vintage
What's old is new again; rediscover retro video games and explore vintage-inspired reboots of the all-time classics.
Celebrating The NES Classic's 10th Anniversary
Released on November 10, 2016, in Japan and Veteran's Day 2016 in North America, the NES Classic was a console emulated with 30 games, with titles such as Ninja Gaiden, Tecmo Bowl, Castlevania, and of course, the iconic Super Mario Bros. That year, yours truly had a birthday coming up in two days and wanted to get my hands on one. Unfortunately, by the time I went to my local GameStop and Best Buy, they were all sold out. All hope was not lost, as I was able to purchase one on eBay weeks before Christmas. I know what you're going to say: "You gave in to the scalpers." You're right. I did, but I wasn't able to get one for my birthday. I had a justifiable reason for doing it. Scalpers are one of the worst people on this planet and are the true example of why we can't have nice things. They take advantage of people's desperation by hoarding multiple NES Classics, just to turn around to inflate the price of them. If you've watched videos on YouTube regarding these snakes jacking up the price of the NES Classic, chances are you were extremely pissed. I was one of those irate people back in 2016. Scalpers who buy lots of items such as Pokémon cards and Hot Wheels and inflate the price of them on the internet, should be banned for life from third-party sites like eBay and Amazon. I have to put some blame on Nintendo for allowing this to happen in the first place. Stores like GameStop and Best Buy should've instituted a strict one per person policy to prevent would-be scalpers from reselling the NES Classic online. This includes other game consoles and new ones in the near future. If you're a retro gaming fanatic like me, nostalgia was the main reason why many people wanted to have an NES Classic in their homes. I've been playing video games for nearly 40 years and scalpers who do increase prices on stuff we love will only make it difficult for others to afford certain things. Not only that, but it ruins it for everyone. Every selling site should have a blacklist for scalpers. It'll weed out the ones who prices things that they're trying to sell fairly and those who jack up the prices of items just to make money off of desperate individuals.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard 3 days ago in Gamers
Remember: Before Stardew Valley, There Was Harvest Moon
It may come as a shock to some, but farming simulators didn't begin in 2016. They've actually been around since the '90s, and long before Stardew Valley became the standard against which practically every new farming game is measured, there was Harvest Moon . Don't get me wrong, I've put my fair share of hours into Pelican Town. But judging by the way modern gaming articles discuss the genre, you'd think Stardew Valley was the first game to let players grow crops, raise livestock, and romance the locals, rather than building upon a formula that had already existed for decades.
By Veronica Thorabout a month ago in Gamers
My Top 25 Lynx Games
The Atari Lynx was a notable also-ran in the original handheld console war. The Game Boy dominated the market, the Game Gear trailed behind in second. Of the original three main competitors, the Lynx came in a distant third. I think it did a little better in the UK than in most places, though. I know a few people in the early-to-mid-forties age bracket who have fond memories of it. My flatmate, who is much smarter and cooler than I, was a Lynx girl, and still champions the cause. I knew at least one kid who had a Lynx back in the day, and got the chance to play on it a few times. I can’t for the life of me remember who they were, but I do remember the console. In retrospect, it was way too big and unwieldy for a handheld, but to the small me the size and weight of it just made it seem more impressive. This was a grown-up’s machine.
By Daniel Tessier3 months ago in Gamers
You Don't Survive Twenty Years by Accident
I am going to level with you. I can count on one finger how many hours I've spent in the expansive, pixelated fantasy realm of Azeroth. I spent a lot of that hour fucking about with the controls and trying to pick fights. Fights I could never win.
By Paul Stewart3 months ago in Gamers
My Top 25 Game Gear games
While the Mega Drive/Genesis was Sega’s major console success story, and the Master System was a hit everywhere except North America and Japan, the Game Gear was a serious contender for the handheld market. While it never came close to meeting the Game Boy’s sales, the Game Gear achieved a respectable market share, and was a big hit in the UK. I knew a lot of kids who owned Game Gears, particularly friends’ older brothers and sisters, and much like the Mega Drive it was the cooler, grown-up rival to Nintendo’s consoles. Sega leaned into this, of course, with the sleek black design, and even the name, which deliberately made the Game Boy sound like the kids’ version.
By Daniel Tessier4 months ago in Gamers
My Top 25 Master System games
The Sega Master System is one of those consoles that was either a huge deal or a mere also-ran, depending on your age and where you grew up. It was Sega's first true international release, arriving in different regions between 1986 and 1989, followed by the cheaper, more streamlined Master System II in 1990. In North America and its native Japan, it hardly made a dent. In the UK, Australia, New Zealand and much of Europe, it was a huge hit, outselling the NES for several years. In Brazil, it was even bigger, with local manufacturer Tec Toy releasing Master System variants well into the 21st century.
By Daniel Tessier5 months ago in Gamers
The Worst, Uninteresting NES Game I've Ever Played
For nearly 40 years, I've been playing retro games. I'm a huge sucker of nostalgia and basically live and breathe it daily. My first love was the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and while I loved and enjoyed the many games I've played, one in particular was so boring that I never played it again. That game was Knight Rider. Games based on movies or television shows aren't always received positively by critics. While Knight Rider received favorable reviews, yours truly thought otherwise. Also known as Naito Raidā (ナイトライダ) in Japan, this game was released in the former in September 1988 and then in North America in July 1990. The television series lasted a total of four seasons on NBC from September 1982 to April 1986, airing 90 episodes. I'll probably do a list of my favorite episodes in a later story. Going back to the game, there were two things wrong with it. I've watched every episode of this show at least a hundred times, but having a video game based on that was a terrible idea.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard 7 months ago in Gamers
My Top 25 SNES Games
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System went by many names. In Japan, it was the Super Famicom. In Korea, Hyundai sold it as the Super Comboy. In the West, it was the Super Nintendo, the Super NES... in our house it was always just the SNES. (That's pronounced “snez” by the way. None of that “ess-enn-ee-ess” here.) When we got our own second-hand SNES in the mid-90s, it was a revelation. Our first home console, with full colour games to play on our terribly modest TV screen. Some will favour the Mega Drive/Genesis, others the PlayStation; but for me, the SNES was the great console of the 1990s. Don't worry, I'll get to those other two.
By Daniel Tessier7 months ago in Gamers
