Gabriel

Xbox One Hyperscan Wii U Virtual Boy

Since you're using a RAM cart with a 32X, I figured I'd share something I've learned. Sometimes, the RAM cart doesn't work with the 32X, but it's not as obvious as the cart not being recognized. Instead, the cart shows as present but empty. And it still saves games, but tends to erase or corrupt whatever you had on the cart previously. And of course when you come back later the save may show as gone. I discovered this a couple of years ago when I decided to disconnect my 32X. I popped in a RAM cart I had long thought dead and incapable of holding data. Instead I was greeted by saves from decades ago I had thought long lost. I rehooked the 32X in and suddenly the cart was recognized but showed as empty. I think this is why StoneAgeGamer says their RAM cart doesn't work with the 32X. If memory serves, that cart behaves the same way when a 32X is hooked up. Because of this, I no longer use the 32X with the Sega CD. I have two Genesis systems, one with a CD and the other with the 32X.

It also came with SmartBASIC on digital datasette. I recall coding a lot of goofy little programs until something about my ADAM fritzed out and it would only boot to a non-functional version of the typewriter. I played lots of Buck Rogers during the months to a year that the thing worked.

My Atari VCS came with Combat. I liked the Tank games, but hardly ever had anyone to play with. When friends were over to play Atari, no one ever wanted to play Combat and the whole cartridge was seen as a lame throwaway. My Atari 5200 came with Super Breakout. I was so happy to have a 5200 that I was even happy to play Super Breakout. After I had a couple more games, though, I hardly ever loaded it again. It wasn't mine, but I very vividly recall that when my stepdad bought a NES, it came with a bare Super Mario Bros cart with no box or instructions. I remember playing the game and not being too impressed other than how the graphics seemed arcade quality. When I got my Sega Genesis it came with Sonic the Hedgehog. I remember I had initially intended to purchase a system without a pack-in, but my best friend convinced me to buy the one with Sonic. It worked out, because I ended up really liking the game. When I got my model 1 Sega CD it had a lot of packins. It had a 5 in one game disc with Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Revenge of Shinobi, Columns, and ... some other game I don't recall. I still have that disc somewhere around here. It also came with Sol-Feace, Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, and some kind of CD+G disc. When I got a 3DO there was some kind of special deal where it came with some games. I know it came with an Interactive Sampler disc, of which the only thing that stood out was an utterly horrible minigame called Racing in Hell or something like that. Total Eclipse was also included. I also got Star Control II and Need for Speed along with it, but I don't recall if they were part of the special deal or a separate purchase.

I played some Juno First, Enduro, and Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator the other day. All are 2600 versions via my 7800. Enduro just strikes my fancy lately. I guess it's technically just one long track over and over, but it feels like an endless road with endless passing, and that was the itch I needed scratched. I guess it's just that for me the track is just long enough and the different sections (regular, ice, dusk, and night) camoflage it enough that it doesn't seem like the same laps over and over. It's very much like Turbo (arcade/CV) which I also like, but Turbo really requires the CV Steering wheel (not fond of the joystick hack) and my accellerator is broken. The one problem with Enduro is that a game does seem to last a bit long. I guess it is called Enduro, but I never play more than one game at a time because it just starts to wear out it's welcome after four or five laps. That's not a huge strike against the game, just an explanation of why I don't binge play it. Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator is an old favorite of mine. I used to play it all the time on the 5200. Nowadays, when I get the urge to play I tend to just settle for the 2600 version. The CV version (or MAME) may be more arcade accurate, but the 2600/5200 variants of the game are the ones I grew up playing and the ones I get the most feels from. Anyway, I've played a few games of the 2600 version lately. I haven't been doing all that great, only scoring in the 500K range. I know I'm capable of the 700K range on this version. Maybe I just need to spend some time with it. Regardless, I've been having fun even though I haven't been anywhere in the running for my high score. Finally, there's Juno First. This has become something of a favorite for me. I don't know anything about the arcade original, but the 2600 port strikes me as a perfect 2600 game. It scratches that same urge that frantic games like Defender do. I actually finally got into the 100K range in score the other day, a new high for me. I may play some more after hitting post.

The first video game I ever played was probably a Kee Games Tank machine of some type which I encountered at a carnival. I remember liking it, but it didn't set me on fire or anything. That's also the first arcade game I ever played. The first arcade game I was truly in love with and addicted to was Space Encounters. The first home game I played was Target Fun on a Sears Tele Games. They had it set up in the garden center. One of the store associates ripped the controller out of my hands while playing because "it wasn't for kids." The first home game I saw in a demo and lusted after was Quest for the Rings for the Odyssey 2. I wanted that game SOOO BAD. I would stand in Dillards in front of the demo and just stare at it in awe. The first home games I owned were Combat, Missile Command,and Laser Blast for the Atari 2600. I can't recall if I played Missile Command or Combat first. Missile Command had been a favorite of mine down at the local 7-11, but I wasn't consciously aware of it's title (it was just the game with the ball). So, I was overjoyed to realize that now I could play it at home.

