After a three-year wait to get back to a normal schedule, Midwest Gaming Classic returned to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in full force this year. Having canceled the event in 2020 because…well, because 2020, then postponing the usual spring weekend in 2021 from April to November because…well, because 2020 again, April 28-30, 2022 finally saw MGC back in action the way we remember it from the Before Times.
Continue reading “Midwest Gaming Classic 2022!”
One of the most well-established facts about me on this blog is that I LOVE ACTRAISER. So it should a surprise to nobody that I flat-out lost my mind when the September 23, 2021 Nintendo Direct surprised us all with the announcment of Actraiser Renaissance.
Continue reading “Raising Act Renaissance”
As a “Metroid guy,” I want so badly to write about Metroid Dread. I have lots of thoughts about the game and what it means for the series as a whole. But how do I tackle it?
Continue reading “Back From the Dread”
A lot of gamers keep lists of all the games they’ve finished throughout each year. That’s something I’ve always kinda-sorta intended to do, but I’ve tried to keep them all in my head, and at my advanced age (I’m all of forty-damn-seven), that’s nearly impossible for my withered old brain.
So since the beginning of the year, I figured I could keep track of them right here in a blog post, which I continually updated throughout the year. The latest games were added to the top. (I did not include re-playing old games I’ve already finished, like, say, Super Metroid or Mega Man.)
With the final update on New Year’s Eve, I ended up finishing 15 games in 2021. It’s not a lot by some standards, but considering how busy I’ve been with “real life,” I’m fairly pleased with that count, especially considering there are a couple long RPGs on the list. Hopefully 2022 will bring an even longer list, but for now, here’s a look at my year in gaming:
Continue reading “FINISHED in 2021! (Final update: 12/31/21)”
Just the other day, the Nintendo Direct broadcast on the 23rd of September, 2021, my mind was blown clean out of my skull by Square Enix’s surprise announcement of Actraiser Renaissance, a remake of one of my all-time favorite, put-on-a-pedestal games, Actraiser for the Super NES. Making the news that much more nuclear was the uranium cherry on top: the game was available THAT DAY.
Continue reading “Never Say Never”
While last November saw the 30th anniversary of Nintendo’s Super Famicom, today is the 30th anniversary of the release of its North American counterpart, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System! Or Super NES, or SNES, or Super Nintendo…however you refer to it, it was 30 years ago that we finally got the big N’s 16-bit powerhouse on this side of the Pacific.
I wrote about my first experiences with the Super Famicom in that article linked above, but I still have a story or two left to tell about the Super NES.
Continue reading “Happy 30th, Super NES!”
This past week was E3! While this year was much different than past events, there’s still lots of news to share, including exciting retro gaming-related surprises. Let’s jump in!
Continue reading “Retro at E3 2021 (and some other recent announcements)”
Just when I said I wasn’t going to be making as many regular blog posts, here comes the return of Video Vinyl! Bet you didn’t see that coming!
Okay, so to follow that shocker, here’s a hot take:
There’s too damn much video game vinyl.
Continue reading “Video Vinyl: Shadow of the Colossus and Actraiser”
You can always tell when it’s this time of year, because the blog gets kinda silent. You know I’m working on something — well here it is! The FOURTH big issue of Retro Game SuperHyper fanzine is available now!
Continue reading “Retro Game SuperHyper Fanzine Issue #4 is OUT NOW!!”
It’s a bit belated, but November 21, 2020 was the 30th birthday of one of the greatest video game consoles of all time, Nintendo’s Super Famicom!
The 16-bit follow-up to the monstrously popular Famicom/NES was highly anticipated in the months before its release, and with Sega’s Mega Drive and NEC’s PC Engine already leading the way into the 16-bit era, all eyes were on Nintendo to see what their machine would deliver.
The Super Famicom’s legacy has been so firmly cemented in the past 30 years that there’s not much more commentary I can offer that wouldn’t be a reiteration of anything that’s already been said. So instead, on this monumental three-decade anniversary, my mind drifts back to my memories of what the vibe was like leading up to the launch of the SFC, as those are some of my most nostalgic feelings of video game excitement.
Continue reading “Happy 30th, Super Famicom!”
Last week, Netflix began streaming a new 6-part documentary series on the history of video games, titled High Score. Immediately, my Twitter and Instagram feeds were filled with the impressions of my fellow gamers who were watching it. Of course, I checked it out too — I had to, it’s my duty as a gamer — so, how highly does High Score score?
Continue reading “High Score on Netflix”
There’s a new video on the Retro Game SuperHyper YouTube Channel! This time, I show off video game trading card wax packs from the 1980s!
If you were a kid during the Golden Age of video games, you probably ran across these more than a few times, and if you were like me, you bought ’em, played the scratch-off games, and stuck the stickers on everything you owned. Let’s revisit them, shall we?
I’m also thinking about turning this into an expanded pictorial in issue #4 of the RGSH fanzine, so stay tuned for more waxy memories!
Retro Game SuperHyper 