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By Gemma ~ @Juicy Game Reviews
Super Mario Kart is a timeless classic on the Super Nintendo and Super Famicom
Back in the 90s most of my friends used laugh at me because of my obsession with Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo. You may ask “Why?” as there is no denying the ingenuity of Super Nintendo’s best racing game.
Super Mario Kart was released in Japan on August 27th 1992 and later in 1993 to Western gamers and it was a first of a kind type of release. Never before had we seen a go-kart racing game, jam packed full of Nintendo characters that oozed with fast paced, furious fun. Super Mario Kart is not only a game but it’s become an institution that spread across the globe. I notice people of all ages wearing Mario Kart t-shirts at expos, which symbolises the lasting effect, and love of the series. Before I explore the importance of the first ever Mario Kart game let’s also take a moment to appreciate the box art of Super Mario Kart. The PAL version comes in two wrap colours of baby blue (the initial release colour) and red (The Nintendo Classics release). I was captivated by the box art. The game looked like it was going to be so much fun to play. Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Peach, Toad, Koopa, Bowser and Yoshi are all crammed in with crazy expressions plastered across their faces. Banana skins, coins, question mark blocks and a red shell also appear. I would go as far to say that Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo has some of the best box art of the time.
Gameplay
Super Mario Kart has three initial difficulty settings to race. We all know them to be 50cc, 100cc and the 150cc categories. Let’s not forgot the four Tournaments/cups that we have to race through: Mushroom, Flower, Star and Special (an unlockable cup). In simple terms the goal is to top the overall rankings in all three kart categories and each character has a rival which will always be the one to beat in the chosen cup. I always chose Yoshi (in fact I still do) so my rival was/is Koopa. Super Mario Kart wears this formula very well. The menus are incredibly easy to navigate, player selection is as basic as ever and there are no long, drawn out cut scenes to affect starting the game. In fact, there is no story at all! For me, the lack of story is one of Super Mario Kart’s strongest assets. If I want to play Super Mario Kart on my Snes, I can be racing around within a few minutes of blowing the cartridge and popping it in. In stark contrast, I’ve often found later Mario Kart games to over complicate what I loved about the original. Mario Kart Wii U has far too customizing options for my taste. I would have liked to see more originality in the tracks. 
During races, Super Mario Kart packs a real punch. Nintendo did a great job at making the gameplay fast and fun, partly because of the awesome range of power ups that are activated by running over the Question Mark blocks. I always prayed for a red shell but would end up with a banana. Oh the disappointments over seeing the banana skin populate the box! I’m sure you can relate to this?
Super Mario Kart has an awesome battle mode that has not been matched in the succeeding games. Balloon Battle is my personal favourite. Racing around an arena using unleashing skills of agility and great timing are crucial to bursting our opponent’s balloons. It’s a three strikes and you’re out setup. The only downside to the Balloon Battle is the lack of arenas. There are four in total. Nonetheless, the Balloon Battle provides a welcome break to the main races. Legacy I’ve always considered Longevity to be an important part of Retro Gaming. How many times can you go back to a game and still enjoy it? I play games like Ghouls and Ghosts (which is a great game) but it lacks Longevity because it’s far too difficult. I cannot lose myself in it because I’m re-starting levels constantly. Super Mario Kart has a ton of gaming glue. It sticks, it’s immersive, it’s cooperative and it is timeless. Timeless, because it was the catalyst for a legacy of Mario Kart games to follow. Timeless, because I can still lose myself in the myriad of tracks. Timeless because I never get bored of playing it. Super Mario Kart on the Snes is legendary. In all fairness I’m struggling to think of any low points to the game. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. 
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Guest Blog by Ken Ashton
Video Game Collecting can be tricky at times. What classics do you own?