Yeah... I don't get it either.

I guess the biggest question is whether you want to play the light gun games. If that doesn't matter, then the display option loses all criteria beyond what is most convenient. If the light guns do matter, then you really need a CRT with an absolute minimum 19" diagnal (25" or more is preferable) hooked up through RCA cables. I have a couple of original model Playstations. They still work but one of them needs to be flipped over to work. I haven't used them as regular workhorses in decades. I have a PS One, but it is barely used. It's been so minimally touched that it still looks new in package. Ideally, you'd want to use one of those two consoles. They have the highest compatibility. Any other option is going to have compatibility with a handful of games. That said, a fat PS2 served my PS1 functions for a long time. There were only a tiny handful of games which I had compatibility issues with. It also served well playing my beloved Guncon games. The Slim PS2 functioned just as well. I don't recall any additional issues with PS1 games on that system that the fat PS2 already suffered from. Of course, I lost the ability to play Guncon games because of changing to an LCD monitor and Component cables with the system. The PS3 is yet another step down for PS1 games. There are a few more compatibility issues. For example, Road Rash locks up after the level 1 tracks are complete. Tekken 3's graphics are garbled. Gekioh Shooting King doesn't play the music. Mostly, it's just oddball little compatibility things like that. And of course it's impossible to play Guncon games on the PS3. My personal opinion is that a fat or slim PS2 hooked up to big CRT is the best way to go. But it really depends on what you want to play and how often you'll be playing it.

bumping. But sorry. Can't help you. This is actually the first time I've ever heard of being able to unlock 99 lives on this disc. I never would have run across it accidentally because all I ever played on it were Gyruss and Time Pilot. The only advice I can give on Super Cobra is that it's a memorization game (if I'm thinking of the correct game). Just keep memorizing and git gud. Yeah, I know that's no help, but that's all I got.

It's been a long time since I played the original Apple II versions. The only ones I've played within the past decade are the NES and DOS versions. I have a translated SNES rom buried somewhere (it may actually be on my SD2SNES), but I never put any real time into it. I really need to change that, because it looks so awesome. My recollection is that it's generally better to switch classes early, so you can start leveling up and getting the enhanced abilities. However, it depends on how far you are into the game and what you're doing. My stepdad would grind levels for days to level up a character just to change the class when the character got to a high level. I think you keep half your HPs from your previous class, so that was how you got big HP totals. I enjoyed the PS3 Wizardry game, because I'm a savescumming little cheat. I never knew the DOS version had a bug. I think I played it a fair bit, but the NES version was just more accessible.

Klonoa, Parasite Eve, Suikoden, and Raystorm would have been vastly better choices than a good number of games which did make it. Ridge Racer would have been much more nostalgic than R4. They could even have used the 60FPS Ridge Racer included with the R4 package. I'm sad with how this turned out, but then again I didn't order it or any of the other recent mini consoles.

I quit using my Xbox 360 years ago in large part because of the dashboard update. Instead of being a layer to enable me to easily access and play my games, it felt like an obstacle I had to work around. It was simply unpleasant to even power it on. I don't know what the Xbone dash is like. I have no interest in finding out. Microsoft made their bed with that one. Even PS4 crossbar devolved from the PS3 version.

Well, that's the Australian store. I don't have a PS Store account in that region. Nor have I put my JP store profile on my PS4, as I haven't yet researched the implications that has on the PS4. I guess I need to set up a Singapore account eventually. All these different zones are stupid.

I need to get the Shock Troopers games on PS4. I like those. I wish Blazing Star was available in the PS Store.

Took advantage of the sale to get Injustice 2 Legendary Edition, and played through story mode. Netherrealm has definitely mastered the fighting game story mode. I feel like I got my $18 worth just from that alone. Then I saw the loot boxes. Ugh. Also picked up Final Fantasy VII and played a little bit. I want to get back into it and do a full playthru. I guess I'll see if I can commit. I saw the announcement for Super Robot Wars T. Most of it was kinda meh. Still no Macross. But Captain Harlock will be in it with the Arcadia, so that will be cool. I'm looking forward to that one. To be honest, the only reason I bought a PS4 was so I could play the next installment of the Super Robot Wars series, so it's good to see that it's actually coming to the PS4.

