Growing up in the 80’s was a great time from the music to the movies but what really brings me the fondest memories were the games.
My first experiences of videogames were in my local seaside arcades in Dover where I got to experience the true roots of gaming such as PacMan, Space Invaders, Pong and Donkey Kong to name a few.
Shelling out my pocket money got very expensive and I was so happy when I got a ZX Spectrum at Christmas and playing the same games at home was no longer a dream, it was now a reality!
I loved many games on my Spectrum but have fondest memories of N.O.M.A.D, Mailstrom, Dizzy, Fued, Outrun, Rockstar Eat my Hamster, Batman the Movie and Robocop.
But it was the 16-bit era when the SNES and the Megadrive came out it’s for me when gaming really went to the next level. The Sega Megadrive was an outstanding console and some amazing games such as Sonic, Altered Beast, Streets of Rage and Golden Axe to name a handful. My personal favourite was Sonic 2 with its amazing music visuals and split screen game; I had the honour of playing Sonic 2 before release on the SEGA bus touring the UK.
I was very lucky as my sister owned a Super Nintendo and together we played Super Mario World completing it with every secret, for me this is the definitive platform game even over my beloved Sonic.
The Super Nintendo had the best ever racing game ever in Super Mario Kart and the best fighting game in Street Fighter 2. I used to sneak home at lunch with mates from school to fight it out on a regular basis!
I then owned an Amiga 500+ Cartoon Classics Collection with the most addictive puzzle game of all time – Lemmings!
From the music to the cuteness, the puzzles and the fun of blowing them up like popcorn still gets me to this day.
I also used play on my Friends Atari ST, both 16 bit machines had outstanding games, the ones that stood out were the games by Sensible Software and Team 17. Classics include: Cannon Fodder, Mega Lo Mania, Sensible Soccer, Sensible Golf, Wiz Kid, Project X, Alien Breed, SuperFrog and Assassin.
We then moved onto the N64, Saturn and PS1. I owned the N64 and Saturn and my sister got a PS1 so I got to experience the best games on all platforms. Mario 64 from Nintendo still amazes me even now! I never thought I’d enjoy another Mario game like Super Mario World but I was wrong! Mario in 3D I managed 119 of the 120 hidden stars!
I then owned the Saturn on Launch day, my favourite games were Daytona, Virtua Fighter and Sega Rally. Virtua Fighter was a huge change from 2d fighters and this game still wows me! Also another notable game was Nights into Dreams, a hard to classify work of genius.
My favourite PS1 games were Resident Evil 2 and Destruction Derby let’s see a reboot for DD – it’s about time! Other notable games were Wipeout, Tekken, Crash Bandicoot and Metal Gear Solid.
I do enjoy some modern games but prefer the feel and the fun of the old games, this is due to playability, the graphics were not so important back then and we had to use our imaginations more when gaming creating a better experience overall.
I love games, and with my interest in retro I decided to launch retrogamesmaster.co.uk in October 2015.
It has been a big success I have promoted many indie developers and retro authors being credited in 4 books and one game by the end of 2016.
I have interviewed many icons of gaming history, developers, programmers, publishers, artists, musicians, indie developers, writers and more. So please check out the website to see our extensive range of features and learn from those who made our favourite games.
Happy gaming and let us know your gaming timeline.
Pete Ward
Editor and Founder of retrogamesmaster.co.uk
Please email if you fancy getting involved with the site or want to promote something retro/indie.
editor@retrogamesmaster.co.uk