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I Spent $10.00 and got all this:
X-BOX 360 microphone, Leapfrog Leapster with case, Game Informer issue 204, and for The N64 10 games, WCW/NWO Revenge,NBA Live 99, WWF Warzone, Wrestlemania 2000, NBA Courtside 2, Nascar 2000, Cyber Tiger, WCW VS NWO world Tour, automobili Lamborghini, Knockout Kings 2000. Plus An old school TV to play my atari games on.
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Hellllllpppp! So I was going through some of my odd stuff that I wanted to add to my collection online and I cam across this Total Control connector that says it makes some controller work with the Genesis ... the port is an old pc controller port and also the Neo Geo controllers fit but none the of pc controllers i have has a top red and bottem red buttons so Im asking for some help  here are some scans of the converter...also notice that its not a big name company or they would have spelled Genesis correct any hooo any help some one can give would be great ( google has not been so kind in the search)  
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.
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!
Most people tend to think that all shmups are the same, but there are two possible truths: First truth, the simple concept can be conceived by developers in many different ways. It can be treated as an action game, a hair-trigger reflex game, or the complete innovation of the entire genre, like Ikaruga. Galaga and Darius Gaiden are not the same. The genre has such a versatile nature that it can be-
Second truth: I am slowly becoming a shmup snob, and will need a psychiatrist in about a year.
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(Released as "Pop'n Twinbee" in Europe, and "Twinbee Da!" in Japan.)
Twinbee is a shmup series created by Konami, with installments released between the 8-bit and 32-bit console generations. Twinbee Da for the Game Boy is a sequel to the original incarnation. The series is very cartooney, enriched with color and cutesy enemies. But this version is monochromatic... Does it bring in the same feel?
Genreal gameplay is quite good, and very similar to Xevious. You shoot enemies in the air with your standard bullets, and bomb ground enemies. Twinbee quite literally throws the bombs with his fists. You obtain power-ups by collecting bells. You shoot the bells to change their pattern, and the power-up you receive is based on whatever pattern it is when you collect it. Enemy ships attack you in formations, and the bullets are shot at you based on your location. There are six total stages, and the first four are selectable from the start menu.
The excitability and cute nature of the game makes it kick all sorts of ass, and poses a worthy title for shmup fans to seek out. The difficulty starts out easy, with enough action on screen to keep you busy. The steady difficulty and varying bullet patterns keep the repetition at zero. Those who've played the home console versions will notice the lack of color, but that does not threaten enjoyability. A fun arcade game to burn time on, and a great challenge for shmup fans, as long as you can get past it's only major flaw:
The broken power-up system. Shooting bells until they turn into what you need can be a restless pain. Some bells are designed to give you certain power-ups, which can be learned and memorized in the beginning part of Stage 1. However, the speed of your ship is an upgradable power-up, and starts out way too slow. You loose your power-ups after dying, unless you collect the "angel" icon with your next life, thus regaining all your previous power-ups. But this is difficult. The bottom line is, if your ship is too slow at the second half of the game, you are then practically unable to navigate through thick hoards of bullets. Otherwise, getting tri-shots and multiple "ghosts" of yourself make you feel like a boss.
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Twinbee is a good game for hardcore Game Boy collectors and shmup fans, but in terms of availability, I will redirect you to the Gradius and R-Type series. Twinbee Da! for Game Boy is rare in quantity, but goes for less than $20 whenever the Japanese version is found. There is no language barrier, since all the text (except for the title) is in English.
So, even with my miniscule collection compared to the people in the first few pages of RFG I am having trouble sometimes deciding what to play. I am pretty sure I can't be the only one, and so I'm curious as to what people do to decide what they want to play.
Granted sometimes it's clear, I have a hankering for X game, and so you load up X game and all is well in video game land. What happens when you have time to game but don't know what it is you want to play at the time? Maybe you are in the mood for a handful of games and cant decide exactly which one.
At any rate, while I could technically play two games at once, it is not realistic, and sometimes there are more than one game I want to play. What is the secret to deciding what to play?
This was not as much of an issue for me in the past because my methods were simple: go buy a new game and play the shit out of it until you are sick of it, repeat. Now, with the mix of old and new it's hard for me to decide what to play particularly since at this point a lot of the "retro" games I get, I have only played long enough to know that the game works properly.
This is made even worse because typically when I get "retro" games I usually get a few at a time. Hell, a lot of the time I can't even figure out what system I want to play on, and I only have 7 to choose from!
How do you guys do it?
So, after reading the interview of singlebanana it made me think about what the reasoning is behind my collection. My collection is put together by several factors.
