Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

The Megami Tensei franchise started way back in 1987 with Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei on the Famicom, but was mostly unknown to the West until it began to be localized in the late 90s. Strange Journey is a terrific jumping-in point for folks who were introduced to demon negotiating in one of the Persona titles and are now looking to experience a deeper dungeon-crawling experience. The game successfully blends the first-person tile-based exploration that early SMT games became famous for with a modern combat system with multiple layers of customization.

The development team mirrored the old school meets modern RPG mechanics theme as it was composed of SMT veterans such as Kazuma Kaneko and Eiji Ishida (SMT III Designer), along with a team from Lancarse, the folks who had recently released a game that would start its own franchise, Etrian Odyssey. Add in musical arrangements by composer Shoji Meguro, and you can look back and say that Atlus put their best and brightest into the development of Strange Journey.

The only thing Strange Journey didn’t have going for it was timing. The game didn’t make it to the West until March of 2010, very much at the end of the life cycle of the Nintendo DS. Despite the low sales and a second poorly timed port at the end of the life of the Nintendo 3DS life cycle, Strange Journey still remains one of the better titles in one of the greatest RPG franchises.

The World Ends With You

Most of the titles that would be considered the best RPGs have typically been iterations of a successful formula. While games like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest built upon systems established in Dungeons & Dragons and Wizardry, The World Ends With You is a wholly original concept born from a unique platform and modern Japanese fashion culture.

Set in a modern-day Shibuya, the game introduces Neku, an introverted Japanese youth who quickly discovers that he no longer walks in the land of the living and is now forced to play a game in order to regain his life. Along with a riveting story, The World Ends With You also features an incredibly diverse combat system that utilizes dual screens and touch controls. The satisfyingly chaotic combat is uniquely suited for the DS hardware, as failed ports to the Nintendo Switch will attest.

Every inch of this game feels fresh and new, even when compared to RPGs made decades later. The music is so good, you’ll find yourself searching for a playlist on YouTube to enjoy it every day. A few hundred words don’t do this game justice; you just gotta play it to know how wonderful it is.

Radiant Historia

Atlus is arguably the most prolific developer of the Nintendo dual-screen era, so it comes as no surprise that they would have multiple games on this list. Perhaps the most unknown of which is Radiant Historia. The origins of this game come from Satoshi Takayashiki, the original concept designer for the Square Enix game, Radiata Stories. As a fan of SMT, Persona, and Etrian Odyssey, Takayashiki made a pitch to Atlus in the hopes of making a very niche yet familiar RPG. Takayashiki succeeded in the niche part of that dream, creating a very unique title, both in terms of combat systems and story.

Set in a dying world, the main protagonist, Stocke, finds himself in the possession of a chronicle that allows him to travel back in time to rewrite the course of history. The story very much plays out similar to a graphic novel. Stocke very often comes face to face with oblivion, requiring him to go back to a certain point on the timeline and make a different decision with the hope of leading his civilization away from certain doom. The combat system is just as unique, featuring a 3×3 grid in which the heroes will move enemies around on a grid and attack based on rows and columns. In practice, it provides a combat system that can be played very differently depending on how you approach it.

Radiant Historia has everything you’d want in an RPG, including a soundtrack from perhaps the greatest video game composer of all time, Yoko Shimomura. Much like its Atlus counterpart, sales of the game do not reflect the quality of this fantastic game.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

Speaking of long-running Japanese franchises finally arriving in the West, Nintendo was kind enough to remake the first Fire Emblem title for the Nintendo DS. Capitalizing on the popularity of Super Smash Bros, Nintendo reintroduced the story of Marth, the main protagonist of the Famicom strategy RPG, Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. Taking the core concepts and stories, Shadow Dragon on the Nintendo DS expands on the 8-bit title to become one of the most enjoyable games in the franchise.

Before Fire Emblem introduced the relationship mechanics that the modern titles have become known for, Shadow Dragon gave us a clean and pure version of strategy RPG splendor. Each chapter features a grid-based battleground where your assembled team will take battle using the series staple, the weapons triangle. Units have different classes and weapons to equip, and each battle is a methodical exercise, as death to one of the units is permanent for the remainder of the game.

