1 More Podcastle
035 – Sweet Home Alabama
Big wheels keep on turning… FROM THE GRRRRAAAAVE! This week is jam-packed with a great listener discussion question, and a all-Movie Licensed games Retro Showdown!
Top 10 Pokémon Hybrids
Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Red were the original two Game Boy video games that ushered in an explosively popular new era of Nintendo franchise mania that continues to this day through new title releases. Before the world was awash in Pikachu pajamas and holographic-foil Charizard cards, an entire millenium before the one in which they eventually ran out of new colors and had to resort to X and Y designations, some of us truly enjoyed Generation 1 for its addictive, in-depth gameplay.
RetroHate
Knockback Kills
This is a Public Service Announcement: Knockback Kills. If you think you or your friend’s retro game might be suffering from Knockback, get help immediately at your local MarioFoot clinic.
NOOO!!! NOT THE SPIKES!!!
Seriously though, if there’s one thing more annoying than MarioFoot, it’s Knockback. How many times have you been killed in MegaMan, Sonic, Ninja Gaiden, Castlevania, etc. because you touched an enemy that immediately sent you flying three feet backwards and into the nearest pit? I couldn’t say myself cause I can’t count PAST INFINITY. (Hawks & bats in Ninja Gaiden, I’m looking at you)
The Fair Shake
Tiger-Heli
Lots of things happened in 1987. I had surgery on my sinuses because as a child I got infections seemingly every other week :sniffle:. I went to Disney World with my parents and saw all sorts of billboards that read “COMING SOON! Universal Studios”. Tiger-Heli also came out on the NES. Released by Acclaim in the US, Tiger-Heli was originally an arcade game by Taito. My local Chuck E Cheese never had it. Even if they did, I was probably too busy playing A.P.B or TMNT to notice. I did, however, spend too much time playing the NES port. I also spent lots of time as a kid wondering if it’s pronounced Tiger “Hell-e” or Tiger “Heel-e”. I eventually settled on “Hell-e”.
The Retro Critic
Star Trek: The Next Generation
What better way to end my Star Trek retro gaming review trilogy but with a Picard game?
Yes, this week I’ll be looking at Star Trek: The Next Generation (Future’s Past), on the Sega Genesis. And after that unreleased Star Trek V NES game, I gotta say, it’s been a breath of fresh air.
For one thing, there’s about 12,000 more things to do in this game. You can actually go around the Enterprise and get involved in every single aspect of it, whether it’s modifying settings in the engineering room…
Bad Guys Anonymous
Moto Bug
Here we are at another edition of Bad Guys Anonymous. This weekly column investigates the random baddies from gaming’s heyday. The only quality that must be shared amongst these evil minions is that they must be the first opponents gamers encounter in the game.
This week’s target is none other than Moto Bug of Sonic the Hedgehog fame.
Unfinished Rareware Prototypes Leak Online
Unfinished prototypes of both Perfect Dark and Conker’s Bad Fur Day have been released online.
Bitter Without Continues
The inevitable post that is largely related to Battletoads in some fashion
So I have a friend, whom I only know from the far reaches of the internet, who has proven that he can do the unfathomable.
He beat Ninja Gaiden I, II, III, AND (as of the other day) The Adventures of Bayou Billy all in a single life. And can back all of these claims up with corresponding Youtube clips.
Pinball Alley
Pinball Alley: Rock N Ball
Up to now, I’ve covered the best traditional pinball games that the NES has to offer. The columns have been long and have been splits between reviews and gameplay strategy. The last two pinball games left on the slate– Pinball Quest and Rock ‘n Ball— aren’t really traditional pinball simulations at all. It’s difficult to really break them down as I have the prior games, and especially in the case of this column for Rock ‘n Ball, there really isn’t a lot of strategy to impart. Nevertheless, Rock ‘n Ball does utilize pinball as a central theme… so I’ll take a stab at talking about it.
