Issue 1: October 2004

Way back in October 2004, I saw a very pretty image of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Something inside snapped and I set to work creating the very first issue of Extra Life (though not my first attempt at a fanzine I’ll have you know). I began early in the day, and I finished late at night. Back in those days I could finish an issue in a day... Aaah. Reading this issue should give you a great idea of the many changes I have made to the fanzine since its inception, notably the design was much more spartan back then with less colour and no images in the page headers (hey, printer ink ain't cheap...).

Anyway, this first issue is where it all began. There are 16 pages to the copy, the font size was larger back then, and there are five reviews for you to peruse, being: Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (PS2), Tales of Symphonia(GC), Midway Arcade Treasures 2 (Xbox), Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders (Xbox) and Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (PS2).

The Anime and Manga reviews were present, but featured two of each as opposed to the single reviews that you may now have come to expect. In this issue you could read about Full Metal Panic! and Azumanga Daioh for the Anime, and FLCL and GetBackers (Vols 1-4) for the Manga. The final pages of this issue were dedicated to the SNES, one of my all time favourite consoles, and one that will be receiving much more attention in the near future.

Issue 2: November 2004

Another issue from the olden days of Extra Life. Although I had decided upon my fanzine being a monthly publication back then, I began the second issue the day after I finished the first, and had this one licked in a further two days. I upped the page count from 16 to 20, mainly because my Halo 2 review was 4 pages in length (and it wasn't even that long word-wise!). I also changed the Anime and Manga pages to feature just one review of each a month, allowing me to say more about them in their reviews.

This issue contained reviews of Halo 2 (Xbox), Street Fighter Anniversary Collection (Xbox), Mega Man Anniversary Collection (GC), Fable (Xbox) and Ninja Gaiden (Xbox). A very Xbox-ey issue altogether. I reviewed Voices of a Distant Star and Cowboy Bebop for the Anime and Manga respectively.

Like with the first issue, the final pages were dedicated to a console review, this time it was the Sega Saturn. I didn't actually write this part, it was freelanced (with the emphasis on 'free') by a certain Samuel Kevern (yep, the very same person who has provided reviews for the site!). Because he had written so much, I had to reduce the font size to the same size I write in now, but back then I didn't think that I'd be able to fill an issue in such a small font size. How wrong I was!

Special Issue 1: December 2004

The 'Special Issue' title has never gone beyond number '1' since completing this issue, instead I've since incorporated all subsequent issues into the same numbering system. The reason for this issue being 'Special' was that it was dedicated entirely to Nintendo'd newly released DS at the end of 2004. I'd imported one for myself for Christmas (I get the best presents), and whilst I had plenty of games to review for my official third issue, I felt that what I had to write about the DS deserved an issue itself. May it be noted here that I had finished this cover design, simple though it may be, well before I saw the cover of the GamesTM issue celebrating the DS. Great minds think alike eh?

Another 16 page issue, this publication featured a lengthy review of the DS console, and reviews of the three launch games I bought initially: Super Mario 64 DS, Feel The Magic XY XX, and Daigasso: Band Bros. Rounding off this short and sweet issue were a preview of eleven upcoming DS titles and a rather nice diagram of the DS that showed just where everything was on the console.

This was also the first issue in which I started using an image in the headers of many of the issue pages, something that I felt made the magazine feel much more interesting to look through.

Onto to Issue 3, which is actually Issue 4 -_-;;

Issue 3: January 2005

Back into the normal numbering scheme, and Issue 3 was the first of 2005 containing reviews of seven of my favourite games from the end of 2004. I swapped the 1up Mushroom on the cover for a small Metroid too in this issue.

Reviews contained Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (Xbox), Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (GC), Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GC), Metal Slug 3 (Xbox), The King of Fighters 2000/2001 (PS2), The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA), and Chokkan Hitofude (aka Polarium, DS). Anime was Mahoromatic, while Manga was Chobits. This issue's Classic Console (as had become the theme of the end of the fanzine by now) was the Nintendo 64, again in the smaller font for a longer article.

Not So Interesting Fact™: The original cover had Samus flipped the over way around because 'somebody' thought it would look better. Maybe it did, who knows? 

Issue 4: February 2005

This was my first issue to host a game worthy of a 10/10. Perhaps the cover wasn't quite so good, but then sometimes it can be difficult to find a really good image. This was another 20 page issue, and contained some speculative news as to the shape and release of the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii (then named Revolution).

