It might be almost a decade old and should probably qualify as retro, but I just can’t help feel that Star Wars X-Wing Alliance still does a pretty impressive impression of a modern game (especially if you patch it up and probably more so when its new homebrew textures hit the Internet). Besides, 10 years isn’t such a long time, is it? And good games never age.

Especially so, when said good games are more or less the last offerings of their sub-genre, as was X-Wing Alliance, for it sadly was the very last Star Wars space-combat sim that let players sit inside a cockpit. Following the excellent X-Wing, nigh on perfect TIE Fighter and multiplayer-only X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, Alliance not only brought the series to an explosive climax and allowed anti-social kids and accountants worldwide to fantasize about being starry-eyed space heroes, but also let us proper gamers relive key events from the Star Wars saga and even the end of the Empire itself. And, yes, this does actually mean we got to fly the Millennium Falcon inside the second Death Star as never before and never since. See the screenshot?

Sheer computer gaming joy. What’s more, the game also let (arguably still does, as it’s got no problems on my XP PC) you pilot a variety of classic Rebel Alliance starships ranging from the aptly named X-Wing classic, to the vaguely A-shaped A-Wing, to the Y-Wing, through a brilliant campaign that spanned 50 missions. Oh, and graphics and audio are still impressive, the gameplay hasn’t aged a day and multiplayer dogfights are unsurpassed.

Meet Roger Wilco, janitor extraordinaire and star of the truly funny Space Quest series by Sierra, back from the era when adventure games were actually considered killer-apps and went on to spawn sequel after sequel. Meet him through almost seven Space Quest games (well, six actually), out of which only five (almost six) used roman numerals in their titles. Meet him here and have a drink with the lad.

Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter

The first game by designers Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy, a.k.a. The Two Guys from Andromeda, SQ I was released back in 1986 at the beginning of the adventure gaming mainstream era. The game used the early Sierra AGI engine, complete with 16 glorious colours and beautifully stylized graphics, a nice soundtrack and a pretty impressive -definitely hilarious too- parser interface. The plot introduced series star Roger Wilco, a janitor, who started off his heroics by napping in a broom closet while aliens hijacked the spaceship he was supposed to be cleaning and grabbed the devastatingly deadly Star Generator, only to finally wake up and save the universe. The game also introduced the series’ trademark humor, frequent -impressively varied too- deaths, difficult puzzles, arcade-y sequences and bad-guy Vohaul.

Space Quest II: Vohaul’s Revenge

The first sequel in the series is another text-driven graphics adventure that apparently took less than a year to develop, and, well, quite frankly it shows. Arch-villain Sludge Vohaul returns to hunt a now-famous Roger Wilco in a frustrating game with below average puzzles and mostly flat jokes. Not really worth your time without a walkthrough…

Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon

Space Quest 3 was simply stunning and one of the better looking games of 1989, especially when seen on the Amiga. It also sported a truly post-modern and particularly funny plot involving the Space Pirates, a shovelware/software pirating group, who had kidnapped the Two Guys, thus endangering the future of the whole Space Quest franchise. Unless, that is, Roger stopped them, which apparently he did. The game, besides being excellent and taxing as ever, also featured tactical space combat and a playable arcade game.

Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers

The first 256-colour VGA Space Quest with full SoundBlaster support and the first point-and-click game in the series too, Space Quest IV remains among my top 10 adventures even to this day. It’s got everything you could ask for really: time traveling to previous and future SQ games complete with appropriate graphic changes, Roger’s son, a fantastic goodies-filled box, some of the best puzzles ever, Lucasarts game parodies, a burger making mini-game, Ms. Astro Chicken, droids, top-quality voice acting, latex babes, elaborate easter eggs, a smell icon and the aptly named Monochrome Boys. An absolute masterpiece.

Space Quest V: Roger Wilco - The Next Mutation

This one I haven’t played, mostly because it was the first SQ game that wasn’t designed by both the Guys from Andromeda, but most adventurers seem to agree it’s a fine game. Reviewers liked it quite a bit too. Released back in 1993, Space Quest V had Roger take on the Star Trek universe by graduating from the illustrious StarCon Academy, piloting his very own garbage-collecting spaceship and boldly going where no man had gone before.

