<![CDATA[JUICY GAME REVIEWS - Retro Game Reviews]]>

<![CDATA[JUICY GAME REVIEWS - Retro Game Reviews]]>Wed, 25 Mar 2026 16:32:27 +0000Weebly<![CDATA[The Brains behind Bitmap Books: Sam Dyer]]>Wed, 25 Mar 2026 15:43:53 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/retro-game-reviews/the-brains-behind-bitmap-books-sam-dyer

Interview by Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

Bitmap Books: Sam Dyer

If you're in to Retro Gaming, there is a high probability you've heard of Bitmap Books. Whether you're a fan of Pixel Art, Video Game Box Art, Gaming Controllers, or in fact, anything related to the world of Retro Gaming, Bitmap Books will have something to pacify your gaming palette.

I reached out to owner, Sam Dyer, to dive in to his world; known to us as Bitmap Books, to try and understand what motivated him to conceive such incredible coffee table type books. I've been a fan for years and thankfully had the pleasure of leafing through some of the beautifully bound books myself. My personal favourite is The Definitive Book of SNES RPG's. As a huge Super Nintendo girl, I found this book satisfied my love of Pixel Art combined with some rare SNES Role Playing Games.

Today, we hear from Sam Dyer in this interview:

1/ Can you tell us a bit about yourself and who Bitmap Books are?
My name is Sam Dyer, and I’m the founder and creative director of Bitmap Books. I’m a graphic designer by trade, and I started Bitmap back in 2014 as a bit of a passion project—something to enjoy during evenings and weekends alongside my day job. What began as me experimenting with designs for a book about video games has, 12 years later, grown into a publishing house with more than 30 titles.

2/ What motivated you to start Bitmap Books in 2014?
From the outset, the goal for Bitmap has been simple: to design and create beautiful books that celebrate the history of video games. Although I enjoyed my day job, I was often designing for clients and industries I had little personal interest in. Video games, on the other hand, have always been a huge part of my life, so the idea of creating something centred around them was incredibly appealing. After some initial experimentation, I developed the concept for our first book, Commodore 64: a visual compendium. When I began sharing early designs with the community, the response was overwhelmingly positive. That encouragement gave me the confidence to launch the project on Kickstarter—and it proved there was a real appetite for what we were doing.

3/ What sets Bitmap Books ahead over the rest of the publishers of gaming books?
I think one of the key things that sets Bitmap apart is our distinctive visual style. That comes from my background in design, combined with a deep appreciation for video game art—something that has always been my main passion and the aspect of games that evokes the most nostalgia for me. Alongside that, we place a huge emphasis on quality and innovation. We experiment with unique print techniques such as lenticular slipcases, colour-coded bookmark ribbons, oversized collector’s boxes, and even slipcases with built-in sound effects.

4/ You've secured contributions from some of the greats of gaming, such as Mark Cerny. How does Bitmap acquire such contributions
Building relationships and trust has also been essential. If people can see that you’re professional and committed to producing high-quality work, they’re far more likely to collaborate. I have to mention Andy Roberts of Thalamus Digital here—back in 2014, when we were completely unknown, he generously introduced me to key contacts in the industry. Without that support, it would have been much harder to establish credibility and bring contributors on board

Credit: Bitmap Books

5/ Sam, can you tell us something about projects you've collaborated on in the past?
Our first major collaboration was Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection. The author had initially attempted to launch the book on Kickstarter but hadn’t been able to complete it. I reached out and suggested that, with Bitmap’s experience, we could help bring the project to life. It was a great experience, and it marked the first time we operated more like a traditional publisher. That led to other projects such as A Gremlin in the Works. While I enjoyed those collaborations, my preference has always been to work closely with authors from the ground up, shaping a book together from concept through to completion.

6/ Have you got a personal favourite book from your Bitmap Launch?
One project I’m particularly proud of is Metal Slug: The Ultimate History. We had previously worked with SNK on a NEOGEO book, but being entrusted with Metal Slug—one of their most iconic IPs—was a real honour. There was definitely pressure to do it justice, but I’m incredibly proud of the final result, especially the graphic design. The response from both fans and SNK was fantastic, and it led to further collaborations, including a book on The King of Fighters.

7/ You're very a accommodating in your approach to the gaming community. You've sponsored my content for years. What motivates you to do this?
Before Bitmap, I was involved in the retro gaming community, particularly through the Retro Asylum Podcast around 2012. I spent a lot of time contributing to podcasts, design work, and the website. That experience gave me a real appreciation for the effort that content creators and community members put into keeping this hobby alive. It’s something I still value deeply, and I enjoy supporting the community wherever I can.

8/ If someone wanted to write their own book with Bitmap, what would that process look like? Where would people start?
We also encourage new ideas—anyone can pitch a book to us through our website. We receive a lot of submissions, and while we can’t publish everything, I make a point of personally responding to each one.

