Dank Zine - Issue 84

Issue 84 descends into the digital underworld and comes back with something brilliant. From a deep-dive interview with a Twitch retro obsessive to cyberpunk PC-98 detectives, cursed Apple IIGS adventures, and art from across the Dank community, this one's got DANK range.

Featured Interview: martydotzone
A long sit-down with Toronto-based retro variety streamer martydotzone, who has made it his mission to rescue forgotten games from obscurity and give them the passionate, context-rich playthrough they deserve. He talks about his deal with Twitch itself, hunting down ultra-rare Japanese CD-ROM games, why the game only exists inside the player's mind, and the slow death of gaming as a medium that gives a damn about you. He also names his subway stations after Japanese Myst-likes and once came second in a Kensington Market Street Fighter 2 tournament. Good interview.

Sad Cat Comix
Sad Cat does not have good opinions on video games. Sad Cat just finishes the games that other people quit after twenty minutes. This creates the illusion of wisdom.

Hacks N Cracks
Four obscure game discoveries worth your time: a freshly translated Sherlock Holmes mystery for the SG-1000 that spent decades locked in Japanese, a Pico-8 demake of Dune II that somehow fits an entire RTS in a shoebox, an Apple II port of Myst that strips the spectacle down to pure squinting, and Pesadilla del '94, a DOS-jam game where you wander a 90s school nightmare and slap things with a sticky hand.

This Game Exists: Where in Hell is Carmen Sandiego?
Yes, this is real. A 1990 BBS game that puts you in Dante's Inferno hunting Carmen Sandiego through the circles of Hell, using the actual Inferno as your walkthrough. Cursed chiptune soundtrack included. There's also a bonus game on the disk that parodies beloved Apple software, and a cliffhanger teasing Purgatory that the developer never followed up on. Abandon all hope.

Dies Irae PC-98
A deep breakdown of Dies Irae, a 1996 Family Soft PC-98 game that tried to be a cyberpunk detective visual novel and a real-time action game at the same time. Set in the rain-soaked, corrupt colony world of Zodiac, you play as one of two cops investigating a dead partner and a conspiracy that spirals into military secrets and alien relics.

Dank Art
Original art from AnnK, Chuboh, Maru, and Silent Saturn Dreams featuring arcade classics streamed by LordBBH and others, including Arabian Magic, Mighty Bomb Jack, Mortal Kombat, Wally Wo Sagase!, Gunstar Heroes, and more.