Arcadia vs. Channel F vs. Virtual Boy vs. CD32

[JagLynx]

I have almost every major system from every generation in my collection. It's huge. But recently I've needed some quick cash so I sold my neo geo cd and odyssey 2 collections. Now I'm ready to get back into collecting and I was wondering what everyone's opinion would be on which of these 4 consoles I should get. I know very little about the Arcadia. The channel f looks really fun for 2 players and a great part of gaming history. The virtual boy is the only Nintendo system I don't have and it looks pretty neat. The cd32 would probably be the console I get.... If most of them weren't from the uk and black and white here. So on a side note I'm all wondering if you can play uk games on an NTSC console with no problems with an adapter. Thanks

[BillyHW]

Channel F.

[Rex Dart]

Virtual Boy is fun, but never convenient. I'd always thought the CD32 looked like fun, until I read that most games use UP to jump, rather than a button, since they're Amiga computer games/ports. I do wonder about PAL/NTSC mods for it.

[+Gemintronic]

Arcadia and Channel F have awkward controllers. No fun in the end.

Virtual Boy has hardly any games and eventually gives you a headache.

That only leaves the Amiga CD32

[iswitt]

Get rid of the Channel F.

[Austin]

Can't really comment on the Channel F or the Arcadia.

 

Regarding the Virtual Boy, I find it to be a fun system. Never had issues with headaches myself--some people have problems with it, others don't. It has some solid games worth checking out though, like Galactic Pinball, Wario Land, Red Alarm, and Telero Boxer, to name a few. Just make sure you have a desk you can set it on, otherwise it can be uncomfortable.

 

The CD32, I can't comment much on. I've seen a lot of videos though and it seems like it has some decent games. It also looks like it has a lot of junk. It also has a lot of lazy straight Amiga ports, which actually doesn't sound bad on paper, except that the conversions haven't been modified. Many from what I can tell still feature either music or sound effects only (not both at the same time), with the same old controls as well (i.e., pressing up to jump).

[JagLynx]

The cd 32 has been eliminated. Now let's just decide between channel f, Arcadia and virtual boy. To me the virtual boy looks the most promising when it comes to original games, so now I'm wondering what's for homebrew on the cf and arcadia

[BassGuitari]

Channel F, ideally a System II. It's an underrated and historic console, I think. Be aware though that it isn't for everyone, and chances are if you're really into stuff like CD32 and Virtual Boy (why?), the Fairchild probably won't do it for you. Most of the games are similar to pre-Space Invaders 2600 games and late 1970s computer games. Most of the games are fairly innovative, though, as is the controller.

 

Arcadia 2001 is neat, but nothing I'd call a "must-have." I've been looking around for them lately since I don't yet have one, but only casually. For what they are, I don't think they're worth the collector price they command, and most of the games are just knockoffs of popular arcade games with totally obnoxious sound effects. You're better off with an Odyssey 2 or a TRS-80 Color Computer, both of which have more and/or better arcade knockoffs.

 

The Virtual Boy never interested me. When I hear "Virtual Boy," I think of early 20-something idiots driveling about how bad it was while thinking they know about retro games because they've seen a Virtual Boy. I guess that's my bias to overcome. It's got some pretty playable games, but only a few of them (small library).

[JagLynx]

I guess it's down to the Fairchild and the virtual boy then.

[godslabrat]

"Virtual Boy sucked" is pulled straight from the HipsterDouche Knowledge Base. The HDKB also includes such gems as "Shaq Fu is the dumbest game ever" and "Playing with your iPad at Starbucks constitutes 'a career'."

It's important to realize that the HDKB has lower standards than Wikipedia, and something is recognized as a fact if it gets repeated twice (or is merely said once in a condescending tone).

 

In short, Virtual Boy is an awesome system, for what it was.

[Mark Wolfe]

Virtual boy is fun if you have the flash cart for it but my vote is the CD32, the Neo Geo is too slow stick with emulation or the cart systems, I'm selling mine now in the marketplace if you want one, and the Channel F is basically pong type stuff. I am in the market for an Arcadia system but can't say I know much about it other than it is one of the few I don't own.

[JagLynx]

Well I can't really play the cd32 because of most games being pal so I'll probably just get an Amiga 1200 eventually. That flash cart for vb sounds cool so I guess I'll look for that and if I can find it cheap I'll get it and a vb. Thanks everyone!

