Hey now,
It was nine years ago today that a certain someone signed up for RF Generation. You might know him from his signature avatar, which is one of the most exploitable avas on this site. And I should know, 'cuz I exploit it every chance I get:
[img width=175 height=110]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/DoubleNupe_zps78f7289d.jpg[/img][img width=90 height=110]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/NupePissed_zps17109b23.jpg[/img][img width=90 height=110]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/NupeSHift_zps3ce56027.gif[/img][img width=90 height=110]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/NupeOmNom_zps998047b7.gif[/img][img width=90 height=110]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/Nupecommodore_zps0efa2340.jpg[/img][img width=90 height=110]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/DaNupes_zpsfbd464b4.gif[/img][img width=90 height=110]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/output_I8ADbD_zpsc4f70f50.gif?t=1402850475[/img]
The new Bil-O-Meter.
I decided to celebrate this anniversary by "Nuping out." What is Nuping out, you ask? Well, allow me to provide an example:
[img width=498 height=400]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/zagnupe1_zps60cf3952.jpg[/img]
And here's one I'm sure the man of the hour would really appreciate:
[img width=462 height=400]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/ZagNupe2_zpsf33fc171.jpg[/img]
And now it's your turn! Show your appreciation for Nupoile's nine-year RF Gen Odyssey by taking your own Nupe-Out pic and posting it here:
http://www.rfgeneration.c...x.php?topic=14107.new#new
Catch y'all on the boards...
'Late
Another summertime weekend for picking and searching. No yard sales this time though. Thunderstorms and hail as big as baseballs in some areas stopped me from exploring those, but thrift stores were fair game.
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Firstly, got an early Father's day gift from my wife. No idea on what she spent, because it was a gift and she doesn't disclose price on the gifts she buys me, but I know it wasn't extreme.
Sega Genesis core system
3 controllers: (1 SEGA, 2 Blockbuster Video third party with blue colored start button)
7 Games: NBA Jam: T.E., NHL '94, Sonic the Hedgehog, RBI Baseball 3, Fatal Fury 2, Joe Montana II: Sports Talk Football, Jammit
[img width=550 height=328]http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m232/Scott_Breaze/WP_20140613_002_zps6212686b.jpg?t=1402802865[/img]
It seems now that I own a 2600, games will start falling in my lap. Snagged all of these for 50% off, making them all $0.50 each.
24 Total Games:
2600: Space Invaders, Star Raiders, Warlords, Asteroids, Defender, Laser Blast, Centipede, Robot Tank, Vanguard, Pac-man, Video Chess, Combat, Starmaster, Solaris, Space Wars, Missile Command, and Yars' Revenge.
PS1: Disney's Treasure Planet, Speedball 2100, Tetris Plus, Bravo Air Race, Colony Wars III: Red Sun, and Intelligent Qube
PC: Steel Panters III Brigade Command: 1939-1999 (Sealed)
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Finally, grabbed some systems for pretty darn cheap:
$10: Original PS2 with one original black memory card, an original black dualshock 2 controller, a clear black dualshock 2 controller, and a surprise inside: Kingdom Hearts.
$4: Game Boy with Super Mario Land 2 inside
$6: PSone with A/V cables and Power supply
$3: Clear green Dualshock 2 controller and two original black PS2 memory cards
[img width=328 height=550]http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m232/Scott_Breaze/WP_20140614_013_zps177f84fb.jpg?t=1402802876[/img]
I am very happy with the amount of systems I got this time around and how cheap I got them for, since I'm thinking all of these games are pretty common finds. I wonder about the colony wars title though. I haven't seen that one before.
[img width=380 height=550]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-060/bf/U-060-S-01180-A.jpg[/img]
Magic Knight Rayearth is an action/adventure based on a popular manga and anime series of the same name. Come to the Sega Saturn where we get going back down the Working Designs road!
Working Designs and Sega had quite a close relationship at first. Sega could make some money by licensing the rights to a game out to Working Designs that they themselves did not want to localize and release. Looking at the lineup of Working Designs Saturn games a staggering 4 of their 6 games for the Saturn were actually developed by Sega (5 if you count Camelot's Shining Wisdom since the company was founded by Sega, but they had broken away from them the same year it was released in Japan) including our game this week.
Continue reading Psychotic Reviews: Magic Knight Rayearth
[img width=550 height=494]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/J-060/bf/J-060-S-00195-A.jpg[/img]
Normally when I do a review I beat the game and then go about reviewing my experience with it. With RPGs it makes sense, since I'm investing at least two dozen hours into the recent ones I've been playing. Sega Rally Championship can be beaten in less than ten minutes. Its an arcade checkpoint racing game, one of the best of them in fact. I remember in the mid to late 90's when arcades died down to the point where it was basically nothing but these checkpoint racers, fighting games, and NFL Blitz. That was about it in my hometown, and by that time we had already lost one of the two arcades here.
