Grackler

I’m excited by Giga Carts. It’s great branding (larger carts costing more is lost on consumers on Switch for example, so we get rubbish download only carts). But mostly it exciting to open up PS1/Saturn/PC (maybe even MegaCD?) titles that shipped on discs to collections. There’s plenty of games that wouldn’t need analog sticks on those devices. I saw the Tomb Raider leak. Given they’ve worked with Capcom before, my dream would be OG Resi titles!

@Chocoburger is that true, never made a profit? I hope that it kinda did but they always reinvest it into the platform rather than selling at a loss. I thought they made some per cart; I seem to recall them putting the profits from the Oliver Twins Collection into the National Videogame Museum, and while it wasn’t a huge sum, it was something (£25k ish I think?). I’d be nervous about the longevity of Evercade if they are burning through debt to finance it…but it seems unlikely? They’ve stayed private so haven’t had to look for investors, and Evercade’s been going and growing for a while. Plus they were pretty success for many years before Evercade.

I’m glad it’s just a refresh this year. Invalidating consoles too quick would put me off. Plenty they can do with the currently power/controller, plus lowering the price is impressive given the economy right now! Also gives them time to really hit the ground running if they do release an “Evercade 2” with analog stick/s and presumably more grunt for retro 3D gaming.

I have to go! I drive past all the time taking parents to the General Hospital but never stopped off. I didn't realise it has so much console/arcade gaming stuff in there (the name made me think it was more retro UK computers).

Felt like this was gonna happen to Codemasters, ordered it recently for Sensible Soccer and Cannon Fodder.

I strongly suspect the hand of EA in this. Wish these big multinationals would stop buying fantastic, successful UK developers and rapidly running them into the floor. Really hope Codemaster can keep some of their identity (but I suspect it’ll become a “licenced game on UE5” satellite of EA Sports in a few years )

Good to hear Glover is ok. I was concerned about the lack of analogue control and some of the visual in pre-launch trailers looked a bit rough!
I have it on N64, but it was never finishable, once you finished World 3 my cart would delete the game save! So Evercade is a chance to play through without cheats (also I genuinely like Glover, no Mario or Banjo but a clever and inventive game with some great music!)

Well deserved. Still a pretty great game to this day. But more importantly, I don’t think any game will be better in the context of it’s release time-period anytime soon, as the medium has matured so much to be that standout is difficult (to stand out that much in 1998, with what else was releasing that year, was a testimony to how incredible it was at the time. It just felt like the greatest game ever on launch.).
Ocarina is, to my mind, the “Citizen Kane” of video games. Not that it hasn’t been bettered or got their first, but it was so polished and inventive in its time that it is a milestone in the history of the medium.

It could just be 2 new hardware announcements, it’s not super clear. Or 2 hardwares in 2 colours. 4 seems a lot!
I’d guess, a controller with analog and an update to the VS?

I did, but never unlocked it myself. A mate who was far, far better than me at Lylat Wars and score chased it over and over unlocked it back in high school and again on Wii VC years later; think we all read about it in a magazine (N64 Magazine probably?). I might dig it out some copies and see if I can find the issue, edit the comment!

I got into them after SuperPlay, it was issue 21 of N64 Magazine and was a avid reader until the demise of NintendoGamer many generations later. Read others (NOM, GamesMaster etc), but truly loved that magazine. Gaming hasn't felt the same without it (although I will say the Hookshot sites hew much closer than most to that ethos!)

I had no idea the Director of Mystical Ninja founded Good Feel! Great to see he’s got back in the directing chair (maybe he could persuade Nintendo to get Mystical Ninja on the Switch online service!)

I was going to share that £305 Paper Mario in Loughborough! Passed it on Saturday and my jaw hit the floor, it’s so expensive!

Such a shame. I don’t know the ins-and-outs of the legal, or the people involved in the fan games. But this and that Streets of Rage remake from yard back would be great under Sega’s belt (although the real SoR 4 was a banger tbf!)

Try whatever you like Zuck, I’m not calling it Genesis!