The first thing about my collection is that it has current systems (Wii and PS3). This is strictly due to the fact that I wasn't a collector at all. I dumped my old systems almost immediately after a new system came out (see my description).
The second criteria of my collection is that it began as "strictly" optical disk based systems. This got thrown right out the door as soon as a genesis was donated to me, haha.
The third thing about my collection is that I emphasize the SEGA systems pretty heavily. This is mainly due to the fact that I never had a SEGA my entire life until recently.
The fourth criteria of my collection is that I take donations. "If it's free it's for me." Right?
And last but not least in terms of why I get certain games is pretty simple. If I know the franchise already and it's in the series, chances are I'll get the game. Other selections are based on reviews, or are simply looked back on as must haves, or classics, or even games that defined a particular system.
What about you? What is your reasoning for the things you collect in the video game world?
Ok I'm gonna change this up a bit I'm just going to list stuff as I find it so I don't forget anything.
Video Chess for free
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Target Run for Free
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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!
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Rich aka singlebanana Preview
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.
 [img width=246 height=184]https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=eb08b03467&view=att&th=1324c2cb81f66d37&attid=0.3&disp=thd&realattid=f_gsckyt5r2&zw[/img]
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.
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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.
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Hey everyone these are a few items my brother and I purchased. We have some more so keep an eye out for some blogs. Also we are going down to Lincoln, Nebraska this week to hit up a few places on top of getting a few things here and on eBay. So the few items that will be pictured one of them is a Nintendo Club Item which is the "?" Box. It is a Super Mario Bros. Character's statue. This item is very cool and can catch a good price my brother pulled it in a good price on eBay. Then there is Theme Park for DOS yeah that's right DOS! We got it for $1.00 at Salvation Army! Then the Coleco Colotron! This is the second Coleco Plug-in item from the 70's my brother and I have gotten. The item is in MINT condition and probably has never been used, $4.00 yes that's right folks FOUR DOLLARS not FORTY or Fourteen--FOUR!!! It has the manual and everything. The next item is a pack of Micro Adventures Books for the PC full pack for $8.00 at Half-Price Books. Then what I think is the best pull is the Golden Sun Dual Strategy guide for both games on GBA AND WITH THAT purchase it also came with both GBA GAMES carts Only, but it's all good, we already have Golden Sun 1 complete in box. ALL of those for $25.00 on eBay! The next item up is P.T.O II for Sega Saturn complete mint condition in Box on eBay for $7.00. Okay take back the previous statement on the Golden Sun as great pull. The next two items are also very nice. The next one is the complete TETRIS Family on FAMICOM! We have Tetris, Tetris 2 (NOT THE SAME AS TETRIS 2 in the USA) and TETRIS FLASH (Which is our Tetris 2 here in America). The next item is a MINT CONDITION BRAND NEW Breath of Fire 2 Strategy guide by Prima, we have two of this guide and this is the best one yet! CAN sell on eBay for a hefty price. I love this book it is amazing and very very beneficial to beating the game 100 percent. The final item is Sim Classics or Maxis 2 Collection. It comes with Sim City Classic, SimEarth and SimFarm. This is 100 percent complete even has the huge instruction manual. My brother got his at Goodwill Bytes (an electronics spin off from Goodwill) for a big whopping $2.00! OH BONUS ITEM! Thought it was over huh? Well the last picture is of Prince of Persia Sands of Time Movie Trailer played before Toy Story 1 and 2 3D and various other movies before it came out. How I got this you might ask?!?! Well my brother used to work for Star Cinema, well now AMC, that's how we got it. Anyone else have anything like this?!?!?
Now folks here are the pictures. I will have a picture of the statue out of the box soon just not on this blog.
Picture 1:
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Picture 2:
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Picture 3:
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Picture 4:
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KEEP SCROLLING!!!!
Picture 5:
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Picture 6:
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Hope you all enjoy. Please please post replies.
So, when I first got hit with my nostalgia, eBay is where I looked. It was easy, convenient, and with a lot of reasonable buy it now prices, I was able to acquire the titles I wanted pretty quickly, and at reasonable prices.
I assumed that eveyrone that was collecting retro video games did this, but as I started to read more about the culture I found that eBay is sort of frowned upon by the "true collector".
I don't consider myself anything, except someone who loves video games old and new, and I get them any way I can. I'm not going to stop going to eBay for some games, but I am going to try to get them from flea markets and yard sales first.
Now that I've had a taste of a large flea market, I am definitely much happier with what I got for the money I spent.
At any rate, if you are eBaying exclusively to get your games, I definitely suggest finding a large flea market and keeping your eyes peeled for yard sales that may have video games the prices are MUCH better.
