Arcade Archives Ninja-Kid Review

Arcade Archives Ninja-Kid was a game I was about to write off until I actually played it.

First off let me say that Arcade Archives have been putting out some excellent arcade ports to the PlayStation 4. Ninja-Kid is currently the 6th Arcade game released. 

Ninja-Kid was originally released in Japanese arcades in 1984 by UPL. In Ninja-kid you play a ninja your objective is to clear out each screen of enemies to advance to the next. Along the way you will collect scrolls from fallen enemies which will add bonus points to your score, also you will come across falling balls, collecting three will take you to a bonus stage where you will collect more balls for bonus points. 

This game has a fair difficulty level, The Jumping mechanics will take some getting used to but once you get the hang of it you will feel like a ninja. The way you jump up is by pressing a direction left or right and holding down the jump button, simply pressing it will make you drop down a level. This can cause frustration at first but it won't take long for you to master. You have one attack in the game and that is your ninja-stars, you also have the ablility to drop down on your enemies and stun them or jumping up on an angle and hitting one will also stun them. This is great and provides solid tactics for taking on enemies, especially later on when things get even more challenging. 

The music in the game is very charming and suites the tone well, I keep having to tell myself this is an arcade game from 1984, while playing it because the game is excellent from a sound and music level. Visually the game looks excellent for the time it was made, if you are very much a fan of retro games you will love this, the stages will repeat and can look bland at times but the game shifts the stages up by switching from day to night which changes up the color pallet. Over all I was very impressed.

Ninja-Kid was a game that I honestly didn't think I would like, I figured Hamster the company that produces these games would eventually falter, Ninja-Kid isn't that game. In Fact it is one I strongly recommend to any fans of  retro games, modern gamers will find enjoyment as well just know before going in this game is all about the highscore, which like all Arcade Archive releases the game supports online leaderboards.

Over all Arcade Archives Ninja-Kid is a fun arcade port, of a game sadly most will have missed out on when it was first released (myself included). The game isn't perfect but is definitly fun and addictive to play for short periods of time. I would have liked this update to have fixed the jumping mechanics, but that's the only major negative I can come up with, Excellent graphics for an early 80's game and enough enemy diversity and fun gameplay mechanics, make this worth checking out. The game is currently available for $7.99 on PlayStation Network, and is a PlayStaion 4 exclusive. Check it out. 

Score:

7/10

-Retro Forward Dave: likes retro games and you can follow me on twitter @retro _forward

Twitch broadcast update!

Hi everyone! 

Retro Forward Dave here just to let everyone know that we had to update our Twitch Broadcast times for the summer. This was done for a few reasons. I had to cut back on the broadcast times due to my band DesolateImage. In the summer we tend to get booked with a lot more shows, and need to take the time to focus on that a little more. This downtime is good because it will give us time to figure out what kind of shows we will have on the channel moving forward. 

This is our updated schedule just note we will still have random broadcasts out side of these times and is best to follow our Twitch Tv channel to receive notices on our broadcasts. Also you can follow us on Twitter or Facebook since I always make sure to let everyone know we are streaming on both sites. 

We are still actively seeking out other people who would be interested in being a part of our twitch channel and if you are interested feel free to let us know in the comments below or on one of our social media sites. As we move forward this schedule will probably see more updates and edits but what will always be consistent moving forward will be Monday-Wednesday morning 7am-7:40 EST we will always have Retro content on the stream and at Night Time we will focus more on modern games, mostly indies, and digital download titles from 10pm-11:50pm EST. We will still have our weekly TwitchCast with myself and Sean the Gaming Troll, but times will be more random. 

We want to thank all of you for sticking with us and helping us grow. If you have any games or ideas for us regarding the Twitch Tv channel let us know. 

Follow us:

twitch.tv/retro_forward

twitter.com/retro_forward

facebook.com/retroforwardgaming

and on YouTube

That's all for now gamers! 

-Retro Forward Dave

Plays Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition PS4

Sleeping Dogs was one of my favorite games on the PlayStation 3 so I was super pumped to finally pick up the Definitive Edition on the PS4. The PS4 version is a full 1080p and features many graphical upgrades, and a smoother frame rate, plus includes all 24 DLC packs for the game. Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition is also available on Xbox One, and PC.

