Hit Save!
@hitsave.org
Video game history & preservation non-profit, focused on global preservation efforts and community building. www.hitsave.org
Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/TCKT6uA
Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/TCKT6uA
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Learn more about this tape on our archive, and be sure to join our Discord if you want to vote on which present to open next! We still have 9 gifts left to open! archive.hitsave.org/ark:/78322/1...
Reposted by Hit Save!
Today in the @hitsave.org archive, press materials for San Francisco Rush 2049, Sea of Thieves, Shadow of the Colossus, Shadow the Hedgehog, SMT Strange Journey, Silent Hill 2-4, SimCity 4, and Sin & Punishment Star Successor. Please enjoy!
archive.hitsave.org/press-material
archive.hitsave.org/press-material
January 3, 2026 at 3:05 AM
Today in the @hitsave.org archive, press materials for San Francisco Rush 2049, Sea of Thieves, Shadow of the Colossus, Shadow the Hedgehog, SMT Strange Journey, Silent Hill 2-4, SimCity 4, and Sin & Punishment Star Successor. Please enjoy!
archive.hitsave.org/press-material
archive.hitsave.org/press-material
Happy New Year and happy Day 9, everyone! Today's present is a sales reel for X2: Wolverine's Revenge that varies substantially from the version already online! Watch the full trailer below.
January 2, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Happy New Year and happy Day 9, everyone! Today's present is a sales reel for X2: Wolverine's Revenge that varies substantially from the version already online! Watch the full trailer below.
Reposted by Hit Save!
I’m actually going to try to make some progress on this on my Twitch stream tonight! Not doing any transfers yet, still troubleshooting a bunch of equipment in the pipeline, starting with the fan on the Black Magic Capture card! 8:00 EST tonight if you want to see! twitch.tv/kazoodac
Now, we may be able to bridge the gap if @kazoodac.bsky.social is able to recapture these tapes with SDI, but this is a great reminder that preserving game history is a team effort! No one can do it all alone, and the more we work together and share our strengths, the better off we’ll all be! 🏆
January 1, 2026 at 5:40 PM
I’m actually going to try to make some progress on this on my Twitch stream tonight! Not doing any transfers yet, still troubleshooting a bunch of equipment in the pipeline, starting with the fan on the Black Magic Capture card! 8:00 EST tonight if you want to see! twitch.tv/kazoodac
Reposted by Hit Save!
It's time for retrospection!
I got a LOT done in 2025 and it's vitally important for folks like us to always keep that in mind.
So let's do the sweep - in multiple parts - and pat ourselves on the back a bit. For this thread, it'll be my own accomplishments. 🧵
I got a LOT done in 2025 and it's vitally important for folks like us to always keep that in mind.
So let's do the sweep - in multiple parts - and pat ourselves on the back a bit. For this thread, it'll be my own accomplishments. 🧵
January 1, 2026 at 10:00 PM
It's time for retrospection!
I got a LOT done in 2025 and it's vitally important for folks like us to always keep that in mind.
So let's do the sweep - in multiple parts - and pat ourselves on the back a bit. For this thread, it'll be my own accomplishments. 🧵
I got a LOT done in 2025 and it's vitally important for folks like us to always keep that in mind.
So let's do the sweep - in multiple parts - and pat ourselves on the back a bit. For this thread, it'll be my own accomplishments. 🧵
It’s Day 8 of the 12 Days of Hit Save, and the next present has been unwrapped! This time we’re serving up a 4 minute extended trailer for Ninja Gaiden…but we’ve been served a slice of humble pie! Read on to see why!
January 1, 2026 at 5:26 PM
It’s Day 8 of the 12 Days of Hit Save, and the next present has been unwrapped! This time we’re serving up a 4 minute extended trailer for Ninja Gaiden…but we’ve been served a slice of humble pie! Read on to see why!
It's Day 7 of the 12 Days of Hit Save, and the Discord votes are in: the streak of Activision tapes has been disrupted by a Digibeta tape from Vivendi Games containing trailers for Crash Tag Team Racing and Spyro: Shadow Legacy! Watch the trailers below!