Shadow Dragon is a terrific starting point for newcomers to the series as it boils down Fire Emblem to its purest form. One criticism is the lack of innovation, but often in an RPG, less can be more.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

Yes, in a list of the five most essential RPGs on the Nintendo DS, two are from the same franchise. But it doesn’t take long to discover that even though Strange Journey and Devil Survivor may share similar demon catalogues, the two games are very different experiences. Devil Survivor plays much more like a tactical RPG than a traditional one, which makes sense given that it was developed by the same team that brought us the Growlanser series.

Set in modern-day Tokyo, a group of youths finds themselves in peril as demons have begun invading the city. Armed only with COMPs (very clearly a Nintendo DS), the group uses their technology to recruit demons in order to defend the city and prevent the destruction of Tokyo. Devil Survivor is a refreshing spin-off from the old SMT dungeon-crawling formula in that battles take place on a grid-based battlefield, allowing the player to come up with fun and unique strategies.

Unlike the other titles on this list, the soundtrack is the weakest link when it comes to Devil Survivor. The songs are not necessarily bad; they just get repeated much too often to the point of fatigue. Also, unlike other titles on this list, Devil Survivor’s difficulty curve meant it’s not necessarily a great recommendation for someone new to RPGs.

Once you get past the five most essential RPGs on the Nintendo DS, you quickly realize that the platform contains a treasure trove of interesting and unique titles. A top 25 list would barely scratch the surface when you count the number of titles from the Dragon Quest series, Pokémon, Final Fantasy, Etrian Odyssey, and more. So long as you have a Nintendo DS, you have access to a catalogue of RPGs that can match up against any other platform.

The post The Five Most Essential RPGs for Your Nintendo DS appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

Desert Strike: Fans have wanted a new game in this series for over 20 years. EA needs to make it happen or let someone get it done .

Hagane: This game was a blast on the Super Nintendo. Could be a really fun and different release on a console like the Switch 2.

Comix Zone: An underrated gem on the Sega Genesis, this deserves a similar redux as Streets of Rage 4.

Operation Wolf: The world needs a new light gun game and this was a fun one on several consoles.

X-Men: The Sega Genesis games were great, as were X-Men Legends. It’s time for a new X-Men game. It’s been entirely too long. While Cosmic Invasion features X-Mn characters, it’s not the same.

The post Five Retro Games We’d Love to See Modern Remakes Of appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

PGA Tour Golf: To think that the eventual EA Sports juggernaut was built on the backs of games in the baseball and golf genres is a hard message to convey to a young gamer that sees the Madden series as the cornerstone of the EA empire today. But way before the NBA 2K franchise beat on NBA Live and dominated the hardwood and before Knockout Kings disappeared in favor of UFC, Electronic Arts broke into the sports genre with games such as Earl Weaver Baseball on PC and, PGA Tour Golf, on the Sega Genesis.

The first Genesis game to have a PGA license, the game ironically had more of an arcade punch to it, channeling the careers of the team that designed it. Developed by Lee Actor and Dennis Koble, known for their work on such Atari ports such as Pit-Fighter and Hard Drivin’, PGA Tour was the type of pick up and play experience that much like the NHL and Lakers. vs. Celtics games that followed it from EA, invited players to the genre.

Over 30 years since it was released on the Sega Genesis, Traeger still remembers what was so enjoyable about the title and how it almost never happened.

“It was really successful and the license was cool. It took the thunder out a lot of other golf games that didn’t have the licensing. Golf games, even on early technology, used a lot of data,” Traeger said. “In the early days, we would just walk the courses with cameras and try to record the data as much as we could. Then we had, individual sessions with the golfers where we were just videotaping their swings. This was way before the motion capture stuff and all that. The license gave us access to all the PGA courses and all those players. They weren’t like big superstars, so they were all pretty accessible. A lot of them were pretty technology aware. The partnership worked really well. We had a lot of data and all those courses. But the thing about the core of the game, it had been around in EA for a while. It was just a golf simulator.”

