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The Thrill Of The Chase: Roaming In Melbourne

January 28, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Work can be a damn bore. To break the monotony of doing that sales forecast report that is due by the end of the week, we use our lunch-break as a sanctuary to get away from it all.

My lunch break shenanigans had me traversing the city, looking for gaming and pop culture gear in particular. I was pleased to find a number of Nintendo and Namco goodies – from t-shirts and hoodies, to board-games, figurines and pool cues!

Seems as though my timing was quite good, as there were discounts and two-for-one deals throughout the stores – as if I needed more temptation! Shop on!

The coolest NES tee!
Roaming_NES_tee

Coolest Nintendo backpacks ever!
Roaming_NES_Zelda_bags

The coolest Zelda tee!
Roaming_Zelda_tee

A super Super Mario!
Roaming_Super_Mario

The coolest Mario tee!
Roaming_Mario_tee
Nintendo has too many temptations
Roaming_WoN_figurines

Are you a Nintendo gamer? Then you need to wear this!
Roaming_Players_Hoodie

The Nintendo Console History Timeline – where it started
Romaing_Nin_timeline

The Nintendo Console History Timeline – the 90s and early 2000s era
Roaming_Nin_timeline2

You’ll be a Mega Man or a Mega Woman if you wear this!
Roaming_MegaMan_Hoodie

I want to play pool with these Pac-Man balls!
Roaming_Pacman_pool_balls

Compliment your Pac-Man pool balls with this Pac-Man cue!
Romaing_PacMan_pool_cue

37 years on, and Space Invaders is still relevant!
Roaming_spaceinvaders_puzzle

 Lots of drool-worthy tees on this wall!
Roaming_awesome_tees

Let there be light!
Roaming_Tetris_light

Everyone needs Indy in their life
Roaming_Indy

If Nintendo can do it, so can Namco!
Roaming_pacman_gear

Filed Under: Retro Exploring Tagged With: EB Games, Mega Man, nintendo, Pac-Man, street fighter II, The Thrill Of The Chase, thrill of the chase, Zing Pop Culture

Australia Day, Ausretrogamer Style

January 26, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Some Australians celebrate Australia Day with a barbie (Ed: that’s barbecue for the uninitiated), others choose to sink a few beers and watch the cricket. For Ms. ausretrogamer and I, we chose to hit the road in search of some arcade and pinball machines.

Luckily for us, there were a few stores opened on this public holiday Monday. We did find a warehouse on the outskirts of Melbourne packed with arcade machines and pinball tables from all eras. We definitely got our fix of retro gaming eye candy this Australia Day!

Retro refreshments for Australia Day!
AusDay_7UP

Oh yeah, some Sega Sport Car Ultimate Drive (SCUD) Race
AusDay_ScudRace

Oh no, a Galaga I & II in need of some TLC!
AusDay_Gottlieb

*Scottish accent*Get in my belly!
AusDay_MiniMe

Shagadelic baby!
AusDay_Austin

Are you scared stiff?
AusDay_Elvira

They’re creepy and they’re kooky
AusDay_Addams

I’ll take the Dalek!
AusDay_DrWho
I don’t think that light will fit
AusDay_cocktail
Lot of history in this place!
AusDay_oldschool

Care for some old school hockey?
AusDay_hockey

Old beauties!
AusDay_oldBeauties
Pinball lovin!
AusDay_oldpinball
May the force be with you!
AusDay_SW
Pinball tables from all eras!
AusDay_wood
Pinball tables as far as the eye can see
AusDay_Pinball
No one puts Virtua Striker 2 or Virtua Tennis 2 in the corner!
AusDay_VS
Evel Knievel and Playboy = what a match!
AusDay_Evel Knievel

Operating on an ultimate cab
AusDay_arcadecab
No joint is complete without a Zoltan!
AusDay_Zoltan

Filed Under: Pinball, Retro Exploring Tagged With: !Arcade!, pinball, Retro Hunting, The Thrill Of The Chase, thrill of the chase

Super Bread Box: Superb C64 Fun

January 22, 2015 By ausretrogamer

SBB_Title

NEWSFLASH: RGCD has announced that Super Bread Box is available for download for all you C64 fanatics (Ed: proud to be a C64 fanatic). This news is great for all retro gaming fans, as Paul Koller’s game is damn awesome. Even if you do not possess a C64, you can get in on the action via VICE on your Windows machine.

