While home consoles and computers were at the apex of videogaming power, handheld machines were the innovators. These plucky portable pioneers empowered us to take our favourite titles on the go. What ensued is a subculture of videogaming that is one of the more unique and fondly remembered areas of the medium’s entire history. In this special edition, we will celebrate the retro handhelds of yore, from the Microvision and Game & Watch to more recent rogues like the Nintendo DS and PSP. We will spotlight some off‑the‑radar knickknacks, well-established success stories and the occasional unfair failure. Grab a few packs of AAs because you are about to embark on a vast journey across time into the world of retro handhelds!
THE HANDHELD GAMING COLLECTION
CLASH OF THE HANDHELDS • Not all handhelds are created equal. Some are powerhouses that can only run for minutes, others capture the imaginations of players with more than just technical wizardry. Join us as we raid the archives in search of the greatest (and worst) handhelds ever…
PAUL MACHACEK • We speak to the Rare coder behind Beetlejuice, WWF Superstars and the Donkey Kong Land about the Game Boy
PSP
Nintendo DS
Lynx
D.SCOTT WILLIAMSON • We speak to the genius behind three of the Lynx’s best arcade ports in RoadBlasters, Toki and S.T.U.N. Runner
Game Boy Advance
JIM BAGLEY • The veteran coder explains the technicalities of working on the Game Boy Advance
ONE VISION A MICROVISION RETROSPECTIVE • Often billed as the first true handheld game console, the Microvision is an evolutionary step in handheld electronic games, those distant cousins to videogames. Marty Goldberg reveals the history behind this pioneering product
INSIDE THE MICROVISION • Thanks to its rarity, it’s not often you get to see the innards of this remarkable handheld
ESSENTIAL GAMES • If you do find a working machine, play these…
INSIDE THE FACEPLATE/CARTRIDGE • Each faceplate houses the main electronics of the unit and plugs in like a cartridge
GAME & WATCH • At the dawn of the Eighties, Nintendo was exploring the industry it would one day dominate. Long before the NES, Mario, and Zelda there was the Game & Watch – the series of handheld titles that would ultimately sire the all-conquering Game Boy. Damien McFerran explores the history of pocket-size gaming
Game Pocket Computer
The Impact Of The GAME BOY • OVER THREE DECADES AFTER ITS LAUNCH, THE GAME BOY HAS BECOME MORE THAN A GAMING ICON – IT’S A TRUE CULTURAL PHENOMENON. WE LOOK BACK AT HOW NINTENDO’S MACHINE ACHIEVED SUCH A FEAT, AND SPEAK TO THOSE STILL FLYING THE FLAG FOR THE HANDHELD TODAY
PRINCE OF PERSIA • ED MAGNIN CONVERTED JORDAN MECHNER’S CLASSIC TO THE GAME BOY
ALIEN 3 • JAS AUSTIN REVEALS THE STORY BEHIND HIS UNIQUE INTERPRETATION OF ALIEN 3
MONSTER MAX • JON RITMAN ON CREATING HIS MINI ISOMETRIC OPUS FOR THE GAME BOY
DONKEY KONG LAND III • IAN MANDERS CODED THE THIRD AND FINEST DONKEY KONG LAND
R-TYPE DX • BOB PAPE RECALLS THE BUMPER R-TYPE PACKAGE THAT DELIGHTED ALL GAME BOY OWNERS
TOP 25 GAME BOY GAMES • Your votes have been counted and the standings are final – these are the very best games for Nintendo’s monochrome masterpiece, as chosen by Retro Gamer readers
Mega Duck
RETROINSPECTION: ATARI LYNX • A full-colour screen, 16-bit technology and awesome games. Epyx thought Nintendo would jump at the chance of snapping up ‘The Handy’, its fledgling handheld console. But as David Crookes reveals, Epyx was in for a bit of shock…
OTHER VERSIONS…
PERFECT TEN GAMES • It may have been KO’d by the Game Boy, but Atari’s Lynx was still home to some wonderful games and arcade conversions. Don’t...
