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Retro Game Challenge

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9.3 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 29 critic reviews
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Based on 8 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: XSeed Games

Developer: Namco Bandai Games

Genre(s): Compilation

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Release Date: February 10, 2009

Summary

Retro Game Challenge is a throwback to the 1980’s era of video games. Based on the popular Japanese GAME CENTER CX TV series, this title reinvents how classic games are played by having the player complete mini challenges in a wide-variety of games, reminiscent of all of your favorites from the 80s. With in-game magazines offering cheat codes and fake news stories, Retro Game Challenge is an original experience for both the seasoned gamer looking for 80s nostalgia or a player experiencing classic 8- bit game play for the first time. [XSEED Games]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

1UP

You'll have an easier time picking out the jokes if you actually lived through the NES era, of course. Despite the constant presence of two kids on the lower screen, RGC is aimed directly at people who fondly remember saving their pennies to purchase titles the likes of Metroid or Super Mario Bros. 3.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

Feels like the first time.

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Destructoid

Retro Game Challenge is by far one of the most unique and delightful experiences I have had on my DS, but I realize I am precisely the gamer that this game was created for -- I'm 31 years old and I grew up in the eighties while the history of gaming was rapidly transforming by the moment all around me.

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Worth Playing

Retro Game Challenge is absolutely worth picking up, and I highly suggest it to everyone.

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Cheat Code Central

Retro Game Challenge hearkens back to a time when 3D graphics didn't exist and video games were nowhere near as elaborate as the high-end affairs current-gen systems offer. Even so, the highly creative presentation is top-notch, and the varied gameplay will keep you busy for hours on end. This one's a must for retro gaming enthusiasts.

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Gamers' Temple

Retro Game Challenge is a great way to relive your NES days, or to see what the NES days were like.

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IGN

The developers of Retro Game Challenge didn't just accurately recreate 8-bit gaming -- they made a bunch of really good games. Requiring players to complete specific challenges is a great way to get us thinking about a game in new ways.

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Game Informer

Even if you're not old enough to remember blowing on carts, Retro Game Challenge is interesting and varied enough to entertain for hours. [Feb 2009, p.87]

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Gamer 2.0

Though you may not be able to become a kid again for real, Retro Game Challenge does a nice job of replicating that experience with retro knock-offs and magazines to add to the 80’s atmosphere that can’t be done as well with compilations and remakes.

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Nintendo Power

Great gameplay and a goofy sense of humor make this a terrific tribute to the 8-bit experience. [Jan 2009, p.91]

Kombo

Retro Game Challenge is a unique collection of newly made retro games.

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Thunderbolt

But what it lacks in style and depth it makes up for in sheer replayability and nostalgia. It takes you back to a time before there were meaningful stories, fancy leveling systems or any of that other stuff you might take for granted.

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GameZone

If you remember the joy of 8-bit gaming, Retro Game Challenge is the must-own nostalgic gaming experience you'll ever have.

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Wired

The translations are occasionally botched. In two instances, the cheat codes were incorrect. This, plus the fact that some of the challenges send you back over territory you've already covered, keeps the game from achieving true retro perfection. It's still awesome, and a must-play for fans of the NES era.

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GameDaily

Retro Game Challenge is vintage gaming at its best, whether you're a newbie or an old-school 8-bit kid at heart.

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Games Radar (in-house)

It works on several levels, but Retro Game Challenge is more enjoyable the nerdier and possibly older you are. The games are fun enough to play, but if you recognize a Ninja Gaiden parody just by playing for a minute, have played Galaga enough to tell the subtle differences in what they chose not to emulate or chuckle at the phrase "feel asleep," this is absolutely the game for you.

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Game Positive

Having fun with Retro Game Challenge doesn't require you to be a child of the '80s, or even a fan of older games; it just asks that you appreciate the past and Namco Bandai's loving attempt to recreate it.

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Zentendo

A great compilation that will remind you of why you got into video games in the first place.

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Eurogamer

For many of us trying to recapture those childhood feelings of awe and wonder, Retro Game Challenge gets to the very heart of why we still play videogames and for that is to be applauded.

