My Favourite Games - Part 4

Wow, these things take longer to write than I thought they would. And to think I was going to post all thirty in one go for my first post! I'm glad I decided to write just five a day (yes I know it hasn't been every day!), hope you're enjoying them (if anyone's even reading this!)...

Galaga '88 - PC Engine (1987)

I've always preferred this series of shooters to other games of the type such as Space Invaders. There are countless versions of Galaxians/Galaga/Gaplus, but few could argue that this PC Engine update isn't the best. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say this is the Engine game I've spent most time playing ever! The fact that my good friend, Luke, gave me the HuCard for free certainly didn't help matters - it's addictive as hell! The graphics are hardly pushing the Engine hardware to its limits, but they are very appealing nonetheless. The sprites are well-defined and colourful, and there are now nice backgrounds too. The Challenging Stages from the original Galaga return here, beginning with an announcement of "That's Galactic Dancin'", and accompanied by some nice music! Anyway, nice presentation aside, it's Galaga, you know what you're getting. Simple, addictive fun. Right up my street!

My Favourite Games - Part 3

Hello, I'm back a day late! I was too tired to post anything yesterday, I had a nice looong sleep for the first time in a while instead! And that means I've just worked, slept, and worked again since last posting, so I don't have anything interesting to say! So, to resume with my favourite games:

Thunder Force 3 - Mega Drive (1990)

Back in my Sega fanboy days, I used to love it when a game like this came along. It would give me more ammunition to use against those who would seek to besmirch the good Sega name, and would almost always overshadow similar efforts on other machines (at least until the SNES came along!). I can fondly recall many arguments with my Amiga fanboy friend at college. Try as he might, he could never convince me that Project X was a patch on this game! I didn't have to argue hard either. Featuring lush graphics, an awesome rocking soundtrack, kick-ass weaponry, big bosses, and eight varied levels (including the awesome lava stage, pictured), there's not really much more a shoot 'em up fan could ask for here. Many people prefer the fourth game in the series, but it's the third title all the way for me. Perhaps my fondness for this game comes from the fact that I rule at it, but there can be no doubting its quality. After all, how many other shooters are so good they have an arcade version made after they come out?

My Favourite Games - Part 2

Well, much of today has been spent in the fruitless pursuit of an obscure Japanese game and an emulator to run it on. I'm starting to think it's impossible to find the combination of desired game rom and the relevant emulator, despite the help of couple of good chaps from Retro Gamer forum. Anyone know how to emulate the Sharp X-1, or the NEC PC-98, or goodness know which other previously unknown 25-year old Japanese computers?! Oh well, I'm sure I'll figure something out!

And so, to continue with the fairly unremarkable list of my favourite games, numbers 6 -10... Behold!

Super Mario World - SNES (1992)

Proclaimed by many to be the greatest platform game of all-time, who am I to argue? After spending all of the preceding generation as a Sega fan-boy, I really didn't want to like this game, but I finally relented and got myself a SNES along with this game, and I was soon converted! Despite looking far less flashy than a certain blue hedgehog's debut on the rival Mega Drive, this game soon proved to me that looks aren't everything! I can still remember the first time I completed it, I was so proud of myself but my parents didn't even care about my achievement! Consisting of a sprawling 96 levels (many of which are secret), I felt justified in being proud of myself too! Despite its size, it never failed to consistently introduce new and creative features either, not least of which was Yoshi, now almost as famous as Mario himself, but the game was just so enjoyable to play through, and has so many nice touches. Has it ever been bettered? Not in my opinion...

My Favourite Games - Part 1

Welcome!
Hello, and welcome to my long-planned blog! I'm RetroKingSimon (or RKS to my friends). I've been meaning to get around to this for over a year now, and I've been meaning to make a replacement for the website I used to have with my good friend, Luke, for even longer. This blog is the start, and will eventually lead to my full website, and I hope to keep the two running side-by-side.

Some of my many interests include retro videogames, movies, and anime, but I have been complacent in the pursuit of these interests for quite some time now, especially since I've been married. This blog is my attempt to make amends, and will offer the opportunity/excuse to sample some of the best, and no doubt worst, these subjects have to offer, including some that I've been meaning to try for many years, and will also allow me to re-evaluate some old favourites that should perhaps be better consigned to fondly-recalled memories.

In addition, I have a curious fondness for making random, and often nonsensical 'Top Five' lists, often with the help of Luke. These will also form part of my tomfoolery here, and are just for fun. Any of you that read these musings, I encourage you to make comments or let me know what you think, good or bad, but trolls and other hateful rapscallions can direct your bilge elsewhere. :)

Anyway, to mark my first post here, I thought it might be prudent to list my favourite games. There are 30 here, though I like many more of course, and with the exception of the first one, they are in no particular order. I will post five a day for the next 6 days...

Star Control 2 - 3DO (1994)

My favourite videogame of all-time? Without question! Not many sci-fi TV shows or films even have a story as engrossing as this game! It's an epic space adventure game where, controlling a large, but weak starship, you must wander the galaxy searching for artefacts, forging alliances with or fighting against the many alien races, gathering resources, and building a fleet with which to take on the evil Ur-Quan Heirachy who have enslaved Earth and several other worlds. Featuring hectic real-time battles, hours of speech, and countless things to do, it's a sci-fi game that has everything. You even get to score with a green-skinned alien girly for goodness sake! The best thing of all about this game is that you can download a conversion of the 3DO game for nothing and play it on any modern PC. Get it here (the game has had a name change though, it's now called Ur-Quan Masters).