Category: Retro Game Lore

Final Fantasy VII is one of the most important games in the history of the medium. Its world was vast, its characters unforgettable, and its story willing to tackle ideas that few console games had approached before. From the very first moments, it makes its intentions clear. The game opens in motion. A train screeches […]

Some of the greatest games are discovered by accident. That was exactly the case for Robot Alchemic Drive on the PlayStation 2. I remember buying it brand new for around twenty dollars at my local GameStop. I had never seen an ad, a review, or even a screenshot. All I knew was that the box […]

By the time MechWarrior arrived on the Super Nintendo, the BattleTech universe already had a firm grip on me. I had spent countless hours on PC with MechWarrior 2 and MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries, learning the rhythms of heat management, loadouts, and tactical combat. But the SNES was not my console growing up. I was firmly […]

When Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance in 2001, it marked a major leap forward for handheld gaming. For the first time, players could experience console-quality games in a portable format that felt closer to the Super Nintendo than the original Game Boy line. The GBA was fast, colorful, and ambitious, setting the stage for […]

When you think of kart racers, one mustachioed plumber tends to come to mind. But that game was only playable on Nintendo, what about Playstation? Well, in 1999 Naughty Dog rose to the challenge of making disc-based kart racing a thing with CTR: Crash Team Racing! A Vibrant Contender CTR, like its Nintendo rival, had […]

Electronic Arts may think they are on to something with the new Skate game, but I need something more hardcore (and ancient). Skate or Die released in 1987 on the Commodore 64, but I played it in 1988 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and it laid the groundwork for an entire genre of games. This […]

Throughout the history of video games, one rule has always held true: giant robots are awesome! Mechwarrior 2 was one of the first 3D games that I ever played, and it hooked me. I watched the cartoon, had some of the toys, bought the tabletop game, and every time I found more Battletech stuff I […]

As 2025 nears it’s end, it’s worth taking a look back at one of the most influential retro games ever. 31 years ago, Donkey Kong reemerged on the video game scene, this time as a platformer hero! November 21, 1994 was the release date for Donkey Kong Country, and it totally revitalized the character. A […]

My all-time favorite 16-bit worm in gaming has to be Earthworm Jim. Actually, Jim is the ONLY 16-bit worm that comes to mind… Anyway, Earthworm Jim was an amazing title (originally released on SNES and Sega Genesis) that spawned sequels, toys, and even a Saturday morning cartoon! It featured wild visuals and a banger of […]

When The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess launched on November 19, 2006, it arrived at a critical moment for Nintendo. Fans had spent years absorbing early GameCube demos and teaser trailers that suggested a darker, more mature follow-up to Ocarina of Time. When the Wii entered the scene, Twilight Princess became both the last great […]

Sometimes as a gamer, you just need a controller. I’ve had my eyes on a few different telescopic controllers for a while now, but they all seemed quite expensive, and I just couldn’t justify spending that much when I have other controllers lying around, like my Moga XP5-X and Xbox One controllers. That is, until […]

The Nintendo GameCube launched in North America on November 18, 2001, marking the beginning of a new era for Nintendo. Compact, colorful, and unapologetically playful, the system stood out in a landscape filled with bulky black boxes and serious marketing. With its cube shape, tiny discs, and built-in handle, the GameCube delivered the message that […]