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Episode 7 discussion thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...rum/index.php?topic=10429
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When buying, selling or trading games there is one thing that's always sure to come up: Whats this game worth to me? Pricing your game to sell can be a tricky thing. Buying at a price both the seller and buyer can agree upon, and be happy with, can be even trickier.
How important is it for trades to be equal in value? Does your relationship to someone have a monetary value when it comes to transactions? Whats a lowball and is it ever appropriate to make such an offer? What are the generally accepted methods of estimating an items price?
Join Duke, Crabmaster and Bil as we discuss how to spend your Toonies on the ever fluctuating market of secondhand video games.
Show notes:
Music: Ninja Gaiden (NES)
10:09 Small Scores
1:42:40 Pricing
2:55:46 Outtro
Sites mentioned in the show:
http://videogames.pricecharting.com/
http://www.ebay.com
http://www.cheapassgamer.com
Thursday morning Nick (niceguy1283) and I decided to hit a few stores around Omaha and see what we could find.
Started the day off early at Half Price Books, picked up a couple things there. Strategy guide for .hack Mutation for 7 bucks,
and Mass Effect 2 Collectors Edition for 20 bucks.
After that we worked our way around to the various Gamers stores in the area (gaming store chain in NE and IA).
Picked up Pac-Man, Maze Craze, Stampede, Pitfall II, Keystone Kapers, Space Invaders, and Burgertime for the Atari 2600 at a dollar each.
I also picked up a copy of Super Mario Bros. complete in box for 5 bucks, and a copy of the Final Fantasy XIII Official Guide Collectors Edition.
Next stop was at the Game Vault. Picked up a set of Atari 2600 paddles, Sears branded, for $2.95. (in previous photo)
Guides for Halo 3, Reach, and ODST for 9.90 total (buy two get one free). When the guy at the counter mentioned
their buy two get one free deal on handheld game carts, I snagged Pokemon Yellow, Pokemon Blue, and Pokemon FireRed.
Paid 29.95, 24.95, and FREE for those, in that order. I hate how stupid expensive Pokemon games seem to have gotten,
but I figured I might as well bite the bullet. What the hell, one was free.
As I let my eyes wander around the retro console area of the store I noticed a Sega Dreamcast Sports Edition up behind the counter.
I had to have it seeing as it's the only one I've seen locally, and onto my total it went for $34.95.
I also ended up with a copy of Nightmare Creatures II for DC, and a Transfer Pak for the N64.
Last stop was at Ben's Game Room. Picked up some manuals I didn't have, Super Mario World, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core,
ending with Super Mario Advance 2 and 4 for 50 cents each. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis for the Playstation, 15 dollars,
and Burgertime for NES with the manual, 6 dollars. Burgertime I had to get since it holds a bit of nostalgia for me.
My friends and I used to play it pretty often at our babysitter's house. So while it may not be a fantastic or rare gem, I had to snag it.
I also picked up Wild Metal for DC for , and a couple Dreamcast Magazine discs for a buck each.
I should also mention over the course of the day I picked up a couple things to work out a trade with Nick.
I picked up a Halo XBox, and a copy of Battletoads in Battlemaniacs complete in box that he wanted to add to his collection,
and I think it was Baldur's Gate II for PC.
When we got back to his place at the end of the trip I swapped him those items for an Atari 2600 four switch switch system
and oddly enough a box for the six switch system. It also came with a handful of games.
Sure, it doesn't match the system, but it's a 30 year old box, I'm amazed it's still in one piece!
He also tossed in some Master System game carts, knowing I plan to buy one eventually and would need some games to go with it.
All in all I feel it was another successful day of hunting for me, expanding my retro collection, and adding some more to my modern console collection.
The following was written up early last summer for appearance on another site that ultimately didn't run it. So I'm posting it here...
When I was in my early teenage years, the arcades were experiencing what would be their final hurrah before entering into a sad and ongoing fifteen year decline of increasingly shuttered mall stores, vacated boardwalk buildings, and empty pizza parlors. In many ways, however, the pinball arcade had already gone through this transition while the arcade itself was yet thriving. When I was a kid, most arcade hideouts had long ago tossed Pin-Bot and Space Shuttle machines to make room for more Mortal Kombat, Tekken, or NBA Jam cabinets. Pinball Wizard was not an anthem for my generation (I guess we had Guile's Theme, instead) and pinball was starting to be seen as a poor investment for arcade owners. As a kid, I didn't care. Pinball was something that I'd play to bide my time if all the video game machines were already taken. As an adult, however, I now lament the lost opportunity to spend more time with these masterful creations.
