Recent Discoveries…..

For me one of the great things about having retrogaming as a hobby is that I’m constantly learning and discovering something new, whether it’s a game I’ve never played or a new system and recently I’ve not only discovered an excellent sports game I’ve never played but also two new systems which run great on my Steam Deck.

Firstly, the sports game, this I think might be one of the best sports games I’ve ever played, it’s called Beach Spikers : Virtua Beach Volleyball and was released on Gamecube (also available on the Sega Naomi 2 arcade board but more on that shortly), surprisingly for a game like this the controls are extremely simple making it very easy to pick up and play, there’s a serve meter and simply press A when at the desired level and A again to hit the ball over the net and then the A button again to make your shot, it really is that easy!  As you can see from the screenshot above the graphics are excellent and there’s something really satisfying about completing a smash over the net to see it land the other side for a point! This game really is an absolute gem and I highly recommend it!

Next on to the new systems I’ve discovered, there’s two : both arcade boards used by Sega to create some stunning arcade games, Naomi and Naomi 2, and amazingly most run perfectly on the Steam Deck although you need the BIOS files for both systems for the games to work, and there’s some really cracking titles all of which have that trademark Sega style to them, there’s Virtua Striker 3, Virtua Fighter 4, The King of Route 66 - an excellent truck driving game, and my personal favourites, Wave Runner GP - a jet-ski racer (and regular readers will know already that I love a good jet-ski racer!) , Wild Riders - a motorbike getaway game and Spikers Battle - a fighting game unlike any other I’ve ever played, it’s basically a one on three bout in a variety of locations with some very satisfying moves!   The above mentioned Beach Spikers is also available but to be honest I can’t see much difference graphically between this and the Gamecube version, they both look great! There are many more games available for both systems but so far I’ve only tried a small selection of them, if you’re interested Internet Archive is a good place to find them.

With my discovery a while ago of the impressive Sega Model 2 and Model 3 games as well I’m now pretty spoilt for choice for entertaining arcade games on my Steam Deck!  Will be playing a lot of these!

* 100th POST!! *

Well here it is my 100th post! I never thought when I started this blog that I’d ever reach this milestone but here we are!  Thanks to everyone who’s discovered this blog and have read and hopefully enjoyed it, I hope you will stay tuned as The Retro Joypad will continue!

Just a reminder that I’ve set up a Facebook page for the blog at https://www.facebook.com/theretrojoypad where the link to each new post is uploaded shortly after it is posted, this I hope will be prove a useful way of finding out when new content is added.

My thanks also to those who commented to say that they’d read the blog as a result of my letter in Retro Gamer, much appreciated, hope you’re enjoying it and will stick around!

Here’s to the next 100 posts!   :-)

Zero Zero : Perfect Stop is the best and most impressive Playdate game yet!

Regular readers will know that I’m a proud owner and fan of Panic’s unique little yellow Playdate handheld and that I’m also a fan of the Densha de Go series of train driving games so was very excited and curious when I read that a train driving game based on the series was being released for the Playdate, would it be any good?  Let’s find out…..

The game is called Zero Zero : Perfect Stop and first off let me say it’s amazing! It really pushes the Playdate to its technical limits, the graphics are detailed and movement is smooth and not all jerky.  There is an excellent tutorial included in the game for those who’ve not played this genre before although it’s very simple to get into, acceleration and braking can be controlled either using the crank handle on the side of the machine, the face buttons or by pressing up or down on the d-pad, my personal control preference is the d-pad as it offers a little more precision than using the crank where you run the risk of over accelerating which, in a game where you have to adhere to speed limits is not good!

Of course as well as adhering to speed limits you must also keep as close to time as possible and ensure you’re stopping accurately in stations, this is undoubtedly the hardest part but very rewarding when you pull it off!

This is without a doubt the best Playdate game I’ve played to date and just adds to an already impressive library on the machine of quality titles.  If you have a Playdate this is a must have.  Now available via the built-in Catalog and via itch.io.     TRJ RATING : 5/5

My letter’s been published in Retro Gamer!

