Retro Gaming Australia

Yesterday, during the Tales of Festival, Hideo Baba announced that HD remasters of Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World are headed to the West in the form of Tales of Symphonia Chronicles (working title) for the PlayStation 3.

Tales of Symphonia, a favourite amongst Tales of fans, was originally released on the Nintendo GameCube back in 2004 (2003 in Japan) and marked the début of the series in PAL regions. Tales of Symphonia was followed up by Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World for the Nintendo Wii, a sequel which takes place a couple of years after the events of the first game.

Tales of Symphonia’s HD re-release will, however, be based on the Japanese exclusive PlayStation 2 version which included extra anime cut scenes, Mystic Artes for more characters, additional events and side-quests and a different theme song. The HD remasters will feature enhanced graphics and additional content including bonus Tales of the Abyss-themed costumes and new cut-ins for the Mystic Artes.

Tales of Symphonia Chronicles is set for release early next year (October 2013 for Japan). Here’s hoping we see a nice limited edition much like the one to be released in Japan which includes some figurines, a novel, and some really pretty packaging.

Conker’s Bad Fur Day designer Chris Seavor and programmers Shawn Pile and Chris Marlow recently reunited to record a developer’s commentary for the controversial game.

The three gents take a no-holds-barred look at the game, which was Rare’s final release both for the Nintendo 64 in its original incarnation, and the Xbox in its remade form. It’s just as crass as Conker himself, so keep that in mind before listening.

The commentary is in six parts, here’s a link for the Youtube playlist.

We’re pretty big fans of the website Hardcore Gaming 101, and it just so happens that one of their editors, John Szczepaniak (who also appears frequently in the pages of Retro Gamer) is running a Kickstarter for an ambitious new book on the history of game development in Japan.

Szczepaniak’s book looks to cover the ground missed by Steven Kent’s Ultimate History and other gaming history books, which have focused mostly on the West. His plan is to fly to Japan, hire a translator and conduct as many interviews with Japanese game developers as he can, and then put it into print. He feels that now is the time, particularly with the 30th anniversary of the Famicom and MSX, and a number of Japanese developers, such as Warp’s Kenji Eno, having passed away in the last two years.

If Szczepaniak’s past work is anything to go by, The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers should be one heck of a book should it come to fruition, so we highly recommend that you consider backing this project.

Turrican is one of the most popular games on the Commodore 64 and Amiga. The game and its sequels made their way to a multitude of platforms before dropping off the face of the earth in the mid 1990s.

Those desperate for a quick portable Turrican fix can now get it on their iDevice. Elite Systems has released an iOS port of the popular C64 shooter Turrican. It’s a universal app and will set you back just $AU1.99.

It’s an emulated version of the game featuring touch screen controls, save states and some information on the history of Turrican.

Hot off the heels of his Super Mario Bros. project Princess Rescue, homebrew developer Sprybug has brought Mario’s cross-platform rival Sonic the Hedgehog to the Atari 2600.

A short demo ROM of the game can be downloaded from AtariAge.

The project is quite early, but it’s still pretty impressive what Sprybug has managed to accomplish in a short period of time.

Konami’s all star video game parody Konami Wai Wai World for the Famicom is a crazy little piece of Japanese exclusive software, which series a hero called Konami Man journeying through a number of worlds from Konami games such as Castlevania, and teaming up with Konami heroes like Goemon, the Vic Viper and the ever-popular Moai head.

Thanks to the efforts of Zynk Oxhyde, Konami Wai Wai World can finally be enjoyed in English. Of course, to be able to enjoy the game, you’ll need the translation patch, a copy of the game ROM and either an emulator or a flash cartridge like the N8 or Power Pak.

You can get the translation patch here

id Software’s groundbreaking first person shooter Wolfenstein 3D has returned to Xbox Live Arcade and PSN after being delisted in 2012.

