Ristar: SEGA’s Forgotten 16-Bit Mascot

by Matthew Owen | Feb 13, 2025 | 1990s, Console/Handheld

A sentient star who stretches his arms and bounds across stages with speed, Ristar is a SEGA protagonist with just as much charm as Sonic, yet time has not been so kind to this cosmic character. In 1995, Ristar debuted on the Genesis/Mega Drive to decent critical...

The Smurfs – Dreams review by Todd Friedman

by Todd Friedman | Feb 12, 2025 | 1980s, 1990s, 2020s, Console/Handheld, Reviews

The Smurfs: Dreams is a charming and light-hearted platformer that offers a fun experience for both fans of the Smurfs and newcomers. Although the reviewer wasn’t familiar with Smurf media beforehand, the game’s premise was easy to follow, relying on classic...

Japanese Handhelds – by Jeremy Parish

by Jeremy Parish | Feb 8, 2025 | 1990s, 2000s, Magazine Preview

There exists in biological sciences a principle called “carcinization.” This concept expounds on the fact that evolution has a tendency to lead animal life to eventually take the form of a crab. This has happened, quite independently, roughly half a dozen times...

Neon Inferno By Zenovia Interactive

by Old School Gamer | Feb 7, 2025 | 1980s, 1990s, 2020s, Atari, Early IBM DOS, Early IBM DOS Intro, Indie, Press Release, Stern

Contra meets Wild Guns in Neon Inferno, a pixel-perfect cyberpunk shooter turning up the heat on all platforms later this year. Philadelphia, PA – Feb. 07, 2025 – Grab your blasters and your favorite knives as Retroware and Zenovia Interactive join forces to publish...

How I love the GameBoy – by Mat Bradley-Tschirgi

by Old School Gamer | Feb 7, 2025 | 1980s, 1990s, Atari, Early IBM DOS, Early IBM DOS Intro, Stern

The first time I encountered a Game Boy was not long after it came out. My family lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1989. Our friends were mostly Americans who attended an international school with us. Although video game systems and handhelds were not easily...

INK CONSOLE Crowdsupply Campaign Launching on March 1

by Old School Gamer | Feb 6, 2025 | 1990s, 2000s, 2020s, Press Release

A new open source system for text-based games Hong Kong, SAR –February 6, 2025– Independentmanufacturer and creative developer Singular 9 Ltd. will be launching a CrowdSupply campaign to fund INK CONSOLE, their new open source system for text based games, on March 1....