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[img width=550 height=541]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-061/ms/U-061-S-01770-A.jpg[/img] The original Playstation is one of the most important video game consoles in the history of electronics. Many changes to the way video game development was conducted took place during these years. While big budget 3D blockbusters were marketed to the sky and back, some other companies realized they could target lower price points. Before the Playstation, most lower priced games were re-releases of older, successful games, but the cheaper manufacturing and shipping costs of CDs and jewel cases persuaded some companies to just develop and release lower priced games, which would come to be known as a budget title. The PC gaming market had been doing this since its inception, but consoles could finally get in on the small priced release train. Lower the scope of the game, don't add too many features, and focus like a laser on what will be in the game, and these developers and publishers could release a rather competent game for $20. BursTrick Wake Boarding!! is one such game.
Continue reading BursTrick Wake Boarding!!
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Posted on Feb 13th 2021 at 01:00:00 PM by ( EZ Racer) Posted under top 20, nes, snes, genesis, pc, n64, playstation, nintendo, ps1, mario, zelda |
[img width=640 height=480]https://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/223564-super-mario-bros-nes-screenshot-starting-a-new-game.png[/img] So after taking much of 2020 to look at some of the best games for several different home console systems of the 70's, 80's, and 90's, it only seemed natural to kick off 2021 with a list of the best of the best.
The results are based off of 5 participants:
Crabmaster2000 EZ Racer DisposedHero Fokakis79 Wempster
Voters were encouraged to list all their best games if they couldn't get it cut to 20, and a few lists took advantage of that. Games from all systems released as 5th generation consoles (N64, Playstation 1, Sega Saturn) and prior were eligible. Japan exclusives were also eligible, along with PC titles released in 1999 or earlier.
In all, there were 89 games that were considered among the best of the early video game generations, and rather than list the also-rans separately, I thought it woulld be fun to list every game in order. My thought is that all these games are considered exceptional by at least one person, so if your looking for ideas for something to try, it might be for you as well.
Before getting to it, thanks to those who participated this month, and all who made lists in 2020. It's been a lot of fun, and look forward to a lot more in '21! If you're a GameCube fan, check out the link for the next list coming up- http://www.rfgeneration.c...m/index.php?topic=19495.0
So here are your Top 20...er top 89 games as voted on by RFGen members!
Continue reading RFGen Top 20 plus? Games of the Early Years
[img width=550 height=559]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/J-061/bf/J-061-S-04490-C.jpg[/img] During the early years of Sony's first Playstation console the company was throwing all kinds of money around to get exclusive development deals. In order to make sure the Japanese launch era and early years went well they invested heavily into the development of role playing games. Sony's investment would lead to three early RPGs for the Playstation, Arc the Lad, PoPoLoCrois Monogatari, and Wild ARMs. Wild ARMs was developed by Media.Vision and would release in Japan in 1996, followed by a North American release in 1997, and Europe in 1998. Much later this first Wild ARMs game would be remade for the Playstation 2 in 2005. It has many changes compared to the original, however this review will focus solely on the original release.
Continue reading Wild ARMs
[img width=627 height=550]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-061/bf/U-061-S-13810-A.jpg[/img] One aspect of criticizing artistic forms of media that is frequently brought up is the idea of recency bias. The main problem with recency bias is that when a work is new, the fresh coat of paint can sometimes successfully hide the pocks of rust hidden by the frame. This idea is true for all forms of media, books, movies, shows, and perhaps it's strongest for video games. Games are heavily reliant on the technology of the era, and as that technology advances, the inherent weaknesses of previous works comes to light even more powerfully than before. In other cases, it's simply a question of project scope.
Xenogears was once touted as one of the greatest Japanese role playing games ever created, but over time, that opinion has softened and any discussion about it inevitably leads to the game's biggest flaws. Pinpointing the source of this slowly decreasing opinion of this once highly touted classic relies on knowing what the game's major flaws truly are, an understanding of everything that happened during and after its development, and speculation on how the gaming public itself has shifted. Xenogears is over 20 years old by this point, having released on the first Playstation all the way back in 1998, so there has been plenty of time for reflection.
