Author Archives: Josh Phillips

…At least, it does on your 3DS (Or hidden away somewhere in your attic, natch) with the return of two of the 64′s best games – Star Fox 64 (or Lylat Wars as it’s known here in Europe) and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time!

Both of these games are being re-released for 3DS and boast updated graphics with various new features which is sure to excite any retro gamer, what’s even better is that Nintendo have recently revealed release dates for both titles!

Star Fox is set for release on the 14th July in Japan. There’s no confirmation on the US and UK dates so far but considering Nintendo’s recent releases you can bet you won’t have to wait much longer. Nintendo have also recently launched an official Japanese site for Starfox showing off the intro scene of the game – Head on over to Nintendo Japan now to check it out.

Now onto the Zelda side of things – Ocarina of Time 3D will be released in Japan on June 16th, Europe on June 17th and America on June 19th; so it won’t be long before you can once again begin your adventure through the world of Hyrule, annoying chickens and tossing pots around all day long.

As well as this, it’s recently come to light that it’s not actually Nintendo who are handling the development side of Ocarina Of Time but instead a little known studio called Grezzo who have so far only released a handful of small games, one of those being a Japan only WiiWare release. It may seem like an odd move but Nintendo obviously has faith in them and Grezzo is run by former Square employee and developer of the Mana series, Koichi Ishii. In that respect it’s a similar kind of venture as Prope, a fairly small development team with Yuji Naka at the helm, creator of the Sonic series; If Grezzo lives up to the potential that Prope did, we have nothing to worry about.

Despite the fact that the remake isn’t actually being made by Nintendo then, it does seem to be in good hands and who could be dumb enough to ruin a remake anyway? Oh yeah, Rare – How Diddy Kong Racing DS ended up such a disaster I’ll never know.

Don’t have boring keys, don’t have a boring life; Mr Game & Watch is here to save you from tedium and trauma with his Octopus and LED majesty – best of all, no batteries are required (Heal the world and all that). From Strapya World are these mini wonders; Classic Game & Watch games perfectly recreated in miniature form and powered by the earth’s closest star, no less!

You can buy these uber retro handhelds by clicking here!

I present you with a tattoo that’s so godly I would go as far to say I would have it myself because, it’s not that I don’t like tattoo’s, it’s simply that they don’t suit me; This however is something I could pull off.

Pikachu and Ash from the Blue/Red/Green era, looking edgy and stylish as always; I would say that I’d likely regret having such a thing done but when it’s this good I don’t see how I would. After all, a Pikachu is for life, not just for the elite four.

You’ll all no doubt be rather pumped about Sonic just lately after seeing the recent trailer of his up and coming 360/PS3 game so I’m sure you’ll be glad to know that Summer Of Sonic is ON for 2011 and it’s set to be bigger and better than ever!

The event will be taking place in London on the 25th June and the location has just been announced on the Summer Of Sonic Website:

“Pigeon Panic! No doubt you’ve all been wondering where The Summer of Sonic 2011 is going to be held this year. Well, wonder no more! Today we are proud to announce the intentional venue for the fourth annual Sonic convention – Camden Centre, in Central London.

The venue is a large-sized community hall that has been used for a whole manner of professional events – from club nights to televised political debates and monstrous banquets. In terms of what it could offer us as a space, and after visiting the very friendly management there, the SoS team feels that Camden Centre is the perfect place to hold Sonic the Hedgehog’s 20th Anniversary.”

Details of what will be at this years Summer Of Sonic are yet to be revealed but expect upcoming games, celebrity guests (Which in the past have included Crush 40 and Sonic creator himself, Yuji Naka) and of course, more cosplayers than you can shake an over sized ring at. The event is taking place just a few days after the 20th Birthday of Sonic too which is why this is set to be the biggest event so far!

If you’re planning on attending, join the official Facebook group for information and pictures of past and present Sonic events or visit the official Summer Of Sonic website!

But finally, I’d like to leave you with this, ‘King Of The Ring’. Sonic has been responsible for many songs of varying quality and so I’ve unearthed this forgotten beast; an early 90′s tune which is sure to be burnt into your mind whether you like it or not – it’s like if Sonic decided to sing ‘Baby’ (Though without the beautiful voice of Bieber, obviously).

