RetroDefense

Thanks for contributing, @sandplasma!

As I understand it, lack of credit is a temporary issue caused by the recent site upgrade.  Full credit should be restored and working soon.

If I'm not mistaken, @TheRedEye once mentioned something about Nintendo stepping in and requesting some changes.  The second cover features an affiliation disclaimer along with trademark info.

Hi Chris - welcome to RetroMags! 

Glad to see the newsletter love.  I'll have to check my collection and see if I have any issues not already scanned.

Updated the running list - thanks @kitsunebi77!

On 6/25/2017 at 11:24 AM, ChrisB said:

I worked on every issue of Tips & Tricks. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help!

Thank you, and welcome to RetroMags!

Whenever I purchase the home release of a movie anymore, I find myself ignoring deleted scene bonus features just for this very reason.   I can't seem to watch the same movie again without thinking, "damn - that deleted scene should've been left in!"

That said, I'm a sucker for Director's Cuts and DVDs/Blu-Rays that allow me to add deleted scenes to the film in real-time.

O @Areala, @Areala - wherefore art thou @Areala?  Deny thy trolls and refuse thy name.

I'm all for improving the search functionality of the site and especially appreciate the idea of cross-referencing games with magazines.  If I could visit RetroMags, edit a game title, then associate the game with one or more magazine issues, strategy guides, credits, etc, that'd be a perfect fit imo.

It'd be a boon for researchers and gaming historians especially.  Search for a game and immediately be presented with magazine issues with coverage of the game?  That'd be crazy useful.

This discussion has given me an overwhelming urge to visit GOG.com.

My curiosity was getting the best of me so I reached out to the ColecoVision Zone website to see if I could clarify this magazine's release schedule.  Stu was kind enough to provide some details. 

Apparently, the Summer 1983 version of issue #2 was officially produced and distributed but in reduced numbers.  Only some ColecoVision Experience subscribers received the Summer '83 issue while all presumably received the later Fall '83 release.  The summer issue is rare as a result - Stu's last auction sighting was in 2011 or so.

You can learn more about the ColecoVision Experience magazine - along with lots of other interesting ColecoVision ephemera - over at ColecoVision Zone.  Shoutout to Stu for the info!

On 2/3/2017 at 5:38 PM, marktrade said:

Volume 1 Number 2 exists as "The Game Player's Guide to MS-DOS Computer Games" and has been scanned!

https://archive.org/details/GPGMSDOSCGVol1No2

Updated the running list with this and some other odds and ends.  Thanks, marktrade!

Yeah, issue 2 can lead to some confusion as two different versions exist.   I've never confirmed the Fall '83 version was the only official release though - do you have a source for this?  I've seen the Summer '83 version referred to as a variant but also as a draft - I suppose it could go either way.  Perhaps Coleco published two different issue #2 print runs through '83 and distributed them to different Colecovision owners?  Perhaps the Summer '83 issue was never officially released but instead leaked somehow?

I've always found this kind of magazine minutia to be interesting so pointing out errors isn't necessarily a bad thing.   Thanks for bringing it up.

You're lucky I was able to stop at ten.   Such a great system, the SNES.  Probably my favorite system, actually, when only considering domestic releases.

• Super Metroid
• Starfox
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
• Donkey Kong Country
• Super Mario World
• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
• Super Mario All-Stars
• Contra III: The Alien Wars
• F-Zero
• Final Fantasy II (aka IV)

My honorable mentions list would probably run 30-40 titles, easy.

An arcade visit was a rare treat until I was older, but if including the occasional arcade machine found in a department store lobby or pizza shop, I have fond memories of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Night Striker, X-Men, Street Fighter II, Mercs, Cadash, Afterburner, Outrun, Spy Hunter, Chase HQ, Golden Axe, Altered Beast, Super Monaco GP, the Midnight Wanders portions of Three Wonders, Daytona USA, Hydro Thunder, Asteroids, Wrestle War, and Rampart.

PictoBits - Received this as a Club Nintendo bonus.  Fun little reflex-puzzle game with an 8-bit retro Nintendo skin - think a mash-up of Tetris DS and Quarth with stylus controls.  Sadly overlooked as it was only released as digital-only DSiWare, apparently.  Would love to see a sequel fleshed out with more modes, more everything, and released on some physical medium.  I'm going to seriously miss this game should my 3DS ever expire.

Ristar - an underrated Sega Genesis gem!  A Game Gear version exists but is more handheld port than sequel.  Ristar deserves to be back in action - great potential for a sequel.

Burning Rangers - I'd be happy with a high-fidelity remake on a modern system as the Saturn struggled with this one.  Fun with a unique sci-fi firefighter theme, this game is woefully underappreciated.  (Though - considering aftermarket prices - I can see why.  No one can afford it.)

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes.  My wife loves this game and would like to see this puzzle-themed M&M off-shoot continue.  If you've played titles like Puzzle Quest and Puzzle & Dragons, this is similar but also different enough to stand on its own.  I think it relies a little too heavily on luck but is still fun and we've yet to find anything else quite like it.  (For that matter, where's Puzzle Quest 3?)

Metroid - speaking to the franchise as a whole, I'd like to see a new, official 2D Metroid title from Nintendo.  Or HD remakes of existing 2D games.  It might even make some financial sense - Nintendo seems spooked by Metroid sales so why not save some cash by simply re-skinning what has worked already, throw it out there as a physical compilation with some marketing behind it, and let a new generation discover the series.

I've always wondered if Fusion issue 7 actually exists.  I was subscribed to Electronic Games/Fusion/Intelligent Gamer's Fusion/Intelligent Gamer during the title transitions but never received a Fusion #7.  Not to say it didn't happen - perhaps it was lost in the mail, not distributed to subscribers, etc - but I suspect the seventh issue was dropped in lieu of the IG reboot.

Thanks for bringing this over, Terry93D!  

If you've been following the NX rumors these past months nothing will surprise you hardware-wise.  But lots of software sneak peeks thrown in.  

Intelligent Gamer's Fusion would be really great.

 

Agreed.  Intelligent Gamer - including Intelligent Gamer's Fusion - was a great 'zine for its day.  Seems to be under-appreciated for whatever reason.  Perhaps low circulation numbers?

I don't consider online functionality - including online multiplayer but also an over-reliance on DLC, heavy patching and updating, etc - as part of the value proposition of a video game.  Usually the opposite, actually.

So if a game is 75% online, I'll wait and pay 25% of the asking price.  If it's DLC heavy and/or shipped broken I almost always pass and hope for a GOTY edition or something (fingers crossed for Arkham Knight).

Not that I'm opposed to online multiplayer.  But I'd much rather have the option for split-screen, LAN, console server, etc.  Anything reliant on servers outside of my control only hurts the overall value, imo, as I'm not really buying that portion of the game - I'm only renting it.  (Same goes for digital downloads, btw.)

Personally, I'd much rather see the next CoD at a $20 price point.  Sell the offline content as something to be owned and appreciated, then hit me up for an extra $40 if I want to access the online stuff.  Separate the product from the service and I think more gamers would be more supportive of gaming in general.

Wow, the Japanese commercial is actually informative.  They even tell you what games you're getting.  I guess they figure Americans don't really care about that sort of detail or would rather research it themselves.

The Famicom trailer is nearly five minutes long.  Americans don't have that kind of attention span.  

Some hands-on videos:

• GameXplain
• GameSpot

Oh, and this is happening in Japan.  

Nintendo has a new features trailer up, showing off the selection menu, screen filters, and save system.