Platform:

Developer: Flashpoint Productions

Publisher: Sega

Release Date (NA): 1995

Genre: Sports, Golf Simulator

Nerd Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Reviewed By Nerdberry

Being that we’re here in the final day of the 2024 Masters Tournament, I thought it wise to have a go at one of the best golf games ever created… Okay. Lies. All lies. I was bored, and I thought I’d boot up the ole’ trusty, durable, well-built 32X and play something I haven’t played in a while. Then I remembered it was the Masters weekend. This is not as well-thought-out as it may seem. It’s a gorgeous Sunday morning in eastern North Carolina, I saw the Masters was on, and then some fond memories of my life in my teens and twenties swept me away:

• Memories of the crisp air and dew on the grass when you get to the course at sun-up.
• Memories of trying on a new glove and loving it.
• Memories of my first time at any new course.
• Memories of my buddy “helping me set the ball on the tee” — cue up the exploding golf ball trick.
• Memories of driving the golf cart like an absolute maniac while crushing beers at 8am.

Unfortunately for gamers, the latter does not exist in this golf game… but there’s nothing stopping you from drinking a twelver of Bud Dry on your couch! Because that’s what it may take to enjoy 36 Great Holes with Fred Couples.

FRED COUPLES, AKA Mr. Skins, AKA Boom Boom, AKA 32X Failure

Currently, as I write this, Fred Couples is +4 at the Masters (that was Saturday). Today (Sunday), he’s no longer in the tourney, having missed the 60-man cut. Ouch. But there once was a time, eons ago… the nineties… when Fred Couples was one of the game’s hottest golfers. In 1992 he won the Masters, and in ’98 he tied for 2nd. These are 2 notable tournament finishes, but he has done so much more across his career. When looking at the 1990s specifically, in relation to when the 36 Great Holes with Fred Couples game came out, it’s the 1992 win, along with numerous PGA tour wins and skins tourney wins and more, that launched Couples into full blown sports stardom, becoming a household name. It’s no wonder the game’s sponsor, Golf Magazine, opted to feature him as the marquee name. Unfortunately for fans of golf, fans of Couples, and fans of golf simulators, this title got stuck on the 32X. So honestly, few people even had a chance to play it.

BRIEF 32X RECAP

Without getting too much in the weeds regarding the 32X system… I’ll summarize by stating: it was an awful add-on to the Genesis that was supposed to improve graphics and power (which it did to an extent), yet was an ill-advised stopgap solution for Sega as they awaited the upcoming Saturn’s release. The system failed to make even the smallest dent. It garnered very little interest from consumers, and was eventually liquidated at stores like Kmart and Toys ‘R Us for as little as $20. There were all sorts of issues with the quality of the system, and unfortunately for many developers and publishers, they chose poorly when they chose the 32X for their next game.

Alright, now that the 32X RECAP is out of the way, let’s get back to it.

36 Sleepy Holes with Fred Couples

36 Holes with Fred Couples is, technically, a golf video game, but it’s honestly more of a golf simulator. A fairly robust simulator at that. There’s tons of options to rotate through: club choice, full swing or less, what clothes your golfer will wear, different foot stance/location, 6 or 7 different game options (such as stroke match, tournament, skins, and more), and so forth. The depth of options is the true driving force of this game, but unfortunately, it just doesn’t feel like it’s enough to save it from being so bloody boring.

Truth be told… 36 Holes with Fred Couples is an above-average golf game for the time… But just slightly above-average. I feel like the graphics are decent, better than any other 16-bit golf game of the day. And the audio is really great considering the 32X’s infamously poor audio output. But to say that this game made the most use of the 32X would be a lie. Graphically it’s easily below any other 32-bit system of the era, and below many other 32X games, but easily outdoing SNES and Genesis-proper in that department.

Besides the look and sound, the gameplay is downright boring and sometimes frustrating. The lack of quality overhead mapping to really see where you’re at or where you’re going is frustrating. I played on a 6-button Genesis controller, and the X button brings up a separate screen showing where you are in relation to the hole. What do standard 3-button controller people do? I’m not sure. I don’t care enough about this game to find out for you, sorry. But the overhead map STILL doesn’t provide enough spatial insight.

And then there’s putting… A maddening aspect of the game. They do provide some hashing so you can get a feel for the terrain’s slope, but it’s blocky and pixelated and not tight-knit enough. Unfortunately, 3D golfing simulators on home consoles were just a little too new and the tricks of quality simulation hadn’t yet been fully realized. So I can’t knock them too much for some of their woes. Trying to get the power gauge to make sense is annoying: I routinely come up short, despite nailing the power meter with the distance. Oh well.