December 31, 2025 at 5:51 PM
It's Day 7 of the 12 Days of Hit Save, and the Discord votes are in: the streak of Activision tapes has been disrupted by a Digibeta tape from Vivendi Games containing trailers for Crash Tag Team Racing and Spyro: Shadow Legacy! Watch the trailers below!
Day 6 is upon us! Which tape has the misfortune of having to follow yesterday’s big reveal? Thank you for your sacrifice, Soldier of Fortune II Xbox Trailer. We salute you!
Watch the full trailer below, and learn why this is more interesting than it may first appear!
Watch the full trailer below, and learn why this is more interesting than it may first appear!
December 30, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Day 6 is upon us! Which tape has the misfortune of having to follow yesterday’s big reveal? Thank you for your sacrifice, Soldier of Fortune II Xbox Trailer. We salute you!
Watch the full trailer below, and learn why this is more interesting than it may first appear!
Watch the full trailer below, and learn why this is more interesting than it may first appear!
It's day 5 of the 12 Days of Hit Save, and our Discord picked a real doozy this time! Today’s tape is Activision: Secret Weapon: XZXT 5124 “Jersey.” If you're as utterly mystified by that name as we were, read on to learn more and watch the video!
December 29, 2025 at 5:34 PM
It's day 5 of the 12 Days of Hit Save, and our Discord picked a real doozy this time! Today’s tape is Activision: Secret Weapon: XZXT 5124 “Jersey.” If you're as utterly mystified by that name as we were, read on to learn more and watch the video!
Day 4 is here, and our Discord community picked present 1 to open, narrowly beating present 3 after a close race! What's inside this time? It's a trailer for True Crime: Streets of LA! See below for the video!
December 28, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Day 4 is here, and our Discord community picked present 1 to open, narrowly beating present 3 after a close race! What's inside this time? It's a trailer for True Crime: Streets of LA! See below for the video!
Reposted by Hit Save!
In Zelda 2, a woman appears in each town, beckoning Link into her home. They disappear inside and Link's health begins to refill.
One reddit user recently asked if this scene was *intentionally* suggestive. While that seems very unlikely, I thought I'd look into it.
One reddit user recently asked if this scene was *intentionally* suggestive. While that seems very unlikely, I thought I'd look into it.
December 28, 2025 at 5:49 AM
In Zelda 2, a woman appears in each town, beckoning Link into her home. They disappear inside and Link's health begins to refill.
One reddit user recently asked if this scene was *intentionally* suggestive. While that seems very unlikely, I thought I'd look into it.
One reddit user recently asked if this scene was *intentionally* suggestive. While that seems very unlikely, I thought I'd look into it.
Reposted by Hit Save!
Having a video go viral is a chilling reminder that there are humans out there just choosing to stumble through life with zero curiosity and a lot of anger. I'm really thankful to have found (and/or founded!) communities that try and leave the world in better condition than we found it.
December 27, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Having a video go viral is a chilling reminder that there are humans out there just choosing to stumble through life with zero curiosity and a lot of anger. I'm really thankful to have found (and/or founded!) communities that try and leave the world in better condition than we found it.
It's Day 3 of the 12 Days of Hit Save, and our Discord community has chosen the next present to unwrap: a trailer for Pitfall: The Lost Expedition! See below for the full video!
December 27, 2025 at 4:22 PM
It's Day 3 of the 12 Days of Hit Save, and our Discord community has chosen the next present to unwrap: a trailer for Pitfall: The Lost Expedition! See below for the full video!
Reposted by Hit Save!
Benj @benjedwards.com also pointed out the article where Iga mentions Super Metroid as an influence (and Ethan @playhistory.bsky.social found one of the other mentions). Next time someone tries to tell you SOTN contained no Metroid influence, here's a handy little image to refute that, lol.