I never did play Sega Rally Championship in the arcades, I did play a ton of Hydro Thunder. In terms of Sega I played more Daytona USA. Anyway, now I have a Sega Saturn, and Sega Rally Championship is one of the absolute cheapest games for the system. I paid $4 for my copy, and it was complete with an excellent, non broken case! But is this game cheap for the wrong reasons, or the right reasons? There's only one way to find out!
[img width=700 height=837]http://gamesdbase.com/Media/SYSTEM/Arcade/Cabinet/big/Sega_Rally_Championship_-_1995_-_Sega.jpg[/img]
When you first start the game you have a menu of choices like the arcade mode, time attack, options and other normal console game selections. Time attack is just setting a course record and then racing the ghost. Once you're in the arcade mode you can choose whether or not to practice individual tracks, or jump straight into the race. There are only a grand total of three tracks in the entire game. Now it makes sense why the game is only ten minutes long. There are also only really two cars to choose from, with each car having an automatic or manual transmission option. There is a third unlockable car though.
Once you get that picked you're off to the races! In order the tracks go Desert, Forest, and Mountain. Each one is harder than the last. Even though Mountain is smaller than Forest it is jam packed with quick turns that can throw you off and have you crashing into the walls repeatedly. Desert is designed as the easy track to help you get used to the game mechanics. The first time you play the game don't be surprised if you get a Game Over on Desert, this game is a bit harder to master than most racers.
Drifting around Medium, Hairpins, and Fades are absolutely essential. Even on some of the Easy turns you'll need to do a bit of drifting. Don't worry, the game literally tells you what kind of turn you're getting close to and how long it is. The ones you have to be even more careful on are the turns where the announcer says "Maybe" at the end. He's not lying, "Long Easy Right... Maybe" might just make you hit the wall hard.
[img width=512 height=384]http://img.gamefaqs.net/screens/e/4/9/gfs_60367_2_6.jpg[/img]
The music in the game, at least the Saturn port, is just there. Its good but its there as a background noise instead of something to bump the speakers to. There's a lot going on in this game in terms of audio, so not having too much too much to focus on at any one time seems like it was a smart move overall. The bad part is that the Saturn port of the game has music played by Joe Satriani, and its just there in the background.
If you do get a game over, well, then you're treated to the greatest game over screen in the history of gaming. Its so nice that it just makes you want to keep playing not because you're angry, but because it kept you happy. This game is not trying to rub your failure in your face and make you feel worthless because you couldn't get to that checkpoint in time, it makes you want to try again!
To really beat the game requires mastery of it. These three courses are much deeper than they appear, and memorizing the layout is only one half of the equation. The other half is learning how to properly take these memorized turns and practice it until you can do it in your sleep. Actual execution is just as important as track memorization. These two features mesh well together and working on perfecting turns and the drifting mechanics after memorizing track layouts is actually fun and rewarding when switching between modes like ghost racing in Time Attack.
Sega Rally Championship is a game worth every penny. Even though it can be beaten in a few minutes it will take hours to master, and almost every second will be enjoyable. Any annoyance is pressed onto yourself for not having perfect control. If you have a Saturn and haven't picked this up and played it, and are mildly interested in racing games or arcade games in general, this one is worth every single penny and then some.
My wife found this box online on a craigslist type posting site for 15 bucks. The colors and switches are as I remember them from my childhood, but I don't remember being able to see the green of the actual circuitry behind the game slot, and it seems super light, so I am not sure if it is an original 2600 or a repro.
Also, these games seem super common, but the shape of the Riddle of the Sphinx cart is not like anything I have seen before. The blue cases were with four of the games and from somewhere that used to rent out these games just a few blocks from where I grew up. The cases seem to be modified VHS tape cases fixed to hold Atari carts. Not sure how rare or hard to find the manuals and warranty cards for 2600 stuff are to find, but they were included in pretty good shape, and I couldn't be happier about that. 
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Hey everyone!
Recently, life has sucked. Growing up sucks and I don't know how some of you
have dealt with it. I have been sooooo busy since the last time I
posted...but i assure you, unlike the last time, I'm back to stay (hopefully).
Since last post I:
Graduated
Moved
Got a "real" job
A bunch of personal life stuff
....all of which have taken up a great deal of my time. But now that i am
finally back to where i need to be, i can get back to what matters most:
video games. To kick things off, im gonna bring back the Summer Game Challenge!