CONCLUSION

Overall, 36 Holes with Fred Couples is wildly underwhelming. I refuse to give all 36 holes my time… I will not do it. I ran through 18 of Fred’s favorite courses, which, amittedly, is a nice little option where you get to explore some of his favorite holes around the world. Although the change of scenery on Fred’s Favorites is nice, the game doesn’t have enough variety or graphical detail to make the best use of the differences. For a 1995 game, and one that was released exclusively for the “next generation of gaming,” it’s a sad output. But, to be fair, the effort is more than noble. Knowing Sega at the time, I’m sure the budget wasn’t the highest, and the hardware was obviously garbage. So, despite the game’s shortcomings, I’ll keep this in consideration for the Nerd Rating. Conversely, I’ll be objective in saying: 36 Great Holes with Fred Couples is boring, monotonous, not fun at all, and a little frustrating at times. I do not recommend it for anyone unless you’re just trying to build up your 32X collection.

Nerd Rating: 5.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Nerdberry

Platform:

Developer: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

Release Date (NA): November 14th, 2010

Genre: Puzzle, Puzzle-Platformer

Nerd Rating: 9 out of 10

Reviewed by Nerdberry

Mario vs. Donkey Kong, a tale as old as time itself. Well… A tale as old as 1981 when Donkey Kong first began his foray into foiling Mario (before later joining up from time to time). When looking back, it’s a strange time to say the least. I own Donkey Kong Jr. on the Atari 7800! I always find it weird to see Nintendo games on anything other than a Nintendo system. But this was a time when Nintendo was purely in the arcade scene and not yet dominating the at-home gaming scence. The OG Donkey Kong game featured Mario, then known as Jumpman, traversing a construction zone in an effort to rescue the damsel-in-distress Pauline. While the OG Donkey Kong game is an excellent early action-platformer, the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games are much more in-line with the puzzle genre than anything else, and our titular game is no exception.

THE SERIES

The Mario vs. Donkey Kong series kicked off properly in 2004 on the Game Boy Advance with the aptly titled: Mario vs. Donkey Kong (2004). This was followed by Mario vs. Donkey Kong: March of the Minis (2006, Nintendo DS), Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! (2009, Nintendo DSi), and just 1 year later, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem (2010, Nintendo DS). We’ll get into our subject game soon, but seeing as there’s a new Switch game out, I figured I’d keep going down the list. After Mini-Land Mayhem, we got Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move (2013, Nintendo 3DS), Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Star (2015, Nintendo Wii U), and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini Mario and Friends: Amiibo Challenge (2016, Wii U and 3DS). In February 2024, the Switch received a remake of the original 2004 game with improved graphics and some gameplay additions including 2-player couch co-op.

MINI-LAND MAYHEM OVERVIEW

Admittedly, I have never played any of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong puzzle games. None. I hit a certain age when the original 2004 game came out where I was more focused on drinking beer with my buddies and playing more adult-oriented games. Looking back, I see that I missed a whole world of awesome titles on the GBA, DS, and 3DS. I never owned, and still don’t own, a GBA or DS, but I do have a 3DS finally (as of 2019), and I’m in love with this little handheld. It’s an amazing system. In a 3DS bulk-buy, I found Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem in a gallon ziplock bag full of DS carts. It wasn’t until 2024 that I actually got around to giving it a shot… and WOW! This game is pure fun! Get Bret Michaels from Poison out here because this ain’t nothin’ but a good time. And I mean it sincerely.

Since I’ve yet to play any of the other games, let’s talk about Mini-Land Mayhem as if it’s the only game. Maybe one day I’ll be able to rank all the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games… but not today.

Booting up the game, I was overjoyed by the art and music quality, something you fully expect with a first-party Nintendo game. But seeing as I own very few portable game systems since the days of the Game Boy Pocket, I found myself a bit giddy and in awe. Through an opening scene, we can see that princess Pauline is kidnapped by none other than Donkey Kong. Barreling through a herd of Toads to get his free Pauline toy, DK snatches up Pauline when Mario tells him they’re out of the free Pauline toys. Mario jumps on his little train and makes chase, unleashing his slow walking mini-Mario robots on DK. Overall, I’m not sure I get why Mario is sending his little robots, but who cares, it’s fun!

Rescuing Pauline is the focus of the game, but traversing the treacherous land with these mini-Marios is what you’ll be doing. Using your stylus (or finger if you must), you can lay out conveyor belts, move pipes, construct scaffolding, lay bouncy things, and much much more. You tap a mini-Mario to activate him, and he goes in one-direction and doesn’t stop moving. If there’s a pit with spikes, he’ll walk right in. If there’s a Shy Guy, he’ll walk right into him and die. Etc. So you must divert the Marios properly by laying out a proper path to the end. You’ll go through a series of maybe 10-ish levels (or stages) per world and then fight Donkey Kong.

There’s plenty to do in each level to keep it engaging and add depth. You can collect coins, work on finishing the levels speedily, get special tokens, and more. Each new world introduces a new elemenet: movable conveyor belts, moving pipes, etc. Me, personally, I’m good for about 1 world at a time and then I’m usually pretty satisfied and done. The game’s not exactly perfect as some monotony begins to set in. Despite the addition of a new gameplay mechanic with each new world (i.e. adding a purple conveyor belt in world 3), it still feels the same: world-in and world-out. I’m definitely NOT knocking them for this, just stating my personal preference in how I play the game.