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 ~ @Juicy Game Reviews
I've dreamt about owning the SNES-CD for years. It was the kind of thing I read about that made be believe that it wasn't even real. Numerous magazine sources had documented the story behind the ill fated SNES-CD that made millions of gamers gasp at the thought of finding such a wonder. Yesterday I was stunned as news of an actual prototype had been found and posted on Reddit. A lucky chap by the name of Dan Diebold is the owner of the SNES-CD and has since spoke with Polygon about the find. Now, just pause for a moment and try to imagine finding this in a box that was going to be tossed out by your fathers friend! It's absolutely unimaginable that the SNES-CD has been lurking in the depths all these years and what I'd give to own this. I would hedge my bets that this SNES-CD will become one of the single most expensive gaming in the world. That's a large claim but I'm interested to know what you think?
Nintendo teamed up with Sony to create a CD-rom add on for the Super Nintendo. To this day, I've heard people on my Facebook group that they had never heard of the project so this find may come as a surprise for some people. Sony were working on a chip, the SPC700 that was used in the Super Nintendo console and it was this chip that led to a relationship being built between Sony and Nintendo. Here's where the SNES-CD comes in. The console was planned to be able to play original SNES cartridges as well as SNES-CD games. Nintendo eventually pulled out of the deal and left the project to team up with Phillips and Sony carried on to make the Playstation 1. What a disaster move on Nintendo's part?! Imagine if Nintendo hadn't pulled out of the deal? On the flip side, we wouldn't have had the Sony Playstation 1 if Nintendo had of remained on the project. What do you guys think? Take a look at the video reveal. UPDATE: CLICK HERE OR SEE BELOW TO WATCH A SKYPE INTERVIEW I DID WITH DAN, THE OWNER
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By Gemma - @Juicygamereviews
PLAY Expo 2014 - Gamers enjoying some retro games
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...
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...
GamesYouLoved - Where every character is welcome
Secret of Mana 3D visuals published by Bitplex - Youtube
I stumbled across a video on Youtube containing a 3D creation of stills from the Secret of Mana on the Snes. The world within Secret of Mana always captivated with its rich colours, bold definition and eccentric inhabitants. Seeing the Secret of Mana in 3D took me to a whole new level of excitement because 21 years on the world looked new again. Colours, shadows and reflections can all be appreciated from new angles. The video was published by Bitplex on Youtube. I am unsure if he or she can be credited for the work but thank god it came to light. Just imagine how cool this would be as a real release?
Check out this awesome creation of Secret of Mana 3D right here and share this blog to get the word out there: "We want Secret of Mana 3D - the full game"
Gemma ~ Juicy Game Reviews 
Get your copy of Secret of Mana at one of these kick ass retro gaming stores.
Developers create a living map from A Link to the Past - Snes
The Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past is one of my favourite games on the Super Nintendo. This week a keen group of developers, or rather Zelda fans, revived Hyrule once again with their, erm, map. That's right the A Link to the Past Map now operates with moving enemies, chickens, characters and even Link himself. You can scroll to your Zelda container hearts content and on mobile devices too.
The Map can take a few minutes to load so be patient. In the meantime share this awesome map with your friends and let us know what you think in the comments. Enjoy. Gemma ~ Juicy Game Reviews 
 Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II are my favourite of the MK series Mortal Kombat is one of the most prominent fighters of my generation and with the launch of Mortal Kombat X hitting next generation consoles, I found it quite fitting to pen my thoughts on the original titles. I had a Super Nintendo as a kid (ahem yes I preferred the Snes over the rival Mega Drive) so most of my kick ass memories.
How can I have just discovered Plok on the Super Nintendo? Quite possibly one of the finest hidden gems on this marvellous 16-bit console that I picked up in a recent Super Nintendo haul. Plok is a super cute side scroller, developed by Software Creations and released in 1993. Packed full of vibrant colours, tricky challenges and limb throwing weaponry, Plok feels like s must own title for any fan of the Super Nintendo.
