Messages

46

Classic Video Games / Re: Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past

« on: March 16, 2021, 12:55:32 am »

I’m about 13 hours in, I am enjoying it a lot.

The first battle doesn’t happen until about three hours in, that was a bit of a drag. But then the game gets going.

That’s all I came here to say.

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Classic Video Games / Re: Your Own Opinions Of Green Screened Computer Games Of The 1980's

« on: March 15, 2021, 02:47:35 pm »

*ahem*
*adjust glasses*

well ACKSHUALLY the correct term is monochrome display, green screen (aka chroma keying) is a technique used in film.

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Classic Video Games / Re: Atari 2600

« on: March 14, 2021, 03:54:36 am »

I came into video games during the 16-bit era. Playing Atari 2600 for me is no different than playing those crappy Tiger Electronics handhelds. Some games like Pitfall, Yar's Revenge, and Adventure are historically interesting and fun to mess around with for like ten minutes at a time, but I have just about zero emotional attachment to any of it. Flash games from the early 2000's are better than Atari 2600 games, lol

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Classic Video Games / Re: SNES vs Sega Genesis Observation

« on: March 09, 2021, 06:49:50 pm »

I grew up having a Genesis and never had a SNES, I was always jealous of my friends who had one because Mortal Kombat II looked better on it, lol.

Pound for pound, you can't deny the excellence of the SNES library. So many heavy hitting classics that still strongly resonate with people today.

The Genesis library just doesn't have enough of the enduring classics. It was cooler and edgier at the time, but it's obvious then as it is now that Sega ended up banking hard on flash over substance as their way to cut in on Nintendo's dominance. And that plan nearly worked, for a short time, but we all know now how things played out for both companies.

That being said, Phantasy Star II will always be one of my favorite RPGs ever. But the SNES still has Final Fantasy IV-VI, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Secret of Evermore, Soul Blazer, Breath of Fire, Star Ocean, Earthbound, Super Mario RPG... and on and on..

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Off Topic / Re: Have you stayed in a low paid job you were comfortable and settled in?

« on: March 09, 2021, 05:59:05 pm »

I had a terrible paying job (messenger boy) that I stuck with for a year because it was quite comfortable and I could make it to the end of the day even if I "wasn't feeling it" or slept like shit the night before. I liked it because I could be braindead and still do my job and all that time on the road alone allowed me to listen to tons of music and podcasts all day. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep barely coasting by financially (boy, who knew putting 50-80 miles on your car every single weekday results in costly maintenance) while having no aspirations to move up with the company and did eventually quit.

51

Classic Video Games / Re: Nintendo 3DS turns 10 years old.

« on: March 08, 2021, 02:59:24 pm »

The old DS's and DS Lite's were the best way to play single player GBA games . Still worth keeping for that purpose .

The honor of the best way to play single player GBA games belongs to the Game Boy Player. 

But you are absolutely correct that the best way to play your GBA games in portable form would be with the DS/DS Lite. At the time, playing GBA games on that amazingly bright and truly backlit DS screen with the built-in stereo speakers was kinda like going from watching your favorite VHS movies on DVD for the first time.

To play all GB/GBC/GBA games in portable form, the second model of the GBA SP with the much better screen is as good of a device as you'll get that isn't the Analogue Pocket.

52

Classic Video Games / Re: Nintendo 3DS turns 10 years old.

« on: March 07, 2021, 01:45:29 am »

One thing I loved about when I first got a regular 3DS XL was going back and basically replaying all of my favorite DS games. The upgrade in screen size and picture quality is a wonderful thing to behold, so much so that there's probably no going back to using my first model DS ever again.

53

Off Topic / Re: Where Do You Shop For Other Entertainments

« on: March 04, 2021, 03:07:51 pm »

Close second to my video game collecting obsession for me is record collecting. I should have picked two other hobbies that weren't so damn expensive to maintain... oh well.

Much like interest in retro video games has seen a huge resurgence in recent years, the same has happened for vinyl. There are a few major differences between the two mediums though, one being that there are just sooooooo many more records out there in the world. And I do mean the whole world, records are far more ubiquitous than old video games are and you can find ones that come from just about every country and recognized language, east and west. The standard 12" LP format has been around since the 1950's remains unchanged and continues to be made almost the exact same way present day. I just love the fact that I am able to play my deceased grandfather's records on my modern day equipment perfectly fine, and that the reverse would still be true, I could throw on my copy of Fiona Apple's 'Fetch the Bolt Cutters' released last year on a forty year old turntable set-up and it would play. No converting, emulating, porting, or any of that needed. Oh, and nothing is region-locked either. An LP of traditional Mongolian folk music should be able to play on a turntable from Lebanon.

Sorry, got a little off-topic there, what was this thread about again? Oh yeah, ok.

I shop for music at a lot of the same places that I look for video games, like Half-Price Books. Dedicated record stores and online too of course, newer emerging artists who put out records I want I'll try to order from them directly via Bandcamp.