Continue reading Xenogears: A Tale of Two Discs
May's game of the month here at RF Generation was the quirky musical roleplaying game Rhapsody - A Musical Adventure. It was fun to play through and discuss with everyone else playing along and gave me a reason to review a JRPG for the first time ever. Rhapsody is short and sweet, turns some typical rpg tropes upside-down, and includes great musical numbers. But does the gameplay hold up? Here's my take on the game.
[img width=400 height=403]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-061/ms/U-061-S-02540-A.jpg[/img] The international success of the first Crash Bandicoot allowed Naughty Dog to get started on a sequel, and most of the team members remained intact for this transition. This let them build on the ideas from the first game and polish up problems, while adding new ideas. Sadly this created quite a few new problems. Despite all these new issues, Crash 2 was more successful than the first game, making it the best selling Western developed game in Japan when it was released. However, its international sales caused the game to fall a bit short of its predecessor in total sales.
Continue reading Psychotic Reviews: Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
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Many remember Crash Bandicoot being an unofficial Playstation mascot after his release until the launch of the Playstation 2. The first trilogy of his games are fondly remembered as early 3D platformers done right. The series was created by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin of Naughty Dog, who went on to develop it for Universal Interactive Studios. Sony Computer Entertainment joined for publishing and marketing after the game's E3 showing in 1996, making these early games exclusive to the Playstation. One of the reasons why Crash was chosen as an international mascot by Sony was due to its success. At the time it released Crash Bandicoot became the most successful Western developed game in Japan, mix that with the overwhelming sales in the Western markets and Sony had a killer app on its hands.
What about the game helped it become such a success though? Crash was instilled with tight art and design philosophies. While it can be said to be a 3D platformer it is not a full roaming 3D platformer like its peers at the time Super Mario 64 and Croc. Those games and many other games using the 3D perspective up to this day would suffer from camera issues. Crash avoided this by having linear paths to follow, while also mixing up the gameplay with areas based on 2D platformers, with side scrolling action. This helped keep the game from having a crippling camera that could quite literally be your lifeline. How many of us remember making leaps of faith because the camera sucked? Crash avoids this by keeping the path straight and keeping the camera in front of, behind, or beside our bandicoot hero.
The controls in this game feel a bit stiff. The game controls quite well overall, but there is a bit of a pause in starting the running, as well as jumping control. Just holding the button down while you're jumping feels fine, but having to make precise, short jumps can be rather annoying at times. There are a few levels which are almost sadistically designed to exploit this issue with the controls. Most of the levels are quite tight, and there is variety between the themes and worlds on top of the perspective. The game is anything but boring and predictible for your first playthrough. Boss battles are easy. They are spread throughout the worlds though, so the big boss fight is not always at the end of a land.
The music fits the game quite well. Crash is set in a chain of Pacific islands, so the Tiki styled theme is quite strong with it. The music and the levels fit in with this design quite well. The final world is mostly machine based though, and that has to do with Dr. Neo Cortex and him being a mad scientist and all that jazz.
Its quite easy to see why Crash would be the sensation it was, and why the once wombat, now bandicoot became the face of a system. Naughty Dog would develop two more Crash platformers, and a racing game, before moving onto another series for the Playstation 2, Jak. These three early Crash games are still considered the best in the series, and after playing the first one now and with nostalgic memories of Crash Bandicoot: Warped, I do remember why this is believed. These games are not too expensive, and are quite common. This first game can sell in the $20-30 range, but 2 and Warped can be bought in the $10-15 range and have that extra polish. I found all three of them at a thrift store run for $4 each, so deals can still be had for them with local hunting.
Bane of my existence.
Sometimes you have to open things up to clean them. It doesn't really take much to convince me to do this. Even though my knowledge of circuit design is fairly low, I enjoy looking at the little cities laid out in solder, resistors and ic's on that green board.
This is a PSone, model no SCPH-101, made in December of 2000. It really wasn't that dirty but there was some dust and hair I couldn't get to without opening up the case.
Six screws hold it shut, one of them under a warranty seal. These were actually tough screws to loosen, they require a small phillips and a bit of effort.
