[Vectrex, Switch Dock, Switch N64 Pad, N64 games, Saturn wireless pad and more]

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

[It’s a miracle the nes sold like hot cakes]

22 minutes ago, John Stamos Mullet said:

And there would have been more cross platform popular games if Nintendo hadn’t strong-armed 3rd party dev houses into exclusivity deals, to the point where they were sued over it and lost. 
 

but yeah - having a year or two jump start on the competition is also a huge advantage. They took a gamble on jumping back into a video game market that had crashed, and won - in the short term. But they lost in the longer term because they didn’t grow up their products with their core audience. Which is why Sony and Microsoft were able to squeeze them out of the adult gaming market. 

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.

[It’s a miracle the nes sold like hot cakes]

5 hours ago, John Stamos Mullet said:

I dunno. I was one of those and I saw the Sega Master System, and graphically it was head and shoulders above the NES. Those of us who were teenagers knew the difference. The NES looked too kidsy.  The 7800 had better arcade ports and then the SMS had both. 
 

it’s not a mystery to me why the NES won out, they marketed the shit out of it on afternoon UHF and Saturday morning Network Cartoons to the 6-10 year olds, and bought up all the shelf space at Toys R Us. Not because it was the better system.

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.

[Dumb crap in video games]

15 hours ago, Tempest said:

This!  So much this!  I mean I understand why (technical limitations and game balancing), but at least come up with a plausible reason for it in-game.  What does the rest of your party do while you're in battle?  Sit on the sidelines and watch you get your ass kicked?

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.

[Dumb crap in video games]

16 hours ago, roots.genoa said:

Even if the description fits Mario (except the "run across fire with the proper shoes" afaik), I don't think he was specifically talking about him.

 

I'm currently playing Deathloop and the water instantly kills you too, which is very strange but the game takes place on an island and I think they didn't want players to use the surrounding sea to avoid confrontation.

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.

[Dumb crap in video games]

9 hours ago, Chris+++ said:

And, of course, let's not forget the odd character who can jump ten times his own height and land without breaking his legs, hurl red-hot fireballs around his immediate area with just his hands, repeatedly bump his head against scenery, and run across fire with the proper shoes...

 

...but just never happened to learn how to swim.

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

[Would David Crane's, A Boy And His Blob and its sequel, have been 7800 games?]

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.

[1995-1998 Genesis games]

On 4/28/2022 at 3:07 AM, electricmastro said:

Phantom 2040 is pretty nice:

 

 

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:

 

 

[The Official Sega Saturn Thread!]

7 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Honestly, the game is just kind of okay at best anyway. It's basically just an extremely simplified 2D Zelda clone (which itself is a Hydlide clone, now that I think about it) with anime cutscenes and beautiful graphics and sprite animations. Seems that all or most of the budget went into the presentation to make it look nice and not the actual game design, which is quite bland. It's not a bad game, but there are many things I'd rather play instead, both on the Saturn and not. Definitely don't pay the $1000 USD for the US version.

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.

[Soon to be a new 7800 owner -- finally!]

On 5/13/2022 at 9:47 AM, alucardX said:

When I say horrible, I mean so much snow it is unplayable horrible. I used an RF switch from and NES and actually produced a playable picture.

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.

[Retro Rays Super Console X]

On 2/3/2021 at 9:26 AM, youxia said:

"...DC/N64 perfectly emulated..." Wow, I'm getting one pronto, seeing as not even a high-end PC rig can emulate these two "perfectly".

 

Edit: Just saw it's a Chinese company, so it's ok. They love to use this kind of flowery Engrish.

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.

[The Official Sega Saturn Thread!]

31 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Wrecking Designs strikes again. This game (or at least, the original manga) is supposed to be for elementary school girls, but the localization team of course didn't care about that. The non-butchered Japanese version isn't nearly as stupid as the international version is.

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

[What have you been up to lately with your SNES/SFC?]

On 5/8/2022 at 8:39 PM, Tanooki said:

Despite getting trades I mentioned earlier in the week I still have been slowly every day or two plugging away at least an hour on Final Fantasy 2, up to grinding a few levels before running through the shittiest dungeon of the game to me, the magnetic one with the dark elf...SUCKS.  I did a detour as I had money to blow, got Cid the nice silver wrench and silver rings too to destroy stuff by.

 

I got distracted 2 days back, probably a 3rd today...finally ST Picard season is all up so I'm power watching 3-4 episodes a day, glad it stays honest, doesn't get all social issue/political undertone funk that Discovery is polluted with.   (Can't wait for final season 3, the TNG cast returns.)

 

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.)

[Am I the only one who hates Gradius?]

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.)

[Dumb crap in video games]

1 hour ago, TheDevil'sCompass said:

Double Jump - at the height of your jump, press jump again to jump higher or further.

 

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 Official "Thrift finds" Thread]

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!)

[It’s a magic that the dreamcast failed]

On 5/2/2022 at 4:10 PM, roots.genoa said:

If you didn't play Power Stone, go back under your bridge. ?

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.

[The Official Sega Saturn Thread!]

On 5/2/2022 at 5:43 AM, dudeguy said:

It's too bad everyone and their mothers are obsessed with the Saturn, making prices for the non-sports games easily sell for $100+. I am glad I'm a racing game enthusiast because they tend to be the second cheapest retro game genre after sports  I played a bit of the Daytona game, the revised version. Id really like to get the Sega Rally game at some point. Saturn games are super hard to find where I live.

 

I do have Street Fighter (Alpha I think) and its one of the best and smoothest running 2D fighters ive ever played. now I just need someone to play it with

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.

[Ha! They are 'Monsters', not 'Ghosts'!]

2 hours ago, Dauber said:

I do believe a podcast recently addressed this...and Chicago II. And The White Album.

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

[It’s a miracle the nes sold like hot cakes]

4 hours ago, dmckean said:

I think the 7800 and SMS were great pieces of hardware too, but they just didn't have the same quality of software library that the NES had. Some of this was due to Nintendo's illegal third party lock-in tactics, but at least half of the great titles on NES were first party Nintendo. 

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.

[Ha! They are 'Monsters', not 'Ghosts'!]

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?

[CPU comparison: SNES vs. Genesis vs. TG16]

29 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Yeah, I guess. Everyone knows which one I prefer and it isn't even close, but the glorious Neo Geo AES takes a dump on all of the rest of them anyway, both in terms of performance and price.

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?

[CPU comparison: SNES vs. Genesis vs. TG16]

14 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

What the hell is up with this recent trend of users registering specifically to respond to (typically banned users in) threads that haven't gotten replies in 10 years?

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.

[It’s a magic that the dreamcast failed]

On 4/23/2022 at 9:36 PM, ColecoGamer said:

It looks like autocorrect got you on the title of your thread. But yes, what happened to the Dreamcast was tragic.

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.

[E-SPORTS - does anyone care?]

On 4/21/2022 at 11:06 AM, zzip said:

I keep hearing how huge e-sports is, but I know very few people who actually watch, unlike traditional sports

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.