Mad Scientist

Panzer Dragoon Saga Shining Force III (the stage wherein you stage a rescue near the train line is especially memorable) Mass Destruction (get you "blow stuff up" fix in nicely detailed and designed levels) Warcraft II Saturn Bomberman or Guardian Heroes Some others might have been listed if I didn't primarily play the versions for other systems. ex: Rayman on Jaguar and Bust-A-Move on 3DO.

Yeah, the cords are ridiculously short. As you already realized, an extension and a turbotap are the way to go. You may want the turbotap anyway, and you'll be able to get away with using just one extension (not one per controller, as other systems would require).

Aero Blasters, Parasol Stars, and Dungeon Explorer are all personal favorites. Final Lap Twin was one of the odder gamed I've ever played. R-Type, the Bonks/ Zonks, and the Bomberman games are worth consideration.

September release expected. I see that Thinkgeek has the Jr. priced at $39.99: Clicky

Available in 6XL. I realize that gaming is often part of a sedentary lifestyle, but... wow. I wonder if companies like this pay any licensing fees. I'm guessing that some of the ones that reach retail stores do, but that shops like this are less likely to do so. [For the Jag logo, who would they pay, anyhow? Someone at least licenses the Coleco name.]

Read it again: European Jaguars had green power LEDs. You were on the right track with your question re: Jags outside of N. Am. I'm not sure about the few Jags released elsewhere (Japan, etc.). Anyone? I actually use a SegaCD power supply on my U.S.-released Jag, as use of the Atari PS led to frequent red screens. Even if your RF cable is bad, you might hear the RF generator hissing inside the console casing, right? -Eric [edited for misattribution idiocy]

They are giving away free T-shirts. Visit their site (www.High-Voltage.com) and follow the "fun & prizes_" link. It's described as a contest, but I don't know if they're turning anyone down. I indicated that I was a fan from the Jaguar releases and that I'd love to see TRF and Dactyl Joust code released in some channel. The shirt arrived about a week later. It's black, XL, with white print (a high voltage "splatter" logo... not the normal logo that I had anticipated). -Eric

The home-ec solution: tape some flat ribbon to those two batteries so that you can pull them back out. This depends on there being enough width tocram taped batteries in there (but for a slight savings of space, you could lash the two deep antiparallel batteries together). My rechargables have always fit fine (Rayovac 2100 mAh NiMH from several years ago, I think). -Eric

I'll second the Ambrosia titles... Apeiron is very good. Don't forget puzzlers like Snood, either. -Eric

Try http://mac.the-underdogs.info/ I haven't tried it lately, but I've found a few things for my old Macs there. They also make _some_ attempt to be ethical about what they host... along with the PC underdogs site, they remove files whenever a publisher/developer/other owner complains. They still keep up the game listings, though, so it may meet you needs even for files that they don't provide. -Eric

I voted for Klax, but my preferred selection would have been Pinball Jam (or possibly Gates of Zendocon or Crystal Mines II). -Eric

I've never owned a Sony console and I didn't have an SNES in the heyday, so I've never played a Final Fantasy game beyond the first US NES release. I'm not sure if they are the "best" games that I've missed, but they are among the most iconic. I am an RPG fan, though, so I'll perhaps I'll break down and play them in a few decades when I finally have enough free time. -Eric

Try some legal (original) software and an audio CD-R. If both work, it's probably an issue with how you are burning the .isos. I don't have any pirated 3DO software myself, so I can't offer any other suggestions. -E

It looks like I should make it to MGC on Sunday. I'm not helping out with a JagFest or anything this time... just a quick trip from home. My wife and seven-month-old will be coming along this time, too: the first gaming convention of any sort for either of them. My relevant question: does anyone know how young children's admissions are done at MGC? We've taken Gray to zoos, movies, baseball games, etc. and he's been free at all of them; will that be the case for the little guy tomorrow? He'll probably be riding around in a Baby Bjorn while stand well away from the pinball tables to protect them from being slimed by teething drool. I'm hoping that he'll be free, as my wife is likely to freak at the $10 admission price otherwise. -Eric

I have a Master Gear converter, and I think it is well worth ~$15 if you have already have SMS games. Personally, I'm fond of R-Type, Space Harrier, Shinobi, and Golden Axe on it. Even Golden Axe Warrior and Miracle Warriors play well: the tiny text isn't all _that_ bad. -Eric

Oconomowoc's only a 30 minute drive from my house... I'd be a really cheap winner. Skipping the ticket gives me a little more homebrew money for the AA table (it still strikes me as odd that "AA" sells "homebrews"). Keen idea, though. -Eric

I'm looking forward to getting Dreamfall eventually. My wife will actually play this genre... she played through TLJ on the PC a few years ago, and we got most of the way through Syberia on the Xbox before our son was born last year. I actually have Syberia II sitting around already, so Dreamfall might have to wait a few years. It looks good, though. _Eric

See: http://quote.morningstar.com/Quote.html?ticker=BRK.B The B stock is currently at $2893; it was at $1020 ten years ago and hasn't been higher than $3133 in that span. Last year, it earned $184.60 per share: around 6%, on par with many mutual funds but not really standing out for that one year. Apparently there is a (sort of) affordable way to invest like Warren... if fatherhood wasn't so damn expensive at present (and the wife didn't have a slew of home renovations in mind, and if the second car wasn't ten years old, etc...) I might look into it. I wasn't aware of the B stock until De Butcher's post. -Eric

Close: http://www.tomheroes.com/images/COLECO%20i...0roll%20box.jpg (worst ColecoVision game ever) Hey, that looks like Yanni! (another Minnesota connection to boot!) -Eric

Nova, why not pass these along for the "Did you know" list? Albert has asked for new factoids before, and I don't recall seeing these in the mix. Personally, I'm surprised that there weren't any K-Tel disco-themed games... -Eric

It doesn't have that fantasy feel, but Homeworld is an excellent game... it's up there with Civ for me. I never quite finished it, as the massive fleet of ion frigates that I scuttled from the enemy wound up slowing gameplay too much on my previous computer... I've got to import the save file onto my newer tower one of these days. Some of the in-game audio tracks are pretty good, too, if you are into soundtracks/scores. Back on the Dean topic: he's gathering $$ to finance a film. If you have deep pockets, check out his website. -Eric

Well, Roger Dean did make the Psygnosis Owl logo, so that is a logical connection. And yes, I'm another Yes fan. -Eric

Jeweler's screwdrivers did the trick for opening the case. I checked the contact to the side of the headphone jack (the one that is opened when a plug is inserted); it seemed fine, but there was some tarnishing. Scraping with the screwdriver didn't improve anything on my GBC. The problem on mine seems to be the speaker itself: it is positively crusty. It looks like there is rust under the plastic film on the speaker face and/or residue from a spill, althoug the rest of the case is clean. A quick check with a DMM shows power going to the speaker (I think... there is actually a voltage drop when I meter the two speaker solder points and turn on the power). I'll toy around with it more later. Headphones do work, though, so I already got some use out of it on a recent roadtrip. Thanks for the details on the repair of your GBC; I still found it helpful. -Eric

Did you have any luck with the repairs? I just bought my first gameboy (a Pokemon GB Color) this week and have a similar problem. The headphone jackworks, but the internal speaker does not. For $2.99 (with a Donkey Kong Land cart in the slot and working batteries, to boot!), it was worth the risk on the audio. I found a thread referring to speaker replacement. I suppose I could try that, although I don't think I have any triwing screwdriver bits in my security bit assortment. -MadSci

113,000.