Roger Clemens MVP Baseball:

Designed by Perry Rodgers, a former Twin Galaxies Gaming Champion, member of the US National Video Game Team, co-founder of the Amusement Players Association (APA) with Steve Harris and Jeff Peters, which published the Top Score Newsletter, a predecessor to Harris’ Electronic Gaming Monthly, as well as Senior Producer of some of the original PlayStation’s biggest titles including Parappa the Rapper, Final Fantasy VII and Gran Turismo, this was an opportunity early in his career to do more than produce. Behind the wheel for the entire development cycle, Rodgers had some clear objectives for his baseball game.

“I was working at Activision. That was my first job in gaming,” Rodgers said. “I was a Product Specialist and Associate Producer. I was there for about two, two and a half years. After a while, I got this- ‘I want to make my own game’ idea. That’s obviously very common in the industry. But being that Activision was more of a publisher than a developer at the time, that wasn’t going to probably happen there. So I can’t recall exactly how I got in talks with George Metos from Sculptured Software. I believe it was because of some work that I had been doing for Activision, but I just can’t recall the details on that. He flew me out there and we talked about doing my own games. I’ve always liked sports games in general. One of the games I wanted to do was a baseball game, but I wanted to do something different.”

NFL 98

NFL 98 is easily one of the most in-depth football simulations in the history of the Sega Genesis but sadly came at a time when most people were hungry for the games on the Sega Saturn and PlayStation. Featuring a full-season mode, player creation, trades, team relocation options and a variety of in-game tuning options, it boasts a set of gameplay tools many first-generation 32-bit games do not. However, with 16-bit visuals, even the best on the Genesis at the time wasn’t enough to entice players away from sexy new consoles. As a result, NFL 98, regardless of everything it did right, is seen as a lost gem on the Genesis console.

Developed by a Spectacular Games team led by Michael Brook, who also worked on NFL 95 and Deion Sanders Prime Time NFL 96, the group was ready to deliver their best edition yet. Fixing several gameplay bugs that hampered previous versions of the series, NFL 98 is the best edition of the series and a million seller on the console. According to Brook, that had a lot to do with the love affair he and the team had with the Genesis. The reason for that affection for the console is simple – Brook helped build the Genesis as a viable console as a producer at Electronic Arts. Helping take the publisher from the PC to the Genesis, Brook saw NFL 98 as the end of a special era. 

“I loved the Genesis,” Brook said. “My feelings (at the start of NFL 98’s development) were really, ‘Boy, I’d rather be doing Genesis development.’ I was very sad to see it go away. I was feeling as if, if this were another media, like a book or a movie, I’d have a chance to keep making my mark with great products on this system. It’s too bad because while the Genesis might’ve been replaced by 32-bit platforms, it, by no means, was no longer a viable system. That was kind of sad that there really was no room for it because it just didn’t look as good even though it played great and probably better than the 32-bit machines, certainly at the start. But because of the looks, it had no hope. The industry moved much more towards marketing the visual experience. Part of that was that the way you made your money at the time was to simply sell the game, in which the publisher made all its money up front on a one-time sale. It really didn’t matter how much somebody played it – it was whether you sold it. Now we’re in a completely different era where many games are free to play and you buy features or pieces of the game later on. Gameplay is everything. At the time of the Genesis, in the 90s, that wasn’t the case.”

Coach K Basketball: Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski’s name will forever be with the college basketball gods as one of the greatest bench bosses in NCAA history. With five national championships under his belt (as of this writing), Coach K’s resume speaks for itself. Combine that with EA’s penchant for creating top-notch basketball experiences and it’s one of the best roundball games on the Sega Genesis.

However, unlike the long-time success other celebrity-endorsed games have had under the EA umbrella, Such as John Madden, Tiger Woods and evening Earl Weaver, Coach K only had one opportunity at the free-throw line, but managed to turn the experience into a three-point play. Originally released in 1995, it wasn’t until three years later that EA began its long-running March Madness franchise, which later morphed into NCAA Basketball. But regardless if it’s short tenure on the virtual court, Coach K’s Basketball left a nearly untarnished level of precision on the court during its time.

