Messages

1

Video Game Database Discussion / Re: Error Listings and Rejected Edits 2025

« on: July 18, 2025, 08:53:44 pm »

I accidentally uploaded the European front and back box images for Super Cobra for the Colecovision [NA] release: https://www.vgcollect.com/item/27925 (the cartridge image is correct)

Should I submit image edits for the current entry, or should I create a new entry with the correct images and ask the mods to merge the entries?

I've removed front and back images for 27925. NA images will be approved if submitted. Thanks for catching that mistake (not just yours, but staff's) sooner rather than later.

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Video Game Database Discussion / Re: Duplicate List 2025

« on: July 18, 2025, 04:38:30 pm »

I have what I think may be the UK version of the switch game Blue Fire and was curious what I should use for the title when I add it to the database?

This is the version currently already in the database.  It looks like it's a EU version with a purple triangle in the bottle righthand corner on the back and a different EIN number: https://vgcollect.com/item/202920

Here is an ebay listing with an example of the one I have: https://www.ebay.com/itm/334708424278

Should I title it as Blue Fire [UK] or is there a different way to format it?

Based on 202920's history, it seems that the entry was intended to represent some English-text language release. Then, later image submissions were approved but were for the ES regional release. Here is a link to those images as I've already removed them from the entry. At this time, I've not been able to identify any proper EU release, so UK would be the next acceptable regional variant for the entry to represent. So, instead of submitting a new entry, you can instead update 202920 accordingly for UK. There won't be any need to add a TLD either. I'll also submit a new entry for the ES item so that that information won't be lost.

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Video Game Database Discussion / Re: Category/Platform Requests 2.0

« on: July 17, 2025, 09:09:00 am »

The category could easily be named Super Nintendo Demo since it would be placed within the Super Nintendo parent category. This naming convention is already set as a (presumed) precedent by how TurboGrafx-CD Demo is named. Although, based on how the parent category is named, it may make more sense for that sub-category to be renamed to something like NEC Demo. While there aren't any PC Engine demo entries currently within the category, I presume they'd be place there if submitted (such as this existing entry.) If not, then this would imply there are to be regional demo categories which I think we both agree should be avoided.

Regarding Super Famicom demos, I've identified two other taikenban cartridges which I've readied new submissions for. Meanwhile, I've identified nine Super Nintendo demo cartridges after a quick image search.

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Video Game Database Discussion / Re: Category/Platform Requests 2.0

« on: July 17, 2025, 08:07:26 am »

Requesting a category for Super Nintendo/Super Famicom demo releases based on 130792 and 22536.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: July 16, 2025, 09:36:50 am »

Game 14 - Silent Hill 3 (PS2) - 9 Hours

Since SH3 is a direct sequel to the first entry, it makes sense to me for there to be some thematic overlap, and I found the stories varied enough through Heather's presence alone. Unfortunately, I didn't appreciate her as a character that much at the time I played through the game but certainly do now. This isn't to say that I find the plot for SH3 to be successful necessarily, but it's still something I enjoyed due to Heather as the protagonist and the general angsty mood she brings with her. As a passing thought, I feel like there could have been something added to the mirror scene to better characterize Heather and the changes she's undergoing.

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General / Re: What are you playing?

« on: July 13, 2025, 06:35:34 pm »

After spending 80 minutes of in-game fighting time, I'm having to abandon my attempt to complete Tekken for PlayStation. I was able to reach stage 7 of 9 with Kazuya, but I'm far past my skill level already. To actually reach the credits, I'd need to be lucky which, if I'm being honest, seems like the only reason I've been able to advance the last three stages anyway.

My experience with fighting games is virtually zero, so I was wanting to try out something different. I don't think my wrists can take it anymore, even after one long break and several smaller ones.

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Video Game Database Discussion / Re: GOG Box Art Getting Rejected?

« on: July 10, 2025, 05:36:55 pm »

For what it's worth, this image is the one used in GOG Galaxy, and I've seen other GOG records here using similar portrait-oriented GOG Galaxy art. Should we only submit the images from gogdb.org?

Since GOG Galaxy is not the distribution storefront itself but instead just a collection app of sorts with connectivity to the store proper, I'm inclined to say that any images specific to GOG Galaxy shouldn't be prioritized when there are easier, and more direct, sources available to use. Also, we should not make future changes or new submissions based on previous entries, as there is an abundance of existing entries with incorrect data of all kinds including those related to image art such as the entries you're referring to. There is a lot of database work to do in terms of correcting data, but there are only so many people contributing such changes and, especially in regards to digital entries, there is not any urgency to correct them.

gogdb.org entry art and gog.com's search result art use the same exact image, so either source is fine to use.

