Japanese vs. Euro box art Japanese box art usually blows the Euro equivalent away, but in this case, it's not so clear cut. Euro image is fab while the back of the box is pants. Back of the Japanese box is better, but the front art (while still very cool), isn't quite so good.

35 years ago, Revenge of Shinobi was back on my playlist. We'd had it on import for a year, but re-reviewed it ahead of the Euro Mega Drive release 'cos was one of its launch titles. And what a launch title! Top class ninja chop-socky action all the way with some great choons!

Yesterday I talked about how Nintendo's TMHT NES bundle changed its fortunes in Europe. Seems that people have mixed feelings about the game, but I always thought the US-made NES version was really fun. The home computer ports by Image Works were definitely not so good, however.

35 years ago this ad helped change Nintendo's fate in Europe. The Master System had been kicking the NES' ass for years, but this superb value bundle featuring a game based on the most popular characters of the era became a HUGE Xmas seller and turned things around for Nintendo.

35 years ago, I was enjoying replaying Mega Drive Super Hang-On. I'd had it on import for a year, but fortunately this Euro launch title aged very little. A great conversion of a classic coin-op racer that oozed quality and had an authentic arcade look and feel.

40 years ago Commodore and Sinclair were fussing over questionable products while Firebird tinkered with its budget game pricing model. And the remnants of the infamous "Mega Game" Bandersnatch was now under the auspices of Psygnosis after months of being in developmental limbo.

35 years ago, I was reviewing Super Mario Bros 2, which I thought was highly entertaining. Indeed, in retrospect I think it deserved over 90%. Wah-wah not a real Mario. Wah-wah Doki Doki Panic. Just play it. Brilliant game, really fun, and had a proper actual ending. Love it!

After seeing this page from Mean Machines issue one yesterday, it struck me that back in 1990, I was basically the analog equivalent of ChatGTP and Google rolled into one. 🤣

35 years ago, Mean Machines was giving Wonder Boy III the love it deserved. Despite being a year old at this point, it was still one of the best Master System games around. Great looking, super-playable, and simply really, really fun. One of the all-time SMS greats in my book.

Another Japan vs. Euro Mega Drive box art face off. Not very keen on the blue background of the Japanese version, but that absolutely gorgeous back-of-box art more than makes up for its deficiencies. Far better than the boring wall of text and screenshots of the Euro version!

35 years ago, I was busy raving about Mega Drive Golden Axe, a terrific arcade conversion that felt as good as the coin-op - and had extra levels that made it even more fun! A real period classic. Yes, other brawlers eventually surpassed it, but in 1990, this was the biz!

Japanese vs European Mega Drive box art. The Japanese version wins by a country mile as far as I'm concerned...

35 years ago, I was busy reviewing Mega Drive Ghouls 'n Ghosts. I wanted to score it 96% but Matt my fellow reviewer marked it down because of its immense difficulty. We argued a lot, but since Mean Machines was a democracy, the score was reduced. Still think it deserved higher!

Here's the first European post-launch Mega Drive ad, which appeared in many video game mags during the run-up to Xmas. It promised exotic features such as digital stereo sound and arcade quality graphics. Stuff for gamers to totally salivate over, basically.

35 years ago, the Mega Drive began to appear at retail locations across Europe - ending an almost two-year wait for the machine. It featured an arsenal of top-tier arcade conversions and original games, many of which went on to become all-time classics. Do you have a favorite?

Back in the day, the Mean Machines team produced a lot of tips ourselves, but most were provided by readers - such as these from Steven Leung. He had plenty of useful advice for players of Capcom's DuckTales on NES, a game that we loved but also recognized was ROCK FREAKIN' HARD.

40 years ago the PCW show broke records as the computer market boomed ahead of what would be a huge Xmas for tech sales. The C16 and Plus/4 were out of fashion, despite never being in fashion. And that screenshot? That's Imagine's infamous Bandersnatch, reimagined by Psygnosis.

