Rhomaios

How's the Saturn controller? Does it feel like the real deal?

No doubt Nintendo's antitrust breaches hurt competition (chiefly Sega and NEC, the Atari probably wouldn't have recovered, just like it didn't with the Jaguar), though Sony and MS also had much deeper pockets. The Xbox for example sold at a loss for the first few years as Microsoft tried to get a foothold. Sony used their DVD and BluRay patents to stifle competitors as well. I'm not quite sure when they decided on it (if it was a response to what happened or if it was planned from the get-go), but by the Wii era, Nintendo's strategy wasn't to target Sony and Microsoft's market. It was to go after kids and families, and I know plenty of adults whose only games during those years are found on Wii Sports. I know I was partially in the crowd. I gave up on the 360 and PS3 and only stuck with the Wii, since my actual gaming interests still lay in the 80s and 90s.

The Nintendo came out almost a whole year before the Master System did (in the US, that is). Moreover, the NES beat Sega by two years in Japan, giving it a huge game library lead. Graphically and sound-wise (when the developers wanted to take advantage of the FM chip), the Master System is superior, but it pales in the games department. Things would have been very different if there were more cross-platform ports.

Final Fantasy IV had 5 member parties (and everyone was in at the same time), but all RPGs afterwards went down to 4 or even 3. By the PS1 era, that should have been obsolete. Then again, PS1 was the last era when I still played RPGs. After Ogre Battle 64, I found the format itself dated. They all felt so small afterward.

It was almost too specific, I just figured. But you're right, it's probably a generic "this character can perform crazy feats but the littlest thing hurts them." Kinda makes sense, everyone has a weakness. Water as a death trap never really made sense to me in these games. Like in Adventure Island. Not a big deal for me though because it's all abstract anyway.

What do you mean? Mario definitely swims in his games. At least 1, 3, Super, and 64. Did that change later?

What do these have to do with ABAHB or the 7800, though? The music in those videos, same each time, is really annoying, and that presentation really is a mismatch with the games. I can't see those videos being effective at selling those games.

It had a Super Nintendo port, too, though. They're both about the same, but you can really tell they were made by different developers:

I had no idea it has risen so much in price. I was thinking it was a couple hundred still. Looks like it spiked during the pandemic. I think if I had bought it when it was at the $250 mark, I 100% would sell it for a grand. Easy peasy math on that one.

I definitely recommend getting it modded for s-video or at least composite. You'll certainly appreciate the difference. I have s-video in mine, and it's perfectly crisp on a Sony Trinitron. As good as emulation (well, better, because it's real). The homebrews are definitely where it's at (and remember you can play all the 2600 goodness on it, too), but there are some official releases worth getting. IMO, these are the must-haves: Centipede Dig Dug Food Fight Galaga Joust Pole Position II Robotron: 2084 Some will add others I'm not personally fond of (Ninja Golf is always a favorite for how crazy it is). There are too many homebrews to recommend, though, and none that I've purchased so far I've regretted, so you'll not likely go wrong.

Hard pass for me. You know this is just a cash grab. Though I guess it's fine for some who want to pay to track down ROMs.

Par for the course for Working Designs. So maybe this one isn't on the own-list anymore.

Have you beat FFII before? The Dark Elf cave was definitely the first frustrating moment for me when I first played it, but you learn ways around it very quickly. No spoilers, but a) investigate different weapon options, and b) get ready for even more frustrating caves later in the game. (Well, chiefly one that I can think of.)

I'm with Austin on this. Gradius on the NES isn't hard, nor is Contra. They're both fair games, too. Super C I've played less frequently, but I wouldn't exactly call it punishing. Gradius II is harder. However, I do come across the sentiment that Gradius is harder quite often. Usually, that person didn't spend an enormous amount of time playing it bitd. Growing up with games certainly makes them easier, so maybe this is one example? Also, why is anyone playing Gradius on the NES when the PC Engine game exists? (Except, you know, nostalgia reasons.)

