Topic: What (retro) game are you currently playing?

Just finished Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest for SNES and mastered the Retro Achievements set. I owned the game as a teenager and wanted to replay it. It's a 6/10 game for me, but it was enjoyable to play again.

I guess just on the cusp of being considered 'retro', but I recently replaced the PSU and got a new VGA cable for the Dreamcast so playing a bit of Virtua Tennis to try it out. Holds up really well and looks great on my PC monitor.

I just finished the quest mode of Gauntlet 4 a couple of days ago. I had a lot of fun with it and the soundtrack is fantastic. I played as the warrior during that run.

I'm currently playing the original Phantasy Star through the Sega Ages release on Switch. I recommend it, it feels like an early 16-bit game in several ways: the soundtrack, the 3D dungeons, the animated battle scenes... It was quite a surprise!

The Ages release does help ironing out the rough edges: a dungeon auto-map, a guide of in-game objects... It makes the game less obscure and more enjoyable, in my opinion.

I’ve been playing Diddy Kong Racing for the first time recently on an emulator since I don’t own an N64 or the game cartridge. Plus, since they have yet to officially re-release the game on modern platforms, I’m sure a bunch of people are selling a cartridge of the game online and are slapping absurdly high price tags on it.

It’s pretty fun so far, and I absolutely love the charm and creativity Rare’s games exuded back in the late 90s-early 00s. I’ve not made a whole lot of progress in it yet, but I am on the first boss race against the dinosaur and it’s super hard, thanks to the controls on the emulator. I’ve heard that the game gets harder nearing the end and some races can only be completed using a specific character, or you have a better chance at completing the game with a specific character. The racer I chose was Conker, so maybe I’ll have to swap to someone else to beat the race I’m stuck at.

Apparently, the final boss race is the WORST thing ever from what I’ve heard people online say. Because of the upcoming difficulty spike, paired with somewhat hard controls the emulator I’m using has, I’m unfortunately doubtful I’ll finish the game, but I’ll still like it despite that! Hopefully they do re-release it and give it better controls so I can play it better, but I don’t see that happening for some reason…

I'm currently playing Wario World on the Gamecube.

Considering how short it is, I'm surprised I haven't beaten it yet, I've owned my copy since 2018 but started playing it in 2021, when I finally fixed my system.

If it counts, I'm also playing Jet Force Gemini (NSO version), I'm currently playing the Vela part.

I played Gun Force 2 for the first time the other day, holy crap what an awesome game. Some incredibly cool boss designs. You can really see how it laid the groundwork for the Metal Slug series.

I'm getting back to the original "Sonic The Hedgehog" game on the Genesis Mini console. I owned the game oh, probably 33 or so years ago and got stuck in the watery Labyrinth Zone. I got frustrated with that level beyond my limit and stopped playing, thinking I'd just go back to it. I never did.

Thanks to save states (as I have way less time now than I did when I was a teenager), I have finally gotten past that zone! I also was able to get 4 chaos emeralds to this point, but I don't know if I'll make that a huge priority or not.

I’d say labyrinth ain’t that bad. I got through it fine as a kid, and obviously I didn’t have save states back then.

Literally a retro game: MM Sequel Wars Ep. Red

Been playing Mario Golf for GBC.

Picross 2 on Gameboy for me. Going for all retro achievements too - it's a monster of a game. Using the Raspberry Pi 3 for this one to get the RA. Mister is normally my goto.

Revisiting the MD EA Sports titles I played to death in the early 90s at the moment. NHL 93, PGA Tour, Madden 92 and NBA Live 95. Oh, and some isometric FIFA. Can't remember which one(s) I had back in the day so have spread the love across the MD catalogue.

Still regret selling 15 MD games for a tenner a pop to get a SNES. Should have been more patient...

Lately, I’ve been playing a mix of old and simple games. I’ve been going back to some classics on the Sega Genesis Classics collection on my Switch, which has been a lot of fun. It’s cool to replay those old favorites and find games I didn’t try before. When I want something more relaxing, I like to play https://freecardgames.io/spider-solitaire/ . It’s a nice way to take it easy after spending time with the retro stuff.

Rocket Night Adventure on the Genesis/MegaDrive. A fun and lighthearted mix of platforming and some light SHMUPping.

I’m currently playing Hot Shots Golf/Everybody Golf/Minna de Golf (specifically this one, the Japanese one) on my JP PS1, and it’s a blast. This game was developed by CAMELOT, the same company that handled the Mario Sports games of the era, so it’s essentially Mario Golf 64 with a super clean aesthetic and the same great gameplay, mechanics and animations and music, but with slightly generic but still lovable old digitized 3D renders. Honestly worth the 3$ + free shipping you can find the Japanese version on eBay. Check out the OST for some seriously chill vibes.