THE RETROBATES

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE ZELDA GAME?

LOADING...

For me, few videogame franchises feel as consistent

SO LONG AND FAREWELL

E3 hits the rocks as Nintendo shutters shops

IN MEMORIAM

Famed musician Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away on 28

A day in the life

I feel a little dirty and I have

Passive gaming nostalgia

Idon’t think any of you would criticise me

Patrick Nevian

We speak to the pianist behind a new collection of piano-themed Chris Huelsbeck classics

NEWS SEPTEMBER 2006

SEPTEMBER 2006 – It’s a big month for

THE LATEST NEWS FROM SEPTEMBER 2006

» [PSP] Tekken’s smooth 3D fighting in the

CHARTS

SEPTEMBER 2006

Spatter

TRY THE TRICKY TRICYCLE

THE ADVENTURER'S GUIDE TO THE LEGEND OF ZELDA

FOR DECADES, THE LEGEND OF ZELDA HAS BEEN A NAME SYNONYMOUS WITH QUALITY IN THE ACTION ADVENTURE GENRE, AND ONE OF NINTENDO'S MOST POPULAR SERIES. WE TAKE A DEEP DIVE INTO THE QUALITIES THAT MAKE LINK'S ADVENTURES SO TIMELESS

WORLD OF WONDER

HYRULE IS ALWAYS UNIQUELY SUTTED TO THE ZELDA GAMES THAT TAKE PLACE THERE - BUT THAT'S BECAUSE OF NINTENDO'S UNUSUAL APPROACH TO CRAFTING THE LOCATION. WE TALK TO JEREMY HARVEY ABOUT WHAT MAKES ZELDA'S SETTING SUCH A JOY TO DISCOVER

NICOLAS CANNASSE

EVOLAND’S CREATOR OPENS UP ON ZELDA’S OPEN WORLDS

INTRIGUING INHABITANTS

WHAT IS A WORLD WITHOUT THE PEOPLE IN IT? LIL GATOR GAME DEVELOPERS SCOTT SULCHER AND CONNOR PATRICK WUINN DISCUSS THE FAMILIAR AND ECCENTRIC CHARACTERS THAT INHABIT HYRULE AND HOW THEY MAKE THE LEGEND OF ZELDA'S STORIES AND QUESTS MEMORABLE

DUNGEON DELVING

NO GAME DO DUNGEONS QUITE LIKE DUNGEONS IN ZELDA, OFTEN THE GAMES' HIGHLIGHTS THAT CHALLENGE YOU WITH EXPLORATION, PUZZLES AND COMBAT IN PERFECT BALANCE. BLOSSOM TALES DEVELOPER ROB MAHER DISCUSSES THE RECIPE BEHIND THE ZELDA SERIES' UNIGUE DUNGEON DESIGNS

ICONIC ARSENAL

BOMBS AND BOWS, BOOMERANGS AND BIG SWORDS - LINK'S WEAPONRY ALLOWS HIM TO THRIVE IN ENCOUNTERS WITH HIS MANY FOES, BUT NINTENDO HAS ALWAYS ENSURED THAT THE EQUIPMENT HE GATHERS HAS SIGNIFICANCE FAR BEYOND ITS OBVIOUS APPLICATION IN COMBAT

MELOS HAN-TANI

THE CREATOR OF ANODYNE DISCUSSES LINK’S WEAPONRY

BEASTLY BOSSES

SAVING THE WORLD ISN'T AN EASY TASK, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE FIGHTING AN ENEMY 20 TIMES YOUR SIZE. BOSS BATTLES PUNCTUATE THE ACTION IN ZELDA GAMES. PROVIDING TESTS OF SKILL AND DRAMATIC MOMENTS THAT SERVE TO ADVANCE THE PLOT

MAGICAL MELODIES

THE LECEND OF ZELDA DOESN'T JUST CONTAIN SOME OF THE MOST MEMORABLE MUSIC IN VIDEOGAMES, AS WANDERSONG AND CHICORY DEVELOPER GREG LOBANDV DISCUSSES HOW MUSIC HAS PLAYED A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE GAMEPLAY AND NARRATIVE IN BELOVED ENTRIES IN THE SERIES

GREG LOBANOV

HOW ZELDA HAS INSPIRED GREG’S GAMES

ZELDA'S GREATEST SOUNDTRACKS

MUSIC TO TRANSPORT YOU BACK TO HYRULE

Enduro Racer

LATE TO THE PARTY

Super Bomberman: Panic Bomber W

LIGHT THE FUSE, BRING THE BOOM

BONANZABROS

SEGA REALLY BROUGHT HOME THE GOODS WHEN IT SNUCK SPLIT-SCREEN STEALTH, SLAPSTICK CHARM AND UNIQUE CHARACTERS INTO ARCADES THROUGH THE LOVABLE BONANZA BROS. JOIN US AS WE INVESTIGATE THE CRIMINALLY GOOD COIN-OP GAME, ALONG WITH ITS CONVERSIONS AND SPIN-OFFS

BOSSING BONANZA BROS

HOW TO PULL OFF THE PERFECT HEIST

SPIN-OFF SPLENDOUR

THE PUZZLE SERIES THAT FOLLOWED BONANZA BROS

Blast Wind

BUY GAMES WHEN YOU’RE SOBER

THE EVOLUTION OF THE Cruis’n Series

INSPIRED BY THE JOY OF PLAYING OUT RUN, EUGENE JARVIS CREATED ONE OF THE FIRST SHADED VECTOR RACERS WITH CRUIS’N USA. EUGENE EXPLAINS HOW HIS ARCADE HIT INSPIRED A SERIES THAT TOOK THE CONCEPT OF FUN DRIVING TO OUTRAGEOUS NEW LEVELS

