Migoshuro

@dequesi German is my first language and I while I don't know the English translation of this book, I would say, the "awkward" writing is certainly inherent to the original and probably not due to the translation, like Damon assumes. It's just the praticular style of writing by the authors of the book, which can come off as a little odd even for people who can understand German fluidly. I think, it's perfectly fine. But I heard from others complaining that it is a little pretentious.

@Poodlestargenerica Okay, that sounds indeed misleading, but probably not in bad faith. I appreciate that they changed it.

@Poodlestargenerica Oh! You're right. I just read the (new) headline and watched the video. Didn't even notice it was an updated article. Should have read it more thoroughly. My bad. I apologize.

@Poodlestargenerica Well, it just says it's an F-Zero inspired Game Boy Color game, which it undeniably is (the cue-word here is "inspired"). It's even in the title of the game. I don't know, how much more on point and "unclickbaity" a headline could be.

Late, but I also want to wish every staff member and reader a merry Christmas. This is a wonderful and valuable site. I hope it will thrive for... ever.

Can't argue with that list. Would totally add "Picross 3D 2"!

Makes me adore Rebecca Ferguson even more. And let's assume she means "Donkey Kong '94", because as I experienced again, recently, "Donkey Kong Land" isn't really good in my humble opinion.

Nice! Would have preferred a Visual Compendium for PC Engine first, but I really like their cover art books. They are nostalgic, inspiring and make up for the lack of artworks in their other books, which is probably the only complain I have about them.

What, you made a Neo Geo Pocket Color list even before you have a Game Boy list, I will certainly complain about?

Just kidding. I love handhelds from back in the day, not least because they provided official genuine demakes of home console titles, which I find fascinating to this day.
Here's hope that some more NGPC games hit the current systems.

First of all, the terms "ethical emulation" and "unethical emulation" are very inadequate. You should find a better wording. Just because something is illegal, doesn't necessarily mean it's unethical. And it generally vilifies the incredible valuable work by emulation developers, who do so much to preserve the history of the artform, far more than most publishers/game developers do.

That said, I'm all against piracy, when it hurts the creators or IP-owners. And, as simple as that, that is not the case when you can't buy the games anymore, in a way that would profit them. It's like dumpster diving, they don't want to sell it anymore? Then why should I still abstain?

I recently bought a great amount of virtual console titles on the 3DS eShop, because it's closing soon. I also bought the "Mana Collection" or "Cowabunga Collection" and several others and eagerly anticipate and celebrate every new interesting official retro-release. And I think most people interested in older games are quite similar. Otherwise all these above mentioned re-releases we get in abundance today wouldn't be as successful as they apparently are. The impact of emulations on official sales are hugely overrated in my eyes. As soon as the games are not officially available anymore, playing emulations is perfectly fine, because there are just no problems and no victims.
You could even assume the opposite, because access to old titles can create new fans, who buy all the new reboots, remakes and sequels or inspire new game designers and so on.

It's not unethical. This should be discussed on a legislative level and then the law should be changed. There's a reason (certain?) art becomes public domain after a period of time. Maybe shorten that time drastically and make the IP-holders responsible for archiving their games and keeping them accessible.

I'm also of the opinion that unofficial emulations must not be monetized whatsoever, because that would be financially benefitting of the work of others without permission, which I indeed find unethical.

Played "The King of Fighters - Heat of Battle" (a port of '96) to death on my Game Boy. That is a phenomenal version for the system. The sprites are tiny, but well animated and it is fast as hell. It has a impressive amount of fighters and special moves and plays excellently. The developers somehow managed to bring a relatively complex control scheme onto the limited input possibilities of the handheld. Best fighting game on the system.

What... in the name of *****?

Or as a former famous German video games journalist put it: Whenever there is a bad decision to make, Sega will make it.

Wanted to order that book today. Now, I'm just baffled by so much company stupidity.

Looks cool, but after my recent disappointment in "Elevator Action Returns" I grew a little cautious again about re-releases of old-school arcade-games. The difficulty in those can get extremely annoying, to say it gently. That can be okay if it's softened by a quick safe option for example and when it's a collection of multiple games. But for a stand-alone title, not to mention at a really pricey 30 bucks, this can prove more frustrating than enjoyable.