I once met a man who’s nickname was ‘King of the ring’, I assumed he was a huge Sonic fan until he kindly slipped some Rohyphenol into my drink and I woke up the next day in a wheelchair with the realization that yes, he was the king of my ring.

Anyway, moving swiftly on – Why don’t you check out how my day went when I visited the Summer Of Sonic last year? Click here to check out my day; cosplayers and rare merchandise await!

SEGA are finally starting to celebrate the 20th Birthday of old Needle Mouse – By releasing a whole new game! SEGA showed off this teaser trailer yesterday which has modern Sonic running next to his old, fat self. Not much else is known about the game other than it should be hitting the PS3 and 360 later this year!

What do you think of the trailer? I personally had a mini heart attack trying to comprehend just how intense this could be – after Sonic Colours, anything is possible!

My favourite way to celebrate the greatness of Pokémon is, oddly, through music. Ever since I was as young as Ash Ketchum I’ve loved the feel good songs of Viridian City, Pallet Town and of course that battle music; So what better way to celebrate the recent release of Black and White than an all new album courtesy of the musical gods at OC Remix!

As you all probably know, OC Remix is home to the biggest community of musicians inspired by videogames. The Missingno Tracks celebrates over 10 years of the little critters and focuses on popular music from the games of yesteryear rather than the anime – which is a nice change and also means there’s no corny vocals (Though I have to admit that’s part of the charm, or is that just me?).

“The music of Pokémon comes as varied and imaginative as the world it’s set in. It’s sad, happy, quick and light, heavy and fearsome, and all of it deserving of more attention. The Missingno Tracks is a tribute to the music of the games. We’ve given the songs new twists, lryics to convey the feelings behind them, and played with them like we would with a Pokémon friend. We give this to you, the Trainers, so that you may enjoy them again.”

Words can’t describe the intensity of the battle theme, you just have to listen for yourself!

To find out more about this amazing album and to download for free, Click Here!

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You may also like these articles lurking in the tall grass of the Joystick Junkies cyber space:

Pac-Man Fever – An album by Buckner & Garcia that came out in 1982 on casette, LP and 8-track tape; The album features 8 songs about different arcade games including Frogger, Donkey Kong and Pac-Man

Deadmau5 8bit – An awesome song full of intense 8bit sounds with a killer beat, this will make you’re pixellated eardrums vibrate with joy!

Mind.In.A.Box – R.E.T.R.O – You like the Commodore 64? You like Synth-Pop? Well then just imagine if they combined to make a unique and overwhelmingly nerdy fusion of fantastic beats and old school sounds!

As I’m sure you’re aware, Japan has gone through an awful lot of devastation in the last few weeks; so to help in this difficult time many videogame giants like Sony, Bandai Namco and Nintendo are donating money to help towards victims of the Tsunami and now SEGA are helping too, in more ways than one.

Sega were also seen donating millions of pounds (well, Yen) to help victims recently and now they’re looking for help from you; as well as offering amazing swag too! Sega are auctioning off some of their rarest, most valued possessions on eBay where avid gamers and collectors alike can  bid until their wallets are dry and 100% of the proceeds are going towards helping victims in Japan.

Some of these items just can’t be found anywhere else so you should get bidding now to not only get some awesome swagger but to also help out people in times of desperate need. The following videos from Sega America show off all of the completely awesome things on offer, the link to SEGA’s eBay can also be found below!

All items can be found HERE!

…Or indeed a couple of roast dinners, a curry and several crab sticks if it’s E. Honda knocking on my door.

Anyway, Street Fighter – You love it right? In that case lets celebrate by eating cupcakes! That’s what this savage gamer/cook/hair enthusiast decided when creating the beautiful fusion of hair and cake.

On the top row you have the head fuzz of Ryu, Ken, Blanka and Guile whilst on the bottom row it’s E. Honda, Chun-Li (Beast legs), Zangief and Dhalsim.

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Visit Nonsense Machine, the immense blog these cupcakes were taken from!

Still hungry? Check out this vast array of Super Mario Cakes!

Street Fighter IV 3D Edition will be launching alongside the 3DS on the 25th March, check out the Official Site for more information!

Cast your mind back to November and you may remember when I spoke joyfully of the many wonderful Bento’s I had come across; I was so overwhelmed by the whole situation that the words, “Pacman and Mario and Snorlax – Oh my!” kept repeating in my head as though I was skipping down the Yellow Brick Road. Well, it’s time we once again ventured down this predominantly rice infested road as we embark on another food related journey which this time is all about OKAMIDEN!