“Upon completion of NBA Live 95 we were all discussing the excitement of the NCAA Tournament and the incoming players that would be in NBA Live 96,” Dave Warfield, the game’s Assistant Producer and Designer said. “With Duke winning back to back tournaments and so many great players, it made sense for us to leverage the Live engine we had created with the Isometric view, and build on the interest of the yearly March Madness. As the team was looking at the next iteration of NBA Live, I split off to work with a small team to create a game that took the best of the NBA and created a different experience.”

Triple Play 96: It’s hard to believe, but at one point, EA Sports was extremely focused on producing quality baseball games. Way before MVP Baseball was a thing, Triple Play Baseball was a series that millions of gamers flocked to. At one point in the franchise’s history, it was a consistent million-seller on the Sony PlayStation and PlayStation 2. Before that dominance, however, EA was in a different type of ballgame on the Sega Genesis and was just trying to find its footing. At one point, the publisher had MLBPA Baseball, Tony LaRussa Baseball and even its classic PC series, Earl Weaver Baseball all trying to grab a piece of the virtual baseball pie. But somewhere between Earl Weaver’s rise on the PC and the end of the Sega Genesis lifespan, Triple Play came into existence and set the bar high enough to warrant a litany of sequels that took the series into the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, GameCube and PlayStation 2 cycles. 

But way before the game was repackaged as MVP Baseball, the Triple Play franchise was one of the last baseball games on the Sega Genesis and was put right in the middle of a dogfight for supremacy among a plethora of contenders including RBI Baseball ’94, Sega’s World Series Baseball ’96 and Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball. Just around the time when EA began to understand how important yearly updates were to their sports franchises and the adopting of that mentality with all of their other sports games, the brand knew it was time to get serious about baseball. Although they released Tony LaRussa, Super Baseball 2020 and MLBPA Baseball from 1992-1994, with no authentic MLB license, the games didn’t have the staying power as EA’s other games in the NBA and NHL. Although Triple Play 96 didn’t have an MLB license either, it was out to change the way baseball games on the Genesis felt by offering a slew of modes and features not found in their previous baseball games including hot and cold streaks, the ability to create minor leaguers and the best visuals of any of their prior 16-bit games based on America’s pastime.

The post Five Sports Games That Have Us Wish Again For Simpler Times appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

Fire Pro Wrestling Returns: This game already has a niche audience, but without a pro wrestling license and Agetec (a bargain bin publisher on the PS2), there wasn’t nearly as much excitement for this as their should have. With a ton of customization options and its tried and true gameplay, it’s a banger.

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel: I write about this one all the time and it’s because it’s a blast. You gotta play it.

Robotech Battlecry: This game is beautiful. With unlimited missiles and ammo, it’s like a fever dream. Reminds me of the original After Burner, but so much cooler.

Mister Mosquito: The PS2 had a lot of weird games and this is by far, one of the weirdest. Another must-play not he PS2.

Red Card 20-03: If you don’t like soccer, you should play this. If you love soccer, this may be the most fun soccer game ever. Simply put, this may be one of Midway’s most underrated titles ever.

The post Five PS2 Games That No One Played But Should Have appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

10: Little League Baseball: A little-known game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Little League Baseball was a great simulation in the fact that it epitomized a real game of Little League Baseball. Every team had a slugger or two, a utility guy, a speedster. All about strategy, it was definitely a title worth blowing on to get work in the early ‘90s.

9:  Hardball 99: While the gameplay wasn’t perfect, the horde of retired and legendary players included and the ability to edit attributes made for a memorable experience. It also made it feel more like a PC game than a Playstation title. Regardless, it set an example for future titles, many which included Hall of Fame players.

8:  The Bigs: NBA Jam meets baseball. Fun and with plenty of options, The Bigs, especially for the Wii is the type of game even a non-baseball fan can and will enjoy.

7: Sports Talk Baseball: Gamers went nuts when this game was originally released on the Sega Genesis. Armed with real players and play-by-play commentary, it was the closest experience you could have to a real MLB game. Boy, have times changed.

6: Ken Griffey Jr.’s Winning Run: This game had fantastic graphics and proved Rare could make more than Donkey Kong games. Although it was hurt by a lack of real players, the smooth and easy to learn gameplay experience made for its shortcomings.