A little funny, since "Lords of Shadow" is basically a "God of War"-rip-off. A very good one at that, but it doesn't really convey the spirit of "Castlevania" in my eyes.
I'm not sure how an ideal new "Castlevania" could look like. There are some genuine rivals mostly from the indie-scene in the 2D-action-platformer/metroidvania department. So, they have to show some serious ambition if they want to make a 2D-"Castlevania" stand out.
For a 3D-"Castlevania" structurally and mechanically I think of something like "Arkham Asylum" and "Tomb Raider" (2013). High emphasis on fighting, not open-world, but still with a lot of platforming and exploration, even a few puzzles or also Metroidvania progression. But the combat system should be simple and not super deep and complex like in a character action-game (like "Lords of Shadow" or the "God of War" games tend to be), but still with enough depth and variety. More like the 3D-"Zeldas".
And first and foremost the atmosphere should be right. Don't forget a little bit of humour. And don't make it a gritty cinematic action epic, like every First-Party Playstation game nowadays. Somehow I don't think the series could be handled properly by a non-Japanese Studio (yet, by Konami either).
But proof me wrong. And especially just do it! Make that game!

Actually I think, it could be relatively easy to make decent movies out of many videogames, with stuff like "Street Fighter" or "Streets of Rage" being especially grateful, since they bring a lot of iconography (like most of them do), but allow mostly free hand in the narration department. The latter could also be a problem, but I think it's better than to press the story of a 40h rpg into a two hour movie.
In the case of "Streets of Rage" it's pretty simple: Hire actual martial artists (I vote for Scott Adkins as the main villain), a good fight choreographer, an editor who doesn't ruin everything and you already have a half good movie.
Now let it look and sound the part and make it "Mad Max - Fury Road" but urban brawl and this could be really great.

@AJB83 Thanks for mentioning those 3D-platformers I didn't know about. They look superb and I will pick them up asap.

I play "Donkey Kong Country 2" via Nintendo Switch Online SNES. I'm a huge fan of the series, but I somehow never finished the second one. Scandalous, I know. I didn't have a SNES back then but played the crap out of "Donkey Kong Land 2 & 3".
And what can I say, it's an absolute timeless masterpiece, that surpasses it's predecessor in just every (!) aspect. Even today I'm completely stunned by how incredible this game looks technically and artistically. The score is a legend. Leveldesign is brillant. It runs and plays like a dream. I really have a hard time to find a single flaw in it. But, oh well, the difficulty can be brutal at times. Wanted to play it without using the quick-save-option of the Switch-version, but after a tough boss fight the game forces you to further complete a handful often equally tough levels, sometimes with only a few lives left, before you can actually save. Pretty nasty. I still wouldn't call that that a flaw, though. 😅

I like collecting books about videogames almost more than I like to collect videogames and the Bitmap Books are exceptional. So this is a must buy.
The only criticism I have is that they could use a lot more artworks of the games they presenting, like covers, maps, promo-art etc., instead of mostly only screenshots. I know they have some books focusing on that, but in my opinion it would increase the nostalgia factor and "immersion" while reading.

First of all: What a great new site! Really fond of the color scheme. The best thing is, you don't have to race and compete with other sites focusing on new games and can bail from a rich well of videogame history. And as long as there are new games and time doesn't stop, there are retro games. I hope for and wish you all a thriving future with this project.

Second: Maaan, this list really makes me wish for a Dreamcast mini.

Third: Will the PC also get some love here? I've admittedly always been more of a console gamer. But I absolutely think excluding the PC from a retro gaming focused website would be a huge omission.

These are the right questions asked, Sega. I have to join in the choir and say Saturn as the most wanted. But well... even Sega itself said it's unlikely until emulation is possible at a reasonable price.
I think Dreamcast follows in popularity. Would be the first mini console of the 128bit-generation. Don't know if that's feasable.
Personally I'd prefer a non-micro Game Gear over the Master System, because it's library looks more interesting and it has a charming demake-character to it's ports of "Gunstar Heroes" or "Ristar" for instance.

@Bass_X0 While I do think the "Street Fighter II"-port is quite decent, the crown for best fighting-game on the system has probably to go to "The King of Fighters - Heat of Battle", in my opinion. It runs super fast, plays great and the amount fighters, moves and special attacks put into that game is nothing short of impressive. The Takara-fighters for Game Boy were pretty good in general.