HoshiChiri

10. Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PS4) At this point, y'all know I've fallen hard for this series, so I'll just say- I've NEVER been so annoyed/tense during the credits, waiting for the post-scroll cutscene! I've already started Yakuza 3... and Good Lordy, is it obvious that this one's a remaster instead of a remake! I mean, it's not gonna stop me from playing (not by a LONG shot), but it's jarring to play a sequel that looks older than its predecessor, y'know?

I'm definitely in again this year! AA Secret Santa is one of the best parts of the season! ?

Do I really only get one? Cuz I'm genuinely thinking 3: Switch, PS4, & Wii. The Switch is for Animal Crossing- having a set of daily tasks to perform would be good for mental health. Wii is for Wii sports, to provide exercise in a small space. PS4 so I can keep making my way through the Yakuza franchise ? Of course, this isn't set in stone- you could drop the Wii & just bring Ring Fit. Or drop the Switch in favor of any kind of daily grind game- the important thing is the real-time clock, so you have something to set a routine around. And if I wasn't gung-ho on Yakuza right now, you could swap in most anything else (like maybe I'd grab my Genesis & play through the Thunder Force & Sonic games.) For sanity sake though, 'chores' & exercise seem important. Also, get the Evercade, it's a nice lil' system!

I've got a sliver PS2, model 79001, that I found dirt-cheap at a thirft store ages ago. I shortly after lucked into a decently priced Joytech PS2 screen, & looked forward to making myself a portable(ish) machine. What I did not realize, is there was more than one kind of slim PS2 case. My Joytech screen requires a pair of screw holes in the case to anchor to, & my unit doesn't have them. I semi-forced things with some velcro, but it's not ideal. What I'm wondering is- if I grab a shell from one of the models with the screw holes, will my PS2's guts fit into that shell? Along the same lines- what if I only buy the bottom half? Will my top still attach? I'm hoping to Frankenstein up a case so I can keep the sliver without painting (the joytech screen is sliver, so matching is good!) But I'm not familiar enough with the slim PS2's board to know what the variants are.

9. Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Switch) Despite the shiny new look, this was just a big old blast of nostalgia. I played the crap out of this as a kid, it was fun to revisit it! Now... to go back and steal from the shopkeep, just to see what it looks like now! ?

As far as consoles go, if you want to go all-out I recommend retromodding.com. They specialize in custom Game Boys & sell a plethora of custom cases, buttons, backlit screens & other upgrades. While they don't appear to be taking orders now, they do offer build-to-order systems where you pick the parts & they build it for you. I've got a GBA from them, it's lovely! As for which system to buy... the GBA is the easy choice since even stock units have backlit options, and you can run the full gamut of the Gameboy line. GBC's screens have aged better than most original Gameboys, which are prone to nasty ghosting (& generally hard to find in good condition for a decent price anyway.) They certainly all feel different though, so it's up to you to decide what matters most (or if you want more than one.) For games- if you like puzzle games I recommend Pyramids of Ra. It's a pathfinding puzzler and it's MASSIVE- back in the day the publisher sent certificates to anyone who proved they beat it. Donkey Kong for GB has a bunch of new levels, it's one of the better versions of DK to get.

8: Parappa the Rapper 2 (PS2) Nothing super notable here- it's more Parappa gameplay, but the tracks aren't nearly as memorable as the first game. I was more surprised at how hard it is to get a reasonably priced copy right now! I ended up buying the case/manual and game separately to get it under 40 bucks. Weird spike, or is this becoming rare? Guess we'll see!

I catalog based on how someone else would go about buying the EXACT SAME THING I have. That way, if someone tries my copy, or hears me gush over it, they get the right thing. I would simply add Castlevania Anniversary Collection to PS4 to my set. If you really, REALLY must specify the exact titles, the Super Castlevania IV on PS4 with a note about the collection. NEVER list it as SNES- it's not the SNES version. It's the PS4 port. There are things that are different (even if it's just display options). It's an important distinction for a collection!

