We get letters. Handwritten letters in the mail. We're going to read them to you now.

/article/1820/retronauts-episode-420-retronauts-15th-anniversary-mailbag

Streets of Rage 2 IS a Christmas game -  it was launched in December and it has a Chicken in it. What else do you need?! As recently tweeted out on the SEGA Forever Twitter - the mighty legendary and wonderful Streets of Rage 2 is 29 years old this year in December.   December 20 to be exact, 1992 it was released on the SEGA Genesis in the USA first. From SEGA Forever: Streets of Rage 2 hit the Genesis in the US 29 years ago this month! Max, Axel, Blaze, or Skate? The choice is yours! 🍎🍗💰 #SEGAForever pic.twitter.com/H4kkOjSboP — SEGA Forever (@SEGAForever) December 4, 2021 To continue the celebration its also well worth exploring the game's history. To get the detail and knowledge in one full hit from the original game then you have to see this video from Slopes Game Room... Slopes Game Room - Streets of Rage. The complete History: The game itself is playable on the original consoles and also on the SEGA Genesis Mini and for the rest of the world including the UK, the  SEGA Mega Drive mini which has this and over 40 classic games + 2 bonus titles. Why not just combine Christmas and as there is a Chicken in the game too. If you squint it's almost a Turkey. I mean I know its not a turkey - but its close enough! I think if we can link this game to a season it could be Christmas. It's dark and often the weather is problematic. But it sparkles with all the lights of the streets - and for some reason reminds me of seeing the Christmas lights.  For me personally playing the Mega Drive during the holidays is very much a great memory of the early 90s - Christmas morning playing this game, as well as Robocod and Sonic 2.

https://gamesyouloved.com/blog/2021/december/06/streets-of-rage-2-hits-29-this-month!/

Here it is peeps, the 2021 Ausretrogamer Christmas Gift Guide!

The post The 2021 Christmas Gift Guide first appeared on AUSRETROGAMER.

https://ausretrogamer.com/the-2021-christmas-gift-guide/

Shikigami, Sam & Suezo.

/article/1821/retro-re-release-roundup-week-of-december-9-2021

Clockwork Aquario and A Boy and His Blob offer two flavours of platformer on Switch

/article/1822/two-boys-a-girl-a-robot-and-a-blob

We couldn't let 20 years pass by without bringing up the subject of Halo. And what better time to remember back to the original - just after the launch day of Halo infinite on the XBOX - following 20 years of Halo being born. 20 years seems a looong time in some ways and not others. If you fire up the original HALO game now its amazing to think this was a first conceived for a brand new console. Microsoft's XBOX needed a killer game to launch and Halo did it proud. It has been documented that nearly 90% of the game was completed by the team at Bungie well within 9 months of hardcore coding which is pretty amazing. Especially when you consider for its time how much went into this game. Bungie had been developing Halo exclusively for XBOX console wise. Plus it was also available on PC and Max OSX too which was pretty amazing. Celebrating 20 years Here's our shout out to the community on Twitter on Halo just as Inifnite got launches there was alot of new but also old references to Halo - we had some great photos back (see below the tweet) Does anyone have a HALO Collection? Share yours - to be featured in an article on https://t.co/2dkHehxWQk and on socials This from @marcusoft365 #Halo #HaloInfinite #HaloInfiniteMP #halomultiplayer #retrogaming #20yearsofxbox pic.twitter.com/AzQSROrscn — GamesYouLoved 🕹👾📺 (@gamesyouloved) December 8, 2021 Depending when you experienced the first game - either at launch or buying it later in life you will have memories of the game. Halo: Collection pic by  https://twitter.com/ilovegames2600 Halo: Collection pic by  https://twitter.com/shiiiva Halo: Collection pic by @kingmonkey25 Beyond the game itself (as we have seen in some of the above collection pics) fans also love to show their appreciation with offical Halo gear. As a gamer this is part of the experience of feeling part of the game's community and ejoying the art, music and design of the game. Halo is no exception. Celebrating Halo is the official range available here: https://www.justgeek.com/collections/halo Just like the original XBOX console we can see alot of people getting the new XBOX Series S and Series X to play this title. Its just like history repeating itself! Halo Infinite to buy here:   https://amzn.to/3ILtah5 XBox Series S (add to wish list) here :  https://amzn.to/3ERzEZ8   Xbox Series X (add to wish list) h ere:  https://amzn.to/31XIqqc

