For a brief moment in time though, a new challenger looked set to give the Gameboy a run for its money, as Sega threw its hat into the portable gaming ring. The Sega Genesis Nomad was a huge upgrade in the scene, featuring a kickass design, amazing visuals, and Sega’s top-tier games playing on a colourful LCD screen.

The Game & Watch is more of a neat collectible than anything else, and on that level it succeeds as a beautifully-styled retro reminder of how far gaming has come in the decades since Mario ate his first world-altering mushroom.

Only 40 years later did anyone think, “Hey, this genre seems pretty popular. You think people would like to check where it started?”

One of the most exciting consoles coming this year isn’t the PlayStation 5 or the Xbox Series X. Who needs bleeding edge graphical powerhouse machines when you’ve got handheld consoles that already have a library of established excellence? That’s the idea behind the Analogue Pocket, which finally went on sale yesterday. And within eight minutes, was completely sold out.

Back in 2018, one of the games that caught my attention was Prodeus. With 2016’s DOOM remake proving that something old can once again be new, it was hitting all the right notes for the kind of action game that I was looking for: Unrepentantly violent, vicious and looking like the product of an age where bleeding edge gaming technology …

If anyone ever tells you that they don’t make FPS games like ye olde Wolfenstein anymore, then it’s time to scoff. Scoff to the max right in their face, as Project Warlock was a damn good reminder of how a retro stab at the run ‘n gun genre still had plenty of magic within it once some contemporary polish had been applied.

In addition to the core five fighters in Streets of Rage 4 such as Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding and Adam Hunter , you’ll also be able to hit the angriest of roads with 12 pixel art fighters from the original trilogy of games. Fighters such as Max 'Thunder' Hatchett, Eddie 'Skate' Hunter, and Dr. Gilbert Zan. You can even play as Shiva and not need to hold the B button for a long-ass time after you beat him!

A sexy collection of stories detailing the development of Sega’s biggest arcade game sellers, Space Harrier, After Burner, Hang-On, Out Run, Thunder Blade and Power Drift by games writer Keith Stuart, but it’s also presented in format where you can construct paper replicas of those cabinets. Just look at the glorious arcade origami that Helen Friel and Kam Tang came up with.