Welcome to Just Games Retro, a home for reviews of classic console and computer games. These reviews are not usually “retrospectives” in the tradition sense. This isn’t simply us blabbing pretentiously about our favorite classics. In many ways, this is a work of exploration – looking at unplayed or unfamiliar older games from a perspective balanced between how it stood up on release, and if it’s still worth your time today. You’re invited to come along, and hopefully, get something out of our process of discovering, playing, and reporting.
Read our sordid history here
We Finish Every Game Before We Review It
It bothers me when someone tries to talk “definitively” about a game when it’s clear to anyone who’s actually played it that the reviewer hasn’t gotten past the first few levels. It makes that reviewer look like a jackass, and we never want to be caught in that position.
This is part of why it takes so long to get new content up, and part of why you don’t see a lot of RPGs on the site. At least you can’t say we’re not thorough.
We Use the Full Review Score Range
We love games of all kinds and eras at JGR, and we’re going to be a little more lenient and open-minded about them than more modern-focused perspectives might be. If you turn your nose and immediately walk away from 8-bit graphics, you’re in the wrong place. (“Retro” in the site name was a clue.)
That said, we do use the full range of scores, and intend for them to be taken that way. A 3-star game is meant to be seen as average. We can find enjoyment in even a 2-star game, but your mileage may noticeably vary. A 1/2 star review is the only score intended to convey a game with absolutely no redeeming qualities, and as such, is rare.
We Serve No Ads
None. We appreciate your visit, and respect it enough to not try to milk pocket change off of it. We’re here to serve you; not the other way around.
We Host No Warez/Abandonware
What it says. There are plenty of places to find and download games, and you don’t need us to help you with that. We’re simply here to point out games you might not have heard of that you might find worth seeking out.
We (Usually) Review A Game Separately For Each System
You’ll note that each review will list, or be attached to, only one system (the system it’s reviewed for) despite being released on multiple systems. DOS games were frequently available on the Amiga or Atari ST, for example. Even though ports may be similar, we do not write “catch-all” reviews meant to cover the game as it exists on all systems. For one, there are often graphical, auditory, or gameplay differences, and we cover those in the individual reviews. For two, it gives another reviewer a chance to comment on the same game, if it’s already been reviewed.