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Image credit: @thomasjones_89 Click the poster to view his twitter feed and see some of his art
Community Playthrough Discussion Thread
Thanks everyone for making the July and August Community Playthrough of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars so much fun. Pat yourselves on the back for restoring order the world and allowing people's wishes to come true.
As you may remember, thanks to Shadow Kisuragi's vast knowledge of the game, we were able to offer you with a slew of achievements to tackle while playing. It was a close race between Addicted and singlebanana for the biggest achiever, but Addicted just squeezed ahead with one more achievement. Congrats Addicted!
For being the RFGen member with the most achievements he earned himself a say in the selection of the next game for us to play through together. Addicted must have loved platforming and puzzling through those 16-bit Disney games, because he proposed we play the new DuckTales Remastered and the Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse remake.
DuckTales is available now digitally on Steam, PSN, or the Wii U eShop for $15. XBox Live Arcade will receive DuckTales Remastered on September 11. Or if you like game cases (and snazzy pins) "physical" copies containing a download code are in stores as well.
Castle of Illusion will be released via PSN on September 3rd.
If anyone is feeling lucky Capcom is holding a contest to give away 150 DuckTales Remastered press kits. More information can be found here.
Here's to another Community Playthrough.
DuckTales! Woo-Oo!
Episode 16.5 discussion thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...rum/index.php?topic=12494
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In this special episode, we team up with Twitter follower @GamerCents to dig into the depths of BioShock Infinite. We take the time to pull the game apart, and walk through our thoughts piece by piece. What did we all think of the combat and game mechanics? Did the plot twist our brains into knots?
We hope you enjoy this special episode, and make sure to let us know your thoughts. Did we get it right? Do you agree, or disagree? We would love to hear your theories as well!
Show notes:
Gamer Cents on Twitter: @GamerCents
Gamer Cents blog: http://gamercents.blogspot.com/
Songbird theory video: http://youtu.be/QUCZ9ViN47A
Hey everyone. Ive been working on my new video game channel on YouTube for a little while now and wanted to talk a little bit about what you are seeing and can plan on seeing in the weeks and months ahead. Most of my videos are Atari 8 Bit related ( hence the name ). But I also try to include games from other consoles that I collect.
Some of the systems I collect and you may find on the channel include the Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, 8 bit computer line, NES , SNES, Gameboy, Genesis, and any other system that is cartridge based.
Each week I do at least 2 videos.
- One based called "The Gaming Moment Back In Time" which focuses on a game from my collection that either I grew up playing and enjoyed or something Ive added to my collection and has been overall a big hit to play.
- The other video is my Thursday pick up video that covers all the finds Ive picked up from flea markets, garage sales, eBay, and video game forums like this one.
The channel can be found here : http://www.youtube.com/user/atarian83
I hope you all will enjoy these videos and like usual it's a learning process for me. Feel free to subscribe, like, comment or share personal memories of the games featured. Also I'm learning as I go and sometimes make mistakes; feel free to drop a line with comments, suggestions or ideas. The more I can learn and share the more everyone benefits.
Look forward to sharing amazing memories and gaming finds.
Jason aka A8Scooter aka Atari 8 Bit Game Hunter
This week's gaming moment takes us back to the days of the Super Nintendo and its earliest pack in game. Even as a simple pack in game it took a life on of its own. Im sure every gamer can remember playing this title at one time or another. Please subscribe and comment on the channel as next week Im gonna work on putting a little give away for those who are subscribers to the channel.
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Alright so I finally got around to getting my new Saturn memory card. I bought a disc only game on a whim off eBay just because it was cheap and this was months ago. Well, I found the game while rummaging through a box looking for my Saturn 3D controller for NiGHTS so I decided to pop it in. The games title is Dark Legend, now just from the title I was thinking "I bet this has a gloomy mood" and the disc art had a character who reminds me of Goro from Mortal Kombat. I went into the game expecting a dark first person style dungeon crawler but boy was I wrong. Dark legend turned out to be a beautiful arcade fighter, everything is very colorful, the character movements are smooth, and it is very action packed! The way I found best to describe the movesets would be to combine Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter together. Some of the moves require a ton of directional button presses before it can be executed so there is some research to be done and a lot of practice to become good at it. This does not take away anything from the game and there is a lot of fun to be had. So basically what I am getting at is you can't judge a game by its cover... HAHAHA. Have any of you had this happen to you?
