So for some reason I started thinking about PS2 games that could go online. I decided to start researching which ones might still have their servers online, and I found a pretty awesome site: http://www.ps2onlinegaming.com/ which is apparently still pretty active. I also did some poking around elsewhere and found that it was quite possible for me to take my PS2 games online even using my 60GB PS3. Considering how many of us have large collections of PS2 games, I thought it'd be fun to organize an informative guide outlining the process of getting online, and which games are still online so that we can all try to play some last-gen games together live.
Continue reading PlayStation 2 Online Guide
Welcome to Season 2 of GameCenter CX. This season commemorates the beginning of full episodes, which include various segments besides the game challenges. In Season 2, new segments were added to this show, which include visits to game centers and featured game collections, as well as the original industry interviews from the first season.
This week's challenge features Atlantis no Nazo (Mystery of Atlantis), a game released by Sunsoft for the Famicom that was set to compete with Super Mario Bros. It contains 100 different stages, power ups, and warps. This video and the Challenger video later in the season were the ones that initially got me interested in GameCenter CX, so I'll be more than happy to discuss these!
Arino's Challenge: Clear Stage 100.
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I hope everyone survived their Halloween night and didn't get too scared. While yesterday may have been frightening, October certainly wasn't scaring away our submitters this month. Not only did we have a good month here at RFGeneration, we had a record breaking month at RFGeneration! That's right, in October 2011, we had more submissions in one month than any other since we starting tracking submissions in November 2006. Our previous record was in May of this year with an amazing 9,587 submissions. So you better believe this month was OVER NINE THOUSAND!!!! In fact, RFG members made an astounding 12,790 submissions in just 31 days. Thank you to all of you who made that happen.
Now, we normally try to not single out any particular member for their submissions since they are all important in their own way, but this month special credit is due to Tynstar. Because, you see, 10,000 of the monthly submissions were made by him. That's right, in one month he alone submitted more than our entire community in any other month. He even celebrated his 7th year at RFGeneration this month, so its especially nice to see someone who has been around for so long still so active in the database. So if you see Tynstar around on the forums or in person give him a pat on the back, he really deserves it.
For the rest of you, you won't be overshadowed by Tynstar's accomplishments. There were 72 other members who made submissions this month, so thanks goes out to all of you. The rest of members who made 100 or more submissions in October was Shadow Kisuragi, Izret101, Necron99, ixtaileddemonfox, NES_Rules, douglie007, and raffa1985.
And of course, we have our dedicated team of submission reviewers, who have to sift through the thousands of submissions every month. Our top reviewers were Shadow Kisuragi, Tynstar, and Paully3433.
If you're wondering what all these fine people were making so many submissions for, they were adding 884 images, adding 222 games, adding 50 hardware pieces, and editing 11,418 game pages.
Thanks everyone who made this record breaking month happen.
Happy Halloween everyone!
Enjoy the quick video I snapped of everyone doing the Time Warp at our annual Rocky Horror Picture Show shadowcast. In case everyone's not aware, language may be NSFW. Enjoy your holiday!
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Since we're nearing the end of Season 1, and we've got a holiday weekend (of sorts), I thought I'd provide everyone with the rest of the episodes for Season 1, and start off November with the beginning of Season 2, where full episodes begin!
S1E8: Door Door
Arino takes on Chunsoft's challenge for this episode. Door Door is a Famicom-exclusive Puzzle/Platforming game in which the User traps aliens behind doors to clear a level.
RFGeneration Entry:
http://www.rfgeneration.c...nfo.pl?ID=J-027-S-01470-A
Arino's Challenge: Trap six aliens at once, forming the "mystical six-alien trap" to earn a bonus.
Challenge Video:
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S1E9: Three Challenges
This episode, Arino is tasked with clearing challenges for 3 titles: Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Gradius, and Hyper Olympic (Track & Field outside JPN). This episode features an extended length challenge, so dig in an enjoy.
