Back in the day one often didn't have access to all current platforms that were out there, especially in the 80s en 90s. Often we were limited to a single specific system in the home or we dreamt about owning a system/console/platform that seemed beyond our reach. A lot of people made up for that by creating a collection of things we did and didn't have access to back in the day just to fulfill those dreams and hopes of days gone past. A games-room or home-computer collection is the net result of that.

Still it is interesting to see what were the systems you longed for/ wanted to own but didn't back in the day or even today? This video is my answer to this question.
An open TAG by Rhydermike which can be found here.

In this video I take a look at the Japanese Playstation disc with the game Zanac X which is becoming more rare by the day :( Go check it out.

Zanac is a very cool series of Shmup games created by Compile. The game originated on the MSX and NES but also found its way on many other systems like this Playstation One version. It's very similar to other Compile shmups like PowerStrike, Aleste, Super Aleste, M.U.S.H.A. All these games feature a similar weapons system.

Other good Compile shmups are Blazing Lazers on the TG16 and Gunnac on the Nes.

Telling you all just a little tidbit about the Galaxy Force II game, showing some gameplay.

Title soundtrack by ZombieAndy1979
http://www.youtube.com/user/ZombieAndy1979

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An overview and unboxing for Pier Solar and the Great Architects for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. This specifically covers the USA Posterity edition of the game. It's an amazing homebrew creation involving hundreds of volunteers and years of effort.

By the way, Super Thunder Drive III is a clever fake, and underneath the cartridge is a certificate of authenticity card. Mine is Copy number 11 of 800 for the Posterity edition! Oh, and the "posterity" bit means my name along with the hundreds of others who pre-ordered this edition are mentioned in the manual...

Hyperkin RetroN 3 Video Gaming SystemAs detailed in my previous blog post and video, Hyperkin is no stranger to creating low cost videogame consoles and portables. Their RetroN 3 Video Gaming System, which is detailed here, claims compatibility with Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo (SNES), and Sega Genesis cartridges via its three cartridge ports and wireless Sega 6-button controller clone controllers. Hyperkin's previous products were plagued by d-pad issues and game compatibility glitches.

I for one am skeptical of the soundness of its purchase worthiness after my previous experience with their product(s), as my disappointment was primarily due to a poor controller and to a lesser, but no less important, degree on game glitches...

UPDATE: This unit not only has the three different cartridge slots, but also three sets of two controller ports to match the respective original systems. That's certainly good news. Now all they need to get in order is the compatibility, since S-Video output (hopefully across all three systems, not just the SNES and Genesis) is standard (as well as stereo sound) and it actually could be a killer rig. Also, note that the $69.99 is the suggested retail price and the link is ONLY good for resellers at the moment, so there are still some specifics up in the air. I guess we'll know more after it's officially unveiled at E3 in June.

Thanks to Marty Goldberg for the heads-up via Facebook.

Wish I could scan in the most recent copy of famed Japanese magazine Famitsu Weekly, because it is a 20th Anniversary Issue which contains several retro-gaming articles, including a large supplement with mini-reviews on the best games up until the end of the PSX era.

Although my knowledge of Japanese is fairly limited, it's still very interesting to flip through the photos and see what games Japan's most popular gaming magazine considered significant (hint: every Dragon Quest game ever made is on the list).