CONTENTS SPACE HARRIER 4 ZERO WING 30 WEWANA:PLAY APP 11 MEET THE TEAM 33 CONTACT SAM CRUISE 17 CHASE HQ 34 JASON MACKENZIE 20 MARBLE MADNESS 37 TRGN AWARD 25 MILLENNIUM 2.2 39 EMULATOR REVIEW 26 FRIDAY THE 13TH 42 MAIL BAG 29 FIST 2 48 The Retro Games News © Shinobisoft Publishing Founder Phil Wheatley Editorial: Welcome to another month of retro gaming goodness. Along with the usual classic game reviews such as Space Harrier, Contact Sam Cruise and Friday 13th, we also have a couple of unique interviews. The first of which is from a guy called Deepak Pathak who is one of the partners behind the WeWana:Play App which allows you to schedule gaming sessions with your friends. A second is with Jason ‘Kenz’ Mackenzie who is well known in the retro gaming community. We also have some new sections such as the Mail Bag and the TRGN Award. Please feel free to email your letters to the email above. Thanks as ever to everybody who contributed such as the writers, our proof reader and Logo artist. Happy Retro Gaming – Phil Wheatley © The Retro Games News Page 2 elisoftware.com © The Retro Games News Page 3 SPACE HARRIER Essentials Welcome to the fantasy zone. Get Ready! The first ever samples I heard on my Atari ST. Yet another fantastic what was the forefront hit from Sega, Space of 3D games. WOW! My friend and I Harrier came to the were in awe. arcades back in 1985. Other systems too Computers can now This game, along with were at the time talk at you as the low Sega's other popular beginning to develop quality distorted titles back then, Super 3D games Sega were sounds came at us. Hang-on, Afterburner not the first to Barely distinguishable and Outrun really did consider 3D as the but cool none the less. revolutionise the way to go, such as We knew what the design of games and Star Wars etc. computer was telling used a technology however, while they us. known as "Super were using full 3D Scaler" to produce objects to emulate "Fun time" cars, spaceships etc. © The Retro Games News Page 4 computer was powerful enough to reproduce Space Harrier at “Arcade Quality”. Even then, the sound was still not quite up to par. It is, therefore, the Sega Saturn version (1996) that is classed as being the first “Arcade Perfect” port of Space Harrier finally appeared. So, how does it play? the line graphics and play of move and To start off, the first later filled in blocks shoot, it both level is nice and easy, were a long way off. generated the sweaty just as it should be. Sega's idea was to palm excitement while Control is nice and utilise the detail and giving any audience fluid, all the enemies colours possible in 2D around a chance to are animated and graphics and simply marvel at the moved about the scale them down. If wonderful detailed and screen smoothly and an object was smaller, colourful graphics. the Yu Suzuki the human brain signature pastel would discern it is Yu Suzuki in typical shades give a bright further away than an form also managed to relaxing start. object that is larger. get the controls spot The technique is not on. By using an This soon changes much more analogue joystick and come stage 2. As you complicated than that. an easy to aim system suddenly find out half when firing, the way through that your With 32,000 colours gameplay felt natural. laser cannon can't available on screen, The biggest enemy shoot the stone and the super smooth being your own towers. (Shock among Scalar technology at reactions rather than shock) You now have hand, the game took a clunky system that no option but to dodge off. The mixture of befell many games in these as hitting them Chinese dragons flying the early 80’s. at break neck speed around and the will only lead to being wonderfully fast To give an idea of how knocked flat on your chequerboard floors advanced the back, probably with a hurtling towards you technology used in big headache or at at break neck speed that arcade machine least mild concussion. dragged you into the was, it wasn’t until Perhaps this explains fantasy world that 1994 (9 Years later) the fire breathing Space Harrier created. when Sega launched floating heads. the 32X (32bit add on Add to this the simple to the Megadrive) that Now Stage three. yet effective game finally a home Hmmmmm! I do © The Retro Games News Page 5 is just enough to keep you interested rather than put you off playing again. Some of the ideas for end of level bosses are interesting, some levels, you only have a limited amount of time before they fly off into the distance while still allowing you to continue to the next stage. For the majority of the bosses, however, the wonder if there was Instead are hexagon best plan is to either any help given while ball type thingys and rotate and fly circles coming up with this metal towers. The sky around the screen world… is replaced by a while firing, for others, further roof, giving a a figure of 8 pattern is Things speed up trapped in feeling and required. further and you have we are moving faster to avoid or shoot (if still. Throughout the game, you are fast enough) many of the original floating and bouncing Now for the bonus foes keep popping up brightly coloured stage. After a clever just to remind you of mushrooms! introduction to prove their presence that Space Harrier is Erm, yes! in fact a serious The ending too feels shooter, you get a very satisfying. After As surreal as it is, it break. A nice ride on a fighting the final boss, looks fantastic and the fluffy dragon (Never you finish off battering ramp-up in speed Ending Story anyone?) with each of the end starts to twitch your Guide him to eat of level bosses in reactions. When you everything in his path reverse order until finally are greeted by and then we are back finally you fly off into a 2 headed dragon into the game. the sunset on top of again, of course the friendly dragon breathing fire. Back to more serious seen in the bonus missiles being fired at stages. Next, Stage 4, things you rather than flashy start to change. We lasers and we are Fantastic. have had our fun but dealing with jets and now we get a glimpse sky scrapers to dodge. So..... Arcade sorted. that the game has Space Harrier was begun to take a However, although converted to an serious turn. Gone are things now start to get awesome array of the pastel colours, fire harder, with a little computers and breathing heads and practice the difficulty consoles. bouncy mushrooms. curve although steep © The Retro Games News Page 6 These included However, this is where scheme but up come similarities start to the bouncing 8 Bit disappear. Although mushrooms from Game Gear the floor moves stage 3, did someone smoothly, nothing else get a little confused? Released in 1991. the does. The game runs first thing that hits quite slowly in Things change further, you is the 8 bit music. comparison and all the Stage 3 (4 in the The title screen graphics have been Arcade) Instead of doesn't really do it changed. This was Hexagon balls to justice. You need to done to make the dodge, there are these get into the game to characters easier to strange face things see where this has see on the LCD screen and come stage 6 been taken. When but I am not sure this these strange bear looking at this game, change was needed. creatures show up. you do need to bear in mind how limited the Again, due to the It does feel that the hardware is in limited capabilities of Game Gear struggles comparison to its the Game Gear and the difficulty Arcade big brother. graphics engine, there playing the game I are many graphical feel is not due to the glitches in sprite game being hard but masks which means the sluggish controls that you get blocks of and graphics crashes solid colour at times impede what is still a around the enemies. cool game to have if While this doesn't even just from a pure affect the game play, geeky retro sense. it does get in the way Hit start and you are of seeing anything 16 Bit greeted with the behind the graphics Atari ST music you know and crash. love (in 8 bit though) This is where it all the floor scrolling is Strangely, Stage 2 started for me. Seeing lovely and smooth and fools you into thinking for the first time, with an option for a it is the same as in along with Outrun the password to skip to the arcade, with the simulated 3D graphics levels, at least you same floor colour using sprites. have the option to continue where you left off. Hit start again and you see Space Harrier running just as in the arcades, albeit larger as the Game Gear has a much lower resolution, Sega wanted to keep some detail in the character. © The Retro Games News Page 7 are better than the Atari ST. Interestingly, they opted to go for a smaller character on screen, however the view point is also lower which makes the playable area limited to 3/4 of the screen only.