☆ Russty Russ Talks Hunchback, C64 Plus 4, Amiga & Jack Daniels - Video Games Memories ☆ #GamersUnite #Retrogaming

Hailing from the Isle Of Retroshire @Russty_Russ is one of our favourite Twitter peeps.

He manages to mix retro nostalgic TV listings with retro gaming posts seamlessly and you can always rely on that nostalgia fix from his awesome Twitter feed.

He's also a mega Teletext fanatic so is right on trend at the moment with the rise and rise of the Digitiser Show Kickstarter!

Let's get to know @Russty_Russ a little bit more with our delve into his retro gaming past, present and future!

1. What's your earliest video gaming memory?

 My earliest video gaming memory is probably my next door's neighbours C64 with Hunchback especially with Quasi leaping around the levels at the start of his journey to the tune of Teddy's Bear picnic. 

It would be another year before I would get my first machine but I remember others having an Atari 800XL with Ms Pac Man.
 

2. What was the first video game console that you owned?

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A well-publicised story on Twitter talks about how I wanted a C64 as other people that I knew at the time had one but sadly my parents couldn't afford the £199 price tag and thus got me a Commodore Plus /4. 

I was 7/8 years old at the time so was probably none the wiser of how much difference it would be but it would be realised soon enough when I noticed the Plus/4 with its piggybacking of the C16 fell into two categories, the first being the software catalogue was a lot smaller and the second was that despite having a Plus/4, the games were also compatible for the C16 which meant the programmers were really only doing games for the C16 meaning most Plus/4 games were only using a quarter of its potential.

3. How did you get into the retro gaming scene?

I guess my love for retro as a whole is probably that I never left what I loved, always had a place in my heart of staying back. Its probably hindered me in later life! But I just can't get into today's games. Give me a joystick with one fire button any day! The community itself has really come alive on social media with various events and everyone is such a friendly bunch.

4. What's your favourite video game of all time?

  I'm going to stick with my guns and go for Kikstart for the Commodore 16/Plus4 - Programmed by Shaun Southern who did the C64 version and later went onto the Lotus trilogy on the Amiga. Kikstart on the C16 / Plus4 is completely different to other versions out there. It's more arcade than challenge where you would complete 16 levels by dodging "spikes" and collecting balloons which would either give you time or extra points.

Later on with the Amiga then its Rainbow Islands. There's something about that game in which I could play again and again but I can play it each time and get to the end of level 3 boss which was Dracula without losing a life but I would lose every life when trying to defeat Dracula!

5. What's your favourite console of all time?

If we can include computers as gaming machines then it was the Amiga, I loved playing the likes of Sensi Soccer, Speedball 2, Pinball Fantasies.

6. What's your favourite arcade game of all time?

Out Run each time. The music is sublime and I feel like despite being over 30 years old that it hasn't aged.

7. What's your favourite sandwich?

  Nice bit of warm steak and onion please!

8. What do you order from an Indian Restaurant?

I'm not a big fan of spice so it's a Chicken Tikka Masala with Onion Bhaji's and Naan Bread for me, please!

9. What's your favourite beer?

I'm not really a big beer drinker so a Jack Daniels is a must for me.

10. What current generation video games do you play (if any)?

This may shock some but I don't really play any of the current-gen stuff. 

I do play Crossy Road on my mobile though and ZX Stairway Rush.

11. Who's your fave person to follow on Twitter?

That's a tough question as there are so many favourite people out there but if I have to single one then it's @grim_fandango as I have a love of Teletext from the days of Ceefax and all that and the guy behind this was probably the first one to make public on Twitter about recovering old Teletext pages on social media. 

I know there are others who do it brilliantly too and much love to them too but it's come a long way over the last few years to what's possible and there is an active community behind it and long may it continue.

12. What's your favourite video game genre?

  I'm a sucker for platform and driving games. From your Manic Miner's to your Chase HQ's

13. If you were a console, which one would you be and why?

  A Sega Master System - Simple, basic but hopefully loved by most :-)
 

14. Can you recommend a good retro gaming shop?

Sadly there are none where I am but if there was one nearby then I would be up there like a shot. Although retro for me would have to be 8 bit.

15. If you were going to do a Cosplay tomorrow, what would it be and why?

It would have to be Miner Willy, he's my hero although would be interesting to design a costume though!

16. We love your retro telly posts, how did you get the idea to post the old Radio Times listings?

Over the years, I've collected many tv magazines mainly from the 80s and 90s.

I would normally show the front covers to time with the month in question although I was noticing that I had many from 25 years ago of the time of posting hence the name TV25.

All the magazines that I own have been purchased although some think I've got some magical archive I dip into which is sadly not the case!  It does get the conversation going which fuels the interest to look back.

A massive thanks to Russty Russ for letting us pry into his retro gaming habits and his love of TV Listings.

You can find Russ hanging out on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/russty_russ/media 

"STAY FROSTY!"