CONCLUSION

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem is puzzle-perfection in your pocket. The puzzle element of the game is very “casual game” style for me, bringing me back to my PSP Sudoku days when I’d just pick up the PSP, play Go! Sudoku for a round or too, and then power the system off for a few days to a few weeks until I’d want to play it again. While I think Mini-Land Mayhem is damn near perfect, and a great game for everyone, casual games looking for a “pick up and play” style of game will find absolute bliss in this neat puzzle game. I couldn’t recommend it enough!

Nerd Rating: 9 out of 10

Reviewed by Nerdberry

CLICK THE VIDEO LINK BELOW TO BE MAGICALLY TRANSPORTED TO THE VIDEO AT MARMAX GAMING’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL!

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BACKSTORY

So, within the last year (2023/2024), there has been a mass firing spree across the industry. Some equate it to the crash of ’83. I’d argue the landscape is vastly different now. In ’83, video gaming was still in its infacy, merely a twinkle in the Gaming God’s eye. But now, the industry has surpasses ALL other media forms in terms of revenue, and is a force to be reckoned with.

Big name game studios have seen unchecked spending on their games for far too long, and the rooster has finally come home to roost. It has been said that this is the ultimate reason we’re seeing such mass layoffs across the globe. Within the last year alone, we’ve seen upwards of 20,000 games workers get the unfortunate axe, putting some of the industry’s brightest minds and most talented workers out in the street. I’m sure there were plenty of great severence packages doled out, but I’m also sure that’s few and far between in the grand scheme of things.

While dozens of studios have let go of some, most, or all of their staff, it’s the big names that cut the deepest. Sony let go of about 900 people, Microsoft with 2,000ish people, Unity with 1,800, Twitch with 500 people, Epic Games with about 1,000 workers, Riot Games with 500+ people, and most recently EA Games with almost 700 people. Honestly, the list goes on and on. When all of the numbers are compiled and added up, you’re looking at close to 20,000 employees in the gaming industry. This is MASSIVE, folks.

A POSSIBLE GAMING RENAISSANCE ON THE WAY?

Hard times spur creativity.

Hard times make tough men.

I’m not sure who said the above lines, but I agree with them both. A few weeks ago I read an article with an excerpt from some big name guy… I can’t remember his name but he’s a legacy developer from the 80s/90s with serious clout… He said something along the lines of 2D games are going to see a big comeback as the developers look to contend with years of overspending on big budget games. I couldn’t agree more.

Let’s go ahead and cut to the meat here. Let’s get to the sizzle of our Nerd Bacon article.

As unfortunate as it is that all these people are jobless, let’s look at what will come from this. With 20,000 workers on the market, and nobody hiring, we’re going to see an absolute renaissance in games. We’re going to see small studios forming by the dozens or hundreds, and indie games are going to flood the market. There’s going to be genre-bending games, new art, new styles of gameplay, and generally……. ingenuity out the arse. It’ll be glorious.

These hard times will force these new small development teams to think outside the box, working on shoestring budgets with their livelihoods hinging on the success of their first solo outputs. Win and advance, fail and go home broke. It’s a tough world, but this is the nature of the beast. Many will fail, and not all will be because of poor games. Some of the best games I’ve ever played are much less successful than games I really hate. When Steam and Apple Store and other platforms get smacked with this new indie wave, some of the success will be luck and some will be earned. Only time will tell.

ONE DOOR CLOSES, ANOTHER DOOR OPENS

One man’s loss is another man’s gain.

Clearly I’m full of all the sayings today. But they’re popular sayings for a reason. Whereas the developers are in a do-or-die situation with their livelihoods, the consumers will be the one’s to benefit and gain from this. For far too long now, the gaming scene has been stagnant. Big name studios have been playing it way too safe, eschewing creativity in the name of “do what works.” But that gets old and tiresome for the consumer. Nobody wants to take risks anymore, and we’re fed up.

With the mass layoffs will come new, and smaller, studios of experienced, talented developers. These men and women will be forced into creativity, forced into risk taking, and forced to find a way to stand out. If they play it too safe, they will fail. It’s the ones who are willing to risk it all that will succeed. And maybe… just maybe… this will be the catalyst that gets the industry wide open again like it’s the early 1990s.

Why the early 1990s? I mark this era as one of the industry’s most pivotal moments. Perhaps this is a subject meant for a longer article, but in a nutshell: this era saw developers (software and hardware) take all sorts of ideas and throw them at the wall to see what would stick. No other era saw such experimentation. Nintendo contracting with Sony for a CD-ROM add-on to their SNES. Sega with the Sega CD and 32X. The birth of true 3D gaming on a mass scale. FMV games. And more.

My hope… my dream… is that the majority of these developers and games industry workers join forces and make video gaming magic again. Not because they want to, but because they have to. When people’s backs are against the wall, that’s when the best things are created. And with some luck, they’ll be wholly successful. Then, the big wigs will take notice and hopefully they’ll start to take risks again.

