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SHOWNOTES
00:00-Show Intro
05:05-Mailbag
14:14-Retro Review: Platoon (NES)
18:36=Discussion Segment: Nerd News
45:51-Beer Talk: Bells Two Hearted Ale
49:21-Show Close
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Email Us: mailbag@drunkengamersradio.com
Voicemail Line: 612-424-3835
DGR Twitter Feed
Facebook Group
SHOWNOTES
00:00-Show Intro
03:09-Drunk Dials
09:43-Mailbag
14:42-Discussion Segment: NES Nostalgia Night
35:51-Explosionade
39:32-Retro Review: Tiny Toon Adventures (NES)
44:19-Lightning Round
1:06:28-The Last Shot
1:07:16-Show Close
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mail Us: mailbag@drunkengamersradio.com
Voicemail Line: 612-424-3835
DGR Twitter Feed
Facebook Group
SHOWNOTES
00:00-Show Intro
04:39-Drunk Dials
14:56-Mailbag
32:06-Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light Review (XBLA)
39:47-Ys 7 Review (PSP)
48:01-Retro Review: The Adventures of Bayou Billy (NES)
53:44-Five Things
1:01:15-The Last Shot
1:02:53-Show Close
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Most gamers who were alive during the NES era have stories about playing Mike Tyson’s Punch Out. The game was a cultural phenomenon. Just ask somebody in their late 20s or early 30s about King Hippo, Piston Honda, or Bald Bull, and chances are they’ll tell you the exact pattern needed to beat each one of those characters.
Personally, as a kid who didn’t own an NES, I spent two weeks of lawn-mowing money to rent an NES and a copy of the game from one of our local video stores so my friends and I could spend an entire weekend pounding cartoon stereotypes from around the world. We set the system up in our family room and camped out there for 48 hours, passing the controller back and forth. We never did beat Mike Tyson (this was before “Mr. Dream”), but we had a great time trying.
Next week on Drunken Gamers Radio, we’ll be reviewing the new version of Punch Out!! (can’t forget the exclamation points) for the Wii, but we’d also like to take a trip down memory lane with you. Please send in your Punch Out memories by calling into our voice mail line at 612-424-3835. Who were your favorite characters? How sore was your thumb after your marathon sessions? And did you ever beat Tyson?
Send your audio in by Saturday, May 23rd.
We hope to hear from you!
Here’s another walk down memory lane…
The combo platter of Retro Game Challenge and 1up’s Retro Games Blog inspired me to pick up this little item: the NES Game Atlas.
Back in the 90s, Nintendo often provided slick subscription bonuses for Nintendo Power subscribers. Often it was a strategy guide or t-shirt, but the really cool bonuses were the Game Atlas series. They put out a Game Boy Atlas, an all-encompassing Mario guide, and one or two others. But it was this NES Game Atlas that I remember most fondly.
The NES Game Atlas includes complete maps and walkthroughs for not only some of the most classic first-party NES titles, but also some of the best third-party titles like Mega Man I-III, Duck Tales, Ninja Gaiden I and II, Castlevania I-III, and more.
More images after the break.
I am an unapologetic nostalgia whore. I spend untold amounts of cash chasing down memories from years gone by with the hope that I’ll be able to turn those memories into tangible items that can make me warm and fuzzy at a moment’s notice. Hell, I’m even nostalgic for things that I’m too young to have experienced. My favorite actor is Humphrey Bogart, I love antiques, and the music that suits me best is generally the stuff that was around long before I was born.
To make a long story short: Retro Game Challenge was made for me. When XSEED decided to take a chance on localizing Game Center CX: Arino no Chousenjou, I was their target audience. I am one of those people who twenty years ago obsessed over NES games and poured over each and every issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly and Nintendo Power. I sat on the floor in front of a television set, usually with a friend or my brother, for hours trying to beat Double Dragon, Ninja Gaiden, Super Mario Bros., Faxanadu, Kung Fu, and countless other games. We’d challenge each other to find secrets, unlock items, and get as far as we could. And it was fantastic.
Retro Game Challenge recreates these memories almost perfectly. Containing eight games brilliantly designed in the Famicom/NES style, you play as yourself, transported back to the 80s by “Game Master Arino”, and the only way to return to the present is by playing through different challenges for each game. The top screen displays the game, while the bottom screen shows your character and your companion, a younger Arino, who encourages you while you play and discusses the various games in between play sessions. And to me, as great as this game is, that’s the touch that nails it for me. It’s almost as if one of my old junior high buddies is sitting next to me.
