Retro Profile

Sometimes I can’t help but to be amazed at how good this game is, even in this day and time. Star Fox was the first Super NES game to utilize a graphics enhancer called the “Super FX Micro Chip”. The action was hot, the graphics were phenomenal, and the big explosions were a blast to see. As good as visuals were for it’s time, video games have undergone major 3D graphical i...

In a desperate attempt to recall the nostalgia of writing Retro Profiles, I’ve compiled all of Infendo’s Retro Profiles together. It seemed fitting considering the impending launch of Nintendo’s Virtual Console and my very present lack of posts. Soon, rambling retro won’t be retro at all. It will be… What do you call a retro game with new life breathed through the Vir...

There are many hallmarks of growing up in the eighties. Karate Kid (NES) brings two of them together: playing Nintendo and cheering for Daniel San. From karate tournament to hurricane, the game takes you through events from the big screen (mostly the second movie, Karate Kid II). While it lacks the emotional impact of watching a young hero learn karate through washing cars, the game has its moment...

To this day, when I think of the perfect blend of sports and videogames, Blades of Steel brings a small grin to my face. Blades of Steel was more than just another hockey game; it was an artistic rendition that bottled the essence of a sport into a convenient, household experience. From its poetic name to the minuscule attention of details, Blades of Steel was a game that could be enjoyed by both ...

I’ve always loved that the NES generation was so different from Hollywood. The defining features of a big Hollywood production are muscle-ripped heroes and leading ladies with perfect smiles. But many of the NES’s best games were very different from this formula; can anyone think of a certain fat plumber? Appearing in over a dozen games, Kirby is bizarre. As a big pink circle with a ha...

As a kid, Goonies II confused me to no end. I kept thinking there was a second movie that I never saw. Regardless, Konami managed to find a great way to translate a popular movie into a video game. Goonies II was a fun, side-scrolling adventure where like many games you turn your trusty yo-yo into a weapon. One of these days, I’ve got to learn to do that in real life. Goonies II was fun for ...

by Nicholas Roussos If you were anything like me as a kid, you spent hours of your childhood contemplating the benefits versus the drawbacks of being mutantly transformed into a giant turtle. I was a huge Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fan. I watched the cartoon, I loved the movie, and the arcade game was superb. Needless to say, when they released TMNT for the NES, I bought it up faster than a group...

by Nicholas Roussos Some games are memorable for their story. Some are memorable for their graphics. Others are memorable because they innovated. Pilotwings is memorable simply because it was so much fun to play. Pilotwings was supposed to demonstrate the SNES’s power to its fullest. It may have done that, but what it really did was provide enticing and varied gameplay that could be enjoyed ...

by Nicholas Roussos The first Nintendo game that I ever saw was The Legend of Zelda. I was at a cousin’s house, and he showed me how you could use a bomb to blow a hole in the wall. I even remember that it was the second dungeon. I was hooked on this game from the first time I saw it. The Legend of Zelda introduced so many paradigms that are central to videogames even today; it’s worth...

by Nicholas Roussos [Note: While this is “quasi” retro, it’s live cause it’s so well written and we are still lovin’ our cubes] XIII is a sleeper hit, first person shooter that mixes in a great cell-shaded, comic book style with intrigue and amnesia. From conspiracies to slow blood gurgled deaths, this game is a feast for both the eyes and the imagination. Unlike many...

[by Nicholas Roussos] Although the graphics are timid compared with today’s standards, Actraiser was at the cutting edge for its time. But great graphics alone didn’t make this game stand out. A solid story and varied gameplay make Actraiser as entertaining today as it was almost fifteen years ago when it was published by Enix in November, 1991. There’s no need of a God-mode chea...