This singular worldwide forced exodus could be the very impetus for the gaming landscape of the 2030s. This is more than big. It’s huge. And I’m excited to see what the future holds.

Platform:

Developer: Sega

Publisher: Sega

Release Date (NA): 1995

Genre: Platforming

Nerd Rating: 6.25 out of 10

Reviewed by Nerdberry

Aaaand-a-one, and-a-two, and-a-three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. Keep the rhythm. Keep the tempo. Hold on… Surely that’s what this game is about, right? It is called “Tempo,” afterall. Well, maybe it is a game about tempo and music, maybe it isn’t. We’ll dive into that soon enough, but before I go all-in on a game review, I generally love to take in the initial experience. Put myself in my own shoes, or the shoes of somebody in the era, in the moment.

Picture yourself… It’s 1996. You’re standing in the aisle at Toys ‘R Us or K-Mart, and you’re staring into the glass case. You see THIS (see box-art above): Some bug-boy with badass shades kicking a one-eyed Triceratoctopus. You’re confused, but you’re intrigued.

“MA! HEY MA!”

*Mom runs to the aisle, terrified you’re being abducted: “What! What’s wrong?!”

*In your sweetest softest voice ever: “Mommy. Can I… Can I… Can I have this game because it looks SO cool!”

*Mom sees liquidated price and says: “Sure hon!”

“THANKS MOM! YOU’RE THE BEST!

And that’s how you create a really happy child in 1996.

The point being: you see this cool looking game, you admire the artwork. The design. You’re fully entranced by the colors of the screenshots on the back of the box. And you marvel at the thought of how damn cool this next-generation game could be. You get home, open the game, and you notice every little angle on the sleek black cartidge, with its softer / more rounded edges than a standard Genesis cart. You boot it up, you sit about 2 and 1/2 feet from the TV encased in a full wood cabinet, and you love… every… second of being a child.

A QUICK RECAP ON THE 32X

Ah, yes. The 32X. No pepperoni, just strictly a mushroom topping for this Sega Pie (IYKYK). The hottest pile of garbage from the good ol’ days. I am, of course, referring to the Sega 32X Genesis add-on. An atrocious (yet peculiarly cool) add-on designed to beef up the Genesis with better graphics, color, processing, and more. In all honesty, it DOES deliver some improved graphics, but the sound is atrocious, the price is insane (currently and back at launch), it’s difficult to actually get working, and it’s soooo not worth it. With that said… WELCOME TO THE NEXT LEVEL.

Such was the tagline for the 32X. Welcome to the Next Level.  And this thing is seriously frustrating to contend with. So, if the “next level” is frustration, then I must be on the Final Boss because I’m beyond frustrated. While I do own three of these badboys (WHY!?), one of them is the OG that my mom got me from K-Mart when they were being liquidated for $20. I’m proud to still own it near 30 years later. Unfortunately, it’s tricky to get booted up sometimes. I will say, I may have found the perfect combination of system, cables, etc to get it booted. I swapped out cables, adapters, metal clips, Genesiseses’ss (spelling?) and 32Xesxesx (help me) like I was working a Myst puzzle, and eventually matched the perfect combination! I can just picture the stone head from Legends of the Hidden Temple trying to give me instructions…

TEMPO: ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC?

Tempo is a general platforming game whose story is entirely lost on me. I’m sure some internet research will yield some results… Beep boop beep. Yup, here it is. Excerpt from SegaRetro.org/tempo

In the world of Rhythmia, Dance Master Major Minor is holding a huge music festival. Tempo the grasshopper and his friend Katy are competing in a dance contest on the Major Minor Show for a coveted trophy. But the sinister King Dirge wants the trophy. He and his minions, called Mussi Productions, try to force Tempo and Katy out of the contest.

Okay… Credit where credit is due. That’s a cool idea for a story. So maybe the “Tempo” name makes a little more sense. There’s dancing, there’s music, there’s… there’s… Wait. If that’s the story, then please explain the gameplay to me because there must be some similarities between the gameplay and the story/concept, right?

WRONG

GAMEPLAY

Tempo, for all its glory and renown amongst the 32X’s small library as one of the system’s best games, is a simple and straightforward platformer at its core, and nothing more. There’s a few gimmicks here and there that keep it fresh, but truly this is a platforming game and little else. I admittedly did not beat the game, but I did paly it for many hours and explored a lot of the game. I later used cheat codes to at least get a glimpse and feel for each level.

Our protagonist Tempo is a fun little character to play with, and he’s fairly easy to get a hang of. He has a few slick moves such as a jump kick and a flutter move, and a fun little projectile attack. He jumps from platform to platform, traversing the modestly designed stages. There’s a boss battle and then the level is complete. There you have it. Tempo in a nutshell.

Admittedly, I was completely enthralled. Captivated. Taken aback (positively). On my first go-round with Tempo, there were many exciting moments. Highlight-worthy moments:

• The music is snazzy on every level. Each tune has a real funky vibe, and I quickly found myself nodding my head and tapping my foot. Certainly not the worst sound I’ve ever heard on a 32X.
• Gameplay is tight and feels smooth. Very fluid.
• The graphics are downright insane for the era, and on a cartridge to boot.
• This is fun as hell!