I don't really mind unrealistic mechanics if that's the premise of the game. I don't think of Arthur from Ghost N Goblins series as a real person, so whatever he does is fine by me. But it's when it's inconsistent that I'm bothered by the gameplay. Something closer to OP's 2 ft. wall issue. I also really, really, really hate bad dialogue and voice acting. "You spoony bard!" is funny in retrospect, but "die monster!" just makes me cringe. Never cared for games that forced you to rely on memory where there is absolutely no way of progressing without doing so. Basically, cheap shots and blind jumps are really aggravating. I don't mind having a game where of course it's easier if you memorize the layout, but every move should be at least theoretically predictable. Killing someone because they guessed wrong but had no information about which would be right is just lazy game design. Starting from the mid-90s with the N64, I also can't stand childish, annoying sound effects. I remember selling Super Mario Bros 3 for the GBA not long after I got it, because the Mario 64 hollers were just too annoying. And who can stand that damn fairy in all the post-Link to the Past Zelda games? Big turn off for me.

The inclusion of MUSHA makes me think it's fake. Too many high ticket items and not enough regular games to be real. (For sure, though, a couple of these I could use, and I still regret selling Steel Empire years ago, although I just wasn't that enamored with the constant slowdown in the game!)

I sometimes feel like I'm the only one who didn't love Power Stone. It was all right, but 3D fighters in general never appealed to me.

This is the reason I just went with Japanese games for the system. There are a handful of US games I wish I owned (chiefly Dragon Force, but also Shining Wisdom, Albert Odyssey, and Magic Knight Rayearth), but ultimately, they're just games and I'd rather spend my money on many other things.

And the Black Album, and Seal II, and...etc.

Yeah, I think a lot of people who get hung up on the illegal monopolistic practices miss this part. Nintendo was making killer first party games, and continued to do so for years thereafter. I'd probably say the GameCube era when they started go awry, but plenty of kids still like Nintendo games from that era, so maybe I was just too old.

This is all kind of ridiculous. Ghosts are monsters. If you look in collected encyclopedias of monsters, you'll often find an entry for ghosts. Even in English, ghost doesn't have to mean "spirit of the dead." Just think of spirit of the dead. Likewise, Thai people often talk about "ghosts," but these too are supernatural creatures. Since obake can be both a dead spirit and some supernatural creature, I'd say Iwatani's Casper reference gets the nod toward the former. However, it's probably best not to think about it too deeply. They're just games, after all. No one plays Paperboy and thinks, "This is so unrealistic! This would never happen on a real route!" So why are people hung up over walls and ghost legs?

It's totally cool to have a preference. I don't prefer the Neo Geo, but I respect it anyway. What's laughable is getting this angry to create an account and then childishly exclaim "come at me!" at anyone who disagrees. For me, the biggest problem with the Neo Geo is the lack of diversity of games. My ranking would be: SNES Genesis TG16 Neo Geo (Edit: NG and Jaguar really don't belong with the rest of the gen, but Jag would definitely be below the rest. Sorry, you fans!) But #1 and #2 are really close, and I have a real affection for #3 as well. What I would want to play on the Neo Geo I can mostly get elsewhere, even if it is imperfect. Instead of Sonic Wings 1 & 2, I have Sonic Wings on the SFC and Sonic Wings Special on the Saturn. Metal Slug came to the Saturn, too. Samurai Shodown is fine enough on the Genesis, but pooh that SS2 never appears. I'm also not the biggest fan of fighters, so that limits it a bit. What's left that you can't get elsewhere? Windjammers?

Some people are emotionally crippled losers who have little else to do, I guess. Imagine in 2022 being genuinely upset someone doesn't like the same 30 year old toy as you.

My guess is a bad Google translate... Honestly, this topic has been done to death and nothing new is added here. The Dreamcast not only failed, it failed spectacularly. And honestly, it's little to do with the console (except that it lacks a DVD drive) or games, and more to do, as ColecoGamer mentioned, Sega's politics just absolutely losing the trust of the consumer market. Honestly, I know I'm in the minority here, but I'd still take the PS2 over the Dreamcast. The DC has some good racers (thanks @Zeptari!), but it's not my favorite console, nor does it even have my favorite racer from the era. And my god, that controller is terrible. (Unlike the 7800, you and I both got the same controller this time). If anything the Dreamcast has many faults overlooked by its fans.

I think it's mostly limited to kids, at least in the west. I know of no one, child or adult, who watches it, though.