Messages

1

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: May 01, 2026, 08:08:24 pm »

6: Resident Evil: Code Veronica X (Gamecube)

Since the remake is heavily rumored to be coming next year, I wanted to revisit one of my favorite RE games before then so I can compare it to the remake when that comes out. While I can easily see why it was one of my top 3 favorites back in the day, oh hell it has aged poorly and is in desperate need of an overhaul. The main issue, and it's pretty serious, is that it is ridiculously easy to softlock this game at multiple points. The most infamous is the plane tyrant fight, where you are completely screwed if you didn't try to knife your way through Rockfort Island. If you save on that plane without adequate ammo, you might as well restart your file. The issue is caused by two things: first, the game has the worst character swapping of all time, coupled with the worst inventory management of all time. In most games, if a character gets sidelined, the next character gets their inventory. Not here. I almost softlocked myself a second time VS Alexia phase 1 because I had equipped Claire with all the good weapons in prep for endgame, only to find out I needed to beat Alexia both times as Chris. Luckily I was able to load an earlier Chris save and undo that mistake. The second part of the issue is that ammo in this game is very sparse. I get that limited ammo in survival/horror is important, but it's overkill when I'm expected to knife regular zombies to death so I can hoard ammo for two or three bosses. If I have a gun, let me use the gun.

My other issue is narrative-related. I remembered CVX as being "the Claire game", but upon replaying it, I see that in the second half when Chris shows up he absolutely steals the spotlight. Claire, who is on the game's cover, never even gets to fight the main villains. It's always Chris. Claire stops being the lead character once her brother shows up, and it's annoying since she had the most investment in the story.

Is CVX bad? No, not by any means. I've played plenty of games that were far worse. But holy crap is it rough around the edges. I'm really hoping the remake fixes the issues I've mentioned.

Rating: 7/10 (Great)

Completed:

Tomb Raider II (Evercade)
Tomb Raider III (Evercade)
Mafia: The Old Country (PS5)
Gundam Breaker 4 (PS5)
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection (PS5)
Resident Evil: Code Veronica X (Gamecube)

In Progress:

Nioh (PS4)
Final Fantasy IV Advance (GBA)
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation Remastered (PS4)

2

Modern Video Games / Re: Report: PS6 2029 | Switch 2 price increase soon?

« on: April 30, 2026, 08:28:28 am »

Although I was thinking the other day working on my PS2. With how often PS2s disc drives fail. And it becoming a bigger issue than ever before.  You are left with 2 options. Either buy oem and aged hardware and hope for it to not brrak.  Attempt a laser eye replacement which doesnt always work. Or buy a Chinese replacement part with varying build qualities that may fail faster than before. 

With PS5 having literally millions of disc drives being made seperately.  Think when PS5 gets into its senior years. 20 to 30 years old. It will have an abundance of disc drives on the market to buy. And even if they are expensive. I think they will be more consistently readible and thus make PS5 the easiest of the disc based consoles to keep alive.  No solder. No assembly.  The idea of a swappable plug and play disc drive is actually genius even if they did invent it for the wrong reasons.   Idk. Maybe thats just me trying to shine sunlight on a dogs ass lol.

The only problem I see with the PS5 disc drives is that they need to call to a server to authenticate when installed (a message saying this even popped up when I installed mine), but I'm confident that some console hackers somewhere will find a way to spoof the signal now that the console has been hacked, just like we now have private servers for old MMOs. The hardware failure issue and disc rot are why my end goal for my collection is to digitize everything by ripping the discs, then make multiple backup copies of my library on portable SSDs and Verbatim M-Discs (archival blu-rays that last for 1,000 years). PCs may be crude, but they are much easier to repair. I love my consoles, but I know as I get older they'll die one by one. I've had 2 PS4s die on me already, my original fat model due to either HDD failure or video encoding chip failure (lost all my save data), and the Pro I bought to replace it due to a bugged update that bricked it (thankfully I had just swapped the internal HDD for an SSD, so by inserting the old drive and backing it up to a flash drive, I was able to save all but my most recent data before wiping the SSD and reinstalling the OS). Now I keep a flash drive plugged into my PS4 Pro and back up my saves whenever I make significant progress. I've also had 2 original Xboxes die because of disc drive issues and I refuse to buy a third. Oddly, my Pikachu N64 is still kicking. That thing will probably outlive everything else in my collection.

3

General / Re: What are you playing?