The above bullets represent my first 60-ish minutes of gaming. I was occasionally confused about what’s an enemy, what’s the point and purpose, what does this do, what does that do, and so forth. But I never felt lost or without purpose. But after that initial hour of gameplay, I hadn’t died once… and I’m really not THAT good at video games. I started to get bored and was quickly losing interest. I began to notice the game is fairly repetitive, the music (for all its funky glory) is on a very short loop and never ascends to the next level (c’mon 32X). The level designs seem like scattershot: one level will be intricately designed while the other feels like it could be a free-to-play web game.

LEVEL DESIGN

I mentioned above that some levels seem to have a very basic design to them, while others seem intricate and well-thought-out. But regardless, ALL of the levels look REALLY good. There’s an indigestion level where you start off going through some giant creatures mouth, then you go into their insides and play there. There’s an urban street level. A Christmas level. A jungle level. Etc. The variety of locales is pretty neat and keeps the visuals fresh.

The bonus stages, on the other hand, appear to be a complete afterthought. Honestly, I wasn’t able to accomplish a single thing in ANY of the bonus stages. They give you zero instructions, and I failed out within mere seconds. Also, the visuals here are… well… lacking, to say the least. They look like late-80s computer interactive program art more than “Next Generation 32X Graphics.” It’s embarrasing! But at least they’re bonus levels and not standard levels.

OVERALL
To conclude this review:

Despite my initial excitement and fun with Tempo, it all vanished so quickly. Boredom set in super hard after a few levels, and I asked myself: What’s the point in continuing? It all started to run together and actually grew tiresome. Admittedly, the graphics are super nice, and the music is really a ton of fun, and the gameplay is tight, but it really lacks anything extra. It feels like maybe this game was designed as a showcase for the 32X, and they put all their money into the polish and shine and not enough into the substance. And, disappointingly, there seems to be zero emphasis on tempo, rhythm, dancing, etc. But oh well.

But I don’t want to be too harsh. Tempo is not a bad game. And sometimes, this is just what gaming was like during this 4th generation of gaming. But therein lies the issue: the market was oversatured with mediocre Mario-clones who didn’t do enough to separate themselves. For those of you who may be new to the 32X and you’re exploring the library, or maybe you’re well-versed with the 32X, and you’re curious about Tempo, I’m here to tell you: you can certainly do much worse! It’s fun enough to warrant a playthrough, and maybe you’ll like it more than I did, because it’s NOT a bad game. Cheers.

Nerd Rating: 6.25 out of 10

Reviewed by Nerdberry

The late 80s and early 90s brought about major technological advancements in computing, and thus, gaming. But it was also the perfect storm, an amalgamation of now-affordable (-ish) computer parts for developers, a burgeoning at-home-computer scene, and a rapidly-ascending gaming scene. During this time, especially the early-mid 90s, having a computer at home was becoming much more normalized as computer business tools (think spreadsheets and typing software) were becoming fairly commonplace.

While there were plenty of computer operating systems, Windows 3, and really 3.1, set the bar for easy-to-use at-home computer usage for the masses. And let’s be real, Windows 95 and later 98 raised that bar tremendously. Microsoft didn’t invent the “desktop,” but they damn sure perfected it for mass use. Despite the wild success of Windows 98, in my eyes, the golden era began with 3.1, with an ease of use for the most technologically-illiterate individual that was the the ultimate game changer. And thus “simple” home computer usage was born. But having a computer just for business tools was not the best marketing tactic, and so casual (or leisure) gaming was a great little bonus way of moving hardware and software. Heck, you could finds rows of Microsoft Entertainment Pack software boxes on the shelves at Office Depot!

By the late 90s, playing Solitaire on the computer was ubiquitous with simply just being ON the computer. It was a must-do for everyone. “Just a quick hand” is a saying I remember frequently hearing my dad tell my mom, and considering he played it VEGAS style, he was usually right (Vegas style is much harder to win). Having these games in the early 90s wasn’t as easy as it was later on in the decade. In later systems, Solitaire, Minesweeper, Freecell, SkiFree, and even Tetris, would all be an absolute must-have for any computer user of the time.

WHEN I THINK ABOUT “LEISURE GAMES…”

When I think LEISURE GAMING, or probably more commonly referred to as CASUAL GAMING (but I’d argue there’s a difference), my mind goes straight to the mid 1990s. Some of the most popular leisure games out there were already briefly mentioned here, Solitaire, Freecell, SkiFree, Tetris, Minesweeper. But there was also a sense of common leisure exploration on the operating systems of the time, playing with different backgrounds, different screensavers, paint software, and more. It was all new! If you were born in the 70s or 80s, there’s a real possibility your family didn’t even get a family computer until the mid or late 90s, and therefore, the experience was entirely new (and somewhat wild!). While the current slate of leisure games consists of puzzlers such as Candy Crush, Fruit Ninja, simple endless runners, or Angry Birds, I’d still argue those games were clearly aimed at, well, gamers. Those are more like casual games designed to turn your brain off or test your reflexes.