9/ Where can people find you online?
You can find us at www.bitmapbooks.com, where you can explore and purchase our books, as well as follow links to our social channels. It’s also worth signing up to www.bitmap.news to stay up to date with our latest announcements.

]]><![CDATA[Alien Breed Special Edition 92 (Amiga) Review]]>Fri, 19 Dec 2025 09:12:11 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/retro-game-reviews/alien-breed-special-edition-92-amiga-review

Blog by Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

Team17 contributed heavily towards the Amiga scene back in the 1990’s. Producing show stopping titles like Superfrog, Project X and Qwak; it was no surprise that Team17 seemed to be a pioneer of the Amiga eco-system.

Alien Breed was (and still is) a staple Amiga game in 2025. But back in 1992 Team 17 released an extended version of Alien Breed with the added “Special Edition” to the title. This version packs in more levels compared to the original game. In fact there are twelve levels in the special edition as opposed to six. Even more fun right? As if Alien Breed could get any better? Well it did.

“Shuttle Bay Two. Deck One”. This is the fist line of text before we leave our drop ship to enter the first level or should I say swarm of aliens. Right off the bat, the first level is packed with Aliens. Now we need to note that the Alien in Alien Breed looks dangerously like H.R Giger’s Xenomorph. Right down to the game art! A front facing Alien with razor sharp teeth amidst an open mouth that feels ready to snap at anyone who gets in her way! Writing that, made me think “GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BITCH”. The similarities are undeniable. But I digress. Back to Alien Breed Special Edition.

The game builds on everything we saw in Alien Breed but packed in to twelve levels. Taking a Top Down view, our marine has to navigate the narrow corridors of each level. The game looks and feels great at first glance and I’d go as far to say that the Special Edition looks slightly better in terms of graphics too.

Items
Running around dodging and shooting Aliens is one thing but trying to find supplies adds a whole new challenge to Alien Breed (SE). Key cards, Credits and First Aid kits are amongst other items that need to be collected if we are to be successful in our endeavours. Key cards are used to unlock doors and can often seen quite scarce. Weirdly, managing my key card inventory often felt like it added a puzzle element to Alien Breed (SE). My advice: Spend them wisely. There were times when I used all of my key cards and could not access other rooms. I found it difficult to find other key cards to try and complete the level. Perhaps I am a perfectionist?

Credits can be used at the Intex Terminals to buy weapons and tool supplies. I found the Terminals difficult to find at first but rewarding once I’d discovered them. Once activated, the green screen flickers reveal the menu of the terminal. It’s a cool animation indeed. Don’t get me wrong though, the terminal screens are green on green so they can be difficult to read at times! Ultimately, it’s worth hunting for Credits throughout the levels, especially if you’re keen on upgrading your arsenal. Weapons include: A Plasma Gun, A Broadhurst DJ Twinfire 3LG, A Flamethrower and more.

Aliens
The Xenomorph style aliens swarm the corridors in droves. They move quickly and are at their most dangerous when grouped together. They seem to appear randomly or out of the floors (from vents and holes) so you have to keep your wits about you at all times.

In the later levels, Facehugger type breeds start to appear. They are a lot quicker than the larger Aliens (as they are in the films). What’s worse is that they are a lot more difficult to see as they blend in with the floor colour. I am unsure if this is a good or bad point to be honest. Either way, you need to watch out for the little critters.

Bosses seem relatively easy to beat. Their movements seem like the only threat and at best you might lose small amounts of health but nothing too taxing.

Shooting Aliens for days

This boss is stacked

Sound
The levels do not contain any music unless you’re fighting a boss. Is this a missed opportunity? Not really. As you meander the levels, you will hear low hums of static and sound effects when you collect items. I personally believes this builds tension.

The introduction music is ICONIC! Created by the amazing Aliaster Brimble, the deep and dark tones that erupt as game text pops on the screen gives me goosebumps every time.

During the Warning countdowns (red screen), there is a female Voice Over shouting “Warning, destruction imminent”. Again, the game seems to lend itself to subtle voiceovers and sound effects rather than over-encumber levels with bellowing music. This amplifies the tension of the game without a doubt and I believe this is a smart move indeed! Just like in the movies. The almost deafening silence of the Marines meandering through the corridors of LV426 in search of lost colonists. It worked really well.

When our marine takes shot at the Aliens, and in essence kills them, we hear a terrible scream from the alien. Sadly, that same scream (death sound) repeats on every Alien. The same can be said when we pick up items. I can’t help but feel this takes away from the immersion. Perhaps this is something you don’t mind? Despite this one grumble about the sound, Alien Breed (SE) does not disappoint at it’s absolute core.

Graphics
Beautiful! There I said it! I truly believe Alien Breed Special Edition looks great. It is very difficult to make environments pop from a 2D Top Down perspective but thanks to the use of shadows from the walls, drops hips and other various objects. The Drop Ship in particular always occupied a special place in my heart because it was the first thing you saw on the opening level! WOW! Back in the 90’s, I remember thinking “just wow”. From there, I felt hooked. The drop ship had some excellent shadows and textures that gave the impression the devs really card about the look they were going for. I admire that.

