Joystiq

Though it may seem like a simple collection of pseudo-retro classics, RGC is a full-on simulation of gaming in the '80s. You're sent back in time by maniacal Game Master Arino to play classic games against his younger self (I know, that old plot again?). Rather than have you plug away at the games (based on hits like Galaga and Dragon Quest). you're asked to complete bite-sized challenges within them, like offing two enemies in one jump or getting 50,000 points. It's reminiscent of the retro gameplay with modern sensibilities mix we saw in Pac-Man: Championship Edition, and the result is similarly hard to put down. Once the challenges are complete and older Arino has unlocked the next game, the full version of each title is unlocked for free play.

Though new, all eight games feel like they could have been lifted out of a Children's Palace store circa 1987. Everything from the graphics and control, to the sound and music of the time, has been recreated here in exacting detail. RGC doesn't feature anything particularly superb in terms of gameplay or design, but the included games range from inoffensive to really enjoyable. That said, I could have done with a bit more variety, as three of the eight titles are sequels or remakes.

But RGC's magic isn't just in the games themselves. It's in the full manuals for each game that you can flip through. It's in the GameFan magazines that young Arino regularly receives filled with cheats, strategies, and previews of coming games -- even letters from editors based on real-world counterparts. It's in the way you can always watch your youthful self playing in the bottom screen as young Arino looks on, a tableau that could have been lifted from many of our lives. Heck, you even have to blow in a couple of cartridges.

Retro Game Challenge takes a handful of good-but-not-great games and encases them with a love letter to gamers in the '80s to create a heady, intoxicating valentine of utterly transportive nostalgia. That's something more than just game design ... that's alchemy.