Julian "Jaz" Rignall
@jazrignall.bsky.social
Playing video games since 1976.
Writing about them since 1983.
Writing about them since 1983.
Pinned
The Games of a Lifetime
Journey through five decades of retro video game history with Julian ‘Jaz’ Rignall, former CVG & Mean Machines editor, arcade champion, & game culture icon.
www.bitmapbooks.com
A reminder that the second printing of my book is now available at Bitmap Books.
"Highly recommended for the nostalgia trip!" Andrew R
"I really relived my childhood through this one, I love it!" Arjan van der V
"It does not disappoint!" Chris L
www.bitmapbooks.com/collections/...
"Highly recommended for the nostalgia trip!" Andrew R
"I really relived my childhood through this one, I love it!" Arjan van der V
"It does not disappoint!" Chris L
www.bitmapbooks.com/collections/...
Here's our Mercenary review from this issue. Playing this first proper open-world game was a truly incredible, milestone experience as I'm sure those who also played it at the time will agree. Gaming evolved a quantum leap overnight. An astonishing achievement for a 64k system.
February 10, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Here's our Mercenary review from this issue. Playing this first proper open-world game was a truly incredible, milestone experience as I'm sure those who also played it at the time will agree. Gaming evolved a quantum leap overnight. An astonishing achievement for a 64k system.
40 years ago, this Chris Foss style ZZAP! cover was based on Novagen's legendary Mercenary. This Gold Medal progenitor open-world game scored an incredible and well-deserved 98%. Other top reviews: Arc of Yesod (91%), Hardball (93%), Germany 1985 (97%), and Uridium (94%).
February 9, 2026 at 11:22 AM
40 years ago, this Chris Foss style ZZAP! cover was based on Novagen's legendary Mercenary. This Gold Medal progenitor open-world game scored an incredible and well-deserved 98%. Other top reviews: Arc of Yesod (91%), Hardball (93%), Germany 1985 (97%), and Uridium (94%).
Take the lesser of two weevils.
February 7, 2026 at 7:29 PM
Take the lesser of two weevils.
Awesome. Really glad you’re enjoying it. Open-world stuff has long been a fave of mine, and Mercenary was essentially the gateway for that. 😃
February 7, 2026 at 2:10 PM
Awesome. Really glad you’re enjoying it. Open-world stuff has long been a fave of mine, and Mercenary was essentially the gateway for that. 😃
Yep! Working on a dummy right now which I’ll release in PDF form as a preview of the real thing, which will be launched on Kickstarter in March. Thanks for asking. 😃
February 6, 2026 at 12:22 PM
Yep! Working on a dummy right now which I’ll release in PDF form as a preview of the real thing, which will be launched on Kickstarter in March. Thanks for asking. 😃
40 years ago Amstrad made a new PCW. Exciting! Meanwhile Sinclair was market leader in 1985, yet lost money and was looking for a buyer. It was also selling its mini TV, which was about to be made redundant by Casio's new LCD mini TV. Those LCD screens will never catch on...
February 6, 2026 at 10:45 AM
40 years ago Amstrad made a new PCW. Exciting! Meanwhile Sinclair was market leader in 1985, yet lost money and was looking for a buyer. It was also selling its mini TV, which was about to be made redundant by Casio's new LCD mini TV. Those LCD screens will never catch on...
It’s AI so yeah it’ll miss stuff, but if you think AI isn’t good at summaries, you really are mistaken. And yes, definitely not substitute for a brain/critical thinking etc etc. However, as a quick summary tool or a kind of reconnaissance mission for personal exploration, AI can be very useful.
February 5, 2026 at 2:16 PM
It’s AI so yeah it’ll miss stuff, but if you think AI isn’t good at summaries, you really are mistaken. And yes, definitely not substitute for a brain/critical thinking etc etc. However, as a quick summary tool or a kind of reconnaissance mission for personal exploration, AI can be very useful.
AI is a good analysis/summary tool, not a great search tool. Ask it to do the former based on specific topics and see how you get on.
February 5, 2026 at 2:05 PM
AI is a good analysis/summary tool, not a great search tool. Ask it to do the former based on specific topics and see how you get on.
Yeah. It was great for the time but unlike something like Paradroid, this has aged badly. Probably something to do with Paradroid being a cool original idea and Uridium being derivative.
February 5, 2026 at 12:40 PM
Yeah. It was great for the time but unlike something like Paradroid, this has aged badly. Probably something to do with Paradroid being a cool original idea and Uridium being derivative.
40 years ago I was playing Uridium. It had (for the time) excellent graphics and felt technically slick and polished, giving it an authentic arcade feel that was very important to us way back when. However, these days its ridiculous difficulty level makes it hard to truly enjoy.
February 5, 2026 at 10:57 AM
40 years ago I was playing Uridium. It had (for the time) excellent graphics and felt technically slick and polished, giving it an authentic arcade feel that was very important to us way back when. However, these days its ridiculous difficulty level makes it hard to truly enjoy.
For a short period we called the SNES the Famicom, then the Super Famicom for a good few months, and then adopted the American term after that.
February 4, 2026 at 4:22 PM
For a short period we called the SNES the Famicom, then the Super Famicom for a good few months, and then adopted the American term after that.
