First, apologies this update is so late and at the end of the month. I didn’t have much in the way of updates for most of April, but a few late entries came through so I have enough to do a quick post now. Some of these may not have been released in April, I may have also discovered them recently or just got around to including them. This month we have two physical titles for retro hardware and three digital titles. A Sega Genesis / Mega Drive game, 2 original Gameboy games from Limited Run Games, and an SNK Arcade Collection on GoG.
PHYSICAL RELEASES
For physical I am probably most excited about the Demons of Asterborg. This is a 16-bit title that takes inspiration from Ghost’s and Goblin’s series of games. I feel like the character sprites and actions are more of the modern take on retro games and pixel art. This isn’t a complaint just an observation if you are looking for something that could have been released in the hey day of Sega. The backgrounds look great and the sound in the trailer does the FM Synth proud. You can find the direct link under the Sega Genesis section, https://retrogamerlife.com/new-reprint-retro-console-video-games/.
Next up for physical are two titles for the original green screen machine, the Nintendo Gameboy. I love that Limited Run is bringing to market physical copies of classics on my favorite platforms. They have 2 active pre-orders for original Gameboy titles, StarHawk (https://www.limitedrungames.com/collections/neo-frontpage/products/starhawk-gb) which looks to be a horizontal shooter and Metal Masters which looks like a versus fighter where you can upgrade components of your robot fighter (https://www.limitedrungames.com/collections/neo-frontpage/products/metal-masters-gb). I do not typically collect for handhelds but I want to support Limited Run so the are motivated to continue releasing physical releases for these systems. I am not a versus fighter fan but will definitely pickup the schmup to play on my Retron 5.
DIGITAL RELEASES
The first digital release is on GoG and is a collection from a solid publisher. It was on sale for half price recently, which I of course missed. But at full price it is still a great deal. The best part, these are DRM free unlike Steam, making it the best way to own an awesome collection of games (except for physical of course). Pickup the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection for $29.99 and get 24 retro games with some amazing classics such as Crystalis, P.O.W.: Prisoners of War, Chopper I, and Bermuda Triangle. One of the coolest features is you can switch between the console and arcade versions for titles released on both platforms. You also get the standard fair of rewind, save states and unlockable content.
The second digital title is a modern game done in pixel art sprite style. I prefer playing the classics on original hardware but love that there is enough interest or demand in the gaming community for indie devs to invest the time and money to create games with beautiful pixel art. This game could have easily come out on any of the fourth generation and up of game consoles. Battle Axe by NumSkull Games is a Gauntlet styled beat’em up with several playable character, local and online co-op and looks like a lot of fun. I watched a review by John Hancock and the pixel art is magnificent. I have not picked up my own copy yet but it is definitely on the short list. You can pickup a physical copy for the switch. Nice to see such a well polished game that is not a Nintendo first party title.
The third digital item is a bundle currently available on steam for what I think is a steal. I do not currently own a Dreamcast, I am on the fence since I feel like I need to drawn the line for how much I can invest into collecting. That is why I picked up this bundle and would recommend the same if you are interested in blaming some well known titles for the system without having to purchase the original hardware. Especially since optical drives tend to fail or not last as long as their cartridge counter parts. Steam has a bundle now for $6.24 US, that includes 7 titles; Crazy Taxi, SEGA Bass Fishing, Sonic Adventures DX, Space Channel 5: Part 2, Jet Set Radio, NiGHTS Into Dreams and Sonic Adventure 2. Even with tax this is less than a dollar per game.
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