https://gamesyouloved.com/blog/2021/december/08/celebrating-20-years-of-halo/

We couldn't let 20 years pass by without bringing up the subject of Halo. And what better time to hark back to the original - just after the launch day of Halo infinite on the XBOX - following a milestone 20 years of Halo being originally released. 20 years seems a looong time in some ways and not others. If you fire up the original HALO game now its amazing to think this was a first conceived for a brand new console just after the turn of the millennium. Microsoft's XBOX needed a killer game to launch and Halo did it proud. It has been documented that nearly 90% of the game was completed by the team at Bungie well within 9 months of hardcore coding which is pretty amazing. Especially when you consider for its time how much went into this game. Bungie had been developing Halo exclusively for XBOX console-wise. Plus it was also available on PC and Mac CD Rom. Celebrating 20 years Here's our shout-out to our community on Twitter on Halo, just as Inifnite got launched as there was alot of new but also old dedications to Halo. We had some great photos back (see below the tweet) from this which was great to see. The original inspiration of this was an epic collection (as seen in the tweet) by  marcusoft365   Does anyone have a HALO Collection? Share yours - to be featured in an article on https://t.co/2dkHehxWQk and on socials This from @marcusoft365 #Halo #HaloInfinite #HaloInfiniteMP #halomultiplayer #retrogaming #20yearsofxbox pic.twitter.com/AzQSROrscn — GamesYouLoved 🕹👾📺 (@gamesyouloved) December 8, 2021 Depending when you experienced the first game - either at launch or buying it later in life you will have memories of becoming the Master Chief for the first time.Donning the famous suit and helmet with all the strength and power (fire power!) of this legendary character. Halo: Collection pic by  https://twitter.com/ilovegames2600 Halo: Collection pic by  https://twitter.com/shiiiva Halo: Collection pic by @kingmonkey25 Beyond the game itself (as we have seen in some of the above collection pics) fans also love to show their appreciation with offical Halo gear. As a gamer this is part of the experience of feeling part of the game's community and appreciating the art, music and design of the game. Halo is no exception. Celebrating Halo is the official range available here: https://www.justgeek.com/collections/halo Just like the original XBOX console we can see alot of people getting the new XBOX Series S and Series X to play this title. Its just like history repeating itself! Halo Infinite to buy here:   https://amzn.to/3ILtah5 XBox Series S (add to wish list) here :  https://amzn.to/3ERzEZ8   Xbox Series X (add to wish list) h ere:  https://amzn.to/31XIqqc

https://gamesyouloved.com/blog/2021/december/08/20-years-of-halo/

Nobody puts Stocke into the corner

/article/1823/retronauts-episode-422-radiant-historia

Shadow Ninja C64 Chiptune album by SID Ninja 64 - check it out!

https://ausretrogamer.com/shadow-ninja-awesome-c64-chiptunes-by-sid-ninja-64/

The second season of the Netflix Original Series "The Witcher" will be released this week!

https://ausretrogamer.com/a-new-season-of-the-witcher/

Love-de-Lic's cult "anti-RPG" spreads the love on PlayStation and PC.

/article/1824/retro-re-release-roundup-week-of-december-16-2021

We test drive Atari's VCS Wireless Classic Joystick and Wireless Modern Controller! Get a grip!

The post Doing The Math on the Atari VCS Classic Joystick & Modern Controller first appeared on AUSRETROGAMER.

https://ausretrogamer.com/doing-the-math-on-the-atari-vcs-classic-joystick-modern-controller/

Arrrrre you READY??????

/article/1825/retronauts-episode-423-street-fighter-ii-beyond-the-game

TAITO EGRET II mini - United Games Entertainment brings exclusive version to the West!

The post TAITO EGRET II mini – United Games Entertainment brings exclusive version to the West! first appeared on AUSRETROGAMER.

https://ausretrogamer.com/taito-egret-ii-mini-united-games-entertainment-brings-exclusive-version-to-the-west/

From the ausretrogamer team, we wish you all a wonderful Festive Season, which we hope is filled with fun, laughter and lots of gaming!

