RETRO6 Cover UK 05/07/2004 3:12 PM Page 1 ❙❋❙P✄❍❇N❋❙ ❉PNNP❊P❙❋•❚❋❍❇•❖❏❖❋❖❊P•❇❇❙❏•❚❏❖❉M❇❏❙•❇❉P❙❖•✠✄NP❙❋ * ❏❚❚❋✄❚❏ * ❙❋❙P✄❍❇N❋❙ £5.99 UK • $13.95 Aus $27.70 NZ ISSUE SIX ❇❇❙❏✄P❙❚I❏◗ L❖❋❋M✄❈❋GP❙❋✄I❋✄8✏❈❏✄❙❇❖❍❋ ❉PMP❚❚❇M✄❇❊❋❖❙❋❚ MPPL❏❖❍✄❈❇❉L✄❇✄M❋❋M✄9 ❈❏M❊✄P❙✄P❖✄❉P❏❖✏P◗ ❉PN◗M❋❋✄❚❋◗✏❈✏❚❋◗✄❍❏❊❋ ❏❖❋❙❏❋❋❊✢ ❇❇❙❏❡❚✄❖PM❇❖✄❈❚I❖❋MM✎✄ ❙❋PM❏P❖❡❚✄P❖✄❇❙❙❏❖❋❙✄❇❖❊✄ ❊❇❏❊✄❊P❇L✄PG✄G❙❋❋✄❙❇❊❏❉❇M✄❊❋❚❏❍❖ 006 Untitled-1 1 1/9/06 12:55:47 RETRO6 Intro/Hello 07/07/2004 11:11 PM Page 3 hello <EDITORIAL> >10 PRINT "hello" Editor = >20 GOTO 10 Martyn Carroll >RUN ([email protected]) Staff Writer = Shaun Bebbington ([email protected]) Art Editor = Mat Mabe Additonal Design = Craig Chubb + Ray Bitch Sub Editors = Katie Hallam + Rachel White Contributors = Aaron Birch + Simon Brew Dave Cusick + Jonti Davies Richard Hallas + Richard Hewison Robert Mellor + John Southern Iain Warde <PUBLISHING & ADVERTISING> Operations Manager = Debbie Whitham Group Sales & Marketing Manager = Tony Allen hello Advertising Sales = Linda Henry ssue 6 already. It seems have changed since the start of Tydfil FC is all I’m saying… Accounts Manager = Karen Battrick only yesterday since I the year. I’m fully confident that While I leave you to work Circulation Manager = Istarted the first issue, issue 6 is our best yet, and that one out, I’m off to start Steve Hobbs down in the Live Publishing looking at the upcoming work on the next issue (read: Marketing Manager = basement with no natural light, features list, I’m convinced that visiting seaside towns in search Iain "Angry" Anderson a box of candles and an old Retro Gamer will get better and of classic arcades). As always, Editorial Director = Wayne Williams fashioned typewriter. How things better, month on month. I’d love enjoy the magazine and the Publisher = have moved on since then. I’ve to fill you in on these future coverdisc, and I’ll see you again Robin Wilkinson been promoted to the main features, but I’ve been sworn to next month. <SMALL PRINT> office and even have a Spectrum secrecy. I can give you a clue to Distributed by with a thermal printer to work one feature I’m particularly N❇❙❖✄❉❇❙❙PMM Comag, Tavistock Road, West on. But seriously, how things excited about however. Merthyr ❋❊❏P❙ Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE, England. Tel: 01895 444055. Fax: 01895 433602 No part of this magazine may be reproduced or stored in any form whatsoever without the prior hello written consent of Live Publishing Int Ltd. The views expressed herein are not necessarily the opinion of the Publishers. Live Publishing Int Ltd Europa House Adlington Park Subscription prices Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 4NP, UK ISSN: 1742-3155 UK: £71.88 (12 issues) Europe: £77.00 (12 issues) <LIABILITY> Rest or world: £83.00 (12 issues) Whilst every care has been taken in the production of this magazine, the publishers cannot Retro Gamer, ISSN number 1742 3155, be held responsible for the is published six weekly (eight times accuracy of the information per year) by Live Publishing at 1320 contained herein. Route 9, Champlain, N.Y. 12919 for llo US$105 per year. Periodicals postage paid at Champlain, NY. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Retro Gamer c/o Express Mag, P.O. Box 2769, Plattsburgh, NY 12901-1329. **3** RETRO6 Intro/Hello 07/07/2004 11:11 PM Page 4 ❙❋❙P✄❍❇❋❙* | REGULAR:INSIDES | >insides 06 On The Prowl p21 Coin-Op Conversions p34 Shaun Bebbington reports from this year’s Robert Mellor looks at the home versions of JagFest UK event Sega’s biggest arcade hits The Next Level p54 Construct Your Own Coin-Op p60 Richard Hewison charts the history of the Ever wanted your own arcade machine? Dave popular British adventure house Cusick shows you how to build one yourself Olympic Gold p80 Join The Revolution p97 Simon Brew takes a timely look at event-based We talk to Tony Warriner about Revolution’s sports games and other joystick wagglers small but significant catalogue of games **4** RETRO6 Intro/Hello 07/07/2004 11:12 PM Page 5 Jet Set Revivial p46 Following last month’s Mega-tree feature, Richard Hallas looks at the many JSW clones The Final Word p77 World of Atari p26 Jonti Davies looks between the covers of John Southern revisits Atari’s ground-breaking Famitsu, Japan’s revered videogaming magazine range of 8-bit home computers >Regulars Retro News p06 New things, the old way Retro Forum p10 Talk to the Editor cos yer mates ain’t listenin’ Retro Reviews p16 Hall of fame, hall of shame and everything in between Desert Island Disks p41 p103 Happy Daze Another eight games that a gaming celebrity would take onto We chat to Simon Keating about Skools Out, our fictional desert island. This month: David Doak his PC update of the