Assuming you dont already know, the SGC is an event created by someone on
RFGen (who exactly is something I forget) and was a way for the community
to get together and collectively clean out our backlogs. To participate,
all one needs to do is set a list of games to beat, and then do so over the
summer....and usually blog about it (but i assume you could play and not
tell anyone....but that ruins the "collective" part.)
With that in mind, ive set the goal to finish the following before
September 1st:
Zelda: Wind Waker (playing the HD remake)
MGS: Snake Eater
Zone of the Enders 2 (Also in HD)
Mega Man 6
Metroid Prime
The Legend of Dragoon
3-4 of the games were on my previous lists, but for whatever reason, diddnt
get done. (In the past, I had much more free time over the summer, so I set
more ambitious goals.)
If i wanna get this done, Ill have to work quickly, seeing as my new job
takes up 11 hours a day between work and commute...thinking everything but
Dragoon needs to be done before august to stand a chance.
So far, progress has been slow, with the release of Mario Kart 8 and all. Just got through Tomahawk Man's stage before bed, and have 7 more robot masters to go.
Till Next Time!
~ Neo
Official Backlog count: 317 (62% complete...although I'm sure I forgot to add some steam games here)
[img width=700 height=501]http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120811132403/es.megaman/images/1/11/RM6CoverPromo.jpg[/img]
First off, I want to give a big "Thank You" to the 9 members who have taken the time to donate money to the site during our annual donation drive. So Thank You Tadpole13, Razor Knuckles, Raidou, Nupoile, Zagnorch, OatBob, and Wempster. Together you guys have raised over $600 to keep the site running. And unless someone tops your donation in the next couple days, you'll be receiving an ultra-rare gold colored NES game. If you're not one of these fine gentlemen, and want to help keep the site alive, you can send a PayPal donation to webmaster@rfgeneration.com or just click the little Donate icon at the bottom of this article. Either way, your contribution is only used for paying the hosting bill around here, which is around $100 each and every month. If you don't know how much to donate, donate whatever you can, whether its $5 or $5000, every little bit helps. But for reference, the average donation amount this year has been $77.21. I'm not saying you must donate that much, but if you want to conform to the standard, you probably should.
And of course, I must thank all of you out there that are PAINING YOURSELF WITH SUBMISSIONS! In may, the most PAINED WITH SUBMISSIONS member was Zagnorch, with 2190 submissions. Next was ApolloBoy with over 1000 submissions, and each with over 500 submissions were Flee, MrMeek, Aeroc, and ae.tc. Thanks guys, you are obviously taking this competition seriously, and you should be. One of you is likely to walk away with another copy of that super-rare gold colored NES game.
If your name isn't listed here, don't worry, you can still win this thing. But you better get your butt moving, Zagnorch really wants that game, and you wouldn't want him to get it would you?
But don't forget about those poor souls who tirelessly sift through all those submissions to find the ones that are worthy of approving into the database. Without them, we'd have a database full of incorrect information and stolen images. May's biggest Approver was Shadow Kisuragi with an astounding 3468 approvals and who knows how many rejections. Next up was Tynstar with just shy of 1000, and ApolloBoy with 733. Thanks guys, you have been doing an awesome job at keeping that queue down this year, I only saw it above 100 once this year.
Thanks to everyone else who has contributed in May and during our annual contest so far. It really is true that every little bit helps. Whether its a page edit to fix a typo or a donation of $500, we truly appreciate it all.
Click the button, you know you want to.
Episode 23 discussion thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...rum/index.php?topic=14047
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In this episode friend of the show Rich (Singlebanana) joins the usual crew to talk about arcade and pinball collecting. We cover finding machines, tools you will need, tips on owning, transporting, repair, and more! If you have a big collection, or are just getting started, we hope you will enjoy our jump into collecting on the big scale. Be sure to share with us about your arcade games, pinballs, memories, and tips.
