I have some very cool gaming trainers!

And now, as Monty Python used to say, for something completely different - videogame themed trainers! I own two pairs - a Super Mario themed pair made by Puma complete with a neat little NES controller tag and a Nintendo 64 themed pair made by Nike.  Both shoes look fantastic and are super comfortable, especially the Nike shoes with their trademark Air cushioning, you hardly even know you’re wearing them!

I got both my pairs from eBay but they may still be available elsewhere online and are well worth tracking down, I love both of mine!

Resident Evil : Revolutions (3DS) & Circle Pad Pro Review

I’ve never really been a huge fan of the Resident Evil games but I’d read numerous reviews that Resident Evil : Revelations on the 3DS was an excellent game so thought I’d check it out.  I was fortunate enough to also track it down bundled in with the Circle Pad Pro accessory which is supported by the game and other 3DS titles including The Legend of Zelda : Majora’s Mask and gives you a welcome and useful second analogue stick used in this game for looking around your immediate area and for aiming your gun when firing.

Firstly the game, the graphics for which look absolutely stunning and are beyond what I ever thought was possible on a little handheld like the 3DS, every level is so detailed and amazing, they’re a real joy to play.  The two lead characters look fantastic and the facial detail as with the graphics are beyond what you’d expect on the machine.  The game is thoroughly engrossing and am really enjoying it.

The Circle Pad Pro accessory is an excellent addition to the game with slightly different controls to playing it without but this is a good thing as aiming and firing is much easier with the accessory in place and the second analogue stick is invaluable in the game.

This is a terrific game that truly pushes the boundaries of the 3DS and is definitely best played with the Circle Pad Pro accessory.  TRJ RATING : 4.5/5

Why does the original 3DS look and feel more of a premium product than the 3DS XL?

As someone who has the original 3DS and the 3DS XL in their collection I’ve wondered for sometime why the original, smaller 3DS looks and feels more of a premium, high-end product than the 3DS XL? With the 3DS XL coming out after the original 3DS you’d expect the XL to be the more premium product but not so, with it’s shiny metallic finish, superior stylus and general premium feel I have to say I do prefer the original 3DS.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of the 3DS XL as well but with it’s plastic casing and inferior stylus it just doesn’t feel as much of a luxury product as the original machine.

I don’t know why this is the case, a 3DS XL with the same superior stylus and metallic finish as the original 3DS would have been great but instead Nintendo went down the more plastic route for the XL which I find strange.

Since acquiring the original 3DS I have to say I have found myself using that a lot more than the 3DS XL.

Both machines are still an excellent choice and additions to your collection whichever you choose.

Top Rank Tennis (GB) Review - the best tennis game on GameBoy!

 

There are a number of tennis games on the Nintendo GameBoy including Nintendo’s own effort but for a long time now Top Rank Tennis has absolutely been my favourite choice on the machine.

In the game you have a choice of playing Singles or Doubles and with each win you move further up the rankings, therefore meaning your matches become more challenging the further you progress.  Serving and hitting are easy to control and graphically the game looks great complete a digitised voice giving you the score after each point!

If you own a GameBoy and are a fan of tennis games this is definitely well worth a look! TRJ RATING : 4.5/5

Supaboy S Review - a cool device but not without it’s faults!

 

I’ve owned this machine for sometime having tracked down a second-hand unit on eBay with a few cartridges so thought it was high time to give my thoughts on it.

The SupaBoy S is basically a handheld, portable SNES using the original cartridges rather than emulation meaning all the games are going to look great.  The machine itself is pretty big but feels comfortable in the hand with good build quality and responsive controls.  A useful feature is a switch on the side of the machine to switch between PAL and NTSC cartridges, handy if you’ve an extensive library of both.

I don’t know if it’s just my machine or a general issue with the SupaBoy S but I did find that you really have to bang the cartridge quite hard into the machine for it to work and even then it’s a bit tempramental, a friend of mine tried Super Mario World on it and after barely two minutes the screen went black and wasn’t able to play any further without resetting.

As you can see from the photo above it is also possible to attach two original SNES controllers for greater flexibility.

Other than the cartridges being a bit problematic this is a good choice for playing SNES games on the go and is worth checking out if you can track one down!

A new retrogaming website is here and it’s brilliant!

 

From the people responsible for the excellent Nintendo Life, PushSquare and Pure XBox websites comes a new and equally excellent retrogaming site called Time Extension and after a few days of browsing am hugely impressed! It’s absolutely packed with content including some great countdowns of the best games on various platforms such as SNES and Megadrive and much more! 

It’s a daily must visit for anyone who’s into their retrogaming, a really superb site! Check it out at timeextension.com

Anbernic RG552 Review - a retrogaming powerhouse!

 

Anbernic are known for making some of the best retro emulation handhelds around and my favourite of them all is the RG552, this can be used with either Android (my preference) or Linux operating systems.

The first thing you notice about this machine is it’s BIG! It still feels good to hold and play however and feels substantial with a good weight to it.  As with most Anbernic machines it’s well put together with good quality face buttons, d-pad and analogue sticks.  By far the best thing about this handheld is the incredible screen, it’s really bright, sharp and vivid - your retro games will really pop!

Supported by the RG552 are all the usual systems you’d expect - SNES, GameBoy, GameBoy Advance, PS1 to name but a few but my favourite feature about it is how well the higher end machines (Dreamcast, Saturn, PSP, N64) perform - with a couple of exceptions on the PSP emulator (I’m looking at you God of War) the games look and play perfectly and I’ve now built up a sizeable library of titles on these emulators.

The RG552 is currently my go-to handheld for anything PS1 and above (anything below that I usually play on smaller machines such as my Miyoo Mini) - it’s a total retrogaming powerhouse and will serve my needs very nicely, at least until my Odin Pro arrives which I have a feeling could take the crown, watch this space!