I reviewed Resident Evil 4 (GC), Otogi 2 (Xbox), Guilty Gear X2: The Midnight Carnival (Xbox), Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat (GC) and Catch! Touch! Yoshi! (DS). Sam reviewed Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen on GameCube, and the Anime and Manga consisted of Genshiken and Deus Vitae.

By now I had gotten used to writing about something 'Classic' at the back of the fanzine, though this month it wasn't a console. In this issue I reviewed Chrono Trigger on the SNES, one of the best 2D RPGs that money can buy and people can download. I never felt that two pages did this game justice though, and with all the endings and secrets in the game, don't be surprised if this game gets an issue all to itself sometime in the future.

Issue 5: March 2005

This issue will forever remain one of my favourite issues, thanks in part to the absolutely fantastic artwork I found for cover game Phantom Brave. If only I could draw that well. Or had the time to create such a grand vision. Whilst creating this issue, the hand in date for my Journalism Portfolio was due at University, and so I decided to hand in this issue, along with all previous issues. Much to my amazement I was awarded a 1st Grade for the work!

My fifth (sixth) issue was chock full of information, containing more next-gen speculation, a preview of Burnout Revenge, reviews of Phantom Brave (PS2), Project Zero II (Xbox), Dead or Alive Ultimate (Xbox), Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II (Xbox), Deadly Strike (PS2), Astro Boy: Omega Factor (GBA) and Wario Ware: Touched (DS). This issue was notable for featuring my lowest ever review score of 2/10 for Deadly Strike, and a review that was actually emailed to the developers of the game! Chortle.

I reviewed Cowboy Bebop for the Anime (which featured my artwork at the top, which I'm very proud of, see http://hondana.deviantart.com/) and Akira for the Manga. This month I dedicated four pages to a series review of The Legend of Zelda, which featured a very nice family tree of the games from the NES to the Wii, but which now needs updating...

Issue 6: April 2005

Following on from last month, this issue's cover game was La Pucelle Tactics, which was actually came out in Japan after Disgaea and Phantom Brave, but was released third in the UK.

This issue held eight game reviews, consisting of: La Pucelle Tactics (PS2), Zoo Keeper (DS),  TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (Xbox), Red Ninja: End of Honour (Xbox), Gran Turismo (PS2), Kururin Squash (GC), Animal Crossing (GC) and the mighty Terranigma (SNES), which features heavily in Issue 16. In this issue I reviewed the brilliant Anime that is Great Teacher Onizuka, and the not so great Manga that is Remote.

I went back to Classic Consoles in this issue, and reviewed the Neo Geo Pocket, and took a look at just why this handheld was so great despite its lack of popularity against the GameBoy.

Issue 7: May 2005

Issue 7 marked the issue that saw the fanzine leave 20 pages and move up to the heady heights of 24 pages ("Can the stapler take it?" I hear you ask). It was also the issue where I realized that if I want to use a Capcom game for the cover image, then I'll have to use an image of protagonist of said game's face (see Issue 4). Capcom do eyes well.

I previewed Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana in this issue, hoping for an English release. It did happen, but not until a year later in 2006. Originally Doom III was going to be the cover game, but with Devil May Cry 3 being a much more exciting game than the demonic but drab corridor crawler, things changed. The reviews were as follows: Doom III (Xbox), Devil May Cry 3 (PS2), Baten Kaitos (GC), The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (GC), Ico (PS2), Jade Empire (Xbox), and Secret of Evermore on the SNES. I reviewed the excellent Mai Hime for the Anime this month, and Samurai Deeper Kyo for the Manga review.

This month's feature was a little different to usual. Because E3 2005 was currently taking place I covered the best bits (well, what I thought were the best bits anyway), in a six page feature at the back of the magazine. It was at this E3 that all of the next-gen consoles were revealed in their final forms, and so I dedicated a page to each. My opinion of the PS3 was low. And it still is.

Issue 8: June 2005

By now my wallet really was taking a severe hit with so many games to review each month. Didn't stop me though.

Back to a 20 page issue, this fanzine provides you with reviews of HomeLand (GC), Haunting Ground (PS2), Tekken 5 (PS2), Metal Gear Solid 3 (PS2) by Sam Kevern, Electroplankton (DS) and Tales of Phantasia (GBA). I reviewed the Gantz Anime and the Tokyo Babylon Manga. I'd watched the whole Gantz anime in one ten hour sitting and I was very impressed despite some of the slow pacing of the series.

With no E3 or anything this month, I decided to dedicate a couple of pages to the GameBoy Advance which was gathering dust on my shelf thanks to the GBA slot on the DS.

