As the school year starts back up, I have been falling back on retro video games and media to help me get back into the flow of things. Maybe it’s the nostalgia value as the summer creeps away, or maybe it’s just how neat the retro feel is, but I think these pieces of media are great for this September. 

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (1990) 

The 1990 film “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is a timeless 90s movie that I think everyone should watch at least once. You may be well-versed in the recent show, the 2014 movie, or even the early comics, but this movie cannot be missed. It’s light and fun however it’s still able to actually pack an emotional punch amongst all the literal punches. And when watching the on-screen action, you may think it looks fake or complain (because kids these days are so spoiled when it comes to all of this fancy CGI business) but let’s not forget that the effects were insanely good for that time. And when you think about the budget they were on? The stunt actors were able to do martial arts under a padded foam turtle. If that isn’t true cinematic excellence, I don’t know what is. It may look pretty funny now, but I cannot express enough how crazy the feats they were able to accomplish were then. If you want action, sick martial arts, and just a couple of turtle pals goofing off, this is totally the movie for you. 

“Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game”

I am a really big fan of the “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” franchise, so it was almost guaranteed I would love the accompanying game. But even if the world of Scott and Ramona is just a passing interest to you, I would still recommend it. It’s a pretty classic beat ‘em up type game, where you get to play as one of the characters from the comics. Personally, I main Wallace—so instead of Scott, Wallace or whoever you choose gets to beat up the evil exes, or the main antagonists in the movie. The gameplay is pretty smooth, and the graphics are really neat. They were really good at working in little easter eggs from the movie and comics, and it has an awesome retro feel to it that is just so charming. But if you’re not used to these types of games, it may be pretty frustrating for a bit, and the 3D gameplay but 2D graphics definitely threw me off. This is definitely a hang-with-friends game—together, it’s much easier to stay alive and get through the levels. I’ll also say that it is really fun to collaboratively beat up pretentious Canadians with my best buds. This is such an awesome game, and I cannot recommend it enough.

“Soak” by Guitar Fight From Fooly Cooly

This album was on repeat as I played “Donkey Kong Country” in Michigan over the summer, and I really think it is a great record for just that. It’s an energetic and fun collection of tracks, with the exciting midwestern riffs and vocals you would expect from a band like this. I think emo is really a great end-of-summer genre, and this band does not disappoint. As it samples and splices audio clips from past Nintendo classics, it really gives you the feel of playing video games at your friend’s houses after a long day.