# [Official] OCN Retro - The Overclock.net Retrogaming Club



## neurotix

*OCN Retro - The Overclock.net Retrogaming Club*​

_aka the I Need More Alcohol and Q-tips Club_

Welcome to OCN Retro, the Overclock.net Retrogaming club.

Atari or Coleco, Nintendo or Sega, Game Boy or Game Gear, Sony or Microsoft, it's all the same here!

We already have specialized clubs for specific console manufacturers, like the SEGA fanclub, but we don't have a club dedicated to retrogaming in general.

Whether you have a small collection, a medium collection or a large collection, everyone is welcome here. If you think games were better when you were growing up, and you want to relive the nostalgia, this is the place for you. If you played a game back in the day, but you can't remember what it was, this is the place to ask. Feel free to post pictures of your newly acquired games, post pictures of your collections, and so on. If you go to gaming conventions, feel free to post pics of those too- we would love to see them!

Retrogaming includes all consoles, handhelds, arcades and computers prior to the *Seventh generation* (360, PS3, Wii) which is still technically ongoing, even though we're in the Eighth generation now with the recently released systems. As long as new games still come out for the 360 and PS3, they won't be considered retro, sorry.

Update for 2016: In under a year the 360, PS3 and Wii will all be ten years old, so now we are including these systems if you want to add them!

*How to Join*​ 
Joining is simple. Just post your OCN name, and a small list of the consoles you own separated by commas. I'm putting this here since some people ignore it, *if you want to join and have 10+ consoles, I need them put into a list with commas like in the club members list below. I will not add you if you use bullets, line breaks or any other format besides a simple sentence with commas.* If you want you can include an estimate of how many games you have. You can include classic computers, handhelds or arcade cabinets if you want. Look at my listing in the members list as an example in how to format your application. After you post, make sure to add the club signature line to your signature, as seen below:

*Club Signature*​


Code:


[Official] OCN Retro - The Overclock.net Retrogaming Club

- link to the first post of the thread

(code boxes are broken so you will manually need to link to the club using bbcode around that text)

*Members List*​ 
*neurotix* (*Founder*) - NES, SNES, PC Engine Core Grafx, Master System, Genesis, Sega CD(x2), 32X (x2), Saturn (x2), Dreamcast (x2), Game Gear, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance SP, PS2, Xbox, PSP-1000, PSP Go. 250+ games on cart.

*Mega Man* - NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, 32x, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Game Gear, Xbox, Playstation, PS2, 3DO, Coleco vision, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Intellivision, Vectrex

*FastMHz*- NES, Self modded portable NES, IBM XT - [email protected], IBM PCjr - [email protected], [email protected], AMD [email protected] w/ FreeDOS.

*jetpak12*- SMS, Genesis 3, N64, Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox, Game Boy Color, GBA SP, PSP.

*Artikbot*- PAL NES, PAL SNES, Game Gear, GB Color, Pokémon Pikachu Color, PSX.

*Tempest2000*- Atari 2600, Jaguar, MasterSystem, Genesis, Sega CD, 32X, Saturn, Dreamcast, GameGear, NES, SNES, GameCube, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, XBox

*subassy*- NES, SNES, GameCube, N64, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, PS1, PS2, Gameboy, TG16, Jaguar, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, GBA SP, PSP, NDSLite, Atari 800 computer (soon?)

*johnvosh*- NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Wii, Sega Master System, Genesis (v1 & 2), Sega CD, Sega 32X, Sega Dreamcast, Playstation 1, PSOne (slim?), Playstation 2 (fat & slim), Xbox, Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, Colecovision, Commodore Vic 20, Gameboy original, Gameboy Colour, DSi, Famicom AV, Super Famicom, Japanese Sega Saturn 

*Aaron_Henderson*- Xbox, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, Playstation One, Playstation 2, Nintendo DS, Gamecube w/GBA adapter, Playstation 3, PSP, Xbox 360, SNES, Saturn, Wii Mini, Clone NES

*Mr357*- Genesis model 1, Sega CD model 1, Genesis model 2, Sega CD model 2, SNES, PC Engine Duo-R, Saturn model 1 (chip'd), 2x PSX (7xx1), N64, Dreamcast, PS2 Fat, Xbox, Gamecube (black)

*TheN00bBuilder*- Gamecube, Genesis models 1 and 2, intermittently working PS1, Neo Geo CD, Japanese Sega Saturn, JVC X'Eye, Dreamcast, Game Gear, 1 Onyx Black Gameboy Advance, and 1 NES themed GBA.

*iTurn*- PS1, PS2, NES, GameCube, PSP, GB color, Gameboy Advance.


*Tylerand* - NES, SNES, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Advance SP, Gameboy Colour, N64, Gamecube, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Saturn, Sega Gamegear, PS1, PS2, PSP, Original Xbox (crystal and black) and an Intellivision.

*jimbags*- PS1, PS2, PS3, SEGA Dreamcast, Gameboy advance SP, Wii 

*wisdom.courage.power*- NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Wii, PS1 

*SwishaMane*- NES, PS1, PS2, PS3

*Wolfsbora*- Atari 2600, Atari 7800, NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Wii, Micro Vs. System (Boxing), GameBoy Advance/SP/Micro, DS, 3DS XL, Sega - Genesis (Gen 1 & 2), 32x, Saturn, Dreamcast, PS1, PS2, PS3; Microsoft - Xbox 360 (1st & 2nd gen), PC Engine Core Grafx 1, Panasonic 3DO FZ-1, Centipede cab, Millipede cab, Donkey Kong Jr. cab 

*RushiMP*- NES, SNES, N64, IBM PS/2 55 486DX2 66

*DogeTactical*- PSP, Game Boy, Windows XP ( sempron 3100+ 1.8ghz, ATI Rage 128 NLX 16mb ) 

*AuraNova* - Xbox 360, TurboGrafx-16, 5200, 7800, Jaguar, NES, SNES, N64, Wii, GameBoy, GameBoy SP, Master System, Genesis, Sega CD, Dreamcast, Game Gear, PS1, PS2, PSP, Arcadia 2001

*MNKyDeth* - Tandy 64k Color Computer, Nes, TurboDuo, SuperGrafx + Super CD-Rom 2, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, Playstation 1, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Intellivision, SNK Neo-Geo CDZ

*StormX2* - Atari 2600, Socrates, NES, SNES, Sega, Dreamcast, Xbox (original only), PS1/2/3

*MNiceGuy* - NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, Gamecube, PS1, PS2, PS3, Game Boy Advance

*TwirlyWhirly555* - PS1, PS2, PS3 , PSP, Taito F3 arcade System , Taito GNet arcade System , Atari Space dual , Taito arcade Space invaders 91

*iRev_olution* - NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Wii, Gameboy Colour, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Advance SP, Nintendo 2DS, PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP, PS Vita, Xbox, Xbox 360 

*fido*- Atari 2600, MSX AX170 Computer, Famicom, Sega mega drive, Sega genesis v2, Sony playstation, PSOne, playstation 2, Gameboy, Gameboy color

*cones*- Dreamcast, GameCube, PS2, original Xbox, Gameboy SP, Wii, PS3, Xbox 360

*blooder11181*- Xbox, silver PS2 slim, retro computers

*geForZ*- Dreamcast, Gameboy Advance SP, Gamecube, N64, PS1, PS2, PS3, Wii, X360, 150+ Games, mostly Gamecube

*Kbecks077*- Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Dreamcast, Original Gameboy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance (Glacier, Famicom SP and Classic Nes SP), Game Boy Micro 20th Anniversary Famicom, Game Gear, Gamecube, Genesis (v1 and v2), NES (original and top loader), N64, Ps1 (original and slim), PS2 fat (slim silver and black), PS3, PSP (silver, piano black, metallic blue, god of war, darth vadar), Sega Saturn, Sega 32x, Sega CD, Sega Master System, SNES (original and top loader), Wii (original and mini), Xbox, Xbox 360 

*Thoth420* - NES, SNES, Genesis, PS1, PS2 

*madpossum* - NES, Nintendo 64, Playstation, Dreamcast, Xbox, PS3, Xbox 360, Gameboy Advance, DS, 3DS, PSP, and Vita

*technyk32* - Atari 2600 (x2), Winbook XP (Intel i486DX4-100, 32MB RAM, 1MB VRAM), Homebuilt Windows 98 PC (AMD Athlon 650 Thunderbird, MSI 6167 Slot A Motherboard, ATI Rage 3D Pro 16MB, 128MB PC100)

*acheleg* - NES, Xbox 

*FlawLez* - NES,Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Sega Genesis, Sega 32X, Sega Saturn, Sega GameGear, Sega Nomad, Sega Dreamcast, Atari Lynx, Atari Jaguar, Jaguar CD, 3DO, PlayStation 1 - 4.

*WhiteWulfe* - Playstation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox

*JamesWalt1* - Sega Genesis, 32X, Sega CD, Sony PlayStation 1, SNES, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Saturn, Sega Master System. 500+ games, all boxed and complete.

*TwilightRavens* - Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PlayStation One, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 60GB (the one that plays all PS2 games), PlayStation Portable-3000, Xbox 360, Pentium III-S 1.4GHz with a 3dfx Voodoo2 128MB of RAM and Windows 98SE

*speed_demon* - NES

*skupples* - Wii U, ? 


Club member count: *40*


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## neurotix

SEGA retro hardware guide by neurotix.

See more SEGA discussion here

Retro Sega systems repair manuals: http://assemblergames.com/l/threads/sega-service-manuals.44343/

*Sega Retro Hardware Guide by neurotix, with help from outside sources:*


Spoiler: SG-1000





The first Sega console was the SG-1000. Before this, Sega made arcade games. Sega actually stands for "Service Games"; the company was founded in Hawaii in the 50s as "standard games". Back then, Service Games imported and serviced pinball style games on American military bases in the Pacific. A merger between Service Games and Rosen Enterprises in the 60s resulted in Sega Enterprises, with David Rosen as the CEO. He also put out their first manufactured coin operated game, _Periscope_.

Many retro collectors mistakenly believe the first Sega console to be the Master System, but this predates it by 2 years. It was released July 15, 1983. This console was Japan only. It was very simple and had great graphics for it's day, far surpassing an Atari 2600, around the level of Colecovision.

The console had a 4-bit NEC 780C processor clocked at 3.58mhz, 2kb system RAM and 16kb video ram. It had a screen resolution of 256x192 and 16 color palette. The max ROM/cartridge size was 48kb. See more here: http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/pg80-sg1000.htm





Spoiler: Sega Master System/Mark III






In 1984 Sega released the Sega Mark III in Japan. This was an improved version of the SG-1000 II. In America this console is called the Sega Master System and was redesigned to be black and red, which started the trend of most Sega consoles being black. It was released in America in 1986.

The Master System featured cartridges as well as removable "Sega cards" about the size of a credit card as an alternate format (another console that used similar cards was the NEC Turbografx 16/PC Engine with it's HUcards). It had a few accessories including the Light Phaser light gun, and the highly collectable and sought after 3D glasses.

Sadly the Master System was released after the NES/Famicom had already come out in America, and hot on the heels of the video game crash of 1983. Although technically superior, the Master System had few killer apps and only ever gained about 5% of the market share from the behemoth, Nintendo, in the mid to late 80s. It also competed with the underwhelming Atari 7800. In contrast, Sega was very successful in Europe with the Master System, doing far better than Nintendo during this time period due to exclusive licensing deals with toy stores and it's vastly superior graphics and sound.

More information on racketboy's site here:
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega/sms/games-that-defined-sega-master-system
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega/sms/sega-master-system-101-a-beginners-guide

Hardware specs (courtesy consoledatabase.com):
Sega Master System/SG-1000 Mark III Technical Specifications
CPU: 8 Bit Zilog Z-80 Processor running at 3.58 MHz
Graphics: Texas Instruments TMS9929A VDP
VRAM: 64K
RAM: 64-Kbits
ROM: 1MB
Colours Available: 256
Max. Colours on screen: 52
Pixel Resolution: 240 x 226, 32x28 character text display mode
Max. Simultaneous Sprites: 16
Sprite size: 8 x 8 pixels
Sound: Texas Instruments SN-76596 PCM audio processor producing 6 channel mono sound
1 cartridge port
1 Game Card slot (Mark III and Master System 1 only)
2 controller ports
AV port and internal RF adapter





Spoiler: Sega Megadrive/Genesis and expansions



Here we go... big section!
Original JP Megadrive

Original NA Genesis model 1 (note the 'High Definition Graphics' xD)


The Sega Mega Drive was released in Japan in 1988. It was based on the widely popular Sega System 16 arcade hardware that ran machines like _Afterburner, Out-run, Altered Beast_, and _Space Harrier_. The Sega Genesis was released in the States on September 15th 1989 for $190. It was the first true 16-bit machine to be released; the other machine at the time claiming to be 16-bit was the NEC Turbografx 16, but that system actually used two 8-bit processors.

The Genesis is reknown for it's high build quality, great controllers, and excellent gameplay. Over the years there were many variations of it, including the Genesis 2 and 3, as well as Genesis model 1s with no High Definition Graphics and lacking an ext port. The Genesis 2 and 3 also lack a headphone jack for stereo sound and the volume slider that goes with it.

The Genesis was Sega's most successful console in America due to games such as Sonic the Hedgehog, and due to arcade ports such as Mortal Kombat being uncensored (blood was removed in the SNES version). It has a large library of quality games. However, the Megadrive did poorly in Japan, with more people owning a PC Engine for it's large library of Japanese only CD RPGs or a Super Famicom for it's equally large library of games.

There were many peripherals released for the Genesis, including a cartridge slot converter called the Power Base Converter that lets the Genesis run Master System games (in realtime, using the onboard Zilog Z-80 processor, NOT through emulation). There were many third party controllers, a light gun, 6 button Sega brand gamepads, and more.

Redesigned NA Genesis 2

Even smaller Genesis 3, that won't run certain games


Genesis information on racketboy:
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega/genesis/sega-genesis-megadrive-101-a-beginners-guide
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega/genesis/the-best-sega-genesis-games-under-10

There is a ton of information on Genesis/Megadrive variants here, and the ones to avoid if you're a collector:
http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?7796-GUIDE-Telling-apart-good-Genesis-1s-and-Genesis-2s-from-bad-ones

Specs:

Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Technical Specifications
CPU: 16-bit Motorola 68000 running at 7.61 MHz
Co-processor: Zilog Z80 running at 4 MHz (Not Present in model MK-1631 [ed. Genesis 3]) controls PSG (Programmable Sound Generator) FM Chips
RAM: 64 Kbytes
ROM: 1 Mbytes (8-Mbit)
VRAM: 64 Kbytes (Video Ram)
Graphics: VDP (Video Display Processor) dedicated video display processor for playfield and sprite control, 3 Planes, 2 scrolling playfields, 1 sprite plane
Colours Available: 512
Max. Colours on screen: 64
CRAM: 64 x 9-kbit (Colour RAM)
Pixel Resolution: 320 x 224, 40 x 28 text display mode
Sound: Texas Instruments PSG (Programmable Sound Generator) TI 76489 chip, Yamaha YM 2612 FM chip
Signal/Noise Ratio: 14dB
Sound Channels: 6 stereo sound channels
Sound RAM: 8 Kbytes
1 sidecar expansion slot
1 cartridge port
2 joystick ports
AV port

Sega CD:
Model 1

Model 2


The Sega CD (Mega CD in Japan and Europe) is a CD peripheral addon for the Genesis released in 1991 in Japan and April 1993 in America.

It allowed you to play CD based games with features such as redbook audio, bigger gameworlds, and full motion video.

A lot of the games are hard to find and rare and fetch a commanding price on ebay and other outlets (I've seen some go for $200 used).

More on racketboy:
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega/segacd/games-that-defined-sega-cd

Sega 32X


The Sega 32X was an ill fated late release in the lifespan of the Genesis. It was a 32 bit cartridge based peripheral addon for the Genesis and added things like rudimentary polygonal rendering support to the Genesis; this was right around the time of the big transition from sprite and raster based graphics to full 3D polygonal graphics in video gaming. This system is well known for failing spectacularly; it was launched in November 1994 for $170 and then abandoned in October 1995 when Sega's CEO, Hayao Nakayama, ordered all development to be focused on the upcoming Sega Saturn, a true 32-bit console.

There are a few games (5) that require a Genesis base unit, Sega CD and 32X to work. These are enhanced titles, called Sega CD-32X games.

Ultimately the 32X was one of the biggest failures ever in the gaming industry, with very few redeeming titles or reasons to own one. In comparison, a great deal of amazing games were released in the 2 year lifespan of the Sega CD.

Processor: Two SH2 32-bit RISC processors with a clock speed of 23.011 MHz, approx 20 MIPS each
Video RAM: Two linear framebuffers with support for RLE compression and an overdraw mode to simplify compositing objects with transparency. All scaling, rotation, and 3D operations are performed in software on the SH2 processors.
ROM (BIOS): 3 kb
Color depth: 32,768 simultaneous colors on screen at standard Mega Drive/Genesis resolution. Video output can overlay Mega Drive/Genesis graphics or vice versa. Mega Drive/Genesis video effects such as shadow or highlight do not affect 32X video.
Memory: 256 kB (2 MBit) program RAM and two 128 kB (1 MBit) framebuffers.
Audio: Stereo 10-bit PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) mixing with Mega Drive/Genesis sound for a total of 12 audio channels of varying capability, 20 with the addition of a Mega-CD/Sega CD.
I/O: Same as Mega Drive/Genesis.
Storage: 32X cartridges are fundamentally the same as Mega Drive/Genesis cartridges with some small differences in the plastic casing. A few CD-ROM games were developed that also required a Mega-CD/Sega CD.
Compatibility: Compatible with Mega Drive/Genesis models 1 and 2, JVC Wondermega/X'Eye and the Multi-Mega/CDX. The 32X does not work with the Genesis 3 which lacks some of the necessary interface logic.
Dimensions: 107 × 205 × 110 mm (4.2 × 8.1 × 4.3 in)
Mass: 495 grams (17.5 oz)

Sega CD-X/Wondermega/X-Eye

CD-X

Wondermega

JVC X-Eye


These were all combinations of a Mega Drive/ Genesis and a Sega CD. They were released late in the Genesis' life cycle (around 1994-95).

The CD-X also functions as a portable CD player (Walkman).





Spoiler: Portable Systems; Game Gear and Nomad



Sega Game Gear with TV Tuner


The Sega Game Gear was Sega's first portable system. It was released in 1991 for $150 in America and in 1990 in Japan. It was only the third portable system to feature full color (the other two being the Atari Lynx and the NEC Turboexpress) and was the cheapest portable system with a color screen at the time.

The Game Gear was basically a portable Master System with an expanded color palette and it's own cartridge format. A converter called the Master Gear Converter exists to allow the Game Gear to play Master System cartridges; however, because of the screen resolution difference between the Game Gear and SMS the games will play with horizontal black bars on the top and bottom and text may be hard to read. There were a lot of accessories for the Game Gear including a carrying case, a car charger, an AC adapter, a "Super Wide Gear" screen magnifier, and an analog TV tuner to allow you to watch over the air TV on the Game Gear (this will no longer work in the United States due to the digital TV switch).

The Game Gear uses 6 AA batteries to operate portably and because the screen is backlit by a tube light it drains them very fast (about 3-4 hours). However, there's a way to mod the Game Gear and replace the backlight with white LEDs to get a better picture and increase battery life by double or more.

The Game Gear was successful in it's own right and has a large library of games, however it failed to take market share or put a dent in the formidable yet technologically inferior Nintendo Game Boy.

Sega Game Gear capacitor repair:
http://members.optusnet.com.au/eviltim/ggrgb/ggrepair.html

Sega Game Gear backlight mod:
http://pipe-organ-wolf.livejournal.com/5865.html

Game Gear collecting on racketboy:
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega/gamegear/sega-game-gear-101-a-beginners-guide

Specs:
Main processor: Zilog Z80 (8-bit)
Processor speed: 3.58 MHz (same as NTSC colour subcarrier)
Resolution: 160 x 144 pixels (same as Nintendo's Game Boy)
Colors available: 4,096
Colors on screen: 32
Maximum sprites: 64
Sprite size: 8x8 or 8x16
Screen size: 3.2 inches (81 mm)
Audio: 3 square wave generators, 1 noise generator, the system has a mono speaker, but stereo sound can be had via headphone output
RAM: 8 KB
Video RAM: 16 KB
Power:
internal: 6 AA batteries ~4-5 hours
external: 9V DC, 300mA, 3W

Physical:
Width: 209 mm
Height: 111 mm
Depth: 37 mm
weight: ~400g

Sega Genesis Nomad


A portable Sega Genesis with built in 6 button controller. It does not play Game Gear games. I don't believe it will work with a Sega CD or 32X for obvious reasons (correct me if I'm wrong).





Spoiler: Sega Saturn



Original JP Sega Saturn

NA Saturn model 1

NA Saturn model 2


The Sega Saturn was Sega's first 32 bit console capable of full 3D realtime graphics. It was released in Japan in November 1994 and in the US on May 11, 1995 for $399, before the the Playstation. The Saturn was initially popular in America due to high quality arcade ports of games such as Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racing, Daytona USA, and Virtua Cop. However, as time went on it declined in popularity to end up 3rd place after the Playstation and Nintendo 64, mostly due to a lack of third party support and it's unusual, advanced architecture being difficult to develop for.

The system is renown for having a great deal of arcade style games, 2D shooters such as Radiant Silvergun, and 2D fighters such as X-men vs Street Fighter and Street Fighter Alpha 3 which required use of a 4MB system RAM expansion cart to play (these ports were vastly superior to those on the Playstation).

The Saturn also has many A+ exclusive titles such as NiGHTS Into Dreams that never saw a release on any other system.

The Saturn was extremely technologically advanced for the time and it's multi processor architecture and design can be directly likened to that of the Playstation 3 today. This has made it extremely difficult to emulate the Saturn properly, and emulating it requires a high end system. Saturn emulation has only been full speed since about 2009, whereas the Playstation has been emulated perfectly since 2002.

Sega Saturn on racketboy:
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/games-that-defined-sega-saturn

Specs:

*Processors*

Two Hitachi SuperH-2 7604 32-bit RISC processors at 28.63 MHz (25 MIPS)-each has 4 kB on-chip cache (4-way associative), of which 2 kB can alternatively be used as directly addressable Scratchpad RAM
Custom VDP 1 32-bit video display processor (running at 28.63 MHz on NTSC and PAL Systems) for sprites/polygons
Custom VDP 2 32-bit video display processor (running at 28.63 MHz on NTSC and PAL Systems) for backgrounds/video out
Custom System Control Unit (SCU) with DSP for geometry processing and DMA controller (running at 14.3 MHz)
Motorola 68EC000 sound controller (running at 11.3 MHz / 1.5 MIPS)
Yamaha FH1 DSP sound processor, "Saturn Custom Sound Processor" (SCSP), running at 22.6 MHz
SH-1 32-bit RISC microcontroller (for the CD-ROM and CD security checks; uses preprogrammed embedded ROM, not programmable by software)
Hitachi 4-bit MCU, "System Manager & Peripheral Control" (SMPC)

Memory
1 MB SDRAM as work RAM for both SH-2 CPUs (faster)
1 MB DRAM as work RAM for both SH-2 CPUs (slower)
512K VDP1 SDRAM for 3D graphics (Texture data for polygon/sprites and drawing command lists)
2x 256K VDP1 SDRAM for 3D graphics (Two framebuffers for double-buffered polygon/sprite rendering)
512K VDP2 SDRAM for 2D graphics (Texture data for the background layers and display lists)
4 KB VDP2 SRAM for color palette data and rotation coefficient data (local, on-chip SRAM)
512 KB DRAM for sound. (Multiplexed as sound CPU work RAM, SCSP DSP RAM, and SCSP wavetable RAM)
512 KB DRAM as work RAM for the CD-ROM subsystem's SH-1 CPU
32 KB SRAM with battery back-up for data retention.
512 KB Mask ROM for the SH-2 BIOS





Spoiler: Sega Dreamcast



Sega Dreamcast- it's thinking!


The Sega Dreamcast was Sega's final console. It was released in November 1998 in Japan and on September 9, 1999 in America.

The Dreamcast was very successful in it's first year due to a plethora of great games for it including Power Stone, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure, and others. The Dreamcast was very notable for being the first console to support online multiplayer; all Dreamcasts came stock with a 56k dialup modem which could be upgraded to a broadband ethernet adapter for high speed connections. Games such as Phantasy Star Online exploited this multiplayer to the max and introduced features such as automatic sentence translation (Word Select) through a GUI to allow the game to cross language barriers; something generally not even done in today's games.

The Dreamcast's most unique peripheral is ironically its memory card. Called a Visual Memory Unit, the VMU has a small dot matrix screen similar to Tiger Handhelds and it's own d-pad and buttons. Certain games that made use of this VMU would download a VMU game onto the card which could then be played on the VMU seperately from the Dreamcast, on the go. The progress made in the VMU minigame could then be imported back into the actual game on the Dreamcast to unlock bonuses or items. There were many other third party peripherals for the Dreamcast, including light guns and controllers. A popular accessory is the VGA adapter, which allowed the Dreamcast to be hooked up to a monitor or HDTV for higher resolution graphic modes.

The Dreamcast has a vast library of games, including many 2D shooters, many high quality arcade perfect ports of fighting games, Sonic games, and genre redefining games such as Jet Set Radio, Shenmue, Rez and Phantasy Star Online.

The Dreamcast has a large homebrew scene with emulators for NES, Genesis, SNES, and others. It also was able to emulate Playstation games with enhanced graphics, such as Tekken 3, through commercial software called Bleemcast.

The Playstation 2 and software piracy based on the MIL-CD format killed the Dreamcast; Sega dropped support for it officially on January 31, 2001, a little over a year after it's US launch. Despite this, the last official Dreamcast release through Sega was Trigger Heart Exelica in 2007, and indie publishers are still making games for it today (Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles is one example).

Dreamcast collecting on racketboy:
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega/dreamcast/sega-dreamcast-101-v2
Rare Dreamcast games on racketboy:
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega/dreamcast/the-rarest-and-most-valuable-sega-dreamcast-games
Sega Dreamcast laser calibration fix:
http://retro-hack.blogspot.com/2010/06/sega-dreamcast-laser-calibration-guide.html
Special edition rare Dreamcast models:
http://segaretro.org/Special_Dreamcast_Models

Specs:
CPU: 128-bit Hitachi SH-4 RISC processor (200MHz 360 MIPS)
Graphics: NEC CLX2 processor
RAM: 16MB, 8MB Video RAM, 2MB Sound RAM
Colors: 16.7 million
Polygons: 3 million per second
Game Media: 1.2GB GD-ROM, 12x access speed
Resolution: 640x480 pixels
Sound: Yamaha 64 channel
Operating System: Custom Windows CE with DirectX support*
Modem: 56Kbps (US/JP NTSC), 33.3Kbps (PAL)


----------



## neurotix

*Convention information:*

http://www.caextreme.org/ California Extreme - Santa Clara, California
(July 29-30, 2017)

http://pinballshowdown.com/ Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown - Denver, CO
(June 9-11, 2017)

http://avgrexpo.com/ Arcade Video & Game Room Expo
(August ?, 2017)

http://www.vcfmw.org/ Vintage Computer Festival Midwest - Elk Grove Village, Illinois
(September 9-10, 2017)

http://www.avideogamecon.com/ A Video Game Con (AVGC) - Parsippany, New Jersey
(September 9-10, 2017)

http://expo.liretro.com/ Long Island Retro Gaming Expo - Garden City, New York
(August 12-13, 2017)

http://retrocons.com/ Retro Con - Oaks, Pennsylvania
(October 14-15, 2017)

http://toomanygames.com/ Too Many Games - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
(June 23-25, 2017)

http://grandoleexpo.com/ Grand Ole Gameroom Expo - Nashville, Tennessee
(November 10-12, 2017)

http://retropalooza.net/ Retropalooza V - Arlington, Texas
(October 7-8, 2017)

http://prime.paxsite.com/ PAX WEST - Seattle, Washington
(September 1-4, 2017)

More conventions


----------



## neurotix

Cleaning stickers, labels etc off of old game boxes and carts.






Nintendo Gamebit Kit


----------



## neurotix

Edit: see post http://www.overclock.net/t/1467413/official-ocn-retro-the-overclock-net-retrogaming-club/610#post_25243746

Pictures of my current game room are there.


----------



## Mega Man

/poke will edit in pics later !

o dear god

the ones i remember?


NES ( normal and toploader )
SNES ( normal and mini )
N64 ( pretty sure just black i dont collect due to different colors )
Gamecube
Wii
Wiiu
Sega Master System ( with 3d goggles )
Sega Genesis ( gen1 and 2 )
Sega CD ( gen 2 top loader )
32x ( complete in box )
( also have all RF shielding for all sega items, hey it was freaking hard to find !!!! )
Sega Dreamcast ( black and white )
Sega Game Gear ( blue )
Xbox ( black and halo editions halo has box iirc )
Xbox 360 ( original white has rrod, gears of war and r2d2 )
Xbox1
Playstation ( second gen iirc, and mini )
PS2 ( original fat ! with Hdd kit )
PS3 ( 60gb, 80gb 2nd gen no backwards, white super slim )
PS4
3DO ( FZ1) ( 2 one dead one living )
Coleco vision
Atari
2600 all the main types i know of in the states
5200 ( 2 port version )
7800
Intelevision ( iirc )
Vectrex
i am sure i am missing a few/and or i am wrong esp about the "iirc" ones 5


----------



## neurotix

Yeah, for now I just need a list of the consoles you own~


----------



## FastMHz

FastMHz - NES, Self modded portable NES, IBM XT - [email protected], IBM PCjr - [email protected], [email protected], AMD [email protected] w/ FreeDOS.


Spoiler: Pics Inside!




Portable NES made from scrap


NES and Games


IBM XT


IBM Pcjr


Packard Bell 486SX @ 33MHz - I got this for Xmas in 1993!! I was 12.


The CPU didn't even need a heat sink.


AMD K6-2 FreeDOS Rig


IBM TrackPoint Keyboard!!


----------



## neurotix

Added FastMHz- nice pics, nice classic computers, and that portable NES is amazing.


----------



## Mega Man

done with somewhat current list will add/subtract if i can


----------



## FastMHz

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Added FastMHz- nice pics, nice classic computers, and that portable NES is amazing.


Thanks :-D

I still fire up those old PCs from time to time. The 10MB hard drive in the XT still works, amazing considering it's ~30 years old.


Spoiler: Here's a short video of the portable in action:


----------



## neurotix

Took a minute but I edited your list into the format I need, Mega Man. Unfortunately, I can't include every variation of the consoles you have in the members list, but you have that list you just posted anyway. You also reminded me I have a (never used) N64 with 5 games or so.

How many games would you estimate you own? Also, man that's an ungodly amount of systems. I wouldn't want that many (or a large collection of games) because I don't have the space and moving all of it would be a huge hassle.

FastMHz, I just made some posts about the K6-2 here: http://www.overclock.net/t/1441094/poll-for-retro-gamers-what-is-your-favorite-vintage-processor

It was the first computer I ever overclocked.


----------



## Mega Man

i dont expect it !

but i would define my games as "always growing ! "


----------



## neurotix

Mega Man, when you take pics later, take some of the blue Game Gear, games and the inside of your carrying case for me.

From what I've heard the blue Game Gears are rare, and you have that weird looking case too.


----------



## jetpak12

Seems like a neat club. It looks like we're including retro PC gaming as well as consoles?

I've got: SMS, Genesis 3, N64, Dreamcast, PS2 slim, and two original Xboxes.

The N64 is co-owned by my brother who has it and the Dreamcast at his place.

There's also a Compaq all-in-one Presario 425 that I played a lot as a kid that's in my grandparents basement. No one in the family wants it, so I've laid claim to it (along with the SMS that's actually in the same room). Actually, saying this reminds me that my parents are going there next weekend, so I'll have to ask them to pick it up for me.









I actually grew up without any game systems, but my dad's work would always give him a computer to have at home, so I grew up playing PC games more or less exclusively. I still fondly remember my very first videogame: Number Munchers for MS-DOS.









For other consoles I have an Xbox 360S and a Wii that I've put a few emulators on but haven't really bothered with otherwise.

I just got a new (to me) harddrive that I want to put into one of the Xboxes, has anyone here done a HD swap on one before? I want to try the TSOP mod which should allow for it without having to put in a mod chip.


----------



## neurotix

Welcome to the club jetpak12.

I have, in fact, done an original Xbox hard drive swap.

I did it with an already softmodded Xbox that I modded myself.

I can't find the guide that I used to do it, but this seems pretty close: http://www.instructables.com/id/Original-XBOX-Hard-Drive-Upgrade/?ALLSTEPS

Essentially, you'll need a burnt DVD with Chimp HD tools on it. This is a Linux based toolset that lets you clone the contents of your current HD onto the new one (transferring the softmod in the process). You essentially have to open up your Xbox, boot with the DVD in the drive, let it load, then swap the IDE cable from the DVD into your new hard drive. Then, you can lock the new HD to the Xbox, and copy the contents of the old one onto the new one. Once this is done, you just take out the old HD, put the new one in, and test and make sure it works before putting it back together.

This is highly worth doing but it will take some setup and a day of free time to do. Once you do it, though, you can fill that thing with emulators and games. My Xbox has about 10000 games on it, all with video previews and boxart (emuxtras.net). You can even get Coinops (which is basically MAME) and Final Burn Legends (CPS2 and Neo Geo).


----------



## FastMHz

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> FastMHz, I just made some posts about the K6-2 here: http://www.overclock.net/t/1441094/poll-for-retro-gamers-what-is-your-favorite-vintage-processor
> 
> It was the first computer I ever overclocked.


Awesome; I just posted over there









I updated my original entry to the club as I forgot about my Packard Bell 486SX. Added the pics as well.


----------



## Artikbot

Woot woot! Add me in!

-NES, PAL ESP version, with the usual CIC switch mod.
-SNES, PAL ESP version, CIC/60Hz mod, runs everything but I need an adapter which I don't want to pay for. Someday I'll build one








-Sega GameGear, restored to full working order with an integral recapping, every single capacitor was blown.
-Yellow GBC, unmolested
-Pokémon Pikachu Color
-PSX, unmolested

Beyond that, and which I don't consider retro anymore:

-Fat silver DS
-Black DS Lite
-Purple Gamecube
-White Wii
-Zelda L.Ed 3DS
-Zelda L.Ed Wii U

In a list, as you asked, the retro systems: PAL NES, PAL SNES, Game Gear, GB Color, Pokémon Pikachu Color, PSX.


----------



## neurotix

Added Artikbot, updated FastMHz.


----------



## jetpak12

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Welcome to the club jetpak12.
> 
> I have, in fact, done an original Xbox hard drive swap.
> 
> I did it with an already softmodded Xbox that I modded myself.
> 
> I can't find the guide that I used to do it, but this seems pretty close: http://www.instructables.com/id/Original-XBOX-Hard-Drive-Upgrade/?ALLSTEPS
> 
> Essentially, you'll need a burnt DVD with Chimp HD tools on it. This is a Linux based toolset that lets you clone the contents of your current HD onto the new one (transferring the softmod in the process). You essentially have to open up your Xbox, boot with the DVD in the drive, let it load, then swap the IDE cable from the DVD into your new hard drive. Then, you can lock the new HD to the Xbox, and copy the contents of the old one onto the new one. Once this is done, you just take out the old HD, put the new one in, and test and make sure it works before putting it back together.
> 
> This is highly worth doing but it will take some setup and a day of free time to do. Once you do it, though, you can fill that thing with emulators and games. My Xbox has about 10000 games on it, all with video previews and boxart (emuxtras.net). You can even get Coinops (which is basically MAME) and Final Burn Legends (CPS2 and Neo Geo).


Yeah, I've seen a guide for that method before, and I've softmodded one of the Xboxes already, but apparently you can make a few changes to the pins on the motherboard and get a even more "unlocked" Xbox without a modchip. Maybe its not worth bothering with if the softmod method is pretty easy and accomplishes the same thing in the end. I'd also like to try a VGA-out mod someday but that seems even more complicated. Apparently you need a modded BIOS on top of all the other changes and not all games work right with it.

Actually, here's a question for you: what dash did you use? I tried EvoX dash and its alright, but I think I'm going to try out XBMC for this new one.

And I completely forgot about handhelds, I have a GBC and a GBA SP. I've also got a PSP and 3DS but I'm not sure those would be considered "retro". The PSP is fantastic for emus though.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *jetpak12*
> 
> Yeah, I've seen a guide for that method before, and I've softmodded one of the Xboxes already, but apparently you can make a few changes to the pins on the motherboard and get a even more "unlocked" Xbox without a modchip. Maybe its not worth bothering with if the softmod method is pretty easy and accomplishes the same thing in the end. I'd also like to try a VGA-out mod someday but that seems even more complicated. Apparently you need a modded BIOS on top of all the other changes and not all games work right with it.
> 
> Actually, here's a question for you: what dash did you use? I tried EvoX dash and its alright, but I think I'm going to try out XBMC for this new one.
> 
> And I completely forgot about handhelds, I have a GBC and a GBA SP. I've also got a PSP and 3DS but I'm not sure those would be considered "retro". The PSP is fantastic for emus though.


Yeah I have no idea about the TSOP method or any method that modifies motherboard pins. I just know that I needed an already modded Xbox with the softmod method, and to do the stuff I already mentioned. All you really need is the Chimp tools to lock the HDD to the xbox, and that's it. It works perfectly fine for me, no issues so far.

As far as dashes, yeah I have EvolutionX and UnleashX but they both suck so I set it up so my default dashboard is XBMC. http://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/ is the site you want to use. That has the latest, most updated XBMC for xbox. To get it working right, you'll need to find the files that allow you to make XBMC the default dashboard for the xbox on boot (it's basically a symbolic link file). Older versions of XBMC (T3CH) will include these files as well as instructions on how to set it up.

I'll add your handhelds. I wish I had a GBC or GBA. My brother has like 3 Game Boys (one of which was a birthday present from me), an NDS and a 3DS. Since we live in the same house, I can use these whenever I want.

PSP is not quite retro but it's getting there, since the Vita is out. Once they release something that's newer than the Vita, the PSP will have retro status. I agree, the PSP is fantastic for emulators. If you get the emulator "[e]mulator" and Gpsp Kai for it, you can emulate pretty much every handheld system that came before it. [E]mulator does Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Gear, Wonderswan, Wonderswan Color, Lynx, and probably others I can't remember. This combined with the tons of exclusive games for PSP makes me love this system. I have a huge backlog of games to play on PSP- Yggdra Union, Gungnir, Kansho Bukuya Badass Brawl, Riveria The Promised Land, Loco Roco 1 & 2, Valkyria Chronicles 2 and others. I haven't been playing my PSP at all lately, because I got an R9 290 Tri-X and I've been trying to play games on my computer.


Spoiler: Clicky for my PSP








I actually modded my psp (Fat 1000) with a custom Silver shell I got off ebay. Man, I never want to do that again, it took me like 6 hours to do to get the backside on. I have the photos of it on my Facebook.

Still, I love my PSP and I'll get to the games on it eventually.

If you guys could see the list of games I have to play, in my head. There's so many across so many systems. Yet I still find myself spending time with my family or girlfriend, or watching anime because my back hurts too much to sit up in the computer chair. sigh

Hope this helps somewhat. Apologies if I seem nonsensical. I'm a little intoxicated at the moment.


----------



## Mega Man

i really feel like i am missing stuffs but i cant remember... ill have to look but dont want to... at the same time it is just bothering me


----------



## neurotix

jetpak12, added your handhelds.


----------



## jetpak12

Thanks, although I forgot to add that I also have a GB pocket.









I used to own an original style GBA, but I sold it a good while back. Its pretty easy to get used to a light-up screen and not wanting to go back to a dim one, so the GBC is just collecting dust. But the Pocket is really neat. Super lightweight, sips power on 2 AAA batteries, and a nice high contrast screen. I like to leave it in my drawer next to my PC to play Super Mario Land when I'm waiting for a download or benchmarking.

If you want to talk about a system that is uncomfortable to play, I had a VirtualBoy for a while. That thing would give me all sorts of cramps after playing for just a short length of time. Still would be cool to have, but I was pretty young when I had it and my dad wanted to get rid of some things so it didn't last very long.

And thanks for sharing your experience with Xbox dashes. From what I've gathered online, I still need to put a different dash on before I can use XBMC right? And is XBMC sufficient to run applications, emulators and games without having to switch to another one?

Lastly, there's a nice site that you can use to keep track of your game collection and your progress in beating it: http://backloggery.com/. The creators also do livestreaming on Monday evenings that I always find entertaining to watch.


----------



## Mega Man

i wont tell you how much the virtual boy is worth now


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *jetpak12*
> 
> Thanks, although I forgot to add that I also have a GB pocket.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I used to own an original style GBA, but I sold it a good while back. Its pretty easy to get used to a light-up screen and not wanting to go back to a dim one, so the GBC is just collecting dust. But the Pocket is really neat. Super lightweight, sips power on 2 AAA batteries, and a nice high contrast screen. I like to leave it in my drawer next to my PC to play Super Mario Land when I'm waiting for a download or benchmarking.
> 
> If you want to talk about a system that is uncomfortable to play, I had a VirtualBoy for a while. That thing would give me all sorts of cramps after playing for just a short length of time. Still would be cool to have, but I was pretty young when I had it and my dad wanted to get rid of some things so it didn't last very long.
> 
> And thanks for sharing your experience with Xbox dashes. From what I've gathered online, I still need to put a different dash on before I can use XBMC right? And is XBMC sufficient to run applications, emulators and games without having to switch to another one?
> 
> Lastly, there's a nice site that you can use to keep track of your game collection and your progress in beating it: http://backloggery.com/. The creators also do livestreaming on Monday evenings that I always find entertaining to watch.


Shoulda kept that GBA. Pocket is cool though.

VirtualBoy... I think this system is underrated. I never owned one but I played it back in the day because a friend had it when it was new. I really like Mario Clash (which is like Mario Bros but in 3D), Mario Tennis, Telero Boxer and Red Alarm. I never got a headache or had any cramps playing it. It wasn't really portable but that's okay. This one is on my "to get" list but first I need to get the rest of the 3D games for Master System.

Xbox dash.... yeah you need a different dash before you can use XBMC. I think I used UnleashX, and then XBMC came with a file and instructions on how to make it the default dash. I did that.

I'll take a look into that site, thanks.

I've got a suggestion for you, for your PSP. Look into a game called Dicing Knight Period for Wonderswan Color. You can play it with [E]mulator. It's basically like Zelda (LttP) except you play the same few dungeons over and over. You get treasure, and progress and unlock more dungeons to explore. You have your standard sword attack, but you can also collect items that you can use. One of them is a drill, which is reusable, and it lets you drill through the walls of the dungeon and remove them and make new paths or shortcuts around the dungeon. This one is actually a homebrew game, it was made as part of a games making contest for Wonderswan in Japan, and it was the winner. Dunno why but I have a feeling you might like this game. It's quite obscure. If you have your PSP with you, and the cable to transfer games to it, check it out.


----------



## Artikbot

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *jetpak12*
> 
> Yeah, I've seen a guide for that method before, and I've softmodded one of the Xboxes already, but apparently you can make a few changes to the pins on the motherboard and get a even more "unlocked" Xbox without a modchip.


WOT. Anything that can be modded by physical hardware modifications is something I like.

XBOX comes up next in my console list to acquire then


----------



## jetpak12

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> i wont tell you how much the virtual boy is worth now


Yeah, I try not to think about it. It was given to me by a friend who found it a pawn shop for cheap back in the day. Then my dad was going around and getting rid of stuff in the house and it got taken away.









We only had Mario Tennis and Wario Land. Fun to play around with, but since it was uncomfortable to me, I suppose I don't miss it too much. It'd be neat if a few games came back on the 3DS Virtual Console but it doesn't sound very positive that any will.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Shoulda kept that GBA. Pocket is cool though.
> 
> VirtualBoy... I think this system is underrated. I never owned one but I played it back in the day because a friend had it when it was new. I really like Mario Clash (which is like Mario Bros but in 3D), Mario Tennis, Telero Boxer and Red Alarm. I never got a headache or had any cramps playing it. It wasn't really portable but that's okay. This one is on my "to get" list but first I need to get the rest of the 3D games for Master System.
> 
> Xbox dash.... yeah you need a different dash before you can use XBMC. I think I used UnleashX, and then XBMC came with a file and instructions on how to make it the default dash. I did that.
> 
> I'll take a look into that site, thanks.
> 
> I've got a suggestion for you, for your PSP. Look into a game called Dicing Knight Period for Wonderswan Color. You can play it with [E]mulator. It's basically like Zelda (LttP) except you play the same few dungeons over and over. You get treasure, and progress and unlock more dungeons to explore. You have your standard sword attack, but you can also collect items that you can use. One of them is a drill, which is reusable, and it lets you drill through the walls of the dungeon and remove them and make new paths or shortcuts around the dungeon. This one is actually a homebrew game, it was made as part of a games making contest for Wonderswan in Japan, and it was the winner. Dunno why but I have a feeling you might like this game. It's quite obscure. If you have your PSP with you, and the cable to transfer games to it, check it out.


VB was uncomfortable to me just because I would always lay on the ground to play it and my arms and neck would cramp. Maybe I was doing it wrong, idk.

Thanks again for clarity on the Xbox dash, I'll gather the software this week and give it a shot this weekend.









And I'll check out that game for the WonderSwan, it does sound pretty neat.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Artikbot*
> 
> WOT. Anything that can be modded by physical hardware modifications is something I like.
> 
> XBOX comes up next in my console list to acquire then


Yeah, its a pretty fun system to play around with, its basically an off the shelf PC with all the parts soldered onto the board. And there a lot of neat mods that people have done with it online. My personal favorite is people crafting super slim cases by replacing the HD with a slim one and tossing the DVD drive. All you need is a couple Torx screwdriver heads and its an open book.









It was also the first real video game console my family had, so I'm rather partial to it.


----------



## FastMHz

Surely we have more retro-gamers here on OCN?!?

Show yourselves!!!!


----------



## Pip Boy

Currently running FS-UAE which is a brilliant Amiga emulator. It's best feature is the separate XBMC joypad controller browser arcade feature (not sure if there is a plugin for xbmc to go to this)

http://fs-uae.net/





Eye of the beholder









obviously you need kickstart ROM's for the OS loader







and its best to create an account on the software so versions can be profiled and images of games downloaded (scrubbed)

So far i have been playing Hired Guns, cannon fodder and Lemmings which are classics i owned in the past and put many hours into. I want to try the original settlers next and a few others..


----------



## Tempest2000

Tempest2000

Not counting 7th & 8th gen, I have these:

Atari VCS 2600
Atari Jaguar
Sega MasterSystem
Sega Genesis
Sega CD
Sega 32X
Sega Saturn (2 versions)
Sega Dreamcast
Sega GameGear (2 versions)
Nintendo NES
Nintendo SNES
Nintendo GameCube
Sony PlayStation (2 versions)
Sony PlayStation 2
Microsoft XBox

...and an upright Mame arcade machine in progress

EDIT:

Tempest2000- Atari 2600, Jaguar, MasterSystem, Genesis, Sega CD, 32X, Saturn, Dreamcast, GameGear, NES, SNES, GameCube, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, XBox


----------



## neurotix

Added Tempest2000.

That emulator looks cool but I never had an Amiga or have any inclination to play it. (I have no idea what games are worth the time.)


----------



## BritishBob

Lol... This is kinda ironic. I was feeling nostalgic (which someone my age really shouldn't) so I went and picked up a GBA SP. Got Pokemon red in the post with the plan acquire and play them from start to the end of the GBA era.

There's a local retro gaming shop that sells second hand old school gear. Might drop in and have a good look round.


----------



## Mega Man

revamed oldie

more games i dont have time to play ( i woulda got the 0s3 verson of the new ff iiix but ....they sold out too quick, i ment to preorder, fell asleep and they were sold out ... )


----------



## jetpak12

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> revamed oldie
> 
> more games i dont have time to play ( i woulda got the 0s3 verson of the new ff iiix but ....they sold out too quick, i ment to preorder, fell asleep and they were sold out ... )


Nice! My copy of FFX/X-2 HD should be arriving tomorrow. I even got a PS3 by chance a couple weeks ago, so I _could_ play it. But I don't have a controller.









I also have the PS2 "originals".


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *jetpak12*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> revamed oldie
> 
> more games i dont have time to play ( i woulda got the 0s3 verson of the new ff iiix but ....they sold out too quick, i ment to preorder, fell asleep and they were sold out ... )
> 
> 
> 
> Nice! My copy of FFX/X-2 HD should be arriving tomorrow. I even got a PS3 by chance a couple weeks ago, so I _could_ play it. But I don't have a controller.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I also have the PS2 "originals".
Click to expand...

as do i

every original ( not the remakes not even on gameboy ) for consoles, and all collectors editions,


----------



## jetpak12

Even the NES/SNES carts? Very cool.









For me it's:
FFI/FFII - FF Origins (*PS1*)
FFIII (*DS*)
FFIV [+Chrono Trigger] - FF Chronicles (*PS1*) & FFIV Complete (*PSP*)
FFV/FFVI - FF Anthology (*PS1*)
FFVII - (*PS1* [only have disc 1], PSOne Classic on *PSP/PS3*, and *PC*)
FFVIII (*PS1*)
FFIX (*PS1*)
FFX/X-2 (*PS2*)
FXI - don't own...
FFXII [Collector's Edition] (*PS2*)
FFXIII (*PS3*)
...and FF Tactics on *PS1*.

It seems that I have all but FF3 on the Playstation. I was thinking about importing a hard copy of FF3 when it released for the PSP in Japan but I never got around to it.

I was trying to beat them all in order, and managed to get through FF1-3 on the above listed copies. But then I went ahead and jumped ahead to FF7 which I'm playing now.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *jetpak12*
> 
> Even the NES/SNES carts? Very cool.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> For me it's:
> FFI/FFII - FF Origins (*PS1*)
> FFIII (*DS*)
> FFIV [+Chrono Trigger] - FF Chronicles (*PS1*) & FFIV Complete (*PSP*)
> FFV/FFVI - FF Anthology (*PS1*)
> FFVII - (*PS1* [only have disc 1], PSOne Classic on *PSP/PS3*, and *PC*)
> FFVIII (*PS1*)
> FFIX (*PS1*)
> FFX/X-2 (*PS2*)
> FXI - don't own...
> FFXII [Collector's Edition] (*PS2*)
> FFXIII (*PS3*)
> ...and FF Tactics on *PS1*.
> 
> It seems that I have all but FF3 on the Playstation. I was thinking about importing a hard copy of FF3 when it released for the PSP in Japan but I never got around to it.
> 
> I was trying to beat them all in order, and managed to get through FF1-3 on the above listed copies. But then I went ahead and jumped ahead to FF7 which I'm playing now.


i have most of what i want from all consoles, i need some gen 1/2 consoles and some of the more rare earlier consoles ( IE jaguar ) but i have all others ( released in us ) there are a few games here and there i need and some accessories, but i have some cool ones.

here is a small sampling of my sega collection ( it does have one of all the systems i own from sega i have some doubles but i dont count them )


Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!









at last count i have ~ 31 different consoles not including doubles ( although i do count nes and nes mini differently, not different color consoles )


----------



## jetpak12

Nice collection!







I think you posted that in the Sega topic too, because those pictures look familiar.











I decided the Collector's Edition wasn't worth it, but I did spring for the strategy guide.

Also, I finally got around to modding this second Xbox I've had for a while. It took almost all day, but I've got it set up the way I want now, with UnleashedX and XBMC dashes on a bigger harddrive. I decided to use xbox hdm to make an iso of my stock harddrive and copy it onto the new one, and it worked great. Unfortunately, the DVD drive on this one is even worse than the first console I have, but I'm slowly ripping my game collection onto the harddrive.


----------



## jetpak12

I bought a copy of Donkey Kong 64 today. I got an N64 expansion pack probably about 10 years ago just for DK64 but I never got around to actually buying the game until now.









Also was considering picking up an "untested" Xbox for $5 on the local Craigslist, but I waited too long and now the listing is gone. The console looked pretty rough though and it didn't have any cables or accessories. Would have been getting it mostly in the hope that it might've had a decent, working DVD drive.


----------



## jetpak12

Not too many posts in a while.







Although that's partly my fault, since I haven't been on OCN for a while.









I got a Compaq Presario CDS 520 all-in-one with a 486SX2, its pretty neat. It runs Windows 3.1 with a whopping 12MB of RAM. I'd say it qualifies for Retro-gaming for this club, which needs more old PCs!










Spoiler: Pics Inside!












It was pretty neglected and dirty when I got it from my grandparents' basement, but I got it cleaned up nicely. I can't figure out how to get off the gunk around the front speakers though.

Also got one of my favorite games, Myst, running on it. Everything goes pretty nicely, except that its troubled with a pretty nasty memory management error. Anyone around here a guru when it comes to this kind of memory management? I think I messed it up when I tried to install Star Wars: X-Wing on it a long time ago and had to change around the different memory types...









At some point I'd like to get some more memory for it, and maybe a 486DX4, but for now I think its fine with what it has.


----------



## Razroid

There is this old school game that I was thinking of playing and I can't remember the name, so I'll try my luck here:

The game begins where you shoot a grappling hook to the top of a building and you slide down into it. the building has stairs on either sides and some levels have lifts, you have to get to the bottom of the building by avoiding the cops that are shooting at you, you can get a gun and shoot back at the cops, if I remember correctly, you can also shoot the lights out or shoot the elevator down so it squishes the cops. you win by reaching the bottom of the building.

It's a side scrolling type game and I remember playing it on my game boy advance sp and some random unnamed tv console.

Any ideas?

Thanks


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Razroid*
> 
> There is this old school game that I was thinking of playing and I can't remember the name, so I'll try my luck here:
> 
> The game begins where you shoot a grappling hook to the top of a building and you slide down into it. the building has stairs on either sides and some levels have lifts, you have to get to the bottom of the building by avoiding the cops that are shooting at you, you can get a gun and shoot back at the cops, if I remember correctly, you can also shoot the lights out or shoot the elevator down so it squishes the cops. you win by reaching the bottom of the building.
> 
> It's a side scrolling type game and I remember playing it on my game boy advance sp and some random unnamed tv console.
> 
> Any ideas?
> 
> Thanks


This sounds like Elevator Action.




If not Elevator Action, then a clone of it, because Elevator Action was the original. (And what you're describing sounds exactly like it.)

Also, jetpak, that PC is pretty cool. Did you ever play Tyrian?


----------



## Razroid

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> This sounds like Elevator Action.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If not Elevator Action, then a clone of it, because Elevator Action was the original. (And what you're describing sounds exactly like it.)
> 
> Also, jetpak, that PC is pretty cool. Did you ever play Tyrian?


Yeap, that's what I was referring to, I still remember the soundtrack









never played the other 2 games you mentioned though :X

Thanks man, now imma go and play the game the whole day


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Razroid*
> 
> Yeap, that's what I was referring to, I still remember the soundtrack
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> never played the other 2 games you mentioned though :X
> 
> Thanks man, now imma go and play the game the whole day


No problem man, enjoy.

If anyone else has games they don't remember, feel free to ask.


----------



## jetpak12

Found some games at Goodwill the other day:



The top row items were $3 each and the bottom row $2. I'm super-stoked to get that Gravis joystick. I have no idea if its a good model or not, but it works great and I can use it play Star Wars: X-Wing on my 486 machine.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *jetpak12*
> 
> Found some games at Goodwill the other day:
> 
> 
> 
> The top row items were $3 each and the bottom row $2. I'm super-stoked to get that Gravis joystick. I have no idea if its a good model or not, but it works great and I can use it play Star Wars: X-Wing on my 486 machine.


Oh snap. Those are some decent finds.

Sega 3-button controller, that would be great if you didn't already have one. I actually prefer the 3 button controller for games like Streets of Rage and Golden Axe. The only time I really use my 6 buttons are if I want to play Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat on Genesis for some reason. (Why? I can play the arcade versions on PS2 with my arcade stick.) I cannot stress how much I love my 3-button controllers, and how much I loved them when I first used them at a friend's house as a kid. They're oversized, solid, have a huge D-pad and buttons. I even remember reading that in the 90s, basketball players preferred SEGA because the controllers were actually usable for them, with large hands.

Ace Combat 5 and Ghosts n' Goblins are pretty cool.

Psst. Answer the last PM I sent you.

(Also, I noticed what you added to your sig. I take it you watched Lain then. I think I recommended it. Sorry for permanently scarring you.)


----------



## jetpak12

Yeah, and they were all complete with manuals, so I'm happy.







Usually the Goodwill stores in my area are slim pickings when it comes to videogames. Almost all the other options were sports games on the PS2. They did have a nice stack of Atari 2600 games. Like really great games like Yars' Revenge and Combat and a few others. But I don't have or plan on getting a 2600, so I let them by. Although I am planning to go back to that store tomorrow, so maybe I'll pick them up if they're still there...









They did have a PSone (the slim redesign) with a matching white dual shock controller and AN LCD SCREEN for $30, but I didn't get it. When I went back this time, it was gone. I've already got my PS2, so I don't need it, but it would have been cool to have.

I have three Genesis controllers right now: a six button that came with my Genesis 3, a 3-button I bought a few months ago that's a little sticky, and this new 3-button. And they all came from Goodwills in Albuquerque. The two 3-buttons have a slightly different logo, so its kind of interesting that way. I think I prefer the 3-button over the 6-button as well, mostly because the d-pad feels more precise.

And don't worry, you didn't scar me with Lain, lol. I had watched about half with a friend a few years ago and rewatched the entire series this summer. I told you that I was watching it and you said you liked it, but you didn't recommend it since I was already watching it; I already knew it was good.







I sneaked the line into my sig after finishing the series as sort of hidden message.

Also, replying to your PM now....


----------



## neurotix

Oh man, that PSone with the LCD screen for $30 would have been a GREAT find. I'd totally snag that in a heartbeat and see if I could chip it.

I'd take the Atari stuff too. If I get another classic console, it will probably be the 2600. It was before my time, but I like it. I used to play games on the Stella emulator in the late 90s because I was curious about what was around before Nintendo. Pitfall is my favorite game for the system.

Sticky Genesis controller? Open that baby up and get your hands dirty. All you need is a screwdriver set with tiny heads. I don't even know where mine came from but it has 6 small screwdrivers that can be used to take GPU coolers off and do anything else with very small screws that a normal Phillips can't do. Get out some Goo Gone, some paper towels, some Q-tips, some rubbing alcohol, and a couple toothpicks (you can use these in the cracks, the "seams" of the controller where the two halves fit together to get any gunk off them.) I've taken apart controllers for almost every system I have... clean them up, they'll be like new.

Lain, best anime ever. It's god tier in my thoughts. I thought I recommended it to you but, I recall now that you said that. Some others that are similar are: Boogiepop Phantom, Ergo Proxy, Texhnolyze, Gantz and maybe Steins;Gate. All pretty dark shows. Check them out. I'd start with Gantz or Texhnolyze personally, I think they're the closest to Lain.


----------



## jetpak12

Yeah, I'm kicking myself for not getting the PSone. I just wasn't interesting in getting another Playstation, but I thought afterwards about how that screen is probably pretty pricey now secondhand. Oh well...









I don't know if you're familiar with the Atari Flashback consoles, but the Atari Flashback 2 is an actual 2600-on-a-chip and you can mod it to install a cartridge slot. I always thought it would be a fun project to find one and put the slot on it, so maybe I'll get the games tomorrow to give me some motivation to find a 2600 or a Flashback 2. Going to find a Genesis 1 HD Graphics edition first though.









I actually did open up both Genesis controllers earlier today. The sticky one is better after some cleaning, but still not as good as the new one. Before I couldn't make Sonic "skid" when going fast and then switching directions, but now I can. I am surprised with how simple the internals on the Genesis controller are. It seems like the rubber domes are the only thing providing the tactile feedback, which really surprised me since these controllers have such a great feel. And interestingly, the two 3-button controllers have different designs on the inside too. They have the same basic rubber buttons, but the circuit board is different. Maybe some 3-button controllers are better than others.

Also, Goo Gone is the best.









And Lain is great and I really like Ergo Proxy too. I've heard of Texhnolyze and Gantz, I need to check them out. Haven't heard of Boogiepop and didn't know Steins;Gate had an anime. I guess I'll check them all out.


----------



## neurotix

Ogod, Lain's creepy "dad"..

I *have* heard of the flashback consoles. I've also heard about stuff like the Retron 5 (from Game Sack, look it up on Youtube, entertaining show). Personally, I dislike the idea. I'd rather have the original console and collect the games for it. I'm not averse to emulation, I mean there's a ton of games on my xbox and they look great on my 50" upscaled to 720p. If it's an actual system I'm interested in, then I'd rather have the original console than some kind of knock off. I just dislike them.

I actually saw a Genesis knockoff with about... 40 games on it I think? It was at the ghetto Dollar Store here on the east side, next to Little Caesars. We usually get the Deep Deep Dish (droooollllll) and sometimes we have to wait for them to make it, so we go next door to the Dollar Store. Yeah, the Genesis thing was like $70, so no way. Y'know, you can actually get generic Girl Scout cookies at that store that are basically identical to the real thing for like $1.50 a box. They have them all the time. This blew my mind the last time I was there and I got some, and they're authentic. *Nice*.

Definitely get a HD Graphics Model 1. It's what I have. Best sound quality. You just need to find a cable with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack on one end, and RCA outputs (red/white) on the other. Hook that up to the headphone jack, and you get stereo sound. I think the Model 2 and Model 3 can't do stereo sound no matter what. I believe it's always mono, even if it has a red and white. For video, you're gonna need a very specific Model 1 A/V cable with the fatter plug that goes in the back of the Genesis. It's bigger than the plug for the Model 2 and 3. I just use that for the yellow video, and don't plug the white sound plug in- since I get audio from the headphone jack. Yes, I know the true Genesis snobs use RGB and mod their systems for it, but I don't know how to do any of that.







You need like SCART converters or something and that gets very expensive. Also, my old CRT doesn't have any S-video or RGB inputs. Oh, and the nice thing about the model 1, if you have a pair of nice computer headphones you can hook them up to the model 1 and listen to music in games that have a sound test.







I've done this once or twice with my headphones and listened to SoR music. It sounds incredible. You hear things that you don't hear on an emulator or an mp3.

Most of the old controllers are very simple electronics. If you're in this hobby, you should definitely open up new controllers you get for your systems and clean them.









Btw, if you ever want controllers or games or anything let me know and I'll see what I can find. If you Paypal me the money and tell me what to look for, I can probably get it. We have numerous retro game stores in town, 3 to be exact. 1 of them has been here since I was a kid and I know the owner personally, and he knows me from when I was 14 or so. His name is Lance. He's a metalhead. His store often has death metal blaring when I walk in. And he gives me a 10% discount on everything. He even gave me a 360 controller for free since I needed one and I bought some other stuff. I think he had Streets of Rage 2 in the box with the manual for $20 the last time I was there....

Yes, definitely check out those anime. WATCH GANTZ. It's really messed up. You'll probably like it.


----------



## jetpak12

Hahaha, yeah...









I agree with you on "retro" consoles, I prefer the original system too. The Atari Flashback 2 interested me though because it is an actual Atari 2600 inside, rather than a NES-on-a-chip with emulated games like most. I think the Retron 5 is an ARM/Android based system that emulates the games, right? Doesn't interest me because of that.

There are a few used game stores here in Albuquerque, but their selection usually isn't too great and what they do have is usualyl a little overpriced. They do have Genesis model 1s for $30 each. I'm not sure if they come with any accessories or cables though. One time I went in and tried to find a Genesis controller and they didn't have any at all, even though there were about 5 or 6 bare Genesis consoles on the shelf.









Thanks for the offer, I'll let you know if I'm looking for anything specific, but nothing right now.








Quote:


> WATCH GANTZ. It's really messed up. You'll probably like it.


Lol, what are you implying?


----------



## FastMHz

I love my vintage PCs, but I couldn't pass this up at the local pawn shop:



Then I found the FlashBack2 at a local gamer shop:



I plan to add the cart slot at some point. The FB2 controllers even work with the original console!


----------



## jetpak12

Very cool! The "Darth Vader Edition" 2600, haha.









You can also use original 2600 controllers on the Flashback 2. If you use paddle controllers it unlocks a coupe extra games that are built in to the unit, iirc.

I got the few 2600 games from Goodwill last week that I mentioned. They were $0.99 each, I don't know if that's a good price.



Don't have an actual console at this point though. I went to my local used game store and I didn't see any, but didn't ask either. I didn't want to know because I picked up a nice stack of games and didn't want to spend any more money.











That's Dragon Warrior I&II and Dragon Warrior III in the middle. I'm excited to have found PSO for Xbox: 4-player split screen action! And I'm surprised that Madworld was only $3, I've heard great things about it. It had a GameStop sticker on it that showed that someone paid $45 for it used at one point.


----------



## neurotix

Those consoles are amazing and are making me want to get a 2600.

jetpak, those are easily some of the best Atari games you can get. Now just find Kaboom! (+paddle), Pitfall and River Raid and you'll be set. I don't know much about the 2600, it was before my time, but those few games are the ones I would want, personally.

Crimson Skies and Madworld are both excellent. Madworld, I have it but I still need to beat it. It's absolutely ridiculous, basically the poster child for "disgustingly violent games". It makes Mortal Kombat, even the newer ones look absolutely kiddie. For example, you literally have a chainsaw built into your arm that you use to cut people in half vertically. The game encourages you to wrap tires around a thug so he can't move his arms, ram a signpost through his head, then slam him repeatedly against a bunch of spikes on the wall. You then leave him there hanging from the wall. Another part makes a game show out of throwing dudes into an enormous, warehouse sized jet turbine. They fly around in a spiral and then get graphically shredded. (Knowing your family and parents, or what little you've told me, don't let them see you playing that game. Play it after they go to sleep. Just a bit of advice.)

I don't know about the Dragon Warrior games for Game Boy. They look like Game Boy Color carts to me. There's some superior releases of those for Super Famicom, and they have English translation patches. Those would probably be the preferred way to play those games if I was going to. I got about halfway through Dragon Warrior 3 for SFC once and wasn't too impressed. Too much grinding. I prefer Final Fantasy 3j, I'm spoiled by old FF and can't enjoy old Dragon Quest stuff. Of course, the first 4 games were originally on Famicom. So, I have to wonder what version the Game Boy ports are based off of.

Additionally, you have a major problem if you want to play PSOX. I'm sending you a PM about it now.


----------



## neurotix

Sorry for double posting but it's been almost 2 months and nobody has said anything.

Very interesting sites.

http://wiki.arcadeotaku.com/w/ESP_Ra.De._Repair_Logs
http://wiki.arcadeotaku.com/w/Category:Repair_Logs

Repair logs of arcade PCBs. Certainly counts as retrogaming. I remember I used to read about this kind of thing a lot back around 2000, especially CPS2 suicide, CPS3 encryption and so forth. Nowadays we can just use MAME, but some people get Superguns and real PCBs, hook up arcade sticks and play old arcade games on a CRT TV. I won't lie and say I understand everything in those repair logs, but it's still interesting. These people have some amazing technical skill to be able to fix these boards- I wonder where they learn how to do it?


----------



## jetpak12

That's some really neat stuff neurotix. It really is amazing what people can do with this sort of stuff, keeping those old boards running. I've taken a couple electronics/circuits classes and its still all mumbo-jumbo to me when it comes to this sort of thing. I suppose that's from lack of real world experience holding a soldering iron.








I still like to read about it though too.

I used to browse the BYOAC forums a while back and always wanted to make a custom MAME cabinet someday. But I never thought about people hooking up arcade boards to TVs.


----------



## neurotix

http://www.multimods.com/superguns.html

You can use a Supergun (pretty sure you can buy them on Ebay) and an original arcade board to play arcade games on your TV.

A MAME cab would be doable with even a really old PC nowadays.


----------



## neurotix

The Game Boy Color carts you mentioned, I ended up getting Dragon Warrior 3 for my GBC as well. It's pretty cool but I haven't played much of it. I need to sit down with it sometime.

Also, I wanna take a soldering class at the local community college in the fall.


----------



## subassy

Wow, I was hoping there was thread like this. Glad I stumbled on it.

First an over view of systems then I'll go into more detail in case someone cares









Since this is the directions from neurotix, here's my list with commas:
NES, SNES, GameCube, N64, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, PS1, PS2, Gameboy, TG16, Jaguar, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, GBA SP, PSP, NDSLite

(NDSLite original release was 2002 or something right? it counts? What about original PSP? I think that was...2005?)

I do have a question for neurotix: since the cut off is supposed to be at the 360/PS3/wii generation, maybe we could make the cut off for PC games 2004/2005 (the 360 being released in 2005)? I do have some classic Windows games after all. Like original Deus Ex, Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Elder scrolls: morrowind....Is that an idea?

I actually just decided to start really collecting retro console games about 6 weeks ago. I was into it a little bit about 10 years ago and stopped. That's just retro consoles though. You don't even want to see my steam/GOG collection. Even if I filtered by pre-2005 games it would be too long to list.

By the way I do have all the console games listed in detail in a google spreadsheet. Which I could share thought it's still a work in progress.

One thing I do need is a CRT TV. So I can show the niece/nephew NES zapper games. Just need to find one that's the right ratio of screen size/weight/portability.

Here's that entirely too much info I mentioned:

I don't actually _own_ an NES but a "retro Duo" clone system that works for my purposes (does NES/SNES). Although I only own 5 NES games (there's this missing tub of 100+ games "somewhere" you see and I'm trying to avoid duplicates by buying very few until I find said tub and do an inventory...)
I _do_ own both original and model 2 of SNES. I actually gave away my entire SNES game collection 15 years ago. There were some rare/valuable ones in there too (super metroid, mario rpg, damn I don't want to think about it). Right now I own only 7 games!
The PS1 is an original (the box has a red stripe on it meaning original release 95-97). Yes, I have it in the box still, hardly played. My PS3 does PS1 games anyway - 14 games. This is actually easy because pretty much _every_ thrift store will have at least one PS1 jewel case mixed in with the audio CDs...
PS2: both an original "fat" and a slimline which I think was the second design. Even though I had no plans for collecting PS2 games they're everywhere and they're super-cheap! I mean seriously. Some places they're $1, some places even less than that. It's like old Atari was in 90s. So far 44 games...
Nintendo64: I reserved this a month ahead of time so I had mine on launch day (ya, I'm that guy). Still got the box and everything. Only 5 games though.
GameBoy: original 1989 version. And that's about how long I've had it too. Most of my original games (only 9)
NDSLite: not sure if this actually counts. The first model was released in 2002 or so (edit: I was probably think of the GBA) so I think it does. Of the systems I've owned for multiple years this is the most neglected. 9 out of the 10 games I have for it are still in original boxes (the last one is...some place?)
Sega Saturn: I actually love the "fat" original controller it came with. The should buttons are like mouse button clickers. The single best non-analog stick gamepad in existence. Not sure on the games.
Dreamcast: bought it years ago, never bought the TV cables so I still don't know if it even works. And I don't have a controller or game. Minor details.
*Update:*
Found an apparently little-known thrift store today that actually had dreamcast games for some reason. Bought 11 of them for $1.50 each (today is 50% off day). Only one(s) _not_ sports are Sonic Adventure and... Is bass fishing a sport? Guess I'm gonna need TV cables and a gamepad.

Jaguar: 10+ year ago purchase, I do have 3 games. I think these systems are supposed to be sought after now-days.
TG-16: just the one game but a complete set/playable.
I actually have two "phat" PSPs. One is soft modded for emulators and other home brew, the other has too recent of firmware to do that. Both work great though. Only 4 UMDs.
I just bought the gamecube. I wasn't sure I wanted it since the wii can play the games but for $12, why not?
I actually just bought the GBA SP as well. Again not much reason with the DS. No games yet.
for the 2600 I have the 4 switch, the 6 switch and the Junior. I about ~80 2600 cartridges (more with duplicates)
Just bought a 7800 from a retro store. Since I have 12 games for it already...
5800: very neglected. Kind of a beast system that isn't really worth my time frankly. 7 games.
If no body minds my mixing topics here/on a semi-related note, can anybody identify this game? I found it at a rummage sale. I found it without that *II* in the title on the web but no version with the *II*.


----------



## neurotix

That's Pocket Monsters Green (Pokemon Blue). I don't know why it has a II. But, if you try playing it and it's first gen Pokemon, then yeah, it's Pocket Monsters Green.

I will add you to the club tomorrow, it's late here. I can type a longer response then too.

And that's a fantastic collection of systems.

The DS lite is from 2006, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DS_Lite not 2002. In 2002 the Game Boy Advance was pretty much brand new. However, it qualifies as a retro game system because it's almost 10 years old and it's not the current generation. (It's not a 3DS/PS Vita). I think the original PSP, especially the fat model, would probably qualify as retro at this point, and yes it's from 2005.


----------



## subassy

So are new members still being added? Just wondering because I haven't been added to the list.

Also, I bought some old Atari XE and Atari 800 games. Actually I may be getting an old Atari 800 system from a friend. The pic he sent has it caked in dust (years in the garage) though so it may need some restoring if it even can be made to work. I'm just assuming it doesn't.

I also ran across an Odyssey 2 cartridge for the first time. Bought since I had never seen one before. And a Texas instruments cart or whatever, "command modules". Not a game I don't think (it's called "Division"), just thought it was interesting. And for $0.25, why not right?
Sorry, this probably isn't a "pick ups" thread. Just thought that TI and Odyssey thing was of note.


----------



## neurotix

Sorry, yes new members are being added, but I forgot about your post and this thread.

You typed a lot to reply to and I've been busy with other threads and activities, I was also out of town recently. I'm not really inclined to reply to everything you wrote.

This thread didn't take off like I hoped, and has had very slow activity for the last year, so that's the reason it doesn't get my attention.

I added you with a simple placeholder.

If you could come up with a list of the systems you own, separated by commas, I will add everything to the original post. The way you typed it, it's all done with bullets and I'm not going to go through and figure out everything you own and put it into a brief list with commas like everyone else.


----------



## subassy

It's okay if you can't reply to everything, I know I wrote a lot. Just wanted to make sure I was "in the club".

Also Here's my list of consoles. Might have got lost in the giant block of text. Yes, I actually own all these (well a Retron for the NES but close enough). Some I even own variants








Let me know if this isn't what you wanted.

Quote:


> Since this is the directions from neurotix, here's my list with commas:
> 
> NES, SNES, GameCube, N64, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, PS1, PS2, Gameboy, TG16, Jaguar, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, GBA SP, PSP, NDSLite


Edit: forgot I picked up an original xbox on sunday. For $3. Insert than in


----------



## neurotix

I have a little time, so I can remark on some of the stuff you said, to try and get a little more conversation going...

I should look into updating/adding to some of the posts below the original posts with convention information etc.

Did you test the Pokemon cart? Even if it's in Japanese it should be pretty obvious if it's actually Gen 1 Pokemon or not. If you aren't familiar with Pokemon and have never played it, then find a playthrough of NA Pokemon Blue on Youtube and compare the two.

Atari 800 I know almost nothing about. That's an 8-bit computer right? Those were a little before my time (born in 84). I didn't really grow up with Atari. Though, in high school I was curious about the 2600 and loved games a lot, so I emulated the 2600 and tried all the popular games, and now I have an Atari Flashback. 8-bit computers were more popular in Europe than America in the early 80s afaik. I think the Commodore 64 was pretty big here, and the IBM PC but that's about it. Europe (especially Britain) had a ton of 8-bit computers like the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum, along with the C64 and all the Atari computers.

NES, no comment really, there's no excuse not to own a real NES as you can get one for about $20 last I checked. Scope out garage sales or Craigslist. The retron things are imo, junk.

The SNES model 2 is really cool, and fairly rare to find. I just have a model 1. Crazy that you had SMRPG and Super Metroid and got rid of them! You might want to keep your eye on this, apparently Gamestop is selling retro games online now and the prices they have listed are crazy! $49.99 for SMRPG, I think it goes for over $100 on Ebay. I don't have many SNES games either because, collecting for it is a little too rich for my blood. I have around 15 games. Mostly the ones I had as a kid. I have my Final Fantasy 2 and 3, SMW, Super Mario Kart, Yoshi's Island and a few others. The other day I finally gave in and paid out for Chrono Trigger, I've wanted a physical copy of it again for years now. $115 with shipping. I might have to put it in a safe or something.







I'm not sure how I feel about that, or how I feel about some games (Super Metroid, Castlevania IV, Contra III) being $60... I can recall around 2000 that used copies of those games were like $10-15 a piece. Retrogaming is getting too expensive.

PS1, PS2, meh... great memories of PSONE and all the rpgs (my favorite genre), one of my favorite games of all time is Xenogears. Collecting for it though? Too expensive... my PS2 is modded, so both systems are "taken care of" for me.

N64: I recently sold mine, or traded it in rather. I got $70 for Smash Bros on Amazon. The games I traded in were two Tetris games and Goldeneye. At one point I had Mario 64 too, but traded it to a guy (now dead) for a bag of ganja. That was a long time ago, I've quit. Overall: N64 has like no rpgs. All the rest of the games are platformers. I'd take a Saturn or PSONE over the N64 any day of the week. Funny thing: around here N64 is really hot right now. Everyone seems to want one, and the games for it, especially Ocarina of Time. The games shop I go to has more N64 stuff right now than I've ever seen and the owner (I know him well) is making a lot of money off selling complete OoT copies. I wonder why this is?

Game Boy: I'd like to have an original one too. Nuff said. I got a Game Boy Color and a few games for it for my N64 trade in (I also traded a few crappy SMS games).

Saturn: Now we're talking. It depends on what genre you like, but I can recommend games for it. Though, you might want to consider swap trick shenanigans, since most of the really good Saturn games are ludicriously expensive. I LOVE this system, but sorry I'm not paying $150 for a copy of Dragon Force (my favorite game on the system). There's some really great exclusive RPGs for this machine, and the other pull is the quality SEGA arcade ports (which should be cheap enough to acquire).

Dreamcast: Even better than the Saturn and totally worth investing in, and right now most of the games are cheap. I can compile a list with descriptions if you tell me your favorite genres. There's obvious big ones like Sonic Adventure 2 (much better than the first one), Phantasy Star Online etc. There are numerous quality (actually, identical) arcade ports from Naomi hardware, like Crazy Taxi, Dead or Alive and others. But also, this system was known for three things among hardcore gamers: very high quality 2D fighter arcade ports (from Capcom and SNK), very high quality 2D shooters, and the homebrew scene (emulators: you can make this thing play NES and Genesis games at full speed.) You can even run Linux on it and it has an official keyboard and mouse, it even goes online. I'd say, pick up a controller or two as well as a VMU or memory card, and start collecting games for it. It's worth it.

Jaguar: The Jaguar flippin' sucks. Sorry. That's my opinion.

TG-16. Most wanted system for me but far too expensive. I'll have to be content emulating it on my modded original Xbox. If I could get the Star Soldier games, a multitap, and the console I'd be very happy. But that would literally be hundreds of dollars.

PSP: Fantastic. I love this thing more than any other handheld. So many good RPGs. And it emulates every handheld that came before it.

Gamecube: Don't have one. Kind of an underwhelming system imo. Nothing that's must have for me.

GBA SP: I need a GBA since as part of my recent N64 trade, I got a complete in box Final Fantasy Dawn of Souls.

Atari stuff: Can't find any of that around here and I'm not going to go out of my way to get one online or anything. Partly because it's before my time, but also because everything after the 2600 sucked (and I have an Atari Flashback with most of my favorite 2600 games on it.)

Don't feel compelled to reply to everything I said, but there you go, those are my thoughts.


----------



## subassy

I actually don't know anything about Atari 8-bit either. I'm a little older than you but my family never got a computer (not until a 386 PC in the early 90s that is) so I didn't know even know about all that Atari PC stuff. And my first console was an NES so I never even had a 2600 or any other. I think my daycare may have had an atari. Seems like I have vague memories of Pole Position or Grand Prix. I don't know.

My dad actually bought me that Saturn inexplicably one day at a flea market. I never really like it that much. All the cool kids seemed to have a playstation. There were some good fighting games for it and I must have playedt hat demo of _Nights into Dreams_ a thousand times (the Saturn was one of the first if not the first to have a battery backed clock so...in December _Nights into Dreams_ changed on its own to a xmas theme. And changed back in January. Amazing, right?) I actually bought the "3D controller" with the stick later on. But never got did get to play nights with the analog stick.

I don't know actually have any fond memories of the PS1, I bought it in 97 but didn't really get motivated to start buying games. Guess PC was the thing by then. And my new N64.

And I kind of regret not buying a PS2. I mean damn, that thing lasted like 12 years. Would have been a good investment. Except $12 for 8MB memory cards? Really? (lol)

As for getting rid of games I kind of wanted to _collect_ them. Have an impressive series of shelves with games from different eras. I don't know if I'll actually play the physical copies or not. Probably leave that to emulation. The cartridge-based ones anyway. The only reason I even collecting PS1/PS2 is because those games are so cheap. People almost _pay you_ to take them. And thrift stores almost always mix in PS1 games with audio CDs and sometimes the poor teller doesn't know the difference. Maybe 20 more years PS1/PS2 stuff will start to go back up in value. Hopefully all my discs survive until then...

Feelings on the original xbox are about the same as the PS1/PS2: none one way or the other. I forgot to add it to my list actually: found a working original xbox with the hookups for $3. Horray for that. Tried _Black_ which I had heard so much about. I think I can see why it's somewhat highly regarded. Now all I have to do is figure out how to run home brew. Hopefully there's a softmod. I'm not really clear on that possibility.

For the PSP I did softmod that to run home brew. Seems to choke on a lot of the SNES games I try to play. Funny in can run PS1 games but chokes on SNES. Probably just not an optimized emulator. Trivial knowledge on the PSP, if you look at the specs they're almost the same as the first iphone...except PSP is a MIPS versus the iphone's ARM. Outside that same resolution screen and everything. Just poor timing for the PSP I guess. Would a "PSP Go" be worth owning? I mean I don't think you can actually _do_ anything with it, just own it. Hang it on a wall









I haven't really stressed my Retron Duo yet but it seems okay so far. If nothing else the TV/audio connectors are much easier to deal with.


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## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I actually don't know anything about Atari 8-bit either. I'm a little older than you but my family never got a computer (not until a 386 PC in the early 90s that is) so I didn't know even know about all that Atari PC stuff. And my first console was an NES so I never even had a 2600 or any other. I think my daycare may have had an atari. Seems like I have vague memories of Pole Position or Grand Prix. I don't know.


My dad brought me home an Atari one time when I was a kid, and we lived in Maine. He got it because of how much I loved Nintendo. He found it at a garage sale, from what I recall. He just surprised me with it one day. It came in a HUGE wood cabinet about 4 feet tall that almost looked like an old stereo with the record player on top. But the inside had all this plastic molding to fit cartridges. It must have had at least 50 games inside it. Anyway, I'm pretty sure it was a 2600. We hooked it up and, it didn't work







I think since it didn't work, he threw the whole thing out and took it to the dump. Idiot. I couldn't stop him, though. Yeah...
Quote:


> My dad actually bought me that Saturn inexplicably one day at a flea market. I never really like it that much. All the cool kids seemed to have a playstation. There were some good fighting games for it and I must have playedt hat demo of _Nights into Dreams_ a thousand times (the Saturn was one of the first if not the first to have a battery backed clock so...in December _Nights into Dreams_ changed on its own to a xmas theme. And changed back in January. Amazing, right?) I actually bought the "3D controller" with the stick later on. But never got did get to play nights with the analog stick.


Yeah, I know about Nights and Christmas Nights. It's too bad you don't like the Saturn. It's a niche system. If you like RPGs, it's a great system, it was also great in it's time for 2D fighters (see a theme here?) Most people are familiar with it for it's arcade ports, like Daytona USA (awesome) and Virtua Fighter 2 (meh). You just need to look into the library more. I could make suggestions if you tell me what kind of games you like.

A few years ago I got one of the funny Saturn 3D control pads too. It even came in the box and had a card to send in to Sega. It's like a prototype Dreamcast controller, but better than the DC controller because it has a better D-pad and 6 face buttons, and no terrible triggers.
Quote:


> I don't know actually have any fond memories of the PS1, I bought it in 97 but didn't really get motivated to start buying games. Guess PC was the thing by then. And my new N64.
> 
> And I kind of regret not buying a PS2. I mean damn, that thing lasted like 12 years. Would have been a good investment. Except $12 for 8MB memory cards? Really? (lol)


Again, I'd take PS1 over N64 any day. PS1 had the last good Final Fantasys. So, yeah, when I was 12-16 or so and wasn't in school, FF all day. That's the kind of gamer I am.
Quote:


> As for getting rid of games I kind of wanted to _collect_ them. Have an impressive series of shelves with games from different eras. I don't know if I'll actually play the physical copies or not. Probably leave that to emulation. The cartridge-based ones anyway. The only reason I even collecting PS1/PS2 is because those games are so cheap. People almost _pay you_ to take them. And thrift stores almost always mix in PS1 games with audio CDs and sometimes the poor teller doesn't know the difference. Maybe 20 more years PS1/PS2 stuff will start to go back up in value. Hopefully all my discs survive until then...


Gonna have to disagree a little here. Why have all the systems and games if you aren't gonna play them? I kind understand collectable fever, and the monetary value of physical copies, as well as displaying a collection nicely. But, um, I have a crapload of systems and a decent collection of games and I play all of them. They're better because you can use the actual controllers for the systems, like the Saturn pad you love, and Contra on anything other than an original square NES controller is just weird. Also, emulators for a lot of systems are buggy or incomplete, some are very slow, have poor accuracy, and poor compatibility. The biggest example is Saturn, it's very difficult to emulate, and thus it's just easier to play the actual system if you have it.

There's exceptions of course, the TG-16 emulators are very good (there's even one that runs full speed on PSP). TG-16 stuff is WAY too expensive for me, like I said. So I have no choice. But if I have a game and the original system, I prefer that. I used to not care when I was in high school and I emulated everything, and didn't have any of my original systems. I was also broke for a long time and couldn't afford retro games, but I have a wonderful fiance that shares my interest and.... well she's my sugar mama. So now, a lot of the games I like, I can play on the real hardware.
Quote:


> Feelings on the original xbox are about the same as the PS1/PS2: none one way or the other. I forgot to add it to my list actually: found a working original xbox with the hookups for $3. Horray for that. Tried _Black_ which I had heard so much about. I think I can see why it's somewhat highly regarded. Now all I have to do is figure out how to run home brew. Hopefully there's a softmod. I'm not really clear on that possibility.


The original Xbox, I think the games for it kinda suck. I don't even use mine for the games it has. I use it as an HTPC and emulator box. You can emulate any system you want on it, even the PS1 and N64 (with sound!). Just watch this video:




Mute the French or whatever he's talking if it's annoying. But yeah, my Xbox is basically set up like that.

I've got full romsets for probably 10 different systems (all the early 90s stuff) with video previews and box art for each game.

If you want more info on this, we'll have to take it to pm's. *wink*
Quote:


> For the PSP I did softmod that to run home brew. Seems to choke on a lot of the SNES games I try to play. Funny in can run PS1 games but chokes on SNES. Probably just not an optimized emulator. Trivial knowledge on the PSP, if you look at the specs they're almost the same as the first iphone...except PSP is a MIPS versus the iphone's ARM. Outside that same resolution screen and everything. Just poor timing for the PSP I guess. Would a "PSP Go" be worth owning? I mean I don't think you can actually _do_ anything with it, just own it. Hang it on a wall


PSP is an excellent system. Try and find the emulator literally called [e]mulator. It does Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Gear, Lynx, Turbografx 16, NES, Wonderswan Color and a few others. That in conjunction with gPSP Kai (Game Boy Advance) will let you play most handhelds that came before it, at least all the ones that were popular in the 90s. They all run full speed too.

The reason it can play PS1 well but not SNES is because the PS1 emulation is actually done by Sony, and I believe there is some hardware to support it. It's POPS.

If you're using SNES9x TYL, the issue is basically that SNES9x sucks and is slow. Back in the day, I had a AMD K6-2 350mhz and SNES9x ran slow on it. Keep in mind, the PSP only does 333mhz max. I always used ZSNES for SNES games because it ran much faster, and had platform specific assembly optimizations and speedhacks to make it run faster. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone ported ZSNES to PSP.

Try any of the NES, Turbografx or Genesis emulators and you'll find they run pretty much perfectly. It's just that particular emulator.

Heck, I have NFBA on my PSP with Espgaluda, Dodonpachi Daioujou and a bunch of other intense, crazy Japanese shooters from beefy arcade hardware, and it runs great. Also have one for Neo Geo and it runs Windjammers well.

Even got MAME with mostly classic arcade games (80s era).

There's plenty of stuff to emulate on psp besides the SNES.









Finally, let me know what types of games you like (genres), so I can make suggestions of what to get.


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## subassy

Outside of that short period of learning _Killer Instinct_ I'm not really into fighters. Right now at least I'm not that into RPGs because I can't really afford a time sink. So my preference would probably be a very vague "action" genre. Maybe arcade racer as well (all I mean by "arcade" is "not a simulator" like forza/. Doesn't need to literally be a port of a sega arcade game). Something I can play for no more than an hour and it's not so complex I have to re-learn a bunch of stuff from scratch if I don't come back for 6 months. And I had no idea there were good RPGs for Saturn. I thought most all of them were for PS1 from that time period. Unless you're talking Japanese imports. I might mention I never bought a memory card for the saturn so that might be an issue. It's really hard for me to get excited about the Saturn. I do love the original larger game pads. Those shoulder buttons are awesome. I do have fond memories of Sega Rally. I would use the should buttons to shift up/shift down in races. Actually it seems like the port of command and conquer was incredibly good for Saturn too.

I was actually going to take that large Saturn gamepad apart and convert it to a USB game pad. Or a wireless PC game pad. It would be a fun project. Sacrilege, I'm sure. But it is just collecting dust. I'm going to practice as an old third party wireless xbox game pad first. Then if that works try the Saturn one. I don't have a time frame for attempting to do this.

And I know PSP can emulate a lot of other systems. It was just SNES I was mostly interested in. The homebrew...firmware, whatever, that came with unlocking the PSP allows me to "over clock" to some higher speed on the CPU. It eats battery and doesn't seem to help that much. I just liked the idea of going back to play_Link to the Past_ and _Super Metroid_ but I obviously won't be doing it on a PSP. Haven't touched it for a while anyway.

I actually have a soft-modded Wii. That's the best place I can do all the old games i think. It has the advantages of also playing Wii and GameCube games.

There's really not any reason (at least for me in particular) for me to use an original xbox for emulation purposes. I take home my work's e-waste all the time. The XBox is literally a 15 year old PC so even if we're talking 2010 anything I can find will be better than that hardware wise. And it won't require a stupid xbox<-->female usb connector cable either (apparently required for homebrew convert process). The reason modding an xbox was such a big thing in 2003 or so is because it was effectively a gaming PC and much cheaper than you could otherwise get in 2003. Now that it's so many years later than benefit is gone. Only reason I really have to homebrew my xbox is to replace the hard drive (which I assume will die since it's 15 years old) and put the games _on the hard drive. Which is easier than trying to emulate an xbox I think should hope. If I can't get the PS2 modded I'll probably try a PS1 emulator on it. Again, games I own so I don't have to worry about scratch discs or whatever. Would be so much easier to use the PS2 for PS1 though. No need for emulation that way, just right there in the hardware.

I actually a very-small-slimline PC I'm going to try and use as an HTPC maybe with either SteamOS or that "Kodi" OS. It's 3+ years old but will do everything that xbox can do but a lot better. And it has USB ports, how convenient. Only VGA and display port for video though so...I may have to buy another adapter. Or just use VGA._


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## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Outside of that short period of learning _Killer Instinct_ I'm not really into fighters. Right now at least I'm not that into RPGs because I can't really afford a time sink. So my preference would probably be a very vague "action" genre. Maybe arcade racer as well (all I mean by "arcade" is "not a simulator" like forza/. Doesn't need to literally be a port of a sega arcade game). Something I can play for no more than an hour and it's not so complex I have to re-learn a bunch of stuff from scratch if I don't come back for 6 months. And I had no idea there were good RPGs for Saturn. I thought most all of them were for PS1 from that time period. Unless you're talking Japanese imports. I might mention I never bought a memory card for the saturn so that might be an issue. It's really hard for me to get excited about the Saturn. I do love the original larger game pads. Those shoulder buttons are awesome. I do have fond memories of Sega Rally. I would use the should buttons to shift up/shift down in races. Actually it seems like the port of command and conquer was incredibly good for Saturn too.


There some good, actually outstanding exclusive RPGs for the Saturn.

Dragon Force, which is a Shining Force style strategy RPG, is absolutely phenomenal if you like the genre. There's really nothing else like it. @jetpak12 can probably attest to this. It's sort of a cross between Shining Force and Ogre Battle but even that doesn't explain it. Go watch a video.

There's also Albert Odyssey, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Shining Force III (3 scenarios! All three have been translated into English now!), Shining the Holy Ark, Legend of Oasis, and Shining Wisdom (Zelda clone)...none of these are on competing systems to my knowledge and they're all great. (In English, too.)

The Lunar remakes, and the first Grandia were Saturn exclusives at first (Import only), but were later ported to the Playstation.

As far as action games go, try Die Hard Arcade, Daytona USA, Virtua Cop series, Dodonpachi port, Virtual On, Radiant Silvergun, Burning Rangers, Panzer Dragoon 1&2, Cotton 2 (import), Galactic Attack, and Guardian Heroes...
Quote:


> I was actually going to take that large Saturn gamepad apart and convert it to a USB game pad. Or a wireless PC game pad. It would be a fun project. Sacrilege, I'm sure. But it is just collecting dust. I'm going to practice as an old third party wireless xbox game pad first. Then if that works try the Saturn one. I don't have a time frame for attempting to do this.


Sounds good. Fun project. For most games on Saturn, the regular controller is better anyway. It was just a gimmick for Nights.
Quote:


> And I know PSP can emulate a lot of other systems. It was just SNES I was mostly interested in. The homebrew...firmware, whatever, that came with unlocking the PSP allows me to "over clock" to some higher speed on the CPU. It eats battery and doesn't seem to help that much. I just liked the idea of going back to play_Link to the Past_ and _Super Metroid_ but I obviously won't be doing it on a PSP. Haven't touched it for a while anyway.


Well, again, back in the day, emulators were slow + choppy. It's not a big deal to me. They run at probably 80% speed, if not more. Link to the Past and Super Metroid aren't exactly frantic games anyway. It's not like you're playing an overhead shooter and dying because it's choppy. The "overclocking" thing is basically B/S, most PSP games run at 333mhz anyway, and that's the highest you can set it in an emulator, and it's max specified clock speed. Overclocking it would actually be setting it higher than 333mhz.
Quote:


> I actually have a soft-modded Wii. That's the best place I can do all the old games i think. It has the advantages of also playing Wii and GameCube games.


As do I, but the experience of emulation is better on an Xbox. See below.
Quote:


> There's really not any reason (at least for me in particular) for me to use an original xbox for emulation purposes. I take home my work's e-waste all the time. The XBox is literally a 15 year old PC so even if we're talking 2010 anything I can find will be better than that hardware wise. And it won't require a stupid xbox<-->female usb connector cable either (apparently required for homebrew convert process). The reason modding an xbox was such a big thing in 2003 or so is because it was effectively a gaming PC and much cheaper than you could otherwise get in 2003. Now that it's so many years later than benefit is gone. Only reason I really have to homebrew my xbox is to replace the hard drive (which I assume will die since it's 15 years old) and put the games _on the hard drive. Which is easier than trying to emulate an xbox I think should hope. If I can't get the PS2 modded I'll probably try a PS1 emulator on it. Again, games I own so I don't have to worry about scratch discs or whatever. Would be so much easier to use the PS2 for PS1 though. No need for emulation that way, just right there in the hardware.
> 
> I actually a very-small-slimline PC I'm going to try and use as an HTPC maybe with either SteamOS or that "Kodi" OS. It's 3+ years old but will do everything that xbox can do but a lot better. And it has USB ports, how convenient. Only VGA and display port for video though so...I may have to buy another adapter. Or just use VGA._


I hate to say it, but, you really don't know what you're talking about, since you haven't used a modded xbox.

The benefit to a modded Xbox is that the emulators all have the same skin, it looks like this:



Moreover, the skins support displaying box art, screenshots and video previews in the game browser, like in the screenshot.

Additionally, the xbox can do up to 1080i for emulators through component. I use mine at 720p on my 50" and it looks great.

The Pentium III 700mhz in the xbox is more than enough to do every classic console, as well as some 3D consoles, full speed. On top of that, it can emulate arcades- MAME as well as NFBA (Neo Geo/CPS1/CPS2) run on it, and support most arcade games up through 2002.

The other huge thing is that it has wired controllers with long cords.

In every way, it's the perfect emulation machine with a uniform interface across emulators.

On top of all that, it can stream online content through NaviX, and play video over a Homegroup network.

The downside is that it takes a lot of effort to set it all up. The box art and videos in particular are some hefty downloads, and you also have to upgrade the hard drive in it for space for them. It also has to be wired, because the xbox doesn't have Wifi. It also can only play video files that are 480p (though it will upscale them very nicely) unless you upgrade the RAM. (But I use a Chromecast to stream HD video anyway and it cost $35.)

I've softmodded my PS2, PSP, Wii and Xbox and out of all of them, the xbox was definitely the best investment of my time.

I tried putting Linux on a fat PS3 when I had one, and put emulators on it- it sucked. If you think the PSP is slow at SNES you should see a PS3 running Linux. Also, just getting the wireless controllers to work through bluetooth was next to impossible. I can't imagine getting as good of an experience as the xbox with a Raspberry Pi or something just because of the Linux support (Even in Ubuntu) of wireless bluetooth controllers. Also, I doubt there's any frontends for the emulators, or uniform skins for the individual emulators that are as nice and coherent on any other platform.

Also, that Kodi you mention.... Kodi *IS* XBMC. XBMC is what I use on my Xbox. *X**B*ox *M*edia *C*enter. They changed the name to Kodi because they no longer develop for the original Xbox. But yeah...what you want is basically what I have on my Xbox, except on an HTPC (especially running Linux) the emulators will be worse.


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## jetpak12

Hi guys! I haven't read all of your most recent posts (lots of text!), but I'll chime in too.

*Dragon Force* - Yeah, that's a really rad game and very unique. I just tried it out with @neurotix one time and it is really impressive for the Saturn. The Saturn doesn't exactly have the biggest library of games, but it has enough exclusive games that I feel like its worth getting a console for. Especially since the Saturn is difficult to emulate, because of its strange hardware design.

Sega made official USB PC controllers designed after the Sega Saturn controller. There are a lot of clones on Ebay for really cheap that suck, but they are worth it if you want to just get the shell and the USB interface, since you can put in real Saturn controller components into it so it'll work right. The best official Sega USB controllers are literally Saturn controllers with a USB plug, but go for a lot of money. I got a later model official Sega one and there is definitely something different about it, it doesn't feel as responsive as it should, but it was as cheap as the knock-off clones, so I'm happy enough with it. I think you're talking about the 3D control pad though, which I suppose you could maybe take the USB interface from a USB controller to connect to the parts in the Saturn pad? Sounds like it should be doable, and a fun project.









Xbox is a really cool system, my family got it when it was new, so I'm pretty biased, but I really liked the system when it was new and now. Only problem is that the DVD drives fail really easily, but soft-modding it and adding a big harddrive solves that issue by letting you store the games on the harddrive. I have some emulators on mine, and while I don't have a fancy interface like neurotix, it works really well and I haven't had any issues emulating any systems I've tried. The exclusives in general are all right to me, and I think the PS2/GC/Xbox ports look the best on Xbox in general (personal bias there). And I have a good collection of games since my brothers and I all bought games for it throughout its lifetime.

For an all-around emulation system I've comtemplated building a SFF PC, something like AMD's AM1 platform, or getting a Raspberry Pi 2. A little easier to get up and running than an original Xbox, but more expensive too (except for the Pi). I've been sticking with emulation on my main PC though for the most part.

Emulation on the PSP is really impressive, except for SNES support. Unfortunately, portable SNES emulation in general is quite poor. I've tried DS and PSP SNES emulators and neither can play the games too well. I suppose its just smartphones that can handle SNES, but then you don't have any real buttons. I'm really glad that PSP can do GBA emulation so well though, its really cool.

I've been really busy, but I'll try to pop my head in here from time to time (and reply to your PMs neurotix).

Happy retro-gaming!


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## johnvosh

I'd love to join the club. I've got a small collection of retro video games and systems. I included a couple photo's of my room right now, sorry it's a bit messy. I've got a decent size Zelda collection, but still have lots more to get for it. I've also got all the Canadian/US version of Mario Kart! Listed are the systems I currently have; I've also got new cap kits to recap my Sega Genesis systems, but have to find someone to do it for me as I have no electronic soldering skills at all.

*Canadian/US systems*
NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Wii, Wii U
Sega Master System, Genesis (v1 & 2), Sega CD, Sega 32X, Sega Dreamcast
Playstation 1, PSOne, Playstation 2 (fat & slim), Playstation 3
Xbox, Xbox 360
Atarti 2600, 5200, 7800, Flashback 1 & 2
Colecovision, Commodore Vic 20

*Handhelds*
Gameboy original, Gameboy Colour, DSi, 3DS XL

*Japan systems*
Famicom AV, Super Famicom, Sega Saturn


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## neurotix

That is a most excellent collection. Adding you now.

I am not the biggest Zelda fan (Link to the Past was my favorite and after that one, I stopped caring, OoT never did it for me), but I have to say, that Zelda display is phenomenal. That must have cost a fortune, especially the boxed SNES 1 & 2 with Zelda branding! I could see myself doing something like that for the Mario games, at least 8 and 16 bit, obviously you feel strongly about Zelda, I sorta feel the same way about Mario (so many good memories of SMB3 and World). I'm also the same way about Final Fantasy, up to about 9, but given the history of the releases for that series, it'd be hard to do. (Many of the original games did not come out here).

Might I suggest finding some official Zelda posters for that corner? Buy an old Nintendo Power that's a Zelda issue maybe? (btw I have a recent Club Nintendo limited edition Majora's Mask 3D tote bag, it cost like 1000 coins and I needed to use them before they cancel Club Nintendo, so I just spent them all on the most expensive item... let me know if you want it.)

The rest of your collection is really nice too, how long have you been collecting for? Is that all your Genesis games in boxes on the left side, or do you have loose carts? We have around the same amount of Master System games from the looks of it, and close to the same amount of Nintendo loose carts. I'll post some pics later.

Nice collection of boxed systems. I don't know where people find them, there's nothing around here like that. This town is rather bad for retro collecting. There's not any flea markets or anything. The used games stores are expensive too.

Take a look at this other club that I run too. You may want to join it, as well.


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## neurotix

*Emergency update: sorry for double posting*

1. Added spaces in the user list in the OP between each user to make it easier to read.

2. Duplicate systems are not going to be listed (e.g. same system, different region)

3. All-in-one consoles ("NES on a chip"), Atari Flashback etc. are not going to be listed.

4. I think for our purposes, retro would be any system not currently in production and not part of the current generation or generation before it. Due to this, Wii U, 3DS, PS Vita, PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, will not be listed. (Sorry johnvosh. I have a 3DS, Wii U, and 360 too but they aren't listed.) I think in a few years we can change this policy and include Wii/360/PS3.

5. I will add this to the original post, if nobody has any objections.

Finally, johnvosh has been added. Welcome!


----------



## johnvosh

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> That is a most excellent collection. Adding you now.
> 
> I am not the biggest Zelda fan (Link to the Past was my favorite and after that one, I stopped caring, OoT never did it for me), but I have to say, that Zelda display is phenomenal. That must have cost a fortune, especially the boxed SNES 1 & 2 with Zelda branding! I could see myself doing something like that for the Mario games, at least 8 and 16 bit, obviously you feel strongly about Zelda, I sorta feel the same way about Mario (so many good memories of SMB3 and World). I'm also the same way about Final Fantasy, up to about 9, but given the history of the releases for that series, it'd be hard to do. (Many of the original games did not come out here).
> 
> Might I suggest finding some official Zelda posters for that corner? Buy an old Nintendo Power that's a Zelda issue maybe? (btw I have a recent Club Nintendo limited edition Majora's Mask 3D tote bag, it cost like 1000 coins and I needed to use them before they cancel Club Nintendo, so I just spent them all on the most expensive item... let me know if you want it.)
> 
> The rest of your collection is really nice too, how long have you been collecting for? Is that all your Genesis games in boxes on the left side, or do you have loose carts? We have around the same amount of Master System games from the looks of it, and close to the same amount of Nintendo loose carts. I'll post some pics later.
> 
> Nice collection of boxed systems. I don't know where people find them, there's nothing around here like that. This town is rather bad for retro collecting. There's not any flea markets or anything. The used games stores are expensive too.
> 
> Take a look at this other club that I run too. You may want to join it, as well.


To tell you the truth, I've never actually played the Zelda games. I have watched lots of videos on YouTube of classic Zelda and I like the music, but never played it. I collect it because it is one of the easier Nintendo products to collect. I buy all the new games that come out for it and work on getting the older stuff. A lot of the older stuff I have gotten of eBay. They are a couple Zelda handheld branded systems that I would love to get but I refuse to pay more than what they were when they came out. In the near future once I save up a bit of money I want to try and get all the Japanese versions of Mario Kart with boxes.

You know, I once had a lot of coins for the Club Nintendo, but I could never buy anything from the site. Because my neighbourhood is only a couple years old, my postal code isn't reconized by some sites yet. I even tried calling them but their customer service sucked big time. I am also wanting to get a complete collection of all the Mario Party games complete in box as well.

I've been collecting the majority of my collection over the last 3-4 years, but I do still have the Gamecube, PS2 that I bought brand new. I've also had my SNES and N64 for at least 10 years. I only have less than 6 loose Genesis games, I try to only buy them complete in box. Yup, that's all the SMS games I've got. Right now I have the following amounts for my games; )doesn't include DS/3DS/Wii/Wii U/PS3/ Xbox 360)

Gameboy -> 6
GBA -> 7
NES loose -> 76
NES box -> 28
Famicom -> 12
SNES loose -> 33
SNES box -> 8
Super Famicom -> 24
N64 loose -> 5
N64 box -> 3
Gamecube -> 4
SMS -> 26
Genesis -> 85
32x -> 2
Saturn -> 1
Dreamcast -> 2
Colecovision -> 12
Atari Systems -> 102
PS1 -> 40
PS2 -> 12


----------



## neurotix

Quite strange that you collect Zelda but have never played it. You have such an awesome display. Sit your ass down sometime and play Link to the Past, or Ocarina of Time. At the very least, play those two. They're both some of the best video games ever made (even if I don't care for Ocarina personally). Try and use a walkthrough if you get stuck or something.

I have around 70+ Genesis games last I counted. Not really looking for more. For all my systems, I just want to collect what I consider the "Best" games for the system, or the ones I have memories with. So, for SNES I gotta have all the Final Fantasies, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana and all the other jrpgs I love and grew up with. For Genesis I gotta have my Phantasy Star and Shining Force, all the Sonics, all the Shinobis, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe and so on. Really the only Genesis games I'm after are Gunstar Heroes and Sparkster. I'm content with the rest of the collection.

Have around 40 SMS games last I counted. I also have the 3D glasses and I think 4 of the 7 games for them. They're fricken awesome for 80s tech. If you see some, pick them up, and get a copy of Zaxxon 3D online.

Nintendo, I have 40-some last I counted and SNES I have 15? I just got a Game Boy Color and traded my N64 for it. I think I have around 10 Game Boy games.

So, overall you have more than me. And I bow to your collection of boxed systems. (I don't have a single one.)



My shelf.

EDIT: I might have more GPUs than you though =P I should sell the ones not being used and use the money to buy games.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I'll join up...just getting back into console gaming, so my collection isn't quite what it could be, but it'll grow over time. I'll list what I have right now though -

Xbox
Dreamcast
Nintendo 64
Super Nintendo
Sega Genesis
Playstation One
Playstation 2 Slim
Nintendo DS

Next systems on the hunting list are Gamecube and Sega Saturn. I'd also like to get a hold of a Sega CD and 32X. I wouldn't mind a NES, but honestly could probably just deal with a Retron since there are only a few NES games I am interested in. Game collection is still quite small, but I am proud to have Conker's Bad Fur Day for my N64


----------



## Mr357

I'd like to join this one too! I own:

Model 2 Genesis, SNES, Playstation 1 (SCPH-7501), N64, Dreamcast, Xbox (slightly modded), Gamecube





And yes, I'm aware that there's a PS2 there. I'm borrowing it from a friend, so it doesn't count.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> I'd like to join this one too! I own:
> 
> Model 2 Genesis, SNES, Playstation 1 (SCPH-7501), N64, Dreamcast, Xbox (slightly modded), Gamecube
> 
> And yes, I'm aware that there's a PS2 there. I'm borrowing it from a friend, so it doesn't count.


Should just pick up a PS2 for yourself! I got mine for $40, PS2 slim, with two Dual Shock 2 controllers and about 40 games or so. They are cheap as dirt







Games are currently really cheap too, minus the few rare and popular (mostly RPGs).


----------



## subassy

I just bought and/or inherited an Atari 800. And a tape deck actually (Atari 1010). May not count as a game console, not sure. I also got 10 cartridges (8 of them games, one is "atari writer" and one is "basic programming"). Also data cassette tapes. That's right, in the 80s people used cassette tapes to store a staggering _16 Kilobytes_.

I haven't actually tried to power it on yet as I wanted to give it once-over to make sure it looks okay. Maybe try and clean it. It has been in the open air/environment in a garage for ~22 years. I mean it's california but it still gets to 110F in the summer and cold enough for ice in the winter.

One of the cassettes I have is actually given a 8/10 rarity at...I think atari age but I lost the page apparently. Anyway if it's really that rare it's kinda cool.

I can share more details should somebody decide they care for details.


----------



## neurotix

Added Mr357 and Aaron_Henderson. Welcome.

Agreed on the PS2. It is an extremely cheap and awesome system. It is also incredibly simple to mod. (If anyone's interested in that... pm me... I'll hook it up)


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Should just pick up a PS2 for yourself! I got mine for $40, PS2 slim, with two Dual Shock 2 controllers and about 40 games or so. They are cheap as dirt
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Games are currently really cheap too, minus the few rare and popular (mostly RPGs).


I plan on it, but right now I'm not too keen on buying more consoles or games because I've barely even touched a lot of the games I have and I dropped over $300 on the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter.


----------



## neurotix

PS2 has a lot of excellent jRPGs...

That's my favorite genre so.

I think all time best systems for jRPGs in order are probably:

SNES - DS - PS2 - PSP - GBA

At least that I've found.

All the classic ones are on SNES, and for a more modern console, I'd definitely say the NDS wins by a large amount. It's unbelievable how many there are.

Next to that is probably PS2 and PSP. Both have some great exclusive titles.

(Btw, this includes all types of RPGs- traditional turn based, action RPG, and strategy RPG.)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> PS2 has a lot of excellent jRPGs...
> 
> That's my favorite genre so.
> 
> I think all time best systems for jRPGs in order are probably:
> 
> SNES - DS - PS2 - PSP - GBA
> 
> At least that I've found.
> 
> All the classic ones are on SNES, and for a more modern console, I'd definitely say the NDS wins by a large amount. It's unbelievable how many there are.
> 
> Next to that is probably PS2 and PSP. Both have some great exclusive titles.
> 
> (Btw, this includes all types of RPGs- traditional turn based, action RPG, and strategy RPG.)


No mention of the PSX/PSOne? My list would start with either PSX and PS2, can't really decide right now.

Also, to Mr357...I have too many games I haven't even started yet as well...but the PS2 stuff isn't going to get much cheaper. If you wait too long to start with it, the prices may eventually go up, I would imagine. Like the N64...games used to be dirt cheap...now they aren't cheap lol Nice to get the stuff when it's at its lowest price point and easy to find.

Also, was downtown today, stopped by one of the pawnshops and picked up a couple games - Crimson Skies - High Road to Revenge on Xbox CIB ($2), and Alien 3 on Genesis Loose Cart ($5).


----------



## neurotix

Agreed, the PSone has excellent jRPGs, I don't know why I excluded that. It probably goes up there with the DS, ahead of the PS2 and PSP (though not by much), mostly because of it's classics.

Also, xbox games are pretty much worthless, nobody wants them. I have a bag full of around 10 complete games and the most expensive one was $5. The rest are worth cents. I also have Crimson Skies: it's an excellent game.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Agreed, the PSone has excellent jRPGs, I don't know why I excluded that. It probably goes up there with the DS, ahead of the PS2 and PSP (though not by much), mostly because of it's classics.
> 
> Also, xbox games are pretty much worthless, nobody wants them. I have a bag full of around 10 complete games and the most expensive one was $5. The rest are worth cents. I also have Crimson Skies: it's an excellent game.


Yeah, I like Xbox collecting cause even the good stuff is dirt cheap. Also, I never had one when they were popular, so lots of Xbox exclusives I never got the chance to play. Plus, quite a few Sega releases on the Xbox. I haven't modded mine yet though, I tried, but I think I need to make a new USB cable, I keep getting half way through and then the save files I need get corrupted. I've tried a ton of USB sticks, so it's got to be the cable I guess.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Yeah, I like Xbox collecting cause even the good stuff is dirt cheap. Also, I never had one when they were popular, so lots of Xbox exclusives I never got the chance to play. Plus, quite a few Sega releases on the Xbox. I haven't modded mine yet though, I tried, but I think I need to make a new USB cable, I keep getting half way through and then the save files I need get corrupted. I've tried a ton of USB sticks, so it's got to be the cable I guess.


I haven't even attempted this yet (I also need to make/buy a cable) but if the saves are getting corrupted it may be the hard drive itself. At best that drive is 10+ years old. I would hook it up to a PC and run a utility on it. I don't know if standard scandisk would be able to deal with the file system but my favorite SpinRite would definitely do it. The author says he doesn't mind if you download it to trial it. It sells for $90 so I would say trial it (again, this is a direct quote from the author; I'm not advocating piracy).


----------



## Mega Man

tbh i need to mod one of mine maybe the halo edition idk

idk though that memory mod looks fun too ! i never done one and it looks really easy tbh but i will have media pcs for all my movies anyway lol


----------



## neurotix

Mine is modded. I elaborated on it all already and why it's so great. (I really should get around to making a video of it.)

The cable part isn't too hard. No soldering required. I made my own cable. What I did is buy a 3rd party Xbox controller, and a Male-to-female USB cable. You cut the cords on both. Then you expose the wires inside by using an exacto knife to remove the outer rubber layer. On the inside of both is probably some braided metallic shielding, peel that back. Then, you wire the end with the Xbox controller port plug to the end with a female USB connector. The cables are all color coded, or they should be, inside both cables. You wire red to red, black to black (or blue if one is blue), green to green and white to white. The xbox controller will probably have yellow inside it. Yellow is not used.

The plus side of this method (spare Xbox controller) is that, if you wire up the male end of the usb extension cable to the Xbox controller in the same manner, it should function as a PC USB gamepad.

The rest of the stuff all has to be done in software, and that's likely the reason your transferred saves aren't working. See this link. You cannot just put the game save on a thumb drive. First, you have to format the drive to function as an xbox memory card. Also, not all USB thumb drives/flash drives will work. Your best bet is with an older one. I used a very old Sandisk 2GB drive that's my brothers, that he probably got in 2006. I'd say, the newer the drive and the larger the capacity the less chance it will work. I used this same drive for my PS2 modding, to transfer game saves from gamefaqs to the PS2 memory card using Ulaunchelf. I've tried newer drives and they didn't work. Anyway, the software stuff requires that you do some stuff on your PC using a couple different programs, some kind of action replay program for PC. Also, I personally used the Splinter Cell exploit. I don't know about the other methods.

Once you actually get the SID running, and mod your box, that's where all the fun begins. That means, yet more time and energy to set up everything you want on it. This means finding emulators, getting XBMC, and so on and so forth. If you guys get your boxes modded and want the names of the emulators I use, just ask.

http://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/ is the first thing you'll want to get.

If you have more questions, pm me.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Thanks for the help guys, but I followed quite a few guides to get it working, and all I can think is that when I taped up my DIY USB cable, I shorted something. I just need to pull it all back apart and have another go at it. I bought quite a few USB sticks thinking that was the problem...I was using the MechAssault save I think, or whatever the Mech game is. I got the game with my Xbox. I can sometimes get the save to transfer to the HDD, but it's always corrupted. I don't think the Xbox HDD is going, all my saves work fine and don't get corrupted, just the ones I was trying to transfer from the USB stick. Like I said, I just need to set some time aside and have another go with a new cable or fix the old one. I was never in much of a hurry to get it modded, to be honest, because of how cheap games are now, and I have PCs everywhere in the house. Would be neat to get it modded though...just because. I actually have two Xbox, one doesn't have a working DVD drive though, and also has boot issues from time to time if it's warmed up and I try to restart it. All the caps looked OK, not sure what the cause of that is.

Also, got an adapter cable in the mail to hook up the only CD burner I have that works for burning Dreamcast discs...it's out of an old laptop. So I got a Sata slim to USB adapter. Hope it works, it worked when i put the drive into a laptop to try, so it should work with the adapter. Not sure why none of the other drives I have work for Dreamcast stuff, but this one has had a perfect run so far, not one failed disc yet. I noticed some people talking about burning Sega CD discs in this or the Sega thread, hoping it might work for those too when the time comes. Burning garbage discs is a pain in the rear. Cost a lot of time, and even the 80 min CD-Rs are getting a little pricey.


----------



## subassy

Last I bought CD-Rs they were $20 for 100, how many do you go through?


----------



## neurotix

Right. Take that cable apart and fix it.

The other reason it could not be working might be the dashboard version. These things require VERY specific versions of the dashboard from MS. For mine, it required the one from the Halo 2 disc. Thankfully, mine was already on this dash.

Personally, I would suggest looking into the Splinter Cell exploit and trying that instead.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Right. Take that cable apart and fix it.
> 
> The other reason it could not be working might be the dashboard version. These things require VERY specific versions of the dashboard from MS. For mine, it required the one from the Halo 2 disc. Thankfully, mine was already on this dash.
> 
> Personally, I would suggest looking into the Splinter Cell exploit and trying that instead.


I'll let you guys know if I get anywhere with it. I am pretty sure it's just the cable, as I remember verifying if the dashboard was the right version/updating to the right version before starting. I just always have a million projects on the go and this one kind of got forgotten about.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Last I bought CD-Rs they were $20 for 100, how many do you go through?


I couldn't find them for that cheap in Canada, order most things from Amazon though...guess I should look harder. I think I got 25 for $25 last time I got them. I got ones I know work though, sometime the Dreamcast is picky with what discs it likes I guess.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I got ones I know work though, sometime the Dreamcast is picky with what discs it likes I guess.


I've always used Verbatim's. Those seem to be popular among other DC users too, and they're pretty cheap.


----------



## neurotix

I second Verbatim's. The only discs I use for PS2.

Dreamcast, a lot of people have had trouble burning them. I've never had trouble and I've used all different brands of media. Currently I'm using Memorex that I got at Walmart, $20 for 100, and they work with no issues.

I think the problem is that really, people don't know what to do with Dreamcast discs because they're .CDIs.

You either use Discjuggler to burn them, or:

1. Mount .CDI in Daemon Tools.

2. Open imgburn, put it in read mode, set the target as the fake Daemon Tools drive (G: for me), and have it make a iso or bin/cue on your hard drive. I usually just dump it in the root of my D: drive. (My 2TB WD Black)

3. Open the cue or iso with imgburn, burn to CD-R. If you get a junk copy that won't boot in your Dreamcast, try re-burning it on 4x speed in imgburn.

This basically converts the .CDI to a more normal format.

People might also be having problems because they are trying to burn a .GDI, or the image is otherwise corrupted. .GDIs are 1:1 copies of Dreamcast discs with no data removed. They are only usable in emulators. Also, the sites you're using might be junk sites with garbage images. If you want my resource, pm me. A week ago I was trying to get Karous (a late release, Japan-only shooter, not purchasable anymore, you pretty much HAVE to get it online) and I tried like 3 different sites before I found an image that worked. Also, it HAD to be burned with discjuggler, burning it through the other method did not work.

You can also try programs such as bootdreams or cdi2nero (command line) to convert or burn .CDIs.

I've burned games on 3 different burners this way and the Daemon Tools/imgburn method has worked for 99% of games. 2 of the burners were IDE. The one I use now is the original $20 DVD-RW drive (Lite-on, SATA 2) that I got when I first built Big Red. No problems at all with it.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I use Verbatim as well, I had trouble burning games until I figured out which burner I had would work, using the one burner I have and Verbatim CDRs has yielded a 100% success rate so far, so I figure stick with what I know works. I know several ways to burn them software wise, I always use .CDI files, and IMGBurn+some DC package. Everything from Coolroms so far has been download and burn, without issue. Thanks for the tips though guys. These are the exact discs I've been using - http://www.verbatim.com/prod/optical-media/cd/compact-disc-recordable/cd-recordable-sku-94691/

And I guess the CD-Rs aren't that expensive, I forgot I ordered some from Amazon, 50 for $30, but they sent some Nintendo DS gardening crap by mistake and I never received them, so my girlfriend has been picking them up from the dollar store across the street for $1.25 each lol That's why I thought they where expensive.


----------



## subassy

I haven't gotten into Dreamcast modding or anything yet. I know Dreamcast didn't use CDs or DVDs for the games but a GD-ROM which some where in between. I think the max space was 1 gig or something? Anyway I assume you can't use DVDs for the games so do you ever run out of space? Is there a way to span a game across multiple CDs?


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I haven't gotten into Dreamcast modding or anything yet. I know Dreamcast didn't use CDs or DVDs for the games but a GD-ROM which some where in between. I think the max space was 1 gig or something? Anyway I assume you can't use DVDs for the games so do you ever run out of space? Is there a way to span a game across multiple CDs?


Dreamcast GD-ROMs hold about 1.2gb. However, the GD-ROM drive can also read normal CDs and MIL-CD. Read about these different formats on Wikipedia.

No, you cannot use DVDs because the DC drive can't read them.

There ARE multi disc games but I can't think of many. Skies of Arcadia was one of the biggest, but its still only 2 discs and 2GB. Without fmvs the game itself is probably even less. This makes sense because similar games of the era (say FF9) were about the same size: 4 CDs.

Most scene releases simply reencode things like audio and FMVs in a different format that the Dreamcast can still play, but compressed, so the game can fit on a standard CD. Scene groups like Echelon and Kalisto even claimed that their methods of compression suffered no quality loss.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I think the problem is that really, people don't know what to do with Dreamcast discs because they're .CDIs.
> 
> You either use Discjuggler to burn them, or:
> 
> 1. Mount .CDI in Daemon Tools.
> 
> 2. Open imgburn, put it in read mode, set the target as the fake Daemon Tools drive (G: for me), and have it make a iso or bin/cue on your hard drive. I usually just dump it in the root of my D: drive. (My 2TB WD Black)
> 
> 3. Open the cue or iso with imgburn, burn to CD-R. If you get a junk copy that won't boot in your Dreamcast, try re-burning it on 4x speed in imgburn.
> 
> This basically converts the .CDI to a more normal format.
> 
> People might also be having problems because they are trying to burn a .GDI, or the image is otherwise corrupted. .GDIs are 1:1 copies of Dreamcast discs with no data removed. They are only usable in emulators. Also, the sites you're using might be junk sites with garbage images. If you want my resource, pm me. A week ago I was trying to get Karous (a late release, Japan-only shooter, not purchasable anymore, you pretty much HAVE to get it online) and I tried like 3 different sites before I found an image that worked. Also, it HAD to be burned with discjuggler, burning it through the other method did not work.
> 
> You can also try programs such as bootdreams or cdi2nero (command line) to convert or burn .CDIs.
> 
> I've burned games on 3 different burners this way and the Daemon Tools/imgburn method has worked for 99% of games. 2 of the burners were IDE. The one I use now is the original $20 DVD-RW drive (Lite-on, SATA 2) that I got when I first built Big Red. No problems at all with it.


You don't have to go through such an involved process. You can get a .dll for ImgBurn that will allow it to burn .cdi's. That's what I've always used and it's never given me a bad disc.

Link

As for the GD-ROM dilemma, every DC game I know of will fit on a 99 minute (870MB) CD-R with little or no editing of the game files. The problem is that those CD's are extremely hard to find. If you have a Yamaha optical drive in your Dreamcast, you should be able to use MediaRange 900MB discs, but otherwise, your only options are Banana Digital's which have been completely worthless for at least two years (the manufacturer started cheaping out and now the DC laser can't read them), and Number's which can only be found on a Chinese site called TaoBao.

Even beyond that, you need a burner that supports overburn, and very few actually do. Supposedly the Sony Optiarc works fine, and I do have one, but so far I haven't had any good discs, so I haven't really been able to confirm it.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> You don't have to go through such an involved process. You can get a .dll for ImgBurn that will allow it to burn .cdi's. That's what I've always used and it's never given me a bad disc.
> 
> Link
> 
> As for the GD-ROM dilemma, every DC game I know of will fit on a 99 minute (870MB) CD-R with little or no editing of the game files. The problem is that those CD's are extremely hard to find. If you have a Yamaha optical drive in your Dreamcast, you should be able to use MediaRange 900MB discs, but otherwise, your only options are Banana Digital's which have been completely worthless for at least two years (the manufacturer started cheaping out and now the DC laser can't read them), and Number's which can only be found on a Chinese site called TaoBao.
> 
> Even beyond that, you need a burner that supports overburn, and very few actually do. Supposedly the Sony Optiarc works fine, and I do have one, but so far I haven't had any good discs, so I haven't really been able to confirm it.


Interesting, thanks for the info, this will come in handy if I have to burn a bunch of games in a row. I never really thought to look for a plugin for imgburn, so this makes it much easier. +rep


----------



## subassy

I have an anectdote, of debatable amusement, about game hunting.

There's this neighborhood about 15 minutes from where I live that has an insane number of yard sales every weekend. And this one guy seems to have a sale either every weekend or almost every weekend and his PS2/xbox/etc games area $1 each (sometimes less). It's kind of a chaotic setup inside his garage. Some stuff is organized some stuff isn't.

So I'm browsing through some random unorganized rubber bins and find _a jewel case that says *Shenmue*_ on it. I got really excited...

Then I open the case and...it's two CD-Rs than say Shenmue disc 1/Shenmue disc 2. So some where some one probably has a whole shelf of carefully crafted jewel cases with printed out artwork of the games containing these burned copies of games.

I tried to point out to the guy it was a boot leg and ask if he had the real game. He probably didn't understand what I was saying and ended up selling me the boot leg, a number of real games and one or two other items for $10. So it turned out to be a good deal for me. Although I don't really care if I have a boot leg Shenmue


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Interesting, thanks for the info, this will come in handy if I have to burn a bunch of games in a row. I never really thought to look for a plugin for imgburn, so this makes it much easier. +rep


I use the same method, and it's as easy as you can get. Will burn .CDI images just like any other image file. The only failed burn I've had using this method is when my burner fell off the top of my PC case mid-burn lol
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I have an anectdote, of debatable amusement, about game hunting.
> 
> There's this neighborhood about 15 minutes from where I live that has an insane number of yard sales every weekend. And this one guy seems to have a sale either every weekend or almost every weekend and his PS2/xbox/etc games area $1 each (sometimes less). It's kind of a chaotic setup inside his garage. Some stuff is organized some stuff isn't.
> 
> So I'm browsing through some random unorganized rubber bins and find _a jewel case that says *Shenmue*_ on it. I got really excited...
> 
> Then I open the case and...it's two CD-Rs than say Shenmue disc 1/Shenmue disc 2. So some where some one probably has a whole shelf of carefully crafted jewel cases with printed out artwork of the games containing these burned copies of games.
> 
> I tried to point out to the guy it was a boot leg and ask if he had the real game. He probably didn't understand what I was saying and ended up selling me the boot leg, a number of real games and one or two other items for $10. So it turned out to be a good deal for me. Although I don't really care if I have a boot leg Shenmue


Funny enough, I have done the same thing with a few Dreamcast games I will never find...not that I would ever sell them, but still. If I find the games, I would buy them, but for now it beats a blank CDR in some random case somewhere. At least this way I can keep the games on the same shelf as my legit games without it looking too off. I am even going to get some CD labels for the discs so they too look better. If I ever find the games, then I have a backup to play as well, I guess. I would much rather have the originals. No different than people doing repros of cartridge games, IMO.


----------



## neurotix

Wow.

I can't say I'm surprised, considering how much some of these Dreamcast games are fetching now. Shenmue seems to be about $50 on Amazon, minimum. I suppose if you really love that game (I don't), then it might be worth it just to own a copy.

Still, that's mental, I don't print labels or art for my burned games, who does that? What's the point? It's not like you can take it and sell it for what the game is worth, since it's a fake.

Repro carts are a little different, I think, because you're making a cartridge in the style of a region where it was never released, and usually the game wasn't originally in English either, but you can use a fan patch for it. I got a Seiken Densetsu 3 (aka Secret of Mana 2) repro cart for SNES recently and am playing through it. I also have a Bahamut Lagoon repro on the way, it should be here later today. Really excited for it.

I got Fallout 3 for $10 yesterday. I know it's not really retro. But since I've been doing PC games since around 2008, and before that I did nothing but play MMOs all the time, there's a lot of Xbox 360 games I missed. I recently got a 360 for a great price, and already have 4 controllers and about 15 games on disc, and 5 more I got from the arcade (like Guardian Heroes remake). I'm trying to get the console exclusive games for it, that you can't get on PC (yes I'm aware Fallout 3 was on PC- I just never really thought to play it on PC when it was new). So I've got stuff like Gears of War etc to play through. The only game I've finished so far is Tales of Vesperia which I absolutely loved, I thought it was fantastic. Looking to get a cheap PS3 in the next few months and get the other Tales games for it. I don't think 360 is retro yet, but in around 5 more years it probably will be.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

It really only takes a minute or two to print the art work, I usually do it while waiting on the disc to finish burning which takes far longer. Like I said, it just makes it so I can put the burnt discs on the same shelf as my normal games so it doesn't look so out of place, and can tell what game it is by looking at the spine of the cases. I used to have a CD book full of Dreamcast games, years ago, but that wasn't fun to keep organized and find what you are looking for. And I find the discs stay in better condition when kept in there own individual case.

Also, I wouldn't mind getting a 360 and PS3 over the next year or two, now that they are getting cheaper and cheaper. I still have some Xbox 360 games left over as well from when I sold my last 360...was only going to get a few bucks per game, so I held on to a few of them that I thought were worth more. I would get a Saturn or Gamecube before I spent money on another 360 or a PS3 though.


----------



## Mr357

I imagine you guys will enjoy this.






Also, stay tuned for an update to my collection!


----------



## Mr357

I recently received my PS2 and Saturn, which I'd like to add to the list.









I got the PS2 with the cables and original controller (of course), but also a PS1 controller for some strange reason, a broadband adapter, a Sony first-party memory card, and the box for just $30!

I wasn't actively looking for a Saturn, but it's in great shape and only cost me $60 even, so I went for it.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> I recently received my PS2 and Saturn, which I'd like to add to the list.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I got the PS2 with the cables and original controller (of course), but also a PS1 controller for some strange reason, a broadband adapter, a Sony first-party memory card, and the box for just $30!
> 
> I wasn't actively looking for a Saturn, but it's in great shape and only cost me $60 even, so I went for it.


Nice! Told you the PS2 is worth grabbing right now, considering how low the price is. I would have liked to get a phat PS2 instead of the slim one I got...I like the shelf...is that new as well? And nice price on the Saturn you got.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Nice! Told you the PS2 is worth grabbing right now, considering how low the price is. I would have liked to get a phat PS2 instead of the slim one I got...I like the shelf...is that new as well? And nice price on the Saturn you got.


I've had the shelves for a while, but I never thought to use them for my consoles until now.


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Ooh! Looks like a nice club! My console amount has downgraded slightly since it was updated in the Sega Ages group, but I'll just post them all here.

Gamecube, Genesis models 1 and 2, intermittently working PS1, Neo Geo CD, Japanese Sega Saturn, JVC X'Eye, Dreamcast, Game Gear, 1 Onyx Black Gameboy Advance, and 1 NES themed GBA.


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Ooh! Pics are good.


Spoiler: Whole collection









Spoiler: Neo Geo CD box









Spoiler: Top Kek....er..shelf









Spoiler: Next shelf









Spoiler: My most favorite; rare shelf.









Spoiler: Bottom shelf controller/game storage.









Spoiler: The Floor, AKA spillover area.









Spoiler: Left side









Spoiler: All of my consoles minus Gamecube and handhelds.







Well, that took a while.


----------



## neurotix

Welcome n00b Builder, glad you showed up here.

Your pictures are great. Thanks for the contribution. Your stuff is messy, but, you have a fantastic collection.



Spoiler: Here's my game room and games.



Beer/drink Fridge







Consoles get their own shelves

























Here's the stuff I got recently.



Spoiler: Click





$115 right here.







Spoiler: Never getting opened.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> 
> 
> I recently received my PS2 and Saturn, which I'd like to add to the list.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I got the PS2 with the cables and original controller (of course), but also a PS1 controller for some strange reason, a broadband adapter, a Sony first-party memory card, and the box for just $30!
> 
> I wasn't actively looking for a Saturn, but it's in great shape and only cost me $60 even, so I went for it.


