rob7979

I recall those "Toby" CEX ads in print magazines. Sadly, the Welwyn Garden City CEX branch has recently closed its doors

Have downloaded the app and loving the games 👍

Whilst I'm excited to be playing these games finally (I was the sucker who ordered the headset prop!) at release in the 90s this system was a mess. I was saving up for a Sega Saturn, Project Reality/ultra 64/Nintendo 64 project kept getting kicked further and further down the road and the majority of my friends were hyped about the PlayStation launch. That was the context when Nintendo released a non-portable headset system with a red and black display. Damn, not even Super Play magazine knew quite how to provide positive coverage.

Wind on a number of decades and it is easier to appreciate and celebrate this system for the curio it is and enjoy it as such. But quite how the concept got beyond the design stage I don't know. I guess it surfed the wave of VR hype in the mid 90s.

Still am very excited to be firing up my Switch this evening.

I was loving this until you named the price. Ouch!

This was actually a very playable 1:1 weapons based fighter with a good array of moves. Along Way of the Exploding Fist, this rocked my 1:1 fighting world until SF2 blew my mind.

I remember reading about the VB is Super Play magazine at the time and thinking it was all rather strange, especially with all the hype around the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, neo Geo CD, 3DO and Jaguar at the time. This felt very underwhelming to a 15 year old me.

And the price point was expensive.

Having said that 46 year old me is looking forward to receiving his replica in February 👍

Great article, and I was a big fan of top trumps. I'm addition to the Fantasy pack I also had spaceships, dinosaurs, formula one and motocross. The artwork/image selection for all were fantastic.

Many happy hours.

This is a really excellent game and the studio continues to release further quality
new Sega megadrive titles

Great interview TE, I really enjoyed reading those content. Some great anecdotes.

The best manuals were great, but sadly in Europe they often came in black and white with multiple languages. Unsure if this is unfair, but I always seem to recall more Sega titles containing multiple languages.

This type format was popular in Japan when I lived their in the early 2000s. This looks like a great store and a fun visit.

Ahhh, the 90s. When you couldn't go 2 minutes with a new console launch about to happen. Good times.

Working in EB was a fun time, but those oversized PC games boxes were a nightmare to merchandise i.e. make look like an organized and coherent display.....stuff of nightmares 😂

@mjparker77 MK 3 on the Sega master system was a Brazil Techtoy exclusive and it shows - rushed, buggy and not fun to play IMHO.

MK1 and MK2 were both released in the UK and Europe. If you have original hardware the carts won't set you back too much, and are the best 1:1 fighters on the system by a country mile.

The Middle East was a big market for the Neo Geo, which is why Middle Eastern backdrops often feature in their KOF series. Petrodollars = a wealthy elite who could afford this system back in the day.

As for this game, it plays pretty nicely with a nice team battle effect.

The master system versions were a technical marvel, at least for MK 1 and 2. All special moves included and most standard ones also, despite operating on a two button pad. Sure, it's clearly never going to trouble the Megadrive or SNES conversions, but in terms of pushing base hardware this is up there with the best of them.

Love me a bit of Master System action!

I bought this cart specifically to enjoy the super game boy extras. You get some nice additional surround artwork in a typical Nintendo style.

I never had the SGB back in the day as it was similarly priced to the regular Gameboy, something I could not understand at the time. No it goes for peanuts and is a nice curio.

@bring_on_branstons Your Dad sounds like he had fine taste 👍

I'm a Super Play guy, and they still stand up to a re-read and browse to this day.

How about the home console version of Street Fighter the movie. Superior the arcade version, and would be an enjoyable distraction 😜

@Exerion76 Me too. From memory it was a single track? The graphics, sound and design melded perfectly into one to make the PlayStation the cool kid on the block

Boom 🤯

That's the sound of my jaw hitting the floor.... incredible. My 11 year old Commodore 64 owning self would have lost his little mind over this in an awesome alternative universe

@hisownsidekick dare to dream! Would be awesome and also a money spinner 👍

The Bitmap books are quality, so amazing looking forward to reading this.

Am looking forward to receiving my VB stand and slotting in my Switch OLED to make those red and blacks pop.

Clearly a niche product, but am delighted Nintendo have taken the time and effort.

Great article and thank you for sharing your memories.

As others have expressed, I would love to see a single G&W unit with multiple games on it. I purchased the Mario and Zelda versions which are a great modern take on the formula, but would love to Nintendo explore this theme more fully, especially given the price of existing hardware and their age.