Final Thoughts
Alien Breed Special Edition is incredible. Packed with twelve levels, frantic flurries of aliens, bosses and labyrinthian like levels; Alien Breed (SE) will keep you coming back to your Amiga for Years to come. It’s worth noting that you can also enjoy the game on your Amiga CD32 consoles too.

This blog post was published in Computer Gazette.

]]><![CDATA[Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 Review]]>Fri, 24 Oct 2025 09:35:47 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/retro-game-reviews/lotus-turbo-challenge-2-review

Blog by Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

“Marks, set, GO!” Those words were the start of something great in my childhood. The start of a time trial based race on Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 on the Amiga. I sat beside my friends as I watched them try to beat their times over and over. What an amazing part of my childhood this game was!

Now, it would be easy for me to sit here and tell you all about the game for this entirety of this review and don’t worry, we will certainly be discussing the game’s pulling power. What matters though, is the cultural impact on myself and my journey in to the world of Amiga. But first, what is Lotus Turbo Challenge 2? Put simply, we have a racing game that takes place across eight track settings. Unlike the first game, we do not race against other cars. The general idea is to race to the checkpoint within the allotted time. Seems simple right? It is. Simple and highly eﬀective. The courses have a great variety of scenes and colour palettes too. We start nice and simple on The Forest Course which incorporates a bright blue sky, white puﬀy clouds, trees and rocks. If we are successful in beating the time we are granted access to the next course. The formula worked GREAT! Other track scenes included a City Course, Fog Course, Snow Course, Desert, Motorway, Marsh and finally a Storm course. Upon beating each track, we are rewarded with a password. Naturally this makes it easy to dip in and out of the game if you are unable to beat it in one sitting.

Forest Course:
The first race arguably the most iconic. Awash with a blue sky, trees, rocks and more twists and turns you can shake s tick at. When I think of Lotus Turbo Challenge 2, the Forest Course is what reigns in my mind.

City Course:
This feels like the perfect transition in to the second race. The City Race is set at night. The glow of the skyscrapers in the background and the brightly lit road really make for an exciting race. What’s more are the addition of tunnels to add that extra sense of grittiness. I also loved the little extra Gremlin advertisement boards that lined the road.

Fog Course:
We are now on to the third race. This is the Fog Race. It’s my last favourite as the colour palette is dim (naturally as we are in fog) and the diﬃculty is definitely increased here. Why? There are only three lanes, compared to the previous two tracks of four lanes. Your skills will be tested in this race.

Snow Course:
Finally, the road seems wider again on the Snow Race; albeit lane markers are missing. This always made me believe this race was more diﬃcult but the more I played it as an adult, the more I realised that was in my head back then.The aesthetic is pretty detailed considering everything is covered in snow. Trees, old signs and billboards line either side of the road, snow falls in the foreground and mountains occupy the background. The challenge here felt like the terrain. There are a lot of smalls hills combined with heavy twists in the road. Beware or you will fail!

Lotus 2 - Night Time never looked so good

Lotus 2 - The iconic first race

Desert Course:
This is my second least favourite of the game. Again, the colour palette is dull as are the surroundings. Rocks and tumbleweed line the road which make for increased diﬃculty.

Motorway Course:
Aesthetically, this race is awesome. The road is split so you can view oncoming traﬃc on the opposite side. It’s a nice touch but it can be diﬃcult to concentrate at times. Maybe the developers did this on purpose? Either way, the track looks great. The road has three lanes, tunnels, and at times the city can be seen in the background and additional obstacles line the way. So beware of large trailers ploughing horizontally across some of the races.

Marsh Course:
This is a three lane race with puddles everywhere. Packed with S Bends and some serious flooding, you’ll really have your reactions put to the test here.

Storm Course:
The lightning flickers throughout the race but thankfully we are back to four lanes. Had this have been a three lane race, I would of disliked this race. This is definitely the Mose atmospheric race of the game, and of course the final race. If you make it this far, you’ve done well. Once you beat the game, there is a congratulations screen with a picture of Andrew Morris and Shaun Southern; composers of the game. It’s a nice touch.

Why do I love Lotus Turbo Challenge 2?
What fascinated me as a little girl, were there car statistics darting the introduction. The attention to detail. The burnt Orange Elan SE and the Espirit Turbo SE, both had their own charm but I much preferred the latter as it pumped out a much higher speed, clocking a maximum of 163mph. I guess I was addicted to a higher speed back then!

So why was Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 so significant? It was one of my first introductions to racing games. Aside from Outrun, this felt like it was up there in one of the best racing games of the time. I felt captivated by the intro music (which was is still excellent today), I thought the graphics looks slick and the cars looked incredible. My friends and I used to take turns in racing which led us to lose hours of our school holidays. Needless to say, I was not very good at the game. The more time I ploughed in the better I got. The game became a fascination from there. Sure, it would have been nice to have more cars in the game but I said at the start of my review: Simple and highly eﬀective. Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 knows what it is. The developers seemed to have a clear vision and executed it perfectly.

