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A little while ago, I made a blog post called NES Collecting By The Numbers, where I explored NES collecting as sorted by rarity. This was to assist in narrowing down my missing titles by how easy it would be to find them, which has been a HUGE help.
I recently decided to go for a complete N64 set and figured this would be a good tool for that as well. I made a similar tool for N64 stuff, and added more formulas so it can calculate more information automatically. I'm happy with the results, so I've set up base versions of these files as shared Google docs so you can do this yourself! You'll need to make a duplicate copy of these on your Google Drive to edit it. Here are the links:
NES Stat Machine
N64 Stat Machine
Here's how it works. Each spreadsheet has 2 tabs: one called 'Totals' and one called 'Game List'. The former spits out all the numbers based on what games you have. To indicate those, all you need to do is go the 'Game List' tab and put the word 'Yes' in the 'Owned?' column next to each game. Once it's done, go back to the 'Totals' tab and you'll see something like this:
You can also use filters in the 'Game List' tab to see which games of a certain rarity you're missing:
Seriously, how have I never picked up All-Pro Basketball? Oh well.
Anyway, that's about all there is to it. I'm interested in making more of these for different systems (assuming there's a generally agreeable checklist with rarities on it), and to expand the stats to sort by other things (such as year, publisher, etc.) Stay tuned for more updates, and feel free to leave suggestions!
As promised I played a few game show type games. I actually don't mind trivia games like these. Double Dare was up first. This is one I've never had the pleasure of actually watching. Seems like I would have liked it though. The questions were VERY easy most of the time, even though several were US centric they were still fairly obvious. Not a hard game to beat, but some of the mini-game parts had poor controls and were a bit annoying.
Followed Double Dare with one I actually have seen on TV, Win, Lose or Draw. The game is meant for at least 2 people so I just ran through a match all alone. One of the easiest games to beat because of that. Kind of curious to know how it would have been with a partner.
Now Othellos is a game that I loathe. Its possibly the only NES game that my wife can beat me at 100% of the time. I'm horrible at Othello. Beating the computer on Hard and then Extra Super Hard turned out to be too much for me. After a few hours of failed attempts I basically found a smarter computer than then NES one to take him on. I punched in the moves the computer was making on a Java Othello game set to expert and then played what the Java app did on the NES game. Even then the NES cart beat the first 2 apps I pitted it against. That made me feel a bit better from all my loses. Finally I found an app that was able to crush the NES version and crossed the game off my list, even if I had to be incredibly cheap in order to do so.
To move into some things you guys might actually find a bit more interesting I played Whomp Em. This is one I've been eager to play for a while. Its got a lot of similarities to the Mega Man series. Solid and fluid controls, freedom to choose level order and new power ups with each boss fight. Definitely not the same calibur as the Blue Bomber, but a decent game. The final boss turned out to be pretty brutal though and took a few tries though. Worth picking up and checking out if you can find it for $5.
The last game beaten for this update is Dragon Fighter. I got this close to the end of the year last year and that was very exciting as both a collector (one of the last "expensive" titles I needed) and as a gamer (heard from a couple guys that it was a good game). Unable to wait any longer I decided to give it a go. My first attempt was met with very early failure and frustration. This seemed brutally hard. Better read the manual...................................................AHA!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't realize you could turn into a dragon and fly past and breath lasers out at everyone. Now we're talking!! With that in mind it went much smoother. Still took a couple tries, but each attempt was showing a lot of progress at least. The levels are very simple and straight forward, enemies are what keep it interesting with several different types on each stage the behave different than ones on the last stages you've played. The bosses are all very unique and interesting. And the music was pretty great almost straight through. Pretty short game in the end, but a decent one. Not worth the price to buy just to play, but still fun.
Also put several hours into Family Feud during the last couple days. Its actually pretty tough to get a win on it. I'm starting to notice some categories repeating now though so its just a matter of playing enough in order to remember the best answers.
2013 NES List
Day 4 and 9 games have been beaten. Ahead of schedule so far, but not as much as I'd like to be.
Sesame Street Countdown
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters
Shooting Range
Space Shuttle Project
Double Dare
Win, Lose or Draw
Othello
Whomp Em
Dragon Fighter
Future Plans - Keep plugging away at Family Feud. Maybe try Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle and Gun Nac as a break from it if needed.
