16-Bit Gems #1: Illusion of Gaia (SNES)
Illusion of Gaia was an adventure game distributed by Enix for the Super Nintendo. Released in North America in 1994, it offers a unique twist on a formula made famous by the Legend of Zelda. You can...
View Article16-Bit Gems #2: EVO – Search for Eden (SNES)
EVO: Search for Eden was an adventure game distributed by Enix for the Super Nintendo. Released in North America in 1993, it has some of the most unique gameplay of the time, as well as a plethora of...
View Article16-Bit Gems #3: Star Trek – Starfleet Academy (SNES)
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Starship Bridge Simulator. Great Star Trek game, or greatest Star Trek game? Roo finds out in this latest episode. Other important questions that will be answered: Do the...
View Article16-Bit Gems #4: ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron (Genesis/Mega Drive)
How funked up are you? There’s really only one way to find out. Travel back. WAAAY back to a time when backwards hats and boomboxes ruled the Earth. Or in this case, Funkotron. Join Roo as he...
View Article16-Bit Gems #5: Secret of Evermore (SNES)
It’s the triumphant return of 16-Bit Gems! How great was Secret of Mana… er, Evermore? Better than you may remember. Roo will guide you down memory lane and challenge the discontent you may have felt...
View Article16-Bit Gems #6: Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES, Genesis/Mega Drive)
The Commodore joins Roo in this very special episode for a 2-player review of Zombies Ate My Neighbors. Continuing our celebration of Halloween-fest-tober 2009, we take you back to when Lucasarts was a...
View Article16-Bit Gems #7: Mega Man – The Wily Wars (Genesis/Mega Drive)
It’s 4 game reviews for the price of 1! What a deal! Roo dives into one of the first compilation games ever made. Why have I never heard of this game? Can you remix the best music of the NES and...
View Article16-Bit Gems #8: ActRaiser (SNES)
We’re digging early in the Super Nintendo’s life cycle this week to bring you a game that many people didn’t play, but the few that did will never forget. ActRaiser may have gotten lost alongside such...
View Article16-Bit Gems #9: Aladdin (SNES, Genesis/Mega Drive)
Roo takes on the irate gamers of the world in order to prove that just because a game (or two) is licensed after a hit movie, it doesn’t mean it should be given a shoddy review. In this episode, we...
View Article16-Bit Gems #10: EarthBound – A History
For his 10th 16-Bit Gem, Roo celebrates by taking a thorough look at the history of perhaps the biggest cult hit video game series of all time. He’ll explore the twists and turns of how a...
View Article16-Bit Gems #11: EarthBound – The Review (SNES)
Roo finishes off EarthBound-a-palooza with a thorough review of the game itself. By examining the story, writing, graphics, music (good God, the music), and all the other little touches that make...
View Article16-Bit Gems #12: TurboGrafx-16 Retrospective & Ninja Spirit
In this episode, we not only take on an underappreciated game, we take on one from an underappreciated console… that’s meta. Roo warms up with a history of the TurboGrafx-16, which spawned innovative...
View Article16-Bit Gems #13: Star Trek – The Next Generation (SNES, Genesis/Mega Drive)
In this episode, Roo takes on not just an underappreciated game, but one that’s outright maligned. But is all the bad press this game has gotten just a misunderstanding? Perhaps all the public needs is...
View Article16-Bit Gems #14: Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES)
The first American release in the popular Japanese "Goemon" series, Legend of the Mystical Ninja was an early entry in the Super Nintendo’s lineup that unfortunately was ignored by many kids of the...
View Article16-Bit Gems Extra #1: Video Game / Pop Music Similarities
Did you ever get a feeling of deja vu when playing a video game – a feeling that perhaps that music was just a bit too familiar? Whether by accident or design, some VG soundtracks sound a lot like pop...
View Article16-Bit Gems Extra #1.5: Earth Bound Prototype Hands-On (NES)
It’s one of the rarest video game cartridges in existence. Earth Bound (Mother) was fully ready for release on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990, but only got as far as a handful of...
View Article16-Bit Gems #1: Illusion of Gaia (Commentary)
To start off our week of anniversary-related videos, we have a question for you. Have you ever wanted to watch the very first video ever released by CotGW with Roo rambling over the audio? Well, your...
View Article16-Bit Gems #15: Terranigma (SNES)
To wrap up our first anniversary, we have the most requested game to review from our fans. The sequel to Illusion of Gaia – Terranigma. The very definition of a hidden gem, this game never even saw a...
View Article16-Bit Gems #10: EarthBound – A History (Commentary)
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of EarthBound’s release in North America, Roo revisits his most popular video in order to share insight on his feelings toward the EarthBound community, Nintendo, and...
View Article16-Bit Gems #16: Alien Soldier (Genesis/Mega Drive)
Roo explores one of the best run & gun games ever made – and one that didn’t originally make it to America – with Alien Soldier. This game has it all: Tons of bosses, great weapons, a cyborg...
View Article16-Bit Gems #17: Castlevania – Rondo of Blood (TG-CD)
There have been many great Castlevania games over the years, but would you believe that one of the best hasn’t been available to the West until very recently? Roo takes up the mantle of perhaps the...
