Metal Slug: The Ultimate History looks set to be the first officially licenced book to cover the history of the extremely popular franchise that begun in arcades in 1996.

Bitmap Book have also announced that SNK have offered ‘unprecedented access’ to it’s vast archives of concept artwork and illustrations, some of which ‘are being made public for the first time’.

The book will also contain eleven exclusive interviews that of which will include Kazuma Kujo and Toshikazu Tanaka speaking about the creations and ‘evolution’ of the run-and- gun phenomenon .

The book promises to offer the ‘most complete’ insight into the series yet.

Bitmap books have a superb history of quality books that have captured gaming moments in history that for the past few years have been a great source of reference and nostalgia whilst sitting on the coffee table.

Without a doubt, this one will be no less than what fans of the series deserve.

Let’s hope Peregrine Falcon Squad are up to the task.

Metal Slug: The Ultimate History will be available for pre-order in July and delivery is planned for September 2019. Bitmap Books will release more details soon.

Every time someone decides to call it a day, take a step back or simply sit back and enjoy their own achievements, creation, there’s always the added incentive that somebody else will step in to try and carry on the good work that the predecessor has worked so hard on.

How did we get here? Since 2010 the site has created a gravitational pull in the retro gaming community like none other. It’s the first place to go and the last place you’ll leave when it comes to the gaming relics of the past. For the past decade, RetroCollect has provided a central hub for those in the community to share, discuss and discover. For many, RetroCollect has almost become a second home on the internet, with forums and discussions spanning from modified systems to The Incredible Crash Dummies on the Super Nintendo.

The website has brought together us retro heads to celebrate what has for most of us, become more of a lifestyle than a hobby, more of a friendship than a past time and more of a dedication to the past than an escape from the present.

Dedicated members of staff and the community have helped to make RetroCollect the top place to go and have a natter about retro gaming. News, reviews, a dedicated Gaming Database & Rarity Guide and of course the forums have been at the forefront of the retro gaming community and everything that is good within the retro gaming scene.

Without the RetroCollect fan base that use the site daily, it wouldn’t be the place that it is today.

I’m happy, nervous and somewhat daunted by what I’m about to say next but at the same time, excited.

Shortly, at some point, maybe as I’m typing this or possibly as I’m playing Super Mario Kart for the eighteenth time this week , I’ll be taking over at retrocollect.com  as chief editor, head honcho, end of game boss and Shang Tsung.

Big, big boots to fill, I know. But those who know me also know that I am actually fond of retro gaming. So I think we’ll be ok.

The present might be forever moving forward, but those old games are not going anywhere. The website has a huge following and presence in the retro gaming community, so lets keep that going.

Here’s to the future. 

Keep gaming, keep it retro.

Daniel Major

Join our intrepid three as we go runnin’ and gunnin’, and diving into the shoot’em up sub genre of run’n’gun games. Messers Phil, Jake and Chris Smith MkII pick up some heavy weaponry, don their bandanas and camo kecks, and jump in the chopper… or do they?

In this episode we speak to Neil West another well known journalist from the 90’s. Neil was known for his work on much loved Sega magazines Sega Power and MEGA.

When a designer and programmer who has helped produce a number of celebrated video games in the modern era with AAA studios such as Traveller’s Tales announces that they are going to be creating a new game for the 16-Bit Sega Mega Drive (or Genesis to our North American friends), here at Retro Collect we invariably sit up and take notice.

In this episode Paul chats with Gary Penn about his career in the games industry that spans over 30 years. They discuss his work on well known games magazines Zzap 64, The One, Amiga Power and more.

“That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die.”

Hot on the heels(ish) of the Dreamcast Listener’s Choice episode, Phil, Tom & Chris reunite to tackle nameless horrors and eldritch terrors as they explore video games influenced by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

In this spoilerific episode Julian Hill and guest Richard Otlet discuss some of the most thought provoking and engaging stories in video games, proving that the most powerful tales told in games can be as memorable as any novel or movie and that just because a game is geared towards a mature audience that doesn’t mean that it’s all about sex, drugs and ultra violence.

In this episode Phil, Jake and special guest Matt ‘Gameboyle’ 10 Game Boy titles chosen by our listeners to see how they’ve fared growing old.