The Pop-Culture E-Zine
Another jaw-dropping creation by the French modder OktoRetroLab, posted by Recalbox, this time, the mod is a fusion of an old Tiger Electronics handheld and a Famicom – making a pretty cool FAMIGER!
We reckon it’s the perfect use of a Tiger Electronics handheld 😉
source: Recalbox / OktoRetroLab
The Nintendo Switch is still our go to contemporary gaming system, so when we see clever peeps injecting nostalgia with their Switch, we definitely take note!
One such clever peep, Imokruok has created two cool casemod docks for his Nintendo Switch, one based on the 8-bit NES and the other on the 16-bit SNES, albeit the North American version 😉
The best part is that Imokruok has documented these creations in step by step photos, so make sure you check out the full compliment of pics in the above Imgur links. Oh yeah, check out the video of the NES Switch dock builds process below:
NES Switch dock (build pics in comments) from r/NintendoSwitch
Donor SNES case – it all begins!
The completed SNES Switch dock – it’s a beauty
The NES case mod – it all has to start somewhere!
The finished product!
image source: Imgur
Whoa, LEGO and Nintendo have given us a one two punch of sets – first with their LEGO Super Mario, and now, the awesome LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System set!
This awesome LEGO NES set will be available from August 1 and will retail for AU$349.99. You’ll now be able to assemble your own console and retro CRT TV, then turn the crank to make 8-bit Super Mario move across the screen! We are excited 🙂
source: LEGO
We promised no more Kickstarters, but this FunKey S – the world’s smallest handheld gaming system, has grabbed us by the scruff off the neck and it ain’t letting go!
You can relax with the question about funding, the FunKey S is already well and truly funded – by a long shot! Right, let’s get straight to it – if you want a retro gaming system small enough to fit on your keyring so that it can be taken anywhere, then the FunKey S is your jam. The FunKey S features a clam-shell design, just like the classic GameBoy Advance SP. Once opened, it greets you with a 1.54″ IPS LCD screen and a D-pad style controller. This teensy little beast is no slouch, with an ARM Cortex-A7 CPU @ 1.2 GHz under the hood. Playtime is roughly 90 minutes on a 20 minute charge, which is pretty decent too.
Most importantly, the games are loaded via its SD card slot, supporting memory cards up to 128GB, which should be enough for pretty much every retro game under the sun – which bring us to the shady part. To play NES, SNES, Game Boy (Original, Color, GBA), Sega Master System, Sega Genesis / Megadrive, Sega Game Gear, Atari Lynx, Playstation, WonderSwan and Neo Geo Pocket games, you will have to hunt for ROMs in some pretty murky areas on the web, which is kinda not so legal.
If you are craving to play classic video games on the go, then you can’t really go past this small and very cute foldable handheld!
story & image source: technabob
Let’s start by saying we don’t condone illegal graffiti. However, when graffiti is welcomed as street art and makes a societal impact, we definitely take note.
The /r/Graffiti Reddit thread is one place that is full of great graffiti, some topical with recent events, and some tugging on our nostalgic heartstrings.
Here are a few that caught our eye, even the freight train carriage with the three-button NES controller! Check out the rest on Reddit.
image source: reddit – /r/Graffiti
So how much storage space would it take to store every Nintendo video game (from the stable of their major consoles) that can be emulated?
Don’t worry about trying to work out the answer, as Reddit user, RHYTHM_GMZ, has already done all the hard work for us.
You’ll need roughly 7.53TB (yep, that’s TERABYTES!) of space to be able to emulate every darn Nintendo video game! With the Wii making up 6.56TB of the 7.53TB total, you may want to know the breakdown of the rest of the Nintendo game libraries, so here you go:
For those of you that prefer to visualise these figures, we have you covered – see below!
NOTE: Games libraries based on the uncompressed NTSC versions
[story source: RHYTHM_GMZ via Reddit]
By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.
Metroid’s Mother Brain is considered one of the most diabolical she-villains in video game history.