The post May The Festive Season Be With You first appeared on AUSRETROGAMER.

https://ausretrogamer.com/may-the-festive-season-be-with-you/

The forgotten PlayStation WipEout release also happens to be the best…

https://www.retrogamer.net/retro_games00/wipeout-3-special-edition/

Merry XEXEXmas, everyone.

/article/1826/retro-re-release-roundup-week-of-december-23-2021

Got some many to spare? Then try seeking out these ten gems.

https://www.retrogamer.net/top_10/top-ten-neo-geo-games/

For anyone who doesn't know John Riggs - long standing member of the retrogaming community here's a article for you to find out about the man, the myth and the mystery! Here's how it went when we fired a number of probing questions at the man himself... 1, For anyone who doesn't know you - how would you best describe what you do on Youtube and social media John? My YouTube channel focuses heavily on retro gaming nostalgia. I also like to try and get non-working games working again. I'm also a huge VR gamer as well as supporter of new indie titles on new systems so I do those videos as well, just not as often. Mostly retrogaming as that's my passion.   2. How long have you been gaming for? Ever since I can remember. The earliest game I remember playing was Donkey Kong in the arcade. I can remember when Donkey Kong Jr. was a brand new game. It's fun to watch video games evolve. 3. How did you get into doing Youtube? I had a friend who wanted me to start a channel back in 2008 or so. I didn't really use YouTube for 'shows' so since I wasn't passionate about it I didn't want to do it for the sake of doing it. It wasn't until Metal Jesus had me on his channel a few times and he suggested I start my own channel I gave it a shot. He's been a huge help.   4. What is the retro gaming community like in the US? Oh, it has its micro-groups like any other community. The gatekeepers, the people who brag about their collection, the people who think they're better than others because they might have a few rare items. I avoid those. I like to just focus on the supportive community who are all in it just for the fun of playing classic video games.   5. Do you go to many conventions and what are they like? The most I've ever done was 13 conventions in one year. I go to as many as I can but can't attend them all. Every convention has its own vibe and even its own size. Some are bigger, some are smaller. Some held in arenas, some held in private lodges. But all are wonderful for their own reasons. There's also a regionality. Some games that would be sold quickly in the northwest may stay on the show floor all day on the east coast. It's interesting to see. Also gives me a reason to hang out with other YouTubers - many use it for a common meeting place. 6. Have you visited any other countries for gaming - and what was your experience like? Not yet, but would love to. I have a passport ready for travel but haven't been invited to a convention overseas or in Canada, yet. The pandemic didn't help but with restrictions starting to lift more and more it shouldn't be too much longer. 7. Do you have any plans for 2022 you can tell us about? In the United States, there are several conventions every year. Probably over 20 of them so overlapping conventions on the same weekend are inevitable. Because of this, some conventions invite guests early. I've already been invited to 4 conventions for next year and 2022 hasn't even started yet. It's gonna be a fun year. 8. What console did you grow up with? I grew up with the Atari 2600 at home and all the wonderful arcade machines that could be found all over the city. In the '80s, every gas station, mini-mart, convenience store, grocery store, restaurant... they all had 1 or 2 arcade games. I didn't get my NES until the late '80s which became my favorite console of all time. 9. If you had to pick 3 favourite games from your youth what would they be and why? My go-to favorite game of all time is Zelda 2 so I'd include that by default. Love the mixed gameplay. I also loved Adventure for the Atari 2600. It's a game I still like playing today. And 'just cuz' I'd include Tapper as it's one of my favorite arcade games that never saw an NES port.I love that the arcade controller is a literal tap to pour beer (or root beer for the youth version). Links to John on the internet and socials: https://twitter.com/johnblueriggs https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8cZ9g1sopNc50D9NqVBbug https://www.twitch.tv/johnblueriggs https://www.patreon.com/johnblueriggs https://www.facebook.com/riggstalgic

https://gamesyouloved.com/blog/2021/december/23/getting-to-know-john-riggs/

We speak to Richard Kay about the software house that coded amazing C64 conversions.

https://www.retrogamer.net/profiles/company/software-creations/