classic Skool Daze Retro Mart p110 Roll up, Roll up, there’s ancient things for sale Endgame p114 Now there’s an incentive for spending a week playing a game... **5** RETRO6 News.qxd 7/8/04 12:14 AM Page 6 SFUSP£HBNFS* | REGULAR:NEWS | The latest reports from the backward- looking world of retro Feel The G-Force Gradius flicks V-signs at other shoot-em-ups The fifth game in the long-running Gradius series is about to blast its way onto the PlayStation 2. Published by Konami and developed by Treasure (talk about pedigree), Gradius V is shaping up to be one of the most spectacular space-based shooters ever. We were lucky enough to play the game recently and can report that it’s shaping up to be nothing short of stunning. Unlike the recent R-Type Final, which overcomplicated matters with dozens of ships and hundreds of weapons, Gradius V is unashamedly old skool. The power-up system has been expanded, but it’ll be familiar to fans of the series, and the waves of alien craft are just as devious and as deadly as before. And of course, there are the huge end-of-level bosses. Obviously, the power of the PS2 hasn’t gone to waste – just look at some of the backdrops – but Gradius V places the emphasis firmly on 2D shoot-em-up action. The original Gradius game first graced arcades in 1985 (it was released in Europe as Nemesis). This was followed by four sequels, several spin-offs (including the two-player Salamander and the spoof Parodius) and numerous imitations. Gradius V is the first game of the series that won’t debut in the arcade, but its appearance on the PS2 should ensure it finds a wide audience. The game is due for release at the end of September, so there’s plenty of time to sharpen up your shooting skills before it arrives. The latest Gradius game features seven levels of frenzied shoot-em-up action **6** RETRO6 News.qxd 7/8/04 12:15 AM Page 7 It’s All Kicking Off Again Dino Dini returns with new football title After years on the sidelines, Kick confirmed. Off creator Dino Dini is set to Our only concern is work on a brand-new football that football games have title. The ever-modest Dino has evolved beyond all teamed up with sports game recognition since Dino developer DC-Studios and the scored big with Kick Off game will appear on PCs, home and Player Manager. But consoles and handhelds. We he’s confident that the spoke to Dino in issue 4 and he new title will force its admitted that he was working on way into the first team. a new footie game, but this is the “The current generation first time his involvement has of football games has no been officially focus on the player,” says Dino. “The game itself is the spectacle. This is a problem. It is the player’s experience that is the key to creating a game that is accessible, playable and has long-term appeal to players. If you can create an experience that satisfies the player each and every time they play the game, then you have created a classic.” The game is as yet untitled, and no release date has been announced, but we expect to hear more information as the new Dino Dini and the football games that made him a household name football season takes hold. Welcome To Commodore World! Latest Commodore products revealed The official Web portal for all Commodore-related items has finally been launched, rather hastily it would seem. Visit www.commodoreworld.com and you’ll find information about the latest official Commodore products available from Tulip Computers in association with other companies, including Ironstone Partners, which will be handling the gaming side, and Yeahronimo NV, which will provide legal movie and music downloads. More information about the C64 Direct-to-TV has also been announced. It will include 30 preinstalled games, be PAL and NTSC compatible, and will have a resolution of up to 320x240. Rumours about the device having an internal developer’s port have been quashed, as Tulip state that the device won’t initially support multiplayer functionality or game downloading. This has sparked rumours that future generations of the product will support these features, which would make sense since the Commodore World Web portal already offers legal game downloading – at cost, mind. The C64 Direct-to-TV Something's stirring at Commodore World. And will be available in October, in time for the beginning of you thought the brand was dead and buried! the Christmas-shopping season. **7** RETRO6 News.qxd 7/8/04 12:15 AM Page 8 SFUSP£HBNFS* | REGULAR:NEWS | Pac On The Go Pac-Man helps Namco clean up At nearly 25 years of age, the encouraged Namco to consider ever-hungry Pac-Man is proving a releasing a number of Pac-Man popular download on Java- variants, including Ms Pac-Man, enabled mobile phones.