RFGeneration Entries:
http://www.rfgeneration.c...nfo.pl?ID=J-027-S-02790-A
http://www.rfgeneration.c...nfo.pl?ID=J-027-S-02310-A
http://www.rfgeneration.c...nfo.pl?ID=J-027-S-03150-A
Arino's Challenges:
Yie Ar Kung-Fu: Obtain the special bonus on the bonus stage.
Gradius: Unlock 3 secret features - Get 5000 points by touching the volcano in Stage 1, Get a 1-UP by touching the diamond rock in Stage 1, and Warp 2 levels by destroying the Big Core while it glows blue in Stage 2.
Hyper Olympic: Beat the game records for all 4 sports.
Challenge Video:
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S1E10: Super Mario Brothers
In this episode, Arino challenges Super Mario Bros. 2 on the Famicom DiscSystem (Lost Levels outside JPN). In preparation for the challenge, he takes on the original Super Mario Bros. How will he fare against the extremely challenge of Super Mario Bros. 2? Do you, the viewers, feel that Nintendo's decision to port Doki Doki Panic with Mario sprites and name it Super Mario Bros. 2 instead of giving consumers the actual Super Mari Bros. 2 due to the extreme challenge was warranted after seeing this challenge?
RFGeneration Entries:
http://www.rfgeneration.c...nfo.pl?ID=J-027-S-00810-A
http://www.rfgeneration.c...nfo.pl?ID=J-093-S-00560-A
Arino's Challenge: Clear Super Mario Bros. 2.
Challenge Video:
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So, I had a broken headset around episode 12, but didn't get around to getting a new headset until after I recorded this one. But this is now fixed ($25 later...)! Unfortunately, there are also some other glitches happening that we're ironing out, but I hope none of them made it in to the episode.
But there is good news! We did get another episode out and we're calling it our anniversary episode! We have our thoughts on the passing of Steve Jobs, a new segment called "While You Were Broke", our Game Shout-Outs!, the latest contest with details, and, of course, the Top 5.
BIG EDIT ABOUT THE CONTEST! After you solve the first clue, you need to find that game in the database. In the Game Trivia section, you will find the next clue. Find that game for the next one and so on. Find all 10 games and call or e-mail us your list first to win! Probably should have clarified that, but it's my first time trying this, so I expected some glitches.
Check out the FREE Cave Story game we mentioned here: http://www.cavestory.org/
Humble Bundle site (Frozen Synapse bundle is over by now): http://www.humblebundle.com/
Get the episode here: http://rfgeneration.podomatic.com or we're on iTunes!
0:00 - Intro
1:55 - What's New on Channel 3?
3:00 - News/Feature: Steve Jobs Dies at 56
14:32 - While You Were Broke
25:07 - Game Shout-Out!
37:35 - Top 5: iOS Apps We're Still Waiting On
38:06 - Outro
Get in contact with us as well! We're happy to hear from you. E-mail us at podcast@rfgeneration.com. Call us at (318) RFG TIP 5, that's 318-734-8475.
The NEW podcast subforum is located here: http://www.rfgeneration.c...orum/index.php?board=35.0
Sorry for taking a week off, but things have been hectic lately! As such, I'm including two videos this week showing Arino taking on Astro Robo SASA and Galaga.
Arino infamously has problems completing challenges for shmup titles, so the staff has decided that he needs to overcome this problem by throwing two more shooting titles at him.
Astro Robo SASA is a Japan-only Famicom release. Gameplay revolves around the User collecting energy by floating in the air and shooting to propel the character towards the targets and avoiding the enemies.
Clear Condition: Complete all 16 stages.
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Galaga
Everyone knows Galaga, right?! This version is played on the Famicom, and is available in most regions on the Nintendo NES.
Clear Condition: Obtain 10,000 points on a bonus stage.