35 years ago, Nintendo began to make ads that were designed to appeal to older gamers. This very surprising black and white ad was a far cry from the colorful cartoon-like marketing the company normally used, but nevertheless helped broaden the audience for its Game Boy.

40 years ago, I was having a lot of fun playing Spy vs. Spy II. This innovative two-player split-screen game had players competing to outwit one another by setting traps to eliminate their opponent. Just a really fun concept that would certainly work as an online game these days!

35 years ago, Ocean was advertising its decent-but-not-outstanding Chase HQ II: Special Criminal Investigation ports with this fine ad. Loved the original coin-op and indeed its predecessor. Very fun race-n-chase car combat games - a genre that is in short supply these days.

40 years ago, Elite was peddling Scooby Doo in the Castle Mystery. Great ad, but sadly the game (while fun) was basically a version of Kung-Fu Master featuring Scooby running around on his hind legs kicking ghosts that had absolutely eff all to do with the cartoon series.

40 years ago, you could find some seriously oddball games on the shelves of your local computer store. Like Whirlinurd. A game about God knows what in which you face the terrifying Nipple of Death. Which unfortunately wasn't anywhere near as exciting as it sounds.

40 years ago, US Gold was advertising Datasoft's Zorro, a platform-puzzler that would have been a lot more fun to play if its puzzles weren't super-obscure and its music wasn't a horrendous cacophony. Loved the ad, though. Just a cool piece of old-school art.

40 years ago, Ghosts 'n Goblins began to appear in European arcades. This classic platformer was extremely challenging, but a ton of fun as you guided Sir Arthur into battle against an army of fantasy and horror creatures using a wide variety of different weapons. Brilliant game!

35 years ago, CVG's top 20 showed just how few full-priced games were selling big at this point in time. As consoles continued to gain momentum ahead of the official launch of the Mega Drive, it was basically go budget or go bust for most computer game publishers.

40 years ago Sinclair was barely hanging on, Commodore announced new and somewhat pointless memory expansions for the C64/128, the awesome Karateka launched in the states, Cheetah announced a Spectrum drum machine, and Firebird began peddling budget disk games for a tenner each.

35 years ago, Hi TEC Software bought the rights to a bunch of Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters. I don't actually remember playing any of these games - probably because I was so focused on consoles at this point - but I certainly enjoyed watching the original cartoons as a kid!

At the same time Yie Ar Kung-Fu was being advertised (see earlier post), so was Archer Maclean's International Karate. This beat 'em up was very much in the Karate Champ/Way of the Exploding Fist mold, but featured more intuitive controls and cutting-edge graphics.

I went more old-school when I received your book five months back. Photos and written words. :D bsky.app/profile/crai...

40 years ago, Ocean - under the guise of Imagine - was advertising its ports of Konami's Yie Ar Kung-Fu coin-op. This early beat 'em up evolved the genre with unique characters and very fast-feeling gameplay, plus a wide variety of moves. The ports were generally very good.

40 years ago, Wizardry was on the cover of ZZAP! 64. Top reviews this month: Monty on the Run (90%), Racing Destruction Set (95%), Pinball Construction Set (94%), Nodes of Yesod (95%), and Spy vs. Spy II (92%). A very interesting selection of top-scoring games, it must be said.

Thanks for uploading this video. Which ably illustrates that unless the post office attack your package with sledge hammers and flamethrowers, or drop it in a lake, your book will probably arrive in pretty good condition. 😁

35 years ago, Robocop was on the cover of CVG. Top reviews: Amiga Pang (96%), Wings (94%), and Captive (94%), Ivan Stewart's Off-Road Racing (94% across all formats), ST Cadaver (95%) and Rick Dangerous 2 (90%), Mega Drive Super Monaco GP (95%), and PCE Splatterhouse (92%).

