Rhomaios

You're a bit late, mate:

Glad to hear it! Yeah, don't get me wrong, I really like that cave. This is all very impressive, but that's the one thing that immediately stood out to me. Thanks for the response and for the game!

This game is shaping up fantastically. I'm eagerly looking forward to it! One little nit visually, if you don't mind. I noticed that in one of the videos (the one with the amazing depth!), the blue sprite gets a bit lost with blue backgrounds, or at least it looks that way watching it on my laptop. Is that something you've noticed in actually playing it? Have you considered/is it even possible to make the sprite stand out a bit more? I'm recalling like in Dragon Spirit, which also has a blue dragon, its hue was a different shade of blue than the water, so there is no difficulty in discernment when you get blue on blue.

My first real "wow" moment was a fake. Up until 1997 or so, I actually thought that everything was progressing normally. The Genesis and Super Nintendo were not incredibly different from the NES before them, PS1's Oddworld wasn't leaps and bounds better than Donkey Kong Country. Mario Kart 64 was certainly better than Super Mario Kart, but not mind-bogglingly so. Moreover, the PS1 and N64 games were, with a handful of exceptions, quite ugly compared to the excellent pixel art that preceded it. I was also generally unimpressed with 3D fighters (because they controlled terribly and I thought the 3D plane was a gimmic — I think Mortal Kombat 4 was the first time I realized I was a 2D gamer for life!). But I was truly impressed with the FMV graphics for Final Fantasy VII. That was my "wow" moment and I instantly regretted getting the N64 instead. However, when I first saw advertisements, I didn't realize that the actual gameplay was nothing like the video being shown! It did sound better than the SNES, but I liked FFII/FFIII's tunes better than FFVII. My "wow" quickly turned to relief as I still didn't own a PS1. The true "wow" moment wasn't until the Xbox 360 came out. While the DC and PS2 graphics (and Xbox after it) were excellent, I never really mistook them for real football. But when I saw a game, similar to the one OP describes, being played in a game store, it wasn't a quick glance that had me fooled. I had to seriously look at it to tell it wasn't real. I think that was the first time I thought the graphics were realistic enough to fool someone. Not indefinitely, mind you, after some seconds you'll start to notice little things (and of course, no faces were shown yet), but I seriously thought that we had reached the pinnacle of graphics, that we were done with the major improvements. Before, the advances were large but logical, yet nothing came close to looking just like a person or real life (sorry, not even the Dreamcast 2K games). But now we were bordering on uncanny valley territory. That part was crazy to me.

I re-bought Sega Rally. Street Racer actually looks pretty cool, so I might pick that up and save NFS1 for the PS1. Thanks for the advice, everyone!

Thanks for the recs! It's said that the Saturn didn't get more racers, but that's true for all the genres. I should have mentioned I already knew about Outrun, though these days I think I prefer turning on Outrun 2 instead. Is there a difference between the US and JP versions of Sega Rally like there is with Need for Speed?

Are Saturn topics ok here? Not sure where else they might go. I've been getting into Dreamcast racers lately courtesy of a fellow AA member and some free time this week, and it made me wonder about Saturn racers as well. What are the best arcade racers for the system? Any that are worth getting over the PS1/N64 or DC/PS2? For what it's worth, I'm a big fan of games like Need for Speed Hot Pursuit II (best in class). As soon as I got it, I put quite a bit of time in Vanishing Point on the Dreamcast, which is definitely a blast to play, even if it feels a bit grind-heavy. Any more like these? Thoughts? Favorites? Games you detest and I should stay away from? The one I had my eye on so far is the US version of Need for Speed. I never actually played the original.

Did a big trade with Zeptari1. He's very communicative and a real pleasure to trade with. Couldn't recommend anyone more. Thanks!

Lasted longer than me. 20 seconds in and I had to say no thanks.

That game was good? I remember it getting middling reviews and so I skipped it. But now I don't even have a 360/PS3 anymore and likely won't have a Wii soon, too. It did look neat, but I've been burned by too many bad Simpsons games!