Space Quest 6: Roger Wilco in The Spinal Frontier

The final installment in the series and the only one to do away with the silly places in outer space in order to focus on the silly ones inside the human body, as experienced by a highly miniaturized Roger of course. Actually, scrap that, as it’s just what the title implies. The game -an SVGA CD exclusive released in 1995- has Mr. Wilco exploring the vaguely nasty planet of Polysorbate LX while running into an incredible number of farcical video game, computer, pop-culture and movie references. Oh, and you’ll definitely love the cartoon-quality graphics and vastly updated point-and-click interface.

Now, as Space Quest 7 -or would it be VII?- never managed to survive the demise of Sierra and no more Space Quest games are to be released in the foreseeable future, seasoned veterans could go around and google for some mostly brilliant fanmade sequels and remakes. Alternatively, both them and gamers looking to dive into the taxing and surreal universe of Space Quest can go for Vivendi’s Space Quest Collection. It might not be the best collection possible (lacking a few game versions and coming with PDF manuals only) but it’s got the basics covered, runs brilliantly on the latest PCs and is dead cheap.

Just a short post to let you know that the Commodore 64 ueber-classic Impossible Mission has been made available on the Virtual Console for a mere 500 Wii Points. Oh, and to point out that it hasn’t aged a day and still retains its hybrid puzzle/action charms. Joy, oh joy! So, if you care for a blast of nostalgia or want to find out just why this game has been considered a classic, better download it now. Alternatively, google around for the thing…

If you’re a publisher with a great back-catalogue of games and are looking for ways to come up with another retro gaming collection for modern consoles, well, look no further than the SEGA Mega Drive Collection (that’s Genesis in the US) for the PS2. It does everything right, is properly priced and offers so many options and extras it can easily compete with them not particularly legal but very free ROM playing emulators. Yes, this should indeed be your blueprint, but let me elaborate.

First of all, the quality of the emulation is just perfect. Everything runs in its original 16-bit speed without hick-ups or frame losses, you can select between the original 4:3 aspect ratio or go for the trendier widescreen look and you can also play at both 50Hz and 60Hz. Heck, you can even eliminate them pesky black borders! That truly is how good things work and thus, despite how suspicious of shoddy retro ports I am, all I can say is there is absolutely nothing to complain about.

Then of course we have the sheer quality of the presentation. Info ranging from the idea behind each and every game to its original box is easily available, menus are sleek and easy to navigate, whereas the extras section of the collection offers a wealth of interesting interviews, unlockable games and odd bits of trivia and photos. We nostalgic gamers, you know, love this stuff.

As for the games themselves, they impressively manage to showcase the range of what was available on the Mega Drive. It actually feels as if they were picked by a historian, covering everything from the action excellence of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, to Sega’s top Phantasy Star RPGs, to cult favorite Comix Zone, to classic Tetris rip-off Collumns. Besides, these gems haven’t aged a day.

See, publishing dears? That’s what you got to give us. As for you gamers, if you ever cared for 16-bit gaming, if you’re in the slightest bit interested in retro gaming or just like to enjoy some lovely 2D offerings, go on, do yourselves a favour and grab the Sega Mega Drive Collection. You’ll be getting all these games (excluding a couple or so unlockable ones like Super Zaxxon, Future Spy or Astro Blaster) for a few quid:

Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
Altered Beast
Bonanza Bros.
Columns
Comix Zone
Decap Attack starring Chuck D. Head
Ecco the Dolphin
Ecco II: The Tides of Time
Ecco Jr.
Kid Chameleon
Flicky
Gain Ground
Golden Axe I
Golden Axe II
Golden Axe III
Phantasy Star II
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millenium
Ristar
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Super Thunder Blade
Sword of Vermilion
Vectorman
Vectorman 2
Virtua Fighter 2

Empire Interactive apparently still cares both for its loyal audience, and for them retro loving yet obviously disturbed individuals like myself that really enjoy the (elegant) revival of retro titles on current-gen platforms. The forthcoming remake of the classic Pipemania frenetic puzzle game for the Nintendo DS is all the proof I need. Hopefully, it will also turn out to be another reason for owning said console, though all we have for now are some screenshots like the ones posted above. They do look lovely, mind. Pretty faithful to the original too.

