Welcome back my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching. Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?
I recommend you check out the following videos I found.
#1 Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Revisited – In late 1993, Warner Bros. released the animated film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm in cinemas. Even though it was based on the popular Batman animated series of the 1990s, the film was a commercial failure in cinemas but it found its audience on home video and other post-theatrical businesses. To this day, the 1993 animated feature film became a popular subject of YouTube reaction and retrospective videos and you can enjoy the following videos I selected for your viewing below.
#2 Pasta in Japan – If you will be touring Japan and you crave for pasta, there is this one particular food join in Aichi Prefecture that not only specializes in cooking delicious pasta but also serves the customer really fast. Watch and learn from the Japanese Food Noodles video below.
#3 The Notable Zombie Movies Of All Time – Known for consistent opposition against the woke mob and the rise of fake fans in comic books, Ranting for Vengeance recently posted a video about an entirely different subject matter – zombie movies. For him, there are only six zombie films that he described as badass. His video is enjoyable to watch and I strongly agree with Ranting for Vengeance’s opinion about two of the six films. Watch his video now.
#4 Double Dragon Retrospective – I can hardly believe it has been almost forty years since I first played Double Dragon which is a classic among the beat-them-up games. I never played Double Dragon in the arcade but my first time playing it was on console and it was an enjoyable experience. Recently, Double Dragon Revive was released for modern consoles and Windows PC and now is a great time to look back at the history of the Double Dragon game franchise through the video of Slope’s Game Room below.
#5 The Long Kiss Goodnight Revisited – Do you enjoy watching actress Geena Davis doing hard action and being very lethal? In 1996, The Long Kiss Goodnight was released in cinemas and the result was a lot of moviegoers talked about Davis being a dangerous action performer. While the movie was never a massive success, it succeeded enough with the critics and theaters and established a long-lasting following of fans. Considering how old the movie is, now is a good time to see how it impacted YouTubers through the selected reaction videos below.
#6 Wickedness Of Chuck Schumer And The Democrats Exposed As US Government Shutdown Finally Ends – In case you missed the news, there were eight Democrat US Senators who crossed the aisle to join their Republican counterparts to end the government shutdown at last which in turn exposed the wickedness (plus insanity) of their own party led by Chuck Schumer. In fact, the Democrats themselves are divided and many Democrat supporters in the media spoke out against Schumer who proved to be a worthless party leader. The fact that Schumer voted to keep the shutdown going proves he does not care about the Americans who are already suffering. Clearly, the Democrats gained nothing by keeping the government shutdown and they are responsible for hurting the American people. Watch and learn from the news videos below.
Welcome back my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching. Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?
I recommend you check out the following videos I found.
#1 The Fly Revisited – In 1986, The Fly was released in cinemas and it impacted the science fiction genre, the horror genre and pop culture with body horror presentation under the direction of David Cronenberg. The film, which was a remake of the 1958 original, established Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum as cinematic artists. The movie even became an allegory about AIDS and how people care about those who are living with diseases. That being said, it is not surprising that The Fly became the subject of many YouTube videos in the form of retro reviews, reaction videos and trivia videos. To enjoy The Fly, watch the selected videos below…
#2 Steve Ditko Remembered – Are you familiar with the late illustrator Steve Ditko? He was the co-creator of Spider-Man and he illustrated the first 38 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man comic book series. Unlike the other Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee (who went on to be famous and celebrated a lot), Ditko had a low-key profile and did not want to be interviewed. If you want to learn more about the late illustrator, watch the video below.
#3 Pro-Palestine Activist Riddhi Patel Bashes City Officials And Threatens Them With Violence – I have seen a lot of Islamo-Leftist activists and zealots. Most of the time, they hate Israel and took sides with Palestinians and the Islamic terrorists. Also many of them activists are so extreme, they became entitled, arrogant and disrespectful to higher authorities. In the Communist state of California, the pro-Palestine activist Riddhi Patel spoke to city officials of Bakersfield and went as far as threatening them with violence. She even misused the name of Jesus. In her own words, Patel said “We’ll murder you.” To find out more, watch the video from SaharTV below.