I’m thrilled to say that, after a couple of issues of waiting my letter to Retro Gamer about this blog was finally published in the latest issue!  I was really happy to see this and to see the lovely and encouraging reply from them at the end as well, hopefully with their large readership this will attract new readers to the blog.  Thanks Retro Gamer!  :-)

Only four posts to go!

I’m amazed to say I’ve now written 96 posts on this blog since launching it in 2021, meaning I’ve only four posts to go until my 100th post, I never imagined when I started this blog that I’d find so much to write about and never expected three years later to be so close to 100 posts.

My continued thanks to everyone who has read and continues to read my posts, I hope you still find them enjoyable, entertaining and interesting!

Stay tuned for the century post, coming soon!

Move over Wave Race 64, there’s other excellent jet-ski racers in town!

Regular readers of this blog will know that Wave Race 64 on the Nintendo 64 is one of my favourite games of all-time and a title I still play to this day, however there are other excellent jet-ski racing games I’ve discovered which are equally worthy of your time.

Firstly of course is Wave Race : Blue Storm on the Gamecube, which takes the classic original and improves on it, the courses are more challenging with tighter corners, happily the excellent wave effects are still there as is the cheesy dialogue!  There’s a good selection of jet-skis and characters to choose from with a good variety of tracks.  A worthy successor to the classic N64 game.

Next we have two jet-ski racers on the Playstation 2, Splashdown and Splashdown 2, again these have loads of characters and courses to choose from.  The courses look great and the bonus with these two titles is the ability to pull off tricks both while racing and while in the air off a ramp for extra points which adds a fun additional dimension to the game.  Both games run really fast and smooth and are both really enjoyable.  For me Splashdown 2 slightly has the edge over the first game in terms of courses and graphics but the first title is also well worthy of a look as well.

And lastly we have Surf Rocket Racers on the Dreamcast, not much to say about this one other than that it’s another excellent jet-ski racer with great looking jet-skis, courses and smooth gameplay.

So there you have it, Wave Race 64 has some serious competition now, I have no hesitation in recommending all of these games, all of them are great fun!

Anbernic RG Cube Review

 

As previously mentioned in this blog Anbernic have been responsible for some of the best emulation handhelds around having absolutely nailed it recently with the clamshell RG35XX SP device.  Now they’ve launched the RG Cube, which is notable first of all for it’s narrower 1:1 screen, best suited for playing systems which support the 4:3 aspect ratio such as GameBoy and SNES, I wouldn’t attempt PSP on it though due to the massive black borders which appear at the top and bottom of the screen.

So is this another winner from Anbernic? Let’s see……

Firstly let me say this is without a doubt the most comfortable emulation device to hold and use that I’ve experienced for a very long time, it feels really great to hold and use.  The build quality is excellent as you’d expect from Anbernic featuring hall effect joysticks which also feature the option of different colour surrounds, although these can be turned off in the Settings but I think they look pretty cool!

For me the 1:1 smaller screen took a bit of getting used to but for systems that support it they look great and in most cases completely fill the screen which is a gorgeously sharp and bright affair.  

I did run into a couple of issues on the Cube, firstly on the Dreamcast Redream emulator, the menu options at the top are chopped off including the Exit option meaning the only way to exit a Dreamcast game is to press the Home button, a minor irritation but still annoying nonetheless.

Next, even though I was using exactly the same roms which worked perfectly on another device I simply could not get any Saturn games to work through the standalone Yaba Sanshiro Pro 2 emulator and ended up creating a playlist in Retroarch in order to play them, thankfully they play flawlessly this way.  I also tried the Saturn.emu emulator but the Cube is clearly not quite powerful enough for this emulator as some Saturn games ran pretty well, others were slow with choppy audio so this wasn’t really an option either.

I experienced no other issues with any other system though I’m glad to say!

This is another cracking device from Anbernic but not without it’s issues, their best machine recently in my opinion is still the RG35XX SP but this takes a credible second place for sure.