The Last Blade: Beyond The Destiny

DESTINED FOR ANOTHER COLLECTOR

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp

TANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

R-Type Final 3 Evolved

» System: PS5 » Buy it for: £49.99 » Buy it from: Online, retail

Def Jam: Fight For NY

FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO PARTY

Rampage

» PLATFORM: ARCADE » RELEASED: 1986 » DEVELOPER:

A TRIBUTE TO oceon SOFTWARE

FEW SOFTWARE HOUSES OF THE EIGHTIES INSPIRE AS MUCH NOSTALGIA AS OCEAN SOFTWARE. FROM ITS HUMBLE BEGINNINGS PUBLISHING ARCADE CLONES, IT GREW INTO THE UK’S LARGEST AND MOST SIGNIFICANT GAMES COMPANY THROUGHOUT THE DECADE AND BEYOND. RETRO GAMER CHARTS THE UPS AND DOWNS OF OCEAN IN THIS SPECIAL TRIBUTE

ROAD FROG

ZX SPECTRUM, 1983

HUNCHBACK

VARIOUS, 1984

DALEY THOMPSON’S DECATHLON

VARIOUS, 1984

DALEY THOMPSON’S DECATHLON TRIVIA FILE

Five facts about the famous button-masher HE’S HEARD

MATCH DAY

VARIOUS, 1984

FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD

VARIOUS, 1985

RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II

VARIOUS, 1986

KNIGHT RIDER

VARIOUS, 1986

THE GREAT ESCAPE

VARIOUS, 1986

STREET HAWK

VARIOUS, 1986

COBRA

VARIOUS, 1986

DONKEY KONG

VARIOUS, 1986

HEAD OVER HEELS

VARIOUS, 1987

WIZBALL

VARIOUS, 1987

OPERATION WOLF

VARIOUS, 1988

PLATOON

VARIOUS, 1988

ROBOCOP

VARIOUS, 1988

COMBAT SCHOOL

VARIOUS, 1988

WHERE TIME STOOD STILL

VARIOUS, 1988

BATMAN

VARIOUS, 1989

F29 RETALIATOR

VARIOUS, 1989

RAINBOW ISLANDS

VARIOUS, 1990

OCEAN REMEMBERED

OCEAN: THE HISTORY

THE ADDAMS FAMILY

VARIOUS, 1992

JURASSIC PARK

VARIOUS, 1993

WORMS

VARIOUS, 1995

EF 2000

PC, 1995 n In 1995, Ocean and Digital

TUNNEL B1

VARIOUS, 1996

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE

NINTENDO 64, 1998

ULTIMATE GUIDE: GUN SMOKE

WHEN SETH MACFARLANE CALLED HIS MOVIE A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST HE COULD HAVE BEEN REFERRING TO GUN SMOKE, CAPCOM’S TOUGH-AS-NAILS COWBOY SHOOTER FROM 1985.JOIN US AS WE LOAD UP, SADDLE UP AND TRY TO STAY UP FOR MORE THAN FIVE SECONDS

PERIPHERAL VISION: POWER GLOVE

ESSENTIAL GAME SUPER GLOVE BALL You don’t really

CRACKING THE SCENE

CRACKING GAMES IS A DANGEROUS PASSION, BUT ONE THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE. SCENE MEMBERS RECALL THEIR EXPERIENCES WORKING BEHIND THE CURTAINS IN THE EIGHTIES AND NINETIES, RISKING JAIL TIME TO COMPETE AT WHO WAS THE FASTEST AT CRACKING

HARDWARE QUIRKS

Games machines don’t have to be much more than nondescript boxes that sit under your TV, yet history is littered with examples of quirky little design choices that give your hardware some character – and here are ten that we love

IMAGES STUDIO PROFILE

Karl Jeffery began Images Software in the mid-Eighties, and his company became a reliable development team for many publishers as the transition from 8-bit and 16-bit computers to Sega and Nintendo consoles hit the industry, specialising in coin-op conversions

PlayStation 2 (SCPH-70000 Series)

» MANUFACTURER: Sony » YEAR: 2004 » COST: £99.99 (launch), £55+ (today, boxed), £25+ (today, unboxed)

ALISTAIR CROOKS

Back in 1973, two plucky Brits decided to bring these new-fangled coinoperated videogames to our shores. Alistair Crooks shares the brief but fascinating story of Atari UK

THE HOMEBREWER'S KIT

SJ AND DALE

SJ AND HIS FATHER DALE (SJ GAMES) CHAT TO US ABOUT CREATING THE CUTE NES PLATFORMER SKAT

WYCHEWEALD

SOH TACTICS GX

FORCE BOT

PROCESSING

THERE’S GOLD IN THAT THERE SPECTRUM – THANKS TO JAMIE BRADBURY’S GILLIGAN’S GOLD REMAKE

HOT TOPIC

RETROBATES MULL OVER THE SCENE’S MOST INTRIGUING ISSUES

READERS REACT

What are your favourite Ocean games? ‘Horace’ by

COLLECTOR’S CORNER

READERS TAKE US THROUGH THE RETRO KEYHOLE

BARGAIN HUNT

THE COVER STAR

MY RETRO LIFE

PERSONAL STORIES ABOUT OUR SHARED PASSION

PS3 ESSENTIALS

Readers share their favourite games for Sony’s third

MAILBAG

HAVE YOUR SAY… SEND US A LETTER OR MAKE YOURSELF HEARD ON SOCIAL MEDIA – TWITTER.COM/RETROGAMER_MAG

next month

ON SALE 8TH JUNE 2023

END GAME

KURUKURU KURURIN » Did you know that this