AUSRETROGAMER

The Pop-Culture E-Zine

You are here: Home / Archives for Arcade

Arcade

Sean’s Amazing Retro Video Game Art and Arcade Model Builds

By

We have many talented friends around the world. One local multi-talented friend, Sean Tagg (aka:  ) is not only an accomplished Donkey Kong player, but he is also an arcade restorer, OutRun expert and an amazing artist (amongst many other talents)!

Out of all of Sean’s accomplishments and creations, it is his meticulous artistic skill and flair that always captures our attention and astounds us with each of his amazing creations. Sean’s artwork (like on his Shinobi runners) and model builds of iconic video games are simply stunning to say the least. If you don’t believe us, check out the video below!

source: Sean Tagg – Arcade Modeller

Want to see more of Sean’s amazing Arcade Model builds? If you said yes (as you should have), then go to his Arcade Modeller site right now!



First Video of Final Fight Ultimate on the Sega Mega Drive

By

As huge fans of the beat’em up genre, we are quite excited to see this homebrew version of Final Fight, titled Final Fight Ultimate on the Sega Mega Drive!

Retro developer, Mauro Xavier and his cohort of CFX experts, Edmo Caldas (music) and Master Linkuei (ripping, tricks & tech support) are bringing us one of the all time classic co-op beat’em ups on Sega’s 16-bit beast. To say we are excited for this port would be a massive understatement. We need Final Fight Ultimate in our life ASAP!


source: Mauro Xavier



Galacticon – Nintendo Switch Review

By

Galacticon is exactly the type of game our Nintendo Switch has been screaming out for! There is something familiar and comforting about Galacticon, its look, feel and sounds hark back to our arcade days from the 80s.

Upon starting Galacticon, you are reminded that it is inspired by a couple of iconic Williams titles, Defender and Joust – not a bad way to start. Where you constantly scroll at breakneck speeds in Defender while attacking enemies and rescuing some poor souls, Galacticon implements this mechanic in mostly a single screen, making the game a tad easier to play. We aren’t saying Galacticon isn’t challenging, far from it – but at least you don’t contend with the constant sideways scrolling and getting hit by an enemy that you can’t see.

The graphics, sound, control and gameplay could’ve easily been ripped out from the early 80’s arcades, they are that cool and add to the overall experience of this title. Did we mention how amazing the raster scanline patterns look? Your eyes will love you for it. This game oozes nostalgia for those with an 8-bit retro heart, but modern players aren’t left out in the cold, as they too get a romping great game that is fun to play and looks and sounds darn awesome.

The mix of blast and rescue (with a sprinkle of puzzle) gameplay action is a welcome distraction for our Switch. Galacticon will have you flying back to it over and over, either to beat your previous score or get yourself onto the world high score table, this is one fun way to spend quality time on your Nintendo Switch! Highly recommended!

Release Date: May 22, 2022 (Nintendo Switch & Steam)
Developer: Radin Games
Publisher: Flynn’s Arcade / Pikii
Price: €4.99/$4.99/£4.99 (20% off in the first week of release)



The Internet Archive Console Living Room

By

If you don’t want to stuff around with finding, downloading, configuring and tearing your hair out in making video gaming emulators work on your computer, then check out the Internet Archive’s Console Living Room.

The Internet Archive Console Living Room harkens back to the revolution of the change in the hearth of the home, when the fireplace and later, the television, were transformed by gaming consoles into a centre of videogaming entertainment. Connected via strange adapters and relying on the television’s speaker to put out pew pew pew sounds, these games were resplendent with simple graphics and simpler rules.

Via the use of the JSMESS emulator system, this allows direct access to different emulator programs in your browser with no additional plugins or settings, meaning that these games can be enjoyed again without mucking around in looking for emulators or games. Simply click on the screenshot or “Emulate This” button for each individual cartridge, and on modern browsers the games will just start to run. As nostalgia, a teaching tool, or just plain fun, you’ll find hundreds of the games that started a billion-dollar industry.

NOTE: These games are best enjoyed in an up to date version of a modern browser. Currently, there is no sound in the games, although that feature will be added soon.

image source: Internet Archive – Console Living Room



Taito EGRET II Mini Arcade – It’s So Awesome

By

When the Taito Egret II Mini was announced in 2021, our collective jaws dropped at this cute and awesome little arcade unit. The Egret II was packed with Taito’s greatest arcade hits, which was a good start. But that wasn’t all! To differentiate itself from the Sega Astro City Mini and any other mini arcade unit on the market, Taito’s offering had a rotating screen (just like its big brother), so you could play games in either TATE (portrait) or landscape (horizontal) orientation – how clever and awesome is that?!

You turn me on!

The games menu is quite intuitive. The orientation of the game is also depicted, which is a great feature

The downside to all this great news was that the Egret II Mini was only going to be available to a limited set of countries for pre-orders. But, we managed to get our hands on the Taito Egret II Mini, and we must say, this thing is so cool and oozes quality – everything looks and feels top notch! The rotating screen is something to behold and feels industrial grade, which is a relief. The other great feature is the ability to switch and lock the joystick in 4-way mode or the usual 8-way – this makes a big difference for games that only have four directions of play!

8-Way or 4-Way – another neat feature!