It is a fan favourite amongst many and when I think about the Amiga today, Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 is one of the fist games I think about.

This blog post was published in Computer Gazette.

]]><![CDATA[The Truth About Retro Game Hunting]]>Mon, 06 Jan 2025 15:54:08 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/retro-game-reviews/the-truth-about-retro-game-hunting

Blog by Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

Retro Game Hunting is the art of searching for Retro Games. I, as TheGebs24, have been Retro Game Hunting on YouTube for over ten years and it’s something that’s become a huge and influential part of my life. This year, I was fortunate enough to be invited to America to attend Southeast Game Exchange (SEGE), thanks to my buddy John Riggs. The Retro Games and all out Gaming paraphernalia is WILD out there. Not to mention, I met up with Retro Rick, Pixel Game Squad, JRPGLife, Gamer Ahmer and many more Retro Game Hunters. It was abundantly clear that the passion of my fellow Retro Game Hunters was equally as the thrilling. But why do we do it? Why do we travel thousands of miles in search of the next “prefect retro find?”.

For me, there are two reasons. One: Survival. Survival? Back in the 90’s I spent a lot of time outside (majority of the time through no choice of my own). During harsh weather, I would see solace and shelter in shops like Woolworths, WHSmith, Blockbuster and our local Second Hand Shop, Alfreton Sales & Exchange. I’d stand for hours, looking at video games, VHS, toys and magazines. It helped pass the time and to feed my imagination. I believe I’ve also loved video games so I guess these times were a way for me to be around video games when I was not able to play them. Plus it was pretty warm in the shops.

Looking back, this was the start of my Retro Game Hunting career. I didn’t know it then but this would become one of the biggest parts of my future life: Retro Game Hunting. I supposed nowadays, I take a lot of comfort in hunting for video games. It is, and always will be, a part of my coping. To stay well, to stay connected.

Two: passion! I love it! If you’re familiar with you YouTube channel, you’ll know that I’ve amassed one of the greatest Retro Game Collections in the UK. This is self proclaimed of course. I’m certain there are many private collectors of course.

Retro Game Hunting is a way of life for me. In the past week, I’ve filmed in London, Leeds, Middlesborough and Pontefract. The thrill of the hunt is what drives me to use all of my free time to gather footage of some of the best Retro Games in the UK. If you know me, you’ll know that one of my holy grails has been a Super Nintendo kiosk right? Well I filmed an entire garage full of varying editions of SNES Kiosks! It was a dream come true and not to mention, I walked away having purchased a Swedish SNES Kiosk. Pretty neat. My quest is to acquire the floor standing M80C store kiosk now.

Over in America, the Super Nintendo kiosks are everywhere. Here in the UK, they are way more obscure. Although, I may have just sourced a shop in Europe that will quite possibly be one of the best Retro Game Stores in the world. At least in my opinion. I will be going to film there later in 2025. In the meantime, enjoy this episode.

]]><![CDATA[The Punisher 1993 Arcade Review]]>Fri, 13 Dec 2024 08:52:29 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/retro-game-reviews/the-punisher-1993-arcade-review

Guest Blog post by Adam @AngelicWiganer / @snoopfozziefozz

The Punisher Arcade Game (1993)

Wow, I hadn’t realised that I had gone so long without even touching a video game of some sort until I actually sat down the other day and booted up my Raspberry Pi loaded with hundreds of thousands of games from the times gone by. My last gaming experience was playing Mario Kart 8 on the plane home from Tunisia in August.

I can safely say life has definitely gotten in the way recently. The last week or so I’d been struggling with my own mental health issues, and I came to realise I haven’t been making time for myself at all. I still have a sealed copy of Astro Bot waiting to be opened at home.

Anyway, I digress. Once I had set up the Retro Box, I wanted to make sure that when I played it, I had a select number of titles which I was itching to play rather than scrolling aimlessly through thousands of ROM’s

I took some inspiration from various YouTubers on what their favourite arcade games were and it led me to make my decision that I wanted to play the majority of games from the Capcom CPS systems 1, 2 and 3. They seemed to have a lot of games and franchises which appealed to me.

So, without further ado. I’d like to bring you my review of the 1993 Arcade game The Punisher. The game marked the first collaboration of Capcom and Marvel, bringing beloved Marvel IPs to the arcades, and was a side scrolling beat em up. Capcom was tried and tested in this genre having brought to us the absolutely wonderful Final Fight a few years earlier.