PS - Thanks to Duke for pointing out that TMNT TF needed to be beaten on Hard Mode to get the credit roll. I went back and fixed that one now.
Shenmue...a game I've been trying to play for about 3 years now, but several broken Dreamcasts/Bad Discs have prevented me from playing it. Tonight though, I was able to finally play it, and I gotta say, it's pretty good. Here are some reasons why it's good:
-It's VERY interactive. You can check just about everything in this game.
-It's comprised of 3 Discs, so I know it's quite lengthy.
-The graphics are just gorgeous.
 
It also seems to feel like an interactive mystery rather than a Video Game. It's very atmospheric, and with no music while you explore, it feels real. I mean, come on. Do you really hear music while you walk around in real life? Of course, there is the bad:
-Voice Acting could be slightly better. (This does not bother me, but it may bother others).
-Control is somewhat clunky.
-It may feel tedious at times.
So far, I like what I see, but can it hold my attention? We'll find out soon enough. As soon as I play more, I'll write a full review.
Thanks for reading!
And I'm back for 2013 and ready to plow through some more NES goodies!! Thought I'd start the year off with a bang and plugged in Sesame Street Countdown!!!! WoooooooHooooooo! The Count's voice clips actually did amuse me though. He was my favorite Sesame Street character after Super Grover 
Thought I'd get a bit more manly and play some TMNT Tournament Fighters after that. It was actually pretty decent. I had low expectations of a 1 on 1 fighting game on the NES, but it was surprisingly playable. You got your special moves, your counters, your throws, yup it had it all! Slammed through it with my buddy Raph and had a good time doing it. I just played through on the standard setting and the ending mentioned playing on Hard Mode though. Anyone know if there is a different ending for playing it on Hard?
What could be more manly than mutants fighting in the streets you say? How about shooting zombies and aliens! Put in the Bandai zapper game Shooting Range for my third game of 2013. Really not much to it. Some guys wander around the screen with pin wheels attached to them for some reason and you have to shoot the wheels. There was a disgusting looking pin wheel-eyed boss to fight at the end though which caught me off guard. I didn't master the game, but I did walk away with a nice bronze medal!!
There is nothing more manly than shooting aliens you might think, but you'd be an idiot because you forgot about Astronauts! Finished up my night of new NES games with Space Shuttle Project. This was a pretty unique game. You have to prep your shuttle for launch, gather your crew, launch your ship, get to your destination, perform a mission, and then return home. There are 6 missions in total, each one getting a bit more complicated and more challenging. If you're into repairing space stations or saving stranded Russian Cosmonauts this game will be right up your alley. Its not great, but I liked it.
2013 NES List:
Sesame Street Countdown
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters
Shooting Range
Space Shuttle Project
Future Plans - Looking forward to a night of Game Shows soon!
Right then, we've all had our fun with the ol' point 'n click right? Well we're not going to monkey around 'ere and take a good, wholesome look at Discworld, released for almost everyfin' out in '95. You can find this ol' game for DOS, Mac, Playstation, and the Sega Saturn (if you live in Europe or Japan).
Ok, I've had my fun trying to act like I have an unspecified English accent, my fake accent is better in person I swear, you twat! Since the game is based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of novels you can expect the same writing from the books. The plot is mostly based on the novel Guards! Guards! but Rincewind is the main protagonist of the game. No complaints in the writing and story department.
Already puzzling just to leave the room!
I recently found the Playstation version, which was only ever pressed and released in the old longbox form in the USA. This is an incredibly early game in the Playstation's lifecycle, but it was primarily developed for DOS. Even though the game is 2D the optimization for the PS1 is not smooth, and slowdown occurs seemingly whenever anything of note happens, even if it repeats constantly.
Saving and loading is annoying in this game, to save the game you have to reformat the save seemingly randomly, which erases the file, just so you can save another file. Its strange and just too many steps to save a game to a memory card. Loading is also stupid, you have to let a new game start, open the menu, then load the game from there. This just shows how poorly optimized the game is, but since its one of the first PS1 games ever can it really be blamed? I say yes.
