Guest Blog by Todd McDonnell @TheTopLoader
As I type I can hear a lot of loud noise coming through the internet. Have I forgotten something? I take a moments break to see what all the commotion is about. Street fighter II turned 25 and everybody's celebrating as though they were aboard one of Ken's party boats. I sit and think - has it been that long since it was 1991 - well I've done the math and apparently math doesn't lie. Should I stop typing.. as everything that needs to be said about this game has been said. I don't need to tell you again how great it is, that would be an obvious statement. Then it hits me, and no it wasn't one of Sagats Tiger Uppercuts .. again - I realize that everybody is talking about this game because, everybody - from my generation at least - has a Street Fighter story, and guess what so do I.
Street Fighter 2 ? For me it Begs the question: If this is the second game then where in the world map was the first? I had always heard of the myths surrounding the original Street Fighter - was it even real? I had never seen or heard of it before. Later on in life i did find out that it did in fact exist as I finally got a chance to play it, and how this game got a second game made based on the original is beyond belief. How do you go from a laggy, unbalanced un-fun waste of time to arguably one of the best and most important fighting games in the history of video games? This time however, Capcom lined up its quarters ready to play again and won because this new challenger certainly got it - Perfect.
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Guest Blog by Alan G @GretzkiAL
Well the time is nearly upon us again and I have to admit it I feel a little more prepared for it this year. Yes folks that's right the Christmas holidays are nearly here and if you're anything like me, you are hoping that one of many video game titles out at the moment will be joining you at same stage over the festive period. In doing so, we must make the most of the purchases that love ones/dodgy looking gaming Santa’s from a UK chain of video game shops have gifted to us - and for some of us the origin of this yearly influence of tradition is set somewhere in the last century. However before thinking this narrative is about the number of Christmas consoles I received on a yearly basis it is not, as this constantly eluded me up until only last year, so this is more of a personal muse into my gaming existence.
Crafted by Gemma @Juicy Game Reviews
Who here doesn’t remember this debate? Raise your hand, there’s no shame. Perhaps you were too young? Perhaps you weren’t even born? In the early to mid-nineties a household either had a Super Nintendo console or a Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and it was often a hot debate in school as to “which one is the best”. Usually, we’d choose the console we owned and paid no regard to the technical spec. I used to say things like “I like the coloured Snes buttons (red, yellow, blue and green in PAL and JP regions) over the predominantly black Mega Drive controller. This is a pathetic argument to support the Snes but back then it was valid.
There are two ways to approach this and I’m eager to see your views in the comments: Objectively and Subjectively. Objectively we can analyse the both consoles and it is clear that the Super Nintendo wins all day long. Click here for a really easy breakdown on each console by technical specifications. Let’s not beat on about that. The Super Nintendo is clearly the superior console in terms of spec...
Guest Blog by Ken Ashton
Having formulated the idea to begin a gaming collection some time ago I spent a little time floundering in the wilderness looking for some sense of direction or inspiration of how to proceed. What becomes obvious very quickly is that there is no right or wrong way to proceed but having listened to ideas from much more experienced gamers/collectors here are some ideas which have worked for me and may prove of use to others.
By Gemma - @Juicygamereviews
Photo Credit: JP Professional Photography
For the last two years I've had the pleasure of attending the PLAY Expo in Manchester and Blackpool. Both events were packed full of every retro gaming console you could imagine. If that wasn't enough last years event had a huge arcade littered with my personal favourites like Outrun, Operation Wolf, Track and Field, Killer Instinct and a ton more. That's not all. The PLAY Expo let's you play your favourite pinball machines, enjoy cosplay shows and grab some of the most obscure games from some of the UK's top gaming vendors. Personally, I really enjoy wandering around aisle after aisle of retro gaming vendors. I was thrilled to pick up Secret of Mana boxed and complete from Warp Zone at the Blackpool event in May 2015. I can't wait to see what retro games I can grab in October. I'll see you there. Here's the official Press Release...
By Gemma ~ @Juicygamereviews
Streets of Rage 2 is arguably one of the most iconic 16bit side scroller games around. Known as Bare Knuckle II in Japan, Sega released Streets of Rage 2 in 1993 across Europe and North America (the Japanese release got released slightly earlier in 1992). For me, this time was the start of an important era of gaming: The 16bit era. By the time Streets of Rage 2 was released its predecessor, Streets of Rage, had already enjoyed almost two years of glory on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and Sega Master System. But where would this glowing series end?
If you're in to gaming, particularly Retro Gaming, you'd have more than likely heard of GamesYouLoved. Behind the familiar GamesYouLoved logo stand some passionate people who want to share their love of gaming and promote our awesome community in a fun and inviting way. I spoke with Chris to establish more about the community driven; GamesYouLoved. Let's see what he had to say...
