Retro Weekly Roundup – 17th October
Another week has passed, and that means there’s news to report, even in respect to Retro gaming. Four items to report this week. So, without further ado let me present this week’s Retro Weekly Roundup.
First up, and in a week where the news has been abound with rumours concerning Nintendo’s upcoming new console NX, there has still been considerable rumour and buzz about Nintendo’s back catalogue. After the recent discovery that Twilight Princess may possibly be getting the HD treatment, further in-depth searches of Nintendo’s servers have been completed, with these revealing a long list of potential Virtual Console releases. The list is extremely long, containing all of Nintendo’s platforms, from the NES to the Wii. As such, I’ve pulled out all the 8 and 16-bit related titles for you to check out.
- Adventures of Bayou Billy, The (NES) [JP]
- Bishoujo Janshi Suchie-Pai (SNES) [JP]
- City Connection (NES) [JP]
- Darius Twin (SNES) [JP]
- Dig Dug 2 (NES) [EU & JP]
- Field Combat (NES) [JP]
- Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (NDS) [JP]
- Formation Z (NES) [JP]
- Front Line (NES) [JP]
- Game & Watch Gallery 4 (GBA) [JP]
- Ganbare Goemon Gaiden: The Mystical Pipe Which Disappeared (SNES) [JP]
- Hogan’s Alley (NES) [EU & JP]
- Ignition Factor, The (SNES) [JP]
- International Track & Field 2 (MSX) [JP]
- King’s Knight (NES) [JP]
- Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis (SNES) [JP]
- Metal Slader Glory: Director’s Cut (SNES) [JP]
- Metro Cross (NES) [JP]
- Moeri Twinbee: Rescue Dr. Cinnamon! (NES) [JP]
- Power Instinct (SNES) [JP]
- Space Invaders: The Original Game (SNES) [JP]
- Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) [JP]
- Treasure of the Rudras (SNES) [JP]
- Tsukikomori (SNES) [JP]
- Wagan Land 2 (NES) [JP]
- Wild Gunman (NES) [EU & JP]
- Wrecking Crew ’98 (SNES) [JP]
- Yoshi: Touch & Go! (NDS) [JP]
Remember though, mention of these games doesn’t necessarily mean that the games will be re-released, but it certainly increases the likelihood. Which of these would you most like to see added to the Virtual Console?
Continuing on with the Nintendo, and this week came the news that Nintendo of America has filed a brand new trademark for “Donkey Kong Jr.“. Whilst many may think that this is a routine trademark filing, something it may well be, there are some interesting points to note. Firstly, this is a brand new trademark rather than a renewal, and secondly the original filing is for the name “Donkey Kong Junior“, rather than “Donkey Kong Jr.“. All of this could potentially point to Donkey Kong Jr. reappearing as a special guest character in a game, quite likely Smash Bros., or even a brand new game starring the often forgotten member of the DK family.
Moving on to SEGA now, and thanks to the guys over at RetroCollect, it looks like a long lost Michael Jackson game for the Mega-CD may have been discovered. The King of Pop’s love of SEGA in the 80s is well known. Being seen not only through his involvement in the creation of Sonic 3’s soundtrack, but also through the game he starred in, Moonwalker. Yet despite this, one user over at the RetroCollect forums recently came looking for information regarding a Japanese copy of a rare unreleased Michael jackson game. One that most will never have heard of.
This game is Michael Jackson Advanced Star Fighter Training, a space simulator that is accessible to all. Yep, you didn’t read that wrong! This game was a planned console port of SEGA’s arcade title Michael Jackson in Scramble Training, a game that despite making it to Japanese Arcades, was quickly removed due to allegations placed at Michael Jackson in the early 90s. Not many of these arcade cabinets survived, and it was thought that no copies of the port survived either. It should be said though that no further information on this finding has been provided, so it’s authenticity is still disputed. Yet, if this find is accurate it could prove a valuable discovery for fans of SEGA, games, and Michael Jackson alike.
And finally, Duke Nukem’s politically incorrect, wise-cracking, Alien blasting adventures, will finally be released globally on the SEGA Mega Drive in late 2015. Whilst the highly popular PC franchise was released on the Mega Drive back in 1998, it was released exclusively in Brazil. Global console fans would see the game released on all 32-bit consoles, including the SEGA Saturn, in 1997. Yet, Brazil at the time was not only behind by a console generation, but was also still seeing strong Mega Drive sales all the way through to the turn of the millennium. This meant that Brazil alone was given Duke Nukem 3D for a console most owned, rather than consoles that were not yet available in the country.
Now in 2015 Piko Interactive has got its hands on the Mega Drive port of the game, along with an agreement with the game’s developer 3DRealms regarding this port. As such, Duke Nukem 3D on Mega Drive will be made available worldwide for $54.99, being released exclusively via Piko Interactive’s online shop, adding it to it’s other range of recent 16-bit releases. Furthermore, this will as always come with a full instruction manual, alongside a Mega Drive box and art sleeve. Will you be grabbing a copy for your Mega Drive collection?
Sadly, that’s it for another Retro Weekly Roundup, but make sure to keep it Rings & Coins for all your Retro needs. Also, if you’ve got any news you’d like to submit for the roundup hit me up at @DudeXChill or Rings & Coins at @RingsAndCoins.