Welcome back, retro gaming friends! I’ll be honest with you – I was actually going to take a month off from this series. But when Issue 176 of Retro Gamer arrived with its stunning Shinobi cover art, I cracked it open and immediately knew I had to dive in. This magazine is absolutely packed with games I needed to play and talk about.
Now, here’s the thing: despite being a lifelong retro gamer, I’ve actually never spent much time with the Shinobi series beyond the NES port I played as a kid. So this issue gave me the perfect excuse to finally experience the entire franchise – from the original arcade game through the Master System and Genesis classics, all the way to the pre-rendered Saturn era. Spoiler alert: there’s a reason these games are legendary.
But Shinobi is just the beginning. This issue also inspired me to finally – finally – get ZX Spectrum emulation working properly, which opened up a whole new world of vibrant, stark games I’ve been missing out on. I discovered a collection of arcade racers that absolutely blew me away (one even cracked my personal top 10 arcade games of all time). I revisited Descent, a game that holds a deeply personal place in my gaming history. And I got hands-on with some incredible modern homebrew releases that prove the retro scene is more alive than ever.
Over the course of this magazine, I played more than 35 games across nearly every major retro platform. Some were incredible discoveries, some were fascinating curiosities, and yes, a few were absolutely terrible. But that’s the joy of this journey – you never know what gem you’ll uncover or what hilariously bad experience awaits.
So grab your shurikens and join me as we flip through Issue 176. It’s going to be a wild ride through ninja action, spectrum gaming, arcade racing, and so much more.
Let’s play some retro games.
Kaos (Arcade)
An obscure single-screen climber where you catch coins that transform into dragons if missed. The ice-like physics and overly sensitive controls make this “definitely a bad one” from the era, but the coin-to-dragon mechanic shows interesting design ideas that could work in a modern remake.
Pac-Man (Atari 2600)
My first console game holds up surprisingly well considering its reputation. While terrible compared to the arcade original, it controls fine and plays well by Atari standards. A perfectly acceptable version if you don’t know better exists. Certainly much worse Atari 2600 games!
Ms. Pac-Man (Atari 2600)
A significant improvement over the original Atari Pac-Man. This is a pretty good version you can actually feel good about playing on the 2600.
RogueCraft DX (Amiga)
A modern Amiga homebrew roguelike for just $10. Features three characters (fighter, wizard, rogue) with procedurally generated levels and random potion effects. Highly recommended to support the homebrew scene.
Halo Wars (Xbox 360)
A surprise gem you bought for $11. I spent most of my life thinking Halo Wars was a prototype of what Halo could have been…
Remarkably well-adapted RTS controls for console with consolidated town building, auto-attacking units, and excellent checkpointing. Four levels in and thoroughly enjoying it.
Bomb Jack (Arcade)
A classic single-screen arcade platformer. I have never played (or even seen) the arcade version, only playing some inferior ports. I can see the appeal of this game! Bomb jack can jump very high into the air and must grab bombs while avoiding various monsters.
Shinobi (Arcade)
The baseline that spawned the NES port I loved as a kid. Looks good, plays smooth. The gameplay is very reminiscent of Rolling Thunder, but I think this is a well-known fact at this point. Gameplay consists of walking slowly and crouching under enemy bullets. It is enjoyable in how deliberate it is.
Shinobi (NES)
This was the first and only Shinobi game I played. I had this on my Nintendo and eagerly played it sitting on the floor too close to the TV. Although in my recent play it felt brutally difficult I have vivid memories of playing through many of the bosses. A helicopter which deploys and endless stream of soldiers. Some kind of wall of Buddha statues followed by a wall-face spitting candies…
Then Ninja Gaiden entered my collection and I probably never touched this again.
Shinobi (Master System)
Perhaps the best port of the original Shinobi. Better graphics than the NES version, though vertical scrolling is problematic.
Revenge of Shinobi (Genesis)
The double jump is frustratingly difficult to master, taking considerable practice. The game is cool but the irony of being such a visible, non-stealthy ninja is amusing.
I doubt I would ever go back to this today considering the existence of Shinobi III which does everything better. However by the same token… Something does keep me coming back to the NES version of Shinobi.
Shinobi III (Genesis)
A true sequel that perfects the formula. Easier double jump, slicker movement, actual running, and beautiful multi-layered parallax graphics. The horseback stage with ninjas jumping from a kite is amazing. A must-play Genesis title.
Shadow Dancer (Genesis)
The fourth game returns to one-hit kills but adds a white dog companion that latches onto enemies. Vibrant, detailed levels with lots of enemy variety. The dog mechanic makes this possibly your favorite Genesis Shinobi despite the punishing difficulty.
Shinobi X (Saturn)
Pre-rendered Mortal Kombat-style graphics that surprisingly work well. The white ninja design has great contrast, smooth movement, and slow-motion anime cuts. Fast-paced with blood and gore – a mature evolution of the series. Worth learning despite being pretty tough.
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World (Master System)
Set up as a Shinobi parody but works excellently as a standalone game. Very playable and surprisingly awesome on its own merits. Thankfully it takes after later Shinobi titles like Shinobi III with much more fluid and fast gameplay.
Navy Moves (Amiga)
The developer’s warning about difficulty is no joke. The first level alone is brutally difficult with awkward raft jumping over mines and harpoon gun attacks. Looks cool with good sound, but demands serious time investment. I doubt that investment is worth it in 2025.
Army Moves (Amiga)
The predecessor is more tech demo than game. Simplistic car-based run-and-gun with hilarious music but minimal gameplay depth.
