The Pop-Culture E-Zine
On this day (July 9) in 1981, Nintendo unleashed Donkey Kong in the arcades! Since then, millions of gamers have fallen in love with the great Nintendo gorilla. DK (as he is affectionately known) has gone from being the villain to now being the hero.
From humble beginnings – kidnapping Pauline and throwing barrels at a plumber, DK has come a long way and truly grown up. He has definitely kept us all entertained. Happy Birthday big fella!
What is your favourite DK game?
Image source: Cheezburger
The Retro Duo Portable V2.0: another clone system to satisfy your nostalgic hunger. These so-called ‘clones’ are fast growing in popularity. Companies like Hyperkin and Retro-Bit have capitalised on the popularity of retro gaming by producing systems that can play your old console cartridges.
Retro-Bit is having a second crack at this caper by creating the Retro Duo Portable (RDP) V2.0 – a portable (to an extent) unit that plays SNES carts from any region without hacking or modifications. The RDP V2.0 is also capable of playing NES carts using the bundled RetroPort adapter, which sticks out like a sore thumb. The RDP V2.0 can also play Sega Mega Drive / Genesis cartridges using the RetroGEN adapter, which is sold separately.
Retro-Bit’s first attempt at hardware console creation was modest. The screen wasn’t too flash, the unit felt cheap and games compatibility was limited. They have learned from the experience and introduced a number of improvements for V2.0. These include: upgraded LCD screen, crisper sound, improved D-pad and button layout, better battery life (Lithium-ion) with LED indicator and most importantly, enhanced game cartridge compatibility.
The RDP V2.0 comes in a slick looking package. Inside you will find a vast amount of gear – the console itself, a plastic stand, TV/AV connection cable, power supply unit, RetroPort adapter, a controller hub and two SuperRetro controllers (which can also be used on your SNES!).
After playing with the unit for a number of hours (on one battery charge!), here are our thoughts:
The unit feels sturdy in hand and has a nice soft coating. It doesn’t suffer from that cheap feel you get from other ‘clones’.
The D-pad and button layout is identical to a SNES pad, so you should feel right at home. However, the shoulder buttons do let the controls down as they are too close to the cartridge slot, but this is only a minor niggle. The external control pads are great to use if you intend on hooking the RDP V2.0 up to a TV, or if you use them natively on your SNES.
We did have a few compatibility issues with the Super FX SNES games, but overall we were pleased with Retro-Bit’s claim of improved compatibility.
Using the RetroPort adapter to play your NES carts basically renders the unit ‘un-portable’. The adapter sticks out above the unit which looks damn ugly. But hey, if you want to play your native old NES carts, you will put up with this unsightliness. Playing the RDP V2.0 with the RetroPort adapter definitely got attention on public transport.
The improved LCD screen is better than the original RDP (it has an increased pixel count), but it has a long way to go. You still have to ‘angle’ or ‘tilt’ the unit to get the best visibility, which gets annoying after a while. There is a contrast reset button which has three preset contrast settings for brightness. The clarity is average when compared to modern handhelds; but considering the price of the unit, it is understandable.
The beefing up of the sound is great in theory, however we did find the sound became distorted at maximum volume with a distinct ‘crackling’ on certain games (Super Smash TV). The sound was fine when playing with headphones, however the placement of the headphone jack should have been placed on the side of the unit, not on top (it gets in the way!).
Should you rush out and buy the Retro Duo Portable V2.0? It depends, if you are happy emulating (legally) your 8-bit and 16-bit Sega or Nintendo games, then the answer is no. However, if you want a system that you can plug in your library of SNES, NES and Mega Drive carts, then the RDP V2.0 is perfect. The other plus to owning the RDP V2.0 is that you will safeguard your Sega and Nintendo hardware from further abuse, and let’s face it, these old consoles won’t last forever!
Verdict: If you like the sound of a console that can play your SNES and NES cartridges out of the box, then check this unit out.
March 1996 saw the release of the brilliant Coen brothers movie, Fargo. In the same month, we were bopping away to Take That’s “How deep is your love” (we did?!) and the Prodigy’s “Firestarter” (that’s more like it!).
The Sega Mega Drive and Saturn were embroiled in their own 16-bit vs 32-bit war, while Nintendo’s SNES was being stretched to it’s maximum capability.
These were the top games that had us glued to our consoles in March 1996:
 |
1) Donkey Kong Country 2 (Nintendo) |
| 2) Yoshi’s Island (Nintendo) | |
| 3) Killer Instinct (Nintendo) | |
| 4) FIFA Soccer ’96 (EA) | |
| 5) Street Racer (Ubisoft) |
 |
1) FIFA Soccer ’96 (EA) |
| 2) Premier Manager (Sega) | |
| 3) Sonic & Knuckles (Sega) | |
| 4) Micro Machines ’96 (Codemasters) | |
| 5) Mickey Mania (Sony) |
 |
1) Virtua Fighter 2 (Sega) |
| 2) FIFA Soccer ’96 | |
| 3) Firestorm: Thunderhawk 2 (Core Design) | |
| 4) Virtua Cop (Sega) | |
| 5) Daytona USA (Sega) |
For those of us born in the 1970’s, we have fond memories of Gunpei Yokoi’s wondrous Game & Watch series – from the various handhelds to the wrist watches that had mini versions of Nintendo games. The games on these watches were a pared down version of their console or handheld counterparts, but hey, who cared, they looked cool on your wrist.