Updated list!







- Model 2 Genesis, SNES, Model 1 Saturn, Playstation 1, N64, Dreamcast, Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Welcome n00b Builder, glad you showed up here.
> 
> Your pictures are great. Thanks for the contribution. Your stuff is messy, but, you have a fantastic collection.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Here's my game room and games.
> 
> 
> 
> Beer/drink Fridge
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Consoles get their own shelves
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here's the stuff I got recently.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Click
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> $115 right here.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Never getting opened.


Yeah, I really need a bigger shelf. Lol


----------



## iTurn

iTurn -

PS1, PS2, NES, GameCube, PSP, GB color, Gameboy Advance.


----------



## neurotix

Added!


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Updated list!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> - Model 2 Genesis, SNES, Model 1 Saturn, Playstation 1, N64, Dreamcast, Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Added!


----------



## mothrpe

Not sure if this is common knowledge among sega saturn fans now but you can quite easily get the saturn to play backups now. Just need the 4-in-1 action replay cart and an original game, works like a charm!

After you've done it, no boot discs required.

if you like gamepads for fighting games, nothing compares to the saturn model 2 controllers for 2d fighting games.


----------



## iTurn

What games are you guys looking to pick up soon?

Here's my list;


Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!




Xenogears
FFVIII
FFIX
Onimusha 1/2/3
Parasite Eve 1/2
The 3rd Birthday
Street Fighter The Movie The Game
Street Fighter Ex plus Alpha
Rival Schools
Battle Arena Toshinden
Metal Gear Solid (all)
Grandia Xtreme
Breath of Fire 3
Megaman Legends
Devils May Cry


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mothrpe*
> 
> Not sure if this is common knowledge among sega saturn fans now but you can quite easily get the saturn to play backups now. Just need the 4-in-1 action replay cart and an original game, works like a charm!
> 
> After you've done it, no boot discs required.
> 
> if you like gamepads for fighting games, nothing compares to the saturn model 2 controllers for 2d fighting games.


Er, you can just do the swap trick if you have an original disc. It's braindead easy to do. This is how I run my backups. I do it on a model 2 Saturn, which is apparently harder and takes more steps, but even then it's really very easy. Supposedly, the model 1 Saturn has two less steps.

Also, the fighting game thing needs an asterisk * May require the 1MB or 4MB RAM cart (sold separately)








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *iTurn*
> 
> What games are you guys looking to pick up soon?
> 
> Here's my list;
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Xenogears
> FFVIII
> FFIX
> Onimusha 1/2/3
> Parasite Eve 1/2
> The 3rd Birthday
> Street Fighter The Movie The Game
> Street Fighter Ex plus Alpha
> Rival Schools
> Battle Arena Toshinden
> Metal Gear Solid (all)
> Grandia Xtreme
> Breath of Fire 3
> Megaman Legends
> Devils May Cry


Fantastic list. All of those games are good. Xenogears comes with the highest recommendation from me. It's an underrated, unheard of masterpiece. If you like martial arts, mecha, and a deeply symbolic story, you'll love it. Xenogears is in my top 5 jRPGs of all time, and I've finished hundreds. I would place it higher than any Playstation FF game, including 7. Actually, Xenogears was originally supposed to be a storyboard for FF7, but they passed on it because it was too dark. Tetsuya Takahashi got the green light to turn it into it's own, separate project, and Xenogears was made. It's not without it's flaws but, if you can finish it you can list it as a major accomplishment because it takes a good deal of patience and time to finish. (I think the first time I beat it, my save file was around 85 hours.)

Note that Takahashi has his own company now, Monolith Soft, and still makes amazing games. Check out Xenoblade Chronicles if you have a Wii. Best jRPG of the last ten years. He also made Xenosaga but I can't really recommend those unless you like watching the game instead of playing it. Xenoblade Chronicles X is coming out for Wii U in December and I'm really hyped for it. Been looking forward to it since I finished Xenoblade Wii in 2011.

FFIX/FF9 is also excellent, it has a charm similar to the original NES FF games. It's like our only look at what a 3D game in the style of the originals, with world and character design by Amano, would be like. I like this one more than 7 and 8. 8 is just okay, and maybe even bad, except for the super-addictive Triple Triad card game. That card game was my whole impetus for playing the actual game. They should have just made the card game FF8.









I'm the biggest classic FF fan, and classic Squaresoft fan you'll ever meet. I absolutely hated FFX and every one after it. So, there's my opinions on those for you.

Street Fighter The Movie The Game has to be one of the most hilarious games ever made, and actually pretty terrible. I'm a big Street Fighter fan as well. I used to play Street Fighter III 3rd Strike competitively and go to tournaments (as well as SSF2T, Alpha, MvC2 etc), but I didn't like Street Fighter IV so I quit the community. Anyway, my boy that I played with all the time had this game and we tried it, and we're laughing our heads off at it the whole time and mocking it. It's just awesome, mainly because of how stiff all the characters look while moving. The sound effects and voices are pretty cheesy too. This one is best enjoyed in 2 player with someone else, while drinking cheap beer and smoking questionably legal substances.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I could never list all the games I am looking for, I just tend to keep an eye out at the local pawnshops and game stores and see what deals I can find. Picked up Rayman 2 for the Nintendo 64 (loose cart) a couple days ago, for only $12...normally goes for $25-$30. The label is torn a bit, but I will reprint one for it. Not retro, but also picked up Splinter Cell Conviction and Driver San Francisco on PC new for $1.50 each from a local dollar store. They had lots of other games for the same price, but I already had all the other ones or just didn't want them. iTurn has similar games on his list that I look for, I just don't like to pay the prices some of them command. If I find a deal, I pick it up. Some games I hunt out and pay full price for, like my copy of Conker's Bad Fur Day, but for the most part try to avoid that.


----------



## iTurn

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> Er, you can just do the swap trick if you have an original disc. It's braindead easy to do. This is how I run my backups. I do it on a model 2 Saturn, which is apparently harder and takes more steps, but even then it's really very easy. Supposedly, the model 1 Saturn has two less steps.
> 
> Also, the fighting game thing needs an asterisk * May require the 1MB or 4MB RAM cart (sold separately)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Fantastic list. All of those games are good. Xenogears comes with the highest recommendation from me. It's an underrated, unheard of masterpiece. If you like martial arts, mecha, and a deeply symbolic story, you'll love it. Xenogears is in my top 5 jRPGs of all time, and I've finished hundreds. I would place it higher than any Playstation FF game, including 7. Actually, Xenogears was originally supposed to be a storyboard for FF7, but they passed on it because it was too dark. Tetsuya Takahashi got the green light to turn it into it's own, separate project, and Xenogears was made. It's not without it's flaws but, if you can finish it you can list it as a major accomplishment because it takes a good deal of patience and time to finish. (I think the first time I beat it, my save file was around 85 hours.)
> 
> 
> 
> Note that Takahashi has his own company now, Monolith Soft, and still makes amazing games. Check out Xenoblade Chronicles if you have a Wii. Best jRPG of the last ten years. He also made Xenosaga but I can't really recommend those unless you like watching the game instead of playing it. Xenoblade Chronicles X is coming out for Wii U in December and I'm really hyped for it. Been looking forward to it since I finished Xenoblade Wii in 2011. *Aye, The only Xeno game I'm missing is Xenosaga III (I have Xenogears digitally)*
> 
> FFIX/FF9 is also excellent, it has a charm similar to the original NES FF games. It's like our only look at what a 3D game in the style of the originals, with world and character design by Amano, would be like. I like this one more than 7 and 8. 8 is just okay, and maybe even bad, except for the super-addictive Triple Triad card game. That card game was my whole impetus for playing the actual game. They should have just made the card game FF8.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm the biggest classic FF fan, and classic Squaresoft fan you'll ever meet. I absolutely hated FFX and every one after it. So, there's my opinions on those for you. *I thought X was "ok" I liked what I played of XII, I just want to complete it (I've completed every mainline FF so far)*
> 
> Street Fighter The Movie The Game has to be one of the most hilarious games ever made, and actually pretty terrible. I'm a big Street Fighter fan as well. I used to play Street Fighter III 3rd Strike competitively and go to tournaments (as well as SSF2T, Alpha, MvC2 etc), but I didn't like Street Fighter IV so I quit the community. Anyway, my boy that I played with all the time had this game and we tried it, and we're laughing our heads off at it the whole time and mocking it. It's just awesome, mainly because of how stiff all the characters look while moving. The sound effects and voices are pretty cheesy too. This one is best enjoyed in 2 player with someone else, while drinking cheap beer and smoking questionably legal substances.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Wow you mirror my thoughts about streetfighter exactly lol I've getting it for the humor, I plan to pick up Shaq Fu for the same reason also*


Sad news is I've own all those games at one point and they were all destroyed during Hurricane Ivan. My megaman legends was MINT









Here is some of my collection


Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!





Note the FFXII is empty, the case survived the game didn't


----------



## neurotix

Nice stuff, I especially like your Section Z NES! I should pick that one up myself. Some of your other NES games are stinkers though...

I like your Phantasy Star Portable for PSP as well. I think you could still play that one online, if you use Xlink Kai. Really addictive game there, I liked the second one a lot.


----------



## neurotix

After buying a new NES 72 pin connector and still having issues with it playing games (constant brown screen when turning power on), I took the older one I bought around 2000 and tried this method.

It worked! Excellently! The games play the first time now. The only problem is that now the connection is so tight, that I need a pliers to remove the games (gently of course).

There was also a bunch of corrosion/black gunk on the card edge connector on the motherboard that the 72 pin connects to. So, I cleaned this stuff up with Brasso and alcohol.

When I bought the 72 pin connector in 2000, it was also very difficult to remove the games, and it stayed that way for quite a few years... at least 8 years. So I'm thinking I won't have to boil the connector again for a long time.

It's nice to turn the system on and have it play the game immediately instead of giving me a brown screen until I remove and insert the game 10 times and it decides to work.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

The game store I have been going to since I was a kid now has a Youtube channel...


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Picked up the Retrobit "Retro Entertainment System" for $20, along with Mario Bros/Duck Hunt and Dragon Warrior for $4 each. Figured since there aren't many games I want for the NES, this will do for now. If I end up finding a $20 NES, I'd likely still get it, but I am not paying more than that, and all the ones I can seem to find tend to be $50-80. I would like to get Zelda, Tetris, Dr. Mario, Mario Bros 2, Mario Bros 3, Galaga...maybe a couple others, but that's about it really. I'd pick up other games if they where cheap, but those are the main games I would be looking for.

EDIT - was checking around, and I guess if I solder in a 7404 inverter, I can play games like Castlevania III. So I might as well order one since it'll be like $2 or something to do. Also, think I might paint the Retrobit RES so it doesn't look so...cheap







I think I might also put in some steel plates to add some weight and stiffness to the cheap plastic housing.



Give it an actual NES colour scheme. I might also get a better 72-pin connector for it, just trying to figure out where to order one at the moment. It's just a standard edge connector, but I have to figure out the pitch and board thickness. I just like tinkering, really.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Did I kill the thread or what? I picked up a few more games over the past little bit...got Super Mario Bros 3 for Nintendo ($14), Wave Race 64 ($7), Shadows of the Empire N64($4), and Jurassic Park Rampage Edition for Genesis ($4). Also recently found out the copy of Shenmue 2 I picked up for Xbox awhile back, at only like $5 or so, is now worth $50-60...in fact, most prices really seem to rocketing, if you haven't checked the value of your collection lately, you might be surprised. Both games and consoles seem to be going up, which is kind of worrying. Conker's Bad Fur Day is even going up...it's now up to about $120-130. Biggest surprise was the PS2 games...a lot of the good ones are starting to gain some value.


----------



## iTurn

lol, people prob haven't picked up anything new, though I've picked up some wii games so they don't qualify as retro.

Yep game prices are rising quickly, best to grab the games the older games that you want now.


----------



## neurotix

I've been busy. I saw your replies but I can't always reply immediately to everything. I'm not the type to give a one sentence reply, so if I'm not in the mood to type out a decent response I'm not going to. This takes me time to do.

It's cool that you got the Retro Entertainment System for so cheap but, I always prefer the original hardware. If you could use real NES controllers with it, that would make it better. The games you're looking for are good ones. That's basically my rule for collecting, the first rule is to get all the games I had as a kid, the second is to get all the ones I played by either renting them or playing them at friend's houses. Then, anything else I get is extra and generally under $5. I got a game called Sky Shark fairly recently for around that price, because I figured why not, and it turned out to be a good game (it's a vertical shooter).

The prices on everything are going up, especially retro games though. Right now the price hikes are hitting N64 games the most. I really don't care about N64 so I recently traded mine, and the 3 games I had in to get other stuff I wanted more. All I had as a kid for it was Wave Race and Mario 64. I'm not interested in anything else on the system and I personally think the system and games have aged terribly. I can think of about 20 other systems I'd rather play than the N64.

I think the next huge price jumps are going to be Psone (this stuff is still cheap), PS2 and Dreamcast games. Expect complete copies of Final Fantasy and Shenmue to get really really expensive. Xbox stuff will probably always be cheap because it had a lot of shovelware and it generally sucked. (Sorry, not an original Xbox fan when it comes to the games.)

PS2, that was the system with all the good jRPGs so expect them to rocket in price at some point. The rare ones can already fetch a decent amount ($50 or so).

I got a PS3 recently for very cheap on Ebay. Now I have a 360 and PS3. I'm mostly interested in PS3 for the RPGs on it. I waited until these things were EOL so I didn't have to pay $500 each for them. I'm not compelled by the Xbone at ALL, nor the PS4 right now. They're still making my RPGs for both PS3 and PS4 (example: Tales of Zestiria). Once they stop doing that and release them only for PS4, and there's enough other good games I want to play, I'll get one. And based on my experience with the (awful) 360 exclusive RPGs, I know that the PS4 will be worth my time. Anything else (read: FPS and such) I play on my computer anyway because they come out for PC and the experience is superior what with Eyefinity and all.

I also got G-LOC and Outrun (with box) for Genesis for great prices.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Like I said before, I would much rather have the actual systems as well, but NES is kind of an exception since I never had one growing up, and only played it here and there and friends houses, and really only played a few games. You can use the original NES gamepads on the Retrobit RES though, and from what I can tell, it seems to work pretty good in regards to video quality. Audio is OK too, though likely not perfect. Works for me though, for the time being at least. I'd still pick up an actual NES though if I found one cheap enough, but I am not spending $50+ on one.

And yeah, RPGs have always been pricey to collect, which is unfortunate, since they are my favourite genre. PSX games are already getting pretty pricey, even common classics like Crash Bandicoot are in the $30.

I was never a real big N64 fan, never had one when they where newer, but played so much at friends houses there is still a pretty big nostalgia factor...and it's nice to be able to go back and play through games I only ever got the chance to play briefly when I was a kid. You are right though, most of them don't look real great these days...some games are OK, others are awful looking. It's even worse on an HDTV.

It's nice to see the value of games you own going up, but sucks when you see games you want quickly rising into "I'm not paying that!" territory. There are only a very select few games I would pay high prices for, and most of them are PSX/SNES RPGs. Dreamcast is getting ridiculous in pricing too, most good games are getting into the $30+ range...even for common stuff. There's only one game store in town that ever has any Dreamcast stuff, and it's all expensive...I only go there if I really need something. Every time I go there I seem to spend $100+ and not have much to show for it. Even the pawn shop I normally go to find deals is slowly raising their prices as well, even though most of what they have has been sitting there for years.

Not sure if I mentioned it, but I also collect retail PC games as well...most wouldn't qualify as retro, but I am up to about 150 boxed games or so now. Since everything is going digital, I find physical release PC games get very cheap, very fast. Most games I don't spend more than a few bucks on. There's a dollar store across the street that bundles 2 games for $3, and there are always some good ones. Though I think I have bought about all they have to offer at this point.


----------



## subassy

Hey aaron: I bought a copy of Dead Island for PC from a thrift store. Only problem, the key has been redeemed on Steam. Now that I look at it, the box does say _steam works_. So I really should have known better than to buy it. I think it was $2. So a coaster then. If you want I'll just give it to you. It would just be a set piece, not a playable game, obviously. The case is actually a standard DVD/PS2 type size, has a manual/cover art/disc inside. Otherwise I'll throw it away as I hardly have room for things that are just there to take up space.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Hey aaron: I bought a copy of Dead Island for PC from a thrift store. Only problem, the key has been redeemed on Steam. Now that I look at it, the box does say _steam works_. So I really should have known better than to buy it. I think it was $2. So a coaster then. If you want I'll just give it to you. It would just be a set piece, not a playable game, obviously. The case is actually a standard DVD/PS2 type size, has a manual/cover art/disc inside. Otherwise I'll throw it away as I hardly have room for things that are just there to take up space.


I would have appreciated it, but I already have a copy of Dead Island. Wasn't a big fan, but I did beat it. And I only paid a few bucks as well. I've run into that before...buying a used PC game that someone has kept the key to themselves...and it sucks. The one game I can think of is Battlefield 2142, to this day I have still never played it online because of the key issue. So I try to never buy opened PC stuff anymore, unless I absolutely know where it came from or have option to return it if the key doesn't work. Most of the games I buy are super cheap, but always new...there are a few good spots in my town to get them, so I just keep an eye out and pick up what I want when new shipments are put on display. Most of the collection is standard DVD case, not much older "big box" stuff, though I have some of that too.


----------



## neurotix

Gentlemen, I appreciate the discussion. Let's try and keep it going. I might be slow to respond but I want to keep this club going. If you see other video game threads, and retrogaming comes up, please drop a link to the first page of the club into it to try and recruit more people.









Second, I was thinking on the subject and this November is the 10th anniversary of the Xbox 360, and next year will be the same for the PS3. However, as far as I know, new games are still occasionally being released for both of them. I'll keep my eye on this. I would say, when no new games are coming out OR Sony and Microsoft drop online functionality for them, I will deem them retro enough to be added to the club.








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Like I said before, I would much rather have the actual systems as well, but NES is kind of an exception since I never had one growing up, and only played it here and there and friends houses, and really only played a few games. You can use the original NES gamepads on the Retrobit RES though, and from what I can tell, it seems to work pretty good in regards to video quality. Audio is OK too, though likely not perfect. Works for me though, for the time being at least. I'd still pick up an actual NES though if I found one cheap enough, but I am not spending $50+ on one.


If you didn't grow up with it, of course this is understandable, and if you can't find one for a price you're willing to pay, it's even more understandable. Tbh the NES is a pain in the ass. I posted a video a while back about boiling the 72-pin connector- what other console do you have to boil a major part of to get it to work??? I suppose I shouldn't complain, it's too bad you can't boil away a Red Ring of Death (though many of us would like to boil a 360 as a RESULT of a RROD.) I did the boiling trick and the system still has problems, and I have to blow on the cartridges at least once to get them to work. It works better, sure, but still not right away, every time. The NES is a tank in that my 30 year old NES I've had for 15 years (I got it in high school) still works. I highly doubt the CPU, board or anything like that will ever fail, aside from possibly blown/aged capacitors. But this damn 72 pin connector is the bane of my existence.

NES was my first console when I was 4 years old. So nothing else is possibly more retro to me and I have to have one. I'm possibly more attached to the NES than any other system. The SNES is a close second (for all the great RPGs).

If you want recommendations on other good (cheap) games let me know. In 15 years of collecting I've come across a few gems for like 99 cents that I had no idea about. Nowadays they cost more than that but are still cheap (under $10).

Don't pay more than $30 or $40 for a NES. And try and get some original controllers.

I see NES with 2 controllers, a zapper and SMB/Duck Hunt for like $75 on Craigslist sometimes, that's crazy. But just the other day I finally saw one with 2 controllers and hook ups for $30. If you wait long enough you'll get one for the right price.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> And yeah, RPGs have always been pricey to collect, which is unfortunate, since they are my favourite genre. PSX games are already getting pretty pricey, even common classics like Crash Bandicoot are in the $30.


The fiance is a wizard at Crash Bandicoot. She plays Crash like I play Mario 3. I suck at Crash Bandicoot. And $30? Jeez. I got Crash Bandicoot 2 (isn't this basically the best one?) for about $12 only a year ago.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I was never a real big N64 fan, never had one when they where newer, but played so much at friends houses there is still a pretty big nostalgia factor...and it's nice to be able to go back and play through games I only ever got the chance to play briefly when I was a kid. You are right though, most of them don't look real great these days...some games are OK, others are awful looking. It's even worse on an HDTV.


All my old systems get hooked up to my reasonably large CRT in my game room. I'd suggest you find a free TV on Craigslist if you have room, and set up your old systems on that. Not only do they look better but there's no input lag. And agreed on nostalgia, going back to play games you couldn't, etc. That's what drives all of us.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> It's nice to see the value of games you own going up, but sucks when you see games you want quickly rising into "I'm not paying that!" territory. There are only a very select few games I would pay high prices for, and most of them are PSX/SNES RPGs. Dreamcast is getting ridiculous in pricing too, most good games are getting into the $30+ range...even for common stuff. There's only one game store in town that ever has any Dreamcast stuff, and it's all expensive...I only go there if I really need something. Every time I go there I seem to spend $100+ and not have much to show for it. Even the pawn shop I normally go to find deals is slowly raising their prices as well, even though most of what they have has been sitting there for years.


I just got Chrono Trigger so trust me, I know this. I paid $105 for it. I should have got it sooner. Already, now it's going for $120. I also got Super Mario RPG for $50. That one has actually come down in price. It was over $100 a couple years ago. That one is an excellent game, and a limited run since it came out in 1996 right before the N64 launched. So they didn't make very many. If I could recommend any SNES RPG to pick up NOW it would be SMRPG- this one is going to go way up in value eventually. The only ones I'm really looking for now are Lufia and the Fortress of Doom and Secret of Mana. I saw Lufia for $30 2 or 3 years ago, now it's $60. I saw SoM for $40 and now it's around $60. I should have got them both locally then. I rented both of these back in the day.

I have Chrono Trigger, FF2, FF3, Mystic Quest, SMRPG for SNES RPGs. I also have repro carts of Bahamut Lagoon and Seiken Densetsu 3 (Secret of Mana 2). These aren't a bad investment because they each cost me $40 or so and that seems to be the price they've held at on Ebay. It's a good alternative to buying actual carts because you'll get a good RPG that will keep you busy for a while, without breaking the bank and paying very high prices. The repros are generally fan translations of jap only RPGs. They're generally good games, and if you've never played them, a new frontier as far as retro RPGs go. I would try them on an emulator first before buying any carts, though. I've played mostly all of them, so if you want recommendations let me know.


----------



## Mr357

I recently dropped $28 on a Dreamcast microphone just to play Seaman with.







At least the shipping was free, and it's supposedly never been used. I'm a bit skeptical and worried though because it's shipping from Moscow.









Edit: I'm an idiot. It's coming from Moscow, Pennsylvania, not Russia.


----------



## subassy

Not sure if this is on topic. I guess maybe indirectly.

I found out a couple days ago comcast is removing the xfinity app functionality from xbox 360 of today (September 1st). Which was _literally_ the only reason I used my 360 (the xfinity app allowed for viewing "on demand" tv shows. Basically a cable box without live TV). I bought the 360 without a hard drive ya see. I can't even play original xbox games on it without a drive. So it's now a "brick". At least my PS3 will get more use. I can box up the 360 and put it in the closet.

Not that I get a vote but for me this makes the 360 "retro". As of today.


----------



## iTurn

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Gentlemen, I appreciate the discussion. Let's try and keep it going. I might be slow to respond but I want to keep this club going. If you see other video game threads, and retrogaming comes up, please drop a link to the first page of the club into it to try and recruit more people.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Second, I was thinking on the subject and this November is the 10th anniversary of the Xbox 360, and next year will be the same for the PS3. However, as far as I know, new games are still occasionally being released for both of them. I'll keep my eye on this. I would say, when no new games are coming out OR Sony and Microsoft drop online functionality for them, I will deem them retro enough to be added to the club.


I was actually thinking about this the night before you made this post, thinking that the Wii should be added to the club! While apart of the 7th gen, I don't see any games still being made for it. (and I also wanna show off my latest captures as they're for the Wii







)
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I see NES with 2 controllers, a zapper and SMB/Duck Hunt for like $75 on Craigslist sometimes, that's crazy. But just the other day I finally saw one with 2 controllers and hook ups for $30. If you wait long enough you'll get one for the right price.
> The fiance is a wizard at Crash Bandicoot. She plays Crash like I play Mario 3. I suck at Crash Bandicoot. And $30? Jeez. I got Crash Bandicoot 2 (isn't this basically the best one?) for about $12 only a year ago.
> All my old systems get hooked up to my reasonably large CRT in my game room. I'd suggest you find a free TV on Craigslist if you have room, and set up your old systems on that. Not only do they look better but there's no input lag. And agreed on nostalgia, going back to play games you couldn't, etc. That's what drives all of us.


I second this, I paid $95.00 for my NES and got the joystick / NES / 11 games (of my choosing - _even though Neurotix doesn't like most of my choices lol_







) an original controller, power cord and all the Audio/Video hookups.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I just got Chrono Trigger so trust me, I know this. I paid $105 for it. I should have got it sooner. Already, now it's going for $120. I also got Super Mario RPG for $50. That one has actually come down in price. It was over $100 a couple years ago. That one is an excellent game, and a limited run since it came out in 1996 right before the N64 launched. So they didn't make very many. If I could recommend any SNES RPG to pick up NOW it would be SMRPG- this one is going to go way up in value eventually. The only ones I'm really looking for now are Lufia and the Fortress of Doom and Secret of Mana. I saw Lufia for $30 2 or 3 years ago, now it's $60. I saw SoM for $40 and now it's around $60. I should have got them both locally then. I rented both of these back in the day.
> 
> I have Chrono Trigger, FF2, FF3, Mystic Quest, SMRPG for SNES RPGs. I also have repro carts of Bahamut Lagoon and Seiken Densetsu 3 (Secret of Mana 2). These aren't a bad investment because they each cost me $40 or so and that seems to be the price they've held at on Ebay. It's a good alternative to buying actual carts because you'll get a good RPG that will keep you busy for a while, without breaking the bank and paying very high prices. The repros are generally fan translations of jap only RPGs. They're generally good games, and if you've never played them, a new frontier as far as retro RPGs go. I would try them on an emulator first before buying any carts, though. I've played mostly all of them, so if you want recommendations let me know.


Man you guys are lucky you live in the States to be able to get these deals, I'm stuck having to take risks in my ordering!
I'm thinking of trying Ebay pretty soon to see what I can get.


----------



## subassy

Has anybody noticed Amazon is starting to allow bundling of things? Right now there's a "pack of 10 SNES games" and different sellers will have different games for different prices. Trying to emulate ebay is the only reason I can think of for that.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Has anybody noticed Amazon is starting to allow bundling of things? Right now there's a "pack of 10 SNES games" and different sellers will have different games for different prices. Trying to emulate ebay is the only reason I can think of for that.


* Orders "10 Pack of SNES games"

* Receives 10 copies of Gradius 3 xDDD


----------



## Mega Man

Nah that at least has value. It will be 10 of the same sports games


----------



## neurotix

Gradius 3 used to be like, the one game I'd see everywhere if they had SNES games at all, it'd be the only one.

It was under $5 a lot of the time. It also happened to be a launch game for the system (and a fairly unimpressive one, but not bad.)

You're probably right, it'd be sports games, the bane of my existence. xD


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Picked up an actual Nintendo branded NES controller for $6, and it's in excellent condition. Also picked up a few more games...nothing special though, just a couple Xbox games and a couple PS2 games - Unreal Championship ($3) and Pariah ($1) for Xbox, along with Devil May Cry ($5) and Onimusha ($2) for PS2, all CIB though. Got everything from Microplay, they had quite a bit of retro stuff there, more than they used to anyway. I used to go there more, but hadn't been there in a few years. Funny enough, most of it is overpriced, but certain things, like GBA games are really cheap. Most of their used brand name controllers are also pretty cheap. PS1 stuff is ridiculous there though...a used copy of Clock Tower with a very beat up case and manual was $70...hell, Resident Evil 3 was $50 used in about the same condition. They had a fair assortment of NES games, and even the junk ones were $10+, most of them $20-$40...no thanks. A few of their SNES and N64 games where OK priced though...for the type of store it is, anyway. They had Mario Kart 64 for $45, which isn't too bad. I might have grabbed it if I had a bit more cash.

EDIT - Apparently Clock Tower wasn't priced as ridiculous as I first thought...well, it is, but it's going for more on Ebay...ouch.


----------



## Mega Man

Yea sad how many people are trying to get rich from retro gaming.
It sadly results in more games sitting in a store then in homes.

Example I bought 4 of the wii Zelda with gold controller. Sold one that week for triple what I paid. Opened 2 and sold the game for like 10 less then in stores ( 2 controllers )and have 1 bnib. Retail 40 ebay atm225


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I never buy anything with plans on reselling, but I do hunt for deals and try not to pay Ebay prices for anything unless I absolutely must have something. I have sold off games before, and always regretted it, so I've learned to just hold on to most things. If only I still had all the consoles and games I've owned throughout the years...


----------



## iTurn

My latest pick up, though for a retro system I dunno if it's retro, it's to be released.

Summon Night 5

When worlds collide and everything is turned upside-down, a new order must be created to keep chaos at bay. BandaiNamco's Summon Night 5 is the continuing story of that order-keeping society, the Eucross, and the adventures their Summoners have keeping their world and the disparate races from the Otherworlds in balance. Players can choose to experience the story as rookie Summoners Folth or Arca, and one of four possible partners (their "Cross"), giving the game's dialogue and feel a unique flavor on up to eight different playthroughs.


----------



## neurotix

Let's see...

Some decent deals there, Aaron. NES controller for $6 is great. I bought one recently and it must have been twice that. (Tip: take it apart and clean it. You'll find years of grime and some kind of brown, rust like substance, especially on the d-pad and rubber pads. Use 90% alcohol and q-tips.) I'd go back and grab that Mario Kart 64 for $45 and hold on to it. N64 stuff is really big right now because all the kids who had it as their first system suddenly want it again.

I never buy anything to resell. It seems a little dumb to me to complain about it, then admit to doing it yourself.

iTurn, you're in luck because I actually know what Summon Night is. I had no idea they made 5 of them. Probably more than that. Is it in English? I may have to check it out if it is. I played a bit of Summon Night 2 on a GBA emulator. It was good but it didn't catch my interest much. That series is AWFUL to be a fan of here, because it's pretty big in Japan but not here, and a lot of the games weren't localized. I'm pretty sure the first one was a strategy RPG for PSone? I'm pretty sure it was never in English and doesn't have a fan patch. It's a damn shame, out of all the ones in the series, that interested me the most. The Summon Night 2 on GBA was just a generic action RPG.

I'm playing Tales of Xillia as I type this, I got a PS3 recently and all the Tales Of games I missed. Tales is an equally bad series to be an English speaking fan of.

On another note, this:






Might wanna think twice about buying retro games from Gamestop online...just a heads up.


----------



## iTurn

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Let's see...
> 
> Some decent deals there, Aaron. NES controller for $6 is great. I bought one recently and it must have been twice that. (Tip: take it apart and clean it. You'll find years of grime and some kind of brown, rust like substance, especially on the d-pad and rubber pads. Use 90% alcohol and q-tips.) I'd go back and grab that Mario Kart 64 for $45 and hold on to it. N64 stuff is really big right now because all the kids who had it as their first system suddenly want it again.
> 
> *Yea he did get some deals there, so jealous of his Onimusha copy!!!*
> 
> I never buy anything to resell. It seems a little dumb to me to complain about it, then admit to doing it yourself.
> 
> *I don't plan to do it, but if I come across a cheap copy of a game and I know it's worth something I'll pick it up, this has yet to happen though
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *
> 
> iTurn, you're in luck because I actually know what Summon Night is. I had no idea they made 5 of them. Probably more than that. Is it in English? I may have to check it out if it is. I played a bit of Summon Night 2 on a GBA emulator. It was good but it didn't catch my interest much. That series is AWFUL to be a fan of here, because it's pretty big in Japan but not here, and a lot of the games weren't localized. I'm pretty sure the first one was a strategy RPG for PSone? I'm pretty sure it was never in English and doesn't have a fan patch. It's a damn shame, out of all the ones in the series, that interested me the most. The Summon Night 2 on GBA was just a generic action RPG.
> 
> Yep it's in english done by Gaijin Works, the physical game is going to be hard to get a hold of now because they were only doing a presale for the physicals until the 7th (I actually found out about it 20 mins before it ended), the digital will be available on PSN in about 8 weeks. Yep its a SRPG, typically not a fan of them but I've found some good ones lately so I'm giving it a try.
> 
> I'm playing Tales of Xillia as I type this, I got a PS3 recently and all the Tales Of games I missed. Tales is an equally bad series to be an English speaking fan of.
> 
> On another note, this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Might wanna think twice about buying retro games from Gamestop online...just a heads up.


Man I was going to ask if anyone checked out Gamestop's retro section and how was it.


----------



## Mega Man

Hey. I never said I was selling. I stayed the price on ebay it went for.

I did sell a new game when I took the gold remote however.

I have it bnib to Stay downstairs in Meh pretty basement.

I also have a bnib Sega cd leathal weapon (with gun) never said I would still them though


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I saw that fake Chrono Trigger video, I am of course subscribed to Pat the Nes Punk on Youtube. Mostly for the cheesy Flea Market Madness videos and not his podcasts. Cinnemassacre and Lord Karnage are my favourite retro gaming channels though. I might go back and pick that up Mario Kart 64 still, but I doubt it, I've already spent enough this month so the girlfriend probably wouldn't be too pleased about it. Her son is back in school as of yesterday and that was an extra added cost we normally don't have to budget in, so this month is a bit tight on cash. And I always clean all my retro stuff, games, controllers, and consoles. First thing I did when I got my Dreamcast is take it apart to clean and lube the crap out of the GD-ROM laser mechanisms with lithium grease. Surprisingly though, the NES controller was in great shape. I think someone must have cleaned it before or something. When I got my Genesis, the controller that came with it was disgusting. I literally had to chip off chunks of poop coloured grime with a safety pin, and soak the Dpad in alcohol to get it all off. It's like new now, but felt like I was going to hurl when I was cleaning it. The only console I haven't opened up to clean/fix is my slim PS2.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Hey. I never said I was selling. I stayed the price on ebay it went for.
> 
> I did sell a new game when I took the gold remote however.
> 
> I have it bnib to Stay downstairs in Meh pretty basement.
> 
> I also have a bnib Sega cd leathal weapon (with gun) never said I would still them though


Oh, if you didn't mark it up then that's different.

My apologies.

The Lethal Weapon with gun is VERY cool. The Konami Enforcer right? You can use it with Snatcher! I'd love to play it that way. (I'd also love to play a legit copy







) I have Lethal Weapon on cart, but no gun. And my large flat screen CRT doesn't work with light guns. We even have another upstairs that doesn't work with light guns either. So I need to get a different TV.

The problem is, the large CRT I have has an excellent picture. It's a flat Insignia we got around 2004. It also has S-video and component RGB inputs. I hooked my PS2 up to it with component and it looked amazing, but it only works with PS2 games. I tried PSone games and they didn't display correctly (and I don't have a PSone). So since my TV has a really good picture, even with composite, I have to choose between that or an older TV with crummy picture, that will work with light guns. It's a trade off. I'd kill to be able to play Virtua Cop 2 with light guns though.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I saw that fake Chrono Trigger video, I am of course subscribed to Pat the Nes Punk on Youtube. Mostly for the cheesy Flea Market Madness videos and not his podcasts. Cinnemassacre and Lord Karnage are my favourite retro gaming channels though. I might go back and pick that up Mario Kart 64 still, but I doubt it, I've already spent enough this month so the girlfriend probably wouldn't be too pleased about it. Her son is back in school as of yesterday and that was an extra added cost we normally don't have to budget in, so this month is a bit tight on cash. And I always clean all my retro stuff, games, controllers, and consoles. First thing I did when I got my Dreamcast is take it apart to clean and lube the crap out of the GD-ROM laser mechanisms with lithium grease. Surprisingly though, the NES controller was in great shape. I think someone must have cleaned it before or something. When I got my Genesis, the controller that came with it was disgusting. I literally had to chip off chunks of poop coloured grime with a safety pin, and soak the Dpad in alcohol to get it all off. It's like new now, but felt like I was going to hurl when I was cleaning it. The only console I haven't opened up to clean/fix is my slim PS2.


Ah, Mario Kart will have to wait then.

Where'd you say you got the games at? Microplay? You're in Canada.... never heard of Microplay, what's it like?

Here in town we're pretty limited. The store I frequent is called Video Game X-change. I know the owner, Lance. He's like a 50 year old Midwestern metalhead rocker dude. HE's been in business here ever since I've lived here, which is '94, and I've been going to his stores since. He sells stuff for good prices, and usually has decent inventory, but his store is small. It's usually very common stuff he has in his store- I've never seen a Turbografx or a Neo Geo CD or anything cool like that. He used to have two other stores in town but they closed down years ago. The other place in town is Preplayed Games, they're much newer and have only been around since I moved back up here (2006). This place sucks, they overcharge for everything, and I frequently see games in there that I've seen at Lance's. Lance says shady guys have come in with fat stacks and bought all his Pokemon games, then people see them at Preplayed. For example, last time I was there I counted at least 15 copies of Mario 3 for $20 a piece, which is ridiculous. I only spend my money at Preplayed if I can't get the game at Video Game X-change, and if it's cheaper than Amazon. Other than that, there's PawnAmerica which has been awful the last few times I've been in. We have a GameStop™ in each mall. I avoid those places and the crowds they have (bros) like the plague if I can. What's a shame is that people don't realize they can get used PS3 or 360 games at the local stores for much less, AND support a local business. The last time I was in Gamestop some fat brofist frat boy and a black guy were playing Madden™ and being really fricken' loud the whole time. It was disgusting. I don't believe people who only play games like that should call themselves gamers...


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Where'd you say you got the games at? Microplay? You're in Canada.... never heard of Microplay, what's it like?
> 
> Here in town we're pretty limited. The store I frequent is called Video Game X-change. I know the owner, Lance. He's like a 50 year old Midwestern metalhead rocker dude. HE's been in business here ever since I've lived here, which is '94, and I've been going to his stores since. He sells stuff for good prices, and usually has decent inventory, but his store is small. It's usually very common stuff he has in his store- I've never seen a Turbografx or a Neo Geo CD or anything cool like that. He used to have two other stores in town but they closed down years ago. The other place in town is Preplayed Games, they're much newer and have only been around since I moved back up here (2006). This place sucks, they overcharge for everything, and I frequently see games in there that I've seen at Lance's. Lance says shady guys have come in with fat stacks and bought all his Pokemon games, then people see them at Preplayed. For example, last time I was there I counted at least 15 copies of Mario 3 for $20 a piece, which is ridiculous. I only spend my money at Preplayed if I can't get the game at Video Game X-change, and if it's cheaper than Amazon. Other than that, there's PawnAmerica which has been awful the last few times I've been in. We have a GameStop™ in each mall. I avoid those places and the crowds they have (bros) like the plague if I can. What's a shame is that people don't realize they can get used PS3 or 360 games at the local stores for much less, AND support a local business. The last time I was in Gamestop some fat brofist frat boy and a black guy were playing Madden™ and being really fricken' loud the whole time. It was disgusting. I don't believe people who only play games like that should call themselves gamers...


Microplay has been around since I was a kid, not sure how big it is, but I am pretty sure there are a few stores scattered throughout Ontario. I think I bought my original Sega Saturn way back in the day from them, though a different location in town than the one they have now. The store is a mixed bag, like I said. I don't mind hunting for deals, but you definitely have to hunt. Most of the stuff is priced quite a bit over Ebay prices...but that had some OK stuff in there. There was an Atari 2600 though they wanted quite a bit, and I really have no interest. They have games for most systems, though selection is pretty thin on things like PS1 and Dreamcast even. Not really somewhere you'd go to find something particular, as the chance of them having exactly what you are looking for is slim. They mostly carry newer games there, it's a bit like an EB Games just with a little bit of retro stuff mixed in here and there.

My main store in town that I like to spend my money at is that Games Exchange one, another one I have been going to since I was a kid. Great service in there, nice guys. I haven't seen the original owner in there for awhile, and I think a couple of the guys that used to just work there run the place now. They have a really small collection of games, especially when it comes to cartridge games (other than handheld stuff). They usually have about 10 SNES games, about the same in N64, rarely a Dreamcast anything, you get the idea. But there is a different selection each time you go there, and their prices are absolutely awesome. If I can spend my money here, I do.

I also have a few pawn shops in town, but only one is really any good. Not a huge fan of them because I had a bad experience there years ago, but I can't resist at the prices on some stuff. They don't really follow any ebay pricing or anything, a Genesis game is just a Genesis game, for example, and the prices usually only vary from $2-6, depending on how cool the cover looks I think lol They've been a lot better in the past while, but they don't have any type of return policy, so if you get something that doesn't work, nothing you can do about it.

There's also the other big one, KW Vintage games, nice guy too in a way, but really can't stop talking about trades, trades, trades. His store is pretty much amazing to look at, he's almost literally got everything in there. But the prices are Ebay prices + about 10%, sometimes even more, so I don't go there very often. When buying original consoles, he gives you third party controllers and cables and keeps/sells the branded stuff. And the third party controllers he gives are the absolute cheapest crap possible. The only place in town to go if you are counting on something being in stock though...he's got a nice collection of 32X/Sega CD/Dreamcast, which most stores around here lack. He's got all sorts of systems and stuff too, I am sure you could go get a 3DO or Jaguar there, but you'd pay out the behind on it. I'll likely go there to get 32X/Sega CD since it would be a waiting game in any of the other stores. The place is also kind of like a clubhouse, lots of Magic Cards going on and general nerding out. He doesn't mind if you just come to hang out and not buy anything. Felt weird though cause I am a little old for that kind of stuff now, honestly, it was mostly just kids sitting on their phones and looking mopey lol

There's a few other stores in town too that I have yet to check out, as well as a few swap meets. I haven't heard much good about the swap meets though. Just overpriced stuff, probably a lot of resellers.


----------



## neurotix

Interesting stuff.

Sounds like you also generally overpay or have trouble finding things.

I'm gonna be going to California to see my wife's family for Christmas this year, I hope to get out to some arcades + used games stores + swap meets while I'm out there. Saving up money for it.

You know Ian from the CUpodcast? Then you know he works at a games store in San Diego called Luna Video Games. I wish we had stores like that here. There's this new Google thing called "see inside" where you can go in a store and look around, click this sentence to take a look. See if you can find the Turbo in the front.

This hobby is really frustrating right now because retro games are a huge thing. People who never used to care about gaming at all, maybe started on PS3 and 360 and realize how big and effing commercial it's gotten, and want to go back and see what they missed. Good on them, because most games now suck. So much focus on graphics that they forget to make it fun. Well anyway, it's really expensive right now, people want $75 for a NES that's dingy and yellow, I mean come on. I'd give it maybe 5 or 10 years and then it's gonna be passe and prices will go back down.

So, it will be hard to find games less than ebay or price charting prices, price charting is really what's making everything so expensive. Your best bet is to look on Amazon. But you can also look at garage sales, pawn shops, Craiglist etc.

One of my best finds was through Craigslist, I got about 10 NES games for $65 from some guy way out in the middle of nowhere in rural Wisconsin. This was 2 or 3 years ago. He said he hoards them and resells them for money. I got Mega Man 6, and TMNT 2 and 3, the rest of them I don't remember but it was a small stack. Now, TMNT 3 is $30 and Mega Man 6 is $50 or more (this one is quite hard to find in the wild- I'm holding onto it hoping it goes way up in price like Mega Man 5 has in the last few years). Also, he had Zelda LttP for SNES and I told him I wanted it, he brought out Zelda Gold Cart instead, I told him and he ran back across the street to his house and got me LttP. $5. I think that one goes for $30 now.

NES and especially SNES stuff holds it's value very well and the prices just keep going up and up so if you see a good deal on NES stuff don't pass it by.

Sega stuff varies, most Genesis games aren't worth crap. Boxed Sega CD + Saturn stuff can be very expensive. Most Dreamcast stuff isn't worth anything, but most of the GOOD games on the system (i.e. Capcom- Power Stone 2 etc) is extremely expensive. SFIII 3rd Strike I can remember seeing complete for like $30 10 years ago, now it's like $80 in decent condition...

Personally, I'd skip the 32X and just get a Sega CD. Get a model 2 even if you have a model 1 Genesis. The tray loader isn't worth the problems. My CD 2 works reliably all the time. The tray loader doesn't. The only reason to get a 32X is if you really want slightly better video quality from composite, as the 32X produces clearer video than most Genesis consoles, it uses a different encoder. None of the games are really worth it.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Hey. I never said I was selling. I stayed the price on ebay it went for.
> 
> I did sell a new game when I took the gold remote however.
> 
> I have it bnib to Stay downstairs in Meh pretty basement.
> 
> I also have a bnib Sega cd leathal weapon (with gun) never said I would still them though
> 
> 
> 
> Oh, if you didn't mark it up then that's different.
> 
> My apologies.
> 
> The Lethal Weapon with gun is VERY cool. The Konami Enforcer right? You can use it with Snatcher! I'd love to play it that way. (I'd also love to play a legit copy
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ) I have Lethal Weapon on cart, but no gun. And my large flat screen CRT doesn't work with light guns. We even have another upstairs that doesn't work with light guns either. So I need to get a different TV.
> 
> The problem is, the large CRT I have has an excellent picture. It's a flat Insignia we got around 2004. It also has S-video and component RGB inputs. I hooked my PS2 up to it with component and it looked amazing, but it only works with PS2 games. I tried PSone games and they didn't display correctly (and I don't have a PSone). So since my TV has a really good picture, even with composite, I have to choose between that or an older TV with crummy picture, that will work with light guns. It's a trade off. I'd kill to be able to play Virtua Cop 2 with light guns though.
Click to expand...

you should check craigslist. i consistantly saw 36" tvs for free.

i obtained a 36" curved sony for this reason so i can play light gun games, ill have to look into snatcher

pretty sure i have virtual cop 2 and one as well.

i have 2 full sets of guns ( meaning the blue and pink guns - blue is player 1 pink is player 2 ) most pink guns go for about 40 which i find ironic as when they came out you could buy them for 10 iirc ( ONLY through the mail by cutting the manual and sending in the part of the last page ) which is why they are so rare

but the 2nd player works across all 3 of the guns ( i dont have the play station version but i have the super nes version as well )

pretty sure i can sell ( cheap i might add ) a blue gun to you though iirc i have like 4 for the NES and leathal weapon 1 and 2 carts ( carts only- not in the best of shapes ) i can sell

iirc i have cib sega and sega cds of both games

dont get me wrong price gouging sucks but i do it, esp at console releases

also i must disagree about the 32x with you 3 power bricks FTW!!!!

just found this mod, pretty cool http://www.squirrel-games.com/?p=384


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> you should check craigslist. i consistantly saw 36" tvs for free.
> 
> i obtained a 36" curved sony for this reason so i can play light gun games, ill have to look into snatcher
> 
> pretty sure i have virtual cop 2 and one as well.
> 
> i have 2 full sets of guns ( meaning the blue and pink guns - blue is player 1 pink is player 2 ) most pink guns go for about 40 which i find ironic as when they came out you could buy them for 10 iirc ( ONLY through the mail by cutting the manual and sending in the part of the last page ) which is why they are so rare
> 
> but the 2nd player works across all 3 of the guns ( i dont have the play station version but i have the super nes version as well )
> 
> pretty sure i can sell ( cheap i might add ) a blue gun to you though iirc i have like 4 for the NES and leathal weapon 1 and 2 carts ( carts only- not in the best of shapes ) i can sell
> 
> iirc i have cib sega and sega cds of both games
> 
> dont get me wrong price gouging sucks but i do it, esp at console releases
> 
> also i must disagree about the 32x with you 3 power bricks FTW!!!!
> 
> just found this mod, pretty cool http://www.squirrel-games.com/?p=384


Yeah I might be willing to buy a gun from you next month. I've already spent my allowance for the month on Secret of Mana.

So, then, do you know for a fact that flat CRTs don't work with light guns and they HAVE to be curved? Not being curved is why it's not working?

32X, the three power bricks thing and all the cables coming out of the whole setup (when it's hooked up PROPERLY) is pretty amusing. I have Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racing, Doom, Star Wars Arcade, and Space Harrier. Out of all those, the only one remotely worth it was Space Harrier. There's also an "arcade perfect" Afterburner for it. And maybe, just maybe Knuckles Chaotix makes it worth it but it's too expensive. Back in 1994, sure, playing arcade perfect Space Harrier might have made the 32X worth it. But it's not even really arcade perfect afaik, some stuff is missing. And nowadays there's ports of all those to modern systems (Space Harrier 3D for 3DS is fantastic). Virtua Fighter, why not play it on the Saturn? There's even a special "Virtua Fighter Remix" version of VF1 with textured instead of flat shaded polygons. There's my reasoning.

The Sega CD, on the other hand, was worth every penny. A guy I know says it sucks and had no good games, and just FMV games. He doesn't know how wrong he is. There's some awesome exclusive RPGs, and shmups, as well as Snatcher.


----------



## Mega Man

Heh took me forever to find all the parts to my 32x ( another cib Inc rf sheilds )

I have knuckles chaotix and I have managed to get a Sega cd 32x game (going from memory one of 2 made -games not number of cds made)

As to the guns you are correct it can not be a flat screen must be curved.


----------



## neurotix

Interesting. Looks like I'm going to have to pick up a curved TV on Craigslist.

Do you know anything about the SMS 3D glasses and if they work better on a curved CRT?

I have them, and they work with my flat TV. It seems like I have to wear them for a bit (10 minutes) for the effect to really work well. Maybe that's just my eyes adjusting to it. It'd be great if they also worked better on a curved TV.


----------



## Mega Man

No they don't change. The light gun is only dependent on the TV as it changes the pixels 1 at a time as i understand it till the "eye" in the gun sees it (ever notice how the TV flashes when you pull the trigger ) this is how all light guns worked till ps3 gun con which uses less on the side of the TV - also how the wii controllers work)

The 3d Glasses just sync with signal output from the console and from there they work like current active 3d. (Blocks one eye at a time each frame)

Current 3d is better due to higher frame rates


----------



## neurotix

Interesting, thanks for that.


----------



## subassy

I was wondering that about the light guns and tube TVs as well , so thanks for that.

Minor pickup yesterday: Virtua Fighter 1 for Windows. Dated 1995. Ya, apparently that was a thing. Works on my Win 10 x64 and everything. I connected a game pad. USB MS SideWinder gamepad actually. From about the same time period. Seemed appropriate.

The game itself works perfectly fine. There's no exit option for some reason so I have to use alt+F4 and the option to switch controls between a keyboard and gamepad is in a menu only accessible once a fight has started. Which kind of defeats the purpose of the "options" menu, no? Other than that it's kind of impressive this 20 year old game actually runs. Now I just have to figure out _how_ to play it


----------



## neurotix

Can you post some screenshots of that?

I had no idea that even existed. VF on PC. From 1995...Wasn't that mostly before 3D accelerators were available? How this is even possible is beyond me.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Can you post some screenshots of that?
> 
> I had no idea that even existed. VF on PC. From 1995...Wasn't that mostly before 3D accelerators were available? How this is even possible is beyond me.


This explains it a bit -




This guys channel is great for retro PC stuff.


----------



## subassy

Maybe I should have said _copy right_ 1995, the case specifically says _For Windows 95_ and comes with an installer for DirectX which means it was most likely released some time in 1996 (Windows 95 was released in August and DirectX wasn't really finalized until several months after that).

Here's a youtube video of it. I did *not* download the guy's files. The game installed direct off the disc without issue. Not sure what the guy's angle is on including the file download.




Edit: turns out this isn't the video I thought it was. Maybe I was looking at a video for Virtua Fighter 2 for PC or I just can't find the one I watched earlier for some reason. The one I watched actually had a separate installer for installing on a modern OS with a download link. It was much better than above. Except for the downloadable installer that seems unnecessary that is.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Maybe I should have said _copy right_ 1995, the case specifically says _For Windows 95_ and comes with an installer for DirectX which means it was most likely released some time in 1996 (Windows 95 was released in August and DirectX wasn't really finalized until several months after that).
> 
> Here's a youtube video of it. I did *not* download the guy's files. The game installed direct off the disc without issue. Not sure what the guy's angle is on including the file download.


Did you check out the video I posted above?


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Did you check out the video I posted above?


Ya I watched it, kinda of run channel. I think that's a different edition of virtua fighter than I have. I don't have the "remix" for that special card. Just a regular windows 95 version that specifically has a DirectX installer on it.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Might go check this out on Sunday -

http://vgcc.ca/




Will be looking for a decently priced NES, hoping there might also be a Saturn/32X/Sega CD for well below Ebay pricing as well. I'll likely have to get there early to get a shot at that stuff though.


----------



## subassy

Not sure anybody else will find this of interest. I'd like to believe I will some day be capable of "circuit bending" and this seems kind of cool.

Circuit bending 8-bit Nintendo...


----------



## Mr357

Anyone in the market for a sample disc of Snatcher on the Sega CD? There's a listing on eBay for just $17,500!









http://www.ebay.com/itm/Snatcher-SEGA-CD-Sample-Disc-KONAMI-Internal-Review-1-/281794681623?hash=item419c459b17


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Anyone in the market for a sample disc of Snatcher on the Sega CD? There's a listing on eBay for just $17,500!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Snatcher-SEGA-CD-Sample-Disc-KONAMI-Internal-Review-1-/281794681623?hash=item419c459b17


Might be real, but man would that ever be easy to counterfeit...


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Got a bunch more stuff recently, nothing real notable, but lots of good deals -

Xbox (all complete)

Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance - $7 (Games Exchange)
Tony Hawk's Underground - $1 (Microplay)
Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow - $1 (Microplay)
TOCA Race Driver 2 - $1 (Microplay)
Splinter Cell Double Agent - $2 (Microplay)
Battlefield 2 Modern Combat - $3 (Microplay)
Karaoke Revolution w/ Logitech Mic - $6 (Girlfriend's pick lol Great deal though, the mic is going for $30 on Ebay) (Microplay)

PS2

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - $5 (another one my girlfriend picked out) (Microplay)
Mace Griffon Bounty Hunter - $1 (Microplay)

NES

Dr. Mario - $8 (Games Exchange)
Hyperkin NES controller 'clone' - $6 (they didn't have any Nintendo branded ones in) (Microplay)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Guess it's just me in here, but I'll share anyway...picked up a few more things today -

Gamecube (black) with controller and cables - $35

Turok 1 (N64) - $5.50

Turok 2 (N64) - $5.50

Turok 3 (N64) - $14.50

Nightmare Creatures (N64) - $7.50

Hexen (N64) - $8.50

Cruisin USA (N64) - $7.50

Blades of Steel (NES) - $3.50

Art of FIghting (SNES) - $6.50

All just loose carts.

Anyone else pick up anything lately?


----------



## subassy

I decided I'm not going to bother to try and get a "complete" collection of NES games since that's not really possible and also expensive and I don't got that kind of room. I figured the black non-licensed Tengen carts are at least achievable. Besides Tetris that is.

On the 11th I got these:
$5 each...

* MS. Pac-Man (black tengen)
* Pac-Man - Nintendo licensed/grey - tengen
* Rad Racer
* Defender II
* Millipede
* Gyromite

Apparently there were a couple licensed Tengens. But they're not necessarily more rare or worth any more. There's a "video game historian" series on youtube with some really great info on Tengen. It was actually just re-branded Atari. Who published some Sega games. Yes, Sega [arcade] games for NES









I was also going to quest for my collection of games from childhood. What I can remember anyway.

Then I came up with a "what I'd like to own" list. Which has grown really long.

There's 19 total unlicensed Tengens (I have 6 so far). A collection which seems attainable (except-for-tetris).

I remembered 15 total (none are Tengen) from childhood. Gryomite and Rad Racer are the only ones I have purchased so far. I should mention I had SMB 1 and duck hunt as two separate game carts. So I could cheat and get a combo cart. Also, I'm just assuming I owned zelda for NES. I don't actually remember owning it. So it might be 13 total. Although zelda would obviously be on the like-to-own list.

The "would like to own" total has grown to 32 games (which includes some series as separate listings).

I only own a total of 12 NES games right now.

I have a few SNES games, like 2 Genesis, 1 master system game...

I seem to mostly find PS2. Because as I've mentioned before people some practically pay you to take them. They're that plentiful and cheap/worthless. Same with original xbox even though those play in a 360.

I have a total of 79 PS2 games now (assuming my spreadsheet is accurate). And _none of them are sports games_. If I got sports games I could double that number in a week


----------



## iTurn

Still here these are my latest pick ups, the wii games I got for $15.00 used and the x-men for 10.00 brand new


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I too attempted to make a "want" list of games I would actually want regardless of current prices...the list grew enormous so I gave up and figured I would just buy things I actually find that interest me. If I don't come across something, I don't mind hunting for certain things, but lately, I have just been "deal" hunting, and trying to only pick up games I played and enjoyed, or didn't get the chance but remember "lusting" over throughout the years. I don't ever plan to have complete collections of anything, but I would basically like to get a hold of all the stuff I know and love, as well as all the stuff I wish I could have played when I was young.


----------



## Mr357

I've got an untested aka broken Sega CD coming in tomorrow. I only bought it because it was $38 and came with the AC adapter. Hopefully it'll just have a blown fuse if anything, and I'll be able to fix it for under $10.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> I've got an untested aka broken Sega CD coming in tomorrow. I only bought it because it was $38 and came with the AC adapter. Hopefully it'll just have a blown fuse if anything, and I'll be able to fix it for under $10.


Was looking for a Saturn or Sega CD in town today, couldn't find one, but was told the one shop, KW Vintage games, should have both in by Tuesday. Also asked about a 32X, but no one had one or knew when they might be getting one in. So hopefully on Tuesday I should have a Saturn or Sega CD. Unfortunately, not enough money for both. Only reason I have money for even one of them is because some tax money came in that I wasn't expecting. If he ends up having both a Saturn and Sega CD, I will likely end up with the Saturn though, to be honest. I actually had one when I was a kid so it has a little more of the nostalgia factor for me.

Good luck with the fix Mr357, I've thought about picking up some of the "as-is" stuff from Ebay, but most of it is going for 90% of what a working unit is worth. Plus, if it's a system I don't already own, I won't have any cables and whatnot which would end up eating up any money I would have saved. I am pretty confident with most repairs, the only things I am weary of is the laser is CD based consoles, and whether or not a replacement can be found relatively cheap.


----------



## Mega Man

They can not. I have been told the don't even make most lasers anymore. I don't know why they wouldn't. But yea. I have a 3do that is dead from it that I keep for parts for that reason


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> They can not. I have been told the don't even make most lasers anymore. I don't know why they wouldn't. But yea. I have a 3do that is dead from it that I keep for parts for that reason


I haven't completely looked into most systems, but I know each individual part of most laser assemblies can be replaced, though not easily. The whole mechanism may be hard to find, but in most cases, each little part making up the laser assembly will have a small part number written somewhere on it, and a lot of the stuff can be found from other sources, like the spindle motors and whatnot, even the laser and lenses themselves. But like I said, I have never delved into repairs on systems I don't own yet, at least not very far. A lot of what seems propriety is in a lot of cases not so much, just finding info on such things is scarce. The NES toploader for example...the socket pin adapter whatever you want to call it, just a standard edge pin adapter, just need to measure the pitch and that kind of thing, mounting method, etc., and order the part direct from manufacturer. Not saying everything can be repaired/replaced, not even close, but sometimes you'd be surprised what actually makes up "each" part of a console. Don't necessarily need to find a "Sega CD" lens assembly to have things work. I am sure you know all of this already though and have ripped far into your 3DO, but you never know. It's too bad about your 3DO...another system I legit wanted so bad. I still do, but most of the games that where any good have versions on other systems anyway. Really, Space Hulk was the one game that made me want one. I still have never played it, and it still looks awesome. I know you can get it for Saturn though and likely some others as well.


----------



## Mega Man

It's OK I have another


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> It's OK I have another


Do you ever play it at all? If so, what games?


----------



## Mega Man

Have not had a chance to do much and have not found the games I want to play yet


----------



## tylerand

Guess i'll join. Recently started to bolster my collection, currently have:

Tylerand - NES, SNES, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Advance SP, Gameboy Colour, N64, Gamecube, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Saturn, Sega Gamegear, PS1, PS2, PSP, Original Xbox (crystal and black) and an Intellivision.
Also have about ~500 games, mainly PS2, Xbox and Gamecube though. Recently had to sell a lot of my classic stuff to pay for school, trying to replenish it.

Will post pictures when i get home.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Also, while you add tylerand, could you add Retrobit NES clone and Gamecube to my list?


----------



## Mr357

Mine is due for an update too!

Model 2 Genesis, SNES, Model 2 Sega CD, Model 1 Sega Saturn (chip'd), Playstation 1, N64, Dreamcast, Playstation 2, Xbox (slightly modded), Gamecube


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Found $15 on the sidewalk last night, so I bought a couple more things when I was out today -

Tak 2 : The Staff of Dreams (Gamecube) - $5

Um Jammer Lammy (PSX) - $10

Both are complete. Also, can't give enough praise to the guys who run "The Games Exchange" in town here. Just a great store, doesn't matter how much you spend, they are always friendly in there. They got a new awesome website now too that lists all of their stock and prices, which is awesome.

Here's a link to the website, though it may not be fully functional at the moment as he said he was going to be working on it the next little while.

http://www.gamesexchange.ca/


----------



## tylerand

While i'm not home, i guess i can post the haul i got a couple weekends ago.

In total about 250 PS2 and original Xbox games. Sealed Overlord for NES, and the boxed Ninja Gaiden. The Intellivision and the games. Still fiddling with the intellivision to get it working right. I think it's just the video output being corroded.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Awesome haul there dude!


----------



## iTurn

!!!! Very nice haul indeed.


----------



## tylerand

Here's the full collection, minus duplicate systems and peripherals. Used to have it set up much better, but sadly two of my large shelves got broken in our move. Haven't had the money to buy new ones yet, waiting to get 3 more like the black one and a large black one. Going to put two of the small DVD shelves on either side of the large one, where i'll put all my game boxes and stuff in the large one. As well as any statues and stuff.

Also forgot to add, didn't post the picture but at the same time we got that last haul we also got one of those 1 of 500 Fallout 4 lithograph's from a flea market for $10. Pretty good i think considering what people are asking on ebay. Although i don't think any have sold yet. Worth mentioning as well, we got 69/500.




Also, a picture of my Trinitron in the bedroom. Poor picture, i had other better ones but don't know where they went. Hooked up to it is a NES, SNES, N64, PS2, Xbox and a Gamecube.



Trying to get my hands on some component cables for my Xbox and PS2, and my Gamecube technically but i'm not paying $300 for a Gamecube component cable. Also need to pick up some Svideo cables for my other systems.


----------



## Mr357

If you have a Wii, component cables are about $5. That's a really good way to play Gamecube games.


----------



## tylerand

Don't have a Wii, but been thinking about buying one for that reason. See them all the time for pretty cheap.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tylerand*
> 
> Don't have a Wii, but been thinking about buying one for that reason. See them all the time for pretty cheap.


You probably already know this but I only recently realized it. There was a later release of the Wii without GameCube compatibility. It does lack the GC controller ports so it is probably easy to tell. Make sure you check that


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tylerand*
> 
> Guess i'll join. Recently started to bolster my collection, currently have:
> 
> Tylerand - NES, SNES, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Advance SP, Gameboy Colour, N64, Gamecube, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Saturn, Sega Gamegear, PS1, PS2, PSP, Original Xbox (crystal and black) and an Intellivision.
> Also have about ~500 games, mainly PS2, Xbox and Gamecube though. Recently had to sell a lot of my classic stuff to pay for school, trying to replenish it.
> 
> Will post pictures when i get home.


nice collection,

so far i have put into storage bins ( 27 gallon bins ) 3 different bins of stuff, i am not even half way through, hehe CIB final fantasys, ( older ones not just PS ) CIB super mario rpg, never opened zelda qwii colectors and never opened wii super mario allstars, and that isnt even all the fun stuff, soon, when the basement is done i should take pics and post them >:E
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Also, while you add tylerand, could you add Retrobit NES clone and Gamecube to my list?


he does not count clones fdyi ~
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tylerand*
> 
> Trying to get my hands on some component cables for my Xbox and PS2, and my Gamecube technically but i'm not paying $300 for a Gamecube component cable. Also need to pick up some Svideo cables for my other systems.


i got my game cube components for 99cents ! GS tried to tell me they dont work on game cubes, the game stop guy didnt know there were 2 different gen of game cubes
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tylerand*
> 
> Don't have a Wii, but been thinking about buying one for that reason. See them all the time for pretty cheap.


15 $ on CL i see them all the time
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *tylerand*
> 
> Don't have a Wii, but been thinking about buying one for that reason. See them all the time for pretty cheap.
> 
> 
> 
> You probably already know this but I only recently realized it. There was a later release of the Wii without GameCube compatibility. It does lack the GC controller ports so it is probably easy to tell. Make sure you check that
Click to expand...

wii mini iirc blu and red ones ( red and black, not to be confused with an all red one they made for mario, also different shape )


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

No biggie on not counting clone systems, I knew that and just forgot. It's only a placeholder for an actual NES anyway.

So besides games people own or have picked up, what's everyone playing? I'm about half way through Shadows of the Empire currently, but haven't played for about a week. Also been playing Tokyo Extreme Racer 2 on Dreamcast...one of my favourite racing games ever, but I'll never finish that. Shadows of the Empire won't take much longer, then I am not sure what I will move on to. My girlfriend doesn't like to play much, but she likes Mario, so we beat Super Mario World together not long ago too. I have beaten Super Mario World too many times to count, but never did get to play all the way through Shadows of the Empire, I only ever played N64 at friends houses and the odd time that I rented one. I played the game quite a bit though and remembered a good bit of it. Never came close to beating Tokyo Extreme Racer 2, I made it pretty far, but eventually got into downloading hacked VMU saves for more cars and money.


----------



## Mega Man

i am playing defeat the queen, it takes 18 years to get through ( god willing ) and yea, hardest game in the world LOL


----------



## tylerand

Just finished Silent Hill 2 and 3 (I found 2 was much better for the xbox than 3 was on ps2, felt much less linear too). Also recently finished Metroid Prime and Gun. Playing through Doom 3 right now.

Trying to clear back some of my backlog.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> nice collection,
> 
> so far i have put into storage bins ( 27 gallon bins ) 3 different bins of stuff, i am not even half way through, hehe CIB final fantasys, ( older ones not just PS ) CIB super mario rpg, never opened zelda qwii colectors and never opened wii super mario allstars, and that isnt even all the fun stuff, soon, when the basement is done i should take pics and post them >:E


Impressive, I'm jelly.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tylerand*
> 
> Just finished Silent Hill 2 and 3 (I found 2 was much better for the xbox than 3 was on ps2, felt much less linear too). Also recently finished Metroid Prime and Gun. Playing through Doom 3 right now.
> 
> Trying to clear back some of my backlog.
> Impressive, I'm jelly.


Silent Hill 2 is one of my favourite games as well, I've never played it on Xbox, but beat it quite a few times on PS2/PC. Silent Hill 3 was OK, though I haven't beat it yet. I haven't beat Silent Hill 1,3, or 4 yet. Plan to at some point though. Doom 3 is also one of my favs, beat it many times as well on PC. I remember playing the Xbox version as well when the game was fairly new...a buddy got it, tried to tell me having a PC is pointless, that Xbox could do everything a PC could at the time. Well, I showed him that half the game was basically missing on Xbox and he actually got pissed off at me. Anyway, I guess it sucked on Xbox, well, maybe not sucked, but compared to the PC version it was pretty bad. I think Doom 3 is one of the reasons I really got into gaming on PC, actually. I mean, I did for a long time before that, but Doom 3 got me into building better PCs.


----------



## tylerand

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Silent Hill 2 is one of my favourite games as well, I've never played it on Xbox, but beat it quite a few times on PS2/PC. Silent Hill 3 was OK, though I haven't beat it yet. I haven't beat Silent Hill 1,3, or 4 yet. Plan to at some point though. Doom 3 is also one of my favs, beat it many times as well on PC. I remember playing the Xbox version as well when the game was fairly new...a buddy got it, tried to tell me having a PC is pointless, that Xbox could do everything a PC could at the time. Well, I showed him that half the game was basically missing on Xbox and he actually got pissed off at me. Anyway, I guess it sucked on Xbox, well, maybe not sucked, but compared to the PC version it was pretty bad. I think Doom 3 is one of the reasons I really got into gaming on PC, actually. I mean, I did for a long time before that, but Doom 3 got me into building better PCs.


For some reason i could never get doom 3 to work well on my pcs.


----------



## iTurn

Just picked these up for $7.00


----------



## Mr357

I just got that Sega CD I bought last week, and despite the title being "SEGA CD System Model 2 CONSOLE and POWER CORD ONLY - UNTESTED," there's no AC adapter with it!


----------



## Mega Man

Make him send you one or discount it


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Make him send you one or discount it


They're sending it. It was just a mistake. On the bright side, I opened the thing up and all of the internals look good.


----------



## Mega Man

Nice. You should change out the battery for the memory


----------



## tylerand

Just got another Trinitron today for free, 32". Model KV-32HS500, really nice set with 720p/1080i. This thing even has HDMI and what looks to be an SD card slot on the front? Had no remote sadly though, going to see if my remote for my other trinitron will work for it. The shell is in rough shape, but the picture is perfect and the glass doesn't have a scratch on it. Set it up with some spare consoles i have, sitting next to my main tv for now until i set up my computer room in my new apartment.

What a pain to move up 3 flights of stairs though...




Edit: Turns out the remote works with no programming at all. Just worked, right away. Pretty happy with that.

Also just noticed, when i turn it on takes about a minute or so for the colours and everything to get to normal. Only after it's off for a bit, is that normal? My other trinitron does the same, but only takes like 10 seconds.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I know the pain...I used to have a 34" widescreen HD CRT, the thing weighed more than me...literally. If I remember right, it was over 150 lbs


----------



## tylerand

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I know the pain...I used to have a 34" widescreen HD CRT, the thing weighed more than me...literally. If I remember right, it was over 150 lbs


Yeah, this baby weighs 175.

How was the widescreen one, always wanted one of those. Somebody had a really nice one for sale at 100 around here I wanted to get, just didn't have the bucks.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tylerand*
> 
> Just got another Trinitron today for free, 32". Model KV-32HS500, really nice set with 720p/1080i. This thing even has HDMI and what looks to be an SD card slot on the front? Had no remote sadly though, going to see if my remote for my other trinitron will work for it. The shell is in rough shape, but the picture is perfect and the glass doesn't have a scratch on it. Set it up with some spare consoles i have, sitting next to my main tv for now until i set up my computer room in my new apartment.
> 
> What a pain to move up 3 flights of stairs though...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Edit: Turns out the remote works with no programming at all. Just worked, right away. Pretty happy with that.
> 
> Also just noticed, when i turn it on takes about a minute or so for the colours and everything to get to normal. Only after it's off for a bit, is that normal? My other trinitron does the same, but only takes like 10 seconds.


A delay like that is usually indicative of some capacitors on their way out. It must be 10+ years old? Not surprising. A "re-cap" project could fix it (inspect/replace said capacitors). But it was free so could just as easily use it until it is so slow you can't take it. Or dies entirely.

Does the nes zapper work on it? I've heard that only works don't "real" CRT/curved TVs. Might have been this thread actually.
(Posted from phone).


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tylerand*
> 
> Yeah, this baby weighs 175.
> 
> How was the widescreen one, always wanted one of those. Somebody had a really nice one for sale at 100 around here I wanted to get, just didn't have the bucks.


It was gorgeous, very sad I don't still have it. Funny enough, Doom 3 was one of the first things I played on it, though I hooked it up to my PC at the time instead of the Xbox. It was a long time ago I had the TV, but I would love to find another one. I don't even have a decent tube TV at the moment. I see lots of them for free as well, some decent ones, but I don't drive, so it's tough to go pick one up. I think the TV I used to have was a Panasonic, and it really did look amazing. I looked it up though and it only did 480P/1080i. Pretty sure it had HDMI as well.


----------



## tylerand

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> A delay like that is usually indicative of some capacitors on their way out. It must be 10+ years old? Not surprising. A "re-cap" project could fix it (inspect/replace said capacitors). But it was free so could just as easily use it until it is so slow you can't take it. Or dies entirely.
> 
> Does the nes zapper work on it? I've heard that only works don't "real" CRT/curved TVs. Might have been this thread actually.
> (Posted from phone).


Haven't tried yet on this one, but the zapper works on my 27" trinitron which is also flat.

Also if it becomes a problem I might consider reading up on it and opening her up. For now though been playing it for the past 4 hours or so and it's working great.

Also, really worth getting in my opinion. Pretty huge difference playing these old games on a good old CRT. Also, wouldn't your old one have supported 720p if it did 1080i?


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tylerand*
> 
> Haven't tried yet on this one, but the zapper works on my 27" trinitron which is also flat.
> 
> Also if it becomes a problem I might consider reading up on it and opening her up. For now though been playing it for the past 4 hours or so and it's working great.
> 
> Also, really worth getting in my opinion. Pretty huge difference playing these old games on a good old CRT. Also, wouldn't your old one have supported 720p if it did 1080i?


I thought I remembered it doing 720P, I actually thought I remembered it doing 1080P, but the closest model I could find, that looks the way I remember my old model looking, only does 480P/1080i...it was still gorgeous though, I do remember that. It cost me like $1800 or something though at the time. It might have automatically converted 720P/1080P to 480P/1080i, I can't remember. And I will be getting a hold of another CRT, just not sure when it will come along. I'd like to end up getting another widescreen like I had before, but would settle for any CRT that has component inputs.

EDIT - pretty sure this was the model I had - http://shop.panasonic.com/support-only/CT-34WX54.html


----------



## tylerand

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I thought I remembered it doing 720P, I actually thought I remembered it doing 1080P, but the closest model I could find, that looks the way I remember my old model looking, only does 480P/1080i...it was still gorgeous though, I do remember that. It cost me like $1800 or something though at the time. It might have automatically converted 720P/1080P to 480P/1080i, I can't remember. And I will be getting a hold of another CRT, just not sure when it will come along. I'd like to end up getting another widescreen like I had before, but would settle for any CRT that has component inputs.
> 
> EDIT - pretty sure this was the model I had - http://shop.panasonic.com/support-only/CT-34WX54.html


As far as I know only pc CRT could 3ver do 1080p or higher, the best you could get at a consumer level at least for TVs was 720p and 1080i.

Edit: Looks like it was a nice set.

One thing I miss about the old tvs most I think, is the really great sound you got from the set itself. Now it's almost like they expect us to own some sort of external audio.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tylerand*
> 
> Haven't tried yet on this one, but the zapper works on my 27" trinitron which is also flat.
> 
> Also if it becomes a problem I might consider reading up on it and opening her up. For now though been playing it for the past 4 hours or so and it's working great.


On youtube there's the EEVblog with, possibly the greatest electronics channel on the whole internet, who actually does a re-cap on a tv. He'll show you how to do it while avoiding electrocution. For what it's worth.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> On youtube there's the EEVblog with, possibly the greatest electronics channel on the whole internet, who actually does a re-cap on a tv. He'll show you how to do it while avoiding electrocution. For what it's worth.


Great channel, have learned a lot from that guy.


----------



## Mega Man

http://www.howtogeek.com/181303/htg-explains-how-the-nintendo-zapper-worked-and-why-it-doesnt-work-on-new-tvs/

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/209058-light-guns-and-100-hz-crt-tvs/
Quote:


> What I've found to have a bigger impact on the older light guns is flat vs curved displays. I've never had good experience with NES or SMS guns and flat displays. They can work, but are extremely inconsistent.
> 
> Light guns for the SNES and later seem to work decently on flat displays.


----------



## neurotix

There's been a lot of chat here, sorry guys, I've been busy.

Yeah, my light guns don't work on ANY of my three flat CRTs I have in the house. It really sucks









If you want to play light gun games then I suggest you find an older, curved TV. I still need to get one myself.

Sega CD, if it doesn't work and it's a model 2 it's probably either 1) a fuse or 2) it needs to be recapped. Yes, you can still get lasers for them. Look around assemblergames or racketboy forums and there should be information about the lasers.









EDIT: Tylerand added to the list (nice collection!). Mr357 list updated. Gamecube added to Aaron_Henderson 's list (sorry the retro bit doesn't count)


----------



## tylerand

Anyone here have any older Dos/Win 95/95/XP computers that you use to play your classic PC games on?

Been thinking about building a couple older units for this. Think i'm going to look around Kijiji and make a post looking for older computers people are getting rid of. I'd love to get my hands on some old Voodoo cards and SLI them just for fun. I always thought the idea was really cool. Used to have one as a kid, worked really good for what it was.

Was thinking something like a Pentium D and an 8800 or something for the XP, do a bit of overclocking. It's been so long i forget what hardware is appropriate for what OS. The main obstacle is drivers.


----------



## Mega Man

Have you looked into dosbox?


----------



## tylerand

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Have you looked into dosbox?


Yeah I have, I just like having the physical thing. Something fun to tinker around with for cheap.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tylerand*
> 
> Anyone here have any older Dos/Win 95/95/XP computers that you use to play your classic PC games on?
> 
> Been thinking about building a couple older units for this. Think i'm going to look around Kijiji and make a post looking for older computers people are getting rid of. I'd love to get my hands on some old Voodoo cards and SLI them just for fun. I always thought the idea was really cool. Used to have one as a kid, worked really good for what it was.
> 
> Was thinking something like a Pentium D and an 8800 or something for the XP, do a bit of overclocking. It's been so long i forget what hardware is appropriate for what OS. The main obstacle is drivers.


I've got a few older systems kicking about, just haven't gotten around to doing anything with them yet. It's been so long since I got the stuff I can't even remember specifically what it is...but I am pretty sure my oldest is a Pentium 1 system, 133MHz I believe, with 48MB (3x16MB) of EDO RAM I think? But the motherboard has SD RAM slots as well. I think it came with a 2GB HDD or something lol I only kept it all because the stuff literally looks brand new, not a speck of dust or discolouration anywhere. Jumper based overclocking...even has a "Turbo" button lol My plan was to rebuild it in a different case (though even the case was kind of cool), and do all the modern stuff we do now, like custom cables and routing, but keep the retro green and silver colour scheme. I have a few older video cards around to use as well. Like I said though, it's just been sitting for the past couple years. I also have a Pentium III slot based system somewhere, though I have never even tested it yet, and am unsure what speed the CPU I have is. I have a ton of old CPU/RAM/HDD though, just not many motherboards. I got rid of a bunch of stuff before I moved in with my girlfriend as it just took up too much space to hoard it all.

Also, if you are planning on Windows XP, you can likely use pretty modern hardware. Just make sure there are XP drivers is all.


----------



## tylerand

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I've got a few older systems kicking about, just haven't gotten around to doing anything with them yet. It's been so long since I got the stuff I can't even remember specifically what it is...but I am pretty sure my oldest is a Pentium 1 system, 133MHz I believe, with 48MB (3x16MB) of EDO RAM I think? But the motherboard has SD RAM slots as well. I think it came with a 2GB HDD or something lol I only kept it all because the stuff literally looks brand new, not a speck of dust or discolouration anywhere. Jumper based overclocking...even has a "Turbo" button lol My plan was to rebuild it in a different case (though even the case was kind of cool), and do all the modern stuff we do now, like custom cables and routing, but keep the retro green and silver colour scheme. I have a few older video cards around to use as well. Like I said though, it's just been sitting for the past couple years. I also have a Pentium III slot based system somewhere, though I have never even tested it yet, and am unsure what speed the CPU I have is. I have a ton of old CPU/RAM/HDD though, just not many motherboards. I got rid of a bunch of stuff before I moved in with my girlfriend as it just took up too much space to hoard it all.
> 
> Also, if you are planning on Windows XP, you can likely use pretty modern hardware. Just make sure there are XP drivers is all.


I figure the Windows XP one will be easiest to do, because it has such a large amount of support for so much hardware even up to some pretty recent stuff.

Also, completely forgot about jumper overclocking! I remember way back when i was a kid fiddling around with that even before i was here at OCN. My dad used to get old computers the schools would throw out and I'd take them apart and just play around with them, trying to build the best PC out of the parts.

I kind of want to start a project with all the hardware to run on DOS, 98, and XP in one custom box, where i'd be able to turn each on with a switch. I'd have to build a custom case for it, but i think it'd be a fun project.


----------



## Mr357

I got that AC adapter I needed the other day, and as expected, the Sega CD didn't work. It wouldn't even boot, so I replaced the fuse (twice actually, but I know I did it right the second time since I tested it with a meter). Unfortunately, the damn thing still won't even boot. I get a black screen as if I turned on the Genesis with no cart inserted, which is what's happening in a sense. Anyone have any tips? I'm really worried that maybe an IC went bad, in which case I'd be hosed.


----------



## Mega Man

Ill look when I get home. Pretty sure i have seen a repair guide somewhere


----------



## Jimbags

Subbed. I only have PS1 and PS2. Sold my mega drive 2 a while back and my master system :/ play alot of zsnes on my htpc though







Love to collect ninyendo consoles when I can afford it. Oh and I play pokemon GBA fire red alot on my Galaxy S5


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> I got that AC adapter I needed the other day, and as expected, the Sega CD didn't work. It wouldn't even boot, so I replaced the fuse (twice actually, but I know I did it right the second time since I tested it with a meter). Unfortunately, the damn thing still won't even boot. I get a black screen as if I turned on the Genesis with no cart inserted, which is what's happening in a sense. Anyone have any tips? I'm really worried that maybe an IC went bad, in which case I'd be hosed.


All I can suggest off hand is to really clean all the contact points and look for any obvious signs of failure, though that is pretty much common sense and I am sure you've gotten that far with it. Other then that...hit up google for some common cures for black screen and see if you can come up with anything.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Ill look when I get home. Pretty sure i have seen a repair guide somewhere


SHHHHHH hhhhhh maybe we should add this to the OP?/ the sega thread op ?!


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> SHHHHHH hhhhhh maybe we should add this to the OP?/ the sega thread op ?!


Unfortunately, I don't know if those will help me.

So far I've:

- visually inspected the PCB
- replaced the fuse with another 2.5A
- cleaned the contacts on the Genesis and a little on the Sega CD

Still nothing but a black screen on every attempted boot


----------



## Jimbags

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Unfortunately, I don't know if those will help me.
> 
> So far I've:
> 
> - visually inspected the PCB
> - replaced the fuse with another 2.5A
> - cleaned the contacts on the Genesis and a little on the Sega CD
> 
> Still nothing but a black screen on every attempted boot


Silly question but does it need a disk to boot etc ?


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jimbags*
> 
> Silly question but does it need a disk to boot etc ?


Nope. Even if I didn't connect the optical drive it would still go to a startup screen.


----------



## neurotix

Try cleaning the contacts on the Genesis and Sega CD with Brasso, and then finish with 90% isopropyl alcohol.

Visually inspect them. Do you see black varnish on the pins or not? It helps to use a bright flashlight. I use a LED flashlight personally.

Have you disassembled the unit, removing all RF shielding and inspected the motherboard for bad/leaking capacitors? Is there any evidence of leaking capacitors (electrolyte; usually a yellowish or brownish gunk on the board)? Have you inspected the motherboard for bad/damaged traces?

Are you using an OFFICIAL Sega power supply with the correct wattage? The one I use for my Sega CDs is a model 1602: *Input* 120V 60hz 17W *Output* 9V DC 1.2a

There is a model 1602-1 that I have that is official Sega but it outputs 25W instead of 17W. This works fine with the Genesis but I noticed my CDs are more reliable with the one above.

Other than that, it might be a power regulation issue or maybe a fried power board? I don't know much about power supplies so I can't help you there.

Answer all those questions for yourself and try them. If it still doesn't work it might be a lost cause unless you can get a different power board from an identical unit and install it.


----------



## Mega Man

Just a fyi. Not all but most 9vdc plus ( specifically talking about old video game systems ) are actually 12vdc. I measured all of mine as when I finish my basement I will be powering them ago using a computer psu ( already have all stepdown transformers just need time and money to compete remodel and buy furnature


----------



## neurotix

Interesting. Thanks!

I should probably look through the service manuals you linked (I added them to the Sega thread) to find out what Sega actually REALLY recommended to use with the Sega CD, unless you know.

I just know, NEVER EVER use a Nintendo adapter on a Sega machine and vice versa, even if the plug fits. Don't use third party adapters either. All my Sega systems only get used with the official power supplies. I've heard many, many horror stories about old consoles getting fried because people use off-brand power supplies.

jimbags has also been added. Welcome! I still use ZSNES too and I have since around 1997 when it was brand new! Back then, with a Pentium 75mhz, that emulator was the best because it was the fastest by far. I remember getting a AMD K6-2 system and being so happy I could put the frameskip up to 3, lol. (It still couldn't run it full speed with no frame skip!)


----------



## Mega Man

Nah a power supply is a power supply.

Just have to verify 4 things ac or DC out put. Voltage. Amperage. And plug polarity


----------



## Mr357

As I've said in previous posts, all of the capacitors *look* fine. There's definitely no leakage. The AC adapter I have is a 10V 1.2A (1602-1), but it's the one that came with model 2 Sega CD's originally and works despite outputting 10V instead of 9. I'll check the tabs on the ports again, but I highly doubt that that's an issue. It's looking like a regulator died, but I have no way of determining which one. Unfortunately there's almost no information out there on fixing model 2 CD's except for replacing the fuse and repairing the optical drive.


----------



## Jimbags

Have you tried it with a disk in? Does it spin?


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jimbags*
> 
> Have you tried it with a disk in? Does it spin?


Yes, no.









Remember, the problem I'm having is that I can't get it to power on at all. Every time I've tried, only the Genesis turns on.


----------



## Jimbags

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Yes, no.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Remember, the problem I'm having is that I can't get it to power on at all. Every time I've tried, only the Genesis turns on.


Yeah sorry just trying to cover all bases







I think the main thing is to find out the exact power required? It should say on itself though right? Everything in Australia has to by law I think..
Have you tested the psu your using with a multimeter?


----------



## Mr357

Well, I may have just found the problem. The fuses I bought are 250V for some reason, whereas logically I need 125V since I live in the US.









I'm going to look into this a bit more and maybe go buy some new fuses.


----------



## Jimbags

As long as the circuit is complete. In theory it should power up.. is the amperage of the fuse right? Thats what I usually look at. What type of fuse?


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> As I've said in previous posts, all of the capacitors *look* fine. There's definitely no leakage. The AC adapter I have is a 10V 1.2A (1602-1), but it's the one that came with model 2 Sega CD's originally and works despite outputting 10V instead of 9. I'll check the tabs on the ports again, but I highly doubt that that's an issue. It's looking like a regulator died, but I have no way of determining which one. Unfortunately there's almost no information out there on fixing model 2 CD's except for replacing the fuse and repairing the optical drive.


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jimbags*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Yes, no.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Remember, the problem I'm having is that I can't get it to power on at all. Every time I've tried, only the Genesis turns on.
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah sorry just trying to cover all bases
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think the main thing is to find out the exact power required? It should say on itself though right? Everything in Australia has to by law I think..
> Have you tested the psu your using with a multimeter?
Click to expand...

there is no exact power. There is a range. The rated power is on the power supply.

Although rated for 9v it has a range . I won't get into why now but after I get home I can give you a few reasons if you want
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Well, I may have just found the problem. The fuses I bought are 250V for some reason, whereas logically I need 125V since I live in the US.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm going to look into this a bit more and maybe go buy some new fuses.


No.

Most fuses are either 250v or 600v.

Higher voltage is ok. Lower is not.

That is just the peak voltage that fuse is rated at

Also 120v never enters the sega cd it has already been converted into dc low voltage


----------



## Jimbags

Have you tested with a multimeter? I think you should start there to be honest. Could be the power pack is stuffed.Not the SEGA CD itself?


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jimbags*
> 
> Have you tested with a multimeter? I think you should start there to be honest. Could be the power pack is stuffed.Not the SEGA CD itself?


What's the correct way to do that? I tried it and had little luck, and I couldn't find any examples online.


----------



## Jimbags

@Mega Man You could probably explain better.Basically just need to hold your multimeter on the correct poles, positive and negative although I know its difficult with pin type plugs. You could plug it into the SEGA CD then test the SEGA side of the power in jack? Then you know for sure if it has power


----------



## Mega Man

power packs very rarely fail.

you can test it in your sega ( not the cd ) to verify it would be quicker assuming it fits ( my 32x/sega cd2 and sega model 2 all use the same psu, there are minor differences in the coatings

sorry i was driving when i was posting let me know what you need help with


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> power packs very rarely fail.
> 
> you can test it in your sega ( not the cd ) to verify it would be quicker assuming it fits ( my 32x/sega cd2 and sega model 2 all use the same psu, there are minor differences in the coatings
> 
> sorry i was driving when i was posting let me know what you need help with


Unfortunately I can't do that. I have a Model 2 Genesis, which takes the yellow-tipped AC adapter. Even if it fit, the amperage isn't right.

I've still had no luck trying to meter the 1602-1 adapter, but when I plug it into my Kill-A-Watt it does pull some power. The amount doesn't change when I try starting up the Sega CD though.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Unfortunately I can't do that. I have a Model 2 Genesis, which takes the yellow-tipped AC adapter. Even if it fit, the amperage isn't right.
> 
> I've still had no luck trying to meter the 1602-1 adapter, but when I plug it into my Kill-A-Watt it does pull some power. The amount doesn't change when I try starting up the Sega CD though.


I could be wrong about this but I was under the impression when you see an amperage rating on a wall wart power supply that's actually the _maximum_ amperage it can take. If the device in question requires less amperage it will just use the amount it needs. Or maybe I'm missing the context of your comment.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I could be wrong about this but I was under the impression when you see an amperage rating on a wall wart power supply that's actually the _maximum_ amperage it can take. If the device in question requires less amperage it will just use the amount it needs. Or maybe I'm missing the context of your comment.


I don't think so. We're talking about direct current, meaning the amperage shouldn't ever drop or jump.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Unfortunately I can't do that. I have a Model 2 Genesis, which takes the yellow-tipped AC adapter. Even if it fit, the amperage isn't right.
> 
> I've still had no luck trying to meter the 1602-1 adapter, but when I plug it into my Kill-A-Watt it does pull some power. The amount doesn't change when I try starting up the Sega CD though.
> 
> 
> 
> I could be wrong about this but I was under the impression when you see an amperage rating on a wall wart power supply that's actually the _maximum_ amperage it can take _*give*_. If the device in question requires less amperage it will just use the amount it needs. Or maybe I'm missing the context of your comment.
Click to expand...

amps are not pushed. they are pulled ( meaning the devices uses what it needs ) look at pc psus, we tell you to get more then you need. not less, less can hurt you more can not

the only time amps hurt is with a short.

the unit starts pulling too many amps and melts things.

you can always go higher then rated amps ( device rating not power supply rating ) you can not go less, with the exception of LEDS - but that is a different matter


----------



## subassy

That's what I meant I think. If a device needs 1.2 amps and the wall wart you have says 3 amps...it should work because the device will only draw the 1.2 out of the power supply max of 3 amps. Right? Sorry i didn't phrase that very well.


----------



## Mega Man

correct you were not wrong, i just used a different wording that is it


----------



## Jimbags

Yeah Amps are pulled from wall to device, so device 'decides' amps. Volts are pushed to device from wall So wall 'decides' how many volts. Wattage is amps x volts.eg 12v 54amp psu is good for 650W or there abouts.


----------



## Mr357

I did absolutely nothing, and the Sega CD randomly decided to power on for the first time today. I'd removed all of the screws, so I put all of the internal ones back in, connected the optical drive, and once again it powered on (the laser even moved). However, I had it in a different room from my tv, so I had to turn it off and move it. With my luck, of course it decided to stop working as soon as I did that. Since then I've tried just about everything, including returning it to the room in which it had worked, and I still can't get anything out of it. I'm *really* puzzled now.


----------



## Mega Man

sounds like a short

you need to trace out power - starting at the plug, plug it in check the tip of the power cord like he said, one in the hole and one outside, using dc voltage on the multimeter, if you see negative voltage it means you are using the positive ( on the multimeter ) on the negative pole of the power supply - and nothing to worry about


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> sounds like a short
> 
> you need to trace out power - starting at the plug, plug it in check the tip of the power cord like he said, one in the hole and one outside, using dc voltage on the multimeter, if you see negative voltage it means you are using the positive ( on the multimeter ) on the negative pole of the power supply - and nothing to worry about


I can barely get anything out of the AC adapter, regardless of how I configure the meter. Would it be a bad idea to open it up and look inside?


----------



## Mega Man

just dont do it plugged in. i would try a different adapter, i bet the wire has a short

when you open it up i can guide you how to test it


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> just dont do it plugged in. i would try a different adapter, i bet the wire has a short
> 
> when you open it up i can guide you how to test it


That's the problem, this is the only suitable AC adapter I have.

If the short is most likely somewhere along the wire, I could cut out the middle and splice it. The wire is about 12 feet long, so I wouldn't mind doing that.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

You could go out and buy a universal wall plug, they are pretty cheap, usually well under $10. Make sure you buy one with enough amperage, set the voltage pot/dial/switch on it to match the input on the Sega CD, and splice the input barrel from the Sega power adapter to the universal if the universal doesn't come with an adapter that fits. Make sure not to reverse the polarity of the wires or anything. Honestly, I keep power adapters from everything, as long as it has the right voltage and enough amps, you could splice the Sega CD end on to any power brick. I am sure you can find something around that can output the correct voltage if you look around your house.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> You could go out and buy a universal wall plug, they are pretty cheap, usually well under $10. Make sure you buy one with enough amperage, set the voltage pot/dial/switch on it to match the input on the Sega CD, and splice the input barrel from the Sega power adapter to the universal if the universal doesn't come with an adapter that fits. Make sure not to reverse the polarity of the wires or anything. Honestly, I keep power adapters from everything, as long as it has the right voltage and enough amps, you could splice the Sega CD end on to any power brick. I am sure you can find something around that can output the correct voltage if you look around your house.


Yeah, I have one of those, but it only outputs up to 500mA. I have gotten my Sega CD to turn on a few times in the last hour or so; for some reason putting a Genesis cartridge in, powering it on, and then turning it on again without the cart seems to help. The two times I put CD's in (one audio, one game), the system froze up and presumably crashed (or lost power). I guess I'll buy a new adapter and see if it fixes my problem.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Yeah, I have one of those, but it only outputs up to 500mA. I have gotten my Sega CD to turn on a few times in the last hour or so; for some reason putting a Genesis cartridge in, powering it on, and then turning it on again without the cart seems to help. The two times I put CD's in (one audio, one game), the system froze up and presumably crashed (or lost power). I guess I'll buy a new adapter and see if it fixes my problem.


You can double up power bricks, using two 9V 500mA will give you either 18V 500mA, or 9V 1A, depending on how you wire it up. It certainly wouldn't hurt to get another Sega replacement, but if you feel like messing with it in the meantime... What was the power brick you have outputting when you tested it, just out of curiosity?


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> You can double up power bricks, using two 9V 500mA will give you either 18V 500mA, or 9V 1A, depending on how you wire it up. It certainly wouldn't hurt to get another Sega replacement, but if you feel like messing with it in the meantime... What was the power brick you have outputting when you tested it, just out of curiosity?


Almost nothing. 0.001-0.007V


----------



## Mr357

I bought a new universal AC adapter, one that can deliver up to 1.7A, and presto, it works!








Thanks for all of the help guys! It's too bad I ended up having to spend more money, but in the end it still cost me way less than a working one would have.

Now I just need to figure out why Snatcher won't go past the Konami splash.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> I bought a new universal AC adapter, one that can deliver up to 1.7A, and presto, it works!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for all of the help guys! It's too bad I ended up having to spend more money, but in the end it still cost me way less than a working one would have.
> 
> Now I just need to figure out why Snatcher won't go past the Konami splash.


You have Snatcher!?














And glad to hear you got your Sega CD working!


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> You have Snatcher!?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And glad to hear you got your Sega CD working!


A real copy? I wish. I have a burned one, but I just noticed that it has a huge scratch on it, so maybe that's the problem.


----------



## subassy

Hasn't been part of the conversation for a while but I came with something on the "complete collection" category: least loved of all "major" consoles, the Atari 5200. There's only 69 games available for it (according to Wikipedia). So far as I know there are no rare and/or especially expensive games for them. And they don't seem that popular.

Keep in mind I don't actually like the 5200, I have a console but never hook it up and there's actually not that special of a console (everybody complains about the controllers). In fact I haven't even emulated it that much. For whatever reason I just really like the look and design of the carts for some reason. It's like a size in between the NES and SNES. I don't why but I kind of want to get a complete on this system. Maybe play the games via emulation.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> A real copy? I wish. I have a burned one, but I just noticed that it has a huge scratch on it, so maybe that's the problem.


Ah, thought you had the real deal...was about to ask if you knew how much it was worth these days lol As long as other games work, it's probably just the scratch/disc then. So when you get older systems like this...do you open them up and give them a good cleaning? While I am doing that on CD based systems, I always lube the laser "screw things" and other moving parts of the assembly. Something that might be worth doing on a system such as this.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Hasn't been part of the conversation for a while but I came with something on the "complete collection" category: least loved of all "major" consoles, the Atari 5200. There's only 69 games available for it (according to Wikipedia). So far as I know there are no rare and/or especially expensive games for them. And they don't seem that popular.
> 
> Keep in mind I don't actually like the 5200, I have a console but never hook it up and there's actually not that special of a console (everybody complains about the controllers). In fact I haven't even emulated it that much. For whatever reason I just really like the look and design of the carts for some reason. It's like a size in between the NES and SNES. I don't why but I kind of want to get a complete on this system. Maybe play the games via emulation.


How many good 5200 games are there though? I can't name one.


----------



## jman246

jman246 - nes, snes, n64, ps1, gambeboy, gameboy pocket, gameboy colour, ps2, gameboy advance sp, gamecube, psp, nintendo ds lite, wii,


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> How many good 5200 games are there though? I can't name one.


There happens to be at least one 



. He awards grades of A and B quite a bit in his list. I don't think that many are actually great. If there are even 10 out of 69 games that are superior to versions on other platforms seems like it would be worth while. I think I personally would just be collecting to collect. Maybe I'm just entering some kind of hoarder mode or somethin'.

From what I could tell from his reviews there are a lot of arcade ports for the 5200, which kind of reminds me of the Sega Saturn. That system didn't go so well either. Although at least the Saturn had a decent controller. The 5200 has some Atari 8-bit computer ports as well. I guess fans have converted some over. Not sure those count or not.


----------



## neurotix

Comparing it to the Saturn is kind of irrelevant, if only because the Saturn is so much more advanced that it allows for all genres. Beside the Sega arcade ports, there were a ton of niche games, especially in Japan. Stuff like simulation, turn based strategy and RPG. The Saturn is a niche gamers' console.

As far as the 5200, didn't it have a really good port of Donkey Kong? That's all I know.

I'm not really into 5200, 7800, Intellivision, Colecovision etc. because they were before my time, and I like games you can play for more than 5 minutes before getting bored.

If I wanted to play Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Joust, Defender, Pole Position, Galaga etc. I would just play them in MAME. That way they're identical to the arcade, minus the cabinet and controls. The program code and graphics are identical anyway.


----------



## subassy

My comparison was just supposed to be that both happen to have a lot of ports of popular arcade games of the day and both saw limited success in their initial life span. Kind of a historical parallel. That Sega failed to learn from. That was all. That Saturn was in a 50/50 market with PS1 in japan is kind of beside the point. And again, the "fat" Saturn game pad is possibly the best game pad ever released. I like it even more than the 360 one. But that's just me.

I actually didn't have any Atari stuff in the 80s either. A 5200 collection to me would be like a display piece/alternative to displaying vinyl. That's about it.


----------



## Mega Man

Sigh....young'ns. Here I am with an actual pong system and vectrex


----------



## neurotix

I'd love a Pong system or a Vectrex. I've always wanted to play the Vectrex but never been able to because they're so rare and expensive.

A 5200 though? lol


----------



## Mega Man

Not too bad average of 300 for a vectrex.

My 5200 is in rough shape sadly yes. I have one.

I have 4 and 6 switch Vader and woodies (2600) the 2600 mini the 7200 as well I keep seeing the atari pcs on cl but I am keeping my wallet close by atm and not interested in collecting them


----------



## neurotix

PCs? Like the Atari 800 or whatever?


----------



## Mega Man

I classify it as " the ataris with a keyboard "


----------



## neurotix

Yeah, I'd love to play with one of those.


----------



## subassy

Found another original Xbox today, $10. Powered it on and it's already soft-modded. SNES/Mame/ps1 games and every thing. Cool eh?


----------



## Mega Man

nice !


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Haven't really picked up anything lately, but I might have a decent CRT finally. My Mom's border just moved out and left one there. I am going to wait a week or so, and if he doesn't come back for it, which he already came and picked up everything else, it's mine. Nothing that great, but it's a 27" with s-video and component, which is what I have been looking for. I know they are not expensive, but I don't drive, so finding a decent one, for a decent price, in my area, close enough that I can taxi over to get it, has not been easy. I can taxi it home from my Mom's for <$10. I just wasn't going to pay $50 for an old CRT, and then another $30 for a taxi to bring it home. Not worth it when people toss them out all the time. Also, randomly picked up a retail copy of Fallout PC for $1 lol A re-release though, not the original retail version.


----------



## Jimbags

Loaded up Retroarch on an old laptop I found in the rubbish. Intel C2D T7200 and ati HD2600. 2Gb ddr2 667 ram.
Has hdmi and vga out. So might be my spare emulator setup when my son is watching toystory (again) on my htpc


----------



## tristanbear

Posting here to get updates that you guys post.


----------



## Mr357

I went into my local Half Price Books today during lunch and walked out with Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, Metal Gear Solid 2, and Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legend for $10, $5, and $5 respectively. I've already played through Metal Gear Solid 2, but that was on a borrowed copy and I felt like having my own. Pandora Tomorrow is the greatest hits version which is supposed to include some extra content.


----------



## tristanbear

Good find!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> I went into my local Half Price Books today during lunch and walked out with Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, Metal Gear Solid 2, and Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legend for $10, $5, and $5 respectively. I've already played through Metal Gear Solid 2, but that was on a borrowed copy and I felt like having my own. Pandora Tomorrow is the greatest hits version which is supposed to include some extra content.


Nice price on MGS2 and Jak & Daxter, but Splinter Cell games are usually around $1-3 around here, maybe $5 at most. I think I got most of the Splinter Cell collection on the Xbox for about $2-3 each. I was never real fond of the series though so I wouldn't pay much more than that, if I did I probably wouldn't think $10 was too much.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Nice price on MGS2 and Jak & Daxter, but Splinter Cell games are usually around $1-3 around here, maybe $5 at most. I think I got most of the Splinter Cell collection on the Xbox for about $2-3 each. I was never real fond of the series though so I wouldn't pay much more than that, if I did I probably wouldn't think $10 was too much.


$10 was too much, but oddly enough I'd never seen it in a store before, and knew it would cost the same or more on eBay. Most importantly, it's a game I actually wanted.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Brought my TV home finally, to be honest it's not as good as I hoped, but it's a huge improvement from trying to play on the 32" LCD I was using before. I think the CRT is only 24" though, which is fine, and it won't let me use composite and S-video at the same time. If an S-video cable is plugged into the TV, it automatically uses that for video. Not a huge deal, I only used S-video on the Gamecube anyway. Other than that, I got everything all hooked up through some input switchers, so I can play any of my systems without messing with cables. Only Xbox and PS2 are on component, everything else is on composite. Also got a few fabric boxes, not sure what to call them, and use those for all my controllers so they no longer take up space on the console shelf, since I was running out of room. I should now have room on the shelf for another 3 systems or so. I currently have 9 systems on the shelf with plenty of room to fit the 3 more without being too cluttered and leaving enough clearance between for air flow.


----------



## wisdom.courage.power

Please add me!!

I have a NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Wii ... and have a PS1 that I borrowed from my cousin!

50+ games

Man I was 3 years old when I got my NES, my first gaming console. I still have that same console and it still works, I'm 30 years old now. These old consoles where built like tanks and me being a kid was not gentle with them.


----------



## neurotix

Added you, welcome, sorry for the delay.

It slowed down in here too, possibly because everyone is talking in the Sega thread, it's here if you want to see it, but you didn't say you have any Sega systems, so I don't know if it matters to you.

A lot of the same people in this club post there too. It's not always just Sega discussion in there.

My apologies, I haven't been very active on the site and I've been absorbed in games lately.


----------



## Mr357

I found MGS: Twin Snakes at my local used book store for $50 today. Not a steal, but it was complete and in good shape, so I bought it. If my hunch is right, Gamecube collecting is going to get crazy expensive in the coming years. I also got MGS2: Substance for Xbox for $5. It's actually only worth about $3, but I didn't even know it existed and assumed it was uncommon.


----------



## wisdom.courage.power

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Added you, welcome, sorry for the delay.
> 
> It slowed down in here too, possibly because everyone is talking in the Sega thread, it's here if you want to see it, but you didn't say you have any Sega systems, so I don't know if it matters to you.
> 
> A lot of the same people in this club post there too. It's not always just Sega discussion in there.
> 
> My apologies, I haven't been very active on the site and I've been absorbed in games lately.


Was always too broke to get other consoles, all of my older games and consoles where Christmas presents so I had to be really picky on what I chose.... all of my cousins had NES and SNES so naturally I followed their lead


----------



## neurotix

I never had Sega stuff as a kid either.

A friend had a Genesis and Phantasy Star II, he also had a Power Base Converter (lets you play Master System games on Genesis) and the original Phantasy Star. Between those and Golden Axe 2/Streets of Rage 2 I was hooked. No way I would have asked my parents for one though. Later in the 90s I got into emulating the Genesis. Now that I'm older and the systems and games are dirt cheap, I can have both.

If you asked me to pick Sega or Nintendo though, I'd pick Nintendo every time, and that's because the SNES has my beloved Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger. No contest, sorry but Sega had nothing that could match these. Phantasy Star IV comes close but in the end I'd take Chrono Trigger.

There's a reason the PCE and later, Super Famicom did so well in Japan and the Mega Drive was a virtual unknown.


----------



## wisdom.courage.power

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I never had Sega stuff as a kid either.
> 
> A friend had a Genesis and Phantasy Star II, he also had a Power Base Converter (lets you play Master System games on Genesis) and the original Phantasy Star. Between those and Golden Axe 2/Streets of Rage 2 I was hooked. No way I would have asked my parents for one though. Later in the 90s I got into emulating the Genesis. Now that I'm older and the systems and games are dirt cheap, I can have both.
> 
> If you asked me to pick Sega or Nintendo though, I'd pick Nintendo every time, and that's because the SNES has my beloved Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger. No contest, sorry but Sega had nothing that could match these. Phantasy Star IV comes close but in the end I'd take Chrono Trigger.
> 
> There's a reason the PCE and later, Super Famicom did so well in Japan and the Mega Drive was a virtual unknown.


Yeah now that you mentioned it, back in 96 when the N64 came out naturally I wanted it as a Christmas present but it was sold out everyone, we could not find a console, so my parents asked me if I wanted to get a Playstation instead but I declined and told them to save a gaming console purchase for next year (because they where not going to buy me another console for a while) I decided to buy get a game instead (donkey kong 3 for SNES). Next Christmas finally got my N64... good thing too because Ocarina of Time was announced so I knew it was coming, I would have sold my soul for that game as a kid.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> I found MGS: Twin Snakes at my local used book store for $50 today. Not a steal, but it was complete and in good shape, so I bought it. If my hunch is right, Gamecube collecting is going to get crazy expensive in the coming years. I also got MGS2: Substance for Xbox for $5. It's actually only worth about $3, but I didn't even know it existed and assumed it was uncommon.


I was talking to the guy at the one local games store about Gamecube prices and where they are heading, and he also agreed. Gamecube stuff is already well above anything else in that generation. The system also had quite a few less common exclusives. He said it's also the most sought after right now, so he's been having trouble keeping any kind of stock around for games. It's kind of surprising since I didn't really know many people who had the Gamecube...so maybe that has something to do with it? I think most people either bought Xbox or PS2, and realized they missed out on a ton of good stuff on the Gamecube and are now going back and trying to get in on what they missed. I actually bought a Gamecube right when they came out, had a ton of games...but I can't even remember what happened to it. Sucks cause most of the games I had are now $30+. I bought another Gamecube, but have only been able to pick up a few games so far, and nothing that great, just a few games so I had something to play on the system. I haven't been picking up anything new lately for any system though, money is tight with Christmas around the corner. Gamecube games are next on the pickup list since I've only got about 4-5 games for it right now, and a couple of those are I don't know how old...I found them in an old junk drawer of mine in really beat up cases, missing manuals, etc. If I didn't find those, I'd only have one Gamecube game at the moment lol


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I was talking to the guy at the one local games store about Gamecube prices and where they are heading, and he also agreed. Gamecube stuff is already well above anything else in that generation. The system also had quite a few less common exclusives. He said it's also the most sought after right now, so he's been having trouble keeping any kind of stock around for games. It's kind of surprising since I didn't really know many people who had the Gamecube...so maybe that has something to do with it? I think most people either bought Xbox or PS2, and realized they missed out on a ton of good stuff on the Gamecube and are now going back and trying to get in on what they missed. I actually bought a Gamecube right when they came out, had a ton of games...but I can't even remember what happened to it. Sucks cause most of the games I had are now $30+. I bought another Gamecube, but have only been able to pick up a few games so far, and nothing that great, just a few games so I had something to play on the system. I haven't been picking up anything new lately for any system though, money is tight with Christmas around the corner. Gamecube games are next on the pickup list since I've only got about 4-5 games for it right now, and a couple of those are I don't know how old...I found them in an old junk drawer of mine in really beat up cases, missing manuals, etc. If I didn't find those, I'd only have one Gamecube game at the moment lol


I don't even want to think about how bad Skies of Arcadia: Legends is going to get. It's already at about $70 CiB, more like 150 sealed. I was shocked about a month or so ago when I saw that SSB Melee goes for upwards of $30. Literally almost every everyone with a Gamecube had that game; it's not rare by any stretch. I have a good number of the best Gamecube games, but I really regret selling about half of what I had several years back.


----------



## neurotix

The only two games I'm even remotely interested in for Gamecube are Tales of Symphonia (which I have in HD for PS3) and Phantasy Star Online Episode 2 (which I can basically play for free online on PC and it has another expansion in it). It doesn't help that the Mario game is Super Mario Sunshine and the Mario Kart (Double Dash) is probably the worst Mario Kart ever. I have absolutely no interest in Smash Bros, the only one I liked was the N64 one.

I had an N64 when it came out because at the time I thought Final Fantasy was going to be on it, because that's what all the gaming magazines said. (Unlike everyone else I started with FF4 on SNES, aka FF2, in 1991. Not with FF7.) I ended up getting Mario 64, which was worth it, and Wave Race 64, which was not worth it. Anyway, once FF7 came out I promptly sold my N64 and got a PSX. Recently, I sold the N64 I acquired from a neighbor 10 years ago and got a Game Boy Color and a bunch of games instead. I sold Goldeneye and Smash Bros as well. It just never got used.

I don't like/care for Zelda Ocarina of Time, the only ones I've finished are Link to the Past and the original. I've never liked 3D Zelda. Everyone thinks I'm crazy but I really think Ocarina of Time is overrated. It doesn't help that I'm a classic Square/FF guy anyway. (Though I haven't liked any FF since FF9 and that came out in 2000.)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Haven't had much money because of the holidays, but I did pick up a couple Gamecube games from Microplay. They really didn't have much for GC, maybe 50 games or so. I didn't get anything fancy, just Waverace Bluestorm, since I used to have it, and Sonic Heroes, cause Sonic. Waverace was $6 and Sonic was $9, both complete of course.


----------



## neurotix

2 complete games for $15. Can't argue with that.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> 2 complete games for $15. Can't argue with that.


Yeah, and GC stuff is starting to go up, so definitely can't complain. I looked up ebay prices like I always do, and Wave Race is $10-12, and Sonic is $20-30, so not bad deals either. Keep in mind that's Canadian prices. Sonic Adventure is also one of my favourite games of all time, so I think I will enjoy Heroes, and I already know I like Wave Race.


----------



## Mega Man

I am really loving lakka.
http://www.lakka.tv/

And bucky o hare on nes !


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> I am really loving lakka.
> http://www.lakka.tv/
> 
> And bucky o hare on nes !


I think you mentioned that the other day, so I downloaded it, but haven't got around to installing it on any of my PCs. If I would have found out about it a bit earlier, cause I recently just finished installing emulators for everything on an old laptop I have, along with a ton of classic PC games, and it would be a shame to undo all of that work to install Lakka.


----------



## Jimbags

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I think you mentioned that the other day, so I downloaded it, but haven't got around to installing it on any of my PCs. If I would have found out about it a bit earlier, cause I recently just finished installing emulators for everything on an old laptop I have, along with a ton of classic PC games, and it would be a shame to undo all of that work to install Lakka.


Hry if what you have works. Dont change it


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

So I went through a bunch of my computer junk over the holidays and I think I have enough stuff to build a PC dedicated to recording retro games. A P5W DH Deluxe, E7300, 4GB DDR2, x1900 AIW, MSI TV tuner card, few HDDS, in a Zalman HTPC style case. The TV Tuner will handle composite and S-video input, The x1900 AIW will handle RF/Cable TV input. Not sure about component input, the x1900 AIW is missing the splitter cable thing and I haven't been able to find one for sale anywhere. But there are a couple free PCI slots on the board, a free PCIe x16, and a PCIe x1, so I can always add more cards or replace what's there. I haven't got it all setup just yet, but might start doing some retro game recording soon once I get it up and going.


----------



## subassy

Depending on which system you're talking about it may only be 320x240. Not much space required. Less than 256 colors too. You could record it to a DVD recorder and convert it. That's how _angry video game nerd_ does it.


----------



## neurotix

I basically did the same thing with the orange PC in my sig.

Bunch of extra parts left over from upgrading the main rig, spare graphics cards that got benched once for hwbot and sat, old HDDs and SSDs etc.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Depending on which system you're talking about it may only be 320x240. Not much space required. Less than 256 colors too. You could record it to a DVD recorder and convert it. That's how _angry video game nerd_ does it.


I have all the inputs figured out except component, it's not really a space thing. The PC will be on the home network as well, the motherboard has built in Wifi w/ antenna. Also, the PC will be used for processing so I don't have to tie up any of my other PCs. I've also got a Q1900m and an old Dell slim type PSU that should fit in an old Xbox cases I have been saving, going to use that for Steam streaming, some retro PC games, as well as some emulators for stuff like MAME, mostly so I can play the Metal Slug series lol My girlfriend and her son get most of my hand-me-down hardware, so this is all just stuff that wasn't being put to use by anyone in the house. It's funny I am going through all the trouble to record retro stuff though...back in the day, use to just hook systems up through the VCR and record things that way lol I was also thinking the recording PC might also be nice in that it would allow me to use any number of old CRT monitors I have, instead of the TV I am currently using. I have a 22" CRT that would look nice with all my systems hooked up to it. Not sure if that will work though due to input lag, which I imagine will be pretty substantial on this older hardware. Only one to find out though...


----------



## Mr357

I've got some *big* additions to my collection coming in soon, some of which y'all might be upset with me over.









Also, I think I ruined the optical drive of my Sega CD while re-capping it. There's a nice, shiny scorch mark from a soldering mistake that touches a trace or two. The spindle still doesn't spin and now it makes a soft clicking sound, presumably from the laser carriage hitting the barrier. I guess at this point I can't do any harm, so I'll keep messing with it.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I have all the inputs figured out except component, it's not really a space thing. The PC will be on the home network as well, the motherboard has built in Wifi w/ antenna. Also, the PC will be used for processing so I don't have to tie up any of my other PCs. I've also got a Q1900m and an old Dell slim type PSU that should fit in an old Xbox cases I have been saving, going to use that for Steam streaming, some retro PC games, as well as some emulators for stuff like MAME, mostly so I can play the Metal Slug series lol My girlfriend and her son get most of my hand-me-down hardware, so this is all just stuff that wasn't being put to use by anyone in the house. It's funny I am going through all the trouble to record retro stuff though...back in the day, use to just hook systems up through the VCR and record things that way lol I was also thinking the recording PC might also be nice in that it would allow me to use any number of old CRT monitors I have, instead of the TV I am currently using. I have a 22" CRT that would look nice with all my systems hooked up to it. Not sure if that will work though due to input lag, which I imagine will be pretty substantial on this older hardware. Only one to find out though...


I would recommend if you want to play Metal Slug (or any other Neo Geo game) you use the emulator Final Burn Alpha instead. Much better emulation and more features. It also supports CPS1, CPS2, Cave shmups, and some Sega arcade boards.
Quote:


> Also, I think I ruined the optical drive of my Sega CD while re-capping it. There's a nice, shiny scorch mark from a soldering mistake that touches a trace or two. The spindle still doesn't spin and now it makes a soft clicking sound, presumably from the laser carriage hitting the barrier. I guess at this point I can't do any harm, so I'll keep messing with it.


Sounds like a lost cause =/ At this point I would simply recommend picking up a model 2 Sega CD from Amazon. It will be about $100. You should be pretty much guaranteed to get a working one this way, though it will be more expensive. Amazon has a great return policy if you have a problem. The prices on this stuff just keeps going up so, now is the time to get it as cheap as you can. Numerous games I've bought in the last few years have just kept going up in price, and I could get over $200 for my Model 1 Sega CD that (mostly) works.

If you just want to play the games, I'd recommend the emulator "Gens". It supports Sega CD and afaik it supports memory cart files (e.g. for Shining Force CD). I got my working Model 2 CD for $60 at a local shop three years ago, and I got a RAM cart recently for $45. On top of that is the cost of the games (enormously expensive) OR other media (I use Verbatim CD-Rs). That's a lot of money to play games you can simply emulate. If someone wanted to get into Sega CD games I think I would recommend emulation over the real hardware + cost of games.









Either way, if you try and fix it, best of luck to ya.


----------



## neurotix

Sorry for double posting, but Mega Man wants to get an arcade stick for PC, except we were talking about it in the Wii U thread LOL.

The one he's looking at is this: http://www.razerzone.com/store/razer-atrox-xbox-one

It looks really solid but my argument is the price tag, and that for the same price you could have a custom made one from an artisan on shoryuken.com forums. It's a matter of personal choice but here's mine, made 5 years ago by Kaytrim's Kustoms (no longer around):



Any of you guys into arcade equipment or fighting games? MAME cabs?

I grew up LOVING arcades, they were my favorite place to go, and now they're gone. The last arcade in our town closed down about 3 years ago (it sucked anyway- mall Cyberstation). I can recall all the arcades we used to have here in Madison. I used to go to Street Fighter tournaments and played with some of the best players in the country in some of the games. And I've been playing SF in the arcades since 1992 or so. Besides that, I love all the vintage arcade machines. I really got into emulating the golden age games that I missed out on when I was in high school- Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Defender, Joust etc. I was born in '84 so that was after the video game/arcade crash. I missed the height of popularity of the golden age of arcade games.

I've been to quite a few modern arcades in the last 15 years. I've been to Capcom's Nickel City in Northbrook, IL. All the games run on nickels. Around 2002 it was the heart of the SF scene in Chicago, all the good players played there. But now, it's awful, and the last time I went last year they had gotten rid of all their good games. They replaced sit down Virtual On with ticket games









I've also been to Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, IL, the biggest arcade in the US with over 500 games on the floor.

I was able to get to Family Fun Arcade in Granada CA before it closed. This was the biggest arcade for SF competition (primarily SFIII: 3rd Strike) on the West Coast and of course, I got destroyed but had some very good matches. They had like 15 back to back 3rd Strike machines. They also had a huge SF4 machine, an imported Melty Blood machine, and a bunch of Sega Astro City cabs with doujin fighters.

Anyway, yeah. Mega Man's arcade stick he's considering looks quite good.


----------



## subassy

I've been contemplating building an arcade stick for almost year. Actually it may be an actual exact year since I first started researching building a mame arcade cabinet. I've had some delays, breaks, re-formations of ideas and...a few other things.

Your mentioning arcade sticks kind of brought it back up for me though. I had this idea I could use an old DDR mat (the gamestop brand with different console plugs) to wire up a stick. I mean rip off the mat, take out the circuit board, do some soldering and wire it up to the right kind of micro switches. _So simple. [sic]_. I actually have all the ingredients just need the time and commitment. And probably re-calibrate my soldering iron.

Oh, and the actual wood working. Don't know anything about that. Minor detail.

Obviously it would a universal arcade stick for gamecube, PS1/ps2 and original xbox. Would have to find a PC or PS3/360 one for a PC stick. I mean assuming it even worked. Although I do have a original xbox-to-usb adapter from like 10 years ago. hmmm....

Good idea though, right? Nobody seems to want those DDR pads so they're super cheap at thrift stores. And they have all the inputs except the sticks. Only thing else that has the controls and are super cheap...the stupid skate board things from _Tony Hawk's Ride_. Unless used 360 pads have finally come down in price. Not sure.


----------



## neurotix

A few years ago, around the PS2 era, everyone used original Playstation controllers, non-dual shock. This one:



That's what is inside my stick.

Supposedly the PCBs in those, compared to something with analog sticks, are incredibly reliable.

You could do it with a DDR mat, probably, assuming the PCB even has the contacts for the d-pad. I'm not familiar with those so I don't know how they work.

I'd say, if anything, you need to go out and buy one and rip it apart, and then you could at least find out if it's doable or not.

Woodworking is not really a problem. You could just cannibalize a box from another arcade stick. You could use the Tekken 5 anniversary stick seen here if you can find one cheap. By default, they are wired for PS2. The buttons can be replaced with Sanwa buttons and I think the stick can be replaced too. I have one of these laying around but, I ripped the art off it like 10 years ago and didn't treat the metal surface underneath so now the thing is literally all rusty.

You could also look into the Xbox 360/PS3 Street Fighter fightsticks made by Mad Catz around 7 years ago. Not the tournament edition one, the smaller one. This one should be even easier to modify because I'm pretty sure the button holes are 30mm. The Tekken 5 stick, the buttons are actually like 28mm so the holes need to be dremeled out.

So, having a box isn't the biggest thing if you get a second hand stick and gut it. While you're at it you could even paint it, take the old art off and use it for a template to print new art on glossy/sticky paper and attach it or glue it on.


----------



## DoktorCreepy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Sorry for double posting, but Mega Man wants to get an arcade stick for PC, except we were talking about it in the Wii U thread LOL.
> 
> The one he's looking at is this: http://www.razerzone.com/store/razer-atrox-xbox-one
> 
> It looks really solid but my argument is the price tag, and that for the same price you could have a custom made one from an artisan on shoryuken.com forums. It's a matter of personal choice but here's mine, made 5 years ago by Kaytrim's Kustoms (no longer around):
> 
> 
> 
> Any of you guys into arcade equipment or fighting games? MAME cabs?
> 
> I grew up LOVING arcades, they were my favorite place to go, and now they're gone. The last arcade in our town closed down about 3 years ago (it sucked anyway- mall Cyberstation). I can recall all the arcades we used to have here in Madison. I used to go to Street Fighter tournaments and played with some of the best players in the country in some of the games. And I've been playing SF in the arcades since 1992 or so. Besides that, I love all the vintage arcade machines. I really got into emulating the golden age games that I missed out on when I was in high school- Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Defender, Joust etc. I was born in '84 so that was after the video game/arcade crash. I missed the height of popularity of the golden age of arcade games.
> 
> I've been to quite a few modern arcades in the last 15 years. I've been to Capcom's Nickel City in Northbrook, IL. All the games run on nickels. Around 2002 it was the heart of the SF scene in Chicago, all the good players played there. But now, it's awful, and the last time I went last year they had gotten rid of all their good games. They replaced sit down Virtual On with ticket games
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I've also been to Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, IL, the biggest arcade in the US with over 500 games on the floor.
> 
> I was able to get to Family Fun Arcade in Granada CA before it closed. This was the biggest arcade for SF competition (primarily SFIII: 3rd Strike) on the West Coast and of course, I got destroyed but had some very good matches. They had like 15 back to back 3rd Strike machines. They also had a huge SF4 machine, an imported Melty Blood machine, and a bunch of Sega Astro City cabs with doujin fighters.
> 
> Anyway, yeah. Mega Man's arcade stick he's considering looks quite good.


I used to play at the several Circus and Aladdin's Castle arcades in the Twin Cities and some other places throughout the 90's until consoles took over. The weirdest experience I had during that time was at an arcade in Nassau Bahamas , there was a guy at the entrance that made you tuck in your shirt......everyone inside was wearing dress clothes too and they had nothing but old games so I left.

There is Wednesday Night Fights run by Valle in Cali, Ultra Arcade in Texas, and some others I'm forgetting for active big local scenes. I think with the resurgence of fighting games in 2016 with all the big franchises getting new titles there should be more active local scenes emerging all over.

I personally use VickoMods for mods and custom's, that is how I got my Atrox modded.

The Mad Catz SFV Chun LI TE2 is good too SFV http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16879216258&cm_re=madcatz-_-79-216-258-_-Product

The other Mad Catz SFV Fightsticks that come out next month are also in that link, I think I'm going to get a TES+ for a second fightstick.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> A few years ago, around the PS2 era, everyone used original Playstation controllers, non-dual shock. This one:
> 
> 
> 
> That's what is inside my stick.
> 
> Supposedly the PCBs in those, compared to something with analog sticks, are incredibly reliable.
> 
> You could do it with a DDR mat, probably, assuming the PCB even has the contacts for the d-pad. I'm not familiar with those so I don't know how they work.
> 
> I'd say, if anything, you need to go out and buy one and rip it apart, and then you could at least find out if it's doable or not.
> 
> Woodworking is not really a problem. You could just cannibalize a box from another arcade stick. You could use the Tekken 5 anniversary stick seen here if you can find one cheap. By default, they are wired for PS2. The buttons can be replaced with Sanwa buttons and I think the stick can be replaced too. I have one of these laying around but, I ripped the art off it like 10 years ago and didn't treat the metal surface underneath so now the thing is literally all rusty.
> 
> You could also look into the Xbox 360/PS3 Street Fighter fightsticks made by Mad Catz around 7 years ago. Not the tournament edition one, the smaller one. This one should be even easier to modify because I'm pretty sure the button holes are 30mm. The Tekken 5 stick, the buttons are actually like 28mm so the holes need to be dremeled out.
> 
> So, having a box isn't the biggest thing if you get a second hand stick and gut it. While you're at it you could even paint it, take the old art off and use it for a template to print new art on glossy/sticky paper and attach it or glue it on.


For the DDR thing it's pretty much just a series of on/off switches wired together. The wires either go out to a mat or to buttons in a gamepad but it's all the same. Only difference might be latency or a differences based on the intended purpose. But really it should all be the same: on off buttons. Probably more soldering with a the DDR thing though (which I don't mind).

I was going to say I don't see much reason in buying a fight stick just to modify it to be a fight stick but then I remembered I bought _two_ of these: (several months apart)

http://www.amazon.com/iCade-Arcade-Controller-iPad2-ICG05/dp/B008BGY2I6/


But when I bought them they were only *$20*. Eight buttons and a stick for $20 (and free shipping) is actually a really good deal. I mean for parts-harvesting purposes. This thing is actually a bunch of relatively high quality micro-switches all wired up to a bluetooth keyboard circuit board. The bluetooth part seems biased towards iOS devices. It's quite trivial to disconnect the wires and connect them to a different circuit board though. Like I said it was a lot more of a deal when it was $20 or so. At $50 may as well just _buy_ a big bag of button/switches. Come to think of it if I sold my second one I could actually make my money back. Or like $5 after fees. hmmm.

I still want to make an actual cabinet-like thing anyway. I'm leaning more towards a "table top" right now. Just have to do the actual designing and layout of the thing. I have what I think is a usable PC/device, a 4:3 flat screen monitor with speakers. I guess it's more of a TV. But not very big. Like 15" or something like that (not that easy to find).

I'm still working on what I want to do for the the control panel of my hypothetical table top. I already decided I wanted to a track ball and I'm still trying to decide on a spinner. I found a web page that makes adapting a usb-mouse-but-with-a-ball to a spinner rather easy. If it's really that easy I don't think it'd be that big of a thing to add one.

Mine would only be a single control panel. I do have a plan for a second player but I don't want to share it until it's finished









Oh and not that anybody asked but Slagcoin is a really cool site for designing a custom arcade control panel...


----------



## subassy

Not really a context to post this. Just thought it was funny:


http://imgur.com/NuD2L


----------



## neurotix

LOL there certainly are a lot of those things dead, not a bad use for one.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> I've got some *big* additions to my collection coming in soon, some of which y'all might be upset with me over.


I can't believe I forgot to update this. Here's my pick ups from Christmas to the second week of January.



And my Snatcher collection











The model 1 CD took some maintenance (new fuse and a drive tray re-alignment ), but it works perfectly! I'm finally going to be able to play through all of Snatcher on real hardware instead of an emu. I got through about 70% of it on my model 2, but there's a really long cutscene that plays CDDA the entire time, so it always started skipping and would crash after about 20 seconds.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

So is that legit Snatcher and Panzer Dragoon Saga? Also, is that an import Snatcher on the Saturn? Any differences between the Sega CD/Saturn versions, other than the translation? Also, completely curious what that PC Engine Duo R was worth? Jealous, by the way...I haven't had money for any new pickups since before Christmas.

Also, kind of related...I have been thinking about doing a recreation of the Snatcher Sega CD cover art in a large poster size. Either on canvas or a nice chunk of wood, in mixed media, probably mostly acrylics though. I would like to get as close to original art as possible...so if that Sega CD is legit, I would really appreciate a few high res photos, or even a high res scan, of the cover art. I have found a few sources in OK resolution, but higher would definitely be beneficial. Also, I have quite a bit of experience rendering text and fonts by hand, but I am on the fence if I want to do a recreation of the actual Sega CD cover, with all the text in place, or if I should just not do the Title/text and try to just recreate the actual art sans text.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> So is that legit Snatcher and Panzer Dragoon Saga? Also, is that an import Snatcher on the Saturn? Any differences between the Sega CD/Saturn versions, other than the translation? Also, completely curious what that PC Engine Duo R was worth? Jealous, by the way...I haven't had money for any new pickups since before Christmas.
> 
> Also, kind of related...I have been thinking about doing a recreation of the Snatcher Sega CD cover art in a large poster size. Either on canvas or a nice chunk of wood, in mixed media, probably mostly acrylics though. I would like to get as close to original art as possible...so if that Sega CD is legit, I would really appreciate a few high res photos, or even a high res scan, of the cover art. I have found a few sources in OK resolution, but higher would definitely be beneficial. Also, I have quite a bit of experience rendering text and fonts by hand, but I am on the fence if I want to do a recreation of the actual Sega CD cover, with all the text in place, or if I should just not do the Title/text and try to just recreate the actual art sans text.


Yes, they're both completely legit, and as you can imagine, expensive.









As for the Saturn and PC Engine Super CD versions, they're both Japan only imports. Oddly enough, the Sega CD version, which I consider to be the best in terms of art style, music, and dialogue, was only released in the US and Europe. The Mega Drive (and naturally the Mega CD) sold poorly in Japan, so maybe that was the reason. The Sega CD version is a port of the PCE version, so besides most of the music, and all of the dialogue, the differences are very minor. The Saturn version, however, changed almost all of the background and sprites, and almost all of the music, and not for the better in most people's opinions. At the end of this post, I'll link a video from a playlist that compares the music from all six version of Snatcher. You'll see what I mean about the music.

I'll see what I can do about pictures/scans. Would you like one of that magazine ad I have too? What resolution? Keep in mind, the "cover" is actually the manual, so it may not be easy or possible for me to get it completely flat.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Yes, they're both completely legit, and as you can imagine, expensive.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As for the Saturn and PC Engine Super CD versions, they're both Japan only imports. Oddly enough, the Sega CD version, which I consider to be the best in terms of art style, music, and dialogue, was only released in the US and Europe. The Mega Drive (and naturally the Mega CD) sold poorly in Japan, so maybe that was the reason. The Sega CD version is a port of the PCE version, so besides most of the music, and all of the dialogue, the differences are very minor. The Saturn version, however, changed almost all of the background and sprites, and almost all of the music, and not for the better in most people's opinions. At the end of this post, I'll link a video from a playlist that compares the music from all six version of Snatcher. You'll see what I mean about the music.
> 
> I'll see what I can do about pictures/scans. Would you like one of that magazine ad I have too? What resolution? Keep in mind, the "cover" is actually the manual, so it may not be easy or possible for me to get it completely flat.


I'd take whatever photos/scans I can get, and would be super appreciative. The more source material, the better. Congrats on your Snatcher collection dude! And also Panzer Dragoon Saga...I've been wanting that game BAD since I was a kid. With the prices now though, I doubt I'll ever get it lol

Also, favourite Snatcher track -


----------



## neurotix

The Snatcher stuff is absolutely fantastic. VERY nice. Rep+

I made it about halfway through Snatcher on my Sega CD (CD-R) and then stopped. It was pretty great. I didn't finish it just because I got sidetracked. I liked it though.

I'd like to get an Enforcer gun to use with it, I think that might make it better.

I loved the atmosphere and soundtrack of Snatcher, those were the best parts to me.

