Australia's Retro Gaming and Pinball E-Zine
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
What is it about the need to ‘hack’ handheld systems to play old school video games? Is it the challenge (to hack), is it the fact you are doing something shady or is it purely to just play your ‘backup’ video games from gaming generations gone by?
What ever the reason, there have been a plethora of options for retro gamers to either soft or hard mod their portable beasts to play classic games. In parallel, there have been dedicated emulation handheld systems to help with your hit of nostalgia, like the GP2X, Caanoo and the latest beast, the RK2020, to name just a few.
CycloDS – the softmod hack for the Nintendo DS
We have quite a few handheld systems that we use to play our favourite retro video games, some emulate better than the others, but our favourite right now is the PSP for playing Mega Drive and SNES games. We have the exciting new RK2020 retro handheld coming to our office, so stay tuned for our review on that little beast 🙂
WARNING: Hacking your systems is not without risk and can also void your warranty.
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
The amount of talent and knowledge some people have is beyond comprehension. One particular person got our attention on Twitter, gaug888. gaug888’s miniature Sega arcade machine creations are beyond amazing! Not only are they faithful miniature recreations of their bigger arcade brethren, they also play the arcade video games they are based on – totally mind blowing!
The meticulous level of detail of these miniature creations are off the charts. We reckon Yu Suzuki would be quite impressed too!
PS: If you want to check out the complete and documented log of gaug888’s miniature creations, head to Togetter now.
image source: gaug888 via Togetter
By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.
“Hudson Hawk” is considered one of the worst films of the 1990s. I watched it late at night on cable when I was a kid and I loved it. I enjoyed its free-wheeling plot and silly action sequences. Maybe it was because I’ve always been a fan of Bruce Willis and Danny Aiello’s acting? Willis and Aiello have incredible chemistry, and every scene with them together are the best scenes in the film.
Is it a great film? No. But being young, my standards were lower and I watched it every time I found it on HBO or TBS. Then, I traded a Game Boy cartridge for the “Hudson Hawk” video game.
“Hudson Hawk” on Game Boy is exceptional, because there’s not many heist video games. It was a simple platform game, but unlike games of that format, it wasn’t easy to maneuver all of the potential threats. The game is like the classics, “Double Dragon” or “Ghosts ’n Goblins” because of how enemies appear suddenly in windows and behind Hawk as he’s trying to steal priceless items.
Playing as Hudson Hawk, you had to jump and climb between suspended platforms while sidestepping obstacles. As the famous cat burglar, you are sent on a mission to steal three Da Vinci artefacts. You try to avoid sounding alarms as you move through the different levels of the game. Dealing with dogs is the hardest part of the game; they’re quick and unpredictable. The security guards are a push over as an enemy. Simply punching them swiftly or throwing a ball at them took them out. You don’t expect the aggressive kangaroos or the stampeding rhinoceros in the library. The various, oddball enemies give the Special FX Ltd. game an originality.
As over-the-top as Richard E. Grant is as the film’s villain, Darwin Mayflower, he’s still entertaining. Grant, in my opinion, has been one of the most underrated actors of the last thirty years in cinema. He steals every scene he is in, and throughout his long career, I can’t think of one bad performance by the Swazi-British actor. Some critics would say “Hudson Hawk” is his worst performance, but I think it’s fun, and you can tell he’s having a good time torturing Willis’ character.
The Game Boy game and the 1991 film gave me an odd, mystifying joy that I still don’t fully understand. I spent hours of my childhood trying to steal artefacts with my Game Boy close to my face.
We woke up today to great news that our fave ex-Sega mascot, Alex Kidd, will be getting a new lease of life on modern consoles!
Yep, you read that right, the classic and awesome Sega Master System game, Alex Kidd in Miracle World is being brought into the 21st century, titled Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX! Slated to be released early in 2021 on PC, Switch, Xbox and PlayStation, we honestly can’t wait to reacquaint ourselves with Alex on a modern gaming platform.
We love the brand new visual style, but we are even more chuffed and excited that it will have a retro mode to experience classic Master System Alex Kidd. This new version of AK will feature new levels, modes, and alternative boss battles – all based on the iconic Master System game. So if classic ‘80s platforming is your jam – and it should be, then you will need Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX in your life.
A legend has truly been reborn!
PS: While we wait for this to be released, we’ll keep playing Alex Kidd in Miracle World on our Master System 😉
source: GameTrailers
Do you remember us gushing last week with the news that SEGA may re-enter the console market? If you recall, we speculated on some pretty cool console concepts that SEGA may have brought to us SEGA starved fans.