5: MVP Baseball: This was truly the first great baseball game on the PlayStation 2. With a bevy of options, beautiful graphics and online play, this game set the bar high for other titles in the genre.

4: World Series Baseball: Another game on the Sega Genesis that revolutionized the genre. The behind the catcher viewpoint wasn’t optimal, but it was different. Sporting easily some of the best visuals for a sports game on that console, it fueled the next run of amazing sports titles from Sega and later, 2K games.

3: RBI Baseball: If you’re over 30, this was the baseball game you fell in love with. The little bobblehead looking dudes running around, the wacky knuckleballs, the power hitters, this game was a classic.

2:  MLB 2K10: Easily the best title in the 2k baseball games. From the base running to the pitching, ever system is intuitive and easy to learn. It’s not the most realistic baseball sim out there, but it works better than the rest.

1: MLB 12: The Show: Without a doubt one of the most realistic baseball sims in video game history with top notch sound, graphics and a plethora of options. If you’re a fan of the sport, this is the game to dedicate yourself to.

The post The Most Influential Baseball Games Ever appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

Castlevania

A masterpiece saga about vampire hunter Simon Belmont, who wields a whip as well as Indiana Jones. Fight Dracula himself and his ilk. Besides the whip, you will have various additional weapons: axes, boomerangs, knives, and holy water – each with its features.

Although Castlevania was released in the early days of the NES era, it boasts an atmospheric soundtrack and great graphics. You will enjoy them to the fullest, as the game is quite challenging to play.

Dragon Warrior

One of the first RPGs for the NES, along with Final Fantasy, in which you can upgrade several player characteristics. The plot is classic, you are a valiant knight, the kingdom is in danger, and the princess is in the hands of an evil dragon. Despite such platitudes, the game delights with its depth, hours of gameplay, and soundtrack.

Contra

A great, never-retired shooter for all time. It’s what a lot of people associate with the NES. The 80s was an era when games heavily exploited movie cliches of muscular tough guys with big guns.

In the Contra game, two guys are fighting against the Red Falcon terrorist organization. You have a bunch of weapons at your disposal, with the help of which you have to storm levels filled with numerous enemies and bosses.

Batman: The Video Game

A worthy incarnation of the Batman story, based on the 1989 film. Gotham is overrun with all sorts of scum and the Dark Knight has to take to the streets of the city and clean them up.

Batman is great at hand-to-hand combat with enemies, but he also has a limited supply of special weapons – a gun, discs, and boomerangs. And Batman can climb up walls, just like a Ninja Gaiden hero. The game is as challenging as the aforementioned Ninja Gaiden.

Megaman and Megaman 2

A mega-popular Capcom title. A valiant robot with superpowers cleanses the world of other robots with more evil intentions. The game is simply a masterpiece – stunning graphics, non-linear gameplay, and new abilities you get after defeating the bosses. They will help you deal with ordinary enemies, and with other bosses, which in the game are quite interesting.

And if you like playing online casino allowed in Australia, you’ll enjoy the famous sequel to the first part, which made the series popular. The game became visibly better both in terms of graphics and gameplay, separately it is worth mentioning the soundtrack, which can rightly be considered one of the best in the series. Our hero got new weapons and abilities, also it is possible to replenish his energy, and together with the password system, it made the game not as hardcore as the first part.

Super Mario Bros.

Among video game fans, there is hardly a person who has not heard of Mario. This series is one of the biggest and most successful. A legendary game that is impossible to pass due to its infinity.

To this day, almost every year games about the most famous plumber in the world are released, where the main gameplay, opponents, and characters have not changed for decades. What’s more, the new Mario for Nintendo Wii game is extremely similar to the original and has received much praise from critics.

Legend of Zelda

The developers of Legend of Zelda must be very proud of their creations. Just imagine, the cartridge was made of gold-colored plastic, somehow hinting to players that mountains of treasure are waiting for them and the game itself is nothing but a treasure, too.

Players explored the iconic world of Hyrule to punish the perennial villain Ganon and rescue Princess Zelda. You had as many as nine monster-infested dungeons where you had to work up quite a sweat. Also, this game was the first home console title to have a built-in battery for storing saves.

Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy did more for the RPG genre than GoldenEye 007 later did for the FPS shooters. The game has taken the best from its counterparts like Dragon Warrior, and noticeably improved many of their elements, such as random battles and the world map. Character classes were added, making it a must in future games. Later, the original Final Fantasy spawned a series of games on a wide variety of consoles that are still being released today.

Crystalis

An excellent RPG, similar to Legend of Zelda in mechanics and gameplay in many ways, but different in detail. Compared to the other better-known RPGs from the NES, Crystalis stands out for its elaborate story twisted around a madcap fusion of science fiction and fantasy. Nintendo later bought the original rights to the game and ported it to the Game Boy Color 10 years later.

Conclusion

Nintendo 64 games are journeys through the mysterious world of the first 3D graphics and adventures with characters from the 90s. On various sites users have written detailed reviews of these games, which will help to familiarize themselves with them in absentia. For those who appreciate the best, formed a rating of the most popular games.

Nintendo games that everyone remembers from childhood have received a lot of positive reviews and awards and remain at the top of the list for many fans.

The post Top 10 Nintendo Entertainment System Retro Games Of All Time appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

Here are 5 Commodore 64 games that will keep you in the Halloween spirit all evening:

1. Ghosts ‘n Goblins

Ghosts ‘n Goblins Arcade (2015)

Capcom’s classic sidescrolling adventure is a love letter to all the demon-slaying and undead-busting that screams Halloween. You play as Sir Arthur (named for the legendary king), tasked with saving Princess Prin-Prin from the evil Astaroth. You take up your mantle, grab your sword, and start off slaying everything that gets in your way. From spooky graveyards to haunted forests to towering castles, your quest will be arduous.

The commercial release of this game for the Commodore 64 is somewhat cut down from the arcade original. This is due to the system’s resource constraints and the requirement that the entire game be stored in memory, as opposed to loading between levels. Only four of the original seven levels are included, and some character and background details are sacrificed to bring it home. But it is still one of the best home arcade conversions on the 64. In 2015, a homebrew conversion of the game, called Ghosts ‘n Goblins Arcade, was released by developers Nostalgia. The game was completely rewritten, with improved graphics and sound. Two levels were added, and the existing 4 levels of the original were doubled in size, essentially bringing it to the same size as the arcade original. More like the arcade, but still undeniably Commodore 64. This is the version to play if you want to experience the game as it should be.

2. Beyond the Forbidden Forest

Beyond the Forbidden Forest

Forbidden Forest, by developer Cosmi, is a unique gaming experience on the Commodore 64. You play as an archer, moving through the forest, armed with four quivers of arrows that you use to eliminate the various creatures you encounter there. The enemies include things like giant spiders, snakes, and dragons, and were inspired by the giant creatures from multiple Ray Harryhausen films. Survive long enough, and you will face the Demogorgon.

While the original is a truly atmospheric classic, I chose to highlight the sequel, Beyond the Forbidden Forest, because it does what a good sequel is supposed to do, and it does it well. It keeps the solid core gameplay mechanic and adds an element of depth. This sequel allows you to not only fire around you, but also into the screen, as baddies come at you from deep in the forest. It also includes a day-night cycle, with the darkness of night contributing to some quality jump scares as creatures appear from out of nowhere. You still face a variety of creatures in the forest, but once you collect four golden arrows, you are transported to the Underworld, where you face bats, a Hydra, and finally the Demogorgon. Spooky fun, not for the faint of heart.

3. Cauldron

Cauldron

Stereotypically, witches are among the cadre of characters to avoid in the horror genre. But in Cauldron, from Palace Software, you play as a witch, intent on becoming the Witch Queen by defeating the Pumpking. To do this, you must collect 6 ingredients for your spell before facing off with your ultimate enemy. You accomplish this by flying around on your broom, side-scrolling style, either avoiding or shooting the variety of enemy creatures with your limited magic. During these shooter sections, you are looking for colored keys that will unlock various doors scattered about the level. Each of these doors leads to platformer-style levels that allow you to collect ingredients. Bring the ingredients back to your cottage to create your potion.