My obsession is jRPGs though so I'm only willing to pay for those, meaning buying Snatcher is out of the question. (I'd rather have Dragon Force for Saturn for that price.)

I would hope you guys have seen the movie _Blade Runner_, if not, then go watch it. That's basically the inspiration for Snatcher.

I got Lufia and the Fortress of Doom for SNES recently, that's my latest addition. $40. The label is slightly faded but no rips. I pretty much have all the SNES RPGs I had when I was a kid now, and all the ones I rented, as well as a few repro carts of fan translations (ToP, Bahamut Lagoon) from my teenage years. Pretty happy with my snes collection now, though I'd like to get Front Mission and Tactics Ogre from here.


----------



## Jimbags

Brought myself a Sega Dreamcast







Cant wait till it arrives.
Any game suggestions?


----------



## F3ERS 2 ASH3S

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jimbags*
> 
> Brought myself a Sega Dreamcast
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cant wait till it arrives.
> Any game suggestions?


Sim city 2000 is the same graphics as pc just easier controls.. ans street fighter the movie


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jimbags*
> 
> Brought myself a Sega Dreamcast
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cant wait till it arrives.
> Any game suggestions?


Shenmue
Shenmue II
Skies of Arcadia
Silver
Seaman
Hydro Thunder
Jet Set (Grind) Radio
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Omikron: The Nomad Soul (Pretty good port, but the PC version is better)
Soul Calibur
Resident Evil Code Veronica (2 & 3 were ported to the DC as well)

There's definitely more, but I have a ton of DC games and those are the ones that come to mind. I tried to list them in order of my personal preference.

Do you plan on buying your games or simply burning them? If the latter, shoot me a PM. I have a lot of experience with burning DC and other CD-based games, and have some recommendations that will save you a lot of time and stress.

Congrats on the purchase! You'll soon own one of the best game consoles ever made.

*Edit*: Neurotix, if you'd be so kind, I have an update to my list.
Genesis model 1, Sega CD model 1, Genesis model 2, Sega CD model 2, SNES, PC Engine Duo-R, Saturn model 1 (chip'd), 2x PSX (7xx1), N64, Dreamcast, PS2 Fat, Xbox, Gamecube (black)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Dreamcast is my favourite system ever, I am sure you will find a ton of games you like for it. Honestly, there are too many good games to list...got any specific genres in mind? I could list some of the must plays, but those are easy to find. The Dreamcast has some real gems that cannot be found elsewhere, at least not easily. One thing I will suggest though is getting a light gun and House of the Dead 2...great times right there. Or how about Sega Bass Fishing 1-2, and Sega Marine fishing with the fishing controller lol Those where also quite fun. I don't even currently have a light gun or fishing controller for it, but not because I don't want them, just haven't had the $$$ to pick them up just yet. Another weird and cool Dreamcast game...the Typing of the Dead, you need a Dreamcast keyboard...I didn't recommend that though because I believe the keyboards are quite pricey now, and I also recall Typing of the Dead to be released on PC. Seaman...never played it, no real desire to, but if you want some weirdness you won't find anywhere else, get the mic setup and that game







If you are into multiplayer splitscreen games, the Dreamcast really can't be beat, too many good ones to list. Powerstone 1+2 are great for 1-4 players. and to this day there isn't really much out there that can be compared. I could go on all day about the Dreamcast though, I am just mentioning some of the more popular stuff here.

EDIT - nice to see someone else recommending Silver, love that one too, but not a very popular RPG. One game I always forget about, and thus haven't played much, is Elemental Gimmick Gear...all I do remember is it had some fantastic art style and FMV cutscenes. Honestly though, and it might just be the nostalgia factor speaking here, I really don't remember the Dreamcast having very many bad games...sure, there was some mediocre releases, but for the most part, I would say you can't really go wrong with most Dreamcast games if you are into collecting, at least. Just so many unique titles to look for, the system is just awesome lol
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *F3ERS 2 ASH3S*
> 
> Sim city 2000 is the same graphics as pc just easier controls.. ans street fighter the movie


I believe you've got Dreamcast and Saturn mixed up


----------



## F3ERS 2 ASH3S

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Dreamcast is my favourite system ever, I am sure you will find a ton of games you like for it. Honestly, there are too many good games to list...got any specific genres in mind? I could list some of the must plays, but those are easy to find. The Dreamcast has some real gems that cannot be found elsewhere, at least not easily. One thing I will suggest though is getting a light gun and House of the Dead 2...great times right there. Or how about Sega Bass Fishing 1-2, and Sega Marine fishing with the fishing controller lol Those where also quite fun. I don't even currently have a light gun or fishing controller for it, but not because I don't want them, just haven't had the $$$ to pick them up just yet. Another weird and cool Dreamcast game...the Typing of the Dead, you need a Dreamcast keyboard...I didn't recommend that though because I believe the keyboards are quite pricey now, and I also recall Typing of the Dead to be released on PC. Seaman...never played it, no real desire to, but if you want some weirdness you won't find anywhere else, get the mic setup and that game
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If you are into multiplayer splitscreen games, the Dreamcast really can't be beat, too many good ones to list. Powerstone 1+2 are great for 1-4 players. and to this day there isn't really much out there that can be compared. I could go on all day about the Dreamcast though, I am just mentioning some of the more popular stuff here.
> 
> EDIT - nice to see someone else recommending Silver, love that one too, but not a very popular RPG. One game I always forget about, and thus haven't played much, is Elemental Gimmick Gear...all I do remember is it had some fantastic art style and FMV cutscenes. Honestly though, and it might just be the nostalgia factor speaking here, I really don't remember the Dreamcast having very many bad games...sure, there was some mediocre releases, but for the most part, I would say you can't really go wrong with most Dreamcast games if you are into collecting, at least. Just so many unique titles to look for, the system is just awesome lol
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *F3ERS 2 ASH3S*
> 
> Sim city 2000 is the same graphics as pc just easier controls.. ans street fighter the movie
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I believe you've got Dreamcast and Saturn mixed up
Click to expand...

Oh snap youre right.. was totally thinking saturn derp


----------



## neurotix

Dreamcast.

Anything by Capcom. Not just the 2D fighters. Power Stone 1 & 2. Super Puzzle Fighter II (jap). Giga Wing 2. Mars Matrix. Tech Romancer.

Some of the exclusives by Sega are good. Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram is fantastic. Phantasy Star Online if you don't mind playing alone.

RPGs are kind of lacking but the best two by far are Grandia 2 and Skies of Arcadia.

You can also run emulators up to the Super Nintendo on Dreamcast. Look around the web, you'll find premade discs with an emulator and 500+ games.

The Dreamcast's niche was 2D fighters and 2D shooters (shmups). There's a lot of these on this system.

EDIT: Mr357 I would gladly update your list but my original post in the beginning of this thread has no edit button anymore. Can someone get a mod in here to fix this, or explain why? On top of that, the Sega thread no longer has an edit button for the first post either.


----------



## iTurn

Speaking of Capcom, yesterday was the 15th anniversary of Onimusha.

With out even knowing that I bought Onimusha 1 & 2 this month, so i'll be playing through those.

My retro pick ups for the year so far are Onimusha 1 & 2, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds, and Devil May Cry 3.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *iTurn*
> 
> Speaking of Capcom, yesterday was the 15th anniversary of Onimusha.
> 
> With out even knowing that I bought Onimusha 1 & 2 this month, so i'll be playing through those.
> 
> My retro pick ups for the year so far are Onimusha 1 & 2, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds, and Devil May Cry 3.


I love the Onimusha series, though I don't think I have gotten around to playing 3 yet. I have all three of them though. 15 years though...god I am starting to feel old lol Might start a playthrough of Onimusha 1 as well once I finish up a couple of games I've got on the go right now.

Also, got my recording PC all put together, but even in a HTPC case, it's still too big to fit anywhere with my retro stuff. So I started putting together something smaller that will fit nicely, but I am a bit of $$$ away from getting it setup, since I can't use the PCI capture card from the other recording PC. Plan is to just unhook whatever system I want to record and bring it down to my computer area...but even that might not happen. All of my systems are always hooked up, and the mess of cables and switches makes it a beach to unhook anything. So likely no recording still until I get another capture card, just because it's such a pain in the butt. The other option is to combine my computer area and retro gaming stuff into one section of the house, but it would then all be set up in an unfinished basement, and I don;t like the idea of keeping the consoles down here because of humidity or moisture. It's honestly pretty dry down here, but I don't want to reduce the life of the consoles by keeping it in a dusty and potentially humid basement. I guess I could use one of my reptile humidity guages to see what it's really like down here. All my computer junk has been stored down here with no ill effects yet. I don't know...might just wait for the capture card since the new recording PC is going in a custom case that's only about 11.5" x 9.5" x 4", so it would fit right in with the gaming stuff just fine. Also have a spare Xbox case that may fit all the parts as well...but still undecided if I want to go through all the hacking to make it work.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Shenmue
> Shenmue II
> Skies of Arcadia
> Silver
> Seaman
> Hydro Thunder
> Jet Set (Grind) Radio
> Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
> Omikron: The Nomad Soul (Pretty good port, but the PC version is better)
> Soul Calibur
> Resident Evil Code Veronica (2 & 3 were ported to the DC as well)
> 
> There's definitely more, but I have a ton of DC games and those are the ones that come to mind. I tried to list them in order of my personal preference.
> 
> Do you plan on buying your games or simply burning them? If the latter, shoot me a PM. I have a lot of experience with burning DC and other CD-based games, and have some recommendations that will save you a lot of time and stress.
> 
> Congrats on the purchase! You'll soon own one of the best game consoles ever made.
> 
> *Edit*: Neurotix, if you'd be so kind, I have an update to my list.
> Genesis model 1, Sega CD model 1, Genesis model 2, Sega CD model 2, SNES, PC Engine Duo-R, Saturn model 1 (chip'd), 2x PSX (7xx1), N64, Dreamcast, PS2 Fat, Xbox, Gamecube (black)


That's funny that _Seaman_ is mentioned on your list. Made me think of the AVGN episode (probably NSFW). Obviously you would need the microphone to even "play" it.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> That's funny that _Seaman_ is mentioned on your list. Made me think of the AVGN episode (probably NSFW). Obviously you would need the microphone to even "play" it.


I thought it was worth it; I enjoyed it a lot.


----------



## neurotix

Love the AVGN, seen every episode.

The Seaman one was pretty amusing.


----------



## subassy

Apparently OCN doesn't support whatever the "GIFV" format is, e.g. I would embed it below if I could...

Somebody on here should appreciate this...

https://i.imgur.com/9vVnWym.gifv

It's a normal looking NES. A hand slides in a cartridge (but doesn't push it down). The little door thing is closed and..._the top half of the NES is flipped up to reveal a perfectly sized LCD screen playing the game...._


----------



## neurotix

That's really cool and absolutely insane.

Anyone who's ever taken apart a NES would know that would take a tremendous amount of modding, to remove the card edge connector from the mechanism on the bottom of the machine and mount it in the top half behind the LCD screen. Seriously, the entire NES would have to be gutted and you'd need to make some custom modifications to the motherboard.

Mr357 (and everyone else) I got my thread edit rights back. Mr357 your list has been updated. All is good.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Apparently OCN doesn't support whatever the "GIFV" format is, e.g. I would embed it below if I could...
> 
> Somebody on here should appreciate this...
> 
> https://i.imgur.com/9vVnWym.gifv
> 
> It's a normal looking NES. A hand slides in a cartridge (but doesn't push it down). The little door thing is closed and..._the top half of the NES is flipped up to reveal a perfectly sized LCD screen playing the game...._


Saw that earlier today. I wonder what the input lag is like.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> That's really cool and absolutely insane.
> 
> Anyone who's ever taken apart a NES would know that would take a tremendous amount of modding, to remove the card edge connector from the mechanism on the bottom of the machine and mount it in the top half behind the LCD screen. Seriously, the entire NES would have to be gutted and you'd need to make some custom modifications to the motherboard.
> 
> Mr357 (and everyone else) I got my thread edit rights back. Mr357 your list has been updated. All is good.


Thanks!









Here's my latest pick up. To be blunt, I find it a little boring and not quite as good as many hyped it up to be. Still fun though!


----------



## F3ERS 2 ASH3S

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Apparently OCN doesn't support whatever the "GIFV" format is, e.g. I would embed it below if I could...
> 
> Somebody on here should appreciate this...
> 
> https://i.imgur.com/9vVnWym.gifv
> 
> It's a normal looking NES. A hand slides in a cartridge (but doesn't push it down). The little door thing is closed and..._the top half of the NES is flipped up to reveal a perfectly sized LCD screen playing the game...._
> 
> 
> 
> Saw that earlier today. I wonder what the input lag is like.
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> That's really cool and absolutely insane.
> 
> Anyone who's ever taken apart a NES would know that would take a tremendous amount of modding, to remove the card edge connector from the mechanism on the bottom of the machine and mount it in the top half behind the LCD screen. Seriously, the entire NES would have to be gutted and you'd need to make some custom modifications to the motherboard.
> 
> Mr357 (and everyone else) I got my thread edit rights back. Mr357 your list has been updated. All is good.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here's my latest pick up. To be blunt, I find it a little boring and not quite as good as many hyped it up to be. Still fun though!
Click to expand...

I like the first one the best..


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> That's really cool and absolutely insane.
> 
> Anyone who's ever taken apart a NES would know that would take a tremendous amount of modding, to remove the card edge connector from the mechanism on the bottom of the machine and mount it in the top half behind the LCD screen. Seriously, the entire NES would have to be gutted and you'd need to make some custom modifications to the motherboard.
> 
> Mr357 (and everyone else) I got my thread edit rights back. Mr357 your list has been updated. All is good.


I would only disagree about the amount of modding, it isn't that much and would take some minor soldering, but it is an epic mod amd I don't want to take away from that


----------



## neurotix

Streets of Rage 2: my favorite beat-em-up ever. I've played at least a hundred others.

If you have a manual, take a look at it and all the different moves the characters have. Each character has 3 unique special moves (f,f, B. Neutral A. And f+A). On top of that, two different jump kicks. Different grabs and throws depending on what side you grapple the enemy from. Ability to use chain moves (e.g. mash B) out of chain by holding and releasing B. On top of that, absolutely huge and detailed character and enemy sprites for the time. Absolutely fantastic, legendary, classic soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro (sorry but this one is inarguable.) Unique bosses with unique patterns and a ton of personality, they even have fighting styles similar to real martial arts. They aren't just cheap health tank counter bots that do half a life bar in one hit like Final Fight. All in a game from 1992. If you look at the other beat em ups on home consoles from that era, none of them have as many features, as good a soundtrack or as good of graphics. Final Fight 1 and 2 on SNES were both basically terrible and totally inferior to the CPS original. Also, your characters have like 1/3rd the available moves in both. You also have to compare SOR2 to the original, and there's no question it improved the graphics and gameplay tremendously.

Sure, there's games that came after it that were even crazier but those were mostly in the arcade (stuff like Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, The Punisher, D&D Shadow of Mystara, Aliens vs Predator etc.)

In the 32-bit era, everyone wanted 3D/polygonal graphics, so beat em ups fell out of fashion because they didn't translate well to 3D graphics. This makes SOR2, SOR3 and Final Fight 3 some of the last beat em ups released on home consoles. They are a product of a bygone era and a genre that's pretty much dead now. SOR2 was one of the best.

Also, if you are only playing the game single player, you are doing yourself and the game a huge disservice. It is meant to be played with 2 people, just like 2D fighting games. It is much more fun that way.


----------



## F3ERS 2 ASH3S

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Streets of Rage 2: my favorite beat-em-up ever. I've played at least a hundred others.
> 
> If you have a manual, take a look at it and all the different moves the characters have. Each character has 3 unique special moves (f,f, B. Neutral A. And f+A). On top of that, two different jump kicks. Different grabs and throws depending on what side you grapple the enemy from. Ability to use chain moves (e.g. mash B) out of chain by holding and releasing B. On top of that, absolutely huge and detailed character and enemy sprites for the time. Absolutely fantastic, legendary, classic soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro (sorry but this one is inarguable.) Unique bosses with unique patterns and a ton of personality, they even have fighting styles similar to real martial arts. They aren't just cheap health tank counter bots that do half a life bar in one hit like Final Fight. All in a game from 1992. If you look at the other beat em ups on home consoles from that era, none of them have as many features, as good a soundtrack or as good of graphics. Final Fight 1 and 2 on SNES were both basically terrible and totally inferior to the CPS original. Also, your characters have like 1/3rd the available moves in both. You also have to compare SOR2 to the original, and there's no question it improved the graphics and gameplay tremendously.
> 
> Sure, there's games that came after it that were even crazier but those were mostly in the arcade (stuff like Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, The Punisher, D&D Shadow of Mystara, Aliens vs Predator etc.)
> 
> In the 32-bit era, everyone wanted 3D/polygonal graphics, so beat em ups fell out of fashion because they didn't translate well to 3D graphics. This makes SOR2, SOR3 and Final Fight 3 some of the last beat em ups released on home consoles. They are a product of a bygone era and a genre that's pretty much dead now. SOR2 was one of the best.
> 
> Also, if you are only playing the game single player, you are doing yourself and the game a huge disservice. It is meant to be played with 2 people, just like 2D fighting games. It is much more fun that way.


Because the added team grpples jumps and moves.. they were very well developed games


----------



## neurotix

There's basically so much more you can do in SOR2 that you can't do in Final Fight. (At least not until Final Fight 3).

Final Fight had one attack chain, one special move (Attack + Jump together), one jump kick and one throw. (Except Haggar- he gets a grapple punch, a suplex and a piledriver.)

Also, Final Fight on SNES was 1 player only and didn't even have all the characters.

I think SOR2 was really the first beat-em-up to have so many options per character.









Let's not forget it was on the Genesis/MD either, which is basically 1988 tech derived from 1985 arcade boards (Sega System 16) that ran stuff like Shinobi and Golden Axe. So SOR2 did everything it did on basically 1985 level hardware in 1992.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> That's really cool and absolutely insane.
> 
> Anyone who's ever taken apart a NES would know that would take a tremendous amount of modding, to remove the card edge connector from the mechanism on the bottom of the machine and mount it in the top half behind the LCD screen. Seriously, the entire NES would have to be gutted and you'd need to make some custom modifications to the motherboard.
> 
> Mr357 (and everyone else) I got my thread edit rights back. Mr357 your list has been updated. All is good.


Could be the modder used a "Nintendo-on-a-Chip" (or NOAC) and put it into an original NES shell. Those NOAC devices can be pretty small, as demonstrated from this pic:

The entire NES fits on to the NES cartridge. Like that. Ben Heck is kind of amazing.

A pic I got from from a little mod called the _NesTari_, a combo 2600/NES portable device









http://www.benheck.com/the-nestari/

It's actually an interesting page. If you're into that sort of thing. I was doing some searching on doing the "cartridge mod" on the _Atari Flashback 2_ which I happen to own. I want to combine it with my RetroDuo. Make it a...Trio... Probably need an entire new case. With different controller ports. Sorry, tangent.


----------



## neurotix

I need to get a soldering kit and learn how to solder so bad.

I think my ultimate goal would be a Sega Neptune.


----------



## Mega Man

yep you can make those atari into an original atari 2600. but no you can see the ribbon cable i htink he just moved the 72 pin or 74 pin connector ( w.e. )

the newer 72 pin connectors you dont need to push the games down for them to work


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I need to get a soldering kit and learn how to solder so bad.
> 
> I think my ultimate goal would be a Sega Neptune.


It's really not as hard as you think. I used to think the same thing, then I got a cheap soldering iron and it's pretty dang easy, as long as you aren't trying to do surface mount stuff. I use a $15 iron and have no complaints, I would just get one and use some junk electronics to practice on.


----------



## Mega Man

surface mount stuff is really really easy

unfortunately the mods are really close minded, and deleted a post by JVG that had a link to awesome instructions, but they deleted it as he is no longer an artisian, i asked them to move it but they dont listen, big surprise, look at the crappy website "improvements" ( totally sarcastic !! imo the are all failures )

they are so so easy it is sad, i got a great soldering iron station for like 80-100, best investment ever, i couldnt solder before now it is so easy, that and good leaded solder and flux


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> surface mount stuff is really really easy
> 
> unfortunately the mods are really close minded, and deleted a post by JVG that had a link to awesome instructions, but they deleted it as he is no longer an artisian, i asked them to move it but they dont listen, big surprise, look at the crappy website "improvements" ( totally sarcastic !! imo the are all failures )
> 
> they are so so easy it is sad, i got a great soldering iron station for like 80-100, best investment ever, i couldnt solder before now it is so easy, that and good leaded solder and flux


I've been watching some SMD stuff, and it doesn't look too bad to be honest, but I haven't tried anything yet with my cheap iron. I do plan to get into some surface mount stuff too though, when needed. Just haven't yet. Nice to know it isn't that bad though. From what I understand, you don't really have to worry about bridges so much, you can just pull the extra solder away from the pins or whatever with your iron. I just always suspected it would never go as nicely as when you watch someone else do it lol I watch a lot of EEVblog though, and stuff like Ben Heck, so I was pretty confident I could handle it, just didn't want to recommend someone else give it a go without having any first hand experience myself. Also been watching some BGA stuff, would be neat to get a little reflow station setup one day too...


----------



## neurotix

@ Mega... yeah not very happy with the mods either and the site changes but I don't want to ruffle any feathers.

My hat says Overclock.net. That's what it will always be for me.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> surface mount stuff is really really easy
> 
> unfortunately the mods are really close minded, and deleted a post by JVG that had a link to awesome instructions, but they deleted it as he is no longer an artisian, i asked them to move it but they dont listen, big surprise, look at the crappy website "improvements" ( totally sarcastic !! imo the are all failures )
> 
> they are so so easy it is sad, i got a great soldering iron station for like 80-100, best investment ever, i couldnt solder before now it is so easy, that and good leaded solder and flux
> 
> 
> 
> I've been watching some SMD stuff, and it doesn't look too bad to be honest, but I haven't tried anything yet with my cheap iron. I do plan to get into some surface mount stuff too though, when needed. Just haven't yet. Nice to know it isn't that bad though. From what I understand, you don't really have to worry about bridges so much, you can just pull the extra solder away from the pins or whatever with your iron. I just always suspected it would never go as nicely as when you watch someone else do it lol I watch a lot of EEVblog though, and stuff like Ben Heck, so I was pretty confident I could handle it, just didn't want to recommend someone else give it a go without having any first hand experience myself. Also been watching some BGA stuff, would be neat to get a little reflow station setup one day too...
Click to expand...

you are correct and a chisel tip


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> @ Mega... yeah not very happy with the mods either and the site changes but I don't want to ruffle any feathers.
> 
> My hat says Overclock.net. That's what it will always be for me.


All I will say about this is that the site sure has changed a lot throughout the years...I still use the site as much as ever, but my use of it has changed as well. I miss the days of guys like Chozart and Syrillian being around, to mention a few. Nowadays, everyone seems to be looking for an opportunity to be an a-hole instead of an opportunity to share some knowledge with each other, or just be generally helpful. I've just been using this site for so long I couldn't imagine moving on somewhere else...the good still seems to far outweigh the bad, at least IMO.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> you are correct and a chisel tip


So you are saying I was right in needing a better iron before giving it a go? Or is a chisel tip something I can get for my cheap one? I do plan to get a better soldering setup eventually, but this one has been working fine for me so far. I actually have a really nice Snap On iron, with a few different tips, including chisel, but that's a heavy duty one meant more for auto stuff. I think it's like 450 watt or something lol EDIT - yep, Snap On R450B...


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> @ Mega... yeah not very happy with the mods either and the site changes but I don't want to ruffle any feathers.
> 
> My hat says Overclock.net. That's what it will always be for me.
> 
> 
> 
> All I will say about this is that the site sure has changed a lot throughout the years...I still use the site as much as ever, but my use of it has changed as well. I miss the days of guys like Chozart and Syrillian being around, to mention a few. Nowadays, everyone seems to be looking for an opportunity to be an a-hole instead of an opportunity to share some knowledge with each other, or just be generally helpful. I've just been using this site for so long I couldn't imagine moving on somewhere else...the good still seems to far outweigh the bad, at least IMO.
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> you are correct and a chisel tip
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> So you are saying I was right in needing a better iron before giving it a go? Or is a chisel tip something I can get for my cheap one? I do plan to get a better soldering setup eventually, but this one has been working fine for me so far. I actually have a really nice Snap On iron, with a few different tips, including chisel, but that's a heavy duty one meant more for auto stuff. I think it's like 450 watt or something lol EDIT - yep, Snap On R450B...
Click to expand...

i help, or at least i feel i do, but i am blunt, most dont like that and consider me to be a jerk, or worse.

as to the soldering iron, i LOVE my setup, custom but close to this

http://www.ownta.com/gordak-952-digital-soldering-station-with-dual-leds.html

but it was custom built for @longroadtrip i heart it !

but no you can do smds with a relatively basic soldering iron, i recommend at least a mid level, personally ( something like a weller 100w or so )

and a chisel tip for SMDs, wish i could find those videos from JVC :/

here is or seems decent or you can use solder paste, sadly in his videos he described how to see if the solder is good or bad contact, and how to fix common screw ups





seriously that simple, i bet you didnt believe me ps that isnt a chisel tip but it is more or less the same, even with smaller pads !!!!

or you can spend several thousand dollars and get this


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I did believe you lol Like I said, I like to watch that type of thing already, but like most things, it always looks easier when someone else does it. Good to hear from you that it really is that easy though, or has been in your experience anyway. I might actually have a go tonight on some junk stuff just to see what I can do with the iron I have. I think I have a spare tip kicking around I might even be able to grind down a bit into more of a flat on one side. I think that is what I am after with the chisel tip, right? Just to have a flat surface to work with on the tip? And that laser setup is awesome, almost instant solder flow, at incredible precision. But that's far beyond what I would ever need lol The most I was hoping to get set up is just a small reflow oven, mostly for console/electronic repair...perhaps some simple PCB stuff as I have also been studying a bit on cheap DIY PCB production methods. But again...likely mostly related to console and peripheral repair and modding.

Since learning basic soldering, I have saved myself a ton of money repairing junk I find in the trash or cheap "as is" stuff. I just got a monitor the other day for $7...well, my girlfriend brought it home for me, plugged it in...nothing. Opened it up, and there was an actual hole scorched right through the power PCB, right after the main power plug, but before the fuse. Checked the fuse, and it was still good...so thought about it for a sec, and figured I might be able to solder in wire to bridge over the hole (about 1cm squared), fired right up and have been using it for about a week now. Still don't know how that would have happened without blowing the fuse...all I can think is someone used the wrong power cord or a damaged one of something...even then....the hole is like the size a finger can poke through, with charred black all around it.

My next major project requiring soldering is to take the switches from the five of these boxes I currently use to keep all my consoles hooked up -

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/3-Port-AV-Composite-Audio-RCA-Phono-Selector-Switch-For-Video-Audio-Switching-/390616836662?hash=item5af293ea36:g:9FsAAOxy4fVTAvgE

And make a new single box to handle all the input switching. So that would be the 5 switches, I think 10 pins per switch (Video/L/Rx3+Ground) to 45 composite barrel plugs or whatever it's called. So 1 box, with a total of 15 complete inputs (can use Video/L/R on one input, or component + audio on two of the inputs). So not really too bad, but I drew up the wiring diagram since I will be ditching the PCBs, and it looked like quite a mess that would take quite a long time, so I have been putting it off for some time now. I could just buy an input switch, but that would be costly to get one with this many inputs. And I already have the parts, just need to do the work.

And don't worry, I wasn't implying you are a jerk







But there are a few around here


----------



## Mega Man

oh no, but i am just blunt !

but no i mean this tip

second from the left


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> oh no, but i am just blunt !
> 
> but no i mean this tip
> 
> second from the left


Thanks for the pic, that helps, as there are a few different styles of chisel tips.


----------



## neurotix

I'm totally gonna watch those videos and learn how. I need something to do other than video games. Also trying to learn basic conversational Japanese.

Here's a question: have you guys ever burned yourself soldering?

I imagine it probably happens sometimes.


----------



## Mega Man

yep
hazards of the job


----------



## longroadtrip

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I'm totally gonna watch those videos and learn how. I need something to do other than video games. Also trying to learn basic conversational Japanese.
> 
> Here's a question: have you guys ever burned yourself soldering?
> 
> I imagine it probably happens sometimes.


Easy to do...especially when you are trying to place a part and your fingers are too big....you get used to it though...

Mega...Happy to see you are still happy with that unit after a year of use. I need to order more...

My solder station is the same...


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I've seen your setup in the post your computer room thread, and I must say you have done an awesome job with the garage/workshop there, longroadtrip. Would love to have something like that one day.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I'm totally gonna watch those videos and learn how. I need something to do other than video games. Also trying to learn basic conversational Japanese.
> 
> Here's a question: have you guys ever burned yourself soldering?
> 
> I imagine it probably happens sometimes.


A few times...the iron is usually hot enough it just melts a bit of skin though and rarely hurts much, unlike some burns. Certainly wouldn't let it dissuade you lol


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I'm totally gonna watch those videos and learn how. I need something to do other than video games. Also trying to learn basic conversational Japanese.
> 
> Here's a question: have you guys ever burned yourself soldering?
> 
> I imagine it probably happens sometimes.


The most important thing is that you never let the solder touch the tip after you've "tinned" it. If you do, the solder will simply stick to the tip instead of whatever you're trying to solder. You basically just want to sandwich the object between the cold solder and the tip.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

New recording/MAME/etc. machine I decided to build since my other one was too big to fit in on the console shelving. This should fit right in







Just playing around with placement of parts and seeing what I can fit. I'm not sure it's feasible to get an optical drive in here though, not in it's original placement anyway. I have a slim drive, but the way I have chosen to place everything it's something I chose to sacrifice. I am trying to keep the case as stock as possible, at least on the exterior. Going to either keep the current controller ports intact, and make some USB adapters to plug into them, or just replace the controller connectors with USB. I needed to save space for a GPU/capture card/whatever, so there is space for that beneath the motherboard, along with a 3.5" drive. The PSU is a 1U with the casing removed and stand offs installed into the Xbox casing. So the plan is to cut up an MATX motherboard tray I have to serve as the new motherboard tray/divider. I also have the motherboard with the input panel facing the interior for a few reasons...it fits nicely, but most importantly, I didn't want to have to cut a space into the Xbox casing for the input panel area on the motherboard. Instead, I am going to reuse what is already there, and just run passthrough connectors and cables to the motherboard. So the rear of the case should still look mostly stock. PSU is in same position as Xbox one, and thus I can put the mains power plug in the exact same spot. Also, the video connector for the xbox will be reused to put a DVI passthrough. I will also Dremel out right beside it, in the flat portion of the rear of the Xbox casing to house VGA, HDMI, couple USB, and reuse the LAN port with a passthrough connector in its place. I would also like to have a solid mount for a dual slot GPU though, so I might have to modify the exterior quite a bit to pull that off...but I also have a few ideas for that, such as making the mount internal, and again doing passthroughs and cables to the rear of the case. And I know PC into an Xbox case has been done many times before, this isn't really a creative idea so much as something that fit my needs for a PC to fit in with the consoles on the shelf.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> New recording/MAME/etc. machine I decided to build since my other one was too big to fit in on the console shelving. This should fit right in
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Just playing around with placement of parts and seeing what I can fit. I'm not sure it's feasible to get an optical drive in here though, not in it's original placement anyway. I have a slim drive, but the way I have chosen to place everything it's something I chose to sacrifice. I am trying to keep the case as stock as possible, at least on the exterior. Going to either keep the current controller ports intact, and make some USB adapters to plug into them, or just replace the controller connectors with USB. I needed to save space for a GPU/capture card/whatever, so there is space for that beneath the motherboard, along with a 3.5" drive. The PSU is a 1U with the casing removed and stand offs installed into the Xbox casing. So the plan is to cut up an MATX motherboard tray I have to serve as the new motherboard tray/divider. I also have the motherboard with the input panel facing the interior for a few reasons...it fits nicely, but most importantly, I didn't want to have to cut a space into the Xbox casing for the input panel area on the motherboard. Instead, I am going to reuse what is already there, and just run passthrough connectors and cables to the motherboard. So the rear of the case should still look mostly stock. PSU is in same position as Xbox one, and thus I can put the mains power plug in the exact same spot. Also, the video connector for the xbox will be reused to put a DVI passthrough. I will also Dremel out right beside it, in the flat portion of the rear of the Xbox casing to house VGA, HDMI, couple USB, and reuse the LAN port with a passthrough connector in its place. I would also like to have a solid mount for a dual slot GPU though, so I might have to modify the exterior quite a bit to pull that off...but I also have a few ideas for that, such as making the mount internal, and again doing passthroughs and cables to the rear of the case. And I know PC into an Xbox case has been done many times before, this isn't really a creative idea so much as something that fit my needs for a PC to fit in with the consoles on the shelf.
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!


It took me a moment to realize what you were saying you were trying to do. I think I get it now: modern mATX mobo in the case of an "original" xbox. Or you gutted a $400 XBox One. Seems expensive.

The actual hardware of the original Xbox could do a lot of that stuff. Seems like a lot of work though. I keep finding them randomly. Whatever market there may have been for the original xbox apparently the bottom fell out. I don't remember the SNES _ever_ dropping under $10. So now I have four of them (original xbox, not SNES).

Anyway it's not that bad of a PC case mod, at least to me. Seems like you could leave the outside of the optical drive tray in place and use a USB optical drive when needed. And/or just use thumb drives since you're adding USB ports anyway. You can get four 8gig sticks for like 20 bucks or whatever.

Are you going to do anything else? Leave the front controllers ports as-they-are-but-really-they're-usb-ports? Maybe LEDs all round the outside? Turn the LEDs into an equalizer at flick of a switch?


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> [/SPOILER]
> It took me a moment to realize what you were saying you were trying to do. I think I get it now: modern mATX mobo in the case of an "original" xbox. Or you gutted a $400 XBox One. Seems expensive.
> 
> The actual hardware of the original Xbox could do a lot of that stuff. Seems like a lot of work though. I keep finding them randomly. Whatever market there may have been for the original xbox apparently the bottom fell out. I don't remember the SNES _ever_ dropping under $10. So now I have four of them (original xbox, not SNES).
> 
> Anyway it's not that bad of a PC case mod, at least to me. Seems like you could leave the outside of the optical drive tray in place and use a USB optical drive when needed. And/or just use thumb drives since you're adding USB ports anyway. You can get four 8gig sticks for like 20 bucks or whatever.
> 
> Are you going to do anything else? Leave the front controllers ports as-they-are-but-really-they're-usb-ports? Maybe LEDs all round the outside? Turn the LEDs into an equalizer at flick of a switch?


The Xbox is a great system, but it's very undervalued by most who aren't modders or 6th gen enthusiasts, so as a result they're super cheap. Even more so are the games, so I often go into my local used book store and walk out with 5 or 6 games and maybe only $30 less in my wallet.

It's a fantastic system for emulators and 6th gen multi-plats.


----------



## neurotix

I upgraded the hard drive in my OG Xbox.

I have full romsets for all the classic systems with box art and video previews for it all. Even Turbografx (which I can't afford the real thing).

It doesn't get used very much anymore but if I ever want to play emus that's the system to use.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Also kind of retro gaming related...finally brought home a junk iMac G3 I had at my Mom's, and gutted it. Can't make use of the original CRT like I planned though...there is some communication between the analog video board and the motherboard that happens before the CRT will boot up, and I haven't been able to find anyone able to recreate those signals to use it with anything else. Unfortunately, my G3 is a slot loader, and it doesn't have a normal VGA connector like the tray loaders do. The case though looks good now all gutted up, tossed everything I won't need. Now to either find another suitable CRT, one that doesn't need Apple's motherboard to power on, or just face the fact I'll likely end up having to do an LCD conversion like everyone else lol Not sure what I will be using the thing for just yet, but you can bet it will find it's way into my retro gaming section to suit some purpose I can't think of right now lol

Needs to be cleaned up a bit, but otherwise the case is in pretty decent condition, should be able to get it looking mostly new again -



The motherboard tray/divider is going to be remade from scratch since I have never discharged a CRT before, and it's required to remove it from the tray. I will make the new tray and mount in the same way as the old one though to make things easier. Also, the tape is just there because nothing is screwed together at the moment.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> It took me a moment to realize what you were saying you were trying to do. I think I get it now: modern mATX mobo in the case of an "original" xbox. Or you gutted a $400 XBox One. Seems expensive.
> 
> The actual hardware of the original Xbox could do a lot of that stuff. Seems like a lot of work though. I keep finding them randomly. Whatever market there may have been for the original xbox apparently the bottom fell out. I don't remember the SNES _ever_ dropping under $10. So now I have four of them (original xbox, not SNES).
> 
> Anyway it's not that bad of a PC case mod, at least to me. Seems like you could leave the outside of the optical drive tray in place and use a USB optical drive when needed. And/or just use thumb drives since you're adding USB ports anyway. You can get four 8gig sticks for like 20 bucks or whatever.
> 
> Are you going to do anything else? Leave the front controllers ports as-they-are-but-really-they're-usb-ports? Maybe LEDs all round the outside? Turn the LEDs into an equalizer at flick of a switch?


The Xbox PC is basically going to be setup as a console recording PC, but might also double as a MAME machine since it will sit on the shelf with my other consoles. I wanted at least some semi-decent hardware in there as well, hopefully be OK for Steam streaming and Netflix and stuff too. Plus, I wanted to be able to upgrade it quite easily, so I wanted space for a full size GPU if I ever decided to put one in there. For now it won't need one. And yeah, I got this Xbox for $10, and it never really worked properly, something wrong with the mainboard that I could never diagnose. It's just been sitting around collecting dust. I'll keep the parts for it though just in case I need them for my other Xbox. I'll put the original optical drive cover plate back on somehow to mask the fact that there won't be an optical drive. And yeah, I have a USB drive as well as a USB floppy drive for old DOS games and such. I won't be doing much else with the case, like I said, the plan is to keep it as stock looking as possible. I thought about maybe doing some LEDs, though I am not 100% on that...possibly just the Xbox logo lit up or something might be cool...don't really think I want to go the flashy route with this thing though. Also thought about a small LCD display in the optical drive opening, but decided stock looks are more important to me. I might actually leave 2 of the controller ports alone, and just convert the other 2 to USB, and use actual Xbox controllers for gaming/whatever. I haven't really planned to much else, any ideas?


----------



## subassy

I went out yesterday to get the one thing for $3 and ended up with a whole pile of junk. I was just going to show the most noteworthy of my pickups or at least the most unique.

The game isn't the unique thing, kit's the wooden box. I was really impressed with it. What I should have done is tell the store I'll take the box for $2.50 and they can sell the game separately for another $2.50. Because it's a neat little wooden box.



Other than that I did get a rather eclectic mix of different games and accessories. Some PS1, some PS2, one 2600, 2 NES, 2 PSP and 2 other PC games: activision action pack 2...for windows 3.1 (an _astounding_ 15 atari 2600 games...) and _Cyberia 2_. I don't know if cyberia is any good and I haven't played the first one but I've heard nothing but good things in general.

I've been on kind of a "anthology" bender recently. I found an atari anthology for PS1. And I happen to have this weird hand controller with a rotary thing...for driving games. And a web site pointed out that controller could be used with Tempest. And it can but not very well. Maybe if I take it apart and "make some adjustments".

Almost forgot. My first 32x game: Star Wars. It seemed like a good price ($3.20). But now I realize I can't sell it since i have no way to test it. I could clean the contacts and hope-for-the-best. Or trade it in some place.


----------



## neurotix

Nah, that's actually pretty neat. What a great idea considering the theme of the game.

I don't think I've ever seen any video game that came in a wooden box before.

Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Is it that Namco driving controller you have, the thing with the rotary dial on it? That Oregon Trail box is neat too, and quite a score for the price of it. If the controller you have is a Namco Jogcon, I wouldn't tweak anything inside it...they are worth about $50+ right now. The Negcon is also worth about the same.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Is it that Namco driving controller you have, the thing with the rotary dial on it? That Oregon Trail box is neat too, and quite a score for the price of it. If the controller you have is a Namco Jogcon, I wouldn't tweak anything inside it...they are worth about $50+ right now. The Negcon is also worth about the same.


It's this one. I checked the price once, it didn't look all that special. I forgot what it was called already.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> It's this one. I checked the price once, it didn't look all that special. I forgot what it was called already.


Nah, those ones aren't worth too much, Ultra Racer or something rather made by Interact. They also did a Nintendo 64 version which was more popular I think. CGR reviewed the N64 version not long ago...well, his type of reviewed anyway. I think the only reason the Namco Jogcon/Negcon are worth so much is because, well, Namco.

EDIT - yep, worth about nothing lol - http://www.lukiegames.com/Playstation-1-Ultra-Racer-Steering-Controller-by-Performance_p_16210.html - guess this one's not by Interact, but it's identical from what I can tell.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Got my Xbox PC up and running, only a couple bits here and there before it's totally finished. Namely, a panel mount male to female HDMI connector, some heat shrink tubing, and a female RJ45 port. Got the original power switch and LEDs wired up, converted two of the front controller ports to USB (other two can still be USB with a small adapter), that way I can still use the original Xbox controllers without any adapters or anything. Decided to stick with the HDMI as the only video output, it will be attached in the same spot as the Xbox original A/V cable port. I also haven't yet added any fans, but that isn't a big deal, just haven't dug any out of my junk yet. I left a couple spots for fans though, and I am just going to hot glue them in place so I don't have to drill any holes in the case. It's done for now though, need to make a couple orders off Ebay and wait for them to arrive before I can say it's 100% done, but as it sits, I'd say it's about 98% done, maybe another 1/2 hour of work left once the stuff comes in.



Forgot to mention...think I might do some keyboard and mouse modding as well. I'd like a keyboard and mouse to go with this that matches the Xbox theme. Probably just something simple, like adding an Xbox logo from something to an existing black mouse and keyboard. Maybe dismantle a controller or two for the front logo. Not sure on this idea yet, but if I want a mouse and keyboard sitting on the shelf with this thing, they would also need to blend in and not stick out as PC stuff.


----------



## neurotix

This is really damn cool.

Please post pictures of it when it's finished and you have everything.


----------



## subassy

Sorry to disrupt the flow of the thread but I just found this. Maybe everybody already knows about this, I don't know. I just thought it looked really cool: YPbPr ouput mod for SNES consoles. I have a probably-broken SNES and mostly know what all those symbols refer to, maybe I should actually try this...

edit:


----------



## neurotix

Nah it's alright.

That's really neat although I don't have the technical knowhow to decipher it, let alone do it.

Pretty happy with the composite output from my SNES on my Insignia flat CRT anyway.

My TV DOES have component RGB inputs, but the difference between composite and component (with my PS2) isn't very noticeable to me. I'm happy even though my systems are unmodded.


----------



## Mega Man

It is easy, you could do it


----------



## Mr357

I'm pleased to present the trailer for my latest project- _Shenmue: The Movie Remastered_






I wrote up a pretty large page on ShenmueDojo if you'd like to know more.

PS: Sorry Aaron, I keep forgetting to take the pictures/scans you wanted of the Snatcher cover. I will get those to you asap.


----------



## iTurn

My most recent retro pickups (forgot to post a pic last time).


----------



## subassy

I told myself I was "cutting back" on game purchases after adding up how much I spent in january (too much!). Then I spent a bunch of money on games today.

I won't list everything purchased, just what I think is the highlight: Bomberman64 for $9. The smallest trade-in value at amazon is $12 never mind selling it so I think I got a good deal. Of course I haven't actually tested it yet but I'm reasonably sure it will work.

Well I also found a copy of _Street Fighter Ex Plus Alpha_ (it's a PS1/complete in box) at a thrift store. That's only notable because I found it on the audio CD shelf but the still charged the normal $4.50 for it anyway.

Edit: On closer inspection it's the case/man for Street Fighter Ex Plus Alpha but the disc is _Street Fighter Ex2 Plus_. Not that I know enough about the Street Fighter to know the difference.


----------



## subassy

Last night I found an old "fat" Nintendo DS (silver) at goodwill...For $7.50. But no power supply and the battery was dead. So the "return in 24 hours" policy didn't do me much good. I did order an AC adapter last night and to my surprise less than 24 hours later had the AC adapter. Didn't even do rush shipping.

And yes, the DS does seem to work. Not sure how good the battery is. Must have been dead a while as I had to do a first time setup with the time/date/etc entry. I'll see if it holds a charge at all.

Perhaps not as good as my $1.50 GBA or the $3 original Xbox but you know. Good price.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

That's a sweet deal...I wouldn't mind picking up a DS but I am not paying $50+ for one, which is what they seem to be going for around here. Haven't picked much up over the past while, me and the girlfriend broke up, I moved out, so money has been tight again. I did manage to get a few games, nothing great though. But I also lost my Super Nintendo, since it was technically hers. I should have made her trade it to me for all the stuff I ended up having to leave there (and she ended up keeping). My birthday is coming up though, so hopefully I can afford to get another SNES in a couple weeks.


----------



## neurotix

Nice finds, guys.

Haven't really been buying retro stuff lately.


----------



## Mr357

Of all days I could choose to check Half Price Books, today I was greeted with about a dozen PC Engine games ranging from $5-7, which are obviously an extremely rare thing to find locally in the US. I picked the ones that looked English-friendly, and walked out with 9 games for under $60 after sales tax. The odd thing is, whoever previously owned these kept the manuals and plastic sleeves, but threw out the jewels cases of all things. Unfortunately, I can't play _Battle Ace_ because the Duo-R doesn't have SuperGrafx compatibility.


----------



## neurotix

That's an absolutely amazing score man! Nice find! Incredibly rare, as you said.

TG16 is like the one system I don't have that I really want but, too expensive for me.


----------



## iTurn

Are we going to include the VITA now that it's out of production? What about the Wii?

Native PSP store will also be closing @ the end of this month: http://www.gsmarena.com/native_psp_store_shutting_down_on_march_31_sony_announces-blog-16991.php


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *iTurn*
> 
> Are we going to include the VITA now that it's out of production? What about the Wii?
> 
> Native PSP store will also be closing @ the end of this month: http://www.gsmarena.com/native_psp_store_shutting_down_on_march_31_sony_announces-blog-16991.php


That sucks, I just picked up a PSP the other day...1001 wtih upgraded battery and an 8GB Pro Duo for $40. Haven't really picked up any games for it yet though...just a few that were $1 each so I had something to play on it. I used to have a PSP, and I think I still have a bunch of spare memory sticks, couple spare batteries, I think I even have a Pandora battery I made, or whatever they where called (used to put custom firmware). Got a bunch of other stuff, too, since my last post...I ended up having to sell my main gaming PC cause I needed to money







, but I made more of of the sale than I needed, so I had a bit of spending money left over. Upgraded my one PC a little so it's not so bad to be stuck with, grabbed the PSP+games, 30+ CIB Xbox/PS2 games, couple N64 games...an N64 rumble pack+memory card thing...I think 5 PSX CIB games...1 or 2 CIB Dreamcast games...not sure all what else I got, it was all pretty random. And all of my stuff is packed away right now so it's not even easy to check and see what I got lol Nothing rare or anything, just deal hunting, mostly. Bought everything at Microplay, spent about $130 total on everything, including the PSP, so not too bad. I'll probably be doing a lot more pick ups from Microplay since it's only a couple blocks away from where I am currently staying. I'll put a list of actual pickups when I get to reorganizing all my stuff. Oh, I also started playing around with retro game recording, and am pretty pleased with the results I am getting so far...maybe have something to share in a few weeks.


----------



## tristanbear

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> That sucks, I just picked up a PSP the other day...1001 wtih upgraded battery and an 8GB Pro Duo for $40. Haven't really picked up any games for it yet though...just a few that were $1 each so I had something to play on it. I used to have a PSP, and I think I still have a bunch of spare memory sticks, couple spare batteries, I think I even have a Pandora battery I made, or whatever they where called (used to put custom firmware). Got a bunch of other stuff, too, since my last post...I ended up having to sell my main gaming PC cause I needed to money
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> , but I made more of of the sale than I needed, so I had a bit of spending money left over. Upgraded my one PC a little so it's not so bad to be stuck with, grabbed the PSP+games, 30+ CIB Xbox/PS2 games, couple N64 games...an N64 rumble pack+memory card thing...I think 5 PSX CIB games...1 or 2 CIB Dreamcast games...not sure all what else I got, it was all pretty random. And all of my stuff is packed away right now so it's not even easy to check and see what I got lol Nothing rare or anything, just deal hunting, mostly. Bought everything at Microplay, spent about $130 total on everything, including the PSP, so not too bad. I'll probably be doing a lot more pick ups from Microplay since it's only a couple blocks away from where I am currently staying. I'll put a list of actual pickups when I get to reorganizing all my stuff. Oh, I also started playing around with retro game recording, and am pretty pleased with the results I am getting so far...maybe have something to share in a few weeks.


From what I remember of PSP games, they tended to break easily and at random. I think I only had 3 or 4 games left that still worked out of the 10 I originally when I finally got rid of it.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tristanbear*
> 
> From what I remember of PSP games, they tended to break easily and at random. I think I only had 3 or 4 games left that still worked out of the 10 I originally when I finally got rid of it.


Surprisingly enough, the 3 loose PSP games I bought with it all seem to work fine...hopefully I don't run into too many issues...perhaps it happens due to long play sessions and heat or something? I don't know...

Also, not exactly retro, but I just picked up a boxed PS3 for $50 delivered! I'll head over to Microplay tonight and grab a game or two to test it out, but the guy said it wasn't stolen and that everything worked. Said he was selling it cause he was moving to Europe. I originally replied to an ad for a backward compatible PS3 for $80, but he said he sold it but he had an 80GB for...$30







I offered him $50 to deliver it since I don't drive


----------



## neurotix

I think we could allow PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3. Perhaps Vita and PSTV too. I don't know if we allow NDS but that would be allowed too. If you guys have these systems and want them added, speak up and I'll make the necessary modifications to your club entry (please post everything in the appropriate format- copy and paste your current line then add what you want and I'll change it. I'm not typing this stuff out manually.)

The Wii U has been out for 4 years, the 3DS for 5, and the PS4 and Xbox One for 3. Considering the 360 and Wii were released in 2006, and that's 10 years ago, I think it's fair to consider them retro at this point.

Also, I only have around 2 PSP UMD games and 1 UMD movie but I have 50+ "other" PSP games. CFW FTW. This is the way to go imo, and really the only way to do it for the PSP Go if what you guys said is true about the PSP store closing. How are you supposed to get games on the PSP Go without CFW? It'll be impossible. I'm a proud owner of a Go and got it not too long ago. I haven't even been able to access PSN on it since I got it. So what the heck did you think I did?

On the topic of the Vita, yeah it's practically a dead system. I most recently got a used Vita (1000) and a used PSTV, as well as a 32GB memory card. Quite a cool system and it has a lot of exclusives (esp. Japanese games) that I like a lot. It's a really niche system.

I've been playing Muramasa Rebirth lately, even though I already finished Muramasa on Wii a couple of years ago. It looks great at 720p on my 55" on the PSTV.

Anticipating Odin Sphere Leifthrasir for Vita. Also made by Vanillaware. I have Dragon's Crown on both PS3 and Vita but haven't played much of it yet.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I had custom firmware on the PSP I had ages ago, it was great, but I actually bought this one with plans to keep it all legit...but if the Playstation Store closes I will likely end up doing it again. I don't really need it for emulation or anything (tablet/phone + Moga controller for that), but it was nice being able to put games right on the memory stick and not needing to carry around a bunch of UMDs. Also, some of the homebrew software was pretty neat...I remember the Palm brand folding keyboard I have somewhere here worked on it, can't remember specifically what it was good for though other than DOS games or something lol It's been awhile though. Oh, and I also went and grabbed a couple PS3 games and everything works great, Got Metal Gear 4 Rise of the Patriots for $1.99, and Resident Evil 6 for $5.99, both CIB, from Microplay. Cute girl working today









Here's an updated list, down a SNES







, but up a PS3, Xbox 360 and PSP -

Xbox, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, Playstation One, Playstation 2, Nintendo DS, Gamecube, Playstation 3, PSP, Xbox 360


----------



## neurotix

Updated you Aaron.

Yeah, if you have a PSP Go, I really have no clue what else you're supposed to do. As it stands now, I believe you have to buy a game from the PSN store, download it to a PS3 or PS4 (what if you don't have either?) and then copy it to the Go. I can't access the PSN store at all on either of my PSPs even WITHOUT CFW.

For a system that is digital only and is only 5 years old, this is really unacceptable. This is just yet another example of the problems with digital distribution and the age of downloading video games online.

10 or 15 years ago this would be unheard of.

I have other stories/problems with digital distribution but I won't elaborate unless you want me to.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Updated you Aaron.
> 
> Yeah, if you have a PSP Go, I really have no clue what else you're supposed to do. As it stands now, I believe you have to buy a game from the PSN store, download it to a PS3 or PS4 (what if you don't have either?) and then copy it to the Go. I can't access the PSN store at all on either of my PSPs even WITHOUT CFW.
> 
> For a system that is digital only and is only 5 years old, this is really unacceptable. This is just yet another example of the problems with digital distribution and the age of downloading video games online.
> 
> 10 or 15 years ago this would be unheard of.
> 
> I have other stories/problems with digital distribution but I won't elaborate unless you want me to.


Sure, elaborate, I am sure I will agree...my 200+ boxed PC game collection can back that up. I will always take physical releases over digital for many reasons, but for me, it mostly stems down to having a physical thing I can hold my hands to show for my money, not just some random license allowing me to use some digital content. Why would you not want to have the box, the manuals, etc...when you are paying the same price anyway, is beyond me. Anything digital only could potentially be lost the moment the distributor goes under, etc. I have caved a bit over the past couple years and bought several Steam games, but really only due to convenience, and coming across bundle deals on other sites that offer significant discounts. Also, some things these days are digital release only, unfortunately. Although several of these digital only releases have eventually gotten physical copies, it's not very common.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Haven't really picked much up lately...been a rough past month or so, me and the ex broke up and I moved out, so money has been basically non-existent. But on the positive, I have had a lot more time to play the games I have picked up lol Finished quite a few games since my last post, the most memorable is definitely Metal Gear Solid 4...picked that up for $2







Metal Gear Solid, the Playstation original, is one of my favourite games of all time, and I've played 1-4 now. But 4 was WAY better than expected...took me awhile to get into it, honestly, but once I did, I pretty much played it exclusively. Brought back so much nostalgia for the first one...going to have to pick that up again. Used to have it, but sold it off years back. I have 2 on Xbox and 3 on PS2. I don't have any of the special versions / remakes or anything though.

Anyway, also recently picked up a "3-pack" of PS3 games from Microplay for $6.99, came with Infamous, Gran Turismo 5 (reason I picked it up), and NHL 13.

Also about half-way through RE6 on PS3, very disappointing, even when I expected to be disappointed lol If it was a spin-off of the main series, I would probably enjoy it...but I guess I haven't enjoyed an RE game since RE:CV, I didn't even like RE4


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Finished quite a few games since my last post, the most memorable is definitely Metal Gear Solid 4...picked that up for $2
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Metal Gear Solid, the Playstation original, is one of my favourite games of all time, and I've played 1-4 now. But 4 was WAY better than expected...took me awhile to get into it, honestly, but once I did, I pretty much played it exclusively. Brought back so much nostalgia for the first one...going to have to pick that up again. Used to have it, but sold it off years back. I have 2 on Xbox and 3 on PS2. I don't have any of the special versions / remakes or anything though.


I had the same opinion about 4. I was very disinterested going into it because it was on the PS3, but I ended up liking it more than any game in the series besides MGS 1. I've found 2 and 3 to be very overrated.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Got my Xbox PC complete...well, STILL waiting on the RJ45 port to get here, and I would eventually like to change out the hardware for something else...the PCIe "x16" on this board only runs at x1. So while I left space to install a graphics card, with the plans to eventually do so, there would be no point with this board. Luckily, I designed everything to fairly standard to replace. PSU is just a 1U with the casing removed...I can replace the motherboard with nearly any MATX or ITX...it's CPU cooler height that is the issue. So boards with a CPU soldered on are easier to fit...but there are some AMD boards similar to the one I have, that have at least PCIe running at x4, which I can handle. There might be some low profile CPU coolers that would fit...haven't really checked into it that far. The GPU goes beneath the "motherboard tray", and a PCIe x16 extension will be run to that location when the time comes. I have ordered one in the meantime. I'm just going to use it as is though for a bit. Anyway, Windows 7 is up and running on it at the moment, but since it's going to be a "retro" gaming themed PC, used for recording and emulation, I might change that to something else. I was even thinking of installing a few OS I never really played with much...and obviously I must install XBMC







I am even going to try customizing whatever the main OS is I end up using to be XBOX themed.

I have also ordered USB WIFI and Bluetooth adapters that will be internal. Like I said before, I didn't cut any new holes in the case, I only had to enlarge to power cable opening as a standard PC power cable is much bigger than the XBOX one, and I didn't want to have to make a custom power cable every time I misplaced it. The only connections are HDMI for video in the original video port location, RJ45 on its way to go in it's original location, and power as I said. And then converted two of the controller ports to USB, and made USB adapters for the other two ports, so you can still just plug in an original Xbox controller for emulators and games.


----------



## neurotix

That's really cool. Nice job.

What are the full specs of what you put in it?


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> That's really cool. Nice job.
> 
> What are the full specs of what you put in it?


Specs kind of suck, to be honest, cause I just built it with spare "crap" I had lying around. Right now it's just a Q1900M, 2GB Mushkin 1333, and a 250GB 2.5" HDD.

I built it though with plans to eventually swap that all out eventually, so I tried to keep everything pretty standard. Hopefully will someday have a better MATX/ITX motherboard, low power GPU...I left space for everything when the time comes. I've been looking into AMD APU boards with the soldered CPU, as most have PCIe x4 at least. The biggest issue is I sacrificed CPU cooler height in order to be able to easily put in a GPU, and I absolutely will not cut any visible holes into the Xbox case to fit a cooler. If I can't get a cooler that's low enough profile, I will either look into building one out of some laptop cooler parts, or just use something with a soldered CPU, like I said. I am likely overthinking it though, it's a ways off, and for all I know, I'll be able to get a standard cooler in there anyway. I have loads of blower style fans and stuff to keep things flat as possible. Also, maybe I will just do an AMD FM2+ APU build, something with a decent IGPU, and then use the GPU space for a small radiator as I know a CPU block would definitely fit with space to spare.

Oh, I also just got back from Microplay...picked up Killzone 2 PS3, Resistance Fall of Man PS3, and Dark Sector PS3, all CIB, for $5! They had a buy two get one free sale...I think Resistance was $3, and the other two were $2 each, but one of them was free. PS3 is as cheap, possibly even cheaper, to collect for than the original Xbox even...well, I mean, local brick and mortar prices at least. I am sure it's all still people bringing in their PS3 stuff when they switch to PS4, so I see the prices going back up a bit in a short amount of time. Keep in mind too, when I post about pricing, I am always referring to Canadian currency.


----------



## subassy

I just bought some software for collections called *Collecterz* (I bought the movie and book versions too, because I'm a sucker).

I did a quite the audit of all my games (the console/steam ones anyway, probably 98%). And wow, do you have some games. I think I found some I had lost track of in fact. It appears I'm up to 128 PS2 games, with only one duplicate. Keeping in my I had zero PS2 games a year ago. Not sure how that duplicate snuck in there.

A few less (126) 2600 games but a lot more duplicates.

85 for PS1. Those are pretty cheap.

The rest of the consoles are less than 50. Credit to the collector software, it didn't take that long to go through and add them all. Just a few hours.

Not sure yet how I feel about the software. It doesn't seem to web scrape for game art/covers/meta information for some reason. Just a limited embedded i-frame sort of thing for searching. And if it doesn't find anything you're out of luck. Definitely trial it before buying. A lot more positives than negatives but that seems like an obvious feature for a database.


----------



## neurotix

Good to know.

I have 51 NES games, around 20 SNES games, 15 or so Game Boy, 75 for Genesis (the most), 32 for Master System and 20 or so for Game Gear.

I would have more, except, a good portion of the games I have are actually good and therefore cost more. I also have a general rule to not buy a game unless I really like it and know what it is (I won't just buy anything I find if I don't know it, I also refuse to buy certain games even if they're only $1 because I know they're bad- Battletoads and Zelda 2 being two of my most hated games.)

Further, I don't buy games that aren't on cartridge primarily because of space constraints and a lack of interest (probably also a lack of money, or I won't have high end GPUs for my rig). This means no PS/PS2 games. I would consider collecting for Dreamcast, Saturn and Sega CD but I have other means of playing those games (wink) and they're just too damn expensive. I primarily play RPGs and most of the good ones on Saturn and Sega CD are hundreds of dollars.

As a general rule I only buy/collect what I consider the best games for a system, and what I grew up with. This means stuff like Mario, FF, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger on SNES, as well as stuff like Shining Force, Phantasy Star, Sonic, Shinobi on Genesis.

I just recently got Gunstar Heroes for Genesis. I had to buy it off Amazon because I've looked for years and never seen it around here. With prices around here I'm fairly sure I'd pay a $20 premium at a local shop. I've wanted it for a long time. I was afraid the price would go up if I didn't buy it now. The only Genesis game I want that I don't have now is Sparkster (aka Rocket Knight Adventures 2). I think it goes for too much money for what it's worth.


----------



## Mega Man

I love my gunstar heros took me forever to find a copy


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I was keeping track of all my games at one point...but I haven't been keeping up with it, and to be honest, I don't even know where the file is anymore







I would definitely like to go through it all again at some point, and then try to stay on top of it, but that'll likely never happen...if I had to guess, I am at about 250+ PC, about 80 PS2, 80 Xbox, 10-15 Dreamcast, 10 Genesis, 30-40 N64, 10 Gamecube, 15 NES, 5 PS1, 10 PS3...couple DS / PSP / Xbox 360 games. Still haven't replaced my SNES, and I've only been buying what is cheap...and that has been PS3 lately...picked up the PS3 and have 10-15 games now on it, and I haven't spent more than $80 including the console. I just got a couple more games the other day, actually...PC re-releases of Return to Krondor and Another World...both brand new, for $0.50 each lol


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> I love my gunstar heros took me forever to find a copy


Awesome game but really tough. I'm not sure if I can beat it. I used to be able to get far in emulators when I was in high school but haven't played it much since then. Unfortunately, the one I got has a not so good label but I don't think it's bad enough to hurt the value. I'll post pics later.
Quote:


> I was keeping track of all my games at one point...but I haven't been keeping up with it, and to be honest, I don't even know where the file is anymore tongue.gif I would definitely like to go through it all again at some point, and then try to stay on top of it, but that'll likely never happen...if I had to guess, I am at about 250+ PC, about 80 PS2, 80 Xbox, 10-15 Dreamcast, 10 Genesis, 30-40 N64, 10 Gamecube, 15 NES, 5 PS1, 10 PS3...couple DS / PSP / Xbox 360 games. Still haven't replaced my SNES, and I've only been buying what is cheap...and that has been PS3 lately...picked up the PS3 and have 10-15 games now on it, and I haven't spent more than $80 including the console. I just got a couple more games the other day, actually...PC re-releases of Return to Krondor and Another World...both brand new, for $0.50 each lol


I got a PS3 around last year in October, a slim, for $100 on Ebay. It included a controller but, something was wrong with the controller. It would connect and stuff but then have random inputs and scroll all the way to the left in the XMB. I told the seller and he took $40 off the price so I could buy a new controller. So I really got the console itself for $60. I've bought quite a few games for it, I think I have at least 10 now, mostly JRPGs. I've probably only spent around $200 for the console, two controllers and ten games.

I got a similar deal on my slim Xbox 360, two controllers, 15 games etc.

It's crazy how cheap these things are now, now that they aren't the latest systems.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Awesome game but really tough. I'm not sure if I can beat it. I used to be able to get far in emulators when I was in high school but haven't played it much since then. Unfortunately, the one I got has a not so good label but I don't think it's bad enough to hurt the value. I'll post pics later.
> I got a PS3 around last year in October, a slim, for $100 on Ebay. It included a controller but, something was wrong with the controller. It would connect and stuff but then have random inputs and scroll all the way to the left in the XMB. I told the seller and he took $40 off the price so I could buy a new controller. So I really got the console itself for $60. I've bought quite a few games for it, I think I have at least 10 now, mostly JRPGs. I've probably only spent around $200 for the console, two controllers and ten games.
> 
> I got a similar deal on my slim Xbox 360, two controllers, 15 games etc.
> 
> It's crazy how cheap these things are now, now that they aren't the latest systems.


I actually could have got the PS3 for $30 lol It came in the box, still had all the wrapping and everything. I contacted the guy about a backwards compatible PS3 for $80, told me sold it, but had an 80GB still...for $30 lol I felt bad, so I offered him $50 to deliver it







The thing is in mint condition as well, looks like it was maybe used once or twice and put right back into the box.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I would have more, except, a good portion of the games I have are actually good and therefore cost more. I also have a general rule to not buy a game unless I really like it and know what it is (I won't just buy anything I find if I don't know it, I also refuse to buy certain games even if they're only $1 because I know they're bad- Battletoads and Zelda 2 being two of my most hated games.)


_Battletoads_ for NES is really good, at least up until the super-speed hover bike things, I never thought I really needed to spend that much time to get past that part. From what I've seen since then on youtube that's just the first of many very, very challenging levels. I'd still own it though if it was cheap enough.


----------



## neurotix

I haven't looked at the price of it BUTTTT.....

I've always hated that game, I think it's a trash game or _kusoge_ if you will. When I was a kid some friends invited me over to play it and I never "got" it. It just played poorly, had slippery controls, ******ed characters that were rip offs of the Ninja Turtles with 1/4th the personality, poor level design that was at best *too damn hard* and at worst deliberately malicious. Even when I was a kid I knew it was a bad game.

They took what could have been a great, simple beat em up and turned it into a game filled with cheap deaths, insane platforming with slippery controls, and unnecessary extraneous stuff like the jet bikes. The later stages are even worse.

I have TMNT 2 and TMNT 3 for NES and those games are far, far better and what Battletoads should have been. Did you know they even had comics and wanted to make a line of action figures? Well, TMNT beat them to it and then the ship sailed. Battletoads is only one level above Cheetahmen from Action 52, and imo still just as bad, just in a different way.

On that note, check out Angry Video Game Nerd or James and Mike Play (or Bootsy Beats, youtube channel Cinemassacre) about Battletoads as they do extensive coverage of it, if you can stomach their (generally) obscene, childish humor (it doesn't bother me, and CAN be funny at times).

Anyway, anyone here a fan of _Game Center CX_? It's a Japanese show where a middle aged gamer, who's not even really any good (and is also a comedian) has 24 hours to beat old video games (generally Famicom; NES). The oldest systems they include are the PSX and N64. He also takes trips to Japanese arcades to play games, as a "segment" in between the game challenges. You can watch it for free in a browser at gamingcx.com or download individual episodes there. There are also torrents floating around with all the seasons (subtitled of course). These should be legal here because they are from Japanese TV and the episodes have never been translated or released here. Battletoads is one of the games he plays, I watched it recently.

I must have seen around 150 episodes of GCCX now. It's been on since 2003 there. jetpak12 from here told me about it. Now I'm a big fan. Some of you guys might enjoy it; check it out!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

No plans this weekend (as usual lol) so I am going to spend a bunch of time setting up my Xbox PC with emulators for every system I can think off, do a bunch of new .ico files for everything to match, and organize everything. Went on a bit of a downloading spree last night, got most of what I am after...I'll share some pics once I get everything setup. I decided to just stick with Windows for now, since it's what I know best, and I can customize things to suit the purpose just fine. I've got a fairly decent list of systems to get emulation working for, so a lot of work before everything is up and running the way I want it. Xbox PC has been running great though! Even runs some more modern stuff alright, even though that is not the purpose.

Also, not that the Xbox PC is done, I have been thinking about my next project...thinking it's time to build the arcade cabinet I've wanted for some time now. I've thought over several designs over the years...but I think the plan will be to go small, since I still rent and don't generally have a ton of space. I have most of the parts necessary for this...I've kept a 21" CRT monitor around for years now, just for this purpose. Anyway, I think my plan will be to build a table-top/counter top style cabinet...that I could eventually mount to a "base" if I wanted, to make it into a full size cabinet. And I am not going to put any hardware in it at all, just the monitor+speakers+controls, with a panel in the back for connections to a PC / console / whatever. That way I can have it hooked to any one of the computers I always have around and don't need one dedicated to the cabinet. I would leave enough space beneath the controls/monitor though for a Jamma board setup + PSU though, if it fits well enough in the design at least. All I need to order right now is controls, everything else I have...tools, wood, display, speakers, PC, etc. The only thing I am having trouble with is the decision to go with 1 player or 2 player controls...I kind of want to go with 1-player controls, and then have a few USB ports on the front of the unit, that I could use to hook up 1-3 more stand-alone arcade sticks. I could build the stand-alone sticks to match the cabinet, or just use any off the shelf sticks...not sure yet. 1-player controls would also be much more cost effective as I don't really have a lot of money to toss around at the moment. Anyway...just playing with ideas at the moment...haven't started anything yet.


----------



## subassy

Yesterday was a quite a day. Went down to a flea market. It's kind of unofficial/official start to yard sale/flea market season: stopped raining, not cold and before it's hot (even northern California gets hot).

I just kept coming across random things for super cheap. I ended up with _27 games_ for all sorts of different consoles. Even a GameBoy game. And a loose GameBoy camera. Just cuz. _Hilarious._

If I divide what I spent by 27 it comes to $3.33 per game. Which I think is pretty good, considering what I got. Not all the games are in great shape, more than a few are loose or have a case with no manual but still seems like I did well. I would try to list all the games but that would take entirely too long so here's some highlights:

Kingdom Hearts 1 (ps2)
Final Fantasy X (ps2)
driver 1 and driver 2, two separate people (PS1)
Haven't tried these, don't know if they're noteworthy:

Ridge Racer V (PS2)
War hammer 40k: Fire Warrior (PS2)
Shadowgate Classic (gameboy)


----------



## neurotix

Nice finds and good prices. I wish we had flea markets here. We really don't.

Anyone watched the "Flea Market Madness" from Pat the NES Punk? You can find them on his channel on Youtube.

As for your "noteworthy" games, I am familiar with one of them though I don't have it: Shadowgate Classic. It *should* be a first person dungeon crawler RPG in the style of Wizardry or Bard's Tale (for DOS). I believe Shadowgate was ported from DOS to the NES, and then they also did that Gameboy port. At one point in time long ago I had one of those "How to beat NES games" type books which was the 80s/90s equivalent of GameFAQs, and it covered Shadowgate for NES. All I can say is that if it's the same game, it will be brutally hard. Better get out some graph paper for that one


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Flea Market Madness is all I watch from Pat...we don't have Flea Markets around here, well, not that would be a good stop to go to for games, but I do like hitting up Thrift Shops and the like. The LGR Oddware guy does a bit of that kind of thing as well.


----------



## neurotix

I've seen pretty much every episode of Pat the NES Punk and all the other stuff on his channel including Flea Market Madness. Same for AVGN.

Again, Game Center CX anyone? I think you guys would really like it. I'm a huge fan. He plays a lot of the games that frequently get talked about here and in the Sega club.


----------



## subassy

I went through my mom's attic last night and found some things. I had forgotten about some of them.

Possibly the most "interesting" of the bunch is this cartridge here:



I got this from a flea market (pretty sure) sometime in the mid-to-late 90s. No idea if I really paid $15 for it. Hopefully not.

As you can see it looks like the mold of a super famicom cartridge (I've only ever lived in north america) but there's no developer or seal of approval any place. Also, I couldn't find any game called "Spider-man and X-Men". It's not the same artwork as _Arcade's Revenge_.

I did a little "digging"....

I found this artwork, from an NES game:


And I found this artwork from a Genesis game:



Looking carefully, you can see it's as if someone overlaid spider-man over the top of the x-men artwork and added a title (I can post a larger pic if requested). That's some _mad_ MS Paint skills right there. Quite on the nose too. It is literally the art work from both "X-Men" and "Spider-Man".

I haven't tried the game yet. I don't know if my SNES clone works with famicom or not. I'm just assuming it's a PAL format. I mean if it even works.

As you can see it's missing the screws on the front. Actually the back is completely blank, no copy right or identifying information.

Conclusion: some kind of boot leg...


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I went through my mom's attic last night and found some things. I had forgotten about some of them.
> 
> Possibly the most "interesting" of the bunch is this cartridge here:
> 
> 
> 
> I got this from a flea market (pretty sure) sometime in the mid-to-late 90s. No idea if I really paid $15 for it. Hopefully not.
> 
> As you can see it looks like the mold of a super famicom cartridge (I've only ever lived in north america) but there's no developer or seal of approval any place. Also, I couldn't find any game called "Spider-man and X-Men". It's not the same artwork as _Arcade's Revenge_.
> 
> I did a little "digging"....
> 
> I found this artwork, from an NES game:
> 
> And I found this artwork from a Genesis game:
> 
> Looking carefully, you can see it's as if someone overlaid spider-man over the top of the x-men artwork and added a title (I can post a larger pic if requested). That's some _mad_ MS Paint skills right there. Quite on the nose too. It is literally the art work from both "X-Men" and "Spider-Man".
> 
> I haven't tried the game yet. I don't know if my SNES clone works with famicom or not. I'm just assuming it's a PAL format. I mean if it even works.
> 
> As you can see it's missing the screws on the front. Actually the back is completely blank, no copy right or identifying information.
> 
> Conclusion: some kind of boot leg...


Still interesting...even if it is just a bootleg, it's pretty old compared to most bootlegs\hacks you see around. It's neat to own just because of how old it is, IMO. Why haven't you tried it though? Pop that sucker in and see if it works lol


----------



## subassy

As it happens I posted that and went home for my lunch break...and put it in. And yes, somehow it works. Turns out it _is_ Arcade's Revenge. I didn't play it for very long. Just long enough to be reminded why AVGN is...angered... by _LJN_. I'm still assuming it's some kind of illicit bootleg. I assume I'd have to play all the way the through to find out if it starts. Either that or somebody got a copy of the game with a defective label and was really, really motivated to come up with a replacement.

Also, didn't even know my _retro duo_ would play these kinds of carts. Maybe it's just a NTSC PCB shoved into a different mold.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

From what I understand, most of those clone consoles can play PAL and NTSC, it's more your TV that can or can't. I am sure there are plenty of clone units out there that can't do both PAL and NTSC, but I think most do. And there are displays that accept both signals as well, most modern LCD panels will for sure.


----------



## Mega Man

some of them are just pins reversed, others lol, have th eadapter built into the cartridge .....


----------



## subassy

I should probably mention 2600/NES/SNES/PS1/consoles with no component (for 720p) go a 19" CRT TV. Got from a random thrift store. To keep the proper look/aspect ratio for the 70s/80s/90s. So I don't have any reason to think it would support PAL. Maybe the clone does the conversion somehow? I don't know.

I have a separate flat panel TV (a some-what rare 24" 1080p) for the 720p capable consoles. And a stereo that all the consoles go through regardless of TV. And at least three switch boxes to make it all work. It's a mess but it works.


----------



## iTurn

Wii U, X360, and Vita are now out of production.


----------



## neurotix

Sigh

Unfortunately I have all three.

I love my Wii U and Vita though, they were worth it to me. Looking forward to Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE for Wii U and the Odin Sphere remaster for Vita.


----------



## subassy

I just bought a silver PSP 2000 from goodwill for $30 (had a memory stick in it too). I wasn't sure if it was a good deal and it wasn't charged so I couldn't tell if it worked...

I charged it/looked it up when I got home: looks like some limited edition, either the Gran Turismo edition -- except it's a 2000, not a 3000 -- or more likely the Limited Edition Daxter Entertainment Pack - Ice Silver model. But I'm just guessing. There's no artwork on the back of it or anything.

It already has some CFW on it so you know. That's good. I tested a _Lumines_ UMD and it worked/played okay. So I'm going to say so far so good.

The editions I looked are selling for ~$90 system only on amazon. But I kind of want to keep it. Selling it is tempting I have to say. Hmmm...

The goodwill also had a "phat" original PS3 for $35 or something like that. I was tempted to get that for the backwards compatible/CFW possibilities. But somehow resisted the urge.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I just bought a silver PSP 2000 from goodwill for $30 (had a memory stick in it too). I wasn't sure if it was a good deal and it wasn't charged so I couldn't tell if it worked...
> 
> I charged it/looked it up when I got home: looks like some limited edition, either the Gran Turismo edition -- except it's a 2000, not a 3000 -- or more likely the Limited Edition Daxter Entertainment Pack - Ice Silver model. But I'm just guessing. There's no artwork on the back of it or anything.
> 
> It already has some CFW on it so you know. That's good. I tested a _Lumines_ UMD and it worked/played okay. So I'm going to say so far so good.
> 
> The editions I looked are selling for ~$90 system only on amazon. But I kind of want to keep it. Selling it is tempting I have to say. Hmmm...
> 
> The goodwill also had a "phat" original PS3 for $35 or something like that. I was tempted to get that for the backwards compatible/CFW possibilities. But somehow resisted the urge.


You can tell if a PS3 is backwards compat by the number of USB ports on the front...backwards compat one has 4, other one only has 2. That's a good deal on the PSP though, I got mine for about the same, but it's the older fat model PSP. It also didn't come with custom firmware, though I can do that myself...I still have the pandora battery I used to use. Nice thing about PSP is the games are SO cheap. I was in a pawn shop the other day, and noticed they sell 99% of their CIB PSP games for $1.99 each. Not bad lol


----------



## Mega Man

Not always true there is a 80gb ps3 that is software backwards comparable ( the original ones had a ps2 built in the newt ones emulated )with 2 usb ports


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Not always true there is a 80gb ps3 that is software backwards comparable ( the original ones had a ps2 built in the newt ones emulated )with 2 usb ports


I did not know this...how can I tell if mine might be one of these? I have an 80GB fat with 2 USB ports. I guess I could just try a PS2 disc?


----------



## subassy

I don't remember where now but somebody somewhere said something like "the PS3 that says super audio cd" is the backwards one. Or _one_ of the backwards ones. I have a feeling wikipedia would have overly detailed information on this. But I have to leave so it will have to wait.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

From what I can find, all the backwards compat PS3, even the software emu ones, have 4 usb ports? I'll just wait for one of you guys to fill me in lol



Mine won't read PS2 discs, so pretty sure that's a clear indicator mine isn't backwards compatible


----------



## Mega Man

https://support.us.playstation.com/articles/en_US/KC_Article/Play-PSone-and-PlayStation-2-Games-on-a-PlayStation-3

this says the same too but i could swear there was 1 2 usb ps3 that was backwards compatible,

if i am wrong, sorry :/


----------



## subassy

Looks like it corresponds with both super audio CD and and four usb ports. For some reason I always thought if it's that first gen model it must be backwards compatible. But obviously not. Maybe that explains why _that_ PS3 hadn't been sold yet.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Yeah, I am new to PS3, so I was just going by what I have found on it so far. Anyway though, no new pickups, but I have been working on that Xbox PC...got a good set of emulators and ROMS now that I need to setup, but I have everything I need. Any missing systems or platforms you guys would recommend? A lot of these I have never played or anything before, but remember in some way or another, either from magazines, friends, or whatever, but I would like to get a fairly extensive emulator set going here. I did all the icons as just place holders, I will use those though as a base for the final icon set. Eventually, I want everything to be pretty much standalone, to where I can move it all, emulators and roms, to an external HDD and take it to a friends house if I wanted to. So just making everything work with Windows seemed like the easiest way to go with this.


----------



## subassy

You may want to currate that a bit. I mean if you want to take a setup to a friend's house I assume you would want to play with a gamepad versus a keyboard/mouse. So you could probably cut out the MS-DOS ones entirely for that. Unless you can create an all-in-one EXE that just boots to the game with everything setup. You would want to do that on a game-by-game basis though. Have to figure out how much that's worth. I mean there's games like DOOM and the original Duke Nuke 'em. But there aren't that many "couch friendly" games. i don't think.

A lot of those systems there will be only a handful of worthwhile exclusive games. For instance you probably just want one copy of pac-man. So if there's one system that only has pac man worth while you probably don't need it.

For the all-in-one thing I've been looking a program called RomJacket for a while now, but haven't actually dove in headfirst enough I have it working in any real sense.

From the web site:
Quote:


> Each ROM is grouped with associated assets inside a Jacket (folder). A batch-script launcher (.bat) and configuration files are then created for each ROM.
> The result is a library in which titles are highly portable, self-contained, execuatble by Windows™ itself and and easily integrated into any HTPC gaming frontend.


Since the romjakcet videos on youtube are hard to find I made a playlist (of no particular order) if you're interested. Anyway it looks like a really fantastic utility that puts together the ROM, dependencies, artwork etc which can then be used with frontends like HyperSpin.

Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKTpDLYL46hW3IxOn3i2Svkp0ZKRv5Zk9

Oh and a couple things you may already know: recently MAME (the arcade emulator) merged the MESS (an "everything else" emulator) so it's now one unified thing. This just happened a few months ago so it may not be obvious. Also, for the pure put-a-quarter-in arcade game ROMs you'll likely end up with a "top 2000" at most. That "40,000 games" thing is kind of misleading. There's some archaic utilities for sifting through them. Have fun with that


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> You may want to currate that a bit. I mean if you want to take a setup to a friend's house I assume you would want to play with a gamepad versus a keyboard/mouse. So you could probably cut out the MS-DOS ones entirely for that. Unless you can create an all-in-one EXE that just boots to the game with everything setup. You would want to do that on a game-by-game basis though. Have to figure out how much that's worth. I mean there's games like DOOM and the original Duke Nuke 'em. But there aren't that many "couch friendly" games. i don't think.
> 
> A lot of those systems there will be only a handful of worthwhile exclusive games. For instance you probably just want one copy of pac-man. So if there's one system that only has pac man worth while you probably don't need it.
> 
> For the all-in-one thing I've been looking a program called RomJacket for a while now, but haven't actually dove in headfirst enough I have it working in any real sense.
> 
> From the web site:
> Since the romjakcet videos on youtube are hard to find I made a playlist (of no particular order) if you're interested. Anyway it looks like a really fantastic utility that puts together the ROM, dependencies, artwork etc which can then be used with frontends like HyperSpin.
> 
> Playlist:
> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKTpDLYL46hW3IxOn3i2Svkp0ZKRv5Zk9
> 
> Oh and a couple things you may already know: recently MAME (the arcade emulator) merged the MESS (an "everything else" emulator) so it's now one unified thing. This just happened a few months ago so it may not be obvious. Also, for the pure put-a-quarter-in arcade game ROMs you'll likely end up with a "top 2000" at most. That "40,000 games" thing is kind of misleading. There's some archaic utilities for sifting through them. Have fun with that


Thanks for the post







I have been looking into some of these programs, but the way I am wanting to set everything up, I'd rather just do it with Windows for now. Really, I am just looking to get the emulators all working and organized, I don't need any front ends or anything like that. I just want to be able to open a folder, click the "system" I want to play, and then have a choice of emulators that are already setup to point to BIOS and plugins and everything already. For controller input, I don't mind remapping each time, but I can also use Xpadder and have that already setup on the HDD as well, and then use basic keyboard commands for all the games and systems that do not need analog controls. There are loads of ways to have this all setup, I just want to keep it basic, easy to change and adapt to new operating systems even. And I never planned to get every ROM for every system, just the noteworthy ones. There may be a few of one game across several systems, just to see the differences the different hardware was capable of, etc. But for the most part, I have been already trying to figure out the best versions for a game came out for which system, and going with that. The main purpose of this emulator stuff is still to be used in the Xbox PC, but I want everything to be easily movable.

I noticed a few other emulators have ended up merging with MESS over the years...I don't really like that software, to be honest, and try to use alternatives to that if they are available, but for some things, MAME, or MESS now, is your only hope. A lot of these emulators I have are just for playing with, as I don't think things like Jaguar CD are going to be a very good experience. None of this is to replace the actual console experience, I am just also interested in emulation and seeing what can be done.

Oh, and about the artwork and such...not really a huge deal to me. If the emulator doesn't support any type of artwork itself, I can always just use icons again...just make an icon out of the cover art for each ROM. Sounds like a pain, but it's universal, doesn't need any additional software to run, and since I don't plan on thousands of ROMS, I think it will work just fine. I can make an icon out of the album art in about 1 minute, likely less than that even...just save the image, open in GIMP or something, resize and save as .ico file. I really don't care so much about the artwork and stuff when it comes to emulation though.


----------



## neurotix

The more games, the better, if Aaron can fit them all on the hard drive. That's good.

My OG Xbox has a larger harddrive and I have all the games for the classic systems I grew up with (NES, Genesis, SNES, Turbografx, Master System) as well as 1000+ arcade games for CoinOPs. It's very rare that I find a game I don't have or can't play on the Xbox. The only ones I can think of are Cave shooters and Viper Phase 1 (uses encryption) for MAME.

A PS3 for $35 is a steal regardless of what model it is. It's even better if it comes with hookups and a controller. I bought my controllers new and they were still $40 each (I'm okay with that; one is a very pretty blue and the other is digital camo.)

PS3 that's software backwards compatible is nearly worthless from everything I've read, a large percentage of games won't work or will have errors, this is why people want the 60GB with 4 USB ports so badly. Personally, my PS3 is a slim and I have a modded PS2 slim that I use for PS2 and PS1 games, though it's rare I play PS2 at all anymore. It was my main console for modern (ish) games around 2008 and I played a ton of great games for it, but now it sits. So, I don't really need a backwards compatible PS3.

A PSP-2000 for $30 with a memory stick in it is an out of this world deal, you got really lucky. Especially if it works and there's no issues with the screen or anything, not too many scratches, etc.

I'd recommend you look on Amazon for this or something similar, especially if you plan to use CFW. I've gotten two of those for two fat PSPs. They are much cheaper than buying an actual Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo 16gb. Also, if you don't have the adapter cable to plug in the PSP, it comes with a USB stick to put the Micro SD into to plug in to your computer to copy stuff. The transfer rates should be better with the adapter anyway. I think the USB cable and the port on the PSP are only USB 1.1 or something, the transfer rate is quite slow.

I bought a PSP off Amazon Warehouse Deals recently for my brother and it was $75. I spent another $10 for the adapter and SD Card. The PSP was listed as a PSP-2000, it also said it came with all accessories and the original box. In actuality, they sent me a PSP-1000 in a plain white box with no charger. I had a spare one laying around. It did, however, come with a 4GB MemProDuo in it and a black soft cover that has "PSP" emblazoned on it. On top of that though, the condition was immaculate, it looks like it's just sat since launch and not really been used. Like, no scratches on the unit anywhere and it looks flawless. Since these ones came with the black gloss plastic, it's nearly impossible to find one that doesn't have scratches or scuff marks all over it. My personal fat PSP has tiny scratches ALL OVER the screen. I made it less bad by using Meguillar's Scratch X on it but it's still noticeable in bright light.

Anyway, wouldn't recommend getting a PSP from Amazon Warehouse Deals, they may send you the wrong model. Still, I decided to keep it and give it to my brother as a present anyway, because the unit was in such good shape. Also, 1000's can be permanently flashed (which I did), whereas anything else can't.

* Edited some grammatical errors/incorrect words.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I have always stuck with PSP 1000 model, it's the one I know I guess. I have spare parts and such for it, sort of remember how to flash it, kept a few pandora battery for it...the only reason I have ever really considered the newer models is the better screen...and TV out at one point, but I think an emulator would work better for that since PSP is such low res anyway, and it was only a composite out if I recall. So would there be any benefits to also picking up a 2000/3000 to go with my 1000? Or is it really just the screen and TV out? Are any of the buttons any better or anything? PSP collecting is super low right now (locally anyway), so I think I am going to be picking up a lot of games for it over the next while. I don't mind picking up another PSP if there would be any reason to.

Also, I haven't hacked my phat PSP yet...anything change over the years in regards to the best firmware? I was actually just going to leave this one stock, to be honest, as I would rarely play emulators on it or anything...and I kind of dig the UMD system now...if that makes sense lol Back when it was new, I hated it and had custom firmware flashed and tons of eboots and whatnot on there at all time...now, it just seems kinda unique to have to put in a little mini disc thing into a hand held...it sort of adds to the appeal of it now, not detracts...if that makes sense. I have tablets and phones and such, bought controller and whatever, that can do emulators more than adequately, and I never use them. And the way I play games has changed...now, I generally only have 1 or 2 games on the go at once, so bringing games along with me isn't really a deal...the same game usually will stay in the console until I either complete it, or get bored with it entirely. When the PSP was newer, emulation on-the-go wasn't really at the point that it is now...and indeed, being able to put your games on a memory stick was nice...but I just don't see myself really using any of that any more. So really...I am kind of at "flashing it just because", and then just having a "legit" PSP experience seems more worth it, UMD and all. I say all this, but I'll likely end up flashing it anyway..."just because"









Oh, and in regards to my Xbox emulator setup, I don't really plan to have an overwhelming romset...I've been there in the past, and it becomes just that...overwhelming when it comes to picking something to actually play. So I have only been interested in stuff that I remember in some way or another, or is just one of the "must haves" on any particular system. As well as a few here and there that may just be to show off some technical capabilities or something, and never really be played past that. Remember, I have 250GB to work with (could swap out for bigger, I even have a 320GB sitting here), but I am also putting X86 stuff on there, anything up to about the year 2000, as well as some Steam games, and I will run out of space quick. I figure only about 100-150GB will be for "emulators+OS/BIOS/Image files" and the roms for everything...which really isn't much. But I am not going to be wasting space either with games I have on other systems or have, so while I may have a Dreamcast emulator, for example, I will likely only keep a few ROMS for that, but things like Atari 7800, I will likely get everything that was any good since I have barely played any of it. Most of the CD based stuff I will try to keep to a minimum, the GC emulator is just for testing, I don't even think it will run well enough to be playable or anything. Amiga CD, Jaguar CD, Neo Geo CD, etc...those all take up a fair amount of space, but also don't have so many games I would be interested in...well, Neo Geo does I guess...but some of those that I am not so interested in I can likely just get on the cart version instead. Anyway...it's going to actually be pretty tough to figure out what to put on here...but it's getting there. I got about half of the emulators set up and working over the weekend...well, no controls just yet, working means I just got the stuff to run a ROM properly with the proper video settings in fullscreen and whatnot. Still quite a bit left to do on it...give it another week or two. I also still haven't managed to get the Xbox controller driver to work with Windows...so that's another thing to figure out...I haven't dug into it much yet though.


----------



## neurotix

Emulators on PSP are awesome and are one of the main things I use it for. You can even emulate Neo Geo (some games) and CPS1, and with a PSP-2000 or newer you can emulate CPS2 games. There is also a newer version of Snes9xTYL (mecm) that has speedhacks applied and that will finally run most SNES games full speed. I think you need a PSP-2000 or newer for it.

UMDs are cool, I was considering collecting UMD movies. I got Akira really cheap and the value might go up. So I understand the UMD thing.

Besides the emulators, there's lots of other bonuses to CFW like being able to use plugins to decrease the screen brightness a lot and save on battery life. Another plugin puts the battery percent with the date at the top of the XMB, so you don't have to check it under the system settings. You can also get cxmb which will allow .CTF themes, and these let you do awesome things with the XMB theme and even change the way it functions entirely.

There's a lot of benefits to CFW. Personally, I use 6.60 Pro-C on all of my PSPs. (Two 1000s and a PSP Go). This one has the bonus of being compatible with nearly every PSP game (in ISO mode), including infamous ones like Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep which refuses to run on a lot of older CFW.

I have a Vita and a Playstation TV and also hacked the PSP emulator in those to run PSP games. (TN-V) The PSTV is quite cheap used and can be made to run PSP games full screen on an HDTV over HDMI. They're still low res and kinda blurry but it's the best option. I also got a component cable for my PSP Go to do video out, but this way the games have pretty huge black bars all around the image. The PSP Go also has bad battery life already, and since I also sync a DualShock 3 to it over bluetooth to play while sitting on the couch, it's not a very good option. The cool thing is that I have the box for the PSP Go, as well as the box for the component cable and the box for a Sony brand carrying case for the Go. Perhaps all that stuff will be worth something in 20 years, I dunno.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I think you can actually just overclock the older model PSP as well, in order to run the emulators and stuff. I could be wrong, it's been awhile since I've followed the whole PSP scene. I used to be right into it though, and it doesn't sound like much has changed. If I really had the need for another portable emulator set up, I'd be more interested in the custom firmware...just the way I see myself using the PSP wouldn't really benefit from adding the custom firmware for the time being. Like I said, I'm likely to end up doing it anyway...or if I happen across another PSP for cheap, maybe I'll get it just for the custom firmware stuff. Really, you'll likely laugh at this...but the best thing I remember about putting custom firmware on my PSP, was that it actually allowed me to use a, quite rare I might add, foldable "Palm" branded keyboard that was worth about $100 when I got it. It uses IR, and there was some IR software that allowed me to use the thing...the PSP sit in the little cradle on the keyboard, and it worked AWESOME for certain things...I can't remember if I was also able to get a mouse working, but I know for a fact that keyboard works. This is the model keyboard, in case you are interested in adding a fairly useless, but really cool peripheral to your PSP stuff -

https://www.amazon.ca/Palm-3169WW-Universal-Wireless-Keyboard/dp/B0003V577C

I can verify it does indeed work...though they could be tough to find. There are other ones that are bound to work though. Also, that's another portable emulator thing I have had for YEARS - a Palm Tungsten E2 with a 32GB SD Card (needs "hack" to work). That thing only had a 200MHz CPU stock, but you could overclock it to 370MHz...which I remember was enough to run Doom, Hexen, etc...and even ran Quake, though not 100% speed. As well as Sega Genesis full speed, SNES full speed with no sound...quite a little machine for how long it's been around. So many years of use out of that thing...might dig it out and see if I can do anything with it these days...I've always thought about soldering in some new buttons and turning it into more of a gaming device than it was intended to be.

EDIT - just realized the Palm E2 actually came out the same year as the PSP released, no wonder the specs are so similar







More than 10 years already...wow.

Also, I always forget that PSTV thing exists or even what it really is...might be something for me to check into honestly. Be nice to be able to play PSP games on the TV over HDMI. Not sure what the state of PSP emulation is, but if I run into games that won't work well enough, I will definitely consider it. I just tend to not even show any interest in anything that has online as the basis of it's operation. And that's kinda how I see the PSTV I guess. But if I could just use it to play my PSP stuff on a TV, sure, I'm interested.


----------



## neurotix

The emulators won't work on a PSP-1000 because it only has 32mb RAM whereas every model after it has 64mb.

This only affects certain Neo Geo and CPS2 emulators, certain Neo Geo games won't load because they can't fit in the system's memory. Same for CPS2 games. Everything else works fine.

SNES games run full speed with sound with Snes9xmecm.

A Playstation TV is basically a PS Vita with no screen that you attach to a TV. You sync a Dualshock 3 to it to play it. It will play Vita games and it will play PSP ISOs (if you exploit it with TN-V... but only if it has 3.55 firmware or lower.) Vita games run in 720p over HDMI. Nothing about the system is online only.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> The emulators won't work on a PSP-1000 because it only has 32mb RAM whereas every model after it has 64mb.
> 
> This only affects certain Neo Geo and CPS2 emulators, certain Neo Geo games won't load because they can't fit in the system's memory. Same for CPS2 games. Everything else works fine.
> 
> SNES games run full speed with sound with Snes9xmecm.
> 
> A Playstation TV is basically a PS Vita with no screen that you attach to a TV. You sync a Dualshock 3 to it to play it. It will play Vita games and it will play PSP ISOs (if you exploit it with TN-V... but only if it has 3.55 firmware or lower.) Vita games run in 720p over HDMI. Nothing about the system is online only.


Well, guess my assumptions about the PSTV made me miss out...so if I buy one then, I am looking for one with firmware 3.55 or lower? I want it for playing PSP games on the TV...VIta games could be a bonus too I guess...but how do you buy a Vita game? That has to be online only, no? Curious as I've really had no interest in the Vita/PSTV up until just now, the VIta is just too expensive still (getting close though) and I was just too ignorant of what the PSTV actually is. So if I have PSP UMDs, I would then have to convert them to ISO, and transfer them over to a "custom" PSTV? Starting to steer back towards just PPSSPP on my Xbox PC if that is the case.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Well, guess my assumptions about the PSTV made me miss out...so if I buy one then, I am looking for one with firmware 3.55 or lower? I want it for playing PSP games on the TV...VIta games could be a bonus too I guess...but how do you buy a Vita game? That has to be online only, no? Curious as I've really had no interest in the Vita/PSTV up until just now, the VIta is just too expensive still (getting close though) and I was just too ignorant of what the PSTV actually is. So if I have PSP UMDs, I would then have to convert them to ISO, and transfer them over to a "custom" PSTV? Starting to steer back towards just PPSSPP on my Xbox PC if that is the case.


Quoting you this time so I can reply to everything.

Yes, you need one with firmware 3.55 or lower. I got mine used for around $50 WITH a controller and charging cable. However, you also need a Vita memory card (these are pricey). Do some research into the TN-V exploit first.

I buy my Vita games on Amazon. If you want a list of the games I have (so you get an idea what the games are like) I can do that.

Vita isn't very expensive if you buy it used. I got mine used in very nice condition for around $100. It even came with 3 games. (Ebay).

PSP UMDs would have to be converted to ISO on the actual PSP, then you would have to copy the ISOs to your computer, and then transfer them to the PSTV.

If you already have PPSSPP on your Xbox build that might be the better option unless you are interested in Vita exclusive games.

EDIT: Part of the fun was actually modding the PSTV (as well as my PSPs) of course. I enjoy customizing my systems.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Quoting you this time so I can reply to everything.
> 
> Yes, you need one with firmware 3.55 or lower. I got mine used for around $50 WITH a controller and charging cable. However, you also need a Vita memory card (these are pricey). Do some research into the TN-V exploit first.
> 
> I buy my Vita games on Amazon. If you want a list of the games I have (so you get an idea what the games are like) I can do that.
> 
> Vita isn't very expensive if you buy it used. I got mine used in very nice condition for around $100. It even came with 3 games. (Ebay).
> 
> PSP UMDs would have to be converted to ISO on the actual PSP, then you would have to copy the ISOs to your computer, and then transfer them to the PSTV.
> 
> If you already have PPSSPP on your Xbox build that might be the better option unless you are interested in Vita exclusive games.
> 
> EDIT: Part of the fun was actually modding the PSTV (as well as my PSPs) of course. I enjoy customizing my systems.


So with the PSTV then, the only purpose to the Vita is to have everything portable? The PSTV will work well as a Vita replacement that only connects to a TV? If so, that is still definitely something I would be interested in, and I too like to modify my hardware, but since I started collecting again, I have also began to see the value in the "OEM" experience. And if I got the PSTV, which it sounds like I will end up with one, i'd definitely do the exploit and also use it for PSP stuff too, just for convenience. I guess the trick now is going to be finding one with < 3.55 firmware...doesn't sound like there is anyway to downgrade then, eh? And I'll cool it on the questions for now, thanks for the help and discussion so far. Without it, I would never have given the PSTV another thought.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> So with the PSTV then, the only purpose to the Vita is to have everything portable? The PSTV will work well as a Vita replacement that only connects to a TV? If so, that is still definitely something I would be interested in, and I too like to modify my hardware, but since I started collecting again, I have also began to see the value in the "OEM" experience. And if I got the PSTV, which it sounds like I will end up with one, i'd definitely do the exploit and also use it for PSP stuff too, just for convenience. I guess the trick now is going to be finding one with < 3.55 firmware...doesn't sound like there is anyway to downgrade then, eh? And I'll cool it on the questions for now, thanks for the help and discussion so far. Without it, I would never have given the PSTV another thought.


The reason for having the Vita is portability, yeah. The PSTV plays every Vita game afaik but does so at 720p, which is actually higher than the Vita resolution (which is something like 900x500). Finding one with 3.55 firmware or less shouldn't be too hard, try Ebay and email the sellers before you buy it. These things are really cheap because they stopped production apparently and it has a bad reputation (just bad support from Sony and missed opportunities for the platform- no reason not to own it imo). Just realize that if you mod it, you won't be able to access the PSN store on it to buy Vita games digitally anymore because they basically force you to update before you can download anything. No, there's no way to downgrade afaik.

The situation might have changed and maybe there's TN-V for later firmwares now. I know that it's a work in progress with the Vita teams who made TN-V and ARK and VHBL, to try and get the CFW working on later firmwares.

Also, when I say "PSP emulator" about the Vita and PSTV, it's actually something more like POPS (on PSP) or Virtual Console. It's actually Sony's built in emulator, you can't even really tell it's an emulator, because it runs all the PSP games I've tried flawlessly.


----------



## subassy

I'm kind of tempted to get a PS TV now. Since they're only ~$35 and all, I mean why not? It would be nice to have a CFW-cable one but just having one is some-what-kind-of-compelling. I don't think the prices of vita games has gone down yet. Except the various sports games but those always the cheapest.


----------



## neurotix

The Vita games I have are:

Muramasa Rebirth, Dragon's Crown, Toukiden: Kiwami, Blazblue Chrono Phantasma, Ragnarok Odyssey ACE, Soul Sacrifice, Sword Art Online: Lost Song, Freedom Wars, Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus, Senran Kagura Estival Versus, Steins;Gate, Ys Memories of Celceta, Tales of Hearts R.

Some of those are on PS3 and PS4 but a couple are exclusive (Toukiden, Shinovi Versus, Ys, Muramasa Rebirth I think).

You can get the idea, pretty much all those games are from Japanese developers.

I haven't played them all yet, I also have PS3 games I need to play..

Out of what I've played so far, Muramasa Rebirth is fantastic, a high res port of Muramasa for the Wii. I'd recommend it highly if you like action RPGs or fighting games because it's a cross of both that takes place in ancient Japan. This game is really worth playing if you haven't.

Toukiden is pretty cool, it's like a Monster Hunter clone made by Koei that takes place in ancient Japan.

Ragnarok Odyssey is probably a must play if you ever played Ragnarok Online because it's based on it. Essentially a PSO/MH clone with a Ragnarok theme. It was made by Game Arts, they also made the Grandia series back in the day as well as Lunar for Sega CD. The gameplay in this one is really solid and fun. Difficulty gets pretty high later on though.

I'm not sure I can recommend the Vita to someone who plays Western games, FPS, WRPGs and so on. But if you like Japanese games, especially RPGs, you probably won't run out of stuff to play.


----------



## iTurn

Just picked this up! I'd say it is the final NA psp physical release?


----------



## neurotix

Yep, sure is. Enjoy. It's supposed to be good, and historically we've not gotten very many Summon Night games in English.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Just picked up Chrono Cross, is about as mint condition as an opened game could be...for $15 CIB. It's the Greatest Hits version, but still...it looks nearly immaculate, and was really cheap. Just picked it up from Microplay. They had a few other JRPG that looked like they came from the same collector...all in real nice condition. Might go back and grab a couple more. They definitely had FFIX and that one compilation with Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy Tactics I think? Both of those were $35 though, so I passed. Also grabbed a "NES" lightgun that turned out to be mislabeled and is a Genesis one...but I noticed they had a copy of Lethal Enforcers while I was there, so I am heading back over to grab that lol Oh, also grabbed Killzone 3 for $4.

EDIT - yep, my memory serves me well...they indeed had Lethal Enforcers, so grabbed that as well for $7. Also in pretty nice shape.


----------



## Mr357

I'm guessing it was a Konami Justifier? I love that thing; got one along with Lethal Enforcers 1 & 2 for $30 a couple of months ago.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> I'm guessing it was a Konami Justifier? I love that thing; got one along with Lethal Enforcers 1 & 2 for $30 a couple of months ago.


Turns out it was just a NES one after all, just for one of those clone NES systems using "proprietary" connector (Genesis type)...so now I am on the lookout for a Genesis lightgun...might just hit up ebay. I have never really used any Genesis lightguns, but now I want the Justifier just to go with the copy of Lethal Enforcers. But I'd settle for any cheap Genesis lightgun for now that I can find. I did manage to compare some pinouts and get the NES clone (FC3 Plus) lightgun wired up for regular NES ports, everything is working. If anyone ever needs help converting FC3 Plus and a bunch of other peripherals to NES / SNES or vice versa, I can help, it's pretty easy now that I have some photos of the pinouts. NES to SNES adapater would be super easy as well. And $30 is a heck of a deal for the Lethal Enforcers 1+2 and the Justifier. Enforcers 2 seems to go for a decent bit, and I imagine the Justifier isn't all that cheap either. Nice score! I'm going to check around a few places locally before I hit Ebay for a Genesis lightgun...not real hopeful I'll find one though.

EDIT - yeah, looks like the Justifier is going for about $30 or so, and there really isn't any other guns available, that I can find...well, except the Menacer, which is cool, but now really practical. I'd much rather the Justifier than a Sega Super Scope


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> I'm guessing it was a Konami Justifier? I love that thing; got one along with Lethal Enforcers 1 & 2 for $30 a couple of months ago.
> 
> 
> 
> Turns out it was just a NES one after all, just for one of those clone NES systems using "proprietary" connector (Genesis type)...so now I am on the lookout for a Genesis lightgun...might just hit up ebay. I have never really used any Genesis lightguns, but now I want the Justifier just to go with the copy of Lethal Enforcers. But I'd settle for any cheap Genesis lightgun for now that I can find. I did manage to compare some pinouts and get the NES clone (FC3 Plus) lightgun wired up for regular NES ports, everything is working. If anyone ever needs help converting FC3 Plus and a bunch of other peripherals to NES / SNES or vice versa, I can help, it's pretty easy now that I have some photos of the pinouts. NES to SNES adapater would be super easy as well. And $30 is a heck of a deal for the Lethal Enforcers 1+2 and the Justifier. Enforcers 2 seems to go for a decent bit, and I imagine the Justifier isn't all that cheap either. Nice score! I'm going to check around a few places locally before I hit Ebay for a Genesis lightgun...not real hopeful I'll find one though.
> 
> EDIT - yeah, looks like the Justifier is going for about $30 or so, and there really isn't any other guns available, that I can find...well, except the Menacer, which is cool, but now really practical. I'd much rather the Justifier than a Sega Super Scope
Click to expand...

Iirc I have an extra or 2 blue guns


----------



## neurotix

I have Lethal Enforcers but no Justifier









It's okay though because apparently my CRT TV doesn't work with light guns, my zapper doesn't work (and I know it's a working zapper). My CRT is flat though and the picture looks amazing even with composite. The sound quality is also good. I'd rather be able to play my RPGs on a really good looking screen than be able to play light gun games (which I'd really probably do maybe once a year).

The Genesis light guns will also allow you to play Snatcher using the light gun during the gun segments. I've never done it but I've heard it makes the game a lot more fun.

The Final Fantasy IV/Chrono Trigger compilation is called Final Fantasy Chronicles. I would pass on this one, it certainly isn't worth $35. I've played it and also played both originals (two of my favorite games of all time) and, the emulation on Chronicles is terrible, it also has very long loading times. For example, just opening the main menu causes a load time of +5 seconds. There were two other compilations for PS1, Final Fantasy Anthology (FF5 + FF6) and Final Fantasy Origins (FF1 WSC remake + FF2). Personally, I'd go back and get Final Fantasy IX if you don't have it, that one is well worth $35.

Also, Chrono Cross CIB for $15 is pretty good. God help you if you really try and play it and finish it though. It is a very slowwwww game. You'll need a lot of patience. I played it on my Xbox a few years ago and was determined to finish it, because I always gave up on it in the past. Well, I did, except the emulation speed on the Xbox was maybe 80% and the battles are so slow and there's so many of them... it took me like 3 weeks to finish lol. Anyway, I'd *definitely* look at an FAQ for this one. I'd recommend taking the Glenn route. There's a point in the game where you make a choice between 3 characters to potentially join you and it changes the story and where you go. Glenn's route is much easier, and in the end you get him and he's one of the most powerful characters at the end of the game once you get his dual swords. I trashed the (basically) last boss with my party of Serge, Glenn and Orlha.

The best thing from Chrono Cross was this:


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I definitely think it would be worth it to pick up another CRT, even if it's just for lightgun games. Could likely get away with something smaller if you don't mind standing real close to the TV







Growing up, part of the huge appeal of going to the arcades was all the lightgun games. I never did have any lightguns as a kid...I rented one (maybe a couple of them?) and had a great time playing Virtua Cop 1 and 2 with my little sister. Also played a ton of Duck Hunt at friends houses and such, of course. I've always loved the House of the Dead series, the second one in particular...played through that game so many times I couldn't count, but it was always with a controller







Now that I am getting into collecting, it is definitely a goal to own the lightguns for any systems I end up with. I remember tons of them I just flat out missed out on...Point Blank...I'd love to get Area 51 going on something, that's my all time favourite from the arcades. The plan it to one day build an arcade cabinet, and use that for anything lightgun related. I have kept a few TVs and a larger CRT monitor around forever just to use for this stuff. I still spend all my money on the lightgun stuff when I go to anything even resembling an arcade these days lol

And yeah, I didn't figure the FF compilation thing was worth it. And I see FFIX cheaper than that all the time, I have just owned that game so many times I always end up picking up something else. There was actually a couple sealed copies of it at Microplay that I keep forgetting to ask about...they are in the "rare' case at the front that they put the more sought after stuff that comes in...but they are only $30-40, and they are all the FF stuff, 8 and 9 for sure, couple other fairly popular JRPGs, stuff like that...and then they charge more for the used stuff. Something just seems off about them and I have never got around to asking about them yet. They just look off. And why would they charge the same for a new sealed copy as a used copy? Guess I should just ask about them lol

Chrono Cross was a steal though...another game I am fond of and have owned quite a few times. Have never played the whole way through though. I think they honestly mis-priced it...everything else was priced normally for the PS, just that game stuck out...I imagined someone was reading down a list of games with prices while another person was writing the price tags...one says "$50" but the other hears "$15"...and if you were doing a long list of games, it could get looked over pretty easily. The owner was the one doing the checkout, and he stumbled on that game out of all the stuff I bought for quite a bit...took him a bit to ring it through...starts chattering (stalling lol) about how his son thinks Chrono Cross is the single best JRPG ever made... pretty sure he was just checking Ebay prices lol They have deals on some stuff at Microplay, but you need to know what to look for, and it's typically not anything for Playstation unless you want one of a hundred copies of Gran Turismo 2 lol


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I definitely think it would be worth it to pick up another CRT, even if it's just for lightgun games. Could likely get away with something smaller if you don't mind standing real close to the TV
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Growing up, part of the huge appeal of going to the arcades was all the lightgun games. I never did have any lightguns as a kid...I rented one (maybe a couple of them?) and had a great time playing Virtua Cop 1 and 2 with my little sister. Also played a ton of Duck Hunt at friends houses and such, of course. I've always loved the House of the Dead series, the second one in particular...played through that game so many times I couldn't count, but it was always with a controller
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Now that I am getting into collecting, it is definitely a goal to own the lightguns for any systems I end up with. I remember tons of them I just flat out missed out on...Point Blank...I'd love to get Area 51 going on something, that's my all time favourite from the arcades. The plan it to one day build an arcade cabinet, and use that for anything lightgun related. I have kept a few TVs and a larger CRT monitor around forever just to use for this stuff. I still spend all my money on the lightgun stuff when I go to anything even resembling an arcade these days lol


Sorry for the slow reply. Yeah, lightgun games are very fun and I'm a master of the clay pigeon shooting in NES Duck Hunt (The highest I've gotten is stage 35 and after 25 or so you lose if you miss a single pigeon). I also absolutely loved Virtua Cop series, just fantastic games and one of the best on the Saturn. I don't mind the "on rails" approach, it works fine for a lightgun game. I would love to get two of the Sega brand guns for my Saturn and play VC with my wife and family. The problem is that curved CRTs generally look like trash compared to flat ones and I have no room for two TVs in here. They're too heavy for me to move around (I have a bad back). I would much prefer to have all my games look pretty great then be able to play lightgun games. My current TV has component RGB inputs on the back too, and I can play PS2 games on it through that (and maybe other systems if I get them modded).
Quote:


> And yeah, I didn't figure the FF compilation thing was worth it. And I see FFIX cheaper than that all the time, I have just owned that game so many times I always end up picking up something else. There was actually a couple sealed copies of it at Microplay that I keep forgetting to ask about...they are in the "rare' case at the front that they put the more sought after stuff that comes in...but they are only $30-40, and they are all the FF stuff, 8 and 9 for sure, couple other fairly popular JRPGs, stuff like that...and then they charge more for the used stuff. Something just seems off about them and I have never got around to asking about them yet. They just look off. And why would they charge the same for a new sealed copy as a used copy? Guess I should just ask about them lol


If you've already played FFIX and finished it then, no point. If you haven't played it, I'd recommend Xenogears. Probably the best story in any RPG I've ever played.
Quote:


> Chrono Cross was a steal though...another game I am fond of and have owned quite a few times. Have never played the whole way through though. I think they honestly mis-priced it...everything else was priced normally for the PS, just that game stuck out...I imagined someone was reading down a list of games with prices while another person was writing the price tags...one says "$50" but the other hears "$15"...and if you were doing a long list of games, it could get looked over pretty easily. The owner was the one doing the checkout, and he stumbled on that game out of all the stuff I bought for quite a bit...took him a bit to ring it through...starts chattering (stalling lol) about how his son thinks Chrono Cross is the single best JRPG ever made... pretty sure he was just checking Ebay prices lol They have deals on some stuff at Microplay, but you need to know what to look for, and it's typically not anything for Playstation unless you want one of a hundred copies of Gran Turismo 2 lol


Maybe it was mispriced? Anyway, it's a great price for the game CIB. Chrono Cross the best JRPG ever? Not in my book lol. I think I'd vote for Chrono Trigger or FF6 (FF3 here on SNES). Chrono Cross was basically terrible compared to Trigger and didn't even make any sense half the time. Towards the end the story requires a synopsis to decipher. It's still a decent game and probably worth finishing, but I could easily give you a list of 20 JRPGs that are probably better.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Well, picked up another SNES finally...I've been looking for awhile, but can never find one for an acceptable price in acceptable condition. I really prefer not to have a yellowed one. I was usually finding them for around $80-120, depending on condition and whatnot. Found one that looked to be well taken care of for $60, and the guy offered to deliver it, so I figured might as well. Guy turned out to be one of the managers/owners of my favourite game store in town, Games Exchange, chatted for a bit...asked him if he has anything else for sale, and he has an awesome Turbo Grafx 16 collection he is asking $250 for, but he said he would likely go lower, he just put that price to ward off any lowballers. Wish I had the money...if he still hasn't sold it in a few weeks, maybe I can work something out.


----------



## subassy

If anybody has a way to connect NES controllers to a SNES system, I think that's what I need. More specifically I have the NES zapper but can't use it since all I have is a RetroDUO NES/SNES combo-clone.

Actually I found this wireless controller receiver at flear market. Paid I think $3 for it. It has two NES controller plugs. I found what I think are the controllers that go it and the two of them with no receiver are $35 (with shipping) right now on amazon (the second seller including the receiver is new since the first time i looked. Probably not a lot of reason to own the controllers, since I can't use them).


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> If anybody has a way to connect NES controllers to a SNES system, I think that's what I need. More specifically I have the NES zapper but can't use it since all I have is a RetroDUO NES/SNES combo-clone.
> 
> Actually I found this wireless controller receiver at flear market. Paid I think $3 for it. It has two NES controller plugs. I found what I think are the controllers that go it and the two of them with no receiver are $35 (with shipping) right now on amazon (the second seller including the receiver is new since the first time i looked. Probably not a lot of reason to own the controllers, since I can't use them).


I pretty much just did this...just relaxing for the night right now, but if you give me until tomorrow, I will draw you up a diagram. I didn't do exactly this, but while figuring out to rewire the lightgun I bought to actually work on a NES instead of just the clone system, I noticed the NES and SNES controller port pinouts and they are pretty much the same just with a different connector. My lightgun works great on my NES after conversion, can't see why you couldn't get the same thing working. Lightgun only needs power (5V if I can remember), ground, and then sensor and trigger signals, so there should only be 4 wires actually connected to anything on your lightgun, unless it has buttons or something on it. The two pins that are never labeled on the SNES and NES controller pinouts are for the lightgun, maybe other things as well...one for the sensor and one for the trigger. And then you'll need the 5V and ground...if you need any more help, let me know. I think with this pic it should be fairly self explainatory. Just keep in mind the wire colours are not likely to be the same at all, so you might have to pull apart the actual connector to look where each colour goes to, or use a multimeter to check each wire.



Also, I just had to guess which of the two non-labeled pins for sensor and trigger was which. 50/50 chance though..I got it first try lol You could again just use a multimeter.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> I pretty much just did this...just relaxing for the night right now, but if you give me until tomorrow, I will draw you up a diagram. I didn't do exactly this, but while figuring out to rewire the lightgun I bought to actually work on a NES instead of just the clone system, I noticed the NES and SNES controller port pinouts and they are pretty much the same just with a different connector. My lightgun works great on my NES after conversion, can't see why you couldn't get the same thing working. Lightgun only needs power (5V if I can remember), ground, and then sensor and trigger signals, so there should only be 4 wires actually connected to anything on your lightgun, unless it has buttons or something on it. The two pins that are never labeled on the SNES and NES controller pinouts are for the lightgun, maybe other things as well...one for the sensor and one for the trigger. And then you'll need the 5V and ground...if you need any more help, let me know. I think with this pic it should be fairly self explainatory. Just keep in mind the wire colours are not likely to be the same at all, so you might have to pull apart the actual connector to look where each colour goes to, or use a multimeter to check each wire.
> 
> 
> 
> Also, I just had to guess which of the two non-labeled pins for sensor and trigger was which. 50/50 chance though..I got it first try lol You could again just use a multimeter.


You make it sound easy. No hurry on this, any help is appreciated. I don't know if I want to ruin a perfectly good [30 year old] zapper by splicing in a new connector. So I probably want to make an adapter because "of course I do"







. I have lots of SNES controllers though. Some of them don't work so good, no problem ruining off-branded SNES pads. That just means I need the NES controller connector that will plug in to a controller. Like the port on a an actual console. Would that be "female"? I don't know. Maybe an off brand cord extension. Cut off one end, splice it in with the SNES connector cord and _bam_, NES/SNES adapter. Or I'm over-thinking it. I might be too tired for thinking about this.

Thanks again for the diagram. If/when I get around to attempting it I will let the thread know.

edit: add to cart... ($6)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> You make it sound easy. No hurry on this, any help is appreciated. I don't know if I want to ruin a perfectly good [30 year old] zapper by splicing in a new connector. So I probably want to make an adapter because "of course I do"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> . I have lots of SNES controllers though. Some of them don't work so good, no problem ruining off-branded SNES pads. That just means I need the NES controller connector that will plug in to a controller. Like the port on a an actual console. Would that be "female"? I don't know. Maybe an off brand cord extension. Cut off one end, splice it in with the SNES connector cord and _bam_, NES/SNES adapter. Or I'm over-thinking it. I might be too tired for thinking about this.
> 
> Thanks again for the diagram. If/when I get around to attempting it I will let the thread know.


If you're able to get a hold of an extension, that would be your best bet. I'll give you some more help tomorrow though if you can't get it figured out. It really is simple though.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Well, picked up another SNES finally...I've been looking for awhile, but can never find one for an acceptable price in acceptable condition. I really prefer not to have a yellowed one. I was usually finding them for around $80-120, depending on condition and whatnot. Found one that looked to be well taken care of for $60, and the guy offered to deliver it, so I figured might as well. Guy turned out to be one of the managers/owners of my favourite game store in town, Games Exchange, chatted for a bit...asked him if he has anything else for sale, and he has an awesome Turbo Grafx 16 collection he is asking $250 for, but he said he would likely go lower, he just put that price to ward off any lowballers. Wish I had the money...if he still hasn't sold it in a few weeks, maybe I can work something out.


Jeebus. That much for an SNES now? I got mine like 4 years ago for $40 with all hookups and two controllers. (No yellowing either.) Wow.

What Turbografx games come with the lot? I would really like to have a TG-16 but there's only a handful of games I want for it and some of them are more expensive than the console would be (Star Soldier games).

If you get it, you better like shmups because that's pretty much all that's on the system.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Here's a link to the listing - http://www.kijiji.ca/v-old-video-games/kitchener-waterloo/turbo-graphx-16-with-2-controllers-3-games-250/1161107760?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true - I was told price was negotiable though, was just high to ward off lowballers and non-serious inquiries. I am sure everything is super well taken care of, when I bought the SNES off of him, he had it all cleaned, even the controller, cables all wrapped properly and secured with elastic bands. And I mean he actually cleaned it...with alcohol or something, cause it's spotless. I bet if someone offered $200 he'd likely take it. Keep in mind again, these are Canadian prices. He also has a few rare games for sale...pretty sure he mentioned having Metal Warriors and Demons Crest, but can't remember exactly which games he all said he was selling. And yeah, $60 for a SNES was the best I could find even...they have sure went up in price VERY quickly. Like, in the past year, have almost doubled in price. And yeah, I do like shootem ups, and I remember seeing so many ads for the Turbo Grafx growing up, and never even seeing one in person until I was an adult. It's just one of those things I always wanted as a kid. But now that I am an adult, I can have it


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Jeebus. That much for an SNES now? I got mine like 4 years ago for $40 with all hookups and two controllers. (No yellowing either.) Wow.
> 
> What Turbografx games come with the lot? I would really like to have a TG-16 but there's only a handful of games I want for it and some of them are more expensive than the console would be (Star Soldier games).
> 
> If you get it, you better like shmups because that's pretty much all that's on the system.


I have Super Star Soldier on the PC Engine- awesome game.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Here's a link to the listing - http://www.kijiji.ca/v-old-video-games/kitchener-waterloo/turbo-graphx-16-with-2-controllers-3-games-250/1161107760?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true - I was told price was negotiable though, was just high to ward off lowballers and non-serious inquiries. I am sure everything is super well taken care of, when I bought the SNES off of him, he had it all cleaned, even the controller, cables all wrapped properly and secured with elastic bands. And I mean he actually cleaned it...with alcohol or something, cause it's spotless. I bet if someone offered $200 he'd likely take it. Keep in mind again, these are Canadian prices. He also has a few rare games for sale...pretty sure he mentioned having Metal Warriors and Demons Crest, but can't remember exactly which games he all said he was selling. And yeah, $60 for a SNES was the best I could find even...they have sure went up in price VERY quickly. Like, in the past year, have almost doubled in price. And yeah, I do like shootem ups, and I remember seeing so many ads for the Turbo Grafx growing up, and never even seeing one in person until I was an adult. It's just one of those things I always wanted as a kid. But now that I am an adult, I can have it


Unless you'd be getting most or all of the games you want for the system, I would pass. I'm sure you know TG16 games are very expensive, and the console only outputs RF without the Turbo Booster (also very expensive). My recommendation would be to buy a PC Engine variant like the PC Engine Core Grafx, and get a Turbo Everdrive. It works with both PCE's and TG16's, and can play any game from any region regardless of which system you're using. I got one about a month ago, so now I'm looking to sell my PC Engine collection. Feel free to PM me if any of you are interested.


----------



## neurotix

I think I'll stick with MednafenX-pce on my Xbox with the full romset.

The accessory thing is one problem, you need the adapter for anything other than RF and you also need a Turbotap if you want to play 2 player...so much easier (and much much cheaper) to just play on my Xbox.









I really like the Star Soldier games but they're so expensive. I also like a game that was called Chew Man Fu here where you're a girl rolling balls around to smash enemies. It's 2 player too.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Yeah, Turbo Grafx is a bit pricey, but I'd still rather the real deal versus emulation. I mean, I have used some of the Turbo Grafx emulators, but that's not the same...having seen so many ads growing up, and never seeing one in person, having the physical hardware is part of the appeal for me. I'd still buy one if it came at the right time. Also, I can't see the prices on TG-16 stuff going down in price anytime soon.

Also, *neurotix*, could you update my console list?

" Xbox, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, Playstation One, Playstation 2, Nintendo DS, Gamecube, Playstation 3, PSP, Xbox 360, SNES "

Thanks.


----------



## neurotix

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByHLVwtafLfPTjBScW84dlRtQ1U
I got a TV.


----------



## subassy

If anybody is interested there's a sale at the square-enix store right now. A lot of games I thought were worth something are available for really cheap. For old consoles, like GBA/DS/PS2/PSP (as well as the new ones/windows).


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Grabbed a couple PSP games the other day...went to see what SNES stuff they had in at Microplay, and they only had about 8 games, nothing that interested me, not at the prices they wanted at least. While I was there though I picked up Hot Shots Golf something CIB ($3), Daxter ($2), and Secret Agent Clank ($3). Just super common games, but ones I remembered were good from back when I was into PSP stuff a bit more. I know there are far more interesting games on the system, but I actually really enjoy platformers on the PSP. There are lots of good RPGS I have never played, but I'd much rather get those on different systems or even emulate, as I rarely would enjoy sitting on the PSP long enough to get through a typical 10-80 hour JRPG. Maybe if I was planning a trip or something...I could possibly get into one then. JRPG are are actually likely my favourite genre, it's just rare I can set aside the time to play one the entire way through. And when I do, I prefer to be able to do so comfortably at home lol


----------



## neurotix

I have SO many JRPGs I want to play, probably around 50 across all my different systems.

I'll get through them all eventually, it may take a few years though.

If anyone is interested, the Japanese only 7th Dragon 2020 for PSP has a translation patch now. Obviously, you need CFW and a patched ISO for it to work.

PSP has a metric ton of good JRPGs to play. My favorite that I've played is probably the fan translated Grand Knights History. It was made by Vanillaware, the same team that made Dragon's Crown and Muramasa.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I have SO many JRPGs I want to play, probably around 50 across all my different systems.
> 
> I'll get through them all eventually, it may take a few years though.
> 
> If anyone is interested, the Japanese only 7th Dragon 2020 for PSP has a translation patch now. Obviously, you need CFW and a patched ISO for it to work.
> 
> PSP has a metric ton of good JRPGs to play. My favorite that I've played is probably the fan translated Grand Knights History. It was made by Vanillaware, the same team that made Dragon's Crown and Muramasa.


One of the main reasons I built that Xbox emulation PC was for going back to all the JRPGs I missed out on throughout the years, either because they were on platforms I didn't own or on handhelds which I rarely play. Game Boy Advance looks like it has a ton of them, PSP, DS...all ones I don't know much about honestly, but it's rare I run across a JRPG I don't at least somewhat enjoy. There are a ton of JRPG that I have yet to play through, but hope to one day. I kind of go through phases though where I will be playing a ton of games, and others were I rarely get time / feel like it. Honestly, I can't remember the last JRPG I beat...it's been that long. I got about half way through the Final Fantasy 4 remake on Android sometime last year, I guess. So many games I have started, lost my save, started over, etc. and repeated that cycle too many times to count...so now I try to avoid starting anything I can't dedicate a decent amount of time to. I'd like to start picking up the JRPGs I have always wanted to play through, though...even if I don't play them until I am some ancient old geezer







That's honestly kind of how I see my game collection right now...what I don't play through from now until then, I'll play when I am old and can't do much else lol I haven't picked up many of the JRPG I'd like to though,because...well, I am cheap and I am not paying ridiculous prices for them if I can avoid it. I wish I had some cash right now actually because Microplay has a whole row of sealed PS2 games, good ones only, most of them JRPG. They were priced really decently I thought, especially sealed...ranging from about $25-45, averaging $30. Most of the JRPG I actually remember are on Playstation though...so I'd likely spend most of my money on those games first unless something really catches my eye.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Was just checking into what some of my PC game collection is worth...and I guess holding on to physical PC stuff payed off, cause even "budget" and mediocre titles, are averaging about $30 as long as they are "big box" versions. Anything basically not tied to Steam or anything has gained a lot of value since the last time I checked a couple years ago. I have a few that are even worth $50+...not much to do this weekend, so I might do a bit of an "inventory" check and get another list of everything I have...it's been awhile since I updated anything.


----------



## tristanbear

I got a copy of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for 0.75$ on the PC. Still has it's case, manual and the game works!


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> One of the main reasons I built that Xbox emulation PC was for going back to all the JRPGs I missed out on throughout the years, either because they were on platforms I didn't own or on handhelds which I rarely play. Game Boy Advance looks like it has a ton of them, PSP, DS...all ones I don't know much about honestly, but it's rare I run across a JRPG I don't at least somewhat enjoy. There are a ton of JRPG that I have yet to play through, but hope to one day. I kind of go through phases though where I will be playing a ton of games, and others were I rarely get time / feel like it. Honestly, I can't remember the last JRPG I beat...it's been that long. I got about half way through the Final Fantasy 4 remake on Android sometime last year, I guess. So many games I have started, lost my save, started over, etc. and repeated that cycle too many times to count...so now I try to avoid starting anything I can't dedicate a decent amount of time to. I'd like to start picking up the JRPGs I have always wanted to play through, though...even if I don't play them until I am some ancient old geezer
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That's honestly kind of how I see my game collection right now...what I don't play through from now until then, I'll play when I am old and can't do much else lol I haven't picked up many of the JRPG I'd like to though,because...well, I am cheap and I am not paying ridiculous prices for them if I can avoid it. I wish I had some cash right now actually because Microplay has a whole row of sealed PS2 games, good ones only, most of them JRPG. They were priced really decently I thought, especially sealed...ranging from about $25-45, averaging $30. Most of the JRPG I actually remember are on Playstation though...so I'd likely spend most of my money on those games first unless something really catches my eye
> 
> 
> .


Sounds like me with CRPGs. I've had this specialized version of Baldur's Gate (there's some file copying trickery to play BG1 with the BG2 engine and it transitions from game to expansion to BG2 to BG2 expansions seamlessly) for like 5 years now. Someday I'll get through BG1. Might be 15 _more_ years, but I'll do it...


----------



## TUFinside

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Sounds like me with CRPGs. I've had this specialized version of Baldur's Gate (there's some file copying trickery to play BG1 with the BG2 engine and it transitions from game to expansion to BG2 to BG2 expansions seamlessly) for like 5 years now. Someday I'll get through BG1. Might be 15 _more_ years, but I'll do it...


Oh yeah ! BGT rules !


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Picked up Urban Strike on Genesis (loose cart, "yellow tab") for $4 (Second Hand World), and Kingdom Hearts II (greatest hits, CIB, mint) for $12 (Microplay), and then grabbed a bunch of Guitar Hero / Band Hero / Rock Band games for Xbox360, all CIB, for my Mom since she is obsessed with the guitar games. I think I paid an average of $2 each for those, and got them from various pawn shops and game stores. Basically just picked up every one I could find for the 360, since that is what she has. She's got most of them now, except for the band specific stuff, like the AC/DC and Beatles ones...I don't know much about this stuff though, I just try to keep in mind which ones she has and keep my eyes peeled for the ones she doesn't. It's funny watching your 50 year old mother destroy songs on Expert first try lol I can't stand playing them, but she definitely does


----------



## subassy

I managed to buy a Nintendo64 over the weekend: power/tv cords/one controller and a game (Turok: Dinosaur hunter) for....$22US.

Finally hooked it up yesterday and it all works amazingly enough. I thought that was a pretty good price. Now I don't have to disturb my CIB launch N64 in its box. I got out of the console thing before the N64 RAM upgrade and so I'm not sure if it has the upgrade or not. I think the RAM upgrade things are worth more than the consoles at this point so that would be pretty sweet (the branded ones that is).

At a different thrift store I bought a branded N64 controller: kind of a purple/transparent thing. I'm sure it has a fancy name. i don't know if it's worth anything/rare though. I think I paid $3 or so. Now I can play Bomberman64 (not the good one) with at least one other person









Also, wow. I can't believe we played Turok back then. I mean there wasn't a lot to choose from for N64 at launch and I realize it was ~20 years ago but...damn. Felt like I was learning to use a controller for the first time. Stupid '90s.

Edit: controller is this one


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Nice score on the cheap N64! I think I paid $60 (CAN) for mine, but I got it with the expansion pack. One of the systems I play a lot now since I didn't have one growing up. And yeah, Turok controls...I take it you haven't played much PSP?


----------



## subassy

Is there a really obvious way to tell if the memory thing is the expanded one? I want to say the thing that shipped with the console initially was just a placeholder (that's the way RAMBUS memory worked. Hey that's the name of the Rhino from Donkey Kong Country. And he did _ram_ things a lot. Nintendo, you crack me up). So if mine seems like anything other than that it must be the upgraded RAM. Right?


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Is there a really obvious way to tell if the memory thing is the expanded one? I want to say the thing that shipped with the console initially was just a placeholder (that's the way RAMBUS memory worked. Hey that's the name of the Rhino from Donkey Kong Country. And he did _ram_ things a lot. Nintendo, you crack me up). So if mine seems like anything other than that it must be the upgraded RAM. Right?


It's tough to tell with all the 3rd party stuff out there now...there are 3rd party versions of both the Expansion Pak and Jumper Pak. It used to be really easy to tell. Basically, if it has a red top, there is a good chance it's an Expansion Pak. My 3rd party expansion pak has a red top, but it has the cover plate thing built into it. This isn't a positive way to ID one though, but it should have some type of sticker or part number on it if you remove it and have a look. That will be a pretty sure fire way to ID it. If it's the original Nintendo stuff, Jumper has a purple sticker on top, Expansion has a red plastic top with holes in it.

EDIT - Did you ever get your NES to SNES lightgun adapter wired up?


