Maximum Power Up

The Super Nintendo is often cited as many retro gamer's favourite console. Just looking at game prices on Ebay etc for Nintendo's 16bit marvel shows that demand isn't fading either.

With many amazing games such as Super Mario World, Street Fighter 2, Pilotwings, Starfox and more, fans of any genre were spoilt by choice for the SNES.

The machine's capabilities were also shown with the Super FX chip, Mode 7 and later with the amazing art style of Donkey Kong Country.

In this episode Paul is joined by fellow Super Nintendo fans Julian from the team and Alex Crowley AKA Nintendo Arcade. The guys discuss a few of their favourite games as well as chat about their early Super Nintendo memories. Also don't be surprised if a certain magazine gets a mention.....

As well as this Paul speaks to Sam Dyer from Bitmap Books about his upcoming Super Nintendo Visual Compendium Kickstarter which starts on Monday 10th April 2017.

When thinking back to the 16 bit era, one software developer/publisher stands head and shoulders above the crowd across all platforms. With formidable output on both home consoles and the arcades, Konami built further upon their household name and brand they'd established during the Famicom/NES years.

Konami's roster of games included strong titles from their back catalogue, (Gradius, Castlevania) new IP and gaming in the likes of Axelay and Boktai, and licensed titles that were actually enjoyable (Animaniacs & Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).

Were Konami at the peak of their powers during the 16 bit period? Do the games stand the test of time? Messrs Chris and Jake join Phil to bask in the glory of 'arcade perfect' conversions and off-beat, original titles in this homage to Konami.

SEGA Power magazine ran from 1989 until 1997 covering a lot of SEGA games over the years. Although there were many SEGA magazines available SEGA Power had a lot of fans, however in 1994 it went in a different direction.

In this episode Paul is joined by Andy Lowe that became editor in the summer of 1994 and gave the magazine quite a shake up! Adding more comedy to the magazine with the features, reviews and more it did split opinion with readers. Also joining Andy are Alison Binns (Harper) and Dean Mortlock to discuss what went on putting the magazine together in this era and share some interesting experiences.

The Nintendo Famicom or Nintendo Entertainment System (for those of us in the west) was the companies first step into the home console market following their success with arcade machines and the much loved Game & Watch. Although it wasn't an over night success Nintendo's perseverance and cleaver positioning in the market the NES became a huge success and ushered in a new era that saw Nintendo become a global brand in gaming. In this episode Phil, Jake and Alex discuss the birth of the Famicom, how it won over it's audience and what games really made the system a must own for many people who had previously shunned gaming. As well as this the guys discuss their favourite games that range from the most popular series' which were first brought to gamers attention on the NES to some titles that were surprisingly left in Japan.

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did recording it and please check out our other shows at www.maximumpowerup.com

Retro Gamer Magazine has bucked the trend in recent times, as many other print magazines close down or go fully digital the retro-themed monthly publication goes from strength to strength.

Now in it's 12th year of existence, Retro Gamer Magazine shows no signs of slowing down, and every month features original content, exclusive developer interviews and reader interactions. Sections on the indie and home-brew scenes, mixed with reviews of all manner of gaming merchandise and new releases mean there is invariably something for everyone within its pages.

The magazine prides itself on bright, visually appealing page layouts and eye-catching cover designs, and is one of the most popular gaming magazines around.

In this latest edition of the Maximum Power Up podcast, regular hosts Phil and Tom sit down with Retro Gamer editor Darran Jones to discuss the history of the magazine, and some of Darran's enduring memories of being at the helm of such an influential periodical for so long.

Other topics discussed include how Retro Gamer continues to be a success a world where the move to digital is an ever-growing threat, and also how Retro Gamer's unique approach to retro topics of all kinds helps to keep the content fresh.

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did recording it and please check out our other shows at www.maximumpowerup.com

Can you believe that the Wii is over 10 years old? TEN YEARS OLD?! In late 2006 Nintendo decided it didn't to play the same game as Sony and Microsoft anymore, instead they created a revolution! Gamers, grannies and the Redknapps could be found waggling in their front room with the innovative controller. In this episode just as Nintendo attempt to crack the market again with Switch, join hosts Chris, Phil and Jake as they discuss the highs, the lows and the games that defined a generation.

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did recording it and please check out our other shows at www.maximumpowerup.com

This year GamesMaster magazine turns 25 years old and is one of the last remaining games magazines on the shelves. Following on from the television show launched 25 years ago this month, the magazine gave fans something else to enjoy.

In this episode Paul chats to four original staff from issue 1 of the magazine, Jim Douglas, Andy Lowe, Les Ellis and Ade Price. They discuss how the magazine came to market, what they wanted from the magazine, the infamous Sonic 2 review and much more.

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did recording it and please check out our other shows at www.maximumpowerup.com

In this latest episode Paul, Phil and Tom sit down to discuss some of their favourite games from 2002. With the Playstation 2, GameCube and X Box, gamers were spoilt for choice with classics such as GTA Vice City, Metroid Prime and many more. Hopefully we can inspire you to give games a second look that you may have missed buying first time round..

Some fantastic titles from the year have previously been discussed on other episodes such as Eternal Darkness on our GameCube episode, so make sure you check out our growing back catalogue at www.maximumpowerup.com.

Also let us know your favourite games from 2002 on Twitter @MaximumPowerUp or our Maximum Power Up Facebook page.

Also please leave us an Itunes review if possible as everyone helps the show grow.

In this latest episode Paul sits down with Nathan McCree, composer of the iconic Tomb Raider games for the Sony PlayStation.

We look back on his career in the games industry starting at CORE Design in the early 90's working on Chuck Rock 2 and other titles before Tomb Raider. Nathan discusses the style of music he had in mind for the game and how these ideas progressed over the original trilogy for PS1. As well as this we chat about game music soundtracks and their growing popularity. Since working in the score for Tomb Raider, Nathan has always dreamed seeing the soundtrack played by a live orchestra. On December 18th 2016 he gets his wish in London. If the show is a success then the show will be taken to other major cities around the world.

It was a pleasure talking to Nathan and really hope that as many people as possible get to check out his upcoming show. Please find all the links here for tickets are more: FOR TICKETS TO THE SHOW: http://www.eventimapollo.com/events/detail/tomb-raider-live-in-concert SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanmccreeofficial/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/nrpmccree Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanmccree/ Also remember to check out all our shows on www.maximumpowerup.com

Welcome to the latest episode of the show. This time Paul is joined by new team member Julian Hill of Boxed Pixels fame. They sit down to discuss the extremely popular Amiga - the fantastic home computer that was in so many homes with an amazing line up of games.

Covering so many genres the Amiga covered it all from platformers such as Robocod, Superfrog to sim games such as Theme Park, Populous and loads more. If this wasn't enough it had an amazing demo scene showing off loads of great music and videos.

So join us as we discuss a few favourite games and memories from the Commodore Amiga.

Music tracks featured are: SWIV - Intro Shadow of the Beast 3 - Level 1 The Chaos Engine - Intro

Remember to check www.retrocollect.com for the latest retrogaming news as well as our shows. Also find us www.maximumpowerup.com

Also check out www.boxedpixels.co.uk for Julian's work, www.hyperplayrpg.com for the excellent fanzine by friend of the show Kincl and finally www.bitmapbooks.co.uk for some amazing books including ones covering Amiga titles such as the Gremlin book we covered in episode 20.