Retro Gamer

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 MOST TECHNICALLY IMPRESSIVE SNES GAME?

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SOMEONE CALL A PLUMBER • Massive file leak exposes Nintendo development secrets

NEWS WALL • DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONTLINE OF RETRO GAMING

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Need for greed

From bedrooms to consoles • Nicola and Anthony Caulfield discuss their new PlayStation documentary

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PLAYING WITH SUPER POWER INSIDE THE SUPER NINTENDO • 30 YEARS SINCE IT HIT JAPAN, MANY PLAYERS STILL FEEL THAT THE SUPER NINTENDO IS THE BEST CONSOLE EVER MADE. WE SPEAK TO VETERAN SNES DEVELOPERS TO FIND OUT HOW THE GAMES THAT MADE THIS GREY BOX LEGENDARY WERE SHAPED BY WHAT WAS INSIDE OF IT

GET ON BOARD • A GUIDE TO THE CHIPS THAT MAKE UP THE SNES

TECH TRICKS • THE SPECIAL EFFECTS THAT SNES WAS BUILT TO PERFORM

A LA MODE • EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT MODE 7, BUT WHAT BENEFITS DO MODES 0-6 GIVE YOU? HERE'S A HANDY GUIDE TO NINTENDO'S FLEXIBLE FRAME CONSTRUCTION METHODS

FRAME-UP • THE MOST COMMONLY USED GRAPHICAL MODE OF THE SNES IS MODE1, WHICH OFFERS A GREAT BALANCE OF BACKGROUND LAYERS AND COLOUR DEPTH, HERE IS HOW EARTHWORM JIM USES THEM

WOULD YOU LIKE CHIPS WITH THAT? • THE ENHANCEMENT THAT PUSHED GAMES BEYOND THE LIMITS OF THE SNES

SEVENTH HEAVEN • HOW CLEVER PROGRAMMING MADE MODE 7 MORE THAN JUST A NEAT GRAPHICAL TRICK

THE MAKING OF DOMINOS • Nokia phones may have brought it to the masses but Snake existed in a different skin way back in the Seventies. Programmer Dennis Koble shares the twisted tale of Dominos

THE MAKING OF KNIGHT TIME • Besides being arguably the best Magic Knight adventure, Knight Tyme was also the most ambitious Spectrum 128K launch title. David Jones tells Retro Gamer how he created his epic sci-fi classic

JOE BLADE 4 • Moustached merce nary Joe Blade successfully completed three missions before being declared MIA on his fourth. We interrogate those on the inside to determine his fate.

THE HISTORY OF BRIAN LARA CRICKET • The Spy Vs Spy mecha nic is so clever that we can’t believe more games haven’t copied it over the years. This clone for the PC and Amiga is one of the exceptions, and it features a series of fun missions to bluff and bumble your way through.

THE MAKING OF Surfchamp • Surfchamp was an anomaly when it was released on the Spectrum 35 years ago: a hardcore sports simulator with a plastic surfboard peripheral, created by a team of ambitious Irish academics. We caught up with the developers to find out more

INTELLIGENT GAMES • It existed for 14 years and worked on some of gaming’s biggest franchises, so it’s about time we studied the rise and fall of this often overlooked studio

Pinball Fantasies • ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR

ULTIMATE GUIDE ROCKET KNIGHT ADVENTURES • One hedgehog paved the way for many other animal mascot platformers in the...