The game brings us the titular character along with a pre MCU Nick Fury to go through six stages of fast paced combat in order to bring down the Kingpin. For a game that was released over thirty years ago I had immense pleasure playing this, bringing back all those nostalgic feelings. Now it’s a good thing that I can put multiple credits into the game and have multiple continues so I could beat the game, otherwise in real time money I reckon I would have spent like £25. But that’s the beauty of having these games on emulation, and just goes to show how difficult arcade games were in order to get them coins put into them all the time.

The graphics look amazing even by todays standards where companies are favouring a more pixellated style in these games. Frank and Nick move effortlessly and are animated brilliantly as are the various cast of bad guys you will be attempting to bring down. Thankfully the game is as intended to play, as the 1995 Genesis port was way toned down in terms of violence and the outfits of characters.
Its typical fare moving along and doing your combo moves , but I was particularly impressed with the extra melee weapons you can pick up along the way, they all have a number of uses which are displayed in the bottom left hand corner and you can also pick up grenades along the way. I loved using the machine guns, flamethrowers and also the lance which was a subtle nod to Arthurs’s weapon in Ghouls and Ghosts. As mentioned, it is pretty violent, and blood is shown whilst using various weapons which can cause puncture wounds like knives, swords and daggers.

The game possesses a lovely 90’s style soundtrack, whilst there are no bangers like the ones found in Street Fighter 2, its certainly not bad at all.

The Punisher fighting enemies in the sewers

It's not just The Turtles that fight the sewers

The Punisher throwing an enemy in combat

The Punisher gets punishing

On reflection I am thinking to myself why don’t I play these types of games more when I have some spare time. It doesn’t always have to be a forty plus hour RPG to get through (although I have just bought the Dragon Quest 3 remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth ha-ha). We can still enjoy a great gaming experience in less than forty-five minutes which is low long it took me to finish the game.

If you have the opportunity to play the arcade version of The Punisher, I would highly recommend that you do. I believe it is now on the compilation release of Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection which was released this year.

Moral of the Story. Make time for yourself to do the things you like to do, even if its just for thirty minutes. I hope to be back soon with more retro reviews and a review soon of Astro Bot.
In the meantime, thanks for reading and keep gaming.

Guest Blog post by Adam @AngelicWiganer / @snoopfozziefozz

]]><![CDATA[Xeno Crisis GBA Pre-Orders Live!]]>Wed, 16 Oct 2024 18:39:49 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/retro-game-reviews/xeno-crisis-gba-pre-orders-live

Press release posted by: Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

Xeno Crisis for the GBA is available for Pre-Order NOW!

PRESS RELEASE

We are very excited to announce that pre-orders are now live on both the Bitmap Bureau UK and EU Online Stores for the Game Boy Advance version of Xeno Crisis, releasing in Q4 2024!

Check out the new GBA Gameplay Trailer above to see the game in action!

The physical version includes the region-free GBA cartridge with a full-colour label, as well as cardboard packaging with tray inserts and an instruction manual. Three packaging region options are available: PAL, USA, and JPN.

Additionally, downloadable digital ROMs will be available at launch to purchase on the Bitmap Bureau Online Store for use with flash cartridges and emulators.

Please note that placing an order for the physical version of Xeno Crisis for GBA will also grant you a free download of the digital ROM version!

PRE-ORDER

(Excerpt from Bitmap Bureau)
A boxed cartridge of Xeno Crisis compatible with the Nintendo Game Boy Advance handheld complete with instruction manual.

Xeno Crisis is an arena shooter in which you take control of a battle-hardened marine embarking on a deadly mission to confront an alien menace and get home alive! Run and gun your way through thousands of adversaries as you explore the research outpost, searching for survivors, and ultimately confronting the origin of the outpost's demise.

Xeno Crisis is coming to the GBA

Featuring seven areas and a legion of deadly enemies and intimidating bosses, Xeno Crisis is a formidable challenge, and you'll need to make wise use of the various weapons and upgrades to stand a chance. Only with a combination of lightning-quick reactions and guile will you be able to complete your mission, but be warned - only the most adept of players will be able to see the true ending!

Three game modes - Arcade, Infinite and Boss Rush
Two difficulty levels
Seven distinct environments, each with their own enemies
An arsenal of 10 weapons to master
Over 40 enemy types to confront
Upgrade system allows you to play the game your way
Superlative pixel art from Henk Nieborg and Catherine Menabde
Intense soundtrack by Savaged Regime
Also includes a complimentary ROM download

Game Information:
Genre: Arena Shooter
Shipping Date: 8th of November, 2024
Language: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish (Spain), Dutch, Portuguese (Brazil),
*Japanese.

*the Japanese manual contains Japanese text only.
Xeno Crisis is an unofficial and unlicensed release for the GAME BOY ADVANCE handheld, and is not affiliated with NINTENDO Co., Ltd or its affiliates. NINTENDO and GAME BOY ADVANCE are trademarks of NINTENDO Co., Ltd or its affiliates.

