The Retro Games Blog!

Retro Memories – Sonic The Hedgehog

Written by dan on January 25, 2012 — Leave a Comment

Just in case you’re wondering, I’m talking about the original Mega Drive / Genesis version of Sonic the Hedgehog here, not the god awful next-gen version – the only memories I have of that one are bad.

When I first played the original Sonic the Hedgehog, it blew my mind, It was the fastest moving game of its time. It felt like there was so much going on, but yet it was so simplistic (in my opinion where these recent 3D releases have gone wrong) all three of the face buttons performed the same function – jump!

Each play through of the games levels felt like it had something new to offer, getting to the top of the levels brought great rewards. Unlike the sequels in the series – which added the spin-dash, you needed momentum from the ramps and pipes to actually get up to the top. Staying there, however was a much more difficult prospect, with pixel perfect jumps needed - platforming at its greatest!

At the tender age of 8 (when I first played the game) to be honest I wasn’t particularly good. I could only get to the second zone (Marble) no matter how hard I tried. Rather than putting me off, this actually spurred me on to keep trying, and reach that next level – practice most certainly makes perfect in this game. Even playing the game through now though, It’s probably the most difficult of the Mega Drive Sonic games. It seems to have just the right level of difficulty, straddling the line perfectly between Stupidly easy and Frustratingly difficult.

Whilst the game has been re-released many many times over the years, these have mostly been emulated versions of the classic. The mega drive version was simply the complete package, from box-art to the instruction manual, everything was beautifully designed.

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Retro Memories – GoldenEye 007

Written by dan on January 25, 2011 — Leave a Comment

With all these recent Re-releases and Remakes of classic games, there’s always a grand feeling of nostalgia when looking back to the originals. I wanted to share some of my experiences and why these classic games live long in my memory.

The first on the list is GoldEneye 007, which was released in November 1997 for the N64. I first got my hands on the game that Christmas at the tender age of 12 (yes I know the game was a 15!) at the same time my cousin got the same. Christmas day that year was special, we played for hours and hours at my cousin’s, myself as Bond, my brother as Boris and my cousin as Alec.

None of us knew any of the story of the film (we eventually would see it at new years) so our experiences were based on pure fun! The sheer wealth of weapon options, variants and maps made for a great mix, each game seemed to be balanced and we were all winning games. We knew little about the single player game, to us the multi-player was the main game and what a game it was. It was the first time all 3 of us had been in the same game at the same time thanks to the wonders of the N64.

In my opinion, that multi-player thrill has never been matched, some have come close (most actually on Nintendo’s consoles) but never surpassed the brilliance of GoldenEye 007. The remake didn’t stand a chance!

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Donkey Kong Country Returns!

Written by dan on January 19, 2011 — Leave a Comment

December saw the release of the latest in Nintendo’s line of Modern-Retro updates, this time focusing on the SNES’s finest game graphically Donkey Kong country. We’ll be looking more in depth at the original trilogy in good time, but lets focus for the moment at what Retro Studios brings to the Donkey Kong plate!

First up, the system has changed considerably, instead of using Donkey and Diddy separately, they now work as one unit (apart from in the co-op game – see later) giving you four hit-points in total, as well as an incredible array of moves, all the classic ones are still there, plus a couple of new ones. Diddy now comes complete with the jet pack from DK64, which gives an extra jump and extra range, and Donkey has the ground pound from Smash Bros, suitably controlled by a shake of the remote! One of the slight problems is that too much of the games moves come from the shake action, as well as the ground pound, holding left or right whilst shaking activates the roll, and holding down while shaking makes the Kong in question blow . Its extremely easy with this control system to pound the ground instead of rolling, which can be suicide in some of the later levels when moving quickly is essential!

Rare’s classic game has been treated with the utmost respect by Retro Studios, bringing the 15 year old title (is it really that long ago) into the modern age. The levels are extremely well crafted and there are plenty of ideas thrown into the melting pot to make a game that will last you well over 10 hours.

As with the original games in the series, DKCR is most certainly a Collect-em-up as much as it is a Platformer, as well as the usual bananas and banana coins (lives and currency respectively) hidden throughout each regular level are the letters K-O-N-G (which will be hugely familiar to players of the original) and a number of jigsaw pieces which can be hidden anywhere you might care to look within a level.  As well as unlocking artwork and sounds as you collect items, the game has some hidden suprises later on, which we won’t spoil here.