I played a lot of video games in 1991. Sonic 1, Michel Jackson's Moonwalker and Altered Beast to name a few. The Sega Mega Drive was the absolute time sucker in our bedroom. Wonderboy III: Monster Lair was also released in Europe in the same year but I didn't play it until 1993. Wonderboy III: Monster Lair feels like a classic side scroller in the beginning with the added annoyance of the screen rolling automatically. I can't tell you how many times I died as a result of the friggin' screen pushing me off a floating platform! Nonetheless, Wonderboy III: Monster Lair kept me coming back for more in 1993 just as it does today. It's captivating, colourful and charming; features that feel consistent across the Wonderboy series.... (click read more)
Streets of Rage was one of the nest side scrolling fighters of my generation. Blasting on to the Sega Mega Drive in 1991, Streets of Rage had me and my friends lodged in a frenzy of gaming euphoria. Fast forward to 2014 when I decided to take my Youtube channel in a new direction by starting a playlist entitled Games We Never Knew, I thought I'd delve in to the mystery of the cancelled Streets of Rage 3D. It was at the end of 2012 when someone leaked just over two minutes worth of gameplay. Gameplay that was never meant for the public eye!
The prototype gameplay that is shown in this video is the only known evidence that the 3D Streets of Rage reboot existed. It was great to see some of the familiar backdrops we saw in the original such as the 'Pine Pot' arcade. The same arcade that gave off a neon glow in the background of Stage one on the original Mega Drive game. Personally I feel that that it's a shame this game never came to full fruition and I wanted to know why? I contacted Ruffian Games, the dev team in charge of Streets of Rage 3D reboot and asked them to comment. I got an answer but it was not the answer I was hoping for. Ruffian games said "Obviously we'd like to do more but our obligations to respect the wishes of our development partners are important to us". Conclusively leading me to state that we know nothing! Despite that, I was treated to view the prototype gameplay which was known to "represent pre-pre-pre-pre (lots of pres) pre-Alpha quality" according to Gaz Liddon, Studio Head of Ruffian Games.
For more from Games We Never Knew subscribe to my Youtube channel and join us on Facebook. Check out my Youtube video below to view the prototype gameplay. I'm keen to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Juicy Game Reviews It's safe to say that the little blue hedgehog, namely Sonic, is one of the most recognised video game characters of our time. Sonic even stepped away from the gaming lime light to conquer his nemesis, Dr Robotnik, in his own cartoon. I preferred our blue hero on the Mega Drive. Sonic 2 was released in Europe on November 24th 1992 approximately one year after development had started. Rewind slightly to christmas 1991. Myself and my siblings had used our Christmas money to buy Sonic 1 from Toys R Us and played it to absolute death. It cost £34.99 back then. One year later, we were due to get Sonic 2 at christmas. I was off school with some sort of illness and had begged that we have Sonic 2 early. My persistance paid off and we were given an early copy of Sonic 2 from my dad. I remember completing Sonic 2 and thinking how big the game was compared to its predecessor. The final game had ten zones containing two levels each plus the final battle on the death (so arguably eleven zones). Would it surprise you to know that there were four zones that did not make the final masterpiece we all grew to adore in 1992? Yes four! Dust Hill Zone was set against a desert backdrop that reminds me of Desert Land in Mario 3. The levels were scrapped due to time constraints for a christmas release. The level designer designed Dust Hill Zone to morph in to a winter theme as the player partially progressed. Personally, I think this concept would have been a strong addition to the game so it's a shame it didn't make the final cut. Wood Zone was another axed zone. Naturally, the theme is set against a back drop of the forest and reminds me of Mystic Cave Zone in the final cut of Sonic 2. I have no idea why this zone was scrapped but the music used in Wood Zone was ported across to Metropolis Zone in the final game. Wood Zone looked incredible with Sonic and Tails being able to drop through hollowed out trees to progress through the levels. Again, it's a shame this zone was scrapped. Let me know what you guys think in the comments section. Genocide City Zone (later the name changed to Cyber City) peaked my interest in the tales of the scrapped zones. Genocide City zone was developed as a single act zone but again, time constraints led the development team scrapping the zone. Now here's the fun fact. Genocide City Zone became Zone 3 of the final Metropolis Zone. Yes, Genocide City was re-modelled to fit the industrial backdrop of Metropolis Zone. Call me a geek but as a gamer I pride myself on knowing awesome facts like this one. Graphically, this zone lacked polish in my opinion but nonetheless, seemed fun and challenging. Hidden Palace Zone was one of the more largely publicised zones in the build up to the release of Sonic 2. Promotional images of the zone were sent to magazines but Hidden Palace Zone was scrapped days before the final release. Fortunately it is now playable on the IOS and Android releases of Sonic 2. The lead developer had planned for Hidden Palace Zone to be the final special stage after collecting all of the chaos emeralds. Thankfully we can now all play this on our IOS and Android devices. Well there we go guys. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments as I'm eager to know what you all think. Additionally, you can continue to support me by subscribing to my Youtube channel. If you're looking for more retro goodness then check out my awesome list of recommended retailers in the UK here. Thanks. Juicy Game Reviews |
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