The game is absolutely worth playing, and I actually prefer it over the Grand Theft Auto Series, both are worth playing but I loved the fighting mechanics in Sleeping Dogs over GTA. 

Here is Part 1 of my Let's Play of the game. I even found a few glitches in this video one of them being an awesome bus sling shot. If you don't know what I mean by that tune into 40:25 of the video and watch the 5 minutes of the bus section to see the crazy glitches.

I will be posting more of the Sleeping Dogs let's plays on here but also follow on Twitch to see it live and to be a part of our chat. 

twitch.tv/retro_forward

give us a follow.

-Retro Forward Dave. Find me on twitter @retro_forward

Arcade Archives Terra Cresta PS4 Review

Terra Cresta is the 5th game released under the Arcade Archives banner. Arcade Archives make arcade perfect ports. Terra Cresta is currently my new favorite out of the five. Originally released in 1985 by Nichibutsu, Terra Cresta is an arcade vertical shoot em up.

The Gameplay in Terra Cresta is superb, you start off the game with a very under powered air ship and have to take down other enemy ships and bases, along the way you'll find numbered power ups that if you shoot will open up a new attachment for your ship giving you stronger and more varied attacks. I love that once you have acquired at least one of these power ups you can press the X button to change up your formation allowing you to have access to different types of attacks. The game has a total of 5 ship attachments and once you claim all five your ship will transform into a Phoenix allowing for temporary invincibility. The game is challenging you will die many times, I can't even count how many times I have seen the game over screen. 

It is a good thing that the controls are super tight and responsive, One of the key points to any shoot'em up is having full control over movement and Terra Cresta excels in this category. It's also nice to play a retro shoot'em up that allows you to just hold down the fire button! 

Sound and music are good for this type of game but won't blow you away on either front. But The explosions sound loud and destructive, which is always a good thing. 

Terra Cresta on the PlayStation 4 is my favorite game released (for now) under the Arcade Archive name, with each release these Arcade ports have been getting better and better. Terra Cresta is the first Shoot'em up released under Arcade Archives name, and is one of the best shmups on the PS4, available on PSN for $7.99. 

If you are a fan of retro gaming, or a die hard Shmup fan, you owe it to yourself to check out Terra Cresta, I have been obsessing over this game and will keep coming back for more. PlayStation 4 owners should absolutly check out this game if you are up for the challenge. 

Get This!

8.9/10

-Retro Forward Dave on twitter @retro_forward

Arcade Archives Double Dragon PS4 Review

Billy and Jimmy Lee strike back on PlayStation 4!

Double Dragon on the PlayStation 4 is something I never thought would happen, but here it is! And this is absolutely the best way to play Double Dragon. Arcade Archives do arcade perfect ports of classic games for the PlayStation 4, this is currently the forth game released under that banner and with each game the quality keeps getting better and better.

I'm sure many of you remember the game Double Dragon, the series has been around for a long time, and even though the series has been dormant for many years Double Dragon still holds up amazingly well!
I first played Double Dragon on the Nintendo Entertainment System, I'm sure many who grew up in the 80's, 90's remember playing these games. As much as I love the NES port of the game it was lacking one big feature. No two player co-op!  Owners of the NES growing up had to wait for the second game to introduce two player co-op. But those lucky enough to own the Sega Master System were treated to one of the very best home version of Double Dragon and came as close as possible to the arcade experience.

In Double Dragon you play as Billy or Jimmy Lee. Your mission is to rescue your girlfriend Marian back from the Black Warrior Gang. The great thing about this game is if you play two players and make it to the end you'll have to face off against your brother to fight for the hand of Marian.

So I said it earlier this is an arcade perfect port, it is definitely not an easy game, but it plays great and looks the way it should. I love how the Arcade Archives give you options to mess around with the settings want scan lines? want to adjust the screen size? The game gives you the option.

Visually this is Double Dragon ripped right out of the arcades of the 80's nothing has changed in terms of the look. The controls also feel excellent with the duel shock 4. The game does see some slowdown when lots of enemies are on screen but it's nothing major. Hit detection isn't as perfect as I would like but again it's just a minor issue and not as bad as other games in the genre. The music is excellent as I type this I have the theme stuck in my head, if you have a great headset and a love for retro tunes you will be very thankful for this port.