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Hyperdimension Neptunia seems to be one of the most divisive games of the year. You either love it or you hate it. And I love it. Where to begin? It's a crazy collaboration between the likes of NIS, Compile Heart, Sega and Idea Factory. It's an extreme JRPG, but seems to be making fun of JRPG's. It's got some of the most moe artwork I've seen localized in a while. It's dialogue is ridiculously hilarious. It has a simplified overworld system where you don't actually walk from place to place, but instead choose chapters from a list. It also simplifies item management. It uses a strange setup where you utilize button combos for your attacks. Instead of spells, you summon old Sega games like Altered Beast or Fantasy Zone. To put it simply, it's kind of insane. And like I said, I love it.
Our heroine is named Neptune. This is actually a personification of the failed Sega Neptune hardware. In fact all of the goddesses in the game are based on consoles. That's because the game is basically an allegory about the console wars. You see it's only when "Nintendo," "Sony," and "Microsoft" team together that they can destroy Neptune. This personification of companies leads to great fan-service jokes. Early in the game Vert (Microsoft) talks about how her breasts are so much larger than Neptunes that it's obvious that that implies she is more powerful -- a sly jab at Microsoft's ridiculously large Xbox (and its controller).
And the whole game is full of rib-jabs to video game nerds. Early on you fight things that look like Space Invaders as well as Dragon Quest-inspired slimes. Your quest is of course to save the land of Gameindustri. Even the developers poke fun at themselves with the visual novel style interface and dialogue that seems to make light of the very games that have put each of them on the map.
I'll be the first to say that this game is not for everyone. It definitely takes a certain kind of fan to find this game appealing. But for those of us that do, it's one of the most unique RPG's to hit US consoles in quite some time. Oddly enough it even inspired me to go out and get a Dreamcast. You see it's such a strange game, I couldn't help but feel like Neptune (Sega) was telling me -- 'hey! If the Dreamcast was still around today, THESE are the kind of games that would be on it.'
Back to our regularly scheduled episode.
In the last episode, Arino was re-introduced to the romance genre with Roommania #203, a life simulator for the Sega Dreamcast. Arino was very familiar with the game, but one scenario had escaped him - the romance scenario.
Arino armed himself with the game's strategy guide and worked through the scenario. However, at the end of the scenario, he was only able to read part of the text for the ending and thought he had lost the challenge. However, that text was documenting the past, and the rest of the text revealed the happy ending!
Poor Arino, he never wins when it comes to romance.
This week, we're introduced to a brand new segment of the show - the collections! At the beginning of the episode, the fansub providers were kind enough to leave in the second portion of the Hudson Collection, and in the next season this segment becomes a mainstay.
Arino's challenge this week is a game published by Hudson, known as Star Force. Shmup fans will immediately recognize this title, as it almost singlehandedly brought the genre to the forefront in Japan.
Win Condition: Earn the 50k bonus for defeating Rarios before it forms.
Bonus: A legendary video game idol is introduced on the show! Guess which video game character is modeled after him?
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Isnt September supposed to be busier for most people than August? Apparently not the case here at RFGen, since you guys nearly doubled the submissions of the previous month. We were just shy of 3000 total submissions for the month of September. Tynstar and Zagnorch dominated submissions while Shadow_Kisuragi and Paully3433 handled the bulk of the approving end.
Dozens of others filled in more missing data and deserve a nice slap on the butt next time you see them. Check them out for yourself, or if you've ever wanted to know exactly how awesome our database is than look no further:
http://www.rfgeneration.c...HP/about.php?action=stats
Thanks to everyone involved for helping make rfgeneration.com THE site for game collectors!!!
Welcome to another Let's Watch: GameCenter CX article! This week, I've decided to release this episode early due to the shortness of the episode. Expect another episode on Friday!
Previously, Arino interviewed Atsushi Inaba, a producer for Tekki [Steel Battalion outside Japan] and learned the history behind the infamous controller. He then proceeded to challenge the title and see how far he could make it while playing it on a theatre screen.