![Mr. Iragashi [sic], Director, Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night. He told us that Super Metroid was a big influence on his design. — Game Informer #55 (Nov 1997)
"[Super Metroid] is a great game that had a lot of influence over Symphony," Igarashi tells us. — EGM #155 (Jun 2002)
"Since there hadn't been a Metroid for quite some time, we thought, why not try to make a better version of Metroid, but in the world of Castlevania?" — Koji Igarashi, EGM #200 (Feb 2006)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ryrau24iqzrzst2tdl63a3cl/bafkreict7h54vpgf25obn5jr27asws2edtx5inbljmbadb5yj7c4nnjgfa@jpeg)
December 26, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Benj @benjedwards.com also pointed out the article where Iga mentions Super Metroid as an influence (and Ethan @playhistory.bsky.social found one of the other mentions). Next time someone tries to tell you SOTN contained no Metroid influence, here's a handy little image to refute that, lol.
Reposted by Hit Save!
Attention new users! I've made a starter pack of Japanese game devs, something a lot of folks miss from Twitter. Please flow and re-share! And if I'm missing anybody let me know! go.bsky.app/5R1tEtT
December 25, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Attention new users! I've made a starter pack of Japanese game devs, something a lot of folks miss from Twitter. Please flow and re-share! And if I'm missing anybody let me know! go.bsky.app/5R1tEtT
Our first gift has been unwrapped: Trailers for Tenchu: Return from Darkness! Both trailers call attention to the Xbox Live features, but the real highlight here is 30 seconds of dog ninja action! See below for the videos, and check out our Discord if you want to vote on which present to open next!
December 26, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Our first gift has been unwrapped: Trailers for Tenchu: Return from Darkness! Both trailers call attention to the Xbox Live features, but the real highlight here is 30 seconds of dog ninja action! See below for the videos, and check out our Discord if you want to vote on which present to open next!
Reposted by Hit Save!
📖 Bytes of Game Ads 📺
"Free demo."
Still one of my favourite game ads. xD A late release for the N64, with a Wii release I've still yet to dig into.
"Free demo."
Still one of my favourite game ads. xD A late release for the N64, with a Wii release I've still yet to dig into.
August 3, 2025 at 8:14 PM
📖 Bytes of Game Ads 📺
"Free demo."
Still one of my favourite game ads. xD A late release for the N64, with a Wii release I've still yet to dig into.
"Free demo."
Still one of my favourite game ads. xD A late release for the N64, with a Wii release I've still yet to dig into.
Reposted by Hit Save!
Merry Christmas! It's that special time of year again where we celebrate the holidays with yet another yuletide collection of prototypes! This time we have a couple of Sonic prototypes just for you courtesy of Santa and @lastminutecontinue.com!
hiddenpalace.org/News/One_Bad...
Enjoy!🎄🦔
hiddenpalace.org/News/One_Bad...
Enjoy!🎄🦔
December 26, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Merry Christmas! It's that special time of year again where we celebrate the holidays with yet another yuletide collection of prototypes! This time we have a couple of Sonic prototypes just for you courtesy of Santa and @lastminutecontinue.com!
hiddenpalace.org/News/One_Bad...
Enjoy!🎄🦔
hiddenpalace.org/News/One_Bad...
Enjoy!🎄🦔
Merry Christmas everyone! We've got presents for the game preservation community this year: under the tree are 11 professional Betacam tapes from Activision, Tecmo, and Vivendi! We'll be opening one per day starting tomorrow, so join our discord if you want to vote on which one to open first!
December 25, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Merry Christmas everyone! We've got presents for the game preservation community this year: under the tree are 11 professional Betacam tapes from Activision, Tecmo, and Vivendi! We'll be opening one per day starting tomorrow, so join our discord if you want to vote on which one to open first!
Reposted by Hit Save!
Merry Christmas! If you'd like to spend 45 minutes celebrating video game history with me, we're about to debut The Untold Story of the Nintendo Entertainment System. I worked on his ALL YEAR, and I genuinely think it will reshape how we all think about the system. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJvp...
