Today, the first day of my first actual weekend of the summer (as opposed to the 3/4 weeks of nonstop weekend at the beginning of the summer before I started working), I got the hankering to buy a new video game, as I sometimes do. So I cruised through some 1up reviews of DS games, and came across the one for Retro Game Challenge, which I actually heard about on a podcast last summer. I wanted it at the time, then forgot about it, because it didn’t come out in America until recently.

Okay so. Bought the game. And: Best. Game. Ever.

The basic premise is that, in order to do something-or-other (inconsequential plotline), you have to go back in time to the eighties and beat various challenges in a bunch of 8-bit video games. But the thing is, the 8-bit games WITHIN the DS game ARE ACTUAL GAMES. That were created. For the game.

So fake old games, basically. And they are awesome. Apparently there are 8 total, though I’ve only gotten to the second one so far. But according to the 1up review, the games later on are really complete games, and are genuinely good even on their own merit. That’s definitely been true so far.

Actually probably the coolest part, though, is that the game also has fake manuals for the fake games and fake game magazines with cheats & codes for the fake games. (Interestingly, the fake game magazine that’s been shown so far seems to be a pretty close spoof of Electronic Gaming Monthly–the Editor in Chief’s name is Dan Sock, instead of Dan “Shoe” Hsu, and one of the reviewers is named Milkman, like Mielke from EGM. )

I really love creative video games (that’s why EarthBound is pretty much my fave game ever), and this is one of the most creative games I’ve ever played. I love the idea that I’m playing as a fan of video games playing video games. It’s so meta and awesome.

Also, it’s a cute little history lesson in the evolving mechanics of 8-bit games.