Atari Poop
Atari Poop – Basic Math
Released in 1977 as a launch title for the Atari 2600, Basic Math is one of those simply epic games that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Taking the fun of arithmetic, once confined to the classroom, and bringing it to the living room in a way that previous generations never could have dreamed. From the gameplay, to the music, all the way to the graphics and the box art, this is truly a perfect game.
So, let’s start with that box art then…
1 More Podcastle
034 – Totally Jason Lamb
On this episode, we totally have Jason Lamb on. Yep. It certainly wouldn’t be Joshua Caleb, the author of our RetroHate series! Nope, not that for sure.
N64 Connoisseur
1 More Castle Behind the Gaming: Glover Part 1
Known now as a classic platformer on the Nintendo 64, the story of Glover is not as cut and dry as many other games of that time. While the game itself featured a fun and original story, the true story, no matter how fictional, is what occurred behind the scenes. Join us for this rollercoaster of a story as 1 More Castle takes you behind the gaming.
The Fair Shake
Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator
I admit it. I’m a Trekkie. I even enjoy Star Trek III and find the Director’s Cut of the first movie to be nicely done. As I type this, the new movie, ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ hasn’t been released in the US yet. I don’t really mind ‘JJ Trek’, since technically it was set up as an alternate reality. That means at the end of this little side trip, they can go ‘POOF IT’S A DREAM!’ and go back to normal Shatner-reality. Thank God. I do hate excessive lens flare, but that’s another discussion. Time marches on, as they say. I suppose after almost fifty years, at least one reboot was bound to happen, right? Over that four decade time span there’s been a crap ton of video games made with the Star Trek license. Some are amazing (see: Klingon Academy) . Some weren’t released (Star Trek V). One of the first console games, and the first Star Trek arcade game, Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator, is begging to be rediscovered, and with a new Trek movie, now is as good a time as any. The Retro Critic has covered a few Star Trek games, but I decided to go way back. Is it logical to continue to play this old game?
The Retro Critic
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
What does God want with a starship?
Or a Star Trek V game, for that matter?
Nothing, it turns out, since that game does exist but really doesn’t, if that makes any sense.
A Star Trek V 2D platform game was indeed created for the NES but it never saw the light of day and remains mostly unfinished and only available as a bug-full rom. It was developed by Bandai to coincide with the film’s release but for some reason they decided to give up on that idea and to this day you can only play what might have been so this won’t be a full-on review just a sneak critical peak into what I’ve seen/played of the game.
The game starts with Uhura fan-dancing naked to an 8-bit rendition of William Shatner singing “Rocketman.”
I’m kidding.
RetroHate
I am Not a Number
Let’s talk numbers shall we? No this isn’t math class or economics class, this is more of a personal pet peeve of mine regarding retro arcade and console games and how they measure success; namely, the High Score.
Bitter Without Continues
Drifting through the Ethernet: What the hell did we do to the LAN Party?
Today, I want to talk about something that I haven’t thought about in a long time – The LAN party.
An old custom that has long been made (at least in my experience) obsolete and an anachronism, and yet, I fondly recall it and wonder where it all went wrong.
As with all good retro news, Let’s rewind.
Virtual View
Red Alarm Review
This was the second game of the three that came with my Virtual Boy and I wasn’t expecting anything good from this game after watching AVGN’s review and looking at the games rating on some video game websites. However, after playing it, I was surprised that I enjoyed it. Let’s dive into Red Alarm, the Virtual Boy’s 3D shooter.
Atari Poop
Atari Poop – Chuck Norris Superkicks
Let me start by saying that Chuck Norris has absolutely no redeeming qualities. None. Also, please, I’m begging you, no Chuck Norris jokes in the comments or else you will be banned from commenting on 1 More Castle (Hey Eric, do I have the authority to do this?
Editor's Note: ... No. -- Eric.
You never let me have any fun.)
1 More Podcastle
033 – Triple Barrel Machine Gun
In this episode, Bailey starts a Retro Showdown arms race, the hosts go off on an epic tangent, and Where’s Waldo wins the showdown!