Satoshi Matrix

Where do you guys buy pirate GameBoy games? I'd like to get my hands on a few.

Wow, even as a retro gamer I'm ashamed to admit I know only a small fraction of these. "how many dots are there in a pac-man board?" Who counts that?! I'm sure most Pac-Man Arcade OWNERS don't know that!

Thank you both for saying this. When I started I thought to myself "okay. So there's plenty of people reviewing and talking about retro videogames. There are even top 100 NES game lists already. How can I make my list stand out?" My solution: make it visually interesting, make it informed, and make it superior to everything else out there. You don't have to agree with my rankings or picks or anything. Again, this is "Satoshi Matrix's Top 100 NES/Famicom games that still matter", meaning its specifically what I think. I lay out my reasoning for each game and why I feel it should be on the list but hey, if you don't agree with something I said feel free to tell me why and what you think and why. That's why I post on discussion boards like this.

Hey guys, been super busy lately and I know you've been waiting for this, so here's the long awaited Top 100 NES Games Part 8, #29-20 Enjoy and feel free to leave your lovely feedback!

People automatically always assume that electronics and water don't mix. That's not true. It's powered electronics + water that don't mix! I wouldn't advise using a dishwasher to clean much of anything, but if you've got something that's especially dirty and needs cleaning, like others have suggested take a tub of higher than room temperature but not boiling hot water and soap and let everything soak for a good while before cleaning with soft brushes and old toothbrushes. Once your circuitry is clean, let it dry for a MINIMUM of three days - a week is recommended. You want to make sure all water and soap residue is removed before powered it back up.

Hey guys, you may know me from my youtube channel or my blog that I'm a big retro gamer. As I continue to write the top 100 NES games of all time on my blog, I got an email from a subscriber who suggested I start my own podcast. Thinking it over, I consulted my gamer friends for their inputs and asked around in various forums for some advice and well, I've decided to give it a go. I've produced this prototype episode of what may be a podcast. Before I create an itunes or rrs feed, I just want to see what people think and if I should actually bother to do this kind of thing. I'm thinking I'd do a bi-weekly (possibly weekly) podcast to begin with and see what people think. So with some feedback I've received I've tried to make this as good as possible, but keep in mind I'm new at this and find balancing volume levels difficult, but I did try my best. For now, please let me know your thoughts. http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FDOTYXHH

You should've seen what I got BEFORE posting anything!

I'm not exactly sure, but it couldn't have been too many years prior to then.

I picked up a vintage TV yesterday off kijiji that was too cool to ignore, but I need some help from tv experts to help me figure out what I have to get the most from it. I got a Panasonic 24" Color TV from 1984 that's loaded with features. I have no doubt in my mind that this would have been one EXPENSIVE tv back then. The TV in case anyone can find any info other than replacement parts is a Panasonic PC-26K79RS. So check this tv out! it's a 24" CRT with a silica glass screen bezel! I've never seen anything like that outside of arcade cabinets! and it's in such good shape after all these years! This TV oddly has some sort of windowed vents on each side of the tv I presume are speaker vents that angle the soundwaves towards the viewer? This is what caught my eye. Notice where it says RGB? The back of the TV. Check out all the inputs this thing has! The right side of the TV has two sets of composite inputs (the first is on the right side) and two others I have no idea what they are/do: "Through Out" and "Program Out". Can anyone help me figure out what these are? Also note that it's got hookups for external speakers. Pretty cool. Here's the real star of this show - an RGB Panel Box(!). I don't pretend to be anything of an expert on RGB via tvs, but I know that whatever this is it isn't SCART. I have so many questions about this I don't know where to begin. There's a switch between RGB (TEXT) and RGB (TTL). I've learned that TTL was digital, 16/64-colour, and the Text display is, as analog RGB. TTL used fixed colour ranges, whereas analogue RGB allowed any using part of the video spectrum. SO given that, is it possible to modify or create some sort of adapter that allows me to get RGB from say, an SNES through a modified SCART cable or perhaps a component cabled system through RGB? I want to use this RGB (TEXT) function for beautiful RGB retro gaming bliss somehow. At the very least, could I modify an S-video input to take advantage of it at all? Another question - what is the olive green 8 pin connector? What about all those other inputs? What about the YM and YS ports? the more info I can get on everything this panel box does the better! I'm crossing my fingers I'll somehow be able to use this to perhaps get some RGB system to work. Perhaps there's some sort of TTL to SCART adapter? In any case I just want to figure out what I got. T\ Oh and I've also got two videos showcasing this tv in action. the second one is much better than the first, so watch the second one first. Video 1 Video 2 Thanks for any help in advance!

Wooo! Busy me finally finished the next entry in my continuing look back at the top 100 NES and Famicom games of all time. Here's part 7, #39-30 As always, feel free to leave your thoughts both in this thread and in the comments section of the post itself. Enjoy!

the great thing with this adapter is that you can map it to whatever configuration you like and save up to four of your own unique mappings as well.