Arcade Archives Double Dragon achieves its goal in bring an arcade perfect port to modern home consoles. One that I will play through again and again. The game is available for $7.99 on PSN, and is only available on the PlayStation 4. Retro gamers unite and enjoy! This one comes highly recommended!

Must Buy!
8.5/10

-Retro Forward Dave @retro_forward on twitter and can usually be found talking about retro gaming.

Giveaway today on twitch.tv/retro_forward

Just a reminder that we will be having a giveaway on our twitch channel.

twitch.tv/retro_forward 10pm  Eastern Standard Time

We are giving away two gift card voucher codes, one for $20 on PSN, and a $25 Google play code.

In order to win you must be following us on our Twitch channel, and watch our live stream in order to qualify. Make sure to let us know in the comments on our channel.

Make sure to share this page.

See you tonight!
-Retro Forward Dave
@retro_forward on twitter

TwitchCast Live Ep#3 Highlights Part 2 (Dumb and Dumber, MeatLoaf, And PeeWee)

Once a week on our Twitch channel, we host our live TwitchCast we talk about , Movies, Music, and gaming, we also like to say stupid things. You can catch us Sunday-Thursday nights at 10pm EST here twitch.tv/retro_forward

In this weeks TwitchCast Live Ep#3 we talked about a lot of comedy movies, Singing some Meatloaf, And the return of PeeWee Herman! We had a lot of highlights in this episode so this is part 2. Click this link for part 1. 

The Regulars: 

Retro Forward Dave twitter.com/retro_forward

Sean the Gaming Troll twitter.com/rfgamingtroll

Guest:

Old School Cool Greg

Gameplay;

Wolfenstein the Old Blood





Dumb and Dumber is one of the funniest comedies ever, we also mention Step Brothers, and Old School, with a little S&M thrown in for good measure.



SpaceBalls Says hello, and Sean being a typical Troll.




What would Sean the Gaming Troll do for love??? oh yeah and we butcher some Meatloaf.



Retro Forward talk about Cowboy Curtis and the return of Pee Wee Herman.


Well that's all for TwitchCast Live! Ep #3 highlights, again feel free to join us on our twitch channel.

Happy Gaming!

-Retro Forward Dave @retro_forward on twitter.  

TwitchCast Live Highlights EP#3 Part 1 (Funny Movies, NES, Spinal Tap)

Once a week on our Twitch channel, we host our live TwitchCast we talk about , Movies, Music, and gaming, we also like to say stupid things. You can catch us Monday Nights at 10pm EST here twitch.tv/retro_forward

In this weeks TwitchCast Live Ep#3 we talked about a lot of comedy movies, NES games, what the gaming Troll would name his son, Roadhouse and more! We had a lot of highlights in this episode so this is part 1. Check back tomorrow for part 2. 

The Regulars: 

Retro Forward Dave twitter.com/retro_forward

Sean the Gaming Troll twitter.com/rfgamingtroll

Guest:

Old School Cool Greg

Gameplay;

Wolfenstein the Old Blood

In this clip Sean the gaming troll tells us about his favorite NES games, talks about what he would name his son if he were to ever have kids. 

In this Clip we give a shout out to Dr. LoveGlove, and talk about Spinal Tap the movie. 

In this clip Retro Forward Dave does a Cheech impression and fails miserably, Gaming Troll thinks it's good, and actually wasn't Trolling.. Odd.

The guys talk about some of their favorite comedy films, and talk about Roadhouse, trolling in Destiny and more. 

Well that's all for now make sure to comeback tomorrow to check out the second part of TwitchCast Live EP3 Highlights, or if you don't want to wait for tomorrow you can check out our YouTube Channel. Plus we have a few bonus clips only available to watch on YouTube.

That's all for now. Happy Gaming!

-Retro Forward Dave @retro_forward

Sunday Giveaway on our Twitch Channel!

