Messages

1

Classic Video Games / Super Mario Bros. 3 - Mario Time!

« on: October 26, 2023, 06:32:49 pm »

》》》START 》》》

Super Mario Bros 3 is 35 years old and probably one of the most important games worldwide. Super Mario Bros itself is a pretty important franchise, but I think Super Mario Bros 3 goes a bit further because it is one of those games that answers the question about whether video games are only for children or not.

Frankly, I don't care, but Mario 3 is one of the few video games I have met elderly people or people who don't care much about video games who enjoyed their time playing it and bothered to get further instead of just a couple of levels.

That's impressive considering how much of a taboo or just insignificant video games are for quite a lot of people.

About the game itself. I have never beaten it but I have played it several times and it's honestly impressive everything that it has done right. Have you ever seen a documentary about the development of this game?

Shigeru Miyamoto and his team wanted to create a video game that could be the "ultimate Mario game" and even Nintendo of America invested a lot in aggressive marketing for the game, which ended with Mario Bros 3 being the best-selling game of all time, even if it wasn't long-lived.

Mario Bros 3 is a popular game and there are still interesting things to say about it. It will keep being important for the video game industry and keep inspiring new gamers and players worldwide for another 35 years.

But what are your opinions about the game? Do you love it? Do you hate it? Mario World is better? Have you watched "The Wizard"?

¤You are welcome to disagree with me.

2

General / Re: Your Own Opinion About Collecting Today

« on: August 28, 2023, 08:05:53 pm »

I have made peace that there are a lot of games I don't need to have even if they are stuff I like, I think the worst thing about game collecting is forcing yourself into buying games that you don't want because they are needed for a complete set, I wish I could have bought more of my favorite games or other interesting stuff that I wanted when the chance was there but I am fine, I prefer to just play what I have and collect what I could.

The only thing I could love to? I don't know perhaps, a complete Sonic or Konami set but I could settle for a CIB copy of Super Castlevania lV.

That being said I respect people who go for the complete set and go ahead, make my day showing it.

3

Classic Video Games / Banjo-Kazooie turns 25 years old.

« on: July 10, 2023, 04:58:05 pm »

》》》 Start  》》》

Banjo - Kazooie turned 25 since its release recently, so let's talk about it a bit.

I guess at this point in history is almost impossible to say something that is not already known about the game, the development of the game is more than documented, and daily a lot of people still remember the game fondly.

But in the end, I don't believe that's necessarily a bad thing since it shows how much of an impact the game was on both the industry and users, and these days being remembered with a smile seems harder in modern times.

I guess, what made Banjo - Kazooie so special was everything about it, it felt like a different take on Mario 64 but good enough to be its own thing and even helped to build a genre like the 3D platforms, the developers loved making it, and in general the development stories are still some of the most inspiring and cheerful from all times.

I think a good summary for Banjo - Kazooie's overwhelming success is... "It helped to build a genre but also enhanced and it showed both quality and quantity are possible in the correct hands, and that's the reason the game is still loved even 25 years later."

Happy 25th-anniversary Banjo - Kazooie!
But what about you? Do you still love the game? Do you think is overrated? Are you still waiting for another game?

* You are welcome to disagree with me.
* I would like to say the first half of this year was extremely rough so if someone else is going through a hard 2023, I send you my honest best wishes and remember to always stay strong.

4

Classic Video Games / Re: The PS3 in 2023

« on: January 20, 2023, 01:42:45 am »

I remember playing with the PS3 quite a lot back then, but certainly, it shows the age of being one of the first HD consoles in the market.

And, well, I agree with the catalog of games doesn't age that well, after all, it started that era of generic shooter games and grey-palette games.

But is still nostalgic and I still love the menu, it's interesting how little details can be such special.

The console is also easier to hack than ever, so I guess that is a plus.
Anyway, it's a rough console but had a lot of stuff that ended up making it memorable and nostalgic.

5

Classic Video Games / It's the Wii U, underrated? - Wii U turns 10 years old.

« on: November 20, 2022, 03:07:13 pm »

》》》 START   》》》



The Wii U is 10 years old, but I still can remember looking forward to it, just like a bunch of people I was fascinated by the concept of Nintendo's newest console.

Did it pay off? Well, if there is something a lot of us have always been aware of is the Wii U's lukewarm success in the market, being Nintendo sometimes subtle enough to admit it.

So let's talk a bit about the console and games and if they did "well" for users.
I don't tend to write long threads but since this is one of the few consoles I lived from start to finish, let's make an exception this time.

• Functionality, services, and options.

The Wii U had quite some interesting options, some of which stuff that is not included anymore in modern hardware by Nintendo.

