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It feels like only yesterday that I saw

THE RETROBATES

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE SONIC MEMORY?

CARBON TESTING

Josh Fairhurst and Dimitris Giannakis on creating a new retro engine for Switch

Just the two of us

S omething amazing has happened. The PERFECT

Take it easy

I’ ve never been one of those

Audacity Games

Activision legends tell Paul Drury about their new venture

THE LATEST NEWS FROM AUGUST 2004

[PSP] Should handheld consoles really be delivering  PS2-style experiences

1942 CAPCOM GOES TO WAR

» RETROREVIVAL

30 YEARS OF SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

THE FASTEST HERO IN VIDEOGAMES IS 30 YEARS OLD, AND HE’S SHOWING NO SIGNS OF SLOWING  DOWN. WITH SERIES PRODUCER TAKASHI IIZUKA, WE LOOK AT SONIC FROM A VARIETY OF  ANGLES TO FIND OUT WHY HIS CAREER HAS BEEN A MARATHON RATHER THAN A SPRINT

INIMITABLE IMAGE

SONIC’S CHARACTER DESIGN AND PERSONALITY HAVE LONG BEEN PART OF HIS APPEAL – HERE’S HOW SEGA KEEPS HIS IMAGE FRESH

GOTTA GO FAST

EVERY SUPERHERO NEEDS THEIR DEFINING SUPERPOWER, AND SONIC’S IS  SPEED – BUT HOW DOES SEGA KEEP HIM RUNNING OUT OF CONTROL?

BUILT FOR SPEED

SPEED IS ONLY WORTHWHILE IF YOU HAVE SOMEWHERE TO GO. HOW DOES  SEGA GO ABOUT BUILDING THE ENVIRONMENTS THAT SONIC INHABITS?

TURBO TUNES

THE FASTEST HERO IN VIDEOGAMES NEEDS THE ULTIMATE RUNNING PLAYLIST, AND WITH CAREFUL COMPOSITION AND CELEBRITY CAMEOS, HE HAS IT

RUNNING THE GAMUT

WITH PLENTY OF TOYS, TV SHOWS, A MOVIE AND MORE, SONIC’S WORLD HAS ALWAYS STRETCHED FAR BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF VIDEOGAMES ALONE

THE EVOLUTION OF SPY VS SPY

By channelling the slapstick comedy of a Mad Magazine comic strip, Spy Vs Spy raised the bar for two-player gaming. Co-creator Richard Spitalny reflects on his game’s evolution, and its influence on the sequels and successors that followed

Ninja Gaiden

THIS IS MY SIDE STORY

European Super League

“I’VE NEVER SEEN A BAG OF MONEY SCORE A GOAL”

OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast

THE DRIVE OF YOUR LIFE

THE MAKING OF OINK!

WE COULD SAY THIS VIDEOGAME TIE-IN WAS CLOSELY BASED ON THE CHARACTERS OF AN ANARCHIC COMIC CALLED OINK! WHICH MADE ITS DEBUT 35 YEARS AGO BUT, AS YOU’LL SEE, THAT WOULD BE TELLING A LITTLE PORKY 

CONVERSION CAPERS

DID THE PORTS KEEP THE ORIGINAL’S ‘STY’-LE? 

THE MAKING OF THEY $TOLE A MILLION

THERE’S NOTHING QUITE LIKE T HEY STOLE A MILLION, THE 8-BIT CRIME CAPER GAME THAT ASKED: DO YOU THINK YOU’VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A CRIMINAL MASTERMIND? RETRO GAMER STEADIES ITS PICKLOCK AND STUDIES THE PLANS BEHIND THIS UNUSUAL STRATEGY GAME

CONVERSION CAPERS WHICH VERSIONS STOLE OUR HEARTS?

AMSTRAD CPC ■ Over the three games, the

THE ULTIMATE HEIST

HOW TO GET AWAY WITH A FORTUNE

ROGUE’S GALLERY

THERE ARE MANY ‘COLOURFUL’ CHARACTERS IN THEY STOLE A MILLION. WHO’S THE MOST USEFUL, DANGEROUS AND INTERESTING? 

