Retro XP
@retroxp.bsky.social
Mega Man games on the Game Boy are, more often than not, Not Good. Mega Man IV, though? That's a solid video game right there. It's not the best Mega Man you'll play, but you might even enjoy yourself while getting through it, which was novel for this portable subseries at the time.
It's new to me: Mega Man IV
It took a few tries, but Capcom finally released a Game Boy Mega Man game that is good without any asterisks.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Mega Man games on the Game Boy are, more often than not, Not Good. Mega Man IV, though? That's a solid video game right there. It's not the best Mega Man you'll play, but you might even enjoy yourself while getting through it, which was novel for this portable subseries at the time.
Atari made a number of innovations in the 70s, and they all led to one place. Well, lots of places, sure, but also the one being highlighted here: Super Sprint.
XP Arcade: Super Sprint
A mid-80s refresh of an original Atari concept, one that persists into the present.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Atari made a number of innovations in the 70s, and they all led to one place. Well, lots of places, sure, but also the one being highlighted here: Super Sprint.
Reposted by Retro XP
It's Halloween, so, let's share some fitting games. Dead Rising is loaded with zombies and was well ahead of its time.
Retro spotlight: Dead Rising
The first Dead Rising was one of Capcom's initial truly next-gen HD offerings, and, not to make you feel too old or anything, but that was 18 years ago.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
October 31, 2025 at 12:23 PM
It's Halloween, so, let's share some fitting games. Dead Rising is loaded with zombies and was well ahead of its time.
World Series Baseball arrived at a time when arcade-style baseball games were the norm, with exaggerated animations and sound effects, where realism was optional and often ignored. Sega's effort here changed the game in more ways than one.
Retro spotlight: World Series Baseball
The game that changed everything for baseball video games, on multiple levels.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:06 PM
World Series Baseball arrived at a time when arcade-style baseball games were the norm, with exaggerated animations and sound effects, where realism was optional and often ignored. Sega's effort here changed the game in more ways than one.
Reposted by Retro XP
Gradius: The Interstellar Assault is a from-the-ground-up Gradius game for the Game Boy, one where Konami decided to show off in a bunch of ways with graphical and level transitions that make it stand out on the platform all these decades later.
Retro spotlight: Gradius: The Interstellar Assault
Unlike Gradius' first Game Boy outing, there is a whole new game here.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
October 24, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Gradius: The Interstellar Assault is a from-the-ground-up Gradius game for the Game Boy, one where Konami decided to show off in a bunch of ways with graphical and level transitions that make it stand out on the platform all these decades later.
Gradius: The Interstellar Assault is a from-the-ground-up Gradius game for the Game Boy, one where Konami decided to show off in a bunch of ways with graphical and level transitions that make it stand out on the platform all these decades later.
Retro spotlight: Gradius: The Interstellar Assault
Unlike Gradius' first Game Boy outing, there is a whole new game here.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
October 24, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Gradius: The Interstellar Assault is a from-the-ground-up Gradius game for the Game Boy, one where Konami decided to show off in a bunch of ways with graphical and level transitions that make it stand out on the platform all these decades later.
Reposted by Retro XP
Klonoa: Empire of Dreams wasn't the first portable Klonoa, but it was the first worldwide release of a portable game in the series. And it's a great one, too, a puzzle-platforming-oriented game that adds layers of complexity as it goes, without straying from the series' two-button approachability.
It's new to me: Klonoa: Empire of Dreams
Portable Klonoa made its international debut on the Game Boy Advance.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
October 17, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Klonoa: Empire of Dreams wasn't the first portable Klonoa, but it was the first worldwide release of a portable game in the series. And it's a great one, too, a puzzle-platforming-oriented game that adds layers of complexity as it goes, without straying from the series' two-button approachability.
Namco's Game Boy Advance title, Klonoa: Empire of Dreams, was recently added to Nintendo Switch Online, and if you've never played, well, here's why you should get around to doing so.
It's new to me: Klonoa: Empire of Dreams
Portable Klonoa made its international debut on the Game Boy Advance.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
October 17, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Namco's Game Boy Advance title, Klonoa: Empire of Dreams, was recently added to Nintendo Switch Online, and if you've never played, well, here's why you should get around to doing so.
G.Rev's Mamorukun Curse! is back in the present, in a much wider release in more ways than one, with Mamorukun ReCurse! Between the various modes, soundtracks, widescreen and twin-stick support, this is the definitive edition of a niche shoot 'em up that deserves your attention.
Past meets present: Mamorukun ReCurse!
Another G.Rev shooter gets a (very welcome) modern update and re-release.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
October 13, 2025 at 11:49 AM
G.Rev's Mamorukun Curse! is back in the present, in a much wider release in more ways than one, with Mamorukun ReCurse! Between the various modes, soundtracks, widescreen and twin-stick support, this is the definitive edition of a niche shoot 'em up that deserves your attention.
