Hey!

Happy Thursday! In this week’s retro gaming round up we’ve got Mother 3, Pokemon, Resi Evil, & Portal, alongside a healthy helping of Mortal Kombat goodness.

This weekend I’m hoping to catch the new Mortal Kombat movie. What’s your favorite video game film?

Thanks for reading!

Benjamin @ Thumb Punks

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Yahoo! Super Mario 64 Plus is a new version of the recent PC port with a number of new features. Marvel at 60FPS action, the ability to continue a level after earning a star (!), bug fixes, and (uh-oh) permadeath. The trailer looks amazing, and you can download the game here if you’re quick.

Back to the Future A new Portal 2 mod has been released, which adds four dimensions and freakin’ time travel. Just in time for the game’s 10th (!) anniversary, Portal Reloaded has its own plot, 100 custom voice lines, new music, 25 brand new puzzles, and amazingly was made by one person. The trailer is brain-melting, as you’d expect. Want more Portal? RockPaperShotgun has 10 facts you may not know.

Super-Ultra-Mambo-Tango-Foxtrot Martial Arts! Mother 3 turned 15 on April 20th, and to celebrate a revised English patch has been released, tidying up errors in the original translation. Go adventuring by downloading the patch here.

Deludged Remember that mammoth drop of PS2 prototypes that dropped several weeks back? Another has landed, featuring PS1, Sega Saturn, and CD-I (!) games. Yowzers.

Primal Rage II - What Happened? (Matt McMuscles, 19 minutes)

Quite the looker, Primal Rage drew crowds with its stop-motion graphics (and made a small fortune in licensing deals). A sequel was in development, but was shuttered due to overambition and rising costs, despite being almost complete. Matt McMuscles looks at the game that never came to be.

Japanese Pokemon Red is VERY Different From US (Shesz, 31 minutes)

The Western and Eastern versions of Pokemon Red have a ton of differences: from different graphics, to weird sprites, script dissimilarities, and even unique Pokemon. This video compares both, with some astounding finds.

This Rare TV has a BUILT IN NINTENDO CONSOLE! (Retro Rick, 32 minutes)

The Sharp TV with a NES built in has become a holy grail of collecting. Retro Rick has managed to find and buy one. He takes you through going to the store, testing the unit, negotiating, and other cool finds on his journey. Gameplay videos next, please!

Secrets of the PS2 DVD Remote (Stop Skeletons from Fighting, 13 minutes)

In this fun vid, Derek puts the PS2 DVD remote through its paces, testing it as a controller with various games. The results are interesting and often hilarious. But why can you play games like this? Stick around for the end of the video to find out.

Mortal Kombat – The Komeback (Polygon, various)

With a new movie on the horizon, Polygon have gone all in with a treasure trove of new articles about the franchise and its games. The first seven minutes of the movie trailer have dropped, too; check them out here!

Resident Evil DASH: Canceled Sequel or Urban Legend? (Den of Geek, 12 minutes)

Is DASH real or a myth? Was it a sequel to Resident Evil 1, or intended as a spin-off? Is the whole thing just a misunderstanding? In this interesting article, Den of Geek go deep into the roots of an enduring mystery.

The Man Who Invented Majora's Mask Reflects on 30 Years at Nintendo (IGN, 27 minutes)

This is a superb interview/article with Takaya Imamura, who worked on the Star Fox franchise, F-Zero, and Majora’s Mask. After recently leaving Nintendo after 32 years, he’s ready to spill the beans about the time with the company and the games he brought to life.

Legend of Zelda: Sheik (Retro Studios) [Wii – Cancelled Concept] (Unseen64, 3 minutes)

Another game that didn’t see the light of day, the Legend of Zelda: Sheik was a darker turn for the franchise, exploring the world of Hyrule if Link had failed in Ocarina of Time. The concept art for the game looks particularly amazing.

Frisky Tom (PS4 & Switch, $7.99)

From Destructoid: “The bizarrely named puzzle-platformer put players in the role of a bowler hat-sporting plumber, who must dash along a fragile piping system fixing joins, repairing punctures, and staying one step ahead of a gang of mischievous mice who attempt to thwart his efforts by literally bombing his fine work.”

Bad Moon Rising (C64, $4.99 digital, $24.99 physical)

An action game that sees you infiltrate a Nazi base – on the moon! - Bad Moon Rising looks very good indeed. From the website: “You must survive interrogation, negotiate the German factory in your captured ship, blast your way through an Operation Wolf inspired level, escape through a shaft leading to the moons surface, battle over the surface of the moon in a beautifully parallaxed scrolling shoot 'em up level, reunite with your crew member in a sideways scrolling level and then punch and kick your way through the final beat'em up level.”

Super Mario: Clouds (NES, $FREE)

This is a fun hack of the original NES platformer that turns everything that can turn into clouds… erm… into clouds. It’s a parody of an earlier mod, and an amusing turn for the title.

Oil Panic (Amstrad, $FREE)

If you remember the old Game & Watch handhelds, you’ll be familiar with Oil Panic, where you try to catch falling oil in buckets. Good news – a faithful port is now available for the venerable Amstrad, letting you play it at home.

Quiz Time: What was Mortal Kombat combatant Ermac named after?

Answer at the end of this email!

• We missed it last week, but the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade sequel, Shredder’s Revenge, has a swanky new gameplay trailer

• Limited Run games is reissuing StarHawk and Metal Masters for the Game Boy – and is also releasing physical copies of Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1

• A Gamecube has been converted into a flowerpot. Oh, the humanity

• A chap called Somari has just completed his collection of all 1053 Famicom games

• Classic game developer Apogee Entertainment is back – and here’s some of their future projects

• This fully-functional NES controller table is fantastic

• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is getting the remake treatment, developed by Aspyr

• The original Shantae game is coming to the Switch on April 22nd

• Sammu has made a mash-up of Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2

• Cult Japanese retailer Super Potato is now taking orders on eBay

• An abysmal remix of Pac-Man Fever is being released as an NFT

Could you share this email? Forwarding it to just one retro gaming friend helps us keep this newsletter free. And if you send it to 10, we’ll love you forever.

Quiz Answer: Error macro – a diagnostic check the game makes as it boots up.

Have a good quiz question? Send it over and I’ll put it in a future edition!

Credit: idonttrustatoms