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> It's tough to tell with all the 3rd party stuff out there now...there are 3rd party versions of both the Expansion Pak and Jumper Pak. It used to be really easy to tell. Basically, if it has a red top, there is a good chance it's an Expansion Pak. My 3rd party expansion pak has a red top, but it has the cover plate thing built into it. This isn't a positive way to ID one though, but it should have some type of sticker or part number on it if you remove it and have a look. That will be a pretty sure fire way to ID it. If it's the original Nintendo stuff, Jumper has a purple sticker on top, Expansion has a red plastic top with holes in it.


Oh. Pretty sure it is the expansion thing then. I mean it's read with like a lattice work on it/holes. Whatever. So good for that then. Now all I need is that star wars game that requires it. I'm sure that one is cheap...
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> EDIT - Did you ever get your NES to SNES lightgun adapter wired up?


I did get the part but I haven't found the time yet. I should probably do that though as it's a good alternative to spending all my money on PS2 games I may or may not ever play. Also PS3 (a metal gear legacy collection going back to the 80s ones? sign me up).

Although I'd also like to soft mod my PS2. So many things to do yet I hardly ever get anything done...


----------



## Mega Man

Sounds like you have the expansion. Real question is Nintendo brand or cheapo.

Perfect dark iirc required the expansion


----------



## subassy

Apparently it's possible to upload a pic directly from chrome into a post, which I did not realize until now. I think my camera is set to too high resolution though.
Anyway, here...





edit later on computer: huh. Turned out better/different than i was expecting.


----------



## subassy

Here's a video showing off the x-band's music for no particular reason. Anybody want to buy an x-band? Pfff. Like i'd sell my x-band. This thing is awesome. Listen to those mad beats...












Is this it? Did I _win_ the retro game thread?


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Apparently it's possible to upload a pic directly from chrome into a post, which I did not realize until now. I think my camera is set to too high resolution though.
> Anyway, here...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> edit later on computer: huh. Turned out better/different than i was expecting.


yep Nintendo branded expansion pack


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I think the Expansion Pak are worth as much as you paid for the entire console, so definitely nice find. Not many games really "need" it, there are only a few, but some get some benefits while using it. Lots of games let you use higher res and such if you have it. Definitely a must have if you own an N64, so be glad you got it lol I think Turok 2 and 3 use it, Donkey Kong 64, Majora's Mask, Perfect Dark, Star Wars Rebel Assault...I am sure there are quite a few more though. I was playing RE2 last night and I think I noticed that used it as well.


----------



## neurotix

subassy, the Xband music is pretty good but will never top this:






One of the biggest reasons I love my model 1 CD even if it *is* flaky sometimes.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> subassy, the Xband music is pretty good but will never top this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> One of the biggest reasons I love my model 1 CD even if it *is* flaky sometimes.


I prefer the model 2 theme, but they're both very catchy.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> subassy, the Xband music is pretty good but will never top this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> One of the biggest reasons I love my model 1 CD even if it *is* flaky sometimes.
> 
> 
> 
> I prefer the model 2 theme, but they're both very catchy.
Click to expand...

sigh... how far they have fallen ;_; i miss sega .... not todays sega, that spits out dallar games like jolly ranchers...

the sega of old... that innovated and caused so much amazing in our lives


----------



## F3ERS 2 ASH3S

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> subassy, the Xband music is pretty good but will never top this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> One of the biggest reasons I love my model 1 CD even if it *is* flaky sometimes.
> 
> 
> 
> I prefer the model 2 theme, but they're both very catchy.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> sigh... how far they have fallen ;_; i miss sega .... not todays sega, that spits out dallar games like jolly ranchers...
> 
> the sega of old... that innovated and caused so much amazing in our lives
Click to expand...

That is exactly how I feel yes.. I was a sega kid.. and that sega channel!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Just finished Resident Evil 2 on the N64, and I have to say, I was kind of impressed that they were able to fit both Claire and Leon campaign, most of the FMV cut-scenes and voice-overs...plus. it actually looked pretty fantastic, all considered. I believe N64 RE2 turns the "AA" off by default in most scenes, and the game also runs at 640x480 vs 400x300 or whatever it is the PSX was. I've beat this game so many times for Playstation, definitely one of my all time favs. I picked it up on N64 just cause I hadn't played this version yet as I have heard some mixed opinions on it. I appreciated it. I suppose if I had to pick one or the other, PSX all the way, but I was pleasantly surprised with what they managed on a cart considering the game is almost entirely pre-rendered assets. Anyway...just random conversation


----------



## tristanbear

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Just finished Resident Evil 2 on the N64, and I have to say, I was kind of impressed that they were able to fit both Claire and Leon campaign, most of the FMV cut-scenes and voice-overs...plus. it actually looked pretty fantastic, all considered. I believe N64 RE2 turns the "AA" off by default in most scenes, and the game also runs at 640x480 vs 400x300 or whatever it is the PSX was. I've beat this game so many times for Playstation, definitely one of my all time favs. I picked it up on N64 just cause I hadn't played this version yet as I have heard some mixed opinions on it. I appreciated it. I suppose if I had to pick one or the other, PSX all the way, but I was pleasantly surprised with what they managed on a cart considering the game is almost entirely pre-rendered assets. Anyway...just random conversation


Never actually played RE2 but I have a guide book thats been in my closet since 2000 or so. If I ever end up playing it I know I won't be stuck haha!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tristanbear*
> 
> Never actually played RE2 but I have a guide book thats been in my closet since 2000 or so. If I ever end up playing it I know I won't be stuck haha!


If you are a fan of the survival horror genre, you MUST play this game...one of the best. And definitely my fav from the series. Also...Silent Hill 2.


----------



## tristanbear

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> If you are a fan of the survival horror genre, you MUST play this game...one of the best. And definitely my fav from the series. Also...Silent Hill 2.


I'l look into the N64 version since I dont own a Playstation anymore. I played Silent Hill 2 but never actually beat it. Now that I think of it, I don' t think I have ever actually beaten a Silent Hill games! I always end up getting stuck and eventually just giving up because I don't feel like looking up where to go or what to do.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tristanbear*
> 
> I'l look into the N64 version since I dont own a Playstation anymore. I played Silent Hill 2 but never actually beat it. Now that I think of it, I don' t think I have ever actually beaten a Silent Hill games! I always end up getting stuck and eventually just giving up because I don't feel like looking up where to go or what to do.


Silent Hill 2 is one of the most memorable gaming experience I have ever had, and I have beaten so many games I've lost count...hundreds throughout the years though, for sure. Seriously, that game is seriously twisted in a way other games have failed at ever since. It will blow your mind...but DO NOT watch any walk-throughs or you WILL ruin the experience.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

So I've been playing through Chrono Cross, ended up starting it on the PS3 based on someone here saying the emulation was really good...well, I definitely have to disagree here. Wish I would have started it on my PSOne instead...on the PS3 there is tons of slowdown, graphical glitches like reflections not working and weirdly coloured pixels and shimmering in certain battle areas, etc. And this is only the first Playstation game I've tried on the PS3. Needless to say, I will likely not be using the PS3 for PS stuff anymore, well, specifically games were I rely on a save file. At least it looks decent though with the original aspect ratio and smoothing off through the HDMI connection. Anyway though, I am about as far through Chrono Cross as I have made it in the past, about half way through Viper Mansion. Still haven't run into anything I haven't remembered at least somewhat yet though, so I guess I played more of this game than I originally thought. Only about 6 hours in this playthrough. Not sure how long this game is, but I am guessing this one is going to be 50+ hours easily for me.


----------



## neurotix

Viper Mansion is pretty much the beginning of the game. There's a LOT after that.

If you keep playing, have fun fighting Dario for the Mastermune. That's a really really really hard battle. One of the toughest in any RPG I've played. He's easily harder than the last bosses.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> So I've been playing through Chrono Cross, ended up starting it on the PS3 based on someone here saying the emulation was really good...well, I definitely have to disagree here. Wish I would have started it on my PSOne instead...on the PS3 there is tons of slowdown, graphical glitches like reflections not working and weirdly coloured pixels and shimmering in certain battle areas, etc. And this is only the first Playstation game I've tried on the PS3. Needless to say, I will likely not be using the PS3 for PS stuff anymore, well, specifically games were I rely on a save file. At least it looks decent though with the original aspect ratio and smoothing off through the HDMI connection. Anyway though, I am about as far through Chrono Cross as I have made it in the past, about half way through Viper Mansion. Still haven't run into anything I haven't remembered at least somewhat yet though, so I guess I played more of this game than I originally thought. Only about 6 hours in this playthrough. Not sure how long this game is, but I am guessing this one is going to be 50+ hours easily for me.


i have never seen any glitches with ps1 games ( i have only used fat ps3s though ! never used my slim nor the other ) ?!? that sucks you can swap your games to memory card ! may have to get on ebay for it however


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Turns out that not only are there glitches of various kinds, there is also a very likely possibility that I won't even be able to finish the game, lots of reports of game breaking freezes at certain point in the game...if that happens, I will likely never finish this game...I have started it like a hundred times...figured I'd give it one more go with this playthrough, I will be very sour if I get that same freeze...I can get past the glitches because I would rather not start over at this point...but yeah, stay away from PS3 for PSX emulation if you play a lot of long RPG and similar.

EDIT - I might even say screw it and leave Chrono Cross alone for awhile...I am "only" 8 hours in...I think I better just quit now before I potentially toss even more time away on it, only to eventually get pissed off and give up on it completely. Frustrated here...but what can I do...yeah, I am going to put it aside for awhile, years possibly...and just start it on the PSOne like I should have to begin with. Pretty cheesed right now, if you can't tell










Also...I'm on an 80GB fat with all the latest updates, if that matters at all.


----------



## Mega Man

Again why not transfer to psx?

Easy to.
... wow the official adapter is 70+ glad I bought mine at 3....

Try this
http://www.dx.com/p/usb-to-ps2-ps3-controller-gamepad-converter-adapter-with-memory-card-reader-24690#.Vzgb23TnbqA

13 plus shipping transfer your save to a SD then to a pc then to the memory card


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Again why not transfer to psx?
> 
> Easy to.
> ... wow the official adapter is 70+ glad I bought mine at 3....
> 
> Try this
> http://www.dx.com/p/usb-to-ps2-ps3-controller-gamepad-converter-adapter-with-memory-card-reader-24690#.Vzgb23TnbqA
> 
> 13 plus shipping transfer your save to a SD then to a pc then to the memory card


Thanks, I'll give that a go! Fingers crossed it works...having to spend 13 USD + shipping all because I stuck a disc into a PS3 vs a PSOne is already a kick to the groin...tossing away that money, which I don't really have, to have it not work...pretty sure I will just take Chrono Cross and use it for target practice at that point...


----------



## Mega Man

You can always mail them to me (SD card and psx mem card) and i can do it

http://shendohardware.blogspot.com/2013/06/memcarduino.html?m=1

Turns out the one I linked in the above post does not work on pc but ps3. So should still work ok for you and free shipping.... may have to buy one


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> You can always mail them to me (SD card and psx mem card) and i can do it
> 
> http://shendohardware.blogspot.com/2013/06/memcarduino.html?m=1
> 
> Turns out the one I linked in the above post does not work on pc but ps3. So should still work ok for you and free shipping.... may have to buy one


Kind offer, thanks:thumb: I'll try the USB to memory card thing you linked though...I am sure I can find some other uses for it, like save file editing or something. Plus, I guess it could be nice to be able to be able to bring my PSOne save files over to play on a friend's PS3 or something. I was just frustrated last night...I have attempted to play through Chrono Cross so many times now, and something always gets in the way


----------



## neurotix

If you're frustrated with Chrono Cross now (this early in) I suggest you just give up. That's assuming it's the actual game frustrating you and not just the glitches and stuff.

Honestly, it's not a very good game. My younger brother loves JRPGs and especially loves Chrono Trigger but even he struggled with CC and gave up on it. It's too different and arcane. You also can't level up to overlevel bosses if you get stuck, because of the star system (you only "gain a level" or power up upon defeating bosses).

You're probably much better off just going back and playing Chrono Trigger again, or maybe try the DS port (with bonus dungeons) if you want more Chrono but are sick of the SNES version.

As for RPGs on the PS3, might I suggest Xenogears or FF7? Both of those should still be available from PSN. And I believe since they are ports and not a PSone disc playing on a PS3, there's no issues with glitches or freezing.

Xenogears comes highly recommended. I've finished hundreds of JRPGs and I think Xenogears might be in my top 5. Another PS era Squaresoft RPG. It's very story heavy. There's difficulty spikes but there's also ways around them (e.g. you can power level). There's quite a few hard bosses BUT they can be countered depending on your setup (accessories etc.)

You may consider that at least Cross isn't SaGa Frontier. If you want a VERY confusing and difficult JRPG, SaGa Frontier fits the bill. I still finished it but at the end I still had no idea how some of the systems work.

EDIT: With Cross you aren't really missing much story wise if that's what you want from it. It really has nothing to do with Trigger at all and is pure revisionist nonsense. Half of it doesn't make any sense. Even after finishing it, I had to read a plot synopsis online to understand what happened. I suggest you do the same and skip on the tedious game.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I am having zero trouble with it at all, in fact, I don't think I've died a single time...I'm on the "ghost ship" at the moment...the whole game has been TOO easy so far, so I hope it gets more difficult lol The frustration is from starting it SO many times and never getting to finish it for whatever reason...I am just tired of the first 5 hours of the game since I have played it way too many times. Right now, I can kill most single enemies with my first turn with Serge...even "bosses" have been a breeze so far. I realize it's only the first half of the game still, but I have been hoping for more difficulty since I started. Hopefully I don't eat those words towards the end...and if it's just confusion on where to go next, I don't mind glancing at a walkthrough...in fact, these days, if I am stuck for more than a bit in a game, I always go right to a walkthrough. Don't need to be stuck on one spot for weeks on end....got too many games to beat. I can sense some frustration coming from you towards the game though as you already spoiled a bit of it...the part about fighting Dario..,so I will take warning that it's going to get A LOT tougher towards the second half of the game









And every game you mentioned is already on my "list" of must own games, even games like Saga Frontier. That game could be complete garbage and I wouldn't care...the art direction is stunning. Honestly, I don't believe there are ANY Playstation RPG I am not aware of, not including Japanese imports, and I have honestly played most of them at one point or another. But never owned many, and never really actually got to "play" even less than that. Final Fantasy 7 was the only game I ever pre-ordered (and they sold my copy anyway, even though I payed $80 or something for some pre-order package that I never got. That game was the sole reason I initially bought a Playstation to go with my Saturn. I ended up liking 8 even more though, and to this day FF8 is my all time favourite RPG. Speaking of PSX JRPG...any one ever play any of the Front Mission games? I know they are kind of strategy, but I have always been curious about them...was a huge fan of games like Armored Core, Heavy Gear, Mech Warrior, etc. growing up, and was wondering which in the series would be a good starting point? I think I know most of the PSX RPG because I was an avid reader of PlayStation magazine and lots of those RPG, even more obscure ones, tended to show up on a demo disk from time to time. Even if it was just a video or something. And then most of the ones I hadn't seen in person, I have checked out with the help of emulators throughout the years. I don't usually play through any games with an emulator though, i mostly just play with them out of curiosity.

Also, are you sure you can't "level up" if you aren't fighting a boss? Doesn't it have something to do with the area of effect and your innate elements? I thought I noticed getting up to 9 Stars, and getting +HP, +MAG, etc. when I beat just any old enemy? I'll have to pay more attention I guess...so far, I haven't really needed to since nothing has given me a challenge yet. And of course, they tell you about that stuff all the way right at the beginning of the game. Was all nervous going into the Hydra Marsh, the Hydra took less than a couple minutes...was disappointing and not nearly as epic as it should have been.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> And every game you mentioned is already on my "list" of must own games, even games like Saga Frontier. That game could be complete garbage and I wouldn't care...the art direction is stunning. Honestly, I don't believe there are ANY Playstation RPG I am not aware of, not including Japanese imports, and I have honestly played most of them at one point or another. But never owned many, and never really actually got to "play" even less than that. Final Fantasy 7 was the only game I ever pre-ordered (and they sold my copy anyway, even though I payed $80 or something for some pre-order package that I never got. That game was the sole reason I initially bought a Playstation to go with my Saturn. I ended up liking 8 even more though, and to this day FF8 is my all time favourite RPG. Speaking of PSX JRPG...any one ever play any of the Front Mission games? I know they are kind of strategy, but I have always been curious about them...was a huge fan of games like Armored Core, Heavy Gear, Mech Warrior, etc. growing up, and was wondering which in the series would be a good starting point? I think I know most of the PSX RPG because I was an avid reader of PlayStation magazine and lots of those RPG, even more obscure ones, tended to show up on a demo disk from time to time. Even if it was just a video or something. And then most of the ones I hadn't seen in person, I have checked out with the help of emulators throughout the years. I don't usually play through any games with an emulator though, i mostly just play with them out of curiosity.


If you're going to play Front Mission (yes of course I've played it) start with the first one on SNES with the fan translation patch. No harm in using an emulator for this. Alternatively, they did FINALLY release this game stateside for DS, translated. The second one was Japan only and only has a rudimentary menu patch. The 3rd one was released here and it's for Playstation, but I recall a lot of fans didn't like this game because they dumbed it down a lot. 4 and 5 were on PS2. Of these, FM4 has terrible reviews. FM5 was Japan only but has a superbly done fan translation patch. You can patch it yourself and play it on a PS2 if you have FMCB. I've played it and gotten relatively far but got sick of it and gave up. The only one I've finished is Front Mission for SNES with the patch, and from what I've played of the series it's easily the best. I really have no idea about the price of it for DS, and I have no idea about the prices for 3 and 4 (the only others in the main series to come out stateside).
Quote:


> Also, are you sure you can't "level up" if you aren't fighting a boss? Doesn't it have something to do with the area of effect and your innate elements? I thought I noticed getting up to 9 Stars, and getting +HP, +MAG, etc. when I beat just any old enemy? I'll have to pay more attention I guess...so far, I haven't really needed to since nothing has given me a challenge yet. And of course, they tell you about that stuff all the way right at the beginning of the game. Was all nervous going into the Hydra Marsh, the Hydra took less than a couple minutes...was disappointing and not nearly as epic as it should have been.


Leveling up has nothing to do with the field effect or your elements at all. Every time you defeat a boss, you get another star, and this equates to a level up. After that, for just a couple of random battles, you will gain random stat ups (similar to SaGa series) after battle. But if you keep battling, you will notice they stop after 3-4 battles. Then, the only way to raise stats again is to get another star.

I guess they always wanted you to be around the same level of power for a particular boss. Beyond that, the reason this system was implemented was because of the number of characters you can get (~45-ish), so that characters you don't use will still be powerful enough to use, if you wish. This means that characters don't have an individual experience value, and none of them can be left behind in levels. Nowadays, in most JRPGs that have a level system, characters still have experience levels and values, they just accrue experience while not in the party, and subsequently level up. Back then though, they didn't really know how to do this (perhaps it was too much for the Playstation to track?) So they came up with the star system instead.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> If you're going to play Front Mission (yes of course I've played it) start with the first one on SNES with the fan translation patch. No harm in using an emulator for this. Alternatively, they did FINALLY release this game stateside for DS, translated. The second one was Japan only and only has a rudimentary menu patch. The 3rd one was released here and it's for Playstation, but I recall a lot of fans didn't like this game because they dumbed it down a lot. 4 and 5 were on PS2. Of these, FM4 has terrible reviews. FM5 was Japan only but has a superbly done fan translation patch. You can patch it yourself and play it on a PS2 if you have FMCB. I've played it and gotten relatively far but got sick of it and gave up. The only one I've finished is Front Mission for SNES with the patch, and from what I've played of the series it's easily the best. I really have no idea about the price of it for DS, and I have no idea about the prices for 3 and 4 (the only others in the main series to come out stateside).
> Leveling up has nothing to do with the field effect or your elements at all. Every time you defeat a boss, you get another star, and this equates to a level up. After that, for just a couple of random battles, you will gain random stat ups (similar to SaGa series) after battle. But if you keep battling, you will notice they stop after 3-4 battles. Then, the only way to raise stats again is to get another star.
> 
> I guess they always wanted you to be around the same level of power for a particular boss. Beyond that, the reason this system was implemented was because of the number of characters you can get (~45-ish), so that characters you don't use will still be powerful enough to use, if you wish. This means that characters don't have an individual experience value, and none of them can be left behind in levels. Nowadays, in most JRPGs that have a level system, characters still have experience levels and values, they just accrue experience while not in the party, and subsequently level up. Back then though, they didn't really know how to do this (perhaps it was too much for the Playstation to track?) So they came up with the star system instead.


Thanks for the Front Mission info, and I was just about to post about the Star System...payed a little more attention after playing for the past bit. Odd how it works though, cause somehow Serge is still way overpowered compared to the rest...I even tried playing the equips (giving Serge weaker stuff and the better stuff to the others), and he's still overpowered. He's at over 200 HP when everyone else is at 140-160. Anyway...just finished some boss thing on the ghost ship, again, no issues, but at least it took longer than a couple minutes. Maybe 5 lol


----------



## neurotix

Let me know if you play Front Mission. I can give you advice if you get stuck. (I foresee you might have difficulty in the early battle against Hell's Wall. This one is tough. Everyone has problems here.)

So, I wanted to hear opinions from you guys on something I find interesting and often think about...

Anyone remember the 2001 movie, Final Fantasy The Spirits Within? It was a box office flop and generally a bad movie. It nearly put Square out of business permanently and the only thing that saved them was merging with Enix. It was the brainchild of Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of FF. It was also the impetus of him leaving the company.

Anyway, at the time the movie was known to be cutting edge in computer graphics technology. It was rendered on a render farm of 960 Pentium-III 933mhz CPUs. Rendering one frame of the movie took 90 minutes.

The main character in the film, Aki Ross, was supposed to be the first "totally digital actress", that is, she was supposed to appear in other movies too. At the time, she was considered as being incredibly realistic:



Compare that to Lara Croft wearing similar clothing in the recent Tomb Raider game:



It seems now that our games may have surpassed that level of technology, and our games are rendered in real time at 60 fps. I wonder how long it will be before we have totally photorealistic graphics?

Something that took a render farm and 90 minutes for a single frame now seems to be surpassed in realism by graphics rendered on a (cheap) consumer GPU.

Food for thought.


----------



## Mega Man

hahah i remember and personally i didnt think it was that bad.

anywho i know you guys would like it

for anyone who wants ps tv for 26 in the us

http://flash.newegg.com/Product/9SIA8HF3N51232?utm_source=NFEmail051616&utm_medium=index&utm_campaign=SaleBanner_B3T_9SIA8HF3N51232&cm_mmc=EMC-NFEmail051616-_-SaleBanner_B3T_9SIA8HF3N51232-_-NA-_-9SIA8HF3N51232

get it while they last... i got mine


----------



## subassy

I bought a pstv a couple weeks ago for I think $40 online. Then saw it for $30 at Walmart. At least mine has old fw version. I mentioned that, didn't I? Anyway, I hope the vita games go down in price further.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> hahah i remember and personally i didnt think it was that bad.


I guess I went into it expecting Final Fantasy and got something more like sci-fi. Maybe it's been a long time since you've seen it (same here) but I recall it really had nothing to do with FF. That's why I didn't like it.

Advent Children was much better, but I still didn't like all the Matrix-DBZ flying around and stuff. FF7 had none of that. Still, it was actually related to the game so it was passable.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Hahah, Spirits Within...have never been able to finish the entire movie, just really slow from what I can remember, and not really much to do with the games. I always wanted to like it...and really did try.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> hahah i remember and personally i didnt think it was that bad.
> 
> 
> 
> I guess I went into it expecting Final Fantasy and got something more like sci-fi. Maybe it's been a long time since you've seen it (same here) but I recall it really had nothing to do with FF. That's why I didn't like it.
> 
> Advent Children was much better, but I still didn't like all the Matrix-DBZ flying around and stuff. FF7 had none of that. Still, it was actually related to the game so it was passable.
Click to expand...

i watched it last month actually

people always wanted to connect it to FF

my question for you is which one, advent children was an extension of 7 so it was expected, FF spirits within was a separate one.

if you look at FF as a separate FF like each game is it is not that bad, dont look at it like a rpg


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> i watched it last month actually
> 
> people always wanted to connect it to FF
> 
> my question for you is which one, advent children was an extension of 7 so it was expected, FF spirits within was a separate one.
> 
> if you look at FF as a separate FF like each game is it is not that bad, dont look at it like a rpg


It wasn't all that bad, honestly...it's been awhile, but mostly, I just remember it being really slow. And when it comes to movies, I have the attention span of a fly. I am ADD/ADHD though, and TV and movies aren't really a part of my routine at all. I either fall asleep out of boredom if I force myself to focus solely on a movie/show, or just end up doing ten other things at the same time and not really taking any of it in. But then I can watch movies like movies like 2001 Space Odyssey from start to finish, so I don't know







I'd give Spirits Within another shot though on Bluray, I guess.

And, uh, I never even tried to watch Advent Children. That whole spin-off whatever you want to call it that came out for PSP, then the movie...can't remember specifically other than I was really hyped for the game, and then REALLY disappointed when it came out...


----------



## neurotix

It's been a while since I watched it. Probably since 2002 or so.

I might have to watch it again, it would be a good one to watch with the wife because she's never seen it.


----------



## Mega Man

i loved advent children !

great follow through.... now if the remake can live up... easy, redo the graphics. finish the parts of the story that were planned but cut due to budget

LEAVE the spawns alone ( for the love of all things holy in rpgs DO NOT make it ffxii with monsters you see and walk around !!!!! ) bam instant hit


----------



## neurotix

I cleared my repo cart of Bahamut Lagoon (English patch) today.

Man, what an awesome game.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I cleared my repo cart of Bahamut Lagoon (English patch) today.
> 
> Man, what an awesome game.


I'll have to keep in mind there is an English patch for that one too. Was always curious about it. I am pretty sure I have actually played the Japanese version, just to see what it was all about. I am about 20 hours into Chrono Cross now...played quite a bit over the weekend and been putting in about an hour each night on it. I think I am starting to see where this is all going now...oh, and I died once now...but only because everything has been so easy so far that I wasn't really paying full attention, and got caught off guard just flat out using attacks over and over while doing something else lol Still not quite on Disc 2 yet though, but I think I am getting pretty close. I'd say I am over the 3/4 way through disc 1 now.


----------



## neurotix

Which route did you take in the beginning? (To get which character?) Glenn is awesome so I hope you got him...

I don't remember enough of the game, it was pretty forgettable, but I seem to remember there's only a few hours of gameplay on disc 2 (because the ending FMVs are really long and take up most of the space)

Towards the end of the game, you can get a character named Orlha, she's a waitress that does kung fu. Highly recommended. She's really fun and powerful.

Bahamut Lagoon comes highly recommended, yeah. It's very easy but still a fun game. Kind of like Square's take on Shining Force, but with a dragon raising metagame.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Which route did you take in the beginning? (To get which character?) Glenn is awesome so I hope you got him...
> 
> I don't remember enough of the game, it was pretty forgettable, but I seem to remember there's only a few hours of gameplay on disc 2 (because the ending FMVs are really long and take up most of the space)
> 
> Towards the end of the game, you can get a character named Orlha, she's a waitress that does kung fu. Highly recommended. She's really fun and powerful.
> 
> Bahamut Lagoon comes highly recommended, yeah. It's very easy but still a fun game. Kind of like Square's take on Shining Force, but with a dragon raising metagame.


Missed Glenn, unfortunately. I've been able to play with Harle, Kid, Korcha, Lynx, Luccia, Neo Fio, Nikky, Radius, Razzly, Serge, and Sprigg. I'll miss quite a bit on my play through, I am mostly just trying to get through the game in a reasonable time frame so I can move on to another. And I only look at walk-throughs if I am really stuck. If I were to ever give it ANOTHER play-through, which is doubtful, I'd make sure to go get everything I missed the first time. I am still on the part where you are playing as the Lynx party. But I guess I got Luccia instead of Glenn? Not sure honestly lol


----------



## Mega Man

my pstv is 3.35 and now it is hacked !!!! this is awesome !


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> my pstv is 3.35 and now it is hacked !!!! this is awesome !


Nice! You lucked out apparently if you didn't actually specifically look for one with the right firmware for the "hack".


----------



## _LDC_

peeking. Uh, thought retrogaming was a thread about coin op or c64 xD


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *_LDC_*
> 
> peeking. Uh, thought retrogaming was a thread about coin op or c64 xD


Well, it is...as well as other retro consoles and computers. It's all in the OP...not sure what is so funny?


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> my pstv is 3.35 and now it is hacked !!!! this is awesome !


Congrats. Did you do VHBL or TN-V/ARK?
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *_LDC_*
> 
> peeking. Uh, thought retrogaming was a thread about coin op or c64 xD


Retro arcades and the C64 count.

We might be a little younger so what mostly gets discussed is stuff like the NES, SNES, Genesis and so on.

Many of us have systems older than the NES though.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> my pstv is 3.35 and now it is hacked !!!! this is awesome !
> 
> 
> 
> Congrats. Did you do VHBL or TN-V/ARK?
Click to expand...

have not got that far, bought it for the wife, so she could play katamari ( only one she has not beat yet )


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Should be finishing up Chrono Cross before the weekend is out. Fighting the Dragons now, and about 25 hours in...so not quite as long of a game as I expected. And I have had trouble with 1 boss so far, died about 4-5 times on Miguel, but eventually got him. Honestly, I've enjoyed it quite a bit so far. The story really isn't anything special, none of the characters are all that memorable, but the battle system and amount of characters you can add to your party makes the game stay interesting despite those things. One major gripe I do have with it is the amount of recycling of the music and some assets. Kind of annoying hearing the same background music for two entirely different areas with entirely different atmosphere.


----------



## _LDC_

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Retro arcades and the C64 count.
> 
> We might be a little younger so what mostly gets discussed is stuff like the NES, SNES, Genesis and so on.
> 
> Many of us have systems older than the NES though.


ahah yes, maybe it can be a difference in age








though, I prefer to consider the architecture of the machine emulated as a reference to be considered "retro" or not. Most of the systems in the recent pages, share too many similarities with current hardware to be considered "retro" by my standards.
Just my point of view, of course...


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *_LDC_*
> 
> ahah yes, maybe it can be a difference in age
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> though, I prefer to consider the architecture of the machine emulated as a reference to be considered "retro" or not. Most of the systems in the recent pages, share too many similarities with current hardware to be considered "retro" by my standards.
> Just my point of view, of course...


We all love retro stuff here, not just the stuff we've been talking about the past few pages. I think a lot of what we talk about has to do with what we have and what is available. I'd love to own a ton of stuff I just currently can't afford, haven't come across for a reasonable price, or just plain old never come across at all. I have always wanted to build a arcade cab, a legit one, not one with emulators and whatnot. Stuff like a Vectrex, or old MSX computer I'd buy in a heart beat if it came at the right time. It's just these types of purchases aren't as common as you don't come across it and it holds it's value, generally. So it's not talked about as much. I am sure I speak for us all here when I say anything retro is welcome here, if you want to post something, don't be warded off by our recent discussion. We change topics pretty quick around here, post something interesting and it's sure to at least get some type of discussion


----------



## neurotix

The NES is hardware from 1983 originally (in Japan), that's 33 years old, I don't know how that isn't retro. (It's older than me!)

Even the Genesis is from 1988, that's 28 years old. SNES was 1990 and that's 26 years old.

Sure, stuff like the Atari VCS and the arcades from the golden age are older and definitely retro, but I think some of the other systems mentioned are too.

I also notice from your location, you are from Italy. No offense, but it really seems like Europeans always consider the C64 and other 8-bit computers "retro" but exclude things like home consoles. You aren't the first in this thread to do so. I say that with all due respect to you as a person (and to Europe), I'm just pointing it out.

Things were different in Europe in the 80s because the market was flooded with cheap, 8-bit home computers and they were VERY popular. However, here in the States those computers never really caught on, and aside from the C64 and Atari 800, I don't know if many of them were available here. What was big here was the NES during that time. Contrast that to Europe, where the NES had limited availability, was sold by different companies in different countries, and never had very much market saturation. Instead, the Sega Master System was very popular in Europe during that time. So maybe, the reason you don't consider the NES retro is that it wasn't really around in Europe.

Here in the States, retro games (and especially the NES) are only increasing in popularity, to the point where I find retro Nintendo merchandise all over the place, even NES controller T-shirts at average Midwestern department stores. The NES is the greatest video game system of all time to me (and many others), it is definitely retro in my book. It's continued popularity is the biggest testament to this.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *_LDC_*
> 
> ahah yes, maybe it can be a difference in age
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> though, I prefer to consider the architecture of the machine emulated as a reference to be considered "retro" or not. Most of the systems in the recent pages, share too many similarities with current hardware to be considered "retro" by my standards.
> Just my point of view, of course...
> 
> 
> 
> We all love retro stuff here, not just the stuff we've been talking about the past few pages. I think a lot of what we talk about has to do with what we have and what is available. I'd love to own a ton of stuff I just currently can't afford, haven't come across for a reasonable price, or just plain old never come across at all. I have always wanted to build a arcade cab, a legit one, not one with emulators and whatnot. Stuff like a Vectrex, or old MSX computer I'd buy in a heart beat if it came at the right time. It's just these types of purchases aren't as common as you don't come across it and it holds it's value, generally. So it's not talked about as much. I am sure I speak for us all here when I say anything retro is welcome here, if you want to post something, don't be warded off by our recent discussion. We change topics pretty quick around here, post something interesting and it's sure to at least get some type of discussion
Click to expand...

i should post a pic of some of my rarer stuffs one day


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> i should post a pic of some of my rarer stuffs one day


Please do. I would love to see.

(Psst I know you have a Vectrex, right?)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Get to the pics, Mega Man


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Please do. I would love to see.
> 
> (Psst I know you have a Vectrex, right?)


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Get to the pics, Mega Man


I third this!


----------



## neurotix

I took a picture for you guys...



I got these all recently online (good luck finding them in the wild). Sonic Chaos wasn't even released in the US for Master System (it was for Game Gear, I have it) so I had to get it from the UK and it took 3 weeks to arrive.

I had R-Type a while ago but sold it and realized I wanted it back. Thankfully, I paid half what I sold it for a year ago.

I wanted to get some more "good" Master System games to play. There's a lot I have that aren't any good in my opinion.

I have 39 games for the SMS now. A few of them I can't play because the Light Phaser doesn't work. I actually bought 3 more Light Phasers lately to be able to play them but none of them worked. Either there's something wrong with my SMS, or the Light Phaser won't work with the TV I have (my NES Zapper and Saturn Stunner work perfectly).


----------



## tristanbear

I have this NES flystick thing that's still in the box somewhere in my closet. I bought it from some resale shop a while back. I'll probably dig out this weekend and post some pics.


----------



## subassy

Keeping in mind while I was around in the 80s (small child) my family didn't have a computer in the 80s (just an NES) so this is what I've read/learned, the C64 was actually the best selling "computer" of the decade. Far and away the best selling computer in north america. It was general purpose though so you could write custom programs, print, connect to bulletin boards and other "online" services. I think the main appeal with the cheap cost relative to the competitors. Try looking at the price of an IBM PC in 1985 then adjust to inflation for 2016 dollars and you see why cheap computers were so appealing. Problem is commodore never got beyond the 64k thing and it just got obsolete. That and the GUI/mouse thing coming and really looking like the future. Which it was.
Actually the Apple II was incredibly popular and common as well and used into the 90s. But again, quite expensive.
I kind of wish we had a C64 back then. Feels like I missed a whole period of cool home brew programming and games. I do remember my elementary school had some Apple IIs and something about pushing _open apple_ but that's about it.


----------



## neurotix

Yep, I know some people a little older than me that loved the C64.

I don't have very much experience with it myself.

People are especially fond of the high quality sound chip it has. To this day, people still make music for it. (Chiptunes)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

C64 is what I grew up with in most of public school...I think we switched over to Windows 3.1 machines in about Grade 5-6, but I remember using C64 still even after that. The only computer I ever really had a chance to use when I was a kid. I remember my kindergarten class had a row of them, and a ton of games on floppy. If you could figure out how to work them, which most of the teachers didn't, you could play on them...so I learned how to run games off the floppy disks pretty quick lol Because of growing up with them, I've always wanted one. I remember playing a ton of those text only adventure games a lot. This was literally when I was a young kid though...it's been awhile lol


----------



## SwishaMane

Just found this club!

A good friend of mine and I started an oldschool game night every Sat. evening. Using HTPC, we emulate EVERYTHING, and its a blast. Especially when you buy decent USB to retro controllers, and map everything right. The latency is an issue, but its almost un-noticeable... ALMOST!

I own:

Sony PS1, 112+games (PS1 collector, plenty of good old RARE games)

Sony PS2, maybe 30 games (fat PS2, DMS4 Pro w/ ToxicOS, 500GB HDD, going ham)

Sony PS3, 10 games

Sony PS4, 5 games

Only consoles I have now-a-days.









As of this date, 5/26/2016, I have a two player game going on PS2 with 'Champions of Norrath' and 'Champions: Return to Arms' (Everquest series), 'The Last of Us' on PS3, and 'RE: Revelations 2' on PS4.

Games I WANT TO PLAY SO BAD:

*Lunar and Lunar 2 (PS1, own, but haven't started yet)

*Tactics Ogre (PS1, man this was fun the one time I played)

*Resident Evil 2 remake on PS4 (once it finally exists, of course I've already cleared RE Zero and 1)

*FF7 remake on PS4 (again, once it finally exists)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> Just found this club!
> 
> A good friend of mine and I started an oldschool game night every Sat. evening. Using HTPC, we emulate EVERYTHING, and its a blast. Especially when you buy decent USB to retro controllers, and map everything right. The latency is an issue, but its almost un-noticeable... ALMOST!
> 
> I own:
> 
> Sony PS1, 112+games (PS1 collector, plenty of good old RARE games)
> 
> Sony PS2, maybe 30 games (fat PS2, DMS4 Pro w/ ToxicOS, 500GB HDD, going ham)
> 
> Sony PS3, 10 games
> 
> Sony PS4, 5 games
> 
> Only consoles I have now-a-days.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As of this date, 5/26/2016, I have a two player game going on PS2 with 'Champions of Norrath' and 'Champions: Return to Arms' (Everquest series), 'The Last of Us' on PS3, and 'RE: Revelations 2' on PS4.
> 
> Games I WANT TO PLAY SO BAD:
> 
> *Lunar and Lunar 2 (PS1, own, but haven't started yet)
> 
> *Tactics Ogre (PS1, man this was fun the one time I played)
> 
> *Resident Evil 2 remake on PS4 (once it finally exists, of course I've already cleared RE Zero and 1)
> 
> *FF7 remake on PS4 (again, once it finally exists)


Nice PS1 collection dude


----------



## SwishaMane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Nice PS1 collection dude


Thanks! I keep a spreadsheet for it to stay organized. Would I be out of place if I posted it? Anyone interested to see what's there? I'll gladly share.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> Thanks! I keep a spreadsheet for it to stay organized. Would I be out of place if I posted it? Anyone interested to see what's there? I'll gladly share.


Post away! We are a pretty small club, anything new to talk about is welcome, I'd say. I'd just post it in text or as a jpg screenshot though so we don't have to download your spreadsheet.


----------



## subassy

I've been keeping a google spreadsheet of my collection. If you can copy/paste it over that is one way to read-only share it out. I actually did that a little while ago by copying to a separate google account/google docs. I outgrew my spreadsheet though, had to buy some software more geared toward game collecting. Which I don't like that much but it's much better than just-a-spreadsheet. Keep in mind my collection is completely out of control.

Also, I'm starting to brainstorm an idea for my serving up all my PS1/PS2 games over the network. Just the ones I physically possess. I'm not smart enough to figure out how to pirate. I assume I can't talk about it much here on OCN, assuming OCN still actually had moderators I mean. Sometimes I wonder. Anyway, it involves Linux, LVM, a lot of hard drives and a network switch. And possibly WHS v1. Not sure yet. Also some kind of VM thing. VirtualBox or Hyper-V. Possibly Xen. Probably not Xen. Pretty much the link in my sig for the virtualbox thing with Web UI. It'll be that, with ISOs.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I've been keeping a google spreadsheet of my collection. If you can copy/paste it over that is one way to read-only share it out. I actually did that a little while ago by copying to a separate google account/google docs. I outgrew my spreadsheet though, had to buy some software more geared toward game collecting. Which I don't like that much but it's much better than just-a-spreadsheet. Keep in mind my collection is completely out of control.
> 
> Also, I'm starting to brainstorm an idea for my serving up all my PS1/PS2 games over the network. Just the ones I physically possess. I'm not smart enough to figure out how to pirate. I assume I can't talk about it much here on OCN, assuming OCN still actually had moderators I mean. Sometimes I wonder. Anyway, it involves Linux, LVM, a lot of hard drives and a network switch. And possibly WHS v1. Not sure yet. Also some kind of VM thing. VirtualBox or Hyper-V. Possibly Xen. Probably not Xen.


You mean for emulators? Could you not just put the .iso onto any PC on your home network and set that PC to wake-on LAN? I am probably way off on what you are going for


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I've been keeping a google spreadsheet of my collection. If you can copy/paste it over that is one way to read-only share it out. I actually did that a little while ago by copying to a separate google account/google docs. I outgrew my spreadsheet though, had to buy some software more geared toward game collecting. Which I don't like that much but it's much better than just-a-spreadsheet. Keep in mind my collection is completely out of control.
> 
> Also, I'm starting to brainstorm an idea for my serving up all my PS1/PS2 games over the network. Just the ones I physically possess. I'm not smart enough to figure out how to pirate. I assume I can't talk about it much here on OCN, assuming OCN still actually had moderators I mean. Sometimes I wonder. Anyway, it involves Linux, LVM, a lot of hard drives and a network switch. And possibly WHS v1. Not sure yet. Also some kind of VM thing. VirtualBox or Hyper-V. Possibly Xen. Probably not Xen. Pretty much the link in my sig for the virtualbox thing with Web UI. It'll be that, with ISOs.


i have thought about it.... scary how much i haz


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> You mean for emulators? Could you not just put the .iso onto any PC on your home network and set that PC to wake-on LAN? I am probably way off on what you are going for


SwishaMane said something about a fat PS2 with a 500 gig hard drive. Not sure he directly said he was playing games off it but there's only some many reasons to have a 500 gig hard drive in a ps2. So I _inferred_ that was the use. That inference triggered a memory of a thought from last night, of building a file server with ISOs of all my PS2 (and PS1 and I guess original Xbox games) completely dedicated to playing said games over then network.

I could put emulators as well but I was just talking about games playing on PS2 hardware specifically.

Oh, right. In case anyone is unawares, the same way you can play games off an internal hard drive in a PS2 you can also play them of an SMB (e.g. windows) network share. There's at least all of two videos on youtube and few old fashioned kinds of walk throughs (you know, with reading) on how to do it. I just have haven't tried it yet. It'd be the same as any other file server I think. Except I with two PS2 I could play multiplayer games over the LAN with the one ISO. Or two copies of the same ISO. Or ISO+physical disc. You get the idea.

Again, I'm a little paranoid about how much I can go through on the subject so I'm being vague on the details on purpose. I assume I can talk about the architecture of the actual server though, independent of the purpose:
When I virtualized my windows home server a 2 or 3 years ago (the write-up is still in my signature) I used a non-GUI linux server (ubuntu) to stripe the physical drives together so they were all one big volume. And they're supposed to tell you if one is failing. Then transferred over my already virtualized Windows Home Server fresh install along with the associated virtual hard drives. In this case the virtual hard drives were really large "binary blobs" sitting on the drives. I had to format the Linux drives using XFS with really large sector sizes to deal with the large files. Then I fired up the virtual Windows home server and used the drive adding feature of the OS to these "hard drives" to the drive pool. So all windows sees are hard drives. But really they're large files sitting in a linux file system. As long as two drives don't die at the same time I shouldn't lose them all in one go. Even then it will just be some several-weeks-of-fun re-ripping them.

Sorry, probably more detail than anybody wanted. I used to frequent the server and Linux sub-forums a lot more. Assuming the CPU has the horse power (and the system as lots of RAM) it should be really fast. And this has the added benefit I could serve to either of my two PS2s or to an HTPC in another room. One source for all my games (that I physically posses) on then network.

It's going to take so long to rip all these games. Even with 5 or whatever DVD drives going at once with little delay between each. So long...so long...probably ~7 weeks. And that's just PS2.

The windows home server part is optional. I just happened to like that drive pool feature of that OS. I could just easily make a generic FreeNAS box with virtualization.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Viper Mansion is pretty much the beginning of the game. There's a LOT after that.
> 
> If you keep playing, have fun fighting Dario for the Mastermune. That's a really really really hard battle. One of the toughest in any RPG I've played. He's easily harder than the last bosses.


You likely won't believe me, but I just beat Dario...first try lol I was using Serge, Riddel, and Fargo. Serge and Riddel got wiped out in seconds...so I was left with Fargo, blue innate. Well, turns out if you just keep attacking, and using your last points or whatever to cast a blue element, he almost always responds with "Weaken", over and over and over again. So your blue element attacks do barely anything, but then you can just keep attacking in between and rarely even get touched. I had full HP for 90% of the battle, then when he was almost done, I just used blue element cures and attacks in between. My heart was still pounding though cause I knew one wrong move and I would be toasted







I figured that out purely by chance too







So far, the Fire Dragon and Dark Serge or whatever he's called, gave me the most trouble. Fire Dragon the most. All the other Dragons were very easy though.


----------



## neurotix

Wow there's a lot to reply to.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> You likely won't believe me, but I just beat Dario...first try lol I was using Serge, Riddel, and Fargo. Serge and Riddel got wiped out in seconds...so I was left with Fargo, blue innate. Well, turns out if you just keep attacking, and using your last points or whatever to cast a blue element, he almost always responds with "Weaken", over and over and over again. So your blue element attacks do barely anything, but then you can just keep attacking in between and rarely even get touched. I had full HP for 90% of the battle, then when he was almost done, I just used blue element cures and attacks in between. My heart was still pounding though cause I knew one wrong move and I would be toasted
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I figured that out purely by chance too
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So far, the Fire Dragon and Dark Serge or whatever he's called, gave me the most trouble. Fire Dragon the most. All the other Dragons were very easy though.


Yep! That's the strategy I recall too. Make him counter with Weaken. You can also try to sneak in different element attacks in between (that is, if you have a full group). Congrats...there's an element of luck to that battle. I think I had to redo it 2-3 times before winning.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> Just found this club!
> 
> A good friend of mine and I started an oldschool game night every Sat. evening. Using HTPC, we emulate EVERYTHING, and its a blast. Especially when you buy decent USB to retro controllers, and map everything right. The latency is an issue, but its almost un-noticeable... ALMOST!
> 
> snip


I added you to the club, because you only listed 3 consoles that qualify, but usually I would need it formatted into a proper list like in the original post (Mega Man had to do this, he had a very long list lol).

Anyway, welcome.

You'll find that a lot of the time, 8-bit and 16-bit consoles are what are most popular here. However, I love me some original Playstation.

I would definitely recommend you play Tactics Ogre and Lunar: SSSC (I don't know about the second one). I've finished them both. I would say Lunar is a better bet for it's story and characters (and FMV), but Tactics Ogre is better in terms of gameplay and customization.

My preference in gaming is JRPGs and always has been, I've finished hundreds, so you'll fit right in here. Aaron is playing Chrono Cross and finally trying to finish it. I just finished my repro cart of Bahamut Lagoon for Super Famicom.

Personally, I'm not looking forward to the FF7 remake... FF7 was middle school to me, but I started FF with Final Fantasy 2 (4) on SNES like years before FF7 made it big. I much prefer the original medieval style FF (especially 1-5), but I loved FF7 too. The last FF game I actually finished and liked was 9. So I'm a die hard classic FF fan. Sorry, but from the trailer for the remake it looks like crap to me (no offense); they're changing the game entirely. I think getting rid of turn based combat and turning it in to a button mashing action RPG is what kills it. But, you know, they are likely reusing the FF15 engine and that's how FF15 will be (press one button). I'll just leave it at that, I'm fully prepared to have my childhood destroyed. Chances are I won't buy it, but watch videos and sulk.








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Subassy*
> SwishaMane said something about a fat PS2 with a 500 gig hard drive. Not sure he directly said he was playing games off it but there's only some many reasons to have a 500 gig hard drive in a ps2. So I inferred that was the use. That inference triggered a memory of a thought from last night, of building a file server with ISOs of all my PS2 (and PS1 and I guess original Xbox games) completely dedicated to playing said games over then network.
> 
> I could put emulators as well but I was just talking about games playing on PS2 hardware specifically.


Dude I'm always a PM away if you want any help or advice with this stuff. And I think that mostly everything you said should be okay to discuss, but if you're really worried I will discuss these things with you privately. It's less for piracy and more for the purpose of modding something and making it useful. If Aaron can gut an Xbox and turn it into a PC and load it with emulators, you should be okay to talk about upgrading your PS2's hard drive. I think as long as we don't post links to ROMs or ISOs, softmod installers, or even emulators, we are within the TOS. As it stands, I am yet to hear of a member getting an infraction from a moderator because of this thread and I don't intend for that to happen. We are enthusiasts, not just of PC hardware but of our many game consoles. Part of that is tweaking them or making them more useful to us. As long as we don't discuss the things I mentioned we should be fine. On that note, I've never seen a moderator post in this thread, ever, so I think we're okay. If anything, as long as no one reports any posts we'll be okay









As far as the modding goes, I'm that guy. I've softmodded Xbox, PS2, Wii, PSP, and Vita. So if you want help, let me know.

Personally, I play my PS1 ISOs on my softmodded PS2. I also have a PS1 emulator on my Xbox that works pretty well (although, slow in some games). Lately if I wanna play PS1 games though, I play eboots on my PSP. Strider 2 on PSP is pretty awesome.


----------



## neurotix

You guys can just stop in and link game music you like if you want. I'll listen to it.


----------



## Mega Man

Sorry. Been busy. Started another new job (making over 6.75 per hour then last job just because of benefits, same hourly rate, and imo much better benefits) today had to sleep. I'll try and get some photos this weekend...

FYI modding and emulators are 100% legal in us. Just don't talk about piracy ect.

I am scared about ffvii remake. If they turn it into ffxi...... ew I want them to leave the damn thing alone


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## AuraNova

I'm tempted to join, but I don't know how active I'd be in this thread.


----------



## Mega Man

Who said you had to be (active) ?


----------



## AuraNova

I dunno. Somehow it doesn't make too much sense to be a "part" of a club, only to not "do" anything in said club.


----------



## SwishaMane

As soon as I remember, I'll get my spreadsheet in here.

My fat PS2 has a 500GB HDD for ToxicOS, the software for the DMS4 Pro modchip. Its amazing, even after all these years. I use PC software (hdhandiness) to rip my discs off CDROM directly to the PS2 hdd. I'm not spending 6x more time, and burning up my PS2 laser just to rip an iso. My entire PS2 collection is on the hdd, and I still have like 380GB free. LOL

I actually just had to fix my PS2 last night. Well, it completely died last Sun., and I ordered a "broken" one, and swapped parts. Just needed a new board. Modchip took 15 mins to swap, considering its not soldered in. EZI FTW, if any of you know what that is.









EDIT: Found this on my phone. Here is a good little teaser of the majority of my PS1 collection. Only one of two boxes... Pic is decent resolution, so you should be able to zoom in a read titles.







You'll also notice I only collect blacklabels, except Doom, the black label jewel case variantis almost $200 IF you can find one. Last one on eBay went for $180+s/h... Yes, PLUS shipping... lol


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

So what would you guys spend these days on a Sega Saturn? One of the local game stores I asked about one ages ago finally got one in, and dude actually remembered and messaged me about it. I'm kind of tight on cash for the next little while, but I don't come across Saturn all that often, and I don't really like ordering stuff like this off of Ebay or anything. Parts and smaller items, sure...but I don't like the idea of shipping a console without its original packaging. Anyway...I might be able to swing the Saturn still...I don't imagine it will last long before selling...and I don't have a price on it yet. The guy is really pushy on trades, which I am not huge on trading my stuff, but he gives really good trade in value...and I can order games off of Ebay or whatever to eventually replace anything I might trade. Anyway...really, just wanting to know what you guys think would be a fair offer for it? He hasn't really given my a concrete price at all, but it is a game store, and I don't want to be insulting and miss out, but I also don't want to overpay. I am thinking $80 might be a fair offer? And anything over that, toss in a game(s) to cover the rest? Does that sound about right? Also, this is assuming just the console, cables, and one controller. If it has the memory cart thing, that might be worth a bit more? I am not sure since I usually don't see the Saturn around much, so I don't really know what a fair "non-Ebay" price would be.

EDIT - might see if he will do a straight trade on "gasp" my copy of Conker's Bad Fur day...should I? I've beaten it anyway, and I've seen it loads of times for the price I paid for it. Well, I messaged him, just waiting to hear back on it.

EDIT again - I am going for it, he said he's do Conker's and another cheap N64 game or something as trade...I can deal with that. He's also got a broken Sega CD I was asking about, that he would have traded me as is...but I figured I'd just wait and see how much he'll do once they fix it. Getting ready to go pick it up in a few.


----------



## Dienz

I realize this might not be considered retro in terms of age, but in style? I think it may meet the mark...

Wings of Saint Nazaire

Apparently they have not been active for some time, but what was playable is fun and it looks great.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Really awesome PS1 collection there, looks like you got most of the good stuff







I'll take a closer peek when I have some time later.

Anyway though...just got home from, FINALLY, picking up my Saturn. It's actually the system I've wanted most since I started collecting again, but for some reason ended up buying everything else first. I guess I hoped I would come across a deal on one...I've waited a long time for that to happen though, and finally decided to just go for it. Ended up trading Conker's and a couple other little things, like I had said...ended up getting the Saturn+cables+controller, and Area 51 CIB. He didn't have the memory expansion though, unfortunately. Also, it only came with an RF adapter, so he tossed in a brand new composite. Still haven't hooked it up, but he said everything works. So glad to finally have one...this was the system I had during the PSX/Saturn/N64 era, well, I ended up getting a Playstation as well, eventually, during that time...but Saturn was my "main" console. I loved the arcades as a child though and Saturn had all the good arcade ports. And I was already a massive Sega fan because of growing up with the Genesis before that. I also had a SNES though (split parents, Sega at one house, Nintendo at the other lol). So now, that really only leaves Sega CD, 32X, and 3DO remaining on my list of "must have" systems. Of course there are others I'd like to own as well, but those are ones I *will* own









Oh yeah...updated list -

Xbox, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, Playstation One, Playstation 2, Nintendo DS, Gamecube, Playstation 3, PSP, Xbox 360, SNES, Sega Saturn


----------



## neurotix

What did you pay for your Saturn?

I believe I bought mine from my friend for $60 a couple of years ago. At the time, I recall seeing local games stores that had them and they were also around $60. This might have been in 2012 or 2013.

Enjoy the Saturn and if you want game recommendations, just let me know. Be aware, though, that the RPGs for it are VERY collectable, and most of them are VERY expensive. So, physically owning them might not be tangible but you'd really be missing out if you couldn't play them. If you want more information from me, shoot me a PM.

Also, to anyone else posting, I'd recommend you join even if you don't post often or don't have much to say. I would say, weigh your time spent doing other things (e.g. gaming) against the value of discussing things with the club. I still game a lot, but find time to run the club and post in it.

Also, congrats to Mega Man on the new job. I hope it's worth it. Sounds like you'll be even busier now







(Btw I got two 380X in Big Red now while I wait for Vega. Check out the pics on my rig's page.)

Btw, is anyone going to comment on my cool Master System games I posted a while back? (The pictures?)


----------



## SwishaMane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Btw, is anyone going to comment on my cool Master System games I posted a while back? (The pictures?)


Get Bioship Paladin. That game is a BLAST! The multiplayer is fun. One steers the ship and has a small machine gun, other controls the turret and missiles. Man...


----------



## neurotix

I've heard of that. It was an arcade game right? I think I played it on Coinops on my Xbox. I didn't know there was a SMS port. I'll see if I can get it.

I'm also getting Dragon Crystal for it, it's also coming from Europe. I have this one on Game Gear as well. Very fun (but simple) roguelike game where you go down floors of a dungeon and try and survive and see how far you can get.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I don't really know much about the Sega Master System, so I didn't really have much to say, but I am interested in getting one eventually. I never really even seen them at all growing up though, mostly Atari, Colecovision, and Nintendo during it's life span. I've seen them since then, but isn't the Sega Game Gear pretty much the same thing, just handheld? I'd be more interested in the Game Gear, since I did actually play that a lot. Didn't have any hand helds as a kid, but I did play them, and I remember loving the Game Gear, especially compared to the Game Boy. Game Boy had some good games though, I played it a lot too. Don't get me wrong, I still want a Master System, just haven't done much "research" on them yet since that's a few systems away unless I happen across a deal, of course.

In regards to the Saturn, I didn't really "pay" anything...I traded in Conker's Bad Fur day mainly, along with a few other common games, for the Saturn+original controller+power cable+new 3rd party composite cable and Area 51 CIB. He usually just does Ebay pricing, but he also gives a fairly decent trade value compared to most local stores. I don't really go there to buy things in cash anymore, and only go there if I want a trade. I've been messaging the shops around town though for the past 6+ months about finding a Saturn, and this is the first one, that I've been told about, that has come in, so I decided to just go for it before it was gone.

I have quite a bit of knowledge about the Saturn, it's been quite awhile, and I will likely have to do a bit of brushing up on current pricing and what not...but I definitely know games are going to be pricey. He had a pretty decent selection there right now though...maybe about 40-60 titles, lots of good ones...lots of expensive ones I am sure. I asked on Die Hard Arcade and he said it's likely close to $100, he'd have to double check. I want that game, but I don't have $100 to spend on it right now lol I know some of the RPGs are going to be in the $150-300 range...so I didn't even bother asking about any of those today. Dude's shop was a mess though today because his roof was leaking, so there was games all over the place. He had a Saturn fight stick I might go back for...depending on price. I also need to find / get the memory expansion, and I really want the 3D controller. I really loved that thing...was my favourite gamepad up until the Dreamcast. And yes, I realize everyone generally dislikes both of them. Dreamcast is STILL my favourite gamepad...it's rough on the hands (d-pad mainly), but you get used to it. Not hugely fond of the basic Saturn pads though, which again...every one else seems to lol There are a bunch of RPG, few platformers, shoot-em ups, lots of random stuff I'd like to get for the Saturn though...but it looks like it's going to slow going, and I'd like to get most of the stuff I had when I was a kid first. The common stuff...Virtua Cop 1 and 2 w/ Stunner lightgun(s), Daytona USA, Virtua Fighter 1+2, Panzer Dragoon...Nights Into Dreams...other random stuff I played that is likely not considered great, like Iron Man vs XO Manowar...stuff like Mega Man 8 and Saturn Bomberman are likely going to have to wait, along with the RPGs though









EDIT - This is what I want for playing imports and the memory expansion, right?

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/EMS-Action-Replay-Plus-4M-Memory-Card-for-SEGA-Saturn-SS-/271521795846?hash=item3f37f5cf06:g:iWkAAOSwEK9T-Kk0


----------



## neurotix

There's this thing called the Sega Saturn 3D Controller which is basically like a prototype Dreamcast controller (same shape and everything) but better quality, the d-pad is much better, and it has 6 face buttons instead of 4 for fighting games.



I have one of these but I prefer the normal Sega brand Saturn pads.

You might want to pick one up, they're pretty cheap, it will probably become your new favorite if you like the DC pad so much, there's no denying it's superior in my mind.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> There's this thing called the Sega Saturn 3D Controller which is basically like a prototype Dreamcast controller (same shape and everything) but better quality, the d-pad is much better, and it has 6 face buttons instead of 4 for fighting games.
> 
> I have one of these but I prefer the normal Sega brand Saturn pads.
> 
> You might want to pick one up, they're pretty cheap, it will probably become your new favorite if you like the DC pad so much, there's no denying it's superior in my mind.


Lol







I just mentioned wanting one again in my post above yours (jt can be easy to miss in my rambling, I know lol). 2nd favourite controller ever, and yeah, the DC controller is basically 3d controller version 2.0


----------



## subassy

I didn't realize Saturns were demand for some reason. Makes me wonder why I leave mine untouched and collecting dust.
I was never a sega fan. Not sure why I ended up with a Saturn over a PS1. I was never that impressed with the games of the Saturn, at least in the 90s. I don't think the local blockbuster had any of the of famous ones though. I remember a SF v Capcom that was good and there was a quite competent command and conquer. I mean for such a mouse-oriented game to work so well with a gamepad is actually pretty impressive.
And I played that Nights demo a thousand times though I didn't have the analog stick controller at the time. Then I put it all in a box and left it there for almost 20 years. I did get the analog pad and the full version of nights since then (although I still haven't played Nights).
So I'm starting to wonder if how much I really care about the saturn. Somehow I'm not sure the value will go up from what it is now. This is probably peak value Sega Saturn. I don't know why I think that.
Nobody message me about selling it. I haven't decided yet. I'll mention it here if I come to that place.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I didn't realize Saturns were demand for some reason. Makes me wonder why I leave mine untouched and collecting dust.
> I was never a sega fan. Not sure why I ended up with a Saturn over a PS1. I was never that impressed with the games of the Saturn, at least in the 90s. I don't think the local blockbuster had any of the of famous ones though. I remember a SF v Capcom that was good and there was a quite competent command and conquer. I mean for such a mouse-oriented game to work so well with a gamepad is actually pretty impressive.
> And I played that Nights demo a thousand times though I didn't have the analog stick controller at the time. Then I put it all in a box and left it there for almost 20 years. I did get the analog pad and the full version of nights since then (although I still haven't played Nights).
> So I'm starting to wonder if how much I really care about the saturn. Somehow I'm not sure the value will go up from what it is now. This is probably peak value Sega Saturn. I don't know why I think that.
> Nobody message me about selling it. I haven't decided yet. I'll mention it here if I come to that place.


Saturn is going up in price right now, from what I can tell...buddy at the game store today also said he thinks they are going to get even more pricey over the next while. All speculation though, of course, and I am talking only about the console itself. Games are at a ridiculous price point at moment, and I kind of see that influencing the price of the console to rise as well...under the logic that if collectors don't mind paying $100+ on games, they won't mind spending a bit on a decent working system to play said games...only time will tell though, I guess...but I see working Saturn and decent condition games becoming more rare and valuable for awhile yet. And the Saturn is mostly the nostalgia factor for me, since I grew up with it, following in game magazines what new games were coming out...just lots of memories with it. Also, Dreamcast is still my favourite console of all time, so my Sega bias is real lol


----------



## Mega Man

As per the Saturn maybe 40 to 60. Imo 8p is high. But conkers is a fair trade imo if you are going for max of 80 .


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> As per the Saturn maybe 40 to 60. Imo 8p is high. But conkers is a fair trade imo if you are going for max of 80 .


Yeah, keep in mind I always refer to Canadian prices...but Conker's value doesn't really mind currency lol I mean, I took a small loss on Conker's likely, Ebay is telling $90-100 Canadian for a working Saturn...but he is a store and not just a collector, and in comparison to trade value at any other store I've ever been to, I actually got a steal







I thought it was a fair trade, certainly no remorse on my end anyway. Funny enough, I see Conker's WAY more then I see a Saturn. There is always numerous copies at this particular store, noticed a few today actually. Used a couple for label comparisons when figuring out the trade. Typically, I'd have been lucky to get $30 on that game for trade at most places in the area.


----------



## neurotix

$80 on Amazon, that means the price has only gone up by $20 since I got mine a few years ago... not bad. If something happened to mine it would be no big deal to replace it, and I have the hookups and controllers already.

Master System was around $90 for a while, and I paid like $50 for mine. Seems there's a few that are less expensive now.

As far as Saturn, so many good games on it, and it's a PITA to emulate. I never had one back in the day, but borrowed one from my friend, and stuff like Daytona USA, Virtua Cop, Virtua Fighter, Virtual On and such really were cutting edge at the time. (Remember, good arcade -> home conversions were a rarity then, and 3D games were brand new.) As time went on, the system got a really great selection of JRPGs, 2D Fighters and 2D shooters. Stuff like Dodonpachi was on it and I don't think it appeared on any other home system back then. Afaik the Saturn did pretty well in Japan, so, if you really like Japanese games it's a great system to have.

Aaron, I would highly recommend that if you get into Saturn, get one of these babies. It's a 1M/4M RAM cart in one. It also functions as a backup memory cart for save files. However, games can't read the backup memory directly, but what you can do is copy items from the system's storage (which is small) to the cart. I think the Saturn holds 400 blocks in internal memory, which isn't very much when some saves can take up 100 blocks. However, the cartridge has 8192 blocks free on it, enough to back up plenty of saves.

Also, it might be advisable to look into import games (that cart will let you play them), as many good games were released in Japan and might be much cheaper than the US releases, I think some of them even have English menus and whatnot (stuff like Capcom 2D fighters, Metal Slug, Dodonpachi, Dynamite Deka (aka Die Hard Arcade) and so on). This might be the cheapest way to start a Saturn collection. I'd check Ebay.


----------



## Mr357

A great thing you can do with one of those 3-in-1 or 4-in-1 Action Replay carts is flash "PseudoSaturn" onto it, which will allow you to not only play out of region games, but backups too. I believe it retains the RAM expansion feature, but loses the save game storage in order to accommodate the PseudoSaturn software.

I myself finally got an official Saturn S-video cable for a price I was okay with, and the difference between it and my cheapo one I've been using for many months is astounding. PSA: never buy an S-video cable if it has a yellow composite connector on it too. 9 times out of 10 it means the S-video connector is outputting the exact same signal, thus defeating the purpose of having it. As far as I can tell, the only real S-video cable for the Saturn is the official Sega one. Most of the third party ones I've seen don't look promising.


----------



## Mega Man

by request a few pics. maybe more to follow ?


Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

















3 files are too large
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9ayj59GYWUvU3pFOVpNV29Qbzg
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9ayj59GYWUvZi1fTlFGZUtBZGc
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9ayj59GYWUvenNybWUzajlmblE
the blue cartridge shell is one of a few colors produced.

they were not from original ( they were originally all black ) but the person who owned the vectrex ( the inventor and ower of the company that made it ) lends out the real tools and that cartridge shell is made from the REAL tools. also it is filled with a sd card cartridge that has all the vectrex games on it. one other cool thing is that the owner has released all copywrites on them.

used 12ga shell to give you a reference size

also i have the bomberman game just isnt in that photo


----------



## neurotix

Damn, what is that thing worth?

That's so sweet. I definitely want to try that thing sometime before I die... afaik they are expensive and hard to find in working condition.

Thanks a lot for that, some nice pics. I'd never seen the Vectrex controller before. That thing is weird. And what's up with *4* buttons for it, that thing is from the early 80s, back then most games still had a single button.

The Bomberman multitap and Time Crisis stuff are also awesome.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Sweet post Mega Man...so jealous







Any see the price on Saturn Bomberman? Wow...

And actually, the price of the Vextrex seems almost reasonable, considering its display is included. And the fact that it seems you can put the games on an SD converted cart...I'd pay $300 for one, basically, if I found it at the right time of course.

Also, anyone know anything cool to do with my Nintendo DS? The hinge broke, along with the LCD ribbon cable..so now I have to order a new screen and housing...wondering if there is anything else worthwhile doing while I am in there.

Here's a pic of the temporary setup I've been using for the past while...finally got a place (well, just a room I guess), so I will be taking everything down and setting up everything properly over the next little while. I do have everything hooked up in the temp setup though


----------



## Mega Man

as to the vectrex iirc i paid 150 for it

you can get them on ebay all the time ( at that time ) for that price.

the caps tend to fail at this age witch cause some funny stuff to happen

i need to make my light pen ( google vectrex light pen for more info )

the sd card is actually pretty hard to get, the original guy retired. i actually got one of his last cards from the last shipment @! ( comes without a case ) but people are still making homebrew vectrex games !


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

The store I traded Conker's for the Saturn just posted this...really good place to go get rid of stuff or trade, like I said. These prices are way more than fair for a retail store. It's called KW Vintage games, biggest store in town. One of the biggest stores I've been to anywhere, actually.

"- First number is cash, second is trade !
NES
Bubble Bobble II - $240 270
Panic Restaurant - $320 350
Mario 3 $15 20
Mario 2 $15 20
Zelda 1 $35 40
Zelda 2 $30 35
Megaman ( any) $30 40
Final Fantasy $20 25
Tetris $5 10
Paperboy $10 20
M.C. kids $15 20
GCN:
Smash bros $50 60
Mario Sunshine $30 35
Fire Emblem $85 100
Zelda Collectors $50 60
Mario Kart Double Dash $40 50
Zelda Windwaker $30 35
Zelda Twilight Princess $40 50
Luigis Mansion $30 40
Zelda Masters Quest $40 50
Animal Crossing $15 20
Gotcha Force $100 120
Skies of Arcadia $60 75
Pokemon Collosseum $30 40
Pokemon XD $30 40
N64:
Conkers $85 100
Mario Party 3 $60 70
Mario Party 2 $55 65
Super Smash Bros $50 60
Mario Party 1 $50 60
Mario Kart $40 50
Pokemon Stadium 2 $35 40
Mario 64 $25 30
Zelda Ocarina of Time $25 30
Golden Eye $20 25
Donkey Kong 64 $20 25
Banjo Kazooie $20 25
Mario Tennis $20 25
Pokemon Stadium $15 20
Diddy Kong Racing $15 20
SNES:
Earthbound $150 170
Chrono Trigger $100 110
Mario RPG $60 75
Turtles in Time $60 75
Super Metroid $50 65
Secret of Mana $60 80
Final Fantasy 3 $50 60
Final Fantasy 2 $35 40
Zelda Link to the past $25 35
Mario All Stars $25 30
Illusion of Gaia $25 30
Mario Kart $25 30
Mario World $20 25
Donkey Kong country 1/2/3 $20 30 each
Killer Instinct $10 15
Aladdin $10 15"


----------



## subassy

Several months ago I bought Star fox for nds for $2 (CIB) but it didn't work. It was hard to be angry about $2 though and I inexplicably kept it.

Then a couple nights ago I randomly, for some reason, I tried cleaning the game with a qtip and alcohol.

And it works. Huh. Wasn't expecting that. Good news though, $2 starfox!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Several months ago I bought Star fox for nds for $2 (CIB) but it didn't work. It was hard to be angry about $2 though and I inexplicably kept it.
> 
> Then a couple nights ago I randomly, for some reason, I tried cleaning the game with a qtip and alcohol.
> 
> And it works. Huh. Wasn't expecting that. Good news though, $2 starfox!


Anything I buy retro related basically gets bathed in alcohol before I do anything with it. Mostly just OCD about other people's, potentially tens of years old, body gunk, smells, whatever...and also because of the reason you just mentioned It's just habit at this point to clean stuff right when I get it home.


----------



## neurotix

The trade in thing is interesting, but if I wanted to I could sell my Chrono Trigger right now on Amazon for $140.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Stopped by my favourite pawn shop yesterday (killing time, didn't really have any money to spend







), and I noticed they had just put out a rack called "random stuff", that was all gaming related bit and pieces they likely just didn't know what it was anymore. I noticed right away they had the Saturn lightgun I want, a few other lightguns, bunch of multitaps for different systems, network adapters...I didn't really give it a good look through because I didn't want to pawn shop owners to realize they had anything interesting in there, cause I am going to go back today and clean it out of anything worthwhile lol Mostly, I just want that Saturn lightgun, so hopefully it's still there. Going to head there right for when it opens at 9:00...

EDIT - frigging scored today at that pawn shop...

Sega Saturn MK-80113 light gun
PS3 Namco NC-109 light gun
Gamecube GBA adapter / player (no disc)
Official PS2 Network adapter (fat, don't need it, figured I'd sell / trade it)
Official PS2 Multitap
Official Xbox 360 chatpad
Xbox 360 dual charge base
Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote
Xbox 360 HDD transfer cable
Corpse Killer Graveyard Edition Saturn (loose discs, mint though)
Virtua Cop Saturn (loose disc, mint-y too)

Got all of that for $70 Canadian...but gave the Xbox 360 stuff to my Mom (that's why I got it) and she gave me $10 for it...and I plan to sell that PS2 Network adapter for $20 Canadian...so really, take away the 360 stuff and the network adapter, and take into account the $10+20, and I paid $40 (about $30 USD) for all the rest of the stuff. Made out like a bandit, if you ask me.


----------



## subassy

I might be the last one to see this but I still laughed so I'm posting it here...


----------



## Mr357

It's finally finished!


----------



## subassy

When I have a free _five hours_ I'll be sure and watch it. Geeze. I am kind of looking forward to seeing though.


----------



## Mega Man

seriously


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

I have the PCB for Jr pac man from 1983 ( Fast version ), Super space invaders from 1990 and Atari space dual vector game from 1982 : D .

This is a video of me running the first test on the jr pac man pcb after I made the wiring harness for it -





I have a 19" new 2007 made Samsung open frame CRT monitor on the way to pair up with the game too : D


----------



## neurotix

Your arcade boards are cool. Get yourself a Supergun.

Hey, guys. I made a spreadsheet of my games since the subject came up. I thought you guys might want to see my collection so here it is:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1e6cDsJ05Hi5wZ6nLC9XS-RMCY1ZF2-xTTg4kz1pdrUA/edit?usp=sharing


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Your arcade boards are cool. Get yourself a Supergun.
> 
> Hey, guys. I made a spreadsheet of my games since the subject came up. I thought you guys might want to see my collection so here it is:
> 
> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1e6cDsJ05Hi5wZ6nLC9XS-RMCY1ZF2-xTTg4kz1pdrUA/edit?usp=sharing


Wow, you're really willing to go full price, aren't you?

I like your collection. Now I have to share mine. One console at a time (so I don't blow your mind all at once).


----------



## neurotix

What's with the condescending, snarky comments?


----------



## Mega Man

In other news... I saw a few things I had to not buy on cl.... one being a tg16


----------



## neurotix

By not buy, you meant you bought them? lol


----------



## Mega Man

nope :/ i want to but still "recovering" from meh baby ( 10k out the door :/ ) and a few other expenses ( replacing the hall ceiling due to swamp cooler leak, still need to replace the swamp cooler- will be using a fiberglass or other non metal only- they dont rust / corrode away - long term better investment - short term 3-5x more expensive :/ )


----------



## neurotix

I hear you, I'm pretty limited in what I can spend on games since we just bought a house two years ago as well. A lot of money has gone into the house so far, and will continue to.

In our case we've mostly been focusing on outside/yard work, doing things like a garden, removing small rocks on black plastic tarp and replacing it with plants, and so on.

There isn't much on the inside that needs to be done, and there was a new heater put in before we moved in. However, our air conditioner is 23 years old and might need to be replaced soon.

On top of that, my fiance (we've been living together for 8 years and dating for 10) and I want to get married but have no money saved for it.

Still, I'd get a Turbografx in a heartbeat if the price was good. That's the system I want more than any other. My issue is needing the Turbotap and A/V adapter for the system..


----------



## Bridgypoo

Ahh, the life of a retrogamer, only increases the value of the classic consoles/games... If they could make something similar to the PSone TV adapter so I could play Chrono Trigger and the like outside during the nice days, that would be awesome! But it also needs to be free of chords... modern conveniences.


----------



## neurotix

What the hell are you doing here?









Just take one of my PSPs outside if you want to play Chrono Trigger. Emulators.


----------



## Bridgypoo

I need a break from spreadsheets.









Yea, I guess I could do that, but the screen is so tiny. Might as well do this.


----------



## neurotix

The fat PSP has a decent size screen.

There's also a port/remake of Chrono Trigger for DS. I have it. You could play it on my 3DS.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> What's with the condescending, snarky comments?


It was actually supposed to be a joke.


----------



## neurotix

Oh, my apologies then, sometimes it's hard to tell that from just text without voice inflection, sarcasm etc.

Seemed like gloating or something when I read it.

I *would* like to see your collection or anyone else's, for sure, though.

I have a lot of reasons why my collection is smaller, and I have rules to my collecting that I follow, and I do this to keep it under control. Even so, I still have 21 consoles and sometimes I think that's too much, considering sometimes I don't play some of them for months at a time..

Hope you can accept my apology.


----------



## Wolfsbora

So, I've been waiting for something worthy of posting in here, and I think I finally found it...




Aaaand, if you look closely enough, you'll see a Centipede cab behind it... Friday was a good day.


----------



## iTurn

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bridgypoo*
> 
> I need a break from spreadsheets.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yea, I guess I could do that, but the screen is so tiny. Might as well do this.


PS Vita?


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> So, I've been waiting for something worthy of posting in here, and I think I finally found it...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Aaaand, if you look closely enough, you'll see a Centipede cab behind it... Friday was a good day.


It's Millipede! That's so cool. Fix it up!


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> It's Millipede! That's so cool. Fix it up!


The big issues are the artwork on the bottom (you can see the bottom being rubbed badly), the marquee (out of pic) and CPO that have the black area chipped away and cig burns on the control panel. Other than that, it is completely original, even the original manuals (1st edition) came with it. As far as the Centipede cab that is barely shown, she needs a lot more work. Has no control panel, CRT, back door, PCB but does have the original power supply, sideart, and marquee.


----------



## neurotix

It'll be worth the work. We need to preserve these things for future generations.

You might know about this already, but, here is a big selection of arcade machine repair logs, in various degrees of detail. They get into stuff like reflashing EEPROMs, repairing ripped traces on boards and so on. If you haven't seen it, it might be up your alley and maybe you'll even learn something from it. (I can't solder and don't have any arcade cabs anyway; a lot of this stuff is too technical for me.)

You should also consider joining our club if you have any classic consoles.


----------



## Wolfsbora

I totally agree that we need to preserve these old arcade cabinets. They were always the standard to which consoles tried to meet. Just look at the Atari 2600's lineup of games, they were dumbed down versions of the arcade versions. Even Nintendo had their arcade games released on the Atari before they went with their own consoles.

It already looks like the Millipede may need a bit of work done on the board. The game runs but there appear to be random lines of mushrooms that should not be in the corresponding levels to which I find them. I appreciate the link! I have it bookmarked.

As far as consoles, I have an SNES, Sega Genesis, N64, Gamecube, and PS2 (plus, some later ones). Unfortunately, when my family moved out of the family house in which I grew up, they threw out an Atari 2600 (wood grain with box), 3 - NES consoles (2 working, and 1 with box), Virtual Boy (with box), 3 - GameBoys (2 originals, one purple Color), Sega Gamegear (blue), and even a Texas Instruments TI-99/4A with tons of tapes with hand typed games. Mind you, I was not home for this travesty or I would have saved those poor, sweet souls from their dumpster demise. It still saddens me to this day.


----------



## SwishaMane

Wow, people really that clueless of what old tech is worth? Back in my younger days, we had an NES with a ton of games, (this was a year after PS1 was out) and my parents sold that NES with all those games, game genie and book, etc, for like $10 to a family friend... A lot worth $200 these days, for TEN DOLLARS! Breaks my heart just remembering the day I watched it go... I mean, I had the PS1 and the NES games were BORING since I had played them so much, but still... /tear


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Good to see some new faces around here









Care to share what you paid for the Millipede / Centipede cabs there, Wolfsbora? Understandable if you don't though







Are you planning to keep them, or refurb and flip?


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I totally agree that we need to preserve these old arcade cabinets. They were always the standard to which consoles tried to meet. Just look at the Atari 2600's lineup of games, they were dumbed down versions of the arcade versions. Even Nintendo had their arcade games released on the Atari before they went with their own consoles.
> 
> It already looks like the Millipede may need a bit of work done on the board. The game runs but there appear to be random lines of mushrooms that should not be in the corresponding levels to which I find them. I appreciate the link! I have it bookmarked.
> 
> As far as consoles, I have an SNES, Sega Genesis, N64, Gamecube, and PS2 (plus, some later ones). Unfortunately, when my family moved out of the family house in which I grew up, they threw out an Atari 2600 (wood grain with box), 3 - NES consoles (2 working, and 1 with box), Virtual Boy (with box), 3 - GameBoys (2 originals, one purple Color), Sega Gamegear (blue), and even a Texas Instruments TI-99/4A with tons of tapes with hand typed games. Mind you, I was not home for this travesty or I would have saved those poor, sweet souls from their dumpster demise. It still saddens me to this day.


I didn't realize this until recently but it seems to have been common for competitors to release their games for rival computer systems e.g. Nintendo released some arcade ports to rival consoles like the atari 7800 years after the NES had been released. And actually Atari (as "Tengen") released games for NES (ports of Sega games like After Burner). I guess it's like today with Microsoft competing with Google yet releasing their best mobile software of Android and iOS and google releasing things on iOS.

Also, I'm still wishing I had all those SNES games from 25 years ago. Some of them are worth $200+ now. Hell, even SMW is like $30...


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> As far as consoles, I have an SNES, Sega Genesis, N64, Gamecube, and PS2 (plus, some later ones). Unfortunately, when my family moved out of the family house in which I grew up, they threw out an Atari 2600 (wood grain with box), 3 - NES consoles (2 working, and 1 with box), Virtual Boy (with box), 3 - GameBoys (2 originals, one purple Color), Sega Gamegear (blue), and even a Texas Instruments TI-99/4A with tons of tapes with hand typed games. Mind you, I was not home for this travesty or I would have saved those poor, sweet souls from their dumpster demise. It still saddens me to this day.


I'm not gonna tell you how much that Virtual Boy with box would be worth now.

I think the blue Game Gear is worth more than a normal Game Gear too.

Would you like me to add you to the club? You didn't say either way.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> Wow, people really that clueless of what old tech is worth? Back in my younger days, we had an NES with a ton of games, (this was a year after PS1 was out) and my parents sold that NES with all those games, game genie and book, etc, for like $10 to a family friend... A lot worth $200 these days, for TEN DOLLARS! Breaks my heart just remembering the day I watched it go... I mean, I had the PS1 and the NES games were BORING since I had played them so much, but still... /tear


It really is a crime to see them go. Especially when they're just tossed in a dumpster. And at $10 for an NES and games, that's just as bad.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Good to see some new faces around here
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Care to share what you paid for the Millipede / Centipede cabs there, Wolfsbora? Understandable if you don't though
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Are you planning to keep them, or refurb and flip?


No problem, Aaron_Henderson, I paid $300 for the Millipede, and $50 for the Centipede.

I'll definitely be keeping the Millipede. Once it's all cleaned up it'll be worth close to $800. As far as the Centipede, I love the artwork, and it is the prequel to Millipede, but it is one of the top collected cabs since there were so many made. To be honest, I may flip it and then invest in a Nintendo cab, I love the shape of them. Also, without destroying anything on the Millipede, I can add Centipede to it with a minor chip change.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I didn't realize this until recently but it seems to have been common for competitors to release their games for rival computer systems e.g. Nintendo released some arcade ports to rival consoles like the atari 7800 years after the NES had been released. And actually Atari (as "Tengen") released games for NES (ports of Sega games like After Burner). I guess it's like today with Microsoft competing with Google yet releasing their best mobile software of Android and iOS and google releasing things on iOS.
> 
> Also, I'm still wishing I had all those SNES games from 25 years ago. Some of them are worth $200+ now. Hell, even SMW is like $30...


Yeah, Nintendo had beeen releasing their games to competitors for years during the 80's. Of course, now you'll never see them do that unless they fall hard like Sega and stop making hardware.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I'm not gonna tell you how much that Virtual Boy with box would be worth now.
> 
> I think the blue Game Gear is worth more than a normal Game Gear too.
> 
> Would you like me to add you to the club? You didn't say either way.


I'll probably want to vomit if you tell me what they're worth haha. The crazy thing is that I bought the Virtual Boy for $25 brand new from EB after they weren't selling.

Sure, add me to the club! I'll be getting my games room all set up and I'll post it up here as I make some progress. It'll be full of retro goodness as well as new stuff too.


----------



## neurotix

Wolfsbora added to club. See the first post.

The boxed Virtual Boy is around $250 on Ebay, more depending on condition and if it includes games. Thank me later.









We would love to see your pictures. Looking forward to it.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Wolfsbora added to club. See the first post.
> 
> The boxed Virtual Boy is around $250 on Ebay, more depending on condition and if it includes games. Thank me later.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We would love to see your pictures. Looking forward to it.


Thanks for adding me! I've always been a fan of this thread. My Virtual Boy was in top notch condition, as we're the games. Such a shame!! It was Nintendo's biggest failure but it was also Nintendo's most unique console. Cool in many ways.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Grabbed a couple more things...won a few bucks at the horse races, and spent it on -

3 x near mint, CIB, black label PS1 games for $25 Canadian delivered -

Alone in the Dark : A New Nightmare
Tomb Raider 3
Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed

And for $2 Candian -

Sega Classics Collection PS2, CIB, near mint as well

I might sell Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed to get my money back though...not sure yet. Would rather have that on PC anyway, and it seems to be worth enough to cover what I paid for everything, or close to it anyway. Also, moved into the new room, just finished getting everything all setup and finally got to sit down and play with my light guns lol I hadn't even tested my Saturn until today...works great except the cord on the controller is mangled and needs to be replaced. Doesn't matter at the moment since I only have light gun games for it anyway. I'll re-cord it when I get the chance though, no big deal. I noticed the cord was in rough shape when I got it but the alternative was to take a crappy third party pad instead...

EDIT - messaged the guy I bought the Saturn from about the Sega CD he said he got in awhile ago. It was broken when he got it, could have bought it "as-is", but decided to let him fix it first instead. Well, I guess it's working, cause I am going to go in to the store tomorrow to see if I can work out a straight trade deal (for games, no cash) again like I did on the Saturn. Hopefully he'll take some of the stuff I got today, but I will bring a bunch of random stuff to see what I can work out. I will likely want to grab a game too...not sure yet. I might just grab the console and cables.


----------



## neurotix

Sega CD model 1 or 2?

Have fun collecting games for it and paying outrageous prices.

No interest in Sega CD collecting for that reason (Saturn too). Both can play backups without a modchip...


----------



## SwishaMane

Ooh, I'd like to get that TR3 sealed...


----------



## Wolfsbora

I'd love a Sega CD and a Sega Saturn. Btw, I've started looking around for a Virtual Boy. I need to have one.


----------



## Bridgypoo

You can get two for $200...

Also I didn't realize this but I did a google craigslist search and found two head units in Madison, WI (our city- weird!) for $75 or one for $40


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bridgypoo*
> 
> You can get two for $200...
> 
> Also I didn't realize this but I did a google craigslist search and found two head units in Madison, WI (our city- weird!) for $75 or one for $40


Don't tease me! I can't find any VBs for that price, locally...


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Just got my super space invaders 91 from 1990 up and running : D , Currently it running on a Sony 9" field monitor


__
https://flic.kr/p/HQZh8o


__
https://flic.kr/p/HQZh8o
 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr


__
https://flic.kr/p/HWGbNN


__
https://flic.kr/p/HWGbNN
 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> Just got my super space invaders 91 from 1990 up and running : D , Currently it running on a Sony 9" field monitor
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> __
> https://flic.kr/p/HQZh8o
> 
> 
> __
> https://flic.kr/p/HQZh8o
> by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr
> 
> 
> __
> https://flic.kr/p/HWGbNN
> 
> 
> __
> https://flic.kr/p/HWGbNN
> by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr


Please tell me that you have this documented somewhere!!


----------



## Bridgypoo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Don't tease me! I can't find any VBs for that price, locally...


I don't mind lending a hand and sending you one if you're willing to pull the trigger...


----------



## neurotix

Super Space Invaders, pretty cool.

Those VBs aren't worth the time or effort, you can't even test them because they require the controller and battery pack (the battery pack attaches to the controller), they are also missing the stand (unless you want to duct tape it around your head like the AVGN).

Bridgett, don't you think *I* would want a Virtual Boy before we would send one to someone else? (bridgypoo is my wife).

Tbh, the problem with the Virtual Boy is that for the 3D effect, they used a very obscure and weird method for the display. It's like a row of tiny red LEDs to the side of each eye. These things are known for failing over time. On top of that, the plastic on the eye pieces is very hard and brittle and known to crack easily. If you can find a mint unit for good condition, I would say go for it, but that's part of the reason the complete ones are worth so much.

Personally, before I'd get a Virtual Boy I think I would rather get a PC Engine, Coregrafx or Supergrafx. I was looking on Ebay and Coregrafx were $120 with all the hookups and some games. Afaik they work on US TVs and power with no modification. This would be preferable because I think they already do composite video out, and they play Japanese HUCards. The adapter for the US Turbografx-16 to allow it display video in composite is like over $200 alone. A lot of the games that I would want (Star Soldier games), the Japanese versions are much cheaper than the US counterparts. You can get a pin adapter that will allow the US Turbografx to play Japanese HUCards but it's probably very in demand due to the prices of US games, and so it itself might be very expensive.

Something like this one..


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

No luck on the Sega CD...guy said his repair dude's son broke his leg this morning...not sure I believe him lol Considering he didn't say anything at all yesterday about it not being fixed yet...who knows, told him to let me know when it's actually fixed...and I am kind of considering now seeing what he would do for it "as-is"...kind of irritated since I dug through a bunch of stuff for trade last night, but oh well, what can you do.


----------



## Bridgypoo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Super Space Invaders, pretty cool.
> 
> Those VBs aren't worth the time or effort, you can't even test them because they require the controller and battery pack (the battery pack attaches to the controller), they are also missing the stand (unless you want to duct tape it around your head like the AVGN).
> 
> Bridgett, don't you think *I* would want a Virtual Boy before we would send one to someone else? (bridgypoo is my wife).
> 
> Tbh, the problem with the Virtual Boy is that for the 3D effect, they used a very obscure and weird method for the display. It's like a row of tiny red LEDs to the side of each eye. These things are known for failing over time. On top of that, the plastic on the eye pieces is very hard and brittle and known to crack easily. If you can find a mint unit for good condition, I would say go for it, but that's part of the reason the complete ones are worth so much.


Your exact reasoning before you addressed me was why I didn't mention it. Too much hassle!


----------



## neurotix

I heard you can get 3D printed replacement stands for the Virtual Boy on Ebay.

However, finding the controller AND battery pack separately on Ebay might be difficult or expensive.

Wolfsbora, you might try asking Mega Man if he has an extra, he might not though or he might not want to sell it. Knowing him he probably has a couple.

Other than that, you might have to pay the inflated price for a complete one, because I don't know about buying stuff for it separately.

If you can find a complete one locally for under $150 I would say that's a steal and you should do it.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I mentioned it before, but I just recently started renting a room (wasn't sure I could do it honestly...got too much stuff), and have been slowly getting set back up again. Here's how the setup currently sits...lots of stuff all over still though, but I managed to get everything all hooked up again at least. The green was already here when I got the room...not sure how I feel about it, but I can't see being here long enough to bother painting or anything.



Even though it's just a room, it's kind of nice being able to have my own space and not have to worry about what anyone else thinks about my decor







Still going to paint all the shelving / wall units / etc. white though. There is a stand for the CRT that is going to go in the space between the wall unit and desk, TV is just sitting there until I finish painting it.


----------



## neurotix

Looks great so far man. Glad you use a CRT for your systems.


----------



## Bridgypoo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I heard you can get 3D printed replacement stands for the Virtual Boy on Ebay.
> 
> However, finding the controller AND battery pack separately on Ebay might be difficult or expensive.


Controller is $8: https://www.goatstore.com/Products/Nintendo/Virtual_Boy/Virtual_Boy_Hardware/231290/Controller_only/

I see on Amazon these are going for at least $20 in the same condition. Love the Goat Store.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Looks great so far man. Glad you use a CRT for your systems.


This CRT is just a temp one, I always keep a few around, but I had to give up a decent one when I moved. This one only has composite, no s-video or component. I have an eye on one on Kijiji right now though, 34" 720P Panasonic widescreen, similar to one I used to own at one point, actually. It's free, just need a ride to go and get it. If not, there is another one for sale for $100, but I can probably talk them down, and potentially get it delivered. I have a large CRT out in the garage, but it doesn't have component either, so I am just going to use this thing for now until I find a permanent replacement. Ideally, the only system I own that will be hooked up to the LCD is PS3...well, Xbox 360, but my Mom uses that for now.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bridgypoo*
> 
> Controller is $8: https://www.goatstore.com/Products/Nintendo/Virtual_Boy/Virtual_Boy_Hardware/231290/Controller_only/
> 
> I see on Amazon these are going for at least $20 in the same condition. Love the Goat Store.


Neat store! Haven't heard of this one before







Also, if anyone is cheap, like me, you can likely do without the battery pack...all you need to know is the DC voltage, and you can work out something DIY, with either a wall wart or any old random batteries.


----------



## subassy

I finally got the first page of my collection ready. Had to some copy/pasting and take out personally identifying information which indirectly lead to removing date/locations/prices from the games. I have most of them written down though if you really want to know a price of one in particular. This one isn't that special.

Spreadsheet looks like a different from the other shared ones. I think I worked on this NES one almost as long as the playstation ones. Anyway:

NES cartridge collection hunt tracked via google sheets

If you can't tell: I was trying to collect all the unlicensed black Tengen cartridges. A lot of those games have licensed versions.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> This CRT is just a temp one, I always keep a few around, but I had to give up a decent one when I moved. This one only has composite, no s-video or component. I have an eye on one on Kijiji right now though, 34" 720P Panasonic widescreen, similar to one I used to own at one point, actually. It's free, just need a ride to go and get it. If not, there is another one for sale for $100, but I can probably talk them down, and potentially get it delivered. I have a large CRT out in the garage, but it doesn't have component either, so I am just going to use this thing for now until I find a permanent replacement. Ideally, the only system I own that will be hooked up to the LCD is PS3...well, Xbox 360, but my Mom uses that for now.
> Neat store! Haven't heard of this one before
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also, if anyone is cheap, like me, you can likely do without the battery pack...all you need to know is the DC voltage, and you can work out something DIY, with either a wall wart or any old random batteries.


Goat Store is an awesome store to buy retro games from. They're from Milwaukee, and they were at the Midwest Gaming Classic here in WI when I went to it a couple of years ago. I got a couple CIB Master System games from them. You guys should definitely support them and my home state.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I finally got the first page of my collection ready. Had to some copy/pasting and take out personally identifying information which indirectly lead to removing date/locations/prices from the games. I have most of them written down though if you really want to know a price of one in particular. This one isn't that special.
> 
> Spreadsheet looks like a different from the other shared ones. I think I worked on this NES one almost as long as the playstation ones. Anyway:
> 
> NES cartridge collection hunt tracked via google sheets
> 
> If you can't tell: I was trying to collect all the unlicensed black Tengen cartridges. A lot of those games have licensed versions.


This is just insane. Awesome collection. That's just NES too. I'm sure you have a ton for other systems.

Like said, I have rules to my collecting because I don't want the hassle of that many physical cartridges (I'd prefer not to have to haul around 20 cardboard boxes full of game carts when/if I have to move). My game room is already cramped and we lack rooms in my house for a nursery/kids room when I have kids. So my game room might not be forever. I try and keep my collection smaller due to these reasons.

Additionally, my other rule for collecting is only games I grew up with playing: ones I owned, ones I rented or ones I played at friend's houses. Moreover, I don't want a collection of "crap" games, games I consider to suck and literally don't want to own. I really only want what I consider to be the "best" games for each system.

There *are* some that don't fit the bill in my collection, most of these I got for under a dollar or something and just picked them up because of that.


----------



## subassy

I don't know if it's clear or not: I only have 29 NES games. Which I didn't even realize until recently. I didn't think I had that many. What I did is paste in the giant list of released games and _cut_ and paste the game from the "everything released" list to the "now I own it" list. I just segregated them out by licensed/black tengen/unlicensed-but-not-tengen so it may be a little confusing.

That page does not work well on a cell phone screen, no







.


----------



## neurotix

Oh, my apologies, I had just glanced at it/skimmed it... plus, what you said before... I thought those were all ones you had! lol

According to my spreadsheet, I have 50 NES carts. I'm happy with my NES collection and there aren't many games I'm looking to add to it. I have all the ones I had as a kid, the ones I rented, and the ones I played with friends. That means I have all the Marios, Dr. Mario, Kirby's Adventure, Mega Man 2, TMNT games, Contra, Super C, Jackal, Dragon Spirit and so on. What I think are all the best games for the system.

Actually, one that I used to rent and play at a friend's house is Yo! Noid. I don't have it.

Maybe I should get Yo! Noid.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I heard you can get 3D printed replacement stands for the Virtual Boy on Ebay.
> 
> However, finding the controller AND battery pack separately on Ebay might be difficult or expensive.
> 
> Wolfsbora, you might try asking Mega Man if he has an extra, he might not though or he might not want to sell it. Knowing him he probably has a couple.
> 
> Other than that, you might have to pay the inflated price for a complete one, because I don't know about buying stuff for it separately.
> 
> If you can find a complete one locally for under $150 I would say that's a steal and you should do it.


Yea I have 20 of then bnib...... (joking... or am i?)

I have hated the vb since it's release. And I consider it a handheld system which I don't collect


----------



## g0tsl33p14

LoL, hours spent on Yo Noid here. That game was fun. Probably buried or broken in my parents basement.


----------



## neurotix

So, this is mostly for the benefit of Wolfsbora, I know the long time members have seen this stuff before, but here's my game room pics.


Spoiler: Game Room



Consoles on shelves











Game shelf



NES





Genesis



Master System



SNES, Game Boy



Wide shot of it all





CRT TV I play on



Wall and beer fridge



My PC is in here too



Wife's PC





Gundam on the printer.





My collection is relatively small and modest but I'm happy with it.


----------



## subassy

Okay, here's the PS2 spread sheet; much more straight forward than the NES one.

Three main sections:
the first one is the _Games I could seem myself owning_ e.g. a semi-complete list of all released games.
Second section is the _Games I physically possess_ section. I color coded most of them but still need to go back finish that.
Last section are some games I went in and took out of the master published list that I simply do not want to buy and am not interested in e.g. sports, karaoke, DDR, eye-toy, guitar/rhythm games, small children etc. I didn't want to take them out entirely so I moved them to the side.
I'm almost positive the list is accurate although I probably still need to weed out some duplicates I have traded in.

PlayStation 2 Collection

I still have the "large" atari consoles (2600 being the largest) and the PS1 collection along with the smaller collections. Unless no one cares and wants me to stop. Then I'll stop...


----------



## neurotix

That PS2 collection is pretty cool, subassy. I like your Rogue Galaxy (great game), Outrun 2006, and La Pucelle Tactics.

I have a CIB Zone of the Enders 2 (black box). Let me know if you want it. I don't think it's worth very much anyway and I'll probably never play it again (I have the ZOE HD port for Xbox 360).


----------



## subassy

Same details as the PS2 collection. I'm so glad PS1 used audio CD jewel cases. Much easier to store.

PlayStation 1 Collection

I might have to take you up on that _zone of the enders_ offer. Only if you really want to, obviously. Maybe we can work out a trade. Everyone case use another copy of _ATV off road fury_ (right?).


----------



## Bearded Gamer

Posting for sub. At work, i can add my collection soon!


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Same details as the PS2 collection. I'm so glad PS1 used audio CD jewel cases. Much easier to store.
> 
> PlayStation 1 Collection
> 
> I might have to take you up on that _zone of the enders_ offer. Only if you really want to, obviously. Maybe we can work out a trade. Everyone case use another copy of _ATV off road fury_ (right?).


ZOE2 used, complete in case, is like $8 on Amazon.

I'll send you a pm about it.


----------



## AuraNova

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Same details as the PS2 collection. I'm so glad PS1 used audio CD jewel cases. Much easier to store.


I'm reminded of the days when the first PS1 games came in those huge jewel cases. Then came the cardboard versions of them. Then eventually the standard CD cases we all know.

I still have my copy of The Raiden Project with instruction manual and jewel case.



(Yeah, I'm a big shmup fan, even though I am not that great at them.)


----------



## neurotix

I'm a shmup fan too and also not very good at them.

For many years, I had that game as well, but I sent it to a friend of mine on the 'net, he later passed away...

Raiden is a particularly excellent series, at least the first two were, Raiden 3 and 4 weren't so hot (they weren't made by Seibu Kaihatsu... so yeah)

If you like Raiden, I would strongly recommend playing Viper Phase 1 if you haven't. It was made by the same company, after they made Raiden II, but before all the weird spinoffs (Raiden Fighters). You can play it on MAME on your PC.


----------



## AuraNova

I actually have heard of it, but have never played it. I'll certainly keep a look out for it.

As far as the Raiden series of games are concerned, it's actually pretty redundant. It's almost like playing the same game, but not.

I bought Deathsmiles and Mushihimesama when Steam had their "anime" sale not too long ago. I love bullet hell, but not the over-the-top-bullets-in-every-pixel kinds.

Of course, a favorite shump I used to play a lot in the arcades was Sidearms Hyper Dyne. Name gets switched around depending on who you ask. I always called it this. That was a classic. I spent many a quarter on this. I own it on the TurboGrafx 16.


----------



## neurotix

I have Deathsmiles for 360 and I have Mushihime-sama for PS2...love Cave games.

My favorite Cave shooter is probably a toss up between Espgaluda 1 and 2 or Dodonpachi Daioujou..

Good luck finding an arcade cab of Viper Phase 1. They used to have one at Capcom's Nickel City in Northbrook, IL but the last time I went, it was gone, as was most of their good games, and replaced with ticket games. I would really strongly just recommend MAME.

Of course I've heard of Side Arms, it was like a spiritual sequel to Section Z.

Personally I really love the Dragon Spirit/Dragon Saber series of games. Dragon Spirit: The New Legend on NES has to be one of my favorite NES games, for sure, and possibly my favorite shmup of all time. I've never actually cleared it on Blue Dragon mode (the more difficult and lengthly loop) but I have cleared the Gold Dragon mode (easy mode -_-) The last time I played it I really struggled even getting past stage 3 or so. I actually never played the arcade version of this game before the NES version, I found it when I started collecting NES games in my teens for like $1, and had no clue what it was, but it looked cool and was cheap. Probably the best "blind" game pickup I've ever done, I remember loving stuff like how you when you get a spreadshot, your dragon grows more heads etc.


----------



## AuraNova

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I have Deathsmiles for 360 and I have Mushihime-sama for PS2...love Cave games.


Yeah, I have the special edition with soundtrack and faceplate. I was so excited about this when I first heard about it. You can also get Deathsmiles II X in the US, but only as a download on Xbox Live, and it's not localized. So it's the original Japanese port.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Personally I really love the Dragon Spirit/Dragon Saber series of games. Dragon Spirit: The New Legend on NES has to be one of my favorite NES games, for sure, and possibly my favorite shmup of all time. I've never actually cleared it on Blue Dragon mode (the more difficult and lengthly loop) but I have cleared the Gold Dragon mode (easy mode -_-) The last time I played it I really struggled even getting past stage 3 or so. I actually never played the arcade version of this game before the NES version, I found it when I started collecting NES games in my teens for like $1, and had no clue what it was, but it looked cool and was cheap. Probably the best "blind" game pickup I've ever done, I remember loving stuff like how you when you get a spreadshot, your dragon grows more heads etc.


I've actually played Dragon Spirit. It was such a good game! The hit box kind of sucked, but it was still fun. IIRC, it was branded as an Atari game in the arcades. I remember seeing one sitting next to a Joust 2 cabinet, which was rare to begin with.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AuraNova*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Same details as the PS2 collection. I'm so glad PS1 used audio CD jewel cases. Much easier to store.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm reminded of the days when the first PS1 games came in those huge jewel cases. Then came the cardboard versions of them. Then eventually the standard CD cases we all know.
> 
> I still have my copy of The Raiden Project with instruction manual and jewel case.
> 
> 
> 
> (Yeah, I'm a big shmup fan, even though I am not that great at them.)
Click to expand...

i love that game

as to pics ... all my stuff is packed atm and no room no more pics atm


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> So, this is mostly for the benefit of Wolfsbora, I know the long time members have seen this stuff before, but here's my game room pics.
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Game Room
> 
> 
> 
> Consoles on shelves
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Game shelf
> 
> 
> 
> NES
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Genesis
> 
> 
> 
> Master System
> 
> 
> 
> SNES, Game Boy
> 
> 
> 
> Wide shot of it all
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> CRT TV I play on
> 
> 
> 
> Wall and beer fridge
> 
> 
> 
> My PC is in here too
> 
> 
> 
> Wife's PC
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Gundam on the printer.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My collection is relatively small and modest but I'm happy with it.


Wow! I like how you were able to make it all fit and keep it organized. Unfortunately, most of my games for my old systems have disappeared. Once I'm done restoring Millipede, I think I'll start on the hunt for games.

Btw, @neurotix, thanks for coming to the show last night! It was the first episode we had without a hardware rep in a long time. I hope you enjoyed it!


----------



## SwishaMane

WOW, those PS1 and PS2 google spreadsheets are a mess! LOL, no offense... I work in an office environment where excel runs rampant. Some people got it, and some just don't. ha ha

Next time I power up my main rig, I will get my PS1 collection on here. I only track what I own, and what I want. My want list is extremely short on paper, but huge in my mind.









I also only collect COMPLETE, black label games. The ONLY Greatest Hits in my collection is DOOM, because it wasn't released in black label jewel case in large QTY. Last black label jewel case variant of Doom I seen went off eBay for $180+... ATROCIOUS! And it was REALLY, only like an 8/10 condition from photos... so 7/10 in real life.

EDIT: HEEEY, we on the front page! w00t


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Please tell me that you have this documented somewhere!!


Unfortunate I don't :/ I built the wiring loom and joy stick setup mostly on the fly : D , power supply is two cheap 5V & 12V SMPS , I do plan to put this with my 19" Samsung CRT but I need to make a sync separator for the monitor as it only accepts separate H and V syncs and not the composite sync .


----------



## StormX2

Might as well add me in here.

I love paying old games, generally EMU though.

The only Consoles that I still have are

Atari 2600
Socrates
NES
SNES
Sega
Dreamcast
Xbox (original only)
PS1/2/3

I doubt I will be adding any new consoles to this list any time soon..

Thanks to the world of EMU, I was able to play hundreds of Japanese titles that I would NEVER have been able to get my hands on, same with NeoGeo.

I mostly only play older games anyway, been doing play through's of all the old point and click adventures, Just recently Re-completed

Sam and Max
Day of the Tentacle
Full Throttle
and Grim Fandango

I currently mainly play my well aged Steam Library and Free Shard MMO;s from Yesteryear's.

Current Freeshard MMO's

Uthgard: CLassic server for Dark Age of Camelot
Return of Reckoning: Free Warhammer Online server.

Feel free to add me on Steam, I promise you can find me easily lol, find a game in my Library and lets play!


----------



## AuraNova

I guess I can mention all the systems I own, since everyone else has. I don't have any pics to show. Mainly because most of these systems are in a few storage boxes.

*Sony:*
PlayStation 1 (1st gen)
PlayStation 2 (1st gen)
PlayStation 4 (1st gen)***
PSP (1001)***

*Microsoft:*
Xbox 360 Elite
Xbox One Forza 6 Edition***

*Nintendo:*
NES (2nd gen)
SNES (1st gen, discolored like all of them have)
Wii (1st gen)
GameBoy (the original 1st gen, screen is shot)
GameBoy Advance SP (need to replace the battery)
3DS (in purple)*

*Atari:*
5200 (WITH WORKING CONTROLLER)***
7800
Jaguar

*Sega:*
Master System (1st gen)
Genesis (1st gen)
Sega CD (2nd gen)
Dreamcast
Game Gear

*Others:*
TurboGrafx-16***
Emerson Arcadia 2001

*** denotes hooked up and still in use.

I used to own a GameCube, but sold that when I got my Wii, since I could play GC games on it. I also used to have a 2600, but somehow, we lost it in a move. I used to have a 1st gen NES, but because no one knew how to fix the reset issue, we tossed it. I learned some years later on how to fix it. It was, of course, too late by then.


----------



## DogeTactical

Does gaming on windows xp count as retro ?


----------



## neurotix

Sorry guys, if you want to be added to the club you need to reformat your list of systems in accordance with the first post of the thread in the "How to Join" section...

For example, like mine:

neurotix - NES, SNES, Master System, Genesis, Sega CD, 32X, Saturn, Dreamcast, Game Gear, Game Boy, PS2, Xbox, PSP

It needs to be done this way because I am not going through every system you guys listed and typing it out like that.

This way I can simply copy and paste to add you.


----------



## AuraNova

I'm not really concerned about being added in. I listed my systems because I was more into the idea of striking up conversation and seeing who else had those systems as well.

Heck, if you feel like adding me in, just let me know, and I will be happy to use your format, neurotix.


----------



## DogeTactical

So wait, does windows xp gaming count or ?
xp came out in 2001


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AuraNova*
> 
> I'm not really concerned about being added in. I listed my systems because I was more into the idea of striking up conversation and seeing who else had those systems as well.
> 
> Heck, if you feel like adding me in, just let me know, and I will be happy to use your format, neurotix.


I will most certainly add you, but please put your consoles into the list format I need (it just makes things a lot easier for me when there's so many). I'd love to have you since we like some similar games.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DogeTactical*
> 
> So wait, does windows xp gaming count or ?
> xp came out in 2001


Yes, your classic computer counts.
Quote:


> Joining is simple. Just post your OCN name, and a small list of the consoles you own separated by commas. If you want you can include an estimate of how many games you have. *You can include classic computers, handhelds or arcade cabinets if you want.* Look at my listing in the members list as an example in how to format your application. After you post, make sure to add the club signature line to your signature, as seen below:


That's from the OP. If you could include the specs/model of the processor and GPU I will add that for you.

If you look, a member named FastMhz has "[email protected], IBM PCjr - [email protected], [email protected], AMD [email protected] w/ FreeDOS."

Sorry for the trouble and thanks guys.


----------



## RushiMP

RushiMP - NES, SNES, N64, IBM PS/2 55 486DX2 66


----------



## DogeTactical

DogeTactical - Psp,gameboy, Windows xp ( sempron 3100+ 1.8ghz, ATI Rage 128 NLX 16mb )


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DogeTactical*
> 
> DogeTactical - Psp,gameboy, Windows xp ( sempron 3100+ 1.8ghz, ATI Rage 128 NLX 16mb )


I had that CPU in the very first computer I ever built







What do you play on your "retro" pc? I currently have a Pentium 4 laptop for retro PC gaming, that also runs XP most of the time. Honestly though, I never really use it so I gave it to my Mom, who also never uses it. I would like to get a Windows 3.1 PC going though at some point. I also have a gutted iMac case I want to use for something retro PC related. Really though, I would be happy with a 3.1 / DOS PC, and perhaps a C64 of some variation, other than that, I already have too much PC related stuff around. Yet I have somehow managed to keep a couple CRT monitors around just for this kind of thing


----------



## SwishaMane

Ok guys, here's a modified version of my PS1 Collection spreadsheet. I only cut out a few un-necessary elements.

Yes, I backup all my physical discs to HDD in case of an accident. Bin / Cue. Its actaully a cold, off-site backup. I do collect demos, but only if they have the slip cover, or come bundled with a game. Or were sold individually, like the Jampack's did. I know it said only 3 games wanted, but the actual list in my mind is like 20 games to complete my interest in the console. I only collect black label complete games. VERY picky about my procurement of titles,









Swishas_PS1Collection_6_11_2016.xlsx 20k .xlsx file


----------



## neurotix

Added DogeTactical and Rushi. Welcome guys!


----------



## DogeTactical

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> What do you play on your "retro" pc?


doom 2, Wolfenstein 3d, Roller coaster tycoon 2, Age of empires 2, Gta vice city and adding


----------



## neurotix

I made this video for you guys, enjoy


----------



## Mega Man

I wouldn't keep them close to the TV fyi it looks like a tube tv. If it is an LCD it won't matter


----------



## AuraNova

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I will most certainly add you, but please put your consoles into the list format I need (it just makes things a lot easier for me when there's so many). I'd love to have you since we like some similar games.


It's very nice of you to add me. Like I said, you didn't have to. Keeping it simplified, and to the "retro" systems. My original post lists everything I have. Thanks for the add, neurotix.

Anyway, here you go. Just for you:

AuraNova - Xbox 360, TurboGrafx-16, 5200, 7800, Jaguar, NES, SNES, N64, Wii, GameBoy, GameBoy SP, Master System, Genesis, Sega CD, Dreamcast, Game Gear, PS1, PS2, PSP, Arcadia 2001

(I had darn near forgot I own an N64. I rarely ever played it. It has the purple controller too.)


----------



## MNKyDeth

MNKyDeth - Tandy 64k Color Computer, Nes, TurboDuo, SuperGrafx + Super CD-Rom 2, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, Playstation 1, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Intellivision, SNK Neo-Geo CDZ

I have modded all my consoles to RGB that couldn't output it normally. I use a framemeister now to display to a BenQ RL2460HT monitor. The hdmi passthrough goes to my capture card in my main rig and that allows me to stream and capture video from these retro consoles.

I mostly focus on NEC TurboGrafx-16 and PCEngine hardware and games. It has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid and I still have everything my dad bought me back then. I stream homebrew games on twitch on occasion but I mostly just stream or video capture anything retro from this console. I do play modern games but not anywhere near as much as I play on my old consoles.

If anyone needs wants or is interested in TG16 PCE gear my site www.pcenuggets.com

My favorite games for this particular console are Dungeon Explorer 2, Y's 1 - 4, Gate of Thunder, Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes. I could keep going but to me these are the best standouts from the US. I really cannot wait for the Xanadu 1 and 2 translation to get done as they look like incredible games. My most anticipated games of 2016 and 2017 is the English translation of Xanadu 1 and 2.
Newly released games my most anticipated is Henshin-Engine. Supposed to come out at the start of 2017. http://www.henshin-engine.com/

I actually don't collect consoles. What I have is what I transitioned through, during the years. At this point though, if I was called a "collector" it would be the TG-16 / PC Engine line of stuff. But I mostly just use an Everdrive and burn the discs at this point since it's so darn expensive.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Man, I love seeing so much love for the retro console scene in here!

I just soaked the loom (the long grouping of wires) for Millipede. The water turned instantly black nasty. Washed the speaker grill. Would you believe that this game used 2 - 6x9 speakers?? Today will be cleaning the non-switching power supply some more, and removing the audio regulator and massive PCB that contains the tens of chips required for he game. I'll give them a thorough dusting.


----------



## StormX2

StormX2 - Atari 2600, Socrates, NES, SNES, Sega, Dreamcast, Xbox (original only), PS1/2/3


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> Unfortunate I don't :/ I built the wiring loom and joy stick setup mostly on the fly : D , power supply is two cheap 5V & 12V SMPS , I do plan to put this with my 19" Samsung CRT but I need to make a sync separator for the monitor as it only accepts separate H and V syncs and not the composite sync .


You should definitely share some of the work you've done if you have any current pics! I'm totally obsessed with this stuff right now.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> You should definitely share some of the work you've done if you have any current pics! I'm totally obsessed with this stuff right now.


I'll try to







, I hope to get pac man and ms pac man and have them all setup together with the Jr pac man I have , I'll get some pictures as I set up the Samsung CRT with the space invaders and that soon

This is a short video I did of the super space invaders board running , I wired it up for two players but need to make another joy stick setup for the second player . I used D9 connectors for connection/disconnection of the controllers / video ect .


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MNKyDeth*
> 
> MNKyDeth - Tandy 64k Color Computer, Nes, TurboDuo, SuperGrafx + Super CD-Rom 2, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, Playstation 1, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Intellivision, SNK Neo-Geo CDZ
> 
> snip
> 
> I mostly focus on NEC TurboGrafx-16 and PCEngine hardware and games. It has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid and I still have everything my dad bought me back then. I stream homebrew games on twitch on occasion but I mostly just stream or video capture anything retro from this console. I do play modern games but not anywhere near as much as I play on my old consoles
> 
> I actually don't collect consoles. What I have is what I transitioned through, during the years. At this point though, if I was called a "collector" it would be the TG-16 / PC Engine line of stuff. But I mostly just use an Everdrive and burn the discs at this point since it's so darn expensive.


Ok, added all the new members (3 people). Welcome guys.

I never had the TG-16 as a kid, I never knew anyone with one, and I never even saw one until I was 14 or 15, then I really found out what it is.

I've played the games on emulators, and my softmodded Xbox has an upgraded hard drive- it has a TG-16 emulator with video previews, box art, etc. It's actually really slick and I can upscale the games to 720p and they look really good.

Well anyway, my general rule is to only collect games I had as a kid, or played at friend's houses, or rented. I also try to only collect what I consider "good" games for each system, stuff like Konami and Capcom games for NES, Mario, and so on.

Well I broke my rules. I've wanted a TG-16 for a long time now because it's a neat oddity. The sticking point, of course, is how expensive the system and games are. Especially small things like $200 for a Turbo Booster to play games in A/V composite instead of garbage RF (what were they thinking?)

I found a compromise, I ordered a PC Engine Coregrafx system with 9 games from Japan on Ebay. I probably saved like $300 going this route. I'm also getting a couple of Japanese HUcards, Super Star Soldier, Final Soldier (my favorite games on the system), Gunhed, and Be Ball (aka Chew Man Fu). After I bought the games I realized I could probably get an Everdrive, but it was too late to cancel, so I have one of those coming too. CD games are pretty much out of the question because I'm not buying a Duo or CD unit + adapter (both will easily be $300). I'll stick with HUcards and use my Xbox emulator if I ever want to play CD games, honestly I've gone through some of them and yet to find anything that would make a PCE CD worth buying for me. (Maybe some of the Japanese-only RPGs (Cosmic Fantasy?), but, I don't know Japanese.)

I'm really excited. This might end up being the coolest thing in my collection next to my Master System or Game Gear..


----------



## AuraNova

I don't know if any of you folks have ever seen this channel on YouTube (I somehow expect Wolfsbora to have), but there's an arcade shop and service center based in Pennsylvania called TNT Amusements. They put up some amusingly cheesy videos here, and I always thought they were entertaining. The machines they get in their shop, as well as the restorations are beautiful. It makes me want to own a couple of pinball machines. Todd is basically the typical Dad complete with all the bad Dad jokes.


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## neurotix

That's awesome. I will watch it later.

If any of you guys are within driving distance of Chicago, I would highly recommend going to Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield. It's the largest arcade in the US (over 500 games). I've even heard claims that they are the largest arcade in the world, with more machines than any Japanese arcade, I don't know if that's true or not though. They even build their own custom cabinets for games that never got an arcade release (the newer Mortal Kombat games, they're really into MK).






Here is the games list.

I even have a small flyer from them on my wall, from when they brought a bunch of machines up to Midwest Gaming Classic.

The best part is that GGA is open until like 2am on weekends, and it's only $15 to get in and play all day long.


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## Wolfsbora

@AuraNova, how'd you know I've seen that?!







That guy is hilarious.

@neurotix, that would be worth the 7 hour drive to the windy city! I've never heard of that place. The 2nd annual ReplayFX convention is going to be in July here in Pittsburgh. They have hundreds of arcade cabs, pinballs, and even consoles to play! This year they're going to have some pretty interesting speakers, like the guy that came up with q*bert, and the former head of Microsoft's gaming division. Should be pretty cool!

You guys all have me beat with the retro systems though. PM me if you have any working or could be working systems that are just taking up space! ?

Edit: if you guys are interested in arcade history and would even like to see how some restorations are done, I highly suggest that you check out Tony Temple's appropriately titled arcadeblogger.com. Interesting fact about Mr. Temple, he's the world record holder for the highest score in Missile Command and an all around nice guy.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> @AuraNova, how'd you know I've seen that?!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That guy is hilarious.
> 
> @neurotix, that would be worth the 7 hour drive to the windy city! I've never heard of that place. The 2nd annual ReplayFX convention is going to be in July here in Pittsburgh. They have hundreds of arcade cabs, pinballs, and even consoles to play! This year they're going to have some pretty interesting speakers, like the guy that came up with q*bert, and the former head of Microsoft's gaming division. Should be pretty cool!
> snip


It's definitely worth the drive. The last time I went they had two cool things I liked, one was a whole row of 4 slot Neo Geo MVS arcades with every King of Fighters game (94-03), every Samurai Shodown, and a bunch of other Neo Geo games. The other was two custom cabs, one had both Capcom Dungeons & Dragons beat em ups (Tower of Doom and Shadow Over Mystara), and the other had Dodonpachi and Dodonpachi Daioujou, and you could pick what to play.

If you could give me the link/information for that convention I will add it to the unused posts in the beginning of the thread (one is called convention information). I've been meaning to add stuff to those sections, but the club has been small and I didn't have the time. I would like to add videos and stuff like links to retrogaming websites, so anything you guys can contribute would be great.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> Ok, added all the new members (3 people). Welcome guys.
> 
> I never had the TG-16 as a kid, I never knew anyone with one, and I never even saw one until I was 14 or 15, then I really found out what it is.
> 
> I've played the games on emulators, and my softmodded Xbox has an upgraded hard drive- it has a TG-16 emulator with video previews, box art, etc. It's actually really slick and I can upscale the games to 720p and they look really good.
> 
> Well anyway, my general rule is to only collect games I had as a kid, or played at friend's houses, or rented. I also try to only collect what I consider "good" games for each system, stuff like Konami and Capcom games for NES, Mario, and so on.
> 
> Well I broke my rules. I've wanted a TG-16 for a long time now because it's a neat oddity. The sticking point, of course, is how expensive the system and games are. Especially small things like $200 for a Turbo Booster to play games in A/V composite instead of garbage RF (what were they thinking?)
> 
> I found a compromise, I ordered a PC Engine Coregrafx system with 9 games from Japan on Ebay. I probably saved like $300 going this route. I'm also getting a couple of Japanese HUcards, Super Star Soldier, Final Soldier (my favorite games on the system), Gunhed, and Be Ball (aka Chew Man Fu). After I bought the games I realized I could probably get an Everdrive, but it was too late to cancel, so I have one of those coming too. CD games are pretty much out of the question because I'm not buying a Duo or CD unit + adapter (both will easily be $300). I'll stick with HUcards and use my Xbox emulator if I ever want to play CD games, honestly I've gone through some of them and yet to find anything that would make a PCE CD worth buying for me. (Maybe some of the Japanese-only RPGs (Cosmic Fantasy?), but, I don't know Japanese.)
> 
> I'm really excited. This might end up being the coolest thing in my collection next to my Master System or Game Gear..


Definitely get an Everdrive. I bought mine new off eBay for $90, and it does everything- PCE, TG16, and homebrews. You can play all of them regardless of which console you have. My game recommendations include Splatterhouse (of course), City Hunter, Ninja Spirit, Ninja Gaiden (virtually identical to the NES version), and Street Fighter 2 if you have a 6 button controller. As for CD titles, give the Ys games a try if you haven't already, and definitely do not pass up Dracula X (Castlevania) Rondo of Blood. It's a tough SoB, but possibly the best platformer I've ever played.


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## Wolfsbora

@neurotix ReplayFX.org - July 28 - 31, 2016 Pittsburgh, PA at the David Lawrence Convention Center

They have 250+ arcade machines, 500+ pinball machines, 2000+ console games, cosplay (with a free competition), live musical performances, seminars, and speakers.


----------



## neurotix

Thanks for that, added.

If anyone else wants to add information about conventions, let me know.


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## Wolfsbora

Other than eBay, is there a reliable place to look for retro consoles and games? I'll be busy with Millipede for a while. A coworker will hopefully be sandblasting the coin door and the coin box door for me so that it can be repainted. I will be taking a soft bristled toothbrush to the audio regulator and PCB. It's crazy to think that a current mITX board can do millions more than an old school arcade from 1982. Either way, I've still got plenty to do. Still have to discharge and clean the CRT. That'll be a project in itself.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Other than eBay, is there a reliable place to look for retro consoles and games? I'll be busy with Millipede for a while. A coworker will hopefully be sandblasting the coin door and the coin box door for me so that it can be repainted. I will be taking a soft bristled toothbrush to the audio regulator and PCB. It's crazy to think that a current mITX board can do millions more than an old school arcade from 1982. Either way, I've still got plenty to do. Still have to discharge and clean the CRT. That'll be a project in itself.


Amazon has a surprising number of old console games and consoles. I don't know if that's what you had in mind. Amazon seems to be slowly "devolving" into an eBay knock off. I wouldn't call that a good thing but that's just me.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Other than eBay, is there a reliable place to look for retro consoles and games? I'll be busy with Millipede for a while. A coworker will hopefully be sandblasting the coin door and the coin box door for me so that it can be repainted. I will be taking a soft bristled toothbrush to the audio regulator and PCB. It's crazy to think that a current mITX board can do millions more than an old school arcade from 1982. Either way, I've still got plenty to do. Still have to discharge and clean the CRT. That'll be a project in itself.


Your best bet is to build a relationship at some of the local game stores...Ebay will always be "full price"...I don't know what's around you, but I am sure there is something. Most of the shops around here have websites and Facebook pages where you can contact them and ask them if they have gotten certain things in, or when they expect it. The general idea is that local shops have the best prices, and any good shop should be able to get anything you want, it sometimes may take awhile for the rarer stuff to come in. Pawn shops have also been a great resource, though that's all hit and miss, since you never know what will be there. The benefit of going to the pawn shops, is you can often find ridiculous deals on good stuff. Also, ask around for what you are looking. Don't just look at what's on the shelf...I know the one store I go to has a storage area that probably has at least 5 times the inventory of the actual store. Same with pawn shops...sometimes they take things off display that isn't selling, so they can make space for stuff that will, but they don't ditch the stuff. I got a couple Saturn games for really cheap last time I was in to one of my favourite pawn shops because I mentioned to the guy it's tough finding Saturn stuff around...sure enough, he had some stuff tucked away in the back he brought out for me to shuffle through. The more word you put out you are looking for the stuff, the more you'll come across it. The only time I'd buy anything game related off of Ebay is third party memory cards / cables / controllers...if something really rare came up and I waited years for it, I might go to Ebay then. Another things i have been having great luck with is a local classifieds called Kijiiji. Not sure if that site is worldwide, but if not, it's similar to Craigslist or something. Usually people give great deals on there too, if you're willing to hunt for them. Got my PS3 for $30 (Canadian), for example...in the box lol Well, I paid him $20 to deliver it because I felt bad for only paying $30...so $50 in total. You can usually talk all of these places and examples into deals too...every game store and pawn shop in town will do deals, some better than others, of course. And of course, Kijiji, or similar, is a great place to make some good deals. As long as you are reasonable in your offers, and not a low-balling arse, people are generally pretty easy to deal with. Anyway, that's my input on it...I am sure some one will a larger collection will have some better tips


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## neurotix

As stated, you *can* get better deals locally and off Craigslist.

It really depends on your area though, around here the local game shops charge an arm and a leg for anything good. For example, one of them was selling Chrono Trigger for $110 when you could get it for $85 on Amazon or Ebay. That was a couple of years back. The same shop wants like $30 for a copy of Super Mario 3 for NES (should be $20... but if I were selling it out of my garage I'd probably ask $15).

There is one good game shop here but it's smaller, not a chain, and the selection is usually worse. He has a ton of Game Boy games for example, but they're all junk...stuff like Barbie, Avatar the Airbender, Wizard of Oz and other games no one ever wants. Occasionally I get cool stuff from him at a decent price. A few years back I got FFII for $30 and FFIII for $40 (SNES), those were great prices at the time, and they're worth a little more than that now.

Tbh I'm at the point in my collecting where pretty much anything I want, I am going to have to get online. One of the few Genesis games I wanted but didn't have was Gunstar Heroes. In close to 7 years of checking the shops here I haven't seen it a single time. And I bet if I had, that one shop would want $100 for it. Well, I paid around $60 for it on Amazon.

My suggestion would be to check all the used games stores in your area, and if you don't consider it rude... bring your smartphone and check Amazon and Ebay prices for games before you buy. If they're asking $10-20 more than the cheapest price on Amazon, then it's probably a bad shop. Even if they pay half the cheapest Amazon price for a game, they can still make money selling it for the Amazon price. I've even heard stuff like, "but it costs shipping to get a game from Amazon, so if you buy it from me you won't have to pay shipping and you can have it now"... sorry but that's no reason to add a $20 premium (or more). The really bad shops will just price a game way higher than it's worth due to it's notoriety (The Chrono Triggers, Secret of Manas, Megaman X2s etc)

https://www.pricecharting.com/ has basically the most fair and accurate prices for games nowadays. The guy at the GOOD shop here in town (Lance) uses this site and Ebay to price his games and it's the reason his prices are fair. (For example, pricecharting says that a loose Mario 3 is worth $15. That's pretty much right. Lance sells it for $20.)

If you're buying from Craigslist, look for bundle deals. I had good luck with Craigslist twice but one time I had to drive rather far to get the games. Once I got like 10 Game Gear games including Shining Force: Sword of Hajya ($30 by itself) for... around $30. I got a Streets of Rage and two Shinobi games with it too. Another time, some guy out in the boondocks was selling NES games, and I paid like $65 for Mega Man 6, TMNT 2, TMNT 3, Zelda Link to the Past, Adventure Island and like 10 other NES games. Just Mega Man 6 at the time was worth $50 and Link to the Past for SNES was worth $30. So try and find those guys that resell old games as a hobby and will give you a bundle deal. Often times, you can talk them down and get a bunch of games for way less than they'd be individually on Amazon.

Another one that wasn't mentioned: ask your friends if they have anything they want to sell if they're gamers. They might have old consoles in an attic, a storage locker, the basement etc. I got Shining Force II for Genesis for $5 from a friend this way ($40 game now). He also sold me SFII:CE and two 6-button Sega brand Genesis pads, and like two other Genesis games for $20. I got my Saturn from him with two controllers, a game and all hookups for $60.

Anyway sorry this was a long read but those are my tricks... hope this helps. Also, if you find something you want to buy but aren't sure if it's a ripoff or not you can always ask here.


----------



## StormX2

all I really want, is an extended cabinet with the Xmen Arcade side scroller so that I could have like 4 people playing at once ;p


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *StormX2*
> 
> all I really want, is an extended cabinet with the Xmen Arcade side scroller so that I could have like 4 people playing at once ;p


Is that all?


----------



## StormX2

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Is that all?


pretty much, i have everything else I want in life tbh.


----------



## AuraNova

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *StormX2*
> 
> all I really want, is an extended cabinet with the Xmen Arcade side scroller so that I could have like 4 people playing at once ;p


That brings back memories of when I played the 6 player version. I always used Nightcrawler. I always wanted that cab.

I'm reminded of another arcade game from the 80s that used a super wide screen (well, it was actually two or three screens) called Ninjawarriors. I remember a local arcade hang out in the early 90s had this and my friends and I were massively impressed by it. Game play was slow, but I can still pumping many quarters in it.


----------



## neurotix

GET IT GET IT! COME ON

I love that freaking game. There was actually a high res Xbox 360 port of it with support for 4 players, and it emulated the dual screens. Apparently it got removed from XBL because the license expired or some such other nonsense. So now I can't even get it. Ironically, the other game like that that got pulled was TMNT: Turtles in Time remake.

TMNT 4 player arcade machine was also the best. I remember at one point like every freaking Pizza Hut in the country had that machine. I'm sure they made a ton of money off them.

Ninjawarriors by Taito...I've never played the machine but played it on MAME on my Xbox... agreed, the gameplay is slow. I think this one is kind of a turd personally but I can understand, with the super wide screen back then I probably would've been impressed too.

Taito did some other good arcade games, I'd highly recommend checking out one called Dead Connection. Basically shoot everything that moves and you're a 1930s mobster.


----------



## StormX2

Simpsons game also had one. I dont have the resources to get these sort of things unfortunately.


----------



## Wolfsbora

I'll be throwing rep to all of you folks that responded to my question about getting retro hardware! Thank you for the ideas. Here's the problem, Craigslist in Pittsburgh is like one of those flea markets that sells old stuffed cats and soda cans that commemorate the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 70's. It's a terrible place, a junkyard of filth, and creepiness. Who wants to buy a 20 year old Budweiser branded tailgate grill for $130?


----------



## StormX2

oh god a Pittsburgh flea market, one of few where you can actually catch fleas lol


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

That's rough


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I'll be throwing rep to all of you folks that responded to my question about getting retro hardware! Thank you for the ideas. Here's the problem, Craigslist in Pittsburgh is like one of those flea markets that sells old stuffed cats and soda cans that commemorate the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 70's. It's a terrible place, a junkyard of filth, and creepiness. Who wants to buy a 20 year old Budweiser branded tailgate grill for $130?


Again, find your local games stores.

Try St. Vincents, Goodwill, Pawn America, and other secondhand stores/thrift stores/Pawn shops and chains. They are generally bad places to shop and spend your money but you can find deals/rarities occasionally. At Pawn America I got a CIB Golden Axe 2 for Genesis for $5. Best find I've had there.

Used games stores are a good option if you can find one with decent prices. I would also suggest talking to the employees and owner about retro games. You should be able to tell whether they're just a reseller hopping on the retro game bandwagon, looking to make a quick buck, or if they are retro game fans themselves that do it for the love of the hobby.

Case in point, one store here in town (the bad one) is called Preplayed Games. Their largest selection is of 360 and PS3 games but they also sell DVDs and Blu Rays (really cheap). They have a large retro game section but the games are really expensive. Most of the employees I've seen there look like they weren't even alive when the NES was out. They always have different people in the place, and I don't think I've ever seen the owner at either location. This place sucks. This is the place that wants $30 for loose Super Mario 3, and they usually have like 10 copies of it. Newsflash, if you have 10 copies of it it probably isn't worth that much. Nearly anything remotely good they put in a locked case and charge ridiculous prices for. There's really no decor in this place either, it looks like an old Blockbuster or something, just rows and rows of the tall shelves to hold games and DVDs.