You’ll be pleased (probably) to know that this is probably the most difficult Donkey Kong game, if you thought the SNES games were easy, try this on for size, it’s a guarantee that you’ll be pulling your hair out at some of the platforming antics throughout, some requiring you to just plain learn the levels and some that just need good timing to get through. All the frustration trying to complete these levels is nothing compared to the relief and sheer accomplishment you feel when you finally beat that level you’ve been stuck on for half an hour!

The game has a long lifespan (though its helped greatly by the difficulty level) and there’s plenty to do once you’ve completed the game. If your a fan of the traditional platformer then you’ll get great enjoyment out of this!

Check out the video below to have a peek at some of the action!

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Top Mario Levels #3

Written by dan on January 5, 2011 — Leave a Comment

It’s time to look again at the top Mario levels. This time we’ve chosen the very first level from the very first proper mario game – yes its level 1-1 from Super Mario Bros.

To all intents and purpose, the original Mario Bros. was the definitive platforming experience, the game contains very few power ups (the Mushroom, Fire Flower and Starman) which generally don’t change the actual platforming action much at all, they’re just mainly used to get enemies out of your way.

The first level of Super Mario Bros perhaps isn’t the greatest level in the game, but its certainly the most iconic. Introducing you to the core concepts of Mario with the basic enemies, and basic platforming it serves as a teaser of what to expect as you progress through the rest of the game – and indeed subsequent Mario games that stretch the boundaries  as much as possible.

Its true testament to the levels influence on the gaming public that the exact contents of the level has been taken out and reused in multiple games, most recently Super Smash Bros Brawl, which sees the lush green world turned to desert – a sign of just how much of a classic the level actually is.

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Top Mario Levels 1&2 – Snow

Written by dan on December 1, 2010 — Leave a Comment

This post will become the first in a regular series, identifying the greatest levels within the Mario universe. These will range from the very first levels  (I’m sure I’ll cover World 1-1 of Super Mario Bros at some point!) to those  from the phenomenal Mario Galaxy games.

Because of the weather at the moment I’ve started off with not one – but two levels set under the white stuff – yes snow levels!  Just about every Mario game since the 3rd Super Mario Bros on the NES has featured a snow level. They seem to be a staple of the Mario platforming series, providing a little bit of magic each and every time, whether its in the level design, or just the soundtrack running in the background.

World 3-1 – New Super Mario Bros Wii

The new Super Mario Bros games took an already great concept and refined it for the current generation, the Ice/Snow levels are no exception, they feature slippy surfaces, as well as new concepts you probably weren’t expecting. This level in particular just looks like a standard snow level, with straight forward platforming and an uninspiring mix of slopes and jumps. That all changes when you have the penguin suit. As the penguin suit allows you to slide through the entire level, creating a speed run of sorts.

Cool Cool Mountain – Super Mario 64

Cool cool mountain contains not one, but two ice slides, making up half of the mountains available stars, this makes it considerably different to many of the other worlds in Mario 64. The first thing you’ll notice when you arrive at the mountain is an inviting log cabin (seemingly the staple building in snowy areas), but on greater scrutiny there aren’t any doors – through the chimney it is.

Within the cabin your eyes widen as before you lies a steep slope, with twists and turns that make Peach’s secret slide look like a doddle. Before you have chance to take it in (nevermind give it a try) a massive penguin (must have been on the fish steroids) challenges you to a race. This is where it gets tricky, not only do you have to make it down the slide, beating the penguin is one hell of a challenge, sometimes he takes up over half the track himself, making passing nearly impossible. If you’re really skilled, there are plenty of rewards as well, there are loads of coins dotted about the slide, as well as a couple of major short-cuts that are tricky to find. Beating the penguin rewards you with a star, but you’ll keep rewarding yourself by playing the slide over and over, looking for the best time.

I’ll be adding more classic levels sporadically through the next few weeks and months, so keep popping back!

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My First Blog Post

Written by dan on November 24, 2010 — Leave a Comment

Hello to all you retro fans!

As i’m sure you’ll notice, this blog is pretty empty at the moment, but I’m hoping to fill it full of retro games goodness, with the intention of building the ultimate database of retro gaming.

I’ll be covering all aspects of retro gaming, from the dark murky roots, to the modern updates on Wii, Xbox and PS3. I’ll also be writing some regular features for the blog, looking at things like the greatest boss battles, memorable moments and much much more.

Stay tuned for a retro overload!

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