This week, Arino's back and playing another Life Simulator game, Roommania #203 for the Sega Dreamcast. He's quite familiar with the title, as he purchased it when he was released. However, there was one scenario he never completed on his own - the romance scenario. Viewers may remember his trials with Angelique Trois in S1E2, but will things be different this time?
Win Condition: Complete the Romance scenario with the good ending.
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As always, leave your comments and feedback below and enjoy the show.
Welcome to another Let's Watch: GameCenter CX article!
Last week, Arino was thrown into a strange situation with Angelique Trois, a dating simulation game published by Koei. Surprisingly, Arino took the game to heart and tried his best to date Seiran, but in the end was turned down and failed the challenge.
This time, we find Arino interviewing Tekki's producer, Atsushi Inaba. For those not familiar with the name, Tekki is known as Steel Batallion outside of Japan. Witness the story behind Tekki and watch as Arino learns the controls.
Win Condition: None. There is no pass/fail this time, only seeing how far he can get.
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Previous articles can be found here:
http://www.rfgeneration.c...e-Center-CX-S1E1-1894.php
http://www.rfgeneration.c...meCenter-CX-S1E2-1899.php
Post any comments or feedback on the episode below for discussion. If anyone has any gameplay video they would like to post of themselves playing Tekki/Steel Batallion in a "Let's Play" style, PM me and we'll get it added to the blog!
Well well, it has been too long since we have done one of these, and honestly, too long for me to be away. This summer was really busy working on our house & my job and family. With winter coming soon, and more time being laid off due to the freezing temps and piles of snow, I will have more time to be active on the site. So i figured we could pick up where we left off, with a new interview! Also look for new reviews, interviews and other content. As well as a ton of updates in the DB. This time I ask singlebanana a few questions. He joined in summer of last year and has been a great contributor of articles and is currently on staff as a blog writer. READ HIS BLOG!
 Rich aka singlebanana
Location: Summerfield, North Carolina
Where does your screen name come from?The name actually comes from my frustration with the game MarioKart 64. My friend and I played the game when we would unwind during grad school. We noticed that every time you were in the lead and ran over a box, the majority of the time all you got was a dreaded single banana.
MarioKart has wasted many hours, How did you find RFG?A guy I went to high school with, DevIancE on RFG, knew I was a collector and directed me to the site.
What made you stay and become part of RFG?I enjoyed the articles, blog posts, and the ease and thorough nature of the database. Plus, I've met some great people to trade games with.
Have you ever met or personally know anyone at RFG?Just DevIance.
Basics
Number of Games Owned (at time of printing):1,605 (a mere infant compared to some on here)
Number of Games on Wishlist (at time of printing):140
Number of Systems:Around 25
When did you start collecting?I guess I've been "collecting" since I was five (1982 to be exact), but I just realized I was an addict this year when the volume of games I was buying really started to increase.
What was your first system you owned?Sadly, the notorious Atari 5200. Asked for an "Atari" for Christmas expecting to get a 2600, which all my friends/family had. Neither I, or my parents knew that a new system had just been released. It was an awkward Christmas morning. Ironically, I'm looking to purchase one now...go figure.
What was your first game?Got a few games all at once that fateful Xmas morning, so here goes: Congo Bongo, Galaxian, Pac-Man, and Popeye.
Man, Santa didn't like you much, What was your first game you bought yourself (if different from above)?T & C Surf Designs for the NES, had that sucker on layaway for 6 months...enter disappointment.
6 months of waiting for that? What made you decide to buy that particular game?I was into skateboarding at the time, guess I thought it would be "gnarly."
First game you ever beat?Contra for the NES. I actually beat it the first time I played it over at a soccer team sleepover at a local rec center. 30 men code of course.
