Dangnabit! Someone beat me to writing a good book about retro gaming! Haha!\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\nSeriously now. Yes, someone has beaten me to the punch, but at least we get quality retro gaming tips and tricks from Chris Kohler, who has written a gamut of video gaming articles for a number of conventional and unconventional media like Wired, Official Playstation Magazine, 1up.com, IGN, Gamespy, Nintendo Official Magazine UK, and Electronic Gaming Monthly.\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\nHere\\\\\\\’s a little bit more about the author of Retro Gaming Hacks:\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\n
Kohler\\\\\\\’s first book, Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life, was published by BradyGAMES in September 2004. …read more

I’ve been meaning to pose this question for a very long time … as in since I was, hmmm, a little boy. Not that there’s anything wrong with being gay. The question actually comes from the mind of a disturbed lad nicknamed seanbateman42069@yahoo.com on The SHIZZ.org discussion boards.
Here’s an excerpt from his post entitled, “For The People That Watched Captain N As A Kid, I have a ‘?’ “:
Was Simon Belmont gay?
Not that it matters or anything, but I remember being eight (years old) and thinking he was a little, hmmm, off, you could say. Today was Day One of …read more

Sigh. This is the very reason why I, a video game fanatic, hate living in a little tropical country. There are just some video games that I’m bound to miss. Take Choplifter III, for instance. Although the game was released for the Game Boy, the Game Gear, and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in the early 1990s, and I owned two of the aforementioned video game consoles, I still missed it.
Fortunately, there are video clips of Choplifter III to make up for the loss. Check one of them out here:

It’s a little more complicated than the original Choplifter but is …read more

Here’s something interesting that has eluded my attention these past six or so months that I’ve been handling Re:Retro. It’s the Game & Watch Gallery for the Nintendo Game Boy. Gosh, talk about taking advantage (in a good way, of course) of intellectual property rights. Nintendo, in a brilliant move, swiped remade four Game & Watch classics to feature present-day video game icons, including Mario and Donkey Kong Jr., and to play on the Game Boy.
Let’s take a closer look at the four games:
Manhole: Like in the original Game & Watch classic, you have a few people walking across a …read more

It\’s been a while, and I feel real rusty writing about retro video gaming. To tell you the truth, I\’m not sure how to begin writing again and what to write about. But the show must go on, and after hours of scouring the deepest recesses of my memory, I\’ve found good topics that may appease even the staunchest retro gaming fanatic … I hope.\r\n\r\nLike I said in past posts (ha, try saying that 10 times in a row at John Moschitta speed without faltering), and what readers have been egging me about this past few months, Re:Retro may seem …read more

Here’s yet another collection of old video game and video-game related commercials, and I’ve got to tell you, some of them are really old. It’s a bit disconcerting to watch since it’s really just a mash up with no theme in mind. It does, however, bring back fond memories, especially if you grew up with the featured games.

Somehow that didn’t sound right. Anyway, after my embarrassing run with Frogger and Space Invaders this past week, I tried my hand at the Flash version of the classic arcade hit Moon Patrol, which was first released in 1982 in the United States.
Here’s a brief background for those standing on the far side of the moon:
Moon Patrol is a classic arcade game by Irem that was first released in 1982. It was licensed to Williams for United States of America distribution.
In the game, the player controls a moon buggy, viewing it from the side, that travels over the moon’s surface. …read more

Ever wonder how the modern video game console controller came to be? Well, thanks to the ingenious Sock Master, we now have a pretty good idea. Here’s a little tidbit from his “study” entitled “Sock Master’s Game Console Controller Family Tree”:
How did the current home-console controllers come to be? How have they evolved? You may have noticed some similarities between the current generation controllers, or between them and the previous generations of controllers. So, how do they all tie together?
Let’s try to find out. I’ve put together a chart, or controller family tree, that tries to connect all the current …read more

Talk about inspiring. I’ve just finished my daily rounds of Internet video publishing websites and found this classic video on YouTube featuring the different boss fights of yesteryear. Contra! Mega Man! Castlevania! Legend of Zelda! Punch Out! Sigh. Let me just shut up and dish out the video:

Whew! Makes me wanna bring out the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the Nintendo Family Computer again and play all the classics shown in the video … at least, until I reach the stage where the bosses are hiding. *wink, wink*

I’m currently watching a video on the history of video games by YouTube user applemctom, and my wife, Joyce, keeps asking me why I know majority of the games featured in the video. I guess my video games addiction is finally showing, eh? To test my mettle, I tried to list down in order all the games shown in the two-minute footage. Unfortunately, I didn’t get them all. Before I show my list (rather, before you take a look at it), watch the video and try listing down in order all the games that you see. Let’s compare notes later.

Well, …read more