[Mark Wolfe]

I'm pretty sure you can region mod the cd32 and play patched backups as well but hey the Amiga 600 or 1200 is a great option, you didn't mention that in original post but you can get a nice Compact Flash adaptor for those and run games all day long from the CF card, ebay has tons of 'em up for sale. they ain't cheap though but neither is a cd32. I was on the lookout for a 600 or 1200 but they are just too much right now for me to spend.

[Mark Wolfe]

btw: an amiga 500 or a commodore 64 is a great, cheaper alternative and you can get really cool devices to run games on each, floppy emulator on the amiga and an sd card reader thingy for the c64, unless you have those in your collection already, they will entertain for countless hours to be sure.

[BassGuitari]

...the Channel F is basically pong type stuff.

 

Erm, no. It has two Pongalikes built in, sure, but none of the games on Videocarts are anything resembling Pong. They're primitive, to be sure, but they aren't Pong. Video Pinball (Fairchild's take on Breakout, with a surprising amount of features and options actually) and Video Whizball (think the old "Crossfire" shooting board game in video form) come the closest as far as Pong is concerned.

 

The Channel F offers a healthy variety of games. Generally they're similar to the games on other systems of the time. As with any late '70s platform, there is the tank game, the biplane game, the maze game, the blackjack game, the space game, the baseball game, the memory game, the nim game, etc. But, they often have innovative features to offset their austere aesthetics. For example, in Desert Fox (the tank game), you can move and aim independently -a la Ikari Warriors- thanks to the Channel F's twisting joystick knob. It also has a few games that really haven't been done anywhere else, before or since, such as Dodge It (dodgeball, and surprisingly fun, given its simplicity) and the aforementioned Video Whizball. It also offers a compelling and very fun take on Space Invaders with Alien Invasion.

 

But I'll say again, it isn't for everybody. You have to really be into games of the stone age (namely, the '70s) and the progression of the technology then to appreciate it, I think. To anyone else, it's just a curiosity.

[amiman99]

I can tell you something about Amiga CD32. You can play PAL games on NTSC CD32. When you turn it on, with Amiga mouse in port 1, hold 2 buttons. this will get you into boot menu. From the menu select "Display Options" then click on "PAL" and then press "Use". That's it.

You do need a monitor that can handle PAL to play them, if not, the image will scroll.

[Mark Wolfe]

jeezuz, ok replace the word PONG with the word crappy and we're good to go then. [MY opinion]

 

edit: sorry for the outburst but I don't agree that you have to be into games from the 70s to enjoy the Channel F, I am into plenty of 70s games but I simply do not like the Chanel F, even though the carts are rom based, the first in fact, they feel like the game options on pong machines, where you throw a switch and the lines change and all of the sudden it is HOCKEY not pong... oh boy!! that was my point, I did not mean to piss anyone off, especially a channel f enthusiast as you clearly are. I play Bass too but I hate Rickenbacker basses... so there ya go.

Edited August 5, 2012 by Mark Wolfe

[BassGuitari]

jeezuz, ok replace the word PONG with the word crappy and we're good to go then. [MY opinion]

 

Fair enough.

 

...I don't agree that you have to be into games from the 70s to enjoy the Channel F, I am into plenty of 70s games but I simply do not like the Channel F,..

 

That's fine, but that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that if someone's interest and focus is on, say, SNES, and that's their definition of "old-school," they're probably not going to dig the Channel F. It probably doesn't work the other way around. I've never heard of someone who loves Channel F and hates SNES, you know?

 

(I say "probably" because there are exceptions to every rule.)

 

I play Bass too but I hate Rickenbacker basses... so there ya go.

 

I'm not understanding the analogy. Rickenbackers are the Channel Fs of bass guitars?

 

(That's a whole other can of worms right there. )

[JagLynx]

Hmmm... I have an st with the Sd reader. I guess if I get a pal monitor I'll eventually get a cd32 then. For now I'll probably get the virtual boy. The Fairchild sounds a bit boring to be honest but those controllers are cool, and that built in pong. I'd rather get an astrocade though. And the Arcadia doesn't sound that great so I won't be getting that anytime soon.

[+LS650]

I owned a Virtual Boy for a while. I actually like it and owned about 10 games for it.

The problem is that the library is tiny.

[+atari2600land]

The Virtual Boy's library may be tiny, but it is region-free, meaning Japanese games can play in an US console. I vote for the Virtual Boy personally.

[+Gemintronic]

The problem with the Virtual Boy is that the headache comes from long gaming sessions. The aches and pains too. Some of the games are pretty good. You will want to play it for more than a half-our. The way you must position yourself and the Virtual boy does not work for long durations.