Kid Fenris

Is the system itself modded? Some folks install a universal bios or S-Video for the Neo Geo, and that could affect the price. It also helps if it's in good condition. Are you planning to offer the system and games in one big lot, or will you sell the games separately?

To be clear, I don't think you're disgusting because you prefer to collect prototypes a certain way. I think you're disgusting because you tried to distort the opinions of a deceased individual just to back your opinion of something as frivolous as game collecting.

I don't see a lot of public pressure for him to dump and release the ROM in the original thread about the game. Most of the posters are telling him to get it dumped just to ensure that the game isn't lost. And while he has a self-mocking signature referring to the game's fallen value, I think this post from this thread stands as his final word on the subject. Adam, there are times when I think that you and DreamTR don't deserve a lot of the flack you get for being outspoken collectors of prototype games. Then I see posts like the ones you've made here, and I realize that you truly are a disgusting man-child who doesn't deserve any benefit of the doubt.

I preferred the polygon-and-sprite look of Xenogears and Grandia, as the ability to rotate your viewpoint made the 3-D surroundings more convincing than flat rendered backdrops. Of course, this may be a moot point, as the current generation of hardware has eliminated the need for backgrounds like those in Final Fantasy VII.

They forgot Linedwell Rainrix, the sneering, shirtless psychopath from Evil Zone. He's not just the bearer of a goofy name, but an incomprehensible background as well. Here's his introduction from the game's manual. “He fought Hamika who was sent on a mission from the Tenpouin Clan, a descendent on Onmyouji who used the principals of Chinese Yin-Yang philosophy, to destroy Linedwell’s magic sword Shahal, which means 'Lucifer standing for the god of the morning star.'”

Hmm . . . Aside from Tactics Ogre and Final Bout GT, it's tough to call the rares on the PlayStation now, but I'd say that the following games are, at the very least, "collectible." Guilty Gear Einhander Eggs of Steel (it allegedly has the smallest print run among PSone titles) Elemental Gearbolt Metal Slug X Poy Poy The Raiden Project Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure Theme Hospital Xenogears

While I really dig Final Fantasy VII, it's so overwhelmingly popular that there no way it couldn't be overrated. After all, this is a game so highly and widely revered that two of its characters wound up in the finals of the recent GameFAQs Character Battle, taking spots that conventional wisdom would have reserved for, say, Pac-Man and Mario. Or Trevor McFur and the shotgun guy from Battle Rangers. Final Fantasy VII is an excellent game, but it's the victim of an over-zealous fan base. And let's not bother with the fanboy debate about what to call what. As long as someone clarifies the titles of the SNES Final Fantasy II and III (as in "Final Fantasy II (IV)" or "Cecil from Final Fantasy II is my favorite game character"), it shouldn't be an issue.

Yes, and I don't listen to songs with lyrics, because if I want to hear verse, I'll go to a poetry reading. One can argue the merits of a certain story, but I don't think that the concept of gameplay/storyline intersection is inherently flawed. A storyline, if decent, can provide an excellent impetus for play, and enhance the game instead of detracting from it. Heck, even a goofy, poorly translated plot can contribute to a game, provided that one's in the mood for some MST-style kitsch appreciation. Okay, I'll bite. Did Ultima and the AD&D gold-boxers really have great storylines? It's been quite a while since I played any of those titles, but I don't remember them having genuine storylines so much as they had bland conversations that, when strung together, formed only an interactive setting instead of a coherent or satisfying narrative. For an RPG that actually allows strong storytelling through player-controlled discussions, see Planescape: Torment. But anyway . . . Xenogears. Yeah, it's the ultimate love-or-loathe-it RPG. While it's heavy on the story scenes, I seem to recall quite a lot of dungeon work as well. There's a bit more exploration in the second half of the first disc, which spans about forty hours. As for the battles, I threw in Xenogears a while ago to check out some alleged glitch in the game, and I found that it, if anything, it had too many battles. Some RPGs force a fight every twenty to thirty steps. Xenogears seemed to do it at ten-pace intervals. Fun battle system, though. And I wouldn't say that the character models look worse than FF3; in fact, they have better animation and detail. It's just that Xenogears' 3-D environments try all sorts of camera work and close-ups that were never used in 2-D RPGs like Chrono Trigger, and this often makes the pixels larger and uglier on the screen. All the same, I'm glad they used sprites instead of polygons, considering how poorly the FFVII character models have aged. But that's Xenogears for ya. Some like it, some don't. Nuthin' wrong with either side.