I will say that the voice acting in Discworld is amazing. The game was developed by British companies Teeny Weeny Games and Perfect 10 Productions, and published by future Sony studio Psygnosis (RIP). The British is strong with this one, and the cast shows its brilliance throughout the game. Rincewind is (mostly) voiced by Monty Python alum Eric Idle, who is a great fit for the humor of Pratchett's writing style.
He was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways.
Like any point and click adventure you will be charged with solving many puzzles, both large and small. Some of these puzzles are insanely easy, the item to use will be glaringly obvious, other times you'll have to really sit down and go through your entire inventory to exhaust all your options before you come across the correct answer. If you're a fan of Pratchett's work you may enjoy this game if you have any bit of love for point and clicks, if you can't stand the genre at all then this game could become quite the nuisance and annoy you.
I have good news and bad news. The good news is that despite its technical problems I still find the PS1 version to be quite playable. The bad news is the price. If you're going online to buy this the cheapest and easiest option is to buy the Playstation release. The price could still run you $30+ though if you're wanting the box and manual, and its sequel is not far behind. If you luck out like me and find it in nice shape, and complete, for $5 at a thrift store then take that sucker home!
Now I'm really in the mood to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Happy 2013 to my followers! Here is my gift to you while I go watch the full movie.
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Happy New Year everyone. Let's see how much my collection grew in December...
The lone addition to my Sega CD library was Thunder Strike which I picked up cheap locally.
Strikers was another cheap local find, but the rest of the Saturn additions were Christmas gifts. Awesome stuff!
Some Dreamcast commons -- Airforce Delta and NBA 2K1 were gifts. The rest I picked up either locally or online. Psychic Force 2012 seemed like something I should play in 2012.
Three amazing Dreamcast games under the Christmas tree! Zombie Revenge was a surprise from my wife, and it seems like a really great game.
Dreamcast imports! Shikigami No Shiro II is a favorite of mine I've owned on GameCube and PS2 in the past, but felt I needed the DC port as well. Frame Gride was a gift from a friend, and Guilty Gear was from eStarland and includes the bonus mini-CD soundtrack.
An Ascii fight pad! I've wanted one of these for so long and managed to grab it from eStarland. It's super comfortable for fighters and shmups as well.
These two books were Christmas gifts. The Hardcore Gaming 101 book I read in just a few days, and although I had read much of it on the website prior, it felt perfect in book form and organized as it was. The Service Games book seems really great so far, though I'm less than a hundred pages in still.
My wife also found me this Sonic shot glass. He's chasing rings all the way round the glass.
Welcome to 2013! 2012 is now in the history books and what a year it was! A ton of new games, hardware, and images were added to the database. But more than that, we've added a lot of "behind the scenes" features and fixes that will help us out in 2013 and beyond. We've also learned a lot, like how important frequent backups are. So what else happened in 2012 you ask? Well, I'll remind you.
- Shadow Kisuragi took charge of fixing the regions in the European PS2 section of the DB, for the second time since his original work was lost in the outage.
- We added two new DB Contributors, Bildtstar and Raffa1985.
- TheGrue was added as a staff Programmer.
- We moved from a VPS with 1GB of RAM and 20GB of drive space. To a dedicated server with 4GB of RAM and dual 500GB drives.
- We switched the site to support only Android devices.
- We switched back to supporting other devices.
- We reached 80,000 scans in the database.
- The RFGeneration Collectorcast was introduced.
- Aeroc won the PAIN YOURSELF WITH SUBMISSIONS contest...again.
- Sirgin and Aeroc were added to staff as DB Contributors.
- We reached 70,000 titles in the DB.
- Shadow Kisuragi and his team finished fixing the regions on Euro PS2 and Xbox games.
I'd say that's a pretty good list, and it doesn't even mention the countless little things that have been tweaked or fixed over the year. So now that you've been reminded what's been happening around here. I'd like to take this time to remind how you can help the site you love. As always, you can help us become even better by simply making submissions to the DB, whether its an image or some information, it all helps. If you've already submitted everything you could and still want to help us out, you can help with the gift of a donation, as we are one week into our annual donation drive.
