Play Retro Show

The Illusion platformers developed by Sega in the early to mid-1990s, built around original stories starring Mickey Mouse. While each game differs by platform and style, they share common traits: smooth controls, layered level design, strong animation, and soundtracks tailored to the hardware. The series covers both 16-bit showpieces and surprisingly deep 8-bit platformers, with a nod to the often-overlooked Legend of Illusion and the co-op-focused World of Illusion. Play Retro goes deep!

Let’s talk about ‘Drill Dozer’, the 2006 Game Boy Advance title from Game Freak that stars Jill and her drill-powered mech in a punchy, gear-driven platformer complete with some unique game mechanics and features, including a built in rumble pack for the cart. This game still drills! Or something like that.

Thief: The Dark Project and Thief II: The Metal Age, two of the most influential stealth games ever made. Developed by Looking Glass Studios, these immersive sims dropped players into a dark, steampunk-inspired world where silence and shadows were more powerful than any sword. With open-ended level design, sound-based detection, and a story full of mystery and betrayal, the Thief series set the standard for the stealth genre.

Hydro Thunder, Offroad Thunder, and Arctic Thunder—a trio of fast, loud, and wild arcade racers from Midway. At the arcade and at home. We are Racing Rocket boats, 4 Wheel Off-road vehicles in arenas, and snowblasting through frozen highways with missile-equipped snowmobiles. From arcades to Dreamcast and more!

The Questprobe Text Adventure series featuring Marvel Comic Characters —an early collaboration between Marvel Comics and Adventure International. Designed by Scott Adams (not the cartoonist!), these graphic/text hybrid adventures dropped Marvel’s most iconic heroes into classic parser-based puzzlers. From The Hulk trying to control his rage, to Spider-Man climbing walls in text form, and Torch and Thing bickering their way through puzzles.

On this week’s episode of Play Retro, Rampage, from 1986. The classic arcade destruction game developed by Bally Midway that puts players in control of giant, mutated monsters—George the gorilla, Lizzie the lizard, and Ralph the werewolf—as they wreak havoc on cities across the United States. Turns out, this thing holds up!

On this week’s Play Retro podcast with Scott Johnson and Brian Dunaway, ZAXXON! Sega’s revolutionary 1982 arcade game that introduced an isometric perspective to shoot-'em-ups, setting it apart from the top-down and side-scrolling shooters of its era. Its sequel, Super Zaxxon, amped up the difficulty with faster enemy movement and trickier level designs. We’ll also briefly mention Future Spy, a lesser-known Sega shooter that borrowed elements from Zaxxon while adding a military espionage theme.

SSX, EA Sports BIG’s legendary snowboarding series that defined arcade-style extreme sports in the early 2000s. From the original SSX on the PS2 to the fan-favorite SSX Tricky and the open-world masterpiece SSX 3, these games combined fast-paced racing, gravity-defying tricks, and an unforgettable soundtrack.