Grackler

I was going to share that £305 Paper Mario in Loughborough! Passed it on Saturday and my jaw hit the floor, it’s so expensive!

Such a shame. I don’t know the ins-and-outs of the legal, or the people involved in the fan games. But this and that Streets of Rage remake from yard back would be great under Sega’s belt (although the real SoR 4 was a banger tbf!)

Try whatever you like Zuck, I’m not calling it Genesis!

I don’t mind them, and it’s better than cutting content. But it’s feels mealy mouthed: if the game genuinely is “inexcusable” to the remake devs/publishers don’t make it. They must think it isn’t really, they just want to sound good.

Our library had a Zelda one, it was no match for Ian Livingstone’s work on Fighting Fantasy, but it was fun enough!

Compared to some of the other “best” gaming lists from The Grauniad, this is pretty good! No obvious rage baiting odd placements. I find it hard to rank Sega’s arcade output, but most of the most influential ones are there (and it seems to lean towards that criteria)

I’m an addict for N64 related things, so I will 100% get this if I can!

Would have been bang in the target audience for this (watched Robot Wars all the time, Techno Games, Time Commanders) but never heard of it! Must have been too distracted by other things during those teen years (games, girls, GCSEs…)

I’d agree with others, it’s remembered but I don’t think I’d buy a remaster.

We had Croc, as did a few friends who only had a PS1, but not one of us would chose it over Mario or Banjo. Even if you only had a PlayStation it was bettered by Spyro and Ape Escape eventually; but the sad fact is it was technically competent but was an average game. By the end of the generation there were dozens of better 3D platformers, including almost every example of the genre on the N64. Sadly it just didn’t have anything to make it stand out bar its technical chops and an early release. Perhaps in a world without the N64 it might have made a bigger splash. But it came after Mario 64, and the rest is history.

Late to say Merry Christmas (Happy Boxing Day); but just wanted to say bravo for the site. I know it doesn’t get the traffic of its sister sites, but it’s been a real pleasure to read. In fact TE is what pushed me over to getting a membership! All the best for 2024.

I still have a CRT TV in the spare bedroom for retro consoles, but as I use an old 1080p Samsung as the main telly still, I would probably stump for some of these if I didn't have the CRT or had to downsize to a flat again.

I've not played them all or even close, so voted on the best I've played (Piko Interactive 1, a great variety of fun games on that one).

My announcement of the event! A bunch of varied games showing real gameplay. They could be half-rubbish, but they will be interesting to play nonetheless!

Just finished this and I have to say I think this review is very fair. It’s a lovely game that looks great on the EXP screen. It is very, very short which might be an issue for some; but I think much longer and it would outstay its welcome. Plus it feels shorter than some classics of the genre due to the generous checkpoints meaning you don’t get stuck in place for long.
Looking forward to whatever Out of the Bit do next!

I’ve not got a Super Pocket but; with the smaller, low-res screen; I wonder if GBA games like Duke Advance might look a bit better to the naked eye on that, rather than on the EXP or particularly the VS on a TV…

I’m hoping I’ve got the special edition waiting at home (or a nearby post office) when I get back from my work trip. Excited to see new game mingle with classics on Evercade, feels like it has a future as a classic games console even when the well of accessible retro titles runs a little dry.

I think is a great kart racer, but my absolute least favourite Mario Kart. A mere 16 tracks that is loaded with basic ovals (5 or 6?), poor battle mode (not a rarity in the series), and the swapping mechanic and unique weapons made it was less pickup and play. It hurt the multiplayer that Double Dash owners would have a handle on it while newcomers would have a lot to contend with. I also found the handling a bit heavy personally.

Sorry to keep all the comments the same, but I’d also say Vice City was my favourite; it has the right balance of openness and tight play area, plus great look and feel. Can see why it isn’t top of course, but at the time of release it was incredible. I thought San Andreas was a bit too bloated and po-faced in comparison.
Also I’d rank Chinatown Wars DS over PSP. It was designed for the DS, and I think it shows!

Looking forward to this, had no idea! Both John’s are very entertaining speakers in their own right. Be nice to get an insight from them together about that time and what early id was like!

Also surprising to see it in GMT time, but great time for me in the UK!

More into trying out retro than Indie, like @Krambo42 said I have a much better device for indie titles! However Full Void looks lovely, and I do like that they are keeping physical alive.

I was born in the 80s; but gaming came later when I was older: late 80s hardware in the early 90s (it was the UK, we were slightly behind in time still!)

F-Zero X is a fantastic game (I really like GX as well, but it’s different enough feeling that they compliment each other!).

I find it really sad that the Switch N64 Online version handles so poorly. It is nigh impossible on JoyCons, and while better on the Switch N64 Controller, it is still awfully hard to control. Booting up the N64 original and the handling was so much easier, can’t put my finger on it but the Switch version is just way too hard to play!

I’d add Sega’s Ghost Squad. Incredibly replayable, feels great, and the Arcade version had some lovely chunky guns (although it’s easier to see all it has to offer on Wii!)

