AUSRETROGAMER

Australia's Retro Gaming and Pinball E-Zine

You are here: Home / Archives for Retro Gaming

Retro Gaming

It’s-a me, LEGO Super Mario

By

With everything going on in the world right now, you’d be forgiven for missing some big (geeky) news. Thanks to our friends (Phil and Kristy – you guys rock!), we’ve been informed that Lego will be releasing a new playset and characters based on Nintendo’s coveted franchise, Super Mario!

The below video hints at what fans can expect when LEGO Super Mario launches later this year, showing a player using an interactive Mario figure collecting coins in a real-life game level that has been created with LEGO bricks.


source: ProsafiaGaming

Reading through the press release, this passage made us get quite giddy,

“Neither a video game nor a traditional LEGO brick-based set, LEGO® Super Mario™ is a new product line that features an interactive LEGO Mario figure who collects coins in real-life game levels created with LEGO bricks. The new line will let kids experience the playful world of Super Mario like never before.”

To say we are excited would be the biggest understatement of 2020! We can’t wait for this to be released (later this year)!

source: Lego

Arcade Archives P.O.W. PRISONERS OF WAR

By

Oh yeah! One of our favourite SNK arcade games from the late 80s, P.O.W.: Prisoners Of War, is now incarcerated on the Nintendo Switch and PS4!

This side-scrolling beat’em up was a staple for us in the arcade. Once you lit the fuse to break free from your jail cell, then all hell broke loose as you punched, kicked, jumped and shot your way out to freedom by taking out the enemy’s main base and their leader. Getting to the chopper didn’t get better than this. The best part of the game was having a buddy with you (Player 2) to play co-op and cause as much havoc and mayhem in your prison break adventure!

We are quite chuffed to now be able line up our coins to play P.O.W. Prisoners Of War on our Switch, either on the go or on our humongous LCD TV to take in all that raster graphics goodness!

Title: Arcade Archives P.O.W. PRISONERS OF WAR
Platform: Nintendo Switch™/PlayStation®4
Price: from US$7.99 / £6.29 / AU$10.50
Players: 1-2

image source: HAMSTER Co. Arcade Archives

 

Celebrating the Nintendo 64

By

We love celebrating anniversaries, especially the big milestones like new consoles that were released in Australia!

With that said, on this day [March 1] in 1997, Nintendo officially released the Nintendo 64 in Australia (and other PAL regions, like Europe).

We actually bought the Nintendo 64 on day one and immediately were hooked on Super Mario 64 and the fog-riddled Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. Once we played Wave Race 64 and later on, Mario Kart 64, we knew we made the right decision (and our PS1 was quickly packed away in favour of the N64!).

The Nintendo 64 provided many highlights for us, including all-night gaming sessions with friends and family – that GoldenEye 007 was an addiction y’all (and still is)!

We could go on and on about the Nintendo 64, but we would love to hear your memories about Nintendo’s last cartridge based console – hit us up on Twitter or Facebook.

Game Over: Hardest Video Games Ever

By

Even though I have been gaming for over three decades, I am still your average gamer. The 80s arcade games definitely toughened me and sharpened my skills, but there were some games that no matter how sharp I was, I could never beat them.

The following list of wickedly difficult games is an admission of sorts that I never got to see the end credits. Heck, I don’t even think I saw more than a few levels (without cheating) on any of these games.

What are some of your most hardest games ever played? Let us know via Twitter or Facebook.

OUR HARDEST GAMES LIST

Contra / Gryzor / Probotector

Ghosts’n Goblins

Mega Man

Battletoads

Bionic Commando

Green Beret / Rush’n Attack

Impossible Mission

Robotron:2084

Rolling Thunder

Defender

Robocop

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

ESWAT: Ciyt Under Siege

Slap Fight

Hellfire

Rick Dangerous

Airwolf

Paperboy

Game Over

 

Getting To Grips with Sega Pocket Arcade

By

They may have been a bit late to the handheld LCD party (which Nintendo’s Game & Watch series were the life of that party), but Sega did manage to leverage their might by offering some of their iconic arcade games to be ported to the Pocket Arcade platform.

The Pocket Arcade (LCD based) series of games were developed by everyone’s favourite LCD gaming manufacturer (Ed: tongue firmly in cheek!), Tiger Electronics.  Under license by Sega, Tiger Electronics made the Pocket Arcade series from (about) 1994 till 1997. These LCD based games were primarily sold in North America, meaning that they are scarce anywhere else. Being Tiger, many of the Pocket Arcade games in the series were reskinned versions of previous LCD games, but there were quite a few that were new.

image source: eBay

One of the unique features to set the Pocket Arcade games from their LCD gaming brethren is the ‘conceal and reveal’ feature. The clam-shell keeps the game safe (and off) in your pocket, so once you are ready to play, just hit the button to flip, pop or pivot the screen, which also turns on the game. When you are done playing, just close the unit and stick it back in your pocket.

So what Sega Pocket Games games could you get? Here is the series list, thanks to Sega Retro. Don’t all raid eBay at once!

Red cover series:

  • Amazing Sonic
  • Sega Sports Baseball
  • Bug!
  • Ecco the Dolphin
  • Eternal Champions: Special Moves Edition
  • Sega Sports Football
  • Sonic Blast
  • Columns

Blue cover series:

  • Bug!
  • Ecco the Dolphin
  • Indy 500 / Sega Raceway
  • Panzer Dragoon
  • Sonic 3D Blast
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 3
  • Streets of Rage
  • Super Monaco GP
  • Virtua Cop
  • Virtua Fighter


source: ClassicAds

 

Rumble In The West: The Pop-Up Retro Arcade and Pinball Bar

By

 

NOTE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, this event has been cancelled!

