Lost in Time: Midnight Magic

Way better than Video Pinball

Pinball and video games go hand in hand. They’ve been linked to one another since the golden age of arcades, but there’s nothing quite as connecting as the pinball video game. For generations, game makers have been trying to bring the pinball experience home without having to spend thousands of dollars on an actual pinball machine. Atari made a few attempts, and eventually got it right. The end result was, well, magic.

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Lost in Time: Cobra Triangle

Quite possibly the coolest boat in history

RC Pro-Am for NES was a revelation. Simple, addicting, and insanely fun, this isometric racing game was a staple for most NES owners in its day, and while it received its own sequel very late into the console’s life, the geniuses at Rare had another brilliant idea: What if, instead of RC cars, you controlled a boat with a helicopter propeller that could shoot missiles, jump over waterfalls, and slay dragons? Thus, Cobra Triangle was born.

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Coming Full Circle: How I Once Again Found Myself a Single Console Gamer, and Why I’m Okay With It.

The single console life for me…

I retired my Xbox 360 and PS3 last week, leaving me with only one game console connected to my TV. When I was a kid, this was the norm, but nowadays, having multiple consoles is almost required if you want to experience the best of what modern games have to offer. Life, however, doesn’t always agree with this philosophy, and after years of trying to keep up with everything, I’ve finally accepted the brutal truth: My parents were right. I don’t need more than one.

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Joining the Force

Nintendo Power’s legacy is a sight to behold

About 2 years ago, Nintendo Power announced that it was coming to an end, and with it, my lifelong dream of writing for them. Print magazines had been ceasing publication left and right, but even still, the announcement came as a shock. What started as a relentlessly charming glorified ad campaign for Nintendo had transformed over the years into an incredibly thoughtful, intelligent, honest, and fun magazine. It was everything print media should be, and having spent lots of time over the years collecting every single issue, I admired its evolution over the years. Its cancellation hit me hard, but as it turned out, I was not alone.

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Lost in Time: The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang

Cute vampires, delicious tomatoes, and magic hats

Vampires have taken on many forms over the years. There’s your traditional Castlevania types, your sparkly Twilight types, and even your Sesame Street Count types. In June 1994, Bullet Proof Software thought Super NES owners could use a new type of vampire: the adorable, tomato juice drinking, magic trick enthusiast type. In a market already flooded with mascot characters with names like Bubsy the Bobcat, Awesome Possum, and Aero the Acrobat, Bullet Proof Software took a chance on a little vampire prince named Spike McFang, and the SNES library is just a little more charming because of it. 

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