Hey now!
Okay, this is for real: if I find out that any of you are acting like these guys...
See? You don't need XBox Live to experience angry teenagers spouting racial slurs.
...I'm gonna find out where you live, bust your front door down, back you into the far corner of your game room, and...
...give you a really stern talking to, and tell you to knock that $#!t off.
And if it happens a second time, I'm gonna return, confiscate your collection at gunpoint, keep for myself what I want, and distribute the remainder amongst my far-more-deserving fellow 'Generators.
(I'm sure The Maligned One would be willing to hook me up with some firepower if I toss him a chunk of the confiscated swag as a rental fee)
...
Oh, all right, I'll admit it: this isn't really for real; I'm just bein' an internet tough guy here. While the whole "warning/confiscation" deal is something I'd like to do--and really should be done--the travel expenses would be ridiculously high. Especially if I had to go abroad to bring great justice to the deserving party. Also, I enjoy being outside the walls of a federal or foreign prison far more than I do inside them.
It just saddens me to see visual evidence of such nonsense, you know?
And yet, I also find the whole deal somewhat amusing, and compelling. Now I understand why certain so-called reality shows--particularly the celebrity-rehab ones--are popular. It's because people love watching complete fukkk-ups engaging in heinously self-destructive behavior. It makes the viewer feel better about his / her own pathetic life. And the above video fits the bill perfectly.
'Course, it would've been sadder--and way more amusing--if they were carrying on that way over a NES. Or, better yet, an Atari Jaguar.
Hey, methinks I've got a great show idea for G4... Hollywood, here I come!
'Late
UPDATE: A few hours after I first submitted this blog, YouTube closed down the account the embedded video came from.
The story of my life, ya know?
Fortunately(?), I found the video elsewhere on the site, and slapped it over the spot where the old one used to be. Hopefully, this one will be a bit more permanent...
'Later
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The Force is with you, but you are not a Jedi yet.
Oh, man. I can't count how many times I've heard Darth Vader utter those dreaded words to me in Star Wars Trilogy Arcade.
In SWT:A, you battle Darth Vader as the Penultimate Boss in the game. To beat him, you have to follow on screen arrows to block his Lightsaber Strikes, and after you've blocked enough of them, he'll get stunned, and you have to follow the arrows on screen to slash him. Sound easy? It's not! You have to do it multiple times, and up & down are reversed, so it can get confusing, leading you to lose the fight.
Anyway, after learning today that this game could finally be emulated, I got out my Flight Stick and set it all up, hoping to finally beat Vader.
After reloading my game several times, I finally beat him, and man, did I feel good afterwards! It was tough at first, but I eventually managed to get the idea in my head that up & down were reversed, which allowed me to beat him.
Anyway, even though this game can be emulated, I recommend you seek out the actual Arcade Machine. It's a lot of fun, and it makes you feel like your actually in the Star Wars Universe. 
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Who do we have here? That, my friends, is Bubsy The Bobcat.
Who is he, you ask? To many, he's a failed (and hated) Mascot, but to me, he's an awesome, wise-cracking bobcat who likes to fight Aliens.
But what makes Bubsy stand out from other Platforming Mascots? Where to begin?
Well, for starters, before each level begins, he'll utter some kind of funny line in a digitized voice relating to the level itself. For example, in the first level, he'll say his catchphrase "What could possibly go wrong?", and on the last level, he'll go "WHOA! Are you still playing this thing?!". To make him even cooler, he's got his own Nerf (That's right, the famous toy gun makers Nerf) Gun to shoot his enemies with. Although that only appears in the second game, it's still awesome. He can also run faster than Sonic The Hedgehog. (!!)
But what went wrong? For one, his games are TOUGH! Save for the second game, he only takes one hit to die, and invincibility T-Shirts (Yes, T-Shirts) are scarce. Also, he was marketed as being the Character who would stomp on every other Mascot, so I guess it disappointed people who thought his game wouldn't be cheap in terms of difficulty. Me, I can't even get past the 2nd Level of the first game without a Game Genie. That's actually the only way I can beat it. Fortunately, the second game is less punishing. Still, the games ARE fun once you figure out how to get Bubsy under your control.
Did I mention he was popular enough at least to get a TV Pilot in the form of a Cartoon? Although it's not shown on the Box above, some of them have a sticker telling you to look out for his Thanksgiving TV Special. My Box is one of the ones that has it. Nowadays, you can find the Cartoon on the Internet if you search on Google.
Anyway, that's it for this entry on one of my favorite Characters of the 90's. Thoughts? Just shout out in the comments.
