There was a time, a time that included both the NES and the SNES, a time that included Back to the Future and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This era, as time goes on, slowly molds together into a single genuine experience many gamers dubbed ‘Retro’. Meeting a random dude at PAX and having a fifteen minute conversation about Bionic Commando and Contra builds your retro cred. Some gamers consider this retro cred a currency more precious than gold. For these gamers, who can hum the themes to Mega Man 2 or 3 but maybe not 1, there is a game built from the ground up to appease their undying retro hunger – Retro City Rampage.

Retro City Rampage is a thing of beauty, the majority of which was designed and built by a single passionate indie developer that probably works entirely too much. It’s not an HD game with complicated 3D graphics or CG cutscenes, but it’s gorgeous in all of the important ways. There no better way to show off just how amazing the game is going to be other than letting you see it in motion. Keep in mind, nostalgia is dramatically important to garner the full effect of Retro City Rampage. Watch out for references to a myriad of classic games or movies, but must importantly of all – listen to the music.

Shh, don’t speak. Either the power of Retro City Rampage has melted the cold, nostalgic heart of a gamer gone apathetic in modern times, or NES means as much as, “Hey Dudes thanks, for rescuing me. Let’s go for a burger…. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!” Speak with your $$$ when Retro City Rampage releases in December later this year.

All joking aside, Retro City looks like a lot of fun. It’s both impressive and a little astounding just how much thought has gone into every bit of this game. References literally poor out of every still shot. That doesn’t mean the game is for everyone though; there’s obviously going to be limitations to the gameplay. How many different way can RCR change the gameplay of a top down Grand Theft Auto-style game? Still, it’s difficult not to respect what Retro City Rampage is – a totem to the golden age of gaming.

What do you think of the Retro City Rampage trailer? Did you catch any of the references to old-school games? If retro isn’t your style, does the game still look like fun?

Retro City Rampage is releasing in December 2010 for the Wii, via WiiWare.