SSG Out!
This week I picked a game I just got in this week. Didnt know if it was going to be a great new title or a dud. As soon as I plugged Rally Speedway in and gave it a shot, was I surprised by how awesome it turned out to be. Heres my take on it in this week's Gaming Moment Back In Time.
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In case you were wondering what happened to RFG's news updates, there's no need to worry. We haven't forgotten about you guys. Here is a quick recap of the action the database saw over the last two months.
In June we saw a total of 3720 submissions which comprised of 3503 games related submissions and 217 hardware entries. July was only slightly quieter with 2028 in total. 1900 of which were games and 128 hardware submissions. Big thank you to everyone who made it happen!
The top submitters for June were Tynstar (760), ApolloBoy (537), and Shadow Kisuragi (340).
July's top three were ApolloBoy (447), thegreatska (303), and douglie007 (150).
Great work guys! Thanks for your efforts!
June and July were busy months and our database is chock full of new submissions thanks to great community members like yourselves. We've got a total of 29,718 submissions this year to date and there are still four month till the end of 2013 to hit our goal of 50,000. Keep at it!
If there are any aspects of Role Playing games that have the potential to polarize their players grinding is likely to top that list. Some gamers soak up ever ounce of it while others cringe at the mere thought. One thing is certain though - if you want to get anywhere in an RPG you will have to grind.
Before even looking at how this gameplay mechanic is used it is important to understand the meaning of the term in question. To grind can be defined as sharpening by abrasion, but could also refer to being oppressed, tormented, and crushed. Two totally different meanings, but they are both so appropriate to describe a Role Playing game staple. By looking at the definition alone one can see where the polarization occurs. Repetitively battling enemies to gain new items and levels both hones the skills of the character while tormenting the player with a seemingly endless chore.
When looking at Western RPGs and their Japanese counterparts it becomes apparent that both treat grinding differently and implement it for unique reasons. Western Role Playing games, for the most part, and most notably, Skyrim, utilize this gameplay element as a reason to explore the game's world and mythology. In doing so the player can completely bypass the main plot in order to gain full freedom to discover hidden items peppered throughout the land that colour the game's lore. Grinding is absolutely optional but is in fact an added incentive for the player to try to enhance their gaming experience. In this case the act of grinding becomes synonymous with discovery. The treasure is out there should the player choose to seek it. This ultimately contributes to greater immersion by offering players the uncover the game's secrets.
Japanese RPGs, on the other hand, exploit level grinding in a very different manner. The role which grinding plays becomes a critical component of the game and the development of characters' statistics. This is all well and good on the surface, but it can have deleterious effects on the player's view of the game as a whole. By forcing a player to repetitively perform the same task, be it battling or playing a mini-game, he or she can actually lose sight of the plot and the primary objective of the game. This will usually result in forgotten plot points or even player resignation leaving the game to never be played again.
While leveling up in such a way often feels like a chore the tedious act does have underlying benefits. Evening out the playing field, especially in preparation for boss battles, gives the player a chance to develop skills - both strategic concepts that can be used in-game and improved character techniques - that allow spikes in difficulty to be overcome with less frustration. The same can be said for grinding in multiplayer online RPGs as well. By level grinding the player can keep up with fellow gamers and gain access to once unattainable areas or items. However, in typical Japanese fashion, grinding is not just a shallow game mechanic. It ties into a state of mind which is associated with overcoming life's hurtles.
The way JRPGs use grinding adequately reflects both meanings of the word. The honing of one's talent will translate into the dominance of oppressive barriers. Much like studying or training the body, grinding carries a special philosophical weight along with it. Father of the Japanese RPG Yuji Horii claims:
In the real world there are so many difficulties people are facing. Sometimes, there are no rewards... at least in the game, we want to make sure they [players] will be rewarded. In Japanese style you have to try, try, try - and then you can finally get a reward. It is like climbing a steep mountain - you have to keep climbing, climbing, climbing and then at the end you finally get to the top, and you see the beautiful view.
