Nick Thorpe
Nick picked up gaming after being introduced to Donkey Kong and Centipede on his dad's Atari 2600, and never looked back. He joined the Retro Gamer team in 2013 and is currently the magazine's Features Editor, writing long reads about the creation of classic games and the technology that powered them. He's a tinkerer who enjoys repairing and upgrading old hardware, including his prized Neo Geo MVS, and has a taste for oddities including FMV games and bizarre PS2 budget games. A walking database of Sonic the Hedgehog trivia. He has also written for Edge, games™, Linux User & Developer, Metal Hammer and a variety of other publications.
Latest articles by Nick Thorpe
![A PS2 games console standing next to some of the best PS2 games and a black controller.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jjnNLgLZ7vij5VeRLsaTRi-320-80.jpg)
The 25 best PS2 games of all-time
By Nick Thorpe last updated
Best List Ranking the best PS2 games ever made, from GTA: San Andreas to SOCOM 2: US Navy Seals
![Best PSP games](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CenxhvdyExZxFzpxNYQQ3Q-320-80.jpg)
The 25 best PSP games of all time
By Nick Thorpe last updated
Best List The best PSP games you should play today, from Half-Minute Hero to Lumines
![The best NES games](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/64YDFFuSpfXJSbVwe3mjkU-320-80.jpg)
The 10 best NES games of all-time
By Josh West last updated
Best List Vibrant and nostalgic, the best NES games will remind you what made Nintendo so good in the first place
![Sonic 3](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/eZ9ACxPmJXHtFh8n7NNsyY-320-80.jpg)
30 years later, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is still a stone-cold classic: "We wanted to make the third game more epic than Sonic 2"
By Nick Thorpe published
Feature Interview | In conversation with the creators of Sonic 3 and its expansion Sonic & Knuckles
![NES](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/64YDFFuSpfXJSbVwe3mjkU-320-80.jpg)
NES devs discuss the process of creating classic retro games that defined a generation
By Nick Thorpe published
Feature Holiday Long Read | Retro Gamer spoke to NES vets on 8-bit coding, sprites, and the future of the old-school console
![Best PS1 Games](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MB67oajou3aUqDwRdfLw4o-320-80.jpg)
The 25 best PS1 games of all-time
By Nick Thorpe last updated
Best List Let's wind back the years to look back on the very best PS1 games from Sony's ground-breaking games console
![A Link to the Past](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KLrn4ppz9LxRaJhJLd8tiE-320-80.jpg)
The making of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
By Nick Thorpe published
FEATURE Nintendo's Takashi Tezuka and Kensuke Tanabe reveal the hard work that went into this legendary SNES classic
![The Legend of Zelda](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MX33scgnzhfLZus7jcmmBN-320-80.jpg)
The fascinating, complex and generations-spanning history of The Legend of Zelda
By Nick Thorpe published
FEATURE Join us on a tour of the series as we explore what makes it so exceptional, before taking deep dives into each game
![Zelda](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/SjLpCKt2ikPcTgZhWWwgW9-320-80.jpg)
The anatomy of Link: What makes Zelda's protagonist one of the greatest of all time?
By Nick Thorpe published
FEATURE What is it about the Hero Of Hyrule that makes him such a compelling protagonist across many adventures?
![Fatal Fury](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FFnnTPU9XHkgnW5Bcex4N6-320-80.jpg)
Exploring the legacy of Fatal Fury: The legendary fighting game series that's returning after 23 years
By Nick Thorpe published
Feature Looking back on the history of Fatal Fury, SNK's fighting series that's set to return more than 20 years later
![Dreamcast](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/oTZrV3efiUoftU9xqVnnhk-320-80.jpg)
The 25 best Dreamcast games of all-time
By Nick Thorpe published
Best List From Sonic Adventure to Soulcalibur, ranking the best Sega Dreamcast games ever made
![Best Game Covers](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3fQXcRdaSAjJktqnAUEBX4-320-80.jpg)
The best game covers of all time
By Nick Thorpe published
Best List Turns out you can judge a game by its cover
![Atari 2600](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/SGkCLsgGdJrzQZexCPeYxT-320-80.jpg)
50 things that changed gaming, from Computer Space to virtual reality
By Nick Thorpe, Retro Gamer Team published
Feature Retro Gamer looks back at 50 moments that had a major impact on the trajectory of games over the last five decades
![N64](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aFicCrzUnNAK4r3yyce5Tc-320-80.jpg)
How the N64 "confidently signposted our way into the 3D future"
By Retro Gamer Team, Nick Thorpe published
Feature Retro Gamer takes an in-depth look at the strengths, influence, and legacy of the N64 with veteran developers
![GamesMaster TV 2021 hosts - Rab Florence, Frankie Ward, and Ty Logan](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/trfDxPpyMbXa55avmHTApX-320-80.jpg)
How streaming created the perfect time for GamesMaster to return
By Nick Thorpe published
Feature The presenters tell us how the revived show has benefited from the online age of video games
![Super Mario 64](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/azPiKSjKgce3CL2tdXNDiL-320-80.jpg)
Super Mario 64 turns 25: Examining the impact of the N64's most revolutionary game
By Retro Gamer Team, Nick Thorpe, Luke Albiges published
Feature Industry icons join Retro Gamer to look back at the N64 launch title that changed 3D gaming forever: "Mario 64 showed the way forward for the whole industry!"
![Worms Rumble](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FUoeW6KzMToJbpYxtveT85-320-80.jpg)
Annelid antics: How Worms made an art of refining a timeless genre
By Retro Gamer Team, Nick Thorpe published
Feature For 25 years, Team17’s warmongering invertebrates have battled on computers, consoles, and phones around the world
![Destruction AllStars](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cNZLw2gHQmCkNkEHxw3YgL-320-80.jpg)
From Destruction AllStars to Twisted Metal: A brief history of PlayStation's vehicular combat games
By Nick Thorpe published
Feature Why Destruction All-Stars embodies an age old PlayStation tradition
![Shadows of the Empire](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jGr387oxUUabYmHH9gptsb-320-80.jpg)
Let's get physical: Meet the companies reissuing retro classics for audiences new and old
By Nick Thorpe, Retro Gamer Team published
Feature Expanding your retro collection used to necessitate hunting for used games, but reissues are bucking that trend
![PlayStation Classic](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zsRHSCsjA2P4gh9VNDe4V3-320-80.jpg)
Picture perfect: The fight to preserve retro resolutions in the 4K era
By Nick Thorpe, Retro Gamer Team published
Feature Retro games must inevitably be played on newer displays, but is this costing us vital visual characteristics of the games we love?
![null](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jWDiwqFinwtJMLQzBsU5nS-320-80.jpg)
The making of Yoshi's Island – How Nintendo delivered a sensational successor to Super Mario World
By Nick Thorpe, Retro Gamer Team published
Feature 25 years on from release, game directors Takashi Tezuka and Shigefumi Hino discuss the making of a true classic
![null](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kU8ZpJYdsvbsvkViEcWZ5g-320-80.jpg)
Evercade is a promising product with teething issues
By Nick Thorpe published
Feature The team at Retro Gamer test this new mini-console
![null](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LrmNvinqHF5BSw3ABZhC6Z-320-80.jpg)
The making of Samurai Shodown, one of the sharpest fighters of the '90s
By Nick Thorpe published
Feature Yasushi Adachi tells us how his team crafted one of the sharpest fighters of the era