[img width=700 height=525]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8200/8197831613_8f4c3f7495_c.jpg[/img]
Continue reading What's Inside a PSone
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Hey man, it's the King! -Claude Speed, the Protagonist of Grand Theft Auto 2
Grand Theft Auto 2 is, without a doubt, one of the funnest games for the PlayStation. Released in 1999, this (somewhat) Open-World Crime Game is (obviously) the sequel to Grand Theft Auto, also on the PlayStation. Even though the improvements over the first one were only slight, they made for one hell of a fun game. Many will probably tell you that this game hasn't aged well, but that's crap. This game is the very pinnacle of fun on the PlayStation. It's assortment of Action, Comedy, and References come together for a thing that can be called near-perfect.
Unlike the later games in the series (sans Chinatown Wars), this one is played from a top-down perspective. The point of the game is to do jobs for various gangs, earning enough cash to proceed to the next level. It's kind of hard for me to describe this game's actual gameplay, so I won't. Besides, you should really experience this game for yourself. If you like retro games (which I'm sure you do), I'm sure you'll enjoy this gem.
One of the coolest things about this game is that it got a short film adaption titled "GTA2: The Movie". I've never seen it myself though.
This was also the first GTA Game I ever played, receiving it in Christmas of 2000. Believe it or not, I still have yet to beat it though.
Also, you may remember me posting something about making a documentary. Don't worry, it's not cancelled. It's just on hold while I look for a new Video Camera.
The great video game crash of NOW!!!
I love collecting as much as everyone on this site, but a trend is happening that is scary.
As each new generation of gamer's is born a previous generation of games are forgotten. I was born in 1987 and I owned a Atari and a Nintendo when I was a kid but I am most familur with the Super Nintendo til what is out currently. When I collect I really enjoy picking up new titles for snes and N64 and what not. I do still pick up games for my atari and Nintendo but it is never a top priority. I have been using the price chart http://videogames.pricecharting.com to keep track of value on games and stuff and I have noticed a trend of Atari games being pretty much worthless now Nintendo games slowly dropping and super Nintendo is on top right now.
I feel as each new generation of collectors come out there main priority is going to be there childhood, whether it was PS1 or PS2, each of the previous consoles will slowly fall in value and there will be the other breed of collectors that will be able to pick from the rubble. Super Nintendo games are at a all time high right now as far as I know and it completely makes sense, all of the generation from late 80's early 90's that really grew up on that system are old enough to have jobs and have the cash flow to do so. Give it another 10 years alot of those gamers will be moving on due to marriage or trying to buy a house or whatever the case, the generation that played those games will slowly move on and the next generation wont care as much because it was not there child hood.
How do you guys feel on this Topic? Am I dead wrong or am I on to something.
NOTE: This entry WILL contain spoilers!! Read at your own risk!! Also, this is a matter of opinion on my part.
Is there any game out there you have fond memories of playing, for any reason at all? Very few games, especially now, can be called Perfect, but before the 7th Generation of gaming, there were 3 that stood out from the rest, and earned the title of Perfection. Here they are:
[img width=640 height=546]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/1/198621_26893_front.jpg[/img]
This is Shenmue, and according to a lot of people, it's a timeless classic. People LOVE this game, usually for it's compelling story. A tale of revenge, this game series has yet to be completed by Sega, but to this day, myself and many fans remain hopeful that Shenmue III will be released someday.
What's Perfect About It: It's Story is what makes it stand out from the rest. This game's Story is what has made it so fun and flawless to this day.
[img width=640 height=908]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/3/516243_front.jpg[/img]
This is Phantasy Star Online: Episode I&II for Gamecube. It is, without a doubt, the greatest MMORPG ever conceived, and I have logged countless hours into it. I have good and bad memories of it, and the overall experience is a very fond memory of mine, making this now hard-to-find game more than qualified to be called Perfect.
What's Perfect About It: This game will draw you in with it's addictive gameplay and multiplayer aspect, AND it can be played Offline with split-screen multiplayer, making it one hell of a party game for the hardcore gamer.
