Retro Gamer is the only magazine in the UK that’s fully dedicated to the halcyon days of classic gaming. If you’ve ever fondly blasted away at the Bydo Empire in R-Type, swung Bowser by the tail in Super Mario 64, or navigated all 20 levels of Matthew Smith’s Manic Miner, then this is the magazine for you. Created by a dedicated team of experts, Retro Gamer’s mission is to deliver constantly engaging and passionately written articles that cover a wide range of subjects. We offer our readership in-depth looks at classic games and franchises, behind-the-scenes glimpses of the software houses from yesteryear, and one-on-one exclusive interviews with industry veterans such as Archer Maclean and Hideo Kojima. Stylish, entertaining and beautifully presented, Retro Gamer is the ultimate guide to videogaming’s rich and diverse history.
THE RETROBATES • WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT GAMING IN THE EIGHTIES?
LOADING…
REINVENTING THE CLASSICS • How Atari is breathing new life into pedigree franchises
BRAIN GAMES • TAKE A MOMENT TO TACKLE OUR CRAFTY CONUNDRUMS
My old man’s a dodgepot
What the hell?
Inside the polygon museum • Leo Burke on his tribute to Nintendo 64 racing games
THE LATEST NEWS FROM JULY 2003
NEWS JULY 2003
THIS MONTH IN…
CHARTS JULY 2003
Lunar Rescue • IT’S OH SO QUIET…
BACK TO THE 80s • ALTHOUGH IT STARTED IN THE SEVENTIES, GAMING TRULY EXPLODED IN THE EIGHTIES AND IN DOING SO, IT DELIVERED SOME OF OUR BEST GAMING MEMORIES, FROM BUDGET TITLES TO MAGAZINES CRAMMED WITH THE LATEST REVIEWS. HERE, ICONOCLASTS FROM THE PERIOD EXPLAIN WHY IT WAS SUCH A GREAT DECADE
THE BRAT PACK
HARDCORE HARDWARE • WHILE IT’S THE GAMES EVERYONE LOVES, A BIT OF ‘MY MACHINE’S BETTER THAN YOURS’ IS ALWAYS FUN – AND IN THE EIGHTIES, THERE WAS A GREATER CHOICE OF HARDWARE THAN EVER BEFORE OR SINCE. WE PRESENT A SELECTION OF THE MOST NOTABLE MACHINES
AWESOME ARCADES • IN THE EIGHTIES, IF YOU WANTED THE ULTIMATE IN GRAPHICAL TECHNOLOGY AND BRUTAL CHALLENGE, THERE WAS ONLY ONE PLACE TO GO – YOUR LOCAL ARCADE. WE LOOK BACK AT AN AGE WHERE THE COIN-OP SCENE WAS STILL THE ENVY OF THE GAMING WORLD
INCREDIBLE INNOVATIONS • THE TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS THAT KEPT PLAYERS REACHING FOR THAT NEXT 10P PIECE
PREACHING OF THE CONVERTED • MINDWARE’S MIKITO ICHIKAWA TALKS ABOUT THE ART OF BRINGING ARCADE GAMES TO THE HOME
CREATING CHARACTER • THE EIGHTIES SAW AN EXPLOSION IN RECOGNISABLE VIDEOGAME CHARACTERS, INSPIRED BY THE CARTOON CHARACTERS BELOVED BY KIDS WORLDWIDE. WE LOOK BACK AT THE WHY GAMING HEROES BECAME SO IMPORTANT
HALL OF HEROES • A SELECTION OF THE MOST RECOGNISABLE GAMING HEROES OF THE EIGHTIES – AND WHAT THEY’RE UP TO NOW
KING OF THE JUNGLE • DAVID CRANE TALKS ABOUT THE CREATION OF ONE OF GAMING’S FIRST HUMAN HEROES, PITFALL HARRY
BUDGET BRILLIANCE • WHILE GAMES WERE FAR CHEAPER IN THE EIGHTIES COMPARED TO TODAY, NOT EVERYONE HAD A SPARE TENNER TO SPLASH OUT ON THE LATEST TENT-POLE RELEASE. FORTUNATELY, BUDGET GAMES AND COMPILATIONS WERE A GREAT WAY TO ENSURE YOUR HARD-EARNED POCKET MONEY STRETCHED AS FAR AS POSSIBLE
MASTERING THE BUDGET • MASTERTRONIC’S PR ALISON BEASLEY
THE HIT SQUAD • PAUL HUGHES ON ASSEMBLING OCEAN’S COMPILATIONS
TREMENDOUS TUNES • THE EIGHTIES WAS THE ERA WHERE VIDEOGAME MUSIC TURNED FROM SOUND EFFECTS AND SHORT JINGLES TO AN ARTISTIC SPECIALISM IN ITS OWN RIGHT, ALLOWING FOR A GOLDEN AGE OF EXPERIMENTATION
MAGNIFICENT MAGAZINES • WITH NO INTERNET AND LIMITED TV TIME FOR GAMES, THE ONLY WAY TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT NEW RELEASES WAS THROUGH THE MAGIC OF THE PRINTED PAGE
MEMORABLE MELODIES • FIVE CLASSIC TUNES THAT BRING THE NOSTALGIA FLOODING BACK
RECOMMENDED READING • THE...