Always good to see a Retro focused business doing well. Long may it continue

It was a great time to be a gamer - seemingly every month a new 32 but system was being announced (or cancelled!). When the PlayStation came out it blew my mind - nobody would have predicted how close Ridge Racer was to its arcade brother. I eventually sold mine to buy a Sega Saturn which in turn I sold to fund the purchase of my N64.

I am grateful later in life to have been able to add those disposed of consoles back into my collection other, oddly, than the PlayStation (although I do have the PlayStation mini to scratch that itch).

In terms of making gaming cool, absolutely. Just look and listen to Wipeout. From a presentational and impact point it was massive.

More articles and interviews like this please. So interesting to read her perspective on life at Nintendo over such an influential, formative period. Comes across really well.

I had Stunt Car Racer on my C64 and even that version was decent (for the time). Those tracks more resembled roller coasters than race tracks. A lot of fun 😊

Hopefully someone's actually gets to play and enjoy this. I know that Go is huge in Japan so I guess that is what is driving the price here.

I had this on my master system, and like the SNES version (but to a lesser extent) they had spruced up the graphics to make more varied environments.

Of course, when I transitioned to my SNES and found out about this version I started saving my paper round money to buy it.

A big shout out to the awesome music in this version. One of my favourite SNES OST.

Am looking forward to giving this a try. Had it in the 90s on my C64. Was a tough but fun game with excellent (for the time) music.

The best just got better! Looking forward to this content being available. Thanks Capcom!

Thanks for raising awareness of this important issue - important we understand all sides 😢 f the debate in this complex area

A friend of mine had an ST, while I was still on my humble Commodore 64. Remember playing hero quest and Cadaver. But he also had a NES so spent more time with Mario and Kung Fu master.

This was cool! I think I remember it being covered on TV computing show Bad Influence. Never saw one in the wild; given what you were getting the price was somewhat high, especially as at this point the Gameboy hardware price was very reasonable, as were Gameboy carts

All that said, this definitely appeals to me now, so thank you friend r raising the profile through this nicely written article. You've captured the spirit of the times well.

I know it is popular to place the increased difficulty in Western releases on the rental market, but bear in mind large sections of the (at least UK) games magazine would regularly Mark games down for being too easy (remember that longevity score anyone)? That would have also played into the notion that Western gamers 'liked' a more difficult challenge.

The only console I have purchased on grey import. Day 1 I had Sonic and Power Stone. A month later I added sega rally 2 to my collection.

My best memory is playing house of the dead 2, where I was fortunate enough to own 2 lightguns. I was living at home at the time with a full time job so as a result my disposal income was high. In the end I sold it, but have great memories of the system.

Am really looking forward to picking up Capcom Fighting Collection 2 to recess Capcom vs Snk (1 and 2) as well as Powerstone 1&2.

Love this! So interesting that seemingly minor tweaks can so enhance a game.

Reading reviews of the time, alit would complain about games in general being to easy and therefore not representing value for money. I think reviewers sometimes forgot what was easy for them was challenging for the average gamer.

Part of me is curious to try the controls to see how bad they are.

From r now I'll stick with my GB street fighter 2 port....at least that allows me to use a d-pad 😜

I remember my brother being in the US when SF2 turbo was released. He brought me back a copy so was able to play that one early.

Tended to also be a good market in 2nd hand import games - I picked up Axelay and Shadowrun back in the 90s that way.

Pleased to see this. The NSO does have its flaws, but this is a terrific way that make these selected title available to a wider audience of gamers to enjoy.

Yes, physical copies and original hardware are great, but I've run out of physical space to invest in more retro hardware. This is a great way for me to enjoy and explore a back catalogue that I don't yet know that well, and without NSO would be unlikely to get to explore.

@-wc- there was a GameCube version which I brought from r my son last Christmas after we went to a retro arcade and he played the stand up cabinet with the big truck steering wheel.

Keep on trucking!

If this is as good as the Amici documentary he made then weoo worth watching

Nope never been, but I was living in Osaka when in Japan. I did attend a flea market, and can't recall there being a whole lot of retro tech, more general bric a brac and clothes.

There was a headmaster transformer I found after a lot of looking and I snapped that bad boy up

Good on them for fronting this up

What a great career. Personally I didn't read much of NMS, and that was largely due to the style versus Super Play which was my go to (and is still a recommended read now).

That said, NMS / Mean Machines / CVG sold a huge amount of magazines and had a big influence (in the UK at least) so fair play to him - he's definitely done more than me!

Can this play original GBA carts?

Many happy memories of shopping here, but that was decades ago. So I am not surprised to see this speculation around the companies future. Vote with your wallet.