On the other hand, the best game store in town is Video Game Xchange. The owner is Lance, just an awesome guy. An aging rocker/metal head. I've been going to his stores since I first moved to Madison in 1995, so I've been a customer for 20 years. Anyway, in the 90s he actually had 3 locations in town but now he just has one. He's told me that Pawn America and Preplayed are putting him under and really cutting into his business. This guy will talk to you for hours about games and gaming. Multiple times I've come in and he's had something cool, one time it was a Dreamcast hooked up via VGA to an old RGB monitor, it looked fantastic. Another time he was in the middle of trying to fix some Atari 2600's and soldering them. If he has no customers he'll just stand there and talk to you about games. Since he's known me so long, he gives me a 10% cash discount on everything I buy EXCEPT I never pay in cash, I pay with debit or whatever and he gives me the discount anyway. He has multiple arcade cabs in his store he is trying to fix up right now. Also, his whole store is like a collection of vintage gaming merchandise from the 80s and 90s, like the stuff you'd get from Nintendo fun club, Nintendo Power etc. He has a big case full of this stuff in the center of the store. We've had numerous discussions about his cans of Sonic the Hedgehog Spaghetti-Os and whether they'd be edible or not after 20+ years. He said he opened one once and it was brown and the noodles had just melted away and the meatballs were gone too. I'm guessing "not edible" on this one. He also has an unopened box of the Nintendo Cereal System that I really wanted to try as a kid but never got to.









Anyway. Find the good games stores.

Buy from the Lance's of the world, *not* from the Preplayed's.


----------



## subassy

There's a local chain store kind of like the first one you mentioned local to me. Except they very rarely have even one NES or SNES game. When they do have SNES games (there's a always a pile of genesis) they're very common/unwanted games like sports and Vegas Dreams...
Anyway I really go there to get a bunch of $2 PS1 and PS2 games because...$2 that's why...but they have a copy of "24: the game" for $18. Why is 24: the game $18? And if it is $18 for 2+ years why not take the hint it's too much. Seriously though. Why is 24: the game $18?
The employees likewise don't know much about games and seem to care very little. I assume between the goodwill and various other places not to mention gamestops there's just not that much money in. It would be nice if the 20-somethings seemed to care even slightly about the games section.
I do find an over priced 2600 game there ever so often. Though not for a while. Probably because I have such a large 2600 collection.

Semi-related, I think I found a store kind of like the good one you were describing (I overheard the guy saying he had worked there for 15 years). Only I only went into it the one time so far and noted the used NES for $100 (the insert-front kind) and 2600 games for a flat $7 each which is too rich for my blood. I don't know if it's really a good place or not but the price are a little over-the-top. I might go back for some 2600 games. In case he has some rare ones that might actually be worth $7.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

My city is pretty nice in regards to retro game collecting...quite a few events and conventions, video game swap meets, etc. Several stores...and everyone is in massive competition of each other, so they get into a bit of a price war...well, except that one KW Vintage Games I have mentioned a few times...he charges near Ebay price, his selling point is that he has just about anything you could want in stock. He's a decent guy to, though most might disagree...he's an actual gamer, not someone in it for the cash. Got talking about lightgun stuff for quite awhile last time I was in...apparently he got hooked on them too during the PSX days. He actually tells people they don't need money to come in, that anyone is welcome to just come and hang out. There is usually several people doing so when I go there lol Definitely a different type of atmosphere, his store tends to be a bit disorganized because of it...but he always seems to know where everything is. The store in town I go to most is only because it's close...Microplay...there are quite a few of them around. Not much to say about that place except Xbox 360 and PS3 games are really cheap there right now. There's the odd deal, but the owner doesn't seem to be too interested in the games. Best store in town is The Games Exchange...the guys that run it are just great to deal with, prices are the best around...and I've been going there since I was a kid. The one guy / owner also runs a comic book store in town. He ended up being the guy that showed up to the door when I bought my SNES of Kijiji as well...loads and loads of great people in the community. Just do right by those guys and gals and you are sure to get the deals. Also...don't be shy to be a cheapskate...sometimes I feel bad going and spending so much time in a store to only spend $20 while dude's are in and out to get the newest Call of Duty in 2 minutes and $80 later...but most of the shops seem to take more interest in someone who seems to know what he is looking at, rather than the ones that likely make them the most money. That's how you can tell a good shop IMO









Also...in regards to prices...ALWAYS try to deal with a shop if you haven't before. At the very least, most of them will at least suck up the taxes. Most places will definitely deal with you though, especially if you buy more than one thing. Seriously...don't be scared to make an offer...I bet if you offered $60, he might say no, but then go back in a week, and offer it again when it's still sitting there...and I bet he takes it. Even $60 is pricey though...in the US, I'd pay no more than $40...and even that is stretching it. I'd ideally like to pay only about $20 for a "as-is" NES and do the repairs myself...only a couple years ago they where less than half what they are worth right now. I use one of the clone systems for the time being, and don't plan to replace it with the real deal unless I can find one cheap enough. Big thing with doing deals though...be respectful, and don't low-ball...give reasonable offers or they will tire of you showing up to their stores pretty quick lol And don't even try to make a deal on something that is already priced more than reasonably. If they are being fair on the price, be fair in return and give them what they are asking Most of the time, they expect low-balling, so they artificially inflate the price. I do it all the time when selling things on Kijiji...cause no matter how cheap you price something, someone will still low-ball...and oh god are those people ever irritating.


----------



## neurotix

Nintendo NES front loader (original model) is around $40 on Amazon, but without the hookups.

Personally I wouldn't want to pay more than $30 for one, I mean they made millions and millions.

The hookups should not be a problem, go to a Goodwill or St. Vinny's and you can find generic AV cables (yellow, red and white) for like $2 each. You can also use something other than the original Nintendo power supply, mine is a Casio power supply and it's 7.5V and it works. If anything, go to any decent games shop and talk to them and they will probably have extra power supplies to sell you. I've done this before with Lance, my brother's Game Boy Color AC adapter didn't work so I took it to him and asked him to test it, he had the right power adapter but the system still didn't turn on and he told me basically that the power port on the GB was broke and it probably needed a new fuse or resistor or something.

$100 for a NES is ridiculous.


----------



## subassy

Ya, it is. I didn't ask the guy about it or anything. Maybe there was something else special about it. Some kind of deal for $100. I don't know. Just seemed odd. Even the local swap meet a guy had three of them for $60 each (he offered me 2 for $100, I said no).


----------



## neurotix

subassy check that private message please.


----------



## Mega Man

This Didn't post...

Yea but the key is to wait and buy the gems. It takes a long time. I have made some good scores though. CL isn't one to go to of you must have "x" now. That is ebay/amazon

CL is you check ever day/week and you find that ooooo of thing and buy it.

New post

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Nintendo NES front loader (original model) is around $40 on Amazon, but without the hookups.
> 
> Personally I wouldn't want to pay more than $30 for one, I mean they made millions and millions.
> 
> The hookups should not be a problem, go to a Goodwill or St. Vinny's and you can find generic AV cables (yellow, red and white) for like $2 each. You can also use something other than the original Nintendo power supply, mine is a Casio power supply and it's 7.5V and it works. If anything, go to any decent games shop and talk to them and they will probably have extra power supplies to sell you. I've done this before with Lance, my brother's Game Boy Color AC adapter didn't work so I took it to him and asked him to test it, he had the right power adapter but the system still didn't turn on and he told me basically that the power port on the GB was broke and it probably needed a new fuse or resistor or something.
> 
> $100 for a NES is ridiculous.


Ironically the nes (front loader) iirc is rated at 9v but uses a 12vdc supply...

The whole nes can acutally run on with 5v or 3v idr (i think it was 5v ) off my head ( this is how they convert them to portable systems with lcds)

But the rf adapter that's built in needs 9v... nothing else


----------



## SwishaMane

Whoo, got like 6 new PS1 games coming to add to my collection... Star Ocean is one.


----------



## Bridgypoo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Other than eBay, is there a reliable place to look for retro consoles and games? I'll be busy with Millipede for a while. A coworker will hopefully be sandblasting the coin door and the coin box door for me so that it can be repainted. I will be taking a soft bristled toothbrush to the audio regulator and PCB. It's crazy to think that a current mITX board can do millions more than an old school arcade from 1982. Either way, I've still got plenty to do. Still have to discharge and clean the CRT. That'll be a project in itself.


As Neuro has mentioned you have the option to check on your market locally. Pittsburgh sounds pretty lame in that regard though so I thought I'd link what we've used in the past. We've used this store for backups when Amazon or Ebay are asking for unreasonable prices, or only have 1 or 2 of one thing so we need to compare:

GoatStore: A lot of variety, Intellivision, 2600, Dreamcast, NES, SNES, EVEN Tgfx.

Sorry for the brevity, on my way to a 730 meeting.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> Whoo, got like 6 new PS1 games coming to add to my collection... Star Ocean is one.


Nice


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bridgypoo*
> 
> As Neuro has mentioned you have the option to check on your market locally. Pittsburgh sounds pretty lame in that regard though so I thought I'd link what we've used in the past. We've used this store for backups when Amazon or Ebay are asking for unreasonable prices, or only have 1 or 2 of one thing so we need to compare:
> 
> GoatStore: A lot of variety, Intellivision, 2600, Dreamcast, NES, SNES, EVEN Tgfx.
> 
> Sorry for the brevity, on my way to a 730 meeting.


Thank you! I'll definitely check it out. My priority right now is my Millipede semi-restore. Once that's done, I'll be going after the old systems that I lost. +1


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## TwirlyWhirly555

Looking forward to seeing the Millipede restore : D , I have an Atari space dual PCB ; but finding a colour vector monitor isn't that easy now'a days .

Got my 19" Samsung CRT up and running using one of the converters , I did have to set up a level shifter for the composite sync as its 5V from the space invaders PCB and 3.3V max input for the converter .


__
https://flic.kr/p/HhtWhy


__
https://flic.kr/p/HhtWhy
 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr


__
https://flic.kr/p/HMZGTG


__
https://flic.kr/p/HMZGTG
 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> Looking forward to seeing the Millipede restore : D , I have an Atari space dual PCB ; but finding a colour vector monitor isn't that easy now'a days .
> 
> Got my 19" Samsung CRT up and running using one of the converters , I did have to set up a level shifter for the composite sync as its 5V from the space invaders PCB and 3.3V max input for the converter .
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> __
> https://flic.kr/p/HhtWhy
> 
> 
> __
> https://flic.kr/p/HhtWhy
> by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr
> 
> 
> __
> https://flic.kr/p/HMZGTG
> 
> 
> __
> https://flic.kr/p/HMZGTG
> by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr


Awesome work!! That's slick. And yes, vector monitors AND games are hard to come by without paying a mint for them. I'll try to update you guys more on the restore. The original art is staying, even with the damage and nasty yellow cig tar that I can't get completely off. So, I'm not the far from getting it done. I even gave the CRT (original Matsu****a in it's original chassis) a bath. I'm just fortunate that all serial numbers match on the thing.


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## MNiceGuy

I'd like to join

MNiceGuy - NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, Gamecube, PS1, PS2, PS3, Game Boy Advance

Thanks!


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## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> (original Matsu****a in it's original...


Brand name censorship, heh


----------



## neurotix

MNiceGuy added to the club.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> New post
> Ironically the nes (front loader) iirc is rated at 9v but uses a 12vdc supply...
> 
> The whole nes can acutally run on with 5v or 3v idr (i think it was 5v ) off my head ( this is how they convert them to portable systems with lcds)
> 
> But the rf adapter that's built in needs 9v... nothing else


This is really interesting, I have no reason to use RF because the NES has composite built in. Good to know that if I want to I'll need a different power brick.

It would make sense that it runs with that little voltage, the power supply I use says 7.5v.

I wonder if this makes any difference in games working correctly or not, my NES is finicky and I've tried everything from replacing the connector to boiling it, yet sometimes still have problems getting games to work. More often than not I just get a solid brown screen when I turn a game on. Usually if I take it out and put it back in it will start working.

Wolfsbora, you should get a NES and a couple of games first... it is, after all, the greatest console of all time.


----------



## MNiceGuy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> MNiceGuy added to the club.


Thanks


----------



## subassy

I'm about to buy an NES clone system for $25 off amazon which as original NES controller ports (I don't know if it works with the zapper but at least I'll be able to try it).

Unless someone can talk me out of it.

My original dual slot NES/SNES clone system has something wrong with the NES slot. It actually displays weird video garbage on the screen even when no game is in the slot. I can get some games to play but often I have to wiggle the game back and forth to get video and then further for audio. I imagine I bent a pin or something. Just not sure it's worth the trouble to try and fix it. It feels like a very cheap plastic crap thing anyway. I think i'll keep using the SNES slot for as long it keeps working because it seems to work with super famicom (non-american "SNES" I guess) carts.

Oh, here's the thing if anybody wondered:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0161N7J2G/


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I'm about to buy an NES clone system for $25 off amazon which as original NES controller ports (I don't know if it works with the zapper but at least I'll be able to try it).
> 
> Unless someone can talk me out of it.
> 
> My original dual slot NES/SNES clone system has something wrong with the NES slot. It actually displays weird video garbage on the screen even when no game is in the slot. I can get some games to play but often I have to wiggle the game back and forth to get video and then further for audio. I imagine I bent a pin or something. Just not sure it's worth the trouble to try and fix it. It feels like a very cheap plastic crap thing anyway. I think i'll keep using the SNES slot for as long it keeps working because it seems to work with super famicom (non-american "SNES" I guess) carts.
> 
> Oh, here's the thing if anybody wondered:
> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0161N7J2G/


I've got the same one (well, a different rebrand, but same exact thing, just different colour plastic), and the Zapper works with it. I also got some original NES controllers to go with it as well. The plan was to eventually replace it with an actual NES, but I just haven't found one cheap enough to make it worthwhile. So far, it plays everything I need it to. Really, it's mostly for aesthetic reasons that I want to real deal. The biggest thing I would say with these clone systems is the cartridge slots seem to be pretty cheaply made, games are tough to get out of the things. I even checked into a replacement cartridge slot connector for mine, and found some, but they where $15 or something, so I just bookmarked it in case this one ever does get buggered, Also, the whole console weighs like the same as a regular NES cart...really cheaply made things. But like I said, no issues at all with mine so far. Sound and video quality seem pretty nice too, though I am no expert there.


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## neurotix

subassy, again, you need to check your private messages if you want me to ship you that game.


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## AuraNova

I've always wanted an arcade machine for decades. I can never afford one, even in beat up condition. One of these days, I will have my arcade cabinet. In the past couple of years, I've also been craving to have a pinball machine as well. Unfortunately, I have no room for that. I'll settle for the decade's long dream though.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AuraNova*
> 
> I've always wanted an arcade machine for decades. I can never afford one, even in beat up condition. One of these days, I will have my arcade cabinet. In the past couple of years, I've also been craving to have a pinball machine as well. Unfortunately, I have no room for that. I'll settle for the decade's long dream though.


You can get a decent condition arcade cab for the cost of an Xbox One. As far as a pinball, they start in the thousands...


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## AuraNova

Yeah, pinball is a huge investment. Even if you find one barely working for cheap, there's still all the maintenance and extra time involved restoring it. Basic arcade cabinets are far easier to try to restore.


----------



## SwishaMane

So I just picked up a NES 001 for free last night. Deck and one controller only. Found a temp power adapter and borrowed a cart to test it.

Works fine except spring loaded cart slot is missing the mechanism that locks it in place. Cart just goes up and down, doesnt lock down. Anyone have the part for that?


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Id like to be added too , though its a short list

PS1, PS2, PS3 , PSP, Taito F3 arcade System , Taito GNet arcade System , Atari Space dual , Taito arcade Space invaders 91


----------



## neurotix

Added TwirlyWhirly555
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> So I just picked up a NES 001 for free last night. Deck and one controller only. Found a temp power adapter and borrowed a cart to test it.
> 
> Works fine except spring loaded cart slot is missing the mechanism that locks it in place. Cart just goes up and down, doesnt lock down. Anyone have the part for that?


I don't have the part, but having taken apart my Nintendo about 100 times since I was 15 or so, I can say this:

The mechanism might not be broken or missing. The unit could have been repaired previously by someone who didn't know what they were doing. I would highly suggest opening the thing up if you haven't, and checking how tightly the cart mechanism is screwed down. Basically, that big black thing slides over the circuit board, and then a couple screws hold it in place (should be like 2 on the front and 2 on the back that also go through the 72-pin connector). If the mechanism is screwed down too much, then there won't be enough room for the locking mechanism to work. The only way to test this is to put a cartridge all the way into it (while it's opened up) and push it down and see if it will stay down. If the screws holding the thing to the board are too tight then the cartridge won't stay down. Loosen them a bit and try and get them evenly loose (but still in) on both the right and left sides and suddenly the mechanism will work. If I recall, it is not the rear screws that go through the 72-pin connector that need to be semi-tight, it is just the front ones. They are not supposed to be screwed in all the way or what you described will happen.

On top of that, I would recommend 



 while you're at it. This is preferable to buying a new 72-pin connector. The replacement connectors are not made exactly the same as the original Nintendo connectors. They will work, but not for as long. Boiling the original connector cleans the pins and also realigns them (so they are very, very tight). The only issue with this is that when I first did it last year, the connection was so tight I pretty much needed a pliers to get the cartridges back out. The neat thing is that this works so well, that you can turn a game on even if the cartridge isn't pushed down in the mechanism. That's basically the way to test it.

While you're at it, you might also want to 



 by cutting pin 4 of a certain IC on the motherboard. This might not be necessary, but what it does is prevent the "blinking light reset" effect when trying to load a game. Essentially, the system has a hardware region/unlicensed lockout function that communicates between this chip on the motherboard and a chip in the cartridge on a certain pin on the cartridge. When this pin is dirty, rusty or whatever and this connection cannot be made, the Nintendo will decide the cart is unlicensed or undesirable and reset the Nintendo once every second, failing to load the game. This causes the LED on the front of the unit to blink, and the video to blink on and off.

My NES has both of these things done to it.

Finally, I'd suggest (of course) cleaning every new cartridge you get with 90% isopropyl alcohol on a q-tip. Clean both sides until the the q-tip comes out clean.

Also, if you have issues loading games and getting just a solid brown or gray screen, try pushing the cartridge to the left as much as you can while it's in the system and the cartridge mechanism is UP. This seems to make mine work when it does that.

Hope this helps and congrats on the NES.


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## SwishaMane

Wow, thanks for the tips. Im going to do the lockout chip mod for sure. Just pulled it apart, and the cart slot isnt locking at all.


----------



## neurotix

Yeah, then it may actually be missing parts/physically damaged. Your only real option, I think, is to try and find a "for parts or not working" NES and cannibalize the black cartridge mechanism from it. (I'd try ebay for a broken one). The problem with this is the NES is known to work for a long time, that is, the circuit board is rather simple, the ICs and CPU are reliable and so on. I haven't ever really heard of these things breaking down to the point they can't be fixed. They are notorious for having problems running games because of the poor quality ZIF connector and the other problems like 10nes, but these things are a simple fix. Otherwise, it's a very simple and sturdy system, no moving parts, no optical drive etc. Compare vs Sega CD model 1, original model Xbox 360, original model Playstation, and many other consoles with poor reliability/flawed design.

Alternatively, you can try boiling the connector as mentioned, which will make the connection so tight that the games will probably turn on and play even if the cartridge isn't pushed down.

Unfortunately, the original NES had a poorly designed cartridge slot and not much else. So it has a bad reputation for the games never working, blowing on the games and so on. These things are an easy fix though, and if you maintain your system (boil/replace connector every few years) and games (clean them with alcohol) it should last a very long time. Most people don't know this stuff though and thus the reputation.

More relevant info here: http://console5.com/wiki/Improving_NES-001_Reliability

EDIT: It occurred to me to add your NES to your list of consoles, so I did. GL getting it working again. Keep us updated.


----------



## SwishaMane

I boiled the connector, but that hasn't helped any. The pins are most def out of place, so I will work on lifting them (watched a YT video demonstrating this, doesn't seem hard, just tedious.)

Already cut the pin on the lockout, seems to have worked. That'll save time, just need to fix connector and replace sled. Does the sled assembly lock down by itself, all in the one unit? I'll just buy a replacement sled on eBay if so.

This ole girl was in bad shape. Caked on dirt here and there, the crack in the top, bad cart connector, sled won't stay locked down. Already bought an OEM power adapter, and will need the new sled. Already cleaned the grime from the case, and somewhat corrected the crack in the top. For free tho!


----------



## neurotix

Nice, when you get it working let us know.

It's really unfortunate that it's so messed up.

What games do you have for it so far?


----------



## iRev_olution

iRev_olution - NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Wii, Gameboy Colour, Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Advance SP, Nintendo 2DS, PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP, PS Vita, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One


----------



## neurotix

Added, welcome mate (forgive me)


----------



## iRev_olution

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Added, welcome mate (forgive me)


haha nice one!


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Just got my Taito Gnet system with super puzzle bobble : D










__
https://flic.kr/p/JkgWxU


__
https://flic.kr/p/JkgWxU
 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr


----------



## SwishaMane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Nice, when you get it working let us know.
> 
> It's really unfortunate that it's so messed up.
> 
> What games do you have for it so far?


NES is working, always has. Was just dirty and grimey. Pin connector cleaned and all pins lifted, but job was weak, so not perfect. Still having issues with pins touching carts completely.

Free NES, but to fix I will...

Buy good controller -done $8

Buy new AC adapter -done $13 ugh, sucked

Disable lockout chip -done

Buy new sled to it can snap down -soon -$9

Buy new 72pin connector -soon -$8

I don't own any games myself yet, but borrowing the Mario trilogy and Zelda, plus a game genie.


----------



## Bridgypoo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> Snip










Love Puzzle Bobble!


----------



## fido

I have few and some got stored. soon like in few months I will move to my own house so I will get a cabinet and make nice setup for all of my retro consoles.

1- Atari 2600
2- MSX AX170 Computer
3- Famicom
4-Sega mega drive ( the one with *********** indicator on it)
5-Sega genesis v2
6-Sony playstaion
7-PSOne
8- playstation 2
9-Gameboy
10-Gameboy color

:3 I lost my original famicom I used to have one with many built in games on it , and it was the best games collection I wish I can find one to buy with something like that and it had the same game multiple versions of it like super mario but unlimited lives and super mario ammo infinite etc..


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Its been a while, wow. But, just got a new shelf from Walmart which allows me to keep all my consoles hooked up. Pics of the updated collection? Sure! And also, that PS2 is a TEST unit! Add that to my total? Lol.



Yes, that is MUSHA. XD


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> Just got my Taito Gnet system with super puzzle bobble : D


Sweet!


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bridgypoo*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Love Puzzle Bobble!


Thanks : D , Me too !

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Sweet!


Thanks : D , I actually have puzzle bobble 2 , 2X 3 and 4 on the way on taito 3F systems - each is a full system ( game and main board ) , they will all be built into one unit with a relay setup to switch between any one of the 5 games


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheN00bBuilder*
> 
> Its been a while, wow. But, just got a new shelf from Walmart which allows me to keep all my consoles hooked up. Pics of the updated collection? Sure! And also, that PS2 is a TEST unit! Add that to my total? Lol.
> 
> 
> 
> Yes, that is MUSHA. XD


This looks pretty good.

I still want your X'eye and Neo Geo CD.


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> This looks pretty good.
> 
> I still want your X'eye and Neo Geo CD.


Thanks! And sure! $650 for the pair. Lol


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> Just got my Taito Gnet system with super puzzle bobble : D
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> __
> https://flic.kr/p/JkgWxU
> 
> 
> __
> https://flic.kr/p/JkgWxU
> by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr


Now, that is awesome!


----------



## cones

I should try and figure out how to get the Dreamcast I have to read discs again.

cones: Dreamcast, GameCube, ps2, original Xbox. May have a few more I'm forgetting.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> I should try and figure out how to get the Dreamcast I have to read discs again.
> 
> cones: Dreamcast, GameCube, ps2, original Xbox. May have a few more I'm forgetting.


Typically, either a careful swab of the laser lens, or a very slight "pot" (potentiometer) tweak. There's tons of guides for both.

Welcome to the club!


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Typically, either a careful swab of the laser lens, or a very slight "pot" (potentiometer) tweak. There's tons of guides for both.
> 
> Welcome to the club!


I think I messed with that before and it didn't help. Been a while now.


----------



## Jimbags

Just homebrewed my







original gamecube compatible console. Def worth doing if you have one laying around, theyre so cheap too. Only played a gew nes games so far, but runs really smooth. Going to try n64 next.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jimbags*
> 
> Just homebrewed my
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> original gamecube compatible console. Def worth doing if you have one laying around, theyre so cheap too. Only played a gew nes games so far, but runs really smooth. Going to try n64 next.


I want to "mod" my Gamecube as well...only because I have the Gameboy Player with no boot disc. Haven't really looked into it much yet though...


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> I should try and figure out how to get the Dreamcast I have to read discs again.
> 
> cones: Dreamcast, GameCube, ps2, original Xbox. May have a few more I'm forgetting.


I would recommend *against* messing with the laser pot on any of your systems with an optical drive.

It's basically a recipe for disaster, I ruined a few Dreamcasts this way back in the day, once I messed with the laser pot they never worked right again.

The alcohol on a q-tip method on the laser lens is a much better plan.

Although, you might just go and buy another Dreamcast that's working off of Amazon. They're only around $40, which isn't very much compared to some other old consoles that can be hundreds of dollars.

Welcome to the club.


----------



## Bridgypoo

So Amazon must have just put this up because I checked Amazon earlier for something work related and didn't see it, but there's a bit on Sonic's 25th Anniversary.


----------



## blooder11181

i have xbox original rev 1 no mods and serious sam game
i removed the clock capacitor.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *blooder11181*
> 
> i have xbox original rev 1 no mods and serious sam game
> i removed the clock capacitor.


Added, I like the old computers in your sig too.

I have some pictures for you guys.









There's my newest addition, a PC Engine Core Grafx with games. I waited like 3 weeks to get this from Japan. I put it next to my NES to show how small it is.

I got some Japanese Hucards for it, Final Soldier, Super Star Soldier and Gunhed. Star Soldier games are my favorite games for the system and they were less than half the price of the US counterparts.

The system actually came with numerous problems. At first it wouldn't play games at all, just a solid white screen. I looked at the card slot and there was all kinds of grime and corrosion on it, so I cleaned that up with alcohol and a q-tip. It still had problems. So I opened it up and what do you know, leaking capacitors. There was dried yellow/brown electrolytic fluid all over the circuit board, on the pins of ICs and on the IC packages themselves. I cleaned all this up with yet more alcohol on a q-tip. I did a visual inspection but I didn't see any totally blown caps, none of them were cracked or bubbled over that I could see, so apparently one is just leaking. Now the games started to work but I still had issues with graphics corruption and eventual freezing in Final Soldier. Anyway, I learned that apparently Hucards can get dirty too and that interferes with them working, so I scrubbed the pins of all my Hucards with alcohol and q-tips. Now the system works fine for the most part.

I contacted the Japanese seller and explained the problems with the unit and asked for a $60 refund, which is half what I paid for the bundle. He agreed. I found another identical Core Grafx from a guy in Canada for $50, but it's untested, and decided to take my chances on it (no returns or refunds...) Hopefully it works and doesn't have leaking caps. We'll see.

Other than that, I love this system, and the Everdrive was well worth it though expensive. The plus side is I never really need to buy games for it again. Not like I'll ever find Japanese Hucards in any of the shops here. (In 8 years I've yet to even see a Turbografx or any US Hucards in Madison games shops. It's like it never existed here.)


----------



## neurotix




----------



## blooder11181

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Added, I like the old computers in your sig too.
> 
> I have some pictures for you guys.
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> There's my newest addition, a PC Engine Core Grafx with games. I waited like 3 weeks to get this from Japan. I put it next to my NES to show how small it is.
> 
> I got some Japanese Hucards for it, Final Soldier, Super Star Soldier and Gunhed. Star Soldier games are my favorite games for the system and they were less than half the price of the US counterparts.
> 
> The system actually came with numerous problems. At first it wouldn't play games at all, just a solid white screen. I looked at the card slot and there was all kinds of grime and corrosion on it, so I cleaned that up with alcohol and a q-tip. It still had problems. So I opened it up and what do you know, leaking capacitors. There was dried yellow/brown electrolytic fluid all over the circuit board, on the pins of ICs and on the IC packages themselves. I cleaned all this up with yet more alcohol on a q-tip. I did a visual inspection but I didn't see any totally blown caps, none of them were cracked or bubbled over that I could see, so apparently one is just leaking. Now the games started to work but I still had issues with graphics corruption and eventual freezing in Final Soldier. Anyway, I learned that apparently Hucards can get dirty too and that interferes with them working, so I scrubbed the pins of all my Hucards with alcohol and q-tips. Now the system works fine for the most part.
> 
> I contacted the Japanese seller and explained the problems with the unit and asked for a $60 refund, which is half what I paid for the bundle. He agreed. I found another identical Core Grafx from a guy in Canada for $50, but it's untested, and decided to take my chances on it (no returns or refunds...) Hopefully it works and doesn't have leaking caps. We'll see.
> 
> Other than that, I love this system, and the Everdrive was well worth it though expensive. The plus side is I never really need to buy games for it again. Not like I'll ever find Japanese Hucards in any of the shops here. (In 8 years I've yet to even see a Turbografx or any US Hucards in Madison games shops. It's like it never existed here.)


also have a pentium 200 mmx rig and a emac g4 1.25ghz usb2.0.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *blooder11181*
> 
> i have xbox original rev 1 no mods and serious sam game
> i removed the clock capacitor.
> 
> 
> 
> Added, I like the old computers in your sig too.
> 
> I have some pictures for you guys.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> There's my newest addition, a PC Engine Core Grafx with games. I waited like 3 weeks to get this from Japan. I put it next to my NES to show how small it is.
> 
> I got some Japanese Hucards for it, Final Soldier, Super Star Soldier and Gunhed. Star Soldier games are my favorite games for the system and they were less than half the price of the US counterparts.
> 
> The system actually came with numerous problems. At first it wouldn't play games at all, just a solid white screen. I looked at the card slot and there was all kinds of grime and corrosion on it, so I cleaned that up with alcohol and a q-tip. It still had problems. So I opened it up and what do you know, leaking capacitors. There was dried yellow/brown electrolytic fluid all over the circuit board, on the pins of ICs and on the IC packages themselves. I cleaned all this up with yet more alcohol on a q-tip. I did a visual inspection but I didn't see any totally blown caps, none of them were cracked or bubbled over that I could see, so apparently one is just leaking. Now the games started to work but I still had issues with graphics corruption and eventual freezing in Final Soldier. Anyway, I learned that apparently Hucards can get dirty too and that interferes with them working, so I scrubbed the pins of all my Hucards with alcohol and q-tips. Now the system works fine for the most part.
> 
> I contacted the Japanese seller and explained the problems with the unit and asked for a $60 refund, which is half what I paid for the bundle. He agreed. I found another identical Core Grafx from a guy in Canada for $50, but it's untested, and decided to take my chances on it (no returns or refunds...) Hopefully it works and doesn't have leaking caps. We'll see.
> 
> Other than that, I love this system, and the Everdrive was well worth it though expensive. The plus side is I never really need to buy games for it again. Not like I'll ever find Japanese Hucards in any of the shops here. (In 8 years I've yet to even see a Turbografx or any US Hucards in Madison games shops. It's like it never existed here.)
Click to expand...

Either replace the caps or give it to me to replace them!


----------



## blooder11181

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Either replace the caps or give it to me to replace them!


it was leacking the one that save time and date so i remove and clean the motherboard to save the console. the rest of the caps are ok.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *blooder11181*
> 
> it was leacking the one that save time and date so i remove and clean the motherboard to save the console. the rest of the caps are ok.


I think he was talking to me...

I'm gonna have to wait and see if the one I'm getting from Canada works alright..


----------



## blooder11181

sorry for that.
added new rigs in signature


----------



## Mega Man

np


----------



## Jimbags

@Mega Man
Can you updste me on frontpage please 
PS1, PS2, PS3, SEGA Dreamcast, Gameboy advance SP, Wii (homebrewed for zsnes, n64wii etc).

Thanks mate.

Edit. Also have a few Gamecube games the wii plays without mods.


----------



## neurotix

I'll update you, Mega Man can't. Ask me in the future.

Done.


----------



## cdoublejj

Does DOS gaming on period correct, old school hardware count as retro gaming? If any one else also likes DOS gaming as well check out the VOGONS forums, a number of OCNers are over there as well. They are the OCN of 16 and 32bit computing. Though OCN still has some stuff those forums lack, like a trading and sales section.

Anyone else here rocking a Sega CDX?


----------



## neurotix

It certainly counts as retro gaming, as one look at the member's list would tell you that multiple people in the club have listed very old computers.

Personally, I don't have room for more computers, so DOSbox works fine for me.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cdoublejj*
> 
> Does DOS gaming on period correct, old school hardware count as retro gaming? If any one else also likes DOS gaming as well check out the VOGONS forums, a number of OCNers are over there as well. They are the OCN of 16 and 32bit computing. Though OCN still has some stuff those forums lack, like a trading and sales section.
> 
> Anyone else here rocking a Sega CDX?


No but I have a 100% complete sega-sega cd- and 32x.

I mean all adapters all rf shields and whatnot.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Not sure if there is anything you'd be interested in *Neurotix*, but I'll post it anyway...

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-old-video-games/kitchener-waterloo/nec-pc-engine-pce-cd-games-individually-priced/1146059710?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

I am pretty sure the seller is the guy I bought my SNES from...looks like he is getting completely out of the gaming scene...


----------



## Wolfsbora

Wow, just saw that Gamecube's Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes is going for $50 on eBay, not that eBay is necessarily a true gauge of value. I bought it from the discount bin at Best Buy for $10 nearly 10 years ago. Not a bad little investment.


----------



## SwishaMane

MGS: TS is a great game. I've bought two GameCube's, and two copies of the game in my time just to play it the twice I have... lol

eBay is only a guage of true value if the plan is to re-sell on eBay... Rule of thumb I use is take eBay price,and reduce it by 15%,and that's closer to the game's true value.

I bought Tales of Destiny for PS1 for my collection on eBay just over a year ago for like $65 shipped... Worth $100+ now. Einhander too, paid $55, worth like $80+. Movin on up.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Now, that is awesome!


Thanks , Its a great little system , has bits based off the PS1 hence the sony name on the main board , though I haven't seen to many available

This was a quick video of puzzle bobble 4 on the Taito F3 system with a CRT monitor .


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Put in an offer on some loose PS2 games...offered $50 CAN for Obscure, Tales of the Abyss, Champions of Norrath, and Dragon Quest VIII...I figured that was more than a fair offer for loose copies. He said he'd do it, but Obscure was spoken for, but he hadn't heard back from the guy and was going to give him until tomorrow to reply. It's a bit much to spend on lose games, but I will just print sleaves for them, for now, and keep an eye out for boxes and manuals. Most of these games are worth quite a bit more if I get them all completed, nothing too rare though...Obscure is definitely the one I want the most out the bunch. Told him if the guy does end up picking it up, that I'd still work something out on the remaining games. Probably offer him $30 on the Dragon Quest, Tales of, and Champions of Norrath. Found a bunch of other really cheap common bundles on Kijiji too I might go pick apart for a bunch of decent $1-3 Xbox / PS2 games.

Oh, and I also wanted to mention about that store, KW Vintage Games, that I traded Conker's Bad Fur Day and a couple other things for a Saturn and Area 51...guess he was just in a good mood for awhile there, or just needed customers, cause I went in to trade some stuff for a NES, just the bare console no cables, brought in about $100-110 worth of games, and he says he'll give me...wait for it..."Maybe like, $10 at the most." And then to prove me wrong, he goes on to Ebay to show me that one game I brought worth $30 is only worth less than $10, shows me a listing with more than a week left of bidding, no buy it now, that is selling for $15...and says, "See..."...I wasn't even sure how to respond to that, so I just didn't, and made a mental note not to bother wasting time bringing in trade anymore. Or recommend anyone else do it either. Know what he wanted to trade me for all the stuff I brought in? A broken, and not just broken, smashed exterior and everything, non-HDMI Xbox 360. For a bunch of mint black label PS1 stuff, few decent N64 games, decent Gamecube games, decent PS2 games...I made sure the lowest value game I brought was $15. And brought at least 12 games...found out too why you can never find a Sega CD in town...dude hordes them, plays it up like he has to get them in, and then won't sell them...cause he's too lazy too test them because he'd have to "dig out cables"...anyway, just a rant about that shop, more than one irritating experience there...


----------



## neurotix

That shop sounds like absolute ass. I had to deal with a guy like that once when I got one of my Sega CDs. He didn't want to sell it to me minus the (worthless) Genesis 2 it was hooked up to. I can't even remember what his rationale was other than "I'm gonna miss it" WTH? It just sits on a shelf, not even hooked up, you don't even play it. What a weirdo.

Thanks for the heads up on the PCE games but, I don't have a Super CD-ROM2 and have no intention of getting one. The Hucards he has aren't interesting either. (Remember, I have a Turbo Everdrive... I can play every game for the system off that one flashcard. So not looking to buy more PCE games.)


----------



## SwishaMane

I'm looking to buy PS1 black label games. Complete only.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> I'm looking to buy PS1 black label games. Complete only.


I don't really sell anything online, and I prefer not to ship...so unfortunately







Plus, I don't necessarily want to sell them anyway...just brought some stuff in for trade, hoping to get a NES. My Playstation collection is really small right now (along with my collections for various systems), so I've been working on picking some up here and there. I am not really concerned with black label vs greatest hits, though if I can I'll get the black label ones just cause I know they'll be easier to sell and trade if and when the time comes. I don't care though cause I just want to play them







I'll buy torn label stuff, loose stuff, doesn't matter much as long as it's priced accordingly. I also don't mind printing my own case covers and cart stickers or whatever. My consoles and controllers, on the other hand, I prefer to be immaculate as possible. Of course, if I plan to display something, or with some of the games that hold the most personal value, I would want something in better condition. Don't get me wrong, probably less than 5% of my entire collection is loose (not including loose carts, lots of those), torn label, missing manual, missing bonus content, etc., the rest is mostly complete stuff. Most of my collection is CIB PC games though, right now. Downsized my console game collection a bit to fit in my current space and got rid of about 40 sports games that just accumulated through buying bundles and such. I'm down to about 300-ish physical release games now (PC and console), not including a 200 sleeve CD book full of loose PC stuff.

Also, *TwirlyWhirly555*, your arcade board stuff got me interested...I've always been interested in doing my own cabinet one day, but haven't done a lot of research because it wouldn't be until I had the space for it. Never really thought to just bypass the cabinet part altogether...I checked out a few boards for some for some of the games I'd like to eventually build a cab for, and some of them are very cheap. I was looking at Virtua Fighter, just on Ebay, and around $70 Can will get me a working board...something I am going to look into a bit more of course, but I may PM you in the future







So basically, plan to run the bare minimum to get the board up and running, with plans to one day in the distant future build a (possibly slightly miniaturized) replica cab to house it. Virtua Fighter is just one of those games I remember standing in line at the arcades to play...everyone would be gathered around just to ooh and ahh at those graphics


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Also, *TwirlyWhirly555*, you're arcade board stuff got me interested...I've always been interested in doing my own cabinet one day, but haven't done a lot of research because it wouldn't be until I had the space for it. Never really thought to just bypass the cabinet part altogether...I checked out a few boards for some for some of the games I'd like to eventually build a cab for, and some of them are very cheap. I was looking at Virtua Fighter, just on Ebay, and around $70 Can will get me a working board...something I am going to look into a bit more of course, but I may PM you in the future
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So basically, plan to run the bare minimum to get the board up and running, with plans to one day in the distant future build a (possibly slightly miniaturized) replica cab to house it. Virtua Fighter is just one of those games I remember standing in line at the arcades to play...everyone would be gathered around just to ooh and ahh at those graphics


Are you familiar with the cabaret style of cabinet? It was smaller than the standard upright cab that you saw in arcades. They are significantly smaller but still holds a full size PCB, power brick & supply (this is the old school way of doing things), and anything else that is necessary for a full size game. Below, you can see this Galaga advertisement that shows a pretty good comparison of the cabaret and upright (with a cocktail version that is the table). There are plenty of plans out there if you want to build your own.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Are you familiar with the cabaret style of cabinet? It was smaller than the standard upright cab that you saw in arcades. They are significantly smaller but still holds a full size PCB, power brick & supply (this is the old school way of doing things), and anything else that is necessary for a full size game. Below, you can see this Galaga advertisement that shows a pretty good comparison of the cabaret and upright (with a cocktail version that is the table). There are plenty of plans out there if you want to build your own.


Those are pretty neat, I am sure I have seen them before. That's pretty much exactly what I had in my head though, make the cab still look as close to the original cab as possible, just shrunk down as much as possible while still retaining two player. It would be just like that though, free standing, slightly miniaturized version of the original cab. Still too large for the space I have right now though...I barely have space for my current amount of junk, as I am only renting a single room







I've kept a few old CRT monitor/display around though for stuff like this, looks like I can get the boards for the games I want for pretty cheap...going to start pricing out joysticks and buttons...maybe just build a couple "fight sticks" for now, but use hardware I can swap into the cab in the future. This is all just brainstorming...I mean, I might grab a Virtua Fighter board in the next month or so and start learning more about it, but it'll be awhile before any of this materializes lol


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Also, *TwirlyWhirly555*, your arcade board stuff got me interested...I've always been interested in doing my own cabinet one day, but haven't done a lot of research because it wouldn't be until I had the space for it. Never really thought to just bypass the cabinet part altogether...I checked out a few boards for some for some of the games I'd like to eventually build a cab for, and some of them are very cheap. I was looking at Virtua Fighter, just on Ebay, and around $70 Can will get me a working board...something I am going to look into a bit more of course, but I may PM you in the future
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So basically, plan to run the bare minimum to get the board up and running, with plans to one day in the distant future build a (possibly slightly miniaturized) replica cab to house it. Virtua Fighter is just one of those games I remember standing in line at the arcades to play...everyone would be gathered around just to ooh and ahh at those graphics


Nice : D , I did want to do a cabinet to but don't have the space hence why I bypassed the cabinet and went for the game PCB instead : D . They are pretty easy to get running , ones with the Jamma standard 56 pin connector are the easiest as they can be swapped in and out with other jamma standerd boards and information on the pinouts is easy to find , non standerd can still be found on arcade data sites .

The bare minnum is power 12V , 5V DC / monitor ( you need a converter if its a VGA monitor ) and switchs for the controller , speaker for sound , I would say if you go ahead with getting an arcade PCB grab a sony PVM field monitor as they accept the RGBs video data the arcade games output and it makes testing a lot easyer .

No problem , id be happy the help : ) .

I have the plan to have Puzzle bobble 2 , 2X , 3 , 4 and super in one unit and the ability to switch between them with relays .



Also made a controller for testing as I suck at using the arcade joy stick ...... To much PlayStation ..


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Going to pick up those PS2 games tomorrow morning...Obscure, Dragon Quest VIII, Champions of Norrath and Tales of the Abyss...all loose, like I said...and he wouldn't do $50 for all after thinking on it, so we ended up in agreement at $60, which still isn't too bad I guess. Obscure is really tough to find, even on Ebay, complete copies going for $130-ish Candadian...Dragon Quest complete is at about $50, and the other two are about $30 each. All games I want. but I would never have payed over $100 for Obscure...just not happening lol


----------



## subassy

I've just purchased _Silent Scope Complete_ for original Xbox for $10US. I bought the game today because I had found the light gun a couple weeks ago for $4.50US (from some place else entirely). So I'm into it for $14.50 so far, sales tax not withstanding. Unfortunately my Xbox just reboots over and over when i put the game in (it does have some soft mods though, which is how I bought; not sure that's related). Good news is original Xbox are so cheap I have 3 _more_ consoles I can try it on. Need to connect an Xbox to my CRT TV anyway. If I figure out how to copy games to an upgraded internal hard drive maybe I can get it to work on my current one.

Any way, assuming I can get it to work I don't know if this was a good deal or not. Amazon puts the light gun thing at a lot more than $4.50 so I assume the gun with the game is worth at least what I paid for them separately.

The light gun, if any one is wondering, is this multi-part thing with a attachable barrel and stock along with a shotgun pump reload thing. So it can go from pretty much a hand gun all the way up to an almost-full-scale (if not full scale) sniper rifle complete with scope. Which the title of the game would imply. I don't think a lot of games support the gun on Xbox so I'm hoping the _Silent Scope_ trilogy is worth all the effort (not holding my breath).


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I've just purchased _Silent Scope Complete_ for original Xbox for $10US. I bought the game today because I had found the light gun a couple weeks ago for $4.50US (from some place else entirely). So I'm into it for $14.50 so far, sales tax not withstanding. Unfortunately my Xbox just reboots over and over when i put the game in (it does have some soft mods though, which is how I bought; not sure that's related). Good news is original Xbox are so cheap I have 3 _more_ consoles I can try it on. Need to connect an Xbox to my CRT TV anyway. If I figure out how to copy games to an upgraded internal hard drive maybe I can get it to work on my current one.
> 
> Any way, assuming I can get it to work I don't know if this was a good deal or not. Amazon puts the light gun thing at a lot more than $4.50 so I assume the gun with the game is worth at least what I paid for them separately.
> 
> The light gun, if any one is wondering, is this multi-part thing with a attachable barrel and stock along with a shotgun pump reload thing. So it can go from pretty much a hand gun all the way up to an almost-full-scale (if not full scale) sniper rifle complete with scope. Which the title of the game would imply. I don't think a lot of games support the gun on Xbox so I'm hoping the _Silent Scope_ trilogy is worth all the effort (not holding my breath).


The softmod dashboard so be running a FTP server, you just upload it using a FTP client, i forget the actual location though. The game also can not be an ISO, just copy it to the hard drive on the xbox then you can transfer it to another xbox.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I too scored my Saturn lightgun for like $5-10, when it is worth like $50-60. And I also got a couple lightgun games from the same place for really cheap. Haven't got many lightguns yet (only NES, PS3, and Saturn), but I plan to get them for all my systems...Dreamcast and PS1 especially. Been playing a ton of Area 51 and Virtua Cop. Lightgun games are still so much fun


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I've just purchased _Silent Scope Complete_ for original Xbox for $10US. I bought the game today because I had found the light gun a couple weeks ago for $4.50US (from some place else entirely). So I'm into it for $14.50 so far, sales tax not withstanding. Unfortunately my Xbox just reboots over and over when i put the game in (it does have some soft mods though, which is how I bought; not sure that's related). Good news is original Xbox are so cheap I have 3 _more_ consoles I can try it on. Need to connect an Xbox to my CRT TV anyway. If I figure out how to copy games to an upgraded internal hard drive maybe I can get it to work on my current one.
> 
> Any way, assuming I can get it to work I don't know if this was a good deal or not. Amazon puts the light gun thing at a lot more than $4.50 so I assume the gun with the game is worth at least what I paid for them separately.
> 
> The light gun, if any one is wondering, is this multi-part thing with a attachable barrel and stock along with a shotgun pump reload thing. So it can go from pretty much a hand gun all the way up to an almost-full-scale (if not full scale) sniper rifle complete with scope. Which the title of the game would imply. I don't think a lot of games support the gun on Xbox so I'm hoping the _Silent Scope_ trilogy is worth all the effort (not holding my breath).


Upgrading the hard drive requires an IDE hard drive, a softmodded Xbox, and then you basically just do what is found in this tutorial. You basically need to use a Linux disc called Chimp HD tools to clone the contents of the old HDD (which includes the softmod!) on to the new one. You also need to "lock" the new HDD to the Xbox, which makes it so you can't use the HDD for anything else.

Installing games from your computer to the HDD is very easy. You simply use a program called Cxboxtool that has a built-in FTP program. It will automatically copy an iso to the correct directory on the Xbox, and extract it, so you can play it from your dash/XBMC with no additional work.

Btw, did you get your game yet?


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Upgrading the hard drive requires an IDE hard drive, a softmodded Xbox, and then you basically just do what is found in this tutorial. You basically need to use a Linux disc called Chimp HD tools to clone the contents of the old HDD (which includes the softmod!) on to the new one. You also need to "lock" the new HDD to the Xbox, which makes it so you can't use the HDD for anything else.
> 
> Installing games from your computer to the HDD is very easy. You simply use a program called Cxboxtool that has a built-in FTP program. It will automatically copy an iso to the correct directory on the Xbox, and extract it, so you can play it from your dash/XBMC with no additional work.
> 
> Btw, did you get your game yet?


You can also flash the TSOP to remove the need for a HDD lock. I still need to do that myself, also then allows you to use SATA drives.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Upgrading the hard drive requires an IDE hard drive, a softmodded Xbox, and then you basically just do what is found in this tutorial. You basically need to use a Linux disc called Chimp HD tools to clone the contents of the old HDD (which includes the softmod!) on to the new one. You also need to "lock" the new HDD to the Xbox, which makes it so you can't use the HDD for anything else.
> 
> Installing games from your computer to the HDD is very easy. You simply use a program called Cxboxtool that has a built-in FTP program. It will automatically copy an iso to the correct directory on the Xbox, and extract it, so you can play it from your dash/XBMC with no additional work.
> 
> Btw, did you get your game yet?


I did notice an FTP entry on one of the various menus. Problem is I have yet to run Ethernet through my game room. But I am motivated to do so what with the still-in-planning PS1/2 ISO network server. I'd like to modify one from scratch for the fun of it anyway. I haven't looked up if it's possible to run XBox games from SMB and/or NFS or not. If so I'll see if there's some way to play the XBox games off the same server as the PlayStation one. If not I'll have to figure out which method of HDD addition is best for upgrading the XBox HDD.

Also, I haven't had a chance to check to PO Box quite yet. I'm going to check tomorrow.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> You can also flash the TSOP to remove the need for a HDD lock. I still need to do that myself, also then allows you to use SATA drives.


I didn't know this was possible. Huh. Cool.

I believe the drive in mine is a 160gb IDE drive. I really have no idea how much free space is on it. I don't have many Xbox games on it. The emulators and video previews can't be taking up much space, I believe the videos are compressed. They didn't fit on the stock HDD (which is roughly 10gb). I got all this stuff from www.emuxtras.net, although it's buried and you have to dig for it and then download the videos from torrents that might not be active any longer. This was a few years ago.

Other than that I have a couple PSX games and some Sega CD and TG-16 CD games. I'm not hurting for space afaik. My ftp client doesn't show how much free space is on the drive.

I wonder if modern SATA drives would work (surely they would fall back to SATA 1) and what the max capacity is, considering the Xbox is basically a 15 year old chipset now.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I did notice an FTP entry on one of the various menus. Problem is I have yet to run Ethernet through my game room. But I am motivated to do so what with the still-in-planning PS1/2 ISO network server. I'd like to modify one from scratch for the fun of it anyway. I haven't looked up if it's possible to run XBox games from SMB and/or NFS or not. If so I'll see if there's some way to play the XBox games off the same server as the PlayStation one. If not I'll have to figure out which method of HDD addition is best for upgrading the XBox HDD.
> 
> Also, I haven't had a chance to check to PO Box quite yet. I'm going to check tomorrow.


FTP needs to be turned on in that menu most likely. And yeah, you will have to buy a long ethernet cable and run it to your router. My Xbox is in the living room hooked up to my 55" which is more or less 6 feet away from the router. The router is in the game room next to my computer on a small table but near the doorway separating the two rooms. So, the cable is running through the doorway... we covered it with a small rug so people don't trip. It works out pretty well.

As far as running games from SMB, I believe it's possible. Look into getting XBMC on your modded box if you don't have it already. XBMC most certainly supports SMB, and I personally use Homegroup on our network. I used to use the Xbox exclusively to watch anime and other media in the living room. The problem is it doesn't support HD content without a RAM upgrade which is too complex for me to do. So, we switched to Chromecast and now I use my PS3 mostly to watch anime (which is an excellent HTPC if you only use a 1080p TV). So, I used SMB on the Xbox to watch media. I think that if you extracted an ISO properly and put it in a folder, and then accessed this through XBMC under apps using SMB, that the game might possibly start. Personally, I've never tried, but the Xbox homebrew scene is really good so if it's possible, there's probably a solution if what I described didn't work.

That PS2 game is likely sitting in your P.O. box by now.


----------



## cones

To flash the TSOP you need to add a few jumpers to traces on the motherboard. I think the max capacity is somewhere around 1tb, you create a few partitions on the drive since it can only read from a X large partition, or something along those lines. I don't ever remember seeing that it was possible to run the games from SMB like on a ps2. For networking you could just use a older router acting as a bridge, I think the Xbox is only 100mb possibly 10mb since transfers are so slow.


----------



## subassy

So can the soft-mod-software use the XBox DVD drive to rip a game directly to the HDD? Or does it have to be done on the PC and then transferred over? Actually I was trying to figure out for PS2 as well. I still have no idea. That feature is quite convenient on my PSP and Wii. I mean the months it would take to rip one PS2 game at time to a hard drive not with standing, seems like it would be convenient.

Also, I'm assuming and/or guessing _cones_ meant gigabytes instead of megabytes. Because I'm not sure I could even find a hard drive less then 1 gig never mind 100 megs...and now I realize he was referring to the NIC speed not the hard drive capacity







. I'm fairly certain 10/100Mbps was the standard intel (nvidia?) chipset in 2000/2001. Remember that? Remember when you could buy a motherboard with an nvidia chipset for Intel CPUs...?

Awesome soldering excitement, eh? Sign me up. I've got four xbox...boxes...boxen... I'm sure I wouldn't ruin more than 3 of them


----------



## cones

Xbox needs the Xbox drive to rip, in the Xbox.
Xbox 360 need the 360 drive in a PC.
PS2 needs any DVD drive.
Wiis are backwards special little drives, need the Wii drive in a Wii.
GameCubes if I remember right just need a DVD drive or a Wii.

And yes NIC speed, I'm not sure what chipest it actually is. Pretty sure the CPU is equivalent to a P3, think some have even upgraded it along with doubling the RAM. Xboxes and Wiis have been my favorite consoles to mod out of the ones I have done. Also while talking about that remember the ps2 used usb1.1, I also think that is what the Xbox is but a different formed port. Along with the soldering I haven't tried it yet since I can barley see the traces. Wonder if I could just use the pencil trick?


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> So can the soft-mod-software use the XBox DVD drive to rip a game directly to the HDD? Or does it have to be done on the PC and then transferred over? Actually I was trying to figure out for PS2 as well. I still have no idea. That feature is quite convenient on my PSP and Wii. I mean the months it would take to rip one PS2 game at time to a hard drive not with standing, seems like it would be convenient.
> 
> Also, I'm assuming and/or guessing _cones_ meant gigabytes instead of megabytes. Because I'm not sure I could even find a hard drive less then 1 gig never mind 100 megs...and now I realize he was referring to the NIC speed not the hard drive capacity
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> . I'm fairly certain 10/100Mbps was the standard intel (nvidia?) chipset in 2000/2001. Remember that? Remember when you could buy a motherboard with an nvidia chipset for Intel CPUs...?
> 
> Awesome soldering excitement, eh? Sign me up. I've got four xbox...boxes...boxen... I'm sure I wouldn't ruin more than 3 of them


Oh jeez, this may take a while to reply to..

Yeah, the softmod for Xbox should have a utility you can use to rip games to the HDD directly from the DVD. I don't know the name of the utility, or if you might be able to do it directly from the dash. I would look into what dashboard you have, mine has UnleashX I believe, I think with some of them if you stick a game in, it should give you an option to rip it.

For PS2, obviously you need a fat PS2 with a hard drive. You would also need either a modchip or a softmod. I think you can do it with HD Loader somehow. I found a really good guide on this stuff on racketboy, it wasn't that hard to find on Google either... it seems pretty in depth so you should be able to figure it out. Personally I have a slim PS2 so no HDD for me, all my PS2 backups are on DVD on a big spindle. It works fine this way for me and it's not often I play PS2 anymore (I must have finished like 30 JRPGs for it and have no intention of playing most of them again.)

The NIC in the Xbox is most probably 10mbps. To copy over a CD iso for Sega CD etc takes around two minutes for me. It's not that bad honestly. If it were 100mbps then I think it would only take a few seconds. Also, the Xbox CPU is a 733mhz Pentium III Coppermine. The GPU is a custom Geforce3 derivative. The RAM is 64MB stock, but you need 128MB for XBMC to be able to play 720P video streams. There's videos on Youtube explaining how to upgrade the RAM- apparently the soldering points/spot is already on the motherboard and ready to go. You just need the chip.

As far as my favorite mod, probably PSP was the most worth it. I am less impressed with PS2 and Wii modding. There's 3 modded, custom PSPs in the house and they are great systems.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> The RAM is 64MB stock, but you need 128MB for XBMC to be able to play 720P video streams. There's videos on Youtube explaining how to upgrade the RAM- apparently the soldering points/spot is already on the motherboard and ready to go. You just need the chip.


It's still no walk in the park. You need a lot of know-how and a very steady hand.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Oh jeez, this may take a while to reply to..
> 
> Yeah, the softmod for Xbox should have a utility you can use to rip games to the HDD directly from the DVD. I don't know the name of the utility, or if you might be able to do it directly from the dash. I would look into what dashboard you have, mine has UnleashX I believe, I think with some of them if you stick a game in, it should give you an option to rip it.
> 
> For PS2, obviously you need a fat PS2 with a hard drive. You would also need either a modchip or a softmod. I think you can do it with HD Loader somehow. I found a really good guide on this stuff on racketboy, it wasn't that hard to find on Google either... it seems pretty in depth so you should be able to figure it out. Personally I have a slim PS2 so no HDD for me, all my PS2 backups are on DVD on a big spindle. It works fine this way for me and it's not often I play PS2 anymore (I must have finished like 30 JRPGs for it and have no intention of playing most of them again.)
> 
> The NIC in the Xbox is most probably 10mbps. To copy over a CD iso for Sega CD etc takes around two minutes for me. It's not that bad honestly. If it were 100mbps then I think it would only take a few seconds. Also, the Xbox CPU is a 733mhz Pentium III Coppermine. The GPU is a custom Geforce3 derivative. The RAM is 64MB stock, but you need 128MB for XBMC to be able to play 720P video streams. There's videos on Youtube explaining how to upgrade the RAM- apparently the soldering points/spot is already on the motherboard and ready to go. You just need the chip.
> 
> As far as my favorite mod, probably PSP was the most worth it. I am less impressed with PS2 and Wii modding. There's 3 modded, custom PSPs in the house and they are great systems.


I already spent hours and hours googling how to rip a PS2 game directly to the HDD but had very little luck finding any information. All of the guides I found were about ripping on a PC and using any number of methods to copy that rip over to the drive (network or by connecting the drive to a USB adapter and copying it that way).

Actually that is what the racketboy thread says:
Quote:


> Run HDLDUMB in your PC. Transfer your DVD-9 ISO files to your PS2 Hard Drive. Or you can use WINHIIP if you want to temporarily connect the PS2 drive inside your PC as a D drive. There has been problems going this route in getting the PC to recognize the PS2 formatted drive.


I decided it doesn't matter any more because I have lots of computers and lots of DVD drives all ready to be used at the same time which is much more efficient if not as convenient.

I don't know if you saw it but there's supposed to be solder points on _some_ models of PS2 slims for adding a 2.5" hard drive. And there's a kit with one of those super then ZIF style ribbons that already line up with said solder points. It looked entirely too complex for me though. I think I'll stick with my fat/HDD connector-with-sata adapter-and-also-network server.


----------



## Mega Man

Meh it is easy. I used to agree till jvc put up a video ... the mods whiped the thread and won't move it or anything so the videos are lost. It is crazy easy to solder them with right tools and knowledge


----------



## SwishaMane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I already spent hours and hours googling how to rip a PS2 game directly to the HDD but had very little luck finding any information. All of the guides I found were about ripping on a PC and using any number of methods to copy that rip over to the drive (network or by connecting the drive to a USB adapter and copying it that way).
> 
> Actually that is what the racketboy thread says:
> I decided it doesn't matter any more because I have lots of computers and lots of DVD drives all ready to be used at the same time which is much more efficient if not as convenient.
> 
> I don't know if you saw it but there's supposed to be solder points on _some_ models of PS2 slims for adding a 2.5" hard drive. And there's a kit with one of those super then ZIF style ribbons that already line up with said solder points. It looked entirely too complex for me though. I think I'll stick with my fat/HDD connector-with-sata adapter-and-also-network server.


HD Handiness... I DL PS2 ISOs and rip directly to PS2 HDD all the time. Which is why I keep around my s939 rig for HTPC, it has IDE. Disconnect PS2 HDD, put in HTPC. Launch HDhandiness, choose ISO, click GO. Easy as drinking water.


----------



## subassy

Today was is half off day at the local thrift stores. I found a game i sort of wanted but it was missing the game so I gave it to the cashier. I guess a manager or whoever saw me turning it in and said _want to look at more games? I got a whole tub in the back_ and I was of course like...._sure_.

In summary I got 6 games for $11 which comes to $1.83 per game. And one of them is *Mario Party 5*. I've heard good things...

The other may actually be worth $1.83 each.

I also found _Smash Bros. Brawl_ for Wii but it was missing the game. The case/artwork/manual are all in good shape and they were going to throw it away so they gave it to me for free


----------



## chemicalfan

Just seen this club, I've been gaming since the late 80s, ZX81 & BBC Micro back then before jumping into PC gaming on an 8086 IBM compatible, and console gaming on the SNES


----------



## neurotix

Welcome! Gotta love the SNES









Never had the chance to play any of the old British computers...


----------



## chemicalfan

Thanks for the welcome, many of the older games have been recreated as Flash games or the like. Stuff like Commander Keen, Rogue (the original), Elite, and a bunch of others I can't remember the name of


----------



## neurotix

I've most certainly played Rogue, it's very fun, but I could never finish it.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

So I went and picked up Obscure, Tales of the Abyss, Champions of Norrath, and Dragon Quest 8 on PS2 from a guy on Kijiji. Turned out to be a real nice guy...plus, dude had pretty much an entire basement of games. He was going for a complete PS2 collection, believe it or not. Anyway, got his number, and figure I'll be doing a lot of dealing with him in the future. Good guy to deal with, fair on the prices, and all his games are in fantastic condition. Had a wall of consoles and controllers too, but I didn't have a lot of time to check it all out.


----------



## blooder11181

by the way i do have a playstation 2 slim silver.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *blooder11181*
> 
> by the way i do have a playstation 2 slim silver.


If you want it added to your list in the OP, then you'll have to post that in proper formatting...just a list of all your consoles, separated by commas, so that Neurotix can just cut and paste it and not have to retype everytime. I am sure typing PS2 wouldn't be a big deal, but we might as well just get used to making it a habit anyway so he doesn't always have to ask over and over


----------



## neurotix

Just adding one thing isn't a problem. I also have a silver slimline PS2. I had a standard black slim PS2 but my friend was drinking a 40oz and spilled it all over the PS2 when we were playing Street Fighter III 3rd Strike. It took him like a year to buy me a new one, and at the time they happened to have a silver one, so I opted for the silver one. At the time the PS2 and a Dreamcast was the only consoles I had (I was poor and jobless). So, many nights of playing Dreamcast, especially NES emulator discs and so on for that year.

If it's adding just one thing it's fine. It's when someone new wants to join and they have more stuff than Mega Man and they put it in a bullet list or something, I'm not going to go through and reformat all that


----------



## Mega Man

...... who had more then me?


----------



## Wolfsbora

Check it out! A new project to do after I complete Millipede:



It was originally Gauntlet, converted to High Impact Football to make more money, but now I'll be converting it back to Gauntlet!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Check it out! A new project to do after I complete Millipede:
> 
> It was originally Gauntlet, converted to High Impact Football to make more money, but now I'll be converting it back to Gauntlet!


Your going to have a full on arcade pretty soon







That is pretty awesome though, that you are going to convert it back to Gauntlet


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Your going to have a full on arcade pretty soon
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That is pretty awesome though, that you are going to convert it back to Gauntlet


Haha, yup! My entire basement will be a games room with half being overrun with arcade cabs. I'm working on getting a third machine (technically fourth cabinet) as well. The Centipede cab you see on the right side of that photo will most likely be turned into a MAME or ArcadeSD machine since the only hardware it has is the power brick and supply. I'll keep the artwork as Centipede but I'll have a control panel built to fit the cabinet that will accommodate a TON of games.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Check it out! A new project to do after I complete Millipede:
> 
> It was originally Gauntlet, converted to High Impact Football to make more money, but now I'll be converting it back to Gauntlet!


Nice : D , Wish I had the space for cabinets . I started work on my 5 Buzzle bobble unit over the weekend , Top section will contain the relays / power supply / CGA to VGA converter , speaker ect .


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> Nice : D , Wish I had the space for cabinets . I started work on my 5 Buzzle bobble unit over the weekend , Top section will contain the relays / power supply / CGA to VGA converter , speaker ect .


You're making do in an awesome way! This is going to be so cool.


----------



## Wolfsbora

My apologies for the double post but I wanted to gauge interest and see if there are enough people that would like to see an arcade thread. This would be for anything arcade related, from custom solutions like @TwirlyWhirly555's setup to arcade cab collectors to actual arcades, can be discussed. Since you folks are into retro stuff and have probably spent some time in arcades, I figured I would ask here!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> My apologies for the double post but I wanted to gauge interest and see if there are enough people that would like to see an arcade thread. This would be for anything arcade related, from custom solutions like @TwirlyWhirly555's setup to arcade cab collectors to actual arcades, can be discussed. Since you folks are into retro stuff and have probably spent some time in arcades, I figured I would ask here!


As long as you guys can keep the content rolling (be awhile before I can contribute anything other than discussion), I'd definitely check the thread regularly


----------



## neurotix

I would be alright with it if it's going to go outside the scope of this thread.

My only issues with it are, well I also ran a Sega club that has pretty much been dead since this thread became popular. Most of the posters in the Sega thread also post here, except that they post here *instead*. This is understandable, since it's really too much hassle to check and reply to them both. So, now, the Sega thread is basically unused.

Personally, I think having all the retro focused discussion here (for the most part) is best and that includes arcade hardware. Oftentimes, it can get kind of slow in here, especially with console discussion, and then someone posts something about arcade cabs and it picks up.

My suggestion, instead of starting a general arcade-specific thread (which will take away probably all arcade discussion from this thread and make everyone have to constantly check another thread), is to instead start an arcade "build log" here in the video game forums for discussion and pictures of your machines. These old cabinets take a lot of work to get going, so the update frequency wouldn't be super often, meaning that keeping up with the thread for most of us wouldn't be a problem. The plus side to this is that it will also eventually be a chronological log book/picture show of your repair of your machines, in it's own thread.

The end decision is your guys, and *I* will probably check no matter what you do, but I would like to continue to see discussion of arcade hardware in this thread.


----------



## subassy

I think I would subscribe to an "arcade" thread, assuming it covered MAME and other emulators. I don't know if this thread covers subjects like "how to get emulate a NAOMI-based arcade game to run properly". It may not get answered anyway, but I'm not sure it fits the retro gaming thread. Or maybe it does. Just seems like it might match an _arcade_ thread a little better so the people who don't care don't have to read through it.
Seems like we need a "cross post" feature like on Reddit. For just this kind of over-lap. I don't usually read the forum administrative threads though, I assume there's a reason that sort of thing doesn't or can't happen.

Semi-related note, I have a fairly sizable Mame ROM pack I've been going through. I think I started with 12,000 and now i'm down to 2,200. It's taking a while (some files are actually BIOS files, some are card games/majong/naked-breakout-clone, some just don't run at well like the NAOMI ones). That's not a question, just a thing I'v been doing off and on for a while now. Man, Japan has some awesome SHMUPS


----------



## neurotix

Wolfsbora was in private communication with me and decided to drop the idea and keep the discussion here to avoid spreading ourselves thin, this can be a slow club at times anyway. So arcade discussion will continue here. If you guys want to make separate arcade build logs like I suggested here in the video game forum, let us know.

In other news, we are now the OFFICIAL retro gaming discussion club of OCN!

subassy, why don't you just get a Dreamcast to play Naomi games? The DC is basically identical to the Naomi hardware. What games are you trying to run that won't work, and did they have home ports? (Is it Planet Harriers or something?)

Japan does indeed have awesome shmups, I love them but I'm awful at them, I'd never be able to 1CC pretty much any game let alone learn the scoring mechanics etc. I play them and just try not to die alot







I recently managed to get Viper Phase 1, Espgaluda and Ketsui to run on a newer COINOPS on my softmodded Xbox. It was worth the effort for Viper Phase 1 alone (this game comes highly recommended for MAME if you've never played it.)


----------



## Wolfsbora

As neurotix said, we're going to keep everything in this thread and I'll just keep spamming you guys and girls with my arcade obsession.









Also, it was about time this club got recognized for your dedication to keeping retro gaming alive! Let me know if there is ever anything I can do for any of you (regarding the gaming forum on OCN and not making you dinner or taking out your trash







).


----------



## Mega Man

*zip* well.....
What you didn't mention is how much he paid you to keep the thread whole.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> *zip* well.....
> What you didn't mention is how much he paid you to keep the thread whole.


I am now the proud owner of a pretty extensive retro gaming collection en route now.


----------



## Mega Man

Hahahaha


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I am now the proud owner of a pretty extensive retro gaming collection en route now.


LOL


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> subassy, why don't you just get a Dreamcast to play Naomi games? The DC is basically identical to the Naomi hardware. What games are you trying to run that won't work, and did they have home ports? (Is it Planet Harriers or something?)
> 
> Japan does indeed have awesome shmups, I love them but I'm awful at them, I'd never be able to 1CC pretty much any game let alone learn the scoring mechanics etc. I play them and just try not to die alot
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I recently managed to get Viper Phase 1, Espgaluda and Ketsui to run on a newer COINOPS on my softmodded Xbox. It was worth the effort for Viper Phase 1 alone (this game comes highly recommended for MAME if you've never played it.)


I'm just going game-by-game through my rom set. I don't really know what any of them are. I mean I recognize the more obvious famous ones, sure.

I get as far as a very low frame rate NAOMI (very stuttery audio/video) splash screen and have to quit out from there. I don't know know what the games are, just that they don't run. I don't _have_ to have include NAOMI games in my collection, I just didn't want to miss any good games that are worth having. I haven't really researched it. There's probably a separate-from-mame emulator just for NAOMI stuff and/or some special thing that can be added/done to MAME to make NAOMI work.

I've come across enough SHMUPS so far I think I want to compile a list of the best ones from various lists and try and make sure I have those.


----------



## subassy

Unrelated note, has anyone ever heard of an arcade game called _Matrimelee Shin Gouketsuji Ichizoku Toukon_. Ya, I can't pronounce it never mind say I've heard of it. It's a game by SNK, I think it was released in ~2003 or so.
One of the characters is called Poochy and _is a man dressed as a dog_. I don't know if SNK was going for comedy or it just came out this way. Poochy's moves are quite hilarious as well. I couldn't find any actual foot of him on youtube but he's quite hilarious. There's some other characters that are kind of comedic as well. And the game seems pretty easy. Maybe it was mass-appeal audience game.

Here's some footage of the game. Not of poochy, just an idea of what the game is like:






Wasn't there a simpsons character named poochy?


----------



## neurotix

subassy, I used to be a REALLY REALLY big fan of fighting games and especially 2D fighters. I used to go to tournaments for SFIII: 3rd Strike. I sort of quit around the time that SF4/UMvC3 came out. I didn't care for those games and always preferred the 2D games but no one wanted to play the old ones. I wasn't really interested in stuff like Skullgirls/Melty Blood/Guilty Gear/Blazblue and the others like it (at least not competitively- I'm pretty good at Melty Blood casually). There's so many games like that now (doujin-style or new school 2D fighters) that it's impossible to keep up with, let alone learn any of them. Who knows if anyone even plays them seriously here. All the guys in Milwaukee just play SF4 and probably SF5 now. I'd rather play SSF2T. Essentially, I quit the community because nobody wants to play 3rd Strike anymore, and it took a lot of time and energy for me to get good at it (like, probably 8 years). I don't want to constantly have to relearn games when they come out and are totally different mechanically than the predecessor.

So yeah of course I've heard of Matrimelee, I even tried to figure it out/learn it at one point... it's beyond me. My friend that's even better than me at these games (he's placed in major tournaments in 3rd Strike) had no idea how to play it either. Quite the oddity of a game. I think it has some pretty deep mechanics but it's fairly arcane. Afaik Matrimelee is a continuation of the Power Instinct series by Atlus. One of the last games in the series. I think it had totally different, new characters not in the previous games, just like Garou Mark of the Wolves did the same thing for Fatal Fury.

You should try out *Breakers Revenge* sometime, that game is absolutely hysterical. We used to play it just to spam moves, make fun of it and so on. Some of those old SNK SF clones were really messed up, had dumb characters, and so on. Pick the guy that looks like a mummy (I think his name is Anubis) and just do QCB+K (I think) all day, he does this teleport air drop from the ceiling thing with really weird properties, I think it can cross up and it's hard to tell where to block. You can spam this on the CPU and clear the whole game using nothing but that move, if I remember.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I've always found MAME to be annoying and have had better luck using alternative emulators more specific to each platform. Not sure if I have a decent emulator for NAOMI roms though...I'll double check later if I remember.

EDIT - guess I've not used any of these yet, but here's a couple different ones you could try. If you do, let me know the one you had the best luck / performance with, stil working on my emulator set for my Xbox PC. Got most stuff working already, but there's a lot of systems left









http://www.emuparadise.me/Sega_NAOMI_Emulators/Windows/30


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> You're making do in an awesome way! This is going to be so cool.


Thanks ! : D

I've made one of the five wiring harnesses , cables are all colour coded to the controls for easier wiring and heat shrink at each end .

Just 4 to go : P .


----------



## cones

How does the switching work?


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> How does the switching work?


I haven't decided on the game selection setup yet but the idea is each game has its inputs and outputs and power switched by a bank of 5 relays with each relay being a normally open 4 SPST switches

When a given game is selected the relays close for that game connecting it to the common output , so there will only be one game at any one time connected to the output thus allowing any one of the five games to be selected and played .

In the picture you can see the 5 relays at the end of the harness with a total of 25 relays when finished , 5 for each game .


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> Thanks ! : D
> 
> I've made one of the five wiring harnesses , cables are all colour coded to the controls for easier wiring and heat shrink at each end .
> 
> Just 4 to go : P .


Wow, that is clean! Well done!


----------



## cones

Thanks for the explanation of the relays.

I'm thinking about getting another Dreamcast, what would be a good price for one? I see one for sale with the cables and a controller for $50, I might have a memory card still along with everything else, thinking I may be able to get it cheaper if the person still has it since it's a month old posting.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> Thanks for the explanation of the relays.
> 
> I'm thinking about getting another Dreamcast, what would be a good price for one? I see one for sale with the cables and a controller for $50, I might have a memory card still along with everything else, thinking I may be able to get it cheaper if the person still has it since it's a month old posting.


$50 is a bit steep.

$40 is more in line for that bundle but you can even find them for $30 if you look enough.


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> $50 is a bit steep.
> 
> $40 is more in line for that bundle but you can even find them for $30 if you look enough.


I was thinking around $30 would be better, since it doesn't really come with rust much plus if the person really has been trying to sell die over a month.

Edit: Missed it does have a memory card.


----------



## Bridgypoo

It has a VMU? Is it the standard white one or is it the colored one? White one is only about $5 give or take.


----------



## Mr357

Has anyone else tried DreamPi? I just bought the needed materials yesterday, so soon I should be able to play certain games online.














http://www.dreamcastlive.net/blogs/


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bridgypoo*
> 
> It has a VMU? Is it the standard white one or is it the colored one? White one is only about $5 give or take.


It seems to be a rumble pack. I did end up getting it for $40, little more then I would have liked to spend. It also has the 90's yellow coloring







The card on the right is the one I already had, it doesn't seem to be detected though. It has a green and red light on it along with a button on the side. Haven't tried different ports yet.


----------



## Bridgypoo

Definitely not a VMU. Did you check this out? https://www.gamefaqs.com/dreamcast/916412-dreamcast/faqs/8302

Also, yeah, more than what maybe you could have gotten but maybe worth if if you like the Rocker Pak.


----------



## cones

Thanks for that link, had no clue there was a cable to plug it into a PC. Well I got a controller, the cables, the console, and that rumble pack so not too bad on the price.

Any game recommendations for it, I remember posting sonic adventure before although don't remember which one.


----------



## neurotix

A lot of the really good games the system is known for are ******edly expensive. $200 or more. You might want to look into "alternative methods" of getting these, e.g. I hope your rig still has a CD burner.

The expensive ones are mostly the Capcom games like Power Stone 1 and 2, Giga Wing, Mars Matrix, Rival Schools Project Justice, any of the fighters (SFA3, MvC2, 3rd Strike, and the similar ones from that era). Some of these are Japanese only, I don't know the prices, but Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo is definitely recommended (this is a good system to play with friends....)

There's a lot of Sega first party games that are fantastic. Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, they aren't my cup of tea but everyone loves them. Phantasy Star Online (you can play it offline- should be cheap too). Jet Set Radio- the first cel shaded game. Chu Chu Rocket- again you need friends for this but it's an absolute blast. There's a one player puzzle mode that's pretty decent though. Crazy Taxi 1 and 2 are really fun. There's other good Sega games too in other genres, stuff like Daytona.

Skies of Arcadia if you like RPGs (my favorite genre)- it's really the only good one on the system.

I haven't played all of the "post-Dreamcast" indie games that are still being made for the system now. Triggerheart Exelica is good. I've tried quite a few of these but, most seem to be shooters and I'm not the best at shooters so it's nothing too exciting for me. Out of all of them, Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles gets a high recommendation from me, if you can still buy it or find it. If you decide to look into this one, let me know if you can find it or not and if it's too pricey maybe we can work something out privately.

Hopefully that's enough to get you started. I'm sure other members will add their suggestions.


----------



## geForZ

Oh hey! the Dreamcast is a fantastic console, I own one myself.

In terms of games, Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 are both pretty good but equally dated. The physics really don't hold up, with sliding down steep walls at a snail's pace and falling out of bounds happening more frequently than in a lot of other games. Crazy Taxi and Jet Set/Jet Grind Radio are classics, but they're products of their time and might not appeal to all. In terms of fighting games, there are too many to list, all with their own merits. Soul Calibur is a must have for not too much ($15 at my local store, and that was considered overpriced at the time.) These are just some of my favorites.

I would write more, but it's 1:30 in the morning and I have to get to bed. You could PM me if you want to know more, as I have a pretty extensive knowledge of the Dreamcast and its library.

I guess I should post the stuff I own here as well, huh?

geForZ- Dreamcast, Gameboy Advance SP, Gamecube, N64, PS1, PS2, PS3, Wii, X360, 150+ Games, mostly Gamecube


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *geForZ*
> 
> Oh hey! the Dreamcast is a fantastic console, I own one myself.
> 
> In terms of games, Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 are both pretty good but equally dated. The physics really don't hold up, with sliding down steep walls at a snail's pace and falling out of bounds happening more frequently than in a lot of other games. Crazy Taxi and Jet Set/Jet Grind Radio are classics, but they're products of their time and might not appeal to all. In terms of fighting games, there are too many to list, all with their own merits. Soul Calibur is a must have for not too much ($15 at my local store, and that was considered overpriced at the time.) These are just some of my favorites.
> 
> I would write more, but it's 1:30 in the morning and I have to get to bed. You could PM me if you want to know more, as I have a pretty extensive knowledge of the Dreamcast and its library.
> 
> I guess I should post the stuff I own here as well, huh?
> 
> geForZ- Dreamcast, Gameboy Advance SP, Gamecube, N64, PS1, PS2, PS3, Wii, X360, 150+ Games, mostly Gamecube


No way, Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 are some of my favourite games of all time. I'm a Sega fanboy, but still. If you like 3D platformers, you are sure to find something to like in each of those titles. Honestly, I've played pretty much the entire Dreamcast library, and there really isn't a lot of bad stuff. Most games are worth playing.


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> A lot of the really good games the system is known for are ******edly expensive. $200 or more. You might want to look into "alternative methods" of getting these, e.g. I hope your rig still has a CD burner.
> 
> ...


There's a very specific reason on the drives i put into my computer









Thanks for the recommendations. I was playing sonic adventure some, it does of course feel dated. Also tried rez, very weird game. Forgot about crazy taxi, really fun game. I'll have to look into the others.


----------



## neurotix

Oh, I forgot Rez! Rez is one of the best games on the system, easily. It does really pick up in difficulty around stage 3. I've never made it past stage 3 afaik.


----------



## cones

Yes rez is pretty hard, i haven't made it to far yet.


----------



## SwishaMane

Rez is unbelievably better on PS2. I remember having issues with analog accuracy on DreamCast, cursor going everywhere, no control at all... but on PS2, where you intend to move, it goes. I was just playing on PS2 like 3 weeks ago, got to stage 3 legit, but its HARD.

Another really good game that is literally impossible to 99% of gamers is Einhander on PS1. Not only is it a $70+ game now-a-days apparently, just to own, but IMPOSSIBLE to beat.


----------



## Wolfsbora

I'm officially on the hunt for a Dreamcast, a Genesis, and a Virtual Boy (for now). ?


----------



## subassy

I had the chance to pick up a Genesis for $16, something like that but passed. Now I almost wonder if I should have. Not sure I'm ready for a new console at this point.


----------



## geForZ

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I had the chance to pick up a Genesis for $16, something like that but passed. Now I almost wonder if I should have. Not sure I'm ready for a new console at this point.


I would have picked it up and flipped it, that's what I did with a copy of "Hey You! Pikachu!" I got from a yard sale. Got a genuine ascii keyboard controller for the Gamecube with original packaging and a copy of the original "Coolboarders".


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> Another really good game that is literally impossible to 99% of gamers is Einhander on PS1. Not only is it a $70+ game now-a-days apparently, just to own, but IMPOSSIBLE to beat.


Iirc I own it. And I love it

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I'm officially on the hunt for a Dreamcast, a Genesis, and a Virtual Boy (for now). ?


At least the sega stuff should be easy


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I remember playing an Einhander demo a TON on one of the PSM demo discs...actually where I first played a lot of PS1 stuff. Played through the Metal Gear Solid demo literally about 100 times before that game was released.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Boom. I laid the groundwork:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1605654/wtb-sega-genesis-sega-dreamcast-nintendo-virtual-boy-etc


----------



## neurotix

I wouldn't buy them on OCN except for the Virtual Boy.

A Genesis should be easily available at any used games shops (drive to the next town/big town if you have to, you'll find one) or maybe a garage sale or craigslist. Genesis was ridiculously popular and common, it shouldn't be hard to find at least one. Dreamcast was less popular/common but not on the level of the Saturn. You should come across a Dreamcast eventually pretty easily.

One of the reasons I got into Genesis collecting is that it is *very cheap* compared to some other consoles, at least if you're buying loose carts. Most of the good games are actually affordable (less than $20), at least when I got them. Stuff like the Sonic games, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, Afterburner, Outrun, and so on. Even the RPGs for the system (namely the two Shining Force games and Phantasy Star II-IV) are $40 or less, compare this to SNES where some of the most popular RPGs are $150+ cart only.

Genesis is a good pick to start collecting with. NES USED to be until about 10 years ago when prices started going way up for the really rare stuff. Some of those actually went up in price 10x or so (the stuff like Flintstones Dinosaur Peak etc.) Even relatively common and popular NES games like Mega Man, Contra etc. can be $50 or more now. Although I love the NES and would recommend collecting for it if you have the money, on the whole I think the Genesis is much cheaper to collect for. If you want my advice, avoid the SNES totally unless you're rich.


----------



## subassy

My local retro game shop has a gen 1 genesis (with tv/power/etc cables) for $40 (and a "Genesis 3" in box for...I want to say $70). The SNES (with tv/power/etc cables) is $65, which seems to be the market price at the moment. A few years ago at a flea market there was one both that literally had _stacks_ of genesis. Guy probably had more than 50 of them. The SNES at the time seemed to sell pretty much immediately but stacks of genesis consoles. Not sure why, I guess more of the popular franchises on SNES? Or genesis had an emphasis on arcade ports which are less known now? I just got to _Truxton_ in the mame collection, apparently that was also an arcade game. I can see why people like it. Seems to be a favorite Genesis game of some people.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> My local retro game shop has a gen 1 genesis (with tv/power/etc cables) for $40 (and a "Genesis 3" in box for...I want to say $70). The SNES (with tv/power/etc cables) is $65, which seems to be the market price at the moment. A few years ago at a flea market there was one both that literally had _stacks_ of genesis. Guy probably had more than 50 of them. The SNES at the time seemed to sell pretty much immediately but stacks of genesis consoles. Not sure why, I guess more of the popular franchises on SNES? Or genesis had an emphasis on arcade ports which are less known now? I just got to _Truxton_ in the mame collection, apparently that was also an arcade game. I can see why people like it. Seems to be a favorite Genesis game of some people.


If you ever watch CGR on Youtube, you'll know why Truxton is a Genesis fav


----------



## Chargeit

A couple years back I was clearing out a abandoned storage unit and found a Genesis, N64, and Saturn the dude left. Complete with controllers, games, and connections. Though no games for the Saturn and the collection was generally trash spots titles. Some good ones mixed in though nothing special.

Back in the day I had an NES, Genesis, TG-16, Snes, Gameboy, Game Gear, Virtual boy, Playstation. Complete with pretty good sized game libraries (over 70 nes games) and controllers. I left it all at my parents house when I moved out, boxed up. They were clearing the attic out and donated it all to goodwill. Needless to say I'm still a little sore on that one. Still wonder what happened to some of my old stuff. Sitting up in some retro game collectors stash right now I'd bet.


----------



## neurotix

Truxton is cool yeah. Classic Toaplan shooter. The Toaplan games are basically the precursors to the bullet hell genre.

TBH the reason the Genesis isn't as popular is probably simply because it's not Nintendo, and back then Nintendo dominated the industry so guys like me remember the NES and SNES fondly. I think this makes the SNES more desirable. I think it's also more beloved by women who grew up back then, I mean my sister loves SNES but she doesn't like Genesis. Her friend had an SNES back in the day and they'd play Mario Kart all the time etc.

The SNES had fewer arcade ports, I think, and many more platformers, it also had all the good RPGs and a lot of them are still pretty popular to this day (I'd even go so far as to say that many of them are better than what's made now- I mean FFVI and Chrono Trigger...come on.) Also, it could possibly be argued that the SNES period was the height of Nintendo first party game development (certainly 2D games), what with Yoshi's Island, Super Metroid, Earthbound, Mario Kart and numerous others being popular enough to still get rereleases now for the modern consoles..

I grew up with SNES, it's what I had, and if I had to choose between SNES or Genesis I'd pick SNES in a heartbeat for the Square RPGs... no question. Although Phantasy Star IV and Shining Force come really close to that standard.


----------



## Wolfsbora

I'm loving the advice here! I want to obviously pay fairly for anything that I decide upon. I'm getting worried that I cannot find my SNES. That system has got to be my absolute favorite of any made. Either way, I need to play Earthbound with a passion. If anyone has multiple copies and wants to let someone else enjoy the craftsmanship of that game on the cheap, PM. ?


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

SNES doesn't have to be that expensive to collect for...it can be of course, but there are still a ton of good games in the $30 and less range for loose carts. Genesis is really cheap to collect for, but there are also a lot of games that are only worth a few bucks for a reason. Don't get me wrong, I love my Genesis, and couldn't pick between it and the SNES if I had to give one up. I had both growing up though, so I am not particularly nostalgic towards one more than the other, either. If you like gaming, you really do need both though







If I were trying to limit the amount of systems I owned down to only say, 5 consoles, Genesis and SNES would both be in that 5. Also, I think I payed a fair bit for my SNES I got not that long ago. If I can recall, it was $60 (Can), though I made sure to get one without any yellowing and had to pay a bit more for that. Certainly more than a Genesis. And Dreamcast seem to be quite common around Ontario where I live, I see them all over, and they are usually priced at $40 (Can) when I see them. Games are getting pricey now though, and tough to find...but they are still around. You can still find some of the lesser titles for < $20, though a lot of them are getting well past $50. Controllers are also getting tougher to find, and sitting around the $25-30 mark...if you see them cheap, pick them up, even third party ones. Lots of neat odd-ball peripherals on the system too. IMO, the Dreamcast was the most "Sega" console Sega ever released.


----------



## Mega Man

Ironically moat people don't even know why the Dreamcast was so important.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Truxton is cool yeah. Classic Toaplan shooter. The Toaplan games are basically the precursors to the bullet hell genre.
> 
> TBH the reason the Genesis isn't as popular is probably simply because it's not Nintendo, and back then Nintendo dominated the industry so guys like me remember the NES and SNES fondly. I think this makes the SNES more desirable. I think it's also more beloved by women who grew up back then, I mean my sister loves SNES but she doesn't like Genesis. Her friend had an SNES back in the day and they'd play Mario Kart all the time etc.
> 
> The SNES had fewer arcade ports, I think, and many more platformers, it also had all the good RPGs and a lot of them are still pretty popular to this day (I'd even go so far as to say that many of them are better than what's made now- I mean *FFIV* and Chrono Trigger...come on.) Also, it could possibly be argued that the SNES period was the height of Nintendo first party game development (certainly 2D games), what with Yoshi's Island, Super Metroid, Earthbound, Mario Kart and numerous others being popular enough to still get rereleases now for the modern consoles..
> 
> I grew up with SNES, it's what I had, and if I had to choose between SNES or Genesis I'd pick SNES in a heartbeat for the Square RPGs... no question. Although Phantasy Star IV and Shining Force come really close to that standard.


Fixed for you
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I'm loving the advice here! I want to obviously pay fairly for anything that I decide upon. I'm getting worried that I cannot find my SNES. That system has got to be my absolute favorite of any made. Either way, I need to play Earthbound with a passion. If anyone has multiple copies and wants to let someone else enjoy the craftsmanship of that game on the cheap, PM. ?


I refuse to play or buy earthbound. It was an insult to the USA. Some think it was in jest. But knowing what I do about the jp. I doubt it


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Ironically moat people don't even know why the Dreamcast was so important.
> Fixed for you
> I refuse to play or buy earthbound. It was an insult to the USA. Some think it was in jest. But knowing what I do about the jp. I doubt it


Because it proved how if you make piracy as simple as burning a music CD it can ruin your profits on games for the console?


----------



## Chargeit

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> Because it proved how if you make piracy as simple as burning a music CD it can ruin your profits on games for the console?


I remember that. Had a friend who bought a Dreamcast and pirated the entire library. Had a boot CD you'd put in first. First person I knew with DSL.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Ironically moat people don't even know why the Dreamcast was so important.
> Fixed for you
> I refuse to play or buy earthbound. It was an insult to the USA. Some think it was in jest. But knowing what I do about the jp. I doubt it
> 
> 
> 
> Because it proved how if you make piracy as simple as burning a music CD it can ruin your profits on games for the console?
Click to expand...

When the dreamcast came out burners were not avail to public much.

But no. Do you know what the ps2 was supposed to msrp at?


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> When the dreamcast came out burners were not avail to public much.
> 
> But no. Do you know what the ps2 was supposed to msrp at?


I thought the Dreamcast was before then, or just in-between the ps1 and ps2? I got my ps2 so long ago I don't even remember, don't think I even bought it.


----------



## Mega Man

The ps2 was supposed to have a 700 $ price tag. Once the dreamcast came out at 300 they had to scrap it and make the ps2 with the300$ price we know.

Originally it would of had a monitor and keyboard and iirc the Linux dual boot.


----------



## cones

So pretty much like the ps3. I couldn't imagine paying that much for a console.


----------



## Mega Man

And that is what made the dreamcast so important and Ironically the ps2 so successful


----------



## subassy

Strangely enough I remember when Dreamcast was release because of the promo ads of the day: 9-9-99. They kind of made a thing of it. And PS2 was a year later, holiday of 2000 some time (and xbox a year after that).
Not sure why I remember that instead of something important/relevant.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Ironically moat people don't even know why the Dreamcast was so important.
> Fixed for you
> I refuse to play or buy earthbound. It was an insult to the USA. Some think it was in jest. But knowing what I do about the jp. I doubt it


Fixed to FFIV... FFIV was my favorite FF and my first. To this day, it's my favorite game of all time. (The Super Famicom hardtype version with the fan patch). I love everything about this game and I've finished it in various forms, remakes and such probably 150 times. I never really get tired of it. The reason I listed FFVI though is that overall, it's a vastly improved game, the story has more detail, the characters have more backstory, it has the largest cast, it has a better magic system and many other reasons. Personally I think VI is the best FF ever made and the high point of the series, and everything since has been downhill. So even though I like FFIV more personally, I think VI is a better game. It really deserves it's status as being one of the best (if not the best) JRPGs ever made.

As far as the Dreamcast, it wasn't just the price that was important, it's that it was the first console bundled with a modem and the first allowing online multiplayer with the stock system (if you discount stuff like XBAND). It popularized playing console games online. Games like PSO and Chu Chu Rocket were developed specifically for this. Compare this to the PS2, which afaik needed an expensive modem peripheral as well as a hard drive for titles like FFXI (which imo definitely wasn't worth it on PS2 when it could cost upwards of $250 to get started with...).

As mentioned, the DC was ahead of it's time in many other ways, such as being the first game to support (limited) motion controls afaik, with the Samba de Amigo Maracas.

I've also heard that the DC is actually more powerful than the PS2, slightly less so than the Gamecube and pretty far behind the Xbox. So hardware wise, for the time, it was pretty powerful.

There's also this...


----------



## subassy

The first with limited motion controls?
Obviously you've never seen a little move called..._The Wizard_...

Powerglove. I'm referring to the powerglove. Also u-force. I don't know anything about _Samba de Amigo Maracas_ though, no idea how it works.

Also I don't really understand the common tendency to go by which system is "powerful" as measure of value of a console. What could that possibly matter?? 3DO was more powerful that SNES, Gamegear/linx was "more powerful" than original Gameboy, XBox was "more powerful" that PS2, Wii was "less powerful" than Xbox _and_ 360 (sold more). So it really, literally, is irrelevant what the hardware specs are, empirically, from observation.

Sorry for the rant. It's not really aimed at you, neurotix. It's just a developed pet peeve of mine I hear constantly on youtube etc. Like the hardware somehow matters on some level.

Also, what's the deal with GD-ROM anyway? It's like the betamax1 of optical media. More than CD, less than DVD e.g. even if Dreamcast had some modicum of success into 2005/2006 it may not have lasted much longer anyway because games would have to start coming on multiple discs (and no storage device like the 360 to compensate).

1In case anybody here is young: Betamax reportedly had superior video quality but could hold an hour of video (at least at initial release) while VHS could do two hours.


----------



## cones

The ps2 slim also had a modern built in. Don't know how much later it came out though.


----------



## subassy

I think technically it was an Ethernet...


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I think technically it was an Ethernet...


Yes don't know why I said modem, the Xbox also always came with one.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

This is interesting...


----------



## cones

I read about that the other day, didn't watch the video. From what I understood he figured out you could run code after the CD drive and it wouldn't have to check the code then, something about bypassing the drm chip? Sure I'm not explaining that well.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> I read about that the other day, didn't watch the video. From what I understood he figured out you could run code after the CD drive and it wouldn't have to check the code then, something about bypassing the drm chip? Sure I'm not explaining that well.


End result is basically something like the Everdrive carts, only using the port for the VCD adapter, and using USB instead of SD cards. Optical drive can be completely ditched...I imagine it to be quite a bit before an actual product hits the market, but he's got everything working already. Now it's just a matter of getting something designed and put into production. I imagine it won't be cheap when something is released.


----------



## subassy

Not sure how much demand there will be for something like that. Although I've heard the Japanese Saturn library is quite strong. Could be a "sleeper hit". Unless he starts it at $600.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> The first with limited motion controls?
> Obviously you've never seen a little move called..._The Wizard_...
> 
> Powerglove. I'm referring to the powerglove. Also u-force. I don't know anything about _Samba de Amigo Maracas_ though, no idea how it works.
> 
> Also I don't really understand the common tendency to go by which system is "powerful" as measure of value of a console. What could that possibly matter?? 3DO was more powerful that SNES, Gamegear/linx was "more powerful" than original Gameboy, XBox was "more powerful" that PS2, Wii was "less powerful" than Xbox _and_ 360 (sold more). So it really, literally, is irrelevant what the hardware specs are, empirically, from observation.
> 
> Sorry for the rant. It's not really aimed at you, neurotix. It's just a developed pet peeve of mine I hear constantly on youtube etc. Like the hardware somehow matters on some level.
> 
> Also, what's the deal with GD-ROM anyway? It's like the betamax1 of optical media. More than CD, less than DVD e.g. even if Dreamcast had some modicum of success into 2005/2006 it may not have lasted much longer anyway because games would have to start coming on multiple discs (and no storage device like the 360 to compensate).
> 
> 1In case anybody here is young: Betamax reportedly had superior video quality but could hold an hour of video (at least at initial release) while VHS could do two hours.


Powerglove, U-force and similar things might *technically* count as motion controls, but they hardly worked at all. The Maracas were fairly good controllers from what I've heard, just watch a gameplay video of Samba de Amigo if you want to see what they were like (you basically shook them in different positions to match the positions of different circles on the screen- somewhat like DDR and timing the arrows flying up instead they don't fly upwards). I honestly didn't think of the Powerglove. And to be honest, what I read about it having motion controls first was from a certain article talking about the DC and the things that made it revolutionary, so that's not even really my quote. Personally, I really prefer/like it for all the high quality arcade ports of Naomi games, the Sega exclusives and the 2D fighters/Capcom games (Power Stone etc)

As far as the power factor, my only point is that I heard once from developers for both the DC and PS2 that the DC WAS in fact a little more powerful, and easier to program for (since it ran Windows CE in some form). They stated that if games had continued to be developed for the DC, that eventually the 3D games would have looked better than the same game on PS2. I really have no idea how true this is but it's anecdotal, and at least it has some reasoning behind it that makes sense (the Windows CE thing).

I saw the Sega Saturn thing too and it's really neat, considering people are concerned about the CD drives burning out eventually, making their Saturn useless. As well as the prices on them pretty much being guaranteed to go up and up. Don't believe the sensational reporting though, one article I found basically claimed that there was no way to run backups or code on it "without an expensive modchip"... afaik modchips were never that expensive, you can probably still find them now, although they require soldering. This discounts totally the (extremely easy) swap trick and the solder-free method of opening the Saturn up and modding it (taping the lid sensors down) to enable the swap trick.









I'm not concerned about "damaging my laser" nor am I concerned about the CD Drive burning out/dying eventually because realistically, I don't play Saturn games every day and 99% of the time the Saturn is unplugged and sitting on a shelf. It gets used for a day or two once every few months. I think at this rate it will be a long time before anything on it burns out, so I'm not worried. And if I have to buy a new one, I will (or maybe just buy that mod eventually when it's available) but I doubt I'll need to.

It's still really cool what he did and he's basically a genius for figuring this stuff out as people have been trying to do things like this with the Saturn for a LONG time.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> This is interesting...


That is amazing. Thanks for sharing this

FYI afaik the power glove is not motion control it uses speakers and mics to listen to its position


----------



## cones

Nintendo is bringing back the NES.


----------



## neurotix

That's pretty cool news. It also has a decent game selection if that list is accurate. No point for me as I own the majority of those games on cart.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Meh, there are tons of that kind of thing out there already. Unless it plays actual NES carts of course, but I'm doubting it







I mean...my Mom would probably like this type of thing, but I have zero interest. Maybe if I had a huge collection I was struggling to add things to, I guess.


----------



## Mr357

Sega, please take notes. A "Dreamcast Mini" would be a killer way to re-release the Shenmue games and introduce people to some of the lesser known greats like Space Channel 5, Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram, etc.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Looks interesting , Quick question - what are some good emulators for windows that do retro games ? I want to try some on my Pico ITX to see how it dose .


----------



## subassy

The other thing about Dreamcast is the "windowsCE" component. Wouldn't there be licensing issues even to virtualize in a commercial product? Maybe there's ways around that, I don't know. Like a Wine-style API interpreter.


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> The other thing about Dreamcast is the "windowsCE" component. Wouldn't there be licensing issues even to virtualize in a commercial product? Maybe there's ways around that, I don't know. Like a Wine-style API interpreter.


I'm not sure how it works but with a ps2 emulator you need the BIOS which you can only get from a ps2. The developers do not supply that code for you.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> Looks interesting , Quick question - what are some good emulators for windows that do retro games ? I want to try some on my Pico ITX to see how it dose .


KEGA Fusion by Steve Snake is a must-have. It emulates Master System, Genesis, Sega CD, 32X, and CD 32X games nigh perfectly. You can even directly load the .cue file for disc games, so you don't have to mount the image every time.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> The other thing about Dreamcast is the "windowsCE" component. Wouldn't there be licensing issues even to virtualize in a commercial product? Maybe there's ways around that, I don't know. Like a Wine-style API interpreter.


Very few games actually used the CE capability, so I doubt that that would be an issue. The only one I can think of is Resident Evil 2, and that was because it was a port of the PC version.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> Looks interesting , Quick question - what are some good emulators for windows that do retro games ? I want to try some on my Pico ITX to see how it dose .


I don't know if you heard and/or care but MAME and MESS have merged projects. This means in addition to lots of arcade games MAME can now do a large number of old game consoles as well. I've been playing with this recently. Finally figured out how to get SNES games to play although some don't seems to work but I could be doing something wrong (Super Mario RPG crashed on me, could be the ROM or the specialized hardware in that cart...)

Anyway if you wanted to go for an all-in-one solution try out MAME for 80s/90s home consoles up to N64 (but not PS1, DC or 3DO as far as I know).

I just bought a new pico box myself: the "WinTel Pro" PC. Here are some specs although obviously the 32 gigs is the _flash-based storage_ that I can _write to_, and therefore by definition _not ROM_
Quote:


> Chipset: INTEL Z8300 4cores 1.84GHz 64bit
> GPU: intel HD Graphics
> ROM: 32GB EMMC
> RAM: 2GB DDR3L


I found a version that came with a little mini wireless keyboard for $97US. I thought I would hurry up and get this since intel announced there weren't doing their atom-based SoC chipsets any longer.

So to answer you question...somewhat....it really depends on the hardware of your PicoITX board (which I'm assuming is x86 and not an arm). If it's one of the Atom SoCs that have come out since windows 8 was released, it will be able to run the latter arcade games like that four player x-men game/TMNT/simpsons as well as pretty much every neo-geo 2d fighter (and the Metal Slugs of course) but certain specialized boards like naomi or AM2 will have some difficulty.

This link as some useful info on what emulators to use for which system. It's supposed to be to help with "maximus arcade" but it's useful even outside of that context:
http://www.maximus-arcade.com/pages/maximus-arcade-setup-documentation


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> KEGA Fusion by Steve Snake is a must-have. It emulates Master System, Genesis, Sega CD, 32X, and CD 32X games nigh perfectly. You can even directly load the .cue file for disc games, so you don't have to mount the image every time.
> Very few games actually used the CE capability, so I doubt that that would be an issue. The only one I can think of is Resident Evil 2, and that was because it was a port of the PC version.


Thanks , Ill have a look at it : )

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I don't know if you heard and/or care but MAME and MESS have merged projects. This means in addition to lots of arcade games MAME can now do a large number of old game consoles as well. I've been playing with this recently. Finally figured out how to get SNES games to play although some don't seems to work but I could be doing something wrong (Super Mario RPG crashed on me, could be the ROM or the specialized hardware in that cart...)
> 
> Anyway if you wanted to go for an all-in-one solution try out MAME for 80s/90s home consoles up to N64 (but not PS1, DC or 3DO as far as I know).
> 
> I just bought a new pico box myself: the "WinTel Pro" PC. Here are some specs although obviously the 32 gigs is the _flash-based storage_ that I can _write to_, and therefore by definition _not ROM_
> I found a version that came with a little mini wireless keyboard for $97US. I thought I would hurry up and get this since intel announced there weren't doing their atom-based SoC chipsets any longer.
> 
> So to answer you question...somewhat....it really depends on the hardware of your PicoITX board (which I'm assuming is x86 and not an arm). If it's one of the Atom SoCs that have come out since windows 8 was released, it will be able to run the latter arcade games like that four player x-men game/TMNT/simpsons as well as pretty much every neo-geo 2d fighter (and the Metal Slugs of course) but certain specialized boards like naomi or AM2 will have some difficulty.
> 
> This link as some useful info on what emulators to use for which system. It's supposed to be to help with "maximus arcade" but it's useful even outside of that context:
> http://www.maximus-arcade.com/pages/maximus-arcade-setup-documentation


Thanks for the help Ill give it a try and see how it dose , my Pico is a N3150 Celeron 2Ghz Qaud core , 4Gb 1600Mhz Ram , Intel HD graphics .


----------



## Wolfsbora

Woo!! Just finalizing an amazing deal for a 1st gen Sega Genesis from an awesome member...







That'll be one down.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Woo!! Just finalizing an amazing deal for a 1st gen Sega Genesis from an awesome member...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That'll be one down.


Sweet! Getting any games with it? Also, make sure you grab a six button controller if it doesn't come with one.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Sweet! Getting any games with it? Also, make sure you grab a six button controller if it doesn't come with one.


I'll be creating a games list that I will start hunting down, and it is only coming with a 3 button controller so I'll be sure to look for a 6 button configuration.

Games that I definitely want: All Mutant League sports games and Golden Axe. I'd love all suggestions. I don't have a specific preference for any genre. I primarily just want games with the highest game play value.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Dynamite Heady! Think it was on SNES too, but I played it on Genesis growing up.


----------



## Wolfsbora

I've created a Google Sheets doc so that I can keep track. Add to it as you'd like!


----------



## Mega Man

skitchin .gunstar hero's


----------



## Wolfsbora

@Aaron_Henderson & @Mega Man suggestions have been added!


----------



## neurotix

Wolfsbora, I was going to edit and add things to your spreadsheet but had to request access, so I'll just say it here:

Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (it's way better than Revenge)
Genesis 6-pak (I recommend this to everyone: it has Sonic 1, SOR, Golden Axe, Columns, Super Hang-On and Revenge of Shinobi on one cart)
If you're at all interested in RPGs, Phantasy Star IV and either Shining Force (I like the first one best myself)

You can also get a repro (English) cart of Bare Knuckle 3, aka Streets of Rage 3, here. This one is uncensored and much less difficult than the official SOR3 that was released here. I did this recently and it was worth it.

You have a PM incoming btw.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Wolfsbora, I was going to edit and add things to your spreadsheet but had to request access, so I'll just say it here:
> 
> Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (it's way better than Revenge)
> Genesis 6-pak (I recommend this to everyone: it has Sonic 1, SOR, Golden Axe, Columns, Super Hang-On and Revenge of Shinobi on one cart)
> If you're at all interested in RPGs, Phantasy Star IV and either Shining Force (I like the first one best myself)
> 
> You can also get a repro (English) cart of Bare Knuckle 3, aka Streets of Rage 3, here. This one is uncensored and much less difficult than the official SOR3 that was released here. I did this recently and it was worth it.
> 
> You have a PM incoming btw.


You have been given approval, my good friend! Love these suggestions!!


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> You have been given approval, my good friend! Love these suggestions!!


None of them are excessively expensive, the last I checked.

Shinobi III cart only is like $4 on Amazon.

Phantasy Star 4 and Shining Force are the most expensive, PS4 is $33-$40 and Shining Force is about $30, but this pales in comparison to some of the SNES RPGs I own which easily sell for 2x-3x as much.

The Genesis 6 Pak was either a pack in or mail in item, also very cheap.

Bare Knuckle 3 (SOR3) repro cart, I got mine for $15 but it came from China and took a month to get here. Pay a little more to get one from the States. I think it's worth it since the American SOR3 is like $40 on Amazon, but not as good as it's censored, the story is butchered and it's way too hard even on the easiest setting.


----------



## Wolfsbora

I owe a big thanks to @neurotix and @Bridgypoo for hooking me up with my first ever Genesis games! I'm going to come up with a fun way to repay you.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I owe a big thanks to @neurotix and @Bridgypoo for hooking me up with my first ever Genesis games! I'm going to come up with a fun way to repay you.


So what did you get?


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> So what did you get?


A pic will divulge this information upon their arrival.


----------



## Wolfsbora

My apologies for the double post, but I have to deliver some bad news. My beloved SNES and PS1 were both stolen by movers months ago, along with some tools and a big box of CDs. I didn't notice until this week since I wasn't prepared to unbox the 2 systems yet. This is very disappointing. The SNES was the first system that I had ever gotten with my own money. Previously, the Atari 2600 and then NES were given to my brother and I as gifts from our parents. And my PS1 was the original with the RCA outs (such a priceless feature for a console of the time). I also had the externally mounted mod chip that plugged into the expansion port on the back. So, I'll be looking to replace those systems as soon as possible. Such sadness.


----------



## SwishaMane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> My apologies for the double post, but I have to deliver some bad news. My beloved SNES and PS1 were both stolen by movers months ago, along with some tools and a big box of CDs. I didn't notice until this week since I wasn't prepared to unbox the 2 systems yet. This is very disappointing. The SNES was the first system that I had ever gotten with my own money. Previously, the Atari 2600 and then NES were given to my brother and I as gifts from our parents. And my PS1 was the original with the RCA outs (such a priceless feature for a console of the time). I also had the externally mounted mod chip that plugged into the expansion port on the back. So, I'll be looking to replace those systems as soon as possible. Such sadness.


Aww man, thats whack... Tell you what, get a new PS1 and modchip, and I'll install it for ya for free.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> Aww man, thats whack... Tell you what, get a new PS1 and modchip, and I'll install it for ya for free.


That means a lot, dude! I paid extra because I liked having the modchip externally. Brings back memories.

Big, massive love to @Mr357 for the first gen Sega Genesis that arrived today! He hooked me up and I literally can't be happier with my first Genesis.

I'm on the lookout for a 6 button and a specific list of cartridges. PM me if you're curious as to the list's contents.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

People just suck sometimes, eh? That's too bad about the SNES and modded PS1...but hey, at least neither are all that expensive. I would still have contacted to moving company to see if there is anything they could do about it, though. Also...kind of wish I would have got a model 1 Genesis...got a model 2 just because I eventually want the Sega CD/32X and I heard the model 2 version Sega CD is a little more reliable...not sure how true that is. But the model 1 has better sound I guess, and well, I just want one because it looks better than the model 2


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> My apologies for the double post, but I have to deliver some bad news. My beloved SNES and PS1 were both stolen by movers months ago, along with some tools and a big box of CDs. I didn't notice until this week since I wasn't prepared to unbox the 2 systems yet. This is very disappointing. The SNES was the first system that I had ever gotten with my own money. Previously, the Atari 2600 and then NES were given to my brother and I as gifts from our parents. And my PS1 was the original with the RCA outs (such a priceless feature for a console of the time). I also had the externally mounted mod chip that plugged into the expansion port on the back. So, I'll be looking to replace those systems as soon as possible. Such sadness.


That sucks sorry man


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> People just suck sometimes, eh? That's too bad about the SNES and modded PS1...but hey, at least neither are all that expensive. I would still have contacted to moving company to see if there is anything they could do about it, though. Also...kind of wish I would have got a model 1 Genesis...got a model 2 just because I eventually want the Sega CD/32X and I heard the model 2 version Sega CD is a little more reliable...not sure how true that is. But the model 1 has better sound I guess, and well, I just want one because it looks better than the model 2


I may contact the moving company but since it is 6 months later I'm not sure there is much they can do. Please school me in the ways of the Sega CD, I didn't know that there were issues between generations. As far as the gen 1 Genesis, I used to think it was the lesser looking of the 2, but now that I'm older, I prefer the look of it. I can't tell you how excited I am to get it hooked up and going. I just need a 6 button controller and over 40 games.








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> That sucks sorry man


Thanks, dude. I'm working out a deal for a PS1 as we speak. So, at least that will be recovered. SNESs on the other hand range so widely in cost in my area. Some people think they can get $100+, others are looking for $30 but they were obviously in smoker's homes.


----------



## SwishaMane

kinda sucks man, I have 2 big PS1s with modchips, but I need both as they each serve their own function. One has a stealth chip for protected games, and the other is non stealth, but the 1001 model with RCA outputs. So when my 1001 model cant play the game, i break out the stealth chipped console. You're thinking... "Why not just pull the stealth chip and put in in the 1001 so you have best of both worlds?" Well, the stealth chips don't work in the 1001 model, (I do believe.)

So if I could, I would just sell you one of my chipped consoles, then you can save the I/O port for a gameshark instead of those "mod chips" that plug in. I also have a spare gameshark,







Yeah, like two of everything when it comes to PS1 baby...

I even have two of those rare InterAct V Mem Cards, the 60 memory card SSD like thing that used the I/O port. You just map the "virtual mem card" to the slot you want and reboot. Awesome device back in the day, but mainly a backup drive.

Honestly too, I would look for a 7001 or 7501 model. 9001 and white slim didnt have the I/O port, and the models below 700x had issues with lasers. 1001 was the worse laser wise, but 700x up really had some good board fixes. I actually stole a good laser from a slim white console and put iot in my 1001, no laser issues for me!


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> kinda sucks man, I have 2 big PS1s with modchips, but I need both as they each serve their own function. One has a stealth chip for protected games, and the other is non stealth, but the 1001 model with RCA outputs. So when my 1001 model cant play the game, i break out the stealth chipped console. You're thinking... "Why not just pull the stealth chip and put in in the 1001 so you have best of both worlds?" Well, the stealth chips don't work in the 1001 model, (I do believe.)
> 
> So if I could, I would just sell you one of my chipped consoles, then you can save the I/O port for a gameshark instead of those "mod chips" that plug in. I also have a spare gameshark,
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, like two of everything when it comes to PS1 baby...
> 
> I even have two of those rare InterAct V Mem Cards, the 60 memory card SSD like thing that used the I/O port. You just map the "virtual mem card" to the slot you want and reboot. Awesome device back in the day, but mainly a backup drive.
> 
> Honestly too, I would look for a 7001 or 7501 model. 9001 and white slim didnt have the I/O port, and the models below 700x had issues with lasers. 1001 was the worse laser wise, but 700x up really had some good board fixes. I actually stole a good laser from a slim white console and put iot in my 1001, no laser issues for me!


Nothing wrong with having doubles of things! Eventually I would like to do the same thing. To be honest, once I get a PS1, I probably won't mod it unless it already comes that way. I plan on rebuilding my black label game collection. Keep everything legit. But, we'll see, I may change my mind haha.

Sounds like you've got a pretty awesome collection.


----------



## neurotix

Sega CD I can splain about.

The model 2 CD is generally preferred because it's much more reliable. This is correct. However, you CAN use a model 2 CD with a model 1 Genesis and it will work perfectly fine. It will just look kinda stupid because the model 1 Genesis is larger and will overhang the edge of the Sega CD. The model 2 CD came with a little plastic block you could stick underneath the model 1 Genesis to make them sort of look like they belong together. Or, you could just take a piece of styrofoam and some black spray paint and make your own.

The model 2 CD is a flip-top design (like the PSX) and the model 1 CD is a tray loader. However, on top of it being a tray loader, it also has some very complicated mechanisms driven by belts to raise the CD spindle up into place to grab the disc and start spinning it. You can "refurbish" (or at least fix 95% of model 1 CDs WITHOUT bad caps) a model 1 CD by replacing the drive belt. That is how I fixed mine and now it works the majority of the time. But for how long, who knows. I've also noticed that any "discs" (*ahem* CD-Rs) I have that are grubby (fingerprints) or scratched, that they will usually play fine in the model 2 CD but the model 1 CD might give me trouble, hang etc. The model 1 also seems to like to make loud grinding noises every so often, and I've heard this is caused by teeth on a plastic gear when it wears down. When it wears down completely my unit will probably stop working.

You can find more info about the model 1 CD in threads like this one on this site. There's even a guy there that repairs them and can flash a region free custom bios onto your unit. I need to look into getting this done for mine eventually, getting that gear properly replaced and getting the unit recapped is a good idea but I don't know the cost..

Also, if anyone ever wants my recommendations on the best Sega CD games, let me know. There are plenty of "traditional" style games for it that aren't FMV games. Some were jap only though, but you can actually region patch isos to allow a US Sega CD to play them. ("Game no Kanzume" series is pretty good).


----------



## cones

I've never used one but wouldn't you be able to make replacement parts with a 3d printer? Are they good enough to remake plastic gears?


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> Sega CD I can splain about.
> 
> The model 2 CD is generally preferred because it's much more reliable. This is correct. However, you CAN use a model 2 CD with a model 1 Genesis and it will work perfectly fine. It will just look kinda stupid because the model 1 Genesis is larger and will overhang the edge of the Sega CD. The model 2 CD came with a little plastic block you could stick underneath the model 1 Genesis to make them sort of look like they belong together. Or, you could just take a piece of styrofoam and some black spray paint and make your own.
> 
> The model 2 CD is a flip-top design (like the PSX) and the model 1 CD is a tray loader. However, on top of it being a tray loader, it also has some very complicated mechanisms driven by belts to raise the CD spindle up into place to grab the disc and start spinning it. You can "refurbish" (or at least fix 95% of model 1 CDs WITHOUT bad caps) a model 1 CD by replacing the drive belt. That is how I fixed mine and now it works the majority of the time. But for how long, who knows. I've also noticed that any "discs" (*ahem* CD-Rs) I have that are grubby (fingerprints) or scratched, that they will usually play fine in the model 2 CD but the model 1 CD might give me trouble, hang etc. The model 1 also seems to like to make loud grinding noises every so often, and I've heard this is caused by teeth on a plastic gear when it wears down. When it wears down completely my unit will probably stop working.
> 
> You can find more info about the model 1 CD in threads like this one on this site. There's even a guy there that repairs them and can flash a region free custom bios onto your unit. I need to look into getting this done for mine eventually, getting that gear properly replaced and getting the unit recapped is a good idea but I don't know the cost..
> 
> Also, if anyone ever wants my recommendations on the best Sega CD games, let me know. There are plenty of "traditional" style games for it that aren't FMV games. Some were jap only though, but you can actually region patch isos to allow a US Sega CD to play them. ("Game no Kanzume" series is pretty good).


To add on to your info- a model 2 Genesis will work with a model 1 CD, but I don't recommend it since it doesn't sit flush and will warp its expansion port over time. It may be possible to fix this by removing the rubber feet from the bottom, but I don't like the idea of that.

As for Sega CD games, I'm your man. I don't think I need to say it, but the #1 game on the system by far is Snatcher. It's a phenomenal remake of Kojima's '88 cyberpunk graphic adventure which boasts English voice acting, extra scenes, and an awesome redone soundtrack. A similar title is the upgraded port of the DOS game, Rise of the Dragon, which thankfully is very common if you want a real copy. It's almost identical to the original except that it has an inferior color pallet, a vastly superior soundtrack, and *way* more voice acting. If you like shooters, try Keio Flying Squadron, Lords of Thunder, Robo Aleste, or Silpheed. As for fighting games and beat 'em ups, you can't go wrong with Final Fight CD. There's also an upgraded version of Mortal Kombat and a decent port of Samurai Showdown. If you're into RPG's, there's Shining Force CD and the collector acclaimed Working Designs games (Lunar: The Silver Star, Lunar: Eternal Blue, and Vay).


----------



## neurotix

Mr357 pretty much covered it, though I'd personally disagree on Snatcher being the best game for the system. It's the common opinion though. (I think my favorite is probably Lords of Thunder...)

The shooters he mentioned are all fantastic, but I would personally add one more and that's Android Assault Bari-arm. Really good horizontal shooter. Don't underestimate Keio Flying Squadron either.

The fighters are pretty much spot on but I'd also include Fatal Fury Special.

Overall, though, those are all the games that frequently get played on my Sega CD.


----------



## Mega Man

You can laugh. I do. My fav game for sega cd is sewer shark.
Because my friends had a model 1 with model 1 cd and I played the crap outta that game.

It isn't great but for me it works.

Also I have a 100% complete sega cd 2 including all the rf shields screws and spacers I can take pics if anyone needs with either model 1 or 2 sega on it.
Lastly I will for anyone recap their system for free (labor) you have to buy caps and ship the boards both ways. It is super easy though ( new battery or changeable battery's or backup batteries (so you can change it and not lose the save ) if you want too


----------



## neurotix

I will certainly keep that in mind. That's awesome!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Yeah, that is just a really nice and awesome thing to offer Mega Man...good on ya!







Seriously though, awesome guy right there. Not that I'd ask for anything as I'd rather learn myself...but still, great thing to do for the community here







Plus, keeping these old systems alive is important!


----------



## cones

When I'm able to would anyone be able to solder some points on a board for me? It's just connecting two points together on an Xbox, I don't trust myself to do it plus they are small.


----------



## SwishaMane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> When I'm able to would anyone be able to solder some points on a board for me? It's just connecting two points together on an Xbox, I don't trust myself to do it plus they are small.


Get a good pic, and highlight EXACTLY what needs done.


----------



## Mega Man

Correction. I don't have the box. But I have all the accessories I ment

As to soldering sure.

You can do it. Make sure to use Flux and proper soldering iron/tip.

If you still don't feel comfortable I can


----------



## Wolfsbora

Well, all in a single week I have acquired a Sega Genesis, a Sega Dreamcast, and an NES. Not too shabby, my friends. I have a few more systems in the works...









P.S. Sega Saturns seem to be a bit too high priced in my area. Is this normal? I wouldn't have thought that they would be that sought after.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Well, all in a single week I have acquired a Sega Genesis, a Sega Dreamcast, and an NES. Not too shabby, my friends. I have a few more systems in the works...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> P.S. Sega Saturns seem to be a bit too high priced in my area. Is this normal? I wouldn't have thought that they would be that sought after.


The Saturn sold horribly in the US (making it somewhat rare) and it's picked up a lot of popularity in recent years. In about 8 months Burning Rangers has gone from a $175 game to over $400.


----------



## Mega Man

Games in the us for it sucked pretty bad too in comparison to jp releases.

Also going from memory the 32x was released and then either 3 weeks or 3 months later the Saturn was released. (Sega of America released the 32x and without notice sega released the Saturn) so many didn't know what to buy. Others were Mad they just bought a system and a new one came out


----------



## Wolfsbora

What's interesting about console rarity is that, it can sometimes mean that lower production numbers can mean higher value even if the quality of games was less. Arcade cabinets on the other hand, if the game had low production numbers, was an early game, but had crappy playability, they aren't worth much, even with rarity factored in.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Games in the us for it sucked pretty bad too in comparison to jp releases.
> 
> Also going from memory the 32x was released and then either 3 weeks or 3 months later the Saturn was released. (Sega of America released the 32x and without notice sega released the Saturn) so many didn't know what to buy. Others were Mad they just bought a system and a new one came out


That's not quite how I remember it. As I remember it the PS1 and Saturn were both coming out "holiday 1995". So the Saturn was already announced, they made a big deal with it at the previous e3, so on and so forth. Sega just wanted to try and get a leg up over Sony by releasing in the Spring as a surprise. And in doing so kind of killed their relationship with a lot retailers. Between that burned bridge and the not-so-good games/limited number games (versus ps1) the Saturn was kind of cursed from the word go.

Some people call the 32x "Sega's virtualboy" which given the number games might be accurate. Just from observation I think it was wee bit more common than virtualboy. Sega was doing off the wall unpredictable stuff going back to the late 70s/early 80s so this should not be surprising (releasing the "powerbase converter" to play SMS on Genesis, an adapter to play SMS games on gamegear not to mention the multiple consoles in the 80s (only released in japan).

There's also a story about at the eventual PS1 launch sony didn't have enough jewel cases so they contacted sega and negotiated a price for them. And this is why a lot of those launch PS1 games come in those jumbo sized cases. They're re-banged _badged_ (damn you, auto-correct) Saturn game cases.


----------



## Mega Man

You are right. They announced it in 1995.

However the worry was jaguar most believe

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/14/sega-saturn-how-one-decision-destroyed-playstations-greatest-rival


----------



## neurotix

I think Mega Man is correct, actually.

The 32X came out very late 1994, the Saturn was slated for release "holiday 1995" as subassy said, but in reality the Saturn launch date was moved up to May 11th, 1995, just about 6 months after the 32X launch.

I think you guys are pretty much right on the reasons why the Saturn is more expensive. However, I don't think it's as rare as some other consoles (Vectrex?). Keep in mind, the Saturn had a 6 month lead on the Playstation and at the time was the only "next gen" 32-bit system on the market. This made it fairly popular (for those who could afford it). I recall an older kid who lived in my neighborhood and was old enough to work got the Saturn when it was new instead of waiting for the Playstation (I was 11...). I would think that it isn't that rare for this reason.

As far as whether the Saturn is worth owning, I would say definitively that it is. Not only does it have a large selection of Sega arcade ports (Daytona USA, Virtual On...) but it also has a quality 3rd party library as well, though smaller than the Playstation's. Games like Dragon Force and Albert Odyssey really make the system for me, since they aren't available for any other system. There's also stuff like Guardian Heroes, which until the X360 release was exclusive to Saturn (I think). If you like 2D shooters there's a decent selection but a lot of games are Japanese (no worries if you use Saturn Region Patcher and the swap trick). Galactic Attack, Soukyugurentai, Sengoku Blade are a few of these.


----------



## Mr357

Here's a good video on the Saturn in general and what exactly happened with its launch.


----------



## subassy

I like and have watched a lot of this guy's videos but sometimes he has some innaccuracies.

I was really into gaming enough in the early/mid-90s that I read a magazine called _Next Generation_ (yes, I'm old). I can remember an article with somebody -- guy in charge of newly formed SCEA maybe? -- talking about how they were trying to escape the reputation of _Sony Imagesoft_. The creation of SCEA effectively ended the existence of imagesoft and the two shared few any personnel in common. In other words even though a thing might have a "Sony" in the name doesn't really mean they related to anything else. As far as I know SCEA and Imagesoft were never related to each other. Sony wasn't "releasing software on Nintendo to mess with them" or whatever (he kind of eluded to that above and has said as much in other videos). Sony is/was an extremely large company. The record company guys aren't talking to the DVD maker guys who aren't talking to the camcorder guys. They're all separate entities under the one brand.

I probably haven't explained this very well. Just a little pet peeve of mind that one else would ever notice/care about. But it annoys me for some reason.

A more modern example might be Apple using Samsung as source for some the parts in the iPhone. It's not the same Samsung that produces competing phones, it's the part of Samsung that mass produces chips and happens to have factories to economically produce a part Apple needs. The the two Samsung entities can exist separately.


----------



## subassy

I've been going through a MAME rom set I downloaded for a while now. It's been kind of off-and-on but I've made a bunch of progress the past month or so. In fact I just passed what I think is a significant milestone: I have as many games left to curate as I have already curated. If that makes sense.

I actually started with...I don't know, maybe 15,000 _files_, not even games but files...
I used ROMCenter to try and identify them, so I could move the apparently garbage files along with various BIOS files into separate directories. Then also casino ones and seemingly random dependency files.

So I'm down to:
games done: 940
_files_ left to check: 909

Might sound like I have a lot left. In comparison to where I started it's actually feels like an accomplishment to have _only_ 909 files left to validate/sort.

Of course even when I'm done I'll be _further_ auditing them. Separating the ones that won't run on an atom SoC from those that will. Or for that matter putting the ones that require a light gun or special device (like dual joystick [robotron], a trackball [missile command] or a steering wheel [lots of different racers]). Although once I have a pack of _only_ games in that ROMs directory it will be much easier I think to use ROM auditing utilities to narrow down genres and control schemes. At least I hope so. Manual auditing is time consuming.


----------



## neurotix

This is pretty cool but too much work for me.

I'm pretty happy with my OG Xbox and Coinops. I'm actually getting a PS2 -> Xbox converter so I can use my custom arcade stick (which is wired for PS1/PS2) on it for arcade games.

This is my stick if you guys haven't seen it:



The art is custom and I did it myself, but the stick was originally made by a service called Kaytrim's Kustoms... it ran me around $250 originally. I used it to compete in SFIII: 3rd Strike tournaments.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

That's cool neurotix







I think I mentioned that I want to build one or two custom sticks out of actual arcade quality parts, with plans to eventually tear them down and use the parts for an actual arcade machine. I would likely do it completely DIY though, to keep cost down. Solder all the switches and stick to a standard controller PCB...would be a pretty easy project I think, honestly. But with my current list of unfinished projects, it's sure to be awhile before I get to anything. I'd like to start it fairly soon though...got that Xbox PC I built with tons of stuff on it that would be so much better with the arcade stick.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Really nice, @neurotix! I need a custom control panel for my Centipede cab that will be an ArcadeSD build.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> That's cool neurotix
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think I mentioned that I want to build one or two custom sticks out of actual arcade quality parts, with plans to eventually tear them down and use the parts for an actual arcade machine. I would likely do it completely DIY though, to keep cost down. Solder all the switches and stick to a standard controller PCB...would be a pretty easy project I think, honestly. But with my current list of unfinished projects, it's sure to be awhile before I get to anything. I'd like to start it fairly soon though...got that Xbox PC I built with tons of stuff on it that would be so much better with the arcade stick.


If you go on Shoryuken.com, I'm pretty sure there are people who will sell you just a PCB and wiring harness and then you could build the box yourself, put the buttons and stick in, and connect it to the wiring harness. This way you don't have to solder anything.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

3 sets down , 2 more to mount on the board , looks like a mess at the board but cables will but cut and terminated in sets and zip tied to keep it all neat and together in the final assembly

27 Cables / 5 relays per set .


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> 3 sets down , 2 more to mount on the board , looks like a mess at the board but cables will but cut and terminated in sets and zip tied to keep it all neat and together in the final assembly
> 
> 27 Cables / 5 relays per set .


Looks like some tedious work







Now you should sleeve it all


----------



## subassy

Well I've got news.
There was this shop at the flea market with a lone/bad shape NES outside without a flip lid. I asked the guy about it, assuming it was broken. But he said he didn't know the status because he hadn't tested it and it seemed more trouble than it was worth. Not sure why the guy took that view on it. Seems kind of odd. So I bought it for $5 (this guy sells loose _New Super Mario Bros_ for DS for $25, so I'm surprised this wasn't $30 "as is").

I was initially concerned there was a power issue but that turned out to be the power strip. It obviously needs some cleaning and possibly the 72-pin edge connector in some boiling water but it does recognize games. So I'm counting this as a win and also I'm glad I didn't buy one for some where between $65 and $100.


----------



## cones

So you got a working NES for very cheap, was it just the console?


----------



## subassy

Yep, just the loose console. Already had a 9v/1a adapter that fit for power.
Not sure I have NES gamepads or not. Good thing I bought that NES extension cable however many months ago. Remember? I was going to create an adapter for the light gun. Course now I need the other way round. Unless I want to destroy an SNES pad. I could, I have some rather low quality ones I can't/won't use anyway. I'm assuming all that's required for SNES pad to talk to a NES is the right pin connectors. Probably have to look that up.


----------



## Mega Man

FYI it is rated for 9v but it really outputs 12vdc (the OEMs nes anyway)


----------



## blooder11181

trying to find doom 3 for xbox (original) its so hard.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *blooder11181*
> 
> trying to find doom 3 for xbox (original) its so hard.


Really? See it all the time, but never buy it because I remember that version being seriously inferior to the PC version, which is one of my all time favourite games. I have quite a few local sources for used games though, and frequent them all quite often. You'll find it


----------



## Wolfsbora

Well guys, I had an amazing day today! I played at least 100 different pinball machines and arcade games. Including the vector Star Wars game, a Missile Command cockpit, Mr. Do, Millipede (had to







), and so many more.

BUT, the real highlight of my day was that I found a Secret of Mana loose cart that I was able to talk down to $50! Plus, TMNT for the NES and a much needed replacement solder sucker.

Hours of gaming + vendors galore = happy Wolfie.


----------



## Mega Man

That is very nice finds indeed


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Well guys, I had an amazing day today! I played at least 100 different pinball machines and arcade games. Including the vector Star Wars game, a Missile Command cockpit, Mr. Do, Millipede (had to
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ), and so many more.
> 
> BUT, the real highlight of my day was that I found a Secret of Mana loose cart that I was able to talk down to $50! Plus, TMNT for the NES and a much needed replacement solder sucker.
> 
> Hours of gaming + vendors galore = happy Wolfie.


Sounds like an awesome day indeed







I've been slacking on the game pickups...new girl around taking up some of my time and money that was previously for games







Still grabbed a few things over the past while though, just nothing really worth mentioning...really just a bunch of common PS2 / Xbox games and other random bits. Don't think I've spend much more than$2 on a game lately


----------



## subassy

Wow, sounds like you really played at a great arcade.

Not that any one has any reason to care, but I am also playing a lot of classic arcade games but via MAME as I go through thousands upon thousands of files trying to find playable/worth keeping games.

I only mention it because it's been kind of multi-month journey and I have only 45 left. I have go through, one-by-one, at least 8,000 files if not more looking for games I want to keep. And now I have 49 left. It's kind of feels like a thing.

I have found a few games I have never heard that just fantastic. When I go back through them I'll make notes and post them up here in case anybody might interested. And/or share the google spreadsheet.

Oh, and game total _right now_ is 1386. With 49 files left I might get to 1,400. Which is actually more than I was expecting.


----------



## neurotix

I'd certainly be interested to know which arcade games those are so I can try them on my Xbox.

One that I really like that no one has ever heard of is Dead Connection by Taito. I've never seen or played the actual cabinet, not even at Galloping Ghost as I remember, I've only played it on MAME.


----------



## subassy

This is an SNK game from _1987_...