We are also delighted to see the return of another classic book by @bitmapbooks.com & written by @jazrignall.bsky.social … the Games of A Lifetime: buff.ly/wfeKFyv #gamingculture #bookstagram #retrogaming #retrogamer

Here's a couple of random pages from Mean Machines. This explainer was created during the grey import period and was intended to help players figure out the functionality of the various items since most people didn't understand the original Japanese instructions.

40 years ago, it was a fire sale at Sinclair as the company halved the price of its QL, a computer that nobody really wanted. The CPC664 was also officially dead. The biggest news, however, was Acorn's RISC chip - tech that would become massively important going forward.

40 years ago, Novagen was advertising Mercenary, a landmark C64/Atari title. One of the very first 3D open-world games, it enabled players to walk and fly around a planet solving problems and earning money so they could buy a space ship and escape. Just astonishing for its time.

35 years ago, Atari was advertising its new 1040 STE. Despite being a decent machine at a fairly reasonable price for what you got (£1,243 in today's money), most users opted for an Amiga 500 at today's equivalent price of £995 - which was available in a variety of packages.

35 years ago, Ocean was peddling this big-name movie game compilation. Actually, it wasn't bad at all. Robocop and Batman were both terrific, while Ghostbusters II and Indiana Jones provided great value for money for the price. A really fun and diverse selection of games!

A reminder that the second printing of my book is now available at Bitmap Books. "Highly recommended for the nostalgia trip!" Andrew R "I really relived my childhood through this one, I love it!" Arjan van der V "It does not disappoint!" Chris L www.bitmapbooks.com/collections/...

40 years ago, it was a snoozefest in terms of tech and gaming news. Rumors of a 16-bit Sinclair was non-news, Amstrad's PCW8256 thrilled no-one, Acorn started trading again, and package deals for Speccies abounded at retail as Sinclair desperately tried to generate more revenue.

The Games Of A Lifetime The ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, NES, PC Engine, arcade machines galore, Amiga, Super Nintendo and many, many more are all featured. Out now: www.bitmapbooks.com/collections/... #bitmapbooks #book #retrogaming #gaming #jazrignall #booksky @jazrignall.bsky.social

Just a few weeks before the Mega Drive launched in Europe, this ad essentially represented the peak of the import games biz. The SNES helped buoy the grey market for another year or two - but it was basically a slow decline from hereon as official machines finally took over.

Second print of my not-too-shabby book is available imminently. It’s got some stuff about video games and plenty of laffs ‘n japes. Check out the reviews. It’s not complete pants according to people who ain’t me.

40 years ago I was busy reviewing this bunch of joysticks. The Competition Pro was the one to buy, of course, but the Euromax Arcade was a very comfortable and excellent all-round alternative (although the Turbo version's top fire button was pretty useless TBH).

35 years ago, there was a double dose of games based on 2000AD characters being marketed - both featuring very cool and iconic characters. Neither were very good TBH, but no denying those characters are fantastic. Really hoping the upcoming Rogue Trooper movie will be a good one!

40 years ago, text adventures were still popular enough to feature on magazine covers. Which in this case was Level 9's Red Moon, brilliantly and imaginatively depicted by Oli Frey. An absolutely classic fantasy cover!

Here's an old heap I bet you don't remember. The Dai Personal Computer. Made in Brussels, featuring a DAI BASIC OS running on an Intel 8080A @ 2 MHz with 48k. Not bad for 1980, but that price is the equivalent of £2,558 today.

40 years ago, Bob Maxwell's Sinclair takeover failed, Amstrad snuck out the CPC6128, Orpheus announced a Young Ones game, and US Gold signed the 1986 World Cup. Their World Cup Carnival game was actually Artic's 18-month-old World Cup Football in a new box. A shameful rip-off!

Here's the ad for Rick Dangerous 2. I didn't feel this image matched very well with the chunky super-deformed in-game sprite, but nevertheless, this was how the game was advertised.