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Video Game Database Discussion / Re: GOG Box Art Getting Rejected?

« on: July 10, 2025, 12:20:37 pm »

DB Mods can be more stringent on these things than me. 
I probably accepted a "wrong" art edit from you today actually. 

PS: thanks for the work you do try to help us with kidtdragon. I know you do (did? I ghosted lol) a lot on shmax also, sites like these can only exist with the work of volunteers.

I'm fairly lenient about approving the "wrong" art for digital entries too when they're the single or occasional submission. But when a single member's submissions start to become a habit, then I take the opportunity to let them know since they'll likely be submitting more edits in the future. If the time is being spent on numerous entries to supply information, it may as well be correct.

And it's not my intention to minimize any person's edit submissions regardless if they're approved or not. All work is appreciated.

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Video Game Database Discussion / Re: GOG Box Art Getting Rejected?

« on: July 10, 2025, 11:46:35 am »

First, the third-party website mentioned in the Admin Comments should be gogdb.org.

What's the difference between gogdb.org and gog.com?

From gogdb.org directly:

Welcome to the GOG Database, a third-party website that collects data on GOG games and tries to display it in a user-friendly manner.

I simply mentioned gogdb.org since it's an alternative to gathering the correct images, alongside reporting other correct data that GOG themselves incorrectly list (largely release date information.)

I feel the need to point out that I was not "[taking images] hastily from search engine results". I made sure that the images I was downloading were directly from gog.com (see the first two results from this Google search) for an example.

Neither of the two images from your original post are actually present on GOG's store page. Instead, those Google results images are just links to it. In fact, GOG store pages only showcase screenshots and trailers which should be avoided to use as entry art, which is why I mentioned that correct images can instead be taken from GOG search results pages when using the official site.

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Video Game Database Discussion / Re: GOG Box Art Getting Rejected?

« on: July 10, 2025, 11:10:04 am »

First, the third-party website mentioned in the Admin Comments should be gogdb.org.

Since you recently have been submitting high numbers of image edits, my intent when rejecting the recent batch of submissions was to point out which images are actually correct and should be used. Now, images for digital entry should not be taken hastily from search engine results like what you're doing. Instead, they should be taken directly from the website, or in the case of GOG entries, the aforementioned third-party website. This is because each digital storefront has unique image dimensions that separate their games from other storefronts.

So, let me use another GOG entry from your collection as an example that is both on GOG and Steam to better illustrate.

Below is the Steam artwork for Afterlife, taken directly from its Steam store page.


Meanwhile, here is the GOG artwork (scaled down for viewing purposes), taken directly from search results or from gogdb.


Using the correct artwork for digital entries is outlined in Digital Games section of the style guide.

Box art for digital games has their own set of rules, and are as follows:

• Games from the big digital distribution stores (XBLA, Nintendo eShop, GOG, Steam, DotEmu exclusive games) get their own cover.

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Off Topic / Re: How do you deal with getting older?

« on: July 05, 2025, 12:48:47 pm »

Idk if anyone else feels this but does it seem like time moves faster as you age?  Seemed like days were 2 days when I was younger.  Now it seems like no matter how much time I make. Plans I cancel. It's just wake up. And then its bedtime right after.  Theirs this sense of too quick. Idk.   Where it comes from.

How this relates to time going by faster is if you are not encountering new experiences, the brain doesn't necesssarily need to store that memory because it is already present. And as a result you only need to functionally remember less and this somehow seems to effect our perception of time.

It feels faster because the individual time amounts take up less and less of your overall life. Take summer vacation for example. To a 7 year old, that summer vacation is about 4% of their total life and all the memories contained. To a 37 year old, that same time period is now only 0.6% of their life.