Press release posted by: Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

]]><![CDATA[Kev Bayliss: The Man who put the Kong in Donkey Kong]]>Sun, 06 Oct 2024 12:27:40 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/retro-game-reviews/kev-bayliss-the-man-who-put-the-kong-in-donkey-kong

Interview by: Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

Kev Bayliss - The man tasked with bringing Donkey Kong to life on the Super Nintendo

Kev Bayliss! What an industry legend. I first learnt about Kev Bayliss for his work on redesigning Donkey Kong for the Super Nintendo Release of Donkey Kong Country. Of course, Donkey Kong existed long before Kev had the pleasure of bringing him to Donkey Kong Country; a 16bit Super Nintendo staple title nowadays. Kev's industry experience also existed long before some of you were born.

You see, I recently learnt that Kev worked on California Games on the NES! That was my first Nintendo Entertainment System experience. You can also find Kev's work in Battletoads, Diddy Kong Racing, Killer Instinct, Perfect Dark and much more. Kev Bayliss was a RARE games legend and his reach in his work continues today. Check his IMDB here.

Kev and I speak from time to time, and having met his at the 2023 Notts Video Game Expo, I decided to ask him for an interview.

1/ So Kev tell us a little bit about your personal gaming history
When it comes to games, and actually playing them, I really started out with a ZX81 in the early 80's. My parents bought it for me in the 'Tenner and Under' section in the Tamworth Herald. I loved it, even though it is rubbish by today's standards, it was great fun to learn to do a bit of basic programming and get an understanding of how games work. Prior to that, I'd only experienced games on my brother's Atari 2600 or wasting my cash in the arcades on holiday in Hunstanton! lol.
I eventually upgraded my Zx81 to an Acorn Electron, which was similarly great to work on and I was creating my own little games and bits of art software. But, I really wanted a Commodore 64 because the music and graphics were so cool at the time. I bought one when they were phasing them out, but shortly after that I started working at Rare, and was introduced to the NES. From then onwards, I was well and truly into the world of Nintendo. I bought myself a Sega Megadrive when I bought my first house, and it was the done thing to have a console at home for 'lad's night'. We'd spend all night watching martial arts movies or playing on the console. I don't really play games any more, I am too busy doing other stuff which I guess is related to them, or making them at Playtonic. But - it's in my blood now and I get all nostalgic whenever I see something that reminds me of how it all started.

2/ I read that one of the first games you worked on was California Games. What can you tell us about working on that?
I think I'd only been at Rare for a short while and they started me out with quiz show games for the NES. However, one day they received the go ahead to convery CG to the NES, and as I'd been a fan of it on my C64, I was really excited to be able to work on a 'proper game' that I'd bought with my own money a year or so earlier. It wasn't easy though, there were a lot of issues with colours and the dreaded 'sprite per line' issue (when more than 64 pixels appear in a horizontal line as sprites, that move around, pixels start to disappear and flash) - so I remember the BMX track being tricky. The bike was quite wide so it often flickered. Also - I remember the guys at MB games wanted me to make the characters blonde (for California) where possible, but I would have had to layer more sprites over the top of the palettes I'd used for the graphics - so I talked my way out of it, because I said it'd make things disappear. lol.

3/ You’ve worked on a lot of AAA Video Games, such as Donkey Kong Country, Diddy Kong Racing and Killer Instinct. What was your personal favourite to work on?
That's a tricky one. I LOVED working on Ki because it was my main ambition to create a fighting game. I was a martial artist and so it was amazing that we also got the motion capture technology to beta test, and I was able to create moves wearing a suit we made ourselves that held all of the motion sensors. It was like magic watching yourself move around, and then seeing a Dinosaur that I had made mimic my movements. Ki was amazing, and there was no other time like it. But if I have to be honest, Diddy Kong Racing was so much fun to work on, because the whole environment was 3D and it was a new and exciting way to work, on a brand new console. We were all fans of racing games on the team, and we all just got on so well. It really wasn't like going 'to work' - it was just this amazing place where we were all working together in a brand new barn conversion, doing what we really loved. At the end of the project we all travelled to Japan to celebrate and visit the SpaceWorld show that year. So - I think yes, Diddy Kong Racing would be my favourite.

4/ You were responsible for bringing the character of Donkey Kong to the SNES. Can you talk us through that process please?
I'd been experimenting with building fighting characters for Killer Instinct, and when Nintendo saw what I had done, they immediately wanted to have graphics which were rendered in 3D on their Super Nintendo.
I had been given design faxes to refer to from Nintendo which were actually drawn by Shigeru Miyamoto. I still have the faxes at home. I never really looked at them though, and just started scribbling down compact looking little Gorillas which looked like they'd behave well in a 2D platformer. I made the eyes look like my Battletoad designs, and then began modeling the character using the 3D software and SGi hardware which Rare had just invested in. I was really the only person aside from Tim experimenting with the system at the time, which was lucky for me because I was the only one who knew how to build the characters at that point.

