GameBoy Advance – by Ben Magnet
There’s no doubt that the grey brick created by Gunpei Yokoi in 1989 revolutionized video games as a whole. A system that, on paper, couldn’t hold a candle to handhelds like SEGA’s Game Gear or Atari’s Lynx. No color screen or backlight made the original Game Boy a...
Aqua Ippan – This love letter to Metal Slug by Division 六 looks fantastic!
I can say for sure there's probably not many of you that haven't heard of 'Metal Slug', a game in a series of games that are well known in the gaming community, going back to the days of the Neo Geo system. This game has plenty of humor, while remaining action packed...
Spice Up Valentine’s Day with These Retro Co-op Games
Valentine's Day is here, so if you've got someone special to celebrate the holiday with, it's a perfect day to bond over shared experiences and create new memories along the way. Sure, you could default to the old “dinner and a movie” date, but why not spice things up...
New version released of tool to play SimCity 2000 on modern operating systems
Steam has been a fairly decent service in terms of providing modern compatibility for older games. But there's one curious exception to this trend- the classic game SimCity 2000. While SimCity 2000 is available on Steam, it's only available as the DOS version....
Tetris Forever Review – by Brad Feingold
The first time I played Tetris on the Macintosh, I became instantly addicted! This was a game that gave me every reason to sneak back into the journalism lab just to use the computer again and again. I truly believe it was because of the simplicity and complexity of...
Ristar: SEGA’s Forgotten 16-Bit Mascot
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
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...
The Apple II in 2024 – by By Ken Gagne
As the Apple II nears its fiftieth anniversary, it shows no sign of slowing down. The 8-bit personal computer, developed and designed by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, was manufactured in various models from 1977 to 1993, making it one of Apple Inc.’s longestrunning...
A review of Animal Crossing from Boss Fight Books
At multiple points in her summary of the history of Animal Crossing, Kelsey Lewin discusses the seeming impossibility of marketing a game like this. She documents the first, almost entirely forgotten clip discussing the game at E3 2001, sandwiched between high...
Computer Quarterback: The Best Football Simulator
As a football fan, you may fantasize about being able to play the game as skilled as your favorite player of all time. It is, however, nearly impossible to achieve unless you have a certain level of athleticism. A simulator game may answer if you want to do something...
Japanese Handhelds – by Jeremy Parish
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
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...
Retro Review: ‘Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy+’ Review: Not Enough New Content
In the ‘90s, the “Ace Combat” series was easily one of the most heralded franchises in gaming. One of Namco’s big three of “Tekken” and “Ridge Racer,” the game sold close to four million copies on the PlayStation and even more when the series moved to the PlayStation...
INK CONSOLE Crowdsupply Campaign Launching on March 1
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....
MACROSS -Shooting Insight *Review* – Game Released February 7th, 2025
Embark upon a galaxy-spanning mission to rescue the missing songstresses! Based on the popular long-running animated science fiction franchise, MACROSS -SHOOTING INSIGHT- is a brand-new Multi-Dimensional Shooting Game out now! TO ORDER CLICK HERE Pilots,...
Review of the GB Operator – By William Schwartz
What distinguishes handheld gaming in the modern era? Strictly speaking, most games today are handheld, as mobile games are played on phones. If you want classic games on that platform, you can probably find them. But Epilogue’s suspicion - borne out by the fact that...
A scorcher of a shooter!! Releases February 7th, 2025
MACROSS -Shooting Insight- is coming to Nintendo Switch, PS5 and PS4 on February 7 digitally Paris, France - 31st of January, 2025 – Red Art Games is announcing that the Western version of MACROSS -Shooting Insight- will now release on February 7, 2025 in North...
Non-Nintendo Handhelds – by Patrick Hickey, Jr.
Could you imagine gaming without handhelds? While that section of the market is still dominated by Nintendo today, that hasn’t always been the case. Way before the Nintendo Game Boy, there was a market for one-off handheld games made by Coleco and even Nintendo’s Game...
The VGHF Library opens in early access
For eight years, we've been building a world-class collection of game history materials. Now we're turning that into a research tool that anyone can use to study video game history. The Video Game History Foundation Library is the long-term home to our collections of...
Neo Geo Pocket – by John Michonski
The Neo Geo Pocket Color’s failure always seemed odd. Sure, it was up against the Game Boy, the certifiable big handheld in town for its entire existence, but how could such a well-made device with barely a single bad game only snatch a reported 2% of the handheld...
How Half-Life 2 Forever Changed the FPS Genre
After the release of Half-Life 2, the first-person shooter genre saw many changes, thanks in large part to this groundbreaking title from the masterminds at Valve.
Hacking the PSP – by Brian Lesyk
Psst! Hey, you! Yeah, you. Over here. I see you like PSPs. Wanna learn a secret? That thing can do so much more than you probably know, but, like, don't tell Sony I told you this, okay? Let's keep this between us, alright? This info ain't exactly street legal, ya...
Grinding: Mindless Filler, or A Different Kind of Fun?
With the appearance of the role-playing game on video consoles, a genre less about actual role-playing and more about navigating enemy dungeons via numbers rather than reflexes, we also saw the appearance of grinding. How grinding works is simple enough. If...