In this way level grinding reassures the player that their time and hard work will pay off. Be it the acquisition of superior items, the improved statistics, or the pleasure of defeating more powerful enemies, this gameplay mechanic in fact teaches players to not lose hope in their endevours, more importantly, that with persistence and determination any goal is achievable. Despite being very taxing on the player, grinding levels and equipment is a backbone of the RPG genre. It is implemented in many games and in as many unique ways, but its philosophical teachings and in-game rewards make the experience so much greater. So keep trying, keep climbing those mountains because whether the experience comes in the form of points or fond memories, nothing comes without effort.
Each Tuesday I do videos on different games from back in the day ( so far all have been Atari 8 bit games till this week ), and this week I thought Id mix it up a little with something from the NINTENDO ranks with this oldie but goodie. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest.
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Feel free to check it out and comment on this week's game. Also Thursday's I do my weekly pick up video which covers all different finds throughout the all aspects of retro gaming. Im new and developing so please bare with me as I grow this Vlog and rebuild my collection ( it was once mighty but sold it for a classic car). I hope you all enjoy this week's video and subscribe to my channel. Thanks again.
Jay
Activision Anthology
2002, Activision
PlayStation 2
Remember when you were a kid and you’d wake up early Saturday mornings for cereal and cartoons while your parents slept? I’ve developed a similar habit recently. There’s something about coffee and old 2600 games that really goes well with the weekend.
I personally have a very soft spot for the Atari VCS, as it was the first real console I owned (unless you count a C64 and small stack of edutainment titles). I acquired my VCS in the mid-80’s along with a big box of second-hand games. And although my household would have a NES not long after, it was those Atari games that seemed to really define gaming for me early on.
Sadly, my console and games are long lost to time. I honestly have no idea what ever became of them. Yard sale most likely, as my mom moved several times since I moved out of her house. I did eventually pick up another heavy-sixer at a yard sale a couple of years back, but ultimately decided to flip it as we were living in a small-ish apartment and didn’t have the room to keep it hooked up, nevermind start another collection of games. Because of all this you can probably understand my fondness for these sorts of Atari collections. Without taking up much shelf space, I’ve got access to lots of 2600 games thanks to Activision Anthology (and a few other similar compilations). But Activision Anthology in particular really nails the potential for such reissues. No matter your take on retro compilations, there’s a lot to admire here. So let’s take a look a bit at what Activision Anthology does right.
Presentation is of course a big deal to a compilation such as this. By the time the PS2 came along, emulators were mainstream. That meant that just dumping a folder of a ROM’s on a retail disc wasn’t going to impress anyone (although that still hasn’t entirely stopped some publishers from doing just that). But Activision went above and beyond with their Anthology. Rather than just a menu, you’re greeted by a virtual bedroom. Here you can choose your cartridge from a phsyical stack (you can also examine the box art or read the manual for each game), you can view your collection of patches (basically achievements modeled after the actual patches you could get from Activision back in the day) and you can choose your music.
Oh that’s right - the music! Certainly you can choose to just listen to the original game sound effects if you so choose, but your room also has a boombox. And as such, Activision went ahead and licensed a dozen or so popular songs from the period to sort of put you in the context a bit more. Meaning, you can feel like you were back in the 80’s listening to your stereo while you play your VCS. It’s really a pretty brilliant idea that I wish more compilations featured. And as I said, it’s also optional. You can adjust the volumes for the games and soundtrack as you wish which is also a welcome flexibility, as you're never “stuck” with one or the other.
It may also be obvious, but thankfully Activision Anthology keeps high scores for your games. I say thankfully because it’s shocking how many retro compilations are released that don’t have this very simple (and highly desirable) feature.
If all this weren’t proof enough of the labor of love that is Activision Anthology, I should also mention the myriad unlockables. By reaching various achievements within all the cartridges you will unlock all kinds of interesting extras including developer interviews and original TV commercials for the games. These visual extras are excellent bonuses for video game history buffs and are definitely motivation to keep playing games just to unlock more.
So there you have it... except we haven’t even talked about the most important part of this collection: the games! Nearly fifty games are included here including a handful of homebrew titles (which is another stellar addition by Activision). So of that fifty, I’d like to highlight some of the ones I’ve been spending the most time with lately.