In case you were not one of the millions that bought the original or weren’t old enough to play games back in 1989, know that Pipemania was -and quite arguably still is- a brilliant action/puzzle game. Players have to lay down a pre-set… uhh.. set of pipes on a tiled grid in order to keep the constantly flowing… uhh… fluid moving for as long as possible. Simple and taxing as that, especially when considering the strict time limits imposed.

Now, as Pipemania DS will be hitting stores later this year, you could try and satisfy your retro obsessed inner self with the brilliantly remade Tetris DS, the very faithful Myst DS or even the not particularly inspired handheld version of Bomberman.

Despite being the most advanced handheld console ever and a beast easily comparable to the PS2, the PSP has more to it than -say- the excellent, jaw-dropping and brand new God of War: Chains of Olympus. It’s a brilliant home for retro games of the highest quality too. No, really. Read on, read on and find out why.

EA Replay

From Wing Commander, to Road Rash, to Syndicate, to Desert Strike and Ultima, EA Replay is a great retro collection spanning over 10 years of EA history, that frankly could have been better. I’m pretty sure the UMD could have coped with the extra 4 or 5 Mbytes necessary for the inclusion of a few more classic games and I’m quite sure that EA could have spent a few more hours better adjusting some of the controls to the PSP. Still, a worthy purchase for retro lovers with a thing for the 16-bit era.

Lemmings - Platinum

An updated version of the classic puzzle game with shiny new cartoon graphics , tons of levels, some impressive audio enhancements over the Amiga original and a few tweaks here and there. If you haven’t played Lemmings, buy it. If you ever loved Lemmings, buy it. If you enjoy being entertained, buy it. If you have Lemmings on the Atari Lynx, ignore it. Heh.

Sega Mega Drive Collection

A stunning offering featuring 28 (mostly) excellent 16-bit Sega Mega Drive games, that come complete with interviews, tons of info, artwork and even some unlockable games and trailers. The emulation is perfect, the controls simply work and you get to play through Sonic the Hedgehog, Golden Axe, Comix Zone, Ecco the Dolphin, Phantasy Star IV and Shinobi 3.

Activision Hits Remixed

Another collection, this time sporting over 40 Activision games that were released over 20 years ago for the Atari 2600. The emulation is obviously silky smooth, the front end and extras are brilliant and among the included games you’ll find such amazing games as Pitfall, H.E.R.O., River Raid 2, Keystone Kapers and Frostbite. It’s quite impressive how well suited these simple classics for on the go gaming are.

Metal Slug Anthology

Perfectly emulated versions of Metal Slug, Metal Slug 2, Metal Slug X, Metal Slug 3, Metal Slug 4, Metal Slug 5 and Metal Slug 6. And you get wireless support for two players too. ’nuff said.

Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition

I don’t really hold the original Final Fantasy II in the highest of esteems, but I can definitely see its appeal. And obviously understand the fact that many feel nostalgic about its retro RPG charms. This all-new Anniversary Edition of the game features new character art, updated graphics, a few new dungeons, full 16:9 widescreen support and an updated camera view. Surely fans of the original will love it.

Ultimate Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins

One of the best and truest to form retro updates ever. Beautiful, tough as nails, addictive and utterly brilliant. Then again, you could read this older ButtonSmasher article on the thing by clicking here.