Issue 9: July 2005

Another 24 page issue, this issue had a hefty dose of classic games as  new releases were rather thin on the ground.

This issue contained reviews of God of War (PS2), Alien Hominid (Xbox), Conker: Live and Reloaded (Xbox), Another Code: Two Memories (DS), Final Fantasy Adventure (GB), Secret of Mana (SNES), and Seiken Densetsu 3 (SNES). I've since decided on creating a Mana issue, so you'll see a lot more of that in the future too. Anime and Manga this month was Haibane Renmei and GTO respectively.

My feature article in this issue was all about 'Being a Gamer', telling of the woes of Console Wars whilst you are at school, having money and being able to buy what you want, then having no money and not being able to buy a thing! It also showed a picture of my Games Collection back in July 2005. It isn't as big as the image on the Collection page...

Issue 10: August 2005

Now this was a seriously cool cover, though my printer always made it look blue!! Issue 10 was a pretty short issue at only 16 pages in length, but again there were very games released that were worth picking up, and the weather was nice I felt like leaving the confines of my room for once.

I reviewed Destroy All Humans (Xbox), Killer 7 (GC), Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifer's Call (PS2), Breath of Fire (SNES), and Illusion of Time (SNES). I reviewed the X Anime, and the Saiyuki Manga. I didn't even include a feature article in this issue! Sorry.

It was also in this month that I was approached by Xbox Raw to become one of their staff writers, and I spent a fair bit of time thinking of things to write for the website as well as my fanzine.

Issue 11: September 2005

Back to 20 pages for this issue, and a cover that I made from an edited image of Fahrenheit combined with a filtered picture of New York (to make it look cold and snowy y'see).

Other than Fahrenheit (Xbox) and the classic game of Bahamut Lagoon (SNES), this was a DS issue through and through with reviews of the amazing Ossu! Tatakae! Ouendan! (DS), Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS) and Jump Superstars (DS). I reviewed the Hellsing Anime and GetBackers Manga (a continuation of the review from Issue 1).

I became inspired by a very odd thing for my feature in this issue: Hard Boiled Eggs. You see, I was really hungry,and there was nothing in the fridge but a few eggs. Now, I didn't want to just hard boil them, I wanted them to be the best hard boiled eggs there ever were. So I looked on the 'net for a perfect recipe and... well it all went wrong. This brought me round to thinking about the games that seemingly have a perfect set of ideas during their development only to be released and end up being utter shite. So that is how it came to be, make of it what you will.

Issue 12:  October 2005

Woah woah woah! Major change! It was in this issue that I ditched the large font and decided to go smaller giving much more space to write in, and ultimately much more work. The issue is 24 pages, but contains the work that you'd expect to find in two issues. At least. The reason for the change was thanks to Xbox Raw! Because I'de been writing much longer reviews for the website than you'd normally find in the fanzine, I decided that I might as well do the same for the fanzine anyway. What a nice way to treat my fanzine on its Birthday! Yep, Extra Life reached its first birthday in October 2005.

I reviewed several games here: Far Cry Instincts (Xbox), Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (Xbox), Serious Sam II (Xbox), Burnout Revenge (Xbox), Sniper Elite (Xbox), and Spartan Total Warrior (GC). My Classic review this issue was Final Fantasy VIII. The anime was Samurai Champloo, and the Manga was DNAngel.

My feature article celebrated a year of Extra Life, looking at issues past, and also other journalistic achievements.

According to this issue, my statistics at this point were: 13 Issues, 79 Games reviewed. Its much more now.

Issue 13: November 2005 - April 2006

It took me absolutely ages to finish this issue. Not only did I meet my fiancee, but I spent much time moving house, and playing the games to be reviewed, as well as finding work on http://www.gamexc.com/. It therefore became a 40 page issue to make up for this. It was now that I decided that I would be making much bigger issues, but that they would come quarterly as opposed to monthly. With a full time job (back then) it was difficult to find the time to complete such a large amount of work. Anyway, like the Final Fantasy themed cover despite the lack of anything to do with Final Fantasy inside the issue?

This issue was laid out in a very similar manner to the DS Issue, only much bigger, and dedicated to the Xbox 360 only. I reviewed Perfect Dark Zero, Condemned: Criminal Origins, Dead or Alive 4, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Project Gotham Racing 3, Quake 4, Burnout Revenge,Amped 3, Call of Duty 2, Geometry Wars: Evolved, Hexic HD, Bejeweled 2, Marble Blast Ultra and Crystal Quest. I also reviewed the console itself and provided a preview of some of the best looking games in development.

I was so tired after finishing this issue. It was also the issue that I gave to Imagine Publishing during my interview there.

Issue 14: June - August 2006

Another huge issue, and also an issue that features some more changes to the Extra Life Format. This time the changes are on the cover, which I spruced up a little to show what consoles I cover, and more importantly, just what is in inside the issue. Don't know why I didn't think of that earlier. You might have noticed that the price on the cover went up a pound too...

I began to use proper previews in this issue, and changed the design of both the news and preview pages as a result, which I think look much better. Of course I do, I designed it. Anyway, I previewed Dead Rising (which I got to play at Imagine Publishing) and Prey, and reviewed Chromehounds (X360), Dragon Quest VIII (PS2), New Super Mario Bros (DS), Trauma Center: Under the Knife (DS), Metroid Prime Hunters (DS), Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana (PS2), Tales of Phantasia (GBA), Hyper Street Fighter II' (XBLA), Bleach GC, Bleach: Souten Ni Kakeru Unmei (DS) and Children of Mana (DS). I also wrote up classic reviews of Planescape Torment (PC) and Body Harvest (N64). See, there is much more to be had in my issues now! Continuing the Bleach theme in the latter part of the reviews, I reviewed the Bleach Anime and Manga as well.

Finally, the feature article of this issue was all about my interview at Imagine Publishing, which is perhaps more interesting than it initially sounds.

Issue 15: September 2006 - January 2007

The behemoth. A 48 page issue (and no, the stapler can't take it anymore) that covers reviews of 18 games, a review of the Nintendo Wii, previews of Wii games, Lost Planet and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings and Tales of Tempest (yep, there is a mistake on the cover!).

Those games are: The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess (Wii), Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (Wii), Red Steel (Wii), Wii Sports (Wii), Wii Play (Wii), Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories (PS2), Magical Starsign (DS), Stella Deus (PS2), Final Fantasy III (DS), Gears of War (X360), Sonic the Hedgehog (X360), Enchanted Arms (X360), Starfox Command (DS), Suikoden V (PS2), Shinobido: Way of the Ninja (PS2), Contact (DS), Cooking Mama (DS), and finally Vib Ribbon (PS1). This issue the Anime was the excellent Mushishi, and the Manga was the similarly great Deathnote.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to produce such a large issue in future, unless of course it is PDF only. At this level, the fanzine is not exactly easy to put together once it is printed, and with the cost of the ink, I ought to have slapped on a tenner as the price tag. It is one of the best issues I've ever written though. 

Issue 16: ?? (Under Construction)

Not the best cover I've ever created by any stretch of the imagination, but with a lack of artwork available, creating a good image for older SNES games is, as I've discovered, rather difficult!

This issue is all about Quintet's great trilogy of earth-based RPGs for the SNES: Soul Blazer, Illusion of Time/Gaia, and Terranigma. This issue should end up being around 32 pages in length, and as of Feb 28 '07, I've completed ten pages of the issue. Look forward to it!

As of Nov 26th however, I'm... still in the same place! However, since I have now reacquired the vast majority of my SNES games, this issue could make a comeback *any day*. Christ.

Issue 17: ?? (Under Construction)

I love giving myself loads of work to be getting on with, so I decided to start a few issues all at once. This issue will concern Square-Enix' Mana series from it's humble beginnings on the GameBoy with Final Fantasy Adventure (it isn't even a Final Fantasy game, the original Japanese title is Seiken Densetsu), all the way through to the series recent 'World of Mana' revival with previews of Dawn of Mana and Heroes of Mana. This is issue is really in the early stages of planning and layout, but I've a good idea of what I want to get done, and I'm really excited about completing this one, if only to give me a great excuse to go back to some of my favourite RPGs ever.

And you can ditto the last paragraph from te previous issue.

Issue 18: ?? (Under Construction)

This one is very much in the planning stages, with no games confirmed for the issue. With Nintendo recently declaring the GameCube dead, I'm officially branding the machine a retro console, and an excellent one at that. There are so many great games available that it is often difficult to understand just why the 'Cube fared so badly. Expect to see many reviews of the best games, where to find the games and what price to pay, as well as a detailed inspection of all of the fun additional bits and bobs that were available for the GameCube, such as the Bongo's, Microphone, GB Player, GB Conectivity, Freeloader, Hori SNES controller and so on. Might be a while coming out though!