Fishing Derby is a unique game where you and an opponent race to see who can catch the most fish. The tricky part is that there’s also a shark swimming around trying to eat the fish that you’re reeling in. And then there’s of course some strategy considering the deeper the fish you catch, the more points they’re worth. I kind of think this game would appeal to me a lot more if I was playing against a human opponent, but the concept and scoring itself is still very impressive.
Surprisingly Ice Hockey has been a favorite that was new to me via this collection. You might think that hockey wouldn’t work well on such primitive hardware, but the programming behind this one is mind-boggling. The game is setup as a two-on-two where each play has a goalie and a skating player. How this works is your goalie and your opponent’s player is on the top half of the screen and vice versa. The puck’s placement vertically on the screen determines if you control the goalie or your player. This might sound confusing, but it’s actually flawless in its execution. It’s really amazing how perfect it works. Add to this that puck-handling, shooting and even hitting your opponent are also extremely intuitive.
Pitfall! is of course a classic - though amazingly one I had not spent much time with until just a couple years ago. I still find the complexity of this one staggering, and certainly can see it as a platforming milestone. Though I must admit, I’ve still never managed to beat it.
And a special shout-out to Demon Attack, another game I only discovered thanks to this anthology. Obviously I’m a big shmup fan, and although I’m a bit picky on early shoot-em-ups, this one is awesome. I love how much variety there is to enemy attacks and behavior. This one should really be played by any shmup fans that have overlooked it.
I should end by saying that even though I’m raving about Activision Anthology, that isn’t to say there aren’t any missteps. There’s actually a few games that originally used a paddle (Kaboom! for instance) that should not even be included here as they’re virtually unplayable with a DualShock. (Side-note: why did nobody release a paddle controller for PS2?) And this isn’t a problem with the set, but why the heck is Tennis so impossible? I mean Activision nailed the AI on a lot of their other competitive games, but I have no idea how you’d ever get a point scored against the computer in Tennis. But nitpicking aside, I can’t really see how any retro fans could go wrong with Activision Anthology. Even if you own every single one of these carts (doubtful considering stuff like Kabobber and Thwocker), all the extras really make the package well worth owning.
Hey if anybody is reading this please check out my video game facebook like page and official YouTube dedicated to all things video games.
http://www.facebook.com/videogamexdomain
http://www.youtube.com/videogamexdomain
Each week I tell you about a game for the Atari 8 Bit system. This week Ill go into a different kind of Game cart ( well sorta ) I can consider this on some level the very first Multi Cart ever made...... In a weird way since like the Atari multi-carts now you still need to put data in so you can use it. Same goes for the good ole BASIC cart. Input programming lines Input frustration and some book throwing when you get mad and Output a working program or a reason to go out and get a drink at the local pub. Which ever way your night turns out This cartridge allows you to tap into games and programs that you would easily miss due to the fact that it wasn't released on cart, cassette or diskette.
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Posted on Jul 25th 2013 at 07:10:53 PM by ( noiseredux) Posted under 3DS |
If held at gunpoint, I'd have to say that Street IV is my favorite game of this generation. Oh sure I've had many far more amazing experiences with games like Heavy Rain or Catherine or 3D Dot Game Heroes. But Street Fighter IV is a game I've constantly come back to. In fact, it was something of a revelation to me upon its release. At a time when I thought that these new fancy pieces of hardware couldn't compare to classic sprites, it was Street Fighter IV that sold me on 'the future.' This is a real forum post I made back in 2010:
So I figured I'd be really excited about Street Fighter IV or the Capcom Vs Namco announcement or the new Marvel Vs Capcom game thats' coming out. But frankly, all the screens I've seen... they just look wrong to me. I mean sure the graphics are pretty or whatever. But the camera angles, the lack of sprites... it just doesn't appeal to me. SFIV just doesn't look like a SF game to me. Is it just me?
And then what happened was this: my wife and I were Christmas shopping that year at the mall and stumbled upon this kiosk. It was set up like an arcade. Just rows and rows of gaming consoles - Wii, PS3 and 360 - all just sitting there to try various games. I had time to kill and saw Street Fighter IV set up on one of the 360's and gave it a go. Within a half-hour my tune had changed. When I finally picked up a PS3 the next year, Super Street Fighter IV was the first game I bought. And in the two years since, it's remained one of the games I've played the most. I've even gone as far as picking up the Arcade Edition (as well as Street Fighter X Tekken) and await Ultra with open-arms.