Kicking off a new column at Retro XP, where a guest author — in this month's case,
@kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com
— pops in to say hello and write about a game they want to share with you. First up, the 3D Sonic game on the Sega Saturn that we *did* get, even if it wasn't what was expected.
@kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com
— pops in to say hello and write about a game they want to share with you. First up, the 3D Sonic game on the Sega Saturn that we *did* get, even if it wasn't what was expected.
Guest Feature: Sonic R
Super Sonic racing... on foot!
retroxp.beehiiv.com
October 6, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Kicking off a new column at Retro XP, where a guest author — in this month's case,
@kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com
— pops in to say hello and write about a game they want to share with you. First up, the 3D Sonic game on the Sega Saturn that we *did* get, even if it wasn't what was expected.
@kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com
— pops in to say hello and write about a game they want to share with you. First up, the 3D Sonic game on the Sega Saturn that we *did* get, even if it wasn't what was expected.
Reposted by Retro XP
Capping off my month of Playstation 30th anniversary coverage with R4: Ridge Racer Type 4. It's the last of the series released on the original Playstation, the console that was as successful out of the gate as it was because Namco brought Ridge Racer to the launch party in the first place.
30 years of the Playstation: R4: Ridge Racer Type 4
Ridge Racer bids farewell to the Playstation it helped to launch with one of its all-time greats.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
September 29, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Capping off my month of Playstation 30th anniversary coverage with R4: Ridge Racer Type 4. It's the last of the series released on the original Playstation, the console that was as successful out of the gate as it was because Namco brought Ridge Racer to the launch party in the first place.
R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 pulled together elements of everything Namco had been doing with Ridge Racer games to that point, showed off fantastic handling and visual style, added a fleshed out grand prix story mode, and dropped an all-timer soundtrack on top of it all. One of the Playstation's greats.
30 years of the Playstation: R4: Ridge Racer Type 4
Ridge Racer bids farewell to the Playstation it helped to launch with one of its all-time greats.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
September 29, 2025 at 12:07 PM
R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 pulled together elements of everything Namco had been doing with Ridge Racer games to that point, showed off fantastic handling and visual style, added a fleshed out grand prix story mode, and dropped an all-timer soundtrack on top of it all. One of the Playstation's greats.
Namco Museum, like the Playstation itself, celebrates 30 years this year. And the series was never better than on the console it got its start on, thanks to Namco actually leaning on the "museum" concept as more than something to put in the title.
30 years of the Playstation: Namco Museum
The start of a vital trend, and Namco has arguably never done it better than on the Playstation.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
September 26, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Namco Museum, like the Playstation itself, celebrates 30 years this year. And the series was never better than on the console it got its start on, thanks to Namco actually leaning on the "museum" concept as more than something to put in the title.
The DS and Wii entry in the Geometry Wars series, Galaxies, deserves your attention (and a modern release, too).
Retro spotlight: Geometry Wars: Galaxies
The Wii and DS got their own Geometry Wars entries back in 2007, which to this day remain the only Nintendo system releases in the franchise.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
September 23, 2025 at 11:56 AM
The DS and Wii entry in the Geometry Wars series, Galaxies, deserves your attention (and a modern release, too).
Reposted by Retro XP
I just want all of you to play Baroque, a true all-timer
30 years of the Sega Saturn: Baroque
Baroque is a horror-themed roguelike dungeon-crawler, and its finest form was stuck on the Sega Saturn in Japan for decades.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
September 18, 2025 at 11:55 AM
I just want all of you to play Baroque, a true all-timer
Reposted by Retro XP
Descent released on MS-DOS in 1994 as the first "true 3D" first-person shooter, and the game that popularized six degrees of freedom in movement (and made some people nauseous because of it). That it could run on the Playstation as well as it did, and control as well as it did, was mind-blowing.
30 years of the Playstation: Descent
The first true 3D first-person shooter showed off the actual power of the Playstation.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
September 15, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Descent released on MS-DOS in 1994 as the first "true 3D" first-person shooter, and the game that popularized six degrees of freedom in movement (and made some people nauseous because of it). That it could run on the Playstation as well as it did, and control as well as it did, was mind-blowing.
Descent is a vital game in the 3D space, not just in general, but also because it ran and played so well on the Playstation in your living room. If the cheaper 3D console out there could run something this well, then the era of polygon-powered platforms was truly here to replace faux 3D.
30 years of the Playstation: Descent
The first true 3D first-person shooter showed off the actual power of the Playstation.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
September 15, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Descent is a vital game in the 3D space, not just in general, but also because it ran and played so well on the Playstation in your living room. If the cheaper 3D console out there could run something this well, then the era of polygon-powered platforms was truly here to replace faux 3D.
