About This Site

Welcome to Still Worth Playing - a humble blog / review site for retro games put together by a regularly humbled web developer by the name of Nick Fisher. Over the years I've taken on a hobby of collecting old video games, consoles and magazines, and this site is dedicated to putting a focus on some of the stuff I've picked up over the years -- often in the form of reviews and the occasional essay (ramble). Whether this place winds up being a useful or entertaining resource for other collectors (as well as others just into anything 'retro' in general) isn't really for me to say... I guess we'll see how things go as time goes by.

I built this site with NeoCities for two reasons: firstly, to combine my love for retro gaming with another passion of mine - writing. The second is that, as a young adult way back in the giddy days of the early 2000s, I used to have a few crappy sites hosted on Tripod UK. The combination of nostalgia plus the purity of putting together a static website the old-school way speaks to me on a level that today's myriad of social media-driven, soulless Wordpress sites just don't. So here we are - and here it is!

I plan to keep this updated weekly when work allows, so please come back if you like what you read!

Other FAQs

Why 'review' old games?

Thanks to a curious shift in Western culture over the past decade, loving the hell out of old things has become a very trendy thing to do. Both movies and television have given us more 80s and 90s revivals than we may have needed. 2000s fashion is back in. Countless online media niches inspired by bygone eras -- synthwave, future-funk, vaporwave, sovietwave etc. continue to have the hearts of small but fervent fanbases long after their early YouTube buzzes died out.

And in gaming, we see the exact same trend. With indie games continuing to embrace the art of the pixel on ever-expanding screens, curiosity and interest in the video games of yesteryear has kindled beyond those who grew up in those times. Retro gaming is officially a hobby not just enjoyed by Gen X-ers and millenials on a nostalgia rush, but also to a whole host of other people beyond generational lines as well.

While I write these reviews for my own enjoyment and re-live gaming days gone past, it's also an opportunity to bring more obscure titles unfairly forgotten by time to the light of the world. Not to mention give focus to some cult classics and eternal stinkers too. And maybe we'll even just dig out a title no-one's ever heard of and see if it's any good. The sky is the limit, and if any of the takes on here wind up being useful to fellow game collectors looking for recommendations, fans of these old titles looking to reminisce or anyone just curious about gaming history in general, then just like the Swiss flag, that's all a big plus.

And just who are you to make these judgment calls?

Just a London-born, California dwelling British software engineer trying to justify his frivolous, financially extortionate hobbies by blogging about them. Take everything with a pinch of salt.

How do you rate your reviews?

Every review on this site ultimately answers the question in the site's name with a simple Yes, No or Maybe. A Yes normally points to a game that has instead stood the test of time gameplay wise, introduced concepts that we take for granted in gaming these days, or has unfairly drifted into obscurity and is worth digging up again. A Maybe is a Yes under certain caveats: a flawed game that certain retro gamers might appreciate if certain things about it appeal to them. A No is pretty self-explanatory - either it hasn't aged well, wasn't revolutionary, or was just trash to begin with.

Why did you give my favourite thing a bad rating?

Because I didn't like it. Simple. That doesn't mean you can't though. If you have an issue with some of the ratings on here, there's plenty of other places across the Internet giving the stuff you like some love.

You have a few reviews for anime games. Are you a weeb?

Kind of. In fact, my first ever website was an anime review site by the name of Nick Fisher's Wonderful British Anime Reviews. It ran from 2000 to 2002 and has thankfully been forgotten by every web scraper in the known world - including, mercifully, the Internet Wayback Machine. I don't engage in the anime fandom for various reasons (I'm too bloody old, for one), but I do love the shit out of 80s and 90s anime, which probably reflects in a few of the posts on here.

Your site sucks, kill yourself.

If my opinions anger you that much, remember that this is just another insignificant blog out there in the digital ether. Don't get your panties in a bunch and go outside for a bit.

What if I want to leave feedback?

Feel free to comment on articles, sign the Guestbook, or email at mailbox@stillworthplaying.net. We accept review suggestions!

Why do you spell favourite with a 'u'?

I'm English. Spelling English the correct way is literally all my country has left.