Well, it seems that the wait is over! SEGA has blindsided us by announcing their Game Gear Micro, harking back to their popular 90s handheld, the Game Gear. The Game Gear Micro will be 40% smaller than the original and will come in four colour variations, each one with their own four pre-loaded games.
The list of games per Game Gear Micro variant:
Oh yeah, in addition to these four coloured variants, there will also be a Game Gear Micro Smoke a limited edition unit which can be added to a framed display to showcase the 5 variants (as part of the Deluxe (DX) pack from the Sega Store). If you are a SEGA collector, you may want to jump onto this!
Specifications:
image source: Sega 60th Anniversary
The four Game Gear Micro variants will be released on October 6 (coinciding with the original Game Gear’s 30th anniversary) via Amazon (JP), Rakuten Books and the Sega Store with a suggested retail price of ~AU$70. If you don’t have the means to pre-order from these sites, then keep an eye on Play Asia, as they will have them available soon!
「#ゲームギアミクロ」10月6日発売決定！
セガのカラー携帯ハードがミニを超えるミクロサイズに。
4色のカラーにそれぞれ異なる４タイトルを収録。
4色同時購入で特典「ビッグウィンドーミクロ」も登場！https://t.co/hXC36mF1qh#GOSEGA #SEGA60th pic.twitter.com/0ZzPDygbwW— セガ公式アカウント🦔 (@SEGA_OFFICIAL) June 3, 2020
When it comes to cool pop culture collectables, New Zealand Mint (aka: NZ Mint) is on the money in satisfying collectors and geeks alike!
NZ Mint has created a number of video gaming related collectables over the years, so their pedigree in this category is second to none. We previously collected their Space Invaders 40th and Tetris 35th anniversary silver coins which proved quite popular with you all.
Following on from their successful Space Invaders and Tetris silver coins, NZ Mint has now introduced a limited (to 2,020 pieces of the) Mortal Kombat 1oz Silver Coin collectable. This arcade cabinet and silver coin are right in our wheelhouse! During the early ’90s we played the heck out of Mortal Kombat in the arcades, patiently waiting our turn to inflict some gruesome attacks to earn flawless victories. We are happy to say, this NZ Mint Mortal Kombat 1oz Silver Coin definitely earns a flawless victory!!!
This awesome collectable embodies everything cool that is Mortal Kombat! When you open the package, you are greeted by the specially designed Mortal Kombat-themed arcade cabinet, complete with the game logo and three of the original characters on each side; Sub-Zero, Scorpion and Raiden. The “Choose your Fighter” screen is also a great touch to the presentation.
Lifting the arcade cabinet off the base reveals the precious two dollar silver coin collectable cushioned in black velvet. The coin has the words ‘Mortal Kombat’ and the mythical dragon engraved against the fiery red and yellow background colours that are synonymous with the game. The coin is absolutely stunning, which means we can’t keep our hands off it! The other side of the coin features the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
To complete this collectable is the confirmation of the coin’s authenticity, which is printed under the base. With the Mortal Kombat 1oz Silver Coin being officially licensed by Warner Brothers and its limited availability to 2,020 units worldwide (reflecting the year of issue), this is the perfect memento for those who grew up playing Mortal Kombat or for any arcade fighter gaming enthusiasts! No ‘Fatality’ here, only a ‘Flawless Victory’!
Disclaimer: NZ Mint kindly provided the Mortal Kombat 1oz Silver Coin for this article.
Well, well, well, the yellow dot (or is it pill?) muncher turns 40 years old today [May 22]!
Ah, what a time to be alive to see a childhood video game (character) we cherished reach such a huge milestone! The year-long Pac-Man 40th anniversary celebrations kick on, so make sure you do not miss out!
If you didn’t know about Bandai Namco’s Pac-Man 40th anniversary year-long celebrations then have a read of this and then go Join the Pac!
image source: Pac-Man Official Site
Are you sick of mucking around with MAME to get your classic arcade gaming fix?
Well, if you didn’t know, the Internet Archive has you sorted with their Internet Arcade. The Internet Arcade is a web-based library of classic arcade (coin-operated) video games from the 1970s through to the 1990s. You can play all of these classics in your browser, with the emulation being in JSMAME, which is part of the JSMESS software package.
So no more stuffing about configurations and chasing questionable ROM files all over the net, the Internet Arcade has you sorted with well over 1,700 games! Well, don’t sit there and stare at this, go and play some classic arcade games.