An angled side-view! Dribbling! Stealing the ball! A computer opponent that simply did not miss! This game had... well, not everything. But Atari's Basketball had the most to that point.

But it should have. It really should have.

You're never going to believe this, but Konami switched and blended genres for Ganbare Goemon 3. It's an action-adventure game now. With mechs! And time travel! And Yae turns into a mermaid!

Happy 25th to Sin and Punishment, a killer collaboration between Treasure and Nintendo. Play it with the controller it was designed around, and your mind will be blown.

Bonk's Adventure on the Game Boy is not a port of the Turbografx-16 game called Bonk's Adventure, but Hudson Soft loved to be intentionally confusing with this stuff when publishing outside of Japan. If you're open to the smaller portable worlds of normally console platformers, you'll dig Bonk.

Mega Man games on the Game Boy are, more often than not, Not Good. Mega Man IV, though? That's a solid video game right there. It's not the best Mega Man you'll play, but you might even enjoy yourself while getting through it, which was novel for this portable subseries at the time.

Atari made a number of innovations in the 70s, and they all led to one place. Well, lots of places, sure, but also the one being highlighted here: Super Sprint.

It's Halloween, so, let's share some fitting games. Dead Rising is loaded with zombies and was well ahead of its time.

World Series Baseball arrived at a time when arcade-style baseball games were the norm, with exaggerated animations and sound effects, where realism was optional and often ignored. Sega's effort here changed the game in more ways than one.

Gradius: The Interstellar Assault is a from-the-ground-up Gradius game for the Game Boy, one where Konami decided to show off in a bunch of ways with graphical and level transitions that make it stand out on the platform all these decades later.

Gradius: The Interstellar Assault is a from-the-ground-up Gradius game for the Game Boy, one where Konami decided to show off in a bunch of ways with graphical and level transitions that make it stand out on the platform all these decades later.

Klonoa: Empire of Dreams wasn't the first portable Klonoa, but it was the first worldwide release of a portable game in the series. And it's a great one, too, a puzzle-platforming-oriented game that adds layers of complexity as it goes, without straying from the series' two-button approachability.

Namco's Game Boy Advance title, Klonoa: Empire of Dreams, was recently added to Nintendo Switch Online, and if you've never played, well, here's why you should get around to doing so.

G.Rev's Mamorukun Curse! is back in the present, in a much wider release in more ways than one, with Mamorukun ReCurse! Between the various modes, soundtracks, widescreen and twin-stick support, this is the definitive edition of a niche shoot 'em up that deserves your attention.

Kicking off a new column at Retro XP, where a guest author — in this month's case, @kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com — pops in to say hello and write about a game they want to share with you. First up, the 3D Sonic game on the Sega Saturn that we *did* get, even if it wasn't what was expected.

Capping off my month of Playstation 30th anniversary coverage with R4: Ridge Racer Type 4. It's the last of the series released on the original Playstation, the console that was as successful out of the gate as it was because Namco brought Ridge Racer to the launch party in the first place.

R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 pulled together elements of everything Namco had been doing with Ridge Racer games to that point, showed off fantastic handling and visual style, added a fleshed out grand prix story mode, and dropped an all-timer soundtrack on top of it all. One of the Playstation's greats.

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