During the donation drive, we raise the money that is needed to keep the site online. This is the reason we have no ads on the site and can afford to have a server that can handle a database the size of ours. We're one week into the drive and have raised just over $100, or about 10% of our goal, so we've still got a ways to go. But don't worry, you know we love you, so we won't just take your money and not give anything back. Every donor gets the Donor rank on the forum and access to a special board on the forum. You also get your name forever immortalized on the Donors page. And thanks to the RFGeneration Collectorcast there are some extra special prizes. Everyone donating at least $5 will get their name mentioned on the Podcast, those donating $20 or more will have all of their scores mentioned in the next episode, and those donating $30 or more will get the download to the Episode 0 of the podcast. And best of all, the highest donor during the drive will receive an amazing prize pack including two items of their choice from the RFGeneration store, plus some other goodies that will be donated by staff members.
So please, donate to the cause if the thought of ads plastered on RFGeneration make you sick. Or if you just want to help out a friend that's always there for you.
I've talked kind of a lot about Street Fighter II on this blog. And with good reason. As I've stated (probably numerous times), Street Fighter II tends to be the fighting game by which I hold all other games in comparison. Or at least Super Street Fighter II Turbo is. However, as time has gone on I've realized that while I tend to think of the second game in the series as the most important one to me, it's perhaps not actually my favorite. Truthfully I feel almost dirty writing that. I feel it almost wrong to proclaim that I actually put another entry in the series above Street Fighter II. But I'm just being honest. Maybe.
 
Okay, okay maybe I'm getting carried away here. Maybe I don't have to actually choose one over the other. So why don't I just say that Street Fighter III is at least as good as Street Fighter II. Just in a different way.
I recently acquired a nice Ascii fightpad for my Dreamcast, which went great with the copy of 3rd Strike I found under the Christmas tree with my name on it. Though I've played 3rd Strike on both PS2 and PSN in the past, I was more than thrilled to add this one to my Dreamcast collection. As I've said, I'm a really big fan.
For those that aren't familiar, 3rd Strike is the third version of Street Fighter III (sort of like the 'Super,' 'Hyper,' 'Turbo,' 'Championship,' etc versions of Street Fighter II). The first two versions of the game were also released on Dreamcast, compiled onto a single disc called Double Threat. But 3rd Strike is where the game was revised into perfection.
 
Street Fighter III is certainly my favorite looking of the series. It embraces its anime influences far more than the second game, but still retained the beautiful 2D sprites that the fourth game would abandon. The animations are fluid and amazing and perhaps nod a bit to the insane level of detail found in SNK games like Mark Of The Wolves. And these smooth animations owe a lot to what makes the game so playable. Every move feels so graceful and high-energy like watching a wonderfully choreographed Kung Fu flick in a slightly super-human speed.
The real brilliance of Street Fighter III however lies in the roster. Though a fair share of these faces are now familiar to the current gen fighters thanks to appearances in the likes of Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter X Tekken, it's actually incredible to think that Capcom followed up the immensely popular Street Fighter II by effectively trashing the entire roster and starting from scratch. Only a handful of characters are returning, with both Ken and Ryu in all three editions, Akuma in the second version and Chun-Li being added only in 3rd Strike. And from there it was up to Capcom to shape an entirely new roster.
 
The unique roster is the biggest draw of this game as far as I'm concerned. Indeed this game holds some of the most unique characters in the series. A few have gone on to appear in further games. For instance Hugo (who actually originates from the Final Fight series), Ibuki and Dudley have all continued on as mainstays. But Third Strike is so interesting because of the bulk of its oddball cast. Take for instance Twelve, a shapeshifter who resembles an alien being. Or how about 140-year-old hermit Oro who arrives in a sack and fights one-handed. And then there's Necro, a Russian exile whose moves are controlled by a computer. Sure, it may be the weirdest roster in a Street Fighter game, but it's also one of the most fun.
There are shmups and there are shmups. DoDonPachi is a shmup. A very good shmup. Perhaps one of the best shmups ever made. And I spent most of last night playing it along with some buds over on the Racketboy forums.
DoDonPachi certainly has a reputation. In that sense I was maybe even a bit worried to finally get around to playing it. Y'know how sometimes people talk about a book or movie and by the time you see it you're just let down that it didn't live up to the hype? Not to mention that a recent sequel, DoDonPachi Resurrection was the first shmup I ever 1CC'd (on Novice Mode). So again I was mildly worried that going back further in the series might not be as enjoyable as a newer installment.
