Julian "Jaz" Rignall
@jazrignall.bsky.social
Playing video games since 1976.
Writing about them since 1983.
Writing about them since 1983.
Pinned
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
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/...
"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/...
35 years ago, John Madden was on Mean Machines' cover. It scored 95%. Other top reviews:
NES: Solar Jetman 94%, World Wrestling (85%), Batman 87%
Mega Drive: Super Monaco GP 93%, Hellfire 93%, Arnold Palmer Golf 83%, Ghostbusters 80%
GX4000: Pang 93%
Game Boy: Batman 85%
NES: Solar Jetman 94%, World Wrestling (85%), Batman 87%
Mega Drive: Super Monaco GP 93%, Hellfire 93%, Arnold Palmer Golf 83%, Ghostbusters 80%
GX4000: Pang 93%
Game Boy: Batman 85%
November 19, 2025 at 10:36 AM
35 years ago, John Madden was on Mean Machines' cover. It scored 95%. Other top reviews:
NES: Solar Jetman 94%, World Wrestling (85%), Batman 87%
Mega Drive: Super Monaco GP 93%, Hellfire 93%, Arnold Palmer Golf 83%, Ghostbusters 80%
GX4000: Pang 93%
Game Boy: Batman 85%
NES: Solar Jetman 94%, World Wrestling (85%), Batman 87%
Mega Drive: Super Monaco GP 93%, Hellfire 93%, Arnold Palmer Golf 83%, Ghostbusters 80%
GX4000: Pang 93%
Game Boy: Batman 85%
40 years ago, I reviewed these joysticks. The Joy Card was a new concept in 1985, and while it took a bit of getting used to, I thought it was great. No idea it was the future of controllers, though! Meanwhile, the Quickshots I and II were cheap, creaky, and not very durable. 😂
November 19, 2025 at 10:26 AM
40 years ago, I reviewed these joysticks. The Joy Card was a new concept in 1985, and while it took a bit of getting used to, I thought it was great. No idea it was the future of controllers, though! Meanwhile, the Quickshots I and II were cheap, creaky, and not very durable. 😂
Here's an unusual Rare rarity - their conversion of Williams' classic Pinbot pinball table. I reviewed this 35 years ago, and as a huge fan of the original silverball machine, I loved it. Rare really managed to capture the feel of the real thing. Very cool and often overlooked NES title.
November 18, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Here's an unusual Rare rarity - their conversion of Williams' classic Pinbot pinball table. I reviewed this 35 years ago, and as a huge fan of the original silverball machine, I loved it. Rare really managed to capture the feel of the real thing. Very cool and often overlooked NES title.
35 years ago I was having tons o' fun with SMS Mickey Mouse. Really nice graphics, great tunes, and mega-addictive platforming action made this a Master System must. If you're a fan of Sega's classic 8-bit machine and don't have this excellent title in your collection, get it!
November 18, 2025 at 10:02 AM
35 years ago I was having tons o' fun with SMS Mickey Mouse. Really nice graphics, great tunes, and mega-addictive platforming action made this a Master System must. If you're a fan of Sega's classic 8-bit machine and don't have this excellent title in your collection, get it!
40 years ago, this landmark compilation was released. We'd certainly seen a few good compilations before, but this one featured an excellent collection of solid gold, heavy-hitting titles. Definitely something you'd want Santa to drop down the chimney for Xmas 1985!
November 17, 2025 at 10:58 AM
40 years ago, this landmark compilation was released. We'd certainly seen a few good compilations before, but this one featured an excellent collection of solid gold, heavy-hitting titles. Definitely something you'd want Santa to drop down the chimney for Xmas 1985!
40 years ago, I was playing Scarabaeus on the C64. Although it has obviously aged, this was a really cool 3D arcade adventure with some fun puzzles to solve. Very atmospheric, and it gave me my very first proper video game jump-scare. Very different - and way ahead of its time.
November 17, 2025 at 10:46 AM
40 years ago, I was playing Scarabaeus on the C64. Although it has obviously aged, this was a really cool 3D arcade adventure with some fun puzzles to solve. Very atmospheric, and it gave me my very first proper video game jump-scare. Very different - and way ahead of its time.
40 years ago, ZZAP! had this fabulous ZOIDS cover. Top reviews: Scarabaeus 96%, Batalyx 94%, Who Dares Wins 90%, ACE 90%, Z 88%, Crazy Comets 84%, and the synth program Electrosound 97%. Excellent month for games - Xmas 1985 was an incredible time for software development.
November 14, 2025 at 11:06 AM
40 years ago, ZZAP! had this fabulous ZOIDS cover. Top reviews: Scarabaeus 96%, Batalyx 94%, Who Dares Wins 90%, ACE 90%, Z 88%, Crazy Comets 84%, and the synth program Electrosound 97%. Excellent month for games - Xmas 1985 was an incredible time for software development.
