A Cool Table of PS2 Models and How well they support PlayStation 1 Video Games 🎮 #Retrogaming

Here’s a handy table of PS2 models that I just put together. It shows how well they support PlayStation 1 games, especially if you're looking to play classics like Crash Bandicoot or Metal Gear Solid: Special Missions.

- ✅✅ = Best performance

- ✅ = Compatible but may have hardware quirks

- ⚠️ = Lower compatibility due to emulation

Model	Type	PS1 Compatibility	Notes
SCPH-3000x	Fat (early)	✅ Good	Weaker lasers; may struggle with CD-based PS1 games over time
SCPH-3900x	Fat (mid)	✅✅ Excellent	Stronger laser and high reliability with both PS1 and PS2 discs
SCPH-5000x	Fat (late)	✅✅ Excellent	Slightly weaker laser than 3900x, but still great for PS1 games
SCPH-7000x	Slim (early)	✅✅ Excellent	Maintains PS1 CPU; fixes some compatibility issues like MGS: SM
SCPH-7500x+	Slim (late)	⚠️ Lower compatibility	Uses software emulation; some PS1 games may glitch or not run properly
SCPH-7900x/9000x	Slim (latest)	⚠️ Unreliable	Removed original PS1 chip; increased chances of issues with PS1 games

Before Ultimate Team—There Was Ultimate Fun: Remembering EA’s Best Lost IPs 🎮 #Retrogaming

Imagine a world where big video game corporations actually listened to the players who’ve been with them since the ‘80s.

Imagine a world where Electronic Arts (EA) didn’t just squat on a ludicrously luxurious pile of classic video game IPs, letting them rot slowly in the Californian sunshine outside their Redwood City HQ.

Now, EA might argue that they don't need to touch those old IPs. After all, FIFA and Madden rake in the mega spondoolies through microtransactions in Ultimate Team modes with every minor iteration. So why take a gamble on reviving something that might not hit their golden profit margins? But if that’s their guiding logic, then maybe—just maybe—EA has forgotten what it means to be a video games company. One that creates games for fun, not just as an exercise in marginal gains and digital IP hoarding.

Tassei Denki Revives Lightgun Gaming with G‘AIM’E TIME CRISIS Kickstarter 📺🔫 #Retrogaming

Tassei Denki launches an exciting new Kickstarter campaign for the G‘AIM’E TIME CRISIS Lightgun, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the iconic arcade shooter.

Developed under license from Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. and original arcade developers, the G‘AIM’E Lightgun and its plug-and-play mini-console bring arcade-accurate gameplay to modern home setups.

The system is designed to work seamlessly on any TV or monitor using AI-powered tracking and a high-resolution camera, eliminating the need for CRTs or manual calibration.

Classic Style Meets Cutting-Edge Tech: Retro Fighters Lands in Europe 🎮 @retrofightersco #Retrogaming

Game Outlet Europe® (GOE), part of Embracer Freemode®, has announced the European launch of Retro Fighters, a popular LA-based, family-run brand known for modernized retro-style controllers.

Retro Fighters is celebrated in the U.S. for blending classic controller design with modern technology, now available to gamers across Europe for the first time.

The NEW Lightgun project from Tassei Denki [Time Crisis & Point Blank] 🔫 @tasseidenki #Retrogaming

An astonishing new Lightgun project from Tassei Denki, who are working hard to bring the legendary arcade hit Time Crisis to the home in time for the Holiday Season!

Officially licensed, this plug-and-play package, launching under the G’AIM’E brand is a must for fans of the arcade smash-hit-shooter and indeed all things retro!

Rich's PS2 £20 Facebook Market Place Pick Up and Clean Up Video [+ Disc Tray Not Opening Fix] 🎮📺 #PS2 #RetroGaming

I've been yearning for a PS2 for some time now and I have been looking on Facebook Marketplace for a while to see if I could pick up a bargain. Very recently I spotted a £20 PlayStation 2 that was being cleared from a garage with no controller, no leads and a memory card. I felt lucky so I ventured into the murky world of FB Market Place and headed out in my car to snare myself a catch. For posterity I decided to capture my process of cleaning her up and getting her working. 

The long term plan is to play more PS2 games and hoover up some discs from the local car boot sale, the short term plan is to buy a controller.

Take a look at my video as I bring my PS2 home and get her settled in:

Rich Plays Head Over Heels : DELUXE [PC Gameplay] "Like Patting My Head & Rubbing My Tummy!" 🤕🐾 @RustyPixelsUK #Retrogaming

 

Rich gets ready to dive into Head Over Heels : DELUXE, the timeless puzzle-platforming adventure that captivated gamers in the golden age of the 8-bit era and is now reborn with colourful modern visuals and refined gameplay!