In addition, young Arino is a subscriber to GameFan Magazine. Every so often, a new magazine will be added to his collection and you’re free to go to his shelf and page through each issue. Inside you’ll find news on new games, tips and tricks, cheat codes, reviews, letter to the editor, and editorials. Each issue is around 10-15 pages, and with writers like “Johnny England”, “Milkman”, and “Dan Sock”, it’s not too difficult to figure out which recently closed-up magazine they’re paying tribute to.
Aside from entertainment value, GameFan contains vital tips to help you complete the challenges. If you’re finding a particular game to be a little too difficult, chances are there’s a tip or even an invincibility code somewhere in one of the issues.
I realize that this game is based on the Japanese TV show Game Center CX, and that’s probably a topic for another time. But as a child of the 80s, and one that dearly misses the youthful enthusiasm of the hobby, Retro Game Challenge is as close as I’ll get to time warping back to those days. Please do me a favor: check out their website and if you like what you see buy the game. Your inner child will thank you.
Andrew Wallace joins us once again for a look at Nintendo!
Article By: Andrew Wallace
2 years into this “next-generation” of home consoles a few revelations have been made quite clear to enthusiast gamers. Arguably the most startling for this group is the paradigm shift of Nintendo and its subsequent abandonment of its loyal fanboy army. They appear more interested in moving to the grandma and soccer mom audience with their friendly white-boxed Wii.
While most gamers like the idea of an expanded audience in theory, the reality of it is not as pleasant. In practice this means that the new and prettier installments of their beloved franchises get ignored in the wake of a torrential downpour of mediocre mini-game collections and gimmicky accessories. Throughout the internet this outcry is heard loud and clear. Gamers are begging for Nintendo to return to the glorious days of yesteryear where Mario stuck to plumbing and Starfox stayed in his Arwing.
The problem with this whining is that if you take an honest look at Nintendo, this isn’t a new direction for them. The difference is that this time, they’ve actually been successful.
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The first time I played Bionic Commando, my friend Kevin and I went down to Wally’s Video, a stinky, porn-filled video shop in my home town. It was a pretty seedy place located near the railroad tracks, and Wally lived in the back room with his mother, both of whom weighed at least 400 lbs. each. Upon entering, the smell of B.O. and rotten food smacked you in the face. And then there was that smell. You know…that smell. The stink that lingers in every porn shop you’ve ever been to. I’m not sure if it’s the smell of desperation or just simply nut sweat, but that smell was thick in Wally’s Video.
It’s a wonder our parents let us go into that place, let alone give that fat pervert money. But despite the atmosphere, Wally had the best selection of NES games for rent in the entire town. And because of that, we happily gave him our money.
That day, Bionic Commando was sitting on the new release shelf, and it only took one look at the box art for Kevin and I to decide that this was the game we were taking home.
It’s hard to believe that the original Nintendo Entertainment System came out over twenty years ago. Sort of makes you feel old, doesn’t it? Yet here we are, older and possibly wiser. Despite how far gaming has come, there’s something about that NES that makes us want to go back, dust off our cartridges, and play. The problem is that it’s not always that easy. We’re all familiar with the ritual that goes along with playing our old NES games: blowing on the cartridge, as if that does any good. We blow on the cartridges, perform voodoo ceremonies with the reset button on the console, and even pull a Fonzie by trying to tap it in just the right place. I’m glad to say, those days are over thanks to Messiah and the Generation NEX.
The folks at Messiah have built a sturdy, sleek, and functional machine with the Generation NEX. It’s small, standing only an inch and half high, and looks like a miniature NES. Because of the dual slots, it’s able to play NES and Famicom games. We tested over fifty NES games on the NEX and, much to our surprise, each of them loaded up immediately. Of course, we don’t have every NES game ever made. Fortunately, Messiah has posted a compatibility list for you to check out here. (NOTE: While their list states that The Adventures of Dino Riki does not work, our copy played just fine. Castlevania III, however, gave us the green screen, as noted by Messiah.)
For $59.99, the Generation NEX comes with the game console, one wired controller, a sweet manual that includes a buyer’s guide, and one set of yellow, red, and white stereo cables.