Super Bread Box is available for free, but if you can spare a few coins, please throw some over to show your support and reward the developer for their great effort. What are you waiting for? Hop to it!

Super Bread Box on RGCD.DEV

SBB_screen1

SBB_Screen2source: RGCD

Filed Under: Announcements Tagged With: C64, Retro Gaming, RGCD, RGCD.DEV, Super Bread Box

Hot Wheels Battle: Star Trek VS Star Wars

January 21, 2015 By ausretrogamer

HotWheels_SWvsSTI may have been a Matchbox fan in my younger years, but it’s all about Hot Wheels right now! Starting with the Atari Nostalgics, Hot Wheels (well, Mattel) have definitely piqued my interest in their little cars.

It seems that Hot Wheels have jumped on the pop culture bandwagon and are hurtling down to your local toy store. Not only have Hot Wheels fused their cool toy cars with one sci-fi cult classic, Star Trek, but they have given us the equivalent of a boxing one-two sucker punch by also giving us the Star Wars collection(s).

Considering it is a new year, and in the spirit of giving (thank you Ms. ausretrogamer), I wasn’t going to deny myself either of these collections. Star Trek or Star Wars – let the battle for the sci-fi universe begin!

The Star Trek collection
HotWheels_StarTrek

Star Trek Collection explained
HotWheels_StarTrek_back

Oooooo, Spock!
HotWheels_StarTrek_Spock

The Star Wars Hot Wheels gang!
HotWheels_StarWars
Looking good Mr Skywalker
HotWheels_StarWars_back

Join the dark side of the Hot Wheels force!
HotWheels_Darth
The Battle Of The Hot Wheels Universe!
HotWheels_SWvsST_2

Vader is all over Bones!
HotWheel_Darth_over_Dr

Filed Under: Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Hot Wheels, Star Trek, Star Wars, Toys

The Thrill Of The Chase: Out and About

January 19, 2015 By ausretrogamer

An impromptu lunchtime sojourn comes up trumps! With no intention of hunting for retro or pop culture goodies, I was surprised what I found in Melbourne’s CBD (Central Business District) as I was out and about. From Sonic comics and video gaming related books, to bartop arcade machines at the most unlikeliest place, it was a lunch break I didn’t expect.

A great start to the week indeed. Oh yeh, my wallet was also worse for wear.

Green Lantern VS Zodac? *Mind completely blown*
Out_DCvsMOTU

An awesome book that is to be read by every gamer!
Out_ConsoleWars

Another awesome book. A great reference indeed!
Out_NintendoBoojk

One for the Zelda fans!
Out_Zeldatee
Wish I could flip through the pages of this book!
Out_art_book

Sonic Comic! Hey, that rhymes! 
Out_Sonic

Sega fans would love this!
Out_Sonic3

More Sonic love!
Out_Sonic2

Oh wow – Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back! I gotta get these!
Out_SilentBob

Your keys would ROCK and look MEGA on this keyring!
Out_MegaMan

Sam Fisher in his desert suit. Very cool indeed.
Out_Splinter

The dark side awaits!
Out_StarWars

An arcade machine in Myer? No way! Oh, that old school phone is cool too.
Out_Myer_arcade

Yes way – it is an arcade machine at Myer!
Out_Myer_arcade_side

The last word always goes to Ron Swanson.
Out_RonSwanson

Filed Under: Retro Exploring Tagged With: !Arcade!, Jay and Silent Bob, Myer, nintendo, Pop culture, Retro Gaming, sonic, The Thrill Of The Chase, thrill of the chase

Partying With My Retro Gaming Brethren

January 18, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Party_groupWhen I first ventured into retro gaming, little did I know that I would meet such awesome and like-minded people. Since establishing a great bond with the locally based Retro Domination and Weird and Retro guys, we have shared many a good time, not least of all, at our annual Classic Gaming extravaganza at PAX Aus.

With family priorities keeping me away for most of the 2014 PAX Aus event, the rest of the Classic Gaming crew, including the Adelaide based Retrospekt team, were hugely supportive, which was greatly appreciated.