The Untold Story of the Nintendo Entertainment System
YouTube video by The Video Game History Foundation
www.youtube.com
December 25, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Merry Christmas! If you'd like to spend 45 minutes celebrating video game history with me, we're about to debut The Untold Story of the Nintendo Entertainment System. I worked on his ALL YEAR, and I genuinely think it will reshape how we all think about the system. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJvp...
Happy holidays, everyone! We've got something special for the game preservation community this year, and just couldn't wait till tomorrow to share a little preview! Keep an eye out for another announcement tomorrow, and join our discord if you want to participate!🎄https://discord.gg/JQbGjPwE
December 24, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Happy holidays, everyone! We've got something special for the game preservation community this year, and just couldn't wait till tomorrow to share a little preview! Keep an eye out for another announcement tomorrow, and join our discord if you want to participate!🎄https://discord.gg/JQbGjPwE
Merry Ripmas to all, and to all a good write? Wait no don’t overwrite DON’T OVERWRITE
Is holiday dumps another name for seasonal affective disorder
Shout out @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social for the holiday dumps!
December 23, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Merry Ripmas to all, and to all a good write? Wait no don’t overwrite DON’T OVERWRITE
Reposted by Hit Save!
Calling all 6502/NES programmers!
We recently preserved and shared a source code snapshot of the lost Police Academy game! Which is great, except it's in a pretty bad state.
I'm hoping there's enough to "revert" back to its trade show demo. Any interest in helping?
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/pgm4m...
We recently preserved and shared a source code snapshot of the lost Police Academy game! Which is great, except it's in a pretty bad state.
I'm hoping there's enough to "revert" back to its trade show demo. Any interest in helping?
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/pgm4m...
December 22, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Calling all 6502/NES programmers!
We recently preserved and shared a source code snapshot of the lost Police Academy game! Which is great, except it's in a pretty bad state.
I'm hoping there's enough to "revert" back to its trade show demo. Any interest in helping?
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/pgm4m...
We recently preserved and shared a source code snapshot of the lost Police Academy game! Which is great, except it's in a pretty bad state.
I'm hoping there's enough to "revert" back to its trade show demo. Any interest in helping?
www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/pgm4m...
Reposted by Hit Save!
How often should one plug their Patreon? I still don't know the answer. I know times are tough, and I've lost a lot of patrons b/c of it. So supporting my research would really help me out if you are in a position to do so.
www.patreon.com/acriticalhit
www.patreon.com/acriticalhit
Get more from Critical Kate on Patreon
creating essays about the history of comics and video games
www.patreon.com
December 20, 2025 at 6:17 PM
How often should one plug their Patreon? I still don't know the answer. I know times are tough, and I've lost a lot of patrons b/c of it. So supporting my research would really help me out if you are in a position to do so.
www.patreon.com/acriticalhit
www.patreon.com/acriticalhit
Reposted by Hit Save!
Who coined "Metroidvania"? It wasn't @jparish.bsky.social, and he'll be the first to tell you. Besides, there are far more interesting questions, like: How did it spread? Evolve? And what's it got to do with rickrolling?
Watch til the end for a post-credits sting.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8set...
Watch til the end for a post-credits sting.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8set...
The History Of The Word "Metroidvania" And How It Spread
YouTube video by Critical Kate (of A Critical Hit!)
www.youtube.com
December 20, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Who coined "Metroidvania"? It wasn't @jparish.bsky.social, and he'll be the first to tell you. Besides, there are far more interesting questions, like: How did it spread? Evolve? And what's it got to do with rickrolling?
Watch til the end for a post-credits sting.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8set...
Watch til the end for a post-credits sting.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8set...
Reposted by Hit Save!
Finally did a silly little digital preservation bucket list item: scanned the actual CMYK plates used to print a video game box using an oversized film scanner, and combined them in Photoshop to make a "perfect" digital version.
December 20, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Finally did a silly little digital preservation bucket list item: scanned the actual CMYK plates used to print a video game box using an oversized film scanner, and combined them in Photoshop to make a "perfect" digital version.