XiaoShao

Great interview! I had no idea there were firms like SNEG dedicated to reviving abandoned games, and it sounds like quite the thicket of IP to navigate! Keep up the great work!

Sounds like they have plenty of projects, but I’d love to see someone revive Bungie’s Myth games from the 90s. Bungie is still around obviously, but I wonder if they don’t hold the rights anymore. These games have been MIA for decades, and it’s a crime because they were just fantastic!

I wonder how long this poor soul listened to GBA crash sounds before figuring this out?

“… is this truly the last gasp of physical retail before the industry shifts totally to digital distribution?”

This is the interesting issue to me. I’d always thought that video game publishers would push games purely into digital, but it seems like the retail system might fail physical games first. Retailers are struggling to make money, and physical video games do not seem to offer enough profit margin. In the US, Walmart has stopped selling physical Xbox games, Best Buy seems to be phasing out physical media (although not games yet), and GameStop is a dumpster fire of a company. Amazon has plenty of games for sale, but often through resellers that can really vary in pricing and reliability.

All in all, buying physical games is becoming more difficult ( in US at least), and I’m not optimistic for their future 😟

Interesting that the new owners of the "Atari" brand are trying a new strategy, seemingly bringing together retro-focused software and hardware makers. This seems like a better use of the brand than some of the scammy stuff past owners have tried.

I think a lot will depend on how these new owners approach these companies. This could be a good thing for some of these firms that lack the resources to make good on their promises (e.g., Playmaji). This could be a bad thing if these owners take a typical Wall Street approach of cutting corners and squeezing money out of these companies (e.g., it's hard to see corporate types supporting a labor of love like Digital Eclipse's Atari 50).

Super Mario Hockey. I could see Nintendo going ballistic about that!

Great subtitle, and love these Evercade reviews!

Huge fan of the HOMM series, and I did not know about this remake. Thanks TE for bringing this to my attention, and I will definitely check it out!

I didn't realize there was such a fan base for the second game, as I thought the third was generally considered the best and most played (and perpetually on GOG's top selling list). I played each of the first three games as they came out and loved them all, but generally thought each sequel surpassed the prior one by better refining the game systems. So I haven't gone back to the original two in a LONG time. Thanks so much to this team for their efforts on this project, and I look forward to seeing what's unique about HOMM 2!

Never had a 3DO, but I seem to recall that the TV ads always focused on the Jurassic Park game. Was that not even very good?

What about Metal Slug Tactics? I was stoked for that game, but the long silence about its status is feeling ominous…

@samuelvictor @no_donatello I love y’all’s Jaguar memories! Never played/seen any of these games, but this just reaffirms I’d love Blaze to do a series of carts for “failed” consoles like Jaguar, 3DO, and CDi. Just to see and experience some of these oddities would be a thrill!

@no_donatello That’s interesting. I’ve never played any Jaguar games, so I really have no idea what is worth playing or not. I’d love any cart that can give a flavor of what the system was like!

Fingers crossed for a Jaguar cart in future! 🤞

Seeing the news about layoffs and game cancellations at CA, I wonder if the “Forever” line is similarly being cut by Sega. Sounds like it’s been a bad year and the company is making cuts:

https://www.polygon.com/23894019/sega-cancels-hyenas

This is amusing, but I dread an airline is going to destroy this on one of these trips. That belongs in a museum!!!

Fascinating article, and a fascinating response to the problems with social media! This seems like a choice between breadth or depth: aim for a wider audience on social media, or a smaller audience more likely to engage a subject deeply. I respect these projects for choosing depth, and I wish them well! I feel like my mental health would better stepping away from the internet more and sitting with a book/magazine instead.

Between this article and reading Bitmap book’s recent The Art of the Box, it’s been eye opening to learn about the individual artists behind many of my favorite childhood memories. Virgin’s RPGs and adventure games from this era really had fantastic art that still looks great today, and I’d never known much of this stemmed from one person. So sorry to hear about his untimely passing, but also thank you TE for this wonderful tribute and helping make me aware of his legacy.

Dang TE, Mario Golf can’t make the cut for best of on either GBC or GBA? Personally, I think Camelot’s golf RPGs were better than their tennis RPGs.

@BionicDodo Not sure your complaint with LRG, but if it’s the often lengthy delays in production, I believe these books are produced and ready to ship. This book almost looks to be to Bitmap Publishing’s standards!

Anyone know what the deal is with LRG’s reissue of PlayStation: A Retrospective? It was supposed to come out last October, and it’s just been “coming soon” ever since without any explanation…

A lot of great games, yet bizarrely missing the all-timer Mario Golf…

@Damo Small correction: the note for Suikoden I says it was the first RPG released on PS1 in the West, but I’m pretty sure Camelot’s Beyond the Beyond came out first. Not advocating that you add that to the list, as it was a pretty forgettable game, but it was first to market. I would agree with saying Suikoden was the first good RPG released in the West!