Honestly, I also got really bored with Hit & Run. But there's a point in GTA where I just can't stand to do another timed race, so I think that's where my frustration lies with these games. Crazy Taxi stays fun doing it, and GTA has the atmosphere. But while I love (early) Simpsons, and have great nostalgia for Bart's Nightmare, the PS2 games I felt were just too boring. H&R was the better game, but not by that much. More frustrating than fun, and for me that's a no-go with a game unless it really does something special. I really wanted these games to be great. I think was more disappointed with them than most other highly anticipated duds.

Why stop there? I want my Dreamcast adapter for the ColecoVision!

[Can't edit, but for reference...]

You know, we're living in a society! We're supposed to act in a civilized way!

I was being a bit flippant, and didn't mean to imply they weren't in the game, but rather that I don't feel they were utilized well. Agreed on the bike riding scene. And yeah, Swordquest were not fun games, but they did try something. Simplicity is a virtue, though. Wasn't that the whole point of Space Age v. Pong?

This is the one I have as well. Whatever I had before wouldn't fit all my carts. Even this one some of the FC carts are very tight (Battle City comes to mind, maybe others).

Fair points, especially about HSW doing something different, but different isn't always good. I'm not necessarily laying all the blame on him (he's obviously talented, and Yar's is fantastic), by the way, but rather on the industry behind Atari back then, which stifled creativity and didn't give enough time for a game to be workshopped, storyboarded, fleshed out, and polished. But by 1982, Atari should have known better. I mean, look at the scope of Swordquest! ET could have been something much bigger and better than it was, although perhaps that's my hindsight talking. (This is, after all, an alternate history timeline!) Now this is an alternate history I can get behind!

Not only a rip-off of Crazy Taxi (which isn't all that bad, and in my non-legal opinion, should be allowable), not a very fun game. I really wanted to like this game, but I just was never having fun with what were basically fetch quests with a time limit. After the charm wore off, I just found it to be more tedious than fun. Can't remember at what point I quit, but at least I got back what I payed for it.

I see this a lot, but I think the fundamental mistake made in this line of thinking is that this game should have been what it was at all. You had glowing fingers, flying bikes, aliens with wigs, Reese's Pieces - why do we have some stupid object and some pits? The game design is the most unimaginative. Atari should have hired some proper people to make a real game, but they weren't about that. Just ask Activision.

I generally took a rough average of ebay sales, round down and knock a few percent off to account for ebay fees and whatnot. I also find that forum sellers are much more inclined to make deals than "RARE! NO COMBINED SHIPPING!" sellers on ebay. I sold my fair share of games on ebay, but no more. Now it's all AtariAge and few other select forums. I wish it were always the same. -- I'll also second how absurd some game stores are run, and when they close due to lack of business I shrug my shoulders. Most businesses are run by people, and most people aren't very good business owners. Just kind of a fact that almost half of all businesses fail within their few five years or so: https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1010/top-6-reasons-new-businesses-fail.aspx Because of how insane the game market has become, I also have largely checked out. I can count on my fingers how many games I've purchased in the past...4 years or so? Now, I don't want to "collect" anything at all. I just want what I want and to hell with anything more than that. When I don't want a game anymore, I'll sell it. When I no longer want a book, I'll sell it or give it away. I'm not quite a minimalist, but I do really believe that less is more. Just enough to keep us happy and the rest can rot. Remember, you can't take your video games with you to your grave (or at least if you try, you can't take them to the afterlife).

And in the process potentially violated FTC regulations by not disclosing their affiliations. Why is it so hard for some people to be ethical?

Plus it plays 2600 games.

Dragon Quest VIII came with a cardboard sleeve that the DVD case slipped in. That's the part of it that's missing.

If anyone is into the Saturn, $130 is chump change in comparison to some games for the system.

Mine's an s-video modded 7800 with a Competition Pro and on a Trinitron. Crisp, clean graphics and of course the ability to play 7800 games, too.