I don’t mind them, and it’s better than cutting content. But it’s feels mealy mouthed: if the game genuinely is “inexcusable” to the remake devs/publishers don’t make it. They must think it isn’t really, they just want to sound good.

Our library had a Zelda one, it was no match for Ian Livingstone’s work on Fighting Fantasy, but it was fun enough!

Compared to some of the other “best” gaming lists from The Grauniad, this is pretty good! No obvious rage baiting odd placements. I find it hard to rank Sega’s arcade output, but most of the most influential ones are there (and it seems to lean towards that criteria)

I’m an addict for N64 related things, so I will 100% get this if I can!

Would have been bang in the target audience for this (watched Robot Wars all the time, Techno Games, Time Commanders) but never heard of it! Must have been too distracted by other things during those teen years (games, girls, GCSEs…)

I’d agree with others, it’s remembered but I don’t think I’d buy a remaster.

We had Croc, as did a few friends who only had a PS1, but not one of us would chose it over Mario or Banjo. Even if you only had a PlayStation it was bettered by Spyro and Ape Escape eventually; but the sad fact is it was technically competent but was an average game. By the end of the generation there were dozens of better 3D platformers, including almost every example of the genre on the N64. Sadly it just didn’t have anything to make it stand out bar its technical chops and an early release. Perhaps in a world without the N64 it might have made a bigger splash. But it came after Mario 64, and the rest is history.

Late to say Merry Christmas (Happy Boxing Day); but just wanted to say bravo for the site. I know it doesn’t get the traffic of its sister sites, but it’s been a real pleasure to read. In fact TE is what pushed me over to getting a membership! All the best for 2024.

I still have a CRT TV in the spare bedroom for retro consoles, but as I use an old 1080p Samsung as the main telly still, I would probably stump for some of these if I didn't have the CRT or had to downsize to a flat again.

I've not played them all or even close, so voted on the best I've played (Piko Interactive 1, a great variety of fun games on that one).

My announcement of the event! A bunch of varied games showing real gameplay. They could be half-rubbish, but they will be interesting to play nonetheless!

Just finished this and I have to say I think this review is very fair. It’s a lovely game that looks great on the EXP screen. It is very, very short which might be an issue for some; but I think much longer and it would outstay its welcome. Plus it feels shorter than some classics of the genre due to the generous checkpoints meaning you don’t get stuck in place for long.
Looking forward to whatever Out of the Bit do next!

I’ve not got a Super Pocket but; with the smaller, low-res screen; I wonder if GBA games like Duke Advance might look a bit better to the naked eye on that, rather than on the EXP or particularly the VS on a TV…

I’m hoping I’ve got the special edition waiting at home (or a nearby post office) when I get back from my work trip. Excited to see new game mingle with classics on Evercade, feels like it has a future as a classic games console even when the well of accessible retro titles runs a little dry.

I think is a great kart racer, but my absolute least favourite Mario Kart. A mere 16 tracks that is loaded with basic ovals (5 or 6?), poor battle mode (not a rarity in the series), and the swapping mechanic and unique weapons made it was less pickup and play. It hurt the multiplayer that Double Dash owners would have a handle on it while newcomers would have a lot to contend with. I also found the handling a bit heavy personally.

Sorry to keep all the comments the same, but I’d also say Vice City was my favourite; it has the right balance of openness and tight play area, plus great look and feel. Can see why it isn’t top of course, but at the time of release it was incredible. I thought San Andreas was a bit too bloated and po-faced in comparison.
Also I’d rank Chinatown Wars DS over PSP. It was designed for the DS, and I think it shows!

Looking forward to this, had no idea! Both John’s are very entertaining speakers in their own right. Be nice to get an insight from them together about that time and what early id was like!

Also surprising to see it in GMT time, but great time for me in the UK!

More into trying out retro than Indie, like @Krambo42 said I have a much better device for indie titles! However Full Void looks lovely, and I do like that they are keeping physical alive.

I was born in the 80s; but gaming came later when I was older: late 80s hardware in the early 90s (it was the UK, we were slightly behind in time still!)

