Retro Toys and Videogames

Barcode Battler

2008-04-30T06:06:00.000-07:00

Barcode Battler was a funny attempt to change the electonic gaming market. This nifty little device was armed with a barcode scanner and you could literally scan barcodes from any product and use it to generare points and attack modes etc against your opponent.

The original Barcode Battler was released in Japan by Epoch and was white (see the original Japanese commercial below) although a later world wide release had a black case. The Barcode Battler was mainly a hit in Japan but retains a cult audience around the world.

Raleigh Grifter

2008-04-30T03:18:00.000-07:00

If the 70s belonged to the Raleigh Chopper, the 80s was surely the decade of the Raleigh Grifter (although production started by Nottingham based Raleigh in the late 70s). This chunky bike was noticeable by being very solidly built, and yes, really quite heavy too. The fat tires and wide handle bars made it not to everyones taste but it will always have a place in many a boy's heart and was perfect for giving "backies" to your mates.

Models in the Grifter range include the Grifter MK1, MK2, XL and GL. Find out more about the Grifter at the Raleigh Grifter Forum

Tempest 2000 Atari Jaguar

2008-03-30T07:42:00.000-07:00

The Atari Jaguar was a console which was almost doomed to fail, launched not long before the monster success which was the Sony Playstation. Standout games for the Jag were few and far between but one game which gave owners definite crowing rights was Tempest 2000.

Designed and programmed by the legendary Jeff Minter, and released in 1994, Tempest 2k was an updated version of the 1981 arcade classic, Tempest. If you are unfamiliar with the game, you control a claw shaped space ship which can work its round a web to avoid or destroy enemies coming towards you.

Tempest 2000 was ccalimed my gamers and gaming magazines as one of the best Atari Jaguar games, and its techno sound track was particular notable. If you had or have an Atari Jaguar, Tempest 2000 is a required purchase.

See Tempest 2000 in action

Teddy Ruxpin

2008-03-07T07:36:00.000-08:00

Kids these days have the iTeddy, which has an embedded media player. But back in the 80s, there was a primitive version of a similar idea. Teddy Ruxpin was a teddy bear that had a cassette player inside him. It meant you could listen to stories and songs and Teddy Ruxpin's mouth would move too, giving the impression that he was talking.

Although quite how they managed to see any of them after this creepy advert remains a mystery to me.

Did you have Teddy Ruxpin? What did you think of him? Use the comments box to share your memories.

Yoshi's Island SNES

2008-02-12T08:20:00.000-08:00

The SNES was launched alongside Super Mario World, one of the best games SNES games ever made. It wasn't until several years later that a sequel to Super Mario World was released, going under the name of Yoshi's Island. And like its precursor, this too must rank as one of the best SNES games ever made.

In terms of storyline, Yoshi's Island is actually a prequel to the original Super Mario Bros, with the player taking control of a small Yoshi dinosaur - whilst Mario is just seen as a baby.

Yoshi's moves include jumping, licking and stomping as well as the ability to collect eggs and then launch them as a projectile. The aim of the game is to get through the missions carrying Baby Mario on your back and then pass him onto the next Yoshi for the next level. Should Baby Mario fall off your back, you have to go back and get him.

The game used the SuperFX2 chip to create lots of very cool graphical effects which make this one of the best looking Super Nintendo titles available. This is definitely a classic and one to include on your shopping list if you are revisiting the SNES.

Super Mario Kart

2007-09-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

Super Mario Kart was probably my favourite gaming experience ever, especially in the Battle Mode. In this landmark title, you were able to race around crazy circuits using one of a number of Nintendo favourite characters, and take each other out along the way with a variety of weapons such as the Red Shell, Green Shell and Banana Skin.

A total classic.

Tomytronic

2007-09-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

Tomytronic 3d games were a popular toy in the 1980s. You held the binocular-style toy to your eyes and looked into the 3d games. Versions of the Tomytronic include Shark Attack, Sky Attack and Thundering Turbo.

..picture to follow..