40 years ago, Elite was advertising its upcoming ports of Capcom's epic Commando coin-op. Of course, being Elite they used a faux screenshot to big it up. However, despite this marketing trick, these conversions were fine. Not brilliant, but good enough to keep players happy.
November 14, 2025 at 10:59 AM
40 years ago, Elite was advertising its upcoming ports of Capcom's epic Commando coin-op. Of course, being Elite they used a faux screenshot to big it up. However, despite this marketing trick, these conversions were fine. Not brilliant, but good enough to keep players happy.
40 years ago, MicroDealer was slow paying the Band Aid Trust cash from Soft Aid - prolly so they could earn a bit of extra interest. Commodore positioned the C128 as a biz machine. Lol. And BT launched Rainbird "to attack the US," which it failed to do. Did fine in Europe, tho'.
November 14, 2025 at 10:45 AM
40 years ago, MicroDealer was slow paying the Band Aid Trust cash from Soft Aid - prolly so they could earn a bit of extra interest. Commodore positioned the C128 as a biz machine. Lol. And BT launched Rainbird "to attack the US," which it failed to do. Did fine in Europe, tho'.
35 years ago, I wrote this article about the Super Famicom AKA SNES. It had everything I could dig up about Nintendo's new 16-bit console and man, my excitement levels were off the charts. It just sounded incredible! And indeed was. I even mention its possible CD-ROM upgrade! 🤯
November 12, 2025 at 10:33 AM
35 years ago, I wrote this article about the Super Famicom AKA SNES. It had everything I could dig up about Nintendo's new 16-bit console and man, my excitement levels were off the charts. It just sounded incredible! And indeed was. I even mention its possible CD-ROM upgrade! 🤯
35 years ago, I was going ape over this top-class NES game. Being a Rare release, it had their trademark forced perspective 3D action, was super-original, had fantastic gameplay, and - you just knew this was coming - it was ROCK FREAKIN' HARD. But it was nevertheless epic fun.
November 11, 2025 at 11:01 AM
35 years ago, I was going ape over this top-class NES game. Being a Rare release, it had their trademark forced perspective 3D action, was super-original, had fantastic gameplay, and - you just knew this was coming - it was ROCK FREAKIN' HARD. But it was nevertheless epic fun.
Very cool Sabre Wulf map. Draw by Oli Frey and originally published in CRASH, but then republished in ZZAP! 40 years ago this month to coincide with the game's release on C64. Just a great piece of art, plus a an easy way to fill a couple of pages in our tips section.
November 11, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Very cool Sabre Wulf map. Draw by Oli Frey and originally published in CRASH, but then republished in ZZAP! 40 years ago this month to coincide with the game's release on C64. Just a great piece of art, plus a an easy way to fill a couple of pages in our tips section.
Original arcade flyer. As you can see, this machine was quite the beast, but seriously cool stuff, especially with the head-to-head option enabled.
November 10, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Original arcade flyer. As you can see, this machine was quite the beast, but seriously cool stuff, especially with the head-to-head option enabled.
Original arcade flyer. I really like this. Just a really cool piece of art.
November 10, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Original arcade flyer. I really like this. Just a really cool piece of art.
Another coin-op I was enjoying 35 years ago was GP Rider, a Sega/Yu Suzuki special - and pretty much the ultimate form of the Hang-On series. Twin tilt-to-steer bikes, double screens, excellent gameplay, and top-tier audiovisuals made this a marquee coin-op in any major arcade.
November 10, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Another coin-op I was enjoying 35 years ago was GP Rider, a Sega/Yu Suzuki special - and pretty much the ultimate form of the Hang-On series. Twin tilt-to-steer bikes, double screens, excellent gameplay, and top-tier audiovisuals made this a marquee coin-op in any major arcade.
35 years ago I was playing Taito's Air Inferno, a very unusual 3D aerial firefighting coin-op in which you flew a helicopter on rescue missions, extinguishing conflagrations while rescuing civilians. I rarely saw one outside of the showroom I played it at, but man was it cool.
November 10, 2025 at 10:01 AM
35 years ago I was playing Taito's Air Inferno, a very unusual 3D aerial firefighting coin-op in which you flew a helicopter on rescue missions, extinguishing conflagrations while rescuing civilians. I rarely saw one outside of the showroom I played it at, but man was it cool.
35 years ago, US Gold was peddling Strider 2, a sequel to Strider made under license from Capcom (but who had nothing to do with it). The crap artwork and it being developed by Tiertex pointed toward mediocrity. It did not disappoint. Play Capcom's proper 1999 sequel instead.
