The Neo Geo is a high-end Japanese video games system, designed for use in both arcades, and at home. It was developed by SNK and first launched in 1990.
Tag Archives: Retro Games
Steve Crow’s Classic ZX Spectrum Games
Game designer Stephen J. Crow made some seminal games for the ZX Spectrum, starting with Laser Snaker in 1983 and Factory Breakout in 1984 for Poppy Soft.
10 Best Intellivision Games
LISTS: as decided by The King of Grabs, in descending order of greatness:
1. Treasure of Tarmin
2. Tower of Doom
3. Cloudy Mountain
4. B-17 Bomber
5. Lock ‘n’ Chase
6. Stadium Mud Buggies
7. Chip Shot Super Pro Golf
8. Bump ‘n’ Jump
9. Auto Racing
10. Dracula
More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellivision
Atari ST Special
The Atari ST was a 16-bit home computer that was a great breeding ground for video games in the ’80s and ’90s. Many original classics were born on the ST (Dungeon Master, Simulcra, and Frontier to name but a few), and many older classics were ported to the ST to give them a new lease of life.
International Lode Runner Day
In celebration of the late Doug Smith‘s iconic platform game I’m going to be publishing a series of screenshots of twelve (count ’em) different versions of Lode Runner, in a single day. Today, in fact.
We could call today “International Lode Runner Day”. 🙂
Super Nintendo Week
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES for short) was first released in Japan as the Super Famicom in 1990.
After the success of the NES, any follow-up console from Nintendo would really have to be “super” to keep the ball rolling, and the SNES certainly was just that.
Countless great video games were released for the Super Nintendo and the system stands out in retro gaming history as something unique and powerful – compared to what had gone before it.
We’re spoiled now. Modern consoles can render a hundred thousand polygons in an instant. But back in 1990 you were lucky if you got hardware sprites and smooth-scrolling backgrounds. Thankfully the Super Nintendo had all of that. And it had “Mode 7” too – a now legendary graphics technique that allowed flat textures to move around in 3D space. Later on it had a special chip, called the Super FX Chip, that gave it more power and better 3D graphics capabilities.
The Super Nintendo played host to thousands of games overall, and a percentage have gone down in video gaming history as some of the best ever. The allure of the Super Nintendo is still strong. Be that in real hardware, which is still quite easy to get hold of, or via the magic of emulation.
This week I’m going to be celebrating the brilliance of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System by adding a collection of grabs from great SNES games. Well, ones that we haven’t featured already, anyway. 🙂
Here’s a list of links to what was published that week:
Addams Family Values,
Super Mario Kart,
International Superstar Soccer Deluxe,
Sim Ant,
F-Zero,
Dungeon Master,
E.V.O.: Search For Eden,
The Lost Vikings,
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time,
Super Bomberman,
Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals,
Krusty’s Super Fun House,
Pocky & Rocky,
Smash TV
Click here to list all the Super Nintendo games we’ve featured so far.
Enjoy!
The King of Grabs
ZX Spectrum Week
The humble ZX Spectrum was first released onto an unsuspecting public in 1982 and was an instant hit with gamers.
It initially came in two varieties – 16K and 48K RAM versions – and had a curious rubber keyboard and a built-in sound speaker.
In spite of that it managed to dominate the UK (and arguably European) gaming scene throughout the 1980s and also inspire a generation of computer users and game designers (some of whom still make games for it to this day).
Later versions of the ZX Spectrum had better keyboards and more memory, but the games were still unique and distinguishable.
This week I’ll be dedicating this blog to classic ZX Spectrum games and will be featuring some of my favourites in this ever-expanding gallery of grabs. Hope you enjoy!
Here are links to what was published:
Roller Coaster,
Skool Daze,
Wheelie,
Stop The Express,
Zynaps,
Trashman,
Auf Wiedersehen Monty,
Wizard’s Lair,
Dark Side,
Starstrike 3D,
Starstrike II,
Nosteratu the Vampyre,
Sir Fred,
Lords of Midnight,
Doomdark’s Revenge,
Starquake
More: ZX Spectrum on Wikipedia
See also: 100 Best ZX Spectrum Loading Screens:
Part #1, Part #2, Part #3, Part #4, Part #5
48K ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum Internals
Nintendo Game Boy Week
I realised recently that I had completely neglected the Nintendo Game Boy on this blog, in spite of having owned one back in the day, and being a big fan.
Possibly because the black and white handheld’s graphics aren’t the best when it comes to dazzling grabs. The games are great though!
So – to rectify that – I’m going to dedicate a full week to the amazing Nintendo Game Boy and its games. Some of which are iconic.
A few famous franchises began on the Game Boy (the Mana series, for example), and – in spite of the Game Boy‘s limited graphical power – there’s a good reason why this early portable console sold more than 100 million units worldwide.
Here are links to what was published:
Monster Max,
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins,
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening,
Golf,
Final Fantasy Adventure,
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3,
Trip World,
Castelian,
Pinball: Revenge of the Gator,
Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge,
Final Fantasy Legend,
Final Fantasy Legend II,
Tetris,
Cave Noire
Enjoy!
The King of Grabs.
More: Game Boy on Wikipedia
Arcade Special, February 2018
After the success of our recent Commodore 64 Celebration, I’ve decided to do another ‘special’ – this time about old, classic arcade games.
This week (from 14th Feb 2018 onward) I will be posting entries about some of my favourite arcade games. The kind of games that were released into video game arcades, in the form of cabinets, and you had to put money into them to play them.
Yes: believe it or not, that’s what people used to do back in the olden days.
Thankfully, though, you can still enjoy many of these games thanks to the wonders of emulation (and official re-releases). So, if you’ve never heard of these games: go and check them out. MAME, or MESS, or CoinOps. They’ll do the trick.
Anyway: enjoy this week’s Arcade Special!
Here’s what was published this week:
Rainbow Islands,
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs,
Space Harrier,
Defender,
Paperboy,
The Outfoxies,
Joust,
Xybots,
Star Wars,
Operation Wolf,
Alien Syndrome,
Smash TV,
Donkey Kong,
Donkey Kong Jr.,
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior,
Atomic Runner Chelnov,
Ghosts ‘N Goblins,
Ghouls ‘N Ghosts,
Commando,
After Burner,
Bionic Commando,
Total Carnage
The King of Grabs
Commodore 64 Celebration
I’m going to have a Commodore 64 Celebration this week.
I decree this week (beginning Saturday the 27th January 2018), to be Commodore 64 Week, and thus all the updates will be Commodore 64 games.
There are so many GREAT Commodore 64 games around that are still worth playing. And they grab like a grabber’s dream!
If you want to grab Commodore 64 games, get your hands on VICE, or if you want to go full commando: get yourself a real Commodore 64.
Here’s what was published that week:
Nebulus,
HES Games,
World Games,
Winter Games,
Summer Games,
Summer Games II,
California Games,
International Karate Plus,
Scarabaeus,
Paradroid Metal Edition,
Ancipital,
Wizball,
Exile,
Bruce Lee,
Dropzone,
Gribbly’s Day Out,
Uridium Plus,
Alleykat,
Intensity,
Morpheus,
Friday The 13th,
Field of Fire,
Racing Destruction Set,
Spore,
Rescue On Fractalus,
Impossible Mission,
Iridis Alpha,
Mercenary,
Pastfinder
Enjoy!
The King of Grabs
The King of Grabs 