Taito’s Egret II Mini comes pre-installed with 40 games (see list below), from platformers, shoot’em ups to puzzle, beat’em ups and fighting games to keep you entertained. There are bound to be games you like in Taito’s stable of arcade hits that come with this mini arcade unit. We absolutely love Bubble Bobble, Tatsujin (aka: Truxton), Elevator Action Returns, Rastan Saga and The New Zealand Story to name just a few.

Horizontal? No way!

You spin me right ’round, baby, right ’round

Vertical – that’s much better!

Taito Egret II mini vs Sega Astro City mini: Both are darn cute & awesome!

An essential purchase with the Egret II Mini is the paddle and trackball games expansion set, which incudes the aforementioned paddle and trackball controller and an additional 10 games on an SD card! Speaking of which, we can’t wait to see what the clever modders out there will do with the SD card slot on the Egret II.

It is still early days playing on our Egret II Mini, but so far during this honeymoon period, we love it. This mini arcade unit is packed with great games and feels pretty good to play on. Let’s be honest, this thing is great, but its price does cause a wince. The standard Egret II mini is approx. AU$280 and above (depending on the exchange rate) and that is without shipping. If you want the limited edition (blue joystick top and blue fire buttons), then you pretty much double the price of the standard unit, but we reckon save your dollars and stick with the standard if you really got to have the Taito Egret II mini.

For anyone in Australia looking to get the Taito EGRET II Mini, check them out on Play Asia!

We love the little extras we got with our Taito EGRET II mini

Egret II specs and features:

  • 40 pre-installed games, including arcade classics
  • Special in-game features like: Save states, adjustable lives and rapid-fire
  • 5-inch 4:3 rotating monitor (1024×768 resolution) for horizontal and vertical alignment and an optimal adaptation to the selected game
  • 6-button arcade layout and joystick that is individually adjustable for each game – easily switch from 8 directions to 4 directions
  • HDMI output to also play the games on newer TVs
  • SD card slot to add more games
  • Own integrated sound through stereo speakers
  • Two USB Type-A controller ports for the additional, optional EGRET II mini controllers
  •  Power Source: Above 5V/2.4A (12W)

Games:

image source: ININ Games



PAC-WOR: A Pac-Man & Wizard of Wor Mashup For The C64

By

What do you get when you cross the two classic arcade titles, Pac-Man and Wizard of Wor? Give up? You get PAC-WOR!

If you are a fan of Pac-Man or Wizard of Wor (or both), this Commodore 64 mash-up by Krissz will be right up your alley. The mix of gameplay is closer to Pac-Man than Wizard of Wor, but that just makes it more exciting and devilishly harder. Playing as Pac-Man (Pacwor) means you can’t shoot the Burwors/Garwors/Throwors, instead you have one power pill (poWOR) per dungeon which enables Pacwor to chew these evildoers within a limited time frame. Clearing the dungeons is usual Pac-Man fare, eat all the pills!

This is a cool mashup which we like, but we just wish there was more than one power pill per dungeon, especially in the latter ones where the Burwors and their evil mates speed up their movements!

Download and play Pac-Wor for free via CSDB.



Blast From The Past: A Video Of A 1980s Arcade

By

What an absolute blast from the past this is! We absolutely love raw VHS video footage, especially the kind from the early 1980s!

We commend the Bally’s Aladdin’s Castle employee that had the foresight to film inside the arcade centre, filled with absolute classic arcade and pinball machines, that one day this video would be cherished by a generation (or two) of gamers across the globe! This is what a throwback Thursday should be like every week.

Sit back and enjoy this 15 minute trip down nostalgia lane…..


source: Jon Exidy Jamshid



Born To Play Pac-Man

By

Christopher Lloyd’s Reverend Jim “Iggy” Ignatowski character is in fine form in this classic scene with Danny DeVito’s Louie De Palma from popular TV series, Taxi.

Christopher Llyod was definitely born to play Pac-Man 😉



Very Cool Tabletop Arcade Cabinets

By

Check out these amazing tabletop arcade cabinets created by Hidecade!

According to Hidecade, the Xevious tabletop arcade is complete with a vertical screen and a JAMMA harness – which is totally mind-blowing! Oh how we wish these were for sale 😉

source: Arcade Cabinets on ameblo.jp



Ausretrogamer Is 10 Years Old!

By

Who would have thought that when we first started ausretrogamer.com in January 2012 that 10 years later we would still be here! Time certainly flies when you are having fun.

Today marks a major milestone for us at ausretrogamer as we have reached the magical decade mark! When starting our site and social media channels in 2012, we honestly didn’t have any expectations that we would still be around in 2022 – but we are glad that we are!

We have been pleasantly surprised over the years to find so many like-minded people who enjoy playing and talking about all the stuff we love, from obscure video games from the 1970s to those schoolyard-type discussions on which 8-bit computer was best (we all know it was the Commodore 64!).

Ausretrogamer has also allowed us to meet a lot of you in real life, either at events like PAX Aus or local pinball competitions or computing club events – which have been a priceless experience. We are humbled to call all of you our good friends. Nostalgia is a powerful force that binds us all – long may it continue!

To all the awesome folks that have contributed and to those that are still contributing content and everyone that engages with us, thank you very much – you all rock our world!

Looking forward to another decade full of retro gaming (and pinball) goodness! 😉