November 7, 2025 at 10:31 AM
35 years ago, US Gold was peddling Strider 2, a sequel to Strider made under license from Capcom (but who had nothing to do with it). The crap artwork and it being developed by Tiertex pointed toward mediocrity. It did not disappoint. Play Capcom's proper 1999 sequel instead.
40 years ago, Sinclair allegedly had two new computers on the way, while the pointless 260ST and BBC 32k were toast. And Amstrad fended off the pearl-clutching baboons at BPI who were trying to stop them from making twin cassette deck systems. Good old nanny state BS, basically.🤡
November 7, 2025 at 10:12 AM
40 years ago, Sinclair allegedly had two new computers on the way, while the pointless 260ST and BBC 32k were toast. And Amstrad fended off the pearl-clutching baboons at BPI who were trying to stop them from making twin cassette deck systems. Good old nanny state BS, basically.🤡
35 years ago, I was enjoying playing Solar Jetman. This ace Rare-produced NES game continued the adventures of Jetman, star of Jetpac and Lunar Jetman, which had been published by Ultimate a few years earlier. Super-fun, but being a Rare game, ROCK FREAKIN' HARD of course!
November 6, 2025 at 11:43 AM
35 years ago, I was enjoying playing Solar Jetman. This ace Rare-produced NES game continued the adventures of Jetman, star of Jetpac and Lunar Jetman, which had been published by Ultimate a few years earlier. Super-fun, but being a Rare game, ROCK FREAKIN' HARD of course!
35 years ago this ad featured hands-down, no contest, the coolest stuff in gaming. The Mega Drive was finally officially available in Europe, but everything else was super-exotic and seriously lustful. Neo Geo? SNES? PC Engine GT? Game Gear? Import-only tech o' dreams, basically!
November 5, 2025 at 11:26 AM
35 years ago this ad featured hands-down, no contest, the coolest stuff in gaming. The Mega Drive was finally officially available in Europe, but everything else was super-exotic and seriously lustful. Neo Geo? SNES? PC Engine GT? Game Gear? Import-only tech o' dreams, basically!
Kinect is 15 years old! What an absolute bunch of codswallop it was. And extra bonus - it gave rise to one of the craziest peripherals of all time, which was basically an accident waiting to happen. 🤣
November 4, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Kinect is 15 years old! What an absolute bunch of codswallop it was. And extra bonus - it gave rise to one of the craziest peripherals of all time, which was basically an accident waiting to happen. 🤣
35 years ago, I was playing the absolute crap out of this. John Madden on Mega Drive was an absolute revelation - a fantastic sports sim that evolved the genre by a huge step almost overnight. It not only helped me learn how the sport works, but fall in love with it. Go Niners!
November 4, 2025 at 11:13 AM
35 years ago, I was playing the absolute crap out of this. John Madden on Mega Drive was an absolute revelation - a fantastic sports sim that evolved the genre by a huge step almost overnight. It not only helped me learn how the sport works, but fall in love with it. Go Niners!
35 years ago, TMNT were on the cover of CVG. Top reviews: Mega Drive Strider (95%) and Hellfire (94%); Amiga James Pond (90%), Powermonger (95%), and Battle Command (90%); PC Monkey Island (94%) and Wonderland (88%); NES Indy 3 (89%); PCE Legendary Axe 2 (91%). Amazing variety!
November 3, 2025 at 9:46 AM
35 years ago, TMNT were on the cover of CVG. Top reviews: Mega Drive Strider (95%) and Hellfire (94%); Amiga James Pond (90%), Powermonger (95%), and Battle Command (90%); PC Monkey Island (94%) and Wonderland (88%); NES Indy 3 (89%); PCE Legendary Axe 2 (91%). Amazing variety!
35 years ago I reviewed this - one of the few games released for the ill-fated Amstrad GX4000 console. Looked great, but frustrating dodgy collision detection and random hazards made it horrible to play. A decent tech demo of what the console could do, but not a good game.
November 1, 2025 at 10:39 AM
35 years ago I reviewed this - one of the few games released for the ill-fated Amstrad GX4000 console. Looked great, but frustrating dodgy collision detection and random hazards made it horrible to play. A decent tech demo of what the console could do, but not a good game.
35 years ago, while the now-official Mega Drive and just-released-in-Japan SNES were big news in Europe, the older 8-bit consoles were still going strong. Batman on NES was an 8-bit game I had a lot of fun playing. Just a really solid and entertaining platformer.
October 31, 2025 at 10:46 AM
35 years ago, while the now-official Mega Drive and just-released-in-Japan SNES were big news in Europe, the older 8-bit consoles were still going strong. Batman on NES was an 8-bit game I had a lot of fun playing. Just a really solid and entertaining platformer.