#4 Wood-Fired Rice Balls Served By Store in Japan – Have you eaten any freshly cooked onigiri (Japanese rice ball) lately? I live here in the Philippines and because onigiri is not a common food, my only options are to buy them from the convenience store or from a foreign food vendor. In Japan, onigiri is widely available and customers can avail of them freshly cooked. There is this store in Japan that sells onigiri which are prepared with rice (cooked by wood fire) and fresh ingredients. Watch and learn from the video below.
#5 Meet The Programmer Behind The Classic Game Centipede – While I never had the chance to play the classic Atari game Centipede in the arcades in the 1980s, I played the Atari 2600 port a lot and enjoy it. Because I have a copy of the Atari 50 collection on my Xbox Series X, I am able to play the Centipede arcade version in the comfort of home. For the newcomers reading this, Centipede is a tremendous success in the arcades ending up as one of the Top 4 arcade games of 1982 in America. It was also ported to many consoles and home computers years later. Recently, I found a YouTube video featuring Dona Bailey, one of the programmers behind Centipede.
Welcome back readers, fellow geeks and electronic gaming fans!
In this edition of the Retro Gaming Ads Blast (RGAB) series, we will take a look at another batch of retro gaming print ads – including arcade flyers – from the 1980s and 1990s.
For the newcomers reading this, Retro Gaming Ads Blast (RGAB) looks back at the many print ads of games (console, arcade, computer and handheld) that were published in comic books, magazines, flyers, posters and newspapers long before smartphones, social media, the worldwide web and streaming became popular. To put things in perspective, people back in the 1980s and 1990s were more trusting of print media for information and images about electronic games and related products.
With those details laid down, here is the newest batch of retro gaming print ads for you to see and enjoy…
1. River Raid print ad
This River Raid print ad appeared on comic books and magazines long ago.
Decades before it became an industry giant with the best-selling Call of Duty games, Activision became a standout publisher in the early 1980s with River Raid on the Atari 2600. Designed by Carol Shaw, River Raid was a huge success ending up as the 2nd best-seller on the Atari 2600 as well as Activision’s best-selling game for the year 1983. Apart from showing one screenshot and the box cover of the game, the print ad of River Raid had this mesmerizing 3D image that caught many gamers’ attention and helped them feel like they will pilot on dangerous missions. The 3D image was futuristic in its own style became forward-moving 3D sequences in video games became reality many years later.
2. Galaga North American arcade flyer
The front of the flyer showing three Galaga machines that arcade operators can choose from.
Key details about Galaga were nicely presented on the rear of the flyer.
In the history of gaming, Namco’s Galaga was played by countless millions of gamers and it is still highly regarded as an arcade classic as well as one of the most enjoyable arcade games ever made. In preparation for the North American launch (October 1981), Midway prepared the arcade flyer showing the three types of machine on the front that arcade operators can choose from. On the rear is the really neat approach of explaining the details of the game, what kind of gameplay is to be expected, and how to play. Whether you are an individual player or the manager of an arcade joint, this flyer suits your needs.
3. Area 51 arcade flyer and conversion kit flyer
The front of this Area 51 flyer had an enticing message for arcade operators as well as other business owners/managers who are interested in having a machine to add value to their business joints. Atari was already in deep money problems by the time they started making this game.
The Area 51 arcade conversion kit is a cheaper alternative for businesses who want the game.