« on: April 30, 2026, 07:26:34 am »

I couldn't figure out how to add Gamecube cheat codes to RetroArch to get myself unstuck, so I've restarted my Resident Evil Code: Veronica X playthrough. I used the infinite herb glitch this time, because when a game gets cheap with me, I have no problems getting cheap with it. Also, no matter how much I love this game, I have no desire to restart the same playthrough twice. After a few hours, I'm almost back to the plane tyrant fight already. It's funny how much faster this game goes by when you know where to go.

4

Classic Video Games / Re: SNK and Plaion are re-releasing the NeoGeo AES Console.

« on: April 25, 2026, 10:59:51 am »

Just to clarify, the $250 NeoGeo is just the console itself with a wired arcade stick. The 35th Anniversary bundle I'm planning to get is $350 and includes Metal Slug, a wireless arcade stick, and a memory card (all in white). It is $100 more than the console itself, but with the game being $90 and the memory card being $35, it's still cheaper than buying everything separately. Personally I'm much less hesitant to spend $350 on a new-manufacture console bundled with a game and memory card than I would be to spend $400 on a used console with capacitors that have been around since I was a toddler, and have to buy a game and memory card on top of that. Not to mention the new version has HDMI out and dip switches for region selection, display modes, and even overclocking the CPU.

On a side note, it seems quite a bit of the console manufacturing costs are tied up in the arcade stick, as those are priced at $120 each.

I did see Plaion's Atari consoles on the Atari website and almost bought a 5200, but then I remembered I can't stand playing games that old. It's hard enough for me to get into NES games, so going to something even older would be a painful experience and something I'd hardly ever get any use out of.

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General / Re: April 2026 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: April 24, 2026, 02:50:33 pm »

PS5:

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine II Ultima Edition

PS4:

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

Switch:

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin

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Modern Video Games / Re: Report: PS6 2029 | Switch 2 price increase soon?

« on: April 19, 2026, 10:27:07 am »

Yeah I saw the price increases coming last year when RAM prices started skyrocketing. I saw that with the Black Friday $100 off and my 10% employee discount, $585 (before tax) for a PS5 Pro was the cheapest I'd ever be able to get it for, so I jumped on it. Man am I glad I did now that they're $900. Regardless of whether or not physical is still a thing next-gen, I'm done with mainstream gaming after this gen. There's just hardly anything worth buying anymore. From generations 1 through 7, every time a new game came out in a series, it was usually a significant improvement (at least visually). But ever since 8th gen, sequels keep getting worse and worse with each new iteration. Now they've reached the point where there's usually no point in buying sequels because the previous games were better (with very rare exceptions). I'm still looking at the next Xbox because I want a gaming PC powerful enough to emulate anything in my collection, but if it ends up being locked down in any way, I'll just go with a regular gaming PC.

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Classic Video Games / SNK and Plaion are re-releasing the NeoGeo AES Console.

« on: April 17, 2026, 10:28:59 am »

This came out of nowhere. SNK and Plaion have partnered to make 1:1 recreations of the original NeoGeo AES consoles, which will be called the NeoGeo AES Plus. These are not emulation boxes, they contain re-engineered ASIC chips and take the original cartridges and memory cards. They will also be making new-production cartridges (which will work on original hardware) and peripherals such as the memory cards. There will be 10 cartridges available at launch, and they come in clamshell cases. Console itself launches November 12th for $250. Games will reportedly be $60 each. Correction: games will be $90 each. Listings are up on Amazon now. Yeah, that's really expensive. However, I think there's still a value proposition here. This isn't just dumping an old rom on a Switch cart, they're actually recreating the original VHS-sized dual board cartridges which will work on original hardware, complete with some very nice hard plastic clamshell packaging. NeoGeo is also not easy to emulate, you need a special program to recompile the rom so it actually works. Definitely not a system I'll buy every game for, but I'll definitely be getting carts of my absolute favorites.

This is so awesome, this console is a collecting holy grail for me, and now it will be affordable. Definitely getting one in white. NeoGeo is back, and I am psyched!

https://press.plaion.com/NEOGEO-AES#?tab=Packshots-2&scrollto=

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General / Re: Do you still prefer physical games or digital?

« on: April 16, 2026, 06:51:27 pm »

Definitely physical. If a digital game isn't a rom or DRM-free GOG version that I can make infinite backup copies of, I don't even consider it part of my collection.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: April 16, 2026, 06:28:23 pm »

5: Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection (PS5)

I had a feeling back when I played the demo that I wouldn't be able to put this one down once I started it, and I was right. This game is worth every penny of the $70 I spent on it. Rarely does a new game exceed my expectations these days, and even more rarely does it turn out to be one of the best games I've ever played, but that's exactly the case here. This is the pinnacle of creature-collecting games. This game saw everything Pokemon Legends: Arceus did right and said, "Hold my beer." It's the same basic formula, but expanded so far in every imaginable direction that it ascends to a higher form. The art style is a massive improvement over that of the previous two Monster Hunter Stories games, keeping the anime-esque shaders while thankfully ditching the chibi proportions and preteen protagonists that other games in this genre adhere to like a religion. Finally a developer understood that some older fans of the genre want huge badass monsters and not beady-eyed yellow fuzzballs. And it's so nice to have a player character who looks like they could have a driver's license.

