The Pop-Culture E-Zine
We are hooked at trawling the LEGO Ideas site and finding wonderful creations, just like this Banjo-Kazooie action figure and the Planet Express delivery ship from Futurama.
We have voted and now have our fingers and toes crossed.
image source: LEGO Ideas
This is a call to action for all lovers of Lego and retro gaming to head to the Lego Ideas site and vote for the Lego Outrun and Lego Pac-Man Action Figure!
What are you waiting for, go and vote!
image source: Lego Ideas
Casting our mind back to November 1990, we recall walking into our local family run Home and Entertainment Centre with our hard earned money (from pushing trolleys at our part-time job) to be faced with a dilemma of what new gaming console to buy for the new decade. This decision wasn’t taken lightly, as we had been 8 and 16-bit computer gamers till that point. We remember paying $399.99 for the Sega Mega Drive (Altered Beast pack-in) that day and another $100 for Golden Axe. Let’s just say that it was the best decision we ever made. We instantly fell in love with Sega’s 16-Bit console and that love affair is still as strong as ever.
Fast forward to the present day and the excitement of bringing home a mini version of Sega’s venerable console feels just the same as it did almost 29 years ago! Cracking open the box, we found a super cute shrunken Mega Drive Mini console, about 55% the size of the original Model 1 Mega Drive, two 3-button USB controllers, one HDMI cable and one USB to Micro-B power cable.
Being a genuine made Sega product, everything feels high quality. You can tell that Sega took a lot of care and poured their heart and souls into crafting this sleek and miniaturised Mega Drive. We love the attention to detail, like the cartridge flaps retracting, but obviously they are there for aesthetics, so you can put away your game carts. The headphone volume slider feels the same, albeit on a smaller scale, as do the reset button and on/off switch – it all feels very familiar, which is a good thing. The 3-button controllers are identical to the ones we had in 1990, except these are USB, not D-Pin connected. On that front, it would have been great if Sega had included 6-button controllers so that we could play games like Street Fighter II right out of the box. But don’t dwell on this, as you can use the Retro-Bit® 6-button controllers on this Mini.
Once the Mega Drive Mini was fired up, we were keen to start playing one of the 42 pre-loaded games (full list of games further down). The menu we were presented with was quite easy to navigate, with an awesome catchy tune created on the YM2612 sound chip by legendary composer Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage and Beyond Oasis). Knowing that the pre-loaded titles from both first-party and third-party development teams were all handled by the premier developer, M2 (SEGA AGES and SEGA 3D Classics Collection), a team renowned for high attention to detail and accuracy, we knew the games ported to the Mega Drive Mini were in good hands – the M2 team should be commended for their brilliant effort. Oh yeah, both Tetris and Darius make it in the overall games list, which means the Mega Drive Mini is the only console where you’ll be able to play these two newly published Mega Drive games – how cool is that?!
Just like in 1990, the first game we fired up was Golden Axe. The hit of nostalgia was purely intoxicating. Our muscle memory didn’t let us down, so playing the game was just as fun as it was back then. However, unlike back then, we could now save our game at any point to come back to it later – so no more pesky pausing for 24 hours and running a high power bill. The game playing experience felt authentic, even if playing on a modern television. Having said that, there are settings available to change the aspect ratio (4:3 or 16:9) and for those of you that want the same visual experience from three decades ago, there is a CRT filter, which adds scan lines and adjusts the colour of the display to emulate the look and feel of a CRT television (see photos of this further below) – it’s pure magic.
Lovingly crafted from the ground up, the sleek and miniature SEGA Mega Drive Mini is for all retro gamers, especially those that have fond memories playing the original 16-bit console back in the day. Sega have truly delivered a high-quality, plug-and-play, collectable version of their awesome console. As their famous slogan once said, and it still rings true now, “To be this good takes AGES, To be this good takes SEGA.”
If you want to see the Sega Mega Drive Mini in the flesh, we will have it available in our Classic Gaming area at PAX Aus 2019. The Sega Mega Drive Mini will be released on September 19 at a retail price of AU$139.95.
The Mega Drive Mini 42 pre-loaded titles:
1. Sonic the Hedgehog
2. Ecco the Dolphin
3. Castlevania: The New Generation
4. Space Harrier 2
5. Shining Force
6. Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
7. ToeJam & Earl
8. Comix Zone
9. Altered Beast
10. Gunstar Heroes
11. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
12. World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
13. Thunder Force III
14. Super Fantasy Zone
15. Shinobi III
16. Streets of Rage 2
17. Earthworm Jim
18. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
19. Probotector
20. Landstalker
21. Mega Man®: The Wily Wars
22. Street Fighter II’®: Special Champion Edition
23. Ghouls ‘n Ghosts®
24. Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
25. The Story of Thor
26. Golden Axe
27. Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
28. Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball
29. Vectorman
30. Wonder Boy in Monster World
31. Tetris®
32. Darius
33. Road Rash II
34. Strider
35. Virtua Fighter 2
36. Alisia Dragoon
37. Kid Chameleon
38. Monster World IV
39. Eternal Champions
40. Columns
41. Dynamite Headdy
42. Light Crusader
Disclosure: The Sega Mega Drive Mini was kindly provided by Five Star Games 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
Yes, another pinball related post. Ohhhh c’mon, it’s not that bad, we promise you’ll enjoy this one too!
As we are (a tad) obsessed with pinball, when we found out that pinball and LEGO go really well together, we had to let you know what we had found. If you are a talented and mechanically minded LEGO creator, like Teun de Wijs (aka: YouTuber TonyFlow76), you build a fully kinetic depiction of a pinball player flipping one of the greatest machines of all time, Attack From Mars!