I Made an Arcade Cabinet Out Of A Bunk Bed 🕹️ #retrogameroom #retrogaming#arcade

"No one ever picked on Duck Zangief"

Rich has turned an old Bunk Bed Ladder into a functioning arcade cabinet using an old Lenovo Mini Tower PC and putting Batocera on it. Learn exactly how he achieved it by watching this short video.

Why I Love Worms The Video Game - The Origin Of Worms (Part 2) 🪱🪱🪱 #Retrogaming

Worms the Video Game was always a part of my gaming life even when I had a bit of a gaming hiatus in my late teens. It was a game for me that united gamers and non gamers with a simple concept that could be played by anyone. It was also a great game when having a few drinks at a mates house. Drunk Worms is truly the greatest video game experience! 

My first taste of Worms was on the PlayStation 1 when my friend had invited me over for a few drinks and a game of Pro Evolution Soccer. After a few games of PES he mentioned Worms was a great game that him and his girlfriend played a lot of. 3 hours later, 4 Player Worms matches were kicking off left right and centre and I had fallen in love with the Worms franchise.

I think the original Worms and Worms 2 are the gold standard for the Worms franchise but I will play any worms game that comes along.

Worms recently entered my head while I was on a long boring car journey (I was driving) and I thought "Hang on, I barely know anything about the origin of Worms", So I took to the internet (after I had stopped driving) and went down a 'WormsHole' to try and find out some tasty facts on the origin of Worms and here's what I learned.

Why I Love The Games Master TV Show 🕹️ #RetroGaming

I grew up in the '80s and 90's so I was the perfect age for Games Master when it first aired on a cold and wet Tuesday in January 1992. I was at Secondary School and video games plus football is what I obsessed over. 

In 1992 I also owned my favourite video games console of all time, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. To say I was the target audience for the show would be an understatement! 

When episodes aired during the week on Channel 4 in the UK they were the talk of the playground the next day at school and boy did we talk about these episodes a lot. I used to tape every episode onto a blank VHS and watch it back over and over again. 

The Complete List Of Mean Machines SEGA Magazine Reviews 📚📖 #RetroGaming 🕹️

The hallowed pages of the Mean Machines SEGA magazines held a treasure trove of reviews across 53 issues. The original Mean machines was my go to mag before it split into SEGA and Nintendo rebrands of the magazine. In the last 5 years I have been collecting  Mean Machines SEGA issues via the wonderful world of eBay and I'm nearly there with completing a full collection. 

It's at this point in my collecting journey that I thought I would put together a nice list of all the games reviewed in the Mean machines SEGA Magazines and also give you a nice link to the Internet Archive of the SEGA Mean Machines issues that have been scanned into the repository over the years.

The N64 | Video Gaming Memories by Imraan Nazir 🎮🤜💥🤛 #RetroGaming #SuperNintendo

The first time I played the Nintendo 64 was in the late 90s at a friend’s house. The first game I played was James Bond GoldenEye. I remember holding the Nintendo 64 controller for the first time, gripping it at either end with my right thumb on the D-pad and my left thumb on the buttons.

My friend looked over and started to laugh. I wondered what he found so amusing. He set up the 2-player mode on GoldenEye, and when the game started, my character wouldn't move. I was using the D-pad, and my friend laughed even harder, telling me to use the analogue stick to move the character.

Killer Instinct Video Gaming Memories by Imraan Nazir 🕹️ #Retrogaming

It was in the mid 90s when I first played Killer Instinct on the Super Nintendo. I remember my brother borrowed it from one of his friends. The game cartridge was unique as it was black instead of grey and it also came with the soundtrack on a separate CD. 

This game was violent like Mortal Kombat with blood and finishing moves but the gameplay was similar to Street Fighter 2. Executing moves was similar to street fighter and saw you inputting button and d pad combinations. For example, Jago's fireball move is the same way you would do a hadouken. Jago's  moves are essentially all the same as Ryu and Ken's move set from Street Fighter 2.  I enjoyed this game as the gameplay was similar to Street Fighter and learning the combos was a challenge as you needed to execute them quickly and at the right time.

The game was not as fast paced as street fighter but there was a cheat where you could make the gameplay faster. At the Versus screen you needed to press certain buttons to make it faster. I never knew what the cheat was so <Hold RIGHT and all 3 punch buttons. - Ed> I kept on pressing random buttons and the cheat some how worked. I only knew that it had worked as I would hear a sound to confirm the cheat was successful.

