Retro Weekly Roundup – 24th October
We’re on the cusp of Halloween, but before that we’ve got one more Retro Weekly Roundup to get through. This week we’ve got something that will keep anyone who’s ever dreamed of bringing their Nintendo dreams life happy, alongside the return of not one, but two classic icons of the UK gaming industry. So as always, let’s get on with the Retro Weekly Roundup.
Let’s start with Pokémon. Do you love Pokémon? Ever dreamed of growing up in Pallet Town whilst training your own Pikachu? Well combining Pokémon Go with this latest piece of news, and that dream could soon be a reality. That’s because Nintendo is opening a real life Pokémon Gym in Osaka Japan. Yes you read that right, a real life Pokémon Gym.
Named the Pokémon Expo Gym, this Pokémon Gym will sell all the same products that are available at Pokémon Centres across Japan. However, this Gym will also offer interactive educational experiences, alongside a range of the Pokémon events, including battling, trading, arcade games, and mini games that can even net you special edition Pokémon to take home on your 3DS. This Gym may never leave Japan, but any excuse to take a trip to the home of Pokémon is good enough for me, and if it’s anything like the many Pokémon Centres that I’ve visited, then this will be awesome.
Next up, and continuing with the idea that Nintendo began with Super Mario Maker, one Nintendo fan has begun creating The Legend of Zelda Maker. Now there’s a good chance Nintendo will shut this one down fast, but it raises some good points, namely how many people would love to create their own Hyrulian adventure, and is there a market for Nintendo to release more experiences like Super Mario Maker with their other classic IPs? Either way it’ll be interesting to see where this unofficial project goes, and whether Nintendo does consider ideas such as this.
We may never see an official Zelda Maker, but Nintendo have given us a wealth of experiences featuring Link and his quest to save Princess Zelda, detailing them all inside of Hyrule Historia, the complete encyclopaedia of all things Zelda. Well Nintendo have now given their star man the same treatment, releasing the Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia in order to continue the 30th anniversary celebrations. Featuring 255 pages, and covering all 17 main titles in the series, alongside concept art, interviews, glitches and guides, this really is everything any Super Mario fan could ever want. The only down side is that so far this is only scheduled for a Japanese release. But then again, they said that about Hyrule Historia, and we all know how that ended.
Next up, and we’re fittingly continuing with the Back To The Future celebrations. Just like nearly everyone else on the planet, Nintendo wasn’t going to miss out on celebrating the classic cinema trilogy. As such Nintendo of Europe quietly re-released Wild Gunman on the Virtual Console, on the very same day that Marty sat in an 80s diner watching some kids playing the game on an old arcade cabinet. Well done Nintendo! Not only was this a nice touch, but it’s also another welcome addition to the Virtual Console in Europe.
Following on with the theme of returning, and today the Oliver Twins announced the return of Dizzy, but not the return you may be thinking of. No, this isn’t a complete reboot like the Oliver Twins tried to get going via Kickstarter earlier in the year, but is instead a Dizzy title that was thought lost for over twenty years. That game is Wonderland Dizzy, and was only re-discovered after the brothers were reminded of the title, when hosting a talk on their work at UK gaming event Play Blackpool. This led to the brothers searching out a finished copy of the game inside Philip Oliver’s loft. Even better, the brothers aren’t charging you to experience this lost platformer, instead making the game free to play on all browsers. So what are you waiting for? Head over to this link, and experience Dizzy and Daisy’s adventure in Wonderland.
And this is probably a really good way to end the Retro Weekly Roundup. 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.