🕹️Kim Justice Talks Southend, Nightmare Creatures and How To Be A Complete Bastard🕹️ #Retrogaming

Britt was recently lucky enough to grab some time with one of our fave YouTubers Kim Justice who consistently creates awesome retro gaming video content on the Kim Justice YouTube channel.

This is an interview you just don't want to miss!

Some of your videos have covered the seedy underbellies of individuals and companies throughout the gaming industry, have you come across a specific person, publisher or developer whilst doing your research who has really stood out to you as a positive force?

"There's a few people who I've generally seen as positive after covering them in my vids...people such as Ian Stewart for example, who after his time as Gremlin's CEO spent a lot of time paying it forward by helping to establish a great education in gaming for Sheffield's students. I do find a lot of people out there who aren't in such exalted positions, but have always had nothing but positive things to say and are very welcoming with their time - people like Tim Wright of Psygnosis, or Doug Sharp from Cinemaware. Generally they're a cracking bunch of lads :) "

Has there been a time that you’ve re-visited a cherished game from your childhood and been disappointed by it? For me, The Secret of Monkey Island holds such a special place in my youth that I can’t quite bring myself to replay it as an adult in case it tarnished the perfect memory that I have of originally completing it.

"This does often happen with games from the PlayStation generation - I have such fond memories of games like In Cold Blood and the almighty Nightmare Creatures, but I'm worried that going through them again wouldn't exactly be a fantastic experience!"

Last year you teased a video that depicts the degradation of the arcade scene in your hometown of Southend, can you remember a specific moment or time that you realised they were disappearing  or was an extremely gradual thing?

"The degradation actually seemed to happen overnight - around 2001 or so...one day all the machines were there as usual, and suddenly the next time I went to the seafront they'd all been replaced by fruit machines and what have you. Nothing's really been the same there since."

Is there a game that would love to see remade? Personally I’ve always thought that Moonstone had a unique angle that’s never been re-created, I’d also eat an entire packet of tea-bags for a proper sequel to Landstalker.

"Moonstone is a weird little game, isn't it? I'd love to see a remake of How to Be a Complete Bastard for the Speccy...that game was well before it's time. Just think how big a game purely based around you acting like a total dickhead at a party and getting points for it would be today? It'd be a sure fire hit. And there'd be more than just text descriptions of what you did..."

Some Youtubers get a degree of popularity and turn the spotlight away from the topics that they cover and more towards themselves. I’ve noticed that in regards to your own videos, you seem to have gone the opposite way, as earlier videos contained more footage of you whereas newer videos feature you purely as a narrator, the focus entirely on the topic at hand. Was this a conscious decision or did it just happen naturally?

"I kinda think I got to a point where I streamlined things - not that I didnt' enjoy having camera asides in old videos or the like, but naturally they became less and less relevant to the subject at hand...as you make YouTube videos and videos in general, you actually seem to end up with a smaller bag of tricks as you go along! Plus, I always think it's important, as someone in my particular position, to stick with the gaming vids that brought me to the dance - being trans, I find that most other trans YouTubers talk about nothing else except that...I'd rather talk about everything else aside from that because I prefer to focus on my interests."

What is your favourite era of gaming and why?

"It's got to be the 16-bit era. A generic answer, but that was the time that brought me to games in the first place...especially everything on the Mega Drive!"

What do you think of the direction that modern gaming is going in? For instance, DLC, season passes, the thriving indie scene, modern pixel art, mobile gaming, loot boxes and an all-digital future?

"The thriving indie scene is incredible - in many ways it feels like a return to the old days, as once again it's possible for as little as a single person to make a truly successful game...we've seen many examples of that, particularly Toby Fox's Undertale. The quality of games is stronger than it's ever been, although there are things I miss such as physical media. I don't think  that's ever truly going to go away as there'll always be people willing to spend a bit more money for it, but there's something about a box as opposed to flat out code."

Is there a game that is considered a classic that you just can’t stand?

"Can't stand is a bit strong, but I've never cared that much for Mega Man games...just don't really jive with their style."

Do you have a specific drink that you go top when you know you are going to spend a good few hours tucking into a game? (I tend to go for red wine as pints of lager / cider equal more toilet breaks and spirits cut into the gaming time because you have to keep pouring every few minutes as well as getting ice, etc.)

"Normally just water, ha. As much as my streams, activities and occasional postings may make it seem like I'm a heavy drinker indeed, I try to be sober most of the time!"

Can you give any hints as to the content of any videos that you are working on or anything else on the horizon in the near KJ future?

"I have a very sensible company documentary coming soon, along with more Southend-based videos. There's a whole lot of other projects potentially in the pipeline - sometimes they sit there for months or years, waiting until the time is right...the good thing about this is that I can't even give a good answer to this question! But the horizon looks pretty good."

Kim's Twitter:@KimxxxJustice

Kim's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/elmyrdehory

Interview By Britt