Namco Museum, like the Playstation itself, celebrates 30 years this year. And the series was never better than on the console it got its start on, thanks to Namco actually leaning on the "museum" concept as more than something to put in the title.

The DS and Wii entry in the Geometry Wars series, Galaxies, deserves your attention (and a modern release, too).

I just want all of you to play Baroque, a true all-timer

Descent released on MS-DOS in 1994 as the first "true 3D" first-person shooter, and the game that popularized six degrees of freedom in movement (and made some people nauseous because of it). That it could run on the Playstation as well as it did, and control as well as it did, was mind-blowing.

Descent is a vital game in the 3D space, not just in general, but also because it ran and played so well on the Playstation in your living room. If the cheaper 3D console out there could run something this well, then the era of polygon-powered platforms was truly here to replace faux 3D.

While you're trying not to post anything that will be used against you as you stand in front of a tribunal, you could read my latest for Endless Mode, on a whole bunch of Playstation games that should be re-released in the present (or released in North America for the first time!)

Happy 30th to the Playstation, I'm covering it all month at @retroxp.bsky.social and have an @endlessmode.bsky.social piece going up tomorrow on a bunch of its games, but for today please enjoy my look from last year at Jumping Flash!, the first 3D platformer and a Sony classic.

Gradius Gaiden was a Playstation original, a side story for the Gradius series made by a team at Konami besides the core developers, and the result was the best Gradius to that point — and maybe since, too. Unlike so many Playstation games, the focus here wasn't on polygons, but incredible sprites.

Gradius Gaiden was a Playstation original, a side story for the Gradius series made by a team at Konami besides the core developers, and the result was the best Gradius to that point — and maybe since, too. Unlike so many Playstation games, the focus here wasn't on polygons, but incredible sprites.

The Playstation did not start out with a dual-analog controller, as North America would have to wait until 1998 for the arrival of the DualShock. And then another year and change before the first-ever game to require it: the joyful 3D platformer that has you traveling through time, Ape Escape.

September marks 30 years of the Playstation in North America, so I'm going to spend this month looking at games on the system that played a vital role in its success or influence in one way or another. First up, Ape Escape, which is also a way to talk about the DualShock and dual-analog controllers.

The Playstation did not start out with a dual-analog controller, as North America would have to wait until 1998 for the arrival of the DualShock. And then another year and change before the first-ever game to require it: the joyful 3D platformer that has you traveling through time, Ape Escape.

That's right.

That's right.

The first Shiren the Wanderer game is actually the second Mystery Dungeon game, made by Chunsoft because they wanted a game free from licensing issues and established characters and worlds. It didn't release in North America until 2008, 13 years after its original date, and hasn't been seen since.

The first Shiren the Wanderer game is actually the second Mystery Dungeon game, made by Chunsoft because they wanted a game free from licensing issues and established characters and worlds. It didn't release in North America until 2008, 13 years after its original date, and hasn't been seen since.

Phantasy Star is a vital RPG from the 8-bit era, and one that, thanks to its Sega Ages treatment, is worth your time today, even if you're the kind of person who shies away from this era of role-playing game. Especially if, really.

There aren't that many Fantasy Zone games, but that's fine. Sega nailed it the first time around, anyway.

It took until 2025 for Night Striker to receive an official, uncompromised port to North America, but it's not too late to discover a Super Scaler classic. Taito focused Night Striker exclusively on Japan for 36 years, but now it's on Switch and Steam in the present: here's why you should care

For years and years, hardware differences in different consoles and computers played a major role in what games even sounded like, and since Ys I & II were ported again and again and for decades, it can be used as a lens through which to view these differences and changes over time.

For years and years, hardware differences in different consoles and computers played a major role in what games even sounded like, and since Ys I & II were ported again and again and for decades, it can be used as a lens through which to view these differences and changes over time.

Imagining a world where Rockstar kept making fascinating titles like Space Station Silicon Valley, instead of becoming almost exclusively the Grand Theft Auto Studio.

Konami's arcade basketball game, Super Basketball, gives you just one minute to mount a massive comeback before the buzzer. Except you also add time with each successful basket, and lose it for turnovers and fouls. Can you pull off win after win against progressively tougher opponents?

Konami's arcade basketball game, Super Basketball, gives you just one minute to mount a massive comeback before the buzzer. Except you also add time with each successful basket, and lose it for turnovers and fouls. Can you pull off win after win against progressively tougher opponents?

My latest for @endlessmode.bsky.social is on Konami's history of shoot 'em ups — almost nonexistent for most of this century after decades of it as a pillar for them — and how that makes Salamander III's existence a treat just as much as the fact that it's a worthy addition to the Gradius series.

The Air Zonk formula is very simple. Step 1. Go forward in time Step 2. Give Bonk sunglasses Step 3. Now he's Zonk, and also in a shoot 'em up

It took 28 years and change for Clockwork Aquario to be developed from start to finish, owing to some little things like bankruptcy and rights changes, but Westone's platformer eventually came out on modern platforms as a throwback. It's worth playing, too, for the reasons Westone games so often are

It took 28 years and change for Clockwork Aquario to be developed from start to finish, owing to some little things like bankruptcy and rights changes, but Westone's platformer eventually came out on modern platforms as a throwback. It's worth playing, too, for the reasons Westone games so often are

In an era where video games were first remembering "oh, right, women can be protagonists, too" Taito decided to partner with Toei on a fully animated LaserDisc game, Time Gal, where your playable character looked the same in the promotional art as she did on-screen, rather than as a sprite.