Games like Super Mario 64 and Conker's BFD almost go without saying, but there are three lesser-known N64 games that I really enjoyed. Sin and Punishment (import): It uses a perspective similar to that of Cabal and Nam 1975, but this Treasure title takes the genre in all sorts of interesting directions. With intense play, great level design, and a goofy, twisted storyline (in English, no less), it's an excellent game, and one that can be found for fairly a low price, as imports go. Ogre Battle 64: While the "Ogre" series may have moved on to Tactics, there's still a lot of fun to be had with the original Ogre Battle's play mechanics. This N64 sequel doesn't have pretty polygons, but there's a first-rate strategy game and a solid storyline to be found within. Jet Force Gemini: Yeah, it has lousy sniper controls. Yet Rare's semi-cute space opera shooter won me over somehow. The weapons are fun, the humor presages Conker in some ways, and it's a bloody huge game. As for the GameCube, Eternal Darkness is a greatly underrated game, and it's only $15 new at GameStop. Ikaruga's also excellent.

As much as I like the idea of another 2-D shooter on the Dreamcast, I'm waiting for the reviews (and the reactions of folks like Robotron) on this one. Border Down's visual style doesn't really intrigue me, so I'm not anticipating it as much as R-Type Final.

So, does the Xbox somehow fix the games so the player can fire at an angle? And since I own an Xbox, I have nothing to add other than this: Panzer Dragoon Orta = TEH AWSUM.

Amen brother. I completely agree with you, and in fact, I posted my own rant about this a few months ago I don't know what everyone's fascination is with Japanese style RPG's... they were interesting for a while, but by now it's all the same. Indeed. I don't know what I'd do if I had to play one more RPG where you control a Valkyrie collecting the valiant dead, a magazine reporter hunting down demons and a serial killer, a bratty demon prince recruiting dragons and angels to help him reclaim the underworld's throne, a nerdy corporate scientist and her disturbingly sexual android sidekick uncovering the secrets of an alien race, an amusing array of RPG archetypes leaping through time, or a Peanuts-esque gaggle of kids fighting hippies and crows and space invaders. Yes, they're all the same. All of them. Sarcasm aside, there are lots of generic and uninteresting Japan-born RPGs, but I'm equally bored by the average PC RPG. While I like Planescape: Torment, Knights of the Old Republic, Fallout, and a few others, I find many Western-developed RPGs, old and new, to be disarrayed and dull morasses of multiple choice. They may give you a great many options, but what's the point if none of those decisions lead to satisfying outcomes? And I'm not particularly fond of the point-and-click interface or the frequently bland D&D aesthetics. With Japanese RPGs, at least, there's a chance for some kind of style. Anyway, I'm still looking forward to Fable. Edit: And D&D Heroes, despite myself.

I'd be Onishima, the crazed, unshaven, trigger-happy police chief.

My attention is divided among a bunch of games right now. Xenosaga -PS2 Guilty Gear X2 -PS2 Shikigami no Shiro/Mobile Light Force 2 -PS2 Shantae -GameBoy Color Panzer Dragoon Orta (the bonus missions)-Xbox Crimson Sea -Xbox (The last one is, unintentionally, the funniest game I've played in a long, long time.

Let's see . . . PS2: 10 GameCube: 1 (Metroid Prime, if you're curious) Xbox: 4 Dreamcast: 28 GBA: 4