Retro Game Challenge

(Xseed; US: 10 Feb 2009)

Review [16.Mar.2009]

If there’s a definitive theme to 2009’s games, it’s one of refinement. All of the major titles used familiar game designs and honed them to perfection. One DS game, Retro Game Challenge, took that theme and really created something new with it. You play a person whose been sucked back in time to the ‘80s, playing old Nintendo games until you can win your way back home. To do this you hang out at a friend’s house, reading through old magazines for tips, counting the days until games come out, and playing out new challenges. You play through eight careful parodies of old Nintendo games, all perfectly designed to be both easier to play but challenging if you want them to be. With so many games channeling the familiar at players this year, it’s refreshing to see one do this in such a unique way. By recreating the magazines and sleep-over culture of playing games in the 1980’s, Retro Game Challenge makes you into a kid again.