Bethesda mouthpiece Pete Hines stated that the game’s delisting was due to the way the ESRB works. Essentially, a rating is issued to a publisher, not a product – so if a publisher purchases another company’s IP, they have to go through the ratings process all over again. Since Bethesda bought id Software and Activision was behind the previous Wolf 3D release, Bethesda had to cough up to have it re-rated.

Seems a bit archaic, no?

It would seem that Sega is intending to push their 3D Classics in Australia later this year, with 3D Sonic the Hedgehog and 3D Altered Beast both receiving classifications from the Australian Classification Board earlier in the week.

Previously, 3D Space Harrier had been classified by the Board as well.

Sega’s mum on the subject, but I suspect we’ll see their full 3D Classics lineup by the end of the year.

Xbox Live Arcade
Wolfenstein 3D – 400 points (previously delisted)

Nintendo eShop (Australia, Europe)

WiiU Virtual Console
Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins (NES) – $AU6.50 regularly, $AU3.25 (50% off) if you have bought Super Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts

Wii Virtual Console
King of Fighters ’98 (Neo Geo) – 900 points

3DS Virtual Console
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (Game Boy Color) – $AU6.50 (introductory pricing, $AU7.80 normally)
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (Game Boy Color) – $AU6.50 (introductory pricing, $AU7.80 normally)

Nintendo eShop (North America)

WiiU Virtual Console
Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins (NES) – $US4.99, $2.50 (50% off) if you buy Mega Man X
Mega Man X (SNES) – $US7.99, $US4.00 (50% off) if you buy Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins

3DS Virtual Console
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (Game Boy Color) – $US4.99(introductory pricing, $US5.99 normally)
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (Game Boy Color) – $US4.99 (introductory pricing, $US5.99 normally)

PlayStation Store (Australia, Europe)

New Releases
The Warriors (PS2 Classics) – $AU14.45

Discounts
Ico & Shadow of the Colossus HD – Free for PSPlus subscribers

PlayStation Store (North America)

New Releases
The Warriors (PS2 Classics) – $US9.99
Wolfenstein 3D -$US4.99 (previously delisted)

Good Old Games

New Releases
Shadow Warrior Complete – $US5.99

Discounts
50% off Activision/Sierra Adventure games

Steam
Shadow Warrior – Free

Xbox Live Arcade
Capcom Arcade Collection All-in-One Pack – 2000 points ($AU33.00)

Nintendo eShop (Australia, Europe)

WiiU Virtual Console
Kirby’s Dream Course (SNES, 60Hz) – $AU10.40 ($AU7.30 if you own Kirby’s Adventure)
Kirby Super Star (SNES, 60Hz) – $AU10.40 ($AU7.30 if you own Kirby’s Adventure)

Nintendo eShop (North America)

WiiU Virtual Console
Kirby’s Dream Course (SNES) – $US7.99
Kirby Super Star (SNES) – $US7.99
Kirby’s Dream Land 3 (SNES) – $US7.99
Buy all three Kirby releases, get the third one free until May 30.

PlayStation Store (Australia, Europe)

New Releases
Darkstalkers Resurrection (PSPlus exclusive) – $AU14.45
Capcom Arcade Cabinet All-in-One Pack – $AU43.95

PlayStation Store (North America)

New Releases
Ratchet: Deadlocked (PS2 Classics) – $US9.99

Discounts
Darkstalkers Resurrection + Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix – $US14.99
Golden Axe – $US2.99 (Save 25%)

Good Old Games

New Releases
Wizardry 6 + 7
Wizardry 8

Discounts
FPS Flashbomb – 50% off a bunch of first person shooters

Steam
Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams – $US3.74 (75% off)
Unreal Deal Pack (includes Unreal Gold, Unreal 2: The Awakening, Unreal Tournament: Game of the Year Edition, Unreal Tournament 2004: Editor’s Choice Edition and Unreal Tournament III: Black) – $US10.00 (75% off)