Silverfleet

I gave Ironsword a run yesterday. I couldn't even get past the 1st level. It's probably due to a lack of familiarity with the game, and I felt like I was missing items needed to fight the boss. There's something good in there, but it's a tough game. I'll take another stab at it at some point.

For an action/adventure game that came out in 1987, it's really great. Graphics are well done, music is catchy (especially that main theme), and it plays well. The items/upgrades and optional stuff is cool, and there are even secret rooms here and there. It would be cool to see a modernized entry in this series released by Rare in a full Metroidvania style game. I plan on tackling Ironsword soon.

Another one down! Wizards & Warriors (NES): I have beaten this one before, but not for a long time. This was a childhood favorite, and still remains a favorite today. Great game, although the unlimited continues make it pretty easy. I'd give it a B overall.

Knocked off a few favorites I like to play through every once in a while and a new one I haven't beaten yet: Contra and Super C (NES via Contra Collection on the Switch): No pics for this one. Not hard to do by any means, but they are so much fun to run through every once in a while. Kung Fu (NES): Quick lunch break run-through of this one last week. I didn't have time to do multiple loops, but I will try again soon. Game is a total classic. Dragon Spirit: The New Legend (NES): Ran through this as the "Gold Dragon" to get used to it; it's been ages since I played this one. I plan on going back and playing it the normal way at some point. It was my first time beating this one. For a NES shmup, it's solid, but it's a tough one!

I've found that after disabling the 10NES chip that some of my games still didn't work. 9 times out of 10, it was because the cartridge connector was downright nasty. Disassemble them with a security bit and clean with a mild cleaner. I used to use Brasso before I knew better, which can strip the plating off the connectors. I switched to Barkeeper's Friend and that works great. It's more of a liquid than a paste/cream, and it gets the job done without screwing up the cart.

BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE! Upon second look in the bag of stuff he gave me, the dog bone WAS in there! Like the toploader, this is my first dogbone controller. Can't wait to test it out!

To be completely honest, I'm very happy with my "Toaster" NES and the RetroTink 2X Pro. It looks amazing. It also looks great on a CRT with straight Composite-out. I've already modded that one to disable the 10NES lockout chip and allow games to run without pushing down the tray, so it works as well as any toploader I've used. I still wanted a toploader in the collection for years to complete my US NES collection, so I'm very happy to finally have one. I still want a FDS to go with my AV-modded original Famicom and/or a FC Twin, and maybe an A/V Famicom as well.

I didn't have it for Christmas of '88, but I did get it roughly a month later with my birthday money at the end of January '89. I vividly remember plunking down $49.99 for it at the Child World at the Hanover Mall in Hanover, MA. While most of their games were on the "shelf tag" system, they kept the hot, new releases in a glass case by the registers. I went in there, saw that gold box, and bought it. That was my 1st Zelda game at age 7; this is the one that started it all for me. Still have that cartridge, and still love that game.

Ok, not exactly a thrift find, but my strange luck continues. My buddy messaged me over the weekend asking if I had a spare Game Boy his wife could borrow. She has one game (Kirby's Pinball Land) from when she was a kid and her Game Boy is long gone. I found my spare GBA and brought it over there tonight, because you can't deny someone's video game nostalgia! As a thank you for dropping it off, he handed me this: He got this a few years back as a gift, played it once, and put it in a box. No dog bone, but it did come with a nice regular NES control pad and the power supply/RF switch. And I didn't have the manual for R.C. Pro-Am, so that's cool too. Somehow, with all the NES-focused collecting I've done over the years, I've never had a toploader. Going to clean it up and put it on display until it gets modded for something other than RF output. Excited to have this!

I have a SN30 Pro, and I do like it. Haven't had any connectivity, battery or latency issues with it, and I've used it on PC, RetroPie, my smartphone, and my Switch. They nailed the overall look and feel of the thing, from the colors to the textures and buttons. My only gripe with it is that it feels sorta weird to hold compared to a real corded SNES controller. Using the extra L2/R2 buttons causes my big stupid hands to slip off the controller. Playing it as a regular SNES pad, it works fine. I sorta wish I got the Pro + with the Playstation-like grips instead.

Ha, thanks! The kicker about all of this is the condition of everything. It's like all of this went into a storage bin sometime in the mid-90's and forgotten. Every single game board is perfect with no corrosion or anything. The cassettes don't look like they have ever been played. I think I used up all my gaming karma for the next few years with this haul.

I didn't get a copy until later on, but I remember the hype when it was released. A few friends had it, so I either played it over their houses or borrowed their copies, but I never got to the end. It's a good one. One of these days, I'll finish it. And no one ever talks about Zoda's Revenge!

Another one down! Mega Man 6 (NES): Another one I've had on the shelf forever but never played through. I really liked this one. The boss robots were cool looking and the level design was really great with the branching paths in most stages. The changes they made to how Rush works were interesting as well. I've now finished all 6 NES Mega Man titles. Cross that off the bucket list.

I've purchased no less than 4 Nintendo consoles just to play the Zelda games on them (SNES, N64, GC and Switch). I would say that OoT is a great game, but it's definitely a product of its time. At the time, it was incredible, but I was skeptical when it was first announced because of the jump to 3D. A few minutes into the game, I was completely hooked. I have OoT on the N64, GC via the Wind Waker preorder disc, and 3DS, and have played through it completely on the N64 and GC. I don't think it's the best game of all time, best Zelda game, or even the best 3D Zelda game, but it is a great game. In context of its peers, I don't think it's overrated at all. They were still figuring out 3D games back then, and I think they did a good job given the time it came out.

I tried that on the aftermarket Model 2 cables, and that didn't work. Sound output from the Sega CD itself also does not work. My OEM Sega Model 1 cable also doesn't work. I've read that some TV's can't interpret the sound pass-through to HDMI for some consoles, especially the Genesis. It's all good, since I have an external speaker system that sounds much better than the TV anyway.