Game fans all over the internet are celebrating the #Happy30thNES event (thanks to PlatinumFungi) on their websites and on Twitter. Made to honor the 30th Anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment System, the event is a chance for us to show and tell why we love that gray box of 8-bit magic. I’ve done my part by making 30 new NES-like sprites based on a few of my favorite NES games while using colors from the original sprites:

You can find the separate sprites (and an extra sprite that didn’t make the cut) in the new NES-like 32 gallery.

No offense to my Atari 2600 and ColecoVision, but the NES was the first system I owned that could play the kinds of games that inspired me to make this site. Platformers, beat ’em ups, run ‘n guns and similar genres really started to come into their own at that time and the Nintendo Entertainment System was one of the best ways to play those games at home. It’s the beginning of what I consider to be the sweet spot of action games becoming adventures while still being unashamed of being games. That’s probably why we still see new games using the look and feel of those NES classics and it’s definitely a big part of why many of us are celebrating its 30th anniversary today.

Help spread the word about the event if you can and feel free to talk about your own Nintendo favorites in the comments section!

Articles: I’ve had this page about Rob Strangman’s Memoirs of a Virtual Caveman book for a long time, but didn’t finish it until now. It’s made in the old, abandoned game review format because of a few jokes in the info section that I thought were funny at the time (sigh). As it says on the page, I’m probably a bit biased because I drew the cover, but I really dug that book and the voice it gives to various parts of the video game community. The article is here and I hope you give Rob’s book a chance!


Arcade Quartermaster’s latest batch of game shrines is monster-themed and features Night Slashers (one of my favorites), Kiki KaiKai (Taito’s original Pocky and Rocky game), Laser Ghost and Nightmare in the Dark.


You know, we’ve had a lot of fun here today, but it’s time to get serious. Dead serious.

Horror returns to ScrollBoss next week. Be there* and be scared.

(by “there” I mean “here.” Just making that clear.)

So Transformers: Devastation, a game that sounds more like a wish (G1 Transformers with classic voice actors and developed by Platinum Games) than reality, is now available and there’s no way I wasn’t going to celebrate.

A small-scale G1 Optimus Prime joins the site, crash-landing in the Toys and ‘Toons gallery until the Transformers get their own gallery. Meanwhile, new sprites of Alyssa from the Guardian Legend/Guardic Gaiden and Samus Aran from Metroid join the fight! Look, someone in futuristic armor who curls up into a ball like a potato bug counts as a Transformer, alright? All three have been added to the GFX Generator. Optimus is the only Transformer on the site right now, but you may get some more toys this Christmas…


Here’s a taste of what I’ve been messing around with for the past month:

Just like the last one, almost nothing in the video is final. I still have a lot to learn with Anime Studio Pro 10, but I think you can tell I’ve been having fun with it. Oddly enough, I made three new sprites mainly for a clip in the video, but the scene didn’t have enough people to match the clip it followed. It’s a good thing that I left it out, because the so-called surprise would’ve wound up being the preview display pic.


Kickstarter alert: Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan is an exciting action/RPG hybrid with 2-D beautiful graphics. It has 14 days left to be funded and still needs help to be published.


A lot of work has already gone into the game and it shows in every frame. If you like what you see and can afford to help, please visit their Kickstarter page and donate!