Game and Watch Blackjack

2007-08-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

Nintendo's has always dominated the handheld games market, with it's smash hit today, and generations of GameBoy before that. But back before the Game Boy was the Game and Watch series, starting with Ball in 1980. Small LCD games based around some of the classic Nintendo characters that we know and love.

The Game and Watch evolved into various formats (e.g. Widescreen, Tabletop, Micro Vs) and in 1985 they released Blackjack as a multi screen game (BJ-60). The Nintendo of today is still trying to reach out to non game players and maybe choosing Blackjack was an early sign of their efforts in this direction.

I'm not a big fan of the game, but like any Game and Watch games, if you have one, it's worth looking after and holding on to as they remain very popular.

ZX Spectrum Computer

2007-08-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

The ZX Spectrum was a revolutionary new computer system, designed by Clive Sinclair, that was released in 1982. Along with its rival, the Commodore 64, the ZX Spectrum created a boom in home computer usage. Games and applications were widely available on the High Street - I used to buy games in Boots of all places - and enthusiasts could even program their own.

Anyone familiar with the Spectrum will remember well the horrific screeching sound caused when loading games from the cassette deck.

Many classic games were made for the Spectrum, including:

Jet Set Willy
Manic Miner
Chuckie Egg
Skool Days
Sabre Wulf
Spy Hunter

The rights to the Sinclair computers were later puchased by Alan Sugar's Amstrad, and he actually incorporated a Spectrum emulator in one of his Emailer phones.

Spectrum Links

Spectrum on Wikipedia
World of Spectrum

Acetronic MPU 1000

2007-08-10T04:57:00.000-07:00

The MPU 1000 was an early video games system that was compatible with software produced for the Interton VC-4000 (a system that was most popular in Germany).

The system came with two corded controllers, which has a small thumb stick, twelve black buttons and two red buttons. On the system itself were buttons for "load programme", "game select" and "start" - as well as an off/off switch. It connects to the TV by RF cable and comes with a aerial/game switch box which is of metal construction and the switch feels satisfyingly robust.

Invaders Club

Owners of the Acetronic were invited to join the "Invaders Club" where they would get the opportunity to enter local and national championships and get advice for themselves and their families on how to get the best from their Acetronic TV Entertainment Centre.

Big Trak

2007-08-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

Big Trak was a really cool programmable vehicle released in 1979 by MB. Using its onboard keypad, you could enter a series of directional instructions and then Big Trak would set off and complete the journey you had programmed it to do.

Check out this video below and remember how cool Big Track was.

Atari Jaguar

2007-07-28T05:25:00.000-07:00

Atari Jaguar was the last piece of videogames hardware released by Atari. A last throw of the dice from a veteran games company which was struggling to compete with the Japanese might of the SNES, Megadrive and impending launch of Sony's Playstation.

Released in the UK in 1994, this was the world's first 64 bit console, although some people argue as to whether it is truly a 64 bit console since it actually contains two 32bit processors called Tom and Jerry.

Games proved to be a problem for the Jaguar. There was simply not enough good ones. It came bundled with Cybermorph, which was a decent enough game, but too many of the other games available simply seemed like straight ports from other formats and didn't have any much of a 64 bit wow factor.

There were, however, standout titles for the system including Tempest 2000, Iron Soldier, the eery Alien vs Predator and an excellent port of Doom.

Another problem for the system seemed to be distribution. I only seemed to remember it being sold in independent stores and also the retail chain Rumbelows. I got mine from a video rental shop of all places.

Ultimately, Jaguar failed and Atari had to get out of the console building business. The brand survives though and retains a cult following. Homebrew developers are still creating new titles for the system and there's a healthy market for it on eBay.

Speak and Spell

2007-07-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

Speak & Spell was a the distintive yellow and orange electronic toy from Texas Instruments that had a built in speech synthesizer. Released at the end of the 1970s, the Speak & Spell had five games built in: Spell, Say It, Secret Letter, Mystery Code, and Word.

The toy remains popular today and there's a number of websites dedicated to it. Check out this video below to see it in action.