"But it's not as good as the Saturn version..." - WRONG!
600 yen goes a long way in Japan. It can get you two 500ml cans of Yebisu beer. Or a copy of Famitsu. Or six items from a 100 yen-shop, if you don’t factor in sales tax. Much, much better, though, is that it can get you a game from the online retro gamer’s paradise that is PSN-J’s Game Archives.
And as of now that includes a little game called Thunderforce V Perfect System, a bloody marvelous shmup from TechnoSoft (RIP) that has way more features than the admittedly lovely Saturn version. If you have the means, I highly recommend it.
Other recent additions to the PlayStation-games-for-download service include Nihon Bussan’s 1996 mediocrity Dead Heat Road, a board game called Family Diamond that weighs in at just 5MB (and they wasted a whole CD publishing this back in 2002!), and – wait for it – The PRO Mahjong: Initiation Into the Secrets of the Art, which is, to be blunt, just a mahjong game from 1998.
Satoru Iwata Video Interview - the late Nintendo president spoke with Kikizo in 2004 as 'Nintendo Revolution' loomed.
Kaz Hirai Video Interview - the first of Kikizo's interviews with the man who went on to become global head of Sony.
Ed Fries Video Interview - one of Xbox's founders discusses an epic journey from Excel to Xbox.
Yu Suzuki, the Kikizo Interview - we spend time with one of gaming's most revered creators.
Tetris - The Making of an Icon: Alexey Pajitnov and Henk Rogers reveal the fascinating story behind Tetris
Rare founders, Chris and Tim Stamper - their only interview? Genuinely 'rare' sit down with founders of the legendary studio.
The History of First-Person Shooters - a retrospective, from Maze War to Modern Warfare