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 GAME DEFINED THE NINETIES FOR YOU?
LOADING…
TWO RARE DISCOVERIES • Rare’s GoldeneEye remaster and Dinosaur Planet appear online
20 GOTO 10
A force for good
Restoring the past • Jan Hofmeister walks us through his LucasArts restoration project
THE LATEST NEWS FROM MAY 2004
NEWS MAY 2004
CHARTS MAY 2004
THIS MONTH IN…
Double Dragon II: The Revenge • SECOND CHANCE SUCCESS
Back To The 90s • FEW ERAS OF GAMING EXCITED LIKE THE NINETIES DID. THE DECREASE SPANNED SEVERAL GENERATIONS OF HARDWARE, INTRODUCED A COLORFUL RANGE OF CHARACTERS AND SAW GAMES GO TRULY MAINSTREAM. JOIN US THEN, AS WE COVER TEN YEARS OF GAMING EXCELLENCE
MEGA MACHINES! • HARDWARE IS NOTHING WITHOUT GAMES, BUT IN THIS ERA OF UPHEAVAL, ASTONISHING TECHNOLOGICAL LEAPS GAVE DEVELOPERS AND PLAYERS SEEMINGLY INFINITE NEW POSSIBILITIES TO EXPLORE. WE PRESENT A SELECTION OF THE DECADE’S MOST NOTABLE MACHINES
FROM BEDROOMS TO FRONT ROOMS! • OVER THE COURSE OF THE NINETIES, THE RISE OF THE CONSOLES MADE VIDEOGAMES INTO A BIGGER PHENOMENON THAN THEY’D EVER BEEN BEFORE, WITH PLAYGROUND RIVALRIES GIVING WAY TO UNPRECEDENTED MAINSTREAM CREDIBILITY
IN MEMORIAM • THE FAMILIAR NAMES WE LOST AS CONSOLE GAMING EXPLODED IN POPULARITY
MAINSTREAM MOVEMENTS • THE KEY EVENTS THAT SHOWED THAT THE WORLD WAS TAKING NOTICE
SPECTACULAR SUPERSTARS! • AT ONE TIME IT SEEMED THAT EVERYTHING NEEDED A MASCOT, AND PREFERABLY ONE BASED ON A REASONABLY OBSCURE MAMMAL. BUT AS WELL AS EMBRACING THAT TREND, THE NINETIES REDEFINED WHAT A VIDEOGAME MASCOT COULD BE
HALL OF HEROS • THE MOST MEMORABLE MASCOTS OF THE NINETIES, AND WHAT THEY’RE UP TO NOW
MASCOT MANIAC • DALEY EVE JOHNSON LOOKS BACK AT THE MASCOTS THAT INSPIRED HER TO BECOME A GAME DESIGNER AT YOOKA-LAYLEE DEVELOPER PLAYTONIC GAMES
MAGNIFICENT MAGAZINES! • THE NINETIES SAW A DELUGE OF NEW GAMING MAGAZINES COVERING EVERY FORMAT – AND A BRAND OF ANARCHIC JOURNALISM WE WON’T SEE THE LIKES OF AGAIN
RECOMMANDED READING • THE MAGAZINES THAT DEFINED THE NINETIES
THE REVOLUTION IS TELEVISED! • THE NINETIES SAW A GOLDEN AGE OF GAMING TV, AS VIDEOGAMES FOUGHT THEIR WAY INTO THE TV SCHEDULES. YET FEW SUCH SHOWS WOULD REMAIN BY THE DECADE’S END
TV HIGHLIGHTS • THE MEMORABLE SHOWS THAT DEFINED THE NINETIES
HANDHELD HAVEN! • TAKING YOUR FAVOURITE GAMES OUT ON THE ROAD WAS A BIG PART OF PLAYING IN THE NINETIES, AS THE MAJOR MANUFACTURERS TOOK TO MAKING HANDHELD CONSOLES. IT DIDN’T ALWAYS GO WELL FOR THEM, BUT THEIR EFFORTS LEFT AN UNFORGETTABLE LEGACY FOR GAMERS
CALLINS CARDS • THE SIGNATURE GAMES THAT WERE EMBLEMATIC OF THE DECADE’S BEST HANDHELDS
RETRO FUTURISM • ELLIOT COLL MODS AND REPAIRS NINETIES HANDHELDS ON THE RETRO FUTURE YOUTUBE CHANNEL, AND HERE HE EXPLAINS WHY HE’S SO FASCINATED WITH THEM
RISE OF THE PC! • INNOVATIVE GAMES, BLEEDING EDGE TECHNOLOGY AND NEW...