But it turns out there was nothing to fear at all. DoDonPachi is actually one of the greatest shmups I've ever played. Visually, it looks excellent and far from dated. The sprites are all so well detailed, the color pallet is always appropriate and the backgrounds are stunning. The music is definitely fitting as well. But really what makes the game so incredible is the balance of it all. There's such a perfect ratio of risk to reward in DoDonPachi that it's easy to see why it's still such a fan-favorite.
Not only does the game offer up three ships in the old Goldie Locks manner of Type A being the "super fast but not the strongest" ship and Type C being the "wicked slow but so powerful" ship. No the balance goes so far beyond all that if you're seriously trying to play for score. For instance there's the whole risk/reward paradox of chaining. You have a small meter that runs out rapidly every moment you're not killing something. If the meter runs out, your chain resets. Big chains make for big bonuses. But of course this means really learning a level and timing every single kill. It also means that sometimes you'll be killing in a not-so-effective way just to keep a chain going. Similarly there are icons of Bees that you can pick up throughout levels (with many of them hidden). They give you bonus points that get higher and higher with each Bee you get. But again, this means probably giving up your chain to uncover them all. The game is loaded with these sorts of decisions on how to maximize your score -- fast rapid shot or slow laser? To bomb or not to bomb? And so on.
/DoDonPachi%20(J).png) 
Perhaps the greatest thing about DoDonPachi however is that it's the kind of game that makes you better at an entire genre. The more you practice, the more you're forced to think about strategy and how to increase your score. Not to mention it's a great workout for your mind and fingers to weave perilously throughout blankets of bright bullets. And all of these skills carry over to any other shmup, be it bullet hell or non. Throughout the month I managed to pull off a score of 11,446,730 which I felt really proud of. This was a lot of improvement from my first run. And I also found a new game that I just completely love and will surely revisit often.
Episode 10 discussion thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...rum/index.php?topic=10938
Get the show at http://www.collectorcast.com
Follow the Collectorcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Collectorcast
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Collectorcast
On Stitcher (enter Promo Code RFGeneration): http://www.stitcher.com/RFGeneration
On iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/u...collectorcast/id524246060
On YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DukeTogo74
Do words like Reproduction, ROM Hack or Pirate Cart have any place in a collector's vocabulary? There are many fringe areas of collecting that may or may not find a home in your collection. How far removed from legitimate licensed releases are you comfortable with? If playing on the original hardware is important to you, is there a way to justify playing a back up of your games?
Where can you even get these things? Why would you want them? Are you still considered a collector if you partake?
Get our occasionally nonsensical take on such subjects as we explore the farthest reaches of physical media and collecting.
Interesting side note: If you listen to Episode 10 of the Collectorcast backwards, at full blast, and playing at half speed you might just hear the most sinister and unholy of words uttered straight from the depths of Hell... emulation!!
Show notes:
Music: Legacy of the Wizard (NES)
Small Scores: 11:12
Main Topic: 2:48:29
Outtro: 4:50:42
Show links:
Retrozone: http://www.retrousb.com/
Krikzz (Everdrive): http://krikzz.com/
SD2SNES: http://stoneagegamer.com/sd2snes_deluxe.aspx
Everybody thought the first announcement was a joke.
Then we read about the price and confirmed it.
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The Neo Geo X, a new 'retro' portable, straddles the fence between so many sides it would walk bow-legged. It is a sleek, modern, savvy looking machine, designed to only play games from ten to twenty years ago. It is technically an official SNK (Playmore) product, yet its guts run an emulator and roms. The 20 pre-loaded games included are widely available in compilations and downloads, yet preorders include Ninja Master's on an SD card, a title known for rarity. It is a handheld that, once placed in a slick looking docking station, becomes a console with HDMI and full sized arcade sticks.
With as many people this sets out to please (and for as many reasons, drives people away or worse, be apathetic to its existence) you'd think the thing was running for public office.
It is a system that some of us here at RFG are undoubtedly curious over, and while I'm not the guy to ask about for the technical stuff, I can at least share my thoughts after tinkering with it over the first day.
The Good:
Its pretty.
Despite having a more square form factor than most modern portables, I enjoy the 'feel' of the NGX more than the Vita, PSP, or DS line. Completely subjective, of course, but between the face button placement and responsiveness, general heft and of course, trademark clicky digital 'stick,' I'd play just about anything on this. The screen quality is not as sharp and vibrant as the Vita, but these classic Neo Geo games look great on it.