*1987!!*

the mame rom is called psychos.zip if anybody wants to try it. The full voiced sound track really blew me away. It's like some kind of hipster retro game made now...but it's from 1987...

Almost makes all those hours of ROM auditing worth it...One of the best if not the best game I've found so far. Of the ones I've never of I mean. In the top 5 at least.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> This is an SNK game from _1987_...
> 
> *1987!!*
> 
> the mame rom is called psychos.zip if anybody wants to try it. The full voiced sound track really blew me away. It's like some kind of hipster retro game made now...but it's from 1987...
> 
> Almost makes all those hours of ROM auditing worth it...One of the best if not the best game I've found so far. Of the ones I've never of I mean. In the top 5 at least.


Good find!! SNK put out some awesome games. I would love to pick up a 4 slot NeoGeo cab and a ton of carts so I could keep swapping them out.


----------



## subassy

I looked up the game and found that this character has been a part of King of Fighters for like 20 years/since the 90s. So perhaps it's not that unknown of a thing but I had never heard of it.

Also, I was playing the Japanese apparently i was playing the US version. Sound track is supposed to be better in the Japanese one. Luckily, there's youtube.


----------



## neurotix

Oh I know about Psycho Soldier, it stars Athena right? I've never actually played it though. I'll give it a shot.

I played fighting games for a very long time and yes, Athena is one of the more popular characters from King of Fighters, she's been in them going back till like KOF96 or something. She's a very annoying, fireball spammer type character. She also has a shoryuken type move as well as a fireball reflect move. So she can range you out, reflect any projectiles you send at her as well as anti-air you if you try and jump in over a fireball. My friend I used to netplay KOF with used to use her well.

Any other suggestions, I would love to hear. I need more good arcade games to play on my Xbox.

*If you like arcade cabs and stuff just pay attention to the below*

Also, I am working on refurbishing my arcade stick...it has fallen into disrepair. One of the edges of the box came unglued and would slip around, so I glued it, but I used gorilla glue and it expands as it dries, leaving a very ugly white layer in between the pieces of wood. I colored over it with a brown permanent marker so now you can't really tell there's a gap there. I did new art for the stick that's pretty cool and only took me around an hour in photoshop. I also found a shop to make me a new clear acrylic top piece (the part that goes over the art) because the old one is cracked and scratched. I bought 6 new standard red Sanwa 30mm screw-in buttons. I had Seimitsu clear buttons that you can stick your cut-out pieces of your art in to make it look contiguous (see the picture of my stick a few pages back). The problem is that these buttons were lower quality and would sometimes drop my quick inputs, particularly chain combos in games like Melty Blood. The stick originally had the exact same screw-in Sanwa buttons and they worked a lot better. Anyway, I'm just waiting for my new acrylic top piece to be made and then I can put it all back together, wire it up (takes me like 5 minutes I've done it so much) and then it will be like new again. It's worth the effort considering it's only costing me around $60 to do and the stick originally cost me close to $300 (it's fully custom, after all).

Anyway, I'm not sure if I mentioned but I'm getting a PS2 to original Xbox converter to be able to use my arcade stick on the Xbox for Coinops, Final Burn Legends and so on. I've pretty much retired from fighting games, no interest in tournaments, no interest in SF4 or SF5. So at least this way my stick will get some use, it's mostly sat in a closet for the last two years.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Looks like some tedious work
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Now you should sleeve it all


It was tedious in places : D , That would be a nightmare : P

Ive wired it up to the running stage and its working !! over 250 cables later and it worked . Just have to do the selector stage for the games and a few bits and pices and it will be done .

Select any of the 5 arcade game PCBs with the turn of a switch : D .


----------



## neurotix

That's absolutely insane.


----------



## cones

No magic smoke was let out?


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Oh I know about Psycho Soldier, it stars Athena right? I've never actually played it though. I'll give it a shot.
> 
> I played fighting games for a very long time and yes, Athena is one of the more popular characters from King of Fighters, she's been in them going back till like KOF96 or something. She's a very annoying, fireball spammer type character. She also has a shoryuken type move as well as a fireball reflect move. So she can range you out, reflect any projectiles you send at her as well as anti-air you if you try and jump in over a fireball. My friend I used to netplay KOF with used to use her well.
> 
> Any other suggestions, I would love to hear. I need more good arcade games to play on my Xbox.
> 
> (snip)


I'm going to be compiling a more suitable list. But there are a lot of shmups. Like a lot. I mean...._a lot_. So I hope you like shmups. I think I need to compile a "top 100" or "top 500". The remaining ~1,000 or so can still be there, largely ignored.

Also, I compiled this original xbox-as-an-arcade-cab playlist a while back since the author of the videos didn't bother. Maybe you/someone else would find it of interest. Or...maybe I already shared this?

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKTpDLYL46hWQn3z1ipBZmIexUbFDEscy

(10-part series)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> It was tedious in places : D , That would be a nightmare : P
> 
> Ive wired it up to the running stage and its working !! over 250 cables later and it worked . Just have to do the selector stage for the games and a few bits and pices and it will be done .
> 
> Select any of the 5 arcade game PCBs with the turn of a switch : D .


That is seriously pretty! And I'm not just saying that. Epic work dude...really.


----------



## Wolfsbora

@TwirlyWhirly555, that work is amazing!! Well worth the effort. You're making me want to build a rig like that now. You should do a build log for this.

On a different note, I'd been considering getting a CRT for a little bit, and after talking with @neurotix I decided to start looking. Well, not long after reading his latest reply, I saw a 27" Sony Wega sitting on the curb in one of the Pittsburgh neighborhoods with the remote taped to the top. Brought it home and it works perfectly. Also, picked up the Genesis 6-Pak, Perfect Dark for the N64, a couple of controllers for the PS1 and a controller for the SNES (both consoles care of @Dimensive).


----------



## Dimensive

Hope you enjoy those consoles. I have read that it's possible to fix that black & white issue on the SNES, but I never attempted to fix it.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> Hope you enjoy those consoles. I have read that it's possible to fix that black & white issue on the SNES, but I never attempted to fix it.


I forgot about the special bit I need to dismantle it to get to the PCB. I'm not even getting a picture from it, which is odd. I'm looking forward to the project, though. Finally got a new solder sucker so that'll come in handy.


----------



## Dimensive

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I forgot about the special bit I need to dismantle it to get to the PCB. I'm not even getting a picture from it, which is odd. I'm looking forward to the project, though. Finally got a new solder sucker so that'll come in handy.


Yea, it's a bit finicky and without a cartridge it might not show anything.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> Yea, it's a bit finicky and without a cartridge it might not show anything.


I actually tried my newly acquired Secret of Mana. Do you need a controller to power on? I wouldn't think so. I have one now so I'll give it a shot.


----------



## Dimensive

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I actually tried my newly acquired Secret of Mana. Do you need a controller to power on? I wouldn't think so. I have one now so I'll give it a shot.


Nah, don't need a controller. The contacts in the slot might need to be cleaned. I had to wiggle my carts a bit to get them to boot.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Cleaned the connector. Secret of Mana in black and white, anyone?


----------



## Dimensive

Here's what I found before: https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/26981/Why+do+my+games+only+play+in+black+and+white#answer70185


----------



## Wolfsbora

Yeah, the crystal adjustment. I wish these didn't need the gamebit screwdriver to work. I'd adjust it right now.


----------



## cones

Nice TV stand.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Haha, I needed something in a rush. Hadn't planned on getting a fat CRT so soon. My LCD is on the table just above it. Can't beat a free TV.


----------



## cones

Just surprised it didn't collapse since I assume it's plastic.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Haha, yeah, these flat screen CRTs are seriously heavy. The plastic box is filled with the Mega Bloks so I think it's helping to keep it stable.


----------



## neurotix

Haha, nice find on the CRT!

SoM in black and white is a travesty, that game has such a bright and colorful palette...








Good luck on the fix.

Make sure to give that 6-pak a try, let me know if you try Revenge of Shinobi and how you fare with it (probably the hardest game on the 6-pak....) Great game though, excellent music by Yuzo Koshiro. If you need any tips let me know


----------



## Wolfsbora

The fix seems to be pretty easy. Just a small adjustment. If that doesn't work, I may need to retrace an area.

I cleaned the 6-Pak since it wasn't booting all the way and played some Golden Axe and Revenge of Shinobi. That game is difficult but so far is my favorite Genesis game.


----------



## neurotix

You'll definitely want to pick up Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master eventually then, as well. Probably the best Shinobi game period. The music isn't by Yuzo, but is still fantastic. It's quite a bit easier than Revenge, but still tough in the last stages. The big thing is that they added many more moves for Joe Musashi like wall jumps, running by double tapping (which you can sword slash + invincibility frames while doing), multiple jump kicks in a row, and many other moves. Next to my obvious Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star IV, Shining Force, and Streets of Rage 2, Shinobi III is my next favorite Genesis game... (remember I have like 70+ too.)






(skip to 1:00)


----------



## Wolfsbora

I'm quite excited to hunt these games down. We have a chain of stores here that sells games for every popular console from the 2600 to the most current consoles. I'll be going back to see if I can get those games. I'm in love with the Genesis.


----------



## Wolfsbora

@Dimensive, the PCB was fried near one of the corners. It appears a cap caused a bit of meltdown. There's no coming back from... It was fun to see the inside of an SNES, though!









I now have 1 SNES controller, 1 SNES game, 1 SNES power adapter, and 1 SNES A/V cables, all I need now is 1 SNES!


----------



## subassy

I don't think I've ever tried to play Shinobi 3 but that's a pretty incredible video. He makes it looks _so easy_.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> That's absolutely insane.


Thanks : D , It was worth the work .
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> No magic smoke was let out?


Nope, No magic smoke thankfully : P
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> That is seriously pretty! And I'm not just saying that. Epic work dude...really.


Thanks ! : D I'm glad it looks pretty instead of a mass of mess and cables : P . I still have to do the game select , I plan to use a rotary relay switch with a button and SPDT switch with the options "Play Selected game" and "Select a game" . Once that's done it will be fully finished electrically
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> @TwirlyWhirly555, that work is amazing!! Well worth the effort. You're making me want to build a rig like that now. You should do a build log for this.


Thanks : D , It definitely was worth the effort , still more wring to do though . You should but just make sure to get colour coded cable or its a nightmare : P . Unfortunately I don't have many pictures of the build just ones toward to end , I will do a video showing the operation with an explanation once its finished .


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> ...
> You should but just make sure to get colour codded cable or its a nightmare : P . ...


You mean using a red wire then a brown then a pink wire isn't normal?









How does that work with the switch, thought it worked by just selecting a "board" and then that is the one that gets used.


----------



## Dimensive

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> @Dimensive, the PCB was fried near one of the corners. It appears a cap caused a bit of meltdown. There's no coming back from... It was fun to see the inside of an SNES, though!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I now have 1 SNES controller, 1 SNES game, 1 SNES power adapter, and 1 SNES A/V cables, all I need now is 1 SNES!


Ah that stinks, at least you got to tinker with it. Maybe you can build an ITX rig with the shell.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> You mean using a red wire then a brown then a pink wire isn't normal?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> How does that work with the switch, thought it worked by just selecting a "board" and then that is the one that gets used.


coded * : P , Normal , maybe . If you wanted a challenge you could use all red and black cables : D .

That's how its setup now but I want a safety system in place to avoid more than one game being run ( for what ever reason ) . Also I don't want each game to power on and off if I wanted to select the game after it as don't want multiple switches ( was after just two )

The idea is with a rotary relay switch after each pulse to it from a button it will move one position round so in combination with the SPDT switch I can select the " select game " and then a button will be pressed to scroll though the 5 games ( selected game will be indicated by a lamp / led ) , when I get to the game I want I turn the SPDT to " Play " that removes power from the " select game " button and powers the game up that's selected . with this setup the game cannot be changed by pressing the button until the SPDT switch is turned back to " game select " and it eliminates multiple switches and stops the games being cycled on and off if you go past one .


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> Ah that stinks, at least you got to tinker with it. Maybe you can build an ITX rig with the shell.


Trust me, this was well worth it. I'm glad I got to open it up. Plus, having everything else only means that I need the console which usually saves a bit on the price. As for the shell, I've considered simply placing my Steam Link in it .







Otherwise, I have a pretty cool display idea for it that I won't divulge yet.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I don't think I've ever tried to play Shinobi 3 but that's a pretty incredible video. He makes it looks _so easy_.


Actually from what I watched, that guy isn't very good! (He's kinda slow and doesn't run...) You should see me do it, or better yet a speedrunner.


----------



## cones

That switch setup makes more sense now.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Woo! I finally found a Sega Saturn for under $80! Won it for $50 including shipping on eBay!! Woo. Even comes with a Sonic game. Not too shabby!


----------



## neurotix

Congrats, don't expect the Sonic game to be that good though. Actually, if it's Sonic Jam, that one is not bad (it's basically Sonic 1, 2, 3 and Knuckles from Genesis). If it's Sonic R, then run for the hills or do the world a favor and physically destroy it. That game is beyond bad. 0.2/10 for me.


----------



## Wolfsbora

I just checked, it's Sonic Blast. I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of Sonic to begin with, more of a Mario guy if we're talking mascots haha.

Here's my temporary setup until I get furniture and my arcade games in here. Then it'll get rearranged. Still better than what it was. Disregard any mess haha.


----------



## SwishaMane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I just checked, it's Sonic Blast. I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of Sonic to begin with, more of a Mario guy if we're talking mascots haha.
> 
> Here's my temporary setup until I get furniture and my arcade games in here. Then it'll get rearranged. Still better than what it was. Disregard any mess haha.


LCD right next to a CRT!

MY EYEZ!!1!1!!!111!!

Slick console combo tho, just missing a SNES.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> LCD right next to a CRT!
> 
> MY EYEZ!!1!1!!!111!!
> 
> Slick console combo tho, just missing a SNES.


Haha, just be grateful I'm no longer playing on that LCD!


----------



## neurotix

I would hope *you* would be grateful.









Do you notice a difference in quality on the retro systems?


----------



## subassy

Today was half off day at a local thrift store chain. Except games are only 25% off.

Anyway, they had this old CD wallet with 16 PS1 games. With the discount it came to $18.38 or (rounded up to the nearest penny) $1.15 per game. Considering Resident Evil alone is ~$24 loose, think that's pretty good(?).



Spoiler: In case anybody is interested here's the haul




Rally Cross
2Xtreme
Ford Racing
Test Drive Off-Road
Ten Pin Alley
Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft
Cool Boarders 2
Tomb Raider
Twisted Metal III
Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
Dukes of Hazard II: Daisy Dukes it Out
NAMCO Museum Vol. 3
Resident Evil
Driver: You Are the Wheelman
Polaris SnoCross




Perhaps of note I bought these and immediately went to work so I haven't actually tested them yet. Also, 4 of them are duplicates







. It was an all-or-nothing CD wallet purchase.


----------



## neurotix

Tomb Raiders, Cool Boarders, Twisted Metal, Crash Bandicoots, and Namco Museum are the only ones I'd play. Still, nice find.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Tomb Raiders, Cool Boarders, Twisted Metal, Crash Bandicoots, and Namco Museum are the only ones I'd play. Still, nice find.


What no Resident Evil? I mean I found it unplayable in the actual 90s. But a lot of people love that game even in its original form.


----------



## neurotix

I missed it in the list. But probably not, I don't like survival horror games (more accurately, I don't like Resident Evil, but I've only played Resident Evil 2 around the time it was new and couldn't figure out where to go and what to do. I'd rather play an RPG and preferably one without too many puzzles.)


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I would hope *you* would be grateful.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Do you notice a difference in quality on the retro systems?


It definitely looks much better for everything up to the GameCube. Playing Wind Waker at the moment.

My Saturn arrives tomorrow. I'll be hitting you up @neurotix about what we discussed in the PM.

Also, I've never been much for the horror genre myself. Though, the first Condemned for Xbox was actually an awesome game. I did get Silent Hill for dirt cheap for the PS1 so I'll be giving that another go maybe tonight.


----------



## SwishaMane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I did get Silent Hill for dirt cheap for the PS1 so I'll be giving that another go maybe tonight.


Silent Hill 1,2 and 3 are the core of this series. EVERYTHING after were poor attempts to cash in on the name. I've fallen for a few of them, and all have left me empty. ESPECIALLY Downpour... UGH, horrible.

SH2 and 3 are visually good, and very decent in their own ways. SH1 is obviously out-dated graphics wise, and could be hard to get around. The streets are like 3 times wider than a normal road, etc. Just weird. Tell you what tho, i was about 15 when it came out, and I LOVED early mornings when its still dark out, lights off, TV sound turned up. Game was wicked scary, then...


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Silent Hill 2 is a freaking masterpiece, and IMO, one of the best psychological horror / survival games ever conceived. I try to play through it at least once every few years. Definitely an experience that can't be missed, horror fan or not. There is also a PC release that I remember worked well since you could set higher resolution and such. PS2 version is probably still the best though.


----------



## SwishaMane

SH3 took you more into the evil demented side of everything, rooms who's walls bled, wheelchairs with no one in them, but the shadows on the walls had silhouettes that something WAS in the wheelchair, etc... That one was intense.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> SH3 took you more into the evil demented side of everything, rooms who's walls bled, wheelchairs with no one in them, but the shadows on the walls had silhouettes that something WAS in the wheelchair, etc... That one was intense.


I've beat 2-4, but haven't managed to get a hold of the first to play all the way through just yet...was too young and scared when I first tried


----------



## subassy

I assume everybody already heard about this but I'm posting it anyway:
It's a 3D-printed mini-NES case with a raspberry pi. And also he created mini-NES controllers to play the games.

That's not the impressive part though:

And (spoiler alert) he 3D printed mini-NES carts that insert and push down into the mini-NES...

And (even more spoiler) also _The mini-NES reads an NFC tag in the mini-NES carts, loading the relevant game for him..._

It's actually pretty amazing, at least to me...


----------



## Wolfsbora

I saw that 3D printed NES on Twitter a little bit ago. Really cool stuff. It's amazing what people are able to do with those printers, let alone a RPi.

My Sega console shelf is almost complete!


Please disregard the crappy shelves and lack of cable management. It's all temporary until I find better furniture.

My critical search for an SNES is reaching a panic. I need to play Secret of Mana and I promised myself I wouldn't play it through an emulator.


----------



## subassy

You saw the NFC tag thing...right? I thought that was the coolest part...


----------



## neurotix

I saw the mini-NES. Pat the NES Punk covered it on his Podcast (the video is on his channel on Youtube). The NFC tag thing is genius, yes. It makes it work just like the real thing. The inside is even spring-loaded so the cart pushes down like the real thing.

@Wolfsbora, good luck on the SNES. Secret of Mana is one of my favorite games ever. I would highly, highly suggest you play the sequel, Seiken Densetsu 3 (aka SoM2) on an emulator if you've never played it. It has a full fan translation. I have a repro cart of this game (look for Secret of Mana 2 carts if you want it physically). The best Mana game, period. Everything else since basically sucked. If you want an easy game, pick Kevin (the beastman) and do most of your fighting at night.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I assume everybody already heard about this but I'm posting it anyway:
> It's a 3D-printed mini-NES case with a raspberry pi. And also he created mini-NES controllers to play the games.
> 
> That's not the impressive part though:
> 
> And (spoiler alert) he 3D printed mini-NES carts that insert and push down into the mini-NES...
> 
> And (even more spoiler) also _The mini-NES reads an NFC tag in the mini-NES carts, loading the relevant game for him..._
> 
> It's actually pretty amazing, at least to me...


Imo that is amazing...then NES sues him and makes him and it disappear......


----------



## subassy

It's too bad Nintendo couldn't something like this for their upcoming mini-NES. I mean they have the NFC technology for the amibos, right? Isn't that how they they work? I never got into that, I could be wrong. Could have even sold amibos that sat on top of the mini-NES to load the game. Merchandising money printing machine, I tells ya. Anyway _missed opportunity_.


----------



## neurotix

There's many reasons why Nintendo did it differently. They go over some of those in the video. Imagine if you really did have to buy every game, especially when lots of us here already own many of them and a real (functioning) original NES. I would rather buy an all-in-one unit loaded with 30 games, than buy 30 games separately even at $7.99 a pop. etc. $8 x 30 is $240... and that doesn't include tax.


----------



## Mega Man

I get that. I still think nes would sure the crap outta him if they could


----------



## neurotix

Well, he's not producing and selling it so I think he's safe


----------



## Mega Man

Nes has done worse...


----------



## neurotix

They're one of the more notorious game companies that issue DMCA takedowns on ROMs on romsites.

Personally, my stance is that if the game is so old it's not being produced anymore, they should be available for historical, archival and personal purposes. Namely, if people want to play old games on emulators, especially the younger generation, that's a great thing. If it makes them go out and get the system and play it, that's a great thing too. Moreover, not everyone wants to spend $300 on Earthbound or $140 on Chrono Trigger, and those are two fantastic games with a cult following that deserve to be played.

Until the Virtual Console came around on the Wii, Nintendo wasn't making any money on the roms they were taking down (Mario 3 etc.) As I said, they weren't being produced anymore. There's also a lot of games that aren't even available on the VC either on the Wii or Wii U (the Wii U Virtual Console is still pretty sparse and pathetic).


----------



## cones

They also don't make any money from used games. But like you said when they rerelease them then they would be losing money.


----------



## subassy

Well they could include the 30 games in the package. What is that? 5 megabytes? Wow, big spender on the flash storage there, nintendo. You could sell figurines for _new_ games. Or adding on levels like that semi-famous card thing for GBA (there were trading cards. you slid them through the "e-reader" like a credit card. Added levels and things). But charge $15 a pop. Five cents of plastic, a mold, and 25 cents for an NFC thing and...well like I said, _printing money_. Maybe they'll do it in the future. This Nintendo branded thing that is coming out is just he first one after all. Maybe by gen 5 they'll be doing something like the NFC figurine/add thing.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Well they could include the 30 games in the package. What is that? 5 megabytes? Wow, big spender on the flash storage there, nintendo. You could sell figurines for _new_ games. Or adding on levels like that semi-famous card thing for GBA (there were trading cards. you slid them through the "e-reader" like a credit card. Added levels and things). But charge $15 a pop. Five cents of plastic, a mold, and 25 cents for an NFC thing and...well like I said, _printing money_. Maybe they'll do it in the future. This Nintendo branded thing that is coming out is just he first one after all. Maybe by gen 5 they'll be doing something like the NFC figurine/add thing.


I highly doubt the roms included on the NES Mini are 5 megabytes total. Probably closer to 2 megs. NES roms are very, very small (some are only 32KB).

As far as it being the first one... it is for Nintendo. Similar Atari Flashback and Sega Genesis consoles have been around for years. You probably know that though.

To me it honestly seems like a cash-in on nostalgia value, done in the easiest and simplest way possible. Of course, it's Nintendo, so it will probably be higher quality than the Sega ones (HDMI is evidence for this). They probably just wanted to get something out fast to compete in the market against the Atari and Sega systems. Also, they are selling the second controller separately whereas the Atari and Sega systems do not, and a lot of the games included on the Mini NES are best in two player...so there ya go.


----------



## subassy

Guess I didn't say part clearly I enough. I was referring to this new device as first one of its kind released by nintendo, not the first device of its to ever exist period. That's what I meant by
_This Nintendo branded thing that is coming out is just he first one after all._
The one device of its kind...released by nintendo...as in nintendo has not released a device like this before.


----------



## neurotix

Let's keep this going guys...

For fans of the Sega Dreamcast or for new Dreamcast owners,

This DreamExplorer CD is awesome. Especially if you have a VMU and CR2032 batteries to feed it. It has literally every VMU game that's ever been made for the Dreamcast, official as well as homebrew. It also has saves for every single Dreamcast game (afaik) which is awesome if you want to play Marvel vs Capcom 2 and have all the characters unlocked without playing arcade mode a billion times.

I highly recommend this. And to anyone with a Dreamcast but without a VMU, I recommend you get one (they're cheap) and pick up a ten pack of CR2032 batteries on Ebay for $5.

My favorite VMU minigame I've found so far is Breakout...there's actually two games like this on the DreamExplorer disc. One is not very good, but the other (simply called "Breakout" on the VMU screen when you start it) is pretty fun.


----------



## cones

I should get a VMU sometime.


----------



## Wolfsbora

I'll definitely keep this in mind. One of my VMUs died, so it needs a new 2032, another has a few pixels that are stuck, and the last will probably need a battery change very shortly.


----------



## neurotix

Yeah they take TWO 2032 batteries and they don't last very long. Maybe a day or two tops. Don't leave the batteries in the VMU either or it will drain them, I've put some in and left it sit for a while (a week maybe) and came back and the batteries were dead.

Personally I only stick batteries in when I'm going to play it immediately and take them out when I'm done.

Btw, Tech Romancer has some fun VMU games on it... punch all the anime girls but don't punch the anime guys (WTH I don't get it either....)


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> ...
> Btw, Tech Romancer has some fun VMU games on it... punch all the anime girls but don't punch the anime guys (WTH I don't get it either....)


Teaching kids for marriage


----------



## SwishaMane

Mod your VMU with external AA batt pack, or with a DC plug and use a 6v DC brick.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quick question, my gen 1 Genesis has a loud, constant and consistent hum at the start of any game. This happens through the RF modulator, the mono A/V cable, and the stereo headphone jack on the front. Also, the volume slider does not make a difference. The hum dissipates over time as gameplay continues. Any recommendations as to a repair for this?


----------



## cones

Sounds like it could be noise from grounding.


----------



## subassy

Sounds like a cap, in the way it improves over time. That's my answer for everything though.


----------



## cones

Craigslist always has good entertainment.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/vgm/5730818386.html


----------



## Mega Man

But you don't understand. Alot of games


----------



## cones

What no more then two dozen and selling them is to hard plus he will only deal with people he likes.


----------



## SwishaMane

A bit off topic, but its related to retro gaming...

Anyone else here completely STOKED for the 6th and LAST Resident Evil movie?

MAAAAANNN, I'm pumped. Planning to watch the first 5 during the week or two before I go see the movie.









They are incredibly cheesy over the top films, but thats what makes them so rad!


----------



## tristanbear

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> A bit off topic, but its related to retro gaming...
> 
> Anyone else here completely STOKED for the 6th and LAST Resident Evil movie?
> 
> MAAAAANNN, I'm pumped. Planning to watch the first 5 during the week or two before I go see the movie.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> They are incredibly cheesy over the top films, but thats what makes them so rad!


I find them to be really unbearable to be honest. Almost to the point of unwatchable, it's so over the top that its boring to me.


----------



## subassy

Is it a Uwe Boll thing? Or did he finally retire?


----------



## Wolfsbora

AWESOME NEWS, folks! I'm going and buying an original Atari Tempest upright arcade cab tonight!!! These are quite rare to find in the wild, especially at an affordable price like this one!!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> AWESOME NEWS, folks! I'm going and buying an original Atari Tempest upright arcade cab tonight!!! These are quite rare to find in the wild, especially at an affordable price like this one!!


Sweet







You know the drill...report back with pics









Also, been slacking on the retro pick-ups lately...new girlfriend, health problems, etc., all cutting into my game / console budget. Hopefully things will improve financially over the next while...got a bunch of things I need to take care of before I start buying again though. Right now, my budget is down to about $10-20 a month for this stuff lol Plus, I need a few PC related things, namely a couple CPU coolers and a sound card. So that's my retro budget gone again. Gist is, I am not likely to pick up anything all that interesting over the next few months...but I guess we'll see. I might go through my collection and sell off / trade some of the stuff I don't really care about so I can still get some new stuff. I am also going to go check out a store in Cambridge I haven't been able to go to yet...probably bring a bag full of "trade", just in case I find something I gotta have. The store is called Retro Replay, in case any one cares. I follow them on Facebook and they are always posting new stuff to go out, just about daily, and the prices always seem more than fair, and their selection seems fantastic. Only one way to find out, I guess. Thinking I might start getting ballsy and start asking some of these places if I can bring my GoPro clone with me and do some video...lots of interesting local shops, as well as interesting people who work / run them.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Sweet
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You know the drill...report back with pics
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also, been slacking on the retro pick-ups lately...new girlfriend, health problems, etc., all cutting into my game / console budget. Hopefully things will improve financially over the next while...got a bunch of things I need to take care of before I start buying again though. Right now, my budget is down to about $10-20 a month for this stuff lol Plus, I need a few PC related things, namely a couple CPU coolers and a sound card. So that's my retro budget gone again. Gist is, I am not likely to pick up anything all that interesting over the next few months...but I guess we'll see. I might go through my collection and sell off / trade some of the stuff I don't really care about so I can still get some new stuff. I am also going to go check out a store in Cambridge I haven't been able to go to yet...probably bring a bag full of "trade", just in case I find something I gotta have. The store is called Retro Replay, in case any one cares. I follow them on Facebook and they are always posting new stuff to go out, just about daily, and the prices always seem more than fair, and their selection seems fantastic. Only one way to find out, I guess. Thinking I might start getting ballsy and start asking some of these places if I can bring my GoPro clone with me and do some video...lots of interesting local shops, as well as interesting people who work / run them.


That's unfortunate. $10-$20 a month doesn't really buy much nowadays in the 2016 world of hidden gem videos in this hobby. Most garbage NES games are at least $10 just for the fact that they're NES games. You can find deals if you really look but even then, anything good will probably be more money than that.

On another note, there's a retro arcade here in town that hasn't been around for very long called Geeks Mania. I went there, of course, around the time of my birthday with my fiance and family. Everyone had a really good time. One of the local papers did an article on it: http://isthmus.com/arts/emphasis/gamer-geeks-mania-vintage-video-games/


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> That's unfortunate. $10-$20 a month doesn't really buy much nowadays in the 2016 world of hidden gem videos in this hobby. Most garbage NES games are at least $10 just for the fact that they're NES games. You can find deals if you really look but even then, anything good will probably be more money than that.
> 
> On another note, there's a retro arcade here in town that hasn't been around for very long called Geeks Mania. I went there, of course, around the time of my birthday with my fiance and family. Everyone had a really good time. One of the local papers did an article on it: http://isthmus.com/arts/emphasis/gamer-geeks-mania-vintage-video-games/


It's unfortunate, but things will pick up again soon...not worried. Not like the hobby is going anywhere. Time for some retro related projects, I think...possibly custom painted gaming shelves or something. Just some stuff came up to tie up my money for a bit, is all.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> It's unfortunate, but things will pick up again soon...not worried. Not like the hobby is going anywhere. Time for some retro related projects, I think...possibly custom painted gaming shelves or something. Just some stuff came up to tie up my money for a bit, is all.


That's actually a really cool idea. I'm a decent artist so I could probably paint my game shelf. Nice creativity there.


----------



## subassy

I just came across the best-utility-ever [open source]. In summary you give it a directory, a game console (like _snes_) and the name of a game you want to download/play and it downloads all the necessary files for you. Well it's made specifically for playing with MAME but I tried some games with zSNES and they work there as well. Also, SNES emulation with MAME seems really terrible. Or I'm using too weak of a CPU.

Anyway, the utility is like like a layer of abstraction or...just...layer I guess...that uses the Internet Archive as its source repository. So it's _sort of_ like a package manager but for ROMs. Or just wget but from the one source. I can feed it a string it's not going to understand, like "super mario" and it will give me back results generated by my mame.exe. Then when I run it again I use the actual name of the thing I want to download: _smwu_. Oh, and it's a command line only right now. In case that wasn't apparent/forgot to mention.

Only thing I don't like about it is that it was written in java. Why java? I mean seriously. Isn't there a PHP.exe that can be wrapped in a something...that would be cross platform...stupid java...

Anyway, sorry for long gushing rambling, I just had a lot of fun with that last night getting the games I wanted instead of you know a 45 gig zip file... It would be awesome if it could be somehow transparently integrated into a frontend.

Also I'm purposefully not giving the name of it or a link. If you read carefully you can work it out.


----------



## subassy

Sorry to over-post here. Just saw and thought it was cool. Haven't looked at the progress videos or instructions on how to do it yet or anything.




It is the Atari Flashback 2 made portable and crammed into actual 2600 cartridge along with LCD screen, buttons, battery and speaker. Also USB port for optional external paddle controller. Apparently the _flashback 2_ had some hidden paddle games.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I just came across the best-utility-ever [open source]. In summary you give it a directory, a game console (like _snes_) and the name of a game you want to download/play and it downloads all the necessary files for you. Well it's made specifically for playing with MAME but I tried some games with zSNES and they work there as well. Also, SNES emulation with MAME seems really terrible. Or I'm using too weak of a CPU.
> 
> Anyway, the utility is like like a layer of abstraction or...just...layer I guess...that uses the Internet Archive as its source repository. So it's _sort of_ like a package manager but for ROMs. Or just wget but from the one source. I can feed it a string it's not going to understand, like "super mario" and it will give me back results generated by my mame.exe. Then when I run it again I use the actual name of the thing I want to download: _smwu_. Oh, and it's a command line only right now. In case that wasn't apparent/forgot to mention.
> 
> Only thing I don't like about it is that it was written in java. Why java? I mean seriously. Isn't there a PHP.exe that can be wrapped in a something...that would be cross platform...stupid java...
> 
> Anyway, sorry for long gushing rambling, I just had a lot of fun with that last night getting the games I wanted instead of you know a 45 gig zip file... It would be awesome if it could be somehow transparently integrated into a frontend.
> 
> Also I'm purposefully not giving the name of it or a link. If you read carefully you can work it out.


That's pretty cool. As far as SNES emulation goes I always preferred ZSNES because it's no nonsense, it runs fast, it has seemingly better sound quality than Snes9x, it has nice filters, and other reasons. However, it's pretty dated now though. Also, I've heard that bsnes (aka higan now I think) is the best emulator because the developer, byuu, made it run every single game accurately. It's supposed to be the most accurate SNES emulator and I remember finding a blog post where byuu said he got every single SNES/Super Famicom game in existence so they'd be emulated properly (I guess he sold most of them off though.)

Personally, I don't bother with the "45 gig zip files" unless I really want every single game for a certain console for some reason (like all the Turbo/PCE games for my Turbo Everdrive.. it was still only 400mb or so because it doesn't include Turbo CD games). If I need an individual game I just go to emuparadise, it's really not bad, but being able to open the command line and get what you need instantly IS pretty cool.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Sorry to over-post here. Just saw and thought it was cool. Haven't looked at the progress videos or instructions on how to do it yet or anything.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It is the Atari Flashback 2 made portable and crammed into actual 2600 cartridge along with LCD screen, buttons, battery and speaker. Also USB port for optional external paddle controller. Apparently the _flashback 2_ had some hidden paddle games.


This is really cool. I wish I had the technically know how and soldering/dremel skills to do this. There's other projects I'd like to do like recapping my finicky model 1 Sega CD too.


----------



## Mega Man

dont apologize for "over posting "


----------



## Kbecks077

Well after 3 days of reading and now making an account I have read all 101 pages. I've been looking for a retro gaming forum that was active and this one has seemed to have picked up in the past few months from looking at the date of the posts.


----------



## tristanbear

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kbecks077*
> 
> Well after 3 days of reading and now making an account I have read all 101 pages. I've been looking for a retro gaming forum that was active and this one has seemed to have picked up in the past few months from looking at the date of the posts.


Welcome man!


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kbecks077*
> 
> Well after 3 days of reading and now making an account I have read all 101 pages. I've been looking for a retro gaming forum that was active and this one has seemed to have picked up in the past few months from looking at the date of the posts.


Um...wow, to say the least. I think a lot of the active members now haven't read everything in the club.

If you want to list your consoles separated by commas I'll add you to the club.

Since this is OCN, you may want to also read this and add your computer to your signature when you have the time.

There's plenty of other stuff to read about on this site and the news section is pretty great for keeping up on tech news.

Welcome to OCN.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kbecks077*
> 
> Well after 3 days of reading and now making an account I have read all 101 pages. I've been looking for a retro gaming forum that was active and this one has seemed to have picked up in the past few months from looking at the date of the posts.


Welcome dude! We are not the biggest club around, but the few of us that are active try to keep the thread moving...always nice to see a new face around here though! Don't be shy to ask / share


----------



## neurotix

Quick question: do any of you guys have a Wii U and Xenoblade Chronicles X? Or if you have other games, do you want to add each other and do multiplayer if we have any of the same games that support it?


----------



## cones

Anybody use open ps2 loader with network shares?


----------



## Wolfsbora

Bad news, folks, the Tempest deal was a bust. The game was so waterlogged that I was able to push my finger right through the vinyl covered wood on the side of the cabinet. Totally nasty.

Btw, do you guys think I'd be crazy to trade my i7 4770K for a legit copy of Chrono Trigger?


----------



## cones

Forgot how nice a ps2 in 480p on a plasma with surround sound is.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Btw, do you guys think I'd be crazy to trade my i7 4770K for a legit copy of Chrono Trigger?


Yes


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Yes


Then do it if you have the game! Haha


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Bad news, folks, the Tempest deal was a bust. The game was so waterlogged that I was able to push my finger right through the vinyl covered wood on the side of the cabinet. Totally nasty.
> 
> Btw, do you guys think I'd be crazy to trade my i7 4770K for a legit copy of Chrono Trigger?


Not sure the current value of the 4770K, but I'd consider it...4770K won't be worth much in a year or two, Chrono Trigger will...I guess compare their current values. If you figure you could just sell the 4770K and buy Chrono Trigger with cash, no point in trading, I guess. If not, I'd say go for it...but that's me. PC hardware is garbage at holding value, Chrono Trigger is almost sure not to lose much value over the next few years. Possibly even go up in value.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Not sure the current value of the 4770K, but I'd consider it...4770K won't be worth much in a year or two, Chrono Trigger will...I guess compare their current values. If you figure you could just sell the 4770K and buy Chrono Trigger with cash, no point in trading, I guess. If not, I'd say go for it...but that's me. PC hardware is garbage at holding value, Chrono Trigger is almost sure not to lose much value over the next few years. Possibly even go up in value.


I literally have never used the i7, and got it at a really good deal so as of right now, I don't have a use for it. If someone does and just happens to have a Chrono Trigger, it's a no trainer for me. $225 CPU (like you said, not gonna hold forever) for a $120 cart only.

The funny part is, it's not the monetary value, or future value of the game, it's the fact that I want to play the real deal and not an emulator.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I literally have never used the i7, and got it at a really good deal so as of right now, I don't have a use for it. If someone does and just happens to have a Chrono Trigger, it's a no trainer for me. $225 CPU (like you said, not gonna hold forever) for a $120 cart only.
> 
> The funny part is, it's not the monetary value, or future value of the game, it's the fact that I want to play the real deal and not an emulator.


Just sell the CPU if you are looking for cart only, purchase Chrono Trigger with that cash...have leftover money? Not seeing why you want to trade, if you are impatient, just sell the 4770K well below market value and someone will buy it in no time.


----------



## neurotix

4770k. The prices for this are all over the place on Ebay. The lowest ones are $150 (but they're auctions). The highest are around $350.

Is it delidded? If it's delidded you can charge more, it seems. You might also be able to get more out of it if it overclocks well stably.

My 4790k is delidded AND does 4.8ghz no problem at 1.3v. I wouldn't let it go for anything less than $300 (I paid more for it than that less than a year ago. It's from Silicon Lottery.) Although, everyone else is right, in a couple of years it won't be worth very much, Haswell is a 2013 chip after all.

Personally I'd try and get $250 buy it now for it, or $225 like others suggested. If you get $250 though you could get Chrono Trigger and another $100 game (or another, working SNES without yellowing.)

Btw yes I have Chrono Trigger, and no I won't trade it. I waited like 5 years to get it when I really wanted it badly but wouldn't justify the price to myself. I could have got it for about $80 if I had gotten it right away when I wanted it. Instead, I paid $105 and now they're worth like $140. I want to be buried with this game so you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.







Also, I had a 4770k before and it sucked, overclocked awful, and I'm not bold enough/rich enough to risk ruining it by delidding it myself (I'd screw it up.) I'll stick with my delid 4790k. Sorry Wolfs.

I also have Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III, Secret of Mana, Lufia 1, Super Mario RPG, Seiken Densetsu 3 (repro- SoM2), Bahamut Lagoon (repro) and Tales of Phantasia (repro). Of those I've cleared the FFs, Seiken 3 and Bahamut Lagoon. I need to clear CT (I've cleared this a bazillion times as a kid, I owned it, and many times on emulators), ToP, Mario RPG, Lufia, and SoM. Of course I've cleared all of them at some point as well as many other more difficult SNES and Super Famicom RPGs (for example I've cleared Romancing SaGa 3 a few times.)









In Chrono Trigger I actually cleared the game at the beginning of New Game+ (green Lavos portal- right telepod at the beginning) as solo Crono at level 46. I did this when i was 15 or so. Developer room ending.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Still thinking on what to do about the CPU... BUT, I have some fun news. Check out my newest member of the family:


A super rare GORF cabaret style arcade cabinet!!


----------



## neurotix

That's really cool.


----------



## cones

If the CPU is really worth 2x the game I would sell the CPU and buy the game, you then get some extra money. If you want to trade I'd try to get cash to make it more even.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Well its 99% done ,

I'm not much of a talker on youtube but ..


----------



## Kbecks077

Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Dreamcast, Original Gameboy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance (Glacier, Famicom SP and Classic Nes SP), Game Boy Micro 20th Anniversary Famicom, Game Gear, Gamecube, Genesis (v1 and v2), NES (original and top loader), N64, Ps1 (original and slim), PS2 fat (slim silver and black), PS3, PSP (silver, piano black, metallic blue, god of war, darth vadar), Sega Saturn, Sega 32x, Sega CD, Sega Master System, SNES (original and top loader), Wii (original and mini), Xbox, Xbox 360


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kbecks077*
> 
> Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Dreamcast, Original Gameboy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance (Glacier, Famicom SP and Classic Nes SP), Game Boy Micro 20th Anniversary Famicom, Game Gear, Gamecube, Genesis (v1 and v2), NES (original and top loader), N64, Ps1 (original and slim), PS2 fat (slim silver and black), PS3, PSP (silver, piano black, metallic blue, god of war, darth vadar), Sega Saturn, Sega 32x, Sega CD, Sega Master System, SNES (original and top loader), Wii (original and mini), Xbox, Xbox 360


That is one serious collection!! I'm quite impressed. You wouldn't by chance be in possession of a Chrono Trigger would you, find individual?


----------



## neurotix

Kbecks added.

Wow, Mega Man, you might have some competition here.


----------



## Kbecks077

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> That is one serious collection!! I'm quite impressed. You wouldn't by chance be in possession of a Chrono Trigger would you, find individual?


Unfortunately, I do not. A lot of my systems are from when I was younger, which somehow I never traded them in, but I did trade in games so my game collection needs some work. I'm in the process of searching for a house so money is tight right now but hopefully within the next few months I can start adding games to the collection as well.

Anyone have any photos of shelves they've made for games, consoles and accessories? Been searching for how I want to display them once I get a house in a game room but haven't found anything to appealing yet.


----------



## Mega Man

I don't. I done have room. One of the things I an working on
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Kbecks added.
> 
> Wow, Mega Man, you might have some competition here.


I know I was thinking the same
Busted out my vectrex this weekend. Had a blast.

At first I couldn't get it to turn on and almost got mad. Then I remembered there is a brightness knob.... duh.... then I had to pull the cartridge out of the shell.

I may of had it in backwards Idk.

This is a home brew cartridge that contains all the games. One cool thing is the owner of vectrex (Idk the correct verbage) released the copy writes, the service manuals ect to the public after the vectrex died (for some reason vectrex does not look spelled right). Also he is semi active in the community. They have also released in limited quantities colored cases ( that I know red, clear and blue ) of the vectrex game cases made from the real mold that was used in the 80s. I bought a few blue ones. That is what I am talking about


----------



## cones

Doing some "newer" consoles now? Also forgot to say I have a gameboy sp somewhere.

Dreamcast, GameCube, PS2, original Xbox, Gameboy SP, Wii, PS3, Xbox 360.


----------



## neurotix

Oh jeez I have some stuff to catch up on...
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kbecks077*
> 
> Unfortunately, I do not. A lot of my systems are from when I was younger, which somehow I never traded them in, but I did trade in games so my game collection needs some work. I'm in the process of searching for a house so money is tight right now but hopefully within the next few months I can start adding games to the collection as well.
> 
> Anyone have any photos of shelves they've made for games, consoles and accessories? Been searching for how I want to display them once I get a house in a game room but haven't found anything to appealing yet.


Click the spoiler to see how I did it.


Spoiler: Game room























As you can see, I decided to display all the classic systems on a shelf as well as have a shelf to display all the cartridge games. And a CRT TV is a must if you are playing these systems. They'll look terrible upscaled on a modern LCD TV. I actually have a different (better) TV back in here now, which means I can't play light gun games, but instead it has S-video and so I got S-video cables for my Dreamcast, my Saturn and my slim PS2 (through S-video you can play PS1 games on it and they'll look great, I tried using component but the signal had a pink layer in front of the video on PS1 games.)
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> I know I was thinking the same
> Busted out my vectrex this weekend. Had a blast.
> 
> At first I couldn't get it to turn on and almost got mad. Then I remembered there is a brightness knob.... duh.... then I had to pull the cartridge out of the shell.
> snip


The local game shop (the good one) is selling a Vectrex and around... 8 games? For $300. When I looked for a Vectrex online it was like $450 for just a working system. So it's a really good price. But unfortunately I don't have the money, I already spent around that much on my PC Engine Core Grafx and the games. I'm getting Detana!! Twinbee for it (really fun Japanese only game..) complete and it was pretty cheap. I'll post pics when I get it.

I would love to have a Vectrex. I was born in 84 so it's before my time, I've never had the chance to play it but I'm extremely familiar with what it is. Vector graphics are really neat looking. People might roast me for this but I really liked a game called Red Alarm on the Virtual Boy that was totally vector, the few times I was able to play it.

You mentioned your flash cart/multi-cart thing before. It's interesting that it's endorsed by the original creator.

I could technically get the Vectrex, I have the money saved but unfortunately that money needs to go to upgrade my PC sometime next year (I'm planning on Vega but may opt for Nvidia this time if Vega isn't competitive). So it's Vectrex or PC and of course, you know the answer...
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> Doing some "newer" consoles now? Also forgot to say I have a gameboy sp somewhere.
> 
> Dreamcast, GameCube, PS2, original Xbox, Gameboy SP, Wii, PS3, Xbox 360.


Updated. And yes everything up to the current consoles (PS4, Xbox One and Wii U) is considered retro for our purposes. The 360 came out in 2005 and afaik the PS3 and Wii came out in 2006. So, they're 10 years old which is a long time in the video game/technology world. I did this because people wanted to list these systems. Personally, I omit my consoles newer than my original Xbox (2001), except for my PSPs because I'm a PSP enthusiast/hacker. The Xbox and PS2 generation is retro at this point because there's kids that have gamed on two generations of consoles now that weren't alive when the Xbox and PS2 launched. So a whole generation of gamers might not even remember the Xbox/PS2/Gamecube years.



Spoiler: If you want to read my recent pickups click this. I'm doing this to make the whole post take less space.



In other news, most recently I got Gain Ground for Genesis if anyone is familiar with it. If you want a copy, get it before it goes up in price. My prediction is that it will. It's a fantastic, fun game (though very slow and methodical). There's a few beat up/rental copies on Ebay for $20 but the good condition copies are like $50. It's a great 2 player co-op game.

I also got Heavy Barrel for NES as well as Double Dragon (I already had the second and not the first for NES, though I have the Master System version of the first).

I also got a CIB Be Ball for PC Engine from Japan for only like, $10. This game was called Chew Man Fu here. The US Turbografx version is ******edly expensive. It's so obscure that it doesn't even have a listing on Amazon. There's only one on Ebay right now for $126, *yeah I'll take the $10 Japanese version, thanks.* The game doesn't have much text anyway and is nothing but gameplay. The game is hard to explain so I'll just put a video here: 



 Incredibly fun game, very unique, I've never seen another game like this. You guys should play it, even if you have to use emulation.

For newer systems, I got some more PS3 games.. I'm up to 22 total now, 26 if you include downloaded games. Most were gotten for under $20. I got Dante's Inferno, Killzone 3, God of War HD collection, Devil May Cry HD, and 3D Dot Game Heroes. I wanted some different action style games since mostly everything else is an RPG.

I got some (new) Vita games a few months ago and never mentioned it and still haven't played them.. Senran Kagura Estival Versus and Grand Kingdom. Senran Kagura is well, anime boobie ninjas fighting. Grand Kingdom is the spiritual sequel to a PSP game by Vanillaware called Grand Knights History (2011) that didn't see a US release but has a fan translation. It is a strategy RPG and so is Grand Kingdom. I've finished Grand Knights History and it was an amazing game imo (as all Vanillaware games are to me). I'm really looking forward to Grand Kingdom.

Now the only problem is where to start...



Edited for clarity.


----------



## cones

Just weird to think they were that long ago. But they were the consoles from my childhood that I played the most, never knew anyone with an Xbox.


----------



## neurotix

Just wait for another 10 years and see how you feel.

I was a 90s kid for the most part so the SNES/Genesis is mainly what I grew up with. Those are like 25 years old now.

There's guys here that are even older, I believe, and started with the 2600/Intellivision/Colecovision. I can only imagine how they feel, that was like 35 years ago...


----------



## Wolfsbora

Hi friends, an Australian blog picked up my soon-to-be multi-part article on my own experience with Dreamcast's Shenmue if you'd like to check it out: http://www.ausretrogamer.com/wolfsboras-tour-of-shenmue-part-1

Disclaimer: @mods - I did not get paid in any sort of way for this article. Just a fan piece.


----------



## neurotix

That's really cool. I'm not a fan of Shenmue though, for most of the reasons you stated. The obtuse items and endless walking around. I also don't agree that it looks like a 360 game, sorry. It looks good but not that good.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> That's really cool. I'm not a fan of Shenmue though, for most of the reasons you stated. The obtuse items and endless walking around. I also don't agree that it looks like a 360 game, sorry. It looks good but not that good.


Thanks, man! Yeah, you really have to enjoy endless walking and lots of conversing with terrible dialogue. But, it does show off what the Dreamcast can do.


----------



## neurotix

It does show off the Dreamcast well- although personally I find games like Rez, Samba de Amigo or Jet Grind Radio to be more visually appealing. Rez is just fantastic, I would highly recommend it although I believe it never got a release here for the DC and the English European version is expensive, so you may have to resort to other means...


----------



## Wolfsbora

I'll definitely check those out. Shenmue is literally my only game other than 2 non-working 2K sports games for the Dreamcast.

My biggest issue is the Saturn. I only have Virtua Cop and no light gun. I may write up a post about a Saturn game if I can find the right one.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I love Shenmue...so cheesy, so much variety in what you can do in the game...I spent tons of hours just playing arcade games and darts lol I haven't played through it in quite a few years though.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I'll definitely check those out. Shenmue is literally my only game other than 2 non-working 2K sports games for the Dreamcast.
> 
> My biggest issue is the Saturn. I only have Virtua Cop and no light gun. I may write up a post about a Saturn game if I can find the right one.


Get the lightgun, it's worth it lol The only Saturn games I have right now are Virtua Cop, Area 51 (fav light gun game), and Corpse Killer lol


----------



## neurotix

House of the Dead on Saturn is also good.


----------



## Mega Man

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/8bitdo-nes30-retro-bluetooth-gamepad

anyone seen these yet ? i think they would be fun for use with the NES ! ( with the receiver ! ) i wish they offered dogbone style though :/

there is also this, this and this

as much as i love the old systems that second handheld looks like fun imo ( zelda, metroid at work while units are on a vacuum YAY ) and the retro regular system also looks like fun ... always makes me wonder, is the output on these systems better ?

ps - i have the real nes satellite

on my todo list make lipo adapters for stuff like this ( i mean ew.... d batteries so glad i dont live then anymore ! )


----------



## neurotix

The retrobit handhelds would be good if you didn't already have something that can emulate old systems.

For me personally, I have two modded PSPs and both are pretty much fantastic for emulators.

There's also the (old) Korean GP2X and Wiz, as well as smartphones, and probably other devices.

Someone needs to make an add on controller thing that you can stick on the side bottom of a phone, so it ends up looking somewhat like the PSP Go. Basically a piece of plastic with a D-Pad and buttons with a section that slides underneath the phone and attaches. Phones have pretty good emulators but terrible controls if you're using the touch screen. Maybe there's something like this already, I don't know.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> The retrobit handhelds would be good if you didn't already have something that can emulate old systems.
> 
> For me personally, I have two modded PSPs and both are pretty much fantastic for emulators.
> 
> There's also the (old) Korean GP2X and Wiz, as well as smartphones, and probably other devices.
> 
> Someone needs to make an add on controller thing that you can stick on the side bottom of a phone, so it ends up looking somewhat like the PSP Go. Basically a piece of plastic with a D-Pad and buttons with a section that slides underneath the phone and attaches. Phones have pretty good emulators but terrible controls if you're using the touch screen. Maybe there's something like this already, I don't know.


I have some bluetooth controller thing that phones snap into...it works OK, I guess. Honestly, I never use emulators on my phone/tablet...tried them all out just for the heck of it, but I don't really game on the go. I think the pad I got is a Moga Pro or something. It's decent, but dedicated handle-helds are still a far better experience. Run into compatibility issues when pairing, games not liking it, losing connections, short battery life, ****ty buttons and psp-esque analog stick, etc. And the Moga controllers are supposed to be one of the better brands. Also, I actually bought a cheap bluetooth keyboard/keypad with plans to hack it into something like you described there, but just never got around to it.


----------



## subassy

Has anybody heard of lakka? It looks pretty good. Not sure how I missed it. Unless I have seen it and forgot. It's described like a "diy game console" with some relation to OpenElec (os install version of kodi/xbmc). The emulation part is via RetroArch. Looks like x86 and a bunch of arm platforms supported.

Anybody have any experience with/opinion of it?

http://www.lakka.tv


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Has anybody heard of lakka? It looks pretty good. Not sure how I missed it. Unless I have seen it and forgot. It's described like a "diy game console" with some relation to OpenElec (os install version of kodi/xbmc). The emulation part is via RetroArch. Looks like x86 and a bunch of arm platforms supported.
> 
> Anybody have any experience with/opinion of it?
> 
> http://www.lakka.tv


I could have swore someone recommended that OS in this very thread...maybe I am just imagining things. I haven't tried it, because I wanted something more versatile, but it does look interesting. My mom / sisters would like an older PC converted to run Lakka 24/7...


----------



## Mega Man

I may of. Idr but I think I did. If it is the one I mentioned I liked it alot


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

I ran lakka on a i5 NUC once for a short duration and had Mario running on it . Didn't use if for long as I needed the NUC for something else .


----------



## Wolfsbora

In regards to the above Sega Saturn suggestions, once the budget calls for it, I'll be looking into it. I really wanna utilize this thing.

On the subject of my Gorf arcade cabaret cabinet. Bondo has been halted as my health hasn't been up to par but I'll get back to it soon. Can't wait to throw it next to my retro gaming section in my games room. I'm also working getting a DK Jr. arcade cab. Should be fun.


----------



## neurotix

Donkey Kong Jr. is fun.

Any inclination to build a MAME cab Wolfsbora? Buy a really beat up, unsalvageable cab and transform it into a MAME cab... I don't really have room for any arcade cabs down here, let alone multiple cabs, but I've always wanted a MAME cabinet. For the time being I'll use my softmod Xbox + my custom arcade stick to play arcade games on my 55" TV...


----------



## Wolfsbora

I'm really hoping to get it. Also I have to do is sell my PC parts that are in the classifieds and it's basically mine.

As far as a MAME cab, I have an empty Centipede cab with no control panel, or anything else for that matter, that I'll be turning into an ArcadeSD cab. And, since my original Millipede cab will have the "multipede" kit installed, it won't be any loss.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Haven't updated any pickups lately, cause there really hasn't been anything decent. But I still might as well share since I did get some good deals, as I usually try to do.

PS2

Final Fantasy X-2 CIB - $10
Goldeneye Rogue Agent CIB - $2
Sled Storm CIB - $2
Emerald Dual Shock 2 (mint) - $5

PS3

Infamous 2 CIB - $3
COD Ghosts CIB - $4
Ninja Gaiden Sigma CIB - $5

Xbox

007 From Russia With Love CIB - $2
Sega GT / Jet Set Radio Future CIB - $1
Shellshock Nam 67 CIB - $1

Dreamcast

Floigan Brothers CIB- $5

Might be forgetting something...nothing special, no arcade cabinets or anything


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Haven't updated any pickups lately, cause there really hasn't been anything decent. But I still might as well share since I did get some good deals, as I usually try to do.
> 
> PS2
> 
> Final Fantasy X-2 CIB - $10
> Goldeneye Rogue Agent CIB - $2
> Sled Storm CIB - $2
> Emerald Dual Shock 2 (mint) - $5
> 
> PS3
> 
> Infamous 2 CIB - $3
> COD Ghosts CIB - $4
> Ninja Gaiden Sigma CIB - $5
> 
> Xbox
> 
> 007 From Russia With Love CIB - $2
> Sega GT / Jet Set Radio Future CIB - $1
> Shellshock Nam 67 CIB - $1
> 
> Dreamcast
> 
> Floigan Brothers CIB- $5
> 
> Might be forgetting something...nothing special, no arcade cabinets or anything


Regardless of the games and if they're good or not, those are some really good pickups considering the prices. I can never find stuff that cheap here. Seems like even used PS2 games are like $10 minimum regardless of title and value, at the game stores here in my city.

The Emerald Dual Shock is the coolest thing imo. You should take a picture and post it. I never really see different colored PS2 controllers here, it's always just standard black and occasionally silver (I have a silver slimline PS2 but the silver controller got used so much that the paint wore off in a lot of places.)

Other than that I like Jet Set Radio Future most. FFX-2 you couldn't pay me to take and if you did I'd never play it (I hated FFX though. The last FF I liked was FFIX/FF9). I don't think it's worth $10 (especially Canadian) even if it's complete.

COD Ghosts for $4 is extremely amusing, it seems that game just came out not very long ago... as I've said before, games for recent systems seem poor from an investment standpoint. You have to go back to at least the Dreamcast/PS1/N64 era for the games to have much value (in general, don't blast me for this). My PS3 games don't seem to be worth much but my Vita games are seeming to hold their value better. When I bought my Vita it came with Disgaea 4 which apparently was slightly valuable and the seller didn't know. My Vita-1000 came with a charger, 8GB memory card, Disgaea 4, Blazblue Chrono Phantasma and Ys Memories of Celceta for $100 (ebay). I was able to turn around and sell Disgaea 4 for $60 (it was cart only too and it sold immediately). It seems like my other games will hold their value well. Even in 10 or 20 years I really doubt that PS3 games will be worth anything.


----------



## cones

I'm pretty sure i have one of those ps2 controllers somewhere, don't believe it was working and i would need to put it back together. I remember my friend having one of those logitech wireless ones.


----------



## subassy

The only (near only?) potential I see in the PS3 are "collections" of different franchises. For instance with that high capacity blu-ray media and HDMI port being able to buy a collection of all the Metal Gear Solid games (going back to PS1, or MSX actually), or all the god of wars or all the devil may crys on one disk that can run your modern 4k/8k TV (I'm imagining 15 years in the future here) with minimal effort....I think that will be worth something. Collections of games that would otherwise only be on PS2 or PS1 but look half-decent on a (imaginary 15 years in the future) modern TV, I think that will be in-vogue at some point. Might take 20+ to get there, but I think it could happen. I mean technically my 1080p TV has normal RCA (red/white/yellow only) connectors. But a NES wouldn't look so good...

Also, I happen to also pick up Final Fantasy X-2 a couple weeks ago. But for $1.80. I wasn't looking for it nor do I know if it's good or if I'll ever play it. Just looked into that price.

See you just gotta find the right kind of thrift store that have off one-off specials. And high turn over rates. In this case the sign clearly says "games $3.50" . But the cashier was charging me the $2 rate (which I think is supposed to be only for PC games) then they were having a 10% off-everything-sale-with-loyalty-card special.

Actually I got Kingdom Hearts CIB and Sonic Mega Collection for GC also for $1.80. Not sure why I got sonic. Because $1.80 that's why. Seemed like a good idea at the time. And I already had KH2, albeit the "greatest hits" edition and missing a manual.

Right after that I saw KH2 in the local retro game store for...$25 maybe? Now that's a good $1.80.

The same thrift store also has half sales every month. So I plan my trips based directly around the half off days. Two weeks after half off is when they have the most inventory and the Thursday before half off is when they have some good stuff because a lot of people are waiting to get stuff half off. Now that I think about it, Sept 1st is that Thursday. Hmmm.

Actually the local Goodwills are having a big sale on labor day. I would have to get up 6am to be at a store in time. Not sure I can deal. If you're looking for deals though (and are in the US) you're luck with the labor day sales forthcoming...

Sorry to switch subjects in the same post: anybody heard of PS1/PS2 game series called _Monster Rancher_? You get a monster and literally train it on a ranch for battle etc. Kind of like Pokemon (I think). The difference is you can seed your random monster by removing the _Monster Rancher_ disc and inserting _any_ CD which it then scans and uses to generate a unique monster. Supposed to be some predictable joke monsters you can get from certain CDs. If you stick in a different game made by Tecmo, for instance. Or, I think the windows 95 disc. I only have the PS1 version and haven't tried it very much yet.

Sorry for rambling. I'm working on a personal site so you don't have to see it any more


----------



## Mega Man

yes i have played since the first. it has quiet a cult following actually but was always meh to me


----------



## neurotix

The Japanese show, Game Center CX, has a segment called "DJ Monster" where the kacho and someone else place bets on which monster will win, and they use J-pop CDs to make the monsters (it's framed as a "battle of the hit songs" or something). Using the original PSX Monster Rancher. It's in season 19 if you want to watch it, unfortunately there aren't any clips of this segment on Youtube. There's torrents of translated episodes though if you look, shouldn't be too hard to find. You can also get episodes directly from http://www.sa-gccx.com/ the translation team's homepage.

subassy FFX-2 is basically all the female characters from FFX reuniting. You make them play dress up in battle (which acts as a job system, ala FF5). I've heard the story is rotten. If that sounds like fun to you, then by all means...

I would comment on the other things you said except, I want to try to be a good club admin and improve the club a bit so I have some questions.

We have a few reserved, blank posts at the beginning of the thread, I want to expand them. Here's my ideas:


Add links to one of the posts to Ebay, Amazon, Pricecharting and any other relevant sites (give me suggestions and some info about them.) This should help people buy games online. If you guys can provide more suggestions/information about finding good deals/where to shop IRL I will add them.
Should I post videos of upcoming indie retro-styled games? (Stuff like Fez, Cave Story and whatnot)
I will expand the convention information and try and keep it up to date.
I thought that since the Sega club is dead I would copy and paste the "SEGA retro hardware guide" I wrote. But we need one for Nintendo stuff, or maybe early 80s stuff (Atari Intellivision etc), whatever you guys want. The problem is I don't want to write everything, so if someone else could (it doesn't have to be long- but include pictures of the hardware) that would be nice...
I am open to any other ideas of what to use those posts for.
I'd like the input of ALL club members who see this post. Thanks. Let's make this club even better!


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Later I plan to install lakka on my Pico ITX and see how it goes as I have a load of crash bandicoot GBA games I want to play

ill post back with how it goes : D


----------



## SwishaMane

Tell you what, two of the videos that NEED to be in the video reserve spot on the first page are Ben Heck's Nintendo PlayStation prototype tear down and partial repair. If that's not retro and relevent, then IDK what could be...


----------



## subassy

I started a thread on lakka over on r/emulation if anybody were interested. I think some good information.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Regardless of the games and if they're good or not, those are some really good pickups considering the prices. I can never find stuff that cheap here. Seems like even used PS2 games are like $10 minimum regardless of title and value, at the game stores here in my city.
> 
> The Emerald Dual Shock is the coolest thing imo. You should take a picture and post it. I never really see different colored PS2 controllers here, it's always just standard black and occasionally silver (I have a silver slimline PS2 but the silver controller got used so much that the paint wore off in a lot of places.)
> 
> Other than that I like Jet Set Radio Future most. FFX-2 you couldn't pay me to take and if you did I'd never play it (I hated FFX though. The last FF I liked was FFIX/FF9). I don't think it's worth $10 (especially Canadian) even if it's complete.
> 
> COD Ghosts for $4 is extremely amusing, it seems that game just came out not very long ago... as I've said before, games for recent systems seem poor from an investment standpoint. You have to go back to at least the Dreamcast/PS1/N64 era for the games to have much value (in general, don't blast me for this). My PS3 games don't seem to be worth much but my Vita games are seeming to hold their value better. When I bought my Vita it came with Disgaea 4 which apparently was slightly valuable and the seller didn't know. My Vita-1000 came with a charger, 8GB memory card, Disgaea 4, Blazblue Chrono Phantasma and Ys Memories of Celceta for $100 (ebay). I was able to turn around and sell Disgaea 4 for $60 (it was cart only too and it sold immediately). It seems like my other games will hold their value well. Even in 10 or 20 years I really doubt that PS3 games will be worth anything.


I am a huge deal hunter (read : "cheapskate"), and I tend not to spend money on retro game stuff unless it's stupid cheap. I make the odd exception, but mostly, I don't want to lose money on anything I purchase...which kind of turned into only buying things at prices I will profit on eventually. My opinion on PS3 / 360 collecting...well, I say now is THE time to buy...most game are super cheap right now, $2-5 for most common stuff. I can't see them getting any cheaper than that...the one local store regularly has 3 packs of decent games for each system, for $5 each...3 games for $5. I really can't see how you could lose money on PS3/360 stuff right now. Even better...hold on to that stuff for a few years, and it will be doing what PS2 is doing now...on it's way up after a massive era of super cheap PS2 stuff. I'd say PS3/360 is about the BEST investment, at the moment, being at what I predict to be an all time low in regards to pricing. This is all my opinion based on experience with the local scene, mind you...there is a huge scene in my area. Kijiji has a MASSIVE gaming section, tons of retro stuff...it's getting pretty insane, honestly. I do get spoiled with the game market in my city.

And I am the same way with Final Fantasy series, but it's still one of my fav series, and I will buy and play through all of them, even the less impressive ones. Also, a lot of my deals are through pawn shops, second hand stores, Kijiji, and the like...and I've learned to effectively barter and haggle, without being a dick (just be fair and honest, really). Which has saved me a ton of money. COD Ghosts isn't worth much on console anymore, but it held it's value up there for awhile. Would never have bothered with it except at a price like that.

The emerald Dual Shock 2 caught my eye immediately...I vaguely remembered seeing it on Ebay when I was checking the value of the blue Dual Shock 2 I have, and it was worth quite a bit, for a PS2 controller at least. Seems to go for almost $50 Canadian, the emerald one, the blue or whatever it's called for about $35. Got the blue for $4, got the emerald for $5 lol The emerald one is mint though, doesn't look like it's ever been used. Rubber on the analog sticks is perfect, and not a hint of human grime in any crevice (OCD goes nuts...first thing I do when buying consoles / controllers is clean / disinfect them). Jet Set Radio (Jet Grind Radio) is one of my favourite games, and I've been keeping my eye out for Future for some time, to find it for $1 was a massive score lol And any Dreamcast game that isn't a sports title, for $5, is a win too, in my book. These things have all just been picked up randomly here and there since my last "pick up" post, not all at once, in case that wasn't clear. All from various sources, some things Kijiji, few things from Second Hand World, and a couple things from Microplay.

Also, I will respond to a few of the other posts at some point...mainly the one asking for input on thread content and what not, I am not ignoring it







Also, might put some pics or something up of some of my never stuff / projects...I can put up a pic of my mint emerald Dual Shock 2 compared to the blue one, at least. Maybe some other stuff.


----------



## Mega Man

if it makes you feel better i am a very cheap man too ( please see note : man = 4 letter word can no tsya on ocn )
i would not have it any other way
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I started a thread on lakka over on r/emulation if anybody were interested. I think some good information.


Linkys please !

http://www.overclock.net/t/1467413/official-ocn-retro-the-overclock-net-retrogaming-club/200_100#post_24726071
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> I am really loving lakka.
> http://www.lakka.tv/
> 
> And bucky o hare on nes !


fyi gunstar heroes on steam is an amazing price ! $1.50 if you cant / dont want to buy for sega, buy that and a sega usb controller !


----------



## Jimbags

Got a free crt tv today. Older games look so much crisper. Also cant play gcon gun games on a modern tv. Hooked up the PS2 time for some Ninja Assault. Really corny but fun game.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jimbags*
> 
> Got a free crt tv today. Older games look so much crisper. Also cant play gcon gun games on a modern tv. Hooked up the PS2 time for some Ninja Assault. Really corny but fun game.


Got my Sony Wega for free too! Someone was moving out and set it on the curb with the remote taped to it. Makes a world of difference. Glad I listened to @neurotix!


----------



## SwishaMane

I found a Sony Trinitron by the curb once, but it was toast.







Only 500lbs, lol


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I was actually supposed to go pick up a widescreen CRT, with component and HDMI, possibly VGA as well, can't remember what brand now...but I couldn't find a ride to go pick it up. Wasn't free...$10 plus whatever gas money for the ride. Oh well...there seem to be quite a few of those around locally too







I am not sure I really have the room for it right now anyway...I've been considering some type of converter box, need to do component to VGA, and composite to VGA...I have a couple decent CRT monitors around. Not sure about input lag or lightguns with such a setup though, so I guess more research before I buy anything.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Crash bandicoots huge adventure from GBA running on a CRT with a "CRT shadder" on Lakka : D

HDD is a mechanical 250GB WD Black and main board is a Pico ITX , Total power draw playing the game for the PC is 12V @ 800mA / 9.6W . I plan to build the PC into the monitor case as there is plenty of room and have it as a dedicated retro system

Have a mini PCIe WiFi/Bluetooth module on the way for a controller and network access


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I was actually supposed to go pick up a widescreen CRT, with component and HDMI, possibly VGA as well, can't remember what brand now...but I couldn't find a ride to go pick it up. Wasn't free...$10 plus whatever gas money for the ride. Oh well...there seem to be quite a few of those around locally too
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I am not sure I really have the room for it right now anyway...I've been considering some type of converter box, need to do component to VGA, and composite to VGA...I have a couple decent CRT monitors around. Not sure about input lag or lightguns with such a setup though, so I guess more research before I buy anything.


You're better off without. Those HD CRTs have amazing refresh rates, better than plasma and especially LCD, but they're terrible for retro consoles.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Linkys please !


I'm assuming you're asking for a link to the reddit. Not for like a router..or..something...

Anyway, here ya go:


__
https://www.reddit.com/r/50jf7x/updated_opinions_on_lakka/


----------



## cones

So these controllers were not that common? I need to get R1 working and screws for it.


----------



## subassy

I only just found this site and really wish I had found it sooner. Or at least if I did find it previously knew the significance of what I was looking at.

The site is redump.org. It's kind of "preservation society" for any/all game-related optical media. They have their "official" way of creating the 1:1 copy of a disc to generate the right hash and DAT files with MD5 and SHA-1 hashes. It's just a database of hashes, like I said. No copyright violations of any kind. That's would violate their own stated purpose.

From the site's wiki:
Quote:


> Redump.org is a disc preservation database and internet community dedicated to collecting precise and accurate information about every video game ever released on optical media of any system. The goal is to make blueprints of the data on console and PC game discs. Redump.org also provides guides to ensure the dumps are correctly done. Users of the website who follow the guides correctly are encouraged to share their results to help build the database. Multiple dumps of games with the same serial number by different people are collected to ensure the same results are gathered, which help correct any incorrect dumps in the database as well as to help recognize alternate versions of the same game.


I only mention it because I'm finally starting to research a proper way to rip all my games. PS1 and PS2 must add up close to 300 by now. So I wanted to make sure I knew how to properly make the copy and gathered the requisite information on this initial run-through. I mean the last thing I want to do is rip them all again when the collection is even larger...

On a semi-related note, I'm almost done with my "magic batch file" which will highly auto-mate the ripping process. It will automatically detect what kind of disc it is (DVD or CD) and rip accordingly then do a verify of the image against the disc, generate the hash file file of the produced image file and store the information in a log file. And possibly record version information should a SYSTEM.CNF file be present on the disc but that might be relegated to a "bonus", I haven't decided it.

Actually, assuming i could generate the same hash files as redump (not confirmed yet) I was going to see if I could use the redump DAT file to identify ROMs by hash. Although there are already utilities for that so my doing so would be more of an exercise thing than anything else.

I don't know if anybody here would be interested in this "magic batch file" or not but it seems like all this work should be documented/shared in some fashion. Most likely I'll put it up on _github_ just for tracking purposes if nothing else.

And it's probably not necessary to re-iterate but I will anyway: I'm just talking about archiving my own private collection, which will remain private. It's no worse than ripping a DVD movie collection, which is discussed at length on OCN. So I'm just assuming it's okay to talk about.


----------



## cones

Interesting it reminds me of abgx360.


----------



## neurotix

Sorry guys, I was out of town yesterday.

Since everyone doesn't seem too enthusiastic about writing anything for the club, I'll just post some videos and convention information for now.

subassy, what you're doing to rip your games is really cool, I recall there is a database (illegal) of Sega Dreamcast GD-ROM dumps.. of course, you can't actually burn any of them since no DVD/CD burner has ever supported the GD-ROM format. I think it was called the Dreamcast Revival project or something like that. The dumps are mainly used to play DC games in emulators without cutting anything out (pirates encoded stuff like videos on DC games into a lossy format to fit them onto a CD-R...) Unfortunately, I don't really have many disc based games, I don't have room for them, so the batch file wouldn't be very useful to me.

As far as retro TVs go this video serves to explain it pretty well:






You really don't want that widescreen CRT or an HD CRT. The games will have many problems with video as you can see above.

Personally, I lucked out because back in the day my mom bought an Insignia CRT from Best Buy... it's pretty big, it's a flat CRT and it has component and S-video input. I got S-video cables for my PS2, Dreamcast and most recently, Saturn. The games all look pretty great.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Sorry guys, I was out of town yesterday.
> subassy, what you're doing to rip your games is really cool, I recall there is a database (illegal) of Sega Dreamcast GD-ROM dumps.. of course, you can't actually burn any of them since no DVD/CD burner has ever supported the GD-ROM format. I think it was called the Dreamcast Revival project or something like that. The dumps are mainly used to play DC games in emulators without cutting anything out (pirates encoded stuff like videos on DC games into a lossy format to fit them onto a CD-R...) Unfortunately, I don't really have many disc based games, I don't have room for them, so the batch file wouldn't be very useful to me.


You must be thinking of Dreamcast Resurrection (DCRes) and or ReviveDC. Both had some of the same people working on them, and provided some of the best rips out there. If you ever find anything that you can trace back to TuxTheWise, Atreyu187, or ComradeSnarky, it should be excellent.


----------



## neurotix

Yep, that was it.









EDIT: I added some stuff to those posts at the beginning of the thread. If something is really noteworthy (a video or something) post it here and we'll see about adding it to those posts.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Well I went for a different rout than lakka . I used retroarch as its the main bit behind lakka for running cores and that and as It can be run on windows I have it setup on my pico with windows 10 with most of it disabled .

I did this because the management of Bluetooth devices such as the PS4 controller and sound bar is a lot easier , aswell as being able to manage files such as roms and everything else with more ease though windows .

2 seconds to pair Bluetooth controller and 20 seconds to map the buttons : D , Can play GBA games properly now as I suck a using at keyboard .


----------



## MNKyDeth

Not sure if this has been posted yet but figured I would put it out there.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sarumaru/henshin-engine-the-game-pc-engine-tg-16-pc-steam


----------



## neurotix

So... I just finished Final Fantasy 7 for probably the 15th time ever on my PSP Go.

I think I'm like level 89 or something. I got all the way to the last dungeon in 32 hours. I have a stable full of Gold Chocobo's. And I just beat Ruby and Emerald Weapon. Emerald hit me like twice lol.

Nothing really left to do in it. But man, what an amazing game. I am not looking forward to the remake though... I have to imagine that a massive amount of stuff will be cut, and I don't like the change from turn based to action battles. This game just has so damn much content, especially with all the minigames, the Gold Saucer, Chocobo breeding, and all that. I really don't know how they can remake it in a decent amount of time without cutting a ton of stuff...









FF7 had a budget of $45 million in 1996, equivalent to $67 million now. And game development costs have only increased, I imagine to properly remake the game it would probably cost over $100 million... that's more than the budget for most movies...I really doubt that Square-Enix will put that much money into a remake of a 20 year old game.

Anyway I had a great time with it. I almost want to play Xenogears now on my PSP Go. But I just finished it on my PS2 within the last year. I could play Xenogears forever lol, such a great game. I love what Monolith does with Xenoblade but, in my opinion, Xenogears was Tetsuya Takahashi's best game.


----------



## Mega Man

But it won't cost that much. Most if that a large part of it is r and d and writing a story. It will suck if they change the figuring. I mean that I will not buy it. I hate the new way of fighting. It ruins rpgs. Period.


----------



## neurotix

Rep+ finally someone who understands.

I totally agree, I would much rather have a in-depth turn based system than "action combat" which consists largely of smashing one button over and over.

The problem is that they don't look to GOOD games from the past (such as Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3) for an action system. At least in those there was an element of strategy in chargeable special attacks, and the ring menu actually paused the game to pick spells and so on (the ring menus were awesome).

I can almost guarantee that the FF7 remake will just be FF15 with an FF7 skin. (They are probably using the same engine.) And FF15 looks terrible to me.


----------



## neurotix

So...






This happened in my town, at my local game store, the good one I've been going to for 20 years.

Long story short: a thrift store chain here has been saving all the games they get all year then holding a big "games day" once a year and selling everything at once. The problem is that the owner of my favorite store went there with bins, was first in line, put a ton of games into a bin and then was sorting through them at his leisure before keeping and buying all the good games.

This might sound awful but in reality, I've been in touch with the owner on Facebook (Lance) and he's told me he's only doing it because there are other resellers there doing it too. He said that he went the first year and walked away with nothing because other resellers did it to him. The man has to make money, he runs a business. Now there's been a huge backlash against him on the internet from people in my city, and he says his Google reviews are being trolled and smeared by the other resellers.

My stance is: St. Vinny's (the thrift store chain) *SHOULD NOT* be saving up all their games and selling them all on one day out of the year to begin with. Let the owner, as well as collectors and other gamers, have to go to the store regularly throughout the year like any other chain (Goodwill etc) to try and find games. So I don't see it as being Lance's fault, he's a businessman. I think it's St. Vinny's fault.

Also, here is a walkthrough of his store... this is really the only good retro store in town. The kid narrating it is ignorant and too excited but I'm too lazy to go there and make a video myself. So if he annoys you just mute it and you can see what my local store is like.


----------



## Mega Man

So I gotta poke a little bit of fun here...

Omg look a Nintendo I didn't even know these existed. Omg look a atari,I did not even know these existed, omg look a retro tv I didn't even know they existed. Omg look old magazines. What are magazines. They actually used paper and the mail rather then the internet.

Omg look a dreamcast modem. What is a 56k modem?

You wont sell this Stuff to me !?! How dare you!

As to the bins issue... no problems at all

1 private enterprises. Sell to whomever is their choice

2 private citizens buying what they want again who cares, so their goal is to sell it. I bet all the whiners had the same goal....

Frankly i would love to visit that store (but my picket wouldn't) i miss then I used to have all the store's near me know me on a first name basis


----------



## neurotix

Lm-o, you made my day with that post!









I told you he was excited...

Some of the stuff was blatantly wrong too, he called all the boxed N64 games in the beginning "NES games"...

I don't wanna sound mean or anything but maybe people like this are killing the hobby or making it too competitive? This kid doesn't look to be anything more than 18 but he's playing and collecting games from before he was born... no offense to any younger people here... but there's already a lot of old farts like Mega Man and myself that want these games, do we really need 16 year olds into it too? Food for thought....

No he won't sell any of his collectibles in the glass cases, I've tried too. We did however have a very long discussion about the unopened can of Sonic The Hedgehog Spaghetti-O's from like 1992 he has in there once.

I went down and had a long talk with Lance about lots of things, gaming, prices of things, the PC Engine vs the Turbografx (namely how much cheaper PC Engine stuff is), and of course the issues he's facing for what he did. He replaced batteries in my Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Mario RPG and Pokemon Crystal while I talked to him. Usually he does $5 a pop (so $20 total) but he did all 4 for me for $10. I also got a decent deal on Duck Tales for NES. The battery thing is why he'll continue to get my business. He thought I was going to come in and trade him all my "holy grail's" as he called them until I told him I just wanted the batteries replaced properly.

Usually I replace the batteries myself and just hold them in place using the tabs and some electrical tape...but for games like Chrono Trigger it should be done the right way... he seemed to do a good job although I haven't looked at the solder joints since he did them.

It's pretty great knowing him on a first name basis, and the discounts he gives me are nice too. He seems to enjoy talking to me. He showed me some cool stuff too (like a black label Xenogears I wanted that he's saving...)


----------



## tristanbear

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Lm-o, you made my day with that post!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> but there's already a lot of old farts like Mega Man and myself that want these games, do we really need 16 year olds into it too? Food for thought....


Uhm...Wow.


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Lm-o, you made my day with that post! applaud.gif
> 
> but there's already a lot of old farts like Mega Man and myself that want these games, do we really need 16 year olds into it too? Food for thought....


So when you're dead none of that will exist because it is just that old crap that guy wouldn't throw out.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Yeah, I try to get people of all ages to appreciate the older games...usually unsuccessfully, but I try







I am kind of aged in the middle at 30...


----------



## neurotix

Sorry but with the way the market and prices are nowadays, I really do have to wonder if it's a good thing or not. Especially when there's emulation. I'm glad these games appeal to all types of people, but I'm pretty unhappy with the price gouging and amount of interest driving $5 games up to $60+ games. I suppose it could also be blamed on the internet, more people understand that old games are worth something now due to the amount of exposure from Youtube "celebrities". Now you have people at garage sales looking up prices on Ebay and pricing games accordingly.

I'm just glad I have pretty much every game I had as a kid and then some, and got the majority of them before prices went way up in the last 3 years.

Sorry guys. Just expressing my honest opinion.


----------



## Mega Man

Your fine. But no I don't think it is a bad thing. Just makes my investments better


----------



## neurotix

I agree, it makes what I have already worth more.

However, there's stuff like Pokemon Go raising the prices of old Pokemon games dramatically..

I bought Pokemon Crystal (GBC) for somewhere under $35 last year. Now it's going for $60. Even the first gen Pokemon (which is common as hell, they made millions of these things) is like $60.

There's some games I want for Genesis, the last two I want, but they are much more than I'm willing to pay for what the game is. Sparkster (Rocket Knight Adventures 2) is $60 and Crusader of Centy (ogod) is like $300 for the cart alone. 10 years ago these games weren't worth nearly as much. The only two Genesis games I don't have that are must haves to me. But I don't like to pay more than $40 for a game unless it's an RPG. And certainly not more than $100 for any old game.

I've also noticed lately that SNES games are getting tremendously expensive, even for things like common shooters, just based on the fact that they're SNES games (seemingly). Un Squadron is $25 on Amazon and for the longest time that was like, a $5 game.

I feel bad for anyone just getting into this hobby now.

I love it, but, I would have to recommend people look to alternatives, be it flash carts or import games (Super Famicom...) Protip: a lot of Super Famicom games are dirt cheap and many have a minimal amount of Japanese text, some are even totally in English. My Super Star Soldier and Final Soldier for PC Engine cost me $40 each and both have all text in English. $100 for Super Star Soldier Turbografx US version and I can't even find any copies of Final Soldier US on either Ebay or Amazon. But yeah if you want something like Super Mario World for SNES you can get the Japanese version for $6 instead of $25 for the US version (or more if your local game store is like the bad one in my town.)


----------



## g0tsl33p14

It may not lessen the blow if you are already in debt, but think about it. Your opinion just got a bit more expensive.

I told my local garage sale about OCN Retro, because I don't know what you want, and I don't have the time to search their games, however as you observe, that does not prevent them from going to eBay, while that is much more likely because it is just easy.


----------



## Wolfsbora

My opinion is that it isn't so much the age of the buyer (I'm a fan of anyone that wants to get into collecting, is our history being shared). But, more that it is simply people forcing the market to go higher by starting pricing trends on eBay & Amazon, then local dealers/sellers use this as the price gauge. We are the unfortunate victims, regardless of age.

I lucked out and got myself a CIB Ristar for free, along with Super Smash Brothers Melee CIB, and a ton of other Genesis and GC games for free this week. Oh, and a second Dreamcast (and accessories), second GameCube (indigo version, with accessories), and a second 1st gen Genesis (with accessories). All free. Apparently there's a second Saturn coming to me too.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I lucked out and got myself a CIB Ristar for free, along with Super Smash Brothers Melee CIB, and a ton of other Genesis and GC games for free this week. Oh, and a second Dreamcast (and accessories), second GameCube (indigo version, with accessories), and a second 1st gen Genesis (with accessories). All free. Apparently there's a second Saturn coming to me too.


You owe us a story.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> You owe us a story.


It pays to know people that were looking to simply trash a bunch of stuff out of a room in their house that is used just for storage.







I haven't tested anything yet. I have a feeling the 20+ Genesis games are going to need a thorough cleaning. The systems are pretty dusty and dirty too.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

I would collect stuff if I had the space but the first PS1 was my first main console with the GBA being my very first console so I don't know any games really from anything else before hand .

I found a carrier module for my Q Seven board so ill test that soon on retroarch . Finished my current pcio itx to put in my first monitor .


----------



## Jimbags

Just back to the crt tvs etc. Its all good having converters and such to play your old games on your new flat screen tv's. But you cant use light guns/zapper/G-Con, on modern tvs. Crt TV only. Found this out recently, luckily I got a 20.4inch crt for free







built in stereo speakers


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jimbags*
> 
> Just back to the crt tvs etc. Its all good having converters and such to play your old games on your new flat screen tv's. But you cant use light guns/zapper/G-Con, on modern tvs. Crt TV only. Found this out recently, luckily I got a 20.4inch crt for free
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> built in stereo speakers


If you're referring to me, I was mentioning converters to go from composite/component to VGA so I can use one good CRT monitor, which I already have. Not sure how that will work out...if the light guns will still work or what.


----------



## Mega Man

i hate saving monies ... http://denver.craigslist.org/sop/5757637075.html


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> i hate saving monies ... http://denver.craigslist.org/sop/5757637075.html


I want one so bad...that's what we used in my public school in the classrooms, up until about grade 3 when we got Windows 3.1 PCs lol


----------



## neurotix

That's an awesome deal. Unfortunately I really have nowhere where I can set something like this up.

On another note. I did this a while ago and was going to post pictures but I keep forgetting.

I "refurbished" my custom arcade stick. I put in new art, I put in brand new red Sanwa 30mm buttons, and I got a new acrylic piece machined for it (the old one was cracked... I got mad. It was also scratched.)



Spoiler: Here's the pictures























It will mostly be used to play arcade games on my modded OG Xbox now, instead of going to fighting game tournaments. I'm so *done* with competitive fighting games it's not even funny.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Nice work : D


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> That's an awesome deal. Unfortunately I really have nowhere where I can set something like this up.
> 
> On another note. I did this a while ago and was going to post pictures but I keep forgetting.
> 
> I "refurbished" my custom arcade stick. I put in new art, I put in brand new red Sanwa 30mm buttons, and I got a new acrylic piece machined for it (the old one was cracked... I got mad. It was also scratched.)
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Here's the pictures
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It will mostly be used to play arcade games on my modded OG Xbox now, instead of going to fighting game tournaments. I'm so *done* with competitive fighting games it's not even funny.


Well done!! I wish you were local, I'd ask for your help on some control panels on my arcade games!


----------



## neurotix

Heh, sorry guys but I didn't wire the PCB







XD

A guy named Kaytrim from Iowa did it. He made the box and everything too. You can see more of his work here: https://kaytrimskustoms.wordpress.com/ (Just keep scrolling down) Unfortunately he doesn't make sticks anymore. Mine was close to $300 by the way.

Though, I have had to repair the wiring myself a few times. I could probably do a wiring harness to a PCB but I'd have to use hot glue. I don't really have access to any power tools and I know nothing about woodworking, unfortunately. Still, I could probably repair wiring in a stick or arcade controls...

If you want your own stick like this, there are plenty of people who make them on shoryuken.com and many other websites. There are also some pretty high quality sticks made by Mad Catz of all companies, the tournament one is high grade and afaik it uses genuine Sanwa parts. Not too expensive used either and they can easily be modded, you can install different color buttons, ball tops, bat tops, and even new art (use photo paper... the tournament stick is rather large though so you might need larger paper or better yet, measure it, make your art and have it professionally printed).

I watch a channel on youtube called Kid Shoryuken and he does retro game shopping in Japan, I regularly see really nice looking arcade sticks in stores like Hard Off, Trader etc. You can find some of these Japanese ones on ebay if you put in "Japanese arcade stick"

If you have the money, Hori Real Arcade Pros can be had on Ebay. These ones are really nice and easily moddable.

Pretty sure that most of the PS3, PS4, X360 and Xbone sticks can easily be used on a PC for MAME.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I'm so *done* with competitive fighting games it's not even funny.


Between this line and the bit about Japanese style fighter sticks I thought you might have an opinion on this (keeping in mine I'm no where skilled enough where it would a difference one way or another)

Would you prefer the convex or concave style buttons? If I remember right convex is Japanese, concave is american (or non-Japanese, anyway).

I mean is there some long term advantage to be accustomed to one over the other?

Just thought you might have a view one way or the other.


----------



## Mega Man

this is pretty cool






i never knew that ....


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Between this line and the bit about Japanese style fighter sticks I thought you might have an opinion on this (keeping in mine I'm no where skilled enough where it would a difference one way or another)
> 
> Would you prefer the convex or concave style buttons? If I remember right convex is Japanese, concave is american (or non-Japanese, anyway).
> 
> I mean is there some long term advantage to be accustomed to one over the other?
> 
> Just thought you might have a view one way or the other.


Sorry subassy I've been busy the last day or two. Also not sleeping well and not feeling too good.

Even though I quit fighters, I can still play them really well. I mostly played SFIII: 3rd Strike and SSF2 Turbo. I'm no good at the games the community moved to like SF4, SF5, MvC3 and so on. I strongly dislike them, they just seem wonky and messed up to me, so I really prefer the old 2D ones. Some other games I'm decent at are Garou MOTW, SF Alpha 3 (this might be my favorite) Melty Blood, Blazblue, KOF2002 and earlier, Samurai Shodown (any generally), Fatal Fury, Guilty Gear etc. Essentially, any 2D fighter but especially the older ones. I'm not pro by any means and any pro player in any of these games would probably beat me no problem...I know this for a fact







But casually I'm pretty good.

I would say I prefer the convex Japanese style push buttons. However, it's not really a matter of convex vs concave. It's more about the difference in the buttons themselves. I think American (Happ) buttons are actually a little smaller so there's less to push. The lips on the buttons (the part around the button that's not actually the button itself) are thicker and consequently the button is smaller. Also, Happ buttons have a further distance to engage when you press them, basically you have to push them harder. They also feel "springy" and kind of mushy, which isn't the case with Sanwa buttons.

Growing up as a kid all the American SF machines had the American style buttons, usually Happ. I can still play on these machines just fine. The problem with them though, is that the rows of buttons go straight across in a perfect horizontal line and as such, you have to rotate your wrist to the right slightly to have all the fingertips of your pointer, middle and ring fingers on a row of buttons all at once. Contrast this to the pictures I posted of my stick, which are staggered for each finger, with the buttons being bigger, so you don't have to turn your wrist to have all fingers on a row of buttons. (They don't line up across horizontally). In this case you could say my stick is "ergonomic". The problem is, I've frequently tried to play Street Fighter on machines at arcades I've gone to pretty much across the country that have the American straight across buttons, and after about 5 minutes of playing *my fingers and wrist hurt so bad.* To the point where I have to stop playing and go to a different machine. It's awful. I'm guessing this is why the Japanese make their button layout ergonomic. Or maybe I have carpal tunnel at 32 y.o. I don't know.

If you're interested and want to read more: http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/attributes_brands.html (Go to the part that says "Plunger")

For reference my stick has a Seimitsu LS-32 stick and Sanwa OBSN-30 red pushbuttons.









EDIT: Mega Man it's ironic you posted that. I just found this guy (The 8-bit Guy) the other day too. His videos are awesome. Really smart dude. His friend who frequently comes on (The Obsolete Geek) also has a great channel. He has a video where he shows off and talks about his Sega Astro City arcade cab. Recommended.


----------



## neurotix

SEGA AGES discussion rolled into this thread...

http://www.gamesradar.com/the-sonic-mania-collectors-edition-statue-plays-that-beautiful-seegaaa-sound/



If you get the Sonic Mania collector's edition you get a 12" statue of Sonic standing on a Genesis and it plays the classic "Segaaa" sound from the 16-bit games.

Seriously considering getting this. I really want that statue for my game room. And the game itself looks pretty good too.

Just a heads up if you guys hadn't heard of this.


----------



## subassy

Not sure if "cross-posts" are frowned upon but this is..kind-of-somewhat-tangentially-related to this thread: really old all-in-one triple monitor chassis I found at a thrift store. That's the best way I could describe it. It's old enough you could almost classify it as really old game hardware.

Anyway, if anybody has an opinion here's the thread:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1611858/help-me-decide-to-buy-for-100-old-triple-monitor-in-a-chassis/0_100


----------



## subassy

Alright, I'm really close to finishing the setup for my game ripping project...

I've got an old desktop chassis (~6 year old core i7, if that matters) with _four_ DVD drives (1 PATA, 3 SATA again, if that were to matter) along with a 1TB and 2TB HDD. I also have 2 USB DVD drives but I'll most likely just leave them connected to my primary desktop and robocopy over the resulting files.

So that's 6 discs at the same time assuming everything goes to plan. Should be quite the whirlwind of activity. Hilarious to see in its practice. I was just going to ask: does anybody wanted to see it in action? Before/after? Comically piled stacks of games? Maybe a video (or imgur's "GIFV" format, whatever)?

If not I'll shut up about it









Oh, and the only reason why this isn't already going 24/7 is because said 6 year old i7 _was_ setup as a Hyper-V 2012R2 server, and working. But when I tried it yesterday it decided it didn't like me and was not working (I can't connect to it with Hyper-V manager, a rather important detail). But once I get it working it will be all-ripping-all-the-time.


----------



## cones

Make sure you don't max out the write speed to the hard drive otherwise it'll take a while. Does it have autoeject?


----------



## g0tsl33p14

Would love to see it in action.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Reminds me of a cerrtain setup I used to see quite frequently back when the Dreamcast first was released...won't go into much detail, but dude basically had an entire room of PCs backing up discs of all kinds...


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Reminds me of a cerrtain setup I used to see quite frequently back when the Dreamcast first was released...won't go into much detail, but dude basically had an entire room of PCs backing up discs of all kinds...


Guess he made some pretty good money from his "hobbies".


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> Make sure you don't max out the write speed to the hard drive otherwise it'll take a while. Does it have autoeject?


These drives are two of my fastest (the 1TB is from a USB enclosure and just happens to be crazy fast while the 2TB is a WD Black so it just boasts being fast). I was going to stripe them together to try and help with the write part and actually everything was going to end up in the same virtual hard drive connected to one-or-more VMs as well. Or I can hookup a VM with access to the "real" hard drive instead of a virtual one. I haven't decided yet. l have to worry about actually getting stupid Hyper-V server to work first, then circle back round to the philosophy part.

ImgBurn happens to have the ability to auto-eject-on-success, to answer you question. The batch file I've spent a few weeks developing is merely using variables in conjunction with command line _ImgBurn_ (I've given the batch file the ability to detect between CD and DVD type discs, since they have to be ripped in different formats and a few other features).
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Reminds me of a cerrtain setup I used to see quite frequently back when the Dreamcast first was released...won't go into much detail, but dude basically had an entire room of PCs backing up discs of all kinds...


Dreamcast was my post-console era (gateway drug to PC gaming wasn't _Doom_ but _civilization II_). And also I had a sour taste left over from Saturn. Why, why did I bother with a Saturn? Anyway it sounds kind of neat, whatever it is you're talking about. I honestly have no idea.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> Guess he made some pretty good money from his "hobbies".


Ohh...now I get it.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Reminds me of a cerrtain setup I used to see quite frequently back when the Dreamcast first was released...won't go into much detail, but dude basically had an entire room of PCs backing up discs of all kinds...


He couldn't have been ripping Dreamcast games. That's not possible on a PC since regular optical drives can't read the proprietary GD-ROM format. CD-based games on the other hand, pretty much all have zero copy protection on the disc itself. I imagine he ripped a lot of PS1 games.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Like I said, I'd rather not go into too much detail about the guy's setup or what he was using it for, but he was definitely backing up Dreamcast games...but yeah, PS1, PC, DVD's...it was quite shocking, honestly. He had huge master lists that he just printed out and gave to, uh, certain people...I had a few...lets just say at one point I may or may not have had a few CD binders that may or may not have had every Dreamcast game ever made...


----------



## cones

I think it's really interesting to hear about those things. But get why you don't want to talk about it here. I don't remember but do GameCube games spin backwards or read from the outside, I know Wii does that? How did they get copies from things like the Nintendo 64?


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> I think it's really interesting to hear about those things. But get why you don't want to talk about it here. I don't remember but do GameCube games spin backwards or read from the outside, I know Wii does that? How did they get copies from things like the Nintendo 64?


I remember from the time and also there's a few random youtube videos (or reddit? I don't remember now. Stupid age) about it that N64 games were being pirated via add-on devices that fit into the expansion port on the bottom of the system intended for the "DD" add-on that never came out in north america or europe (and sold less than 100k units when it finally came out in Japan). I think the pirate devices were just some form of CD-ROM drive. N64 games weren't that big, storage-wise, so they could put multiple games on a single disc.

As for copying the cartridges I assume it's same process as now with dumping carts. I've never known what the process for "dumping" any cartridge medium is actually. I assume a specialized device you would have to buy but I don't know. I do remember playing NES ROMs in ~1996. I think the whole [licensed] library was already out there. So...some kind of EEPROM reader? No idea.

I think I remember something about gamecube discs being written from outside in instead of inside out. Which is why you may notice there is no _CD-ROM_ or _DVD-ROM_ logo on the GameCube cases: it does not comply with the official specs of the standard. Which is exactly what Nintendo wanted for piracy sake I assume (it didn't seem to have worked with GC or Wii).


----------



## cones

I'm thinking for the cartridge games you are right, some custom type reader. Maybe something serial based? I know for the Wii now you use it to create your backups, Wii or GameCube. I think before the Wii you needed a chip in the GameCube and I think the broadband adapter. I should really look this stuff up. I only know about the disc based games, GameCube, Xbox, ps2 and up, and the ps1. I just find it kinda funny how people do it just to say they figured it out or to not have to buy any games. Interting also how most of the disc games don't have any encryption they just use obscure formats.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I could say a ton but I think I opened a can of worms here that should never have been opened lol I don't want our thread "cleansed" or closed down or anything...the info is all out there anyway for anyone that is really that curious.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Listen, as long as the discussion isn't on HOW to pirate things, there won't be any clean up. In other words, the device discussed above, that was used for piracy on the N64, was actually developed by a company to make a less expensive development kit than what Nintendo was offering. It wasn't meant to be for piracy at all. Unfortunately, too many people realized that piracy could be done using it, and ruined it for a lot of small developers. Nintendo ended up changing up the expansion slot on the bottom so that the dev device could no longer be used, but of course, people found a way around it. Then the dev kit company built one that would work with the expansion port. Not long after, Nintendo sued that company (no surprise there), and the kit was discontinued.

I'd like to point out that piracy in this instance actually devastated small 3rd party development by making it very expensive for the smaller developers to make cart-based games for the N64. Meaning, we the gamer ended up suffering the most.


----------



## cones

Yes I wasn't trying to talk about how to pirate the games. More of what companies did to prevent it. Kinda a fine line between the two.


----------



## neurotix

Wow that's a lot of activity. Glad to hear the thread won't be cleaned Wolfsbora, *guys let's avoid any DIRECT talk about piracy, links, instructions on how to do it, etc. and we should be okay.*

subassy, I would definitely be interested in a video showing the DVD drives all going at once to back up games. A simple phone video of it and a youtube link should be fine. Since you are making legal backups of games you own, and not distributing them, showing it happening should be fine. Besides, the tech for this falls under the umbrella of PC hardware and that's what OCN is about.

To answer your guys question: since I know a lot about ROMs and emulation (I got into emulation around 1997) I can answer the question about how ROMs are made.

ROMs are made using a specialized ROM dumper. These are usually made by Chinese pirates. These usually connected to the PC through the parallel port and had specialized software that had to be installed on the PC. You would insert a game and use the software to give it a command to dump the ROM. Then, the ROM dumper would basically read the ROM chips and make a 1:1 copy of the game in a digital file format. I believe the file formats were standardized and heavily tied in to certain emulators. For example, the first real functioning NES emulator was iNES, and the author of iNES (Marat Fayzullin) invented the .nes file format that NES roms are stored in. However I think some later systems ROMs file formats are actually determined by the ROM dumper used and thus, the emulators were programmed to read all of these different ROM formats.

Here is a page on the Super Magic Drive which is a Genesis ROM dumper.

It's arguable and I don't really have any proof to back this up, however, there may have been a few individuals who not only had a ROM dumper in the 90s (which were very expensive) but also a very large collection of games, and went through and dumped them all and uploaded them to the internet. It was not very long after the first working emulators for a system that nearly every game for the system was available to download on the internet. To me, this explanation makes sense, otherwise how else would so many ROMs for a system show up at once?


----------



## cones

That's kinda funny that it uses floppies, well i guess where else would the files go. I figured the file formats for roms where just some type of archive format, or are they a image?


----------



## neurotix

Yes it is essentially an image file.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROM_image


----------



## Mega Man

kinda crapping myself right now......

http://denver.craigslist.org/vgm/5780065156.html

look at the condition


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> kinda crapping myself right now......
> 
> http://denver.craigslist.org/vgm/5780065156.html
> 
> look at the condition


I would never...but if you have the means, then by all means lol This game might as well not even exist and just be some myth...I've legit wanted to play this so bad since I got my Saturn as a kid and played Panzer Dragoon...and it's just something I know I will never play lol $700...and Snatcher...yeah, two of my most desirable games just happen to be two of the most expensive.


----------



## neurotix

If I were a millionaire then *maybe.*

Coming from a house with a single mom and three kids and being poor most of my life, I value my money. So even if I won the lottery I don't think I could justify spending that much on an old game.

Tbh I'd rather have Crusader of Centy on Genesis anyway. I think Panzer Dragoon Saga is highly overrated from what I've played of it.


----------



## Wolfsbora

My OCN friends and family, I have found it, I have found my grail! An original SNES Chrono Trigger cart for $102.60. The lowest price I've seen on that cart whether in person or online. AND, the label has minimal wear.

"Happy days are not far away." - DMX (pre-crack days)


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> ...
> 
> "Happy days are not far away." - DMX (*pre-crack days*)


Pre-crack


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> kinda crapping myself right now......
> 
> http://denver.craigslist.org/vgm/5780065156.html
> 
> look at the condition


I paid half that much for my complete copy. Phenomenal game, but I wouldn't recommend buying it to anyone who's not already a fan of it. It's best to play it first through... other means.


----------



## neurotix

You guys had mentioned being interested in the PS Vita a while ago. So here's pictures of my customized Vita-1000.


----------



## subassy

I was telling myself "I have too many games, I should take a few months off."

Then I was invited to the flea market and came home with this many...



Haven't really gone through them or counted yet. Really close to 100 I would say. Mostly PS2, some PS1, at least one PS3 and a Wii.

Going to have to create a separate spreadsheet just for these. I'll share said sheet and give away the ones anybody may want. As implied, they're all loose and may or may not be scratched all to hell.

Oh, stack was $30.


----------



## cones

Pretty cheap as long as it's not a stack of sports games.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> Pretty cheap as long as it's not a stack of sports games.


Ya, there were a lot of sports games. And NASCAR, if that counts as a sport. Equally worthless anyway.

Turns there are also some original XBox games as well, but those are only sports games.

Between the duplicates in the stack of and games I already owned anyway and the games scratched beyond recognition I'm not sure the $30 was really a good price. It will probably come out to more than $1 game, which isn't terrible. Probably what I was expecting.

When I was going through the loose games the guy said they were a $1 a game. I was about to come away with 4 or 5 games when he asked me to to give him an offer on all of them. And maybe I did get some I would not have otherwise had but I'm starting to wonder if should have just picked out the few I wanted.

I am going to be throwing away or otherwise getting rid of the games I don't want and/or need if anybody here is is interested in games. Probably not. Media mail is supposed to cheap, right? Maybe not internationally but domestically.

Might be a while before I finish the spreadsheet...


----------



## neurotix

Color me not interested.



Sorry. Especially without cases. (I only really collect cartridge games.)

Thanks for offering though.

EDIT: Besides, you know what I want. Poke poke.


----------



## subassy

I've been "on the cusp" of starting my archival project for what seems like weeks now. Probably has been weeks, actually. But it's still slow going to actually get started. Tomorrow I'll get started. Probably.

I don't know how many would be interested, but I did post the batch file to github:
https://github.com/tildesarecool/advib

*Not necessarily in a usable state* right now, but it's there if you want to follow the progress anyway.


----------



## neurotix

This is really cool. I'd still like to see a video of your computer in action ripping games from multiple DVD drives at once.









Also guys, really? No comments at all on my Vita pictures?


----------



## cones

What language does batch files use, I haven't really done much with them before.

That vita looks nice. I assume it wasn't painted?


----------



## subassy

If you bring up the CMD shell in Windows it's basically all those commands as the language. Pretty much everything from the last version of actual DOS along with some accumulated enhancements that have been added in the past ~16 years (like for-loops and several other things).

A lot of "real" coders will dump on CMD batch files, mostly because _it's not BASH_, but it is actually quite capable. Here's a one line command that will list all the windows updates currently installed, for instance:

Code:



Code:


for /f "usebackq tokens=2 delims= " %i in (`systeminfo ^| find /i "kb"`) do echo %i

It's actually relatively simple if you break it down but it was not easy for me to figure out how to do the above line, even after hours of pouring over SS64.com (the best reference site on the web for CMD batch files).


----------



## cones

And here is one line command that will do all the updates in a Linux distro







I did forget that it would be DOS, and now there is powershell i guess. That is all sh files in Linux are, just the bash commands written out really not much different. I really only use Windows for games so i never use commands on it.

Code:



Code:


sudo yum update


----------



## subassy

Sorry I wasn't sure if you were aware. And I wanted to expand in case any other readers were interested. I forget sometimes late 30s might be considered "old" and not everybody may know what a batch file is or have ever heard of DOS for that matter. So I try to more over-explain.

Anyway, yes it's the equivalent of a shell script. I think I'm starting to hit a wall with the capabilities so if I continue to develop it I will most likely switch it over to JScript and/or powershell. Unless I can figure out how to enable the BASH shell that is supposed to be added to windows 10. I thought it was supposed to be available with AU but I haven't found it yet or put more than a few minutes into trying to find how to enable it.

Or I could try re-writing it in electron but I haven't decided yet and I don't know JavaScript that well. Sorry, that's more of tangent. Shiny objects distract me.


----------



## cones

Yes I am young enough to have never used DOS. That's why I forgot about it. Plus with Windows that type of stuff is generally hidden. Python might also be good for you to try for that type of stuff.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> This is really cool. I'd still like to see a video of your computer in action ripping games from multiple DVD drives at once.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also guys, really? No comments at all on my Vita pictures?


what do you want us to say ? its just a vita ( sorry but it is :/ )


----------



## g0tsl33p14

as Mega Man is just an avatar... hrm..

I have to play GTA all alone as the PC disc version wont hook to Open Broadcaster Software. Sure PC, but skipping the first page, it is Retro.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> What language does batch files use, I haven't really done much with them before.
> 
> That vita looks nice. I assume it wasn't painted?


It has a custom decal from decalgirl.com
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> And here is one line command that will do all the updates in a Linux distro
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I did forget that it would be DOS, and now there is powershell i guess. That is all sh files in Linux are, just the bash commands written out really not much different. I really only use Windows for games so i never use commands on it.
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> 
> Code:
> 
> 
> sudo yum update


This works if your distro uses the yum package manager. Debian (and Ubuntu and Crunchbang and other derivitives of Debian) is

sudo apt-get update

I used various flavors of Ubuntu, Debian and Mint as my day to day OS for over a year, only rebooting to Windows to play games. Personally I prefer anything based on Debian if I'm to use Linux. I always had problems with distros that use yum.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> what do you want us to say ? its just a vita ( sorry but it is :/ )


:/

The point isn't the Vita itself but the decal, carrying case and of course the games I posted. You guys seemed interested in the Vita a few months ago when I mentioned it.

Either way. I'm really happy with it. Particularly because I don't have a PS4 and I don't want one (obviously I have a more than decent gaming computer and it'll have dual Vega in it hopefully next year). But for a lot of the games I like that don't have PC ports, usually Japanese games, they are on the Vita as well as the PS4. Senran Kagura Estival Versus, Lost Dimension and Grand Kingdom are 3 of them. I have the PS TV too so I can play them on my big TV, albeit at 720p, but this doesn't bother me since you don't need 1080p 60fps for a jRPG. I don't really care about resolution or framerate for console games, only for computer games.


----------



## cones

Just used the yum because it is the shortest one that i know of to update the system, next would probably be pacman/yaourt. And that apt-get command only gets the upgradeable list, it does not actually update your system, kinda starting to go way off now but the command bellow would be equivalent to the yum one i posted. Also while i am at it apt has now replaced apt-get for the majority of distros.

Code:



Code:


apt update && apt upgrade


----------



## cones

Been going through all my games and writing down what i actually have. Forgot i found this i think at a pawn shop for something like a $1. The disk is actually GTA 1 correct. i can't remember from when i tried it out. Also that picture came out really bad.


----------



## Mega Man

To the vita That helps. It is neat to see. Kinda funny how sparse they are. But jar to get excited about pictures

I am more a pick it up and play it guy

To the ps1 game no idea sorry :/


----------



## neurotix

My Vita was about $100 used on Ebay and it came with 3 games and an 8GB memory card. One of which was a cart only Disgaea 4 which I turned around and sold for $60 (apparently it was a limited release for the Vita). So my Vita really cost me like $40.

My PSTV was $40 *with* a nearly brand new DualShock 3 Controller. Just a new controller is over $40 alone in most stores. Nobody wants the PSTV, it was basically a flop and they're worthless now. Mine even came with the box for that price. If you guys wanna get into Vita gaming then a used PSTV is a great way to do it. Just be aware that some games won't work on it without the white list hack, although the large majority of games getting a physical release now do. Just, any game that makes heavy use of the touch screen or motion sensors probably won't work on a stock PSTV. It's dumb really because the PSTV has a built in touch screen emulator (you click L3 or R3 and it brings up a "finger" cursor you can move around and press X to click).

Anyway, the PSTV is a good way since it's so cheap if you don't care about the portability aspect. It's also good if you like the same kind of games I do but don't want to shell out for a PS4 because a good majority of Japanese and JRPG games are coming out for the Vita as well as the PS4. Personally I'm really looking forward to Akiba's Beat, I finished Akiba's Strip for my PS3. Akiba's Beat will be on Vita.


----------



## cones

Never heard of that before.


----------



## subassy

I bought a PSTV as well, I think I mentioned it here. I bought the one game but as it turns out it was roughly the same price as a downloadable through the store on the PS3. The game was one of the Persona games, persona 4 maybe.

I saw a whole stack of PSTVs at my local walmart for $20 each. I was trying to rationalize buying like 5 of them as collector items and/or maybe they'll be flippable at point in the future as a bundle. But I didn't bother buying any more of them.

I don't think I got very far into the Persona game I bought, the game was still showing me the basics of the combat system. I enjoyed the anime cut scenes but was always disappointed when it cut back to the pre-rendered world of gameplay.

I keep waiting for Vita games to come down in price but I never see any for less than $15 in local stores and I don't want the games _that_ badly.

it's definitely one of those obscure consoles. Maybe in 20 years it will have a following like the Jaguar does today. Although I"m fairly certain the vita has a larger number of notable games than the Jag did.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I bought a PSTV as well, I think I mentioned it here. I bought the one game but as it turns out it was roughly the same price as a downloadable through the store on the PS3. The game was one of the Persona games, persona 4 maybe.
> 
> I saw a whole stack of PSTVs at my local walmart for $20 each. I was trying to rationalize buying like 5 of them as collector items and/or maybe they'll be flippable at point in the future as a bundle. But I didn't bother buying any more of them.
> 
> I don't think I got very far into the Persona game I bought, the game was still showing me the basics of the combat system. I enjoyed the anime cut scenes but was always disappointed when it cut back to the pre-rendered world of gameplay.
> 
> I keep waiting for Vita games to come down in price but I never see any for less than $15 in local stores and I don't want the games _that_ badly.
> 
> it's definitely one of those obscure consoles. Maybe in 20 years it will have a following like the Jaguar does today. Although I"m fairly certain the vita has a larger number of notable games than the Jag did.


If you want game recommendations let me know. Last I counted I have 16 Vita games on cart, and like 3 from the PSN store.

If you're into Japanese gaming or RPGs then the Vita is a very very good system. I personally think that the Super Famicom/SNES is the best JRPG machine of all time, followed very closely by the Nintendo DS, but next to that the Vita is a close third. We're actually relatively lucky/fortunate because back in the 90s, so many great RPGs got skipped over and weren't released here. Nowadays companies like XSEED and Atlus are bringing a ton of these games over in English. Sure, some of them are bad, but there's a lot of good ones too. One look around the Vita games on Amazon and you'll see many, many games like this.

Part of what makes the system great is the cheap cost of games- $15 for a modern game (some of them AAA+ games in native Japan) is fantastic. I don't think I paid much more than $30 for anything but my Senran Kagura Estival Versus collector's edition when it was basically brand new. Compare this to buying some of these games for PS4 for $60...I'll take the cheaper ones for Vita, thanks.

If you want a few recommendations to get you started- anything by Vanillaware is going to be really, really good. Muramasa Rebirth, the new Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, and Dragon's Crown. All three are action RPGs with fantastic 2D art. Muramasa and Dragon's Crown are only about $18 used on Amazon. You really can't go wrong with these games. Muramasa in particular would be my favorite of the three.

Akiba's Trip is also really fun but look it up first and see if you like the way it plays.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Nothing fancy but picked up Ecco the Dolphin and Mortal Kombat loose Genesis carts, both in nice condition, for $12. Could likely have found them for less, but those prices were fair IMO, since I picked them up from the usual place, Microplay (the one just down the street from me). Needed something to do alone on a Friday night I guess


----------



## SwishaMane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> Been going through all my games and writing down what i actually have. Forgot i found this i think at a pawn shop for something like a $1. The disk is actually GTA 1 correct. i can't remember from when i tried it out. Also that picture came out really bad.


Yeah, you have a mixed combo. I actually have a spare copy of each game, but they are NOT in great condition. Playabe, but bad. Like 5 / 10 each bad. Bad cases or water damaged manuals, you know how it goes. lol


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> Yeah, you have a mixed combo. I actually have a spare copy of each game, but they are NOT in great condition. Playabe, but bad. Like 5 / 10 each bad. Bad cases or water damaged manuals, you know how it goes. lol


Can't complain for the price.


----------



## neurotix

I got 8 PS3 and 360 games for about $70... some were only $4. Two were $7.

The list off the top of my head is

(360) Borderlands 1 and Borderlands 2, Gears of War 3
(PS3) Front Mission Evolved, Crysis 2 Complete, GTAV, Uncharted Drake's Fortune, Destiny Legendary Edition (has all expansions and DLC).

Since I mostly play JRPGs I wanted some more Western style action games. I tried Killzone 3 for PS3 that I got for $5 and really liked it. I think the graphics in Killzone 3 actually hold up really well now. I have all Gears of War games for my 360 now too. I only played maybe 10 hours of the first one but I did enjoy it. It's just really different from what I usually play.

I really like my PS3 and 360... and since I didn't have them when they were current there's a lot of games I missed. Those games are all dirt cheap now. There's so much to play. It's like there's really no point in the PS4 or Xbox One for me since brand new games I can usually play on my PC in Eyefinity at higher fps. And slightly older games I can play on my PS3 or 360. There still aren't very many exclusives for PS4 that appeal to me (I'm not interested in the Xbox One...) The majority of (Japanese) games I usually play generally come out for the Vita too so I can play them that way.


----------



## cones

Try and get red dead redemption.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> Try and get red dead redemption.


k, will do. I've never heard anything but great things about it. It's basically GTA in the Old West right?

PS3 or 360?


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> k, will do. I've never heard anything but great things about it. It's basically GTA in the Old West right?
> 
> PS3 or 360?


Essentially what it is, i still need to go back sometime and mess around with it more after i beat it. You can do things like lasso a person and drag them behind your horse and tie them up on the train tracks and wait for a train, those weird things you have always wanted to try that are really only normal to do in GTA. There would also be random bobcat attacks, think that is what animal it was. I played it on the 360 but don't think there is any difference between the two, 360 might look nicer? While i'm thinking of it the Ballad of Gay Tony was also a great game.


----------



## neurotix

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-red-dead-redemption-face-off

360 version it is. Apparently the PS3 renders it at a slightly lower resolution.


----------



## cones

I'll have to read that article later. I thought the 360 had better graphics anyways, or at least a more powerful GPU.


----------



## neurotix

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSX_%27Reality_Synthesizer%27

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenos_(graphics_chip)

The PS3 GPU is basically a Nvidia 7800 GTX and the Xbox 360 GPU is basically an ATI Radeon X1800. (Both of these are so ancient lol).

The RSX and Cell does 778 million polygons/sec (peak) and the Xenos and Xenon (CPU) does 500 million polygons/sec (peak).

RSX is 242 GFLOPS and Xenos was around 212 GFLOPS (GPU only for each of these)

So, actually the PS3 is generally more powerful. However, the problem with this is obviously the wonky, arcane PowerPC architecture of the Cell processor. The PS3 also has a hypervisor, not sure if the 360 does or not, and the PS3 has many more complicated chips to program for in addition to the Cell. So in practice, this is why the games looked more or less the same even though the PS3 was more powerful. Because coding them to run on Cell was so much more difficult, this explains why a lot of games ran better on the 360. Either way, since I have both and a lot of games, it doesn't much matter to me. And of course you probably know all this stuff already, except maybe the specifics of the GPUs, so don't think I'm trying to patronize you.









If you want my personal opinion, I'd take the PS3 over the 360 any day if I had to choose. It acts as my Blu Ray player and a damn good one at that. (I just got into buying used Blu Ray movies and have started a small collection.) Moreover, I use Plex Media Server for my anime and the PS3 is nothing short of an incredible streaming media box. I can even stretch old 4:3 anime out to 16:9 (sacrilege I know) on the PS3 and I can't do that on my Chromecast with Plex on my phone. I can also use the PS3 to get games on my PSPs, and for some functions of the PSP (like my PSP Go) I have to use the PS3 to sync a controller to the PSP Go to use it with Bluetooth. Aside from that, all the JRPGs are on PS3... but honestly it gets used as a streaming media player more than anything.


----------



## cones

I prefer the ps3 more then the 360, never wanted to pay for online at the time also helped. The 360 had some nicer features but again they didn't really matter to me. I forgot the ps3 is a powerpc, didn't know they were that close though. The ps3 is so much easier to open compared to the 360, just redid my thermal paste in it. I have the first or second model slim, think I bought it with mw2. The 360 is nicer with the whole flashing thing. I actually got it a few years ago with rrod and my fix seems to have been permanent. I've done the most hardware mods on that one out of all my consoles. It is the ugly phat white one, painted it black. Upgraded the heatsinks on it to later model ones. Also removed the fan grill from the metal sheild which has made a huge difference, or at least it feels so.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I love my PS3...I use it nearly as much as my PC. I have the Youtube app paired with my TV, and also use it for Netflix a bit...but I play lots of games cause they are just so cheap...Microplay has "3-packs" of decent common games, for as little as $5.99 (Canadian of course) to $12.99...Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, LA Noir, Red Dead Redemtpion, etc...that kind of stuff. Plus, average price for PS3 stuff there is $5...don't have many cause I haven't had my PS3 all that long, but I think I have about 15 games or so, including Killzone 3 (and 2) which I am also giving a playthrough right now. It's OK...it's really tough playing shooters on console, honestly. But since it's single player I've been tolerating the controls and getting some enjoyment out of it. I play Gran Turismo 6 a lot still (have 5 too)...play some of my PS1 games on the PS3. One of the best gaming purchases I've made since I got it for $60 in the box. I haven't picked anything up for it recently though because I've just tied up some money in another PC (Kijiji buying / selling) and other things...but I plan to grab a lot of PS3 / 360 stuff over the next year or so while everything is so cheap. Not really retro, but grabbed 7 retail box PC games today for < $15...only retro one was Starsiege Tribes...for $0.50 lol Then a couple of the newer Sam and Max releases, Painkiller (the first one), Godfather II...Warhammer Space Marine...


----------



## neurotix

If you think Killzone 3 is bad for you because of the controls, imagine how it is for me, Mr. JRPG and 2d fighting game player. The only games I know how to play well are old Final Fantasy style games and ancient Capcom/SNK fighters. The last FPS I was really really into on PC was Unreal Tournament 2004 and before that, Quake 3 Arena. I never played them competitively, always just single player or LAN play with my brother in UT. So suffice to say I'm absolutely awful at Killzone 3





















I'm playing on easy mode and still die and take huge amounts of damage lol. I was actually *just* playing it and turned it off at this part with snipers in buildings, I had the hardest time finding them and killing them, almost killed them all and one behind me got me right in the head before I could turn around









I really do like the game though, the gameplay is solid and well designed, the controls aren't bad and the graphics still look pretty good. Just not a genre I'm used to.

I got the Destiny thing that has all the expansions and stuff and I wanna try it but it's updating first and the updates are 8.6GB. The game better damn well be good if that's the case.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSX_%27Reality_Synthesizer%27
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenos_(graphics_chip)
> 
> The PS3 GPU is basically a Nvidia 7800 GTX and the Xbox 360 GPU is basically an ATI Radeon X1800. (Both of these are so ancient lol).
> 
> The RSX and Cell does 778 million polygons/sec (peak) and the Xenos and Xenon (CPU) does 500 million polygons/sec (peak).
> 
> RSX is 242 GFLOPS and Xenos was around 212 GFLOPS (GPU only for each of these)
> 
> So, actually the PS3 is generally more powerful. However, the problem with this is obviously the wonky, arcane PowerPC architecture of the Cell processor. The PS3 also has a hypervisor, not sure if the 360 does or not, and the PS3 has many more complicated chips to program for in addition to the Cell. So in practice, this is why the games looked more or less the same even though the PS3 was more powerful. Because coding them to run on Cell was so much more difficult, this explains why a lot of games ran better on the 360. Either way, since I have both and a lot of games, it doesn't much matter to me. And of course you probably know all this stuff already, except maybe the specifics of the GPUs, so don't think I'm trying to patronize you.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If you want my personal opinion, I'd take the PS3 over the 360 any day if I had to choose. It acts as my Blu Ray player and a damn good one at that. (I just got into buying used Blu Ray movies and have started a small collection.) Moreover, I use Plex Media Server for my anime and the PS3 is nothing short of an incredible streaming media box. I can even stretch old 4:3 anime out to 16:9 (sacrilege I know) on the PS3 and I can't do that on my Chromecast with Plex on my phone. I can also use the PS3 to get games on my PSPs, and for some functions of the PSP (like my PSP Go) I have to use the PS3 to sync a controller to the PSP Go to use it with Bluetooth. Aside from that, all the JRPGs are on PS3... but honestly it gets used as a streaming media player more than anything.


I'm getting so tired out from all the graphics comparisons between consoles. Or maybe I'm just old. I don't know. Anyway, you also have to look at the technology used to make the games. 360 is Direct3D while PS3 is OpenGL. And maybe the software development kit (SDK) for 360 was far easier to deal with and just higher quality. Being able to use visual studio which a lot of developers were already accustomed to using freed up more time work on textures. So-far-as-I-know, the developers should have a level of abstraction between them and the hardware. If the console maker (Sony/MS) do their jobs correctly, the developers shouldn't have to worry about the complexity of the processor or optimizing for the GPU. The SDK (and associated debuggers) should take care of most if not all of that. Personally I'd take barely noticeably worse resolution and textures if it meant much more stable frame rates (and/or higher sound quality).

None that SDK stuff is supposed to matter to the customers though. We're just supposed to play and enjoy the game.

I remember 20+ years ago with the genesis vs snes battles. Or rather toward the end of that little competition there was _earthworm jim_ released for both consoles. I didn't play the game on both platforms. If you hold up screenshots of the two versions the genesis one really looks "grainy" and...lower resolution/saturated/whatever. But (if I'm remembering correctly) the genesis one seemed to have smoother animation, or more frames of animation. I don't know if one version actually played appreciably better than the other. I just remember that being one of the last big versus comparisons between those two consoles at the end of their respective life spans. I remember a lot of comments about the impressive animation in _alladin_ for genesis as well. There was a version of that on snes but it was a different developer so the two weren't compared directly (other than "genesis: triple-A, SNES: meh"). I just remember a lot of comments on impressive animation on genesis of the day. So maybe genesis had a smaller color pallet, fewer colors on-screen at any one time and far inferior sound quality but that doesn't mean the genesis version of a game _played_ any worse. And 20 years later it doesn't matter much, they both look like "retro 16-bit".

Also, I've recently boxed up my 360 and stuck it in the closet. Still regularly use my PS3. Could have gone the other way though, I just never had a HDD for the 360 so I couldn't play any games and there isn't anything the 360 can do that the PS3 can't do (and the ps3 is a blu-ray player) so 360 is put away. It's strange I have my atari 5200, that i haven't hooked up/played in at least 17 years, still sitting on a shelf while the 360 is collecting dust in its box in the closet and I'm thinking of selling it.

I do sometimes play random games on the PS3 and I was trying PS1 games at one time but those 4:3 PS1 games look terrible on an HD TV.

This was probably too long and rambe-ly (sorry).


----------



## cones

That was the other weird difference between the two. The 360 could "install" games to the hard drive but you were supposed to use a Microsoft hard drive. While the ps3 couldn't do that but had a user upgradable hard drive. And you're right subassy I rather have consistent frame rate over prettier graphics.


----------



## subassy

I think the 360 install thing came out of the capacity limitations of DVDs. While the PS3 had blu-ray so no game really had to span multiple discs, the 360, at least towards the end, started to run into that limit so they came up with the install thing. That or the single 360 disc was just a storage for a some kind of hyper compressed file system that extracted/installed to the HDD. Anything to avoid multiple discs that bring up that capacity limit. I'm just assuming MS must have emphasized that to third parties. I think there's was some kind of challenge around that for GTA IV. Almost positive I remember hearing or reading about the challenge of fitting that game on to one DVD.


----------



## cones

That might be why they did it. They both have digital versions for games so i guess it was pretty much already there, unless that came after the install option. When GTA V came out you were not supposed to install both disks to the hard drive, something with how the game ran from two different locations caused issues. Also the hard drive has a faster read than the disks do.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I'm getting so tired out from all the graphics comparisons between consoles. Or maybe I'm just old. I don't know. Anyway, you also have to look at the technology used to make the games. 360 is Direct3D while PS3 is OpenGL. And maybe the software development kit (SDK) for 360 was far easier to deal with and just higher quality. Being able to use visual studio which a lot of developers were already accustomed to using freed up more time work on textures. So-far-as-I-know, the developers should have a level of abstraction between them and the hardware. If the console maker (Sony/MS) do their jobs correctly, the developers shouldn't have to worry about the complexity of the processor or optimizing for the GPU. The SDK (and associated debuggers) should take care of most if not all of that. Personally I'd take barely noticeably worse resolution and textures if it meant much more stable frame rates (and/or higher sound quality).


This is a really good point, DirectX vs OpenGL, and another reason why the games on PS3 didn't look or play better. I totally forgot about this.
Quote:


> I remember 20+ years ago with the genesis vs snes battles. Or rather toward the end of that little competition there was _earthworm jim_ released for both consoles. I didn't play the game on both platforms. If you hold up screenshots of the two versions the genesis one really looks "grainy" and...lower resolution/saturated/whatever. But (if I'm remembering correctly) the genesis one seemed to have smoother animation, or more frames of animation. I don't know if one version actually played appreciably better than the other. I just remember that being one of the last big versus comparisons between those two consoles at the end of their respective life spans. I remember a lot of comments about the impressive animation in _alladin_ for genesis as well. There was a version of that on snes but it was a different developer so the two weren't compared directly (other than "genesis: triple-A, SNES: meh"). I just remember a lot of comments on impressive animation on genesis of the day. So maybe genesis had a smaller color pallet, fewer colors on-screen at any one time and far inferior sound quality but that doesn't mean the genesis version of a game _played_ any worse. And 20 years later it doesn't matter much, they both look like "retro 16-bit".


I, of course, remember SNES vs Genesis too. I had SNES, my best friend had SNES (and Final Fantasy II- this got me into RPGs), and another good friend had Genesis with Streets of Rage 2, Revenge of Shinobi and the excellent Phantasy Star II. I grew up with SNES and would choose it in a heartbeat over Genesis because it has some of the best RPGs ever made (Chrono Trigger, FF3, Secret of Mana...) However, Genesis is excellent for action games. Shinobi III is one of my favorite games of all time. As far as animation is concerned, again it depends on the game. I can't speak for Earthworm Jim because I never really liked it (rented it once for SNES, hated it). However, the version of Aladdin on Genesis was far superior and had fantastic animation. The color palette has work arounds in programming anyway, you can actually display close to 128 colors on screen at once on the Genesis instead of 64 by using a rendering mode that gives more than one shade of a certain color (something like that). Just look at games like Crusader of Centy, Phantasy Star IV, Gunstar Heroes for examples of this. Gunstar Heroes looks just as good as the later SNES releases and even has scaling and rotation, which the Genesis doesn't do in hardware.
Quote:


> Also, I've recently boxed up my 360 and stuck it in the closet. Still regularly use my PS3. Could have gone the other way though, I just never had a HDD for the 360 so I couldn't play any games and there isn't anything the 360 can do that the PS3 can't do (and the ps3 is a blu-ray player) so 360 is put away. It's strange I have my atari 5200, that i haven't hooked up/played in at least 17 years, still sitting on a shelf while the 360 is collecting dust in its box in the closet and I'm thinking of selling it.
> 
> I do sometimes play random games on the PS3 and I was trying PS1 games at one time but those 4:3 PS1 games look terrible on an HD TV.


My 360 is a 250GB slim. I got it with one controller (a shiny red one!) for around $100. My most played game is probably Espgaluda 2 (Cave shooter). I'm not the biggest fan of Western action games and that's mostly what the 360 is for, though I'm learning to like them. It really depends on what genres of games you play. There's a lot of import Cave shooters for it. Deathsmiles was actually released here and it's really fun and cheap. I also have the Guardian Heroes remake, Hard Corps Uprising and a few other arcade games. Last night I tried a demo of a game called Phantom Breaker Battle Grounds. I liked it so much I bought it as well as the DLC character, fricken Makise Kurisu from Steins;Gate (I'm a huge fan of that show). Anyway Phantom Breaker is very similar to Scott Pilgrim Vs The World The Game, it's a retro style beat em up with 8-bit graphics and music. Except Phantom Breaker has chibi anime girls fighting. I highly recommend this one to everyone here with a 360 if you like beat em ups.

Oh yeah, at one point The Witcher 2 was being given away for free for 360 so I have it, but have never even played it.

Still, the 360 isn't for everyone, until recently mine didn't get used very much.
Quote:


> This was probably too long and rambe-ly (sorry).


I'll always reply to you (maybe not to everything). You're fine. I know how it is because I tend to type a lot too. Now send me my games~


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Picked up a couple things today...Spyro Enter the Dragon Fly and Dragon Quest VIII for PS2, and Fable Lost Chapters PC...all CIB. Already had Dragon Quest VIII, but not complete. Was $7.50, $12.50, and $3.99.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I'll always reply to you (maybe not to everything). You're fine. I know how it is because I tend to type a lot too. Now send me my games~


Hope you got room for 100 random/lose CDs









I'm just kidding. Like I'd _really_ give you my beloved collection of epsn ncaa baskball titles worth less than a penny and scratched too badly to play. _As if._


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Hope you got room for 100 random/lose CDs
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm just kidding. Like I'd _really_ give you my beloved collection of epsn ncaa baskball titles worth less than a penny and scratched too badly to play. _As if._


Sell them as vintage rare coasters on eBay for lots of money?


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Picked up a couple things today...Spyro Enter the Dragon Fly and Dragon Quest VIII for PS2, and Fable Lost Chapters PC...all CIB. Already had Dragon Quest VIII, but not complete. Was $7.50, $12.50, and $3.99.


Dragon Quest VIII, naice. I'm down with that. I still need to play it someday but...I have...so...much...to play. It's overwhelming. I loved Dragon Quest IX for DS, it might even be my favorite DS game. (Though the fan translation of Soma Bringer was really, really good... try this game sometime if you have a DS. It's like a cell shaded anime Diablo clone for DS. Made by the same company that makes the Xenoblade games. You'll need a flash cart for it though.)