This game has a wonderfully complex turn-based battle system which forces you to take into account not only the element of your attack, but also the type of the attack (speed, power, or technical), the type of your enemy's attack, the charge gauge of your weapon, the type of attack your partner monster is using, what enemy body part you're targeting with what type of weapon (blunt, slash, or piercing), and whether or not the enemy is targeting you (which causes a clash called a head-to-head resolved by a rock-paper-scissors type alignment). This brings me to the next great thing about the game, its difficulty. This game is really freaking hard, and demands you learn the ins and outs of its battle system or else it will gladly bend you over the nearest table and ream your ass. When I first started the demo, I saw that in each battle you had three hearts that would auto-resurrect you or your monster when one of you died. I thought, "Oh cute, they dumbed the combat down for the modern audience." WRONG. This is actually a legitimate gameplay mechanic, and you will have to think hard about how many hearts you have left, whether or not you have any life essence to restore them, and whether you want to use items to heal your ailing monster's status or just let it die and come back with its stats refreshed. Unless the monsters you're fighting are the same level as you or lower, you will be dying a lot in each battle.

Like Legends: Arceus, MHS3 takes place in open-zone maps which you must explore and harvest new monsters from. These maps are a great example of how to make an open map without making it too big and empty. The method of acquiring new creatures is different from Pokemon, though. You don't capture the adult monsters, you raid their dens and steal their eggs. This often leads to comical situations where you're running out of a den carrying an egg the size of a small beach ball while the angry mother chases you down. The monsters themselves are highly customizable, as each has nine gene sockets where you can add new attacks from other monsters via the Rite of Channeling (medieval gene splicing), which is in itself a lot of fun. Want to give an extremely powerful water attack to a fire-type monster? In MHS3, you can do it. This gives you a new reason to capture monsters you already have: gene farming.

I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as a perfect game, and even though I love MHS3, it has a few minor things I think they could improve. First, the game could have used one more area, or at least the fourth and final area could have been more fleshed out. Two thirds of it are basically a FFX-style winding corridor. After the second and third areas, it definitely feels like they ran out of time here. Second, the game could use more monsters. The ones in the game are great, but I've just started MH Wilds (which came out last year), and I'm already seeing monsters like the Quematrice that I wish had made it into MHS3. Third, even though they ditched the old chibi aesthetic, there are still some minor issues with monster scaling compared to the mainline series. For instance, I was excited to find the Barroth (one of my favorites from MH World) had made it in, but disappointed to find out it was significantly smaller than it was in World. The party/riding model feels like you're just riding a big cow. The scaling issue is exacerbated by the fact that the models for monsters in your party are further reduced in size by about 25% from the ones you see in the wild. It's annoying once you notice it and makes you feel like you got a gimped monster. Fourth, unlike other MH games, there's no option to make the palicoes speak cat. This is bad because Rudy is annoying and a bit of a control freak. He's also very, very loud (at least in the english VO). But it says a lot about a game when the only flaws I can find with it are that there isn't more of it, they made my Barroth small, and the cat is annoying.

You know a game has to be amazing when I spend 110 hours in it and immediately start another playthrough after the final boss. After 90 hours in AC Valhalla last year, I felt like I needed a vacation. Yet I'm still playing MHS3 a week after beating it. I can't praise this game enough, it has replaced PL: Arceus on my list of top 10 best games of all time. Nintendo made the Pokemon game I always dreamed of as a kid, but Capcom made the Pokemon game I dreamed of playing as an adult.

Rating: 10/10 Near-Perfect.

