Sorry, I'll know for next time!

@BloodNinja I'm moreso referencing the entire state of the company rather than this specific incident: this news is just piling onto it. I hope I don't come across as malicious!

Well this has been one hell of a saga, hasn't it?

And not the good kind of SaGa either.

(EDIT: As @BloodNinja has rightly pointed out, I should probably clarify that this is moreso in relation to the general state of the company rather than this specific story. I feel terrible for the innocent employees who had to deal with this disaster. Just making sure no-one gets the wrong idea! )