Welcome to Retro Game SuperHyper, a new blog about old videogames. As a gamer since 1980, I’ve seen and done a lot in this hobby, so let’s talk about it!

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I’m TJ Rappel, and I’ve been a part of the online classic gaming community for over 20 years. Starting off as a part of newsgroups such as rec.games.video.classic, and an active member of the IRC channel #rgvc, I contributed information and services to some of the earliest online videogame websites and resources. On October 16, 1996, I launched a website called the Metroid Database, which quickly grew into the largest and most comprehensive online resource for Metroid information, with an enthusiastic user community. I left the MDb in 2007, handing the reigns over to a team of dedicated fans, and the site is still running today. Having bounced around various Atari, PC-Engine, Neo-Geo, arcade, and collectors’ forums over the years, I’ve more recently found Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to host some excellent communities of retro gamers. 20 years to the day after starting the Metroid website, on October 16, 2016, I decided to launch this blog, Retro Game SuperHyper, to talk about all my experiences in gaming over the past years — over 40 of them! — as well as the new things I’m continually discovering about old games.

My favorite games include Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Elevator Action, Dragon’s Lair, Pitfall!, Metroid, Bionic Commando (NES), Mega Man 1 & 2, Super Metroid, Lunar: Silver Star and Lunar: Eternal Blue, the entire Metal Gear series, Darkstalkers, and many, many shmups.