Bomba's List is just that: a list. It's not really dumber and certainly not smarter than other lists on the Internet, but it is the only one that is titled "Bomba's List." Also, there are more commas and parenthesis used in my lists. Welcome to Bomba's List.
Ever since I was a wee lad, I was interested in getting the best deal. This could be because my family didn't have much money in those days, but the actual reason has to do with my cheapness. From macaroni and cheese and frozen hamburgers to the types of batteries I used to power my toys. Videogames were certainly no different. Since I was a subscriber to Nintendo Power as well as a religious reader of those game cards they used to have a Toys R Us, I felt I was in a great decision to save some serious money and play some great titles (and more of them) at the same time. While in the past this cheapness served me very well, it has also backfired on me badly, leaving me battered and bloody, often questioning my own philosophy. This was harsh stuff, especially for a twelve year old. So join me, dear friends, as we probe the depths of my cheapness to unearth the choicest bits of embarrassment in this installment of Bomba's List.
Case #1: Hydlide - How many of you were Nintendo Power readers back in the day? I can certainly say that those bi-monthly issues gave me invaluable tips, decorated my room, and even kept me warm at night. However, they did not keep me informed. Enter me, 1989, in the videogame isle of Toys R Us. I was standing on the metal shelving, looking at the back of the game cards on the budget priced games. See, at this particular Toy's R Us games under the normal price were kept away from the budget ones, probably to keep down chances of contamination. I was oblivious to this, and was quite content to browse through them, imaging the fun to be had. After all, I had $20 in my back pocket, and the rated reviews and previews of the Nintendo Power staff to guide me in my decisions. What could go wrong, right? I wish I could slap the person who failed to review this game properly, not just for the misinformation, but for the months of pain I endured. See, I could have spent the money on rentals of good games, but since I didn't and no one else was foolish enough to trade, I was stuck. The endless pain, the humility. Dear God, I'm starting to tear up...
Case #2: King's Knight - Before I start this, I want you to look at the RFGen page for this game, specifically at the front box shot. See the "Action Adventure" part? The "Square" part? Now, if you happen to own the game (don't lie, there are 163 people who do!) pop it in and watch the attract mode. Notice how the game looks like a character shooter? Yep, me too. See, back in 1991 when I was feeling the aching for a good game, I was drawn in by three things. First, since there was no video of this game available in 1991, there was no way I could know that it was not an Action/Adventure game. Second, I was so high on Square after playing Final Fantasy I would have cleaned the toilets at their offices just for a snippet of info about any RPG games this company offered. And an Action/Adventure by them? Forget about it. Third, the game was $20, and was thus considered a "cheap" game. Now I know that there is a dedicated following for this game, so I want you to imagine this. Say you are an ignorant child who manages to get a game for a song. By all appearances the game seems to be a Zelda-style game and it happens to be from a company you hold in high esteem. Now imagine playing this game and finding it not to be a Zelda-style game, but a crappy character shooter. Now hit yourself with the game cart several times in the forehead. The explanation you give to your friends and family as to the reason you have a red mark on your head will be more adventure than this game will ever offer you.
Case #3: Random Piles of Atari Clearance Games - Many of you never had to experience this, but some of you did. To those that didn't, let me assure you that the piles of clearance games on the rear endcaps of your favorite store don't compare to what was happening in the middle to late eighties. For the most part many stores never participated in this. You never found the piles of crap in your (well, my) Toys R Us or Children's Palace. You had to visit a grocery store or a department store. My pile of crap was bought at Meijer, a mid western supermarket, that basically sells everything, including videogames. Due to a whole bunch of variables (mostly post gaming crash stuff and Atari mismanagement) there were piles of clearance Atari games found in my local Meijer for a good portion of the eighties. Most of them were either a dollar or less. While I won't be specific (mostly because I don't remember the details), I can say that one of them was Rubiks Cube for Atari 2600. The dumbest thing? I didn't even own an Atari 2600 until 1996. The only way I could play this game would be to take it to my grandparent's house. The looks Cool Aunt (my gaming aunt) gave me as I polluted her gaming system with that crap. The only saving grace was my own father, who tossed all that junk in the bin where it belongs. It now resides somewhere in the middle of the landfill in Canton, Michigan. Rot in hell.