View Article16-Bit Gems #18: Liberty or Death (SNES, Genesis)
In a title that could be named: "America: The Video Game", Roo finds a historical strategy game that winds up being one of the very best that this sadly limited genre had to offer on 16-bit consoles....
View Article16-Bit Gems #19: The Lost Vikings (SNES, Genesis/Mega Drive)
Vikings, time travel, and rocking out. It’s your standard video game plot from the early 90’s – but Blizzard Entertainment went the extra mile in bringing these elements together to create one of the...
View Article16-Bit Gems #20: BS Zelda (& Satellaview Retrospective)
In honor of the 25th anniversary of the Legend of Zelda, Roo tackles perhaps the rarest set of Zelda games out there (and no, the CD-i ones don’t count – ever). Released on the Nintendo Satellaview in...
View Article8-Bit Gems #21: North & South (NES)
It’s amazing that it took Roo until April 1st to review this – one of his favorite games for the NES. North & South is a strategic action platformer about the Civil War that was created by a...
View Article16-Bit Gems #22: Lufia II (SNES)
Let’s face it – Square dominated the RPG market in the 16-Bit era. However, their long shadow covered up several gems from little-known developers that deserve to see the light of day. In this case,...
View Article16-Bit Gems #23: seaQuest DSV (SNES/Genesis)
Ah, seaQuest. Wait, didn’t we do this one? About the sci-fi show from the 90’s with the large ship, boy genius, and opening monologe that… oh SEAquest! Right, that old game that most people didn’t...
View Article16-Bit Gems #24: Pulseman (Genesis/Mega Drive)
What did the developers of Pokemon make before there was Pokemon? Games about mad scientists who impregnated artifical cyberspace life forms in order to create unholy abominations of electricity and...
View Article8-Bit Gems #21: North & South [Commentary]
To celebrate the 2nd anniversary of the Clan of the Gray Wolf, discover all the secrets behind Roo’s April Fool’s vid for 2011! You can watch the original episode right here. And yes, don’t worry,...
View Article16-Bit Gems #25: Soul Blazer (SNES)
To celebrate the 2nd anniversary of Clan of the Gray Wolf, Roo completes the Gaia trilogy by taking on the game that started it all – Soul Blazer. One of Quintet’s earliest titles, this game set up...
View Article16-Bit Gems #26: Super Adventure Island II (SNES)
We all know what we’re in for when we play an Adventure Island game: Puzzles, swords, magic, and… downthrusts? No, Super Adventure Island 2 may not be the game you’d expect, but it’s so much more....
View Article16-Bit Gems #27: Sunset Riders (SNES, Genesis)
This Konami arcade classic was once ported to both the Super Nintendo and Genesis. But how well did they stack up to the original? And which one took quite a departure from its initial version? Roo...
View Article16-Bit Gems #28: Clock Tower (SNES)
Believe it or not, there were survival horror games before Resident Evil. Not many… but still. Clock Tower for the Super Nintendo was one of the pioneers of the genre, bringing creepy atmosphere, a...
View Article16-Bit Gems #29: Pac-Man 2 (SNES, Genesis)
A Pac-Man game is a Pac-Man game is a Pac-Man game, right? Not when it’s Pac-Man 2 – Namco’s unexpected foray into point and click adventure. While it threw Pac-fans for a loop in the 90’s, we can...
View Article16-Bit Gems #30: Rise of the RPG – A History
Roo presents a retrospective on the rise of the Japanese Role-Playing Game – running from tabletop wargames up through Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy – and discusses their impact on the genre as a...
View Article64-Bit Gems #31: Dragon Quest VIII (PS2)
Roo takes advantage this April 1st to talk an RPG that gets just about everything right – Dragon Quest VIII, for the Playstation 2. Watch for an explanation of why this is a game any JRPG fan can’t...
View ArticleGame Quickie: Bubsy
Bubsy’s one of the worst video games ever made… or is it? Let’s take a quick look and actually give it a critical eye. “Game Quickie” concept by retrowaretv.com Tweet
View Article16-Bit Gems Extra #2: Cleaning Retro Video Game Cartridges
Waiting for that lazy slob to make more 16-Bit Gems? Wash your disappointment away as Roo shows you some tips and tricks to make your neglected video game cartridges look like new… -ish. Clean your...
View Article16-Bit Gems #32: Dragon Quest I & II
16-Bit Gems is back! After a short haitus, Roo continues his mini-retrospective on the Dragon Quest series. This time, he looks at the definitive versions of the first two games, and examines how they...
View Article16-Bit Gems #33: Dragon Quest III
Roo brings back 16-Bit Gems in style with the finale of the 4-part Dragon Quest retrospective! After looking at the history of RPGs, the Super Nintendo remakes of DQ 1&2, and the modern classic of...
View Article16-Bit Gems – #34: Plok!
Roo is back again with a casualty of the “cutesy character flood” of 1993. Plok looks like any number of platformers on the Super Nintendo, but look deeper and you’ll find one of the most original and...
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