This makes a fantastic alternative to eating an actual wolf

These awesome Bento’s were created by “Anna The Red” who also makes plushes!

“Fairly recently I discovered a love for making bento! (lunchbox in Japanese) In Japan, a lot of moms wake up early to make bento for their kids and their husbands. Usually they make cute animals or characters from anime shows out of food so that kids will enjoy eating healthily. Those bento are called “Kyaraben” or “Charaben.” (character bento)”

Fast asleep, unaware of your Snorlax-like thoughts

” Making bento is so much more challenging than making a plush, but only takes a few hours. The best part is, your work will be eaten and gone by the end of the day! I hope my creations make you go “ooh, neat!” “

To check out the majestic Okamiden Bento’s in full, Click here! It features more pictures and information on how to make an Okamiden Bento for yourself! Alternatively, check out her website where she has loads of really neat plushes and various animé inspired Bento’s!

Okamiden is available now in Japan & the US and will be available this Friday in the UK! Click Chibiterasu to go to the official site!

Click Here to check out the Okamiden pre-order bonus and for more information on how to download a demo to you DS through the Nintendo Channel!

Click Here to see amazing Bento’s inspired by Mario, Snorlax, Pacman and more!

This is 'portable' apparently

Remember Spyro? Remember Lara Croft? Remember the Game Gear? These were some of the highlights of the 90′s and whilst some have stood the test of time and are still loved to this day, others have suffered over saturation or have simply faded into obscurity. Well then, it’s with joy and trepidation that I tell you of all the seemingly great, exciting and worrying returns of 2011!

Last year saw a great return for many heroes; Sonic was back on top form after years of shoddy spin-offs/terrible gimmicks, Mickey Mouse saw an epic come back thanks to Warren Spector and Donkey Kong returned, proving that there is life after Rare. It seems that the retro returns won’t end here as 2011 is set to be as big, if not bigger, than 2010!

Retro Studio's felt King K. Rool was too dated to be in DKC Returns and so instead they created this... plank of wood. Oh. Nintendo claims Retro Studio's "won't be making another Donkey Kong game anytime soon" - Phew!

Let’s start with the 3DS shall we? The 3DS Virtual Console will not only have GameBoy and GameBoy Color games from launch but Nintendo have recently confirmed that Game Gear and TurboGrafx-16 titles will be available when the e-Shop arrives – so now you can re-live the wonders of SEGA’s foray into the world of handheld gaming! The Game Gear was set to smash the GameBoy with it’s superior graphics and sound but like with most SEGA products, it was too ahead of it’s time and flopped because of being over priced or too ‘clunky’ – it’s great then that people who missed out on this handheld with have the chance to play some of it’s best games without shelling out loads on eBay.

It’s not just a return of old games though, this year see’s old games being brought into the 21st century! Pokémon returned this year (just a few days ago in fact) with a whole new world and 150 new Pokémon to catch! It’s already setting sales records and receiving critical acclaim for it’s improved graphics, battle system and online options! So if there were proof needed that franchises can emerge from 90′s obscurity, that’s one of them.

a 'bin bag' type Pokémon from Black & White, proof that Game Freak are still brimming with ideas *cough*

Speaking of the 90′s though, two iconic 90′s stars will be making a return; Lara Croft and Spyro! Lara is set to return in another compilation of some of her best games this year on PS3 whilst Spyro is set to have a whole new design and game based on him in the hope that he can return to his former glory. To re-ignite Spryo, the developers thought he needed a ‘make over’, so here’s the new look Spyro:

It seems he's gone down the same road as Matt Le blanc

Shortly after revealing the re-design however, fans were disgusted and mortified at how gremlin-like the new Spyro seems – Perhaps that’s just what kids want now? Or maybe it’s another case of a classic character being destroyed by seemingly ridiculous design choices (Banjo-Kazooie anyone?).

So, whether you like it or not, classic characters and franchises are making a return, for better or for worse. What are you looking forward to this year? Stay tuned (or should I say tabbed, natch) as in the coming weeks I have more remakes and re imaginings to inform you about – In the form of Batman, Gradius and Pacman!

The past is our definition.  We may strive, with good reason, to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it, but we will escape it only by adding something better to it.