Caldron’s unique combination of gaming styles makes for an enjoyable gameplay experience, even if it is a bit high on the difficulty scale. This is primarily because, while the shooting sections scrolled, the platform sections are screen-by-screen affairs. You will often need to take leaps of faith, jumping from one screen to the next while hoping to land on a platform instead of encountering a creature that could drain your magical energy. But that aside, the game runs smoothly, with colorful graphics and atmospheric sound effects. Jump on your broomstick and give it a go.

4. Maniac Mansion

Maniac Mansion

In the early 80s, Lucasfilm was mostly associated with the Star Wars franchise. One of its subsidiaries, Lucasfilm Games (later LucasArts), made its name with a slew of point-and-click adventure games utilizing the SCUMM (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion) gaming engine. As you may have guessed from the acronym, the engine was created for and introduced to the public with the game Maniac Mansion.

In true B-movie fashion, you take control of a group of teenagers to rescue the cheerleader, Sandy, from the cellar of the creepy titular mansion. Living in the mansion are a group of personalities that would make The Addams Family look normal. There’s Weird Ed, a militant with a pet hamster. Nurse Edna, who is a caretaker with some… interesting… past times. Dr. Fred, a doctor driven mad by a meteor impact. And lastly, The Tentacle, a single octopus leg that longs to be a member of an all-tentacle band. You choose three teenagers from a cast of seven, each with different abilities and weaknesses. Your goal is to work your way through the mansion, interacting with the residents, hopefully ending with the eventual rescue of Sandy from Dr. Fred’s cellar. But, based on your chosen characters and their interactions with the mansion maniacs, some alternate endings are possible. If horror movies from the ’50s and ’60s are your jam, or you love a humorous adventure, Maniac Mansion will definitely scratch your itch.

5. Bubble Ghost

Bubble Ghost

While my final pick may not be a scary Halloween romp, Bubble Ghost from Accolade is a fun action-puzzle game with a spooky theme. Ported from the Atari ST original, you play as a ghost who has to navigate a bubble through a haunted house full of hazardous obstacles. By rotating your ghost and pressing the action button, you can blow the bubble in different directions, trying to make it to the exit for each room. You will also use your breath to affect the levels by blowing out candles and activating switches. Of course, being a ghost, you can move through any of the obstacles or walls on each level, which allows you to get just the right angle on your delicate floating orb. Your final score for each level is based on how quickly you navigate the room, so it is important to be able to find the most efficient way to the exit. Complete all 35 levels to win the game, and come back to try and beat your best times. If you like your Halloween fun less spooky and more thinky, then Bubble Ghost is for you.

When you find yourself at a lull in the trick-or-treat mayhem of All Hallows’ Eve, boot up one of these games for some hair-raising excitement.

The post Spooky 64 Skirmishes: 5 games that are more treats than tricks for your Halloween appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

Football is an integral part of American culture, but it’s an even bigger part of video game history. From its roots on the Atari 2600 to the eight-bit classics that revolutionized the genre, football games are the rock that helps keep the industry afloat. Old School Gamer’s Patrick Hickey Jr. details the most influential pigskin games of all time. Do you know them all?

ABC Monday Night Football: While the actual gameplay was far from fantastic, Data East’s Monday Night Football for the Super Nintendo had an excellent create-a-team option that was the first in console gaming history. For the first time, gamers could put themselves and their friends and real players on the virtual field.

Mutant League Football: This was just a fun game that proved the genre didn’t need real players or an NFL license to be successful.

Tecmo Bowl: To this day, Tecmo Bowl is a fantastic football game. Konami’s gift to sports fans, the side view and frenetic gameplay don’t have the same effect on this generation, but anyone over 30 has fond memories of it.

NFL Gameday: This was the game that scared the crap out of Electronic Arts. Up to that point, the company, although it was already fighting off Sega’s pigskin entries, had a virtual monopoly on the sport. Sony’s football game was fantastic, fast-paced and just different. Although it fizzled out less than a decade later, its importance to the genre can never be understated.

