Retro Reviews
Old-school reviews.
Have You Seen….Cannibal Holocaust?
Release Date: June 19, 1985 Director: Ruggero Deodato Starring: Robert Kerman, Francesca Ciardi, Luca Barbareschi, Carl Gabriel Yorke, Perry Pirkanen Favorite quote: “I wonder who the real cannibals are.”– Professor Harold Monroe In looking for a movie this week to highlight for this ongoing series, I knew I wanted to do something obscure that I remember enjoying in my teenage years. I was also lo...[Read More]
Retro Review: Pokemon Snap (N64)
Release Date: March 21, 1999 Developer: HAL Laboratory, Inc.; Nintendo Co., Ltd. Publisher: Nintendo Co., Ltd. When Pokemon Snap was announced for the Wii U Virtual Console, there were some smiles among fans of the series. The game, originally released on the Nintendo 64 in 1999, was already available on the Wii’s Virtual Console, and that version is compatible with the Wii U. The new version mere...[Read More]
Retro Review: SimCity (SNES)
Release Date: August 23, 1991 Developer: Maxis Software, Inc. Publisher: Nintendo of America, Inc. The Super Nintendo officially launched on August 23, 1991 in North America. It launched with a measly five games, but the games were noteworthy. Super Mario World was, of course, the heavy hitter and a pack-in title. F-Zero and Pilotwings were the system’s tech mules, showing off the SNES’s “Mode 7”...[Read More]
Have You Seen…Last Action Hero?
Release Date: June 18, 1993 Director: John McTiernan Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, F. Murray Abraham, , Charles Dance, Art Carney, Pobert Prosky, Frank McRae, Austin O’Brien, Mercedes Ruehl, Ian McKellen, Tom Noonan, Anthony Quinn Favorite quote: “To be…or not to be. Not to be!”– Jack Slater I have a confession to make. It may not be entirely true, but I feel it is, so I want to spill my guts. ...[Read More]
Retro Review: Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1)
Release Date: June 20, 1997 Developer: Square Co., Ltd. Publisher: Square Co., Ltd. (EDIT: the artwork was changed after several astute gamers noticed – and I didn’t! – that the artwork I originally used was for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for the GBA, not the original. I blame laziness – and plus, the artwork was pretty. Thanks to Daniel Monserrat form The Gaming Experie...[Read More]
Retro Review: Golgo-13: Top Secret Episode (NES)
Release Date: 1988 Developer: Vic Tokai Corporation Publisher: Vic Tokai, Inc. This article is late. I apologize for the delay. Sometimes, life gets in the way. Anime has been a big influence in gaming for years. Anime staples like Dragon Ball Z and Pokémon have been the basis for very successful video game franchises. Moreover, games with anime aesthetics have seen acclaim. One needs to go no fur...[Read More]
Retro Review: SoulCalibur (DC)
Release Date: September 9, 1999 Developer: Project Soul Publisher: Namco There sure have been a lot of notable anniversaries in the last couple of months that conspire to make me feel even older. The most recent anniversary to add to the gray in my beard is the 20th Anniversary of Bandai Namco’s Soulcalibur series. The series pioneered true 8-way 3D, weapons-based combat and has been a staple of t...[Read More]
Retro Review: PaRappa the Rapper (PS1)
Release Date: December 6, 1996 Developer: NanaOn-Sha, Co., Ltd. Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. It’s hard to believe that 20 years ago tomorrow, a game like PaRappa the Rapper was released in the United States. It’s even harder to believe how much of a risk the game was. The premise sounded so silly to me in 1996, I kept thinking it was the product of some demented Mad Libs game create...[Read More]
Retro Review: Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos (NES)
Release Date: June 1990 Developer: Software Creations, Ltd. Publisher: GSC Imagesoft Inc. As I mentioned in my Adventures of Lolo Retro Review, I have a special place in my low-res heart for puzzle games. From Tetris to Portal to Braid and everywhere in between, puzzle games have kept me occupied way more than RPGs and racing games, my other two favorite genres. On the NES, the aforementioned Lolo...[Read More]
Retro Review: Phantasy Star Online (DC)
Release Date: December 21, 2000 Developer: Sonic Team Publisher: SEGA Corporation The SEGA Dreamcast was a snake-bitten console. It was their most technologically-advanced console, but it was released at a time when gamers were openly hostile with the company. Stateside, all of the goodwill SEGA of America garnered for the 16-bit Genesis was washed away with SEGA of Japan’s meddling, forcing such ...[Read More]
Retro Review: The Krion Conquest
Release Date: January 1991 Developer: Vic Tokai Corporation Publisher: Vic Tokai, Inc. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s the case, The Krion Conquest is the most flattering game in the 8-bit world. Known as Magical Kids Doropie in Japan, Vic Tokai’s The Krion Conquest is about as close to a rip-off of Mega Man as you can get. From the premise to the visuals to ...[Read More]
Retro Review: Blackthorne (SNES)
Release Date: 1994 Developer: Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. Publisher: Interplay Productions Ltd. On February 8th, 1991, three UCLA Bachelor’s graduates decided to start making video games for the SNES under the name Silicon & Synapse. The games were good but not spectacular. Sometime in 1993, Silicon & Synapse became Chaos Studios. They eventually caught the attention of distributor...[Read More]