FROM THE ARCHIVES NEXUS

Nexus Productions Ltd had a limited life span, from early 1986 to December 1987. In that time, it published nine computer games, but there is much more to this publisher’s story than meets the eye

TIMELINE

1984 ■ Paul Voysey and Tayo Oluwu write

WHERE ARE THEY NOW

» Utilising his obvious artistic skills, Ian Ellery

DNA OF NEXUS PRODUCTIONS LIMITED

NEXUS ■ NEXUS was not only the

THE UNCONVERTED

Arcade games that never made it home

BEST LEFT IN THE ARCADE

POLICETRAINER

MSX GAMES

The MSX is a versatile computer system with a wide range of games available on tape, disk, cartridge and even laserdisc. Exploring its selection of arcade gems and obscure Japanese exclusives can be great fun but be warned – they come at a price!

MORE GAMES TO CONSIDER

PARODIUS DEVELOPER: KONAMI RELEASED: 1988 EXPECT TO PAY

Lemmings

» PLATFORM: AMIGA RELEASED: 1993 DEVELOPER: DMA DESIGN

THE LEGENDARY AXE

WHILE EUROPEAN READERS MIGHT NOT NECESSARILY RECOGNISE THIS,

Vagrant Story

AN INTRO SO GOOD, I’VE NEVER SKIPPED IT

PICO-8: GAMING FANTASY CONSOLE

WE SPEAK TO CREATOR AND COMMUNITY TO FIND OUT HOW A ‘CONSOLE’ REPLICATING RETRO HARDWARE LIMITATIONS IS GIVING   BIRTH TO   GREAT GAMES, SPARKING CREATIVITY AND PROVIDING A DEVELOPMENT  ENVIRONMENT LOVED BY VETERANS AND HOBBYISTS ALIKE

PIC’O MIX: DEFINING    GAMES

IT  WOULD  BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO TRY OUT EVERY GAME AVAILABLE ON   THE PICO-8, BUT WE’VE DONE OUR BEST TO PICK OUT SOME HIGHLIGHTS THAT  SHOWCASE THE BREADTH OF THE HIGH-QUALITY TITLES YOU CAN FIND THERE

LIKE WHAT I (DE )MADE?

FANTASTIC LOW-FI VERSIONS OF WELL-KNOWN TITLES

Hadware Heaven

ESSENTIAL GAME Batman Forever None of the R-Zone

THE MAKING OF Shantae

IF YOU HAD THREE WISHES, WOULD YOU USE ONE OF THEM TO INTERVIEW MATT BOZON, CO-CREATOR OF SHANTAE, ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF HIS BELOVED ACTION-ADVENTURE SERIES?  NO? OH. WELL, WE DID. GET READY TO (HAIR) WHIP IT GOOD AS WE SAVE A DANCE FOR SHANTAE

THE MAKING OF No one Lives Forever 1&2

DISCOVER HOW A CEASE-AND-DESIST FROM THE OWNERS OF JAMES BOND LED TO CATE ARCHER, THE HERO OF MONOLITH’S CULT SPY SERIES

NetLink

» PLATFORM: Saturn » RELEASED: 1996 » COST:

BATTLE AXE

New games that wish they were old 

BROTHERS: A TALE OF TWO SONS

Modern games you’ll still be playing in years to come

VIOLET BERLIN

Violet Berlin shot to fame as the presenter of ITV’s Bad Influence! – but the convoluted story of how she got the job involves everything from watermelon ninja turtles to a last-ditch dash around Eastern Europe in a Ford Cortina

Resident Evil Village

CAPCOM’S SURVIVAL HORROR RELEASE IS A GAME OF TWO HALVES

R-Type Final 2

» System: PS4 (tested), PC, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S » Buy it from: Retail, online » Buy it for: £34.99+

A Guide To Japanese Role-Playing Games

» Buy it from : bitmapbooks.co.uk »

New Pokémon Snap

» System: Switch » Buy it from: Online,

Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents: The Guide To Shoot-’Em-Ups Volume 2

» Buy it from: amazon.co.uk »

GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN

The games we hate, despite popular opinion

READERS REACT

The games we hate, despite popular opinion

HAMMER TIME

Hitting the nail on the head with an impressive collection

ENDLESS RUNNER

Why I’m still going fast with Sonic three decades on

WHICH GAMES TRULY CHANGED YOUR LIFE?