Good morning, let's Time Gal. Taito finally re-released this LaserDisc arcade game again in 2025, after decades of Japan-only releases and a Sega CD port. A game made in partnership between Taito and Toei, it's ridiculously charming even when you die. Which will happen a lot: it's all quick-time.

In an era where video games were first remembering "oh, right, women can be protagonists, too" Taito decided to partner with Toei on a fully animated LaserDisc game, Time Gal, where your playable character looked the same in the promotional art as she did on-screen, rather than as a sprite.

Big Run — The Supreme 4WD Challenge is a rally racer based on the Dakar Rally, where it's not just your skill on (and off) the road is tested, but also your ability to strategize. Your car is going to need replacement parts and repairs, but the more you carry, the slower you drive the 10,000-km race

Jaleco's Dakar Rally racer for the Super Famicom, Big Run, is available on Nintendo Switch Online, and it's worth your time. While it's short in terms of start to finish, it'll take learning the ins and outs of the 10,000-km Rally, and figuring out how to ration dollars and spare parts, to win.

A brand new Mado Monogatari game came out on Wednesday, and it's available worldwide. That's never happened before! For @endlessmode.bsky.social, I wrote about the how and why of that, the series and its history, and what you can expect from Mado Monogatari: Fia and the Wondrous Academy itself.

Vegas Stakes, or, a safe place to play with roulette's absurd 35-to-1, house-friendly odds. HAL used to make all kinds of games, including a pair of Vegas-trodding casino titles where you made friends and foes of random patrons on your quest to win $10 million on table games and slots.

Vegas Stakes, or, a safe place to play with roulette's absurd 35-to-1, house-friendly odds. HAL used to make all kinds of games, including a pair of Vegas-trodding casino titles where you made friends and foes of random patrons on your quest to win $10 million on table games and slots.

There simply were not enough arcade-style basketball games featuring a voice-acted Daffy Duck yelling "Woo-hoo!" before 1995, but Sculptured Software and Sunsoft fixed that problem with Looney Tunes B-Ball.

There simply were not enough arcade-style basketball games featuring a voice-acted Daffy Duck yelling "Woo-hoo!" before 1995, but Sculptured Software and Sunsoft fixed that problem with Looney Tunes B-Ball.

Gradius II isn't the second Gradius game, not even close. It's not even the first Gradius game purporting to be the second one. It is, however, the Gradius that most resembles what the series would come to be... though no one in North America knew as much, since it didn't release there until 2006.

if you want to read an article that talks about PSGs and DACs and embedded footage of five different versions of Donkey Kong so you could hear the different music in all of them, well have I got the extremely specific piece for you

Donkey Kong's 1981 arcade release, and its subsequent home ports to the ColecoVision, Intellivision, Atari VCS, and NES, tell a story of the rapidly shifting state of audio hardware, sound, and purpose in the early-to-mid-80s video game industry.

Donkey Kong's 1981 arcade release was full of innovations for its genre to the point that a precursor name of platformer games was "Kong-style," but it also stands as an example of the ever-changing nature of music in video games of the early-to-mid-80s, in terms of purpose, hardware, and sound.

Donkey Kong's 1981 arcade release, and its subsequent home ports to the ColecoVision, Intellivision, Atari VCS, and NES, tell a story of the rapidly shifting state of audio hardware, sound, and purpose in the early-to-mid-80s video game industry.

Big Tournament Golf — formerly Neo Turf Masters outside of Japan — is a colorful and cartoony take on the already enjoyable arcade original from Metal Slug developers Nazca. SNK supported the game on its various 1990s platforms, including for the portable Neo Geo Pocket Color, and with good reason.

Big Tournament Golf — formerly Neo Turf Masters outside of Japan — is a colorful and cartoony take on the already enjoyable arcade original from Metal Slug developers Nazca. SNK supported the game on its various 1990s platforms, including for the portable Neo Geo Pocket Color, and with good reason.

Do you like poker? Solitaire? Falling-block puzzle games? How about one that's all of those things at once, that's exceptionally rewarding for the same reasons that all three of those kinds of games are? That's Ryukyu, the arcade adaptation of the "patience" game Poker Solitaire. It's fantastic.

Remaking an existing game presents challenges, and in some ways, Mario vs. Donkey Kong was up to reviving its Game Boy Advance original in the present. In other ways... well, it's a more questions than answers kind of situation.

You likely know Technōs for games like River City Ransom and Double Dragon, but huge chunks of their library were never localized like they were. Until the present, anyway, which means that titles like Sugoro Quest: Dice Heroes, a dice-based board game RPG, is finally officially available in English

Technōs released a board game RPG with dice rolls for the Famicom decades ago, but it took until 2025 for it to be officially localized and released outside of Japan. Sugoro Quest: Dice Heroes is a wonderful hidden gem that you should seek out if you've got a Switch or PS4.

In 1997, Konami asked the question: what would Gradius look like in 3D? The answer was a lot like Gradius in 2D, down to taking one hit and dying... but in 3D! Solar Assault is an arcade-only spin-off, one that sort of works in MAME sometimes if you're lucky, but it's worth checking out.