When I was a kid, I was obsessed with defeating Mother Brain every time I put my Metroid cartridge into my Nintendo Entertainment System. It took me a while to finally defeat her, and when I did, I wondered if Mother Brain had a backstory. How did she get to possess such vast power?
When I would play the original Metroid, I found Mother Brain fascinating. In later Metroid games, we got a little backstory on Mother Brain, but none of it seemed that imaginative. The original design of Mother Brain was the best. All of the designs in later games, especially in Super Metroid, when Mother Brain looked like a brain with a grotesque chicken body, were slightly extreme and almost silly. In the original Metroid, Mother Brain was captivating and menacing by just sitting in a glass jar, controlling the game like a puppet master. When I would defeat Mother Brain, my imagination would run wild. Was what we saw in the jar her original or real form?
image source: Samolo via Deviantart
Metroid was not the easiest game to beat. It took me several tries before I finally completed the game. I wasn’t an expert at the game like my brother. It took him just a day or two to defeat Mother Brain. Then he would usually move on to another game and beat that before me as well.
In the video game magazines of the time, like Nintendo Power, they never really went into much depth when it came to the iconic, she-villain. But the early games didn’t tell as much about Mother Brain either. It must’ve been a boring existence, just sitting there in a protective glass jar, ruling the planet, hoping that a bounty hunter wouldn’t come along and destroy you. However, she did have an army of henchmen protecting her. Villains in other major games at the time were primarily male and mostly on the beefy side.
Mother Brain was engrossing because she was so different from all of the other heavy villains in video games. Mother Brain is one of the reasons Metroid is a classic NES game.
image source: metroid.fandom.com
Grab your hat and whip, it’s time to venture into the jungle in Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan, out now from the team at COLLECTORVISION Entertainment.
In Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan players take control of an explorer that has stumbled into a Mayan temple just as the calendar has come to a finish and the unluckiest days begin. The feared deity Kukulkan has decided that he wishes to freeze time and only an outsider can foil his plans and fulfil the prophecy. To save the world and time as we know it, Sydney must reconstruct the Mayan calendar that has been divided into several segments and spread out to various god’s temples. Spanning over 11 different temples and facing 13 Mayan gods, players will have their work cut out for them in this epic quest.
Feeling very much like a love letter to the NES and its 8-Bit heritage, Sydney Hunter feels fantastic to control and responds exactly how players would expect an action adventure game to feel from that time period. Visuals are limited but always feel very rich and vibrant, lots of contrast means that there is rarely a boring screen and something fresh and interesting is always going on. Traversing each temple and discovering how each one works and its secrets, really feels like setting off on an adventure every time. Boss fights are simple, elegant and to the point, meaning that having to retry a failed battle never feels like a chore. Various items to find that will allow access to new areas as the game progresses, each one adding unique elements to the gameplay.
There is some fantastic humour sprinkled throughout that really adds to the charm and ensures that the game never takes itself too seriously. The soundtrack is also comprised of multiple beautiful chiptune tracks that really hit that nostalgic sweet spot and will easily get players humming along. Between the secrets scattered about in each temple and 2 different endings to see, there is plenty of reason to keep playing and discover everything Sydney Hunter has to offer.
Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan is a wonderfully charming and beautifully simple “Metroidvania” game that is sure to have players both old and new captivated. A must have title on whatever is your system of choice!
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Mat Panek, Chief Reporter
Retromancer – Collector, repairer & fan of retro games & tech. Atari to Amiga, Nintendo to Sega! LD, Zip, Beta and a proud dad! One half of the TiredParents on Twitch.
Follow Mat on Twitter and Twitch
Disclosure: Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan [Nintendo Switch eShop code] was kindly provided by Novy PR for this review.
This Nintendo (NES) M-82 store display kiosk on eBay is rare as rocking horse poop, hence the hefty price!
For those that never saw one in the flesh, the Nintendo M82 was a demo kiosk to showcase the NES and its games. The kiosk held 12 games and was used to let people play the latest games in store before they made a purchasing decision. The kiosk also had functionality to time limit play to ensure everyone got a chance to play some 8-bit console awesomeness.