Case #4: Derek Smart Games - After about 1995 I had access to enough resources to ensure that it would be near impossible to purchase another crap clearance game on accident. Between Funcoland and the Internet (in 1997), I would research every game that appealed to my wallet, regardless of price. There was only one more mistake, but in my defense I blinded by the love - who am I kidding. I am an idiot. In the summer of 2004 I became incredibly nostalgic for Starflight on the Sega Genesis. I bought the game and played it to death, but I wanted more. More specifically, I wanted a modern interpretation of the game. There were a few options, but not one actually felt similar enough to make me interested (save the UrQuan Masters, which I would play months after my Derek Smart debacle ended). I eventually came across YouTube videos for several games by a guy named Derek Smart called Battlecruiser Millennium Gold and Universal Combat for the PC, and both were listed at Gamestop for $20 each. From what I could read there was a good match between these games and Starflight. Open universe? Check. The ability to land on planets? Check. Mining? Check. Resource selling? Check. Threats of violence couldn't keep me away from Gamestop, and I arrived home with my new games and sense of child-like glee. Each game box contained massive, complicated booklets, foldout "Quick" references for commands, and small starmaps. As an experienced PC gamer, I went to the developer's website to locate and download any available patches. I guess the first clue of my fate was the requirement of the games' creator (the a fore mentioned Derek Smart) to first register to download the patches. Next I read some of the forum posts in the technical support portion and was horrified to see that the creator (again, Smart) was heaping abuse on anyone who dared ask a question. To be succinct the games sucked. Both were released as freeware about four years ago, but I couldn't even recommend those. Better to just slap yourself in the face now, which about as painful and ultimately less damaging (to you and your computer) in the long run.
With me nearing my big goal this year of getting 75% of the licensed NES library, its time I start playing the crap out of them now. I've decided to challenge myself to beating 100 NES games over a 100 day period. I havnt pinned down a start date yet, but it will be in the near future. I do need a bit of assistance from the community though.
Obviously I'll have the final say in what "beaten" means with each title. But I'm curious to know if there is a general consensus on a few different things. With each title my goal will be to beat the game on the default difficulty setting with no cheat devices or codes.
Whats the general consensus on games like Ghosts n' Goblins which have an ending and then a "true" ending by playing through a slightly harder game again? Would beating it once be considered beaten by most and the second quest left for completionists? or is it neccessary to beat both quests for the true ending to call it beaten?
Is there a rule of thumb for calling arcade style games completed? Would seeing every different screen in Donkey Kong and beating the default highscore be beaten in your eyes? Each game will obviously be a case by case bases, but does that sound about right for most arcade style games?
For Shmups like Sky Shark would it be considered a victory to have the game loop?
While I am against using codes like the Konami code, I'm not ashamed to exploit different aspects of games. Such as spamming respawning enemies to refill health/ammo/score.
Here is a list of games I'm currently going to take on:
Adventure Island
Adventure Island 2
Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
Batman
Battletoads
Blaster Master
Bonk's Adventure
Bubble Bobble
Bubble Bobble 2
Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout
Castlevania
Castlevania II
Castlevania III
Caveman Games
Chip n' Dale RR
Chip n' Dale RR 2
Circus Caper
Contra
Contra Force
Donkey Kong Classics
Dr.Mario
Duck Tales
Duck Tales 2
Dynowarz
Felix the Cat
Flintstones Surprise at Dinosaur Peak
Ghosts n' Goblins
Gremlins 2
Journey to Silius
Kickle Cubicle
Kirby's Adventure
Kung Fu
Legendary Wings
Little Samson
M.C. Kids
Mega Man
Mega Man 2
Mega Man 3
Mega Man 4
Mega Man 5
Mega Man 6
Metal Storm
Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!
Monster in My Pocket
Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden II
Panic Restaurant
Power Blade
Power Blade 2
Ren & Stimpy Show: Buckeroo$
River City Ransom
Simpsons: Bart vs. The Space Mutants
Simpsons: Bart vs. The World
Simpsons: Bart Meets Radioactive Man
Sky Shark
Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular
Snow Brothers
StarTropics
StarTropics 2
Super C
Super Mario Bros
Super Mario Bros 2
Super Mario Bros 3
Super Spike V'Ball
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles
TMNT II
TMNT III
Where's Waldo?
Wizards & Warriors 2: Iron Sword
World Games
Xexyz
Yo! Noid
That list is just over 70 games. So I need some suggestions from you guys too! I'd like to have a list of about 120 ideally, so that I have some wiggle wrong if I need to move on from a game. I'm looking for stuff that isnt to time consuming (obviously). Games with infinite continues are fantastic so if you know of any please let me know. I'm not against padding my list with stuff like Fisher Price, Jeopardy, Mario is Missing, etc, but if I can do it without resorting to those kind of titles I'd be happy.
During the challenge I'll be staying away from online guides, but will be using print guides that I have and asking for community help on occasion. Thanks in advance for the help!!
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