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Nick Thorpe

@hkt3030.neocities.org

1.6K followers 770 following 2.7K posts

Struggling to pass as human since the mid-80s. Not fussy about my pronouns. Features editor at @retrogamermag.bsky.social with occasional bylines elsewhere. https://hkt3030.neocities.org/

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Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · Oct 17

Wow, hello new followers! If you don't know me from elsewhere, I tend to post about this stuff:

- Games, often old ones
- Retro Gamer
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Wrestling, usually AEW
- Heavy music
- Anime, often old ones
- Funny little anecdotes
- A little politics (sorry, I do try to keep it minimal)

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Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 24m

#ScanlineSunday

Sonic The Hedgehog (Mega Drive, 1991)
Sony KV-28HX15U
RGB SCART

A close-up photo of Sonic The Hedgehog for the Mega Drive, displayed on a CRT TV. Sonic has his arms up and a shocked expression on his face, as he travels down a water slide in the Labyrinth Zone.

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Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 7h

“Next time, I guess I'll have to afford the act of shooting dinosaurs with exploding brain drills the gravitas it deserves.” - A rather annoyed me, ten years ago

Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 15h

Ah, see I love Flicky. I never cared too much for Altered Beast, and while I've got a huge amount of affection for Alex Kidd overall, I don't really rate Enchanted Castle.

Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 16h

Good stuff! I've kept this tiny Yohane on my desk for a good few years now

A tiny figure of Yoshiko Tsushima (Yohane!) from Love Live Sunshine, sitting on the rim of a can of Monster Ultra.

Reposted by Nick Thorpe

Raven Paine @ravenpaine.bsky.social · 17h

my friend just shared this with me

Dr Eggman Robotnic drawn in two images, Designed with Gamers in mind: Caked up Robotnic, Designed with activists in mind: no ass Robotnic looks sad

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Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 16h

Provided in the spirit of seeing more smiles: "Did you hear they've made a smart knife now? Apparently, the firmware was written in C#"

(Don't worry, I'll see myself out.)

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Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 17h

See I say that sort of thing too, but I'm pretty sure I see Yohane lurking there…

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Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 17h

It does seem to be a bigger deal there! I'm very fond of it myself, I remember being fascinated with it ever since I first read about it in a Mean Machines Sega review guide. I didn't really think about how much I've played it until I set a decent score on a cabinet at Arcade Club years ago.

A photo of the high score table on a Flicky arcade cabinet. The entries are as follows:

1: NIK - 92,690 (Round 10)
2: Blank - 59,980 (Round 8)
3: Blank - 26,110 (Round 5)
4: A - 20,530 (Round 5)
5: Blank - 20,050 (Round 4)
6: Blank - 16,130 (Round 4)
7: Blank - 13,020 (Round 2)

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Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 19h

I think that's what makes this one fascinating to me - Mega Games ones were generally just "here are some great games" but by the time Classic Collection came around, they were doing more coherently themed ones like Sonic Compilation, Sega Sports 1 and the Castle Of Illusion/Quackshot cart.

Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 19h

Yeah, I doubt I'd have Gunstar Heroes without this cart having been released. We got quite a few compilation carts over here, most under the Mega Games brand. Later on we started getting themed ones like Sonic Compilation, Sega Sports 1 and the Disney Collection, but this one doesn't seem coherent.

Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 19h

What's even better is that Classic Collection doesn't have the region lock code that solo Gunstar Heroes carts have, so you can start it up at 60Hz with no problem.

Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 19h

Hey, it’s random game Saturday!

Classic Collection is a PAL exclusive Mega Drive compilation, released in late 1996. I’d love to know the decision-making process behind bundling these particular games, because I can’t figure it out at all! Still, two good ones and some bonus tat, so can’t complain.

A PAL Mega Drive copy of Classic Collection – a compilation cartridge featuring Gunstar Heroes, Altered Beast, Flicky, and Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle.

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Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 20h

Blimey, that’s so long ago that Retro Gamer was still made in an office. Scary to think we were coming up for issue 200 then, and now 300 is close enough that it’s something we should probably start thinking about.

Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 22h

Funnily enough, I just did a review of the collection and I said the same thing – Bubsy’s movement can be a bit weird at times but once you’re primed to react to it, it’s a game you can have fun with. There are certainly far worse examples of the genre.

Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 23h

I salute your endurance!

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Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 1d

Well gosh darn, in my quest to get some nice screenshots of Xbox 360 games, I actually managed to play Bioshock for 25 minutes without feeling sick.

A screenshot of Bioshock for the Xbox 360. The player is blasting a Rosie-type Big Daddy with the Electro Bolt plasmid, to stun it.

Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 2d

Yeah, that low barrier to entry was why it was such a hit in my house - cool stuff would happen on screen and fights would often go down to the wire, no matter who was playing. I do always try to highlight that the series is more than just a gimmick, but it's not easy to get people to look past it.

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Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 2d

Funnily enough, the fight in the Vegas screenshot there ended with Eliot getting hit by a car

Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 2d

Oh, now Amped 3 was another one that my housemates really enjoyed. I’d managed to pick it up cheap and the odd humour went down really well.

I didn’t get Kameo until Rare Replay came along, but I did see it on demo pods and yeah, very striking to see back then, especially on those HD displays.

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Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 2d

Hah, "Flirtua Fighter" is great. I ended up reviewing DOA5 Last Round for Play when it came out on PS4, I liked the game but only gave it 70-something because it wasn't a huge upgrade over the previous version, especially given the move to stronger hardware. Maybe a bit harsh, in hindsight.

Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 2d

20 years ago, Dead Or Alive 4 was one of the games that had me really interested in the imminent arrival of the Xbox 360. It got loads of play in my student house when I finally got it. Amazing to think a game this colourful would kick off a console generation known for its desaturated visuals.

A screenshot of Dead Or Alive 4 for the Xbox 360. It's night time in a brightly lit city that resembles Las Vegas, and a fight is taking place on a wet road. Kasumi has kicked Eliot hard, sending him flying backwards towards a metal fence.

A screenshot of Dead Or Alive 4 for the Xbox 360. It's a somewhat cloudy but bright day, and a fight is taking place in a grassy area as animals such as giraffes and elephants wander among the trees in the background. Tina is falling backwards to the floor, as Kasumi stomps on her face from above.

A screenshot of Dead Or Alive 4 for the Xbox 360. It's daytime and a fight has reached the bottom of a valley, where a shallow river flows past fallen trees. Ayane is stunned by the force of Kasumi's jumping high knee attack.

A screenshot of Dead Or Alive 4 for the Xbox 360. A fight is taking place in a neon-lit indoor space, which looks as much like a high-tech dance club as a fighting arena. Kasumi is tumbling toward the floor after being caught by Gen Fu's throw.

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Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 2d

Reduced from £60! That must have happened when they realised Mortal Kombat Annihilation is in the box.

Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 2d

Damn, that’s sad. My parents divorced under acrimonious circumstances when I was four, never had a problem telling me how much they disliked each other, but they actually pulled together to get me a PlayStation.

Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 2d

Ah yes. Many don’t know that people commonly ate dry breakfast cereal with their hands, until Big Utensil popularised putting milk on it in the 1930s to sell more spoons.

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Nick Thorpe @hkt3030.neocities.org · 3d

I'm guessing you're trying to grab screens of the PS2 version, right? The PS2 is a pain in general. I think this was about the best I managed with it.

A screenshot of Tekken Tag Tournament for PlayStation 2. Lei hits Julia with a rising punch.