Play Action Football: As far as Nintendo Entertainment System football games go, Play Action Football was the most realistic. Sure, the graphics were terrible, but with a friend, this was a damn good football game. With an extensive playbook as well, it was surprisingly deep.

NFL 2K: Sega’s football game helped put the Dreamcast on the map and to this day features the most realistic run-game ever. Finding holes in the line of scrimmage is fun, intuitive and challenging. Again, like the Gameday series, 2K football is no longer around, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t legendary.

Joe Montana Sports Talk Football: Other football players had been on the cover of football games before, but when Sega put Montana on a game for their Genesis system to draw attention away from the Madden series (Ironically a game EA would finish for Sega), the real competition began.

NFL Blitz: NBA Jam for football fans, this game was an arcade fan’s dream come true. Although later outdone by the NFL Street series, it had a few years of glory and proved the genre had deep legs to stand on.

John Madden Football: While it’s not the best football game ever created, it’s the father of the longest yearly-running series in video game history. That means something, doesn’t it?

ESPN NFL 2K5: The last entry in the fabled 2K series, it’s easily the best football game ever made.

The post Most Influential Football Games of All-Time appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

The video game music repository KHInsider has had a huge week. Visitors going to the main page at downloads.khinsider.com today were greeted by a massive list of 71 games that had been added on March 11th. But visitors scrolling down further may have been shocked to find that this fairly simple, ad-free site has been uploading far, far more soundtracks than that. March 8th was a particular standout day for KHInsider, with well over a thousand soundtracks uploaded.

As might be expected, KHInsider is putting out such big numbers in part because it is accepting uploads of any game, not just famous ones. Of course, this only increases the odds that any visitor looking for some obscure title of their title change might, incredibly enough, be able to find those very sounds. Few may remember the action/puzzle hybrid game Clever & Smart, based on the Spanish comic Mortadelo y Filemón, for the Amiga and Commodore 64. But for those who do, it is now possible to relocate the soundtrack from those games. Chamisio, who uploaded these soundtracks, also had rips of the music from 1990 Monty Python’s Flying Circus game from those platforms, a shoot-em-up scroller.

The biggest name retro title on the upload list is probably Mortal Kombat II, or more specifically, the versions of that game which were released for the Game Gear, Game Boy, and Master System. Of course, a substantial accounting of every game that’s been recently added to the database, let alone the hundreds of thousands that have been added since the site got started all the way back in 2015, is quite impossible. For those curious about whether KHInsider has recordings of your favorite game, your best bet is just to go check out the website yourself. There’s a decent chance that however obscure you may think your long-forgotten ear worm is, it’s in there somewhere. I’ve always been partial to the soundtrack for Tetris Attack for the original Game Boy. Those songs in particular were added on July 29th, 2023. Thanks, Tailikku.

The post KHInsider adds hundreds of new soundtracks in the last week appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

In this exclusive Old School Gamer Magazine list, we share five games/IP that would absolutely benefit from a more retro experience.

Killer Instinct: At one point, Killer Instinct was an extremely hot franchise. Rare did something special here. However, the series has never been the same after its debut. A return to its retro look and focus on combos and great music could be the return to greatness it deserves.

NHL: The NHL franchise has been stuck in the mud for nearly 15 years. Many of the last ten games or so are indistinguishable from one another. The adoption of a more retro-look and focus on gameplay could make the series fresh and return it to its roots.

RBI Baseball: This series has been dead a few years, mainly because it tried to compete with The Show. No way it was ever going to win. Adopting the classic arcade and NES visuals it was born with, with extremely simple gameplay could make it a huge hit with older gamers.

TNA Wrestling: TNA’s first game was fun and a sequel never materialized. With a great roster and Nintendo 64-esque graphics, this could be one of those wrestling games people play just because it’s fun. It won’t be as grand as WWE or even as deep as AEW, but it would be fun.

The Legend of Zelda: Who else missed the original? What about Link’s Awakening? A game that channels that type of Zelda experience and not a massively open world could be a huge hit for Nintendo. Although not needed, if Nintendo is willing to do all these remakes and spin-offs with Link, why not officially take him back to his roots?

The post Five Modern Games/IP That Would Be Well-Served With Retro-Reboots appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.