As a thank you, Ms. ausretrogamer and I invited our Victorian based retro gaming colleagues to celebrate the grand opening of our new games room. Between the consumption of pizzas, beer, soft drinks and Ms. ausretrogamer’s famous Black Russians, there were pinball high score challenges, Frisbee action via Windjammers on the Neo Geo MVS and a lot of laughter and reminiscing. It was also great to meet Mrs. Daz Retro and their three lovely kids.

I was humbled to receive many gifts, which were totally unexpected. Matt Cawley handed me a few custom MVS boxes, Ultimate Body Blows and a number of other Amiga CD32 goodies. As per usual, Daz surprised me with a boxed (Last) Ninja 3 for the C64 and the equally awesome, Dracula – The Undead for the Atari Lynx. However, the biggest surprise came from Mr. Mark Cassar. Without any fanfare, Mark handed me an awesome custom-made ausretrogamer C64 t-shirt. To say I was rapt, would be a great understatement!

Since the new games room has now officially been opened, I hope to host many more retro gaming parties with great friends. Game on!

The calm before the retro gaming storm!
Party_Before

Pizzas, Drinks and great company = perfect ingredients for a party
Party_Pizzas_Drinks

Matt having a crack at the Pin*Bot high score!
Party_Matt_Pinbot

The great Mark Cassar taking a swing on the Neo Geo!
Party_Mark_NeoTurf

Daz showing the boys his flipper skills!
Party_Daz_Pinbot

The next generation of retro gamers
Party_Kids

The awesome gifts! I have been spoiled.
Party_Gifts

Filed Under: Pinball, Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Amiga, C64, Neo Geo, pinball, Retro Gamers, retrogaming

A Brief History Of Graphics: Pixels, Sprites and Polygons

January 16, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Graphics_titleIf your New Year’s resolution was to learn more about video game graphics, you are in luck. For those of you with limited time to spare, I present three videos by Ahoy, providing a brief history of graphics; from pixels and sprites, to those super cool polygons! Are video games all about graphics? Of course not! Feast your eyes and ears right now, you may learn something.

Part 1: Pixels Pioneers

Part 2: Sprite Supreme

Part 3: Polygon Realm

source: Ahoy

Filed Under: History Tagged With: History, History of graphics, Pixels, Polygons, retrogaming, Sprites, video, video gaming graphics

Screen Scene: Screenshots of Awesome 80s Arcade Games

January 15, 2015 By ausretrogamer

WinnersWhen I first began playing video games in the early 80s, arcade games were the pinnacle of the gaming experience – they had huge cabinets, great graphics, booming sound, and if you were good enough (or had lots of 20 cent coins), gameplay that would keep you coming back.

Being a nostalgist, I was recently reminiscing about arcade games I played at the local darkened arcade parlour, the corner milk bar and also the fish and chips shop near my school. With a smile on my face, I compiled a number of screenshots of arcade games that kept me mesmerised in the 1980s. I hope these bring back great memories for you, as they have for me. Enjoy and remember, “Winners Don’t Use Drugs!”.

My favourite beat’em up of all time. Nothing beats the kneeing to the head and wrapping a baseball bat around a the Black Warriors head!
screens_DD

Save Ronnie and grab some burgers and coke! We are bad dudes fighting the dragon ninja!
screens_DN_badDudes
Still my go-to vertical shoot’em up! Plenty of 20c coins were spent on Galaga!
screens_Galaga

The little yellow dot muncher never let me down
screens_Pacman



The droning sound of this most awesomest of  dungeon-maze crawlers is still sublime
screens_WoW

Wrestling was huge in the mid 80s, and Wrestle War was a laugh!
Wrestling

Saving the kidnapped Madonna, one kick at a time!
screens_vigilante
Who could forget this aerial dogfighting classic from Yu Suzuki!
screens_afterburner
Another Yu Suzuki classic!
screens_space
The game that ushered in the Golden Age of Arcades
screens_space-invaders
The helicopter cockpit version of Thunder Blade was simply awesome!
screens_thunder



The ninja craze was huge in the 80s. Everyone wanted to throw shurikens like Joe!
screens_shinobi
My beat’em up love began with Kung Fu Master
screens_kungfu
It was either Salamander or R-Type. I chose Irem’s blaster!
screens_rtype

