Retro Gaming Australia

Retro Gaming Theatre is a new feature for Retro Gaming Australia where we pick up a game we’ve not played in a couple of years and…well…play it. In these videos, you’ll get the game in all its glory – no jerks who think they’re hilarious talking over the top and no piss-farting around on the options screen before getting to the game. We’re playing this stuff on the original hardware too.

About a year or so ago, I bought some capture equipment with the intention of producing all sorts of awesome video footage for RGA. Unfortunately, most of our stuff was stashed away in boxes, making it a painstaking process to get access to most of our retro stuff. After reorganising the house on my holidays, we’ve now got all of our retro equipment front and centre, and will be producing video features from now on.

The first game to appear on Retro Gaming Theatre is Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64. It’s one of a handful of series which made its debut on the Nintendo 64, but arguably got better as the series progressed. As you’ll see, I’m pretty rusty at the start, but turn it around in the end.

We’ll be putting these videos out on a regular schedule both here and on our Youtube channel. If you have any specific requests for games you want to see, let us know and we’ll see what we can do!

Mario Kart: Super Circuit is an often overlooked entry into the series, but it was the first to feature “classic” tracks from previous games (in this case, Super Mario Kart) in addition to new tracks of its own. It was also the first Mario Kart game to not be developed by Nintendo EAD, with development duties handled by Intelligent Systems instead.

Last week, Nintendo of America announced the upcoming releases for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console and reaffirmed their support for the service with a commitment to release two 3DS Virtual Console titles a week from July 5 to August 1.

Throughout July, which Nintendo have nicknamed the “8-bit Summer”, the following games are scheduled for release:
The Legend of Zelda (NES) – July 5th
Kirby’s Pinball Land (Game Boy) – July 12th
The Sword of Hope II (Game Boy) – July 12th
Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (Game Boy) – July 19th
Tumblepop (Game Boy) – July 19th
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (Game Boy) – July 19th
Sonic Blast (Game Gear) – TBA
Sonic Labyrinth (Game Gear) – TBA

Unfamiliar with some of these games? Not a problem. Just check out the trailer above for a showcase of what’s on offer. Apparently more titles will be available too, but these are yet to be confirmed.

Nintendo of America will also be offering a weekly sale on select eShop titles for a limited time, so if you live in North America or are the proud owner of an imported Nintendo 3DS you have a lot to look forward to this … winter.

Source: Siliconera

In celebration of Wimbledon and the late-May release of Mario Tennis Open for 3DS, Nintendo has shared an infographic titled “The Evolution of Mario Tennis” – a pictorial representation of the history and key moments of the much (most?) loved Mario sport series.

(continue reading…)

In celebration of one full year of the Nintendo eShop, Nintendo are offering select eShop titles at a discount for a limited time.

During the European Nintendo Direct briefing, it was announced that ten games (some of which are awesome!) will be available for 20% off – five on sale this week and the remainder on sale the week after. Australians also have access to the anniversary sale; however the titles for the second week are yet to be confirmed.

A list of the sale titles and their prices has been provided below.

Week 1: 22 June – 28 June
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX – £4.30/$7.20
Let’s Golf! 3D – £4.30/$6.00
Pullblox – £4.30/$7.20
Super Mario Land – £2.90/$4.80
Zen Pinball 3D – £3.60/$6.00

Week 2: 29 June – 5 July
Dillon’s Rolling Western
Freakyforms: Your Creations, Alive!
Fun! Fun! Minigolf TOUCH!
Mighty Switch Force!
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

I think The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX, Super Mario Land and Pullblox are this week’s necessary purchases – if you haven’t snagged them already.

Source: Nintendo Life, Nintendo Nation

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is arguably Mario’s finest portable 2D adventure to date. As well as being remembered for its fantastic level design and cool power ups (like the rabbit ears), Super Mario Land 2 also played host to the first appearance of Wario, who was more of an evil Mario doppelganger than the crazy, money hungry bastard we know today.

Following from the success of Star Wars on the NES, it seemed like a no-brainer to bring the game to the Game Boy. A few compromises are made along the way, but the game is still quite similar. The Game Boy version actually went through a number of hands – Ubi Soft, Capcom and Nintendo published the game at different stages of release and in different countries.

Zelda fans have been clamouring for a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask for 3DS since the release of the popular The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D last year. The remake has been hinted at by Nintendo representatives, however the series creator Shigeru Miyamoto has also expressed a desire to remake or recreate The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (my personal favourite Zelda game <3). Speaking with IGN recently, Miyamoto has indicated that Nintendo are currently in deliberation. “We haven’t quite decided yet, whether we’re going to do A Link to the Past, because there’s also the possibility of doing a remake of Majora’s Mask,” Miyamoto explained. “This is something we’ve certainly been talking about and doing a little bit of experimenting with, to figure out which way we’re going to go.”

Unable to make any announcements at present, Miyamoto said that fans will have to wait “just a little while longer” for information regarding Nintendo’s decision. He went on to say “[Nintendo are] always looking at expanding our audience and giving people the opportunity to get their hands on 3DS and see what kind of fun gaming experiences they can have. And now, we’re also tasked with pushing the Wii U. So we have lots of good opportunities in terms of thinking about which Zelda game is going to be best for which purpose.” It would appear that the question is not only which Zelda game to remake, but also on which system it should appear.

So, which game should be remade, Majora’s Mask or A Link to the Past? Both!

It wasn’t the first crossover brawler by a long shot, but there’s something about Super Smash Bros. that makes it the most popular. It could be that all the various Nintendo universes, no matter how absurd, seem to click together. It could be the accessible gameplay that lends itself perfectly to couch-based multiplayer. Or it could simply be the fact that you can beat the snot out of Jigglypuff.

Godzilla for the Game Boy is a port of the somewhat bizarre MSX version, which is a puzzle game rather than the “smash everything in sight” style of gameplay you’d expect. Toho Inc. published the game in the US while Nintendo published the game in Europe.