Retro Gaming Australia

The Australian Classification Board has assigned a rating of M to the Metal Gear Solid: Digital Novel Pack, a pack containing the Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel released previously on the PSP, and its sequel Metal Gear Solid: Bande Dessinee.

The graphic novels, written by Kris Oprisko and illustrated by Australian artist Ashley Wood are based on the first and second Metal Gear Solid games respectively. They were released in paper form from 2004, before being converted to motion comics with voices provided by many of the original cast members.

There is some sentiment that this could be a sign of a separate retail release for the graphic novel pack, as previously seen in Japan, but it is more than likely that this rating just refers to the disc that is included in the Metal Gear Solid Legacy Collection, due to hit Australian retail stores in September,

Source: Australian Classification Board (via Siliconera)

Over the weekend, Bethesda announced that they will release an anthology box set for their phenomenally popular Elder Scrolls series.

Dubbed The Elder Scrolls Anthology, the box set contains The Elder Scrolls: Arena, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and its expansions Tribunal and Bloodmoon, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and its expansions Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and its expansions Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn.

Enthusiasts might note that the box set does not include the many spin-offs such as Battlespire and Redguard – but we think Bethesda might want to forget about those. The set also includes a map for each game. It all comes packed in a rather nice looking collectible box, too.

The Elder Scrolls Anthology will be released in September for the PC and will set you back $US79.99.

Via Bethesda

Retro Gaming Australia has jumped on the latest social media bandwagon – Instagram!

We’ll be publishing photos of items from our collection on a regular basis, and whatever other doofy crap we uncover along the way.

You can find our Instagram page here

Two previously unreleased Nintendo Entertainment System prototypes have found their way out of obscurity in the last week.

The first release was Dino Hockey, a bizarre take on ice hockey by Sunsoft which features dinosaurs in place of humans. What makes this release more interesting is that there was almost no coverage in the press of the time about Dino Hockey, so it was relatively unknown among the NES community. The only sighting of the game was at the 1991 Summer CES. The prototype is barely playable, but it is still an interesting piece of history.

The second release is of the scrapped NES port of Atari arcade racer Hard Drivin’. This was released as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of the prototype focused site Lost Levels, run by Frank Cifaldi. Cifaldi had recently caught up with the NES version’s programmer, Mark Morris, who was working on the game for Tengen. As you’d expect, the game was a bit much for the NES hardware, but it’s still a pretty admirable effort.

Via RetroCollect

Nintendo eShop (Australia, Europe)

WiiU Virtual Console
Harvest Moon (SNES) – $AU10.40

Nintendo eShop (North America)

WiiU Virtual Console
Harvest Moon (SNES) – $US7.99

3DS Virtual Console
Kirby’s Dream Land 2 (Game Boy) – $US3.99

PlayStation Store (Australia, Europe)

New Releases
Superfrog HD – $AU9.40 (CrossBuy)

Discounts
PlayStation Festival / PlayStation Memories
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (PSP) – $AU7.35 ($AU6.62 for PSPlus)
Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP) – $AU21.95 ($AU19.76 for PSPlus)
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 – $AU5.85 ($AU5.27 for PSPlus)
Retro City Rampage – $AU7.35
Resident Evil 4 HD – $AU14.45 ($AU13.01 for PSPlus)
Prince of Persia Trilogy HD – $AU14.45 for the three, $AU7.35 individually ($AU13.01 / $AU6.62 for PSPlus)
Beyond Good and Evil HD – $AU7.35 ($AU6.62 for PSPlus)
Rayman 3 HD – $AU7.35
ICO and Shadow of the Colossus HD – $AU18.25
Killzone HD – $AU11.05 ($AU9.95 for PSPlus)
Ratchet & Clank HD – $AU11.05 ($AU9.95 for PSPlus)

PlayStation Store (North America)

New Releases
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly (PS2 Classics) (aka Project Zero 2) – $US9.99
PTO IV (PS2 Classics) – $US9.99

Steam
Quakecon Pack (74% off) – $US119.60, includes The Ultimate Doom, Doom II: Hell on Earth, Doom 3, Quake + all expansions, Quake II + all expansions, Commander Keen and numerous other id Software and Bethesda Softworks games.

Want to play your Game Boy Advance games on your Super Nintendo? If the answer is yes, then the GBA to SNES Cartridge Adapter has got you covered.

Available from Tototek for US $29.99, the adapter enables you to play most GBA games on your PAL or NTSC SNES (or Super Famicom), affording you the opportunity to use your oh so comfy SNES controller while not having to worry about optimal lighting if you’re not fortunate enough to own the brighter backlit model GBA SP. The adapter even has a link port.

We haven’t had a play around with the GBA to SNES Cartridge Adapter, so we can’t vouch for its quality and library compatibility, but it seems like a neat little device that might be worth looking into if the idea of playing GBA games on a SNES tickles your fancy. Though, you might prefer to wait for Retro-Bit’s, albeit pricier, Super Retro Adapter – which looks pretty slick.

Thanks to Retro Collect for the heads up.

Ever play through Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Mega Drive and think to yourself ‘I wonder what this looks like from Sonic’s perspective’? Well, check out the above video and you’ll soon know.

Machinima have released a video of a first person 3D Green Hill Zone Act 1 – movement is a tad wonky and speed is lacking, but it certainly looks the part. This isn’t the first such video though, YouTuber AngusFilms1 created a first person 3D version of this very level a couple of years ago, which you can take a look at here. It’s a speedier run, but lacks the environmental detail present in the before mentioned video.

Source: Retro Collect

Sure, it’s not the HD remake that we are waiting for, but this demake of Final Fantasy VII is still pretty cool.

Australian programmer Lucas Brown is giving the classic RPG the 16-bit treatment, recreating the game in 2D using RPG Maker 2003. And it looks fantastic! Since starting the project in 2008, Brown has remade the menu and battle systems, and created custom (and darling) sprites and 2D visuals, however he doesn’t plan to remake the entire game – and understandably so, it’s a big job. Brown has said that he hopes to have the first mission playable in the near future.

Sadly, the projects future is looking a little unsure as Brown has admitted that he does not have the time to the complete demake as work, love and other projects compete for his attention. Here’s hoping the Final Fantasy VII: 2D Remake’s time the spotlight recently sets Brown’s inspiration and motivation in motion once again, and we can see more of this charming project soon. Check out the media below.

Opening scenes:

Battle scene:

Source: Kotaku

Killer Instinct is not the only reboot that Double Helix having been working on. This past weekend at the San Diego Comic Con, Capcom announced that the developer is also currently working on a Strider reboot.

In the reboot, players reprise the role of Hiryu, a young and pretty swish Special-A Class Strider, who is tasked with eliminating the rather naughty Grandmaster Meio.

Strider will be available digitally on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC early next year. Check out the gameplay trailer above.

Source: Capcom Unity

Atari’s assets have gone up on the auction block, and Stardock has scored the rights to Star Control.

Stardock CEO Brad Wardell elaborated on the company’s plans for the rights, stating that “We expect the new Star Control to come in the form of a reboot, similar to what Firaxis did with the XCOM series last year. We are looking at Star Control II as a major source of inspiration.”

Plans for re-releases of the previous games are somewhat limited – the rights Stardock acquired only relate to the naming of future games, as the rights to previous Star Control games lay with series co-creator Paul Reiche.