Show Notes:
Music: Metal Gear (NES)
Topic: 15:23
Outro: 2:33:35
Links
KLOV - http://www.arcade-museum.com/
Boston Pinball - http://www.bostonpinball.biz/
New England Arcade Collectors - http://neacf.com/
Internet Pinball Database - http://www.ipdb.org/
Twisted Quarter - http://twistedquarter.com/
Pinside - http://pinside.com/
Marco Specialties - http://www.marcospecialties.com/
Pinball Life - http://www.pinballlife.com/
Bay Area Amusements - http://bayareaamusements.com/
Mad Amusements - http://mad-amusements.com/
Pinball Resource - http://www.pbresource.com/
Classic Playfield Reproductions - http://www.classicplayfields.com/
Great Plains Electronics - https://greatplainselectronics.com/
Chomping Quarters - http://www.chompingquarters.com/
Suzo-Happ - http://na.suzohapp.com/
The Real Bob Roberts - http://www.therealbobroberts.net/
X-Arcade - http://www.xgaming.com/
Pinball 101 - http://www.pinballvideo.com/
Pinball Bash: http://www.pinballbash.com/
Have you ever played a game that you didn't think much of at first, but then it ended up surprising you in such a way that you really enjoyed it? While this doesn't happen too often, it's quite enjoyable when it does. Here are the games that surprised me:
Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst
[img width=319 height=450]http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a136/DarkTheThief/63015725283611227758_zpsa1330cfb.jpg[/img]
I've never been too big on the Naruto Franchise, as I always thought it was kind of stupid (Seriously, what kind of Ninja wears ORANGE???). That being said, when my best friend told me to pick up this game, I was skeptical, but there are times when I trust his judgement better than my own, so I figured, why not, and for the love of Chrono Cross, was I glad I did. This game is amazing. As a fighting game, it's unlike any other, preferring to use a full 3D battlefield instead of the usual 2D. You can move anywhere on the field at will, use deception to fight your opponents, and even break out of they're attacks with ease. I am so glad my buddy talked me into buying this, as I had already finished Killer Instinct, and I needed a new fighter to play.
Phantom Brave
[img width=640 height=908]http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a136/DarkTheThief/phantom-brave_zpseb087978.jpg[/img]
There's an interesting story behind this one: I've always enjoyed Anime, and games that are drawn as such. That being said, when I saw an ad for this one in a Shonen Jump Magazine(?), I was shocked, as I could find no Game Console Logo on the ad, nor could I find any kind of description indicating if this was an Anime or not. Our Internet was practically nonexistent at the time, so I had to get creative to get information on this one. Eventually, I did figure out that it was a PS2 Game, so I bought it right away. At the time, I didn't really like SRPGs, so I was pretty mad when I found that this was one. Still, I played it, and I ended up loving it. It had to be the Story (at first), and later, the unique strategy gameplay.
Outrun
[img width=338 height=480]http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a136/DarkTheThief/Out-Run-Sega-Master-System-__zps3fd09f63.jpg[/img]
I don't remember when I learned about Outrun, but as I recall, I read that it was a "Driving" Game, as opposed to a racing game. This intrigued me, so when I got a Sega Master System, it was one of the first games that I bought. When I started it up, I learned what it meant when I read that it was a driving game. You simply have to reach a goal within the time limit, passing by obstacles to do it. Unfortunately, it's a lot harder than it sounds, but it's definitely a fun game.
Dance Dance Revolution Extreme
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Before I actually played this game, I was well aware of it's existence, but being that I'm kind of big, I never played it, as I figured that I might get hurt or something. One day, I saw a friend playing it, and the catchy J-Pop Music caught my attention. The gameplay itself is tiring and repetitive, so it was definitely the music that drew me in. I got very tired from playing it, but wouldn't stop, as I wanted to hear every song in it. Ultimately, I'm glad I gave it a try, as the Music is indeed really good, but what do you expect from a game about Music? Heh.
Well, those are the games that have surprised me. Which ones have caught your attention when you thought they wouldn't?
In an effort to more accurately track my collecting in the wild, I am coming back to the blogs with my "Rookie Collecting" series.
Made a couple grabs today, A store closure liquidating everything at 50% off, (60% if you bought 6 or more at once), another local store with a couple GameCube titles to get me closer to completing that set, and one buy from a yard sale that was noteworthy, but not gaming related.
[img width=700 height=418]http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m232/Scott_Breaze/WP_20140531_014_zpsfa020b05.jpg[/img]
The store closure included Viva Pinata, GH: VH, and G-Police for $2 each, DJ Hero for $0.40, and The Sims, The Sims 2: Pets, and Scorpion King for $1.20 each after all were 60% off. After I told the shopkeeper I was collecting GC titles, he pulled Bratz and Wreckless from behind the counter and threw them in for free since they were loose.
The other local store was clearing all XBOX, PS2, and GC stuff for 2.98 each, but my wife and I budget well and keep each other in line when it comes to spending, so I focused on grabbing only GC titles I didn't have yet and grabbed those three sports titles in the pic and Top Gun. There were only about 18 GC titles on the shelf, mostly madden and tiger woods, but for the XB and PS2 titles, probably a few hundred each, but also mostly sports titles as well.
Finally, my non-gaming purchase...for my fellow parents, you should agree it was a great deal at $2.50, since they are 50-60 bucks new in stores.