Subway Surfers City (iOS / Android) Review

Continuing with this blog’s aim of occasionally featuring mobile games as well I’d like to take a look at the sequel to the excellent endless runner Subway Surfers, called Subway Surfers City.

This game is a huge improvement on the original in almost every way, the music is better, the graphics are way better, there are now blue power-ups to collect and when you have collected enough, double-tap on your character and you activate a hover board for a short time, the magnet is still available to collect which will collect all the coins and blue power-ups around you for a short time.  In addition you can fly up to higher platforms via gusts of air from air vents.  

The original Subway Surfers was a great way of passing away a few minutes but this new game is really addictive with that ‘just one more go’ quality, I absolutely LOVE this game and is highly recommended to all. TRJ RATING : 5/5

Anbernic RG35XX SP Review

For a long time now the Chinese company Anbernic have been responsible for putting out of the best quality emulation handheld devices around so, being a sucker for a clamshell device, was quite excited when I read a few months ago of rumours of their first such device and am happy to say it’s now been released in the form of the RG35XX SP.  Now I know what you’re thinking - this looks just like a Gameboy Advance SP and you’d be right (although this is slightly bigger, thicker and wider than a GBA SP) but that’s where the similarities end.

Firstly the increased size, thickness and width of the device make it much more comfortable to hold than a GBA SP and the build quality is excellent although the d-pad and face buttons are a bit loud and clicky but not overly so.  The firmware supplied on the machine is a big improvement from that offered by Anbernic on previous devices but is not perfect by any means, I personally would recommend installing some custom firmware such as MinUI, muOS or Knulli, I went for muOS and am glad I did as it’s excellent, really easy to set up, user friendly with a gorgeous black and gold theme, it performs perfectly with all systems up to and including PS1.  The screen is just the right size and is bright and colourful.

I absolutely love this little machine, the Gameboy Advance SP has always been one of my favourite Nintendo handhelds so to have something like this from Anbernic that not only plays GBA but many other systems too in a pocketable device is pretty awesome, a highly recommended handheld and one of the best from Anbernic for a very long time.

The EZ-Flash Omega Definitive Edition (GBA) & EZ-Flash Parallel (DS) Flash Carts are so convenient!

Flash Carts are a great way of building and accessing a collection of roms from the one place and two of the best I now own are the EZ-Flash Omega Definitive Edition for the Gameboy Advance and the newly released EZ-Flash Parallel for the Nintendo DS, for those who don’t know how these work, basically an blank SD card is needed to copy your required game roms to, this then fits inside the flash cart which then goes inside your machine, as you can see from the right hand photo of the EZ-Flash Parallel in action on my DS your games will then appear as a list for you to play.

Both carts are easy to set up as full instructions are provided on the EZ-Flash website and once set up both interfaces are attractive and very user friendly.  The software for the Parallel (pictured) looks particularly attractive I think although the EZ-Flash Omega DE software (below) looks pretty good too, since I have over 800 GBA games on this I’ve arranged it by individual A-Z folders making it much easier to track down the required game I wish to play.

The performance of both flash carts is flawless and the games look fantastic, I’m really glad I bought both of these and to have so many games together and accessible in one place is so convenient.

The Kirby games on the Nintendo DS are actually rather good!

For a long time now I’ve absolutely loved the Kirby games right back to the early titles on the original Gameboy (in fact one of my favourite games ever is Kirby’s Pinball Land on it) but based on previous experiences had always thought that the Kirby games on the Nintendo DS somehow weren’t as good, however following a go on all four yesterday I’m happy to be proved wrong, they’re easily some of the best and most innovative Kirby games around!

The Kirby games on the DS are : Kirby Mass Attack, Kirby Squeak Squad, Kirby Power Paintbrush and Kirby Superstar Ultra.  The most innovative of these is Power Paintbrush which is playable only using the stylus and touch-screen allowing you to do such things as using the stylus to draw a rainbow wall/path to allow Kirby to reach higher platforms and stop them from falling off the edge of platforms, now you’d think a Kirby game that only uses the stylus and touch-screen would be quite frustrating but after a few minutes gameplay it becomes quite intuitive and really rather fun!   Kirby Mass Attack also makes extensive use of the touch-screen, the only rather frustrating thing about this title is you need a certain number of Kirbys (which can be added during the level) before you can unlock the next level but this does add an additional challenge to the game however.

