In April of 2010, Derek (Happy Video Game Nerd) and I (Gaming Historian) switched shows! It was fun to do an actual game review, and here is what I decided to cover. Ristar is one of the best platformer games I have ever played, but it was a late release for the Genesis and many gamers simply overlooked it. Despite critical praise, it did not sell well. However, it is an awesome game and worth checking out. Along with the review, I also poke fun at myself and others.
Mega Man: Official Complete Works
After dozens of games spanning several consoles, Mega Man has had quite a storied history. Luckily there is a way to relive all those memories with the book, “Mega Man: Official Complete Works”. Featuring behind the scenes information, never before seen artwork, and interesting facts, it is well worth checking out. Footnotes gives an in-depth look of the book.
The Birth of Scrolling
One feature of modern games that seems to get overlooked is scrolling. The technology of moving images on the screen from left to right or up to down wasn’t common in video games in the past. Footnotes examines the use of scrolling and the introduction of the technology in an arcade game.
Coleco Mini-Arcades
In the early 1980′s, arcades were extremely popular. Knowing this, Coleco was able to license several games into their Mini-Arcade product. The Coleco Mini-Arcade looked like a small arcade cabinet that played versions of your favorite arcade games. They were small, portable, and could even be plugged into the wall. These things were extremely popular at the time. Find out more on this episode of Footnotes!
Birdo’s Gender
Birdo, the egg shooting counterpart to Yoshi, has always been thought of as a female character. How could you think anything else? The big pink bow, the eyelashes. It seems pretty clear. Imagine my surprise when I opened the manual to Super Mario Bros. 2 and discovered that Birdo was actually a male!
DCooley: haha phewww...you still gotta do a Turbo Grafx 16 episode!...
Norm: Nope, Gaming Historian will still be made....
plsburydoughboy: Congratulations Norm!...