[img width=640 height=610]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/7/196917_50218_front.jpg[/img]
This, my friends, is Chrono Cross, and it is the epitome of perfection in gaming. Chrono Cross is a dimension-traversing RPG Adventure without flaw, and this is due to EVERYTHING in it. It's characters, story, setting, and gameplay all come together to create the perfect gaming experience in the form of two CDs. In my truest, most honest opinion, NOTHING can compete with Chrono Cross in the world of gaming. Everyone knows this to be my favorite game of all time, and I have yet to find a game to surpass it, and I probably never will. 
What's Perfect About It: EVERYTHING. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this game. It surpasses even the mightiest of games, including Final Fantasy VII and Grandia. Ahead of it's time as it was though, it never caught the attention of most RPG Gamers, which is very sad. Fortunately, this game is on the PS3 as a PSOne Classic now though, and can be enjoyed by everyone for the low price of 10 Dollars. Go buy this game. You'll get more than your money's worth, and you will NOT regret it. I think that everyone should be able to find something about this game that they'll enjoy. I love RPGs, but this game cuts down every other RPG in the world, no matter how tall they stand.
Anyway, that's it for this entry. This is ReddMcKnight, signing off.
Good tidings fateful Game-philles and Master-sword enthusiasts, welcome to my first blog post ever.
Game collecting can be quite an enjoyable hobby, with a nearly limitless expanse of games, undiscovered gems and rarities just waiting to be played and appreciated for their role in the larger advancement of the median as a whole at the time of release. Like the wide-eyed awe from the English major experience the grand libraries of Oxford and Cambridge, so too is the game collector digging through Goodwill bins, and garage sales to finally find that rare historical gem. However like most collecting hobbies it can be quite an expensive endeavor, particularly for serious PlayStation One collectors (such as myself), since that market is ballooning even despite the weakened economic state of the US. With that stated alternate avenues and concessions must be made in order for one to have any hopes of complete their collection. Even though I only began officially collecting games for about a year, I have made particular observations that some uninformed may find useful. The main problem that I want to tackle today is coping with the often egregious price inflation currently on the market (with of course an emphasis on the PSOne price bubble phenomenon) understanding the inner workings of these market shifts and, planning accordingly to maximize the dollar of the collector community.
This interested me unofficially at the beginning of the year. After almost a year of scouring my local area, expending all known sources accordingly, I finally made the move to the online nether-regions of eBay and Amazon. While compiling my list of PSOne classics and gems that I was hotly anticipating I was confident that the price margin would be no larger than about $40 US dollars, or the highest price that I say for a particular PSOne game out in the wild (outside of the domestic, or online retail establishments). Imagine my shock when I ventured on Amazon planning on scoping ten or so games for at the most $50, only to realize the futility of my preconceptions. Not only was $40 considered a normal price point for most PSOne RPGs of merit, some products were as high as $150 (Suikoden II is and continues to be the bane of my existence ~-~). Having done thorough research before hand on what exact titles I had plans on purchasing (the number staying consistently at 54 titles), and having around half those titles being of a RPG nature, makes for quite a hefty sum total at the end of the day. So naturally I started asking questions of how I can get these at a discount. Well to save from needless deliberation, no one in the history of the Internet has found out a solution to the problem. Perhaps during the days in which markets were dictated locally, instead of globalization one may have had a chance at snagging these treasures from unsuspecting sellers. However the truth of the matter is, the ones selling, have done their homework, and will follow the flow of the market. And before anyone shots Objection! and refutes that flea markets, thrift stores, and auction lots are feasible options, these endeavors are of an undecidedly randomized nature, and differs irradically in terms of completeness and condition. So for the sake of brevity we will not entertain this as a viable option. The short answer to this conundrum:
You have no choice but to pay the price so save up your pennies peasantsthis may take awhile.