Some of them were useful like knowing how many hours you played a game or actual folders, and other stuff that Nintendo offered was at the very least interesting.

For example, the Wii U allowed you to video chat with other people using the Gamepad as a screen, I tried to use it but I can confirm it never worked.

Another option was using the gamepad for Google traveling and while interesting, I don't believe people loved it.

The Gamepad itself had options like a touchscreen, motion controller, and other stuff that sincerely I fail to remember games that used these functions at all.

The console had interesting features and I respect Nintendo for trying but unfortunately, I think is mostly secure to say that besides Nintendo itself and another indie company used it at all.

Regarding performance, the Wii U was quite a slow machine, taking many seconds to navigate between some menus or just turn it on, I can remember for example that even PS3 and Xbox 360 were faster machines considering both were older and unfortunately this is something Nintendo never ended fixing.

Regarding services, the brand-new Nintendo eShop was easier to navigate than the Nintendo Wii Channel but also had less charisma, of course, this last thing shouldn't care but I do.

But it was a nice store then unfortunately most of the time was mostly empty and lacking new releases.

On the bright side, Nintendo offered a better deal with the Virtual console.
A lot of stuff from the Wii one never appeared but this time we had more Nintendo 64 games, including copyright-hell ones like Donkey Kong 64 and better than ever also Nintendo DS and GBA games.
It wasn't great but it was better than Nintendo offers nowadays with their NSO subscription.

Of course, after all these services I wouldn't forget the most important one.

"Miiverse", Nintendo's social media.

Was Miiverse as bad as people make it sound?
As someone that used it a lot, I can confirm that... I don't think it was that bad, there were a lot of questionable posts but they were easy to ignore, and a bunch of people used to draw pretty well-made sketches.

The problem was... That Nintendo had problems making people respect their rules and sincerely it was quite often seeing people being made fun of just for commenting silly but inoffensive comments or just pushing the boundaries too much.

It's understandable why Nintendo preferred to save themselves the problem and besides some stuff inside some of their games, Nintendo Switch almost completely lacks any sort of social network for users.

A big shame but I still remember it with a smile as something I had the opportunity to live.

• Games

But what is a console without games?
- A Wii U (Nowadays a PS5 or Xbox Series)

Wii U had quite a limited library of third-party games and almost no one company tried to put their games on the console after it showed signs of limited success.

It had important games but most of them were almost always just worse versions of a game that was available in other cheaper or stronger hardware.
I think this is "ok", and the selection was interesting but it certainly required the user to be tolerant of the limited options and jump to test something different.

Nintendo was quite easier to work with indies at the time and supposedly an indie studio could get a Wii U development kit as cheaper as "400$" or "250$" or is prompted just "free"

Was this beneficial? Yes and No.
Yes, because quite a bunch of indies published really good games for the console, and it helped little studios to enter the video game market, but...
It also helped fill the eShop with quite a bunch of questionable products that also helped the perception of the console to be even messier.

About Nintendo itself, I can not complain.
They did a good job and I respect they tried their best to keep the console afloat while trying with everything and more to have the "NX" ready for release in 2017.

If you are curious.
"NX" was the codename for Nintendo Switch.

---------

In the end, while not completely I think the Wii U was mostly underrated, it felt like a clear Nintendo first attempt at an HD console but the first-party games and good service/options for the user base were there and are a shame most of that stuff is something that Nintendo failed to include on the Nintendo Switch and for me that enough for remembering the console with a smile.

My favorite games were Pikmin 3 and Sonic Lost World.

But that's just my opinion, did you have a Nintendo Wii U? Do You think it was underrated, or is it an overrated bad console?

You are welcome to disagree with me.

6

General / What's worse? A mediocre game or a bad game? - MKSR001

« on: November 06, 2022, 10:52:35 am »

》》》START》》》

The other day I found a thread talking about what is worse a mediocre game or a bad game.
Sincerely it made me put some thought about the subject for a few minutes and the answers were quite interesting.

I believe a mediocre game is worse, while a bad game is not the favorable option I feel that a game with no expectation of quality is easier to enjoy and get through if you always keep the low or null expectations in check.
Like you would have read at least once:

I have no expectations for it, so it can't disappoint me

While with a flawed or mediocre game you may potentially just keep seeing the rough edges, the wasted potential, and how some ideas could have worked better with another mindset or just more time for developing them, leading to just a more clumsy experience.
But still capable of being truly enjoyable experiences, like always everyone has their own personal expectations.

But that's just my personal opinion.
What do you think it's worse? A mediocre game or a bad game?

I hope we can have a good thread about the subject, and you are welcome to disagree with me.