The other two titles, Squeak Squad and Superstar Ultra both play more like a traditional Kirby title using the d-pad and face buttons.  The levels on all four titles look amazing and as with most Kirby titles have really catchy music.

If you’re a fan of the Kirby franchise I’ve no hesitation at all in recommending these four titles for your collection, they’re really great fun!

Mario Sports games on Gamecube are great fun!

Recently in the course of searching for games to add to my SteamDeck I’ve discovered four Mario themed sports games on the Nintendo Gamecube which I have to say I’ve never played before and never played when I briefly owned a Gamecube, the four titles are :

Mario Power Tennis

Mario Superstar Baseball

Mario Smash Football

Mario Golf : Toadstool Tour

These have turned out to be a great discovery and a fun addition to my SteamDeck, all four are highly polished titles with the Mario cartoony style you’ve come to know and love and all play perfectly, my two favourites I think would have to be Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Power Tennis but all are highly enjoyable and if you still own a Gamecube or any emulation device capable of playing Gamecube these are well worth seeking out.

Hyper MegaTech Super Pocket Capcom Edition Review

For some time now I’ve owned the excellent Evercade EXP handheld with an extensive selection of cartridges to play on it, however now there is a new and different machine available which will also play them, it’s from a new division of Blaze (the makers of Evercade) called Hyper MegaTech and it’s called the Super Pocket.  Unlike the EXP this is a vertical handheld and comes in two editions - a Capcom Edition (with classic Capcom games built-in) and a Taito Edition (with classic Taito games built-in), being a long-time fan of Capcom I went for this version so here are my thoughts on it.

Whereas the EXP offers the full Evercade experience such as detailed info about each game and a TATE mode allowing supported games to be played vertically the Super Pocket machines offer a simpler, cut-down experience (no TATE mode or detailed game info although this is available in the cartridge manuals) but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, the unit boots up quickly and all the cartridges I’ve tried on it work great as do the built-in Capcom titles.

The build quality of the machine is outstanding and feels great to hold with a nice weight to it, the screen is bright and vivid (maybe slightly less so than the EXP) with a very user friendly interface, another nice touch is a dummy yellow cartridge in the cartridge slot which can be inserted when not playing a game to protect the cartridge slot from dust, etc. - a great idea.

Control wise the d-pad, face buttons, Start and Select and back shoulder buttons are all nice and responsive so no complaints here either.

For the price (around £50) the Super Pocket is great value for money and offers a more affordable and pocketable introduction to the world of Evercade before making the leap to the EXP, a really top quality little machine and highly recommended.

Sega Model 2 and Model 3 games are now on Steam Deck and they’re amazing!

The latest update to EmuDeck on SteamDeck has brought support for the Sega Model 2 and Model 3 arcade machines.  I added a few games yesterday (around 10 for each) and I have to say they are absolutely amazing!  Apart from a couple of exceptions they all work perfectly which really surprised me, I never thought I’d be playing the actual arcade version of Sega Rally on a handheld!  They all also have that trademark Sega look, slickness and polish to them and the speed of them is breathtaking, so fast!  There’s a pretty varied selection, racing games (a water-ski racer, a skiing slalom racer and a jet-ski racer are three standout titles), a couple of lightgun games, sports games and beat-em-ups are all available.

I found the roms through the always useful Internet Archive and Retro Game Corps has done an excellent video on YouTube detailing the changes with the latest EmuDeck update including how to install the emulators and add the games.

If you own a SteamDeck these games are absolutely essential!

Apologies…….

Firstly today my apologies for the lack of posts since last June, once again everyday life has got in the way leaving me with little time to think of and work on any new posts, it is my definite intention to do more posts though this coming year so stay tuned!

