Are you ready to hop into the Retro Gamer time machine and travel back to the era when pixels and polygons took over the world? In this special edition from the makers of the world’s greatest retro gaming magazine, we’ll explore the time when videogames jumped into the third dimension, when PlayStation made the medium ‘cool’ and when epic cinematic masterpieces showed the potential of videogaming storytelling. We’ll explore the games that defined the decade, from hellish hits like Doom to epic flourishes such as Metal Gear Solid. We’ll reignite the rivalry between Sega and Nintendo. We’ll also spotlight the cultural touchstones of gaming that made the Nineties so great. Sound fly? Wicked. Psych yourself up and join us on a time-bending journey you won’t forget anytime soon!
WELCOME
Back To The 90s • FEW ERAS OF GAMING EXCITED LIKE THE NINETIES DID. THE DECADE SPANNED SEVERAL GENERATIONS OF HARDWARE, INTRODUCED A COLOURFUL RANGE OF CHARACTERS AND SAW GAMES GO TRULY MAINSTREAM. JOIN US THEN, AS WE COVER TEN YEARS OF GAMING EXCELLENCE
INTERVIEWEES
MEGA MACHINES! • HARDWARE IS NOTHING WITHOUT GAMES, BUT IN THIS ERA OF UPHEAVAL, ASTONISHING TECHNOLOGICAL LEAPS GAVE DEVELOPERS AND PLAYERS SEEMINGLY INFINITE NEW POSSIBILITIES TO EXPLORE. WE PRESENT A SELECTION OF THE DECADE’S MOST NOTABLE MACHINES
FROM BEDROOMS TO FRONT ROOMS! • OVER THE COURSE OF THE NINETIES, THE RISE OF THE CONSOLES MADE VIDEOGAMES INTO A BIGGER PHENOMENON THAN THEY’D EVER BEEN BEFORE, WITH PLAYGROUND RIVALRIES GIVING WAY TO UNPRECEDENTED MAINSTREAM CREDIBILITY
IN MEMORIAM • THE FAMILIAR NAMES WE LOST AS CONSOLE GAMING EXPLODED IN POPULARITY
MAINSTREAM MOMENTS • THE KEY EVENTS THAT SHOWED THAT THE WORLD WAS TAKING NOTICE
SPECTACULAR SUPERSTARS! • AT ONE TIME IT SEEMED THAT EVERYTHING NEEDED A MASCOT, AND PREFERABLY ONE BASED ON A REASONABLY OBSCURE MAMMAL. BUT AS WELL AS EMBRACING THAT TREND, THE NINETIES REDEFINED WHAT A VIDEOGAME MASCOT COULD BE
HALL OF HEROES • THE MOST MEMORABLE MASCOTS OF THE NINETIES, AND WHAT THEY’RE UP TO NOW
MASCOT MANIAC • DALEY EVE JOHNSON LOOKS BACK AT THE MASCOTS THAT INSPIRED HER TO BECOME A GAME DESIGNER AT YOOKA-LAYLEE DEVELOPER PLAYTONIC GAMES
MAGNIFICENT MAGAZINES! • THE NINETIES SAW A DELUGE OF NEW GAMING MAGAZINES COVERING EVERY FORMAT – AND A BRAND OF ANARCHIC JOURNALISM WE WON’T SEE THE LIKES OF AGAIN
RECOMMENDED READING • THE MAGAZINES THAT DEFINED THE NINETIES
THE REVOLUTION IS TELEVISED! • THE NINETIES SAW A GOLDEN AGE OF GAMING TV, AS VIDEOGAMES FOUGHT THEIR WAY INTO THE TV SCHEDULES. YET FEW SUCH SHOWS WOULD REMAIN BY THE DECADE’S END
TV HIGHLIGHTS • THE MEMORABLE SHOWS THAT DEFINED THE NINETIES
HANDHELD HEAVEN! • TAKING YOUR FAVOURITE GAMES OUT ON THE ROAD WAS A BIG PART OF PLAYING IN THE NINETIES, AS THE MAJOR MANUFACTURERS TOOK TO MAKING HANDHELD CONSOLES. IT DIDN’T ALWAYS GO WELL FOR THEM, BUT THEIR EFFORTS LEFT AN UNFORGETTABLE LEGACY FOR GAMERS
CALLING CARDS • THE SIGNATURE GAMES THAT WERE EMBLEMATIC OF THE DECADE’S BEST HANDHELDS
RETRO FUTURISM • ELLIOT COLL MODS AND REPAIRS NINETIES HANDHELDS ON THE RETRO FUTURE YOUTUBE CHANNEL, AND HERE HE EXPLAINS WHY HE’S SO FASCINATED WITH THEM
RISE OF THE PC! • INNOVATIVE GAMES, BLEEDING EDGE TECHNOLOGY AND NEW WAYS TO PLAY WITH OR AGAINST OTHER PLAYERS DEFINED WHAT IT MEANT TO BE A PC GAMER IN THE NINETIES, BUT WHAT WAS IT THAT MADE PERSONAL COMPUTERS – AND OF COURSE WINDOWS – THE LEADING PLATFORM?
I GOT 95 PROBLEMS, BUT WINDOWS AIN'T ONE • HOW MICROSOFT’S WINDOWS 95 CHANGED THE FACE OF PC GAMING
PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES • THE BIG-NAME 3D CARDS THAT POWERED THE NINETIES ON PC
THE 90S A DECADE OF DEFINITIVE GAMES • THE NINETIES SAW GAMING GO THROUGH A HUGE TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE...