The Nuon wasn’t a particularly popular system, being a weird hybrid of console and DVD-player that was never able to fully clarify itself. The way it worked was you buy a DVD player with the Nuon logo on it and you could play any of its games, plus get a nice set of features for DVD playback like smoother rewind/fast-forward. It was a bonus add-on to the hardware but only a couple models were ever released, and the library didn’t even manage to hit double-digits. In theory that makes it an easy system to get a full collection for, but while Tempest 3000 may be comparatively easy to get Iron Soldier 3 is basically gone. Or rather, was basically gone, because retro publisher Songbird Productions has managed to get the rights for a reprint.
Iron Soldier 3 was a giant mech game that got fairly decent reviews at the time of release. The Nuon version was superior to the PS1 version thanks to nicer texturing and effects, but it had a problem where it would glitch in certain models and this caused it to eventually be recalled. Add in the Nuon’s lack of popularity and it was a perfect combination of factors to create an exceptionally rare game that easily sells for hundreds if it can be found at all. The new version is as faithful to the original as possible, printed on DVD with a near-identical cover cover plus including a 28 page instruction manual. It’s easily differentiated from the first print back in 2000, though, by coming in a black DVD case instead of the original’s gold, plus the cover has the Songbird logo on the back and the disc is marked “Licensed by Songbird Productions”
In addition to Iron Soldier 3, sales for the Songbird editions of a pair of Lynx games also go live today. Centipede is the arcade classic, and while there was a non-licensed version for the Lynx that showed up years after the handheld had been discontinued, it was an incomplete prototype. This new version is what that prototype could have become, enhanced and expanded with new enemies, music, sound effects, and improved difficulty curve. The other game is a straight-up rerelease for Alpine Games, a winter sports collection. The thing about Alpine Games, though, is at the time it also had a bonus cartridge with a mini-game and a number of demos, and this is being reprinted too as a separate release. It’s hard to think the market for Lynx games is any too large but it’s definitely enthusiastic, and the cartridges ship in tiny numbers- 250 for Centipede, 100 for Alpine Games.
All of this is available atthe Songbird Productions site, although for how long is anyone’s guess. Iron Soldier at least is an open-preorder, though, so if your Nuon hungers for something new now would be the time to take a look, seeing as it’s $5.00 off until January 22. Head on over and snag a copy, and just maybe Songbird might reprint a few more Nuon games to supplement its regularly scheduled Atari console rereleases.