Completed:

Tomb Raider II (Evercade)
Tomb Raider III (Evercade)
Mafia: The Old Country (PS5)
Gundam Breaker 4 (PS5)
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection (PS5)

In Progress:

Final Fantasy IV Advance (GBA)
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation Remastered (PS4)
Resident Evil: Code Veronica X (Gamecube)

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General / Re: April 2026 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: April 16, 2026, 01:19:46 pm »

PS5:

Monster Hunter: Wilds

Switch:

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma
Farmagia

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General / Re: Older consoles or handhelds that you regret sleeping on when they were modern

« on: March 24, 2026, 11:18:56 am »

I do wish I had grown up with SEGA consoles (specifically Genesis, Saturn, and Game Gear) instead of the SNES and N64. I would've found more IPs I was interested in that way instead of only playing Pokemon and Mario until 2002. I also wish I'd asked for a Dreamcast on release so I could've been part of that experience instead of waiting until production was cancelled. But most of all, I wish I could've had a Neo Geo AES when I was a kid. There's no way my parents would've bought a $1200 console for a 5-year-old, but damn, those visuals from a home console would've been mindblowing in the early '90s. It released in 1990 and was so much more powerful than its competitors that it was still getting new games until 2005. Fifteen years... that thing hung in there.

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General / Re: March 2026 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: March 24, 2026, 09:57:52 am »

PS5:

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty (Originally wanted to get the Xbox One version, but it went out of print and prices skyrocketed to $150. PS4 version also shot up to $80. Amazon happened to put the PS5 version on sale for $40, so I jumped on it because I doubt it will be that cheap again.)

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General / Re: March 2026 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: March 19, 2026, 07:45:49 pm »

PS5:

Rise of the Ronin
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection

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Classic Video Games / Re: $100 Collection Challenge

« on: March 18, 2026, 01:20:20 pm »

If I had to recommend a first console to someone who doesn't play video games, I'd go with an XBox 360, particularly a 360 S. Not only is it a beautiful redesign that fixed every major flaw with the original model, it (along with the PS3 Slim) represents a time where 3D gaming was in its golden age and the player didn't have to worry so much about online accounts, microtransactions, hard drive sizes, massive update files, and whether or not the entire game was on the disc. Granted some of those things did exist, but they were far less egregious than they are now. Heck, DLC expansions used to get physical releases back then! The XBox 360 S does narrowly edge out the PS3 Slim due to its better controller, unified RAM that allowed for higher resolution, and more normie-friendly library. With that said, my recommendations would be:

Platform: Xbox 360 S

Games:

Racing: Forza Horizon 2 ($22)
2D: I don't know, Rayman Legends? ($13) (I rarely play non-Mario 2D platformers, so I just stuck something cheap in here.)
RPG: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim -Legendary Edition ($12) (Was gonna pick New Vegas Ultimate Edition, but that alone would have eaten up the budget.)
Shooter: Halo: Reach ($13)
Strategy: Another genre I don't play, hmm... Halo Wars? ($9)
Wildcard: Batman: Arkham City GOTY Edition ($10)

Total: $79

Pricing: Amazon used prices.

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Modern Video Games / Re: Report: Sony single player games exclusive again

« on: March 10, 2026, 10:36:59 am »

Why does being a lesbian need to be plot relevant? Why can't she just be a lesbian.... cause she's a lesbian? There are tons of characters who we know are straight that serve no purpose to the plot. In the first Uncharted we know that Drake is straight, but it doesn't matter to the story at all. It does help develop his character though, as we get to see him develop a crush on Elena Fisher by the end of the game. Likewise, seeing Alloy become closer to Seyka doesn't really matter to the overall plot (yet, more developments could happen in Horizon 3 that make the relationship relevant), but it matters for her character development as we see them getting close.

If a character in a game doesn't have sex on-screen, I don't want to know what their sexual orientation is because it has no relevance to the story or gameplay. Horizon was never about whether Aloy liked men or women, it was about fighting robot dinosaurs and saving the earth from killer AI. Suddenly declaring a character's sexual orientation over two games into the series is like walking into a living room and blasting a foghorn while everyone else is trying to watch TV. It adds nothing to the experience and only serves to either get attention or piss people off. What's even worse is how it was handled, because the player makes dialogue choices for Aloy throughout the series, but here there wasn't even an option for a hard no. The strongest negative you could choose was, "I'm not ready for this right now/don't need this right now." That's not a refusal, it's a "maybe later."

Romance subplots in general are usually poorly done and used as a cheap way to "add depth" to characters without adding any real substance to them. I really despise shipper culture and how it's created a trend of "Oh, there's two characters! We need to make them shack up!" in modern media. The only stories that benefit from romance are the ones designed around it in the first place. I'd still have been disappointed if they paired Aloy up with a man, though not as much because a heterosexual relationship would have been less aberrant. Yeah, homosexuality exists in nature. So do ebola, rabies, and scat-eating, but very few people want to see those either. Bottom line: if you want to make a game with gay characters, just create your own IP (like the people who made 1348 Ex Voto) and deal with the lower sales numbers. Don't shoehorn your agenda into an existing IP with its own established fanbase so you can piggyback off brand recognition, you'll just piss people off.