From what I've learned after being introduced to this topic years ago, the passage of time on a general level (so not just tied to personal life experiences) and how we perceive it is correlated to various things including the two listed above: the lack of new experiences as we age and the total amount of time we've experienced throughout life. However, everyone perceives time differently, meaning this principle of time moving more quickly as we age is not universally shared. It's a study rooted in human psychology that's old and widely discussed, and there are numerous academic papers about it, such as this one.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: July 04, 2025, 04:37:09 pm »

So I've been doing this challenge now for 10 years. I've decided to take all of my reviews and compile them into a Google doc that I will eventually print out and keep on a shelf so I can still look back at them over the years. It's been fun to read all of my reviews (terrible as some of them are)

With the amount of effort some of us put into toward collecting our thoughts on games after completing them, that sounds like a good idea. I only just locally saved my writing over the last five years a few months ago which is fine for my purposes. I wish that I had been a little more detailed once I began, but that's the natural writing process if one puts in the effort. Regardless, I'm glad I began writing since it forces me to be more analytical while also simply helping me remember key details that I otherwise probably would have forgotten. I feel like there are a lot of games I played prior to when I started writing that I just have a vague opinion on without remembering anything specific or substantial.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: July 04, 2025, 04:13:40 pm »

42. Forrest Byrnes: Up in Smoke || Playdate || 06.28.2025



Before starting Forrest Byrnes: Up in Smoke, I was interested to see that the official page for it on Playdate's site describes it as a racing game. Until now, I've not played any racing games for the handheld, so I was curious how well that type of gameplay could work for this system.

However, Forrest Byrnes is not a racing game but instead a fast-paced action game with light platforming and arcade gameplay elements. In short, players assume the role of the titular protagonist Forrest Byrnes, a park ranger who's calmly evacuating some environment disaster. While avoiding hazards and the impending fiery destruction that follows behind you along the horizontal plane, the player is simply tasked with reaching the stage end safely. Regarding movement, controls work well but will take time for the player to become comfortable with. Specifically, positioning one's self at the edge of a platform is tricky while requiring precision, and I regularly was injured because of it. While Forrest runs toward safety, rocky walls must be scaled, dying trees must be toppled, and general hazards such as beehives and bear traps must be avoided. With each stage attempt, the player is given three units of health, though it's worth mentioning that player health remaining bears no impact on on stage completion. Simultaneously, neither does the time it takes to clear the stage. Actually, there is no time counter at all in the game, so that the game could be construed as racing game seems somewhat disingenuous. There is even a score grading system present, but again, it serves no purpose as stages cannot be manually selected.

With that said, individual stages cannot be selected. Instead, beginning the game spawns the player into some random one. And, whether failing or succeeding, players will be introduced to a different stage immediately after. Personally, I am not particularly keen on this approach to game progression. After thinking about why such a decision was made, I still can't really consider any valid reasons for how this either improves the gameplay experience or rewards players. If anything, being able to freely select stages allows players to practice them upon failure. It helps grant them the means to become more adept with specific platforming challenges to later use those same skills with new encounters. While the game is considerably short, stages are somewhat difficult due to the game's tight platforming at times. If choosing to do the bare minimum, the game is relatively easy, though there is no sense of accomplishing when playing this way whatsoever.

Before moving along, I'll now also mention the game's stages. While I may be wrong, it seems as if stages are randomly generated instead of being individually designed. After playing more and more, it certainly felt this way. If not, there is a fairly large pool of stages the game will load randomly then. While I'll mention collectibles more in-depth further below, it seems either substantially difficult or even impossible for players to collect everything in each stage presented, as I experienced several instances where I couldn't solve how to reach certain platforms due to the player-character's movement capabilities. I suppose my inability each time could have been the result of rushed gameplay as there is little time to actually think while easy penalizing mistakes. And, since there is no menu select screen alongside unlockables not being tied to any one specific stage either, I feel more confident that my thoughts are more than just a presumption.

Despite the grading score system come across as something that can be entirely ignored from a completionist's perspective, it is still present. During the journey toward evacuation, there are several types of collectibles which players may seek out to earn a better grade, though there's really no incentive to do so. Nevertheless, each collectible requires a different player response to successfully gain it, which includes campers needing saved from various traps (one of which utilizes the system's crank) and digging out medals from the ground. Just like with the player-character, campers can even be lost to the fire creeping behind you, which is a gameplay element I liked though didn't experience more than once. However, it is only puzzle pieces which bear any meaningful significance toward actually completing the game as they unlock fragments of gallery images, which there are five that are each divided into four segments. When they're all revealed, the game is effectively completed as there is nothing else to do since there are no in-game systems implemented revolving around player performance.