Readers reveal the gaming obsessions that developed into something more

MAIL BAG

HAVE YOUR SAY… SEND US A LETTER OR

Your say

Every month, Retro Gamer asks a question on social media and prints the best replies. This month we wanted to know…

retro* GAMER

Future PLC Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, Somerset,

END GAME

BOMBERMAN » Lisa’s been kidnapped, and it’s up

JUST KEEP SPINNING

Sega’s speedy mascot has come a long way

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

MEGA DRIVE, 1991

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

MASTER SYSTEM/GAME GEAR, 1991

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2

MASTER SYSTEM/GAME GEAR, 1992

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2

MEGA DRIVE, 1992

Q&A: CREATING A SONIC BEATER

Mark Cerny on making that difficult second album

FACTOR FIVE

Cool facts about Sonic’s best mate

SEGASONIC THE HEDGEHOG

ARCADE, 1993

SONIC CD

MEGA-CD/PC, 1993

SONIC CHAOS

MASTER SYSTEM/GAME GEAR, 1993

SONIC SPINBALL

VARIOUS, 1993

SONIC TRIPLE TROUBLE

GAME GEAR, 1994

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 & KNUCKLES

MEGA DRIVE, 1994

CREATING SONIC 3 & KNUCKLES

Roger Hector on working on the acclaimed game

TECHNICALLY ACCOMPLISHED

More gaming gems from Sega Technical Institute

SONIC DRIFT 2

GAME GEAR, 1995

SONIC BLAST

MASTER SYSTEM/GAME GEAR, 1996

SONIC CHAMPIONSHIP

ARCADE, 1996

SONIC 3D: FLICKIES’ ISLAND

MEGA DRIVE/SATURN, 1996

SONIC R

SATURN/PC, 1997

SONIC ADVENTURE

DREAMCAST, 1998

GOING 3D

Kazuyuki Hoshino revisits Sonic’s first 3D adventure

ENHANCING SONIC’S ADVENTURE

The later releases of Sega’s Dreamcast game

SONIC POCKET ADVENTURE

NEO GEO POCKET COLOR, 1999

OW! THE EDGE

A brief history of Shadow The Hedgehog

SONIC ADVENTURE 2

DREAMCAST/GAMECUBE, 2001

SONIC ADVANCE

GAME BOY ADVANCE, 2001

SONIC HEROES

VARIOUS, 2003

SONIC RUSH

DS, 2005

SONIC RIDERS

VARIOUS, 2006

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

PS3/XBOX 360, 2006

SONIC RIVALS

PSP, 2006

SONIC AND THE SECRET RINGS

WII, 2007

MARIO & SONIC AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

WII/DS, 2007

SONIC CHRONICLES: THE DARK BROTHERHOOD

DS, 2008

SONIC UNLEASHED

VARIOUS, 2008

NIGHT AND DAY

How the HD versions differ from the Wii and PS2 offerings

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 4: EPISODE I

VARIOUS, 2010

SONIC COLOURS

WII/DS, 2010

SONIC GENERATIONS

VARIOUS, 2011

GENERATIONS APART

Double dipping with the 3DS version of SonicGenerations

SONIC & ALL- STARS RACING TRANSFORMED

VARIOUS, 2012

SONIC DASH

IOS/ANDROID, 2013

SONIC LOST WORLD

VARIOUS, 2013

SONIC BOOM: RISE OF LYRIC

WII U, 2014

SONIC RUNNERS

IOS/ANDROID, 2015

SONIC BOOM: FIRE & ICE

3DS, 2016

SONIC MANIA

VARIOUS, 2017

ENCORE! ENCORE!

What does the Sonic Mania Plus DLC add?

WAIT! ISN’T THAT…?

How Sonic Mania employs scrapped content from earlier Sonicgames

SONIC FORCES

VARIOUS, 2017

SEARCH FOR THE HERO INSIDE YOURSELF

How character creation lets you join Sonic’s universe

TEAM SONIC RACING

VARIOUS, 2019