54

Classic Video Games / Re: Nintendo 3DS turns 10 years old.

« on: March 04, 2021, 01:37:30 pm »

I haven't played a mainline Pokemon game since Gold for the GBC. There are a number of reasons why, but mainly it's just that I had lost complete interest in the Pokemon franchise after that game. When you're 10-11 years old, you want to be perceived as being cool and old and mature and Pokemon seemed like "baby games" to me by that age, even though I spent the two previous years thinking that Pokemon R/B/Y and the TV show were the coolest things in the world, lol.

Anyways, I'm a bit older now and I don't think twice about what anyone else thinks is cool or not anymore, as one should by a certain age.

This means I'm now interested in checking out a newer iteration of Pokemon for the 3DS. From what little I've read so far, folks seem evenly divided on what is considered better, X/Y or Sun/Moon. My natural inclination is to just play the newest ones, either UltraMoon or UltraSun, but does anyone wanna give their two cents on the matter? Again, I haven't played any of the games since Gold, I have no idea what newer features that have been introduced into the series since then, if anyone feels like going into depth.

55

Classic Video Games / Re: What retro items you are expecting will get expensier this 2021?

« on: March 04, 2021, 01:16:45 pm »

I started building up my original Xbox collection around last year, after someone sold me theirs + 8 games for 25 bucks. Pretty much all the games worth having for that platform are dirt cheap, but probably not for much longer. I wanted a physical copy of Silent Hill 2 for the PS2, but even a loose disc alone goes for like 100 bucks. Compare that to the Xbox version of Silent Hill 2 which you can grab now for 30 bucks CIB, maybe a little more for a sealed copy. Otogi 1 & 2 were super cheap but are now slowly going up in price because Souls fans want those early FromSoftware games.

What I'm saying is, if you're at a used game shop and happen to see copies of Panzer Dragoon Orta, Jet Set Radio Future, and Shenmue II... buy that shit and hold onto it!

56

General / Re: What grail games do you wish you had

« on: March 02, 2021, 07:08:34 pm »

Snatcher (Sega CD)
Lunar: The Silver Star (Sega CD)
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue (Sega CD)
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (PS1)
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete (PS1)


those were the first to come to mind, I'm sure I'll think of others later

57

General / Re: If you could see 1 cutscene again for the first time, which?

« on: March 02, 2021, 06:59:25 pm »

Onimusha: Warlords for the PS2 has one of my favorite opening pre-rendered cutscenes. Keeping in mind it was the year 2001, the CGI was unbelievable, and frankly I think still looks fantastic today. The beautiful symphonic score is what really does it for me though, it's too bad they changed the music for the PS3 remaster.

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General / Re: How Many Collectors Only Collect What They Enjoy?

« on: March 02, 2021, 01:03:53 am »

Regardless of how you feel about the way they spend their money, no matter how stupid they are with it, the money is supposed to be spent so that it stimulates the economy, no? And those stimulus checks, as pitifully small the amounts were, did provide much needed relief to those who needed it. Even if just about everyone in my social circle is of a middle class college educated upbringing and definitely not needing the money, that doesn't mean there aren't millions of other Americans with far lesser socioeconomic stature who are out of work and unable to afford next month's rent who used the money for entirely for living essentials. And even if the poor folks used some of the money to buy weed and some new speakers, who gives a shit? Life is hard enough as it is, the average American's spirit is at an all-time low, so why not let folks buy a small amount of non-essential happiness as relief...

59

General / Re: Tips on purchasing games”

« on: March 01, 2021, 06:31:43 pm »

I'll second that thrift stores, pawn shops, etc. are just not worth the time to pursue these days considering how rarely they are ever stocked with anything notable. If you absolutely need loose copies of Big Brain Academy and Drake & Josh: Talent Showdown though, you'll be in heaven at those places.

Has anyone had any luck with finding great deals for games at estate sales? When I used to be more of an avid record collector, estate sales were goldmines for finding really good old LPs, especially when its apparent the person who died was also an LP collector. though back then I never thought to seek out ones advertising video games for sale.

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General / Re: How Many Collectors Only Collect What They Enjoy?

« on: March 01, 2021, 05:12:40 pm »

Question:

Of course we know of collectors who go for obtaining full sets of every game that released for a system, sports and shovelware be damned, so are there known collectors who are trying to find *sealed* copies of everything, including those sports and shovelware games?

I ask because I have a copy of David Robinson's Supreme Court for the Sega Genesis that's unopened and still in shrink, I literally only bought it because it was like 3 dollars at a KB Toys many, many years ago. I never once entertained the thought it would be worth anything one day, just bought it because I thought it was funny to be buying a new Genesis game at a retail store in 2006.

Since any game is automatically more valuable if it's still in its original shrinkwrap, does this mean I now stand a chance of selling a completely unnoteworthy 16-bit basketball game to someone who feverishly desires the perfect, fully complete Genesis game library for a higher price than usual?