This Sunday May 17th , the Retro Forward Team will be doing a giveaway live on our Twitch channel. We will be giving away two gift card voucher codes for $20.00 one for the PlayStation Network Store, and another for the Google Play Store. Why are we doing this? Well because even though we are a new, and a 100% independent web site for gamers. We want to say thank you for the support you offer. If it weren't for all your help, we wouldn't be here today doing this. So Thank you to everyone who follows our social media, and reads the articles we post, and most of all the people who support our twitch channel. 

So what do you need to do in order to win? well that is very simple, just Share this page to one of your friends either on Facebook or Twitter, to help spread the word of Retro Forward Gaming.Come join us this Sunday May 17th at 10pm eastern standard time, on our Twitch channel make sure to follow and comment on the stream saying you want to be a part of the give away. 

Once again We at here at Retro Forward want to say thank you  for the support, As we continue to grow we will offer up more contests, so if you don't want to miss out be sure to follow us on the following:

Facebook: facebook.com/retroforwardgaming

Twitter: twitter.com/retro_forward

Twitch: twitch.tv/retro_forward

YouTube

Or just click the subscribe button on our webpage. 

Winners will be announced Live on our stream anytime between 10pm-12am EST 

That's all for now, later Gamers!

-Retro Forward Dave. 

Bloodstained The spiritual successor to Castlevania Symphony of the Night funded!

Bloodstained Ritual of the Night is the spiritual successor to Castlevania Symphony of the Night, being made by Koji Igarashi one of the godfathers of the "Metroidvania" genre, and co-director of Castlevania Symphony of the Night. 

Bloodstained sounds great and the art design is just what you would expect for a modern successor to Symphony of the Night. The Great news is the game reached it's funding goal of $500,000 in only 4 hours! Currently at the time of this writing the Kickstarter is sitting over $1,400,000! That means all the games stretch goals have been hit. To top it all off the game still has 31 days left of funding. 

Some of the better stretch goals were a 2nd playable character, A new harder difficulty mode titled Nightmare mode, voice acting by David Hayter (voice of Snake in Metal Gear Solid), Cheat Codes, and 2 player local co-op goals have all been hit. Who knows if we will see more stretch goals added since the funding for this game won't be slowing down anytime soon. Bloodstained looks like the game I have been wanting for a long time. 

I wrote an article a little while back about what 3 games I would like to see from Konami, I'll put the link to the article here. One of the biggest things I wanted was a sequel to Castlevania Symphony of the Night, well looks like this will be the game I have been searching for.

I will provide the link to the Bloodstained Kickstarter for you, and strongly recommend you check out the vision of this game, and the best part is Bloodstained will see a physical release for PS4, XboxOne, and PC. 

Konami may not be listening to its fans anymore, but at least we have amazing talent like Koji Igarashi to fill the void. 

-Retro Forward Dave

follow me on twitter @retro_forward

Arcade Archives City Connection PS4 Review

Well this one was unexpected! Another Arcade Archives review this time for the game City Connection, I never remembered playing this in the arcade, but what I do remember is the port on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Arcade Archives does arcade perfect ports of 80's classics and brings them to the PS4. City Connection is currently the third release. Like the other two previous releases this port is excellent!

City Connetion was originally released in Japanese arcades by Jaleco in 1985, the game saw a North American port to arcades under the name Cruisin and published by Kitcorp. The game would see ports to the MSX, and the NES. So What is City Connection and how does it stack up on the PlayStation 4?

In city Connection you play as Clarice, your mission: race your car from New York to Tokyo, tour city after city and to cover every stretch of the highway in paint in order to move on to the next city, Cops and other vehicles are on your tail and you must do what ever it takes to make it to your destination. Good thing you can pick up oil cans to throw them at your enemies and knock them out of your way. Only watch out for that evil cat!

This game really doesn't need a story, because City Connection is all about the game play. This version of the game responds really well, you feel in control of you car. It will take time to get the hang of the jumps, but when you do it will all come down to skill. Like all arcade games you need to maximize your score by picking up oil cans knocking out enemy vehicles and picking up random balloons, all oil cans you have left when finishing the level will go to adding on to your high score, this presents a good strategy do you use your oil cans to take out enemies or conserve them to add to your high score bonus.