Care for more retro offerings? Oh dear, you’re insatiable, aren’t you? Anyway, here are a few more humble suggestions that will hopefully keep you off the streets:

- Bomberman
- Worms PSP
- Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars
- Space Invaders Evolution
- Gradius Collection
- Impossible Mission
- Dracula X Chronicles

I’ve always thought that a DVD covering retro games would be quite an interesting concept and that’s why I was (deeply) intrigued and (quite a bit) touched when I discovered the existence of the Retro Gaming: Volume One DVD. It’s supposed to be a two hours long documentary covering 400 retro games from such consoles as the Sega Master System, the Sega MegaDrive, the Nintendo Entertainment System and even the Game Boy. Interesting, yes, but can I recommend it? Well, not yet, no, as I haven’t seen the thing yet, though I’m definitely grabbing one as soon as possible… Oh, and anyone seen it?

Seems like the Virtual Console is nigh on impossible to stop and Commodore Gaming just can’t help exploiting our -truly commendable, if I may say so- nostalgic sentiment. Want proof? Well, the announcement of downloadable Commodore 64 games for the Wii should be proof enough. Excellent retro gaming news too. And another reason to grab a Wii and stock-up thousands of them lovely Wii Points.

Truth be said, the addition of C64 games to the Virtual Console doesn’t really come as a shock, as it was something that was widely rumoured even before the Wii was launched. Then again, a rumour is so much less than a proper announcement, and even less than an announcement that actually mentions the first two games to hit the service: International Karate and Uridium. Besides, I was really starting to worry the whole idea had been abandoned. Oh, and for a change, Europe will be the first region to get Commodore 64 support.

Games will cost a hefty 500 points each and I have to say that Nintendo really has to look into a more realistic pricing structure. The average (boxed) C64 tape, you see, can be grabbed at eBay for less than the equivalent of 300 points. On the other hand, the prospect of harassing Little Computer People from the comfort of your couch should be irresistible.

Finally, everything you ever wanted to know about Nintendo’s Mario, provided of course all you ever cared for were his appearances and cameos in video games of all kinds, in one convenient place: Here! Or, to be precise, included in the following list, which -I am sure- is not a 100% complete, despite cataloging over 100 games on more than a dozen platforms ranging from the ZX Spectrum to the Wii. Obviously, all the latest gems and our very dear Super Mario Galaxy have been included. Oh, and, please, do let me know of any omissions.

Arcade: Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Mario Bros, Vs. Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros., Mushroom World Pinball (an actual pinball machine!), Super Mario Bros 2., Super Mario Bros. 3., Super Mario World, Mario Kart Arcade GP, Punch-Out!, Vs. Dr. Mario.

Atari 2600, 7800: Donkey Kong, Mario Bros.

Game & Watch and Mini Arcade: Mario’s Cement Factory, Mario the Juggler, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Mario Bros., Mario’s Bombs Away, Donkey Kong Hockey

ZX Spectrum (Yes!): Mario Bros.

Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES (or even Famicom if you prefer) & Famicom Disk System: Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Classics, Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong Junior Math, Donkey Kong 3, Dr. Mario, Golf, Mario is Missing, Mario’s Time Machine, Mike Tyson’s Punchout, NES Open Tournament Golf, Nintendo World Championships, Return of Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 3, Tennis, Wario’s Woods, Wrecking Crew, Yoshi, Yoshi’s Cookie, Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally, Kaettekita Mario Bros.

NEC PC-8801: Mario Bros. Special, Punch Ball Mario Bros., Tennis, Super Mario Bros. Special.

Game Boy and Game Boy Color: Alleyway, Donkey Kong, Dr. Mario, F1-Race, Qix, Game & Watch Gallery, Game & Watch Gallery 2, Game & Watch Gallery 3, Mario’s Picross, Mario’s Picross 2, Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, Super Mario Land, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Tetris Attack, Mario Tennis, Wario Blast featuring Bomberman!, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, Wario Land 2, Yoshi, Yoshi’s Cookie, Mario Golf.

Super NES (SNES, Super Famicom): Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle Stadium, Mario and Wario, Mario is Missing, Mario’s Time Machine, Mario Paint, Mario’s Super Picross, Mario’s Early Years: Fun with numbers, Mario’s Early Years: Fun with letters, Mario’s Early Years: Pre-School, Nintendo Power Dr. Mario, Picross Nintendo Power, Super Mario All-Stars, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario World, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, Tetris and Dr. Mario, Tetris Attack, Wario’s Woods, Wrecking Crew ‘98, Yoshi’s Cookie, Yoshi’s Cookie: Kuruppon Oven De Cookie, Yoshi’s Safari, Zelda 3, Super Scope 6.