7) Yakuza 0 (PS4) I genuinely wish I had found this series Back in the PS2 days Seriously- I played Kiwami, took a lil' break, and jumped into Zero. Now I will take a lil' break then start Kiwami 2. While I shop around for the remastered collection & song of life. I feel like I'm basically binging these games & I'm COMPLETELY FINE WITH THAT!

6)Ape Out (Switch) I picked up this on sale a couple months ago & largely ignored it. Which was a mistake on my part. This is great fun, & the music is incredible- the improv jazz backing creates a rhythm game without rhythm, for lack of a better way to put it. Highly recommended! (Also glad I never have to play 'Wreck' again- that stage took me nearly as long as the rest of the game!)

5) Old School Musical (Switch) A true love letter to the 8/16 bit era, with a few new-school gags for good measure. A great run for anyone with any sort of interest in chipmunk music. Fairly short story-wise, but gains a lot of added playtime via chicken murder (this will make more sense once you play it!)

The annoying thing about this question is, since time keeps moving forward & consoles keep changing, we constantly have to redefine the eras that came before. Plus, there is no definitive cutoff between these eras since there's always a system that's ahead (or behind) its time. For me then, at least, I tend to group things out by some quality that covers most of the major systems of the era, then add in whatever unstuck in time contemporaries those systems had. My head's landed on: -systems pre-NES, which largely ran on f-plug/TV switches. -post-NES cartridge systems, which (aside from carts) saw the rise of composite & the automatic RF switch. Plus the d-pad was standardized. -CD based consoles, fairly self-explanatory there -Internet consoles, which brought the idea of an always connected machine mainstream, as well as moving to HDMI as the standard connection. Is it a perfect system? Of course not. There's always gonna be issues with the outliers- the N64 comes immediately to mind. I put it in the CD era, despite it being a cartridge system, becuase that's what the competition was. As for where the cutoff from classic to modern is within those eras... right now, i put it in between cartridge & CD. You just don't see a whole of nostalgic excitement for disc-based machines yet. Keyword 'yet'- I think the Playstation's time is coming. Especially when the patents for these machines run out & clone units can come to market, increasing accessibility & awareness. First company to make a good multi-CD clone (ala retron 5, but without the shadiness) is gonna clean up!

Got this for the delay in my NES copy from Limited Run... but I don't have a Steam account, so have at it! For sake of others, please reply when the code's been used (since I can't check.) T0T5A-DP0AB-PQ280

4) AVICII Invector One of the ones I forgot- I picked this up when it was on sale for $5 from Gamestop... I paid $4 since I had my pro member coupon so I only needed to cover shipping. And it was SO worth it! The story is kind of pointless, but the gameplay is solid. Plus, I love the music- makes me a little sad that I never heard of this guy until this posthumous game. If you like rhythm games, this is a solid buy (especially given it's often on sale!)

I've got a friend on the hunt for a complete set of the Etrian Odyssey games. He's got a copy of the 3rd one, but no manual. Just seeing if anyone might have one they'd be willing to scan, or know a place to find a scanned copy so he can make a placeholder booklet (I don't think he's at the point where he'd want to buy loose manuals, given how much a rare one like this would go for.) Incidentally, if anyone has/knows where to buy a copy of the first game for under $40 with a case, let me know? Hell of a long shot, but I told him I'd look around.

I'm not sure- I mean, normal people don't spend millions on comic books, but tell that to anyone with a nice copy of Action Comics #1. I think the bigger factor is: how much will rich people care about variants? Going back to the above, Action Comics #1 is rare & worth thousands in any condition- the same is not true for Mario. There's a lot more games around, most everything that's pulled these big numbers can be had cart-only for a reasonable price. So- can someone who drops 6 figures on a rare sealed variant, get 6 figures of attention for having 'this special seal that means it was part of the New York Launch Stock?' It's not gonna look that different from a 3 figure-priced boxed copy. Plus the 10 dollar dump-bin cart will play the same. If it turns out interest is for the game itself, & not the object holding the data, then oh yeah- this bubble's gonna burst hard. Maybe I should get my sealed Minish Cap graded & turn profit while I still can!?