The sound in the game is actually pretty good considering you only get one song to listen to, but the bright side is every stage you get a different remix of the track, and I actually really enjoyed the tune.My favorite out of the bunch is stage 4 Paris remix. If 80's chip-tunes are your thing you will find lots to love.

Overall Arcade Archives City Connection is an arcade perfect port for your PlayStation 4. A game that I have been playing a lot of recently. This one comes highly recommended if you are looking for some old school fun. Most people will remember the NES version which trust me doesn't even compare to the arcade version.The game also offers a 2 player mode so have some friends over and compete for the high score. The game goes for $7.99 on PSN which is a fair price.  Do yourself a favor and try out this retro classic today.


Get IT
7/10

Retro Forward Dave loves retro games follow me on twitter @retro_forward

Destiny House of Wolves is it enough change to make me comeback for more? (Opinion)

So Bungie is set to release The House of Wolves expansion to Destiny on May 19th, I for one was a big fan of Destiny right from the very beginning I played the Alpha , the Beta, and Picked up the limited edition of the game, in fact I even pre-ordered. Sadly I got really tired with Destiny and didn't bother getting back into it with the previous expansion. I really loved the gameplay, but ultimately I need more to keep me coming back. 

With the Release of House Of Wolves, Destiny looks to be getting a number of changes that with all honestly sound great, and have me actually thinking about diving back in to the grind.  Now bare in mind this article isn't meant to be for the die hard Destiny players. I'm writing this for the people like myself who have stopped playing the game. So what exactly sparked the interest to go back well first off let me list all the new content coming into this update and I will pick out what matters to me, the non competitive Destiny player. 

 new content in the House of Wolves are as follows:

New Gear/Armor/and weapons: Normally I wouldn't care about these types of add-on content but with Destiny as we all know it is important to find/upgrade your gear in order to level up, and that's exactly what you get with the new update, however what I am most interested in is the ability to finally just fully level up your existing gear. Like most loot based games you will eventually find a specific weapon that you love and want to hold on to, well before this update Destiny was basically giving you the digital middle finger. This will no longer be a worry of so many players. This should have been implemented from the very beginning but at least it will be happening. 

New Story Missions: For many people Destiny is a great shooter that shipped with one of the most underwhelming story modes seen in a big budget triple "A" game. I know I was very let down with the end of the story that came on the disc, so it is good to see Bungie flesh out the story and give us a reason to care about what we are doing. Sadly little is known about the new story content so let's hope for the best. 

New Multiplayer maps: As common with most First-Person shooters, it is expected that you get 3 new multiplayer maps,4 if you are on PlayStation. I for one actually really enjoyed the Crucible and spent the most of my time in this mode once I was done with the story. It is nice to see more variety in the game. On top of that the Bungie will also add in the new game mode elimination.

A new competitive mode Trials of Osiris: Now this was clearly made with hardcore Destiny players in mind, it sets you up with a 3v3 teams in an elimination style match where your level and gear play a big factor on your success, you play rounds vs other teams the more you win the better gear you unlock. I like what they have done here, but I personally will just stick to the standard elimination. 

Prison of the Elders Challenge Arena mode: another game mode targeted towards the hardcore Destiny players but instead of a PVP focus, you and your team will take on waves of challenging enemies, think of this like a hoard mode, a nice touch, which I may check out, but a feature that the game could have benefited from right at the start. 

Lastly One new Strike The Shadow Thief set on the moon. I just wish it was set somewhere else. At least you have a new strike to grind over and over...

A new social space in the game called Vestian Outpost, it will be interesting to see what this offers other then a change of scenery and access to the new story content. 

So here is the break down of the new content and what my thoughts our on each new feature 

Now that is a lot! Will this be enough to get everyone back into the game? Truthfully probably not, especially with some really big titles on the way like the Witcher 3, but it seems like Bungie is finally understanding what gamers want out of Destiny and this expansion is set to provide a much need change to the game. Hopefully Destiny receives more expansions that will flesh out the story in new meaningful ways. 

That's all for now, as always you can follow me on twitter @retro_forward 

Happy Gaming

-Retro Forward Dave. 