Pinball Arcade, published by FarSight Studios, offers a salve of sorts to my feelings of regret. FarSight previously published the excellent Pinball Hall of Fame titles which featured classic tables from pinball companies Gottlieb and Williams, each of which were painstakingly and lovingly recreated in video game form for a wide variety of consoles. Pinball Arcade takes that basic concept - detail-focused recreations of classic tables (complete with spot-on physics) - and offers it in the form of an PSN/XBLA/iOS title. This entry represents not only their best work to date, but it is also perhaps the best pinball video game to ever grace a console.
On consoles, the game comes with four tables at an initial offering price of $10. Those tables are Theater of Magic, Black Hole, Ripley's Believe it or Not!, and Tales of the Arabian Nights. These are all heavy hitters in the pinball machine market: Theater, Ripley's, and Tales regularly command $5,000+ to purchase a machine on eBay or at conventions, and Black Hole will likely cost you at least a couple of grand. No video game can give you quite the same feeling as you would get playing the original, but I find it much easier to drop $10 for an excellent facsimile of that experience that to drop $20,000 for the real thing. Having played a wide variety of pinball video games in the past and having played three of the actual tables that are included in this collection, I can say that I've never played a title that feels closer to reality than Pinball Arcade.
There are a number of things that Pinball Arcade does right. For one, it offers online leaderboards that allow you to compare your scores with those of your friends and with others from around the world. I have been surprised by how much I have enjoyed this feature of the game, as it really delivers a sense of mutual competition that is reminiscent of the actual arcade experience. For another, it offers extremely easy to understand breakdowns of table goals, how to score, what spinners and lights mean what, etc. It seems a small thing for a pinball game, but the writer for the brief tutorial paragraphs deserves a bonus: those short blurbs of explanation are extremely succinct and informative without being condescending. The game offers a number of incentives for playing often and improving your skills: each table has a set of table goals and harder wizard goals which you can try and achieve (successful completion of which will net you trophies or achievements on PSN and XBLA, respectively), and finishing all of the goals will allow you to play tables with tilt turned off. Each tables menu also has a section detailing the history of the table and offers scans of the original flyers for you to pour over.
Oh, and those who purchase the PS3 version get the Vita version for free, so that's a nice bonus as well. The Vita version, while taking a slight drop in the visuals, performs extremely well and is my preferred platform for the game. You can't go wrong with any version, though.
FarSight has indicated that more tables will be continue to be released as DLC at about $2.50 per table. So far these tables have included "Monster Bash," "Bride of Pin-Bot", "Medieval Madness," "Funhouse," and "Cirqus Voltaire" with promises of "Attack from Mars, "Star Trek The Next Generation" and "Twilight Zone" coming soon (and, again, almost all of these are extremely expensive machines on the pinball market). They have also built into their game the opportunity for tournament and challenge play with the addition of future tables, which should make leaderboard chasing even more exciting.
Whether you are a grizzled veteran of the pinball craze in arcades, a video gamer who has ever enjoyed any video pinball title in the past, or just a person who likes games that motivate you to improve your score, youll find a lot to love in Pinball Arcade. It might not give you the exact sensation of feeling all the bumpers and becoming part of the machine, but you can still work out those crazy flipper fingers (on shoulder buttons) while pursuing your own (virtual) pinball crown.
After a brief hiatus from my NES in order to experience some current gen games (Batman Arkham City, Persona 4 Arena, Valkyria Chronicles) I'm back to my go to system. I scoured the Nintendoage list that I'm currently choosing my games from and saw a couple games that peaked my interest.