Great list overall! Given the flexible definition of “RPG”, I think the King’s Field games are worth including as well. They had RPG elements, and they’re the origin of Dark Souls games!

@gingerbeardman Yes! Pilotwings is amazing and sneaky hard. The music and atmosphere are so chill, yet actually completing everything can be brutal!

I love my 3DS! Great list with many great games. Do want to shout out for one of Nintendo’s great oddballs on the system: Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball. At one level a collection of super fun baseball mini games, on one level a silly game about a family of dogs in a charming Tokyo setting, and on another level a skewering of the greed ruining the games industry. I’ve never played anything like it!

I don’t have high hopes for this considering (I) the state of the GTA trilogy when released on Switch and (II) the low key twitter (X?) announcement just a week before release. I hope I’m wrong, but definitely waiting for reviews…

Clarification on Avi-8: they're a HK company selling watches assembled in China with movements from Japan. I don't think it's accurate to call them a "UK watch brand." Maybe "UK inspired."

That being said, this watch looks great, and I read good things about Avi-8 online. Will definitely consider this.

Edit: my original comment was too cranky 😁 More importantly, this game looks incredible. Kudos to the devs for this passion project, and thank you to timeextrnsion for the in-depth profile.

To Panic: I would really love to play this game on the playdate I ordered over a year ago and am still waiting for 😢

What’s with the 3DS and gameboy carts in the pictures? Are they implying this can play original carts, like the Analogue Pocket, or just trying to evoke handheld gaming?

I’m an 80s kid, and my first experience was with an Atari 2600 and playing Pitfall. I felt like Indiana Jones, which I’m sure was purely a coincidence and in no way copyright infringing 😂

I really enjoy being taken on y’all’s research journey for this! Sorry you couldn’t find more, but I love the passion of Time Extension (especially the comparison to Indiana Jones)!

@liathach I noticed the same thing! $750 in 1992, when adjusted for inflation, would be equivalent to around £1250 today.

@Damo Thanks for a wonderful article, but it looks like this error still hasn't been fixed. The article also doesn't indicate what year the players reached their best price of $250, but I imagine that conversion to today's money also needs to adjust for inflation.

@Damo This sounds great! Is it possible to purchase if I missed the kickstarter campaign?

EDIT: I found the order at Ninty Publishing's website. I've ordered a copy, and thanks for reviewing this!

This article makes it seem like SSI was finished after 1993, but they were still releasing great strategy games throughout the 90s. I think they just stopped making RPGs after the failure of Project M.

Thanks for the article! This reminds me how much I love this game, and I need to replay it soon to see more of the endings!

@mike_intv I think he’s right legally. A company is a legal entity formed under one specific name, which was apparently Apogee. This entity can own IP. 3DRealms was apparently a trademarked label, which is not a legal entity and could not own IP.

Whichever company owns the IP for Apogee’s catalogue today is a separate question. It could be that this European group that owns the name 3DRealms has also formed a company with that name and could in theory then buy the rights to the old IP under that name.

Side comment: I loved the Descent games. I would love to see a modern remake of them!

I’m glad this is doing well, but I’m honestly irked that they are bragging about sales when they have struggled so badly in fulfilling these sales. I’ve been waiting over a year for my preorder, and Panic are not promising anything beyond the end of this year. Panic are making LRG seem speedy by comparison!

@Kiwi_Unlimited That’s a touching story, thanks for sharing!

And Damien, thanks for starting these journeys down memory lane!

Like you, I don’t have places associated with most games in my memory, but there is one exception: Shining Force on Game Gear. First, I remember the store where I bought it, and have a clear memory of seeing the box art stick out from the other more drab game gear games. Second, I remember playing it at my grandparents house when I was supposed to be visiting, but instead hid myself away in a corner (next to a power outlet, lord the battery life was horrible for gg), and my mom eventually finding me and yelling at me for being antisocial. I loved that game, and it’s odd how it’s strongly linked with those two places!

Isn’t the headline wrong? $70 in 2023 would be like $35 in 1994 money. $70 in 1994 would be $140 in 2023 money.

@Uncharted2007 Thanks! Also, great list of GG classics yourself. I’d forgotten how many hours I poured into Road Rash!

Back in the day, I really loved Jurassic Park on GG. I remember some of the boss fights being super intense, and that the music and graphics were some of the best on the platform.

Agree with other comments I don’t remember ever seeing a white version of the hardware. Was this a commercial release in some region?

@ChromaticDracula Good point, Shining Force was my introduction to Strategy RPGs as well!

I can’t believe Shining Force II is only on the Asia version. All time great game, and tempts me to consider importing this version...