Spyro is cool too but I'll admit, I think I only played the demo of the first one back in the day.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Hope you got room for 100 random/lose CDs
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm just kidding. Like I'd _really_ give you my beloved collection of epsn ncaa baskball titles worth less than a penny and scratched too badly to play. _As if._


Big big LOL @ that when I read it. Thanks. Surely I want your scratched ESPN NCAA bassetball.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Kind of at a loss about which "JRPG" to play next...Kingdom Hearts 2, Final Fantasy XII, Dragon Quest VIII, or Tales of the Abyss...I was thinking Kingdom Hearts, honestly


----------



## neurotix

Tales of the Abyss.

It's not as good as Symphonia or Vesperia (my favorite 360 game) but still quite good. Certainly much better than Xillia, Xillia 2 or Zestiria (the latest one; pretty terrible).

I'm a huge Tales series fan ever since playing the Super Famicom Tales of Phantasia with the Dejap fan patch back in 1999. I've played and finished a majority of the games. Phantasia PSX is still my favorite.

Tales of the Abyss is a pretty fun game.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Well I might as well start with it I guess...computer is down for a bit, well, I need new PSU...this Corsair thing is busted...only paid $30 for it though, I guess...still kind of pissed. Can't afford the new PSU right away, but lots of time now to get into a JRPG







Also, I am not sure if it is clear or not, but I am a huge JRPG fan as well, but I am also a massive cheapskate, and those two things don't exactly mix


----------



## neurotix

Emulate the old ones (SNES) or even emulate the translated DS ones with no$gba. But oh wait...the PSU thing. Hopefully you have another computer or a smartphone, you can easily play SNES RPGs on a smartphone now.

Aeon Genesis Translations (http://agtp.romhack.net) released a much better patch for Live a Live recently. There's also Front Mission, Seiken Densetsu 3, Romancing SaGa 3 and many, many others on Super Famicom that are all amazing.

Tales of the Abyss is really good though. If you have a 360 I would also recommend Tales of Vesperia. Vesperia is probably my favorite modern Tales game.

I still need to play Tales of Hearts R for my Vita.


----------



## neurotix

@Wolfsbora didn't you get a Dreamcast? Want to update your console list? I added your Saturn but I don't know what else you have (didn't you get more cabs too?)


----------



## Mr357

The English patch for the Saturn version of Policenauts was finally released today!

http://policenauts.net/english/patches.html

The patching process is pretty involved, but within 30 minutes I was playing the game on my Saturn. I've beaten it twice before via the PS1 version, but that was on an emulator. The Saturn version has some extra stuff, so I'd go as far as to call it the ultimate experience.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> The English patch for the Saturn version of Policenauts was finally released today!
> 
> http://policenauts.net/english/patches.html
> 
> The patching process is pretty involved, but within 30 minutes I was playing the game on my Saturn. I've beaten it twice before via the PS1 version, but that was on an emulator. The Saturn version has some extra stuff, so I'd go as far as to call it the ultimate experience.


Oh, this is pretty sweet, thanks for the heads up. Patching process should be no problem for me, been doing stuff like that since '98.

You should try Dragon Force II on Saturn if you like rpgs.. I was an original beta tester for that patch and found some bugs.


----------



## SwishaMane

Anyone have any PS1 stuff they want to get rid of? I'm always on the lookout.

I really want to create a full library of all the individually sleeved PS1 demos. The Interactive Samplers that came with consoles, and any games that had their own slip covers and sleeves. Complete of course, I don't buy disc only...









Couple I already have:

Legend of legaia
Metal Gear Solid
Sampler Vol. 6 (top left corner of below pic)
Two of the 3 Toys R Us demos
Two of the 3 Pizza Hut demos (proud to say I got these back when it was happening, didn't win the money tho, lol) I need Disc 2

Let me know whats up.


----------



## subassy

My mass-rip project isn't going so well. I have the 3 DVD-drives hooked up on the server and I actually got through the first couple of batches of games. But now the VM is just freezing up. Not sure what the issue is but it's taking way too long. It's very frustrating. Pretty cool for that limited time it actually worked, doing 5 games at a time. Have to re-do the whole setup to see if I can get it to work.


----------



## SwishaMane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> My mass-rip project isn't going so well. I have the 3 DVD-drives hooked up on the server and I actually got through the first couple of batches of games. But now the VM is just freezing up. Not sure what the issue is but it's taking way too long. It's very frustrating. Pretty cool for that limited time it actually worked, doing 5 games at a time. Have to re-do the whole setup to see if I can get it to work.


I kept it oldschool, one disc at a time, slowest read speed the drive would do. Takes time, but the data integrity is worth it.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> My mass-rip project isn't going so well. I have the 3 DVD-drives hooked up on the server and I actually got through the first couple of batches of games. But now the VM is just freezing up. Not sure what the issue is but it's taking way too long. It's very frustrating. Pretty cool for that limited time it actually worked, doing 5 games at a time. Have to re-do the whole setup to see if I can get it to work.


It consumes a lot of memory to rip games to a disc drive. How much RAM do you have assigned to your VM?


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> It consumes a lot of memory to rip games to a disc drive. How much RAM do you have assigned to your VM?


It's funny you said say that because I did add memory to the VM the other night and haven't had that issue since. The host hardware has 16 gigs and the host OS is about as slim as windows gets (the non-gui hyper-v server 2012r2). Guess I wasn't expecting it to be an issue. Or I should have used the one-xp-vm-per-dvd-drive method instead of datacenter.

To answer your question, the "startup RAM" is 4 gig with "enable dynamic memory" checked, the minimum RAM is 4 gig and max ram is 1048576MBs (1048.576GB according to google). The "memory buffer" is 55% and the "memory weight" slider is all the way to the right - "High".

I'm starting to think I should see if I can install VirtualBox on Hyper-V server. Which would kind of...ironic? Redundant? I think the performance would actually be better than Hyper-V.

May as well post an update as long as I'm here. The library is up to 174 gigs right now. Based on an arbitrary theoretical average game size, I projected my library's total size would be around 936 gigs. I wanted to see how close I came to that. At this rate I'll be surprised to hit 400 gigs. I _might_ be half way done. Assuming these are properly ripping I mean and I don't have to start over again.

further update: my initial memory adjustment let me do a few more discs and then it froze up again. I upped the memory again and no, it just froze up again. Apparently rip-via-vm was a bad idea. Perhaps I can mount the VHD as local volume. That's a thing, right? (grumble-grumble-grumble).


----------



## neurotix

Just rip them directly in Windows using something like imgburn? I think imgburn probably has command line support.


----------



## subassy

Uh, ya. The batch file I made is a wrapper for CLI imgburn. That's how I was doing 4 discs at once. The source is on github


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Uh, ya. The batch file I made is a wrapper for CLI imgburn. That's how I was doing 4 discs at once. The source is on github


I basically forgot that, sorry, I didn't pay much attention to the details on it.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I basically forgot that, sorry, I didn't pay much attention to the details on it.


Sorry if I sounded sarcastic, I did not mean to.

Small update on the ripping project: I'm actually almost done with it. I think I've narrowed down the issue with the multiple drives on the server: besides the initial insufficient memory issue (significantly adjusted since then) what I think was really happening is the there would be a disc read error. But unlike on my primary PC (USB optical drives) the server VM/physical hardware would simply lockup and not respond at all. On the primary PC ImgBurn simply starts listing off read errors and saying it's going to re-try (attempt 1 of 20).

I'm not sure if the optical drives used are faulty, it has something to do with passing physical optical drives through to a VM or something else like the motherboard drivers not really being designed for Hyper-V server 2016.

I've been trying to experiment with different combinations of optical drives: sometimes only one of them hooked up with a SATA cable and then different combinations of two out of the three. Today at least it only locked up once. Which is pretty significant given recent history.

At least of the ones with a case, I have only 19 games left. Then there's the loose ones i already had _before_ a spindle's worth of 115 loose games. I'm not ripping all 115, obviously. I'll be lucky to find even 10 games worth keeping. So maybe ~50 PS2 games left to rip. _Then I can start the PS1 games_. Those are much smaller so theoretically it should be much faster.

And the PS2 game collection count so far is 426 gigs (including cue/mds files which are 5KB or less).


----------



## neurotix

What size hard drive are you holding them all on?

I recently got a 4TB WD Blue for my media myself. Now I have 6TB.

(I also got dual Sapphire Fury Nitros- $300 each!







)


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> What size hard drive are you holding them all on?
> 
> I recently got a 4TB WD Blue for my media myself. Now I have 6TB.
> 
> (I also got dual Sapphire Fury Nitros- $300 each!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> )


I used Hyper-V server to create a "pool" of drives. I forget what the physical ones are now. A 1TB and a 500 gig I think. I'll re-check when i get home. I just happened to have them around and it seemed easier than buying a whole new one. Then I created the VM and 3 500 gig virtual hard drives which I spanned together into one volume (not sure that match adds up but I'm sticking with it). The theory is I should be able to add virtual hard drives to the VM's pool. Or add a second one. I'm kind of new to server 2008 and hyper-v. Took me long enough just to install virtualbox on ubuntu server utilizing LVM. Probably too much detail. I did format with really large sectors for both the virtual and physical drives and the virtual drives are using ReFS instead NTFS. Which I'm hoping is better.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

So I am a few hours into Tales of the Abyss for PS2. as per Neurotix suggestion...and I run into the disc not reading...which, whatever, it happens. So I remove the disc, and it does look a bit scratched / dirty. Clean it up a bit and try again...same deal...even worse, actually. Now it won't even read at all...hmmm...find a game in immaculate condition and try it...same thing









The whole time I am doing this though, I listen, and it doesn't even sound like the disc is even trying to spin up, *unless* I put even the slightest amount of pressure in the On/Off switch area of the top cover (front right corner of the machine). So now I start messing around, and the discs/laser seems to work just fine, it's something related to putting a tiny pressure on the lid above the power button (slim PS2). Is this a normal thing to happen with an easy fix? For now, I put a small "weight" right on the corner, maybe the weight of a couple coins, and it has been working perfectly (I just wanted to continue playing lol)...but I am kind of hoping one of you guys might suggest something, sticking a piece of paper somewhere to create more pressure, bending something back, etc...cause I honestly can't figure out why this is happening. It would be different if it needed more pressure to make things function again, I think putting a single coin there would be plenty of weight. It's obviously something to do with the lid close switch, but it happened in the middle of playing, for no reason at all...and everything *appears* to look like it's in one piece, and in the right place. I am kind of at a loss here...though I haven't tried opening anything yet.


----------



## neurotix

Try tightening all the screws on the machine, especially the one closest to the front right side where the power button is. Really torque these things down.

I haven't had any issues like this with my silver slim PS2 and it's seen heavy use, and I use FMCB with it. However, it hasn't been used regularly/a lot for a long time.

I have similar problems with my fat PSP's. At least, they make random button inputs on the d-pad and buttons when they age, and the fix is to tighten the screws really good. I guess it happens because the screws loosen over time (especially with the PSP).

Alternatively, buy a new slim PS2. They're only $50 on Amazon right now. You might be able to get one cheaper on Ebay or at a local store.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Yeah, I could likely just get another slim for like, $20 around here, but I like to fix things...especially older gaming stuff since I hate seeing that kind of thing end up in the trash. It just struck me as odd that such an issue would happen randomly, for no reason. I rarely use my PS2, maybe 1-2 hours a month if I am being generous...but I've got several lengthy PS2 RPG's to play, so I want it to be reliable, if possible...though Tales of the Abyss seems to have an OK amount of save things. Honestly though, I would rather not buy another slim because I have been wanting a good condition fat PS2 for awhile now. Once I get that, the slim would have been basically retired to being on display anyway.


----------



## neurotix

Tighten those screws down.

You may need one of those small screwdrivers. A normal Phillips head screwdriver will be too big.


----------



## cones

I'm pretty sure that is where one of the "anti piracy" switches is located at, pretty sure the other one is by the hinge for the lid. Like said you may just need to adjust the case screws although I've never had that happen. It is much nicer though to use FMCB and just load all your games through SMB, it would bypass the issue and it also doesn't use the laser. You can also use virtual memory cards so space doesn't really matter anymore.

Edit I think it's a number one Phillips screw, could be 00 though.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> So I am a few hours into Tales of the Abyss for PS2. as per Neurotix suggestion...and I run into the disc not reading...which, whatever, it happens. So I remove the disc, and it does look a bit scratched / dirty. Clean it up a bit and try again...same deal...even worse, actually. Now it won't even read at all...hmmm...find a game in immaculate condition and try it...same thing
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The whole time I am doing this though, I listen, and it doesn't even sound like the disc is even trying to spin up, *unless* I put even the slightest amount of pressure in the On/Off switch area of the top cover (front right corner of the machine). So now I start messing around, and the discs/laser seems to work just fine, it's something related to putting a tiny pressure on the lid above the power button (slim PS2). Is this a normal thing to happen with an easy fix? For now, I put a small "weight" right on the corner, maybe the weight of a couple coins, and it has been working perfectly (I just wanted to continue playing lol)...but I am kind of hoping one of you guys might suggest something, sticking a piece of paper somewhere to create more pressure, bending something back, etc...cause I honestly can't figure out why this is happening. It would be different if it needed more pressure to make things function again, I think putting a single coin there would be plenty of weight. It's obviously something to do with the lid close switch, but it happened in the middle of playing, for no reason at all...and everything *appears* to look like it's in one piece, and in the right place. I am kind of at a loss here...though I haven't tried opening anything yet.


As someone who just ripped two-hundred-something PS2 games...I was going to suggested the network thing. But with the physical-optical-via-virtual-machine method as that apparently doesn't work too good, at least not with hyper-v.

There are some youtube videos of people trying to use a slim PS2 to do the freemcboot memory card thing, at least I think that's what they were doing, that have some creative approaches involving straws and different methods/objects to hold down the mechanism (trying to swap a real game disc for a burned one). I don't know of this will help or not.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> As someone who just ripped two-hundred-something PS2 games...I was going to suggested the network thing. But with the physical-optical-via-virtual-machine method as that apparently doesn't work too good, at least not with hyper-v.
> 
> There are some youtube videos of people trying to use a slim PS2 to do the freemcboot memory card thing, at least I think that's what they were doing, that have some creative approaches involving straws and different methods/objects to hold down the mechanism (trying to swap a real game disc for a burned one). I don't know of this will help or not.


I did the Free McBoot install myself and it was as complicated as needing a certain game (Goldeneye Agent Under Fire I think), making a copy of it digitally and using isobuster to alter some files on the disc, reburning it, and swapping it for the real one at a certain point. The disc swap worked fine by just taping down the various disc lid sensors. (There's one inside the system itself, you have to open the system to get to it, and another inside the lid.) Quite literally the hardest (and worst) part was having to play the whole first stage of Agent Under Fire to get past it. Needless to say I never played the game again, I don't think I even have it anymore. At least it was cheap.

Once you've got a FMCB memory card, you don't even need to swap discs anymore to play backups.

Never really heard of anything involving a straw


----------



## ForNever

.


----------



## cones

It was pretty easy for me. I got the game for less than $5, it was some James Bond game I believe. Also I was able to insert the files into a demo already on the game, no need to play to a certain point. There's plenty of games you can use to install FMCB now. You can also just use an already exploited system to do it. I'm sure neirotix or I would help if you needed any. I'd even do it if you paid shipping to send me a blank official memory card.


----------



## subassy

What I was trying to explain or bring as a possibility -- apparently very ineffectively -- is that there are (were?) multiple youtube videos describing how to trip the various sensors on the disc lid/tray in the ps2 slim using tissue, straws and/or tape.

Since I wasn't confident I was visualizing the issue Aaron_Henderson was having (a fault on my end), I was merely saying maybe those methods, conveniently laid out in video form for something completely unrelated, would be helpful to him.

In other words he would be using a straw/tissue and/or tape to trigger the mechanism in question to keep make the drive read the discs successfully. The freemcboot part just happened to be subject matter of the videos, but not directly related to my comment/suggestion.

This could be completely irrelevant to the actual issue of Aaron_Henderson but here is one such video:




Looks like it does require opening the case though. The guy walks you through it though it's not really any big thing. Unless all you need is the tissue part of it. Skip to 6:20 or so in. You mentioned the thing near the power button. If it's just that then you wouldn't need to open it.


----------



## neurotix

Do any of you guys have Gyruss or Dragon Spirit: The New Legend for NES?


----------



## subassy

Today was the grand opening of a new goodwill in my little town. Before this the nearest location was a ~25 minute drive.

They had a lot of good stuff it looked like. It had opened at 8am but I didn't get there until ~10am. So I thought none of the "good stuff" would be left. But there was a lot of stuff.

I was going to get a GBA at one point (the larger horizontal oriented kind) and there were literal stacks of game consoles:
2 PS3s
2 original xbox
at least 5 slim PS2s and 4 PS2 fats
1 gamecube

Oh, and a gamegear...for $8. Probably broken. I bought it anyway. Haven't tested it yet. It does have "columns" in the game slot. Not sure if that's a good sign or a bad sign.

I some how talked myself into buying another PS2 fat for $25 from goodwill.

But then I stopped buy an already established thrift store in town and there was a different collection of consoles but with games and controllers for $20. And yet-another-gamecube with controllers/power/video cables for $15. (the second thrift store also had an original xbox with 3 controllers and a cd wallet with some games and a PS1 with some controllers and games)

Since this second thrift store's fat PS2 said it was tested and came with 3 games and two controllers for $20 I bought it (and I got $10 off with a loyalty card) I bought a second PS2 fat. Yes, two PS2 fats in 1 day.

So I'm going to take the PS2 from goodwill back tomorrow to try and get a refund. Unless someone wants to buy it off of me. I didn't have enough time to hook it up before work but i will tonight. It powers on and the tray opens and closes though I'll understand if no one has any offers. I would throw in the 3 games the 2nd ps2 came with since they're all duplicates.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Do any of you guys have Gyruss or Dragon Spirit: The New Legend for NES?


Yes, I have Gyruss. I think I like it a lot. Some youtube people say it's as good or better than the arcade version. It's just too bad the NES can't have an analog spinner control.


----------



## neurotix

Gyruss is awesome but I suck so I have to use the code.

Get a hold of Dragon Spirit The New Legend. Awesome game with great music. One of my favorite NES games. Last I checked it was pretty cheap (under $20).


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Turns out all the screws on my PS2 slim were already as tight as can be. So it looks like Subassy found video of someone doing the exact same thing I thought to do (wedge paper in there...i know...real hight-tech lol), so if it gives me any more trouble, just going to do that I guess. Was hoping there was something simple I was missing, something like a loose screw, like Neurotix said would have been nice. Whatever...it's just a PS2, and honestly, I could probably come up with a permanent fix, but I just don't feel like it...it was a pain unhooking it just to check the screws









EDIT - Yep, bit of tissue worked right away, and you can barely tell it's there. Probably could have just used some electrical tape I guess,,,whatever, it's working every time now. Thanks guys


----------



## SwishaMane

I could make you guys a FMCBoot card no problem whenever... Just send me the card. My fat PS2 is not only modded with DMS4 Pro and ToxicOS, but I also put together a badass FMCBoot setup thats slick. CodeBreaker that boots directly to OPL, so cheatcodes work with games off HDD... Real slick.

I'd have to install the multi-version FMCBoot, which will take up a ton of space on the mem card, but I recommend a dedicated card just for FMCBoot, no saves on it. Well, cheatcode save files and OPL settings, etc... Kinda like an SSD with just OS drivers and apps.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Newest addition to the Wolf Den Arcade:



1982 Nintendo Donkey Kong Junior cocktail cabinet


----------



## Mega Man

i
hate
you.

ironically tabletop arcade games are by far my preference vs stand up arcades, they are so much better imo


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> i
> hate
> you.
> 
> ironically tabletop arcade games are by far my preference vs stand up arcades, they are so much better imo


Haha, I love it. Having 2 sides to play is a lot of fun.

I couldn't open the coin box so I drilled out the lock. Inside I found the tabletop keys. Turns out the game is remarkably clean inside. It even has the schematics.




Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!


----------



## neurotix

Tabletops are really fun and a cool relic of a bygone era. Used to see these things in bars all the time. They should bring them back with classic games, I think they'd make a lot of money.

I'm jealous (and there's not much that makes me jealous anymore).

Congrats man!


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!


Nice one : D .

I still need to get round to fixing my super space invaders bard as the sound drops in and out , looks like a bad joint or cap and fully finish my 5 game stack


----------



## blooder11181

just bought a commodore amiga 500 for 3€. just need to fix it and floppies.

EDIT 2: its revision 6a and gives green screen and error in power led that shows 10 short and one long fro the ram.


----------



## Mega Man

.......


----------



## neurotix

Congrats on the Amiga 500, prices are all over the place on Ebay but looks like a lot of them are around $200+

Dunno if anyone here can help you with it if it's not booting though, you'd be better off trying Amiga forums or something...


----------



## blooder11181

i already research the problem and its the main ram.


----------



## neurotix

Oh I see. Well I hope it isn't too expensive to replace.


----------



## blooder11181

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Oh I see. Well I hope it isn't too expensive to replace.


each chip is 1€ so for the 1mb its 8€ + repair job that i still need to find someone.


----------



## neurotix

Oh they are soldered to the board?

Yeah it's probably a good idea not to try and do that yourself unless you're REALLY good at soldering or have professional tools.


----------



## Mega Man

ICs are really easy.

still pissed at ocn about this, there was an amazing guide by a member of ocn - he was an artisan but he got busy with rl so ocn deleted his thread, i asked enterprise to move it or the posts as they had links to some soldering videos that were 100% irreplaceable but in typical tyrannical ocn crap.... no...

very mad about that. was the best videos i have seen ( he did them himself iirc the user was JVC or JVC Jessen idk )


----------



## neurotix

I got a soldering iron for like $20 but I need a solder sucker.

I'm gonna get some of the pre-made batteries with the proper battery holders and get to replacing some of the batteries on my NES games. Final Fantasy is one that needs a new one. I replaced the battery but it's just held in with electrical tape. I figure I'll practice on that because if I ruin it, last I looked it's only a $15 game.

After I get better I want to recap my Game Gear and my Sega CD model 1 (maybe then it will finally be less problematic.)

If you could find the videos on youtube or something that would be great, or any others that you think would be a good guide to soldering. I really want to learn.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Has anyone thought of or tried to solder in a socket for the batteries instead of just soldering on the tabs directly? Would make it much more painless to do in the future...though that could be many years off lol Plus, I guess it would just look tidier in the end. What I've always thought to do but don't really own any cart games where saves concern me at the moment, as sad as that is.


----------



## neurotix

Yep those things exist and it's possible to do.


----------



## raidmaxGuy

I just got my hands on an Atari 2600 Jr. I have two aftermarket controllers that came with the bundle for $10. I am, however missing the 9v power supply. Was wondering if there is a 'recommended' replacement amongst all of the Chinese knock-offs. I also need to replace the RF jack on the back because it rusted for some reason. I cannot find water damage in the unit, so it could have been in someone's attic or basement and the humidity got to it. Should be able to replace this with a standard RCA jack? I can add pics of the problem later.

Would something like this work for what I am trying to do? http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/27-8056?green=A362B0E2-BFE4-5FCF-A48D-10945EC9C8A4


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I got a soldering iron for like $20 but I need a solder sucker.
> 
> I'm gonna get some of the pre-made batteries with the proper battery holders and get to replacing some of the batteries on my NES games. Final Fantasy is one that needs a new one. I replaced the battery but it's just held in with electrical tape. I figure I'll practice on that because if I ruin it, last I looked it's only a $15 game.
> 
> After I get better I want to recap my Game Gear and my Sega CD model 1 (maybe then it will finally be less problematic.)
> 
> If you could find the videos on youtube or something that would be great, or any others that you think would be a good guide to soldering. I really want to learn.


I think you mean battery with tabs (so you know what to google)

I recommend a suckers and FLUX, FLUX , FLUX.

I tried to find the videos but I can't....
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Has anyone thought of or tried to solder in a socket for the batteries instead of just soldering on the tabs directly? Would make it much more painless to do in the future...though that could be many years off lol Plus, I guess it would just look tidier in the end. What I've always thought to do but don't really own any cart games where saves concern me at the moment, as sad as that is.


I do a variation of this. I solder in 2, I have to ghetto Rig it a bit. But with 2 I can change the battery without losing my saves
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *raidmaxGuy*
> 
> I just got my hands on an Atari 2600 Jr. I have two aftermarket controllers that came with the bundle for $10. I am, however missing the 9v power supply. Was wondering if there is a 'recommended' replacement amongst all of the Chinese knock-offs. I also need to replace the RF jack on the back because it rusted for some reason. I cannot find water damage in the unit, so it could have been in someone's attic or basement and the humidity got to it. Should be able to replace this with a standard RCA jack? I can add pics of the problem later.
> 
> Would something like this work for what I am trying to do? http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/27-8056?green=A362B0E2-BFE4-5FCF-A48D-10945EC9C8A4


My fav version of the 2600. The Rust can be over come with some scotch bright and elbow grease or chemical


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

didn't show this in the last pic I took but this is the selector relay switch , I have decided to redo the lights that show what game is selected and do the final bits to it , I may place the selector switch on the controller to so you can change / play the game without having to get up and go over to the unit .


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *raidmaxGuy*
> 
> I just got my hands on an Atari 2600 Jr. I have two aftermarket controllers that came with the bundle for $10. I am, however missing the 9v power supply. Was wondering if there is a 'recommended' replacement amongst all of the Chinese knock-offs. I also need to replace the RF jack on the back because it rusted for some reason. I cannot find water damage in the unit, so it could have been in someone's attic or basement and the humidity got to it. Should be able to replace this with a standard RCA jack? I can add pics of the problem later.
> 
> Would something like this work for what I am trying to do? http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/27-8056?green=A362B0E2-BFE4-5FCF-A48D-10945EC9C8A4


Best solution: look up the model of the original power supply, the voltage and amperage, and either find an official original replacement or a not Chinese replacement.

I can't recommend cheap Chinese anything when it comes to game systems, especially the power supply, because they often use cheap components and outright lie about the specifications. Using a cheap Chinese knock off could very well fry your console over time. It is always best to use the original power supplies the system came with. For example, I have no less than 5 power bricks for all my Sega 16-bit systems. Also make sure to never use a power supply from one system on a power supply for another system: Sega in Nintendo and vice versa. Even if the plugs fit, and the system works, the polarity might be reversed and this can damage the system.

A quick Google search returned this result: http://www.atariguide.com/store/products.htm If you scroll down to power supplies, you can see the Atari 2600 power supply, brand new in box, 9v 500ma that says that it works with the Atari 2600s and Jr. It is $14.99. I strongly recommend you just get this one, assuming they still have them available.

Hope this helps.


----------



## Mega Man

99%of all psus for this are Chinese. And fyi most (not all) 9v psus are really 12v I may be able to look for you when I get home.

Generally with power supplies like this they will work just fine and not damage anything.

Also to note, and ot, you only have 5 sega bricks because you need all 5 to power the systems.


----------



## raidmaxGuy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> 99%of all psus for this are Chinese. And fyi most (not all) 9v psus are really 12v I may be able to look for you when I get home.
> 
> Generally with power supplies like this they will work just fine and not damage anything.
> 
> Also to note, and ot, you only have 5 sega bricks because you need all 5 to power the systems.


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Best solution: look up the model of the original power supply, the voltage and amperage, and either find an official original replacement or a not Chinese replacement.
> 
> I can't recommend cheap Chinese anything when it comes to game systems, especially the power supply, because they often use cheap components and outright lie about the specifications. Using a cheap Chinese knock off could very well fry your console over time. It is always best to use the original power supplies the system came with. For example, I have no less than 5 power bricks for all my Sega 16-bit systems. Also make sure to never use a power supply from one system on a power supply for another system: Sega in Nintendo and vice versa. Even if the plugs fit, and the system works, the polarity might be reversed and this can damage the system.
> 
> A quick Google search returned this result: http://www.atariguide.com/store/products.htm If you scroll down to power supplies, you can see the Atari 2600 power supply, brand new in box, 9v 500ma that says that it works with the Atari 2600s and Jr. It is $14.99. I strongly recommend you just get this one, assuming they still have them available.
> 
> Hope this helps.


Might be hard to get that one, but I can try. It seems by looking at this, it is a full length 3.5mm jack with a full length sleeve for - and a pointed tip for + (I will need to look into this further to verify). These are easy to find for various items and anything brand name should work. (A lot of guitar pedals use them)

@Mega Man You're right to assume everything I will find will be Chinese. Really the biggest thing holding me up was whether or not the outer sleeve had multiple bands, and it does not.


----------



## cones

If you wanted it might be possible to change the plug to something else if it makes it easier for you.


----------



## neurotix

Hey Aaron, I was looking through the members list and saw you have a Sega Genesis- how many games do you have for it? What are some of your favorite games?

Sega Genesis collecting is still very good to get into right now, the games are still relatively cheap, even the popular RPGs are quite affordable. Shining Force is $35, Shining Force 2 went up to $60 (I got mine for $5 from a friend







), PSIV is $40. Much better than some of the ridiculous SNES RPG prices.

*Pay attention guys*

Is anyone interested in buying my spare PC Engine Core Grafx? It would be the system only, no hookups and controllers. You can use Sega Genesis power supply and AV cables for it (model 1 Genesis AV cables). The system works, but has some issues reading legit game cards, in that sometimes it is finicky and won't play the game (removing the card and cleaning the contacts on it can help- for some reason it still really doesn't like to play my Final Soldier HUcard). I opened the system up, and there was some brownish fluid on the board the card connector sits on but I don't recall seeing any caps on that board. I cleaned it up obviously as well as the rest of the unit. I cleaned the card connector pretty well when I had it opened up, I used alcohol, q-tips, toothpicks and a credit card. The game reading thing might be something as simple as a slightly bent pin, who knows. Maybe you could fix it. Anyway, if you have Sega Genesis hookups you could hook this thing up and the controllers for it are cheap (I got one from Japan for like $15, free shipping on Ebay and it came with the original box and inserts). Obviously, this unit plays Japanese games only, which is actually a blessing if you want to collect for TG-16/PC Engine considering the Japanese games are MUCH MUCH cheaper than US Turbochips. You could also get a Turbo Everdrive for it, which is what I have, for about $100 and never have to buy any games for it again. Additionally my Everdrive never failed to work on this unit, it was only legit HUcards, which implies it's due to the age of the contacts on the HUcards. If you get a cleaner game it may work better. If someone buys it I might actually be willing to include a game, probably Shadow Lands, I have a complete copy of Shadow Lands but I don't really like the game and it's not in the best condition.

Price would vary but I would cut a discount for anyone here, especially with no cables and controller, something in the range of $30-$35 plus shipping. I would rather have it go to someone here and get used than have it sit in my closet. These start around $70 on Amazon and quickly go up to $80 or $90 (no hookups or controller). If anyone is interested you can discuss it here but we will have to take it to PMs to discuss the transaction. Thanks guys.


----------



## neurotix

Oh yeah I forgot to mention, I think any PC Engine controller will work with the system, it doesn't have to be the blue/gray rebranded Core Grafx controller, it can be the original PCE controller, and I think you can even use US TG-16 controllers on it. (It will also play US games but you need a special adapter. However many of the Japanese games are cheaper, already in English and have a minimal amount of text anyway. You don't need to know Japanese to play space shooters which is 90% of games on the system.)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Know what I hate? Typing something out that goes missing with no explanation or PM...I do like my Sega Genesis.


----------



## SwishaMane

Why are posts being deleted??


----------



## Aaron_Henderson




----------



## neurotix

So, I had made a post offering to sell my spare PC Engine Core Grafx to one of you guys, the post was removed because I didn't post it in the marketplace, I didn't know I had to.

So that's why some of your posts disappeared.

Apparently I didn't get an infraction or anything so that's good.

Anyway I'll repost it there later and link you guys to it.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *raidmaxGuy*
> 
> Might be hard to get that one, but I can try. It seems by looking at this, it is a full length 3.5mm jack with a full length sleeve for - and a pointed tip for + (I will need to look into this further to verify). These are easy to find for various items and anything brand name should work. (A lot of guitar pedals use them)
> 
> @Mega Man You're right to assume everything I will find will be Chinese. Really the biggest thing holding me up was whether or not the outer sleeve had multiple bands, and it does not.


I used two no name PSUs from ebay when I was testing my arcade game stack and I was getting loads of noise on the video output . Ended up being the PSU units with some very noisy outputs .


----------



## neurotix

http://www.overclock.net/t/1614098/japanese-pc-engine-core-grafx-1-1988-no-hookups-or-controller

See that thread guys.


----------



## tristanbear

I'm going to get a SNES soon. I have a bunch of SNES games but no console haha.


----------



## cones

I figured your post would have been fine, I guess not.


----------



## Wolfsbora

What's that?! Wireless SNES & NES??


----------



## neurotix

Is this a wireless bluetooth controller dongle?

I saw Pat and Ian talking about bluetooth Nintendo controllers on the CUpodcast last night...


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Is this a wireless bluetooth controller dongle?
> 
> I saw Pat and Ian talking about bluetooth Nintendo controllers on the CUpodcast last night...


Yes, sir! 8bitdo sells each dongle and you have a choice of controllers. I went with the NES30Pro because of the retro look and dual analog sticks that actually work on the SNES & NES.


----------



## neurotix

Funny thing, the Genesis actually had wireless controllers back in the day, they were 6 button. My neighbor had them. They work pretty well but I think they're infrared. We used them to play MK3 and they didn't drop inputs, lag, disconnect or anything so I was pretty impressed.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Funny thing, the Genesis actually had wireless controllers back in the day, they were 6 button. My neighbor had them. They work pretty well but I think they're infrared. We used them to play MK3 and they didn't drop inputs, lag, disconnect or anything so I was pretty impressed.


That really is quite impressive. I've never been a fan of IR but if it worked, I can't knock it.

EDIT: I just tried the NES dongle with the NES30 Pro controller and I'm having speed and direction issues on StarTropics.







Due to the need to hit the D-pad or analog stick twice in the direction you need to go, it sometimes doesn't register the direction or jump fast enough when needing to jump from block to block or when avoiding enemies. Definitely consider this if you're debating on pulling the trigger on the 8bitdo NES dongle. The SNES seems to do alright, though, in Chrono Trigger I'm finding that he'll just start going in a diagonal sometimes without wanting him too. This is much more rare and less of an issue. I still love the SNES setup.


----------



## subassy

That dongle looks pretty cool. I have one of those as a "save for later" in my cart right now on amazon.

My PS2 library came to 533 gigs, if anybody was wondering. There were a few games I was unable to rip due to read errors. I think I got at least 97% of them though. I started copying all the games to an extra 1TB drive last night and it apparently took ~13 hours to complete. It was a host-to-vm via the network though (the spare 1TB drive being connected via SATA cable). Probably confused the poor NIC.


----------



## cones

How many games was that? Most of my VMs are 10gig NICs.


----------



## subassy

I can look and see exact number later. Although I had that MSG collection trilogy so one of those is technically PS1. It's ~225 ISOs (and bins) though. When I was auditing my collection after ripping -- apparently I'm that sort of person -- I found two of games I managed to miss on the first pass. Or should I say _only_ two games?

I was having trouble figuring out how to add the physical drive to the VM to make it accessible directly. During the transfer, task manager said it was going 99% of capacity out of 100Mbps. I thought I had a faster NIC than that for some reason. Maybe the VM was set to emulate a 100Mbps NIC and I didn't realize it. I was hoping since the drive was in the same physical computer it wouldn't have to literally touch the NIC/network cables but with two IPs involved I guess that bottleneck should be expected.


----------



## cones

I was curious because I know some are about the max size of a DVD. It looks like you averaged around 2gigs a game. I believe you are correct in that with two IPs it's actually going through the router.


----------



## subassy

I learned a couple things about DVDs and PS2 games during the process. For instance multi-layer DVDs (just dual I guess. No DVDs are more than 2, right?) produce an MDS file along with their ISO which equivalent (from what I could find in my research) to a CUE file produced from a BIN/QUE generated image. And in ImgBurn when to go to verify a ripped image against a disc you selected the MDS (and que) file, not the ISO/BIN file. I don't know if that's just the way ImgBurn does it in particular or if that's the way it's supposed to work.

Also, as I'm sure everybody in this thread is aware, some PS2 games came on CD instead of DVD. Those CD games have to be ripped as BIN/QUE, not in ISO format. There's a lengthy explanation on why that is that I almost understand (has something to do with the CD audio+data format used by the games).

Lastly, for some reason, ImgBurn is having a lot of trouble with my PS1 games, I'm not entirely sure why. It appears I will have to use some other tool to rip that particular library. Or use _ia-mame_ to get a good copy (of games I own); that will probably be much easier.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Check, check, check it out:



Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!









Big trade for a big retro gaming haul!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

What did you trade and what did you get? Looks like quite the haul there dude!


----------



## Wolfsbora

Just so I don't have to retype it, this is the count of I had and what I got:


I traded my old water cooling stuff from my PC Face build.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Sounds like a sweet deal to me...never end up getting much for used watercooling parts anyway, and no one ever wants it all







The systems are a little rough (can't do the yellowed stuff...just can't...which is why I still don't have a NES), but tons of games, and some decent ones too it looks like. Sweet score!









So what's everyone playing anyway? I am still plugging away at *Tales of the Abyss* PS2...it's "OK" so far...honestly, the battle system isn't really my thing, and the story and characters aren't exactly my style, but it's still pretty decent. Good enough I have no hesitation in finishing it, at least. And I enjoy the voice acting, for the most part. About 10 hours in so far.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Exactly! This guy really wanted to build a nice rig and all of the stuff I used was top of the line. I had to hand clean every one of the games. Some were filthy, some have cracked shells, but they all work.

As far as yellowed consoles, yeah it sucks! My NES that I have had isn't yellowed, but every one of my SNESs are yellowed. It really sucks. I'll keep my out for an uncolored one, even a broken one so I can steal the shell off of it.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I am kind of curious if someone has ever found a paint colour close enough to the SNES or NES shells...might not be a perfect solution, but one I have thought about before. I am sure if you got the right paint colour...I am just thinking out loud though at this point







And I always hand clean any of the retro gaming stuff I buy...gives me a good idea on the condition of the items, and puts my OCD at ease. If I can visibly see human grime on my stuff...it's an issue lol Full on clean and disinfect with isopropyl alcholhol is my usual routine before playing or testing anything. It's surprising how dirty some of this stuff gets...







I figure the best thing we can do about the yellowing is to keep those consoles that haven't yellowed yet out of direct sunlight and as clean as possible. I think out of the light being the biggest thing in order to prevent or prolong the yellowing.


----------



## cones

Or if there is enough dirt on it the sun can't reach the plastic to yellow it


----------



## Mega Man

it actually isnt the just sun, it is the fire ******ant in the plastic and uv, that does not necessarily come from the sun ( natural and artificial )

http://www.tested.com/tech/2505-why-your-old-super-nintendo-looks-super-yellow/

https://www.geekwithenvy.com/2013/07/how-to-make-a-yellow-snes-look-new/


----------



## Kleer Kut

I haven't actually tried it but I saw this video and looked into it a bit. Apparently several variations of using hydrogen peroxide can reduce or remove yellowing from old plastics. If it works as well as people claim then it would probably be worth the trouble to clean up old collectibles.


----------



## neurotix

Guys, for the hydrogen peroxide method to work it has to be wrapped and set in the sun. See this video from the 8-bit guy on how to do it right.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Thanks, @neurotix! I want some of that gelatinous hydrogen peroxide. That stuff is perfect for this sort of thing.


----------



## neurotix

Let's keep it movin' guys.

Have any of you heard of or played the game called Freedom Planet? It's available on PC as well as many other systems. It's basically like 2D 16-bit Sonic the Hedgehog, but with different characters. It was originally going to be a Sonic fangame. So far it seems really well done and I thought some of you guys might like it. Let me know what you think.
*
Also* updated the convention information at the beginning of the thread.


----------



## Wolfsbora

I've read about Freedom Planet but never played it.

I'll be honest, Sega should have went with Ristar as their mascot/platformer to compete with Mario. I played it for the first time this week and it is by far leaps and bounds better than Sonic in regards to mechanics, gameplay, etc. As much as I have been a Mario fan since his 8-bit days, I think maybe Sega would have had a console in my childhood living room if it was Ristar they had used.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Hey, there are some pretty die hard Sonic fans out there...like me. Sonic all day







And I have just been busy playing Tales of the Abyss, so I haven't been on the 'puter much lately. About 18 hours in or something now...still feel the same about it


----------



## Wolfsbora

Haha, no offense to Sonic, but rocketing through levels is an easy way to miss the amazing colors and backgrounds that Sega had in all of its Sonic games. I think that's why I liked Mario as a kid, especially when Super Mario World came out. You could take your time, grab coins, jump on enemies, explore, etc.. Same with Ristar, in a sense. Ristar uses some incredible sidescrolling mechanics. In fact, the backgrounds and scenery are SO similar to Sonic that it makes me appreciate what they had to offer.

I need a new 3DS game, do you recommend Tales of the Abyss?


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

It's not my favourite JRPG, but it's good enough I am going to finish it...not sure what else to say about it other than it is a great RPG that just isn't my style, and has an action based battle system I am not exactly fond of, but can still appreciate. I'd still recommend it though







And I think I have always been a Sonic fan because everyone around me growing up had Nintendo and a Mario game...hardly anyone had Sega anything...I don't even know how I became such a Sega fanboy honestly, just have been as long as I can remember...


----------



## Wolfsbora

I'll see if I can get a good deal on it and snatch it up then.

I'm hoping to get my hands on an Apple IIc soon! Does anyone here own one? My childhood was filled with games on the Apple IIe and a Texas Instruments TI-99/4A (another old school computer I hope to get).


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

No retro computer stuff as of yet...but almost at that point. Really want a C64 more than anything right now. What games do remember playing on the Apple II?


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Hey, there are some pretty die hard Sonic fans out there...like me. Sonic all day
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And I have just been busy playing Tales of the Abyss, so I haven't been on the 'puter much lately. About 18 hours in or something now...still feel the same about it


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Haha, no offense to Sonic, but rocketing through levels is an easy way to miss the amazing colors and backgrounds that Sega had in all of its Sonic games. I think that's why I liked Mario as a kid, especially when Super Mario World came out. You could take your time, grab coins, jump on enemies, explore, etc.. Same with Ristar, in a sense. Ristar uses some incredible sidescrolling mechanics. In fact, the backgrounds and scenery are SO similar to Sonic that it makes me appreciate what they had to offer.
> 
> I need a new 3DS game, do you recommend Tales of the Abyss?


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> It's not my favourite JRPG, but it's good enough I am going to finish it...not sure what else to say about it other than it is a great RPG that just isn't my style, and has an action based battle system I am not exactly fond of, but can still appreciate. I'd still recommend it though
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And I think I have always been a Sonic fan because everyone around me growing up had Nintendo and a Mario game...hardly anyone had Sega anything...I don't even know how I became such a Sega fanboy honestly, just have been as long as I can remember...


Sorry you don't like Tales of the Abyss very much. The action battles are the main appeal, and the best part, so I'm not sure what to say if you don't like them. They are supposed to be a combination of real-time and turn based, considering you can bring menus up to cast spells etc. They are a Tales series staple, and what made the original Tales of Phantasia so appealing (everything else was turn based with menus back then, except maybe for Secret of Mana/Seiken Densetsu series). If you don't like the battles in ToA then I urge you to look and see how they did them in the latest one, Tales of Zestiria, it's like the same thing but third person and you can't fricken see anything, it's awful and will make you appreciate the battles in Abyss a lot more...

Tbh I didn't care for Tales of the Abyss very much either. Without spoiling too much for those that didn't play it, my main complaint was the story and characters. The story is too self-focused with way too much technobabble about the various McGuffin's in the world (all of Jade's lectures about fonons and resonance etc.). The main character is unlikable, or rather he could be likable if the rest of the party weren't blaming him for something he didn't do. The supporting characters were all basically pricks to him for the entire game and none of them are very likable or well designed.

I actually played ToA back around 2009 and forced myself through to what must have been close to the end. Like 60 hours in. Then I quit because I really just didn't like the game.

If you want a *good* Tales game then play Tales of Symphonia on Gamecube, I think it also has a PC port, and it also has an HD update on PS3 if you have one (which I finished). If you have a 360 then by all means get Tales of Vesperia (it's cheap!). Vesperia has got to be the best modern Tales game, it got excellent reviews, it has much better characters and a more sane story.

If you want to go retro (and I recommend it) then, I'd recommend playing Tales of Phantasia for Super Famicom (with the fan patch). There is also an enhanced port for PSX which has an excellent fan patch just completed recently, the guy worked on it for over 10 years to get it perfect- tales-cless.org People also really love Tales of Destiny for PS1. I played all these before I played Abyss and the later games. I had more context and something to compare them to. If it says anything, Phantasia PSX might still be my favorite. Phantasia was one of those special games that really got everything right and everything since has basically been chasing it.

So yeah if you want to try a Tales game I think Abyss would NOT be my first recommendation... check out Vesperia if you have a 360, Symphonia remake, or Phantasia PSX if you want a retro game.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Hey, there are some pretty die hard Sonic fans out there...like me. Sonic all day
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And I have just been busy playing Tales of the Abyss, so I haven't been on the 'puter much lately. About 18 hours in or something now...still feel the same about it


Agreed
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> It's not my favourite JRPG, but it's good enough I am going to finish it...not sure what else to say about it other than it is a great RPG that just isn't my style, and has an action based battle system I am not exactly fond of, but can still appreciate. I'd still recommend it though
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And I think I have always been a Sonic fan because everyone around me growing up had Nintendo and a Mario game...hardly anyone had Sega anything...I don't even know how I became such a Sega fanboy honestly, just have been as long as I can remember...


Again agreed


----------



## Wolfsbora

@Aaron_Henderson I played Oregon Trail (who didn't back then?







), Castle Wolfenstein, a typing game that I can't remember, Ghostbusters, etc.. I had a blast on it.

@neurotix I think I'll start with Tales of Symphonia for the GC if I can get my hands on it. I've been looking for a new RPG.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> @Aaron_Henderson I played Oregon Trail (who didn't back then?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ), Castle Wolfenstein, a typing game that I can't remember, Ghostbusters, etc.. I had a blast on it.
> 
> @neurotix I think I'll start with Tales of Symphonia for the GC if I can get my hands on it. I've been looking for a new RPG.


Most of my memories with any retro computers like this are those text based adventure games...I was so young I can barely remember specific games though. I do remember I was the only one in my Kindergarten class who could figure out how to run the games off the floppy drive on the C64 our classroom had...the other kids just used them for typing







I never got to use one, but have always been really interested in the Commodore Amiga computer as well...I have no idea what they are worth now though...likely a lot







I still have an Imac G3 housing I would like to use for some kind of retro computer build...still not sure what just yet. Was thinking of just putting a DOS system in there, and I have even sourced a replacement CRT for it...


----------



## Wolfsbora

Use that iMac case to install a Raspberry Pi 3, install RetroPie, and you'll have all kinds of solid emulators. The build even comes with the text based game "Zork" which is a lot of fun. Though, I got lost and I've never been able to get back to where I need to be to continue the story







.

I found a guy with an Apple IIc but he has a printer he's trying to sell with it he jacked the price up because of it. I don't want the crappy dot matrix printer. I just want the monitor, the Apple IIc itself, and the floppy drive. I've tried talking him down but he's pretty dead set on it.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I actually have a solid emulation build already, actually...the Xbox PC in my sig is dedicated to emulation and nothing else, except some older PC game stuff. But I have definitely considered a RaspPi or similar for that Imac shell...considering a CRT takes up 90% of the space available in there. I have also thought to put a more modern system in there, perhaps an Intel Compute stick or something like that, but still use a CRT...so a modern system in a retro shell with retro display...my indecision is kind of why it's still sitting there...that and the fact I always seem to have too many projects on the go at any given time


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

I use a CRT with my emulation Pico PC and it looks great : D


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> @neurotix I think I'll start with Tales of Symphonia for the GC if I can get my hands on it. I've been looking for a new RPG.


I think this one has gotten rather pricey last I recall. Or nevermind, it's like $16 on Amazon, maybe the one I saw at my local shop was a complete copy. You might have to be prepared to get it disc only.

Technically, this one can be emulated in Dolphin rather well on any of our gaming pc's.

Also afaik the PC port should be on Steam. There's also the PS3 HD update. I think all the versions are the same and don't have any additional content, I think the PS3 version simply outputs the graphics at 720p and applies a filter. The PC version is probably just a port of the PS3 version.

It's a really good game and well worth playing. I didn't have any complaints about the story or gameplay. The world design is quite nice, dungeons are well done, music is great, characters are good, and the battle system is solid- although much more slow paced and deliberate compared to recent entries like Vesperia and Xillia. You can't really do huge multi hit combos. It's a 3D Tales game but the battles play more like the 2D retro Tales games (Phantasia, Destiny). My biggest advice is block. A lot. Abuse your block. This is necessary for some of the tougher bosses like the three fairies at the top of a tower in the first world, and some other tough bosses. Anyway, my only main complaint about the game is probably the length, this game just goes on and on forever. I'm not against long games with a lot of content but some parts felt like filler. You could have probably cut 1/4th of the game and it still would have been a very good game and wouldn't have needed much. Also I hate hate hate the Elf Forest towards the end of the game, you'll definitely need a guide to figure out the puzzles there.

I would still highly recommend Tales of Vesperia if you have a 360. I've played pretty much every Tales game with few exceptions, and Vesperia is my favorite next to Phantasia and the best modern one by far.


----------



## subassy

Saw this thread on reddit. Seems to have some interesting (and possibly valid) information on the question "why are there no equivalent to ROM hacks for ISO format games?". I've never even tried a ROM hack, just thought the information was interesting.

__
https://www.reddit.com/r/59cqkl/we_all_know_and_love_rom_hacks_but_why_are_iso/


----------



## neurotix

Hey, thanks for sharing that. Most of the people in that reddit thread know what they're talking about (and surely way more than I), so it was an interesting read. I always pretty much assumed that was the reason, that the newer games are just too complex and deal in too many weird file formats and programming eccentricities. Modding say, a modern PC game (that doesn't use an encrypted format) or even a PS4 game (which is basically a PC game on inferior hardware) is relatively easy. But the 32-bit and later consoles all had very arcane processors, I mean who nowadays would know something like SH-2 assembly (for the Saturn) outside of a handful of programmers in the world. It explains why (to my knowledge) there aren't very many homebrew applications for the Saturn. The same could be said for the PS2, with the arcane proprietary Emotion Engine CPU and Graphics Synthesizer. So beyond the file formats, the hardware in a lot of these systems is difficult to program for, too.

If you like that stuff then check out http://legendsoflocalization.com/ It's the website of Tomato, a rom hacker who goes way back in the community. He worked on the Bahamut Lagoon SNES translation, among various anime and other games professionally. It's a very interesting site if you've never seen it before.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Much love to my friends @neurotix & @Bridgypoo for shipping this out so quick:



She's my first import console and I couldn't be happier! The games were an awesome surprise.

The AC adapter & stereo A/V cable will be here tomorrow, the controller will be a couple of weeks (customs grrr).

The most important piece is coming sometime in-between: the Everdrive!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Sweet


----------



## Bridgypoo

Glad it made it to you in one piece.









When I saw your address before I went on a trip to PA I nearly said I could just meet up, but it ended up being inexpensive enough to ship to you with insurance.

PC Engine is definitely an awesome console.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bridgypoo*
> 
> Glad it made it to you in one piece.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> When I saw your address before I went on a trip to PA I nearly said I could just meet up, but it ended up being inexpensive enough to ship to you with insurance.
> 
> PC Engine is definitely an awesome console.


You should have definitely swung through Pittsburgh! We could have had a micro-OCN meetup, get pictures, do a high five, and watch my face light up when my hands got wrapped around the PC Engine!


----------



## Bridgypoo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> You should have definitely swung through Pittsburgh! We could have had a micro-OCN meetup, get pictures, do a high five, and watch my face light up when my hands got wrapped around the PC Engine!


Other side of the state unfortunately. Fam in Douglassville!


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bridgypoo*
> 
> Other side of the state unfortunately. Fam in Douglassville!


Well, it's the thought that counts! Haha







I can't wait to hook up the PC Engine. I keep staring at it hoping that the cables and such just magically appear...


----------



## neurotix

Hook it up with your Genesis 1 AV cables and power supply. I thought you had a Genesis 1 if I recall.

The video and white audio will work because they're actually the same pins on the PC Engine. However, if you had a red audio it wouldn't work because that audio channel is on a different pin on the PC Engine.

The two games are Shadow Lands and Pro Yakyu World Stadium. Two games I'll never play. I didn't like giving them away because I don't have all that many complete PC Engine games (around 10 now) but, that's okay since I have Be Ball and Detana!! Twinbee complete (two awesome games).

You could hook it up with your Genesis cables just to see that it works. Again, however, the system is picky about reading game cards. You will probably just get a white screen when turning on the system; keep trying. Insert and remove the cards a few times and eventually they'll work. You can try hitting the contacts on the edge of the card with alcohol on a q-tip if you still have trouble, this might help.


----------



## subassy

Sorry to interrupt the conversation I just realized I forgot to mention this.

Last weekend I was at this retro game shop (about 45 minutes away) to get some discs repaired with their fancy machine and was looking at some of their games.

And there in the display case was a copy of _Sculpter's Cut_, a game I have never even seen in person before never mind played. And it was...$500. Wow. $500 game right there. I haven't looked up the price so I don't know if that's high or right at market.

For those who may not be familiar there was this, "Clay fighters" was a franchise in the 90s. I always thought it as a parody/comedic version of the fighting game craze of the day. Anyway, there was a _Clay Fighters 63 1/3_ for the N64 back then but also a slight variant _exclusive_ to blockbuster rentals called _Sculptor's Cut_. From the descriptions I've seen it sounded like it was a little more polished than the original version. But also from what I read it was never actually for sale at an actual retailer. Just for rent at Blockbuster. I mean I assume they sold them off when N64 died and/or blockbuster went away. But not for sale in K-Mart etc.

Not that noteworthy but then I don't think that many copies are actually in existence.


----------



## neurotix

Teaching myself how to solder. Finally. I got a soldering iron, some solder, a soldering stand and a desoldering pump.

I set to replacing the battery in my copy of Final Fantasy (NES) and I swear I put the battery in the way it was when I took it out, did it twice, and it still wasn't holding the save. I was baffled. So I looked at a guide to replacing the batteries and I realized I must have put the battery in backwards (polarity reversed). I looked and sure enough, I did.







Next time I'll look at the board itself to see the markings for polarity to be sure. Lesson learnt.

Anyway I'm gonna try loading the save I made in a few hours, and then I'll let it sit overnight and try again in the morning, if it works in the morning then it's probably alright. I'm excited to see.

I also replaced the battery in my Wizardry (NES).

I also ordered this kit to be able to practice soldering and desoldering stuff. I need practice. Eventually I want to recap my Game Gear and probably do the LED backlight mod to it, but before I do that I need to get better.

If you guys have any tips for me let me know.


----------



## Kleer Kut

Collin's Lab on YouTube has a few videos on soldering, desoldering, and surface mount soldering. There are a few good tips there. I have had a soldering iron for a very long time and wasn't until this year that I actually used it any amount. Those videos helped. My setup is cheap, but it works. I certainly have had much better results than times in the past when I completely winged it! You can probably just use a length of wire to practice on and any old electronic board to practice desoldering.


----------



## subassy

I used this one when I was learning a couple years ago:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002LUAL6/
Make sure you use 30/70 for solder. Save yourself a lot if frustration. I have some YouTube links if you're interested in proper technique.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I used this one when I was learning a couple years ago:
> https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002LUAL6/
> Make sure you use 30/70 for solder. Save yourself a lot if frustration. I have some YouTube links if you're interested in proper technique.


Yes I would like to see them.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Soldering is a great skill to have! It helped me do electrical work on my Harley, do custom sleeving on my gaming rig, repair various PCBs, and I'm about to recap the board on my Millipede monitor.

P.S. The controller arrived early! No cables, but that's ok, I took @neurotix suggestion and used my Genesis 1 mono cable and AC adapter. Whatcha guys think?


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Nice : D !

Just added the side and front panels to my arcade stack and redid a few bits , its powerd by bench supplies for now . I added a audio VU meter on the front too , not far till its fully done : ) .


----------



## Mega Man

Nice


----------



## Mega Man

Nice...
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Teaching myself how to solder. Finally. I got a soldering iron, some solder, a soldering stand and a desoldering pump.
> 
> I set to replacing the battery in my copy of Final Fantasy (NES) and I swear I put the battery in the way it was when I took it out, did it twice, and it still wasn't holding the save. I was baffled. So I looked at a guide to replacing the batteries and I realized I must have put the battery in backwards (polarity reversed). I looked and sure enough, I did.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Next time I'll look at the board itself to see the markings for polarity to be sure. Lesson learnt.
> 
> Anyway I'm gonna try loading the save I made in a few hours, and then I'll let it sit overnight and try again in the morning, if it works in the morning then it's probably alright. I'm excited to see.
> 
> I also replaced the battery in my Wizardry (NES).
> 
> I also ordered this kit to be able to practice soldering and desoldering stuff. I need practice. Eventually I want to recap my Game Gear and probably do the LED backlight mod to it, but before I do that I need to get better.
> 
> If you guys have any tips for me let me know.


Brass wool, solder sucker, Flux (non wash, I prefer the pen, sad stuff I use the paste solder) and you should be good


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Nice...
> Brass wool, solder sucker, Flux (non wash, I prefer the pen, sad stuff I use the paste solder) and you should be good


What do you use the brass wool for?


----------



## neurotix

I think it's for cleaning the tip/wiping hot solder off the iron when it sticks?

My soldering stand came with a sponge, I use a wet sponge to wipe the tip on. I should get some brass wool though.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I think it's for cleaning the tip/wiping hot solder off the iron when it sticks?
> 
> My soldering stand came with a sponge, I use a wet sponge to wipe the tip on. I should get some brass wool though.


Yup! Exactly. I even use a wet paper towel. Brass wool lasts a lot longer and gets all the nasty particles left over. Dirty solder joints can cause quick oxidization.

@TwirlyWhirly555, your work is amazing!! You should offer a service to locals to do stuff like that.


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I think it's for cleaning the tip/wiping hot solder off the iron when it sticks?
> 
> My soldering stand came with a sponge, I use a wet sponge to wipe the tip on. I should get some brass wool though.


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Yup! Exactly. I even use a wet paper towel. Brass wool lasts a lot longer and gets all the nasty particles left over. Dirty solder joints can cause quick oxidization.
> 
> @TwirlyWhirly555, your work is amazing!! You should offer a service to locals to do stuff like that.


That's what I figured it was for. I just use a wet sponge.


----------



## neurotix

So far I think I'm doing okay. My Final Fantasy seems to work now.

I also redid the battery in my Chrono Trigger. I took it to the local game shop and had the owner replace the battery. He did a bad job imo, solder was all lumpy on the sides of the joint and not in the middle. He also used WAY too much solder on one joint. So I redid it and tried to get it "perfect" to the best of my ability. It turned out well and so far the game is holding saves. There's few games I love more than Chrono Trigger, so it deserves it.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> So far I think I'm doing okay. My Final Fantasy seems to work now.
> 
> I also redid the battery in my Chrono Trigger. I took it to the local game shop and had the owner replace the battery. He did a bad job imo, solder was all lumpy on the sides of the joint and not in the middle. He also used WAY too much solder on one joint. So I redid it and tried to get it "perfect" to the best of my ability. It turned out well and so far the game is holding saves. There's few games I love more than Chrono Trigger, so it deserves it.


Chrono Trigger deserves the best! In my top 3 favorite games of all time.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I think it's for cleaning the tip/wiping hot solder off the iron when it sticks?
> 
> My soldering stand came with a sponge, I use a wet sponge to wipe the tip on. I should get some brass wool though.


sponges "shock" the tip more ( too cold ) and wear out your iron quicker is the way i understand it, but really they are fine
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> So far I think I'm doing okay. My Final Fantasy seems to work now.
> 
> I also redid the battery in my Chrono Trigger. I took it to the local game shop and had the owner replace the battery. He did a bad job imo, solder was all lumpy on the sides of the joint and not in the middle. He also used WAY too much solder on one joint. So I redid it and tried to get it "perfect" to the best of my ability. It turned out well and so far the game is holding saves. There's few games I love more than Chrono Trigger, so it deserves it.


lack of flux i would bet


----------



## Wolfsbora

Check out this lil guy:



I love this thing. The controls spin so that you can wind up the excess cables and then put the controllers away in the back panel so it's a nice compact little unit. It still works 100% and even has the correct time haha.


----------



## cones

I'm guessing that's two player?


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> I'm guessing that's two player?


Yup! It's actually a lot of fun. The surprising thing is that the controls have the same quality feel as an NES controller. It's basically a 2-player Game & Watch.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Chrono Trigger deserves the best! In my top 3 favorite games of all time.


Did you ever get a copy?

My top 3 are probably:

1) Final Fantasy IV (or II SNES....same game)
2) Chrono Trigger
3) Xenogears

FF7 is definitely in my top 10, although I don't know if it's top 5 or not. Obviously my top 10 would probably be all Japanese RPGs.

You should get a copy of Xenogears if you've never played it. It's somewhat of a spiritual sequel to Chrono Trigger. Some of the characters have the same names (side characters... like Melchior, Balthazar and Gaspar, the three gurus). It was originally going to be a Chrono Trigger sequel. Although the final result was actually very different from CT. It's still an excellent game. It's only around $40 or so for a complete copy and I see them all the time at the game shops here (they usually have more than one copy).


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Yup! It's actually a lot of fun. The surprising thing is that the controls have the same quality feel as an NES controller. It's basically a 2-player Game & Watch.


I figured that, was fun thinking about how one person would use both though.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Did you ever get a copy?
> 
> My top 3 are probably:
> 
> 1) Final Fantasy IV (or II SNES....same game)
> 2) Chrono Trigger
> 3) Xenogears
> 
> FF7 is definitely in my top 10, although I don't know if it's top 5 or not. Obviously my top 10 would probably be all Japanese RPGs.
> 
> You should get a copy of Xenogears if you've never played it. It's somewhat of a spiritual sequel to Chrono Trigger. Some of the characters have the same names (side characters... like Melchior, Balthazar and Gaspar, the three gurus). It was originally going to be a Chrono Trigger sequel. Although the final result was actually very different from CT. It's still an excellent game. It's only around $40 or so for a complete copy and I see them all the time at the game shops here (they usually have more than one copy).


Yup! I've been playing it almost all of October and part of September. I'm probably 50% complete. I took a bit of time off from it to play Mario from the first 3 generations of consoles haha. Nostalgia


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Yup! I've been playing it almost all of October and part of September. I'm probably 50% complete. I took a bit of time off from it to play Mario from the first 3 generations of consoles haha. Nostalgia


Chrono Trigger?

I still need to play through mine. I can't recall the last time I played CT but I think it was around 5 years ago. On an emulator of course. I didn't have all my consoles then.

I think I've finished CT at least 10 times from the beginning and many more times on New Game+, since I owned it when I was a kid. I'm pretty much a master of it. I even beat Lavos from the time gate in New Game+ (green portal, right telepod) with just solo Crono at lvl 45. It took forever but I did it and got the developer room ending.

It's really a huge shame that Square-Enix hasn't done anything with the franchise in at least ten years. The subpar DS port. The last new game was Chrono Cross in 2000, 16 years ago (Chrono Cross basically blows. On it's own merits it's a decent, innovative RPG, but as a Chrono game it's terrible.)

The fan 3D remake would have been outstanding. Such a shame they got legal threats and had to stop. They should have just worked on it in secret and released it when it was totally finished for free, then there wouldn't have been much Square-Enix could have done, afaik. Similar to Streets of Rage Remake and the FF Type-0 PSP translation.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Chrono Trigger?
> 
> I still need to play through mine. I can't recall the last time I played CT but I think it was around 5 years ago. On an emulator of course. I didn't have all my consoles then.
> 
> I think I've finished CT at least 10 times from the beginning and many more times on New Game+, since I owned it when I was a kid. I'm pretty much a master of it. I even beat Lavos from the time gate in New Game+ (green portal, right telepod) with just solo Crono at lvl 45. It took forever but I did it and got the developer room ending.
> 
> It's really a huge shame that Square-Enix hasn't done anything with the franchise in at least ten years. The subpar DS port. The last new game was Chrono Cross in 2000, 16 years ago (Chrono Cross basically blows. On it's own merits it's a decent, innovative RPG, but as a Chrono game it's terrible.)
> 
> The fan 3D remake would have been outstanding. Such a shame they got legal threats and had to stop. They should have just worked on it in secret and released it when it was totally finished for free, then there wouldn't have been much Square-Enix could have done, afaik. Similar to Streets of Rage Remake and the FF Type-0 PSP translation.


Yes sir, CT is absolutely awesome. It is now officially my favorite SNES game of all time. I started it on RetroPie and then started completely over on the cart and I'm addicted.

I have some new surprises coming that I will post on here over the next few days. I've been making trades left and right.


----------



## neurotix

Have you played Final Fantasy III (aka 6 in Japan)?

Picking between that and Chrono Trigger has always been very hard for me. Both came out around the same time and both are probably the best RPGs Square or Square-Enix have ever made.

I'd suggest picking it up now in case the price goes up, last I checked it was around $60. When I got mine I paid $40 for it. You should also get Final Fantasy II (aka 4), since that one is only around $35. Both of them are fantastic.


----------



## Wolfsbora

I haven't played either of those but I will now! I just settled a trade for both of those FFs. The timing was perfect.


----------



## neurotix

That's awesome. You're gonna love them both.

FF3 is generally considered to be the best FF ever made by most people. It's just as good as Chrono Trigger.

I am also pretty much a master of FF2 and FF3, I've cleared FF2 in various forms probably 50 times, it's my favorite game ever made. So if you get stuck or want advice just let me know. I've also cleared FF3 probably 20 times so I can help with that one too.

Have fun.


----------



## Mega Man

completely off topic and loving it.

this is the single most sinister frieza i have ever seen



anyone else a db fan ?


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> completely off topic and loving it.
> 
> this is the single most sinister frieza i have ever seen
> 
> 
> 
> anyone else a db fan ?


I'm about the biggest anime fan you'll ever meet, I've seen probably hundreds of shows, and I prefer older (80s and 90s) anime. So yes.

I was obsessed with Dragonball Z in high school and used to buy fansubbed Japanese tapes of it online and at Chinatown. Most of my friends were into it too. We all hated the Funimation CN dub though. Japanese DBZ all the way.

I even still have a bunch of the Super Battle Collection imported Japanese action figures. They're packed away in a box. Really the only anime figures I have. If you want to see them, let me know and I'll take pictures.

And yeah that Frieza is absolutely disgusting.


----------



## blooder11181

need a 387sx 25mhz coprocessor for my ibm ps/1 (second sig rig)


----------



## Wolfsbora

Speaking of older rigs, check out my new (to me







) Apple IIc:



I'm hoping to be able to get a library of some fun games for it. Unfortunately, the guy forgot to send the power supply with it.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> @TwirlyWhirly555, your work is amazing!! You should offer a service to locals to do stuff like that.


Thanks : D I would but I think people would be waiting for ever to see it finished ,

last pictures of it finally 100% finished : )


----------



## neurotix

Both of those are really cool guys.

Excellent wiring job on the first pic, TwirlyWhirly.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Thanks, @neurotix!

@TwirlyWhirly555 your work is awesome! Even the "spaghetti" is organized. You're quite the craftsman. I'd love to give that amazing rig a test drive!

Btw guys, I'm up to 53 NES games! Some real classics in there. I finally have Metal Gear & Snake's Revenge (I'm a huge fan of the series)! I'll be cataloging everything.




Also, I have some more SNES games on the way besides the FFII & FFIII I just grabbed. I'll keep you posted.

I found an awesome gaming solution for my Apple IIc that will allow me to play just about any games for it without having to buy the old floppy disks. I'll post that later as well.

Lastly, if anyone has some Atari Jaguar game suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it!


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Thanks, @neurotix!
> 
> @TwirlyWhirly555 your work is awesome! Even the "spaghetti" is organized. You're quite the craftsman. I'd love to give that amazing rig a test drive!
> 
> Btw guys, I'm up to 53 NES games! Some real classics in there. I finally have Metal Gear & Snake's Revenge (I'm a huge fan of the series)! I'll be cataloging everything.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also, I have some more SNES games on the way besides the FFII & FFIII I just grabbed. I'll keep you posted.
> 
> I found an awesome gaming solution for my Apple IIc that will allow me to play just about any games for it without having to buy the old floppy disks. I'll post that later as well.
> 
> Lastly, if anyone has some Atari Jaguar game suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it!


53 NES games, make a list and post it up on Google Sheets or whatever and link it. Then we can give you suggestions on what to get that you don't have. (You might have more NES games than me now)

SNES games, you should for sure try and get all the good games besides RPGs. Mario World 1 & 2, Mario All Stars, Mario Kart, DKC, and all that stuff.

The Apple IIc is cool. I was an Apple fanboy in the 80s and 90s when their stuff was actually unique, different, arguably superior and more useful. Now I absolutely loathe Apple.


----------



## Wolfsbora

I think I'll create a Sheets file with different pages for each console. I've been meaning to start cataloging.

I have Mario World 1 and DKC 1 & 2 (on the way). I'm trying to get my hands on the All Stars with Mario World cart.

I completely agree with you about old school Apple. The II, the IIc, and the IIe were beasts when they came out. I'm still waiting on the brick & cord to get here so I can boot it up.


----------



## Mega Man

atm all i can say is


----------



## neurotix

All I'm really gonna say is, be safe guys.

I hope we can still afford to buy lots of videogames and find food in the supermarket.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Well, having an interracial/biracial family, minority/LGBT/women friends, and seeing such a disgusting rise in hate toward them in this country has me feeling a level of despair and disappointment that I didn't think was possible.

This may sound silly but I hope that we can come together in any way possible, for us, that may mean gaming. Maybe play some Mario Kart together while sharing pizza. I don't know, but I love you all.


----------



## Bridgypoo

I think if we don't go to CA for Christmas we should go see Wolf, Neuro.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bridgypoo*
> 
> I think if we don't go to CA for Christmas we should go see Wolf, Neuro.


I'm ALL for that!







I'd love to meet you guys. You're both so awesome, great friends, and we'd have a blast playing and discussing retro games!!!


----------



## neurotix

If you ever wanna drive out here and crash on my couch, the offers on the table. You're welcome to stay as long as you like. That might not be possible since you went back to work though.

I still plan on going to CA for Xmas though.


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Hmm, I haven't posted here in a while... Just bought a PS1 SCPH-1001, but for an opposite reason.... I had bought a DTL-H1200 TOOL PS1 (a good chunk of change spent on that) and when it arrived? Case was SO messed up. Cracks everywhere all over that greenish-blue plastic, so now its time to do a case swap. I hope to be able to swap out all the components with minimal problems as well as still leave the open, reset, and power buttons as well as the parallel port cover. Kinda sucks that it had to be destroyed. Such a beautiful piece of gaming history.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> If you ever wanna drive out here and crash on my couch, the offers on the table. You're welcome to stay as long as you like. That might not be possible since you went back to work though.
> 
> I still plan on going to CA for Xmas though.


Thanks, man!! I really appreciate that. I may take you up on your offer sometime!
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheN00bBuilder*
> 
> Hmm, I haven't posted here in a while... Just bought a PS1 SCPH-1001, but for an opposite reason.... I had bought a DTL-H1200 TOOL PS1 (a good chunk of change spent on that) and when it arrived? Case was SO messed up. Cracks everywhere all over that greenish-blue plastic, so now its time to do a case swap. I hope to be able to swap out all the components with minimal problems as well as still leave the open, reset, and power buttons as well as the parallel port cover. Kinda sucks that it had to be destroyed. Such a beautiful piece of gaming history.


Aw man, that sucks. If I find one for a good price I'll let you know asap!

Btw, this came in the other day







:


And for the Apple IIc (I STILL don't have the power supply):


----------



## neurotix

You've got the boxes, but are they complete? Btw play FF2 first. My favorite game of all time. If you need tips let me know.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> You've got the boxes, but are they complete? Btw play FF2 first. My favorite game of all time. If you need tips let me know.


As far as complete goes, I believe FFIII is complete with manual, poster, and insert.

I'll definitely need some tips. There is a lot of depth to FFIII.


----------



## neurotix

The biggest and easiest tip I can give for both games that isn't immediately apparent is spreadcasting.

In FF2 if you push the cursor all the way to the right twice while casting a spell, it will cast it on your whole team (just keep pushing right until the cursor highlights all characters). If you push it all the way to the left twice it will cast the spell on all enemies. This is obviously used to heal your whole team at once, as well as nuke all enemies at once with black magic. Some spells (summons) will automatically target every enemy on the field though.

In FF3 you can do the same thing but with the L and R buttons.

In FF2, your order/row commands are pretty important. Mages go in the back, fighters go in the front. You can split it either 2/3 or 3/2 (front/back). Some boss fights are back attacks. Especially a serious one on Mt. Ordeals. Prepare accordingly and swap your rows before the fight.

Undead are harmed by Cure magic. There's at least a couple areas in both games where this is useful.

Other than that, I'm not sure what other advice I can give you about FF2 till you get further. I know a powerleveling trick in the Tower of Zot that makes most of the rest of the game very easy.

FF3, however, I can say is usually about party choice. Most of the time after a certain point, you're allowed to use any characters you want in your party. Sabin is a powerhouse; especially if you can pull off his SF-style Blitz moves. Aurabolt is really good at the beginning of the game. Edgar is good too. Terra and Celes are both really good with attack magic, if you teach them a lot of magic they will do much more damage with it than other members. Especially Terra once she can Morph. Shadow is cool but don't bother with him until the second world because he'll just leave your party in the middle of a dungeon. And make sure you *wait for him* till the very last second when given the choice (you'll know when this is- "Gotta wait for Shadow..."). There's quite a few gimmick characters like Setzer, Gau, Umaro, Mog, and others whose damage is based on chance/random. I tend to avoid these guys.

Try and get the Genji Glove early, and try to find all of them. If you refuse Banon's request to join over and over, you'll get a Genji Glove instead of a Gauntlet. There will be a scene that makes you feel really bad though. Also it won't be till nearly the end of the game but make sure not to miss the Offering. Also try and find both Atma Weapons.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Thanks for that awesome advice, @neurotix! I'll be bookmarking this.

Went totally old school, folks! Check it out:


----------



## Mega Man

Great system and one of my favs


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Great system and one of my favs


Yeah, it's definitely one of my favorites during that time.


----------



## neurotix

He got that thing for a ridiculously good price too. I don't know how he does it. No deals to be had where I live.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> He got that thing for a ridiculously good price too. I don't know how he does it. No deals to be had where I live.


It's all about how you talk to people is all!


----------



## neurotix

Hey guys, the club seems rather slow lately. Regular posters aren't posting. Is everyone just busy, or is something wrong? What can I do to spur activity? Is there anything you'd like to see or discuss?


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Hey guys, the club seems rather slow lately. Regular posters aren't posting. Is everyone just busy, or is something wrong? What can I do to spur activity? Is there anything you'd like to see or discuss?


Been busy lately and haven't had much to say, been keeping up for the most part.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I've been super busy, and super broke, so I haven't had anything to post, really. Plus, I haven't been playing anything other than Tales of the Abyss...almost done though, I think. Sitting at about 40 hours now. Honestly just want to finish it so I can move onto something else







Also, meant to post a few times now about Wolfsbora...going right for the good stuff, eh? lol Awesome pickups dude, and you certainly aren't wasting any time building up your collection







People should talk more about what they are playing at the moment...


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Hey guys, the club seems rather slow lately. Regular posters aren't posting. Is everyone just busy, or is something wrong? What can I do to spur activity? Is there anything you'd like to see or discuss?


Busy, 3 deaths in the family in 6 weeks, helping clean out my grand Mas house


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I've been super busy, and super broke, so I haven't had anything to post, really. Plus, I haven't been playing anything other than Tales of the Abyss...almost done though, I think. Sitting at about 40 hours now. Honestly just want to finish it so I can move onto something else
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also, meant to post a few times now about Wolfsbora...going right for the good stuff, eh? lol Awesome pickups dude, and you certainly aren't wasting any time building up your collection
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> People should talk more about what they are playing at the moment...


Haha, yes, sir. I have a feeling that another spike in prices is on the way. I've been paying way below market for this stuff. It's been tricky but I just keep my eyes & ears out rather than jump on the first thing I see. I have quite a few things I'm excited to share with you, guys.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Busy, 3 deaths in the family in 6 weeks, helping clean out my grand Mas house


I'm really sorry to see that, dude. Please let us know if there is anything you need.


----------



## neurotix

Good to see everyone's just busy, bad to hear about what happened to Mega Man. Sorry dude. If you need anything or even just want to talk about it, let us know.









Things aren't going very well for me either, and haven't been for like 2 years. But I try not to talk about it here.

Anyway, I haven't been buying many games lately, especially not retro games. I'm fairly satisfied with my collection. If anything, I'm interested in more complete PC Engine Hucards. I feel pretty happy with my NES, SNES and Genesis collections.

@Mega Man I got a Phantasy Star manual! It was $40 on Ebay, but, it's in really really good condition as far as I can tell. No stains, creases, rips, folds or anything. It actually looks pretty mint. I paid $25 for Phantasy Star with the case around 2 years ago. It was probably less because the plastic thing that holds the insert on the case had come totally off on one side, so the art on the case wasn't attached. I just transferred it to a better box and used the messed up case for Shanghai (lol). Anyway, I spent around $65 to put together a $85-$100 game. I don't think I'll ever sell it, but if I do, I'll wait a long time and see if the price goes up. I'll post pictures of the game later.

Take care guys and be safe.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> If anything, I'm interested in more complete PC Engine Hucards. I feel pretty happy with my NES, SNES and Genesis collections.


Only a few are complete, but I've got a dozen or two PCE HuCards that I've been putting off selling. I bought an Everdrive earlier this year, so I have no need for them anymore. If anyone's interested, please send me a PM as I'd rather not resort to eBay.

Some of the highlight titles include Ninja Spirit, Devil Crash, Super Star Soldier, City Hunter, and R-Type I & II.


----------



## neurotix

Oh wow. I'm definitely interested, if the price is right. I'll send you a pm.


----------



## neurotix

I had taken more but for some reason when I upload them they show up sideways. Pissing me off. I don't want to retake them either atm.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Congrats on the Phantasy Star pickup, @neurotix!

Such a beautiful console! The dog bone controller is way more comfortable:


----------



## subassy

I think didn't remember to say: I actually found a Sega GameGear at a local Goodwill for $8. It even had _Columns_ in the cart slot. I put in some batteries (a lot of batteries) but it didn't turn on. I was going to try an AC plug and see if that worked. If it doesn't work even then...I have a couple "hobbiest" ideas that i can do with it. Atari flashback 2 or raspberry pi gameboy. In a gamegear. So a pi gamegear then. Either that or do a re-cap project to resurrect it. Only issue with that would be that I would end up with "merely" a working gamegear.
Anybody have an opinion one way or the other? GameGear with an 2600 slot? Hmmm...


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I think didn't remember to say: I actually found a Sega GameGear at a local Goodwill for $8. It even had _Columns_ in the cart slot. I put in some batteries (a lot of batteries) but it didn't turn on. I was going to try an AC plug and see if that worked. If it doesn't work even then...I have a couple "hobbiest" ideas that i can do with it. Atari flashback 2 or raspberry pi gameboy. In a gamegear. So a pi gamegear then. Either that or do a re-cap project to resurrect it. Only issue with that would be that I would end up with "merely" a working gamegear.
> Anybody have an opinion one way or the other? GameGear with an 2600 slot? Hmmm...


Sometimes the system won't power on from batteries because kids left dead batteries in it for years, and there's corrosion on the contacts. You can try cleaning the battery contacts in the Game Gear with some alcohol, or Brasso, or a wire brush. It should be pretty obvious though if they're corroded (look for rust-like stuff on the metal parts).

You can try a power brick if you want. However, you should pretty much expect that Game Gear to be dead (or any other GG you find in the wild, for that matter). Back in the 90s, there was a bad batch of capacitors in the industry and the majority of them ended up in Game Gears. The exception to this is any Game Gear made later by Majesco, the blue Game Gear qualifies, but there are some standard gray/black Game Gears that were made by Majesco too.

Recapping it is basically the reason I wanted to learn to solder. However, I opened mine up and checked it out and man, disassembling it is a PITA and there's not only the main board to be recapped, but two sub boards on the other half of the case. There's at least 20 caps that have to be done, if not more. This guy will recap your Game Gear for $40. | He also sells ones that have already been done, he even replaces the screen protector and he can do the LED backlight mod too (get 3x more battery life with this). For this reason, I spent $95 to just get a recapped GG with the backlight mod, to save myself a hell of a lot of work. My GG is dying, the sound volume is low even at max volume. This way, I'll have one as a backup that's got the screen mod, and if I try and recap mine and do a backlight mod and screw it up, I won't have to start from scratch.

We'll see if his GG is good, I already bought a recapped GG from a different seller (don't remember who) and it had a thick vertical bar in the center of the screen that was darkened and didn't match the brightness of the rest of the screen. I paid $40 for it so, avoid any you see for around that price. He claimed he'd been recapping GGs for years and that "most of them are like that", well maybe you should find ones to recap that don't have damaged screens.

If this guy does a good job on my GG I may contact him privately and ask him to recap/fix my model 1 Sega CD. I've taken it apart numerous times and, totally disassembling it and recapping it would be a tremendous job. I'd rather just pay someone to do it, I can afford it.

If it weren't for my collection of games, and carrying case for my GG, and how much I like the actual system, I would just play GG games on my PSP in Masterboy. Excellent emulator if your PSP is hacked. It runs GG and Game Boy/GBC games really nicely.

EDIT: Also the Game Gear is too cool to be turned into a Raspberry Pi whatever. Jus sayin. I think you should keep it as a Game Gear and start collecting games for it. I can give good recommendations. It's a fun little system. The games are generally cheap too, even online. No one really wants them. If you do decide to mod it, you better look into replacing the screen first, some people replace the screens in their Game Gears with a modern LCD screen, because the early 90s one in the GG is awful. Tremendous ghosting. Check youtube, there's plenty of tutorials for replacing the screen.


----------



## subassy

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!



Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Sometimes the system won't power on from batteries because kids left dead batteries in it for years, and there's corrosion on the contacts. You can try cleaning the battery contacts in the Game Gear with some alcohol, or Brasso, or a wire brush. It should be pretty obvious though if they're corroded (look for rust-like stuff on the metal parts).
> 
> You can try a power brick if you want. However, you should pretty much expect that Game Gear to be dead (or any other GG you find in the wild, for that matter). Back in the 90s, there was a bad batch of capacitors in the industry and the majority of them ended up in Game Gears. The exception to this is any Game Gear made later by Majesco, the blue Game Gear qualifies, but there are some standard gray/black Game Gears that were made by Majesco too.
> 
> Recapping it is basically the reason I wanted to learn to solder. However, I opened mine up and checked it out and man, disassembling it is a PITA and there's not only the main board to be recapped, but two sub boards on the other half of the case. There's at least 20 caps that have to be done, if not more. This guy will recap your Game Gear for $40. | He also sells ones that have already been done, he even replaces the screen protector and he can do the LED backlight mod too (get 3x more battery life with this). For this reason, I spent $95 to just get a recapped GG with the backlight mod, to save myself a hell of a lot of work. My GG is dying, the sound volume is low even at max volume. This way, I'll have one as a backup that's got the screen mod, and if I try and recap mine and do a backlight mod and screw it up, I won't have to start from scratch.
> 
> We'll see if his GG is good, I already bought a recapped GG from a different seller (don't remember who) and it had a thick vertical bar in the center of the screen that was darkened and didn't match the brightness of the rest of the screen. I paid $40 for it so, avoid any you see for around that price. He claimed he'd been recapping GGs for years and that "most of them are like that", well maybe you should find ones to recap that don't have damaged screens.
> 
> If this guy does a good job on my GG I may contact him privately and ask him to recap/fix my model 1 Sega CD. I've taken it apart numerous times and, totally disassembling it and recapping it would be a tremendous job. I'd rather just pay someone to do it, I can afford it.
> 
> If it weren't for my collection of games, and carrying case for my GG, and how much I like the actual system, I would just play GG games on my PSP in Masterboy. Excellent emulator if your PSP is hacked. It runs GG and Game Boy/GBC games really nicely.
> 
> EDIT: Also the Game Gear is too cool to be turned into a Raspberry Pi whatever. Jus sayin. I think you should keep it as a Game Gear and start collecting games for it. I can give good recommendations. It's a fun little system. The games are generally cheap too, even online. No one really wants them. If you do decide to mod it, you better look into replacing the screen first, some people replace the screens in their Game Gears with a modern LCD screen, because the early 90s one in the GG is awful. Tremendous ghosting. Check youtube, there's plenty of tutorials for replacing the screen.






Wow, thanks for the info. Ya i'm not sure i can be talked into some how getting into the system for the games. Although it think it's supposed to be compatible with the SMS. I mean literally all it's is a pin adapter and it can play SMS games. Even then I'm not sure I'm interested enough in keeping it intact. I would sooner either re-cap it say I have one or keep the guts intact and just use the case as a thing. I'm not really sure. Either of those is probably better than collecting dust for another 20 years.

Also, you probably already saw this one but from what I watched of this video (I watched most of it) it's a pretty good guide to replacing the caps:





Lastly I realized I forgot to send you some soldering resources which I mentioned I would. I'll just PM you about it.


----------



## neurotix

I think the GG really depends on what kinds of games you like. It has at least 3 awesome Sonic games (Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Chaos and Sonic Triple Trouble- which is amazing). It has two Streets of Rage games if you like SOR. They're extremely scaled down but play mostly the same, you can even do the signature specials. (Did you know the Streets of Rage 1 on Master System, Game Gear and Genesis are all totally different games? Developed separately.) It has two Shinobi games that are just as hard as the others, and pretty good considering the system. It has an **amazing** Shining Force game called Shining Force: Sword of Hayja. This one is just as good as the Genesis games, though obviously 8 bit. Not on the Master System. It also has a cool RPG called Crystal Warriors that is also a strategy RPG, it's kind of similar to the early Fire Emblem games with the side view when you attack enemies. It has a game called Dragon Crystal that is basically a very simple Roguelike dungeon crawler. Totally randomly generated. The sequel on Genesis was called Fatal Labyrinth. Additionally, there's puzzle games, a few different Columns games and even Bust-a-Move (aka Puzzle Bobble).

EDIT: I guess my main point is, if you like Sega games and you like the Genesis, you'll probably like the scaled down ports on the Game Gear. They're actually very very well done considering the hardware they run on. Anything by Sega themselves for the GG is gonna be good. They're actually different games from the Genesis versions for the most part. As a plus, the SOR games have amazing SMS/GG SN76489A chiptunes by Yuzo Koshiro, including some original music not in the Genesis games.

Think of how cool you'll look in public if you did the backlight mod and the batteries actually last long enough. You'll be the envy of all the hipsters at Starbucks. (j/k)









The converter is called the Master Gear Converter, I believe. Yes, it will let you use it as a portable Master System. However, the Master System has higher resolution (256x192). The GG's resolution is 160x144. So in any games with text in them, the text will be smaller and hard to read (Phantasy Star might be playable because it has HUGGGEE text, I was just playing it on my SMS actually.) This is all just what I've heard. I should get the Master Gear converter and try it myself.

The SMS has a slew of accessories. It's sort of interesting. A lot of them were official. It has a TV Tuner (that doesn't work anymore). I believe the TV Tuner has an input though, I've seen videos of people playing Xbox 360 on the Game Gear screen. =P

Anyway that's about it. I'll reply to your pm now.

Also btw I had a Game Boy back in the day but like one kid on the bus had the Game Gear and Sanic and let me try it a few times, I loved it, but no way my mom would get me both. Of course I love the Game Boy more, but maybe that's why the GG is interesting to me and why I like it, I missed out on it back then. It's really fun.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

So I made it all the way through Tales of the Abyss without a single game over...except now I am at the end and I've died on Van like 20 times now...I hate when games do this kind of thing...hopefully be able to beat him today and be done with the game









EDIT - finally beat him after only a couple tries tonight...just had to put both Tear and Natalia in my party and keep spamming Revive and Resurrection. And I wouldn't hack that Game Gear up unless it was totally beat beyond repair...honestly don't see them around much anymore, and I have a strange feeling a decent working one is going to get harder and herder to find as the years go by, which usually means they start to become worth more on the collector market.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> So I made it all the way through Tales of the Abyss without a single game over...except now I am at the end and I've died on Van like 20 times now...I hate when games do this kind of thing...hopefully be able to beat him today and be done with the game
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> EDIT - finally beat him after only a couple tries tonight...just had to put both Tear and Natalia in my party and keep spamming Revive and Resurrection. And I wouldn't hack that Game Gear up unless it was totally beat beyond repair...honestly don't see them around much anymore, and I have a strange feeling a decent working one is going to get harder and herder to find as the years go by, which usually means they start to become worth more on the collector market.


Congrats. ToA is a pretty long game. Good on you for sticking it out till the end. Now move on to a better Tales game like Vesperia. (Or better yet play a translated Phantasia for SNES or PSX in an emulator...)

The Game Gear MUST be recapped because it's dying. I'm shocked that mine lasted as long as it did, I got it a few years ago at a used games shop here in town. It still has the original capacitors. As I said, 90% of Game Gears you'll find are non working and need capacitor replacement to bring them back to life. There was a bad batch of caps in the industry when the Game Gear was being produced, and they ended up in the Game Gear. This is why most NES consoles work (disregarding the ZIF cartridge slot stuff...) but most Game Gears don't.

The sound is going out on my Game Gear, every time I use it lately the sound volume is a little less at max volume. Eventually if I don't recap it, there will be no sound.

That's okay though because I got my custom GG with the caps replaced and the LED backlight mod. I'll have to stick fresh batteries in it and play it til it dies to see how much more battery life I get. But so far it's great, the screen doesn't have any different colored bars on it etc. Pretty happy with it. Since I have this one now, I can safely attempt to recap my old one without fear if I screw it up.


----------



## neurotix

Getting more games in the mail from Mr357. Really excited. They should be here Monday. I won't say what I got, I'll just wait and post pictures for you guys when they come.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Getting more games in the mail from Mr357. Really excited. They should be here Monday. I won't say what I got, I'll just wait and post pictures for you guys when they come.


Absolutely awesome haul! I'm glad you and @Mr357 were able to work out the deal.

Here's a new addition that isn't so popular amongst collectors:


----------



## neurotix

Er you misread. Those are the ones I have now. I'll post the ones I get from Mr357 on Monday when I get them, I don't have them yet.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Er you misread. Those are the ones I have now. I'll post the ones I get from Mr357 on Monday when I get them, I don't have them yet.


My bad! I look forward to seeing the new ones too! I'm definitely envious of your Hu Card collection. I'd like to add the titles I'm enjoying on the Turbo Everdrive (I mean, I..do..own them...).

Check it out, folks! Finally got Super Mario All*Stars + Super Mario World:


----------



## subassy

I just bought the version of _Super Mario All Stars_ for Wii. The original with the trilogy+lost levels. Though in retrospect I'm not sure why I bought it. I did really wonder why they couldn't just stick _World_ on the disc. I mean seriously, it's paid for (as in production of World long over and wouldn't have cost Nintendo anything extra) and it's like...4MB? Why not? I guess they are optimized for a 16:9 screen maybe. Still seems like kind of a rip off.

And congrats on the purchase.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Getting more games in the mail from Mr357. Really excited. They should be here Monday. I won't say what I got, I'll just wait and post pictures for you guys when they come.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Absolutely awesome haul! I'm glad you and @Mr357 were able to work out the deal.
> 
> Here's a new addition that isn't so popular amongst collectors:
Click to expand...

Speak for yourself, I have 2 (one is for parts)

I remember when it came out lol
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I just bought the version of _Super Mario All Stars_ for Wii. The original with the trilogy+lost levels. Though in retrospect I'm not sure why I bought it. I did really wonder why they couldn't just stick _World_ on the disc. I mean seriously, it's paid for (as in production of World long over and wouldn't have cost Nintendo anything extra) and it's like...4MB? Why not? I guess they are optimized for a 16:9 screen maybe. Still seems like kind of a rip off.
> 
> And congrats on the purchase.


Yea I bought 3, or 4 iirc 4. Sold 2 for an amazing profit after they were Eol, and kept 2 (mine are the limited editions) however Nintendo keeps saying "this is the last time" and then they make more....


----------



## neurotix

Mario Allstars and World is cool. I only have Super Mario All-stars and Super Mario World separately. The cart you have with both is rarer. I believe it came from a late life pack in system, so it was a pack in game. I might be wrong though. Fantastic games either way.

I can't say much about the 3DO because I've never even played one, nor do I want to. Every exclusive game I've ever seen on it has looked terrible. Back in the day, it had the only console port of Super Street Fighter II Turbo, but with superior options available now (Such as SF Anniversary edition on PS2, or Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix on 360/PS3) there's no reason to play the 3DO version.

Wolfsbora, what are the PCE games you're playing that you enjoy? I'd love to know, so if any of them are ones I haven't played, I can try them.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Dude...the 3DO...take lots of pics, share lots of info...I've wanted one since they were new...and I still can't really afford one lol What games are you looking at for it? Most of the good ones were released elsewhere, I guess...


----------



## neurotix

I'm really just ignorant overall of the 3DO library.

I know there is one game that's supposed to be really really good for the system. I saw it in the Game Sack episode on the 3DO and it actually looked quite good, and they liked it a lot also. I just looked at the Game Sack episode guide, and damn, even with the list of games there for the 3DO, I can't for the life of me remember what it is. It was like a 1st person shooter type of thing in spots, and FMV in others I think.

I think the 3DO is probably a much better console than some of the others from that time period, say the Jaguar and the Bandai Pippin among others. I just really have no clue about it.

If I were ever interested in a 3DO, I would probably emulate the best games on the system first and decide if it's worth it.

Aaron, actually it's not that expensive, I see Ebay auctions starting at $60, for a system with the hookups and a controller.

Also, I'll give you a tip in that the system was VERY popular in Japan, probably among wealthy businessmen, anyway you can get a Japanese region 3DO for much much less on Ebay. I see one buy it now for $80, with a controller and hookups. And the 3DO is region free, meaning you can play US games on it. (Pretty sure you can play burned CD-Rs on a 3DO as well- Mega will have to confirm this). If you really want one, numerous people tell me this is the way to go. Shipping from Japan usually isn't too bad nowadays, and sure the items take some time to arrive (1 1/2 weeks - month) but hey, you'll save money. Also, I've bought numerous games from Japan and the sellers were always awesome, really respectful, a few even sent handwritten notes in English thanking me for my purchase. (They wrote kana and kanji too!) Anyway something to consider.


----------



## Mega Man

What really sucks width the 3do. Is got really need the memory pack They are super rare. Only seen a handful

My failed one may come back to life (cd rom laser failed)

http://3do-renovation.ru/USB_Host_for_FZ1.htm

Also one for dreamcast


----------



## neurotix

Can the 3DO play CD-R backups with no modification, Mega?

EDIT: Ah, nevermind, it does according to the wikipedia page.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I was mostly kidding about not being able to afford a 3DO...they still seem to be worth more than I'd liike to pay, on Ebay.ca at least. Cheapest I found was $150 Canadian for a console with no cables or controller...around $200 with everything. Plus, I still don't want to order actual consoles off the net...just don't want to ship them. I'll find a 3DO eventually...just not paying $200 for one if I can avoid it. That's a good thing to know about the memory pack Mega Man. I really remember drooling over the 3DO ads in EGM or similar magazines. It's not a system I would play often if I had it...it's just a nostalgia and curiosity thing, I suppose. Same reasons I'd also like an Atari Jaguar


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Not retro gaming related, but found a PC at a thrift store this week. No HDD, AMD Athlon 4000+, nothing special, but a little something on the 5.25" bay interested me... Turned out to be a VERY nice capture card, Canopus ADVC-50. Already put it in Atlas V431 and I plan to record some stuff with it later. I'll put it on here, no worries!


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I was mostly kidding about not being able to afford a 3DO...they still seem to be worth more than I'd liike to pay, on Ebay.ca at least. Cheapest I found was $150 Canadian for a console with no cables or controller...around $200 with everything. Plus, I still don't want to order actual consoles off the net...just don't want to ship them. I'll find a 3DO eventually...just not paying $200 for one if I can avoid it. That's a good thing to know about the memory pack Mega Man. I really remember drooling over the 3DO ads in EGM or similar magazines. It's not a system I would play often if I had it...it's just a nostalgia and curiosity thing, I suppose. Same reasons I'd also like an Atari Jaguar


Just emulate it...if I can figure out what game that was that interested me, I might try it out that way. I'll have to rewatch that Game Sack episode to figure it out. Don't have high hopes for a system that has Plumbers Don't Wear Ties on it. But we'll see.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheN00bBuilder*
> 
> Not retro gaming related, but found a PC at a thrift store this week. No HDD, AMD Athlon 4000+, nothing special, but a little something on the 5.25" bay interested me... Turned out to be a VERY nice capture card, Canopus ADVC-50. Already put it in Atlas V431 and I plan to record some stuff with it later. I'll put it on here, no worries!


This is quite cool. If you record anything, be sure to post it here. I'll watch it, at the very least.









Get some other old cheap components on Ebay or elsewhere and get that computer functioning again. Would be a cool project. And technically, retro PCs count for the club.

EDIT: @Wolfsbora I took the liberty of updating your console list in the first post of the club, based on the list in your signature that you added recently. I added the 3DO to it as well. I don't know what other stuff you've gotten recently







You're nuts. I'm probably missing arcade machines. Do me a favor and add the club signature to your sig too. I think that might actually really help bring even more attention to this club. Thank you.

For everyone else, I added a video at the beginning of the thread about cleaning stickers and other stupid stuff people put on their games. I know everyone here probably has at least one rental cartridge, probably with Blockbuster stickers on it, well this should help you get them off.


----------



## Wolfsbora

@Aaron_Henderson I certainly believe I went from retro obsessive to retro insane!!!









I'll keep you guys posted as far as the 3DO goes. I'm actually pretty excited about it the more I read on it. There are hundreds of titles but there are many reputable people that have some good recommendations on titles. In fact, my Twitter blew up with recommendations when I posted a photo of it and asked for suggestions.

As far as memory goes, there is a small amount built into the unit which is something no other CD/DVD devices had at the time. However, @Mega Man is right, the official expansion Memory Units are very rare as they were only released in Japan and were not that popular. A NIB unit from Japan has a Buy It Now at $199.99 on ebay. NO THANKS.









Surprisingly @neurotix, there are numerous old & new reviews that state Street Fighter II Turbo is best played on the 3DO. They state that there is no better port than that of the one for the 3DO.

I'll happily update my signature, @neurotix. I probably have quite a few more devices to add to the list so I'll keep you posted.

And, in the spirit of trying to provide a new photo and to keep @Aaron_Henderson entertained







here is my updated collection of Donkey Kong Junior paraphernalia:


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Surprisingly @neurotix, there are numerous old & new reviews that state Street Fighter II Turbo is best played on the 3DO. They state that there is no better port than that of the one for the 3DO.


Not trying to be an ass here but I'm gonna have to respond to this.

First, it's Super Street Fighter II Turbo, NOT Street Fighter II Turbo. SSF2T was the last version of Street Fighter II made, whereas Street Fighter II Turbo (SF2T) was the 3rd and is missing Cammy, Fei Long, Dee Jay and T. Hawk. Super Street Fighter II Turbo was mostly the same as Super Street Fighter II, except it added Super Combos (i.e. Super moves), the first game in the series to have them.

I believe that it was the best version back in the day, because it was the ONLY home version of that particular game. It also had a remixed CD audio soundtrack, that to this day, no other port or version has.

Unfortunately there are some problems with it, such as missing frames of animation, and characters having combos they don't have in the arcade version (CPS1 chains).

The best port and the one used when I went to tournaments here was HSF2AE on PS2, on the Street Fighter 2 Anniversary Edition disc for Playstation 2. However, people are also known to hold tournaments on Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix on PS3 and 360, enough has changed in that game though to make it play differently (though mostly the same- for example, Cammy is much better and more usable among other move changes to make characters more competitive). Really though, in any of the big cities, players usually play the arcade board on a Supergun for tournaments, and in Japan they still use the arcade board or actual arcade machines (at say, Super Battle Opera, the largest national tournament). Now that the arcade board isn't like multiple thousands of dollars like it was when it was new, there's no reason not to use a Supergun for a tournament. Then you won't be playing a port at all, but the real thing. Additionally, my friend (who was really good) and I often just played the arcade ROM in MAME on our computers and used converters to hook up our arcade sticks, as opposed to playing a port.









The reason people don't use the 3DO version is mostly because nobodies arcade sticks are wired to work on a 3DO. Everyone had PS2 arcade sticks when I played, or 360 arcade sticks (360 was popular for fighters here). Nowadays they probably have sticks wired for PS4. Considering Street Fighter V is *only* on PS4 and not Xbox One, though it's on Windows too. PS4 is the only console with it.

You can see more about the port differences here: http://forums.shoryuken.com/discussion/148150/the-ports

Sorry but I'm going to have to call foul on this one, given how much I've played the game, and the fact I used to go to Street Fighter tournaments. =/ Go to any tournament, and if they're playing this game they won't be doing it on a 3DO, for a reason.


----------



## neurotix

Um, I hope everyone's just busy and my post didn't come off the wrong way


----------



## Mega Man

No, I have been sick and working 14 hour shifts a state away. But I will say you are wrong. You state many opinions, which is fine but opinions don't make facts


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

So I took a break from RPGs for now, and started up a playthrough of Chronicles of Riddick : Escape from Butcher Bay on Xbox...so far, a very interesting game I missed out on when it was released. I mean...I think I ignored it because of Vin Dielel, but have since watched and enjoyed his role as Riddick in the films, so decided to give this one a shot. So far I am glad I did...one thing I do notice though is how pixelated this game looks though with all the post-processing. I am sure it would look better on a CRT, but on my LCD with component cables, it's far too crisp and clear. It's pretty annoying for the first 10 minutes or so of play time, after that you kind of get used to it and don't notice it as bad. Certain games look worse then others at 480P, and this is one of the uglier ones (not graphics, just aliasing).


----------



## Mega Man

really, I'll have to look into it, I pretty much swore off games based on movies. I felt they went to far and we're just a money grab


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

IMO, the game is at least as good as the movies, from what I have played so far at least. All the characters and NPCs have voice acting, Ron Perlman, Xzibit (yeah...), Vin Diesel...likely others I am forgetting about. Game is kind of an open hub world with lots of NPC interaction and such. Reminds me a little of Half-life 2 and Rage. Lots of stealth and melee combat to go along with the shooting. The game has been remastered I believe though, and released on PS3/360, and there is also a sequel I haven't seen yet.


----------



## Thoth420

Sup all, anyone with a nice XP era gaming PC with a monster GPU like say an 8800 and a nice CPU to match like a Q6600 or better still running stable I am def interested. Save me some time trying to collect old working hardware for my "I don't want to mess with resolution changes and use my old CRT monitor retro gaming PC that needs a shorter name" shoot me a PM with details. Has to be in good shape and I am dead serious...what you may consider junk may just be gold to me but if you are in this thread...maybe not.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Thoth420*
> 
> Sup all, anyone with a nice XP era gaming PC with a monster GPU like say an 8800 and a nice CPU to match like a Q6600 or better still running stable I am def interested. Save me some time trying to collect old working hardware for my "I don't want to mess with resolution changes and use my old CRT monitor retro gaming PC that needs a shorter name" shoot me a PM with details. Has to be in good shape and I am dead serious...what you may consider junk may just be gold to me but if you are in this thread...maybe not.


Not sure you're going quite retro enough for us around here, I know lots of people who would still be using a Q6600 system for modern gaming lol I do have an X1900 AIW PCIe that I consider to be from the era you are talking about though...pay for shipping and it's yours...though I am sure if you look around locally you'll find similar cards for even cheaper than what it would cost to ship this. I'm sure you could get an 8800 GT or something for like, $10.


----------



## Wolfsbora

I still have an HP laptop with XP on a Celeron that has PATA. I don't even have a compatible HDD for it if that one fries.

Or, we can go back to 1983 like I just did:



Would love to know where Mr. Molted went after leaving this under my Spacebar (we typically don't have these in Pittsburgh):


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Where are you from where there are scorpions in your keyboard?







Just noticed Pittsburgh...where did the Apple come from? lol Also, the floppy emulator is pretty neat!

Oh, I also have a fairly ancient HP with Celeron 1.5GHz laptop...it works great for retro gaming, honestly, cause I can just toss it away in a closet when it's not in use. I did upgrade it to a Pentium 4 2GHz though with 2GB RAM...cause whatever.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Haha, I'll have to check from where the Apple IIc shipped.

The emulator is awesome. However, just like with the Turbo Everdrive, it is best to have the games sorted in different directories. You select what game or even OS you want and then reboot the IIc. Unfortunately, in order to use the Floppy Emu on a IIc, you have to disconnect the internal floppy drive from the mobo, then connect the Floppy Emu in its place. It will not boot from an external drive.


----------



## blooder11181

i have apple macintosh lc with 10mb ram (no sound and need to heat up power supply to power up) and power macintosh g3 333mhz mt beige fully working


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *blooder11181*
> 
> i have apple macintosh lc with 10mb ram (no sound and need to heat up power supply to power up) and power macintosh g3 333mhz mt beige fully working


Nice! Do you have pics of them??


----------



## blooder11181

going to take some pics now.


----------



## cones

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Thoth420*
> 
> Sup all, anyone with a nice XP era gaming PC with a monster GPU like say an 8800 and a nice CPU to match like a Q6600 or better still running stable I am def interested. Save me some time trying to collect old working hardware for my "I don't want to mess with resolution changes and use my old CRT monitor retro gaming PC that needs a shorter name" shoot me a PM with details. Has to be in good shape and I am dead serious...what you may consider junk may just be gold to me but if you are in this thread...maybe not.


Sent you a pm.


----------



## blooder11181

powermacintosh g3 beige
http://www.overclock.net/g/a/1570352/power-macintosh-g3-mt-beige/
http://www.overclock.net/lists/display/view/id/6624236

macintosh lc
http://www.overclock.net/lists/display/view/id/6624275
http://www.overclock.net/g/a/1570356/macintosh-lc/


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *blooder11181*
> 
> powermacintosh g3 beige
> http://www.overclock.net/g/a/1570352/power-macintosh-g3-mt-beige/
> http://www.overclock.net/lists/display/view/id/6624236
> 
> macintosh lc
> http://www.overclock.net/lists/display/view/id/6624275
> http://www.overclock.net/g/a/1570356/macintosh-lc/


I love that Mac Ic!


----------



## Thoth420

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Not sure you're going quite retro enough for us around here, I know lots of people who would still be using a Q6600 system for modern gaming lol I do have an X1900 AIW PCIe that I consider to be from the era you are talking about though...pay for shipping and it's yours...though I am sure if you look around locally you'll find similar cards for even cheaper than what it would cost to ship this. I'm sure you could get an 8800 GT or something for like, $10.


I have tons of the old consoles and they still work. I go back as far as NES titles however this would be my rig to toss all XP era games and older on(alot of which are still on discs) as I still have a pretty sweet 75hz CRT that is working perfect and is native 1650 x 1080 which most of the games in question max out reso wise. My local area is pretty dead for tech so finding stuff like this around here that people want to sell is no easy.


----------



## neurotix

Guys be careful discussing trades or buying things, I don't want you to get modded, you need to go do it in the marketplace or you risk getting in trouble, it happened to me. Just a heads up.

Thoth do you want to join the club? I'll add you if you want to. (PS Get that NES out! Or go buy one!)

Wolfsbora the Apple IIc looks great, that looks really fun.. p.s get back to me... it's happening on Monday. (You know what I mean.)

I would love to have a Macintosh LC. I always had classic 68k Macs as a kid. I didn't get my first PC until 1997 or so. It was my Uncle's old machine when he upgraded. I'll always remember him for that. Unfortunately, he's no longer with us and he died pretty young too. But yeah, he gave me a Pentium 75mhz w/ 16mb RAM. That was a fun machine, it ran DOS games great. Unfortunately it broke when I moved and it was shipped cross country... this was back in the days before shipping electronics was common. My dad and I went to a PC shop to get it repaired and I don't remember what was wrong, buit basically it was dead so we threw it out.

Anyway Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the retro club, please enjoy your turkey meal and spending time with your family.


----------



## Thoth420

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Guys be careful discussing trades or buying things, I don't want you to get modded, you need to go do it in the marketplace or you risk getting in trouble, it happened to me. Just a heads up.
> 
> Thoth do you want to join the club? I'll add you if you want to. (PS Get that NES out! Or go buy one!)
> 
> Wolfsbora the Apple IIc looks great, that looks really fun.. p.s get back to me... it's happening on Monday. (You know what I mean.)
> 
> I would love to have a Macintosh LC. I always had classic 68k Macs as a kid. I didn't get my first PC until 1997 or so. It was my Uncle's old machine when he upgraded. I'll always remember him for that. Unfortunately, he's no longer with us and he died pretty young too. But yeah, he gave me a Pentium 75mhz w/ 16mb RAM. That was a fun machine, it ran DOS games great. Unfortunately it broke when I moved and it was shipped cross country... this was back in the days before shipping electronics was common. My dad and I went to a PC shop to get it repaired and I don't remember what was wrong, buit basically it was dead so we threw it out.
> 
> Anyway Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the retro club, please enjoy your turkey meal and spending time with your family.


My bad will post a listing in the marketplace for what I am looking for. Yes I would love to join and the NES is always out hooked up right now along with SNES, Genesis, PS1 and 2 to my old junk tv.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Thoth420*
> 
> My bad will post a listing in the marketplace for what I am looking for. Yes I would love to join and the NES is always out hooked up right now along with SNES, Genesis, PS1 and 2 to my old junk tv.


Oh sorry buddy, somehow I missed this post here today. Been busy on OCN for a lot of the day, lol.

You're added to the club, I listed the consoles you named. If you have any others, any retro PCs, or get anything new and want it added to the list, just let me know. I'm more active in this thread than anywhere else on OCN.

You mentioned you have the NES hooked up, how many games do you have? What are your favorites? What do you play most often? What's one you've never beaten to this day, even though you love it?


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

So I finished Chronicles of Riddick Escape from Butcher Bay on Xbox, great game...only complaint is that it felt a bit short...about 8 hours or so I guess. Still a very impressive game from that era, and I'll definitely be looking out for the sequel. Anyway...anyone here get into doing repros and could recommend the cheapest EPROM Programmer for doing SNES/NES/Genesis/etc.? There are quite a few on Ebay.ca in the $50-60 range, but most of the ones I see people using are in the $150-$200 range, and was curious as to what makes the more expensive units worth it...or if a cheap one would accomplish the same thing, just with less polished software? Basically, what's the cheapest programmer I could get away with?


----------



## Thoth420

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Oh sorry buddy, somehow I missed this post here today. Been busy on OCN for a lot of the day, lol.
> 
> You're added to the club, I listed the consoles you named. If you have any others, any retro PCs, or get anything new and want it added to the list, just let me know. I'm more active in this thread than anywhere else on OCN.
> 
> You mentioned you have the NES hooked up, how many games do you have? What are your favorites? What do you play most often? What's one you've never beaten to this day, even though you love it?


No worries at all duder. I have about 50 working NES titles still the system ROM connector inside needs the occasional blow and I keep my games ROMS as protected as possible while keeping them easy to access. My favorite NES titles are Contra(love to still prove I can do it with no cheat code) along with LifeForce(same), Double Dragon, FF1, Dragon Warrior, Maniac Mansion, Golgo 13, Deja Vu, Uninvited, TMNT, Mike Tyson's Punch Out and Metroid. I have others but those are the ones I have out for the moment and have been playing. I have Duck Tales as well but I also own the remaster on Steam so I just play that on there(would love to see more old remasters). There is no game to this day for NES that I have attempted and not beaten including Battletoads but that game is all about farming lives on lv2 and the US version is the only one that is so insanely hard. The only arcade game that ever gave me pause was the light gun T2 game which was unforgiving.

We have two retro gaming stores in my area and both carry just about everything and if they don't have it they can order it for you and make sure it is a working copy before you put down any money. We don't however have any Microcenter or any place that sells real new or high end computer hardware. Best Buy around here(best we have) doesn't even carry close to what I have seen other area's stock. They just got the ASUS VG248QE like it was some hot new item....great panel that I used idk 3 years ago.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> So I finished Chronicles of Riddick Escape from Butcher Bay on Xbox, great game...only complaint is that it felt a bit short...about 8 hours or so I guess. Still a very impressive game from that era, and I'll definitely be looking out for the sequel. Anyway...anyone here get into doing repros and could recommend the cheapest EPROM Programmer for doing SNES/NES/Genesis/etc.? There are quite a few on Ebay.ca in the $50-60 range, but most of the ones I see people using are in the $150-$200 range, and was curious as to what makes the more expensive units worth it...or if a cheap one would accomplish the same thing, just with less polished software? Basically, what's the cheapest programmer I could get away with?


You're into territory I know nothing about, considering I buy repro carts myself, and have no idea how to make them. Sorry.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Thoth420*
> 
> No worries at all duder. I have about 50 working NES titles still the system ROM connector inside needs the occasional blow and I keep my games ROMS as protected as possible while keeping them easy to access. My favorite NES titles are Contra(love to still prove I can do it with no cheat code) along with LifeForce(same), Double Dragon, FF1, Dragon Warrior, Maniac Mansion, Golgo 13, Deja Vu, Uninvited, TMNT, Mike Tyson's Punch Out and Metroid. I have others but those are the ones I have out for the moment and have been playing. I have Duck Tales as well but I also own the remaster on Steam so I just play that on there(would love to see more old remasters). There is no game to this day for NES that I have attempted and not beaten including Battletoads but that game is all about farming lives on lv2 and the US version is the only one that is so insanely hard. The only arcade game that ever gave me pause was the light gun T2 game which was unforgiving.


That's just awesome.

I can safely say I'm pretty much a master of FF1, again I'm the JRPG guy, however I don't think I've finished any of those and I doubt I could (I was a lot better at NES games when I was a kid...)Some of them I don't have like Metroid, Maniac Mansion and Deja Vu. I have all the others you mentioned though. And Life Force is HARD.

I'm pretty good at Mario 3, can do the 99 lives trick and usually clear the game without dying TOO much. The later stages in world 8 get me though. I've cleared the Mario games, and I've cleared a game called Dragon Spirit The New Legend, but not for like 10 years. I don't know if I can clear it now. You should get that game if you don't have it, it's awesome, and it's cheap ($3.50 on Amazon...)

Another game that's really fun is Gyruss. It's a Konami space shooter, but from behind the ship, and you can rotate the ship around the screen so it sort of plays like the old arcade game Tempest. It also has a 30 lives trick (Konami code backwards, in this one). I doubt I could clear it without the code (or with it?) but maybe you could. Good luck.


----------



## Thoth420

You have to get a copy of Deja Vu it is the same as Uninvited but you play a detective set in a seedy film noir universe. No twitch skills needed just a thinking puzzle/mystery game but quite cool even for now let alone it's time.


----------



## neurotix

Huh, I'll check it out if it's cheap.

Go buy a copy of Dragon Spirit on Amazon


----------



## Thoth420

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Huh, I'll check it out if it's cheap.
> 
> Go buy a copy of Dragon Spirit on Amazon


It can be a bit overpriced because they were more rare than the average popular NES title but still should be less than a y of those JRPGs...they hold value like none other.

I'll check out Dragon Spirit for sure...had an NES for almost if not 30 years and still have not played the entire library. Ahhh the days...


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> So I finished Chronicles of Riddick Escape from Butcher Bay on Xbox, great game...only complaint is that it felt a bit short...about 8 hours or so I guess. Still a very impressive game from that era, and I'll definitely be looking out for the sequel. Anyway...anyone here get into doing repros and could recommend the cheapest EPROM Programmer for doing SNES/NES/Genesis/etc.? There are quite a few on Ebay.ca in the $50-60 range, but most of the ones I see people using are in the $150-$200 range, and was curious as to what makes the more expensive units worth it...or if a cheap one would accomplish the same thing, just with less polished software? Basically, what's the cheapest programmer I could get away with?


If I understand you correctly, why they ate expensive is easy

Most are made by hand ( with the exception of the PCB, but if you ever buy / order custom PCBs you will understand why these are so expensive )
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Thoth420*
> 
> You have to get a copy of Deja Vu it is the same as Uninvited but you play a detective set in a seedy film noir universe. No twitch skills needed just a thinking puzzle/mystery game but quite cool even for now let alone it's time.


I loved that game as well as totally rad (i think that was the name.... )


----------



## Thoth420

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> If I understand you correctly, why they ate expensive is easy
> 
> Most are made by hand ( with the exception of the PCB, but if you ever buy / order custom PCBs you will understand why these are so expensive )
> I loved that game as well as totally rad (i think that was the name.... )


I want more of those style games. I may even try my hands at making one myself...can't be too hard all text and static images with just a few sprite animations.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Thoth420*
> 
> Sup all, anyone with a nice XP era gaming PC with a monster GPU like say an 8800 and a nice CPU to match like a Q6600 or better still running stable I am def interested. Save me some time trying to collect old working hardware for my "I don't want to mess with resolution changes and use my old CRT monitor retro gaming PC that needs a shorter name" shoot me a PM with details. Has to be in good shape and I am dead serious...what you may consider junk may just be gold to me but if you are in this thread...maybe not.


I don't know if you already took care of this but I wanted to make a suggestion anyway which is to go instead with windows 98 SE with "community service pack". The reason being almost all (if not all) games that came out pre-Vista were also made to be compatible with 98 whilst some games released in the 96 - 2002 era wouldn't work with XP. Just broadens your year range of compatible games to a longer period of 96 - 2007 at least. I forget exactly when games stopped being made compatible with 98. Around the time ports of 360 games starting making it to Windows, I suppose. Not to mention all those DOS games that take some effort to get to work with XP: those games could run natively under 98 (or boot into DOS directly). Just my two cents. Not sure if that would limit your graphics cards options or not or make optimized drivers harder to find. It might.


----------



## Thoth420

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I don't know if you already took care of this but I wanted to make a suggestion anyway which is to go instead with windows 98 SE with "community service pack". The reason being almost all (if not all) games that came out pre-Vista were also made to be compatible with 98 whilst some games released in the 96 - 2002 era wouldn't work with XP. Just broadens your year range of compatible games to a longer period of 96 - 2007 at least. I forget exactly when games stopped being made compatible with 98. Around the time ports of 360 games starting making it to Windows, I suppose. Not to mention all those DOS games that take some effort to get to work with XP: those games could run natively under 98 (or boot into DOS directly). Just my two cents. Not sure if that would limit your graphics cards options or not or make optimized drivers harder to find. It might.


Thanks a ton! The latest games I would like to play on this system are SWAT 4, Rainbow Six 3 and all xpacs, all Hitman games previous to Blood Money and Blood Money(but that isn't a deal breaker), all the Splinter Cell games up to Chaos Theory at minimum, Oblivion and Morrowind(a major dealbreaker here), Thief 1 through Deadly Shadows and of course the best series of all time for PC Deus EX (including Invisible War as well because I am one of the few that enjoyed it). These are the games I love from my XP gaming era other than WoW and most require an xbox 360(those don't last even in contrast to my NES and other very old consoles) or a ps3. The other games listed available on the previous xbox and ps2 are total junk in contrast to the PC versions and while I own some of them on console it just doesn't do the job like my old crappy Dell with a GPU slammed into it did even.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Thoth420*
> 
> Thanks a ton! The latest games I would like to play on this system are SWAT 4, Rainbow Six 3 and all xpacs, all Hitman games previous to Blood Money and Blood Money(but that isn't a deal breaker), all the Splinter Cell games up to Chaos Theory at minimum, Oblivion and Morrowind(a major dealbreaker here), Thief 1 through Deadly Shadows and of course the best series of all time for PC Deus EX (including Invisible War as well because I am one of the few that enjoyed it). These are the games I love from my XP gaming era other than WoW and most require an xbox 360(those don't last even in contrast to my NES and other very old consoles) or a ps3. The other games listed available on the previous xbox and ps2 are total junk in contrast to the PC versions and while I own some of them on console it just doesn't do the job like my old crappy Dell with a GPU slammed into it did even.


Okay I have a feeling Oblivion won't run on 98. Or for that matter Steam won't run on 98. I forgot if there was a non-steam edition of Oblivion like there was for morrowind. Actually I'm not entirely confident Steam will even run on XP at this point. Valve might have dropped it. I've also never looked into getting a 360 gamepad to work with 98. I'm assuming someone somewhere must have figured out an INF hack to make it work. There are old school gamepads still around that would work with98, you would just have to configure them yourself most likely.

Really though it sounds like you may as well take your chances with XP or do a dual boot. Or actually WINE on Linux might have better compatibility with some 90s games than XP. It wouldn't surprise me. I forgot about that as an option.


----------



## Thoth420

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Okay I have a feeling Oblivion won't run on 98. Or for that matter Steam won't run on 98. I forgot if there was a non-steam edition of Oblivion like there was for morrowind. Actually I'm not entirely confident Steam will even run on XP at this point. Valve might have dropped it. I've also never looked into getting a 360 gamepad to work with 98. I'm assuming someone somewhere must have figured out an INF hack to make it work. There are old school gamepads still around that would work with98, you would just have to configure them yourself most likely.
> 
> Really though it sounds like you may as well take your chances with XP or do a dual boot. Or actually WINE on Linux might have better compatibility with some 90s games than XP. It wouldn't surprise me. I forgot about that as an option.


Yeah that is why it is more close to an XP rig that is a bit backwards friendly because half my games are physical CDs from original release that will require patches etc. and the others are on Steam so XP feels like the best OS for what I am going for. Nothing would be perfect or run everything but my modern system runs most just the reso scaling drives me nuts.
I have the CRT, have old peripherals that run fine on XP so just need a decent tower with hardware not on the edge of death(drives obv withstanding). Every last game I listed ran my XP system which was just a Dell XPS prebuilt with an 8800 I think it was GTS if it wasn't GTX yet but the card was EVGA and pretty much high end for the time which was hamfisted into it.


----------



## subassy

This isn't technically retro-gaming related. Or maybe it sort of is but only tangentially (I think I use the word tangentially too much).

I got an email this asking me to come back to Dungeons and Dragons online. I haven't logged in to expressed in interest in that game in _literally_ ten years. I remember. It was 2006. I played like four times for the trial period and cancelled (it was way before the free-to-play era). They still have my email address. I just found that weird. You know that game you tried that one time ten years ago? _Try it again!_. I think it's just spam at this point









Of course by coincidence i also got an email from amazon letting me know this crap-tasitc HP laptop I bought 10 years ago was being recalled for having a bad battery. It's funny it's necessary to let me know that. A laptop that was grossly under powered when I bought it in 2006 is being recalled. Thanks amazon. I'll be sure and dig it out of closet and put XP SP2 back on it. Also, the battery stopped holding a charge 9 years ago...

Sorry for wasting space on the thread. I'm the only one in America working on "Black Friday" (until 9pm no less).


----------



## Thoth420

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> This isn't technically retro-gaming related. Or maybe it sort of is but only tangentially (I think I use the word tangentially too much).
> 
> I got an email this asking me to come back to Dungeons and Dragons online. I haven't logged in to expressed in interest in that game in _literally_ ten years. I remember. It was 2006. I played like four times for the trial period and cancelled (it was way before the free-to-play era). They still have my email address. I just found that weird. You know that game you tried that one time ten years ago? _Try it again!_. I think it's just spam at this point
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Of course by coincidence i also got an email from amazon letting me know this crap-tasitc HP laptop I bought 10 years ago was being recalled for having a bad battery. It's funny it's necessary to let me know that. A laptop that was grossly under powered when I bought it in 2006 is being recalled. Thanks amazon. I'll be sure and dig it out of closet and put XP SP2 back on it. Also, the battery stopped holding a charge 9 years ago...
> 
> Sorry for wasting space on the thread. I'm the only one in America working on "Black Friday" (until 9pm no less).


I get random spam from online games all the time I would just ignore it as spam like you suspected. I blacklist those addresses whenever I get that junk. Amazon spams me all the time because I have Prime and order a ton but it has ramped up alot lately because of Black Friday if that helps.


----------



## neurotix

At least the ones you get aren't totally in Japanese









I used to play PSO2 with the English fan patch obsessively, so I get emails from SEGA about the game all the time, and they're totally unreadable.


----------



## Thoth420

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> At least the ones you get aren't totally in Japanese
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I used to play PSO2 with the English fan patch obsessively, so I get emails from SEGA about the game all the time, and they're totally unreadable.


Oh I get those type of emails as well on my gaming email. Talk about a marketing soup and that email is only for gaming related stuff so everything comes from only accounts attached to games.


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Got some footage! Some bad RCA hum and all CD based video looks choppy and unplayable, but the PS2 records well! Skip to about 1:05, unless you want to see my laser in my PS2 TEST struggle to read a completely clear disc.


----------



## neurotix

Huh. The quality looks pretty good. You picked a good game to test it with, too, quite colorful.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I keep wanting to start recording some of my playthroughs, but have just never bothered yet...does look like decent quality though. Are you recording with component cables?

So after completing Escape from Butcher Bay, I've kind of been on an Xbox hook...started a playthrough of Ninja Gaiden on Xbox...so far, it's really awesome. I also have a remaster or something of it for PS3 I guess (Ninja Gaiden Sigma), be interesting to see what differences there are. Might playthrough that one right after the Xbox version to compare. First boss got me scared to how hard the game might be, but it hasn't been bad at all since that. And I only died a few times there because I wasn't too familiar with all the moves you could use just yet.


----------



## neurotix

This video starts talking about all the Ninja Gaiden reboot games, and their differences, right around the 13:00 mark.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I've actually seen that video (watch all their stuff), but it would be neat to see all the differences for myself. I actually didn't realize Sigma was just a remaster type thing when i picked it up, but I guess the original was probably the one to start with anyway. Apparently Ninja Gaiden 1-3 are on the disc somewhere...I didn't notice them, but I didn't even look yet...that's kind of cool though, I guess.


----------



## neurotix

Guys let's keep it going.

Anyone want to share anything? Pickups? Anything like that?

I have a horror story to share, I found an auction on Ebay for a Phantasy Star 2 Genesis with the manual, map, hintbook but no case. The books looked like they were in near mint condition. Complete copies of PSII like this with the hint book and everything, and the case, were going for $200 on Amazon. You almost never see auctions like this on Ebay without the case. Anyway, we won the auction for $58, I was so happy and excited. I waited a few days and got a package in the mail. It was a freaking copy of Wayne's World on Super Nintendo with a faded ass label. I was like wth, I freaked, I nearly went ballistic and was gonna punch holes in walls and such, I thought it was a practical joke. The ebay seller was a game shop (supposedly) called "Pwned Games", when I realized that I thought it was one of those joke auction sites, like that guy that was selling black BIC pens, ripped pieces of paper for $300 and people were actually buying. I thought it had to do with the decrepit and disgusting troll culture on the internet. Anyway, we got in touch with them and they said it was a shipping error....they printed the wrong shipping label and sent it to the wrong guy, and sent me his order. They say they are in touch with him and he agreed to send it back so they can send it to me. Anyway, we wait like 2 weeks and ask where it is, they say the guy never sent it back and he was moving and it was sent to an address he won't be at for a while, but they'll "try and get it back as fast as possible and send it to you". We were also offered a refund. Because of the rarity, and the price we paid, I decided to wait and just hope or even pray they get it and send it to me. What's the limitation on an ebay complaint/refund after a sale?

Also, how the hell do you mix up someone's very rare RPG package with the wrong shipping label? That should never happen. What if it were a mint copy of Earthbound or something? And they send it to the wrong person?

Bridgett says the seller's name is silentshadow56. Avoid at all cost. Company Pwned Games (I sure got pwned). Please be careful guys.


----------



## cones

Report it to eBay soon, I would have as soon as they said they were waiting for the person that got the wrong package to ship it back. Not like it matters to much but the eBay sellers get screwed really easily by buyers, in other words if you have a legitimate issue they should refund you.


----------



## neurotix

I really want it though









Thanks for the advice.


----------



## Mega Man

Going from memory 40days but I may be wrong, may be 90 idk I may have one cib but I won't sell sorry

Iirc the only one I need is 4


----------



## cones

I know sucks that it happened to you. Hopefully it was an honest mistake.


----------



## neurotix

Pwned Games, no wonder I got Wayne's World with a faded label.


----------



## SwishaMane

So I acquired a red 25th anniversary WII last weekend. Want to get my GameCube gaming on through it since I don't have a GC. What are some good GC games? I'm already playing MGS Twin Snakes. I think a friend and I are going to start Zelda Twilight Princess this weekend.

Are there any really good RPGs on GC? I've heard of Skies of Arcadia Legends and Tales of Symphonia, but not sure that's going to be my style of game art wise. Not a fan of cartoon RPGs.


----------



## Mega Man

I love the metroid series.

Pikmen, Zeldas, paper Mario


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Not too sure of RPGs for the Gamecube, but one game you definitely can't miss on it is Eternal Darkness! Loved that one, and it's GC exclusive.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Pwned Games, no wonder I got Wayne's World with a faded label.


I never believe this kind of crap is an accident...well, rarely. If they send crap games to everyone, I can guarantee not everyone goes through the hassle of returning it. I know I dealt with a few companies on Ebay that send inferior products, and even go as far as to try to string you along past the return dates, etc. Just instantly ask for a refund on anything you feel seems "off"...half the time they don't even ask you to return the product


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> So I acquired a red 25th anniversary WII last weekend. Want to get my GameCube gaming on through it since I don't have a GC. What are some good GC games? I'm already playing MGS Twin Snakes. I think a friend and I are going to start Zelda Twilight Princess this weekend.
> 
> Are there any really good RPGs on GC? I've heard of Skies of Arcadia Legends and Tales of Symphonia, but not sure that's going to be my style of game art wise. Not a fan of cartoon RPGs.


Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Not too sure of RPGs for the Gamecube, but one game you definitely can't miss on it is Eternal Darkness! Loved that one, and it's GC exclusive.
> I never believe this kind of crap is an accident...well, rarely. If they send crap games to everyone, I can guarantee not everyone goes through the hassle of returning it. I know I dealt with a few companies on Ebay that send inferior products, and even go as far as to try to string you along past the return dates, etc. Just instantly ask for a refund on anything you feel seems "off"...half the time they don't even ask you to return the product


SwishaMane, I'm gonna try and be as nice about this as possible, try and keep that in mind, I only want to help. So don't take it the wrong way.

First, it's not a "cartoon" RPG, it's anime style, this is something from another culture. I know what you mean and I'm nitpicking, but being a big fan of anime and Japanese culture, and learning the language, I can tell you there's a difference. Don't think I'm offended, but maybe set your Western preconceptions aside for a minute and give these games a chance.

Secondly, I would definitely urge you to play those games anyway, and try and put aside your dislike of the art style, because really if you want an RPG on the system, that's all there is. Afaik there isn't any Bethesda, Bioware type games if that's what you like. The Gamecube was made before that stuff became popular, and subsequently any RPGs on the system will be the classic style JRPGs. If you played and liked Final Fantasy 7 (or maybe you didn't?), well, it's in the same style and you could call Final Fantasy 7 a "cartoon RPG" if you look at the promotional art. Regardless, it's one of the best games of all time according to many lists on gaming journalism sites, Famitsu and so forth. My point, is that if you want RPGs on the Gamecube, that's what's available.

Now, on to the games themselves. Skies is really good, a lot of people like it. I played it mostly on Dreamcast but, never got far and gave up on it because of the ridiculously high encounter rate (toned down in the GC version), and how slow the battles play out. Regardless, it's a great game and very innovative. The ship battles are amazing. You get airships you get to fly around and upgrade, you have your own pirate base, and many other cool things. The battle system has a pretty neat elemental mechanic, where you can change the element of your weapon at any time during battle, to inflict more damage on enemies.

Tales of Symphonia- I played the PS3 port. This one is even MORE cartoony looking than Skies, but I can assure you it's an excellent game with an excellent experience. Great battle system. Excellent music. Good graphics for the time. Great world design (you get to go between two parallel worlds.) Very long and involved quest. Lots of character development and backstory. Optional skits between characters mostly for comedic value. I can't recommend this one enough, I've played nearly all the Tales games and this one is my second favorite next to Tales of Phantasia on PSX with the fan patch. Vesperia would probably be my third favorite. And everything since has been junk. So, please give this one a try. Once you get over the art style you will find an excellent game.

Since I'm the JRPG guy...there's my thoughts on this. I can't think of many other GC RPGs that aren't anime style but a lot of people like Baiten Kaitos (might have gotten that name wrong). FF Crystal Chronicles is also a favorite of some people. But again, they're both 'cartoony'.

Hope this helps.


----------



## Mega Man

The gc itself is cartoons because of the restrictions Nintendo put on them selves imo it was an attempt to cover up the lack of resources (mainly storage) the console had


----------



## neurotix

Yep! This is essentially right.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Yeah, focusing on gameplay rather than graphics means there are a ton of exclusive releases on the Gamecube. I love the Gamecube, just haven't had the opportunity to play much of its library yet.


----------



## SwishaMane

Thanks for the insight. Ill try them for sure then. Its been awhile since I played a game so good I cant stop playing. I wanted to get Skies when I still had my DC years ago. Never quite got to it.


----------



## neurotix

Wow that went over better than I expected.