In the wonderful box of treasures that I recently got from singlebanana was a copy of Conan which I've actually been looking forward to for quite a while now. So I started off with that one. I had pretty low expectations of the controls and basic gameplay due to hearing others talk about this game. Much to my surprise I found it quite easy to pick up and play though. Sure its odd to have to hold A and Down to pick stuff up, but it really didnt take long to get used to it. Another benefit to having talked with others about this game in the past was having knowledge of a few of the more obscure puzzle solutions in the game such as the Urns puzzle at the end of the game or knocking down the Achilles statue by hacking away at his foot. Overall it was short and somewhat sweet. I didnt mind it, but its definitely not great.
I remember someone here at rfgen mentioning Cobra Triangle when I was looking for challenging games near the start of the year. For whatever reason at the time I left it off my list. Now I finally got around to it though and it was probably deserving of being on that list. There is no one part to the game that is super hard, but its just all around challenging straight through which lead to some pretty disappointing runs. I made it all the way to the last boss on 5 separate occasions and was met with death the first 4. Luckily the game isnt very long so starting over again wasnt the end of the world, but it still hurt that I had to save the damn swimmers and jump the waterfalls again.
NES Games Finished In 2012
(click on a title to view the video)
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
Air Fortress
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
BONUS GAME -
Assimilate
Future Plans - I have no game in mind right now, but Romance of the Three Kingdoms II has been on the back burner for a while and I should probably get back to it before too long.
Alright, so as many of you know, I go around saying how much I hate Indie Games. Well, guess what?
I was wrong.
Now, breathe for a minute...Alright then.
As odd as it may sound coming from me, I've been sampling a lot of Indie Games lately, and I gotta say, there's some good stuff here. Terraria, Castle Miner Z, etc. I mostly play them on my 360. They're cheaper than regular games, and many of them have great concepts, and they execute those concepts well. Honestly, I don't know why I didn't give them a chance earlier. Granted, Terraria and Castle Miner Z are just like Minecraft in some ways, but in other ways, they're unique. Terraria, for example, is a 2D-Game, a Side-Scroller to be specific. Castle Miner Z has Guns and more fearsome creatures. There's also plenty more to check out. All of the ones I've played so far were worth the MS Points I spent on them.
So what the hell are you waiting for?! The Bat Sign?! Go download some Indie Games today! RFGeneration's local Power Glover commands you! 
I went to the retro game expo in Portland this weekend. So much to see and do, I ended up with tons of pictures. I thought it would be better to blogify the whole thing rather than clog up some thread.
PRGE has been going on every year for the last several years. Last year was the first one I went to, it was great. This one was as good as last year, with even more added. The first few pictures are a little bit from the show, the ones at the end are of things I bought.
Continue reading Portland Expo 2012
Hey now!
I know what'cher thinking: I must be scoring the primo crack to be claiming that, back in the day, Sega released a completely legitimate, licensed Mario game for wide commercial release that could be played on the Genesis or Mega Drive console. And I must admit, if I hadn't actually seen a CIB copy of it at a local thrift a few weeks back, I'd have the exact same attitude you do right now.
But I assure you, it is very real. And, thanks to the miracle of the internet, I have highly compelling photographic evidence:
I'd like to know what all you doubting Thomases have to say now!
...
Hee heee... sorry, I simply couldn't resist. I really did see this at a thrift a few weeks ago, which inspired me to write and post this silly blog. I briefly considered holding this back for April Fool's, but I just couldn't sit on it for that long. Besides, I thought it'd be a novel way to celebrate the start of the NHL season.
So, no hard feelings, guys?
Um... guys? What are you--
Hey, wait a minute-- can't you take a little-- NO, PLEASE, NOT THE FACE!!!
Wow. September started off strong. I picked up a second batch of games from the same Japanese seller I was buying in August. Sorted not in alpha or kana order, but by manliness. Games with IMPACT are on the left, and the ones with hurt feelings to the right.
Question:
What's better than having a Dreamcast hooked up to your TV?
Continue reading Dreamcast Mania! September 2012 ed.
Well September isn't quite over yet, but I won't be getting any other Dreamcast items in the next few days. So let's take a look at what I did manage to acquire this month, shall we?
First up is the additions to my US licensed library. Nine new games isn't too shabby. In fact it would have been ten, but the copy of Dave Mira I got turned out to have a defective disc, so I'm not counting that as an addition. (With that said, somebody please send me a disc-only Dave Mira!) Half of these were picked up locally, and half bought online. The real standout for me this month is Marvel Vs. Capcom. I'm really glad to have added that one to my collection.