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[img width=347 height=582]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-060/ms/U-060-S-00030-A.jpg[/img]
Albert Odyssey is one of those pesky Working Designs games for the Sega Saturn. It is a classical styled turn based RPG which is actually a departure from earlier titles in the series. The Albert Odyssey series started on the Super Famicom, developed and published by NES favorite Sunsoft. These are tactical, strategic RPGs in the vein of Fire Emblem and Ogre Battle mostly. There was also a sequel made for the Super Famicom, but both of these were never released outside of Japan. Albert Odyssey: Legend of Aldean began development for the Super Famicom as a side story to the first two games, but that version was cancelled and ported to the Sega Saturn. In Japan this game was released as Albert Odyssey Gaiden ~Legend of Eldean~, and was developed and published by Sunsoft as usual.
In comes Working Designs, finally moving beyond the limited audience of the Sega CD and onto Sega's new system. This audience would also be quite limited, and the Saturn's short life would eventually move the company onto the juggernaut Playstation. But before that happened the company managed to localize and release 6 games for the Saturn. Albert Odyssey is the first one that I am playing.
First off I want to say that graphically this game is a slight upgrade from its Super Famicom roots, but it certainly feels like it would be right at home for that system. As a result of the Saturn's strong 2D capabilities the pixel count is much higher than you would see on any Super Nintendo game. There are little bits of 3D perspective on the world map that the Saturn was able to soup up a bit, but these would have looked fine with the Mode 7 capabilities, much like Final Fantasy VI's airship traveling. The music is all Sega Saturn though, with nice CD quality audio and high quality, crisp voice acting from time to time. There's not much voice acting in the game, but what is there is quite enjoyable and fits the characters rather well. Not susprising since Working Designs was one of the first to utilize voice acting for their CD games.
What really bugs me about this game, and this was also a complaint from reviewers when the game released, is the localization. Its not a direct translation with a few cultural phrases, superstitions, and such changed so the new audience would understand them, oh no. Some of the dialogue, especially NPC dialogue, is a poor attempt to garner laughs, chuckles, and such, but it is poorly executed and a vast departure from the original Japanese script. I even saw on the main characters say "Holy Sh-nikes" to which I replied, "Holy 90s localization!" Another NPC blatantly breaks the fourth wall by saying she doesn't remember her lines in the script. This was the furthest thing from funny I've seen. Everybody calling Pike, the main character, fat gets really old, really quickly. Its because of games like this that have RPG fans so adamant about the differences between translation and localization. This is an example of a localization that just went too far and Working Designs is the prime reason for this.
[img width=320 height=240]http://img.gamefaqs.net/screens/4/2/5/gfs_14429_2_11.jpg[/img]
See what I mean?
The story is a typical save-the-world from big evil bad guys scenario at first. Later on however, there is a twist where you must go on a manhunt, again looking for a big evil bad guy because kidnapping and such. At least this is a bit different. You not only have to save the world from certain conquest and destruction not once, but twice! I wonder what would happen if you failed in taking down the first threat, would the two bastions of evil then decide to fight it out to determine who shall be the supreme evil overlord of all beings of this world? Would they enter some sort of endless using pawns of little evil underlings for various schemes and maneuvers? That would be some Baatezu vs. Tanar'ri style warfare there.
One feature I do enjoy about Working Designs games of this time period is a section of the manual where they explain what changes were made to the gameplay. Some of the things they did included cut down on the encounter rate while increasing experience gains, decrease load times, fixing diagonal movement, and adding shoulder button support to change between characters in the equipment and magic menus. I really can't imagine why a game would originally release without shoulder button support for character switches but hey, they were still kind of new in 1996, by five years. This at least gives you an idea about some of the changes, and helps you realize how some minor changes like L + R button support can shave a lot of time off of menu navigation.
[img width=320 height=240]http://199.101.98.242/media/shots/251-Albert_Odyssey_(U)-25.jpg[/img]
Overall this game is quite easy. It starts off impossible to lose but does increase in difficulty as you get stronger and add more members to the party. It never gets overbearing though, and you'll only really grind for about 10 minutes here and there to squeeze out an extra level or get a little bit more money. The characters are quite interesting from a narrative standpoint, with Pike being one of the most boring ones. He was a child when his hometown was invaded and destroyed, so he was raised by peaceful harpies and carries a magical sword. Eka is a beautiful singer who joins Pike and the two end up getting married and living happily ever after. Leos is a charismatic priestess who becomes renowned for caring about all the people and races of the world, and going above and beyond to help them. Gryzz is a Dragonman who joins after the party saves his people from certain death, he's young but is a bastion of honor and the party's heaviest hitter. Amon is a metrosexual Birdman who joins because he's hot headed and tired of the personal politics of his tribe, so he joins the group without even really knowing them too well. Kia is a young magician who joins the party for their second quest. She has the power of the teleport spell and adds a rather naive young voice to the party.