Unfortunately, Forrest Byrnes is not a game I particularly had fun playing, though that's largely due to the game's structure. I think what's built from a gameplay perspective could be fun if players were tasked with set challenges tied to stages, or if the game incorporated some sort of time trial system, or really anything else to provide depth. Because without any of these things, there is not much inherent value provided which results in the game being ultimately dull.

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Video Game Database Discussion / Re: Developer/Publisher Requests

« on: July 04, 2025, 10:12:35 am »

It appears that Salute Games was added as the developer instead of the publisher, please correct.  Also, this title was distributed, not published, by Good Deal Games thus the reason for the edit.

Corrected.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: July 02, 2025, 01:31:39 pm »

41. Saturday Edition || Playdate || 06.26.2025



As I near the end of the Playdate's included season one of games that I intend to finish, it's become obvious that there are many who strongly favor the system's pick-up-and-play design that's complemented by arcade-style games. However, while I do think the system is ideal for arcade gameplay, what I find most successful and interesting are adventure genre experiences. So, I was greatly looking forward to Saturday Edition upon realizing it's an adventure game.

When we begin, it is 1976. The game's protagonist John Kornfield has returned to earth after being abducted by some alien race. For four years, Kornfield lived among them closely and happily. Things were good. Then, unexpectedly, Kornfield is brought back confused and with much of the public choosing to disregard any credibility from his recounted experiences. Now, ten years later, strange events are beginning again. Dozens of people are being reported missing each and every day, and connections are made from both the police and the media that these new disappearances mirror Kornfield's own past disappearance. So, Kornfield sets off on his own investigation working alongside friends, associates, and the police to uncover what his role in this ordeal is exactly. And in time, a disturbing truth regarding the city's history of widespread, unexplained disappearances becomes learned that is a fulfilling story to play through.

Throughout this fairly short adventure narrative, players assume the role of Kornfield while exploring a small city environment. Exploration is limited to less than ten total in-game areas that are each accessed from Kornfield's vehicle as he drives to them. Once there, movement is bound to a 2D plane which players will survey to glean new information from either the game's supporting cast or the environment alongside few instances of obtaining or using items in combination with light story-advancing puzzle segments. While exploration is limited at the beginning, new areas become accessible as reason to be there is given as the story continues. Each area is small with only a two or three screens forming it, but the world is large enough to meet the scope of the game. The act of taking learned information to see what it can unlock by utilizing in specific social encounters is a simple fun toward uncovering a mystery that only intensifies as more details are learned as Kornfield and town citizens come face-to-face with a local generational danger.

Largely, gameplay consists of engaging in conversation with the game's supporting cast in a certain order. And, since the crime case relating to the missing persons is exciting, triggering even the smallest changes through the right interaction is rewarding. Throughout it all, Kornfield expresses doubt and questioning through internal dialogue, and there are times when he comes across as some unreliable vehicle at the center of it all. With the small number of individuals aiding his investigation, conversations are to-the-point largely as a result of the cast regularly being emotionally distant, detached, and simply strange in off-putting ways that reinforce the plot's mysteries. At every point, Saturday Edition requires players to follow a strict linear path in terms of plot progression. There are a large amount of separate parts with seemingly nothing to do with another, so finding out how one piece of information relates to another through some social connection is regularly surprising to maintain player interest.

Concerning the game's presentation, I greatly enjoyed its limited and focused use of animation apart from character movement. At top, there is a small window which appears to preview what little action transpires in real-time. A power cable being plugged into an outlet. Television buttons being pressed to change one channel to another. Eyes panning off to the side to avoid uncomfortable eye contact. A preview window also appears when approaching something that can be interacted with, so there is no difficulty in discerning what is or isn't important. Complementing visuals is the game's sound design which is equally effective. Music is beyond spare for quite some time with only the game's environmental sounds being present, such as Kornfield's footsteps or when the car engine turns over when traveling between locations. Another aspect is the game's inventory system. Once they've been fully used, they're automatically marked as being unusable though do remain in the player's possession. Items are often just paper notes waiting to be crumpled, but this inclusion helps establish a sense of player accomplishment and is cleverly used in an unexpected way in the game's final moments.

While I didn't have any real expectations prior to playing, Saturday Edition proved to be one of my favorite games that's a part of the season one catalog. I'm a fan of these small graphic adventure games that I don't really play all that often, and this game and genre altogether have proved to make excellent use of the system's portability. It's likely not a game someone would play again until they've forgotten the story, but it's still one that was fun to experience.