It’s official Sega UK marketing art, crap though it may be.
February 4, 2026 at 12:14 PM
It’s official Sega UK marketing art, crap though it may be.
Had a lot of fun talking in detail about Defender on this podcast. Real nerdy stuff. It's currently only available via Patreon, but will be available to listen to for free in a month or so. I'll repost when that version is available.
It was such a cool thing for me to have @jazrignall.bsky.social on here. Mean Machines and CVG were my introductions to proper video game critique and analysis and he and his fellow editors helped shape my tastes. Oh yeah, Defender is pretty awesome as well. 😁
New podcast: Defender and Stargate (early access)
@jazrignall.bsky.social joins us as special guest for this 45th anniversary celebration of Williams' Defender, and its sequel, Stargate.
Available now via our great value $2 Patreon, or buy just this one pod.
Support the podcast and listen today!
@jazrignall.bsky.social joins us as special guest for this 45th anniversary celebration of Williams' Defender, and its sequel, Stargate.
Available now via our great value $2 Patreon, or buy just this one pod.
Support the podcast and listen today!
February 4, 2026 at 11:36 AM
Had a lot of fun talking in detail about Defender on this podcast. Real nerdy stuff. It's currently only available via Patreon, but will be available to listen to for free in a month or so. I'll repost when that version is available.
35 years ago, CVG reviewed Pilotwings and gave it the full-on props it deserved. I was also playing it, but we decided to hold back Mean Machines' review for a few months as we wanted to pace our import coverage (and also stop Nintendo UK whining about too many import reviews)!😁
February 4, 2026 at 11:33 AM
35 years ago, CVG reviewed Pilotwings and gave it the full-on props it deserved. I was also playing it, but we decided to hold back Mean Machines' review for a few months as we wanted to pace our import coverage (and also stop Nintendo UK whining about too many import reviews)!😁
Well at least that answers the question, how do you make PlayStation marketing even more shit?
February 3, 2026 at 8:08 PM
Well at least that answers the question, how do you make PlayStation marketing even more shit?
35 years ago, Japanese animated movies were just beginning to become a big thing in the UK - largely off the back of the huge period interest in Japanese video games and culture. Helping fuel that fire were blockbusters like Akira - which the CVG team covered in this news piece.
February 3, 2026 at 1:15 PM
35 years ago, Japanese animated movies were just beginning to become a big thing in the UK - largely off the back of the huge period interest in Japanese video games and culture. Helping fuel that fire were blockbusters like Akira - which the CVG team covered in this news piece.
35 years ago, Casio was advertising its most cutting-edge scientific calculators in gaming magazines - because schools were finally enabling their students to use these things in their math classes while also typing 8008135 and tittering like fools...
February 3, 2026 at 9:53 AM
35 years ago, Casio was advertising its most cutting-edge scientific calculators in gaming magazines - because schools were finally enabling their students to use these things in their math classes while also typing 8008135 and tittering like fools...
The thing they’re getting is money from AI companies. Little else matters to them.
February 3, 2026 at 8:48 AM
The thing they’re getting is money from AI companies. Little else matters to them.
35 years ago, the Mean Machines team was playing SNES Actraiser - one of the best early releases on the system. The game (import only at this point) had a lot of Japanese text, but we figured out how to play it - and then put together these tips to help other players out.
February 2, 2026 at 12:42 PM
35 years ago, the Mean Machines team was playing SNES Actraiser - one of the best early releases on the system. The game (import only at this point) had a lot of Japanese text, but we figured out how to play it - and then put together these tips to help other players out.
We had dual-format TVs that could be switched between NTSC and PAL modes. They weren’t cheap, that’s for sure.
February 1, 2026 at 8:08 AM
We had dual-format TVs that could be switched between NTSC and PAL modes. They weren’t cheap, that’s for sure.
Not contradicting you - just adding some important info as their mail order catalog was essentially a prototype mag - complete with Oli Frey illustrations!
January 31, 2026 at 11:03 AM
Not contradicting you - just adding some important info as their mail order catalog was essentially a prototype mag - complete with Oli Frey illustrations!
After producing a mail order catalog called CRASH for several months, its readers (and some software houses) asked Newsfield to turn it into a magazine. Seeing a gap in the market, they took out a bank loan (that they said was to be used to remodel their kitchen) - and then what you said. 😃
January 31, 2026 at 11:02 AM
After producing a mail order catalog called CRASH for several months, its readers (and some software houses) asked Newsfield to turn it into a magazine. Seeing a gap in the market, they took out a bank loan (that they said was to be used to remodel their kitchen) - and then what you said. 😃
And failed everywhere.
January 31, 2026 at 8:16 AM
And failed everywhere.
40 years ago, Atari and Commodore decided to compete over the education market, and both of them ended up losing. Meanwhile, the Amiga was stunning CES Show attendees, Sinclair was having a fire sale with the Plus and QL, and Tatung announced a Speccy emulator for the Einstein.
January 30, 2026 at 11:21 AM
40 years ago, Atari and Commodore decided to compete over the education market, and both of them ended up losing. Meanwhile, the Amiga was stunning CES Show attendees, Sinclair was having a fire sale with the Plus and QL, and Tatung announced a Speccy emulator for the Einstein.