Virtual Boy: Mario Clash, Virtual Boy Wario Land, Mario’s Tennis.

CDi: Hotel Mario, Super Mario’s Wacky Worlds (unreleased).

Nintendo 64 & N64 DD: Dr. Mario 64, Paper Mario, Super Mario 64, Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, Mario Party, Mario Party 2, Mario Party 3, Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart 64, Yoshi’s Story, Mario Artist: Paint Studio, Mario Artist: Talent Studio, Mario Artist:Polygon Studio, Mario Artist: Communication Kit, Donkey Kong 64.

PC and Mac: Mario Teaches Typing, Mario Teaches Typing 2, Mario’s Fun with Numbers, Mario’s Fun with Letters, Mario’s Pre-School fun, Mario’s FUNdamental, Mario’s Games Gallery.

Game Boy Advance (excluding the Classic NES series): Game and Watch Gallery 4, Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, Mario Bros., Mario Party Advance, Mario Party, Mario Tennis Advance, Mario Pinball Land (a.k.a. Super Mario Ball), Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Super Mario Advance, Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World, Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi’s Island, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario Advance 6: Mario is Missing, Wario Land 4, WarioWare Inc: Mega Microgames, WarioWare Twisted!, Famicom Mini: Wrecking Crew, Yoshi Topsy Turvy, Mario Kart Super Circuit.

GameCube: Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Luigi’s Mansion, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Nintendo Puzzle Collection, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Super Mario Sunshine, Mario Superstar Baseball, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Mario Power Tennis, Mario Party 4, Mario Party 5, Mario Party 6, Mario Party 7, Super Smash Bros. Melee, WarioWare Inc.: Mega Party Game$, NBA Street v3, Super Mario Strikers (a.k.a. Mario Smash Football), Dance-Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes.

Nintendo DS: Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, Mario Basket: 3 on 3, Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros., Super Mario 64 DS, Super Princess Peach, Tetris DS, WarioWare: Touched!, Itadaki Street DS, Yoshi Touch and Go, Mario Slam Basketball, Mario vs Donkey Kong 2, Mario Party DS, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Yoshi’s Island DS.

Wii (excluding Virtual Console offerings): Super Mario Galaxy, Super Paper Mario, Mario Strikers Charged Football, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Super Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Party 8, WarioWare: Smooth Moves

The Americans and the Japanese all but ignored it, but we Old Worlders knew better. We were after all old, loved arcade conversions and hadn’t really gone for this Nintendo Mario fad. Besides, instantly loading games impressed us deeply. Anyway, no matter the reason, we knew immediately. SEGA’s classic 8-bit console, the venerable Master System, was an impressive piece of hardware that sported dozens of gaming gems, managed to decently bring arcade favorites at home and was an all around excellent console. We absolutely loved the thing. Almost as much as our trusted home computers (though definitely not as much as those impressive AT PCs and Amigas).

But, as is customary, I digress. What I meant to tell you was that the Wii retro experience is about to get vastly enhanced with the addition of them lovely Master System games to the Virtual Console service. Yes! Your Wii Points will soon be able to get you all the Alex Kidd and Phantasy Star retro gaming you’ve always wanted. Oh, and judging by the Master System’s two-buttons controller you wont be needing a Classic Controller either, though, truth be said, it is an excellent little accessory.

Now, before you go off searching for downloadable bits of retro love, know that them SMS games will debut in Japan in a few weeks and only later hit European and US Wiis. The first games that will be made available will be no other than the excellently surreal, very cartoon-y, very smart Fantasy Zone shoot-’em-up (500 Wii points) and the Fist of the North Star (600 Wii points) brawler. Not a bad selection mind you, but definitely the best will arrive later and will hopefully include Phantasy Star, Golden Axe RPGs, lots of Sonic, Choplifter and -why not?- quite a few Sega Game Gear games too.