Yu Suzuki’s Out Run will always be associated with coolness!
screens_outrun

Ikari Warriors – guerrilla warfare with a mate
screens_ikari

Heavy Barrel – just like Ikari Warriors, but with a rotary stick to shoot baddies in 8-directions!
screens_heavy
Another Sega classic. This was as close as I got to riding a motocross bike in the 80s
screens_enduro

The seminal Nintendo classic will always be on my favourites list
screens_donkey
The timeless Taito platform beauty – I love you Bub and Bob
screens_bub_bob
A bomb disposal hero in leotards = perfect!
screens_bombjack
4P dungeon exploring never got any better than this!
screens_gauntlet
Tempest – the vector splendour!
screens_tempest
Going to Flashbacks on Swanston Street was always about Discs of Tron
screens_discoftron

Special agent action via Elevator Action
screens_Elevator

I wasn’t much of a skateboarder, but I was pretty good on 720 Degrees!
screens_720

The ultimate single-screen blaster!
screens_Robotron

There was something about Moon Patrol that I can’t even explain now!
screens_Moon

What would any 80s arcade list be without TMNT. Cowabunga!
screen_TMNT

Double Dragon started the 2P co-op beat’em up genre, Final Fight took it to another level!
screens_finalfight

 source: various – supplied on request



Filed Under: Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: 1980s, 80s, 80s arcade, retrogaming, screenshots

Nintendo Quest: The Unofficial And Unauthorised Nintendo Documentary

January 13, 2015 By ausretrogamer

NintendoQuest_titleDon’t you just love good news stories – I know I do! With 25 days to go, the Nintendo Quest – An Unofficial Nintendo and NES Documentary has already smashed its pledge target of $1,000! With alluring stretch goals, this Kickstarter project is bound to break all kinds of records! Let’s see how high it can go.

Jay_Nintendo_QuestFor those of you that want to know more about this documentary – it is a fun film that follows Jay Bartlett, a fanatic video game collector, who, on a dare, tries to collect all 678 original NES games – a long-time dream of his. The kicker is, Jay must achieve this tall order in 30 days without using the Internet in any way. While following Jay on his adventure, the film also examines Nintendo’s cultural history, their on-going legacy, and specifically, the endurance of the NES. I can’t wait to watch the finished product of this most unofficial and unauthorised Nintendo documentary ever!

Hit Kickstarter now!


source: Robert McCallum

Filed Under: Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Kickstarter, NES, Nintendo Documentary, Nintendo Quest

The Thrill Of The Chase: First Blood 2015

January 11, 2015 By ausretrogamer

There is nothing like getting that first hunt under your belt for the new year. For our first retro hunt of 2015, Ms. ausretrogamer and I set our sights on the Camberwell Sunday Market – an open-air (car boot) style market near the Camberwell Junction in Melbourne.

The crowd gathers on a perfect summer’s day in Melbourne
thrill_market_crowd

Upon arrival, we searched for a good coffee place to get our all important caffeine fix. Once we were well caffeinated we hit the market stalls to look for loot of the retro and vintage kind. There were E.T. and Alf board games straight from the 1980s, sequined handbags with Pac-Man ghosts, Masters Of The Universe action figures with twisted legs and of course, lots of vinyl!

Board games of 80s aliens!
thrill_market_1

A Pac-Man handbag? Now I have seen it all!
thrill_market_pacmanbag

Mmmmmm, doughnuts!
thrill_market_food

Amongst the smell of hot dogs and delicious jam doughnuts, Ms. ausretrogamer finally caught the scent of some retro gaming items. We followed the scent to a nearby stall and found a PlayStation and Sega Master System console and gaming bundle. With the spurring of Ms. ausretrogamer to get the Master System bundle, I haggled on price and a deal was soon struck. Even though we have a few Master System consoles, it was the seven games that we were after in the deal. First blood had been struck for 2015. Till the next thrill of the chase…….

The prey has been found!
thrill_market_bundle

Can you hear me? These hipster speakers should help.thrill_market_speakers

5c per bowl? Damn games were cheap back in the old days.
thrill_market_bowling5c

The Master System loot is finally home! Time to play!
thrill_market_loot

Filed Under: Retro Exploring Tagged With: Camberwell Market, Master System, The Thrill Of The Chase, thrill of the chase

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