5/ You’ve worked on game animation from the 8bit, 16bit, right through to Yooka Laylee. What’s been the most difficult console generation to animate on?
I think it's harder now. Purely because there is so much more setup involved. Years ago if I wanted something to do a specific move, I just 'drew' it. You could always 'play with' or 'tweak' your graphics to make things look right, or to make the fist of a character reach something, even when the arm probably wasn't long enough. Just add a few pixels here and there. Make a character 'duck'? Easy - just chop off his legs and draw feet and usually his fists would cover any detail around the middle. But now, you have to make sure your character actually works. You can still play with things, but there is a lot of design that goes into the mechanics of making a character model now. Then, there's the whole 'setting it up' as mentioned, so that it can actually work in the game. It might work in your 3D software, but putting it into the game is also quite complicated sometimes and often you have to go back and look at the structure of your model to make it work in a better way. Again - years ago, this wasn't so much of a problem because you had less definition anyway and people couldn't see the holes in your work. Also, people were more forgiving because nothing looked that real, and although it was 3D, it was quite triangular looking and so people expected things to distort a little. But you can't get away with that now. Well, you can, but the standard of graphics is so much higher now, there's a lot more work that you have to put in.

Kev Bayliss and some of the old RARE devs

Meeting Kev at Notts VGE 2023

Kev signed a ton of my Retro Games

6/ You’re very active on Twitch. What do you enjoy about live streaming?
I usually stream old video games that I've worked on. I particularly like playing Diddy Kong Racing because it's still a fun and exciting game to play. People love watching that around Christmas time becuase those people who owned it as a kid, mostly received it as a Christmas present. But recently I've discovered painting, and I'm spending some time painting characters that I've been involved with, which also makes for a good stream!

7/ Diddy Kong Racing or Donkey Kong Country. You can only keep on?
Diddy Kong Racing. I never played DKC. (SHOCK HORROR!) I was so focused on the games I was working on, I never really spent time playing the other games we created. I think that may have been true for a lot of Devs at Rare (perhaps it's just me) because we were so busy, and then onto the next game. Plus you really wanted to make that next game better, and for me I didn't want to look at the other games, because they weren't related to the kind of games I was working on. Even after DKC was released, I never played it. I appreciate it, and love it, but as a game - it's not the kind of game I'd play or have the patience to complete. I like fighters, old arcade games racers and the odd adventure game.(I have never played Mario Games other than Mario 64)

8/ What piece of work would you say defines your legacy as a video game artist?
I guess, ironically after answering the last question, it's the re-creation of DK. I love that I've made a character that still looks the same as he did back then (almost).The Donkey Kong Country game was so significant in game development and I am SO lucky to have got the chance to do what I did. It'll never happen again, and I am so grateful for that. It's one thing I love about my life, I managed to step into the industry just at a time where 'it all started to happen' - generations of different tech, the console wars, the transition from 2D to 3D. It's all happened now, and I am a lucky guy to have got that job at Rare when I did back in 1987.

9/ Pineapple on pizza?
Yep. And Prawns.

10 Kev, tell us where people ca find you online

http://Twitch.tv/Kev_Bayliss
http://instagram.com/diddykongsdaddy_kevbayliss
http://x.com/Kev_Bayliss

Interview by: Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

]]><![CDATA[Tanuki Justice comes to Game Boy Color!]]>Wed, 25 Sep 2024 19:02:10 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/retro-game-reviews/tanuki-justice-comes-to-game-boy-color

Press release posted by: Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

Tanuki Justice is coming to the Game Boy Color Soon

PRESS RELEASE

Hello Pixel friends,

PixelHeart is delighted to announce the arrival of Tanuki Justice on Game Boy Color!
Relive the adventure of one of our HITS released on next-gen consoles, now compatible on Game Boy Color.

Get ready to dive back into the action-packed world of Tanuki Justice! This fast-paced racing and shooting game is a PixelHeart classic for Next Gen consoles. Our talented programmer Maxime Schutz (who also worked on Lost Terminal) has completely reworked the project to bring you a Game Boy Color-compatible version! Bringing the excitement of feudal Japan right into your hands.

The game is available for pre-order on the PixelHeart website.The game is scheduled for release on November 29, 2024.

The game is available in a limited edition of 500 numbered copies. The game box contains the game cartridge, its protective plastic box, a cardboard wedge, a manual, a certificate and two stickers. (An unnumbered standard edition, without certificate and goodies, will be available on release in selected partner stores.)

A SPECIAL DISCOUNT IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDERED COPIES on PixelHeart: €42.90 INSTEAD OF €49.90

About the game:
Tanuki Justice is an ultra-nervous run'n'gun in which you play as a tanuki brother and sister. You face hundreds of enemies in feudal Japan. Varied environments with all kinds of landscapes, dynamic retro music, sustained action, numerous original situations and a difficulty level reminiscent of good old arcade games. Simple yet rich gameplay for spectacular action.

