Messages

1

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

« on: Today at 02:24:43 pm »

Update: The NeoGeo AES+ launch has been delayed to September 16th, 2027 (10 months). This is due to two things: memory chip shortages, and something actually good! Pre-orders quickly exceeded Plaion's most optimistic sales forecasts for the entire first year, and have only increased over time. This has caused them to rethink and expand their entire launch plan to meet demand. They are committed to no price increases, thankfully. They are also working with developers to bring more games to the platform to better support it long-term. Apparently this news came out about a week ago, but my usual news source didn't report it.

https://games.gg/news/neogeo-aes-plus-delayed-september-2027/

There are also rumors that SNK and Plaion are planning to work on an entirely new sequel console because of how well this one is doing. SNK getting back into the console business is something I've wished for for years, so I definitely want to support this one to encourage them to keep going.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: September 21, 2026, 12:58:48 pm »

14: Injustice 2: Legendary Edition (PS4)

This game does what all sequels should do: take the first game and make everything bigger and better. Once again there is a robust story mode roughly 4 hours long, and the writing seems quite a bit better this time. It also seems like they made all of the characters easier to play, I didn't have as hard of a time with this one as I did with the first game. Supplementing the story mode is the excellent Multiverse Mode, which functions like the Towers of Time in Mortal Kombat 11. Its stages reset every few hours or so and reward you with Mother Boxes (lootboxes) for playing, which allows you to unlock new gear for the game's massive roster of 38 characters. Speaking of that, Injustice 2 features an insane amount of character customization, allowing you to change any character's headgear/cape, torso, arms, and legs. Similar to Diablo, the pieces you get have rarities and randomly-generated stat boosts as well. I've pretty much settled on Black Adam as my main, so I've been doing a few of the easier multiverse towers to level him up and get him some cool gear. Already got him a cool crown and some armor plating on top of his suit.

Oddly enough I remember hearing that a lot of people didn't like Injustice 2 as much as the first game. It probably has something to do with the lootboxes, but they're very easy to get without spending money, at least in the Legendary Edition. I actually like this game more. As far as what I didn't like, Injustice 2 does one of my least favorite things in fighting games: removing characters that were in the previous game. I was disappointed that Zod and Deathstroke were gone, as those were two of my favorites from Injustice. Aside from that, it would have been nice to have Power Girl as a full character with her own slot, moveset, and customizations instead of her just being an alternate skin for Supergirl. And finally, it would have been nice to have Nuclear Man in the game. Yeah I know he's considered one of the worst villains in the Superman movies, but he's one of my favorites. He was also way more intimidating than anything in Superman 3, even if he did go catatonic when not in direct sunlight and his other superpowers were yelling and growing his fingernails.

Rating: 8/10 (Excellent)

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)
Final Fantasy IV Advance (GBA)
Dragon Ball FighterZ (XBOX One)
Virtua Fighter 2 (Genesis)
Street Fighter 2: Special Champion Edition (Genesis)
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation Remastered (PS4)
Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition (PS4)
SoulCalibur III (PS2)
Injustice 2: Legendary Edition (PS4)

In Progress:

Nioh (PS4)
Farmagia (Switch)
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (PS4)

3

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: September 17, 2026, 11:48:43 pm »

13: SoulCalibur III (PS2)

Since I recently finished up my PS2 ROM archive and got PCSX2 up and running, I decided to revisit what I consider to be the greatest fighting game ever made. It had been well over a decade since I last played it, because I was dirt poor in my late teens and early 20s, which meant 6th gen lasted 10 years for me. This resulted in me getting burnt out on my 6th-gen games and constantly chasing new releases from the time I could afford an XBOX 360 until just a few years ago. Now I'm gradually going back and revisiting those classics. And I dare say, this one still lives up to my memories. I played through Story Mode with Cassandra, Mitsurugi, Siegfried, and Tira until I finally unlocked my old main, Sophitia. I then played through hers next and thoroughly enjoyed getting reacquainted with her. The game is still beautiful, especially by PS2 standards. Certain stages like the burning mansion hallway, and Abyss' final boss stage with all the meteors and the solar eclipse, make you wonder how they got this game to run on a PS2 in 2005. The only thing that looks slightly dated is the plastic-y skin textures on the character models, but they still look great in spite of it. And for single player content in a fighting game, this game is unsurpassed. Besides Story Mode, there's also Survival, Arcade, Missions, Tournaments, Character Creation (this was the game that popularized character creation in non-rpg games), a Museum with tons of different categories, and an RTS mode. Yes, this fighting game has a full frickin' RTS campaign built into it. The Story Mode routes are multiple choice as well, which gives the mode a high level of replayability, as you can play through it again with a character you've used before and have a different experience.