There was a huge difference between the arcade version and the SNES version. First thing you could notice was the graphics. The graphics on the arcade was I think 64 bit graphics and I think was originally meant to come out on Nintendo 64. The game ended up coming out on the SNES which was a 16 bit console.

I never did play or see the arcade version out in the wild until recently and as expected there is a huge difference in terms of graphics and animation. The sound track on the SNES version was decent and they kept the arcade announcer which was good.

Another thing about Killer Instinct which was odd was that you could not select the stage you want to fight in on 2 player mode. You could do stage select in Street Fighter but thinking bnack I don't think mortal Kombat had that option.

I found the last boss Eyedol very difficult to defeat. When it came to the second round Eyedol had the
ability to put his own energy bar back up which I found so annoying. It took me multiple times to defeat
Eyedol but I got there in the end!

Overall I have always enjoyed this game and I still play it till this day.

Thanks for reading 💙

Presented by:
Imraan Nazir

YouTube channel:
Retro Gamer Strikes Back

https://youtube.com/@retrogamerstrikesback?si=chCI9ydWxv_U-Nf4

8 Bit Do Retro Mechanical Keyboard Unboxing & Setup ⌨️🕹️ @8BitDo

The 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard is a blend of nostalgia and modern functionality Inspired by the classic Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Famicom.

Design and Features
Available in two versions, the "N Edition" (NES-inspired) and the "Fami Edition" (Famicom-inspired), the keyboard features a retro colour schemes and design elements that evoke the look of these iconic consoles.

The keyboard is of a sturdy build and high-quality materials, including dye-sublimated PBT plastic keycaps.

It uses Kailh Box White V2 mechanical switches, which are clicky and provide a satisfying typing experience.

The keyboard supports Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless, and USB wired connections, making it versatile for different setups.

It comes with customizable super buttons that can be programmed for various functions, adding a unique touch to the keyboard.

Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat | Video Gaming Memories by Imraan Nazir 🎮🤜💥🤛 #RetroGaming #SuperNintendo

Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat were two of the biggest rival fighting games of the early 90s. I remember at school we would ask each other the famous question of that time.

‘What do you think is better: Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat’?

My First SNES Game | Video Gaming Memories by Imraan Nazir 🎮🤜💥🤛 #RetroGaming #SuperNintendo

In the early 90s Street fighter 2 The World Warrior hit the arcade machines. This game changed the fighting game genre and till this day I think this is one of the best Street fighter games and I still play it till this day.

My local chicken shop had the street fighter 2 arcade machine and used to play it with my older brother. I could never do the moves and I would always lose. I was always player 2 for some reason. Till this day never knew why that was.

In 1992 Street Fighter 2 came out on the Super Nintendo. This put Nintendo on the map. Street Fighter 2 was only available for Super Nintendo. This meant that anyone with a Sega Mega Drive had to buy a Super Nintendo to play the game.

There was a poster that came out saying 'Street Fighter 2...Sega owners dream on'.

Jon Hare Talks To Rich About Sociable Soccer 25, Banana Shots and Beef & Horseradish Sandwiches ⚽🥪🍌 @Sociable_Soccer @jonhare

Jon Hare has been a video game design hero for me since the days of Microprose Soccer, Sensible Soccer, Cannon Fodder and SWOS to just name a few great games that Jon had a hand in making.

Jon is now fully committed to delivering a new and fun footy experience across PC and consoles in the form of Sociable Soccer and it's iterations since 2017.

When I was given the opportunity to ask Jon a few questions I obviously leapt at the chance and then thought what the hell do I ask the guy who created one of the finest football video games to ever be created...

So I regressed to 12 year old me and all was good...

THE BIGGEST VIDEO GAME MUSEUM IN ITALY OPENS TO THE PUBLIC 🕹️ @gammuseum_ #Retrogaming

Italy celebrates games culture with a new museum now open in the heart of Rome

GAMM - Game Museum has now opened to the public in the historical center of Rome at Piazza della Repubblica. GAMM - Game Museum aims to highlight the cultural and artistic value of video games as interactive works allowing visitors to immerse themselves in a path based on the combination of history, technology, and the exploration of gameplay. 

101 Most Important Soccer Games Episode 5: Emlyn Hughes International Soccer [1988] ⚽ #RetroGaming

 

Rich takes on the 101 Most Important Soccer Video Games one by one. Episode 5 sees Rich try and play Emlyn Hughes International Soccer.

101 Most Important Soccer Games Episode 2: Football Manager 2 [1988] ⚽ #RetroGaming

Rich takes on the 101 Most Important Soccer Video Games one by one. Episode 2 sees Rich play Football Manager 2 on the Commodore 64⚽