I believe the leisure games of the 90s were aimed at office people, and those who use computers for work, more than anything. Remember, you could buy easily find these leisure games at Office Depot. This target-demographic concept led to the games being of the “pick-up-and-play” variety, and often required the use of your brain via math, problem-solving, quick-thinking, etc. They seemed to be less “mindless” when compared to today’s leisure games. Admittedly, there’s obviously very little emphasis or pressure to succeed in games like SkiFree, Pipe Dream, etc vs. games like Taipei, TetraVex, Minesweeper, etc. But overall, the point was to just play and waste time. The pressure to beat the game was replaced with simply getting a better score than the other times you played. My best comparison for these popular leisure games of the era: it’s like a digital version of Bop-It or Simon: You play it just to play it, and you try to do a little better each time.

OVERALL

Overall, I sorely miss the simplicity behind leisure games of the era. Few skills were required, very little effort was needed, there was no emphasis on being educational, and absolutely no pressure was placed on the gamer. I genuinely revere my time fiddling around with Jezzball, Freecell, Pipedream, Taipei, SkiFree, and Idlewild screensavers. This age of computer exploration was important in molding my brain into one that fell in love with brain teaser puzzles, crossword puzzles, and later on, Sudoku.

Clearly the nostalgia does not end with me. In summer 2023, we donated a 3DO game system and a Windows 95 computer with a handful of games on it to the Raleigh Retro Gamers Summer Expo event, a massive event drawing in thousands and thousands of people into downtown Raleigh. At this event was a killer “Free to Play” Game Station with about a dozen video games set up. 3DO, Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, PS1, PS2, NES, SNES, etc. You name it. Anyway, the computer we donated was an absolutely pure and period-authentic computer set up from the 90s, monitor, speakers, and all. The OG Doom and Wolfenstein 3-D were popular, but surprisingly, it was SkiFree that generated the biggest buzz. Even if people didn’t care to play it, it was the game that made people say “OMG I REMEMBER THIS!” With huge smiles!

“What future is that?” You say. Well, I’m glad you asked. Sega’s future appears to involve the revival of at least 5 titles currently in the works + likely 3 more on the way! Sega is definitely having a moment right now. I’m not sure what sparked this moment… Perhaps it was my 2017 article listing 9 Original Sega IPs I’d love to see revived. You can, and should, read the article. But also, here’s a shortlist (in no particular order):

• Shinobi series
• Virtua Cop series
• Streets of Rage series
• Panzer Dragoon Saga (not to be confused with the rail shooters, Panzer Dragoon series)
• Comix Zone
• NiGHTS
• Alex Kidd
• Jet Set Radio (or Jet Grind Radio, depending on your region)
• Virtua Fighter series

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Altered Beast
• Golden Axe
• Space Channel 5
• Ristar
• Sega Rally

As you can see, it’s a killer list! But let’s not delve into that too much. Let’s look forward, at the current and the future. Towards the end of 2023, Sega has showed that they’re taking their retro IPs very seriously. More seriously than they ever have before. They recently shared a video trailer that shows not very much, but really whets the appetite. It is quite the teaser. In this video, we see glimpses of the following: Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, Golden Axe, and Crazy Taxi. It’s like, Sega came here to Nerd Bacon and said, “let’s see what Nerdberry (that’s me) wants us to do.” Since my 2017 article, we’ve seen Space Channel 5 get a Hollywood greenlight. And Streets of Rage 4 was released in 2020, in addition to the aforementioned games.

Futhermore, in this Power Surge Trailer, as it’s being called — which features the aforementioned games that are LITERALLY, and CURRENTLY in development as we speak (EXCITEMENT GASP!) — Sega just filed trademarks for Alex Kidd, Eternal Champions, and Kid Chameleon. Cooooome oooooonnn folks. Now THIS is the Sega news we’ve been wanting to see for decades.

Sega has recently seen success in modern day games with Sonic Frontiers, the half-retro / half-modern Sonic Superstars, the Persona 5 series, the Yakuza series, among numerous other smaller published games. So it’s somewhat odd, but not unappreciated, to see them lean so hard into new development of their old franchises. And they’re not just leaning… they are LEANING SUPER HAWRD. It’s incredible.

This moment Sega is having is so exciting for not just Sega fans, but fans of classic games in general. I don’t know a single Nintendo Nerd who wouldn’t be excited to relive the glory days of Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio, two of Sega’s defining games of the late 90s/early 2000s. Nintendo, Sony, Rockstar, Konami, etc may have some bangers out there, but so does Sega. Whether or not these new titles will deliver the goods is beyond me. Too many times I’ve seen Sega flub their software releases, despite high hopes and promising concepts. But from the very little I have seen so far, I have to say… I’m loving the direction.

