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THE RETROBATES
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE
SPECTRUM GAME?
DARRAN JONES
It will always be Sabre Wulf
for me. It’s the Dark Souls of
Spectrum games.
Expertise:
Juggling a gorgeous wife, two
beautiful girls and an awardwinning
magazine
Currently playing:
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Favourite game of all time:
Strider
SAM RIBBITS
Pass.
Expertise:
Pixels
Currently playing:
Life is Strange: Before The
Storm
Favourite game of all time:
Croc: Legend Of The Gobbos
PAUL DRURY
A tie between Jetpac and Manic
Miner, though if we’re talking
a Speccy exclusive, I’ll say the
charming and experimental
Knot in 3D.
Expertise:
Codswallop
Currently playing:
WipEout: The Omega
Collection
Favourite game of all time:
Sheep in Space
NICK THORPE
Deflektor is on other systems
too, but I first played Gremlin’s
excellent puzzle game on the
Spectrum and that’s
the platform I’ll always
associate it with.
Expertise:
Owning five Master Systems
(I sold two)
Currently playing:
Sonic Mania
Favourite game of all time:
Sonic The Hedgehog
JASON KELK
I have fond memories of
Chronos from ‘back in the day’
and enjoy picking it up for a
blast once in a while.
Expertise:
Being a homebrew hero
Currently playing:
Wheelin’ Wally
Favourite game of all time:
Io
MARTYN CARROLL
Jet Set Willy. Exploring Miner
Willy’s mansion is one of my
earliest and fondest gaming
memories.
Expertise:
Sinclair stuff
Currently playing:
The Witness
Favourite game of all time:
Jet Set Willy
DREW SLEEP
R-Type on the Spectrum is
astounding. There must have
been dark rituals involved; actual
magic, you know?
Expertise:
Creating the Optimum Playing
Distance().
Currently playing:
Persona 5
Favourite game of all time:
Final Fantasy VIII
GRAEME MASON
Crikey… that’s akin to choosing
your favourite child. Erm, erm...
I’ll go with Chaos but ask me
again next week and it’ll be
something else.
Expertise:
Adjusting the tape azimuth with
a screwdriver
Currently playing:
Dying Light
Favourite game of all time:
Resident Evil 4
I
always wanted to own a PC Engine and
I’ve always wanted to put it on the cover
of Retro Gamer. It’s the first ever games
machine that I truly coveted, and the first
that felt truly special to me as a youngster. I’d
seen the screenshots of R-Type in the likes of
CVG and the quality of the graphics made me
giddy with excitement. We once screamed
‘Arcade Perfect’ on the cover of Retro
Gamer when we featured the Neo-Geo, but
I’d argue that the tagline was also suitable for
NEC’s delightful console, particularly when
it was placed up against the 8-bit and 16-bit
home computers of the time.
So this month, we’ve spoken to the people
who were on the frontlines when NEC’s
console first arrived, those that were telling
us about this wondrous new console, which
sadly never made the impact here that it
made in its native Japan. I would go on to
own both a PC Engine and the excellent GT
handheld model but, like an idiot, I sold them
on. If you are tempted to pick up a PC Engine
after reading our cover feature then I implore
you not to make the same mistake as me.
I also implore you to read the excellent
edition of Super Play that has been
resurrected for a special one-off issue this
month. It’s been lovingly put together by many
of the original members and is an excellent
companion piece for the incoming release of
the SNES Mini. And who knows? If this issue
is well received there’s always
the chance we’ll return to the
Future vaults and revisit more
classic mags.
Enjoy the magazine(s)!