Ports you want to see be on the Jaguar

[Ports you want to see be on the Jaguar]

I would love a decent board game.

[Systems That Are Easy To Get A Complete Library]

On 6/20/2020 at 7:49 AM, Blazing Lazers said:

Studio II is probably the easiest US set to complete, assuming that TV Bingo wasn't released at any RCA dealerships. Given the 99.6% certainty that it wasn't, Studio II has only 10 games and three rarest still come up on Ebay plenty of times per year. Cost isn't an issue, either- you can buy most of the library for the original retail prices of $15-$20, which if you adjust for inflation means they've gotten cheaper over time! Including a boxed system, the whole set can be completed for around $300-$400. 

 

If you're a variant collector, Studio II is still easy. There's only 2 different US system boxes, and only 3 major game box variants. 

 

 

 

 

I like this answer because it puts an approximate total price. Because, I conflate 'easy' with 'cheapest'. What is being discussed here truly breaks down to cost. If something is rather cheap, it will be easy to acquire. 

 

 

[Rayman: Rare or merely sought after?]

19 hours ago, leech said:

To be fair, the SNES games new were 60-80 dollars...  so at least they seem to have just bounced back to 90s prices. 

I was certain Rayman was a common game, but according to AtariAge, it has a Rarity if 6 (Rare+).

I am still stuck on the level with magical notes!

Rayman gets harder and harder. I did a %100 completion on it years ago and it was one of the most frustrating experiences. There are hidden electoon cages that require blind leaps of faith to find, those were the most difficult. Worth playing just for the gorgeous sprites though, it never lets up on the graphics.

[Rayman: Rare or merely sought after?]

Really, the only cheap Rayman original right now, is the PS1 greatest hits version. If you check ebay, the US Saturn version recently sold for $135, and a PS1 longbox version of Rayman sold for $69. That's pretty high. I think the game has garnered enough of a good reputation over the years to make it sought after, but not rare, similar to good shmups.

 

There's also the fact that Ubisoft keeps making new Rayman games, so who knows, that might spark interest in the old stuff too.

[The Official Sega Saturn Thread!]

On 6/6/2020 at 2:43 AM, Steven Pendleton said:

Yeah, I've been thinking of maybe picking up Metal Slug. It's MUCH cheaper here than it is on the AES and it seems to run pretty well. Too bad MVS version is cheaper than Saturn, but I also do not have a converter for MVS carts yet, so maybe Saturn would still be cheaper. Still, games are almost always (but sometimes not) cheaper in town than online, so maybe Saturn is a good option for Metal Slug.

 

The white Saturns are cool, but they can turn yellow, unfortunately, like the Famicom and PC Engine. If you have a nice one in good condition, though, those are beautiful systems.

 

Honestly, I'd probably put a MODE in there, and you might be able to make up the cost of the MODE if you are planning on selling your other Saturn anyway.

There's only one Metal Slug worth buying and that is the Metal Slug Anthology for PS2. I used to have 3 different Slugs on AES, sold them, and the PS2 port is fine and it has 7 games on it including the Atomiswave game. I see no reason other than collector purposes to delve into other ports. 

[Gwent: The Witcher Card Game]

Played the beta, didn't care for it enough to play seriously.

[Dreamcast controller: Was it any good?]

I think it was/is a terrible controller. Ergonomically it was a disaster IMHO. For instance, the hand grips point straight down, which is not actually a natural fit for your wrists. I believe this affects the triggers as well, because I always feel like I'm straining my hand to hold the controller while putting a finger on the trigger.

 

The cord coming out of the bottom, another terrible decision. This must have been a design decision caused by the VMU slots. This is almost always noted, so it goes without saying really. Yeah, they put a clip in the back so you could hold it close to the controller like you do with the cord on some upright vacuum sweepers, or how a squirrel curls its tail up its backside. But, you lose a good 6 inches of length doing  this, which can make the difference between buying an extension cable or not.

 

I don't find the analog stick to be very durable either, and it doesn't have good grip. Then there was the VMU, egads, talk about the gimmick apparatus device of all time. Built to annoy everyone with a couple weeks of battery life, and they chose a non-rechargeable battery type in the CR2032, which themselves haven't traditionally been as easy to acquire as AAA, nor as cheap.  

[Evercade?!]

It's back to being unavailable on Amazon.

[Magical Fairy Force: Demo video]

Nice looking game! Thanks for the video.

[Jaguar was way ahead of its time with how game saving worked..]

1 hour ago, Austin said:

They sort of did. Working VMU batteries are not a requirement to retain Dreamcast game save files, unlike the Saturn.

Yeah you just have to put up with loud BEEEEEEEEEP!!!! every time you power up the system, when the batteries in the VMU are dead. My microwave is less annoying.

[Jaguar was way ahead of its time with how game saving worked..]

Interesting list, I don't own a single one of those on cartridge. No wonder I wasn't aware of them having non-battery save features. I think the OP's point is a good one though, as Atari didn't put a single battery in any Jaguar game, or any other game cartridge they ever produced aside from the 7800 High Score Cartridge (That I'm aware of).

[Jaguar was way ahead of its time with how game saving worked..]