Fast forward to the present, and these watches still attract attention. Their nostalgic value is not measured in currency, but in smiles from onlookers. The conversations that these watches generate are a sure fire way to meet interesting people, from retro gamers to the curious diner sitting at the next table.
If the Game & Watch wrist watches are too child like for you, then perhaps the Fossil ‘Atari Asteroids’ limited edition is more up your alley. These watches had a limited run (5000 to be exact) and are therefore getting harder to source. Unfortunately, the ‘Asteroids’ game is not playable on these watches, it merely serves as a demo for this contemporary time piece.
If you are into watches of the video gaming kind, then these time pieces are a cool way to tell the time and provide some gaming relief (excluding the Asteroids watch!) if you are stuck on the road without your handheld or smartphone.
Ever had a jingle stuck in your head? I know I have with Super Mario Bros. That happy little tune has been entrenched in the deepest corner of my brain since the mid 1980s. Seems like I am not the only one.
After watching Trudbol & Nick McKaig’s Super Mario Bros Acapella rendition, I know I am not alone with this jingle replaying in my brain. What have you done to us Koji Kondo!
Being a Nintendo fan, I had to share this video. YouTube crew Retro Game Addict, has produced an awesome video depicting every Nintendo gaming system in chronological order – from Gunpei’s fabulous Game & Watch series through to the current generation Wii U console! The soundtrack is pretty funky too.
Survival of the fittest or just plain bad business decisions. Just as Betamax was left in the wake of the VHS behemoth, the video games market is strewn with carcasses of systems and games that just never made it.
Some of history’s most spectacular gaming console flops come from two of the industry’s heavy hitters, Atari and Sega. The hardware manufacturing death knell was getting quite loud at Atari – they decided to throw in the towel and quit making games consoles after the Atari Jaguar was caught in the crossfire of the Sega versus Nintendo battle of the 1990s. The Jaguar was rushed to market and suffered the consequences. Selling fewer than 250,000 units just wasn’t going to cut it. Perhaps Atari should have done the math (get it!) before they embarked on the Jaguar.
A few years after Atari ceased making hardware, it was Sega’s turn to wave the console making white flag. Once a pillar of the video games console industry, Sega’s Dreamcast was met with initial enthusiasm but Sega also abandoned making consoles after the Dreamcast was smashed by the new kid on the block, Sony’s PlayStation 2.
As for gaming flops, Atari’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial takes the gong. The game was rushed (it took 5 weeks to develop) to retail stores for the 1982 Christmas season but was such a disappointment, that millions of unsold game cartridges ended up in landfill in the New Mexico desert. Atari ordered more E.T. cartridges to be made than there were installed Atari VCS 2600 units! Again, Atari should have DONE THE MATH.
Let’s rewind back to March 1981, dead smack in the middle of a thriving arcade age and a killer home console scene. These were heady times for Atari – they were dominating the arcades and the home video games market.
To find out what we were playing as youngsters, here are the top 5 games from March 1981 for the Atari 2600, Arcade and the venerable Game & Watch.
 |
1) Dragster (Activision) |
| 2) Pele’s Soccer (Atari) | |
| 3) Video Pinball (Atari) | |
| 4) Fishing Derby (Activision) | |
| 5) Golf (Atari) |
 |
1) Pac-Man (Namco) |
| 2) Missile Command (Atari) | |
| 3) Battlezone (Atari) | |
| 4) Defender (Williams Electronics) | |
| 5) Space Panic (Universal) |
 |
1) Fire (Nintendo) |
| 2) Manhole (Nintendo) | |
| 3) Helmet (Nintendo) | |
| 4) Vermin (Nintendo) | |
| 5) Flagman (Nintendo) |
My bucket list is quite extensive. Amongst the usual things to do or see once in a life time, I managed to cross-off the big one – visiting the Nintendo World Store in New York City! Not only did I visit it once, I returned many times to soak it all in and stock up on Nintendo products. I even managed to take a load of photos and video for all you to enjoy – browse at your leisure over here. [Read more…] about Nintendo World Store
Have you ever wanted to create your own ‘Mario’ themed birthday party? If you are a fan of Nintendo’s mustachioed plumber, then of course you would.
For those of you that are into arts and crafts, or even a budding DIY’er, you are in luck. Head over to giverslog and check out the cute Mario inspired gear you can make for your next birthday party. The kids (and even adults) will love it.