JB

In it's defense... Parker Brothers had a nice cart shell?

eBay. For 2 organs and one limb of your choice. Sony discontinued that model a while back for the XBR970. Videophiles promptly snatched up the remaining units to ensure they got a best display ever while it was still available. They are now a hot commodity. I'm using an old presentation monitor. 32" Mitsubishi monstrosity. Affectionately nicknamed Screenzilla. I wouldn't really recommend it, as you have to crawl behind it and physically flip a switch to toggle between composite and s-video. ... Unless the second composite connector isn't tied to the switch. My Video 2 input doesn't work(unless there's something huge I missed somewhere). It's also disappointing for my 360, as 1. I had to construct an adapter to interface the existing RGB inputs(5 BNC or non-standard DB15, your choice) to my 360 VGA cable, and 2. it only does up to 800*600. 360 doesn't believe in that res, so it runs at 640*480. But at least I get progressive scan unlike SOME systems(glares at XBox 1).

I prefer composite myself. PS1 is too dependent on dithering to look decent through s-video.

You have NO idea. Super Cobra is one of the worst games available, input-wise. It has NO dead zone in the stick and NO calibration routine. Which means that you will veer wildly back and forth constantly. On the upside, you wouldn't have played it for an hour. Probably not even 5 minutes. I know I didn't.

No, in fact the PS2 Slim isn't even 100% compatible with all the PS2 games. The PS3 has worse backwards compatibility than Xbox360, and I believe it's now only in the 80GB model. Previously in the (discontinued) 60GB it was done via hardware, but now it's a software emulator with the quirks that implies. PS2 Slim breaks what, two PS2 games? It's about 95-98% compatible with PS1 games. Later revisions are MORE compatible with PS1 games, as chipset refinements removed a few bugs from the original version. A notable example I had someone call out to me is a transparency issue in the 10000-30000 model range(all the units with the Firewire/i.Link/IEEE 1394 port). It prevents 100% transparency from working right, so objects that are supposed to fade out completely are always barely there. Oh, don't get me wrong, I agree with you. It's not much of an issue to me personally, but ultramoo asked about it specifically being 100%...and it's not. I just figured the full detail would be useful. You'd think people having any reason to buy PS3s would help them. Anyway, it's not like SCEE/SCEA have much control over it anyway so I'd take those statements with a grain of salt. Great enough library? Compared to PS2? hah. I couldn't find any references to Sony specifically saying they won't update it other than that there's no plans to on the 40GB, which makes sense as it doesn't have the PS2 GPU in hardware. It seems really weird to me that they'd go through the trouble of building the hybrid system just to not bother supporting it further. I can understand from a development view how it must have been a pain, synchronizing software and hardware still seems like a bad idea to me, but why bother supporting it at all in that case? Anyway, I don't really think they'll stop working on a complete software emulator even if it's not included with the system. The success of Wii's Virtual Console is proof enough that people do want to play older games sometimes. I can't figure out SCE anymore. They seem to have gotten it in their head that they're above competing and can do whatever they want. Maybe PS2 compatibility was discouraging people from buying games of PlayStation Live, or whatever tehy call it? That's cool to know. Is there a setup screen akin to the PS2 for changing the options? (Fast loading and smoothing) I have no idea, honestly. I just remember laughing when tehy non-PS2 systems came out and they could run PS1 games.

I agree. I just think the 5200 stick is one of the exceptions. It's not PERFECT(haven't found the controller yet that is), but it's pretty good once you get used to it.

My PS1 has issues. I think the power supply is flaky. PS2 works, though. So does PSX, when I need to run something my PS2 can't, like import games.

I can't say if it's NECESSARY, as I've never swapped a flex circuit. I DO know that Atari taped the originals down, and I'm sure they would've omitted the step if they felt they could. And no9, getting a different controller is NOT necessary. The 5200 sticsk take entirely too much abuse.