The gameplay is solid, yet simple. This game is quite short, so if you're looking for an RPG that you can sink your teeth into, play casually, and beat without much of a time investment then I would recommend this game. If you're somebody who wants more value for your buck then I would pass on this game, as it regularly sells for over $80 nowadays. The packaging is quite solid and beautiful, with shiny lettering and a much higher quality manual than most Saturn games received, so this game has a crossover appeal between RPG fans and collectors since it looks so good on a shelf.
[img width=320 height=240]http://www.oocities.org/imagearcane/screens/aoeka.jpg[/img]
Hey now, my fellow esteemed RF Gentlemen. It's been an eventful couple weeks, rife with amazing scores and near-crippling illness. But since none of you care about the latter, I'll just focus on the former as...
Zagnorch Productions
in association with
[img width=234 height=60]http://www.rfgeneration.com/left.gif[/img]
presents
SEVEN FOURTEEN-DAY SCORE CARD:
SPUD FEVER!
Week of 11 May to 24 May 2014
Sun 5/11: Found myself a PC classic, a complete Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger for $5.99. I also discovered Sony's less-than-stellar attempt to ape Super Smash Bros., a complete PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale for the PS3, for $1.99.
[img width=619 height=550]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/Score5-11-2014_zps31e3b3bb.jpg[/img]
Mon 5/12 through Thu 5/15: This sparse stretch of scores commenced with the discovery of a sealed Balance of the Planet, a self-published PC title from the early 90s, on special for $2.60. I also found a fuchsia GBA for $4.99, a complete Dark Cloud for $4.99, and a loose Altered Beast LCD watch game for $1.99.
[img width=585 height=431]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/Score5-12to5-15-2014_zpsbb1349e2.jpg[/img]
Fri 5/16: Grabbed a nice chunk of reading material today, including ten back issues of Nintendo Power, two EGMs, and a GamePro, all for $3.50.
[img width=700 height=445]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/Score5-16-2014mags_zps540ab02b.jpg[/img]
Sat 5/17: My CIB PC game streak continued with the acquisition of Disney's Stunt Island at the local Savers for just $0.49. Then I hit the Goodwill down the street and picked up the following CIB DS titles for $9.99 each:
- Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
- Diddy Kong Racing
- Tetris DS
- Yoshi's Island DS
- Animal Crossing Wild World
- Space Invaders Revolution
[img width=700 height=432]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/Score5-17-2014DS_zpsf12f0512.jpg[/img]
Sun 5/18 and Mon 5/19: My last stretch of thrift scores before the failure of my health commenced with a Prima Star Wars Battlefront strategy guide for $2.99. Then there was the cache of CIB PS1 titles-- PaRappa the Rapper, Tempest X3, and the Greatest Hits release of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night-- for $2.49 each.
Also uncovered: CIB copies of Serious Sam, Cold Fear, and Super Monkey Ball adventure for $3.49 a pop. Oh yes, there was also the GameShark v2.0 Video Game Enhancer unit for N64 for $4.99, and a small Sonic plush for $0.99.
[img width=487 height=525]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/score5-18amp5-19_zpsf9c81958.jpg[/img]
But the most interesting score from this two-day stretch was the Super Mario World LCD watch game-- which sports a headphone jack-- for $2.99.
[img width=529 height=366]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/Scorecard5-28tease_zpse0761fcc.jpg[/img]
Tues 5/20 through Fri 5/23: Absolutely no action at all as I recuperated from my first cold in over two years. And boy, was it a big one, just devastating in its intensity. Just how bad was it? So much so, that I resorted to using something I absolutely cannot stand:
[img width=700 height=922]http://www.thepharmacy.com.au/product_images/x/905/Vicks_Vaporub_Vaporizing_Ointment_100g__98535_zoom.jpg[/img]
So I rested and occupied myself with non-strenuous endeavors... which I might discuss at further length one day.
Sat 5/24: I rebounded with a little lunch-break score at my fave Goodwill, which included Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario World and StarFox 64 for $4.99 each.
[img width=294 height=487]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/Score5-24-2014_zpscc854e06.jpg[/img]
Rounding out this two-week stretch of scores was a little "care package" from the wilds of Spudville, USA:
[img width=700 height=484]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/SpudScore_zps93c73d62.jpg?t=1401333427[/img]
This box was the culmination of a trade between myself and RF Gen's very own 413th Technical Entity. He had an extra CIB copy of Silpheed for Sega-CD that I coveted, and I had an extra complete loose Dreamcast he was interested in.