GameBoy and Virtual Boy Anthology Review

 

The publisher GeeksLine has been responsible for some of the best retrogaming books of recent times with their series of anthologies on a variety of systems including PC Engine, SNES and GameCube.  I have owned the excellent SNES Anthology for some time, their latest title focuses on the GameBoy and VirtualBoy (a standard GameBoy only anthology is also available) so let’s take a look.

Weighing in a hefty 544 pages this is a proper read, and it doesn’t disappoint, as well as the usual section listing every single GameBoy and VirtualBoy title ever released in great detail there are articles about the history of both systems, unreleased titles, accessories and a section showing all the stunning box art for both machines.  They even provide a pair of 3D glasses so the screenshots of the VirtualBoy games can be viewed properly which is pretty cool!

The whole book feels really premium and fans of the GameBoy and VirtualBoy will absolutely love it, now can we have a GameBoy Advance Anthology next please GeeksLine?

Available from https://www.geeksline-publishing.com/

TRJ RATING : 10/10

RetroGamer Presents : The Handheld Gaming Collection Review

 

The monthly magazine, RetroGamer has, for a long time been a title I always look forward to receiving in the post each month.  They’ve also done a series of ‘bookzines’ on a variety of retrogaming subjects, a recent title being ‘The Handheld Gaming Collection’ which is an outstanding and highly recommended read for any gaming handheld fans.

It starts with a section entitled ‘Clash of the Handhelds’ where a section is dedicated to each device, there is some information about each device, an essential game for that system and a rating out of 10 for Battery Life, Ergonomics, Support, Tech, Impact and Screen.  This section really gets the publication off to a great start.

The rest of the title is a series of fascinating articles about all the leading systems including GameBoy, PSP and GameBoy Color to name but a few, there are also some Top 25 countdowns as well, some Hidden Gems articles and some system retrospectives.

It really is an outstanding publication and one you’ll find yourself dipping into time and time again, an essential title.

Available to purchase from https://www.magazinesdirect.com/the-handheld-gaming-collection

TRJ RATING : 10/10

I absolutely LOVE the Steam Deck!

 

For a while now I’ve owned a Steam Deck and I have to say I absolutely love it so thought I’d details the reasons why.  The only thing I would say is that if you’re a newcomer to retrogaming emulation this is not the system for you as it is not an easy device to set up, I had to use two pieces of Windows software on my laptop to do so - Warpinator, which pairs with the corresponding app on the Deck and allows roms to be sent wirelessly and Linux File System for Windows where the ‘Share’ folder on the SD card is recognised as a normal Windows folder allowing for roms to be dragged and dropped in the usual way.

Anyway on with the reasons why this is now my number one emulation device :

- Despite its size the Steam Deck is actually really comfortable to use for long periods, even more so if you add either Satisfye’s excellent StylthGrip or the equally good grip from Skull and Co.  Also it’s not as heavy a device as you might expect either.

- It can be a dual boot system meaning Steam games can remain on the internal storage and retrogaming roms can be stored and accessed separately via the SD card.

- The superb Batocera custom firmware is also available for the Steam Deck which is installed to the SD card and can be booted into separately from SteamOS on the internal storage, it is a highly usable and enjoyable experience with a number of themes available including the gorgeous Artflix theme (pictured below), I just love the carousel of system logos on the home screen and the way the box art is displayed on the game lists, brilliant!

- The emulation performance is flawless right up to and including PS2 and the larger screen means the games look absolutely amazing!

- The build quality of the Deck is outstanding, the trackpads are responsive and the shoulder buttons, d-pad and analogue sticks are perfect!

- Overlays are automatically supplied on Batocera for most systems which means no wasted space on the screen and adds to the experience, these can though be turned off in the Settings.

- It is by far the best device for playing all 60 Game & Watch roms through Mame, again the bigger screen and the responsive controls make for a fantastic experience!

- It truly is a one-stop emulation system for everything, it’s just brilliant!

- Even though setting it up is a challenge it is highly rewarding and satisfying to see your hard work there in front of you and looking so great!

So there you have it, my personal reasons why I absolutely LOVE the Steam Deck, emulation really doesn’t get much better than this! A truly game changing device!