With the futility of chasing the value specter of the past out of the way, instead us collectors need to look forward. The video game market, like almost all markets have a deprecating curve in value. Most video games follow said curve at a consistent rate, however some show signs of exponential growth depending on certain attributes. Growth may in some cases curb the rate of decline to 25% as opposed to 75%, or in rare cases increase the value beyond the initial market value. The purpose of this series of entries is to take a laymans approach to identifying these attributes, and predicting these price curves to finally overcome the curse of inflation. Only by preempting on these choice items will we be able to truly save money on the items we want, not being at the mercy of arbitrary Ebay lots or tyrannical sellers. I claim to be no expert on the matter, and actually have little interest in economics, but I do have passion for my hobby (and I find saving money kind of fun). My love for collecting means that I need to be able to sustain such a pricy past-time so that I can do this for years to come. Join me in this exploration in addition to some other random gaming commentary/gushing/complaining. I hope both I and my audience may learn from each other; and off course save money as well 
Until next time "Hira-SUGI!!"
And yes there is a story behind that name keep reading to find out!
[img width=300 height=350]http://i.imgur.com/k825wl.jpg[/img]
The picture above is my personal Darkstalkers collection. It's a series that I have in the past several months become completely addicted to. My first introduction to the world of Darkstalkers was through Capcom Vs. SNK 2 where I started using Morrigan and realized that her move-set was so intuitive to me that I was just as good with her (or better) than I was with Chun-Li, who had been my standard fighter since Street Fighter II was released all those many years ago. After doing a bit of research (namely on http://HardCoreGaming101.net) I learned that Darkstalkers was essentially the coolest thing ever: a combination of Street Fighter style fighting and a horror movie theme. I was sold.
When I started collection PlayStation games again this year one of the first games I picked up was Darkstalkers 3 due to a deal I couldn't pass up. The game seemed totally brilliant to me. Using Morrigan, I zipped right through it -- continuing only once. I was now officially hooked. I picked up a copy of Darkstalkers Chronicles on PSP soon thereafter, and same thing. One sitting, one continue. Yes, this was definitely a series that I could connect to in a big way. I quickly started collecting all the releases for Sony consoles. As such, let's take a look at them all.
[img width=250 height=400]http://i.imgur.com/jxUoql.jpg[/img]
[img width=300 height=250]http://i.imgur.com/3YTvol.jpg[/img] [img width=300 height=250]http://i.imgur.com/Numdel.jpg[/img]
Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors was released for the original PlayStation pretty early in the console's lifetime. Note the longbox. Although there's some frustrating load times, the game is a pretty great arcade conversion. It looks fantastic with its huge 2D sprites, especially considering Sony's early plan to hype 3D as much as they could with their new system. Of note however is the insane difficulty of this one. The AI is incredibly brutal -- something that separates it from the other Darkstalkers releases. It's also worth noting that the Japanese version (titled Vampire) is worth considering as it features bonus music videos not present in the US release.
[img width=300 height=400]http://i.imgur.com/d5rrpl.jpg[/img]
Sadly the second Darkstalkers game wasn't released on the PlayStation. Though in 2005 Japan received a PS2 collection of all five of the Darkstalkers arcade games. Unfortunately for we import collectors, this game has a strange glitch that causes it to freeze up whenever a game is selected at the title screen. So unless you've got a Japanese console, the disc is entirely unplayable via normal import-loading methods.
[img width=300 height=300]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/6/197056_50240_front.jpg[/img]
[img width=300 height=250]http://i.imgur.com/gQQ24l.jpg[/img] [img width=300 height=250]http://i.imgur.com/Gk8Snl.jpg[/img]
Darkstalkers 3 is pretty much the finest example of the Darkstalkers experience on a home console. Though loading times are present, they're not game-killing. The graphics are gorgeous. The controls are flawless. Since first playing this one, it has become one of my all time favorite 2D fighting games ever. So certainly I've got a level of bias. But considering the fact that it can be had at a reasonable price on the aftermarket (as opposed to even the inferior first game) there's no reason that fans of the genre should overlook this one.
[img width=200 height=350]http://i.imgur.com/UjdoIl.jpg[/img]
[img width=300 height=200]http://i.imgur.com/I89hWl.jpg[/img] [img width=300 height=200]http://i.imgur.com/LLCWol.jpg[/img]
Darkstalkers Chronicles: The Chaos Tower was actually a launch-title for the PSP. Odd considering the lack of mainstream popularity for the series. The game is basically a mega-mix of the first three games. It incorporates all of the characters, moves and styles of each game into one big collection. Though the PSP interface isn't exactly meant for fighting games, this is actually a pretty great release for fans of the series. It looks great, and is certainly playable. An online option would have been a welcome addition though, and sadly the game wasn't exactly a big seller so a PSP sequel is unlikely.