[img width=626 height=449]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/SpudScore1_zpsa30b0b66.jpg[/img]
So we agreed on a trade, and I dragged my feet for several months until I got off my ass and contacted him again, asking if he was still interested in the deal.
[img width=603 height=522]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/spudscore2_zps77fc44de.jpg[/img]
Being the extremely patient and fine, upstanding citizen he is, Mr. 413 was still game (so to speak). So I shipped my end of the trade off to the guy...
[img width=572 height=468]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/spudscore3_zpsa4ecd548.jpg[/img]
...and I waited patiently for my end of the deal to arrive. Little did I know he was gonna clean out his garage and send it to me.
[img width=564 height=405]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/spudscore4_zps26f0dece.jpg[/img]
Just layer after layer after layer of (mostly) neat stuff. The man's generosity knows no bounds. The archaeological dig continued, my guilt level increasing with each new discovery. If I was getting all this in exchange for a lousy Dreamcast, imagine what I could have gotten in exchange for a real system. You know, like a Nokia N-Gage or a Virtual Boy.
[img width=700 height=489]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/spudscore5_zps8c4515d9.jpg[/img]
Speaking of Virtual Boy: Mr. 413's first gesture of kindness towards me was a battery pack for the VB system. He also hooked me up with a Silent Service cart a few months back to go with my box and manual.
[img width=623 height=469]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/spudscore6_zps48493623.jpg[/img]
The most surprising portion of this care package: a Timex Sinclair 1000 computer unit with box, manual, AC cord...
[img width=614 height=473]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/spudscore7_zps2f8e19b0.jpg[/img]
...and a rain check.
[img width=635 height=508]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/spudscore8_zpscba63d6a.jpg[/img]
Oh yeah, I also got these in the deal:
[img width=636 height=487]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/spudscore9_zps44e92490.jpg[/img]
Gotta remember to throw the guy a couple PS3 bumper stickers and letter openers to show my thanks.
Non-Vidya Bonus Bonanza: The usual suspects abound here, including:
- Three TI BA-II Plus calculators, $2.49, $2.99, & $3.49
- TI BA-35 $2.49
- TI BA-35 Solar $5.39
- Sporty's E6B Flight Computer Calculator $3.99
- TI BA-20 (Miller Pride), $2.49
[img width=346 height=495]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/nonvidya5-17-2014_zps6a357487.jpg[/img]
[img width=570 height=351]http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y409/Zagnorch/NonVidya5-11-2014_zps4a270970.jpg[/img]
Aaaaaand that's about it for now.
Catch y'all next week...
...'Late
[img width=700 height=437]http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/bombatomba77/1_zps95e79ba6.png[/img]
No doubt many of you Steam gamers have noticed the new feature available on Steam: In-Home Steaming - The ability to stream games between computers on your home network, a feature that I've been waiting for. Sure it has been available for a while (through Steam Beta opt in), but it just wasn't viable until now. But now we can play our Steam libraries remotely, provided your home network isn't a stinker. Also, those of us who choose a non-Windows OS can finally play all of our Steam games without the need for often messy compatibility layer software (Wine, PlayOnLinux/PlayOnMac, etc.). A dream come true. There are some bugs, but the overall goal of the project has certainly realized.
Continue reading Stream Steam Games Over Your Network... And More?
You know what I love? RPGs. You know what they have? Grinding, most of the time. And there's a lot of it here. The further back you go the more grinding there is! There are many different ways that grinding is implemented. At its heart the main goal is to gain levels, but sometimes this is a secondary goal. Because of the difference in philosophies, even going back to near the dawn of RPG games period, I have thought long and hard on different styles of grinding. I have four to discuss with the class today.
Grinding Style 1: Levels
Call it a level grind, or an experience points (EXP, XP, whatever) grind depending on the way the game handles its leveling system. This is the most common style of grinding, and it dates back to the earliest college mainframe RPG MUDs and earliest PC RPGs. Wizardry is a prime early example of needing levels to get further in the game, usually having an invisible wall where enemies get much stronger and harder, but with better rewards.
This style of game usually gives you more money than experience in terms of need that is, so gear is usually quite easy to obtain in the natural progression of the game. Just moving over the world and grinding in the dungeon should give the player enough money to deck out their party at the next town, maybe with some help from a boss drop or stolen item. Final Fantasy games are a good example of this. If you spend a little bit of time building some levels between towns then the first trip to the next one will be the big weapon and armor buy up, probably with enough left over to restock on healing items.