New PlayStation games for May 12th 2015

Well Tuesday is almost here and for us North American PlayStation gamers that means new game day!
I have put together the list of what games will be coming out and commented on the ones I'm personally excited to check out.

PlayStation games for May 12th 2015

Arcade Archives Double Dragon: (PS4) Arcade Archives have been on a roll coming out more games which so far, I have enjoyed the current 3 arcade classics they brought to the PS4, so I'm hoping to see another arcade perfect port of the original Double Dragon. Before this release the best version we had to play at home was on the Sega Master System ( which I own and recommend ). Expect a full review from us on this classic.

Arcania: The Complete Tale: (PS4)

Breach & Clear:(PSVita)

Color Guardians:(PS4,PSVita) cross-buy

Final Fantasy X/X2 HD Remaster: Square has been quiet about this release on the PS4 so it leaves me to question what more they did from the PS3 and Vita release, I'm guessing just a better frame rate with this version but still if you haven't picked up either the PS3, or Vita copy, I will recomened checking this one out.

The Last Of Us: Left Behind :(PS4,PS3) This is another one I missed out on, since it is now on the PS4, I'll be willing to check this one out, I really enjoyed the Last Of Us, so with out question this will be a must buy.

Lost Orbit:(PS4)

Nom Nom Galaxy:(PS4)

Project Cars:(PS4) Project Cars looks excellent and is definitely a game worth checking out if you are a fan of racing simulators, since it will be a wait for Grand Turismo, this will easily fill the void, and possibly wash away the bad taste of Drive Club.

Schrodinger's Cat and the Raiders of the Lost Quark:(PS4) Awesome name, and is a puzzle platform game that is all...

Toren:(PS4)

Ultratron:(PS4,PS3,PSVita) Cross-buy This is my kind of game, arcade style gameplay, twin-stick arena shooter, expect a full review of this game in the near future.


Well there you have it! A lot of games are out tomorrow, what will you be playing? Let us know in the comments below. Also if you seen anything you want us to review let us know.

As always follow me on twitter @retro_forward
and be sure to read some of the older posts below.

TwitchCast Live EP#2 Highlights

Every Monday at 10PM-11:50 PM EST the Retro Forward team get together and talk about Games, Music, Movies and more. We do it all live on Twitch while playing some of the best games on the PlayStation 4. We call it Retro Forward TwitchCast Live! 

Here is your Cast for Episode #2 

Retro Forward Dave: @retro_forward 

Sean the Gaming Troll: @rfgamingtroll

with special guest "Eric"

Gameplay from Mortal Kombat X

In Episode 2 we talk about The Mortal Kombat X DLC and easy fatalities, Mayweather Fight/Boxing, and Daredevil the movie vs Daredevil the Netflix series. Enjoy!

In this Highlight Clip we talk about Daredevil the movie and how much we didn't like the Daredevil movie, and what we liked about the Netflix series, also Collin Farrell sucks! Did any of you actually enjoy the Daredevil movie? Let us know, or tell us what you want to see from the Daredevil series moving into season two. 

Want to hear two guys talk about boxing and know little to nothing about the sport? Well click the link above! So our gust Eric asked us about the Floyd Mayweather match that happened recently he was the only one who actually watched it, but Sean the gaming Troll did mention Mike Tyson at one point. Still reading this? Click the video above for this jibber jabber. 

In our last Episode 2 highlight we talk about Mortal Kombat X, It's DLC policy and the abilities to pay for Easy Fatalities. With out a doubt Mortal Kombat X is an exceptional fighting game with amazing visuals and lots of options for game modes. However the game has some pricey DLC and Micro-Transactions how do you feel about this? We would love to hear your take on it. Listen to the video above to see what we think. 

And this has been your TwitchCast Live EP#2 Highlights. Remember every Monday Night you can catch the Retro Forward team live on twitch.tv/retro_forward make sure to follow to never miss us playing live. 

That's all for now Gamers!

-Retro Forward Dave @retro_forward on twitter. 