Next is a couple of loose accessories -- an official keyboard and Jumpack. Both I got from eStarland, and in the past any accessories I ordered listed as being 'Used - Complete' came boxed, but sadly these two arrived loose. To be honest, I wouldn't have bought the keyboard had I known it was loose. (So again, someone please send me a keyboard box!)
Next is a couple of really nice boxed accessories -- an official mouse and PAL ("blue swirl") controller. The mouse I got online, while the controller I was thrilled to find locally. Both of them are super-minty inside -- both were still wrapped in plastic and looking untouched.
The guide for Slave Zero was another local find. Note the small rip in the lower right of the cover. But I couldn't let pass it up collecting dust in a shop for how-many-more-years. Seeing as how I already owned the game, it was nice to add this to my collection.
And finally one of my favorite additions of the month -- a Jet Grind Radio t-shirt. Admittedly it's not an officially licensed product, but for a Cafe Press item I'd say it looks damn good. You can't tell from the picture I took, but the colors are legit.
So, I made this trade about a month ago, but have been busy and haven't had time to post anything about it. Luckily, things have slowed down and I'm going to be back to focusing on my collection.
I was paroozing Craigslist for some old video game stuff and came across a pretty sweet lot - a boxed NES Challenge Set, Dreamcast, a Gameboy color with Pokemon Red, Blue and Gold, 3rd gen Sega Genesis with a 32X expansion, about 25 Genesis games, 3 NES games, a Dreamcast game and 4 32X games. Since I needed a Dreamcast, wanted a boxed NES, had been looking for Pokemon Blue and a gameboy for a while and could always use more Genesis games, this was a -sweet- lot for me. The ad mentioned that the guy didn't want to sell the stuff, but would rather trade. I shot him an e-mail mentioning that I'm willing to trade lessons and had some musical equipment available and he wanted to come by and see what microphones and guitar pedals I had. He stuck around for about an hour after I got all the stuff together, but wasn't interested in anything (which was a bit irritating, considering I had quite a few things he specifically mentioned he wanted), so he left. I later e-mailed him and asked him if he had seen anything he was interested in when he was there and as it turned out, an amp had caught his attention.
It was a Fender Stage Lead 15, which I was selling for about $125, I had about $80 in it. Great amp, though nothing special and a little beat up. But the guy really loved it. I asked him if he would be interested in trading it and to solidify the deal, he also offered a new Vox Wah Pedal he didn't use much. So, for the amp, I got a wah pedal that cost just as much I had in the amp and a huge lot of video games. Among them, I was pretty excited about the boxed NES, Dreamcast, Gameboy and Pokemon Blue, Earthworm Jim, two of the four 32X games (since I haven't had any before) - Knuckles Chaotix and Shadow Squadron, Toxic Crusaders, Gunstar Heroes, Sonic and Knuckles CIB, Taz-Mania, Pac-Man 2 The New Adventures, The Adventures of Mighty Max, Vectorman and the Animaniacs. There's some other good stuff in there, but that's what really made me glad to have traded.
Anyway, I just figured I'd post that here. It was a lot of fun and I hope to be doing a lot more trading and hunting now that things have finally gotten back to normal for a little bit.
Thanks for reading! 
My wife and I just got back from China. It was a great trip, got to see some old friends and new places. Learnt some new things, not the sort of things I was expecting to be surprised by but odd, small things. Breakfast is really hard for me to eat in China, the kinds of food they have are what I would expect to eat for dinner. Early in the morning my stomach isn't awake enough for thick sauces and bold flavors.
Mostly I want to tell you about the video game related stuff I found in China, so that's in here, but as I didn't find too much I'm going to pad this blog with other things you may find interesting. Lots of anecdotal evidence ya' know. Don't worry, there are lots of pictures and media, this is going to be long, don't feel like you have to read it all.
Continue reading Hunting for Games in China
Why didn't anyone tell me?
I tend to think I appreciate sports games a bit more than the typical retro-gamer, but I'm far from a sports fan. I can always find interesting aspects when looking at series of sports games and how they've progressed over the years. But ultimately, the bulk of my sports gaming is spent on the only sport I actually care about in real life: basketball. So trust me when I say that I had no real belief that I was going to find much more than twenty minutes of enjoyment with Virtua Tennis. But oh friends, how wrong I was.