With some more difficult level based games, like the Shin Megami Tensei and Wizardry series, it puts less emphasis on the new gear your characters can use, and instead focuses on the natural strength of the stats. Getting a new weapon might only lead to a slight damage increase, so good control, strategy, and tactics come into play. Or you could stay with the lower level monsters and work to afford the best gear.
Having great music helps alleviate the pain.
All this talk about money leads me into my next part of the lesson.
Grinding Style 2: Gold
Sometimes a game limits the amount of money that drops from each and every battle. This completely reverses the dynamic I went over above. Dragon Quest is an excellent series in this regard. Experience and money start off fairly evenly, but soon enough experience outpaces money besides certain monsters. This series is more of a hybrid of both styles introduced so far. Even though you get more experience per battle it still takes quite a bit of time to level up as you get stronger and stronger. But, it seems the level grind is always secondary to getting enough money to fully deck out your entire party with the best gear. The level gains just happen while you save up your gold.
There are as many examples of the money grind as the level grind. Phantasy Star is Sega's vision in this philosophy. The first one was recently featured as an RFGeneration Playthrough, so some more people there should understand the way the series starts off. It stays this way through the Genesis games for those that haven't played them. You don't worry about grinding levels, you just get enough money to buy the new equipment when you find some.
Money is necessary in all RPGs though, so even in games centered around any other style of grinding, you may find yourself having to stop and kill monsters for a half hour or so to afford a piece of equipment or two if you've been blasting through the game by being overleveled for some period of time. Eventually you exhaust your resources and have to stop to start it all over again. Grinding is a vicious cycle that some of us just can't stop.
[img width=400 height=267]http://fr.stockfresh.com/thumbs/blinow61/1315375_sac-or-pi%C3%A8ces-blanche-fond-argent.jpg[/img]
Give me all your gold!
Grinding Style 3: Skill
Some games offer the ability to use skills, and by gaining extra points to learn them or level them up, you create a much more powerful party than any other style of leveling. Final Fantasy IX has skills that you can learn by equipping certain items and gaining AP to learn the skills. You can then use skill points to equip these learned or learning skills to give bonuses, learn spells, gain immunities, and add certain behaviors to your characters. The skill system is quite deep, and the player retains complete control over the entire party to see this skill grinding come to fruition as you level. Final Fantasy VI, VII, and VIII have similar systems with the Esper, Materia, and Guardian Force systems respectively. My least favorite Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II has a system where you use a spell repeatedly to level it up as well. This is also the backbone of all the games in the Final Fantasy series that feature the Jobs system.
Legend of Dragoon has a skill system that involves using combat combos in order to level up your Additions. Each character gains their Ultimate Addition by leveling all the other ones up to their maximum level. This creates a paradigm while playing through the game of whether you stick with a level 4 addition to finish leveling it, or start with a brand new level 1 addition you just unlocked. I usually stick with the weaker one so I never have to go back to it. You consistently get stronger this way even if you take a temporary dip of damage output.
Many tactical and real time RPGs have a similar system. The Star Ocean series has a system where you can earn skill points when you level up. These are allocated to skills that you want to level up, but this method by itself will fall far behind what can be done with a literal interpretation of skill point grinding. By gathering multiple parties of enemies together in one battle you will gain a green gem to add to the Bonus Board, and end up with extra skill points at the end of each battle.
Even Mario is guilty of this.
Grinding Style 4: Item
Item grinding is essentially the cornerstone of the endgame for every single MMO. When you no longer need experience and money flows like water, and you have maxed out skills, all that is left is to grind for rare items. These can be mini grinds in many other games, such as an item only being dropped by one monster before specific events happen. This happens with some of the runes in Suikoden II, they can only be obtained in short windows.
Item grinding probably leads to the most types of sub-grinds, but these all lead back to actually having the items to fulfill these obligations. MMORPGs commonly feature this idea. You can use items to increase your level of crafting skills, increase your reputation with certain factions, sell for money to just stockpile it or buy very expensive skills or weapons with, get better gear for your character, or help your guild out. There are many possibilities but all center around killing hundreds of monsters for a handful of items.
Farming felcloth made you insane in the membrane.
Greetings all,
I regret to inform you that the blog I was going to post this week-- "a tribute to one of the greatest masterpieces in cinematic history, and some of the video games it inspired"-- has been postponed due to illness. I picked up a really bad chest cold a few days ago, and am presently riding it out. It's the first cold I've had in over two years, so its severity is no surprise for someone who usually gets two a year. It's so bad, I've resorted to using something I absolutely despise: Vicks VapoRub. So you know it's serious business.
Anyway, I'd like to convey my most profuse apologies, and I hope to get the tribute blog up some time in the next couple weeks when I'm no longer under the weather. Thank you for your understanding.
'Late
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