Mystery World Dizzy Cartridge Arrives

I am a HUGE Dizzy fan and have spoken about my love for the series many times before (including meeting the creators the Oliver Twins and getting my swag signed). So when the Kickstarter for a NES working cartridge copy of an unreleased Dizzy game came up I funded that quickly. Now nearly half a year later my cartridge has arrived and I love it. I hope to play it soon but for the moment it's sitting on my pile of shame.

Mystery World Dizzy NES Cartridge Kickstarter

As a gamer in my mid-30's I have fond memories of gaming in the 80's. But there is one series which came out on the micro computers that holds a special place in my heart, and that series is Dizzy, the lovable puzzle solving egg. 

I have always had a soft spot for the good egg so when I heard that there was a Kickstarter to release a new (old found) game from the Oliver Twins I jumped at the chance to get in on the action. I played nearly all of the original Dizzy games on the Amstrad CPC 464 back in the 80's and held the games and their creators in high regard, fulfilling a geeky dream by listening to them at a retrospective of their career, meeting them and getting some of my games signed by them a few years ago. 

For those who are unaware Mystery World Dizzy is the NES game that was never released, even though the Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy had done so well on the platform. The game was discovered in the attic by the Twins and with the help of the online community was fixed and repaired to become playable and free to download online.  I have Kickstarted the physical NES release of the game and hope to get my mitts on the cartridge in February 2018. As of writing the campaign is still on, so if you are interested get on it now!

Mystery World Dizzy © Chris Wilkins, Oliver Twins

Video Game Socks

It was my birthday a few days ago and I received these rather spiffing video games socks as a pressie. I don't usually shill stuff on here but I do think they are pretty cool. They are made by Sammy Icon and they are nifty and comfortable. So if you have a geek in your life these are a good gift.

NES 3D Emulator

There are loads of great emulators out there but there is a new emulator that allowed people to play NES games in a 3D perspective. The games themselves haven't been re-coded or altered but rather the backgrounds altered on the z-axis to give it a diorama look. The results are so-so but on some games they really pop, check out the video below of Mega Man and be prepared to be impressed!

NES Classic Mini

Nintendo just dropped a bombshell and have announced that on 11th November, the NES Classic Mini Edition ill be released for $59.99. The NES in a mini version of the classic system we all grew up with and loved but smaller, thus the mini. The system comes with a NES controller which can be used on the Wii and WiiU. It will also come pre-installed with 30 of the 'best' NES games (or so they say, I'm not the biggest fan of Tecmo Bowl but the list is very impressive indeed) and will be able to be plugged into your current fancy TV set by using the HDMI cord. The machine will not be able to play original NES cartridges and there will not be an ability to download additional games after release but still, 30 NES games for about $2 a-piece is not bad at all. The full list of games included are :

Balloon Fight, Bubble Bobble, Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Double Dragon II: The Revenge, Dr. Mario, Excitebike, Final Fantasy, Galaga, Ghosts ‘N Goblins, Gradius, Ice Climber, Kid Icarus, Kirby’s Adventure, Mario Bros., Mega Man 2, Metroid, Ninja Gaiden, Pac-Man, Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream, StarTropics, Super C, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Tecmo Bowl, The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

Metroid: The Sky Calls

I am a huge Metroid fan, falling in love with the series on the Gameboy with Metroid 2 (I never playedthe original Metroid on the NES until years later) and playing every iteration since. Well, director Sam Balcomb and Rainfall Films have teamed up to present a live action short film set in the Metroid universe with Jessica Chobot (of Nerdist fame).

In their own words:


The classic Nintendo franchise, Metroid, envisioned through the lens of 60s-70s science fiction cinema such as 2001, Alien, and Solaris: this was the concept for Rainfall’s most recent production. Instead of using a modern approach, a style was developed more in tune with the themes that inspired the first Metroid game in 1986: isolation, exploration, and the wonders of deep space.

I watched the short film and loved it, the mood and the music were spot on. There were a couple of elements of Other M in there but not too much, thank god. For any fans of the classic Nintendo series check out the awesome video below!

Wonderland Dizzy

I'm a huge fan of the Oliver Twins, creators of the classic gaming character Dizzy. I got to meet my childhood gaming heroes last year at the Cambridge Museum of Gaming History and they were wonderful enough to sign my retro Dizzy swag. Well last week they were going back to the Museum to make an announcement, unfortunately prior engagements means that I was unable to go but what followed blew my mind- there is a new old Dizzy game! I'll let the Twins explain themselves the story of their re-discovery in the video below:

Wonderland Dizzy is an old game which was planned for the NES but was never released. The game is available free to play through the link below. For old skool fans like me this is amazing news, especially after the Kickstarter for a new Dizzy game failed to meet its targets. Well, onwards and upwards with classic Dizzy!

The Genesis Power Team

We all have fond memories of our childhood but few of us have video footage. Tyler Esposito, the creator behind the Sega Channel, found some old video footage and has been slowly uploading it on youtube. Of particular note is the promo he and his father made in the early 90's to convince some of his family to pack in their NES and jump on over to the Genesis. It's a wonderful video clip and the enthusiasm and bond father and son have is there for all to see.

Tyler has described the video thusly:

My Dad and I were a video game duo in the early 90's. This is a promo video we made for some of our family in an attempt to win them over to SEGA. Dedicated in loving memory to my Dad.

The Advantage Plays Rocking Moon Theme from Ducktales NES

Whilst listening to a podcast I heard about a band who play rocking covers of classic NES chiptunes. The Advantage is an American rock band from California, USA that formed in 1998 and specialises in doing covers of music from old NES games. The band is considered to be one of the original pioneers of the Nintendocore genre and widely praised for bringing video game music into the spotlight. This is a piece I particularly like, check out more videos on youtube!

3 Hour + NES Title Screen Mashup

Avid gamer NicksplosionFX has had a lot of time, creating a mashup of all the NES title screens... whilst not 100% complete it is something to behold, having that wave of 'I remember that'. Check it out and spread the nostalgia love. Props to wired.com to bringing it to my attention!