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The Retro Review

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Ian Felmore

Golden Axe

One of my favourite 16-bit titles of all time, the fantasy-themed side-scrolling beat-em-up originally hit back in 1989 and made the perfect transition to Sega’s most memorable console.

The story is simple but sucks you in. Death Adder, the aptly named villain has slaughtered and destroyed your entire village and everyone you know. Now it’s up to you exact revenge and rid the world of one of the vilest beings of all time!

This game takes me back to the days of all night co-op missions. It was one of the earliest Mega Drive titles, and I truly believe that if it had to come out a little later in the product’s lifetime, when developers were more familiar with how to squeeze the most out of the machine, I have no doubt it would have been pretty much indistinguishable from the arcade original. It’s just that awesome.

Lucky for us, Golden Axe has been re-released both on the Wii’s Virtual Console and as part of the Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection on PS3, allowing gamers to relive one of the greatest co-op two player beat-em-up experiences of the 16-bit generation.

Gunstar Heroes

1993 was around the time my brother and I first discovered two-player co-op. I was 8, he was 7 and our Sega Mega Drive was the blood that bound us – Incidentally this was also the year that Gunstar Heroes hit stores. Connection?

Possibly the definitive run-and-gun shooter for the Mega Drive, this two-player co-op game boasted some of the most frenetic action on the machine, with loads of enemies on screen at once, so many bullets and explosions, a good variety of weaponry and some very original bosses.

Gunstar Heroes is one of my all time favourite games but not because of the usual presentation or gameplay. Gunstar Heroes is my favourite game because it was the first game I ever finished with someone else, and that someone just happened to be my brother.

Geoff Tim

Super Mario Bros 3

It’s been over twenty years since the game was released, but Super Mario Bros 3. Still stands as one of the very best platformers ever created.

New costume-based power ups that granted our favourite portly plumber with the means to fly, ably swim, turn to stone and throw hammers did more than just bolster Mario’s armoury; the verticality added by Mario’s newfound flight changed the way levels would be designed. Secrets and alternate paths were evident from the very first level, adding a level of depth previously unseen in side-scrollers. This depth is furthered by the ability to store power-ups gained in the overworld map – another revolution – allowing you to strategically pick the right ability for the right level.

Graphically it showed what Nintendo’s grey box (although most of you would have played it on one of those illicit maroon and white “Golden China” machines) was really capable of. It boasted vibrant visuals that – for the time- blew minds, largely the result of genius pixel art.

Above that, it’s faultlessly designed. Across its 8 worlds, of over seventy levels, you’ll find something new and interesting; the game is so packed full of crazy secrets that it’d take you forever to learn them all.

Time’s done very little to dampen the fresh platforming offered by Miyamoto masterpiece, and it’s the variety on show that sets it apart from other platform games from the same era, and indeed many platform games today. It’s a game I still play regularly – and that’s not something that can be said for many games two decades old.

Street Fighter II

Street Fighter II wasn’t the first game of its genre, but it not just refined it also defined the one-on-one fighting game. The button layout of three punches and three kicks of varying strength paved the way for intense chainable combos and unique special moves for each of the games’ 8 eclectic world warriors.

The game, unlike fighting games before it, gave you great variety in the characters and the offensive moves available. You had Ryu and Ken, the shotokan karatekas who could throw fireballs (HADOOUKEN!), dragon punch and hurricane kick themselves to victory. Guile, a US army dude throwing crescent-shaped waves of sound and flash-kicking those would oppose him and his impeccably kept brush of hair. Blanka – the green, spinning, feral, electric mutant. A stretchy Indian yoga-master who could breathe fire – and so on. It would take months and months of playing to master each character and his signature moves.

It’s a game built for competition – and it set arcades (remember those?) ablaze twenty years ago. I have fond memories of placing my 20c coin in the corner of the screen of the already occupied Street Fighter II cabinet at the local corner café, signaling my intent to challenge the winner of the bout in progress. I have even fonder memories of completely destroying most challengers with my crazy asian Street Fighter skills, spending hours playing with just a single credit.

My skills have dulled with the passing of time, but Street fighter II’s legacy has not. Just about every competitive fighting game you play today owes something to this granddaddy of beat-em-ups.

Last Updated: March 11, 2011

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