Shinobi has a really unique art style, but keeping with the classic 2D side scrolling action. Crazy Taxi looks exactly like what I want it to be, AND SOME! Golden Axe appears to be a 3D brawler of sorts, and is the one I’m least compelled by. And Streets of Rage and Jet Set Radio look gorgeous and fun. Overall, 4 of the 5 titles showed look very much like SEGA games to me, and definitively Sega, at that. This is the quirkiness and uniqueness they are known for, and it’s finally showing for, dare I say, the first time since the Dreamcast died?

Let’s go Sega! We love you, and we can’t wait for what’s next!

Platform:

Developer: Treasure

Publisher: Sega

Release Date (NA): September 1993

Genre: Run & Gun

Nerd Rating: 9 out of 10

Reviewed by Nerdberry

Mayhem. Bravado. Chaos. These are a few of the many words used to describe the experience of Gunstar Heroes, Treasure’s debut game. It’s not often a development team pops up out of nowhere and delivers an almost flawless game, but Gunstar Heroes bucks the trend. I guess it doesn’t hurt to have a literal supergroup in the inner workings of your team. Most of Treasure is comprised of ex-Konami employees, so it’s easy to see where the talent comes from. But a spinoff crew doesn’t always deliver with such gusto, so I tip my cap to the Treasure peeps (like they friggin’ need it). When you’re craving that OG Sega experience, and you want it delivered with an action-packed fist, then look no further than Gunstar Heroes, a true gem of the 16-bit era.

In all honesty, the story is lost on me. You have to do some things to save some people and rescue the day, the city, the world, I don’t really know. Also, I don’t really care. I’m here for the action. As an 80s/90s action-movie buff, I tend to run towards things like this. Explosions. Non-stop peril and action. Fast-paced gameplay. Etc. But that’s not to say I’m so easily won-over. While I do find the Streets of Rage games to be of the highest caliber for their genre (the beat ’em up genre), I tend to get a little bored as I lay the smackdown on the 1,000th enemy by level 3. It’s a bit tiresome, and tedium takes ahold as my eyes glance towards the pile of other carts laying ever so seductively next to the Sega. Hm… I wonder what else is in there.

Gunstar Heroes skirts the line of monotony, yet never quite falls prey to the same pitfalls of others in its action subgenre. Sure, this isn’t a beat ’em up like TMNT or Streets of Rage, but c’mon folks. Is a Run & Gun game really all that different from a Beat ‘Em Up? I prefer the weapons variety that generally accompanies the Run & Gun genre vs the punch/kick/special-move skillset in the Beat ‘Em Up genre. And in that respect, Gunstar Heroes is neck-and-neck with the finest run and guns of the era (see Contra, Vectorman, Metal Slug, etc). The sheer variety and polish alone are reasons enough to come back tomorrow and play it again.

The more I dive into Gunstar Heroes, the more excited it makes me. I find myself in awe at the level variety, the graphics, the sound, the music, etc. Simply put, this game has it all! The entire game oozes creativity, gracing players with options and thoughtprovoking decisions. Matching character choice with weapon choice with what level to play may be a worthwhile endeavor, although I never felt the need to care so much. I think the game tends to have just enough of an arcade-style button-mashing characteristic to it that I don’t think you really need to try and strategize which weapon-types work best in which level. But that’s not to say there are no beneficial strategies (that’s for you to figure out because I’m just going to keep mashing buttons).

I don’t know if I’d go as far as to say that Gunstar Heroes is “innovative,” but I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. Sometimes its better to to present the best possible options (even if they’re not original) vs delivering an undercooked and sloppy “innovation” mechanic. And maybe I’m wrong. This game is 30 years old, so perhaps my memory isn’t serving me so well and there’s more innovation than I recall. But overall, whatever they used here, original or not, it works spectacularly.

Perhaps the game’s pinnacle is the use of a mining cart in the underground stage: this cart, and this level, allowed the developers to showcase the Genesis’ capabilities for speed (BLAST PROCESSING! BWAAH!). The cart sticks on the walls on a vertical drop, then it moves to the ground when you go horizontal. But somehow you can jump from the bottom of the screen and stick to the top and back to the bottom, all while moving forward. Maybe the modified mining cart, as they call it in the game, is magentically powered? Man I wish I had the manual!

Overall, Gunstar Heroes is a really brilliant game and a top-tier title in the Genesis catalog. Despite its minor imperfections (the game is fairly easy at times), it shines bright when held against the cream of the crop of the era. Treasure really outdid themselves with this run-and-gun gem. The weapons options are fantastic, the visuals are superb, the graphics are as sharp as ever, the soundtrack is killer (albeit not very memorable), and it’s just a very fun game! I highly recommend this title for any fan of 16-bit action games, despite your playground preference (Sega vs Nintendo).