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Nintendo Life

The game is still a blast to play.

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Pocket Gamer UK

A fleeting love letter to the 8-bit generation, Retro Game Challenge deserves to be experienced by everyone with a heart for gaming culture.

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NTSC-uk

It's yet another unique DS experience, yet another game that simply must be played.

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GameSpot

The charms, variety, and authenticity of this unusual compilation of 8-bit-style games help it shine in spite of some flaws.

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Eurogamer Portugal

If the whole idea seems interesting to you, then the entertainment provided by games, magazines and dialogues will be more than enough to bring this work to the end.

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games(TM)

The challenge concept gives Retro Game Challenge a sense of longevity and compulsion that's been missing from real-life compilations like Namco Museum, but is not without its own problems. [May 2009, p.116]

Game Revolution

Retro Game Challenge may not be as genuine as an actual 8-in-1 retro game collection by Namco or Atari, but what it lacks in authenticity, it makes up for by successfully bringing everything that’s awesome yet simple about the classics.

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Giant Bomb

Retro Game Challenge is a great concept, but the execution makes things more tedious than they needed to be. If it were a bit more open-ended about which games you could play at any given time and didn't double-up on some of the games, it'd be a pretty cool little collection. But once I got finished playing a game I really didn't want to play anymore only to be faced with a "new" version of a game I had already unlocked, the spell was broken and the rest became simple, repetitive grinding.

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NGamer UK

A bunch of so-so games. [June 2009, p.64]

Gaming Age

In the end, the humorous aspect of the game and the unique story are not enough for me to continue playing. With boring retro type games, which RGC is centered on, and the need for me to unlock the games by playing challenges of which some are very difficult; I feel this game really isn't worth my time and I suggest you take a pass even if you are really into retro games.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Keith B gave it a10:
Wow. This game needs to get way more attention. On the face of it, it's essentially a series of eight games, all with 8-bit level graphics, sound and controls - but it's really so much more than that. Read any other review for specifics - the mechanics and design of the games are all brilliant and solid as hell - but this game has taught me some even more important things.

Travis R gave it an8:
This game is great. They cheesed out a bit on the final challenge, but overall, an excellent game. Highly recommended.

Jesse W. gave it a10:
Retro Game Challenge is retro gaming bliss. The best retro game collection released in decades is made up entirely of fake games, many outright clones of titles you may have grown up with. Scandal? Hardly. The brilliance, and at times abject parody, not to mention the quality of the designs, art, music, even the dialog (dialog in a retro collection? yes, and it's great!), add up to what would have been my game of 2008 had it released mere months ago. I find it hard to imagine anyone spurning such a joyful bundle of gaming goodness. Even those with no memories of the NES era will find plenty to enjoy. Each of the games feels complete and fulfilling on its own, and the addition of a framework of challenges and unlockables functions as a carrot to draw the gamer deeper. Where I found myself, in other collections, hopping from game to game aimlessly, here, I'm gently prodded into learning the intricacies of each selection, and it's immensely satisfying. The freeplay mode, with its more subtle incentives, became a surprising favorite, but beyond that, the shell of sitting down, virtually, with a childhood pal, searching through fake game magazines (with great shout-outs to real life editors you might remember), even getting yacked at by your friend's mom ("Are you two still playing? Control yourselves!") adds up to one of the most charming experiences I've had in gaming. As for the games themselves, they're the best Famicom titles that never existed. The crown of the collection, at least for me, is the epic (10-15 hour!) RPG, Guadia Quest, but there is more than something for everyone, the focus being on action. In truth, I've never had so much fun with shooters before; I actually like Cosmic Gate more than, say, Galaga. To paraphrase Bono, "Even better than the real thing." And that's truly just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The designs borrow happily from the past (each game's influences can be dissected like the best of loving tributes) but never get bogged down in the tedium or problems of our actual retro libraries. In other words, they're coated with enough modern game philosophy (but not too much!) that they don't end up making you remember what you hated about the halcyon 8-bit days (hey, nostalgia covers over a multitude of sins).

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