[img width=200 height=350]http://i.imgur.com/dCD55.jpg[/img] [img width=200 height=350]http://i.imgur.com/6ArmN.jpg[/img]
Capcom released two UMD Videos exclusively through GameStop known as Night Warriors Darkstalkers Alpha and Omega. These are actually collections of the anime series that had originally been released on VHS. They look great, and add a bit of background to the characters. And considering their exclusivity through GameStop, they are actually a bit tricky to find these days. Definitely a cool collectible.
Although the Darkstalkers series seems slightly forgotten these days, many of the characters live on in other Capcom fighting games. The Capcom Vs. series has featured many of them (and this blog may touch upon that in the nearish future as well). But Darkstalkers still maintains a cult audience as well. There's a bounty of comic books, cartoons, soundtracks and figurines out there for collectors to delve into. Further proof of what a unique series it really was.
[img width=500 height=339]http://i.imgur.com/fqIoh.jpg[/img]
It's been a couple of weeks since my last big post. Some of you may be wondering why the lull. Well there's lots to talk about, so I've decided to just jam it all into one big, unstructured post. So let's begin with a post-Holiday story. Being a "gamer," I received a fair share of gift-cards to video game stores for Christmas. And understandably. I don't expect family members to keep track of my constantly in-flux collection. So the day after New Year's my wife and I went out from store to store using up various gift cards (and "mad money" from Grandma) that we received. Here's where the story takes an interesting turn. Most of the gift cards that I received were for GameStop. I went to four of them in a single day only to find that their GBA sections were almost gone. The games they did I have, I already owned. And then I'd start to notice things out of the corner of my eye. And by "things" I mean Playstation 2 games that I wouldn't mind playing.
Let me back up for a minute here. Many of you know me as "the Game Boy guy," and that's certainly understandable. I mean look at the name of my blog, right? But here's the thing: I've had a long history of various systems beginning with the Commodore 64. And believe it or not, when the Playstation launched, it was actually the first console I ever bought with my own money. I had to put it on layaway and pay it off with bits of allowance over a period of months. When I finally got the damn thing, I couldn't even afford a game for quite some time, so I had to settle for the demo disc that came with it. But those demos of Jumping Flash and Battle Arena Toshinden kept me busy. And I really did love that thing.
And though I've always been a bit of a Nintendo Fanboy, I skipped over the N64 altogether. A single friend of mine owned one, and though I was impressed with Mario Kart 64, nothing else really appealed to me the same way that Resident Evil, Suikoden, RPG Maker or the Tekken series did. In fact, the PS1 was awesome enough to me to make me purchase a Playstation 2 at launch as well. This is the last console that I bought at launch to date!
However sometime in 2008 I realized that I just had way too many video games for a married man living in a small apartment. I knew I had to condense. It made sense to focus on a single collection. And thus the GameCube with Game Boy Player made the most sense to me at the time. Though it's true that the PS2 (and it's PS1 backwards compatibility) offers a huge library of games, I decided to focus on the GB/GBC/GBA library based mostly on a handful of series. To be honest, the biggest draw for me was that Zelda didn't exist in Sony's world (unless you count Dark Cloud). So I sold my PS2 along with my PSP and all the games I had for each.
In the time since I've certainly become a bit of an expert on the Game Boy's library. And rightly so, as I've spent enough time with it. But I've also become a far more educated gamer as well. I've spent countless hours reading the amazing wealth of information over at http://HardCoreGaming101.net, http://GameSpite.net and their ilk. I've discovered a new fondness for entire genres (Shmups!) and publishers (Atlus!) and well, I just know a lot more now. It occurred to me that it was time to re-buy my once beloved PS2 and PSP. And so I spent those gift cards.