The games included:
...in a pleasant surprise, aren't all fighting games. No complaints about including Samurai Shodown II, KoF '95, Real Bout Fatal Fury, or of course Ninja Master's (more on that in a moment) but I was thrilled to have Puzzled, League Bowlijng, Last Resort, Nam-1975 and a variety of other genres represented. For being largely (and understandably) known as the '2D fighting machine', most Neo Geo games I enjoy aren't fighters. (Here's to hoping Nightmare in the Dark and Over Top show up in future SD cards.) Speaking of which:
SD card slot:
Could be what really pushes the worth of this system. New games are supposedly in the works to be released on cards, and the firmware could be updated with more features. Not to mention what hackers are already doing with it.
The arcade sticks:
Many hardcore NG fans are claiming these to be the best thing to come out of the NGX. They may be lightweight and not compatible with the older hardware, but the sticks feel solid, and the USB ports allow PC and PS3 compatibility. (of course, there are limits; trying to play the PS2 SNK compilation on a BC PS3 failed without the PS3 guide button.) Some folks are just ordering the sticks themselves.
Ninja Master's:
This helped the value of the package for me, since not only is the game tougher to track down than most AES games, but my brief time with it revealed one of my favorite old school fighters on a system known for old school fighters. The combat is fluid, animation better than average, move list decent, and it has enough originality that I want to keep at it. Its just really, really fun to play! I was impressed.
Bad:
Price. Obviously the first consideration, since many of us would drop a few bucks on this just for the novelty. True to its lineage, its one of the most expensive devices in its market for what you get. The $200 Gold LE package included the portable with a preset 20 games installed, the AES mockup docking station, one of those nifty arcade sticks, an AV composite cable and an HDMI cord (can't use a typical one, it has a small device adapter at one end.) The LE includes the SD card of Ninja Master's, which in my opinion greatly helps the value. Its a lot of stuff, and truth be told, if you never touch emulators and roms, it really is an impressive deal compared to other methods of playing some of these games. (Of course, if you don't mind downloading roms, especially on a PSP, this thing is about worthless to you.)
It comes with a lot, but there is no wifi/online capabilities, and the games are straight up roms of the AES versions (that's right, no changing most settings, adding credits, or rom tweaking. Good luck beating Nam-1975 on default credits.  ) Considering what we're used to from previous SNK compilations, and the lack of online play, this definitely limits audience interests. The idea of keeping it retro is perhaps admirable, but if a gamer is hard core enough to want these limitations, chances are they already own real hardware and are less interested in a portable that plays locked roms.
Using it as a console:
Despite owning a, AES, CMVS, and NGCD, the idea that I could plug this puppy up to a big-screen via HDMI and use the new arcade sticks was a big selling point for me. That didn't work out very well. The HDMI out has no video options, and just looks terrible on the three HD TVs I tested. We're not talking about charming pixelation and low-res; we know what to expect there. No, the rampant screen tearing, washed out colors, and terrible, terrible lag means this is not the way to play these games. Big disappointment.
Using the composite cables on a SD TV yielded better results, with less (but still present) lag and screen tearing. Colors were better, but reds bled and the picture was overtly dark. Quick reads on forums proved others were finding the exact same issues. The tech-heads claim that these are from poor emulation and could be improved with a software update; lets hope. As it stands, don't buy the NGX as your method for playing these games on a TV.
The Ugly:
Its really tough to know how to feel about the NGX. As a portable, its fantastic, with a great feel, moderate (3-4 hour) battery life, nice screen, and some classics built right in. Using it as an HD console through the dock is an exercise in frustration and is not recommended, although playing on a SD TV was workable. As a gamer who rarely plays on downloaded roms, the NGX has me in mind, but since it is using roms itself but without the customization, it almost comes across as the worst of two worlds. The device takes about 30 seconds to boot up and a few seconds between loading games, a steadfast reminder of its Linux brains. The irony is that hackers are certainly going to blow this wide open with better firmware, customization, more games, and better features, but by then I could just hack my PSP and get similar results. I want to support the original hardware, but this is an interesting hybrid.
