Retro Gamer

Retro Gamer is the only magazine in the UK that’s fully dedicated to the halcyon days of classic gaming. If you’ve ever fondly blasted away at the Bydo Empire in R-Type, swung Bowser by the tail in Super Mario 64, or navigated all 20 levels of Matthew Smith’s Manic Miner, then this is the magazine for you. Created by a dedicated team of experts, Retro Gamer’s mission is to deliver constantly engaging and passionately written articles that cover a wide range of subjects. We offer our readership in-depth looks at classic games and franchises, behind-the-scenes glimpses of the software houses from yesteryear, and one-on-one exclusive interviews with industry veterans such as Archer Maclean and Hideo Kojima. Stylish, entertaining and beautifully presented, Retro Gamer is the ultimate guide to videogaming’s rich and diverse history.

THE RETROBATES • WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE R-TYPE MEMORY?

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MASTERS IN HISTORY • Dominik Diamond discusses GamesMaster: The Oral History

Hello, goodbye

Hints of greatness

Evercade levels up • Get the latest details on Blaze’s brand-new console

NEWS JULY 2004

THE LATEST NEWS FROM JULY 2004

THIS MONTH IN…

CHARTS JULY 2004

Lock’N’ Chase • I’LL DEFINITELY DO MORE CRIMES

THE HISTORY OF: R•TYPE • WHEN R-TYPE ARRIVED IN ARCADES IN 1987, HORIZONTAL SHOOT-’EM-UPS WERE NEVER THE SAME AGAIN, AND THE SERIES HAS CONTINUED TO REPRESENT THE BEST THE GENRE HAS TO OFFER EVER SINCE. WE SPEAK TO KAZUMA KUJO TO FIND OUT HOW THE SERIES HAS EVOLVED, AND WHAT’S COMING NEXT

FEEL THE FORCE • DISCOVER WHAT MAKES R-TYPE’S ICONIC POWER-UP TICK

REINFORCEMENTS • DON’T LIKE THE REGULAR FORCE? HERE ARE SOME OF THE MANY ALTERNATIVES AVAILABLE

THE ETERNAL ENEMY • NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO TO DOBKERATOPS, IT KEEPS COMING BACK FOR MORE – HERE ARE ALL OF ITS APPEARANCES SO FAR

TACTICAL SHIFT • HOW R-TYPE PIVOTED TO TURN-BASED STRATEGY IN ITS POST-SHOOTING YEARS

INTERSTELLAR IMITATORS • R-TYPE HAS INSPIRED QUITE A FEW GAMES OVER THE YEARS – HERE ARE SOME NOTABLE EXAMPLES

BYDO BYGONES • HOW R-TYPE FINAL 2 PROVIDES THE ULTIMATE R-TYPE MUSEUM

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THE EVOLUTION OF IMPOSSIBLE MISSION • A new benchmark was set for C64 gaming with the release of Impossible Mission, but Dennis Casw ell let others followup his secret agent platform er. Dennis and the designers of Impossible Mission’s sequels explain how the series evolved

STAGES OF EVOLUTION: AGENTS OF CHANGE • HOW THE OPERATIVES OF THE IMPOSSIBLE MISSION SERIES COMPARE

STAGES OF EVOLUTION: RISE OF THE ROBOTS • THE EVOLUTION OF IMPOSSIBLE MISSION’S MECHANICAL MENACES

STAGES OF EVOLUTION: LEVELLING UP • FROM RANDOM ROOMS AND FORTRESS TOWERS TO SPRAWLING STAGES

THE MAKING OF: RECKLESS RUFUS • BY 1992, IT WAS ALMOST OVER FOR 8-BIT COMPUTERS. WHILE PUBLISHERS WERE RELEASING GAMES, MAINLY ON BUDGET, THEY WERE OFTEN UNINSPIRING LICENSED PRODUCTS AIMED AT A YOUNGER GENERATION. HOWEVER, ONE MAN BELIEVED AN ORIGINAL AND WELL-DESIGNED GAME COULD STILL BE A SUCCESS

CONVERSION CAPERS • Alternative charged regular programmer Paul Griffiths with the Z80 conversions of Reckless Rufus. How do they stand alongside the Commodore original?

THE HISTORY OF ROLAND • Amstrad’s mascot introduced himself via games bundled for free with the Amstrad CPC. So why would players who went on to check out all eight of his commercially-released titles still struggle to pick him out of a police line up?

CONVERSION CAPERS • ROLAND ON THE ROPES APPEARED AS FRED ON OTHER COMPUTERS

MORE FROM AMSOFT • THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY: AMSOFT HAD THE LOT

ROLAND GOES TYPING • TWO OTHER ROLAND GAMES REQUIRED A...