I was gonna say, first time, holy crap. Have you ever broken anything due to frustration from a game?I kicked a folding chair once that just happened to fold up and topple directly toward my bedroom window in slow motion. Luckily, only one pane of the window broke. My parents still don't know about this, so I'd like to keep this information hush hush. I believe the game was Kid Icarus, which yes, I finally beat.
Kid Icarus was really fun, hard but fun, and I can see why you broke a chair with that haha! But we will keep that on the down low.
Interview
Are you collecting now, if so what anything specific?I'm a cartridge guy. I primarily collect for the Atari 2600 and NES that I grew up on, but I'll grab a few of the more popular/recommend games for SNES, Genesis, SMS, and N64 when I can. I also have a Vectrex fetish that stems from spending summers at my great grandparent's lake house and a convenience store within walking distance that had a Tempest cabinet.
When did you feel a tipping point from gamer to both gamer and game collector?Earlier this year when I found myself going to flea markets every weekend to "hunt."
More of this flea market hunting, we never have them around me, sucks  What are your goals as a game collector, how have you developed them, and how do you feel about your progress toward them?I'd like to put together a complete collection of loose NES games and grab as many 2600 titles as possible, though I know the impossibility of doing so. I feel like I have a pretty good start on the former.
Big goals are good to have, how many games, systems, etc. are "enough"? enough? - "does not compute"
What's your proudest moment as a game collector?Finding a prototype of Gremlins for the Atari 2600, which I bought at a local thrift shop in NC for $2.16.
What's your least proud moment as a game collector?Passing up on a complete boxed 5200 system and about 8 games for $40. In my defense, the controllers were beat up and missing grips. I felt that if someone had treated the controllers that bad, then the system was probably shot as well. The flea market where I saw it was a few hours out of town and when I returned a few weeks later, it was gone. It still haunts me.
I know we all have those stories, don't worry, they happen to us all! If you had to give part of your collection away for a worthy cause what part would it be, and why?Definitely the N64, I converted from Nintendo to Playstation in college and never had one until this year. Wow, giving up a fairly cheap system...upon reflection, this answer is pretty selfish.
Wow really the N64? Where/how do you store it all?I just moved into a new home in April of this year. Luckily, it has a third floor with a playroom for my kids and a small office for myself. My wife has been kind enough to let me turn it into my gameroom.
Nice, I need to add on to our house for that! What's your favorite part of your collection?Right now it's my Vectrex, but I suppose that's subject to change. I get pretty geeked over the vector graphics and the overlays.
What about a favorite series?Big fan of the Bust-A-Move puzzle games.
What is your guilty pleasure when it comes to gaming?The kids games on the 2600, especially Cookie Monster Munch and Big Bird's Egg Catch. Ironically, I don't have the latter yet, but I remember the bouncing hens on their nests well.
I am seeing a trend here in these interviews, always going back to the kids games. What is the most valuable part of your collection(Value or sentimental)?There is nothing too valuable in my collection, but I'll go with my Vectrex.
What game do you have the most nostalgia for?Probably Grand Prix on the 2600. My grandmother use to play it with my cousin and I when we were very young. I distinctly remember the electrocution sound of running into other cars in the game and my grandmother's high pitched scream when she would crash.
A grandma that plays is cool in my book. What would you like to improve in your collection?I'd like to beef up my 2600 collection, which is currently around 336 games.
What do you think was your best deal while game buying?Snagging Aero Fighters (SNES) from a flea market vendor for $5.
What item in your collection do you feel you overpaid for?Pole Position and Polar Rescue (CIB) for the Vectrex.
Good spending is crucial in collection. What do you feel is the strangest or weirdest item in your collection?Several months ago, I purchased a Panther light gun that looks like a semi-automatic handgun for .99. From the research I've done, I have only been able to find one online that is similar and plugs into a PS1. This one has an Atari/Genesis plug on the end. I'm sure it's for a bootleg system, but I think it's cool.