Am I glad I got this? Yeah! Not only am I a collector and Neo Geo fan, its just darn fun to play on. Getting it as a Christmas gift was perfect, as any buyer's remorse is negated, and I am very excited to see what games will be released in the future. As is, the twenty (one) games included mean even if I never get another game for it (or indeed, if no more are released) I still have a nice portable Neo Geo collection. And Ninja Master's is such an unexpected delight.
Should you get it?
...just know what you are getting into. Most can safely pass it by, some of us hardcore collectors will get a big kick out of it.
For what its worth, I already like it more than our Vita.
With a new year of gaming almost upon me I decided to take a quick look back at the last year (and a couple months beyond that). Take a look and let me know what you think!
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John Dondzila is the founder of Classic Game Creations (CGC), a company that creates homebrew titles for the Vectrex. John currently resides in New Jersey. You can check out his website and purchase his games at: http://www.classicgamecreations.com. John, thanks for your time and for agreeing to do an interview with me.
Continue reading Vectrex Interview Series #3 - John Dondzila
After seeing the multiple postings throughout the site of people not able to find a final copy of Nintendo Power magazine, I did some hunting locally.
I was able to find 6 copies available for fellow members.
If you can't find a copy locally, and don't want to spend the $25-$50 price on eBay and Amazon, let me know. I will sell these copies for $12 shipped, and shipped in a Priority Flat Rate Padded Envelope, so my profit is almost nothing. This is for US members. For international members, the shipping for Priority Flat Rate Padded Envelope is higher, so the cost will be $20 total, if that means of shipping is acceptable to your country.
I will continue to search around, and I hope that other members will post what they can find for others before they are all gone.
SIDE NOTE: This is an attempt at helping out other members, so please do not request a copy so that you can flip it for profit.
This will likely be my last NES game playing update for the year. The last game I was able to cross off my list is probably one that most people could care less about, and that was High Speed. Nothing against pinball sims, but was the NES really able to handle them, let alone such a well known table? It definitely had its flaws, and it was painfully challenging to both launch off the table in a rocket and best the 51 million point highscore, but it wasn't all bad. It was very satisfying to get the multi-ball running, or unlock and hit the extra ball. The most annoying part of the game though was that they didn't even give the option to play just the standard High Speed game. The only way you can play it is with the annoying enemies spawning on the table attacking your ball or flippers and the out of place mini-games in which you leave the table to play another game before being returned back to where you were. It would have been nice to have just a standard version as well as the one included with the game.
There is lots of time left in the year to play NES games, but I'm going to give myself a brief hiatus before attempting my 100 in 100 challenge come January 1st. Firstly I'm going to use some of that time to start cleaning contacts on my ever growing pile of NES carts so that come 2013 I'll have no problems playing them.
Secondly I'm going to try my hand at expanding my youtube channel by offering up a few different kinds of videos to compliment my gameplay vids. Duke.Togo has already started assisting me in this by helping me upload the Collectorcast episodes there in hopes of expanding our audience ever so slightly. I've also been toying around with the idea of maybe doing some Pick Up videos, Game Room Tours, Reviews, Gaming Retrospects, Let's Plays and just in general getting more involved with the very interesting youtube gaming/collecting community. Any advice or assistance in this would be greatly appreciated.
So since I started playing NES games and recording them in October 2011 I've managed to beat 224 different titles. That works out to beating roughly one NES game every second day since then (.50 games per day if I did my math correctly). Not too shabby when you consider some of the time sinks I've played through such as: Bases Loaded, Bases Loaded II, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ultima: Exodus, Ultima: Quest of the Avatar, Ultima: Warriors of Destiny, Roger Clemens MVP Baseball, etc.
Here is the full list of my NES triumphs during that time:
Beaten Since Oct.8th /100
(click on a title to see the video)
Super Mario Bros
Super Mario Bros 2
Super Mario Bros 3
Mega Man
Mega Man 2
Mega Man 3
Mega Man 4
Mega Man 5
Mega Man 6
Castlevania
Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
Duck Tales
Duck Tales 2
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers 2
Felix the Cat
Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout
Ren and Stimpy Show: Buckaroo$
Double Dragon
Contra
Super C
Contra Force
Power Blade
Power Blade 2
Dynowarz: The Destruction of Spondylus
Metal Storm
Journey to Silius
Air Fortress
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Blaster Master
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes 2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3
Legendary Wings
BreakThru
Commando
Guerrilla War
World Games
Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular
Caveman Games
DK Classics
Jaws
Ninja Gaiden
Where's Waldo?
