Editor’s Note

Sub-Editor : Alan Hammerton

Layout: Chris Wilkins / Alan Hammerton

Proof Reader : Craig Turner

Cover : Trevor Storey

Contributions from : Chris Wilkins, Alan Hammerton, Simon Butler, Colin Bell, Craig Turner, Toy Polloi, Roger Kean, Andrew Braybrook, Mark Helewell, Ryan Coleman, Let’s Talk Retro

There was a time when playing a fighting game meant loading up Way of the Exploding Fist on the ZX Spectrum. Incredibly for me, that was over 35 years ago, and playing the game as a sixteenyear-old. I must admit that I was that kind of player who pressed all the keys together and hoped for the best — it got me so far, but as the genre progressed, I needed to adopt a little more skill. The feature inside, complemented by Trevor Storey’s brilliant cover, looks at new reimaginings of older games in the genre — think Street Fighter and Streets of Rage, for example. Do these kinds of games have a place in gaming in 2020?

Also inside is one of my favourite features so far, 80s TV game tie-ins — we only cover a few titles here, but they are very memorable ones. Just because a TV show is popular, does not mean that a great game will follow. You have been warned.

As I type this editorial, over 1,500 copies of the Fusion Annual are on their way to readers across the globe. Many have already arrived in the UK, and the feedback has been very positive, with readers posting pictures on social media. There are plans afoot for a 120-page Fusion Special on Toys in the New Year — a now not-so-secret project progressing in the background!

If you have received a Fusion Annual I hope you have a blast reading it — in the meantime, enjoy Issue 15!