Arcade Archives: Mat Mania Exciting Hour Review

One, Two, Threeeeeeeee! Something you will hear a lot if you're not a seasoned veteran of this classic arcade game. Mat Mania Exciting Hour, is an arcade port for the PlayStation 4. The game originally released in 1985 in japan as Exciting Hour, and later brought to North America as Mat Mania: The Pro Wrestling Network. Developed by Technos Japan Corp. the game is the sequel to Tag-Team Wrestling another excellent arcade game. So how does the game stack up on the PS4?

Gameplay is simple you only have two buttons for attack, you'll quickly see all the moves that you can perform, since you only have about a dozen different types of attacks, This isn't a bad thing, but it would have been nice to see a little more variety, but for a game from 1985 this is awesome. You play as the "Player" (sadly they don't let you select a character) who is the "BabyFace" (Goodguy) and your goal is to become the T.W.A Champion. The game has five "Heels" (Badguy), each fighter has a unique moves set and requires different strategies to take them out. Now like all arcade games from the 80's the goal is to set the High Score, sometimes just quickly defeating your opponents isn't the best move especially if you are looking to put your score up on the leader boards. Since the game tracks points by attacks, as well as defeating your opponent. I found it best to let the fight go on as long as possible and then pin closer to when the time is about to run out, this will maximize your score potential. 

Visually the game wasn't changed from the arcade, I personally love the character design, each wrestler was inspired by real life Wrestling stars of the 80's, even the names they give your opponents are a dead give away, my personal favorite being Coco Savage (cross between Coco Beware, and Macho Man)

 The sprites are large and varied. The background characters are hilarious and include some familiar faces, like Darth Vader for example. 

The sound and music in this game are what you would expect from an 80's arcade fighting game. It has an excellent chip-tune track, sadly you may want to turn the music off for really long play sessions because the one track is all you get. I do like the digitized voices the referee has the best count down ever, I have played this game for over a month now and I still laugh out loud every time I pin or get pinned. 

Over all Mat Mania Exciting Hour on PS4 is worth picking up if you are either a fan of the game from the arcades, or if you are simply looking for a fun arcade style wrestling game. It's not perfect by any means, but that never stopped me from coming back and playing again. The game is part of the Arcade Archives which so far as the time of this review have released 3 games under that name. Mat Mania Exciting Hour is the second and so far the one I can't stop playing. I look forward to seeing what other arcade classics they bring back. 

GET IT!

7/10

AirMech Arena PS4 impressions

Video taken from the Retro Forward Twitch Stream.

I didn't know what to expect going into AirMech Arena, but I am very happy I checked it out!

 The game is developed by Carbon games and published by Ubisoft. AirMech Arena plays like a cross between a twin-stick shooter, and a MOBA (Mobile Online Battle Arena) originally intended to be a modern remake of Herzog Zwei, like the game it was inspired by, you have the ability to transform your aircraft into a Mech when ever you want. I am very impressed with the over all game on the PS4. Best of all it's free to play!

The controls in the game are perfect, I never felt like I had issues moving my character or aiming at what I wanted to attack, even the strategy elements control well. If I had to nit-pick the only thing I would have liked to see from the PS4 version would be to use the "touch pad" for selecting your troops, and giving orders. This isn't a deal breaker just a missed opportunity. The object in the game is to gather troops and take over your enemies bases, once you control all the bases the round is over. 

Visually the game has a very vibrant almost water color look which works well especially when things start to get intense when lots of troops, and enemies are present.

The Sound is also excellent everything sounds loud and destructive when it comes to the weapons, and the vehicles. The music is even better in this game, and was made by the Vancouver band Front Line Assembly. I recommend checking them out too! You will definitely be rocking out while these intense battles play out before you. 

AirMech Arena features many different game modes, which sadly I didn't have the time yet to dive into each and everyone, and for that reason I wont put a review score on this game until I have tested out each mode. For a free to play game you get a lot of play options. The following modes are available in the game; Solo which sees you playing  with AI opponents, sometimes you will be just 1v1, other times you will even see 1v3, these can get pretty intense, but offer lots of gameplay and are great  fun to play. Co-op mode is pretty much the same except you and a friend can play against the AI together. PVP which will be where most people spend the majority of their time with AirMech Arena. The game has Capture the flag, Survival mode, and a Challenge mode. I spent hours playing the Challenge mode which can get difficult, but is very rewarding.

