Tag Archives: screenshots

Super Nintendo Week

August 13, 2018 Mallo Leave a comment

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

Celebration, Lists

Games Beginning With ‘A’ Week

August 3, 2018 Mallo Leave a comment

I was looking through my grabs recently and realised that there were more games beginning with the letter ‘S’ than any other letter of the alphabet, and wondered why…

Maybe it’s because there’s a penchant for calling Super Nintendo games “Super Somethingorother“?

Which set my mind in motion…

[“It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of Sapho that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.”]

I thought: “I should have a random celebration of games that start with a particular letter of the alphabet every now and then.”

So we’ll start off this week at the very beginning… With the letter ‘A’.

So… a week of games beginning with the letter ‘A’! 🙂

Al-Qadim: The Genie’s Curse, PC
Adventures of Lolo 3, NES
ActRaiser, Super Nintendo
ARAC, Commodore 64
Another World, Megadrive/Genesis
Alone In The Dark 2, PC
Alchemist, ZX Spectrum
A-10 Tank Killer, PC
Action Biker, Commodore 64
Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior, Neo Geo
Astro Boy: Omega Factor, Game Boy Advance
Alter Ego, Commodore 64
Aliens vs. Predator, Arcade
Abe’s Oddysee, PlayStation

Enjoy,
The King of Grabs

Celebration, ZX Spectrum

ZX Spectrum Week

July 1, 2018 Mallo Leave a comment

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

CD Projekt Red, gog.com, PlayStation 4, Windows, XBox One

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, PC

June 27, 2018 Mallo 8 Comments

First released in 2015, CD Projekt Red‘s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a third-person, open world Role-Playing Game that is based on a series of novels by the Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.

Obviously it is the third instalment in the series (and last, according to the developers), and in it you play a monster-hunting detective badass called Geralt – a Witcher; a carrier of two swords (one steel, for killing humans, and one silver, for killing monsters); and a superhuman solver of problems with acute senses and no emotions.

Continue reading The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, PC →

Celebration, Game Boy, Nintendo

Nintendo Game Boy Week

June 11, 2018 Mallo Leave a comment

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

Celebration, Ocean Software

Head Over Heels Week

April 1, 2018 Mallo 9 Comments

Happy April Fools Day!

A celebration of jokes and humour, and – in our world – video games.

Written by Jon Ritman, with graphics by Bernie Drummond, Head Over Heels was first released in 1987 and is still a fantastic game to play now – across a number of different formats.

So every day this week we’re going to be celebrating Head Over Heels – a classic 3D platform game like no other – starting with the ZX Spectrum original, and covering all the different versions of the game as the week progresses.

Anyway: welcome to April. You lovely gaming fools.

The King of Grabs

Head Over Heels on The King of Grabs:
ZX Spectrum version, Commodore 64 version, Amstrad CPC version, MSX version, Atari 800 version, Atari ST version, Amiga version, PC version, Head Over Heels Week

Arcade, Celebration, History

Arcade Special, February 2018

February 14, 2018 Mallo Leave a comment

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

Celebration, Commodore 64

Commodore 64 Celebration

January 27, 2018 Mallo Leave a comment

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

Android, gog.com, Linux, MacOS, Modern Retro, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Polytron, PSVita, Steam, Windows, XBox 360

FEZ, PC

January 6, 2018 Mallo Leave a comment

FEZ is a wonderful, colourful 2D platform game that utilises an interesting three-dimensional screen-flipping technique as part of the game mechanics.

Continue reading FEZ, PC →