ALT

Double Dragon Revive

The Double Dragon series has seen quite a few aesthetic changes as it’s traveled from developer to developer, ranging from the chessy goofiness of WayForward’s Double Dragon Neon (and its offshoot, River City Girls), the retro pixel roguelite Double Dragon Gaiden, and the NES-style Double Dragon IV. 2025’s Double Dragon Revive, published by Arc System Works, is close to the style of the original arcade games but with modern 3D visuals  – the closest point of comparison is 2013’s Wander of the Dragons for the Xbox 360, though thankfully it’s a big improvement over that entry.

Read more…

ALT

Top 47K - Dokyusei: Bangin’ Summer (and Impossible Mission!)

Join the HG101 gang, plus special guests FlannelKat and Katherine, as they discuss and rank an HD-ified remake of the first major dating sim. Then stick around as Tempest joins for Impossible Mission, a puzzle platformer that wants you to stay forever… or at least until six hours have run out!

ALT

Double Dragon Gaiden

Double Dragon Gaiden was developed by indie group Secret Base, who previously worked on the rather fun Streets of Red: Devil’s Dare Deluxe, which was in and of itself a throwback to arcade beat-em-ups of the past. That game introduced an interesting risk/ reward system; you have a special move bar that refills slowly over time, and if you’re able to kill at least three enemies with a special move, the game would reward you with a healing item. Four and five kill moves would increase the amount of health given back. As it turns out, this was a prototype for Gaiden, where Secret Base would refine their in-house style to deliver an accessible but quite deep beat-em-up rogue lite experience.

Read more…

ALT

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Metroid Prime 3 was released in 2007, in the early days of the Wii. After then, the series went through some rocky developments, including the poorly received Other M, and two portable spinoffs, Prime Hunters and Federation Force, neither of which are traditional Metroid titles. After an alright remake of Metroid II for the 3DS, the series was salvaged with 2021’s Metroid Dread, bringing back 2.5D action to the main storyline. But what of Metroid Prime 4? It began development in 2017 with Bandai Namco, before being cancelled roughly a year later and development moved back to Retro Studios. After seven years, it finally saw release in 2025, for both the Switch and Switch 2. Understanding the long development timeline illuminates how Metroid Prime 4 turned out the way it did.

Read more…

ALT

Tinhead

By the early 90s, MicroProse had established a UK division to publish externally developed titles and create ports of their own games such as Gunship, F-15 Strike Eagle II and Pirates! Gold. In the middle of this, a small team within MicroProse UK (including future Crystal Dynamics/Naughty Dog designer Richard Lemarchand) developed an original side-scrolling action game called Tinhead, inspired by the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog and Blaster Master. Despite their high hopes for its success, Tinhead only saw a limited North American release due to financial issues within MicroProse, dooming a decent though frustrating adventure to obscurity.

Read more…

ALT

Top 47K - Magic Knight Rayearth (Super Famicom) (and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (Genesis)!)

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank a very Dragon Quest-y take on Clamp’s magical girl fantasy series. Then stick around as Robbo joins for Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, a Genesis game focused on the New York misadventures of Kevin McCallister!

ALT

Top 47K - Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (and The Cabin Factory!)

Join the HG101 gang as they discuss and rank the Resident Evil series’ second return to form. Then stick around for The Cabin Factory, a game about redeeming the public image of scary cabins everywhere!

ALT

Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit

Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit is the third video game starring the famously foul-mouthed YouTube retro video game critic. The first two, developed by FreakZone Games, had a vaguely retro aesthetic gameplay style, but as the title states, this entry is more closely based on 8-bit NES games; very explicitly, it’s basically Mega Man.

Read more…