Pretty sure I've forgotten to enter one or two, so I'll just pick up from here! 2) Animal Crossing: New Horizons A great time killer during lockdown, but honestly? If it weren't for that I might not have picked it up. I usually avoid these kind of daily check-in games. It's not bad! Just not a staple of my gaming diet. 3) Yakuza Kiwami How did I not play this until now?! This is amazing! I have never played a game so familiar and so surprising all at once! You can go from cradling a bloody, dying loved one to racing toy cars to help a man get married within 30 minutes! It's ridiculous! It's fantastic! I already bought a copy of part 2! ?

That's why I specified 'may' & doing some research- I don't want anyone scrounging around for what's on hand & opting for brasso & a brillo pad, for example. I might need to look into some deoxit myself- I have a bottle of brite boy for the extreme cases (only needed it once so far), but it'd be nice to have a step between that & iso.

Those lil' black lines on your contacts? Not supposed to be there- that is the oxidation/corrosion mentioned. Basically, keep cleaning your cart. A lot. Over & over. I have literally spent DAYS with new carts doing this. Clean. Play. Clean. Play. If you want to speed up the process, you can try a corrosion remover/polish of some kind- deoxit, brite boy, white vinegar... but keep in mind these can have the potential to take off a microscopic layer of the contact metal. It's usually fine, but there is a VERY small chance you could take out too much, sever a connection, & kill your cart. Do a lil' research on your chosen method before you do forward! Otherwise- just keep cleaning. You don't have to remove the lines entirely- just enough to get the connection solid again.

Learning to READ Japanese, and learning to SPEAK Japanese, are two very different things. Pronouncing Japanese words is really pretty simple since there's not a lot of odd linguistic tricks you'll have to learn. Take a basic Japanese class somewhere, once the teacher's explained what vowels sound like and the few hiragana with quirks you'll be able to say any words you learn pretty easily. Reading is harder becuase of kanji, since there's so many of them- that's just gonna take time, period. If you do opt to put effort into the reading though, do yourself a favor- try & avoid textbooks that use a lot of romanji (Japanese words written in the roman alphabet.). You'll want to spend as much time with kana/kanji characters as possible so the words come more naturally- using romanji just forces you to re-learn words once you start using the proper characters.

Trading with friends means I have access to pretty much every item I want right now... but that doesn't mean I won't find things I want! I only found out a few days ago you could get a shaved ice maker, for example. Right now the one I covet is the strawberry & flowers cake. I have since learned it's a random thing your 'mom' mails you on your birthday, it can't be bought, & there's 6 versions of mom's cake so no guarantee you'll get a specific one. *grumbles*

I think also, with so many game stores closed due to stay at home orders, many people are seeing Ebay as the only game in town right now- so they're just paying whatever Ebay is charging. Not surprisingly, most of the collectors I know have largely stopped buying new games & are waiting for things to 'normal out' a bit.

Just checking in to see how this is progressing- not expecting much with how weird things are. But, since I'm now 6 weeks into being fully furloughed (job 2 closed a couple days after job 1), I figured I might as well figure out what things I've paid for might ship soon. I mean, it's this or more Animal Crossing ?

Time for a lil' thread revival so I can pick ya'lls brains. I grabbed the Persona Endless Night collection on clearance recently- I don't know who decided 'stacked discs in a digicase' was a good idea, but I hope they got fired. Anyway- I was hoping to find a protector to fit this (it's a bit taller and wider than a standard blu-ray), but I'd love it to be a bit thicker so I can slip in a 2-disc slim blu-ray case to store the discs better. There's a lot of collector's edition the right thickness, but the height/width is wrong. Anybody got any ideas?