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| Once a laughing stock of gaming sites, I feel that it really pulled itself up by the bootstraps and made itself into an excellent, timely source for the latest Nintendo news. They've recently fell into a slow update cycle, possibly because of reoccuring server issues? |
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| IGN.com |
| They get a bad reputation sometimes, but I do think they're a great site for information and media about the latest games, and probably helped push online gaming journalism into the power position it's in now. I routinely check IGNCube, IGNGameboy, and sometimes IGN Insider. The other sections are still good, although I find the writing is a little lower quality, particularly in IGNXbox. Unfortunately, their new layout is much more bandwidth-intensive (and harder to glance through when it's only half-loaded), and generally more of a PITA, so I don't visit like I should be. If I had broadband, it might not be such a big deal, but I personally think the redesign look they took on has some significant problems. |
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| Made a strong impression with me after Planet Gamecube just seemed to tank. At the time a very no-nonsense, up-to-the-second gaming news site like FGN Online used to be. They're still that way, although their layout is now a little more bogged down and fluffy. It still serves multi-platform news fast. |
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| Yes, yet another Nintendo news site I visit, but also a decent one, often with their own unique content, such as the DS/GBA SP E3 comparison video they've recently reposted. I didn't initially include them because the site was down for redesign, but they're back now in a "Resurrection" of sorts. |
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| One of the big ones, often with the latest gaming news straight out Japan. Not always perfectly accurate, but on the money enough to make regular visits worthwhile. |
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| Discovered them with early shots of Metroid: Zero Mission around E3 2003, promptly lost the site, and then hunted it back down again. Often has more content than IGNGameboy/DS, and updates with it sooner. They've recently changed names from GBA Central to DS Central: the news is still great, although they're still converting some features to the new DB system as of this update. And don't be mistaken, they still update with the latest GBA news. |
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| Cheap Ass Gamer |
| The Circuit City blowout really got me into following game deals, to look for cheap prices on some titles I missed out on for one reason or another. This was mentioned to me by a guy hitting up the same Circuit Cities as myself during that morning (and if I had known about it, I wouldn't have passed up on a few games like ZoE: 2nd Runner), it really is a great resource to hear about short-term and little-known game deals, and online coupons for sites like EBGames, Gamestop, and so forth. |
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| Pointed out to me by Bartman, the place where I learned about said Circuit City blowout. I now visit both CAG and BSD daily, each often having unique deals they've discovered or focus on. |
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| TSSZNews |
| Insta-news. It's not quite as good as Insta-pudding, but it's more informative. Complete with gaming news and fan reactions. Shutting down in May, so if something there interests you, archive it. |
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| Nintelligent Network |
| I haven't visited this one for too long, but it was very, very spiffy during E3. And I just noticed some interesting stories I hadn't seen elsewhere when checking it for this writeup, so it's another site I'd definitely recommend. |
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| A gaming site with a more unique flavor, often covering the more obscure gaming news, such as doujin and other Japanese-specific games, in a mix with their own take on the big news. |
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(I'm not linking you to their forums, that's just the best banner they had offhand. -_-;)
Been around for a long time, a gaming site dedicated to the latest RPG news and info. They've also had some winning April Fools jokes in the past, such as a sequel to Final Fantasy VI (back when it was still semi-current), and Mr. T in Final Fantasy Tactics. Yes, there was a summon involving his van. |
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| GameFAQs |
| Why buy a guide? (Well, besides the pretty pictures.) If you're stuck in a game, between the FAQs and the Message Boards, you'll probably find _something_ to help you on your way. Sadly another site that recently switched to a new, more awkward layout. |
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| It's the spiritual reincarnation of Secrets of Sonic the Hedgehog. Actually run by a cool webmaster that's pleasant to deal with. (It's also got a dash of StH Area 51 mixed in.) If you've been around the Sonic gaming fandom for any amount of time, that should speak leaps and bounds to you. If it doesn't, let me just say it has a lot on beta materials, lost elements, and mysteries in Sonic games, in addition to scans of articles and promotional materials relating to the games, both beta and non. |
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| Best. SMB. Site. Ever. I visit. A lot. Not a half hour ago I was impressed with a new article there about all of the cameos initially planned for Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga that show up in text in the game, but didn't actually make it into the game. It has a lot of unique material, plain and simple. |
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| It's been around for a long time... A very thorough page chronicaling the Blue Bomber's travels, backed by Mandi Paugh's own excellent art and sprite work. Feels less like an "up-to-the-second" news site, but hardly dated. |
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| A detailed site dedicated to the Genesis/Mega Drive and Game Gear star (literally), including Japanese-to-US comparisons, Feel the Flame prototype info, music, and sound effects. |
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| The Dream Avenue. A wealth of unique Sonic information. Shouldered the brunt of the Sonic X episodes for the longest time. The site works again, but only refers to an off-site Card Captor Sakura page she's made. I'm worried she's given up on having a Sonic site, that'd be a true shame. |
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| Big, thorough Sonic database and the latest news. How many sites you do you know with full details on pretty much every Sonic Café title for cellphones Sonic Team has release? Plus, it's primarily run by Green Gibbon!, and that's worth it by itself. |
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| It's true. Or if you don't, you can easily find it elsewhere. Matt knows that, so he's built his own style of gaming site up. On my original Links page, I dubbed it "up-and-coming," now I wouldn't blink to say "far surpassed my own work." He really has built up an excellent, content-filled site with a neat-looking layout that catches the eye, and took up the brunt of hoax archiving when the MC stopped updating. Plus, he named me a Star Site quite a while back, so it shows he has good taste, too. ^_^ |
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| The Sonic Stadium, headed up by Dreadknux (who politely offered and affiliated with me for the longest time without me doing the reverse, shame on me -_-;;), is definitely one of the more important Sonic sites now. Ever-changing and a good community resource center, and recently sporting a further refined layout. |
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| Sonic Official Art Archive |
| A collection of high-quality PNG scans of Sonic promotional artwork for use by others. Excellent for making your own logos, website designs, and so forth. |
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| Rlan's newest project, an archive of scans and promotional artwork from all sorts of video games. Already there's a solid selection up, and it's very easy for him to update, so expect it to grow quite quickly. |
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