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Julian "Jaz" Rignall

@jazrignall.bsky.social

3.5K followers 91 following 2.4K posts

Playing video games since 1976. Writing about them since 1983.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · Aug 25

A reminder that the second printing of my book is now available at Bitmap Books.

"Highly recommended for the nostalgia trip!" Andrew R
"I really relived my childhood through this one, I love it!" Arjan van der V
"It does not disappoint!" Chris L

www.bitmapbooks.com/collections/...

The Games of a Lifetime

Journey through five decades of retro video game history with Julian ‘Jaz’ Rignall, former CVG & Mean Machines editor, arcade champion, & game culture icon.

www.bitmapbooks.com

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 8h

Yeah. Arcade showroom, and the owners let us turn off the lights to take really good screenshots. These are among the best coin-op shots I ever took. So detailed!

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 8h

Just finished this. Really, really, really fun build, with lots of cool ah-ha moments when you realize what the particular part you're working on actually is, or you see how certain components go together. Amazing detail too. An absolute must-have for LEGO fans who like games.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 12h

Nintendo Playchoice 10 I and II coin-ops are also interesting. The NES had only recently been released in Europe at this point and quite a few of the games on these machines were not yet available to buy. 2/2

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 12h

Back in the day, it was cool being able to step into an arcade and not know what new machines you might be able to find. Here's the hottest stuff from late 1987. 1/2

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 1d

35 years ago, Quickjoy joysticks were basically Quickshot joysticks. Renown for their uncanny ability to spontaneously fall apart if you closed the door too hard, or accidentally left the window open when a gentle breeze was blowing. 🤣

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 1d

Not investing in tech that would dominate multiple generations? I’m sure everything would work out fine for Amstrad…

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 1d

40 years ago, Commodore began selling Amiga Euro dev systems for today's equivalent of £5,300 apiece. Yikes! Meanwhile, wideboy Alan Sugar was avin' it large with a record £20m profit, while also stating CD-ROMS "are not the sort of future Amstrad is concerned about at the moment."😆

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 2d

Zennies ahoy!

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 2d

Ya'll knew this was coming. Japanese vs. Euro box art. Both feature the same picture, but the Japanese version integrates its larger logo across a full bleed picture, while the Euro version sticks the logo in a flugly grid that is far less aesthetically pleasing.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 2d

Yes. Mega Drive controls: A and C to rotate, B to fire.

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 2d

35 years ago I was playing Forgotten Worlds on Mega Drive. It was yet another fine arcade conversion, this time of Capcom's 1988 coin-op shooter. It was missing two of the arcade machine's original nine levels, but was nevertheless very fun to play and looked fabulous.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 3d

Ha! And yes, that's precisely why we spent so much time agonizing over reviews. Only a few years before, we were also kids buying games with very limited pocket money budgets, so we really understood the importance of loading up reviews with as much info as possible!

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 3d

35 years ago, I was playing the best NES shooter I'd seen so far. Life Force (AKA Salamander) was an excellent adaptation of Konami's seminal coin-op and packed a pretty stiff challenge for arcade fans. Quality stuff!

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 3d

35 years ago, review systems were a lot more complex than they are these days. This is the breakdown of how Mean Machines' rating system worked so readers could understand exactly how we judged specific features and what we felt was important.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 4d

Oh, I dunno. I personally cannot wait to see a game from a guy who makes space rockets that explode, cars that kill their drivers, and buys websites that devalue by many billions of dollars almost overnight. Gonna be great!

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 4d

35 years ago, Dragon Breed was on the cover of CVG, scoring 90% (Amiga/ST), 89% (Spec), and 79% (C64). Other top reviews: Lotus Esprit Turbo Amiga 94%; Spy Who Loved Me Amiga 91%; Spindizzy 2 ST 93%; Badlands Amiga/ST 90%; Vaccine Amiga/ST 90% ; Moonwalker MD 88%; Klax PCE 94%

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 5d

Another epic chat with @digitalfoundry.bsky.social and @geordiegamer.bsky.social this weekend. And now I've busted these out of the archives for research purposes. What could we be doing? I ain't telling, but if you read Mean Machines back in the day, it may well be of interest to you!

Stay tuned!

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 5d

35 years ago the Euro console invasion was well underway. The Amiga was the last home computer still standing (other than PC) but cost over 2x as much as a Mega Drive. The MD's lower price plus fab range of games made it a very appealing purchase option for both parents and kids.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 6d

Indeed you did. That’ll teach me to post while watching the footie. 😁

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 6d

I believe you’re overlooking @garywhitta.com, aged about 12. He can correct me I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure he is that skinny child to the left of the dude in the tan jacket.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 6d

Yeah, my two favorite Internet things. What I say is right and everyone else is wrong. And the classic, everyone should do things according to my own personal rulebook. 😃

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 6d

Probably because that's the way I feel and you feel differently. That's how opinions and personal feelings work, right?

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 6d

Starts off a bit slow but soon picks up the pace. Maybe it's not for you, but it gets incredible in scope and scale.

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 6d

Yeah, once was more than enough for me. Out of interest, have you watched Foundation on Apple? That is a really fun epic space opera in my book.

Coming Soon

once.is

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 6d

Yeah, for me, way too slow, way too much tedious expositional dialogue, story lacked interesting elements, characters utterly dull. Easily the most disappointing movie for me in recent years.