For those that want to delve under the covers, Teun states that he used a few new techniques to build this awesomeness:
Hopefully Teun submits this to LEGO Ideas – we’d vote the heck out of it. Anyway, all we can say is, press play and return to battle soldier!
source: TonyFlow76
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.
Check out this one of a kind TMNT SNES Party Wagon console created by Jarno Kotavuopio (aka: JRN33). Surely this would be the first Turtles SNES Party Wagon in the world?!
We love everything about this, from the headlights and passenger compartments lighting up, working tail lights, glass windows, to the steering wheel, the secret battle button “Turtle Power” and the original car parts!
But wait, there is more – the POWER and RESET buttons are located on top just in front of the controller ports and the top loading cart slot. The power and audio/video cables plug into jacks mounted on the back of the van. To ensure completeness, there are matching custom painted controllers and game cartridge. Jarno informs us that all stickers on the controllers, game carts and wagon are custom made (with the exception of the TMNT logo).
Turtle SNES power!
source: Jacki33 via Deviantart
It is quite obvious that Nintendo’s old school console make for very good toasters. Or should that be, toasters make for very good old school Nintendo consoles?
Whichever way you look at it, Nintendo’s classic consoles go hand in hand with toasters as we have shown here on previous occasions. This latest creation by Finnish artistic modder Jarno Kotavuopio (aka: Jaki33) is his second Nintoaster that he has built.
This Nintoaster does everything that a regular NES consoles does, it can play 8-bit NES video games, it has a power and reset buttons, LED brightness control, and of course a matching controller that tops off this very cool creation. The only thing it won’t do is toast your bread. Hmm, we can’t have it all 😉
source: jarnok33
[via: technabob]
We love old toys and video game catalogues. We have previously featured the Toys “R” Us 1996 Christmas catalogue and the hefty 830+ page 1992 Christmas Sears, Roebuck & Co. ‘The Great American Wish Book’ to tickle your nostalgic nerve.
Well, now we present you with the 1991 Toys “R” Us (US) catalogue that features classic toys and some very classic video gaming systems that will definitely jolt your nostalgic nerve. Enjoy!
source: eBay
NFSA turns into Australia’s biggest video game arcade, featuring world’s greatest designers, characters & 100+ playable games!
Following a 6-year international tour and more than 1 million visitors, Game Masters: The Exhibition will return to Australia and make its Canberra debut at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) from 27 September 2019 – 9 March 2020. The ultimate experience for gamers and families alike, Game Masters has been updated to include the latest gaming blockbusters as well as Australian creations.
Game Masters is an interactive journey through five decades of video game history, offering both a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind the world’s most popular characters and franchises, and a chance to play them. Featuring interviews, never-before-seen concept artwork, an amazing display of vintage consoles and collectable items, and more than 100 playable games, visitors won’t want to leave!
No matter whether you played Pong at the local milk bar in the 70s, or spent last night playing Fortnite on your phone, Game Masters has something for everyone: from the arcade era through to today’s eighth generation consoles and mobile game technology, and from the most popular video games on the planet to independent games with a cult-like following.
image source: Game Masters: The Exhibition Melbourne 2012
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDED IN GAME MASTERS: THE EXHIBITION
The first section, Arcade Heroes spotlights pioneering designers from the trailblazing and revolutionary arcade era, including Shigeru Miyamoto (Donkey Kong, 1981), Ed Logg (Asteroids, 1979), Masanobu Endo (Xevious, 1982), Toru Iwatani (Pac-Man, 1980), Eugene Jarvis (Defender, 1980) and Tomohiro Nishikado (Space Invaders, 1978). During this period designers were not always recorded for posterity, as was the case for the featured games Scramble, 1981 developed by Konami and Elevator Action, 1983 developed by Taito.
Leading contemporary designers who have had a major impact on shaping the medium as we know it feature in the second section, Game Changers, including Blizzard Entertainment (Diablo III, 2012), Paulina Bozek (SingStar, 2004), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Sega Rally Championship, 1995), Peter Molyneux OBE (Fable III, 2010), Yuji Naka and the Sonic Team (Sonic the Hedgehog, 1991), Sega (Alex Kidd in Miracle World, 1986), Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy (Rock Band 4, 2015), Tim Schafer (Broken Age, 2014), Yu Suzuki (Hang On, 1983), TT Games (LEGO Batman 3: beyond Gotham, 2014) and Will Wright (SimCity, 1989).
The third chapter of the exhibition, Indies explores the pioneering and future-focussed world of independent game designers. Artists such as Jonathan Blow (Braid, 2008), Capy (Critter Crunch, 2008), Ken Wong (Florence, 2018), Halfbrick (Fruit Ninja Kinect, 2011), Masaya Matsuura (PaRappa the Rapper, 1996), Markus ‘Notch’ Persson (Minecraft, 2014), Rovio (Angry Birds, 2009), Bennett Foddy (Getting Over It, 2017), thatgamecompany (Journey, 2012), and The Behemoth (Castle Crashers, 2008) are profiled in this section.
Game Masters also features unique experiences such as a spectacular multiplayer dance stage for Dance Central 3 (2012), hands-on experiential music booths and a selection of original classic arcade machines from the 1970s and ’80s acquired especially for the exhibition, all playable in their original form.
Game Masters: The Exhibition will be open to the public from 27 September 2019 to 9 March 2020 at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) in Canberra. A program of special events and screenings will complement the exhibition for the duration of the season. Tickets will be available from 9 August 2019; audiences can sign up for Game Masters updates and special VIP ticket offers here.