Super Sprint (Arcade)
A nostalgic favorite from college Midway Arcade Treasures nights. Simple left/right and gas controls with car upgrades across varied tracks. Just solid arcade racing fun still very playable today with some friends.
Super Off-Road (Arcade)
Surprisingly different from the SNES version I know best. Players can choose between dune buggies or monster trucks (although I don’t know the difference). No dedicated nitro – it activates by tapping acceleration. Tremendous fun with better everything than the console ports. Definitely entering regular rotation.
Badlands (Arcade)
Grittier Mad Max post-apocalyptic racing with guns, shields, and elevation changes. Destructible environments, mounted turrets, and spikes add chaos. Wonderful additions to the genre making this one of the most exciting and engaging games in this genre.
Indy Heat (Arcade)
The crown jewel that entered my top 10 best arcade games ever. Five cars, damage, fuel management, and brilliant pit stop strategy across races of varying lengths. Can upgrade pit crew speed and fuel capacity. One of the funnest games I’ve played, perfect for friends. (And excellent on NES as well)
Rough Racer (Arcade)
Insanely sensitive controls make this nearly unplayable even after mastering the other racers. Cool cartoonish Who Framed Roger Rabbit aesthetic and interesting boost-to-damage mechanic, but the controls need fixing badly. Or maybe it’s just a calibration issue on my end?
Daytona USA (Saturn)
Fairly clunky and slow without the benefit of nostalgia. Arcadey and easy to pick up, but hard to justify playing over superior racers like Outrun 2 or Burnout Paradise. Should have tried the horse cheat code.
Mega Panel (Genesis)
Played it weeks ago and literally can’t remember how it works. Definitely playable and beat several levels, but completely forgettable. Just play Columns or Tetris instead.
Air Combat (PlayStation)
A fun arcadey flight game, not a simulator. No takeoff or landing – just dogfights. Simple missile combat with different ships to buy. High production value with voice acting. Excited to continue the campaign.
Doing some reasearch into this game it seems the 2nd and 3rd iterations “Ace Combat” games are much improved.
Final Fantasy VI (SNES/GBA)
I’ve beaten the game twice and started a run on every release. Wrote haiku for every character in high school. I think this is the best Final Fantasy game because of the timeless graphics and ensemble cast. Perfect RPG. Play it if you have not.
Descent (DOS)
Descent is still the best 6-degrees of freedom FPS game on the market. There is nothing else like it. A top 10 game of all time. I love everything – the vibes, music, claustrophobic 3D design.
I’ve beaten the first game multiple times, played LAN/modem multiplayer. Prefer the DOS version over the Rebirth remake.
Indoor 3D shooters feel completely different from space games – this is still the pinnacle of the genre.
Overload (PC)
The spiritual successor by the original Descent developers. I had no idea this existed until reading about it in this magazine and what an amazing find!
Very Descent-like with modern graphics and the same core mechanics. Excited to dive deeper into this one.
Shock Troopers (Neo Geo)
Like Metal Slug but top-down like Smash TV. Beautiful pixel art, roll dodging, and knife melee that drops bonus items for a cool risk and reward mechanic.
Two modes (lone wolf or three-character team), six distinct characters, huge stage variety. Excellent lock-on controls. A must-play for SNK/Metal Slug fans.
Avoid Shock Troopers 2 entirely.
Earthion (Genesis)
New Genesis game with a 94% rating. Yuzo Koshiro’s company, Ancient, made it with his music. Awesome horizontal shooter with amazing graphics and tons of parallax layers – sometimes too many, making bullets hard to see. Carry two guns Halo-style. Pretty forgiving for new players. Worth the $20.
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (TurboGrafx-CD)
Been trying to beat this for years with one save ongoing save file. Similar to but better than Dracula X on SNES. Has secrets, unlockable characters like Maria, amazing graphics and bosses. The pinnacle of level-based Castlevania before the Metroidvania era.
After Burner (Arcade)
It is visually impressive but genuinely don’t understand how to play it. Everything kills you so fast, survival is impossible and killing enemies before they kill you is impossible. Seems like a pure quarter thief tech demo despite the iconic status.
Star Castle (Vectrex)
Always happy to play Vectrex, though emulation can’t capture the real vector graphics glow and perfect lines. The technology is unique enough that Vectrex is genuinely worth collecting and if you ever see a vector-based game in the wild, play it!
Nibbler (Arcade)
An old Pac-Man era game where you’re a snake eating dots without eating yourself. No enemies, just planning your path. Simplistic with tough controls but you can see why it’s a classic.
Sabre Wulf (ZX Spectrum)
Really love this one. Open-world top-down jungle exploration like early Zelda meets Pitfall. The stark black background with vibrant solid colors exemplifies why I love the Spectrum aesthetic. It shows exploration percentage when you die and seems like a pretty deep game.
Batty (ZX Spectrum)
Immediately loved the colors in this Breakout clone. Plays super slick with seemingly better frame rate than contemporary games. Tons of power-ups: triple ball, bigger paddle, cannon, level skip. Fan obstacles manipulate ball direction. Really awesome Spectrum game.
Trashman (ZX Spectrum)
I thought it was a racing game but you’re literally a garbage man. Like Paper Boy but slow as molasses and the opposite of fun. Walk slowly to grab cans, avoid cars, remember where to return them. The game sucks – never made it past level one.
ZPF (Genesis)
Another modern shooter with three ships which have melee attacks. Super short levels that flash by fast. Amazing graphics across fantasy, alien, and cyberpunk themes. Features one incredibly awesome track I fell in love with. Fast-paced and visually stunning.