I’d heard the broad strokes of this at the time; but never the details. Some of the chat on that show sounds downright chilling in hindsight. Poor woman, really feel for the kids.

I was pleasantly surprised to see some love for the 3DS entry! I enjoyed it, although it was a tad soulless feeling at times, it was a solid entry!
Seems a bit harsh on the N64 one, but I guess it’s fair to say it’s a solid racer for the time, but not necessarily a great ridge racer in hindsight. I would say, like @marsbitrona, the console really wasn’t short of good (and some shoddy) racing games though! Well represented N64 genre I’d say.

Don’t see what more they could have done/said in response, so hopefully the angry twitter users calm down a bit. I’m just excited for the Duke games; Evercade is getting a formidable library!

Yeah, they are really supporting it, glad I got an EXP for Christmas!

Just mirroring others, but this is a great article, in-depth but an easy read!

"We reached out to Don Mattrick for this article to try and find out more about what his objections actually were, but we sadly never heard back."
hahahaha! If you ever do hear back, make sure to ask him about his other failures of leadership; such as "TVTVTV" and "we have a product for them, it's called Xbox 360" during his stint at Microsoft, or basically anything about the barn-fire that was Zynga!

I’d love to see the N64 Goemon games re-released. The first is a classic I adored, but never got the chance to play the second.

Really like the games, but for me the peak was the GameCube entry. Purely for the madcap 4 player mode! (It was otherwise pretty much the GBA game again, could even use GBA's as controller to play it!)

I have a few of these but many I played on console, so very tempted to go for this after work! Be good to have the definitive PC versions on Steam for such a low price (not sure when I'll have time to actually go back and play them again however!)

Unsurprising that Mega Drive and Dreamcast top so far! Hard to pick between then for me, both great in different ways. I went for Mega Drive as it was formative; but in hardware design the Dreamcast was pretty great.

Dreamcast would be my top choice but doesn’t seem remotely practical as a mini-console: too powerful/expensive to easily emulate on a cheap mobile chip, and too many odd features that would be missing (VMU, online), plus an more expensive controller to manufacture, and the top games are/were also on other consoles (could lower demand).

So with all that said, I’d vote Saturn and I think it’s the most sensible choice! Popular, sold poorly, classic games still stuck only on Saturn, and the right sort of hardware to emulate well at a low cost.

I don't think the world is lacking for 2D Metroidvania's right now, personally I've love to see another crack at 3D (after the N64 games and Lord of Shadows didn't quite get it 100% right) looking for the "Metroid Prime" of Castlevania's! (but maybe they could spruce up and re-release the DS ones for 2D players in the meantime!)

It is excellent, as is Ocarina of Time! But I voted no, I’d say Super Mario 64. Mario was such a game-changer at the time, inspired so much of 3D gaming, it’s hard not to give Mario 64 the crown…but it’s a ruddy close call!

That looks incredible! The draw distance, smooth framerate and (for N64) excellent textures are something else. Really mastering the hardware.

I voted GameCube. To be honest I don't have one favourite, but it inovated in ways I liked: comfy shoulder buttons, and a face button layout with some ergonomic pros (can "feel" the buttons and they all have a distinct siloette). But the sticks wear out fast and the c-nub isn't amazing for FPSs, so not perfect!

Really nice to see the Game Boy Color MGS not shoved to the bottom! Was a really fun game, and while it may look and feel dated now, as the article says it was really pushing the Game Boy to the max! One of my top games on that system.

Good choices! In hindsight the 360 had a really good run.

However, I think you should revise the Bioshock entry. Firstly the "Would you kindly" line is a bit of a spoiler for anyone who hasn't played it; but also it's (mostly) not Andrew Ryan using it throughout the game!

I had no idea Traveller's Tales made Sonic R! Maybe they should work on a remaster if the Lego work ever dries up...

This is a small example of how the legal system doesn’t always function at such a low level. I am not a lawyer, and Sega have the right to threaten legal action (which could be contested); but given the rules around “unofficial” magazines/books in the past, I think the article is spot on is saying it wouldn’t hold up. Screenshots and hardware shots are perfectly legal. But the cost of court been as overwhelming as it is, seems Bitmap Books can’t even try to defend it. So not much point even having those laws (and lawyers) in this case! I hope it’s not a trend though, love things like Chris Scullion’s encyclopaedias and don’t want screenshots and retro journalism to be bullied into non-existence!

Cool! I’m from near Leicester (Loughborough) and had never heard of the RCM, I’ll have to give a visit one weekend when I’m done to see parents!

This really sucks for Blaze and for people who were dedicated enough to get this version. Hopefully insurance will cover the cost of replacements and it won't take too long.

Nice detailed review: Really looking forward to this! I love returning to retro stuff now I'm older, but the prices are off-putting, so I've only got what I had as a kid and didn't sell. I was going to get an Evercade if they did well and stuck about, but held off when I saw this was coming. Hopefully in time for Christmas, but sure I'll enjoy it in 2023 if not!