Over all I am really looking forward to putting more time into this game, It comes highly recommend and hopefully It won't be too long until I have played enough to give my final verdict on the game. AirMech Arena on PS4 is currently only available to download for PS+ subscribers. I  highly recommend checking the game out. The price is right! 

TwitchCast Live EP#1 Highlights.

Hello Gamers, we at Retro Forward Started a Podcast last week that broadcasts live on our Twitch Channel, If you want to be a part of the show, join us on www.twitch.tv/retro_forward , we broadcast every Monday night, 10pm EST - 11:50pm.

On our first Episode of TwitchCast Live We talked about Call Of Duty Black Ops 3, PT(Silent Hills), Fuller House, and What games we want from Konami. Below is just some of the Highlights. We post all highlights to our YouTube channel. 

The Retro Forward TwitchCast Live! regulars are:

Retro Forward Dave 

Sean the Gaming Troll

Below is our Highlights From Episode 1 Enjoy!

Gameplay featured for episode 1 is Project Root.

Here we Talk about the retrurn of the Show Full House, dubbed Fuller House which will be a Netflix show.

In this Highlight we talk about Konami, and what 3 games Retro Forward Dave want's to see Konami make Plus One Game that R.F.D. would die for. 

And our Last Highlight for episode 1 of  TwitchCast Live we talk about Call Of Duty Black Ops 3, and how we are actually surprised by some of the things announced for the game, and how this will be the first Call Of Duty in a long time to feature a campaign that we will all play!

Well this Is our the first of hopefully many more Retro Forward TwitchCast Live! We hope you enjoy. Please let us know in the Comments what you think of the Show and what you would like to see us cover in the future. Happy Gaming!

Follow Retro Forward Dave @retro_forward on twitter, as well to be a part, or to watch our live stream follow us on twitch

PS+ Free Games for May!

First off, May the 4th be with you!

Welcome to our monthly break down of the new games for PS+ subscribers. This months update will include some pretty amazing games and a one new title debuting as a PS+ free game. First off here is the list of the games.

1: Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition: (PS4) 2D brawlwer/platfpormer, inspired by Mexican  folklore

2: Ether One:(PS4)First-Person Puzzler with a focus on restoring the minds of the mentally ill. 

3: The Unfinished Swan:(PS4,PS3,PSVita)First-Person adventure with a very artistic look, and heartfelt story

4: Race the Sun:(PS4,PS3,PSVita)A minimalist racing game with a very futuristic look. 

5: Hohokum:(PS4,PS3,PSVita):Explore a crazy colorful world

6: Murasaki Baby:(PSVita)a Strange puzzle game with a very dark atmosphere.

Great news for PS4 owners since all but Musasaki Baby is available to download on Sony's latest console. Now to break down the games I highly recommend checking out on this list. Of the crop of the 6 games I have actually played 3 of the titles, and one new game that really draws my attention. 

Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition: Out of the list this is the game that everyone should check out and play if you own a PS4, This is one of the most unique "Metroidvania" games to come out, and has so much charm, solid controls, and great sense of humor. If you only play one of these games make sure this is the one. 

The Unfinished Swan: is the second game that I highly recommend, The story is very heartfelt and the game has minor puzzle elements as well as platforming elements, this is a short game that can be completed within 2-4 hours, but the story is what really shines.

Race The Sun: This is the last game of the bunch I had the pleasure to play. In fact I even did a review for this one a little while back, so if you want to read that click here. Race the sun is a very addictive little title, I love the art style, and has elements of randomization that can be found in most "Roguelikes". The big thing that kept me coming back to the game, was the fact that you can level up your ship, and also post your high-scores to online leaderboards. Once you start it will be very hard to put this one down.

The One game on this list that has really sparked my interest is Ether One. This game first appeared on PC, to mostly favorable reviews. I like the fact that it is a first-Person Puzzler, how often do we see that? The Art Style has a nice cell-shaded look to it, and from the sounds of the description the developers give, has me intrigued to find out more. This may be one of my next titles for review. And it's Free!!

Well May is here, and free games are coming! let me know what ones you will be playing. 

-Retro Forward Dave

follow me on my twitter @retro_forward