Moving on to the 1990s, Atari was already struggling financially and desperately needed a hit to lift them up fast. A light gun shooter project was approved as arcade shooters were in good demand and after overcoming serious hurdles during production internally, Atari hired independent team Mesa Logic to take charge of development. After being granted extra time and more creative freedom, the project under Mesa Logic’s handling became a sci-fi shooter titled Area 51. The game became a huge hit in the arcades for Atari resulting in sales of more than 20,000 arcade cabinets as well as a major financial boost for the company (note: Atari still exists today). Atari went on to release Atari 51 versions for PlayStation, Sega Saturn and PC in America in 1996. The Atari 51 flyers you see here are still captivating to look at and were crucial in generating buzz among arcade operators, business joints that had space for arcade cabinets and gamers.
4. Panasonic 3DO print ad
The makers of this print ad forgot to mention the 3DO is also a game machine.
Back in 1993, the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer console manufactured by Panasonic (a licensee of the 3DO Company) was launched with a CD-ROM drive, multimedia features and gaming capabilities (with a 3-button control pad). This print ad strongly emphasized the 3DO’s ability to play high-quality sound and full-motion videos using the Sea of Cortez software which functioned as an interactive movie. Obviously, this did not resonate well with people who loved to play games and by the time the 3DO Company and its partners started marketing games, they could not save the 3DO console from fading to obscurity. The console shown in the ad is specifically model Panasonic FZ-1 R·E·A·L 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. Panasonic was one of five companies that were licensed by the 3DO Company.
5. MechWarrior 3050 SNES print ad
If you were unaware of the 1994 game BattleTech, then this ad would have fooled you into thinking it is promoting a brand new game.
In 1995, the popular BattleTech entertainment franchise arrived on the Super Nintendo Entertainment (SNES) system with MechWarrior 3050 and its print ad had a really blazing artwork of an armed mech in fire which gave readers the illusion of a new and original game. In reality, MechWarrior 3050 was actually a port of BattleTech which was released on the Sega Genesis in 1994. The Genesis game was published by Extreme Entertainment Group while the SNES game was published by the more famous Activision. If you look closely at the MechWarrior print ad, you can tell how hard they tried to sell the game like it was brand new and all-original.
6. Cliffhanger video game print ad
This print ad had Sylvester Stallone hanging on a cliff to be relevant with the title of both the film and the game. They could not show images of Stallone in hard action scenes.
For fans of Sylvester Stallone, 1993 was a big and exciting year as the Hollywood icon appeared in two major action films – Cliffhanger and Demolition Man. Cliffhanger was released first and there were video game adaptations of it released on game consoles, handhelds and computers. This print ad of the Cliffhanger video game had an image of Stallone hanging on a cliff to emphasize the title. The ad makers cleverly posted selected gameplay screenshots and quoted GamePro and Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) to make the game look credible and worthy of purchasing. The marketing led to nowhere as the game received mostly negative reviews from critics and it faded to obscurity. Lastly, the Cliffhanger game ad had a noticeable amount of space wasted. They could have made the screenshots and text look somewhat bigger to sell the game.
7. Ballz: The Director’s Cut print ad
I never got to play this game on the 3DO.
Here is another ad of the video game released on the failed 3DO console. As its title made obvious, Ballz: The Director’s Cut is an enhanced version of the original Ballz game of 1994 that was released on other consoles. The print ad had an eye-catching piece of artwork and posted beside it were selected shots of the gameplay. Strangely enough, the creative writing on the lower part of the ad does not make any sense and did nothing to convince gamers to play the game. As Ballz: The Director’s Cut was released in 1995, this ad shows the revised 3DO console from Panasonic (model: Panasonic FZ-10 R·E·A·L 3DO Interactive Multiplayer).
8. NFL GameDay 2000 print ad
Did you find this ad funny to look at in 1999?
To promote the PlayStation-exclusive NFL GameDay 2000, Sony publisher 989 Sports and the ad makers decided to implement a humorous look at football TV coverage by having two sportscasters wearing shorts in front of a TV camera that was only showing their heads and upper bodies. The TV sets on the side show screenshots from the game to emphasize the sports gaming experience. Ultimately the game scored mostly positive review from the critics.
9. WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams print ad
WildC.A.T.S. art by Jim Lee was used to promote the SNES video game.