F-Zero X is a fantastic game (I really like GX as well, but it’s different enough feeling that they compliment each other!).

I find it really sad that the Switch N64 Online version handles so poorly. It is nigh impossible on JoyCons, and while better on the Switch N64 Controller, it is still awfully hard to control. Booting up the N64 original and the handling was so much easier, can’t put my finger on it but the Switch version is just way too hard to play!

I’d add Sega’s Ghost Squad. Incredibly replayable, feels great, and the Arcade version had some lovely chunky guns (although it’s easier to see all it has to offer on Wii!)

I’d heard the broad strokes of this at the time; but never the details. Some of the chat on that show sounds downright chilling in hindsight. Poor woman, really feel for the kids.

I was pleasantly surprised to see some love for the 3DS entry! I enjoyed it, although it was a tad soulless feeling at times, it was a solid entry!
Seems a bit harsh on the N64 one, but I guess it’s fair to say it’s a solid racer for the time, but not necessarily a great ridge racer in hindsight. I would say, like @marsbitrona, the console really wasn’t short of good (and some shoddy) racing games though! Well represented N64 genre I’d say.

Don’t see what more they could have done/said in response, so hopefully the angry twitter users calm down a bit. I’m just excited for the Duke games; Evercade is getting a formidable library!

Yeah, they are really supporting it, glad I got an EXP for Christmas!

Just mirroring others, but this is a great article, in-depth but an easy read!

"We reached out to Don Mattrick for this article to try and find out more about what his objections actually were, but we sadly never heard back."
hahahaha! If you ever do hear back, make sure to ask him about his other failures of leadership; such as "TVTVTV" and "we have a product for them, it's called Xbox 360" during his stint at Microsoft, or basically anything about the barn-fire that was Zynga!

I’d love to see the N64 Goemon games re-released. The first is a classic I adored, but never got the chance to play the second.

Really like the games, but for me the peak was the GameCube entry. Purely for the madcap 4 player mode! (It was otherwise pretty much the GBA game again, could even use GBA's as controller to play it!)

I have a few of these but many I played on console, so very tempted to go for this after work! Be good to have the definitive PC versions on Steam for such a low price (not sure when I'll have time to actually go back and play them again however!)

Unsurprising that Mega Drive and Dreamcast top so far! Hard to pick between then for me, both great in different ways. I went for Mega Drive as it was formative; but in hardware design the Dreamcast was pretty great.

Dreamcast would be my top choice but doesn’t seem remotely practical as a mini-console: too powerful/expensive to easily emulate on a cheap mobile chip, and too many odd features that would be missing (VMU, online), plus an more expensive controller to manufacture, and the top games are/were also on other consoles (could lower demand).

So with all that said, I’d vote Saturn and I think it’s the most sensible choice! Popular, sold poorly, classic games still stuck only on Saturn, and the right sort of hardware to emulate well at a low cost.

I don't think the world is lacking for 2D Metroidvania's right now, personally I've love to see another crack at 3D (after the N64 games and Lord of Shadows didn't quite get it 100% right) looking for the "Metroid Prime" of Castlevania's! (but maybe they could spruce up and re-release the DS ones for 2D players in the meantime!)

It is excellent, as is Ocarina of Time! But I voted no, I’d say Super Mario 64. Mario was such a game-changer at the time, inspired so much of 3D gaming, it’s hard not to give Mario 64 the crown…but it’s a ruddy close call!

That looks incredible! The draw distance, smooth framerate and (for N64) excellent textures are something else. Really mastering the hardware.

I voted GameCube. To be honest I don't have one favourite, but it inovated in ways I liked: comfy shoulder buttons, and a face button layout with some ergonomic pros (can "feel" the buttons and they all have a distinct siloette). But the sticks wear out fast and the c-nub isn't amazing for FPSs, so not perfect!

Really nice to see the Game Boy Color MGS not shoved to the bottom! Was a really fun game, and while it may look and feel dated now, as the article says it was really pushing the Game Boy to the max! One of my top games on that system.