The game play feels incredibly quick and relies on fast reflexes of the player. Dodging rolling logs, flying objects and pesky blue fleas all formulate the crux of the game play. Ploks initial attacks involve him throwing his four limbs at nearby enemies thus banishing them from his path. Tastefully, the story evolves from Cotton Island where Plok wonders, in a bid to find his missing flag. Once his flag is found our red hero soon realises that he was tricked in to going to Cotton Island! Damn! Upon returning to his beautiful home island of Akrillic Plok discovers a new threat: Blue Fleas! No amount of Full Marks Head Lice Cream will get rid of these quickly. From here, Ploks quest continues through the vast, colourful and aesthetic land of Polyesta (the coolest name for a fictional place). 
Dude where's my flag? Plok on the Super Nintendo
Plok is currently sat in my Super Nintendo; perched nicely on my console unit. It will remain there until I cannot take playing Plok anymore. I'm having so much fun playing it. The power ups really ramp up the game play mechanics. My personal favourite is the buzz saw which turns Plok in to a speeding saw able to rip through any enemy (if only for a short period). This reminds me of Sonic's spin. Another cool game play feature is the addition of a super jump which allows Plok to hump higher and further. I've found this useful when trying to reach the power up boxes.
At first glimpse I noticed at just how stunning this game looks. The developers appear to have made delightful use of the Super nintendo's vast colour palette and both background and foregrounds blend well during the game.
I'm absolutely floored that I discovered this game today. How did I miss it in the 90s? Let me know if you have played this. I'd love to hear what you all think. Plok is worth a solid 9 out of 10 from me. Back in 1993 Electronic Gaming Monthly rated Plok 8 out of 10 which is also pretty solid.
Want more from me? Subscribe to my Youtube channel and check out my growing collection of video games. Join me over on Facebook or drop me a Tweet. Gemma ~ Juicy Game Reviews 
By Gemma @Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24
Doom Loading Screen Playstation 1
It was in 1995 that my twelve year old self stood in Gordon Harwoods, our local PC hardware store at the time, tapping on the keys of the keyboard trying to find the red key card in Doom. I'd never played a first person shooter before (although I didn't know much about game genre's back then) and looking back I now know that this was a key moment for me as a Gamer. It wasn't before long that the staff in Gordon Harwoods, two very slim chaps, came over and tapped frantically on the keys of the PC. The red, blue and yellow key cards appeared in the inventory slots and we had every weapon known to the game! Yes, now we were playing with cheats. Day after day, week after week we were there in Gordon Harwoods hammering the keys to progress in Doom. Just over twenty two years later I love Doom as much as I did back then but I ask myself why?
Doom was originally released in December 1993 via shareware and was developed by Id Software. Doom has since spread across numerous platforms like the Super Nintendo, Sega Saturn, Playstation, Atari Jaguar and more. Each platform release varies. The Playstation version does not include the Nightmare difficulty level that was featured in the original PC. I played Doom the most on the PC, Super Nintendo and Playstation 1. The Panasonic 3DO version intrigues me the most and for all the wrong reasons. Having watched gameplay of Doom on the 3DO I believe it looks to be a very poor port of the game, The frame rate lags, the music has been re-scored. It appears that the screen ratio is smaller too which causes the game to be framed by a nasty brown border. Despite these dislikes I'd still buy the game.
Doom on the Panasonic 3DO - Mmm nice brown borders!
I'm sure that most of us have played Doom and are familiar with the high level of gore, weapons, merciless enemies and Satanic references. Naturally, pockets of society have criticised the franchise and blamed countless murders and outbreaks of violence on the fact that perpetrators played Doom. Putting those bullshit opinions to one side, Doom is a kick ass franchise that will never tire on me. If parents are stupid enough to allow their younger children to pick up a BFG (albeit in the game) then that's their choice! What do you guys think?
As it stands we are waiting for the release of Doom 4 on next generation consoles. In fact, I'm still waiting for the beta to drop. I sense that Doom 4 will be great but until we play the upcoming Doom 4 beta we will have to wait patiently by playing our retro versions of this awesome game. I hope that multiplayer is as fun as it was back when we played via link up. Want retro games, merchandise, podcasts and more. Click here. 
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