I'm trying to really think about any experience I've had with tennis games in the past. I know I found Mario Tennis on Game Boy Color at least slightly amusing. And of course a few drunken rounds of Wii Tennis with the wife can be fun from time to time. But really beyond that, I can't really say I've ever found a tennis game to be any more grabbing than a few minutes with Pong.
 
But Virtua Tennis is just this unbelievable blend of realism and arcade simplicity. Because it's controls consist of only two buttons it has this incredible pick-up-and-play quality to it. And yet there's so much detail to the presentation -- from the way the players move to the feel of the courts. And though it's easy to learn, it's far from easy to win. I found myself cursing the AI many times, but it always felt like "okay, one more game!" rather than "y'know what? Fuck this game!" That right there is a clear indication of a great arcade game. It's one that will get you to keep pumping quarters in -- happily.
Outside of the Arcade Mode is a great training route called World Circuit Mode. This offers a sort of sim where you must compete in various matches and mini games (aiming at huge bowling pins or spiking the ball at boxes) in an attempt to raise money and improve your stats and recruit a doubles partner to proceed further in the circuit. It's actually a really great game in itself that really teaches you many strategies that will apply to the main game.
 
Ultimately what I think has shocked me so much about Virtua Tennis is that I've been able to spend hours on it and never getting bored. A tennis game you guys... a tennis game is actually addicting. I already can't wait to check out the sequel although I'm far from done enjoying this original installment. So recommended!
Revolution X...This was the very first "Light-Gun" game I ever played. From the moment I picked up my Genesis Controller, I knew there was something different about this game. I couldn't get enough of it. Despite the fact that it features Aerosmith, whom I am not a big fan of, it's an excellent game with a unique idea: Your secondary ammo is CDs that explode upon impact.
I recently downloaded the Arcade Version for MAME, and I gotta say, it's even better than I remember it. That's probably because I was playing it on more powerful hardware though. Even the Aerosmith Music managed to impress me, and that's saying something. Perhaps unique to this game is the fact that the gun acts like an Analog Stick, as opposed to an actual Light-Gun Game.
Here's a sample of the music from the Genesis Version:
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/GA1T6WLVOFc&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/GA1T6WLVOFc&rel=0</a>]]>
What makes this game so fun is probably the fact that it's plot is just plain ridiculous. Basically, a New Order type of group has taken over the world and kidnapped Aerosmith. They forbid the use of anything fun, including Music, and that's just not cool, so it's your job to shoot a bunch of them to save the world and Aerosmith in the process.
If the game were released today, it would probably be rated M, for Language, Blood, and Partial Nudity. The reason for the M though is that there's lots of Blood, not just a little. Not a Game I'd play around your kids.
All in all, this is a truly excellent game, but as with most games that I personally enjoy, people hated this one. If your looking for something different though, give it a try, if only for a few minutes. You may find yourself enjoying it.
Today marks the completion of The Wind Waker. Once again for those who have not completed it ***SPOILER ALERT***
This game has one of the more interesting death sequences for Gannon. It's all nice and cartoons, enemies turn to puffs of purple smoke. Gannon is wielding two swords and I'm having fun fighting. Zelda gets in on the action but isn't as useful as I'd like her to be. And then after spending half the fight unconscious she wakes up and has a brilliant idea. She's going to shoot an arrow at YOU, and you have to deflect it at Gannon! Sounds good in theory, and looks cool, but I would not want to have to pull this off in real life. It's mostly auto aim, but if the angle isn't somewhat close, you get hit by the arrow and take damage. The final blow is cool. One last parry attack and Link comes down from 20 feet in the air and embeds his sword 2 feet into Gannon's forehead. Kinda violent for this game, but it looks nice. The turning him to stone was a good idea since the world is going to flood again. Let's just leave him at the bottom of the ocean.