The game's biggest flaw is it being somewhat unbalanced, which was definitely more obvious to me now that I've expanded my knowledge of this genre of games. Setsuka in particular is a murder machine who can outmatch most other characters with sheer speed alone, landing a strike the instant you drop your guard and well before your own quick strike animation makes contact. I've heard there's an arcade-only version of this game called SoulCalibur III Arcade Edition where they rebalanced the roster, so I'll have to see if I can track down a ROM of that. Despite the balance issues, though, the game still holds up.

Rating: 9/10 (Outstanding)

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)
Final Fantasy IV Advance (GBA)
Dragon Ball FighterZ (XBOX One)
Virtua Fighter 2 (Genesis)
Street Fighter 2: Special Champion Edition (Genesis)
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation Remastered (PS4)
Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition (PS4)
SoulCalibur III (PS2)

In Progress:

Nioh (PS4)
Farmagia (Switch)
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (PS4)

4

General / Re: Why is Zelda Twilight Princess Shunned by Nintendo?

« on: September 17, 2026, 03:11:27 pm »

I remember the game being available on both the Cube and the Wii around the same time. I didn't know there was a Wii U version.

The game was a cross-gen release on GC and Wii. Interestingly, the dungeon maps were deliberately flipped depending on which version you played. In other words, a room that would be on the right in the GC version would be on the left in the Wii version. The Wii U version was the HD remaster based on the GC version's dungeon maps IIRC. It was released in 2016, which was the last year of the Wii U's lifespan. The desire for a port comes from the fact that the HD Remaster was released on a failing console (total of 13.56M units sold) in the last year of its lifespan, meaning a lot of people didn't get to play it.

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General / Re: What are you playing?

« on: September 17, 2026, 08:20:47 am »

Played a few demos recently:

Final Fantasy Resonance:
This is probably the best Final Fantasy game since XII way back on the PS2. I was worried that it would rely on nostalgia for other titles in order to function, but thankfully it stands on its own even without factoring in the visions. It brings back everything fans of the classics have been asking for for years, including controllable airships, turn-based battles, the victory fanfare when you win, and the world map. The character designs are good, and the music carries the emotion of the scenes like it did with the older titles. The pixel art is amazing, and the way they seamlessly blend 2D and 3D assets is impressive. The only complaint I have so far is the occasionally somewhat cheesy dialogue, but that's been a staple of the series since the XIII trilogy. Even though I always try to buy used copies of S-E games (after how they butchered the remake of FFVII), this game honestly has me considering buying it new. It's a massive step back in the right direction, and I think they should be rewarded for it.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World:
I ignored this subseries for the longest time because I had no idea what it was. Turns out it's a Pokemon-esque monster taming game series, only with more polish and better creature designs. I love what I've played so far, Bianca and Nera are adorable and the way the terrain is heavily curved like you're on a tiny planet is very unique. Even in the beginning area, I've found several monsters I like. Can't wait to try out the monster fusion to make more powerful monsters. I'll definitely be picking this up later this year.

Onimusha 2026:
The difficulty in this game is wildly inconsistent. In normal fights, it's like baby's first soulslike. You can wade into a group of 10 or 12 normal mobs and mow them all down without needing to heal. Then when you get to a boss, the game suddenly demands you perfect parry 90% of its attacks just to survive. Boss fights absolutely rely on the game's parry mechanics, because the dodge button is a joke (you literally step 2 feet back or to the side when you dodge, which means you still get hit by almost everything) and the bosses rarely ever give you any time to heal. You either master perfect parries or you die. Not much else to say about the game except that it looks very realistic, which will no doubt appeal to the movie game crowd. The realistic visuals actually work against it in my opinion, because for some reason every single character is voiced by a british person, and it's downright jarring to hear near-photorealistic japanese people speaking with british accents. At one point I just went back to the main menu and switched the audio to Japanese because it was that grating. Probably not picking this one up unless I can find it very cheap.

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General / Re: Why is Zelda Twilight Princess Shunned by Nintendo?

