Concept art for Retro Game Challenge from the show.

Retro Game Challenge was my favorite game in the whole world when it came out. Now that I have seen Game Center CX, it makes much more sense. I hope the fansub of the sequel is completed eventually.

That list made me remember how much I was in love with Retro Game Challenge at the beginning of the year.

You get to play several NES style games, and to make it more interesting you are challenged by a mischievous floating head to complete different tasks in the games like get to the 3rd level without using a power up or complete a race in x amount of time etc. There is a strange puzzle game, a galaga clone, a classic rpg, a rally racer, a top down shooter like Xevious but in outer space and the sequels to some of those games. After you have completed the challenge set, you may play any of these games in free play.

You are given game magazines with cheat codes and strategies as well as nicely illustrated game manuals for each game. You can access these on screen at any time after they are unlocked.

If you grew up playing NES in its initial release and you read Nintendo Power every month, this is an attempt at replicating that experience and for me the nostalgia and fun factors were equally high.