21 minutes ago, Chilly Willy said:

Lots of games used EEPROMs back then. I wouldn't say it was the most common type, but plenty of 8 and 16 bit games from Sega and Nintendo used EEPROMs. The biggest reasons why more didn't were size and price: EEPROMs were tiny (measured in bits, not bytes), and very expensive. It was much cheaper to use an sram and a battery than an EEPROM. It also gave you far more save memory.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but name some SNES and Genesis games that used EEPROMS to save games. Because, I've replaced tons of batteries in many of the most popular titles of the day. Games such as Donkey Kong Country, Super Punchout, Zelda: Link To The Past, Super Mario World, Super Mario All-Stars, SimCity and Final Fantasy III just as examples. Those are all AAA software titles by the big developers. If anyone could afford to use EEPROMS (if price was indeed a factor), it would have been Nintendo and Square don't you think?

 

Actually, I can't think of a single SNES game that has a save feature that didn't have a battery. If the game didn't have a battery, it has a really annoying password feature. Lucas Arts games used a password save, so did Electronic Arts with their Strike series. Konami used a password for Castlevania IV.

[What are your top Atari 5200 to get hold of but haven’t yet?]

I kind of want Dreadnaught Factor. I still have a bunch of 8-bit conversions on my wish list too. The 5200 collection is solid otherwise.

[Which System Do You Have The Most Games For?]

I have over 300 for the 2600. I'm very happy with my overall  game collection, which is very well rounded in the systems I do have. 

 

The original Xbox and Steel Battalion is the only system I keep around for a single game.

[Currently Playing / About to Start.. ?]

Book Of Demons. I guess this game has been on steam for a couple of years. It's new to Xbox. What the game is, a mish mash of action rpg and cards. It's like playing the original Diablo with Paper Mario graphics, combined with the difficulty and item collecting of Darkest Dungeon (and Diablo). 

 

Your character is limited to walking on preset pathways, and you use the right thumbstick to highlight enemies you want to attack and objects you want to interact with, even though those things are located way off the path. You dont actually have to touch things with your character, its hard to explain. There's also randomness galore, which I always enjoy. 

[Do you wear video game themed or inspired clothes?]

Was the Atari mug a mail-in item? 

[Physical, digital or streaming?]

I can only speak as an Xbox owner, and I buy physical if possible but most of the indie games are digital, so thats fine I guess. What I don't understand, is why can't a physical game owner enjoy the same convenience that the digital owner has? I'm still installing the game on the hard drive of the console, so why does the disc have to be present to play the game? 

 

That is what I enjoy most about having digital games, not having to go through the process of inserting the disc and updating the key etc... Is this just another manipulation to get us to stop buying physical media? 

[Evercade?!]

This thing was definitely designed to appeal to collectors, with the uniform packaging, and the cartridges etc. I definitely have a collector part of my gaming side, so I feel drawn to this. That doesn't mean I'm going to buy it though.

[What's the latest games you've played on your Wii U?]

Started to play Shovel Knight this week. I bought this when it was new in 2016, and then life threw me a curveball and this game got shelved and forgotten. When I popped it in there was a huge update, and all of a sudden it was called Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove!

 

Ok, a free expansion, that's great! So far I've beaten 3 of the bosses, and a couple of side bosses like the guy in the hat store. This game is just fun, period. It's got classic level design and features, but not nearly as maddening in difficulty like an original NES game. 

 

I'm really happy about the free upgrade, did I mention that?

[What Are Some Strange Ports Of Games?]

I wanted to say ESWAT for the Genesis, but it doesn't really compare to the great examples you guys mentioned. I think ESWAT might just end up in a discussion about bad ports, not strange ports.

[What's the latest games you've played on your Wii U?]

I just bought Volgar The Viking for $0.99 on the WiiU eshop. Also bought some game called KungFu Fight for $2.49. 

 

Volgar is fun but extremely difficult. Its a must buy for $1 though!

[BEAT-EM-UP: The Thread]

Night Slashers looks interesting, perhaps I'll see if that is on my old Xbox. I played one called Cadillacs and Dinasaurs last weekend.

[BEAT-EM-UP: The Thread]

On 4/7/2020 at 10:38 AM, Cynicaster said:

I suppose comparisons to Kung Fu Master are appropriate if not inevitable, but for whatever reason I still really enjoy Kung Fu Master and play it all the time.   

 

 

I have always enjoyed Kung Fu Master and even more so to Vigilante. I wouldn't critique KFM with the same criteria as Bad Dudes, because it has a certain innocence about it, being so much older of a game. It's like, you can't really complain too much about Space Invaders ya know?

 

 

[Which System In Your Collection Are You Most likely To Sell/Trade?]

Dreamcast. It's one of the newest additions to my collection (within last 5 years), so it holds the least nostalgic grip. 

[BEAT-EM-UP: The Thread]

I played some Bad Dudes VS. Dragon Ninja, from Data East. This is an early beat-em-up, but honestly, it's kind of terrible. I think I put a few quarters into this machine way way back. It's not much of an evolution from Kung Fu Master and Vigilante. The fighting is on a straight 2D plane, making your movements very restricted. The big difference is that there is usually an upper and lower platform to do combat, similar to Shinobi or Rolling Thunder.

 

 

The selection of moves to perform are few. Meanwhile, every enemy, other than bosses, will die with one hit. This combination makes for a particularly boring game. One-hit kills really defeats the purpose of beating people up. I only played 2 levels of this the other day, and the only positive I came away with was fighting against Karnov as the level 1 boss. A couple of gamers could have some quick fun with this as a 2-player game, if they wanted to waste 15-20 minutes. They'd be begging for it to end before that time is up I'll bet.