The PlayStation Portable – by Todd Friedman
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is handheld game console developed by Sony. It was first announced at E3 in 2003 and shown to the public in ay of 2004. It was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, and in North America on March 24, 2005. The PSP primarily competed...
Intellivision Thunder Castle | Swords & Sorcery in an Ever-Changing Maze!
Thunder Castle is a 1986 maze video game for the Intellivision. The player controls a knight navigating three mazes, defeating enemies to progress. To defeat the enemies, the knight must interact with objects throughout the maze before interacting with them. The game...
The 20th Anniversary of the Nintendo DS – By Matthew Owen
In the early '00s, Nintendo was in dire need of a sales boost. For years, Sony had been dominating the market with the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, while Nintendo's own GameCube failed to meet expectations. Competition was getting more crowded in the console space...
Donkey Kong Country: RARE’s Gorilla Turns 30
Donkey Kong is an iconic Nintendo character with a storied history, transforming from villain to hero over the course of his existence. Though he made his menacing debut in arcades, Donkey Kong has since become a goofy character prime for comedic relief, so much so...
The Angry Video Game Nerd Returns in 8-Bit Glory
Pittsburgh, PA – Jan. 22, 2025 – Get ready to dive into the world of terrible games once again as Retroware and Mega Cat Studios announce The Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit, coming to the NES and all modern platforms in Q2 2025. Heavily inspired by classic side-scrollers...
Handheld Electronic Games of the ’70’s – by Brett Weiss
The mid-to-late ‘70s saw the dawn of handheld electronic games and the beginning of my collecting something other than comic books. Console systems like the Fairchild Channel F and Atari 2600 launched in 1976 and 1977 respectively, but their high prices - $250 for an...
Is Dungeons and Dragons a Retro Video Game?
Last month, Amazon Prime's Secret Level adapted fifteen video games to short, animated films. Some of these could fairly be described as retro video games, though the bulk of them dated to the twenty-first century. But one of the odder ones of the full set, in...
Atari Gives End-of-Year 2024 Business Update
Company finishes 2024 with a slate of successful game releases; executes against retro-focused growth strategy NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atari® — one of the world's most iconic consumer brands and interactive entertainment producers — has today...
Stern Pinball Reveals Official Accessories for Godzilla 70th Anniversary Pinball Machine
This afternoon, Stern Pinball officially unveiled its new line of accessories for its Black & White Godzilla 70th Anniversary pinball machine. The line of products includes: Black & White Mothra Egg Shooter Knob King Gadorah Side Armor Black & White...
Box Boy’ Review: ‘LocoRoco’ meets ’Super Mario Land’
It’s crazy that this game has been out for over a decade and more people haven’t played it. Check out our retro review for yourself and see if you can get your hands on it. Hal Laboratory, the minds behind such iconic games the likes of “Kirby’s Dream Land, “The...
Think Quick Events Escape Room
"Through creative and whimsical game design and execution, Think Quick Events Escape Room strives to create memorable experiences for all players. Our games allow everyone to enjoy escape rooms, regardless of age, ability, experience or background, and break through...
Cancelled 35 Years Ago: P-47 II MD Returns with Retro-Bit!
PRE-ORDER HERE P-47 II MD is based on the 1988 arcade shooting game ‘P-47’, released by Jaleco. The game was secretly developed in 1990 under the title ‘P-47Ⅱ FREEDOM STAR’ as Jaleco's first entry into the MD platform. Although completed, its release was canceled due...
The Dukes of Hazzard
About This Episode Forty-five years ago, a southern action-adventure comedy set in rural Georgia hit the small screen. For seven seasons in the early ’80s, we followed the adventures of Bo & Luke Duke and their ’69 Dodge Charger. In this Backtrack, we look back on...
Rolling Thunder – A classic Arcade game gets a big speed improvement from McGeezer (Amiga)
McGeezer has been a name mentioned many times on Indie Retro News, as he has not only released some really amazing games such as the Arcade conversion of Rygar, the Arcade conversion of Turbo Sprint and Bomb Jack Beer Edition (link), but as from May or June he is also...
Pac-Man Resurgence: From Pixels to Reels – Exploring the Evolution of the Classic Game in Online Slots
After its 1980 release, Pac-Man became an international hit mainly due to its recognizable characters and easy gameplay. The iconic image of the yellow sphere with pixels traveling a maze came to represent the rapidly growing gaming sector. Since its release,...
Back to the 80s! RIKI 8Bit GAME Collection
The Riki 8bit Game Collection offers more than just a single experience—it’s a collection of diverse adventures. It features five distinct games and accompanying music albums. In Kira Kira Star Night, you’ll gather stars while navigating a pixelated, dreamlike city....
10 Years Later: Wolfenstein: Old Blood: The Good And the Bad
It’s crazy to think that Wolfenstein: The Old Blood is 10 years old in 2025, but it’s the truth. Steeped in the ambiance of the original, it’s special. Although it’s got beautiful PS4 visuals, it’s so rooted in what made the first games so unique that it’s a retro...