Story:
Tanuki Justice is an intense action game in which you play as a ninja Tanuki on a quest for revenge. Fighting wave after wave of enemies in beautifully designed retro environments. Thanks to simple yet dynamic controls, you’ll be able to pull off some incredible moves in this homage to classic arcade games.

Features:

Dynamic gameplay with visuals that match the atmosphere.
Dozens of different enemies.
Classic shurikens on the head and a giant shuriken for when the going gets tough.
Playable solo only.

GBC showing screenshot of Tanuki Justice

Release: November 29, 2024
Plateform: Game Boy
Genre: Action, Platformer, Runner
Developer: Maxime Schutz, Wonderboy Bobi
Publisher: PixelHeart, JoshProd

Kickstarter Trailer :
https://youtu.be/XxEGbDkt_lw

Contact:
Press Relation: rodion@pixelheart.eu
Business: contact@pixelheart.eu

Press release posted by: Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

]]><![CDATA[Button Bashers is the Hidden Gem Retro Game Store of the Midlands]]>Thu, 12 Sep 2024 09:12:13 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/retro-game-reviews/button-bashers-is-the-hidden-gem-retro-game-store-of-the-midlands

Blog posted by: Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

Step inside Button Basher's: The UK's Hidden Gem Retro Game Store

Back in August 2024, I started a playlist called Buy The List, in which I set out to find certain retro games on my Retro Game Hunt travels. What better place to start this series; Button Bashers. This store is based in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, and belonged to an old friend, James. Without diving in to detail, James sadly lost his life a few months ago. James was a great guy, full of life, friendly, accommodating, generous and a little bit cheeky at times. I remember him fondly from the 90’s (so way before Button Bashers) because he used to copy my PlayStation 1 games as a kid.

It’s fair to say that I had a lot of respect for James. I still do. I was terribly sad to hear about his untimely passing.

Here we are today, having kicked off the series in his shop: Button Bashers. It’s now ran by his best friend, Martin, and James’ wife, Melissa. I was fortunate enough to speak with both of them in this episode. Martin gave me a tour around the shop before I started filming. Button Bashers had some really obscure consoles in! The Philips Cdi, well, two of them actually, a Halo Special Edition Original Xbox, some Super Nintendo Consoles, of which were in stellar condition (I’ve since been told they’d been reserved by one of my viewers) and much more.

Much more you say? Yes! There were three Nintendo 64 ex-rental Games that I fell in love with and one of them was Diddy Kong Racing. You simply don’t see Blockbuster rental cartridges that often. I fell in love. Sadly, they were not for sale but I asked Martin to let me know if the family change their mind as I would love to have them in my collection. It makes it more sentimental to me because they would be from James’ retro game collection. Speaking of, James’ collection of retro games and goodies resided in the back of the shop. Typically, this is not a place customers are allowed to venture in to. The staff also fix consoles and phones back there so it’s not on the typical path through the shop. Needless to say, as a family friend, we ventured in to the back and Mel kindly agreed for me to film in there.

Button Bashers had some COOL N64 Blockbuster Ex rental carts

WOW! A wall full of Sega Mega Drive, N64 games, consoles, Neo Geo Pocket, PlayStation 1 and more. There were additional CDi games too. My eyes scanned over titles like Lunda, Street Fighter EX Plus, Silent Hill (in platinum and black label), Street Fighter Alpha Warriors Dreams. My eyes would not keep up with the sheer amount of incredible games James had amassed. I was very careful to be respectful whilst filming and made sure to ask permission at every opportunity to obtain the footage I thought James would like.

There was a great moment I caught on camera. I won’t spoil the video but I found a retro PS1 Game I’d been hunting for for around one year. Please watch the episode and comment on this blog when you see it. That moment, finding the game, is what this series of Buy The List is about.

As I write this, I’ve released three episodes of Buy The List and I have one more to edit. The fourth is in the largest Retro Game Store in the UK. Stay tuned and for now, be sure to watch the Button Bashers episode below.

Blog posted by: Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

]]><![CDATA[Shadow Gangs Zero is an upcoming game for Neo Geo, Dreamcast, Sega Genesis and more]]>Mon, 12 Aug 2024 19:29:57 GMThttp://www.juicygamereviews.com/retro-game-reviews/shadow-gangs-zero-is-an-upcoming-game-for-neo-geo-dreamcast-sega-genesis-and-more

Press release posted by: Gemma @ Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

Press Release

PixelHeart and JKM corp are delighted to announce the forthcoming release of a brand new Neo Geo project: Shadow Gangs Zero!

A prequel to Shadow Gangs, released in 2020, this action game is planned for Neo Geo, Genesis/Megadrive, Dreamcast, Steam and next-gen consoles (PS5, Switch and Xbox).

To help finance the project, JKM corp, the game's developers, are launching a crowdfunding campaign on the Kickstarter platform. This campaign will ensure that the game is ready for release in early 2026.

The Kickstarter is already available. For more information, click on the link here!

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