Well, what did you decide? I have the original DW7 for PS1 around here somewhere, but I've never played it. I didn't bother with 9. I recall something about the description of it made it seem like it wasn't something I'd care for. I'd go for DW7 on the PS1 just for the merit of playing it on a full size screen instead of a portable.

I had a fat 60G model. It died. I bought it very close to launch, so late 2006 or early 2007. Looking back at old posts, it looks like it died somewhere in late 2009 or early 2010. So it gave me about three years. I had a Slim model. The disc drive died. I could still play downloaded games and use it in every other way, but I couldn't play discs of any type: PS1, PS3, DVDs, Blu Rays, CDs. I bought it almost immediately after the old one died, so let's say 2010. It died in mid 2013. I remember I had just got one of the later JP Blu Ray volumes of Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and discovered it wouldn't play, prompting me to have to replace the system. So, I guess it was in service for about 3 and a half years. I currently have a SuperSlim. It is still performing admirably. It has been my primary console since at least August of 2013, so five years.

Out of curiosity, does Sega Ages: Lightening Force still have the 99 ships option?

Bumping this topic because I'm toying with the idea of giving Valkyria Chronicles another shot with the remaster. When I first played Valkyria Chronicles on the PS3, I enjoyed the visual style. It was also a very different kind of tactical RPG, and it was different in a fairly interesting way. I enjoyed the basic gameplay. The characters were... OK. Most of them were fairly disposable, but the mains were passable. The story was OK, but nothing special. But it was a TRPG and with me those are all about the battles (I often entirely skip the story in TRPGs, because they're often so bad). The problems cropped up in the battles themselves. They were what I'd call "programmed". They weren't set up in such a way that you could approach them in different ways. There was one optimum way to do them with required complete foreknowledge of everything in the scenario. Playing the battle in a way different from that resulted in failure. Probably the worst one of these was a side mission where I was supposed to defend a base from being infiltrated by any enemies. The catch was all the enemies were scouts with maxed out movement range and every single one of them were hidden. Winning the map required foreknowledge of where all the enemy scouts were hidden, because if the player missed a single one it was an automatic loss because they'd get into your base because their evasions were so high that overwatch fire was ineffective against them. There was one way to win that battle, and it was to follow a walkthrough. I found most of the battles poorly designed and overly tedious. I gave up on the game when presented with a huge map with tons of switches I had to hit to win. But it's been a few years. I might try to approach it with a fresh perspective, but that's not really what my post is about. For those who have picked up and played Valkyria Chronicles 4, has Sega fixed the battles so they're not a load of bullshit? Can you actually play them like a TRPG now instead of like a very elaborate Dragon's Lair game where you have to do the same actions in a very specific programmed order? That was really my only problem with the original game. I felt like it was a long one of those tutorials where you have to do a certain thing or you can't continue, and that was the whole game. If they've changed the battles so they're actually a battle now instead of puzzle to find the one correct solution, then I'd be interested in the sequel.

I don't like Sonic 3 or Sonic & Knuckles. While I liked Sonic CD back in the day, my current opinion is that it's a game with serious flaws. That said, Sonic 1 and 2 are great. My current opinion of Sonic Mania is that it's pure joy condensed into videogame form. I would have definitely preferred SoR4's visuals to follow the Sonic Mania template. Then again, there's always Streets of Rage Remake, which honestly, I feel makes this upcoming SoR4 completely redundant and irrelevant.

I played the Genesis version. I didn't like it. It was one of those where it was clear that it just wasn't a game I'd enjoy.

I picked up Demons Crystals, and have been playing it off and on. I find it an addictive little twin stick shooter. It's fun to play in short bursts. It's cheap too. I recommend it. I've been playing Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair. I'm excited about the new upcoming EDF game. I purchased Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force when it was on sale recently. I had the PS3 version but I quit it early on for some reason. I dunno what all has changed, but I'm liking this PS4 version of the game. I play it in 1 and 2 hour bursts and I'm enjoying it so far.

Lightening Force (Thunder Force IV) Raystorm

I think gamers are finally becoming aware of what the PS-TV is. It was so poorly promoted that I didn't know it even existed, and even then I thought it was some kind of Netflix box for Sony's video service. I had no idea it was a game box until after I had purchased a PS Vita. Then even if one does realize the PS-TV is a Vita system, the Vita had a long reputation for games being cack. But once you realize that the library is so much better than anyone gives it credit for, and the system lets you play Vita, PSP, and PS1 games on your TV with a tiny footprint then it starts showing it's worth quickly. It's also worth noting that it's a tremendous RPG system, a genre well known for fans who aren't shy about throwing money around. And all this is before someone hacks it. It's a fantastic box. I had always intended to get another or two, but now I guess I'm too late.