Add Mars Matrix to the list. Bullet-hell vertical shooter. It's a proper action game that's playable solely by dodging and shooting. Not a steaming pile of pattern memorization with delusions of grandeur like that shitty Ikaruga(aaaaaaand let the flames begin). Voted most likely to be overlooked for a recommendation. And I second Bangai-O. It's a damn fine game. Besides, recommending it proves I'm NOT crapping on Ikaruga just because I'm a Treasure-hater.

Thanks. I like how some emulators are ready to go, except for maybe a bios. With Stella, all you need is Stella and the games and you're all set. Emulators like ePSXe that need 20 extra things to work besides the bios and the games seem like too much trouble. Try my wonderful free emulator, but first you'll have to go here and download this, then you'll need to go over there and download that, and remember to buy essence of bat anus from your local magic shop. Dump it all in a cauldron, mix it up, say the secret incantation and if Satan is in a good mood, you'll be able to play all of your favorite games. I'll try it, but if there are too many flaming hoops to jump through, I'll just forget about it until somebody makes an emulator that is as easy to use as Stella. The joys of flaky emulators. Really, it's a tradeoff. Yes, an elaborate plugin system can give you REALLY pretty games. But you're sacrificing accurate emulation, or even the potential to attempt accurate emulation, to do it. Especially when you get into hardware-accelerated graphics plugins that wrap the system's video calls to your PC's video chipset. I shouldn't have to explain why that's a bad idea from an accuracy standpoint. PS1 games work.... IF they don't require a special controller. If you need a GunCon/Justifier/NegCon/dance mat/one-handed controller, it won't play. Also, you forgot Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Swerving into less huge titles... Mister Driller, Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile, Parasite Eve, PE2, Alundra, Tales of Destiny, Einhander, Raycrisis, RType Delta, Vagrant Story, Silhouette Mirage... just copying "must-haves" off my shelf. Once you get past the horrifyingly bad polygon graphics, there's a lot of gems in the library. If you can't get past the graphics, there's a good number of quite nice 2D games. No, in fact the PS2 Slim isn't even 100% compatible with all the PS2 games. The PS3 has worse backwards compatibility than Xbox360, and I believe it's now only in the 80GB model. Previously in the (discontinued) 60GB it was done via hardware, but now it's a software emulator with the quirks that implies. In Sony's defense, they had an insane amount of developers and software for both PS1 and PS2. And on the plus side, with software emulation on 360/PS3 there's a pathway for them to upgrade the firmware so compatibility should only get better. PS2 Slim breaks what, two PS2 games? It's about 95-98% compatible with PS1 games. Later revisions are MORE compatible with PS1 games, as chipset refinements removed a few bugs from the original version. A notable example I had someone call out to me is a transparency issue in the 10000-30000 model range(all the units with the Firewire/i.Link/IEEE 1394 port). It prevents 100% transparency from working right, so objects that are supposed to fade out completely are always barely there. The INITIAL releases of the PS3 were mostly PS2-compatible, in both models. No special controllers or hard-drive(read: FF12) games. They switched from pure hardware to a hybrid solution that emulated part of the system but left part of the hardware, and compatibility dropped to about 50%. That was introduced at the european launch, and cascaded out to all regions. Now, there's no PS2 support at all. Again, introduced in Europe. Sony must really hate Europe. And Sony's said there won't be any updates to backwards compatibility. SCE Europe said it's because the PS3 library is great enough that it's not an issue anymore. SCE America's said it's to force people to buy PS3 games for their PS3s. ALL PS3s can play PS1 games. Even the no-PS2 systems. Near-perfectly, as far as I know.

I just grabbed it today. Honestly, I probably would've picked it up a long time ago if UbiSoft hand't taken such great pains to hide it's nature. The box art and new name makes it look like some crappy run+gun hammered out by a no-name bargin-bin company. By the time I realized what it was, it was far enough into it's life that it was better to wait for another price cut. Really, how can you go wrong with the bastard child of Virtual On and a bullet-hell shooter?

Seconded. I need the audio feedback.

The sticky part will be getting the serial encode right. Since the NES doesn't have analog inputs, it's gotta be digitized in the controller and then fed to the NES serially. That raises complexity a lot. Still doable with off-the-shelf parts, I'm sure. It's just a more complex variety.