Reposted by Retro XP
While you're trying not to post anything that will be used against you as you stand in front of a tribunal, you could read my latest for Endless Mode, on a whole bunch of Playstation games that should be re-released in the present (or released in North America for the first time!)
The original Playstation hit American shelves 30 years ago this week. Many of its best games have basically been playable ever since, but there are some greats in desperate need of a rerelease--including these 13 games. www.endlessmode.com/video-games/...
The Original Playstation Is 30. It's Well Past Time to Rerelease These 13 Games.
Happy birthday, Playstation. We wish we could celebrate by playing these 13 games, but they'd have to be rereleased first.
www.endlessmode.com
September 10, 2025 at 7:44 PM
While you're trying not to post anything that will be used against you as you stand in front of a tribunal, you could read my latest for Endless Mode, on a whole bunch of Playstation games that should be re-released in the present (or released in North America for the first time!)
Reposted by Retro XP
Happy 30th to the Playstation, I'm covering it all month at @retroxp.bsky.social and have an @endlessmode.bsky.social piece going up tomorrow on a bunch of its games, but for today please enjoy my look from last year at Jumping Flash!, the first 3D platformer and a Sony classic.
Retro spotlight: Jumping Flash!
The first 3D platformer was something of a Playstation tech demo, but also a ton of fun in its own right.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
September 9, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Happy 30th to the Playstation, I'm covering it all month at @retroxp.bsky.social and have an @endlessmode.bsky.social piece going up tomorrow on a bunch of its games, but for today please enjoy my look from last year at Jumping Flash!, the first 3D platformer and a Sony classic.
Reposted by Retro XP
Gradius Gaiden was a Playstation original, a side story for the Gradius series made by a team at Konami besides the core developers, and the result was the best Gradius to that point — and maybe since, too. Unlike so many Playstation games, the focus here wasn't on polygons, but incredible sprites.
30 years of the Playstation: Gradius Gaiden
Gradius found balance on the Playstation, even if North America didn't find out for years.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
September 8, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Gradius Gaiden was a Playstation original, a side story for the Gradius series made by a team at Konami besides the core developers, and the result was the best Gradius to that point — and maybe since, too. Unlike so many Playstation games, the focus here wasn't on polygons, but incredible sprites.
Gradius Gaiden was a Playstation original, a side story for the Gradius series made by a team at Konami besides the core developers, and the result was the best Gradius to that point — and maybe since, too. Unlike so many Playstation games, the focus here wasn't on polygons, but incredible sprites.
30 years of the Playstation: Gradius Gaiden
Gradius found balance on the Playstation, even if North America didn't find out for years.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
September 8, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Gradius Gaiden was a Playstation original, a side story for the Gradius series made by a team at Konami besides the core developers, and the result was the best Gradius to that point — and maybe since, too. Unlike so many Playstation games, the focus here wasn't on polygons, but incredible sprites.
Reposted by Retro XP
The Playstation did not start out with a dual-analog controller, as North America would have to wait until 1998 for the arrival of the DualShock. And then another year and change before the first-ever game to require it: the joyful 3D platformer that has you traveling through time, Ape Escape.
30 years of the Playstation: Ape Escape
Sony's and the Playstation's first attempt at a world that required analog sticks is still a joy to play.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
September 1, 2025 at 12:45 PM
The Playstation did not start out with a dual-analog controller, as North America would have to wait until 1998 for the arrival of the DualShock. And then another year and change before the first-ever game to require it: the joyful 3D platformer that has you traveling through time, Ape Escape.
Reposted by Retro XP
September marks 30 years of the Playstation in North America, so I'm going to spend this month looking at games on the system that played a vital role in its success or influence in one way or another. First up, Ape Escape, which is also a way to talk about the DualShock and dual-analog controllers.
30 years of the Playstation: Ape Escape
Sony's and the Playstation's first attempt at a world that required analog sticks is still a joy to play.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
September 1, 2025 at 12:39 PM
September marks 30 years of the Playstation in North America, so I'm going to spend this month looking at games on the system that played a vital role in its success or influence in one way or another. First up, Ape Escape, which is also a way to talk about the DualShock and dual-analog controllers.
The Playstation did not start out with a dual-analog controller, as North America would have to wait until 1998 for the arrival of the DualShock. And then another year and change before the first-ever game to require it: the joyful 3D platformer that has you traveling through time, Ape Escape.
30 years of the Playstation: Ape Escape
Sony's and the Playstation's first attempt at a world that required analog sticks is still a joy to play.
retroxp.beehiiv.com
September 1, 2025 at 12:45 PM
The Playstation did not start out with a dual-analog controller, as North America would have to wait until 1998 for the arrival of the DualShock. And then another year and change before the first-ever game to require it: the joyful 3D platformer that has you traveling through time, Ape Escape.