Here's a look at the awesome adapter that lets you use a GameCube controller on the N64. This thing is pretty damn cool.

Hey guys, I'm not dead yet! Just been super busy with school and my best friend's wedding. I've finally finished the next entry so here's part 6, #49-40 I hope you enjoy!

Alright guys. After a delay I tried to avoid, I've got the next part finally finished. Here's part 5, #59-50 I hope you enjoy! Be sure to leave your comments. I love hearing from you guys.

Sorry about the delay guys! Here's part 4, #69-60 Enjoy!

the train keeps on rollin'. Here's part 3, #79-70. http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/top-100-nesfamicom-games-list-79-70/ I hope you enjoy and discover some hidden classics you might have missed the first time around!

Here's part 2 of my ongoing look back on the best of the best for the NES and Famicom. Here's #89-80. Hope you guys enjoy and maybe learn of some hidden gems! http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/08/20/top-100-nesfamicom-games-list-89-80/

Hey AA, I've started what will be an ongoing series as I count down my personal top 100 NES/Famicom games list. Yes, there are already plenty of NES top 10?s, top 25?s and even top 100 lists all over the net. So why should you care about my top 100 list? My aim here was to make a unique list that goes beyond simply my picks and my thoughts about them. This list was carefully crafted based on my experience of well over seven hundred individual titles for both the NES and Famicom. My criteria for this list was based on three factors – Overall appeal, uniqueness, and how well each have aged. This list will include every kind of software ever written for the hardware, whether it be NES, Famicom, unlicensed, prototype, homebrew or Hong Kong original pirate – if it was sold in some forum, it's fair game for this list. The only type of games I have excluded are hacks of existing games. While many of these are incredible, I may at some point in the future write a separate list for these alone. So here's part 1, #100-90. I will be continuing to work on this series with ten games per post. I hope you enjoy and discover some hidden classics you might have missed the first time around! http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/top-100-nesfamicom-games-list-100-90/

Hey guys, its been a good while since I last put up a review, so I thought I should try for something a little controversial this time. The game I choose for review was Dark Void, a game my gaming peers seems to have hated, but I enjoyed quite a bit. Agree? Disagree? Fall somewhere in between? Let me hear about it. Anyway guys, enjoy! http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/dark-void-review-ps3x360/

Review time. Here's a look at the newly released Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection for PSP. Is it worth a look? You bet it is! http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/final-fantasy-iv-review-psp/ Enjoy!

After a good amount of time preparing it, I've finished a review for one of my favorite NES gems, Power Blade. Hope you guys enjoy. http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/power-blade-review-nes/