« on: September 15, 2026, 12:40:09 pm »

Yeah I've wanted Switch ports of Twilight Princess HD and Wind Waker HD ever since I bought my Switch in 2017 or 2018. Every year there were rumors that it was "definitely happening", but they never panned out. After nearly a decade of waiting, I gave up on Nintendo and just downloaded the ROMs of the Wii U versions. Problem solved. If they ever do get ported in the future, the Switch for damn sure won't get the ports anymore. They'll be Switch 2 or more likely Switch 3 only, neither of which I'll be buying.

7

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

« on: September 13, 2026, 08:26:18 pm »

My games for September:

Switch:

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
Monster Hunter Rise

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Modern Video Games / Re: Zelda/Nintendo Directs September 8th/9th

« on: September 09, 2026, 12:08:11 am »

Yeah I saw a number of people who just wanted to see the BOTW art style and I feel like those are people who've only ever played Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom and don't know that Zelda has never been just one art style and they always do something new unless it's a sequel.  I'm hoping they plan to just go right into a Majora's Mask remake, because it would make sense and this art style would look so good with that games darker tone.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing what the Shadow Temple/Bottom of the Well looks like in this art style.

9

Modern Video Games / Re: Zelda/Nintendo Directs September 8th/9th

« on: September 08, 2026, 08:58:20 pm »

That OOT remake looks great. I love the art style they went with instead of making it look like BOTW or straight-up realism. I'm also happy that they fixed Ganondorf's skull geometry so that his head is no longer compressed sideways, and that Ganondorf Tennis is still a thing.

I'm not buying a Switch 2 just to play it, but I look forward to playing it via emulation in 10 years.

10

Modern Video Games / Re: Dating A Video Game Character = Cheating? [GTA 6 MEGATHREAD]

« on: September 03, 2026, 09:57:50 am »

Well, remember what I was saying about realism making games suck? It's apparently happening with GTA6, according to some new rumors. Apparently the devs have just said that higher end cars can't just be hotwired, and require special tools in order to break into. These "key cloners" can't just be purchased immediately, you have to do jobs for fences to unlock them. Then once you steal the car with the key cloner, you have to remove a tracking device that pings your exact location to police. This can only be done at a fence and is locked behind another set of missions. Then once the tracking device is off, you then have to pay the DMV to have the car registered to you! In a game named after stealing cars, you can no longer just steal cars. Cars also require fuel now, whenever your tank is low you have to stop at a gas station and refuel it for 10 seconds.

That's not all either. The game ascends to new heights of pointless WREOLISSUM in other areas as well. To accumulate money, you have to deposit it in an ATM. No phone deposits. Any money you have on you when you die goes poof. You can't just walk into a gym and lift weights, you now have to go to the front counter and purchase a membership before you can do that. Mod shops no longer do everything, you have to visit different shops specializing in different mods. You also can't buy safehouses, because Jason and Lucia are fugitives and property is too traceable. The only things you're allowed to own are garages and parking. GTA6 doesn't sound like a game anymore, it sounds like a pain in the ass.

How about in the next Call of Duty game you take one bullet to the leg, then the rest of the game is you convalescing in a VA hospital, fighting the government for your disability benefits, and attending veterans' parades? Who cares if it's fun, it's realistic, right?

11

General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2026!!!

« on: September 01, 2026, 10:33:04 pm »

12: Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition (PS4)

I've been falling behind on completions for this challenge, so I'm going through a couple quick games to boost my numbers while I work my way through Nioh and Dragon's Dogma. Injustice is a fun DC universe fighting game made by the same guys who make the Mortal Kombat series. It's very obvious without even reading the box because the game plays like a Mortal Kombat game minus the gore and fatalities. It has both a solid Arcade mode with lots of routes/options and a robust story mode that lasts 4-5 hours, so there's plenty of single player content without even getting into STAR Labs. The character designs are still visually appealing, as they decided to go with stylized graphics instead of straight-up realism. There's also a pleasantly large roster of 30 characters, all of whom are unlocked from the start. The game does have a couple of big flaws, though. First, the game is very unfriendly to new players. It's even harder to pull off combos here than it is in Mortal Kombat. I'm not claiming to be great at fighting games or anything, but just pulling off a 3-hit combo was really pushing my limits with most of the characters. The sole exception was Batman, who felt tailor-made to be the first character you're supposed to play. Second, a lot of attacks require either very precise timing or holding a direction on the D-pad for a long time before pressing a button, which makes combat feel spongy and unresponsive. Third, the game's story mode follows the modern trend of making you play most of the characters on the roster to beat it. I really wish fighting games would go back to individual story routes for each character, because it gets really aggravating when you're almost at the end and the game forces you to use a character you don't jive with. It also interferes with the player's ability to learn movesets when their character is constantly being switched. Despite all of this, the game is really fun, and I'm glad I bought it.

