The median age of a gamer is in his/her mid 30′s, and those statistics show that the average gamer grew up in the golden age of electronic entertainment, the 80′s. If the names like Galaga, Life Force, Dragon Warrior, and Bad Dudes causes a grin from ear to ear, then make sure and give Retro Game Challenge a try. Click on the jump for the full review!

Evil Game Master(Fanboy), Arino sends the heroine back to the past to play these Retro games. Most of the Retro Games are knock-off’s of their actual counterparts. Cosmic Zone, is actually Galaga. Arino has a set of 4 challenges for each game. Some of the are easy and are points oriented, while others require research. Don’t write the game off, because of research. Each game comes with a manual, and some of the challeges require a quick glance at the manual to learn certain tricks. This part of the game is done very well. Our heroine also has game magazines he can read for further knowledge, about the game loaded with tips and tricks. The magazines rekindle that old school EGM spark, and even feature some editors that you might recognize. After each of the four challenges are completed, a new game is opened.

Some might find the grind of the game annoying, but this is gaming  before achievements. Finding portals in Cosmic Zone, or trying to pass the 200,000 point barrier was the ultimate bragging right. Rally King is similar to RC Pro Am, while Phantasy Zone is similar to,( insert generic 80′s RPG here). This game sat around in the pile of shame for months, and now it had made a home in the DS. The game magazines are a great homage to the days when waiting for the mailman to bring a new EGM was norm, and the first section you looked at were the, Tips N’ tricks. RGC has a more to offer instead fancy graphics and short quest. It reminds us why we fell in love with games 25 years ago.

Pros: Great Spinoffs of 80′s era games, like: Galaga, RC Pro Am, Dragon Quest(Dragon Warrior). challenges are fun and not too hard. Hours and hours of retro gameplay. The games have a lot of content. the magazines are funny to read and provide with hints and cheats for the games.

Cons: The grind might prove to be to tedious for modern gamers. Graphics show their date. Some of the challenges  require a lot of replay.

Score: 9/10

Quick Notes:

Developer: indieszero
Publisher: Xseed Games
Platform: Nintendo DS
Release date: February 2009
Rating: Everyone

Tags: Reviews