I didn't like the way the standard enemies died. When they leave you colored crystal balls and you smash them open, all the loot goes everywhere!! Why did it have to explode rupees everywhere and then give me 5 seconds to gather them up? It was annoying more than anything. Especially on the sea. If I sink a boat, and it leaves a crystal ball on the water, I have to shoot it to break it, which means being on the boat. But I can't collect anything while on the boat, I have to jump into the water, unless I want to grab something with my hookshot. But the before mentioned 5 second rule only lets you grab 1 or two things with the hookshot. You might get it if you jump out of the boat immediately and aren't far away. Not my favorite part by a long shot. Also sailing got boring and repetitive until you get the Ballad of Gales. At least the music on the water is nice. I enjoyed listening to that. The music was very good. I liked the theme from Dragon Roost Island, the overworld ocean theme, and especially the fight with Molgera at the end of the Wind Temple.
I have never actually hooked up a GBA to use the TingleTuner. Has anyone gotten any good use out of it? What exactly is it for? I still don't have a GBA so I can't try it out.
Wind Waker is lots of fun to play overall though and I like the cel shaded art style. I played the first few minutes of the 2nd quest that unlocks when you beat the game and did get a good laugh at my "new outfit" I get to wear throughout the game. It feels so light, almost like nothing at all...
This makes 4 console titles beaten, Legend of Zelda, Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time, and now Wind Waker. I might play Twilight Princess next, or switch to a handheld. So many to choose from.
Street Fighter II.
...and now that I have your attention, I'll tell you a bit about my love of 2D fighting games. You see it all really began with Street Fighter II. Sure I played other fighters back then -- your Fatal Furies or Mortal Kombats -- but Street Fighter II would remain the standard for me. It's one of those games that I've bought over and over again in many different forms. Over the years I've owned multiple versions of SFII on SNES along with ports to Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, XBox 360 and so on. And while in many ways I feel that Street Fighter III (and perhaps even IV) are ultimately better games, it all comes back to II as the one I have the fondest connection with. So while I was away for gaming for much of what Capcom delivered post-SFII, it was with great enthusiasm that I went back discovering many of these amazing games I had missed once I fell back in love with IV.
Some of you may know about my love for the Darkstalkers series, which of course was Capcom's "macabre Street Fighter" game. Once I had discovered the series, the doors opened up to me to start investigating the various Capcom Vs. games which included Street Fighter and Darkstalkers characters in the roster amongst other Capcom notables. Though I dabbled a bit with Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, it was really the third game in the series that got me excited as a current-gen fighting game. But this past week I've been spending some time with the first Marvel Vs. Capcom on Dreamcast. Of course the roster is smaller, the visuals aren't high-def and there's no online play. But the truth is, I'm probably enjoying it even more than MVC3.
 
Upon booting the game up I was greeted to some excellent music, which got me excited as I perused the roster. My first impression was how small the roster was compared to the third game in the series, or even other Capcom Vs. titles I've played. But when I looked closer, it seemed like that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. See a lot of the characters chosen are ones I'm fond of -- Morrigan, Chun-Li, Wolverine to name a few. I'm still on the look-out for a legit Dreamcast fight pad, but I do have a Total Control adapter so for now I'm using my Nubytech Street Fighter II anniversary pad released for PS2. With no tweaking to controls whatsoever in the options menu, this sets the six face buttons to classic Capcom style light-medium-strong attacks. Perfect!
I jumped right in using Morrigan and Chun-Li as my tagteam, who I've used as a team in other Vs. games many times before. Right away I was impressed with how visually stunning the sprite-work looked on the Dreamcast hardware. I've never played this game on the original arcade cabinet, so I can't speak much for how "100% arcade perfect" the game is as claimed on the back artwork. But I will say that everything is smooth and fast.
 
Once I started playing for a while, there was one thing that caught me off guard: this game is hard. Or maybe I'm just rusty? Captain Commando and Mega Man both seem pretty ruthless in this game. Notice I said "ruthless" rather than "cheap." That's because as brutal as they and some of the other characters' AI can be, it always seems fair. If you put the time in to get good at Marvel Vs. Capcom, you will get good at it. Luckily the Dreamcast manual (remember those?) has pretty thorough move-lists. And before I knew it I was pulling off screen-filling specials that made me feel like a force to be reckoned with. That said, I'm still not able to beat the game on "a dollar's worth" of credits yet. But that's fine because much like the younger version of me playing Street Fighter II, this is the kind of fighter that you can sit and play for hours and have a great time doing so.
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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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