I'm more inclined to blame the clone. But FF6/3 IS notoriously bugged. So it could well just be an interaction between bad code and less-than-perfectly-identical hardware.

As far as I know, Virtua Racing was the ONLY co-processor game that worked in a base Genesis. You could argue that ALL 32x games are co-processor Genesis games, but you had to buy the 32x separately, so... It's also worth noting that SNES games didn't get driven to 100 on co-processor alone. But I remember that Sega's argument with Virtua Racing's price was that they had to make all the money from the co-processor development back on Virtua Racing. There were explicit comparisons to SuperFX at the time, and Sega pointed out that the VR chip was a different situation because it was made explicitly for VR, and nothing else was ever going to use it.

Yep he did. I didn't mention them because I was looking at sucess at things he did, not his failures. When I typed my thoughts about him on the topic I created, I was aware of the Wonderswan and the Virtual Boy. Booth systems were failures. The Wonderswan was best known having Square games on the system at a time when Square didn't publish or develop games for a nintendo system. It has been 10 years since he died, and I thought it was best remember for the good things he did. The WonderSwan was what put the pressure on Nintendo to finally update the aging GameBoy, as it was actually carving a chunk out of the GameBoy's market share in Japan. So it was an indirect success. But Yokoi died before it was released, so moot point.

Please. Don't insult the C64 like that. It can do much better then this turd. It plays like something you'd see on the PlayStation?

ROLL CALL! Consoles: 2600 5200 Vectrex Intellivision Studio 2 NES SNES Genesis+SegaCD+Power Base Converter Playstation PS2 Dreamcast GameCube XBox XBox 360 Computers: TI 99/4a Atari 800XL IBM clones, if those count. Handhelds: "Gray brick" Gameboy GameBoy Color GameBoy Advance(original, none of this hand-crippling SP crap) NeoGeo Pocket Color DS Lite Now the question is.... what did I miss? I always overlook something. Edit: Add a Virtual Boy.

I wouldn't let the controllers be an issue then. The solution for that is this. I have a pair, and they feel great actually. I just use an Advantage. Nice good cable length, and I can kill someone with it if they break in while I'm gaming. But it sounds like he was worried the FamiCom2 had hard-wired controllers like the original FamiCom. Which it doesn't. It uses standard NES controllers, so no worries.

Hmmm. I've heard that for fixing traces instead of conductive pens. Never thought about it for the contacts, but yeah, that's a great suggestion. I've seen them in Autozone, PepBoys, Walmart, etc... I've never seen it anywhere. Suppose I could look again...

Don't forget that he kidnaps parents, locks them in cages, then makes the kids run through elaborate death trap obstacle courses to rescue them!`

I've seen rear defroster repair kits recommended, but good luck finding one.

Missile Commadn and Star Wars control really well, IMO. Of course, cursor motion isn't quite the same as player motion. In my opinion, Super Cobra is the only one that doesn't work well. It NEEDS a dead zone.

Reminds me of toys in the 80s... Robot points, flag points, pizza points, KoolAid points(not a toy, but the same concept applied)... All revolved around the concept of buying lots of the retail stuff for the chance to get exclusive non-retail stuff(or in some cases, stuff that was pulled from the retail line to make room for new toys)

You talkin' bad about Lunar? Hell, Lunar was what broke me of my Nintendo fanboydom. Lunar 2 was quite literally the ONLY reason I got a Genesis, and still ranks among my favorite RPGs. Later, of course, I realized some of those other games weren't that bad either. Still don't much care for Sonic, though I have more respect for it than I did in my fanboy days. The SNES is an AV powerhouse, certainly. But it's cripled by a slooooooow CPU, and it's games wind up being less frantic because of it, in general(See: Blast Processing. ). Which serves to make the Genny THE system for shooters(I think my small Genny collection has more shooters than EXIST for the SNES). Also gave it a less-pronounced, but more recognized, advantage in the sports games arena, since it had less trouble throwing 24 players around. I'd add Ristar and Gaiares to the list of recommended games.