Nerd Rating: 9 out of 10

Reviewed by Nerdberry

By the time the late ’90s rolled around, I was in a transition from being a broke pre-teen to having a few bucks in my pocket as a young teenager. Not a lot, but a few bucks. That “timing and luck” mentioned above comes into play in this part of the story: Around this time, gaming stores (local Raleigh, NC ones like Buy-Rite and chain ones like Funcoland and Babbages) were liquidating their old ’80s and early ’90s carts, haphazardly tossing games into wire-frame bins for a mere $1 to $5 each. Goodwill, Salvation Army, and other local thrift stores were also loaded to the gills with bargain-priced games. Enter a young and poor Nerdberry (that’s me). I couldn’t afford the new stuff, so I figured I’d start building a collection based on the ones I COULD afford. This was, of course, LONG before retro-collecting was a thing, so finding and acquiring high volumes of games was NOT difficult in the slightest, nor was it really all that expensive. Things that cost hundreds of dollars now could be routinely found for, well, just DOLLARS!

To Emulate, Play Natively, or Enjoy a Remaster?

I’ve gone on record before to say: emulating games is not for me. There’s a level of authenticity I want when I’m craving a retrogaming sesh. I want the OG experience. From finding an XL multi-plug adapter just to hook up the Sega Genesis / CD / 32X monstrosity, to thumbing through Unofficial Prima Guides, or finding cheat codes in an old Tips & Tricks Magazine… The minute details and steps are as important as playing the game itself. Digging through boxes a couple times per year is also an exciting adventure, much like a treasure hunt or one of those overpriced “gold-mine sifting” things at the amusement parks. You just never know what cool and exciting thing you’ll dig up! So needless to say, original hardware, accessories, software, and experiences are very important to me. Possibly more important than the actual gameplay experience itself.

But as time goes on, many new things are coming to the forefront that surprisingly lessen the need to delve so deep into authenticity:

1.) Classic games are being remastered and released on new hardware at an unprecedented rate.

2.) Developers, such as Nintendo, are keen on the “experience” factor, providing wireless controllers for the Switch that are exact replicas of their respective retro systems (NES, SNES, N64, and Genesis so far).

3.) The quality-of-life features really make retro-gaming much more enjoyable for a casual gamer such as myself.

4.) A poor trend in my life of having less freetime to devote to scouring my disorganized closet for the next lucky piece of gaming history.

This is not to say that my entire collection will ever be re-released on modern consoles, nor is it to say I’m interested in replacing every system and game I own with some digital or modern version. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid the remasters, the ease of booting up the games, and the sheer cool-factor of the entire experience. Generally these remakes, remasters, collections come with ample artwork, ease-of-life features, save states, etc. Most of the time, they actually IMPROVE the original game without messing with the formula. Without even realizing it, a big portion of my Switch collection is one big pile of remasters, reboots, retro collections, etc. For fun, let’s run down the short list of Switch games I own (in no particular order)

*games in bold are retro-inspired and/or remasters/re-releases.

• Super Smash Bros Ultimate
• The Legend of Zelda, Link’s Awakening
• Quake
• Quake II
• TMNT Shredder’s Revenge
• TMNT Cowabunga Collection
• Super Mario 3D All-Stars
• Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania
• Sonic Mania
• Sonic Team Racing
• Sonic Colors Ultimate
• Untitled Goose Game
• Toree
• Sonic Origins Plus
• Cat Quest
• South Park: The Fractured But Whole
• Descenders
• Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
• Return to Monkey Island
• Mario Golf: Super Rush
• Nickelodeon Kart Racers
• Super Bomberman R
• 1-2 Switch
• Ryan’s Rescue Squad, ugh awful
• Paw Patrol, less awful than Ryan’s Rescue Squad
• Big Brain Academy
• IN THE MAIL or on PRE-ORDER FROM LRG
  • Jurassic Park Classic Collection
  • Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties (yikes!)

Additionally, Nintendo Online subscribers have access to about 150 games (give or take) from the 80s and 90s directly on their Switch. Easy access. Easy playing. And my library barely scratches the surface of available retro releases, compilations, and remasters. There’s Metroid Prime Remaster, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, Resident Evil HD Remake, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 + 2, Command & Conquer Remastered Collection, Wipeout Omega Collection, Gargoyles Remastered, Castlevania Advance Collection, and the list goes on and on.

Playing retro games is easier today than it has ever been, and I’m getting on board. I’m currently high on Quake II which is absolutely delightful, and Sonic Origins Plus delivers oodles of classic fun, and I’m surprised at my love for Return to Monkey Island. I think it’s safe to say that retro gaming (and possibly “nostalgia” in general) has finally surpassed that whole “nerds only” phase. It’s past the level of being considered “niche.” And if your pockets are deep enough, there’s a seemingly endless amount of modernized retro enjoyment you can experience today.

With the popularity of everything vintage, retro, classic, etc. (whatever you want to call it) these days, and developers finally listening to the fans, the sky is the limit for remasters, reboots, compilations, and more. I am surprised to admit to myself that I’m on board with all of this. While I’ll never get rid of my retro gaming collection, it’s an exciting day and time we live in. These retro game re-releases are absolutely brilliant in execution and many remain truly faithful to the original experience. I am a fan and I am excited for the future!