 

Now this is a great cause to support! The Sydney Pinball and Arcade Company presents Rumble in the West – a charity POP-UP RETRO ARCADE and PINBALL Bar, coming to Western Sydney on April 25 and 26, 2020. Rumble In the West will help raise funds for CheckPoint, a nonprofit organisation connecting games and gamers with mental health.

The Rumble in the West pop-up arcade and pinball bar will host over 15 pinball machines, 15 arcade machines and video game consoles from the 80s and 90s. Mixing wood fired pizzas, craft beer and cocktails with gaming, the organisers of Rumble in the West aim to create an authentic feeling of classic arcades.

Nostalgia certainly plays a part in the excitement of an event like this! However, there is something to be said for the fun of arcade games in a social environment like a bar. It is the opposite of the home console gaming experience of today. This event is designed to bring people together and experience the fun of these games in a face to face setting.

Rumble in the West organisers have set a goal to raise $10,000.00 for CheckPoint who support the mental health of gamers with resources, community engagement, videos and articles. CheckPoint strive to spread awareness and educate about mental health issues, while reflecting on how those issues impact the lives of people who play games.

John from The Sydney Pinball and Arcade Company says “We couldn’t make this event happen without the support of the local community members who are passionate about games. We want to pass on that goodwill, which is why we decided to make this donation goal to CheckPoint”.

Early bird tickets are currently on sale for the event. Getting to Rumble in the West is easy because they will have a courtesy bus making trips every hour from the Blacktown station. for more information, please visit the event website www.rumbleinthewest.com.

Events Details:

Event: Rumble in the west – a pop-up retro pinball and arcade bar
When: 25th – 26th of April 2020 (1pm till midnight on the 25th & noon to midnight on the 26th)
Where: 30 Holbeche Rd, Arndell Park N.S.W. (10 minutes from Blacktown. 25 minutes from Parramatta)
Tickets: Early bird ticket price: $40.00 (available till March 25th) – purchase here. Entry tickets get you into the venue for the entire day and entry to all competitions, except the pinball competition. All games and activities are free to play. Food and drinks are additional. Kids 14 and under gain free entry.

image source: Rumble in the West

 

Contra: Celebrating 33 Years Of Rock Hard Awesomeness

By

Contra, Gryzor or Probotector. No matter what name you know this classic Konami run and gun game by, you will definitely remember it as one tough mother of a game!

Konami had an instant hit on their hands when they released the arcade machine on this day [February 20] in 1987. Happy 33rd anniversary Contra, you irresistible force!

For those that have been away from Earth since early 1987, here is the lowdown on Contra:

Midnight, September 12 2631. The Marines catch sight of a small-sized meteorite that is fast approaching Earth. The meteorite plummets 20km north-east of New Zealand, at the Gal Mosquito Archipelago. The command keep watch of the meteorite.

Two years later, in December 2633, an intruder known as the Red Falcon is occupying the Gal Mosquito Archipelago and is planning the fall of mankind. Command orders confidential investigations at the enemies’ front base. The marine post orders for two “Contra” soldiers, Private First Class Bill “Mad Dog” Rizer and Private First Class Lance “Scorpion” Bean on a mission. The mission being: penetrate the insides of the enemy, destroy the front base and the entire centre of operation.

 

Supersized Classic Arcade Games

By

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

Recently, I walked through a very crowded arcade/restaurant and noticed that all the large, supersized arcade games were classics, like Pac-man, Galaga and Space Invaders. They’re large, they’re loud, and, with the large groups around them, they’re popular.

Playing Galaga on a 10-foot high screen gave me a new appreciation for the 1981 game. I never got to play Galaga in an arcade but playing the fixed shooter game on such a large scale was slightly thrilling. It really was something for the senses. My hand-eye coordination was sharp enough to reach several levels. When you’re playing on such a big screen, the enemy ship’s formations are easier to predict; however, it’s still difficult to get set and aim with some accuracy.

When you’re playing a supersized classic, a crowd seems to gather around you as you reach higher levels. That was fun with Galaga, but not so much with the large Pac-Man. For some reason, for me, playing Pac-Man on an enormous screen was difficult. Maybe because I’m so used to playing the iconic game on a small screen. It was sort of intimidating seeing the assorted colored ghosts that large.

I didn’t play Pac-Man for very long. My loses were a little embarrassing. With the games being supersized, for everyone in the arcade to see, it’s humiliating when you perform poorly.

They should supersize more classic games like Donkey Kong and Double Dragon. The enormous Alien game, where you try to kill as many of the xenomorphs and facehuggers as possible, was a blast as well. They had a large Mario Kart game, but with the huge throng gathered around it, I didn’t even attempt to play it.

Playing something vintage in a new, unique way is really exhilarating. And it’s cool to see that the old games enlarged are as prevalent as ever.

image sources: Bandai Namco Amusements, National Event Pros & 8-Bit Central via Pinterest

 

C64 Barbarian – Masters Of The Universe Edition

By

We got quite giddy when we came across John Henderson’s tweet depicting his bitmap creation of Palace Software’s Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior as C64 Barbarian He-Man Edition.

To say we hope this coding continues to fully recreate the ultimate slash’em up game on the C64, is an understatement! I have the POWER!

[image and story source: John Henderson via Twitter]

 

Mortal Kombat VS. Street Fighter

By

The ultimate 2D Fighting game showdown: Mortal Kombat VS. Street Fighter!

This is it peeps, choose your side, either Capcom’s venerable Street Fighter or the gore-fest from Midway Games (now Warner Bros.), Mortal Kombat. Chun Li versus Kitana, Ryu taking on Raiden, Blanka versus Jax – which franchise will deliver the final fatality? Finish him!


source: Untitled Animation via Facebook