Now, where did we leave that $51,000……
source: eBay
When it comes to children and gaming, there’s a constant debate. Lots of kids love to play video games and often their caring parents see the pastime as less than desirable. They’d prefer their children to be playing outside, taking in fresh air and learning skills that will set them up for life. But in today’s world, gaming is actually rich with benefits for children. Research has proven multiple brain boosting advantages of gaming such as improved coordination, memory, problem solving, concentration and social skills.
Today’s parents probably have happy memories of playing jump rope, pat-a-cake and conkers outdoors with their friends, and they naturally want their kids to have the same experiences. But no doubt they also enjoyed the delights of Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt from time to time too. There’s nothing like a bit of nostalgia. And that’s why Climadoor have imagined what it would be like if classic childhood pastimes were made into 8-bit video games. This mash up would satisfy parents and children alike, and we think it would create hours of fun!
Conkers is a playground staple in Britain and is sometimes knows as ‘Kingers’ in other parts of the world. Hours of fun can be had using a conker on a string to defeat those of your friends and foes. Many schools have deemed the game a concern as flinging around hard objects can be damaging, but there’s no such risk with the videogame.
Conkers Kid – Playground Revenge II would be packed with features. Start by choosing your best conker and level up by defeating your opponents. Perfect your swing and blast your way to success!
Jump rope or skipping takes skill, co-ordination and physical endurance. Kids all over the world engage in the game and some master complex patterns and multiple ropes.
If this is a little too sedate for you, try jump rope master. You’ll be reborn as an agile ninja to help you leap over ropes whilst also avoiding the dangers of fireballs and flame throwers.
Kerby (also known as Kurby or Curby) is a British childhood street game that’s simple in nature. Opponents stand on opposite sides of the street and throw a ball aimed at the curb on the other side. The aim is to catch the ball again on the rebound. Despite sounding easy, there are plenty of hazards to dodge like traffic, cyclists and pedestrians. Not to mention keeping balls clear of the neighbours parked cars and windows…suddenly playing outside has turned into a parent’s nightmare, oh, the worry!
It’s time to break out mega Kerby – Sidewalk III. All the thrill with less of the danger. Throw, dodge, win the game. All without the risk of real traffic or angry neighbours!
A classic party game, musical chairs causes fun, tension and drama as kids clamber to grab a free chair when the music stops. There’s always one less chair than needed to eliminate players until one eventually wins. Who will be victorious? Often the one that cheats the most!
Let’s translate this into the galaxy where chairs float in space to futuristic music. Put all arguments and cheating aside and focus on your speed and agility to get that chair and remain king or queen of the galaxy.
This sedate playground game sees participants clapping their hands in time to a rhyme, great for co-ordination and rhythm. But why not up the excitement level with Pat-A-Cake Wars? Bake a cake as fast as you can, compete against opponents and triumph over the bad guys.
A game first played together by Winnie The Pooh and his friends is now popular with children and adults alike. Choose your stick and drop it into a stream or river, you’ll win if your stick is first under the bridge! The fun doesn’t last for long though, and soon your stick will drift away.
Not with Pooh Sticks Racer! This high-octane game lets you navigate obstacles and rapids to keep your stick in pole position until the end of the race. Watch out for rocks, waves and branches that are set on hindering your progress, as well as other opponents!
Another classic playground game that lives in the hearts of children around the world. This one is such an institution, there was even a film made about it! You might know it as tig, it, tiggy, touch and go or chasey but the principle is always the same. The player who is ‘it’ chases other players until they can touch or ‘tag’ them, which turns them into the chaser and so on.
Tag Man tests your skill, requiring you to do whatever it takes to avoid the chaser. Find power ups to increase your speed, special invisibility powers and more. Just don’t get caught!
We hope you’ll agree, this mash-up between childhood games and 8-bit video games takes us all back to happy times gone by.