David Kudrev
(Edited by Jen Beauchamp)
Final Fantasy Adventure debuted on the Game Boy in Japan in 1991. It had a western release and was re-named Mystic Quest for Game Boy and SNES (late 1991 and 1993). The game was not as popular as it’s sequel, released as Secret of Mana, but it is an important start to the Seiken Densetsu series. If you’re confused by the name changes – which were due to regional differences – read on!
Square Enix is releasing a remaster of Final Fantasy Adventure as ‘Adventures of Mana’ for mobile devices from this week to commemorate 25 years of the classic Adventure series. The remake will stick to the original story as much as possible while introducing modern graphics, sound, and improvements on inventory access that are especially suited to modern touch screen devices.
Adventures of Mana will be available from 4th February in Japan. A release to the USA and other regions will follow soon (the dialogue in the trailer is in English.) The game should be available on iOS and Android from US $11.99. No mention has been made about the PlayStation Vita port being available outside Japan.
UPDATE: Adventures of Mana is out now on Google Play and iOS App Store!
One of many companies from the UK that helped shape retro computer gaming in the 80s was Hewson Consultants. Among the company’s most notable titles were Paradroid, Uridium, Cybernoid 1 & 2, and Stormlord. In 1991 Andrew Hewson, the founder of the company, created Pinball Dreams and Pinball Fantasies and Illusions with the assistance of four talented Swedish students. Those four students later founded DICE, the company responsible for the Mirror’s Edge/Battlefield series.
The UK Government have recently set up an initiative to reward companies that are investing in the $172,661,091.2 games industry, with contributions of up to $102,774.46 to help game developers. The first round of winners for the UK Games Fund included Andrew Hewson and his son Rob Hewson. This means that Hewson Consultants will be coming back, and Rob Hewson will be following closely in his father’s footsteps to ensure that the family legacy in gaming continues.
source: retrocomputingnews
Super Mario Maker on Wii U received considerable praise for bringing a unique approach to the enormous stable of games featuring the famous plumber. It brought a new level of creativity to it’s audience for the first time in almost 25 years, with Mario Paint being amongst the first of the new order. The community thrives on sharing diabolic creations with the rest of the world, and incorporates stages that use various Mario game engines, including the highly popular Super Mario World.
To continue building on the success of the Mario Maker hype train, the Nintendo Japan website has recently released a page where you can create your own wallpaper. Including wallpaper images of up to 1920 x 1080, the page includes sprites that have been used in the actual Mario games. Go to mariomaker-wp.nintendo.co.jp, scroll down and select either Computer or Mobile and create your own personalised wallpaper. Despite the limitation of how many sprites you can add, it’s still a promotion designed for the fans.
The last snippet of news in this week’s Retrospektive is for the Mega Man fans. Capcom, in conjunction with EMIO have released officially-licensed headphones coloured to match the Blue Bomber’s helmet colours and features. The headphones include a removable 3.5mm audio jack which can be used with any suitable cord, and feature two LEDs on each side. Alternately, they can be used for display purposes only.
The headphones retail at US $99.99 and are available in limited quantity at the poweredbyemio.com. Excuse the pun in advance, but here’s a heads-up: The site currently ships to the United States only..