Silverfleet

I've probably spent more time playing bad NES games than anything else, and some that are considered awful have become favorites of mine: Karate Champ: I love this one, and I don't care that it's bad. The controls are hard to get used to, but I like it anyway. Definitely requires a lot of practice. I can never smash the flower vases in the bonus stage though. Jaws: Fun gameplay, good graphics, and catchy music. This is fun to run through now and then. Yes, it's published by LJN, but I like it. Karate Kid: Another LJN game, developed by Atlus! It's annoyingly hard, but I could never put it down. Skate or Die: Controls are awful, graphics aren't great, but it was the NES's "Tony Hawk Skateboarding" and aside from 720, the only skating game in town at the time. Music is typical Konami goodness, which helps. I still pop it on every once in a while to see if I still have the skills. Tag Team Wrestling: The control system is bizarre compared to any other wrestling/fighting game, but like Karate Champ, once you learn it, it's fun. Plus it has the Strong Bads! Dragon Power: Not sure what it is about this one, but I enjoy playing it every once in a while. It was definitely a favorite as a kid, long before I knew what Dragon Ball was. There are more, I'm sure, but we'll start here.

BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE!!! I've been looking for a small 4:3 LCD TV with a decent selection of inputs for playing some of my older consoles (and potentially old computers I don't own yet) that don't play nice with my upscaler for a while now. Something easy to store when not in use and portable was high on the list. Yesterday, I found this sweet little 13" Samsung for about $10 at Savers. Check it out: It has VGA, Composite AV, S-Video, Component RGB, and of course, RF/Coaxial. It was made in 2006, and although the back is yellowed pretty bad, it's in great shape. To test it, I busted out my AV-modded Famicom to see what's actually on that weird pirate cart. Ok, interesting! Also, please note that the jailbars are 100% due to the modded Famicom and not the TV. It does that and hasn't bothered me enough to fix it. Yup, that's the janky demake of Street Fighter 2 on the NES. It is basically unplayable. The background doesn't scroll, but the characters act like it does, and you can't pull off special moves. But the CPU can, and just spams you with them until you're dead. I'm decent at SFII and I couldn't even win a round. Next... Snow Bros! A "heavy hitter"! A good NES/Famicom game. Bubble Bobble 2! Definitely not "Bubble Dargon 2". There was a 50/50 chance this would be this game or Double Dragon 2, and I'm happier that it's this one. Another "heavy hitter" I've never played outside of an emulator. And lastly... It's Mitsume ga Tooru, aka "The Three-Eyed One". This one is a Natsume-developed action platformer based on the manga of the same name. And it's pretty good! It's like a mix between Mega Man and Conquest of the Crystal Palace, both games that I love. So yeah, that pirate cart is a win, except for that SFII port. I'll take it! And the TV works well!

It's been a while, but I actually found some decent gaming-related items today at flea markets, antique malls, etc. for cheap. Nature is healing. All of this was $20 total. The guy had two Trak-Ball controllers, but the other was cracked, so I left it behind. I have no idea what's actually on that pirated Famicom cart, but I'm looking forward to finding out. Heavenly Guardian looks like a Pocky and Rocky clone that's supposed to be decent, and it was cheap and complete. And Slap Shot with commentary by the Hanson Brothers as an option? Absolutely took that home!

Been a while since I posted here; I've all but stopped collecting because I already have a ton of stuff and prices have gone insane. But when opportunity knocks... I was at the town dump today dropping off some stuff, and I see a familiar black box sitting next to one of the bins. Yup, it was an early Xbox One with the Kinect. People leave and take stuff in front of the bins, and no one wanted this, so I grabbed it. I've had one for years, but I never had the Kinect, so it's nice to finally have that. I plugged it in with a known good power supply, and it powers on for a second and shuts off. That's likely why it's there. If I can get it to work easily, I'll turn it into an emulation machine for the living room. If it's complete junk, the place where I got it from has a great return policy. ?

I haven't bought an Atari game in a while, but I needed this one. One of the last ones I needed on my want list!

One of my local arcades had a Steel Talons cabinet. You mentioned that when the player was hit, a speaker in the cab would bang loudly. I remember walking in there one time and someone playing got hit. The speaker on the back of the cab pinged so loud I jumped! I knew then I had to play it. I remember renting it on the Genesis after playing the arcade game and it being unplayable to the point that I questioned why they even bothered making it.

Whatever it is, I bought it to play it! ?And it plays great. It has a much different feel than the Genesis version. It feels more like a Mario-style platformer in terms of how Sonic controls, but at the same time, it's still a Sonic game. Levels are even slightly different than the much more common Game Gear version. Overall, I'm just happy to have finally found a copy.

Is there a way to tell if it's a US version loose without the case? Will it run faster because NTSC? I haven't had the chance to pop it in the ol' SMS yet. I am also skeptical of the Pricecharting value, because there aren't many sold listings and those that have sold were CIB with the UPC sticker vs. actually loose. FWIW, I'm assuming this was a US/NTSC version judging by the other US titles I found it grouped with (Rescue Mission and Hang On/Safari Hunt). The seller's case was full of common stuff otherwise. EDIT: I'm playing it now on my Genesis via Power Base Converter. Seems to be running at a normal speed.

I haven't posted in here for a while, mainly because I haven't been collecting much. Hell, I haven't really been playing much either! Been busy with other hobbies and a new puppy for most of 2021. Speaking of other hobbies, I found myself out vinyl hunting over the weekend, and at a local antique mall, I spotted a case of reasonably priced video games. Looking over the case, I saw a few SMS titles, so I asked the guy at the counter if he could open it up. He did, and one game caught my eye: I've wanted this "demake" of Sonic the Hedgehog ever since seeing it in game magazines in the early 90's. It's always been a curiosity to me, and it's a pretty fun game. I don't think I've ever seen it in the wild, so I had to snag it. It was $15, which isn't bad, and the cart is clean. I wish it still had the case, but that's ok. Glad to finally have this one in the collection after all these years.

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.

I'm really impressed with the NES! It looks incredible on every game I've played, and there's ZERO lag. I've played twitchy games on it that rely on perfect controller input and hey play as well as a CRT. I'm fine with the Genesis output for now. My cables aren't the best for either the Model 1 or 2, so it's to be expected. I'll be upgrading those at some point.