Now many of you know that I'm a very regular poster in the forums at http://RacketBoy.com. And as I started building up my old PS1, PS2 and PSP libraries all over again, along with new additions, I felt the need to discuss this blog over there. I guess I was looking for permission to expand the blog's horizon. And though I got lots of feedback (some begging I keep it GB-only, others wishing me luck), ultimately I have to go with my gut feeling. And my gut feeling is that this blog is my blog. And my blog will be at it's best when I'm writing about whatever I'm excited about right this very second. So that's what I'm planning on doing, folks. (If you're really bored, you can read the whole soul-searching thread here: http://www.racketboy.com/...mp;st=0&sk=t&sd=a)
[img width=640 height=480]http://i.imgur.com/JVwR0l.jpg[/img]
My main reason for wanting a PS2 again was to tap into the rather rich library of (both domestic and import) PS1 and PS2 shmups out there. So I picked up a used slim model, and a Hori stick made to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Tekken. A handful of trades yielded me such entries as the US version of Castle Of Shikigami (known as Mobile Light Force II here), along with the second Shikigami, Gradius III & IV, R-Types, Sol Divide, Gekioh Shooting King, and many others. But probably my biggest delight thus far has been Einhander, the infamous Square developed shmup that has proven to be even better than I've heard.
Truth be told I've gone on a pretty serious binge over the past month. Numerous retro collections and fighting games (Darkstalkers 3!) and everything else in between. To put it mildly, I am really enjoying getting back into collecting PS1 and PS2 games again. It has a ton of "hardcore" games that I'm loving attempting to track down, and on the casual front my Celtics are 4-0 in NBA 2K9 and my wife and I are hopefully on our way to a championship in Jeopardy.
[img width=336 height=268]http://i.imgur.com/0RX29.jpg[/img]
Which meant buying another PSP was the next rational step. To be honest I've loved the PSP since it was released. Of course back when I owned one, there weren't as many must-own titles that I knew about. When I first had an original "fat" model PSP, it was mostly used as an MP3-player and retro-emulator to be completely honest. Of course now I'm far more interested in imports and more interesting releases, such as the absolutely amazing Half-Minute Hero which is pretty much blowing my mind right now.
And though I'm not an advocate of piracy by any means (seriously, I hate the Johnny Depp movies even), I can't ignore that the PSP homebrew scene is among the best. There's an absolutely wonderful port of the indie hit Cave Story for the PSP. And the solid Atari 2600 emulator means that I could finally play Halo 2600, which turned out to be one of the finest 2600 games I ever played. It was addicting, and well perfect, forcing me to beat it as quickly as I could.
So there you have it, dear readers. The end of the beginning. Or whatever it is. Of course I'm not abandoning Game Boy coverage, but I am intending to let other stuff in. I hope you all stick around to see where things go from here. Hopefully some of you are just as excited as I am.
[img width=700 height=525]http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii241/shobonimaster/IMG_2637.jpg[/img]
Found this at a flea market store for $9.50. I'm happy about getting it because aside from my 360 this is my only boxed console. As you can see the box isn't in the best shape, and it's opened at the wrong end, but a little scotch taped made it alot more presentable for display.
[img width=700 height=525]http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii241/shobonimaster/IMG_2638.jpg[/img] [img width=700 height=525]http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii241/shobonimaster/IMG_2640.jpg[/img]
As you can see it came with all the cords, the manual, and the original dual analog gampad. It even has the cover sleave, which is missing from even the picture in the data base. The foam inserts are a nice little addition as well.
As for games, all it came with was a loose copy of tigerwoods 99 that was in the disc tray. I used this game to try out and it works perfect, the only problems being the open button sticking a little if you press it to hard, and the power button being a little touchy.
[img width=700 height=525]http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii241/shobonimaster/IMG_2636.jpg[/img]
I also picked a boxed multitap for $5, and a loose copy of Halo(Xbox) for free. This brings us to my other real find. I Manged to get the NIB(CIB now) 3D system up there for $2, and when I did research the cheapest I could find it online was $8-$15, It even went on up to the original $100 price tag in some places. So I'm happy about that find, I'll have to plug it into my Win98 later and give it a shot.
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