So when I finally decided it was time to pick up a 3DS this last month, I bundled it with a natural choice - Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition. Indeed, the thought of playing SF4 in bed, on the couch, outside, or anywhere I desire was a huge plus for me. But how would this game fair? I mean, as far as portable Street Fighters go, it had some big shoes to fill. And I say this as a guy who's picked up portable Street Fighters going as far back as Game Boy. That said, Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival on GBA is by far one of the high water marks in the portable series. And Alpha 3 on GBA was perhaps even more impressive (though not my favorite of the two) and eventually trumped by its PSP iteration.
As far as I'm concerned the important thing is whether or not a portable game can deliver a console experience to me - at least as far as Street Fighter goes. And friends let me tell you that yes, 3D Edition truly does. Now I'll start by saying this - controls are going to be a factor for any of us fighting game fans. Those of you used to an arcade stick, well you know where you stand. But I've always been a fightpad guy. So the lack of six face-buttons on the 3DS hardware is of course going to throw me off. So in fairness, that's the one downfall to me here. I had to kind of relearn how to use shoulder buttons in a Street Fighter game - something I haven't had to bother with since Turbo Revival.
But at the end of the day 3D Edition gives you everything you could want on the go. The visuals are amazing, and truly justify to me that my purchase of this handheld was a wise one. The music that I'm so familiar with is here and perfect. The controls are fluid once you've gotten a grasp of the button layout. You can use the analog nub or the D-Pad as you desire. There's also some combo's you can select on the lower DS screen via touch - but that's cheating I tell you! Cheating! And perhaps the best addition - I've now finally got a portable Street Fighter game with full online gameplay. Again - I can be in bed, on the couch, outside, where ever - and be playing Street Fighter IV against someone in another state! For this alone, I am grateful and highly recommend this port.
Episode 16 discussion thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...rum/index.php?topic=12349
Get the show at http://www.collectorcast.com
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As regular listeners know, the three of us tend to lean heavily in favor of the NES. In order to get a competent view of one of the most important eras of gaming, the 32 bit generation, we brought in the big guns to assist us. Dangerboy, AKA - Jason Dvorak, AKA - The Worlds Biggest Playstation Fan, is added to the mix to make sure we dont overlook the importance of the Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn systems.
Being a long time collector himself he will give us his unique perspective on why this era is so much fun to collect for, and share his personal take on some of the more interesting aspects of picking up games on these systems. So take a listen as we dive into Jasons vast pool of knowledge and explore everything from demo collecting to educational games.
And as always there are many hours of RFGen small scores to enjoy!
Show notes:
Cygnus by Thunderware Games
Game-Rave
GameRaveTV
Music: Linus Spacehead (NES) + bonus
Small Scores 5:12
Interview with Jason from Game Rave 3:42:56
Outro 5:30:05
This weeks Gaming moment is going to be another one of Parker Brothers' more popular titles Q*BERT.
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The rarity of this game isn't too bad and should be rather easy to obtain online but due to the popularity of this title you will be spending $8 to $12 for a copy.
Please subscribe, share, leave comments feedback and memories you might had playing this title on the A8 or any system.
Thanks everyone hope you enjoy this and check out the Thursday Pick Up Video coming up. ( Might get done Wednesday due to work schedule ).
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We are a community of collectors, gamers and the likes, and some of us enjoy to let the world know what is on our mind. For those members, we have the community blogs, a place where they can publish their thoughts and feelings regarding life, universe, and everything. Some of those members might even choose to write about gaming and collecting! Whatever they write about, you can find it on their blog. You can either see the latest community blog entries in the feed you see to the left, or you can browse for your favorite blog using the menu above. Interested in having your own blog hosted on RF Generation? It's rather simple, first be a registered member, and then click the "My Blog" link that you see in the navigation above. Following those two steps will certainly get you on your way to blogging.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy our entries, rantings, and completely unrelated series of thoughts. We write for you to read, so we certainly hope that you enjoy our material.
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