Hey all, I'm still fairly new here but you may know me from racketboy, Famicom World, digitalpress, the cover project or another site. If not, nice to meet everyone! Given that there's a great community here around retro and modern gaming I figured I should share with you something I've been working on for more than a year now - my series of game reviews! Now I know, reviewers are dime a dozen. There's tons of people out there who talk about classic gaming. To set myself apart, I try to put as much care and detail into each of my reviews as possible to give the reader the most informative outlook on a game I can. I like to think of it like RetrowareTV in text form! This isn't really intended as a plug for my work as much as it is just wanting you guys to check out some of my work and generate some discussion. In many cases I write reviews for the games I do because there just aren't any reviews out for some of them and the ones that do have I just felt like voicing my own opinions on. As I'm a student for journalism and I pride myself at writing, hopefully you guys might like my approach. Retro gaming is my true passion. I'm based out of Canada, so I write from a Canadian perspective so please keep that in mind. This is my site: http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/ Anyway, this is what I've amassed in written reviews from oldest to newest: The Great Giana Sisters (Commodore 64) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/the-great-giana-sisters-and-giana-sisters-ds-review/ Giana Sisters DS (Nintendo DS) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/72/ Pocket Monsters HeartGold (Nintendo DS) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/pocket-monsters-heartgold-import-review/ Shantae (Gameboy Color) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/shantae-review/ Monster Attack (Playstation 2) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/monster-attack-review/ Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (Xbox 1) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/06/19/dreamfall-the-longest-journey-review-xboxpc/ Pokémon HeartGold (Nintendo DS) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/pokemon-heartgoldsoul-silver-review/ Heavy Rain (Playstation 3) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/07/02/heavy-rain-review-ps3/ Famicom Wars (Famicom) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/famicom-wars-review-fc/ Megaman 1 (NES) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/megaman-1-review-nes/ Global Defense Force (Playstation 2) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/global-defense-force-review-ps2/ Megaman 2 (NES) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/megaman-2-review-nes/ Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: The Game (PSN) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/08/29/scott-pilgrim-vs-the-world-the-game-review-psn/ Robot Alchemic Drive (Playstation 2) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/r-a-d-robot-alchemic-drive-review-ps2/ Megaman 3 (NES) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/09/26/megaman-3-review-nes/ Katamari Damacy Review (Playstation 2) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/katamari-damacy-review-ps2/ Fallout: New Vegas Review (Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/fallout-new-vagas-review-ps3xbox-360pc/ Pocket Monsters Black/White Review (Nintendo DS) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/pocket-monsters-black-import-review-ds/ Earth Defense Force 2017 Review (Xbox 360) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/earth-defense-force-2017-review-xbox-360/ VS Super Mario Bros. Review (NES) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/vs-super-mario-bros-review-nes/ Megaman 4 Review (NES) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/11/19/megaman-4-review-nes/ Retron 3 three in one clone system v1 (NES/SNES/Genesis) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/hyperkin-retron-3-review/ Tales of Symphonia Review (GC) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/tales-of-symphonia-review-gamecube/ Kirby's Adventure Review (NES) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/12/04/kirbys-adventure-review-nes/ Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril Review (NES) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/12/06/battle-kid-fortress-of-paril-review-nes/ Famicom Detective Club Part 2: The Girl in Back Review (Super Famicom) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/famicom-detective-club-part-2-the-girl-in-back-review-super-famicom/ Air Fortress Review (NES) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/12/17/air-fortress-review-nes/ NES & SNES Retro Ports from Retrozone Review http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/retroports-from-retrozone-review/ Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate Review (Xbox) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/12/23/dead-or-alive-2-ultimate-review-xbox/ Super Mario Bros. 2...Christmas Edition Review (NES) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/12/25/super-mario-bros-2-christmas-edition-nes/ Megaman 5 Review (NES) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/12/27/megaman-5-review-nes/ Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon Review (Wii) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/fragile-dreams-farewell-ruins-of-the-moon-review-wii/ Gradius Review (NES) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/gradius-review-nes/ Yobo FC 16 GO Portable SNES Video review Fatal Frame/Project Zero (Xbox and PlayStation 2) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/fatal-frame-1-review-xboxps2-2/ Time Gal (Sega/Mega CD) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/time-gal-review-sega-cd/ VVVVVV (PC/Mac) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/vvvvvv-review-macpc/ Megaman: Dr. Wily's Revenge (GB) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/megaman-dr-wilys-revenge-review-gb/ GameAxe Color Video Review (handheld Famiclone) F-Zero (SNES) Note for future reference: katakana not play nice with English urls! http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/02/05/f-zero-%E3%82%A8%E3%83%95%E3%82%BC%E3%83%AD-review-snes/ Arcana Heart (PS2) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/02/06/arcana-heart-review-ps2-2/ Warlocked (GBC) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/warlocked-review-gbc-3/ Retro Duo Video Review (SNES/NES clone console) NES/Famicom Starting Guide http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/nesfamicom-starting-guide/ Tenchu Z Review (Xbox 360) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/tenchu-z-review-xbox-360-2/ Top 25 GameBoy/GameBoy Color games http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/top-25-gameboygameboy-color-games/ and here's my newest review. Returning to an oldschool style of gameplay in Ikari Warriors, this is now one of my favorite DS games. Little Red Ridinghood's Zombie BBQ Review (DS) http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/05/03/little-red-ridinghoods-zombie-bbq-review-ds/ Let me know what you guys think! Hopefully I'll get a few new subscribers but I'm mostly seeking discussion about these various games.

Sorry for the wait. Here's some photos of the entire lot. All 14 games H.E.R.O proto(?) compared to Kaboom for the 2600, also by Activision Comparison of the edge connectors. H.E.R.O on top. The back of the H.E.R.O proto. Pitfall II also looks exactly like this. Here's Pitfall II. It lacks the extra info H.E.R.O has, but considering it's age, the top sticker could well have simply fell off and I didn't notice it. H.E.R.O and Pitfall II carts The tops of both H.E.R.O and Pitfall II completely lack end labels. Most of the others say <- Left Cartridge. Not these. So this presents the question: Do I have two prototypes here? They look so very different from the others.

That would be great, but I don't actually live in Toronto, I was merely there visiting family. I actually live closer to St. Catharines. That's probably further than you're willing to travel, but hey, the invitation does stand if you've got a Atari 800 to test these on. Does anyone here know how to open up Atari 400/800 cartridges? I see they're held together by a single screw, but even unscrewing that doesn't make the cartridge come apart. I really would like to take a peek inside the cart, but I can't figure it out. The shell is the same with the other commercial dirt common games like Qix or Donkey Kong. More images to come..and you what guys? As weird as it seems, I wonder if the copy of Pitfall 2 I've got here is also a protoype? It's got a very different label than I would expect to see. More pics forthcoming.

I dont even have an Atari 800, much less the equipment to dump it. Do you have any idea of the value?