Bonk's Adventure
Panic Restaurant
Bubble Bobble 2
Dr. Mario
Bubble Bobble
MC Kids
Batman
Circus Caper
Roller Games
Widget
Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures 2
The Jetsons
The Little Mermaid
Monster in my Pocket
Gremlins 2
Kirby's Adventure
Kickle Cubicle
Kung Fu
Yo! Noid
Xexyz
Puss 'N Boots: Pero's Great Adventure
Wall Street Kid
The Karate Kid
Archon
Golf
Super Dodgeball
Super Spike V'Ball
Jakcie Chan's Action Kung Fu
The Three Stooges
Ice Hockey
Tecmo Bowl
Track & Field
Mario Bros
NARC
North and South
Barbie
Battle Chess
The Simpsons: Bart vs. The World
The Flintstones: Surprise at Dinosaur Peak
Snow Brothers
Little Samson
Sky Shark
Ninja Gaiden II
Mike Tyson's Punch Out
The Simpsons: Bart Meets Radioactive Man
StarTropics
Little Nemo: The Dream Master
River City Ransom
StarTropics 2: Zoda's Revenge
The Jungle Book
Castlevania III Dracula's Curse
Mario is Missing
Blades of Steel
Hogan's Alley
Wild Gunman
Burger Time
Silver Surfer
Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom
Double Dragon II: The Revenge
Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones
Ghosts n Goblins
Tetris
Pro Wrestling
Gradius
Zanac
Adventure Island
Karnov
Trojan
Excitebike
Baseball
Spy Hunter
Adventure Island II
Tennis
Battletoads
Shadowgate
Battletoads/Double Dragon
Pinball Quest
Section Z
Godzilla
Hydlide
Marble Madness
Back to the Future
Darkman
Terminator 2
Robocop
Total Recall
Predator
Robocop 2
Robocop 3
Hudson Hawk
Home Alone
Home Alone 2
Batman Returns
Ghostbusters II
Ghostbusters
Die Hard
A Nightmare on Elm Street
The Krion Conquest
Adventures of Dino Riki
Ultima: Exodus
Legacy of the Wizard
Ultima: Quest of the Avatar
Darkwing Duck
Ultima: Warriors of Destiny
Legends of the Diamond
Pro Sports Hockey
Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball
Yoshi's Cookie
Kick Master
Zombie Nation
Stadium Events
Super Jeopardy!
Joust
Yoshi
Dance Aerobics
Adventures of Bayou Billy
Pipe Dreams
Ski or Die
Werewolf: The Last Warrior
Simpsons: Bart vs The Space Mutants
City Connection
American Gladiators
Roundball 2-on-2 Challenge
720
Athletic World
Super Team Games
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Gumshoe
Bases Loaded
The Addams Family Pugsley's Scavenger Hunt
Kings of the Beach
The Blues Brothers
Volley Ball
Lode Runner
3D World Runner
Twin Eagle
Dragon's Lair
The Adventures of Rad Gravity
Break Time: The National Pool Tour
Bases Loaded II
Rainbow Islands
Conquest of the Crystal Palace
Peter Pan And The Pirates
Kid Kool and the Quest for the Seven Wonder Herbs
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Dragon Strike
Slalom
Wrath of the Black Manta
Race America
Treasure Master
Krusty's Fun House
King's Knight
Mighty Bomb Jack
Bases Loaded 3
Castelian
Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll
Dirty Harry
Conan
Cobra Triangle
Spider Man Return of the Sinister Six
Tag Team Wrestling
Eliminator Boat Duel
Galaxy 5000
George Foreman's KO Boxing
Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge
Thunder & Lightning
Heavy Shreddin'
Flying Warriors
Rocket Ranger
Roger Clemens MVP Baseball
Bill & Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventure
Destination Earthstar
Street Cop
Short Order/Eggsplode
Star Voyageur
Days of Thunder
Laser Invasion
Silent Service
Back to the Future 2 & 3
Overlord
High Speed
BONUS GAMES:
Assimilate
Future Plans - Destroy a ton more NES games staring next year!!!
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