What item(s) do you not have in your collection that people are surprised to hear you don't have?Probably an XBox 360 or a PS3. I'm not adverse to having newer consoles and do own a Wii, but I honestly wouldn't even know what to buy if I ever considered purchasing one. I'm just the kind of person who is not in a hurry to get his hands on a new system or game. Even with Wii titles, I tend to wait to buy used copies or new ones that have dropped in price considerably.
Not to surprising, I don't have any of the new age systems at the moment! Is there any way you'd ever stop collecting? Maybe if my wife put her foot down. She's not a gamer (though she can be tempted by the occasional game of Warlords), but she's very cool and supportive of my collecting.
Nice, sounds very similar to mine. She did ask me to get rid of a few things that weren't my favorite and I was fine with that. Do you have a funny story about your collection?My friends and I will call in for a mental health day about once a year to game. We fittingly refer to as "Nintenday." There have been songs written about our exploits. Is that too weird?
That is awesome, I would do the same but I get the entire winter off to play!  Have you ever had to move your collection to another house? What was it like? Yeah, I recently moved my collection in April. At the time, I had just under 1000 games. Our old house was very small, so I had everything in our guest room and boxed up to keep it out of site. Since everything was already boxed, the move was quite easy....except for hauling everything up two full flights of stairs at the new place. We used movers for the larger stuff, but of course I did the games myself and wouldn't let anyone else touch them.
If your significant other told you no more games, what would you do? I'd probably have to concede. If she told me I'd have to sell the ones that I already have, then there would be an issue.
What percentage of your games are still sealed?less than 1%
What percentage of your game have you actually played? Completed?probably about 50% played; as far as completed, probably well under 5%. Can you ever really "complete" Atari games though? I could totally score some Activision patches if they would still let me send off for them.
Do you own any complete collections (every game for a certain system)? No, but I'm working toward a complete NES collection at the moment and am very close to completing an originally released Vectrex collection.
I am the evil interviewer with these questions....
What is your favorite game of all time?Missile Command is my favorite. I'm not sure why, but I've always loved this game and pick up copies for various systems whenever I can and Warlords would be my multiplayer selection
Least Favorite?Since E.T. is too generic, I'll go with the Swordquest series on the 2600. What a bunch of nonsense!
Others
Do you collect anything else besides games?Vinyl, a few G.I. Joe action figures (1982-1987 exclusively) when I find them, DVDs, and many books which I'll probably never read.
What do you outside of games? Work, spend time with my wife, wrestle with my 2 year-old daughter and newborn son, drink with friends, listen to indie music and attend shows.
What other features would you like to see more of at RFG (Example: Reviews, Articles, Interviews, Previews, etc)?I'd like to see more pre-NES game and console reviews.
Agree, if I played more Pre-Nes games I would love to review, I just don't get into to many. Do you have a question for the next interview?What is your favorite gaming cabinet of all time?
Sweet look for that question coming up in the new interview. Thanks for your time!
Click the banner below to check out more of singlebanana's, collection, RFG Profile and many more picture of his awesome collection.
Continue reading Unloved #27: Deadly Creatures
Welcome back, RFGeneration! Since the previous episode had such a favorable response, I've decided to try posting these videos weekly on Fridays pending any setbacks. For the 1st Season, this may be pushed up to twice a week since the episodes only contain Arino's challenges.
Last we left off Arino, he was taking on "Takeshi no Chousenjou", one of Japan's most infamous games on the Famicom. If you haven't had a chance to watch, the episode can be found on the previous blog entry:
http://www.rfgeneration.c...e-Center-CX-S1E1-1894.php
This time, we find Arino interviewing Tomomi Matsushita about the Neo Romance line of video games and taking on Angelique Trois, a dating sim game published by Koei. How will Arino respond to playing a dating sim game, and will he be able to pass the challenge?
Win Condition: Complete the game with a favorable ending.
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Post any comments or feedback on the episode below for discussion.
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