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Julian "Jaz" Rignall

@jazrignall.bsky.social

3.6K followers 91 following 2.4K posts

Playing video games since 1976. Writing about them since 1983.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · Aug 25

A reminder that the second printing of my book is now available at Bitmap Books.

"Highly recommended for the nostalgia trip!" Andrew R
"I really relived my childhood through this one, I love it!" Arjan van der V
"It does not disappoint!" Chris L

www.bitmapbooks.com/collections/...

The Games of a Lifetime

Journey through five decades of retro video game history with Julian ‘Jaz’ Rignall, former CVG & Mean Machines editor, arcade champion, & game culture icon.

www.bitmapbooks.com

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 1h

35 years ago, I was playing (and thoroughly enjoying) an import copy of Mega Drive Rainbow Islands. As I said in my review, this was yet another stellar coin-op port and yet another game that made Sega's new 16-bit system THE console to have. Just brilliant stuff!

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 15h

He’s fine I’m sure. Might occasionally tap on the window to see if anyone’s there, but probably quite happy playing tunes, dancing, using his computer, and hanging out with his dog. I mean, that sounds like a good life to me. 😃

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 19h

Actually, I believe that’s the scientific term for toe fungus.

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 23h

Yeah, should have been unkillable. Would get sick, but recovered when food was given to him. Ours got sick, went off screen, and never came back. Just an empty house.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 1d

40 years ago, I was really enjoying Little Computer People on C64, a progenitor to the Sims and other modern cosy-style games. Just really innovative and great fun. We somehow managed to kill our LCP due to a review version bug which, after a call with David Crane, was fixed!

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 1d

lol. Can’t believe it hasn’t crumbled into dust

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 1d

Btw, this was the official Paradroid game art. Doesn't quite have the dark, gritty atmosphere of Oli Frey's magazine cover art, which I always thought represented the game far more effectively.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 2d

Seasonal.

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 2d

I always felt the Sims was its successor.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 2d

40 years ago, Paradroid was on ZZAP!'s cover. We rated this amazing game 97%. Other top reviews: Little Computer People Discovery Kit (97%), Epyx' epic multisports sim Winter Games (94%), Wizard's Lair (89%), Hacker (87%), and Infocom's stellar Starcross text adventure (94%).

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 2d

Well, it essentially is a board game, so at least you understand that.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 2d

It’s literally a turn-based strategy game, so yeah, they stop after each play. Once you understand what they’re actually doing and how the sport works, it’s fantastic. Very different to almost any other sport.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 3d

Yeah. Arcade showroom, and the owners let us turn off the lights to take really good screenshots. These are among the best coin-op shots I ever took. So detailed!

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 3d

Just finished this. Really, really, really fun build, with lots of cool ah-ha moments when you realize what the particular part you're working on actually is, or you see how certain components go together. Amazing detail too. An absolute must-have for LEGO fans who like games.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 4d

Nintendo Playchoice 10 I and II coin-ops are also interesting. The NES had only recently been released in Europe at this point and quite a few of the games on these machines were not yet available to buy. 2/2

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 4d

Back in the day, it was cool being able to step into an arcade and not know what new machines you might be able to find. Here's the hottest stuff from late 1987. 1/2

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 5d

35 years ago, Quickjoy joysticks were basically Quickshot joysticks. Renown for their uncanny ability to spontaneously fall apart if you closed the door too hard, or accidentally left the window open when a gentle breeze was blowing. 🤣

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 5d

Not investing in tech that would dominate multiple generations? I’m sure everything would work out fine for Amstrad…

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 5d

40 years ago, Commodore began selling Amiga Euro dev systems for today's equivalent of £5,300 apiece. Yikes! Meanwhile, wideboy Alan Sugar was avin' it large with a record £20m profit, while also stating CD-ROMS "are not the sort of future Amstrad is concerned about at the moment."😆

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 5d

Zennies ahoy!

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 6d

Ya'll knew this was coming. Japanese vs. Euro box art. Both feature the same picture, but the Japanese version integrates its larger logo across a full bleed picture, while the Euro version sticks the logo in a flugly grid that is far less aesthetically pleasing.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 6d

Yes. Mega Drive controls: A and C to rotate, B to fire.

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 6d

35 years ago I was playing Forgotten Worlds on Mega Drive. It was yet another fine arcade conversion, this time of Capcom's 1988 coin-op shooter. It was missing two of the arcade machine's original nine levels, but was nevertheless very fun to play and looked fabulous.

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Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 7d

Ha! And yes, that's precisely why we spent so much time agonizing over reviews. Only a few years before, we were also kids buying games with very limited pocket money budgets, so we really understood the importance of loading up reviews with as much info as possible!

Julian "Jaz" Rignall @jazrignall.bsky.social · 7d

35 years ago, I was playing the best NES shooter I'd seen so far. Life Force (AKA Salamander) was an excellent adaptation of Konami's seminal coin-op and packed a pretty stiff challenge for arcade fans. Quality stuff!

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