When Image Comics launched in 1992, WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams was Jim Lee’s creator-owned comic book franchise and its launch issue was a big seller. Years later, WildC.A.T.S. grew in popularity with comic book fans and the franchise achieved multi-media status by venturing into TV (with an animated series) and video games. This print ad promoting the video game adaptation had no screenshots to show which kept fans and gamers guessing how the game will turn out in terms of gameplay and game design. It was obvious that the people who made this print ad had to rely on the best WildC.A.T.S. artwork they could find drawn by Jim Lee. This ad made me laugh back in the old days because if you did not look closely, it might fool you into thinking it was more about comic books than the game on the SNES.
10. Cutthroat Island print ad
Exciting imagery without Geena Davis and Matthew Modine was used to promote the video game adaptation.
I never saw the Hollywood mega-flop Cutthroat Island nor have I ever played any of its multiple video game adaptations (released on SNES, Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear and Game Boy). The video game print ad, however, caught my attention back in 1995 because the ad makers cleverly used a photograph from one the many expensive movie sequences filmed and the hard, physical work by the filmmakers was clearly visible. Then the ad makers had four screenshots placed on the lower-left part and inserted descriptive text that sounded exciting. Lastly, the ad mentioned a sweepstakes promo.
Without using any images of stars Geena Davis and Matthew Modine, this ad was a strong attempt to get gamers excited for the video game adaptation. Like the movie itself, this game flopped and has faded away to the land of the forgotten.
11. AH-3 Thunderstrike print ad
Captivating artwork, vibrant colors and orderly text descriptions made this an effective ad.
AH-3 Thunderstrike is one of the better games that was released on the Sega CD add-on (requires the Sega Genesis console) in 1993. Similar with MechWarrior 3050, the game was actually a port of Thunderhawk which itself was released on the Amiga and MS-DOS PC in 1992. The print ad showcased a captivating artwork (which was also used on the game’s box cover), a few screenshots and strategically placed text descriptions to sell the game. This ad still looks good.
12. James Bond 007 print ad
This print ad appeared in many comic books in 1984.
This is a print ad I saw many times while reading comic books in 1984. James Bond 007 for Atari 2600 was an ambitious licensed video game as it featured levels that were inspired by missions in the James Bond movies Diamonds are Forever, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker and For Your Eyes Only. Keep in mind that programmers back then had to deal with memory limitations and primitive tools to make games.
To promote the game, original art of Agent 007 was used which did not resemble the James Bond star of the time – Roger Moore. Strangely enough, the illustrated James Bond slightly resembled Timothy Dalton whose debut as 007 happened in 1987. Adding further zest to the add was the use of fictionalized quotes pointing to fantasized critics as sources (example: Vincent Can’tbe is a reference to real life critic Vincent Canby). The use of a pink background made this catchy ad look really odd.
13. Choplifter III: Rescue Survive print ad
A captivating print ad that brought gamers’ attention to the Choplifter series again.
This print ad of Choplifter III: Rescue Survive has a striking look showing a military officer who needs your help as he has been stranded behind enemy lines. The presentation reflects the long-time tradition of the Choplifter game franchise which has been about piloting an armed helicopter to the opposition’s territory, shooting at bad guys and then rescuing the hostages or prisoners-of-war (POWs). The game eventually gathered mostly positive feedback from video game critics.
14. Defender of the Crown print ad
Cinemaware took a gamble with the visual concept of this print ad.
Released in 1986 for home computers, Defender of the Crown was made with a high level of quality backed with solid artistry. To capture gamers’ attention, Cinemaware came up with this print ad showcasing a pretty model looking somewhat seductive which reflects what happens in the game when players rescue a damsel in distress. The selected screenshots showed what the game looked like on different platforms, and the lower part of the ad made the game feel like it was a historical epic waiting to be discovered. Defender of the Crown eventually became a big hit with computer gamers.
Author Carlo Carrasco 