RetroTube: Bound High video (Virtual Boy)
October 3, 2009 by Tim · 4 Comments
Now that I’m starting to do more with the site the last few weeks, I figured I’d start up some of the old features I used to post. So with that said, I have a new RetroTube for you. This isn’t exactly new or groundbreaking footage or anything like that, but I stumbled upon it for the first time a couple of days ago and thought it was really interesting — especially since I’ve been recently reacquainted with the Virtual Boy after repairing mine last week.
There are a couple of holy grails in the Virtual Boy “scene” (what little scene there may be). Right before the system was killed off, a second generation of games was nearing release that were supposed to take better advantage of the hardware and really make the system shine. The two most anticipated games were Dragon Hopper and Bound High. Both were nearly (if not totally) complete, but were never released. As such, Virtual Boy fans still crave the games to this day, but with only a few accounts of sightings at tradeshows and a handful of low-quality screenshots to whet their appetites. Well, it turns out that Bound High has actually made it into the hands of at least one member of the public, and he’s posted the only extended video footage of the game that I’ve ever seen:
And a second (shorter, lower quality) video with a sample of the game’s sounds:
Maybe Dragon Hopper will be next?
RetroTube: Video Power
May 27, 2008 by Tim · Leave a Comment
Alright, I haven’t posted a RetroTube in a while, and I’ve been sitting on this one for some time now. For the longest time, I had these vague memories of a game show where two kids face off in video game competition and the winner gets to run through a room full of games where they get to grab anything they want and stick it to their velcro suits and helmets. I wanted so badly to run around and pick up all those free NES games like those kids got to do.
But what was it called!? The years had worn away my memories of the show, but finally, with the help of a friend, I managed to remember its name: Video Power! Man, I loved that show… Of course, the venerable YouTube has a clip! I figured I’d share and maybe stir up a little nostalgia for the rest of you. Doesn’t this show look like fun? I feel a little bad for the kid that won the Neo-Geo, though. I bet nobody told him that he’d never be able to afford a single game for it!
(Note: Be sure to turn your volume all the way up if you want to hear it, this clip is really quiet.)
Enjoy this few minutes of hokey nostalgic game show fun. I have something even better in store for next time…
RetroTube: Classic Genesis Commercials
Part of the reason I like old video games is the nostalgia factor. These games remind me of my childhood and bring about many of the same feelings I experienced back then. It’s probably for the same reason that I enjoy old commercials from that time, as well. So, let’s take a moment and combine the two, shall we?
I recently posted one of the worst game commercials I’ve ever seen, but let’s take things in a slightly different direction this time. How about some of those old commercials we remember so fondly? For people my age, the classic commercial battle was the one that was waged in the 16-bit era between Sega and Nintendo. Sega, especially, was known for their ad campaign, including a number of “inflammatory” commercials that attempt to trash the competition (i.e. Nintendo).
First up, let’s kick things off with the simple story of young Bobby Engles and how the Genesis “Fighting System” with Streets of Rage 2 earned him some respect at school, all while saving him $40!
But don’t forget that classic catchphrase: “Genesis Does…”
“…What Nintendon’t!”
And let’s not forget when Sega tried to use “Blast Processing” to pass the Genesis off as more powerful than the Super Nintendo…
Or when they tried to use the Sega CD and 32X as trump cards because the SNES didn’t have expensive, unused add-ons like the Genesis!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blbVQTtWvLAWell, Nintendo has something to say to that…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTQj522ripcTons more after the break! Enjoy…
RetroTube: Best game commercial ever?
July 9, 2007 by Tim · 4 Comments
Imagine, for a moment, that you’re Nintendo and you’ve just wrapped up development on The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the SNES. Now it’s time to sell the game to the public — a game that would go on to be considered by many as the greatest game of all time. How do you market it? Do you tout its wonderful graphics? Its deep gameplay? Its massive world to explore? Its majestic atmosphere?
Apparently not. Apparently, you use this travesty…
I think I’ll just pretend that Nintendo knew the game was good enough to sell itself and made this commercial as some sort of twisted joke. It’s better for the psyche.
RetroTube: Rock Out with Lords of Thunder
June 26, 2007 by Tim · Leave a Comment
Back when I knew almost nothing about the TurboGrafx-16 and Turbo Duo, I did know one thing… That there was a game called Lords of Thunder and it had the best damn soundtrack of any game, ever. I knew this because I had a single, two-minute, low-quality .aiff audio clip that contained just a portion of one of the game’s songs. And that two-minutes absolutely rocked. In fact, I used to put that one clip on loop and listen to it for a half hour at a time! Unfortunately, I lost the file in a hard drive crash and never found it again. But never fear, the story has a happy ending. I just recently bought the actual game and now I can enjoy the music any time I want! (Along with a great game, to boot.)
But not all of you have a TurboGrafx-CD or Turbo Duo, so you can’t do the same. That’s a shame, but at least there’s another way. Now, thanks to YouTube user vertexguy, I can share with you the very same song that entranced me when I first heard it… Enjoy!
RetroTube: Commodore 64 and Famicom montages
June 18, 2007 by Tim · Leave a Comment
A couple of cool retro-gaming-themed YouTube videos have been making the rounds this week, so I thought they’d make a good introduction to another regular mini-feature I had in mind. YouTube is a veritable treasure trove of obscure video game minutiae, and I love almost every minute of it! So, I plan to share some of my favorites in the future. In the meantime, let’s get started with these two:
100 Commodore 64 games in 10 minutes
I found this video especially interesting, having never played a Commodore 64 before. (I know, I know, some retro gamer I am, right?) In fact, I’m pretty tempted to get one now! I recommend watching the video and then checking this link, where the fine folks at the DigitPress forums have managed to identify the majority of the games.
Every Famicom title screen, ever!
After you’ve exhausted yourself watching 100 Commodore 64 games, you can move on to every Famicom title screen. Ever. The coolest part is that I think they’re even in chronological order! I think it’s interesting to see how the title screens generally started out with similar templates, but became more complex and more interesting to look at as time went on. Oh, and notice the duplicates? I’m thinking that’s because of games that got released on both cartridge and the disk system. Ooh, and notice the “Namcot” logos? Too cool… Man, I love this stuff.
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