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)
Final Fantasy IV Advance (GBA)
Dragon Ball FighterZ (XBOX One)
Virtua Fighter 2 (Genesis)
Street Fighter 2: Special Champion Edition (Genesis)
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation Remastered (PS4)
Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition (PS4)

In Progress:

Nioh (PS4)
Farmagia (Switch)
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (PS4)

12

Modern Video Games / Re: Dating A Video Game Character = Cheating? [GTA 6 MEGATHREAD]

« on: September 01, 2026, 09:48:19 pm »

Wow, they're serious about this? I hope these people never discover the Persona franchise, which is basically half dungeon crawler half dating sim. It's an entirely ridiculous argument, especially considering the degenerate stuff most women read these days. Ever heard of Morning Glory Milking Farm? It's a very popular "romance" novel aimed at women which is basically bestiality porn. And their husbands/boyfriends are supposed to be OK with them fantasizing about that kind of stuff. Also, women who are so insecure that they feel threatened by non-sapient fictional characters, aren't worth dating in the first place.

As far as the game itself goes, I'm already starting to see people claim it's woke. After watching the 3rd trailer, I haven't seen anything to make me think that, but I also haven't seen anything to make me think it isn't, so I'll wait until I have more info before I form an opinion on that. It's too early to say at this point. I will say that it seems to have a much more somber tone than its predecessors. The humor has been toned way down, the only parts that made me laugh were a couple of the commercials. Both of the main characters also seem to be devoid of personality. I really hope the trailer was just covering parts of the game that aren't supposed to be funny. As of right now, I haven't seen anything that makes me want to buy it, physical copy or no. It seems like they were trying too hard to make a realistic crime simulator instead of a GTA game. The photorealistic visuals don't do anything for me, I've been getting sick of realism in games since 2018. It's no coincidence that the hyper-realistic games tend to suck these days. Reality inherently sucks, and the more reality you add to a game past a certain point, the more it's going to suck. Case in point, GTA6's dating sim elements. I personally have no interest in Lucia, so being forced to wait on her to make her like me so I could get the best ending would drive me up a wall.

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

« on: August 29, 2026, 06:14:58 pm »

Met up with a friend today, took a ride in his new Jeep, and we ended up going to a local used game store. They had some great deals, I got 3 games for around $33.

PS4:

Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition
Injustice 2: Legendary Edition

XBOX 360:

Hunted: The Demon's Forge

14

Modern Video Games / XBOX Disc-to-Digital Program unveiled.

« on: August 26, 2026, 03:17:14 pm »

Today at Gamescom, Microsoft unveiled their rumored disc-to-digital program for XBOX One and XBOX Series X games. Basically, you insert the disc and it redeems an entitlement to a digital copy on your account, allowing you to download and play a digital copy without needing to insert the disc again. Your disc will still function normally afterward.

https://www.gematsu.com/2026/08/xbox-announces-disc-to-digital-feature

Sounds great until you realize they wouldn't be doing this unless they were planning to go all digital next gen. Still, Microsoft's policy is slightly less crappy than Sony's now. It's noteworthy that not all XBOX One or Series X discs will work at launch. Microsoft has only said that "thousands" will work at the program's launch, and they'll continue to add more over time. Sadly, it's speculated that XBOX and XBOX 360 discs are unlikely to work with the program because they don't have the same identifier codes on the discs as the later consoles do.

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Classic Video Games / Re: PS3 and Vita stores being shut down July 2027.

« on: August 20, 2026, 02:30:51 pm »

What happens to the "free" PS Plus games once the store shuts down? Many of the games offered, such as Wet, are even delisted.

If they're downloaded, they just shrug and say, "keep it"? Will it still somehow look for an authentication? Will they all brick/become inaccessible the day the store is turned off?

Are they playable offline? If so, I'd recommend disconnecting the console from the internet at least a day before the store shuts down, and then never re-connecting it again.

Software redeemed through PlayStation Plus requires an active subscription, so I imagine that it's therefore also required to maintain an active internet connection to launch these items.

Ah, probably true if it works like those Switch Online SNES games. Bummer.