7

Modern Video Games / Re: TMNT: Shredder's Revenge and Cowabunga Collection

« on: October 11, 2022, 12:39:43 am »

I haven't been playing stuff at all so I had problems playing Turtles.

But, last Sunday I wanted the platinum trophy and just went in a 2 hours marathon for getting everything, it's a pretty easy platinum for the most part but, it's fun.

8

Classic Video Games / GoldenEye 007 the classic FPS for N64 is 25 years old.

« on: August 26, 2022, 04:34:31 am »

》》》START 》》》

The classic first-person shooter is 25 years old!

Well, honestly, I think a problem talking about classic video games like Golden Eye is there is nothing else to say that is not known at this point, except for memories and stories not necessarily related to the development, but let's give it a shot.

I am particularly fascinated with the late 90s video game development stories and Golden Eye is not the exception, there is just a bunch of stories about this game development I wish more people that are enchanted with the video game industry would learn.

For example, did you know that Shigeru Miyamoto himself thought the game was too violent and asked Rareware to include a "false" ending showing the game characters at the end playing around showing that everything in the game was fake?

It's the kind of story that this industry doesn't have anymore.

Anyway, about the game itself, I feel an unusual feeling of nostalgia for playing it, when the game starts in the dam and you start listening to the iconic soundtrack there is something that makes me smile for no reason, nowadays that's pretty important if you ask me.

Golden Eye as a game aged and its rough edges are more notable than ever but after all, it helped to build a genre and is still one of the most memorable and inspirational games I ever played.

And probably for everything that it did for the industry Golden Eye is the true definition of a masterpiece.

What are your memories with Golden Eye 007? Do you like it? Or do you think is overrated?

Note: A few weeks ago a documentary for the game named "GoldenEra" was released, it's pretty lengthy and supposedly it includes new info about the game development, it is paid content, though.

9

Modern Video Games / Re: 2022 gamescom Opening Night Live (ONL)

« on: August 24, 2022, 01:58:23 am »

- Sonic Frontiers trailer looks fine but I wish they'd show more than 5 seconds for the "Cyberspace levels", still I believe the game will be enjoyable.

- I am glad that [Dead Island 2] is finally here, but sincerely is been so long that I forgot the game ever existed, heh.

- The Lords of the Fallen 2 is an interesting surprise, that's one of the oldest games from the last generation, and I never anticipated it would come back.

- The Outlast Trials, both Outlast games were great, so I am interested but I thought they would have made the third installment instead.

10

Modern Video Games / Re: Previously limited print items given wide retail releases

« on: July 30, 2022, 09:17:37 pm »

I personally don't mind companies releasing new physical copies for games that previously were available in a short amount of limited copies by LRG.

About practice and business like LRG, I personally always thought and was clearly aware that it's just a business if anything else is a bit disappointing that LRG is seemingly not improving and learning nothing from the past years and right now is more apparently than ever.

11

General / Re: Would you keep a gaming related gift from your ex? Or sell or dispose of it?

« on: July 09, 2022, 02:04:23 am »

I can't see why not, the game at the end is just something material.

Though, I assume some people would rather it be gone instead of being a reminder from someone left.

Anyway.

12

General / Re: What happened to this site?

« on: June 22, 2022, 01:53:30 am »

Well, sincerely, I stopped using this place for some months because I got sick and well, depressed... so I needed to take some time off, but I was planning to come back soon to make more topics about stuff that I am interested to.

If anything I don't think this place is dead and I believe it still has a bunch of things to say but at the same time it would be healthy just assume that everything needs to end at some point and just remember the good times, I am not planning to leave until this place is actually dead.

Funny enough, I prefer forums over social media.

13

General / Re: Games That You Want Sequels To

« on: May 16, 2022, 12:34:35 am »

Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights for 3DS.

A game that 5 dudes bought and 3 liked it included me.
The game is also like 11 years old.

Probably they will announce the sequel next week, just wait and see.

14

Off Topic / Re: VGcollect nostalgia

« on: April 24, 2022, 11:19:26 pm »

Thank you for the stories.
I have been here just a couple years or something but I actually enjoy everyone company and it always make me smile when I see most familiar faces.

It remember me that feeling of community that I have always loved, thank you everyone, I truly wish the best for everyone.

15

General / Re: Cheapest game or console you ever bought?

« on: March 28, 2022, 11:43:34 pm »

A baseball SNES game for FREE, because for some reason someone sent me a copy that I never ordered it.

I was curious about what happened but it was never clear, I assume it was a gift by a grateful ebay seller or someone made a mistake and accidentally sent it.

Either way, I am thankful for it and if it was intended as a thanks gift, I appreciate it, regardless I can't play it.