Awesome man. Trust me, they're both quite good, and if you've played any classic Final Fantasy, you'll know what to expect. Except Tales is something like a cross between Secret of Mana/Zelda and Final Fantasy with the battles (linear motion battle system). Action RPG battles but on a single, separate screen. Pretty fun. Skies is much more similar to something like Final Fantasy, albeit a much slower version, still the parts with the ship battles are awesome and the whole sky pirate theme is awesome. People love that game and the characters so much that Vyse was in Valkyria Chronicles, which came out much later.


----------



## Mr357

Skies of Arcadia is a much better pickup on the Dreamcast. The Gamecube version is more expensive and has noticably compressed music.


----------



## neurotix

Wow, I didn't know that thanks.


----------



## cones

I know they don't fit what you were asking for but you can't have a GameCube without them. Super smash brothers melee and Mario kart double dash. I would love to know how much time I've spent on those games, has to be hundreds of hours easily.


----------



## SwishaMane

I played some Skies of Arcadia Legends last night. Wasn't too bad from my short experience. I got the the first ship flying part, literally in first 45 mins of play, and was lost as all get out. Random battles are non-stop, so if thats fixed from the DC version, then holy crap. On DC you must move 4 inches in between every random battle... lol


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> I played some Skies of Arcadia Legends last night. Wasn't too bad from my short experience. I got the the first ship flying part, literally in first 45 mins of play, and was lost as all get out. Random battles are non-stop, so if thats fixed from the DC version, then holy crap. On DC you must move 4 inches in between every random battle... lol


I'm not sure if it's fixed or not, this is just what I read, but I believe it also has some additional content (mainly towards the end I think? There's a few more sidequests at the end.) My brother LOVES this game and can finish it 100% on DC by heart without an FAQ and get every item, complete every sidequest etc. in just a few days.

But yeah, WOW this game has random battles out the ass.







Way too many. That's why I never got far in it. It wouldn't be so bad if the battle system was faster paced but it's slowwww... generally no screen clearing AOE magic or anything either like in Final Fantasy...

I CAN promise you that Tales of Symphonia is very good, and doesn't have anywhere near the level of random battles. I think in most cases the battles aren't even random either and you can see monsters on the map and (usually) avoid them if you're careful, somewhat like Chrono Trigger. But it's been a while since I played it so I'm not totally sure. I know the newer Tales games are that way (Tales of Xillia, Abyss, Vesperia, Zestiria are all like that). You have to go back pretty far to Tales of Destiny 1/2 for PSX, those were the last ones where they were really random and you couldn't see enemies on the field screen. In any case, random battles are pretty fast paced and over quickly in ToS, while most bosses are another story unless you're overleveled. Personally, I find the battle system in these so fun (it's like a fighting game) that random battles don't bother me anyway.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Skies of Arcadia is also one of my favs...just dig the whole air ship theme I guess. Well, and am a diehard Dreamcast fan and that was kind of the definitive RPG on the system. I never did complete the game though, was about 3/4 of the way the way through when I let a "friend" borrow my DC and games, only to never get it back. One of these days I will have to finish it. I really don't remember being so bothered with the random encounters, but it's been quite awhile since I've played it


----------



## blooder11181

more old school stuff.
NES whit faulty 72pin?
Timex Computer 2048 some keys dont work
atari 2600 clone Rambo 3001 games in one heres the video:


----------



## Mega Man

kinda excited there is a new sega aio plug n play ( comes with 80 good games built in ) and has a fully functional cartridge slot !

that is kinda a cool thing

saw it at target [/URL

wow just watched the video in the review ..... shudders ......


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I keep wanting to start recording some of my playthroughs, but have just never bothered yet...does look like decent quality though. Are you recording with component cables?
> 
> So after completing Escape from Butcher Bay, I've kind of been on an Xbox hook...started a playthrough of Ninja Gaiden on Xbox...so far, it's really awesome. I also have a remaster or something of it for PS3 I guess (Ninja Gaiden Sigma), be interesting to see what differences there are. Might playthrough that one right after the Xbox version to compare. First boss got me scared to how hard the game might be, but it hasn't been bad at all since that. And I only died a few times there because I wasn't too familiar with all the moves you could use just yet.


Oops! Yeah, my bad man, it was just stock composite, yellow, white, and red.

BTW guys, I bought a DEAD Mega CD that supposedly just needed a fuse. So I did a region mod on my Genesis (breaking my LED mod as well.. rip.







) and that went well, but that damn Mega CD? I replaced the fuse with a 2 1/2A fuse, and..... nothing. Sometimes the lights flash and that's all I can get out of it unless I hit the Reset button on the Genesis which gives me a white or red screen. And the cart audio is choppy when plugged into the Mega CD. But dang, I wish I could fix this dumb Mega CD... anyone have a power board they can spare?


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> kinda excited there is a new sega aio plug n play ( comes with 80 good games built in ) and has a fully functional cartridge slot !
> 
> that is kinda a cool thing
> 
> saw it at target [/URL
> 
> wow just watched the video in the review ..... shudders ......


That sound.... good god.


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> That sound.... good god.


Yeah, that system is an utter disaster. Been told they're trying to make a new model that fixes that.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheN00bBuilder*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I keep wanting to start recording some of my playthroughs, but have just never bothered yet...does look like decent quality though. Are you recording with component cables?
> 
> So after completing Escape from Butcher Bay, I've kind of been on an Xbox hook...started a playthrough of Ninja Gaiden on Xbox...so far, it's really awesome. I also have a remaster or something of it for PS3 I guess (Ninja Gaiden Sigma), be interesting to see what differences there are. Might playthrough that one right after the Xbox version to compare. First boss got me scared to how hard the game might be, but it hasn't been bad at all since that. And I only died a few times there because I wasn't too familiar with all the moves you could use just yet.
> 
> 
> 
> Oops! Yeah, my bad man, it was just stock composite, yellow, white, and red.
> 
> BTW guys, I bought a DEAD Mega CD that supposedly just needed a fuse. So I did a region mod on my Genesis (breaking my LED mod as well.. rip.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ) and that went well, but that damn Mega CD? I replaced the fuse with a 2 1/2A fuse, and..... nothing. Sometimes the lights flash and that's all I can get out of it unless I hit the Reset button on the Genesis which gives me a white or red screen. And the cart audio is choppy when plugged into the Mega CD. But dang, I wish I could fix this dumb Mega CD... anyone have a power board they can spare?
Click to expand...

Don't throw parts in. Use a multi meter, I'd you don't have one, buy one.

Hard to help someone without it


----------



## neurotix

Yeah, sorry, but I'll be no help with that. I also don't have a spare power board.

I have a spare US Sega CD model 2, but it's my backup, especially considering how picky my model 1 is. Sorry, not willing to part with it.

Speaking of the Sega CD though... if anyone has the backup RAM cart (official) with a dead battery/not holding the saves, I know how to fix it and what parts to get on Ebay.

I tried to fix mine, and when I looked on Ebay I couldn't find the replacement battery with tabs (It's CR 2450 or something- bigger and different from every other cart I've fixed). So, I attempted to put a new battery in it and use the tabs it came with. I couldn't get the solder to stick to the tabs and the battery, so I couldn't solder it on, instead I superglued the tabs onto the battery. It didn't work :/ I had the right battery too, CR 2450. Anyway, my wife basically found me a RAM cart replacement battery kit on Ebay, it even had a replacement capacitor to go on the board. I soldered it all up and it works, now I can play Shining Force CD on real hardware if I want (though I don't have a real copy of the game >.> ouch!)

I also have a dead Dreamcast, well it's not dead but the controller board is, controller ports don't work. It needs new fusable resistors. Also, the ribbon cable going from the GD-ROM drive to the system board has a slight tear in it from when I took the drive out to adjust the pot. I'm willing to bet that even if I replace the cable, it won't read discs. But anyway I'm going to try and fix it. I also got a battery holder with the correct legs on it that it's basically plug and play. Desolder the old battery, put this thing in and solder 3 points, and I can fix my DC's internal clock. It's pretty annoying to hook up and turn the system on, and then have to set the time. I bet you other Dreamcast owners deal with this ish too.

Getting a lot of soldering practice here and fixing stuff in the process. Pretty neat.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Well, Ninja Gaiden Xbox is kicking my arse lol I am determined though...on Chapter 8, I think about half way now...but the deaths are getting more and more frequent...and saves fewer and more far between. Addicting though...you know a game is good when you can die what feels like a hundred times in a row and just keep saying "one more try..."







It's really not "that" bad, the difficulty I mean, but I don't mind tough games. I like easy games too though lol Depends on the mood I am in, I guess...I have beat the entire S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, even the Misery mod...not many games I can't beat if I am really determined to. Ninja Gaiden is definitely going to be a tough one though, I can tell already. Boss fights in this game can go from kicking butt to getting raped to death in no time


----------



## neurotix

You're probably doing much better at it than I would being the RPG guy.

I'm alright at most shmups, but 3rd person action I don't have much experience with.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Yeah, sorry, but I'll be no help with that. I also don't have a spare power board.
> 
> I have a spare US Sega CD model 2, but it's my backup, especially considering how picky my model 1 is. Sorry, not willing to part with it.
> 
> Speaking of the Sega CD though... if anyone has the backup RAM cart (official) with a dead battery/not holding the saves, I know how to fix it and what parts to get on Ebay.
> 
> I tried to fix mine, and when I looked on Ebay I couldn't find the replacement battery with tabs (It's CR 2450 or something- bigger and different from every other cart I've fixed). So, I attempted to put a new battery in it and use the tabs it came with. I couldn't get the solder to stick to the tabs and the battery, so I couldn't solder it on, instead I superglued the tabs onto the battery. It didn't work :/ I had the right battery too, CR 2450. Anyway, my wife basically found me a RAM cart replacement battery kit on Ebay, it even had a replacement capacitor to go on the board. I soldered it all up and it works, now I can play Shining Force CD on real hardware if I want (though I don't have a real copy of the game >.> ouch!)
> 
> I also have a dead Dreamcast, well it's not dead but the controller board is, controller ports don't work. It needs new fusable resistors. Also, the ribbon cable going from the GD-ROM drive to the system board has a slight tear in it from when I took the drive out to adjust the pot. I'm willing to bet that even if I replace the cable, it won't read discs. But anyway I'm going to try and fix it. I also got a battery holder with the correct legs on it that it's basically plug and play. Desolder the old battery, put this thing in and solder 3 points, and I can fix my DC's internal clock. It's pretty annoying to hook up and turn the system on, and then have to set the time. I bet you other Dreamcast owners deal with this ish too.
> 
> Getting a lot of soldering practice here and fixing stuff in the process. Pretty neat.


2 things

1 you need solder Flux. Our you won't be able to do stuff like that (tabs to batteries.

2 I can get you the info for the battery needed next time.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> You're probably doing much better at it than I would being the RPG guy.
> 
> I'm alright at most shmups, but 3rd person action I don't have much experience with.


It's basically a combination of a fairly in-depth fighter, beat-em-up...with hints of Tomb Raider / Prince of Persia type platforming (but tougher), and Dark Souls style difficulty, and even a bit of Dark Souls-esque atmosphere. Also reminds me of the Devil May Cry series. Can upgrade your weapons, both melee and projectile, learn tons of new moves along the way, etc. There is a fairly extensive move list, just like a fighting game...I'd check it out just for the art and cut scenes, even...the boss I am on right now has some awesome design / style. And lots of quality FMV of the good stuff too.


----------



## neurotix

Replying on my phone, so sorry no quotes.

Mega Man, thanks, I did fix my ram cart though last I checked it's holding saves. And it is CR 2450. If you want to link to the repair kit we bought, let me know.







Now to fix a Dreamcast or two...

Aaron I've played the first Ninja Gaiden Black I think on my Xbox a while ago it might still be on there. My wife tried to and neither of us could even clear the first stage. The only 3rd person action games I was any good at was Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors Etc. The Tomb Raider reboot games are cool and I want to go through them both on my PC. I'm pretty good at fighting games, at least old Street Fighter and King of Fighters, but Ninja Gaiden was owning me. I'm glad you're enjoying it though keep at it and then go beat Ninja Gaiden for NES







( I'd rather play that personally...)


----------



## SwishaMane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I also have a dead Dreamcast, well it's not dead but the controller board is, controller ports don't work. It needs new fusable resistors. Also, the ribbon cable going from the GD-ROM drive to the system board has a slight tear in it from when I took the drive out to adjust the pot. I'm willing to bet that even if I replace the cable, it won't read discs. But anyway I'm going to try and fix it. I also got a battery holder with the correct legs on it that it's basically plug and play. Desolder the old battery, put this thing in and solder 3 points, and I can fix my DC's internal clock. It's pretty annoying to hook up and turn the system on, and then have to set the time. I bet you other Dreamcast owners deal with this ish too.
> 
> Getting a lot of soldering practice here and fixing stuff in the process. Pretty neat.


That F1 fusable resistor can be fixed just by bridging the joints. You just have to make sure you dont hot swap a controller. Those blow when ppl change controllers while system is on. Quick fix.

They also tend to blow when non-official rumble packs are used. Might be an over current draw, and pop, no controllers work... lol


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> That F1 fusable resistor can be fixed just by bridging the joints. You just have to make sure you dont hot swap a controller. Those blow when ppl change controllers while system is on. Quick fix.
> 
> They also tend to blow when non-official rumble packs are used. Might be an over current draw, and pop, no controllers work... lol


That's awesome.... I'll keep that in mind. Nice info. Rep+

Yeah, I've heard that using non official controllers is what blows these resistors. I don't have any non-official anymore. I only use official ones, in particular I got one new in box a while back and I prefer to use that one.

I think I will actually go through and replace the resistors, capacitor and battery on both my consoles though. I also want to try and clean up the top shell on my main Dreamcast, it has some yellowing on it, I'll need to do hydrogen peroxide + sun but unfortunately, it'll have to wait till spring. I wanna do this to my NES too, it's also quite yellow, and man the prices on these things have shot way up (like $100 for a NES! wth!)


----------



## subassy

I'm on my phone so I can't test it but I couldn't wait to post:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/boxedwine/
http://boxedwine.sourceforge.net/b4/games.html
Quote:


> Current goal is to write a Linux emulator that is complete enough to run Wine.


I think its javascript linux running wine running old windows games...in a browser! Well early developement.


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Yeah, any fuse can be bridged and still work great, minus fuse protection, lol. But yeah, Mega CD's still being a butt and I broke the LED mod on my Genesis.... RIP.


----------



## neurotix

Does the Genesis still work?

You know, a US model 2 Sega CD shouldn't be THAT expensive in working order. $70-80 last I looked. Nevermind, they're like $120 minimum online. *sigh* The prices on this stuff keep going up. This hobby is getting out of hand...

Get one now before they're even more expensive? At least the model 2 is more reliable. This makes me want to get mine out and thoroughly test it. I probably will in the next week. It sits in the closet in here with my backup Saturn.

Besides the initial cost of investment, well, everything is gravy after that. Backups work without a modchip or anything. Does your JVC X'eye still work?


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Does the Genesis still work?
> 
> You know, a US model 2 Sega CD shouldn't be THAT expensive in working order. $70-80 last I looked. Nevermind, they're like $120 minimum online. *sigh* The prices on this stuff keep going up. This hobby is getting out of hand...
> 
> Get one now before they're even more expensive? At least the model 2 is more reliable. This makes me want to get mine out and thoroughly test it. I probably will in the next week. It sits in the closet in here with my backup Saturn.
> 
> Besides the initial cost of investment, well, everything is gravy after that. Backups work without a modchip or anything. Does your JVC X'eye still work?


The Genesis still works great even after me taking an iron to it, lol. Model 2s just aren't as cool as the Model 1s, and yeah, I do agree to that. Even Rocket Knight Adventures was a $4 game retail.... now it's almost $20 loose. Kinda sucks Feebay is ruining the market for us. BTW, mine is a Mega CD Japanese and they are even rarer than the American ones, sadly.

You really should, also check the caps for any leakage, that seems to be something everyone tells me to do. Yup, the X'Eye still works.... alright, I guess. Has trouble reading non-legit games but not legit games. It might just be the CMC Magnetics Memorex crap I use for burning games. Maybe a cakebox of Taiyo Yudens wouldn't be a bad investment.... but I should replace the laser in the X'Eye if anything.

Gonna order caps for the Mega CD and re-cap it. Hope that works. If not, it was only $12 and a few hours of my time.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheN00bBuilder*
> 
> The Genesis still works great even after me taking an iron to it, lol. Model 2s just aren't as cool as the Model 1s, and yeah, I do agree to that. Even Rocket Knight Adventures was a $4 game retail.... now it's almost $20 loose. Kinda sucks Feebay is ruining the market for us. BTW, mine is a Mega CD Japanese and they are even rarer than the American ones, sadly.
> 
> You really should, also check the caps for any leakage, that seems to be something everyone tells me to do. Yup, the X'Eye still works.... alright, I guess. Has trouble reading non-legit games but not legit games. It might just be the CMC Magnetics Memorex crap I use for burning games. Maybe a cakebox of Taiyo Yudens wouldn't be a bad investment.... but I should replace the laser in the X'Eye if anything.
> 
> Gonna order caps for the Mega CD and re-cap it. Hope that works. If not, it was only $12 and a few hours of my time.


Genesis and pretty much any old consoles are troopers. Such high quality builds, for the most part. Especially the early models. I've heard of these things going under water/taking water damage and still working after they dry totally... same for the NES. I too prefer my Genesis 1, mine is the hi-def graphics version, I think it's the V2 motherboard with TMSS. Pretty sure most EA sports games won't work on it for that reason but I don't own a single one out of 70+ Genesis games
















The Mega CD is indeed rarer, it was not popular, all the good RPGs around that time were mostly on PC Engine Super CD (stuff like Far East of Eden), as well as Super Famicom. Too bad you can't ghet it working. Keep at it. It is probably the fuse, you are right. Try the digipress repair forum and ask for help there if you can't figure it out.

You don't need a laser replacement and you don't need expensive Taiyo Yuden's. I just use Verbatim discs. You can usually get them at Best Buy, $30 for 100 or so I think. They work great in all my retro consoles. I had a Dreamcast I gave to my brother that was picky with Memorex or Sony, but worked totally fine (although loudly) with my Verbatim discs. I have one in my drive right now, and apparently they're made by CMC Magnetics Corp. I don't know much about CD-Rs but, these work great for me.


----------



## Mr357

Get a 100 pack of Taiyo Yuden's off eBay for ~$27. I did so about a year ago and still have discs left over. The only other discs that come close in terms of quality are the *AZO "DataLife Plus"* Verbatim's. Those regular Verbatim's made by CMC will usually work, but nevertheless I don't recommend them as they're not that much cheaper.


----------



## neurotix

Can't speak for Taiyo Yuden but my CMC Magnetic's Verbatims work with my Sega CD (both), Dreamcast and Saturn. I also use them for PS2, but the DVD+Rs obviously.

They don't seem to become damaged over time, even with fingerprints on them and so on, just wipe the disc off with a microfiber cloth and they work.

No problems with them for me, but if you can get better for a good price then I don't see why not.


----------



## subassy

This isn't really about gaming but...I just bought a laser disc player (for $12). It turns on and everything. Really fancy "reads side A and B" with remote included. Not easy to come by at a goodwill.

Several days later thinking I needed to make sure it worked I went to goodwill (a different one) to see if there were laser disc movies mixed in with the vinyl: yup, one movie.

*DIE HARD*

It's almost like I was always intended to own a laser disc player at this exact moment....
Okay, sorry back to the sega cd discussion


----------



## neurotix

I've always wanted a Laserdisc player just to see how they work, and the fact they were so expensive back in the day. Never actually seen a Laserdisc movie.

Die Hard is awesome.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Laserdisc is all about the disc sleave art...I'd collect LaserDiscs even without a player lol


----------



## cones

Post some pictures of them. What was the storage size of them?


----------



## Mega Man

Video only, about the size of records

They look like double sided cds


----------



## neurotix

Mega Man is right.

They are huge, about the size of a record, and carry data on both sides, so both sides are shiny and iridescent.


----------



## cones

4gb of storage then?


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cones*
> 
> 4gb of storage then?


It's not a digital format, it's analog. It's read with a laser but it's sort of like reading vinyl with a needle. And it make sense really, I mean video CD wasn't even released until the early 90s while LD was developed in the 70s. The 2600 and apple II days...a consumer piece of electronics wouldn't be able to decode MPEG on the fly with a 6502. Computers in 1995 Pentiums and so forth) could barely do that.
So to answer your question not 4 gigs. 0 bits technically.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> It's not a digital format, it's analog. It's read with a laser but it's sort of like reading vinyl with a needle. And it make sense really, I mean video CD wasn't even released until the early 90s while LD was developed in the 70s. The 2600 and apple II days...a consumer piece of electronics wouldn't be able to decode MPEG on the fly with a 6502. Computers in 1995 Pentiums and so forth) could barely do that.
> So to answer your question not 4 gigs. 0 bits technically.


Surely they can be measured in minutes (of video) at least. A standard red book CD can hold up to 80 minutes of audio with a bitrate of 1411kbps.


----------



## cones

Huh I always thought they were digital. So almost like a fancy record.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Surely they can be measured in minutes (of video) at least. A standard red book CD can hold up to 80 minutes of audio with a bitrate of 1411kbps.


They are measured in minutes of video and I believe it's something pathetic like 30 minutes per side. xD meaning that movies usually came on more than one disc and they had to be switched multiple times over the course of the movie.


----------



## neurotix

Hey guys,

I found this video.






I'm gonna do it, I ordered some CD jewel cases. I have a dremel tool to cut off the CD holder part like in the video. And I have plenty of adhesive velcro squares I can use.

Since Mr357 sent me the PC Engine games, and they all have manuals but no cases I'm going to see what I can do.

I'll post pictures when I'm done with them.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!
> 
> 
> 
> Hey guys,
> 
> I found this video.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm gonna do it, I ordered some CD jewel cases. I have a dremel tool to cut off the CD holder part like in the video. And I have plenty of adhesive velcro squares I can use.
> 
> Since Mr357 sent me the PC Engine games, and they all have manuals but no cases I'm going to see what I can do.
> 
> I'll post pictures when I'm done with them.


Not a bad hack. Good luck!


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> Not a bad hack. Good luck!


I wanna print spine labels but I don't know where to find them. Obviously they have to be the Japanese ones...


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I wanna print spine labels but I don't know where to find them. Obviously they have to be the Japanese ones...


This site should have everything you need. http://pcengine.co.uk/


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> This site should have everything you need. http://pcengine.co.uk/


Where do I find the spine cards to print?

I looked for example for Devil Crash and didn't see it... http://pcengine.co.uk/HTML_Games/Devil_Crash.htm


----------



## neurotix

Nevermind, it's just Devil Crash that doesn't have them. Unfortunately the only scans I can find for the other games are for the US versions, but since I have Japanese HuCards I want the Japanese end labels. No such luck.

It seems they have them for all the Super CD-ROM2 games but not for HuCards.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Sooo yeah, one my holiest of grails that I've wanted for decades is finally mine!


----------



## Mega Man

When reading the preview I knew I was going to hate you.... yep, I do......

Congrats


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> When reading the preview I knew I was going to hate you.... yep, I do......
> 
> Congrats










Thanks, dude. I'm stoked! The joystick/buttons on these controllers are arcade quality stuff.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Hahaha, more and more jealousy from my side too, that's THE dream console for me lol Congrats dude!


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Hahaha, more and more jealousy from my side too, that's THE dream console for me lol Congrats dude!


Thanks, man! Not going to lie, I get butterflies looking at it... Am I alright?!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Thanks, man! Not going to lie, I get butterflies looking at it... Am I alright?!


Only as alright as the rest of here lol


----------



## neurotix

Amazing. Can you take and post some high quality pictures of the arcade stick controller?

I've never played one of these but always wanted to. And I think you've seen my custom arcade stick for fighting games. So I'd like to see the stick.


----------



## Wolfsbora

I'll get some good pics for you, dude. The stick seems to weigh as much as the console. The SNK "Pro" sticks were actually designed for the Neo Geo CD but fortunately are backward compatibile.


----------



## neurotix

Mine's pretty heavy, I have a Seimitsu LS-32-01 stick and Sanwa OBSN-30 pushbuttons in it.

Cost me around $250 to have made back in the day.

It doesn't get much use for fighting games anymore because I got so sick of them and the toxic community. So now I mostly use it for arcade emulators and Cave shmups on my 360. (I have all the popular 360 games like Borderlands, Gears of War etc. but the damn thing gets used mostly for Espgaluda2 and Deathsmiles.







)


----------



## Wolfsbora

Yeah, this joystick won't weigh nearly as much as your custom setup! That's an awesome stick, btw.

Here it is next to the official Sega Genesis stick. The SNK has a true arcade feel to the stick switches, and same for the buttons. The Sega's is blah when compared directly to the SNK. Though, the Sega is heavier due to its metal base.




Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!


----------



## neurotix

Clean those buttons up and the stick up with some alcohol on a q-tip. Get down around the buttons on the sides of them. I can see some grime.

This will help it work better and play better. I had to do this to a Game Gear I got recently. I got an LED backlight modded Game Gear with the caps replaced, instead of doing it all myself. Not too bad of a price either for one that will last for years. If you wanna know the ebay seller I got it from, let me know, I don't know if you have a GG or not. Fun little system.

Yeah the Sega stick is junk, so is the SNES and Saturn sticks like that. There's an Agetek arcade stick for Dreamcast with green buttons that's really good and uses real arcade components. Might wanna check that out, DC has a ton of 2D fighters and shmups.

Your stick does look like it probably has real microswitches in the stick. The reason I asked to see it because basically it looks different from other AES sticks I've seen, they usually don't have red buttons (maybe they were replaced). Still, it's really awesome, congrats.


----------



## neurotix




----------



## SwishaMane

Man, you guys are picking up some cool stuff. Those arcade sticks are bangin.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> Man, you guys are picking up some cool stuff. Those arcade sticks are bangin.


Hehe, I've had mine for years, but I recently refurbished it. It needed a new acrylic top piece since there was a crack in it. New buttons, new art, and I glued a corner of the box that had come loose.

Thanks though. If you wanna see more pictures let me know.


----------



## Wolfsbora

I definitely want to see more pics of that setup, @neurotix!


----------



## neurotix

There was a post a few months ago with pics of my arcade stick. But I can't find it.

So I'll put them all in a spoiler here.

Oh and the characters on it are Strider Hiryu (Capcom) and Yoshi tora Tokugawa (SNK, Samurai Shodown)


Spoiler: Arcade stick controller


----------



## SwishaMane

I love the hacking of the controller. Reminds me of my attempted PS1 portable back as a teen. lol, it was a good idea, but not a good plan.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I might order some switches / stick and do a fight stick after Christmas. I've been wanting to do one for awhile, but you know, life...I have a bunch of 1/8" steel sheet here, heavy and rigid stuff. Figure a wooden "frame" with a routed channel to mount steel sheet to the top and bottoms flush with the frame. Might actually start the frame / casing this weekend, for something to do. Just going to get cheap switches and such though, and probably just wire it up to a cheap PS3 USB pad or something.


----------



## neurotix

Yes, you should totally do it if you want to.

Lots of stuff going on for me, and the holidays are soon, so take care guys.

Have a good Christmas or whatever other holiday you celebrate!


----------



## neurotix

@Mr357


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> @Mr357
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!


Oh man, those look great. Did you manage to make inserts too?


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mr357*
> 
> [/SPOILER]
> 
> Oh man, those look great. Did you manage to make inserts too?


No







The spine labels on Japanese PC Engine games appear to actually be a sticker. I'm honestly not sure how to scan it. If I could, I could use a template for regular jewel cases or maybe Turbografx-16 games, and print it on sticker paper or just an insert. I do still want to do this to make them look more authentic, but I'm really not sure how. I will have to take a few days and think about it and see if I can figure out a solution. My wife is gonna be in Cali for a week so it should give me plenty of time alone to ponder it


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> No
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The spine labels on Japanese PC Engine games appear to actually be a sticker. I'm honestly not sure how to scan it. If I could, I could use a template for regular jewel cases or maybe Turbografx-16 games, and print it on sticker paper or just an insert. I do still want to do this to make them look more authentic, but I'm really not sure how. I will have to take a few days and think about it and see if I can figure out a solution. My wife is gonna be in Cali for a week so it should give me plenty of time alone to ponder it


If you can get me some kind of reference material, I can likely recreate them in photoshop from scratch...but it will take time, and kind of be a pain in the butt, depending on what is on the spines.


----------



## neurotix

That's the problem though, there aren't many references on google images or anything, and if you do find them it's usually only Super CD-ROM2 spine labels.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> That's the problem though, there aren't many references on google images or anything, and if you do find them it's usually only Super CD-ROM2 spine labels.


Do they have art, or are they fairly standard? Sorry, I know very little (read next to nothing) about PC Engine stuff...does the spine art look standardized like any of these? Cause these kind of thing would be easy to replicate, even without actual source material. If there is unique art on each spine, yeah, pretty much need reference.



Forgive me if I am way off on what I am supposed to be picturing here lol


----------



## neurotix

Something happened...my wife's car won't start... she has to get to Milwaukee for a flight.









Later on I'll take pictures of my PC Engine games with cases so you can see what they look like. But right now I have other things to worry about.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Something happened...my wife's car won't start... she has to get to Milwaukee for a flight.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Later on I'll take pictures of my PC Engine games with cases so you can see what they look like. But right now I have other things to worry about.


That really sucks! Hope everything works out and she makes her flight!


----------



## neurotix

Everything worked out, she's in California...

Here's what the spine labels look like:


----------



## neurotix

As you can see, they are stickers that they put over the jewel case, there's no way to take them off and I have no idea how to scan them...


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Of course, they would be *almost* standardized...I could definitely replicate with even the most awful of source material, but I at least need to know what would be there, what colour, etc...unless you aren't super strict on accuracy, because I could standardize that design in some way. But then all the spines would look relatively the same, minus the actual title and japanese characters...I'll look around for some reference material when I have some time. And glad your wife made it to her destination without any more issue!


----------



## neurotix

Each game has it's name on the spine card, in Japanese. My Japanese isn't that good.

If you could replicate one of the blue ones, and just leave the title area white (blank), that might work. I'll just make generic ones for each. Blue "Hucard" seems to be the most common. Namco games say NamcoT. If you decide to do this let me know. If you need close up pictures or something, I can do that too.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Each game has it's name on the spine card, in Japanese. My Japanese isn't that good.
> 
> If you could replicate one of the blue ones, and just leave the title area white (blank), that might work. I'll just make generic ones for each. Blue "Hucard" seems to be the most common. Namco games say NamcoT. If you decide to do this let me know. If you need close up pictures or something, I can do that too.


I can do that, shouldn't be much of a hassle. Changing colours is simple, but I will do two versions, "Hucard" and "NamcoT", Hucard in blue and NamcoT in red, and then you can just change the colour which is simple, if you ever decide to do that. The stickers don't wrap around the spine or anything? I'll grab some measurements and see what I can come up with, shouldn't take too long. I'll maybe have a look after I clean up your keyboard lol


----------



## neurotix

They do wrap around the spine.

I'll take better quality photos for you later.

Also, I don't need NamcoT, just Hucard, since none of the games I got from Mr357 are Namco games.


----------



## neurotix

Here's the photos:


Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!


----------



## neurotix

To keep things moving along..

I fixed a Dreamcast and now have a backup Dreamcast...

I had a Dreamcast that I've had for a long time, probably since 2004 or so. It doesn't work (well, it didn't) because one time I had trouble getting it to read discs, so I tried adjusting the laser pot, and when I did I put a small rip in the GD-ROM drive cable. It also had non functioning controller ports.

I ordered a controller board repair kit from Ebay, as well as a battery holder to replace the internal PROM battery with. I fixed the controller ports and got them working again by putting in two new resistors and a capacitor. However, when I soldered one of the resistors on (not the fusable resistor) I messed up and used too much heat and burned the board a little bit. The trace next to it was even coming up. The controller ports worked, but the battery holder didn't, and so the system would ask you to set the time *every time you put a new game in..*

Anyway, I bought a broken (no video) Dreamcast on Ebay for $10. I was going to take the ribbon cable from it and swap it into the old Dreamcast. This ended up not working because I didn't realize the Dreamcast GD-ROM drive was modular. So, I simply unplugged the GD-ROM drive from the Ebay Dreamcast and swapped it into the old Dreamcast. It works.

It still wasn't holding the time though... so I took the controller board from the Ebay Dreamcast too. Soldered that battery holder on and voila, (actually not I ran into some trouble getting the tabs from the battery off) a fully working Dreamcast that remembers the time.

So, now I have two, a main one and a backup. Oh I even took the top shell from the Ebay DC, cleaned it up a bit and put it on the old one (it had some yellowing).

A friend told me I should get GDEMU and a flash card or something and do that mod. Not sure I need to. Even a used but fully working Dreamcast isn't that much money still. $50 on Amazon and often comes with hookups. I have a backup Saturn too and it was more expensive. Sega Master System is getting up there in price too.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Dreamcast seem to be super cheap for some reason...they go for less than Gamecube around here. Nice to have a fully working one again, I am sure. Controllers aren't cheap though...usually look at $30+ for a used one. I actually wouldn't mind a second Dreamcast for some LAN play, honestly. Favourite system...also been looking into the GDEMU...but my DC works perfectly, and it would make a better mod on a DC with a dead GD-ROM.

I send you what I came up with for the PC Engine spine labels later today, by the way.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Dreamcast seem to be super cheap for some reason...they go for less than Gamecube around here. Nice to have a fully working one again, I am sure. Controllers aren't cheap though...usually look at $30+ for a used one. I actually wouldn't mind a second Dreamcast for some LAN play, honestly. Favourite system...also been looking into the GDEMU...but my DC works perfectly, and it would make a better mod on a DC with a dead GD-ROM.
> 
> I send you what I came up with for the PC Engine spine labels later today, by the way.


DC controllers are cheap for me if you need any.

I got one that was brand new, but with no box, from Lance (the good retro game seller in town) for $10. So that's the controller I use.

He also had brand new in box colored VMUs (I got a green one and a blue one) for $10.

Oh, and I HAD a fully working DC already. I just wanted to fix this one since I messed it up so long ago, and since I know how to solder now. I really enjoy soldering. Always looking for new projects to do.

Also, cool on the spine labels... we'll see what we can do with them


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Sorry man, been super busy today...here's what I got so far on the spine labels...first version (I'll PM you the actual .xcf file later), but here's what I got -



I used 12cm x 1cm + 1.75cm as my measurements...let me know the exact measurements if you wanted to get the ruler out







You should be able to print this "1:1" at 96 pixels per inch, and have it come out the right size, as long as the measurements were OK to begin with.

Also, that is sweet deal on the DC controllers, I'll keep that in mind when I have some extra cash (only have a single controller right now...on a Dreamcast...I know). Funny enough, the VMU always go for cheap here...just not the controllers







And yeah, soldering is almost relaxing...I also enjoy it, though I wouldn't say I am any good at it.

Oh, and feel free to pick apart the spine label...all I am going by is the photos you sent me, so if I am missing something, make sure to say something


----------



## neurotix

Wow, thanks man! Repped!!!

That looks excellent, I'll have to wait til my wife gets back and then probably get some sticker paper and try it out.

Yeah, if you're looking for anything just let me know in a pm. That goes for anyone. I may have to go down there and look around and see. Or I could ask Lance on Facebook, I have him on there and can just pm him to ask prices on stuff.

Spine labels look fine. I might get the PC engine logo and just slap that on the side. Or maybe you could do it (in the blank white space on the side label part):



Maybe make it blue? It'll have to be quite small of course. Try and center it between the blue band and the "Vol" thing at the bottom.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Hey all, sorry I've been absent. Here's my current setup:



Let's see if anyone can spot all of the consoles (pictured, of course).


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Hey all, sorry I've been absent. Here's my current setup:
> 
> 
> 
> Let's see if anyone can spot all of the consoles (pictured, of course).


Nice setup..

I could name all the consoles but I'm not going to. lol

Also... I didn't know you had a Master System. What games do you have? I can give recommendations.


----------



## cones

What are you using to switch inputs?


----------



## Wolfsbora

@neurotix I currently only have Ghostbusters for the SMS. Oh...And no AC adapter. I have 4 controllers, 2 of the stick type controllers, and the light gun, though. But, can't use it without the AC adapter.

@cones I'm currently using the front inputs and just labeled all of the cables. Only my Neo•Geo, SNES, top-loading NES, and GameCube are hardwired. I must add, my PC Engine I got off of neurotix is almost always the one plugged into the front, especially with my Turbo Everdrive. I do, however, have an amplified composite AV 8-way switcher on the way. I'm not too confident in it working well, since they tend to degrade the signal to the point that I can't stand it.


----------



## cones

Figured you didn't have anything, didn't see anything. I always wonder if people do manual when they have that much.


----------



## Mega Man

I sourced a wiring diagram for a home made av switch that I am planning on using for me, just a idea


----------



## cones

I do have a four input non powered one I've used. Also been tempted to make my own. What I'd really like is one that I can use with component or composite. Although I'm not sure if it would work on TVs that share the yellow and green port.


----------



## Mega Man

depends on how you do it, but generally it would work


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> @neurotix I currently only have Ghostbusters for the SMS. Oh...And no AC adapter. I have 4 controllers, 2 of the stick type controllers, and the light gun, though. But, can't use it without the AC adapter.


R-Type, Spellcaster, and Kenseiden are all pretty cool (Kenseiden is hard as a biscuit though..) and cheap. All under $20. Might want to get them before they go up in price. I believe last time I counted I had around 42 SMS games, the majority with the boxes. So I can recommend more.

Why can't you use it without an AC adapter? The Genesis AC adapter works with Master System. Model 1602-1 or 1602-2 (fat plug). It will work on the original Master System that you have. Just don't try and use that 32x AC adapter on it (or anything else).

I can use my Genesis, PC Engine and Master System without having to get out another AC adapter... it works with all of them. Can use the same AV cable on Master System and Genesis too.


----------



## SwishaMane

Dear OCN Retro Game Club, does anyone know a good jewel case storage box? I need one that can hold like 100 normal CD jewel cases in one. I'll need like two or three fo these for my PS1 and PS2 collection. Thanks!

Cheap $50 shipped one from eBay has WAY bad reviews, or I would snatch it. Want something with handles and or possible to lock.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

This is interesting...I've not seen an N64 repo before...SNES repros are very common around here though.


----------



## Mega Man

They are waiting for copy rights and patents and what not to expire.

They may of just expired


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> Dear OCN Retro Game Club, does anyone know a good jewel case storage box? I need one that can hold like 100 normal CD jewel cases in one. I'll need like two or three fo these for my PS1 and PS2 collection. Thanks!
> 
> Cheap $50 shipped one from eBay has WAY bad reviews, or I would snatch it. Want something with handles and or possible to lock.


I don't own anything like that myself, so I'd suggest asking on a dedicated retro gaming forum like RacketBoy or AssembleGamers. Please post what you end up buying, as I'm sure many of us would like to have something similar.


----------



## neurotix

Can't help unfortunately, I really don't collect or own jewel case games. Sorry.

Mr357's advice is pretty sound though. racketboy is a great site in particular.


----------



## neurotix

Anything anyone want to talk about? It's slow in here.

Anything I could post for us to discuss? Want to see anything in my collection?


----------



## SwishaMane

I have some recent PS1 pickups... Off memory Ive gotten Threads of Fate, Tactics Ogre, Parasite Eve II, Grandia, Fighting Force 1 and 2, and a few small time others.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> I have some recent PS1 pickups... Off memory Ive gotten Threads of Fate, Tactics Ogre, Parasite Eve II, Grandia, Fighting Force 1 and 2, and a few small time others.


All good games... Tactics Ogre would be my favorite out of the ones you listed.


----------



## jeffdamann

Hey I just figured I would join in here. I have played every single NTSC and European title for the NES, SNES, SMS, Genesis, and N64 libraries in my lifetime.

I currently build raspberry pi emulation boxes and sell them. I put a lot of effort and have a lot of pride in my work. I also build handhelds with pi zeroes out of broken Game Gears from ebay. I dont have any pictures of them to show you because I dont make many and they sell fast, but I make them like this concept drawing, except for with custom case painting.



I use the guts of an SNES controller. The handhelds have 4 battery status leds, a custom circuit enabling charging while playing, it has hdmi out, 3 usb ports for extra players, a 50 watt 2 channel amp and 2 awesome speakers that play nearly as loud as a stock car radio. I know its overkill but its fun to bust out and overpower peoples cellphones in the audio department. Also 10,000 MAH of battery life, which varies wildly depending on your volume level because of the 50 watt amp and speakers.

Because it has HDMI out and 3 usb ports, I also use it as a beefy portable PC and media player.


----------



## madpossum

^ That's pretty cool. I've noticed since hacking my PSP I play a lot more NES and SNES games on it then PSP games, LOL.

I envy you guys with the game room set ups, my wife would never let me get away with something like that, LOL. Over the years I've owned an Atari 2600, NES, SNES, Master System, Genesis, Sega CD, 32X, 3DO, Saturn, Playstation, N64, Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox, Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, Virtual Boy (got rid of it quick, LOL), DS, 3DS, PSP, and Vita. Oh and an Action Max if that counts (if anyone here remembers what that was, LOL). I still have a lot of that stuff but most is packed away, I mainly play on emulators on the HTPC, wife is a lot happier that way and I can still play all those classics, by myself, with her, and with the kids. Was never a "collector", just loved video games growing up and bought all that stuff as it came out. I wish I had back the stuff I did trade in and got rid of.

The only system I never owned and am considering collecting for is the Neo Geo AES. I've always wanted one. I considered getting the Neo Geo CD but it's not the same. There is just something about the giant carts with the exact arcade experience, along with the awesome arcade sticks it came with (and the exclusivity of owning one). I know that it is expensive (it will take me awhile to save up to even get started) but I'm not looking for a complete collection, just a system and few favorite games. Any of you collectors have any tips? I know you can play cheaper MVS carts on the AES with an adapter, how hard to get (and how expensive) is that adapter now? How hard is it to get a hold of a working system with sticks these days?


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *jeffdamann*
> 
> Hey I just figured I would join in here. I have played every single NTSC and European title for the NES, SNES, SMS, Genesis, and N64 libraries in my lifetime.
> 
> I currently build raspberry pi emulation boxes and sell them. I put a lot of effort and have a lot of pride in my work. I also build handhelds with pi zeroes out of broken Game Gears from ebay. I dont have any pictures of them to show you because I dont make many and they sell fast, but I make them like this concept drawing, except for with custom case painting.
> 
> 
> 
> I use the guts of an SNES controller. The handhelds have 4 battery status leds, a custom circuit enabling charging while playing, it has hdmi out, 3 usb ports for extra players, a 50 watt 2 channel amp and 2 awesome speakers that play nearly as loud as a stock car radio. I know its overkill but its fun to bust out and overpower peoples cellphones in the audio department. Also 10,000 MAH of battery life, which varies wildly depending on your volume level because of the 50 watt amp and speakers.
> 
> Because it has HDMI out and 3 usb ports, I also use it as a beefy portable PC and media player.


This is absolutely amazing. I might be interested in one of these or even just a Pi box if the price is right. Building a Pi emulation box has been on my to-do project list for some time. I may just want to do it myself though.

Your work looks absolutely fantastic and top notch.

Unfortunately though, for portable emulation I have two PSPs and those are pretty hard to beat when softmodded/CFWed for emulation purposes. If I had one of your portables, my PSP Go would never get used








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *madpossum*
> 
> ^ That's pretty cool. I've noticed since hacking my PSP I play a lot more NES and SNES games on it then PSP games, LOL.
> 
> I envy you guys with the game room set ups, my wife would never let me get away with something like that, LOL. Over the years I've owned an Atari 2600, NES, SNES, Master System, Genesis, Sega CD, 32X, 3DO, Saturn, Playstation, N64, Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox, Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, Virtual Boy (got rid of it quick, LOL), DS, 3DS, PSP, and Vita. Oh and an Action Max if that counts (if anyone here remembers what that was, LOL). I still have a lot of that stuff but most is packed away, I mainly play on emulators on the HTPC, wife is a lot happier that way and I can still play all those classics, by myself, with her, and with the kids. Was never a "collector", just loved video games growing up and bought all that stuff as it came out. I wish I had back the stuff I did trade in and got rid of.
> 
> The only system I never owned and am considering collecting for is the Neo Geo AES. I've always wanted one. I considered getting the Neo Geo CD but it's not the same. There is just something about the giant carts with the exact arcade experience, along with the awesome arcade sticks it came with (and the exclusivity of owning one). I know that it is expensive (it will take me awhile to save up to even get started) but I'm not looking for a complete collection, just a system and few favorite games. Any of you collectors have any tips? I know you can play cheaper MVS carts on the AES with an adapter, how hard to get (and how expensive) is that adapter now? How hard is it to get a hold of a working system with sticks these days?


All those systems... which of them do you have left? I know you said you had a Dreamcast. If you type a nice list for me of what you have I will add you to the club.



^ My Game Room, yeah I'm rather lucky with it...got a whole fridge of beer and sake that never gets drunk.. too bad no one ever comes over.

I collect stuff but unfortunately I'm rarely willing to spend more than $30 on a retro game. The only ones I spent more than that for were my SNES RPGs.

As far as the Neo Geo, I can't really help because I don't have one. I believe the only person here with an AES is Wolfsbora and he just got it recently. (We were all very jealous.) I'd love to have one but the system and games are far too expensive for me. Instead I play Neo games on my softmodded original Xbox. I can even use my custom stick, it was wired for PS2 back in the day, I got a PS2 -> Xbox converter and it works flawlessly. So I can play the whole Neo Geo library with a stick that's probably better than the real Neo sticks. As well as 1500 arcade games in MAME.

Wolfsbora and I are good friends... he's having a lot of RL problems lately. He'd be glad to tell you about the Neo Geo AES but unfortunately, he probably doesn't have time to post right now.

As far as the adapter, I'd like to help but I have no idea. I suppose the adapter is probably worth it no matter the cost if it lets you get games for 1/4th the price of an AES cart. (Just an estimate there, though I do know MVS carts are the way to go...)

Uhhh TheNoobBuilder (I think thats his name) has a Neo Geo CD but he doesn't post here much.

I think a working system is not too hard to find if you know where to look but be prepared to pay quite a bit for it.

If I bought and collected for Neo Geo I would never have any money to upgrade my computer and Big Red comes first on my list of priorities to save for. Thankfully my wife is okay with that









Finally, again, if you guys give me a list of the systems you own with commas I will add you to the club list if you want.

Hope this helps.


----------



## neurotix

Oh one other thing. A suggestion.

Recently they finally made a Neo Geo Everdrive (basically a flash cart); this was news in the retro community.

They are very expensive (afaik as much as buying an AES itself) but you'd be able to play ANY Neo Geo game on it, on real hardware.

So $200 for an AES and another $200 or whatever for an Everdrive and you'd basically be set. Depending on the cost of the MVS adapter, you may want to go with an Everdrive instead.


----------



## madpossum

The systems I still own (most work, the NES and Dreamcast are in various states of being repaired):

NES, Nintendo 64, Playstation, Dreamcast, Xbox, PS3, Xbox 360, Gameboy Advance, DS, 3DS, PSP, and Vita.

The ones I regret getting the rid of most are the Saturn and 3DO, the rest I can still replace somewhat easily, still have some games for them lying around somewhere.

The PS3 and a few 360's are the only ones hooked up at the moment (they're mainly used as multimedia boxes for the few rooms without PCs in them in the house, we don't have cable).

I can play the Neo Geo as well through emulation (have Launchbox/Big Box set up with about 37 systems and 2180 games on my PC and HTPC - highly recommend Launchbox for those in here into emulation, it's a fantastic front end) with my 360 and PS3 arcade sticks as well, but there's just something about the idea of owning a Neo Geo which was a far fetched dream when I was growing up that appeals to me. I like your idea of using an Everdrive cart, though I'd like to own at least a couple of original carts as well. We'll see if I ever get the time or money to do it but I find myself more into retro gaming lately than buying new releases. I don't mind emulating the NES or Playstation in place of hooking them all up but there is just something about the original Neo Geo hardware that I've romanticized in my mind, LOL. If I ever get to getting one and collecting for it I imagine it will be like what they say about owning a boat, the two happiest days are the day you buy it and the day you sell it, LOL.


----------



## Mega Man

just a fyi the reason everdrives cost so much is the cost of the pcbs $200 is pretty reasonable

prototyping pcbs is very expensive { by prototyping i mean small orders }


----------



## neurotix

Going out for lunch. I'll add you later madpossum.

Mega Man is right. They're expensive for a reason. Probably worth it though.


----------



## neurotix

madpossum added.


----------



## subassy

Well I don't know if it's really of any note but I did come across a couple of old games: _Um Jammer Lammy_ and _South Park Rally_.

They were both bundled with a PS1 console priced at $15. I used my loyalty points and got the whole thing for $5.

I think Um Jammer is in the _PaRappa The Rapper_ series. Or tangentially related? I haven't played it yet. Seems like it's going to be really strange and hard to understand. So right up my alley in other words. I put it alongside my copy of _Sheep._

Might be worth more than $5 too...


----------



## neurotix

Umjammer Lammy is definitely worth that price. Really fun game. You're right, it's totally bizarre. My fiance had it back in the day and totally loves it, she's really good at it too, I'm awful at rhythm games so I can't play it. But I like to watch. Too bad they don't really make games like that nowadays, it was really weird and experimental.

You're right, it was the sequel to Parappa the Rapper.

_I need to potty, or I'll be real naughty...Somebody hold me, somebody hug me. Ma ma ma ma...... Pa pa pa pa ..._


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Umjammer and Parappa are both awesome and unique games...I had Umjammer Lammy but ended up using it in a trade and regretting it.

Also, welcome to the new members!


----------



## SwishaMane

Interesting we would talk about Parappa and UmJammer. UmJammer Lammy is the only game in my PS1 collection that's sealed. Its not worth anything still sealed, $10 more than used MAYBE, lol, but yeah, both are weird games.

Didn't they just remake Parappa the Rapper for PS4?? Or is it a remaster?


----------



## neurotix

I had Parappa on a PS1 demo disc. Do you collect demo discs too, SwishaMane?

It also had uh Cool Boarders and the first Armored Core on it. Crash Bandicoot 2 snow stage. And the menu to pick a game looked like a bunch of TV screens.

Parappa was the first stage (Chop Chop Master Onion). I don't think I ever cleared it. Maybe I was hitting the buttons at the wrong time or something. I could never figure out how to play it, to this day.

Again, my wife is really good at those games though.







(So I don't have to be?)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I remember those demo discs...I used to buy every gaming related magazine with my allowance when I was a kid, and really loved when Playstation Magazine or whatever it was came in cause of those discs. A few PC Gamer type magazines also came with demo discs every month and I remember really loving those as well. It's a shame demos aren't really a thing like they used to be. The Playstation Magazine discs are what got me into the Metal Gear series...I must have played that demo 100's of times, over and over, just trying every different possible path and finding every item, etc. in the short little demo. I probably put more hours into that than most people would have the entire first game lol Pretty sure that is also where I found out about Parappa the Rapper, since someone mentioned that one earlier lol

Anyway, haven't been on here much lately, but I just opened a package from Neurotix earlier today with some goodies in it I wanted to share, and again show some appreciation to Neurotix for basically hooking me up with Alisia Dragoon. I am so happy to have these in my collection...hopefully serve as some motivation now to expand my tiny Genesis library as I can afford it. They look kind of lonely mixed in with my super common Genesis games, but whatever







That'll change, just give me time







Both of these games are rather uncommon and not likely games I would have been able to purchase anytime soon...and now that I traded Conquer's Bad Fur Day awhile back, these are two of the higher value games I have now...I also have Obscure on PS2, but no manual or case...and the case is pretty tough to find. Plus, Phantasy Star II and Alisia Dragoon both have some pretty cool artwork on them. I was thinking that since Alisia Dragoon is just a loose cart, and I don't really plan to sell it or anything, I would just get a cheap game to steal the case from, and just print the sleeve. I don't have a printer but need to get one soon as I have quite a few PS2 games without cover art.

Oh, and I have never played a Star Ocean game, I don't think anyway, maybe like 2 minutes in an emulator or something...but I remember reading about them when I was a kid and always being interested in the series. It's a double disc...apparently the Greatest Hits version is actually the more appealing version, as it includes content from the Japanese Director's Cut version...at least, that's how I understand it. Won't be playing that for a bit though, next JRPG is Phantasy Star 2, and then not sure...also, another reason my cart collection sucks compared to my optical disc collection...there are at least 200 PS2 games in stock at the one local game store that's closest to me, but there were only, and this is typical, about 12 Genesis games, and about 8 SNES games...most of them sports or crap, all of them common. Even N64 is getting like that now there...I usually only see about 8 or so N64 games there now too. I swear it's cause that one guy I've complained about in town, the one local gamestore owner/operator, that he buys or gets stuff on trade, then hoards it all and overprices everything in his store so it just sits in his massive storage area and basically rots and never even gets looked at. Anyway...


----------



## neurotix

This is pretty awesome. Thanks for posting those.

Star Ocean: Til the End of Time was fairly popular back in the day but if I recall, it was controversial and not as well liked. Star Ocean 2 is the one everyone liked the most I believe. I think it was on PS1.

I believe I played Til the End of Time and basically hated it. That's just me though.


----------



## SwishaMane

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I had Parappa on a PS1 demo disc. Do you collect demo discs too, SwishaMane?
> 
> It also had uh Cool Boarders and the first Armored Core on it. Crash Bandicoot 2 snow stage. And the menu to pick a game looked like a bunch of TV screens.
> 
> Parappa was the first stage (Chop Chop Master Onion). I don't think I ever cleared it. Maybe I was hitting the buttons at the wrong time or something. I could never figure out how to play it, to this day.
> 
> Again, my wife is really good at those games though.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (So I don't have to be?)


I do collect demos, but I limit myself to certain conditions. I like the demos that had their own slip sleeves. Like the demos that came with the console. And some of the other single game demos. My collection of demos isnt big yet, but i also don't REALLY get out there looking.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> I do collect demos, but I limit myself to certain conditions. I like the demos that had their own slip sleeves. Like the demos that came with the console. And some of the other single game demos. My collection of demos isnt big yet, but i also don't REALLY get out there looking.


I see.

I don't have any demos (or really any PSone games). The one demo disc I have is actually in pretty good condition, has the cardboard sleeve, but it's for Dreamcast.

I think the only PSone game I have is Street Fighter Alpha 3. I played the hell out of that back in the day. World Tour mode was fun.

I had a PS2 game, Zone of the Enders the 2nd Runner, but I sent it to subassy. He said he'd send me NES games in return but hasn't so far...

Still though, I had and loved the PSone back in the day, I think I got mine Christmas of '97 and got FF7 and a memory card with it. To me that system was a Final Fantasy/JRPG machine. Though it had a lot of other good games. I liked the Twisted Metal series a lot.

Nowadays if I wanna play PSone I generally play eboots on my PSP, or use psxloader w/ fmcb on my PS2.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I don't know how you get away with just a single PSX game...any plans to ever build that collection up some more? I found PSX game prices to have just started dropping...locally at least. Most of the common JRPG are going for around $20 CAN now, and games like the Resident Evil series are also around that same price, after sitting at around $30-35 for about a year now. I actually just saw Street Fighter Alpha 3, though no manual, for $20...which is pretty good if I can recall. Anyway...haven't been on much, too busy playing my new games lol Haven't really started PS2 yet, but been playing Alisia Dragoon quite a bit. First few levels are pretty easy, but then it gets tough real quick...I'm getting the hang of it though and getting farther with each try...really intent on completing this one!

Oh, and I also picked up a couple more games, just cheapies though, like usual - grabbed Tekken 5 PS2 and Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution PS2...had Bloody Roar 4 in my hands, should have got that instead of Virtua Fighter, but whatever. Was only $9 CAN for the two games.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I don't know how you get away with just a single PSX game...any plans to ever build that collection up some more? I found PSX game prices to have just started dropping...locally at least. Most of the common JRPG are going for around $20 CAN now, and games like the Resident Evil series are also around that same price, after sitting at around $30-35 for about a year now. I actually just saw Street Fighter Alpha 3, though no manual, for $20...which is pretty good if I can recall. Anyway...haven't been on much, too busy playing my new games lol Haven't really started PS2 yet, but been playing Alisia Dragoon quite a bit. First few levels are pretty easy, but then it gets tough real quick...I'm getting the hang of it though and getting farther with each try...really intent on completing this one!
> 
> Oh, and I also picked up a couple more games, just cheapies though, like usual - grabbed Tekken 5 PS2 and Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution PS2...had Bloody Roar 4 in my hands, should have got that instead of Virtua Fighter, but whatever. Was only $9 CAN for the two games.


No room for it and I only spend money on cartridge games. Totally not interested in PSX collecting, sorry.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> No room for it and I only spend money on cartridge games. Totally not interested in PSX collecting, sorry.


Just surprised me since you are into JRPGs, is all. But I guess if you play them on your PSP


----------



## neurotix

Pretty much.

I can play them on my PS2 as well, even translated ones.

With the small shelves I have being to display my consoles, and my other shelf full of cartridge games, there really isn't anywhere to put them. There's two computers in here too.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Pretty much.
> 
> I can play them on my PS2 as well, even translated ones.
> 
> With the small shelves I have being to display my consoles, and my other shelf full of cartridge games, there really isn't anywhere to put them. There's two computers in here too.


Yeah, I can relate to that...space is definitely a thing for me as well. I don't have anyone else to keep happy though, so I can probably stand to be a little more cluttered than what you are used to







I definitely need to put up more shelving though...already have a ton of display type stuff that's sitting in boxes cause I have no space. Most of my gaming stuff is out on display though, just other bits of random that is in storage. If I ever get to a point that I've got too much gaming related stuff to display, I'd probably start selling off / trading the stuff I am not so keen on and replacing it with more pricey stuff I've wanted to get. I am sure you've already hit that point long ago


----------



## neurotix

Looks like that DC I fixed isn't fully fixed.

I donor'ed a controller port board from the Ebay Dreamcast into it and simply put a battery holder on to it, tested it and it seemed to work. Held the time and I thought the controller ports worked. However, I went to play a 2 player game with my sister and the second controller port doesn't work. Thankfully, I have an extra fusable resistor I haven't used, so I'll put that on it and test it out.

Next time I suppose I'll test *all* the controller ports before I declare it working


----------



## blooder11181

i removed the chip from my ps2 silver fat to play cd-r/dvd-r games but i think that by removing a wire near the dvd conectors cant ejects or read the cd or dvds.


----------



## neurotix

I think I fixed that Dreamcast.

At first after replacing the resistor, the 2nd controller port still didn't work. But I tried the controller in the 3rd and 4th ports and they worked. I then tried the 2nd port again and it worked this time. Maybe the board just needed to warm up or something. No clue.

But it seems to work now, still holds the time and so forth (I previously replaced the battery and soldered in a new battery holder).

I also modded a Saturn I bought a few months ago and taped down the disc lid sensor. I cleaned it up too, it looks a lot nicer than my older Saturn, which I got from a friend, that has numerous scratches all over it and such. So now I have a nicer one to display.


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I think I fixed that Dreamcast.
> 
> At first after replacing the resistor, the 2nd controller port still didn't work. But I tried the controller in the 3rd and 4th ports and they worked. I then tried the 2nd port again and it worked this time. Maybe the board just needed to warm up or something. No clue.
> 
> But it seems to work now, still holds the time and so forth (I previously replaced the battery and soldered in a new battery holder).
> 
> I also modded a Saturn I bought a few months ago and taped down the disc lid sensor. I cleaned it up too, it looks a lot nicer than my older Saturn, which I got from a friend, that has numerous scratches all over it and such. So now I have a nicer one to display.


Sounds awesome! Glad you got everything working well.

Question though; why tape down the lid open sensor? I hope you know swapping will kill your drive unless you're careful. You can rip off the spindle, hit the laser with a CD and crack the laser, burn out the motor, etc.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheN00bBuilder*
> 
> Sounds awesome! Glad you got everything working well.
> 
> Question though; why tape down the lid open sensor? I hope you know swapping will kill your drive unless you're careful. You can rip off the spindle, hit the laser with a CD and crack the laser, burn out the motor, etc.


Not worried about it as I can afford to replace a Saturn.

Also done it for years now with my old Saturn and it still works perfectly. This Saturn was pretty banged up and in rough shape to begin with because it was my (dumb) friend's. Scratches all over it etc. But I've swapped on it for years and it still works fine.

I now have two Saturns, and one is a backup unit, so no worries. And if I have to get another one I will.

(I also can't afford the ridiculous prices for all the Saturn RPGs I want to play. And Saturn emulators still suck.)


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Not worried about it as I can afford to replace a Saturn.
> 
> Also done it for years now with my old Saturn and it still works perfectly. This Saturn was pretty banged up and in rough shape to begin with because it was my (dumb) friend's. Scratches all over it etc. But I've swapped on it for years and it still works fine.
> 
> I now have two Saturns, and one is a backup unit, so no worries. And if I have to get another one I will.
> 
> (I also can't afford the ridiculous prices for all the Saturn RPGs I want to play. And Saturn emulators still suck.)


Ah, gotcha. Sorry about that, I'm a bit of a preservation freak.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Hey guys, my bad for stalking in the shadows lately. I've been on my equivalent to a Vision Quest lately.

@madpossum, I love my Neo•Geo AES! I really hope that you are able to get one. That, or a CMVS (consolized version of the arcade version). You wouldn't need an adapter for those. I'm too much of a fan of the box art and cart art to go with the MVS carts/adapter. However, if that's not an issue, it'll certainly save you some cash.

As far as the Everdrive-like device you can get for an AES, they run about $400. I'd wait to get one since they're so new. But, @neurotix is right, nothing beats having an Everdrive or one of it's peers. I love the one that I got for my PC Engine at the advice of neurotix. I'll probably pick up one for the NES, Genesis, and SNES as funds become available. They save your consoles from the wear and tear of swapping your carts/HuCards in and out.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheN00bBuilder*
> 
> Ah, gotcha. Sorry about that, I'm a bit of a preservation freak.


It's ok.

Keep in mind I was also one of the original beta testers for Dragon Force II for Saturn. When I play tested it I did it with an incomplete patch and on an emulator with very specific settings (SSF emulator). But, I tested some on original hardware (mainly to see if the patched game would boot...) I don't have a modchip and at the time I don't think Psuedo Saturn was available (I still need to do this, but, the wife says no more buying stuff... we just bought her a i5-7600k and ROG motherboard..







) Anyway I wouldn't have been able to test the game on original hardware without swapping. At the time I didn't know how to solder so no modchip. On top of that, there's other translated games I wanna play on Saturn that require swapping like the entire 3 scenarios of Shining Force III. Btw you can see me listed under the phase one testers for the Dragon Force II translation here: link (I'm listed as hellsent)

Also I mean, $123 for Albert Odyssey for Saturn disc only, over $400 for Magic Knight Rayearth, $115 for Dragon Force, $164 for Shining Force III, $107 for Shining Wisdom, even $68 for Shining the Holy Ark, $500 for Panzer Dragoon Saga... (amazon prices) to say collecting these has a very limited market is an understatement. If I bought legit copies of all the RPGs I want to play on Saturn, Sega CD, etc. I wouldn't have the computers I do.

I agree with preservation though. I really do support that. But know that they're in good hands, I'm probably technical enough to do a laser replacement at this point if I had to. (And again as of yet, the drives seem fine.) Have a slowly dying Game Gear that needs to be recapped, and I will do it even though I bought a recapped + LED modded Game Gear that is my main one now.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> Hey guys, my bad for stalking in the shadows lately. I've been on my equivalent to a Vision Quest lately.
> 
> @madpossum, I love my Neo•Geo AES! I really hope that you are able to get one. That, or a CMVS (consolized version of the arcade version). You wouldn't need an adapter for those. I'm too much of a fan of the box art and cart art to go with the MVS carts/adapter. However, if that's not an issue, it'll certainly save you some cash.
> 
> As far as the Everdrive-like device you can get for an AES, they run about $400. I'd wait to get one since they're so new. But, @neurotix is right, nothing beats having an Everdrive or one of it's peers. I love the one that I got for my PC Engine at the advice of neurotix. I'll probably pick up one for the NES, Genesis, and SNES as funds become available. They save your consoles from the wear and tear of swapping your carts/HuCards in and out.


That's really pricey, more than I thought for a Neo Everdrive. Would be worth it though to play all the Metal Slugs, later King of Fighters, later Samurai Shodown/Spirits, Last Blade 2, and quite a few other really good games for the system.

Check out a game called Windjammers/Flying Power Disc. This game is a cult classic in our household. My wife, brother and even my sister have done 2p versus matches in this for hours on my modded Xbox. It's like frisbee crossed with air hockey crossed with fighting game mechanics and all with a HEAVY early 90s style (think wrap around shades and bright neon clothing.) I don't think the AES cart of this is too expensive or hard to find. The guys at Giantbomb, when they stay up for 48hrs and play games for charity (or something like that) frequently play this game. It should be must own imo.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Saturn is basically ridiculous to collect for at this point, even common stuff goes for more than it should. I still love my Saturn though, and do one day plan to own most of the good stuff one day. Nothing against backups, Everdrive, or emulators...but one day I hope to have enough money to buy these things, considering I'll probably remain single for the rest of my life means I probably will at one point









Also, been going through some stuff, so haven't been on here much, mostly just lurking (I know Neurotix is waiting for me to start Phantasy Star 2







). I have almost mastered Alisia Dragoon now though...can get to the final stage without losing a life. Just need to figure out the final boss now!


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Saturn is basically ridiculous to collect for at this point, even common stuff goes for more than it should. I still love my Saturn though, and do one day plan to own most of the good stuff one day. Nothing against backups, Everdrive, or emulators...but one day I hope to have enough money to buy these things, considering I'll probably remain single for the rest of my life means I probably will at one point
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also, been going through some stuff, so haven't been on here much, mostly just lurking (I know Neurotix is waiting for me to start Phantasy Star 2
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ). I have almost mastered Alisia Dragoon now though...can get to the final stage without losing a life. Just need to figure out the final boss now!


That's just awesome man. I really can't think of very many action games, retro or current, that I can even clear let alone do it without dying at all.

I suppose back in the day I was really good at Shinobi III on Genesis and was able to clear it. I couldn't do it without dying though, and had to put it on easy for 9 lives and then cheese the game at points by using the ninja magic that costs 1 life to use but refills your health bar. It's still a pretty tough game on easy though. Same for Revenge of Shinobi. I think I might be able to get really far in Shinobi III on normal (e.g. 3 lives to start) because I know where all the hidden 1-ups are. As far as clearing it, the last stage is REALLY tough. Shinobi III might be doable but Revenge of Shinobi, no way.


----------



## madpossum

I used to be able to clear Contra on the NES without dying back in the day, I loved that game. Probably wouldn't be able to do it now without a lot of practice though.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *madpossum*
> 
> I used to be able to clear Contra on the NES without dying back in the day, I loved that game. Probably wouldn't be able to do it now without a lot of practice though.


Did you use the "konami code"? Either way. Impressive.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Did you use the "konami code"? Either way. Impressive.


I'm gonna bet he doesn't use the code, it's not very impressive if you do lol...


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Yeah, I don't think beating a game using cheats is going to be brag worthy for anyone lol Contra is another one I remember being especially tough when I was young...guess I might have to see if I can beat that one as well cause I know I definitely didn't when I was a kid. And definitely not without losing any lives. Not really retro, but the game I most proud of completing is STALKER with Misery mod. I am not sure if patches took out some difficulty, but the early version I used was one tough playthrough.


----------



## neurotix

Contra and Super C are definitely doable without the code, I've seen it.

Not easy though.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Well, it might be awhile before I beat it without dying, but I finally finished Alisia Dragoon. I can still make it to the last stage, stage 8, without dying, but then it's basically three boss fights in a row...with no health or anything in between. It's definitely still doable though, and probably try it again at some point...and then record it like I keep saying I will do. I did take a quick video with my camera of a bit of the ending and the rating screen, just to prove I did beat it







I am pretty sure you even get a crappy ending if you use cheats, but I didn't use any cheats or even walkthroughs or anything. I think I found a fair bit of the secrets hidden in the game too. Pretty much mastered it, like I said...except the last damn level. It takes about an hour of pretty non-stop, intense gameplay, and by the time you get there, you're just getting careless...so this time I paused it when I got the Stage 8, took a break, came back and then got it on my last continue (like lives in the this game...and you start with no continues). Alisia Dragoon turned out to be a far better game than I expected though...possibly one of my favourites on the Genesis. Actually, it definitely is.






Also, I think the Japanese version has some pretty sweet art that we didn't get over here...perhaps the Japanese version would be cheaper as well? If you ever wanted to get this game again *Neurotix*, that might be the way to go since the story doesn't really matter at all and there really isn't much text anyway. Can you even play Japanese carts on a North American Genesis?









Anyway...on to Phantasy Star 2


----------



## madpossum

Japanese versions of games always get the cool artwork. We get stuck with stuff like the original Mega Man box art, LOL.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Did you use the "konami code"? Either way. Impressive.


When we first got the game I used the code, just to be able to finish it. After that just kept playing it until I eventually could 1 CC it. The key (besides memorization and good reflexes) was keeping the spread shot and not accidentally picking up any of the other weapon power-ups, there were a couple of parts were it's really hard to stay alive without the spread shot (one part I remember is on the snow level).


----------



## neurotix

Congrats on finishing it Aaron, I hope you like PSII!

(If it wasn't clear to everyone, I traded Aaron Alisia Dragoon and Phantasy Star II for a Ducky OCN edition mechanical keyboard...)

And apparently the JP Mega Drive version of the game is crazy expensive, I saw a complete copy for $185 and some guy was selling just the box + insert for $200. =/

Yes, you can play Mega Drive games on a Genesis either with an adapter or with a Game Genie, I bought a Genesis Game Genie for this purpose because a Japanese friend said he'd send me Bare Knuckle 3 but never did. I ended up getting a translated repro cart of Bare Knuckle 3 for $35 anyway. There isn't much else I'd want to play that's an import besides Eliminate Down and Gleylancer (too expensive!), and maybe Musha if the JP version isn't as expensive. I believe you need a specific region bypass code for the Game Genie and the game will work, if not then the Game Genie's software just allows you to bypass the region lock and it's plug and play. Considering I never ended up getting any JP Mega Drive games I have no way to be certain.

I think if I play Alisia again I'll just do it on my modded Xbox for now. If I ever want to play Eliminate Down, Musha, Gleylancer or any of the other expensive shooters I do it that way.

Anyway, glad you enjoyed it so much. Let me know if you get stuck on PSII or need advice. I can look up what the magic does for example, since it all has weird names, and my complete PSII with the map has a magic chart on the back of the map.


----------



## blooder11181

look at this freebie


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I was so interested in that game as a kid, and then it came out, and everyone said it was awful lol I've actually never played it, but I would buy it if it was priced reasonably just because I am a huge Sonic fan. Quite a few of the older Sega games got PC releases, weirdly enough.

So what is everyone playing these days? I'm working on Phantasy Star 2 at the moment, though I am still near the beginning of the game. Having fun with it so far though...certain annoyances with it, but the battle system is quite addicting, and I notice several hours flying by without really noticing. Spent quite a bit of time just grinding for levels and weapons and such, but I actually enjoy a bit of grinding in my JRPG. It is actually really bothersome when some games prevent grinding from being beneficial. My biggest gripe so far with the game is the lack of reward for exploring...there really doesn't seem to be anything to find on any of the maps so far. The dungeons do have chests in them, but other than that...


----------



## SwishaMane

A friend of mine is working on Zelda: Twilight Princess, I've been watching him play from the start. 50hours in, lol.

I'm about the start the DLC for The Last of Us on PS4, Left Behind...

Next game on the agenda is FF15 if i can procure a cheap copy, and / or RE7.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I was so interested in that game as a kid, and then it came out, and everyone said it was awful lol I've actually never played it, but I would buy it if it was priced reasonably just because I am a huge Sonic fan. Quite a few of the older Sega games got PC releases, weirdly enough.
> 
> So what is everyone playing these days? I'm working on Phantasy Star 2 at the moment, though I am still near the beginning of the game. Having fun with it so far though...certain annoyances with it, but the battle system is quite addicting, and I notice several hours flying by without really noticing. Spent quite a bit of time just grinding for levels and weapons and such, but I actually enjoy a bit of grinding in my JRPG. It is actually really bothersome when some games prevent grinding from being beneficial. My biggest gripe so far with the game is the lack of reward for exploring...there really doesn't seem to be anything to find on any of the maps so far. The dungeons do have chests in them, but other than that...


Sonic R is terrible but that's just my opinion. A lot of other people feel the same way. Cool that it was free for him though.














Glad you're enjoying PSII and no there really isn't much to explore on the world maps. Later on when you get the hydrofoil/jetski there is an optional town I believe. Once you get to Dezo though, there's not much to explore and overall, the game is really linear and has you going mostly from Point A to Point B.

Btw the halfway point is after you finish the Climatrol dungeon (you'll definitely know why assuming you haven't spoiled it for yourself/read ahead). At this point all the enemies you fight change. I won't say to what though. Keep at it.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I am pretty sure Sonic R is just plain bad, I'd only get it cause I'd buy just about anything Sonic related, garbage or not. Like Sonic 06...I'll buy that too lol


----------



## Wolfsbora

My Nintendo handheld collection:


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Super sweet collection you've got there Wolfsbora! My interest in handhelds is kind of limited, at least until I have all the actual consoles I want, but I've definitely been wanting GB Micro and Advance SP. I want the disc for my GBA Gamecube adapter more than any of that though! I don't actually play any mobile games, well, maybe on a super rare occasion, but still interested in a lot of the handheld game library...lots of JRPG I am sure I have missed, mostly.


----------



## neurotix

Aaron is your PSP softmodded?

With a modded PSP you can essentially turn it into a portable that will play pretty much every portable that came before it, even Game Boy Advance.

It sort of makes my handheld collection redundant. Especially when the PSP has such a nice, bright, clear screen compared to say, my real Game Gear screen.

There's an emulator for PSP called [e]mulator and it will do Game Gear and Game Boy, Wonderswan, as well as NES and Turbografx-16, all in the same emulator.

There is also Masterboy which does Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Gear and Master System in one emulator. This one has a really nice interface.

I have a GBA SP and it's nice because it will play Game Boy games too and they're frontlit (or backlit depending on model). Mine is silver but it was really, really scratched up, some kid was really rough on it. I bought a decal from decalgirl that's a classic NES theme and put that on and it's much nicer. I can't complain about the scratches though, it was only like $20 on Ebay.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Aaron is your PSP softmodded?
> 
> With a modded PSP you can essentially turn it into a portable that will play pretty much every portable that came before it, even Game Boy Advance.
> 
> It sort of makes my handheld collection redundant. Especially when the PSP has such a nice, bright, clear screen compared to say, my real Game Gear screen.
> 
> There's an emulator for PSP called [e]mulator and it will do Game Gear and Game Boy, Wonderswan, as well as NES and Turbografx-16, all in the same emulator.
> 
> There is also Masterboy which does Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Gear and Master System in one emulator. This one has a really nice interface.
> 
> I have a GBA SP and it's nice because it will play Game Boy games too and they're frontlit (or backlit depending on model). Mine is silver but it was really, really scratched up, some kid was really rough on it. I bought a decal from decalgirl that's a classic NES theme and put that on and it's much nicer. I can't complain about the scratches though, it was only like $20 on Ebay.


My PSP isn't modded actually...though I could mod it. I used to have a modded PSP way back when with all sorts of stuff on it...even had an app that let me use my Palm branded folding IR keyboard for DOS and or whatever. I used to be kind of into the PSP scene...I built some weird custom thing with no d-pad or controls on it, but had a mini gamepad I made that hooked up to it using an old Gamecube pad a donor. I never did end up really finishing it though because I messed up one of the ribbon cables when trying to solder to it for something...maybe hacking a TV out onto the older phat model PSP...it's all so long ago. I do remember the main thing I used it for back then, even with all the emulators and stuff, was PSX emulation...just because the control layout is pretty similar and it worked fairly well.

Anyway...I may not use handhelds often, but I still would / do like to collect them lol I don't know...I feel better about emulating things I actually own as well. And really, I just think the Game Boy Micro and Advance SP are cool hardware...even if I never played either, they would be nice to have







Like I said, the only reason emulation is really starting to interest me again is things like translations...sometimes just messing around with graphics and such is fun too. I have nothing against emulation or anything, I have just messed with it since the days when my Pentium MMX couldn't even run Snes9x at full speed and much rather play the real deal. A lot of my interest in retro gaming comes from the actual nostalgia of seeing / reading about the hardware and games, and I want to play them the way I missed out on back then, if that makes sense?


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> snip
> 
> Anyway...I may not use handhelds often, but I still would / do like to collect them lol I don't know...I feel better about emulating things I actually own as well. And really, I just think the Game Boy Micro and Advance SP are cool hardware...even if I never played either, they would be nice to have
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Like I said, the only reason emulation is really starting to interest me again is things like translations...sometimes just messing around with graphics and such is fun too. I have nothing against emulation or anything, I have just messed with it since the days when my Pentium MMX couldn't even run Snes9x at full speed and much rather play the real deal. A lot of my interest in retro gaming comes from the actual nostalgia of seeing / reading about the hardware and games, and I want to play them the way I missed out on back then, if that makes sense?


The GBA SP is pretty cool although on mine the buttons like to stick at first. I've gone around the edges of the A and B buttons with a toothpick, even a toothpick dipped in alcohol but the buttons stick at first until I've played it for a bit.

If you get one be on the lookout for broken/dead shoulder buttons. The shoulder buttons tend to break, work unreliably as well as stick. You can fix sticky ones easily by getting a liberal amount of alcohol on a q-tip (like everything retro related lol) and REALLY get around the shoulder buttons, get them wet so the alcohol goes down inside the buttons, and then press the button a lot for a minute or two. This is how I fixed the sticky L button on mine.

I remember the whole emulation scene back then yeah, Zophar's Domain and Eidolon's Inn were cool sites. Nesticle and Genecyst in DOS, ZSNES, NeoRageX and others. I remember all the major milestones like getting SuperFX1 and 2 working in ZSNES, Street Fighter Alpha 2 without graphics packs (Capcom SDD-1 emulation) and so on. CPS2 emulation via decryption tables for the rom encryption.

Nostalgia is a big one for me especially with my Sega systems. I had NES and SNES as a kid and wouldn't change that for anything, especially for FFIII and Chrono Trigger on SNES, I'd rather play those than anything on Genesis save PSIV. However, friends always had the Genesis, an older friend had the Saturn when it was new, and so forth. Being able to have my own, as well as stuff like Sega CD that we outright could never afford as a kid, is just fantastic.

The translations, once you finish PSII you should play through all of the fan translated Super Famicom RPG's, start with Seiken Densetsu 3 (aka Secret of Mana 2) if you liked Secret of Mana. Probably the best game of the bunch. But others I played were: _Romancing SaGa 3, Front Mission, Bahamut Lagoon, Treasure Hunter G, Live a Live, Final Fantasy IV Hardtype J2E Anniversary version (my favorite game ever, best version of it) Final Fantasy 5, Tales of Phantasia, Radical Dreamers (sequel to Chrono Trigger), Treasure of the Rudras._ All by Squaresoft. Enough to keep you busy for a few months or longer I'd guess. All of them are completely in English too, the patches for them were finished a long time ago.

EDIT: Also, sorry, Wolfsbora that's a really nice collection of handhelds. Might I suggest an old brick Game Boy, or a Game Boy Pocket, Play It Loud, or GBC? You need one of the original Game Boy line I think.


----------



## neurotix

Aaron you could probably find a lot of stuff to play here at Gideon Zhi's site:

http://agtp.romhack.net/projects.php


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Aaron you could probably find a lot of stuff to play here at Gideon Zhi's site:
> 
> http://agtp.romhack.net/projects.php


Thanks man, bookmarked it for now and might have a look before bed


----------



## neurotix

This music is stuck in my head..


----------



## SwishaMane

Aww man, this PS1 collection keeps growing. Over halfway through a second box. About 130 games.









Recent pick ups:

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

Intelligent Qube


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Love me some Megaman tunes! One of the reasons I got hooked on the MegaMan X series...well, that and my best friend / neighbour growing up had Mega Man X, X2, and X3, but didn't have Link to the Past like I did...so I would trade all the time with him. I was already a huge fan of MegaMan 8 at that point after playing it on Saturn a lot, and the X series was just amazing in every way. Funny thing is though...I have never played Megaman and Bass









And your PSX collection is sweet SwishaMane...I want that Lunar box and whatever is in it


----------



## neurotix

Mega Man music is fantastic.

You are correct, Rockman and Forte was called Megaman and Bass here. I think it was rereleased on the GBA.

The translated snes rom is what I used to play and it's a fun game. Kind of like a scaled back, inferior version of Mega Man 8 on Saturn. (Graphically)

And my, that's an awful lot of PSX games. If I had that many they would probably be relegated to cardboard boxes as well.

I really should get the sphere chairs I never use out of my closet in here, move the box with my backup retro systems somewhere else, and put another shelf in the closet so I'd have more room for games. And they could be displayed somewhat.


----------



## neurotix

When you start hearing this music you know things just got real.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> When you start hearing this music you know things just got real.


I'll keep this in mind lol I haven't been playing much games at all lately, I was at level 13 with Rolf last time I played, but I am just about to do "Roron" dungeon and got a few new party members...I am still using Rudo, Nei, and Amy though, since I haven't leveled the others yet. I was actually about to sit down and play a bit though, at least finish this dungeon.


----------



## neurotix

Rolf, Rudo, Nei and Amy are fine for that point in the game.

After a few more dungeons you might want Rolf, Rudo, Anna and Amy. This was my final party and the one I used for the last half of the game. Alternatively you can switch Kain for Anna, since he has spells that can disable or outright kill mechanoids.

(Were my savegames still there? Did you keep them or look at them at all?)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Rolf, Rudo, Nei and Amy are fine for that point in the game.
> 
> After a few more dungeons you might want Rolf, Rudo, Anna and Amy. This was my final party and the one I used for the last half of the game. Alternatively you can switch Kain for Anna, since he has spells that can disable or outright kill mechanoids.
> 
> (Were my savegames still there? Did you keep them or look at them at all?)


You save games were definitely there, with a free slot for my game. I didn't look at them yet though, figured I would finish it on my own as to not spoil anything. First thing I'll do after I complete the game though is compare differences between party and weapons and whatnot, see if I missed anyone or anything. Is level 30 the highest level you can go, or is it just all that was needed to finish the game? Just curious...I don't want to grind too much lol


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> This music is stuck in my head..


Better than having this stuck in your head... like me for the past 3 days.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> You save games were definitely there, with a free slot for my game. I didn't look at them yet though, figured I would finish it on my own as to not spoil anything. First thing I'll do after I complete the game though is compare differences between party and weapons and whatnot, see if I missed anyone or anything. Is level 30 the highest level you can go, or is it just all that was needed to finish the game? Just curious...I don't want to grind too much lol


I actually finished the game at level 28.

I have no idea what the max level is. I'm guessing 99, but I've never tried.

The suggested level to beat the final bosses is 35. Because at level 35 he gets the Megid technique (most powerful attack magic in the game). However, Megid has a downside in that it uses your other party members health (HP) to work (it halves it). The strategy is to have Shir steal a bunch of Star Dews in Paseo, then go to Dezo and then the final dungeon (this is quite a trek...requires going through 2 dungeons on Dezo to get to Esper Mansion, then the final dungeon.) Star Dews heal your whole party to full. So, you use Megid then use a Star Dew the next turn (or have Amy use Gisar or Nasar if she has it). This way you can nuke the final bosses with Megid, while keeping your HP up. The final bosses hit pretty hard and have moves that hit your whole party, so this is a dangerous strategy, but it makes the fights much shorter. Megid is supremely effective, it is like Nuke/Flare in FF essentially. But it hits everything on the field.

I don't care for this strategy and I was too lazy to level to 35. So I simply attacked with Rudo, Anna and Amy and had Rolf use Nathu (strongest light element attack magic). The battles with the two final bosses dragged on forever, and I had to try more than once on each boss, but eventually I won. (Like 15 minute boss battles or more.) At that point in the game you can save anywhere if you have a special item (Visiphone) as well as return to the Esper Mansion by using a spoiler item, to be healed to full, so you can fight both final bosses with full MP (assuming you save it while going through the final dungeon).


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheN00bBuilder*
> 
> Better than having this stuck in your head... like me for the past 3 days.


I get the Top Gun mission briefing music stuck in my head sometimes, from the NES game.

More awesome than annoying though. Top Gun is a terrible game though but the music is cool.

I'm certainly familiar with the Back to the Future game music if only from AVGN. I'd never want to actually play that game!


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I get the Top Gun mission briefing music stuck in my head sometimes, from the NES game.
> 
> More awesome than annoying though. Top Gun is a terrible game though but the music is cool.
> 
> I'm certainly familiar with the Back to the Future game music if only from AVGN. I'd never want to actually play that game!


Listened to it just a second ago, that mission briefing is A-OK in my opinion, lol. I wish I were only familiar through AVGN, I tried to play it myself on an emulator because I liked BTTF stuff at the time, and man was it terrible! Really was everything AVGN said in his video. Haven't yet played Top Gun though, I'll put that on the list.


----------



## neurotix

Don't play Top Gun either lol, he also did a video on it, it's pretty funny. Save your money and agony and just watch his review instead.

It's truly not a good game. If you want something like that, play Sega Afterburner instead.


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Don't play Top Gun either lol, he also did a video on it, it's pretty funny. Save your money and agony and just watch his review instead.
> 
> It's truly not a good game. If you want something like that, play Sega Afterburner instead.


Oh, gotcha! Lol


----------



## neurotix




----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Good old AVGN...pretty much Mike and Ryan at this point though.

Was browsing Youtube last night, like usual,,,check out this local dude's game collection (he's in same city as me) -





Seems like a super nice guy, so of course another channel I'm subscribed to. I really like this guys setup though, so awesome!


----------



## madpossum

I liked Top Gun on the NES! I was a big aviation nerd back then and Top Gun and F-117 Stealth Fighter for the NES were as close I got to flying sims back in the day. He's absolutely right about the landing sequences, though, very rarely was I able to successfully land on the aircraft carrier. I don't think I have Top Gun anymore but I still have Stealth Fighter, it was a little easier.

Must have been something about Tom Cruise movies on the NES, Days of Thunder was really hard too.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *madpossum*
> 
> I liked Top Gun on the NES! I was a big aviation nerd back then and Top Gun and F-117 Stealth Fighter for the NES were as close I got to flying sims back in the day. He's absolutely right about the landing sequences, though, very rarely was I able to successfully land on the aircraft carrier. I don't think I have Top Gun anymore but I still have Stealth Fighter, it was a little easier.
> 
> Must have been something about Tom Cruise movies on the NES, Days of Thunder was really hard too.


I had Top Gun as a kid and same as him, I could usually never get past the second stage (specifically the in-flight refueling).

Many people pointed out when that video came out... he's doing the landing sequence totally wrong. Even if you know how to do it it's still like a 50/50 chance you'll land though lol. When it says "down, down" for example, you aren't supposed to input d,d really fast like he is. You're supposed to basically hold d until it stops saying "down, down". Basically, you move in the direction it tells you until it stops telling you to, and then you do whatever it tells you next (hopefully this makes sense).

I can't really think of any other flying sims from back then that are notable or good though... the majority are on home computers of the time.

I always tended to prefer the unrealistic, arcade like fliers though. As mentioned, Afterburner. I have Afterburner II for Genesis and it's pretty good. I need Afterburner Complete for 32X but I've held off because I almost never hook that thing up and use it (probably my least played system). I also want Knuckles Chaotix and those are the only two 32X games I don't have that I want.


----------



## neurotix

Game room wide angle shots:


----------



## Mega Man

Yea way too much red for me


----------



## Wolfsbora

Absolutely love your games room, @neurotix! I could lock myself in there for weeks on end!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Tons of goodies hidden everywhere you look! Love the Amano poster, and that the Dreamcast sits proudly beneath the CRT







And I think Big Blue actually adds some nice contrast to your red lighting scheme!


----------



## neurotix

Thanks guys!

The Amano poster came from a expo he did in New York City around the turn of the millennium called Amano's Hero. It's creased and old, I'd love to replace it, but haven't seen anything like it since.


----------



## Bridgypoo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Yea way too much red for me


Hey, don't knock, it serves a double purpose as a dark room if we need to expose photos!
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Tons of goodies hidden everywhere you look! Love the Amano poster, and that the Dreamcast sits proudly beneath the CRT
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And I think Big Blue actually adds some nice contrast to your red lighting scheme!


Just Blue, not Big Blue, although my case is larger than neuro's xD

On the subject of retro games, any one played Beyond Good and Evil? Got it during PSN's flash sale for $1.99. It came out back in 2003.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bridgypoo*
> 
> Hey, don't knock, it serves a double purpose as a dark room if we need to expose photos!
> Just Blue, not Big Blue, although my case is larger than neuro's xD
> 
> On the subject of retro games, any one played Beyond Good and Evil? Got it during PSN's flash sale for $1.99. It came out back in 2003.


I haven't played Beyond Good and Evil, but I've heard lots of good things, and it's always been on my backlog of games to play.


----------



## neurotix




----------



## Bridgypoo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*


Ugh this is such awesome music. Almost as good as the PSII music.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Speaking of great music, Albert Odyssey for the Sega Saturn has some of the best I've heard in quite a while. I'm not sure how good it is in the SNES version. It can't be as good, though.



Here's a great mom joke that comes up in the game:


Btw, the Overclock.net Podcast is going to have a lot more retro gaming discussions. I'm lining up some great guests for the show.


----------



## neurotix

Wolfsbora, Albert Odyssey had a SNES version? It must have been Japan only because I've never heard of it.

Also, that screenshot, I wonder if they took liberties with the translation (Working Designs)... I really doubt something like that was in the original Japanese version.

You should check out the Dragon Force II translation project for Saturn that I helped with. I could probably burn you a copy and send it to you.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Wolfsbora, Albert Odyssey had a SNES version? It must have been Japan only because I've never heard of it.
> 
> Also, that screenshot, I wonder if they took liberties with the translation (Working Designs)... I really doubt something like that was in the original Japanese version.
> 
> You should check out the Dragon Force II translation project for Saturn that I helped with. I could probably burn you a copy and send it to you.


Yeah, it was only released in Japan, unfortunately.

I'd really appreciate it if you could hook me up with Dragon Force II! That would rock, man!


----------



## subassy

As good as SNES audio is I don't think it can hold a candle to red book audio. I'm pretty sure all 90s CD-based consoles used red book (with the possible exception of Dreamcast which I haven't looked up).


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> As good as SNES audio is I don't think it can hold a candle to red book audio. I'm pretty sure all 90s CD-based consoles used red book (with the possible exception of Dreamcast which I haven't looked up).


Saturn and PSX certainly did afaik.

Not sure about the Dreamcast though because of the whole GD-ROM thing.


----------



## subassy

I should probably just look it up. GD-ROM wouldn't necessarily make a difference though. I did happen to read some things about LaserDisc recently and the latter versions of that format used red book audio (for DTS stereo etc). I don't think it's dependant on the medium in other words. The real question is what would DC use instead of redbook? Or more specifically did that CPU have enough horsepower to decode an audio format on the fly (like wave or PCM). I don't think mp2/mp3 had made it to such devices quite yet. So it was either some proprietary version of an equivalent redbook-like technology...or redbook. I could take the easy way out and look it up. Why make it easy though?


----------



## Mega Man

Short story yes,,, long story, yes.

It has its own processor for sound iirc.

The dreamcast was way way way over designed and never got used 100%imo....

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bridgypoo*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Yea way too much red for me
> 
> 
> 
> Hey, don't knock, it serves a double purpose as a dark room if we need to expose photos!
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Tons of goodies hidden everywhere you look! Love the Amano poster, and that the Dreamcast sits proudly beneath the CRT
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And I think Big Blue actually adds some nice contrast to your red lighting scheme!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Just Blue, not Big Blue, although my case is larger than neuro's xD
> 
> On the subject of retro games, any one played Beyond Good and Evil? Got it during PSN's flash sale for $1.99. It came out back in 2003.
Click to expand...

No hate, just my opinion


----------



## neurotix

https://www.amazon.com/dreamcast-dreammovie-vcd-mp3-player-sega/dp/b000b5h2c8?tag=indifash06-20

That thing was apparently for sale. There's other Chinese mp3 players for Dreamcast and there might even be homebrew ones if I recall!

Certainly a 200mhz SH-4 could decode an MP3 and other audio formats on the fly...right? I mean my Pentium 75mhz played mp3s.. DC also has a very powerful dedicated audio chip.

I checked and apparently some games DO use Redbook and the majority use streaming audio w/ samples (these must be synthesized in real time on the Dreamcast audio chip, similar to how 16-bit consoles do sound, if I'm getting this right. Sorry, I know little about the different sound formats consoles use.)

Mega Man, I've heard that the DC was more powerful than the PS2 and given enough time, DC games would have looked at least as good as late-era PS2 games, if not better. Too bad the system died early.


----------



## neurotix

Some of the most awesome NES music ever created:






From a Japanese only game called Bio Senshi Dan (Bio Warrior Dan)


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/dreamcast-dreammovie-vcd-mp3-player-sega/dp/b000b5h2c8?tag=indifash06-20
> 
> That thing was apparently for sale. There's other Chinese mp3 players for Dreamcast and there might even be homebrew ones if I recall!
> 
> Certainly a 200mhz SH-4 could decode an MP3 and other audio formats on the fly...right? I mean my Pentium 75mhz played mp3s.. DC also has a very powerful dedicated audio chip.
> 
> I checked and apparently some games DO use Redbook and the majority use streaming audio w/ samples (these must be synthesized in real time on the Dreamcast audio chip, similar to how 16-bit consoles do sound, if I'm getting this right. Sorry, I know little about the different sound formats consoles use.)
> 
> Mega Man, I've heard that the DC was more powerful than the PS2 and given enough time, DC games would have looked at least as good as late-era PS2 games, if not better. Too bad the system died early.


Google dreamcast vcd player (Saturn had it first) ( vcd was a video compact disc, basically used the same as laser discs ( over simplification ) and was the precursor to dvd's, but it never hit here in us, it did in Asia esp, as a matter of fact I just bough one a few years ago from my trip to the ming tombs )
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Some of the most awesome NES music ever created:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> From a Japanese only game called Bio Senshi Dan (Bio Warrior Dan)


FINAL FANTASY!


----------



## subassy

A year or two ago I found (but didn't buy) a device that was a "VCD player" at a thrift shop. Looked a lot like a DVD player but no DVD logos, just the "Video CD" one. Must have made the trip from Asia. Almost wished I had bought just to have something unique (albeit collecting dust). I remember an article from the 90s that said VCD was format used mainly in Asia and largely for pornography. No idea if either of those statements are true. That's not really relevant, just what I remember. I do remember around 2002 using this cheap-ass video editing software to put show episodes on to CD in VCD format. Although it was a pretty terrible experience to try an watch.

The reason I say it was likely redbook is because there was (still is?) a format called _Compact Disc digital data_ (stick any PS1 game..or a great number of PC/SegaCD/etc games for that matter, into normal CD player and there's the soundtrack). Some of PS1 games will have that little bug on the back. I think it was just super easy/cheap to use that for high quality sound at the time. The part of the standard optical drive that played normal audio CDs would play the audio clips. A very standardized and cheap way of doing high quality sound (versus say the way the SNES did it). I should probably stop talking about this but I don't think any dreamcast games used MP2/MP3 for their audio. Even if the chip (MIPS I think?) could decode it effectively I don't think the licensing was worked out yet. But like I said I'm kind of talking out of my ass here so I'll shut up.

Okay I couldn't stand it. Looks like some games were streaming audio and some were this proprietary audio format called ADX. Seemed to vary from game to game.


----------



## cones

Isn't that what usually moves technology along, or atleast what the internet is for


----------



## Mega Man

i really want to add, i dont think anyone realizes how monumental the dreamcast was, 1 and most important the original PS2 was going to cost 700, when the dream cast debuted at [iirc] 299 they had to lower the cost [ since the psi they have been attempting to overcharge for hardware, which they successfully did with the ps3

second it was the first windows based console that i know of, windows ce iirc.

third, and totally my opinion it was what caused microsoft to get into gaming, they developed a type of windows for embedded systems, then it died, so they updated it as needed and made the xbox'

fourth again my opinion i think microsoft paid sega for parts of their console. think about it, how similar is the xbox and the dreamcast, just look at both the types of peripherals for both systems and the controllers who else had memory cards that plugged into the controller, [ granted N64 started it ] but also look at the dual slots,
overall shape .... [ takes off tin foil hat ]


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> A year or two ago I found (but didn't buy) a device that was a "VCD player" at a thrift shop. Looked a lot like a DVD player but no DVD logos, just the "Video CD" one. Must have made the trip from Asia. Almost wished I had bought just to have something unique (albeit collecting dust). I remember an article from the 90s that said VCD was format used mainly in Asia and largely for pornography. No idea if either of those statements are true. That's not really relevant, just what I remember. I do remember around 2002 using this cheap-ass video editing software to put show episodes on to CD in VCD format. Although it was a pretty terrible experience to try an watch.
> 
> Okay I couldn't stand it. Looks like some games were streaming audio and some were this proprietary audio format called ADX. Seemed to vary from game to game.


This is what I was getting at. Some games use streaming audio, some use redbook audio and others use ADX.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> i really want to add, i dont think anyone realizes how monumental the dreamcast was, 1 and most important the original PS2 was going to cost 700, when the dream cast debuted at [iirc] 299 they had to lower the cost [ since the psi they have been attempting to overcharge for hardware, which they successfully did with the ps3
> 
> second it was the first windows based console that i know of, windows ce iirc.
> 
> third, and totally my opinion it was what caused microsoft to get into gaming, they developed a type of windows for embedded systems, then it died, so they updated it as needed and made the xbox'
> 
> fourth again my opinion i think microsoft paid sega for parts of their console. think about it, how similar is the xbox and the dreamcast, just look at both the types of peripherals for both systems and the controllers who else had memory cards that plugged into the controller, [ granted N64 started it ] but also look at the dual slots,
> overall shape .... [ takes off tin foil hat ]


I definitely realize how monumental it was. A few things you forgot:

- First console to do online multiplayer stock, in the States (Saturn had a ethernet accessory but it was Japan only, I won't count stuff like XBAND or Sega Channel because of the extremely small user base of those)
- First console to ship with a modem or communications device in the box (nowadays systems come with Wifi... but DC was the first to include a communications peripheral with the base system)
- First console to use cel-shaded graphics (Jet Set Radio)
- Probably the first console to have second screen capability, however minor, with the VMU (later systems such as Wii U, PS4 and so on have secondary screens in the controller)
- The first console to have an online multiplayer RPG, previously only a PC thing, with Phantasy Star Online
- Very small console and elegant design. The only thing I have that's smaller is my PC Engine.
- First console to have a keyboard in the US? I'm not sure if this is true though. Saturn had a keyboard but it was JP only.
- First console with motion controls, Samba De Amigo maracas as well as the Sega Bass Fishing rod. Limited motion controls with these.
- First console with voice recognition (Seaman)

There are probably other things that were revolutionary but that's all I can think of now.

My Dreamcast has a permanent spot hooked up to my CRT TV now along with my PS2 (also used for PS1 games)..


----------



## Mega Man

The first console to make sega bankrupt


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> The first console to make sega bankrupt


LOL, really unfortunate though.

It'd be very interesting to see how Sega would compete in the hardware market in the modern day.


----------



## cones

Would things like light guns count as motion control?


----------



## subassy

I believe there was a keyboard for SNES, to make the x-band easier to use. I remember wanting one but it was like $70 so I never did.
I think the 32x probably started the downward spiral for sega. To this day there's differing stories on whether sega japan "made" sega US release it. The lack of saturn 3rd party support didn't help any (and that surprise early release thing kind of ruined some retailer relationships).

There are supposed to be stories about sega offering to make the original xbox backwards compatible with DC and MS turning them down.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Dreamcast is the only system I got right on launch. It's always been my favourite...though I never did really care much about the actual hardware. It was "neat" to me back then that you could go online with it, but it's online capability still sucked compared to PC, even back then. I mostly used the modem to download save game hacks and that kind of thing







For me, it was all about the games released for it. That console has a very distinct library that no other console has ever really had....even the earlier games. House of the Dead 2, Powerstone, Sonic Adventure, Skies of Arcadia, Dead or Alive 2, Soul Calibur, Code Veronica, Sega Bass Fishing...too many to list. The library was just flat out solid with very few "garbage games". Also, the peripherals for the system were all typically awesome as well...and the controllers have ALWAYS been my favourite...before that it was the Saturn 3D pad. The d-pad is tough on the thumbs (sharp edges), but if you play enough, your fingers will build up a nice callous to counteract this


----------



## neurotix

To this day, the Dreamcast is excellent for 2D fighting games and shoot em ups.

The other arcade ports like Power Stone series, and exclusives like Cannon Spike also make the system really good.

If you couldn't tell, I really like a lot of the Capcom games for the system, though there's a lot of first party Sega stuff I love too like Virtual On.

Such an excellent console with a great games library.

Probably Sega's best system next to the (stock) Genesis/Mega Drive.


----------



## Wolfsbora

A childhood favorite arrived today!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> A childhood favorite arrived today!


Was never real fond of that game, but I always liked those stupid yellow tabs on the EA carts


----------



## Wolfsbora

I thought I was getting a 13", turned out to be a 20". Usually, that's a good thing, but I was trying to save space. I'll be using this for my TI-99/4A and for game streaming when I get a capture card so it'll sit on my desk. It's the exact same model as my other free TV that is 27", just smaller.


----------



## Bridgypoo

Nice small NeoGeo collection there and the PsOne too. I see you got some books on the retro games- I can suggest one:

https://www.amazon.com/Console-Wars-Nintendo-Defined-Generation/dp/0062276700

Do NOT read it as a typical history book. It's written like a fiction novel, but it's more anecdotal based on what happened with Kalinsky et al. It gives some sense of what may have gone on in the minds of SEGA and Nintendo back in the late 80s/early 90s.

You can skip the forward. It's pointless and I find Seth Rogen trying too hard.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I thought I was getting a 13", turned out to be a 20". Usually, that's a good thing, but I was trying to save space. I'll be using this for my TI-99/4A and for game streaming when I get a capture card so it'll sit on my desk. It's the exact same model as my other free TV that is 27", just smaller.
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!


Wolfsbora: would you like some boxed TI-99 games? It's not like i'm ever going to get one of those. Cartridges more specifically. Unless there's multiple incompatible models(?). Can't bring myself to throw them out. And I don't think they're worth anything. I'll have to wait until tonight if you want a list (it's only 3 or 4).


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bridgypoo*
> 
> Nice small NeoGeo collection there and the PsOne too. I see you got some books on the retro games- I can suggest one:
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Console-Wars-Nintendo-Defined-Generation/dp/0062276700
> 
> Do NOT read it as a typical history book. It's written like a fiction novel, but it's more anecdotal based on what happened with Kalinsky et al. It gives some sense of what may have gone on in the minds of SEGA and Nintendo back in the late 80s/early 90s.
> 
> You can skip the forward. It's pointless and I find Seth Rogen trying too hard.


Thanks, Bridgypoo! I'm quite proud of my small collection.







I actually have Console Wars in my Google Play library. Once I'm done with a book I'm reading, I'll check it out. I'm sure I'll like it. I'm a bit backward when it comes to books, I like to buy the physical copy after I've read the digital version. So, there's a good chance it'll end up in my collection.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Wolfsbora: would you like some boxed TI-99 games? It's not like i'm ever going to get one of those. Cartridges more specifically. Unless there's multiple incompatible models(?). Can't bring myself to throw them out. And I don't think they're worth anything. I'll have to wait until tonight if you want a list (it's only 3 or 4).


PM'd, good sir!


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

This arrived yesterday... certainly the oddest thing I have in my collection as of now. A Samsung Super Aladdin Boy model 2 controller. Connector is junk and the cable is super short, but the D-pad is... interesting. Its shiny from the factory as well as a lot looser than the American counterpart. Also digging the look of it hooked to my X'Eye. Looks super luxurious...


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheN00bBuilder*
> 
> This arrived yesterday... certainly the oddest thing I have in my collection as of now. A Samsung Super Aladdin Boy model 2 controller. Connector is junk and the cable is super short, but the D-pad is... interesting. Its shiny from the factory as well as a lot looser than the American counterpart. Also digging the look of it hooked to my X'Eye. Looks super luxurious...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!


SO jealous of your X'Eye! I've been keeping my eyes out for one.









My newest acquisition:



I told the guy that I love retro gaming and computers and he threw this in:


I needed a TRS-80 in my life!


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> SO jealous of your X'Eye! I've been keeping my eyes out for one.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My newest acquisition:
> 
> 
> 
> I told the guy that I love retro gaming and computers and he threw this in:
> 
> 
> I needed a TRS-80 in my life!


Thanks, though you have some very nice stuff too! Digging the pinball machine for sure, does it work? And is that TRS-80 a mech keyboard?


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TheN00bBuilder*
> 
> Thanks, though you have some very nice stuff too! Digging the pinball machine for sure, does it work? And is that TRS-80 a mech keyboard?


Thank you! I really appreciate that. Unfortunately, the TRS-80 is not a mech. It has some really mushy keys. Not like the MX Blues I'm typing on right now.


----------



## TheN00bBuilder

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Thank you! I really appreciate that. Unfortunately, the TRS-80 is not a mech. It has some really mushy keys. Not like the MX Blues I'm typing on right now.


Aw, darn. Lol, still a really cool piece of tech, and in good condition as well! I know I would hate to have to Retrobright that computer.


----------



## Wolfsbora

What do you guys think is a reasonable price to pay for a Virtual Boy and 5 games?


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I have no idea...I wouldn't buy one though unless it was very reasonably priced, because all it would do is never get used and just sit on display. I think if I had money to spend on it, I'd still probably pass if it was much more than $100.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I have no idea...I wouldn't buy one though unless it was very reasonably priced, because all it would do is never get used and just sit on display. I think if I had money to spend on it, I'd still probably pass if it was much more than $100.


Even with the 5 games?


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Even with the 5 games?


Well, if it were me, but I am a cheapskate







Generally if I am looking to come up with a value for something, I do 75% of the lowest Ebay "Buy it Now+shipping" as a rough ballpark.


----------



## neurotix

Wolfsbora, it kind of helps if instead of asking "what's a good price" you tell us what they want for it (e.g. the price) and then we can tell you if it's good or not.

Considering I see complete, working Virtual Boys with the original stand and the controller and battery pack going for $150-$200+ on Ebay, sometimes including games, and this price has been consistent for some time now, I'd say if you could get that bundle for anything UNDER $150, that would be a good deal.

That's just my take on it though.


----------



## neurotix

Sorry if that came off harsh or anything, but if you guys want my opinion on a deal, I really have to know the price you're looking at. It really helps.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Sorry if that came off harsh or anything, but if you guys want my opinion on a deal, I really have to know the price you're looking at. It really helps.


No worries. The guy wanted me to make an offer so no price was established.


----------



## neurotix

I see.

Did you make an offer? If so, what did you offer and did he accept?

I'd have offered $150 or maybe $175 personally ($125 for console, $50 for games?)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Not really anything, but I was bored so I walked over to Microplay even though I didn't have much money to spend, but scored Chronicles of Riddick Assault on Dark Athena PS3(complete, comes with Escape from Butcher Bay remaster too) for $5 Canadian, since I liked the first one. Checked it on Ebay when I got home and it's going for at least triple that, usually around $20...it's weird, but the local game stores are starting to have lower prices than classifieds and that kind of thing. Not sure how they price their inventory, but I am certainly not going to complain. Could strictly just be the scene getting really big around here lately...the game stores are likely just trying to stay relevant. Anyway...did you end up making an offer on the Virtual Boy *Wolfsbora*?


----------



## subassy

I doubt this is true of all walmarts or even any walmarts outside of my local one but...
there was big bin of $5 games when I went in today. All different platforms (360/ps3/xbone/pspoor...actually one or two 3ds/wii/vita as well). I ended up with 5 PS3 games and a wii game for $1. Since the wii game is a gag gift I figured I could rationalize it.
Actually the lady at the check in electronics - I got the impression she was a manager - mentioned she had a bunch more in the back for when the bin emptied out. She mentioned it would be replenished in a week or so.

Here I thought I had successfully cut back on my monthly game expenditures. I am lower than I was but


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I doubt this is true of all walmarts or even any walmarts outside of my local one but...
> there was big bin of $5 games when I went in today. All different platforms (360/ps3/xbone/pspoor...actually one or two 3ds/wii/vita as well). I ended up with 5 PS3 games and a wii game for $1. Since the wii game is a gag gift I figured I could rationalize it.
> Actually the lady at the check in electronics - I got the impression she was a manager - mentioned she had a bunch more in the back for when the bin emptied out. She mentioned it would be replenished in a week or so.
> 
> Here I thought I had successfully cut back on my monthly game expenditures. I am lower than I was but


What PS3 games?

I haven't really been buying retro games lately. I've been trying to cut back on spending. I have a tentative list of retro games I want (mostly NES titles- Gradius is one of them) but, the wife doesn't want me to spend, we need to do some house repairs. I also want a real copy of a game I like for PC Engine called "W-Ring The Double Rings" (******ed name, fun game) but just the Hucard is like $70.









The last game I bought was World of Final Fantasy for Vita, and I hate it. I might actually sell it. I think I'd be a lot better off playing Bravely Default and Bravely Second on my 3DS. World of Final Fantasy is not what I thought it would be from the videos I watched etc. before buying it.


----------



## madpossum

What didn't you like about World of FF? I haven't played it yet and I'm not sure if I want to get it or not. I've been looking for some good RPG's for the Vita, which ones would you recommend the most?


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> What PS3 games?
> 
> I haven't really been buying retro games lately. I've been trying to cut back on spending. I have a tentative list of retro games I want (mostly NES titles- Gradius is one of them) but, the wife doesn't want me to spend, we need to do some house repairs. I also want a real copy of a game I like for PC Engine called "W-Ring The Double Rings" (******ed name, fun game) but just the Hucard is like $70.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The last game I bought was World of Final Fantasy for Vita, and I hate it. I might actually sell it. I think I'd be a lot better off playing Bravely Default and Bravely Second on my 3DS. World of Final Fantasy is not what I thought it would be from the videos I watched etc. before buying it.


Since I have the record written down already, here ya go. I realize some of these actually are worth $5. And some of them I already own for Windows, negating the necessity of buying them. But I bought them again.

Walmart
Ultimate Stealth Triple Pack: Thief, Hitman: Absolution and Deus Ex: HR
$5
PS3

Walmart
GTA IV
$5
PS3

Walmart
Wolfenstein: The New Order
$5
PS3

Walmart
Fallout 3: GotY ed.
$5
PS3

Walmart
Tales of Symponia Chronicles: ToS 1 and 2
$5
PS3


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *madpossum*
> 
> What didn't you like about World of FF? I haven't played it yet and I'm not sure if I want to get it or not. I've been looking for some good RPG's for the Vita, which ones would you recommend the most?


The story + characters are bad and generic. The battle system is slow. The whole idea of stacking monsters on top of your characters is cute but gameplay wise it's just stupid. The music isn't even that great, it's all remixes of old FF music, but where's the classic Uematsu Victory Fare when you win a battle? In a tribute game to classic FF, it doesn't even have the classic FF Victory music after battle?

I dunno. I only played up to the first town (and in the 2 hours I played I fought maybe 3 battles, explored next to nothing, 95% of it was watching cutscenes). Maybe it gets better. I might pick it back up eventually but my younger brother let me borrow his Bravely Default a long time ago (years ago now) for 3DS and I've never played it. I feel like playing that would be a better experience and more like the classic FF I loved, than World of FF would. (On that note I've cleared every classic FF from 1-9, some of my favorite games ever, and hated 10 and everything after it...)

Vita RPGs, I can name some, but mind you I haven't played them all even though I have them.

Muramasa Rebirth/Odin Sphere Leifthrasir/Dragon's Crown (all Vanillaware games, all pretty much excellent though I like Muramasa the best)
Grand Kingdom (sequel to Grand Knights History for PSP)
Tales of Hearts R
Ys: Memories of Celceta (I think there's more than just this. More Ys games. I think any of them would probably be competent at least and good at best.)
Lost Dimension (also on PS3)
Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment and Lost Song (if you like the anime)
Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 1 & 2 (don't have them yet but they look really good, and the PSP games in this series are excellent)

I would recommend Muramasa the most if you haven't played it. Especially since you like fighting games. If you haven't played it, you're in for a real treat. Go watch a video or something and you'll probably understand why I recommend it.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Since I have the record written down already, here ya go. I realize some of these actually are worth $5. And some of them I already own for Windows, negating the necessity of buying them. But I bought them again.
> snip
> 
> Walmart
> Tales of Symponia Chronicles: ToS 1 and 2
> $5
> PS3


Wolf New Order, Fallout 3 and TOS are all games I have.

TOS for $5 is a really good deal. The second game in that bundle isn't that good but the port of the original Tales of Symphonia is. If you've never played the Gamecube version, and hence never played the game, then you'll probably really like it. Assuming you like retro-style RPGs. Symphonia was probably the last truly good Tales Of game. Though some people would argue and say Abyss was, and Vesperia on 360 was still really good. Symphonia was the last one that actually played like the original 2D games.


----------



## neurotix

I just wanted to also mention my other issue with World of Final Fantasy:

It won't play on my Playstation TV. Even though as far as I know, it doesn't use the touch screen, touch pads, gyroscope or any of the other Vita controls that the PSTV doesn't have.

There's some people who even bought the game and only have a PSTV and no Vita, they can't even play it.

I don't own a PS4 and I'm trying to avoid buying one. So far, this has worked out VERY well because a good amount of Japanese RPGs and games come out for both PS4 and Vita, and work on my PSTV. (I don't mind playing these at 720p.) Games like Senran Kagura series, Valkyrie Drive, Vanillaware games, and so on. They all work on my PS TV.

Personally I think it's Square and Sony colluding to make people buy PS4's if they want to play World of FF on the big TV.

My Vita and PS TV used to have TN-V and the whitelist hack, however, the firmware was forcing me to update to be able to play Grand Kingdom, it wouldn't start the game unless I updated, so now both my systems aren't modded anymore. (I mostly used the PSP functionality when these were modded. I have a fat PSP and a PSP Go so I figured I didn't really need the Vita modded.)

The sucky thing is that people who stayed on firmware 3.60 and use the whitelist hack are able to play World of FF on the PS TV just fine. Unfortunately my systems are on 3.63 now and there's no way to downgrade and Henkaku doesn't work on anything higher than 3.60.

So that's another part of my problem with the game. I'd love to be able to play it on my big screen TV. But I can't.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson




----------



## neurotix

That's cool but I'm totally not watching the whole thing.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> That's cool but I'm totally not watching the whole thing.


I didn't watch the whole thing either, just thought it was interesting they are playing games off of SD card on a Saturn.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I didn't watch the whole thing either, just thought it was interesting they are playing games off of SD card on a Saturn.


Yep it's pretty cool, I think this is only possible recently since the Saturn was cracked.

It's probably an expensive solution though compared to just burning CD-Rs. At least, GDEmu for Dreamcast (which is basically the same thing) is expensive and always out of stock.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Thanks for the care package, @neurotix & @Bridgypoo! I can't wait to play them.

Btw, everyone, the season 2 premiere of Overclock.net Podcast: LIVE is Monday at 6:00pm EST. There will be plenty of gaming talk to be had, along with some fun banter, and me acting like an idiot. Come and join us!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

So what did Bridgypoo and Neurotix send you there, Wolfbora?

I haven't had much time to be active on here much lately (started new job and just been busy), but new job means more money for retro game stuff...I've only just finished my first week, but things are working out well and I just bought myself a few "presents", nothing that great, but I got Final Fantasy VIII PSX complete (greatest hits), Final Fantasy IX PSX complete (black label), Soul Calibur (no manual / cover art) Dreamcast, and Resident Evil complete Gamecube (remake, black label). Came to just under $60 (Canadian) from one of my favourite local game stores, Microplay. Also noticed on my way out they have dropped prices on a TON of stuff in there...DS Lite are only $30 (I already have one though), GBA are $30, Dreamcast controller for $15...I'll have to take another trip over there and see what else they've dropped prices on.

EDIT - might finally have time to finish Phantasy Star 2 today, played a bit before bed last night, near the end now.


----------



## Wolfsbora

They sent me a fan translated version of Dragon Force and a Dreamcast puzzle game. I'm excited to give them a go!


----------



## neurotix

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, this has been a tough week for me.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> They sent me a fan translated version of Dragon Force and a Dreamcast puzzle game. I'm excited to give them a go!


Wind&Water for Dreamcast was your surprise. I love this game, it might be my favorite DC puzzle game next to Super Puzzle Fighter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_and_Water:_Puzzle_Battles

As you can see it was independently developed, e.g. it's one of the games that came out for the DC after it was dead. (It came out in 2008).

I actually have a legit copy of it, it has an amazing full color manual, and it was cheap ($20). This is from like the 3rd reprint of the game I think. They might still have some available if you know where to look. https://www.dragonbox.de/en/464-wind-and-water-puzzle-battles-dreamcast-newly-developed-games-4260416650367.html


----------



## neurotix




----------



## Aaron_Henderson

That's pretty sweet (nice song choice too!)...for some reason I think it would be awesome to get 4 or more of those and use them as surround sound satellite speakers lol How do they sound in person?


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> That's pretty sweet (nice song choice too!)...for some reason I think it would be awesome to get 4 or more of those and use them as surround sound satellite speakers lol How do they sound in person?


I think they are probably 10w speakers, 5w each if I had to guess. I'm not really an audiophile, though I do have a stereo in my living room (it's old).

As far as how they sound, they actually sound great and they get pretty loud. The treble, especially, sounds really nice. You can really hear the full range of the Genesis sound chip (of course mine is a early model 1 w/ a discrete YM2612.) The bass is a little flat and doesn't have much oomph but that's to be expected from low powered speakers. Even still, Yuzo's songs sound great (Revenge of Shinobi/Streets of Rage). The speakers actually have a bass boost, a treble boost and independent volume controls on each speaker.

If I want to make it somewhat louder but reduce the quality of the sound I can always hook the lead from the back of the Genesis (white audio) to the TV and then get mono audio from the TV as well. The speakers need to be hooked to the front of the Genesis (headphone jack) to get stereo audio. The Sega CD actually has a headphone jack in the back, meant to be used with a mixing cable to get stereo audio from the Genesis to the Sega CD, and then there is stereo RCA jacks on the back of the Sega CD which are supposed to go to the TV. I could potentially try to get the audio from the back of the Sega CD via the headphone jack into the stereo speakers. I have no idea if this would work though, I haven't tried.

If you have any requests let me know and I can make another video with whatever music you want (assuming I have the game and assuming it has a sound test.)


----------



## Mega Man

Have to say it, speakers next to a tv is a bad idea


----------



## madpossum

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, this has been a tough week for me.
> Wind&Water for Dreamcast was your surprise. I love this game, it might be my favorite DC puzzle game next to Super Puzzle Fighter.


I always liked Chu Chu Rocket.

Was that Dragon Force or Dragon Force 2? Dragon Force came out in the US but not the sequel, I know there is a fantran floating around for the sequel.

I picked up some Vita games today after not using the system in a long time, I just find handhelds are more convenient lately with a busy life and more wife friendly then sitting in the basement with my PC and consoles. I did get Persona 4 Golden, I also got Killzone and the Metal Gear HD collection, even though I already own the original MGS2 and 3 and also have the MGS HD collection on Xbox360. Got it mainly because (I'm ashamed to say) I've never gotten around to actually playing MGS 3 (skipped it and went right to 4) and I want to finish it before finally getting MGS 5. Figured it would be easiest to get around to it on the Vita.

Also got Ninja Gaiden Sigma for PS3, again even though I have the original for the Xbox already, but it's packed up and me and my sons all like Ninja Gaiden and haven't played the PS3 version yet.

I guess one of the curses of video game collecting is you usually end up with multiple versions of the same games, for convenience sake if nothing else, LOL.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I also love Chu Chu Rocket...didn't that come on the browser disk or something? Can't recall at this point, haven't played that in ages...I remember even my Mom got into Chu Chu Rocket though


----------



## madpossum

You're thinking of Sega Swirl, it came with the browser and with some of the demo disks. It was fun little game as well.

The one game my mom use to play was Bubble Bobble on the NES, we actually used to play that together when I was a kid.


----------



## neurotix

Chu Chu Rocket is amazing. I love the commercial. And I love the game.

DF2 is what I sent him, the fan translated version, and as I've stated in this thread (many times at this point but you missed it), I was a beta tester for the patch.

madpossum please get Muramasa Rebirth for your Vita. Tbh I really don't know how anyone would not like it, it's amazing in every regard.


----------



## neurotix

I made another video for you guys.

I ordered a Power Base Mini FM from stoneagegamer.com. This device lets you play Sega Master System games on a Sega Genesis, with the addition of FM sound support for games that have it.






Overall I'm pretty satisfied with it and it works with a lot of games I have. Additionally I can hear the sound from my Genesis stereo speakers, whereas if I modded my Master System to add FM sound I would not be able to use my speakers because the SMS has no headphone jack.

The only bad part, I'm really disappointed about, is that Phantasy Star and Ys don't work with it (they play but don't have any FM sound). Considering those are my two favorite games for Master System, it really sucks. It says on their website that Phantasy Star will only have FM sound with the Japanese version, fair enough, I missed that. However, it says it supports Ys but when I play it it only has PSG music. I may email and ask them why and if there's anything I can do to get it working.

Which soundtrack do you prefer in _Spellcaster_: PSG or FM?


----------



## madpossum

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Chu Chu Rocket is amazing. I love the commercial. And I love the game.
> 
> DF2 is what I sent him, the fan translated version, and as I've stated in this thread (many times at this point but you missed it), I was a beta tester for the patch.
> 
> madpossum please get Muramasa Rebirth for your Vita. Tbh I really don't know how anyone would not like it, it's amazing in every regard.


I had Muramasa for awhile when I had PS Gold (or Plus, or whatever their paid service is), I made it about half way through before the subscription ran out and I never renewed. I'm planning on getting a PS4 soon so I may get Plus again, not sure if I could re-download it if I did but I may just buy it anyway because you're right, it is good. I think it was around $20 used at Gamestop.

I've been meaning to play DF2 on my Saturn emulator, that's cool that you were involved with that project. Dragon Force and Shining Force 3 were the only reasons I wanted a Saturn.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *madpossum*
> 
> I had Muramasa for awhile when I had PS Gold (or Plus, or whatever their paid service is), I made it about half way through before the subscription ran out and I never renewed. I'm planning on getting a PS4 soon so I may get Plus again, not sure if I could re-download it if I did but I may just buy it anyway because you're right, it is good. I think it was around $20 used at Gamestop.
> 
> I've been meaning to play DF2 on my Saturn emulator, that's cool that you were involved with that project. Dragon Force and Shining Force 3 were the only reasons I wanted a Saturn.


I believe Muramasa Rebirth is Vita exclusive. At least for the time being. If you get it either way, you WILL probably want to pay for the DLC. It adds 4 new playable characters and new chapters/stories for each (these are short from what I've heard). These characters/stories are NOT available on any other version of the game, basically not available on the Wii version. The Wii version just has the base game with Momohime and Kisuke for characters.

Though it isn't on PS4 (yet), I can confirm that Muramasa Rebirth DOES work on the Playstation TV, meaning you can play the game on your big TV that way if you want to. It looks quite excellent even if it's only 720p. PSTVs are really cheap used, mine was only $30 or so and came with a controller and charging cable and box, you can potentially get them for even less if you just get the unit itself.

DF2 will ONLY work on the Saturn emulator SSF and ONLY with special, specific settings or else it will crash with more than 100 soldiers on the field. All the information you need can be found in this readme file and this forum thread. Apparently you need to use a very specific version of SSF as well. I had no trouble setting this all up back in the day, I'm sure you can too, but if you want an easier solution it might be best just to run it on a real Saturn as it has none of these issues. If you do get your real Saturn out to play it, let me know in a pm and I will burn + mail you a disc of the translated game, if you want.

The Shining Force 3 translation project and patching guide can be found here. This one is really interesting since they even went through and re-translated the first scenario of the game. When the game was released here they butchered the translation, and changed the ending significantly to make it seem like one complete, standalone game. This translation patch fixes that and makes the first scenario tie in to the second one. I have all these burned but haven't played them, I got them from torrent sites (the usual ones...) where they were available to make it easier for people to play them without having to go through the patching process. Now that I think of it, I haven't actually tried them out to see if they work or not. But I could, and could also get you those if you pm me. Hopefully the mods realize I'm not talking about overt piracy but translations of games that were never released here, never playable in English and in this case, no way of buying them and doing it "legitly".


----------



## madpossum

On the Vita is where I played it, it was a PS Plus free game one month. I'll have to check out the DLC.

Is the Vita version (or PS3) of Odin Sphere worth getting if I've already played the original?

I ditched SFF for Mednafen Saturn (the Retroarch core), DF2 booted in it just fine, I played the first battle to make sure it worked and it seemed to work fine, but that's all I tested. Hopefully it works in Mednefan because it is a lot better than SFF IMO. I have the translated patched versions of SF3 episode 2 and 3, just never had a chance to play them. Part of my very long backlog, LOL.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *madpossum*
> 
> On the Vita is where I played it, it was a PS Plus free game one month. I'll have to check out the DLC.
> 
> Is the Vita version (or PS3) of Odin Sphere worth getting if I've already played the original?
> 
> I ditched SFF for Mednafen Saturn (the Retroarch core), DF2 booted in it just fine, I played the first battle to make sure it worked and it seemed to work fine, but that's all I tested. Hopefully it works in Mednefan because it is a lot better than SFF IMO. I have the translated patched versions of SF3 episode 2 and 3, just never had a chance to play them. Part of my very long backlog, LOL.


I really can't answer your question about Odin Sphere because I haven't played the original. I'm yet to play Leifthrasir either. But from what I've heard, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir on Vita is more than just a port, it's a complete reworking of the original. Difficulty has been changed. I googled and this thread on gamefaqs came up: http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/178900-odin-sphere-leifthrasir/73913889?jumpto=2 Seems like the remake is really a remake and it might be worth it for you to get.

Mednafen I really don't know about. You really should use SSF even if you don't like it. Apparently, no emulator beside SSF can emulate DF2 properly. There's a bug where you crash with more than 120 soldiers on the playfield in every emulator except SSF. And you have to use a certain version of SSF with specific settings. It's all detailed in the readme I linked. At least, this was the case when I was a beta tester for the game. At the very least I know that Yabause emulator won't work. Maybe Mednafen will handle it but I'd hate for you to get to a point where there's that many soldiers and then you can't continue (this would be a ways into the game). No idea if you could convert your save to work on SSF either. I'd use SSF to be safe and because that's what the creators of the patch used.


----------



## neurotix

Sega Sound Team Band:


----------



## Wolfsbora

I thought I'd let all of the retro gaming folks know that we have started a retro gaming blog that can be found here: The Gaming Flashback - A Retro Gaming Periodical. It's an on-topic thread that will only allow discussion around the current article that is posted, all other retro gaming discussion will be directed here.


----------



## Bridgypoo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I thought I'd let all of the retro gaming folks know that we have started a retro gaming blog that can be found here: The Gaming Flashback - A Retro Gaming Periodical. It's an on-topic thread that will only allow discussion around the current article that is posted, all other retro gaming discussion will be directed here.


Thanks for redirecting. While I appreciate that you made a blog, we should also keep in mind that this was a club dedicated to all retro gaming- I can see overlap. It'll be one thing to post SNES related for this week on the blog, but it may not be feasible for people to be directed to multiple posts to convey one thought as we know retrogaming spans multiple topics.

I run into this a lot at work where we discuss x in one meeting then discuss it in another meeting but could have just had everyone in the first meeting. Just got out of one actually.


----------



## neurotix

Please delete.


----------



## neurotix

It's okay, I totally understand what you are trying to do now that you've clarified it.

Regardless, I will be taking a break from the club, for personal reasons. Obviously you know what these are.

I would urge you guys to continue discussion without me, invite new members from Wolfsbora's thread, and so forth.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson




----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Today's pickups, nothing fancy, just some "staples" I should already have in my collection, and a Playstation memory card so I can play games on my actual Playstation on my CRT instead of on PS3 and HDMI. Some games look OK on the PS3 setup, but some were literally unplayable. Alone in the Dark New Nightmare was an unplayable one...literally too ugly to play. Looks fine on a CRT though, so will be nice to be able to play that now that I've finally remembered to pick up a memory card. Was a couple other things I didn't have money for today but might go back for...Conker's Live and Reloaded for Xbox was only $35 or something, which is good, they had RE3: Nemesis, no manual, for $10, and an official Dreamcast controller for $20. Going to wait until next pay though and if that stuff is still there...

Oh, almost forgot...was funny, as I was asking the owner to get me FF7 from behind the display case, he says, "That has come down in price by a lot" and I go to reply, "Yeah, it was $35 a few weeks ago..." but before I get that out he says, "It was up to $135 not that long ago" and I almost burst into laughter. I kept it together though and agreed while the girl working kind of chuckled in the corner (think the owner is her dad). Anyway...just thought it was humorous...he's a super nice guy. I didn't get any great deals on anything - FF7 CIB Greatest Hits $25, Super Mario Bros 3 $15, Super Mario World $20, Star Fox $25, and the memory card was new so it was $10. I just got paid though, so I didn't mind spending a bit...in fact, I planned on it











Also, right at the end of Phantasy Star 2 now (Dark Force)...hopefully with a few of the tips Neurotix gave me it'll be done in the next couple days. Apparently I need to level up a bit (guess that's what happens when you use a walkthrough for all the dungeons in the game







).


----------



## Wolfsbora

Great pickups, @Aaron_Henderson! I'll have to share the ones I picked up over the weekend while I visited family in Maryland. I even made a deal to repair broken consoles for the store for a fixed price per console. Plus, they'll hook me up on some great deals.

How have you liked Phantasy Star 2?


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Great pickups, @Aaron_Henderson! I'll have to share the ones I picked up over the weekend while I visited family in Maryland. I even made a deal to repair broken consoles for the store for a fixed price per console. Plus, they'll hook me up on some great deals.
> 
> How have you liked Phantasy Star 2?


It was OK, not my favourite JRPG to be honest...still good though, I think if I played it when it was newer I'd have liked it more. It picked up a bit towards the end though, and I am still interested in playing the rest of the series. My main gripe is still lack of reward for exploration, but I do enjoy the monster design and character art, and the "world" is awesome, though this game doesn't do much to flesh it out, I would say. I think I will probably look for Phantasy Star 4 next in the series, but we'll see if I come across the others first.

That definitely sounds like a cool deal you have going there with the game store, keep us posted how that goes...pretty interesting though. Maybe you'll get to work on some cool stuff? And deals are always sweet lol Let us know what kind of deals they hook you up with as well


----------



## neurotix

I'm actually feeling a lot better. I think I'll continue posting mainly because I want to keep discussion going. I might still not post as often, though.

Aaron, if you finish Phantasy Star II, you can at least say "I did it" even if you never play it again. I wouldn't blame you. It is one hell of a difficult game. I don't plan to replay it within the next 10 years. (I think I played through and finished it around 2012.) You can also say that you beat it on cart without using save states, which make the game MUCH easier. Even if you get the Visiphone early, you can't use it in battle.

Keep in mind, the reason why this game is loved by a lot of people is that it was really the first 16-bit RPG. It came out in 1989, 1990 in the states. This was before Final Fantasy II (IV) on SNES. Really the only JRPGs out here at the time were a few Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest) games and the original Final Fantasy. (EDIT: I looked it up and apparently PSII was out several months before NES Final Fantasy!) Certainly, the graphics and audio and maybe even the gameplay and battle system were much more advanced than Dragon Warrior and the original Final Fantasy. Of course, not much later, Final Fantasy II came out which is a vastly superior game in every regard. But PSII still has it's place in history.

Also, I think it was developed by the same team that developed the original Phantasy Star. It was originally supposed to have 3D dungeons like that game. This explains why the dungeons are so complex and confusing right from the start, I think they were originally supposed to be first person 3D. (Imagine how much harder that would have made the game...)

Aaron, if you see Phantasy Star ø (PS Zero) for DS or Phantasy Star Portable 2 for PSP, you may want to pick them up. They may appeal to you more and give you a taste of the modern series (which is now primarily 3rd person action rpg).


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Sorry for the late response, but as you know Neurotix, I was hurt at work a little over a week ago, and just been in pain, didn't get any help at emergency, and now my right hand is in some stupid cast thing where I can't even use a computer mouse...so I won't be able to "say" much since it's just frustrating trying to type with just left hand...but what I really wanted to say is...THANK THE LORD for retro games!







My thumb is free on my gimped hand, so I can still play any games that don't require shoulder buttons often


----------



## Bridgypoo

Hang in there, Aaron! Hope all is well.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Thanks Bridgypoo! Think I am on the home stretch now...still dealing with WSIB (worker's insurance), but I am basically gimped (hand and lower back/hip) with nothing to do but play video games, so it isn't all bad, I suppose







Still ticked off at the outcome of this new job (unsafe as all heck), but now that I should be done sitting in emergency and random Dr.'s offices I am feeling a bit better. For awhile it was appointment after appointment, all while being harassed by WSIB and the government in general. Now I am just fighting to get physio covered...should be fun


----------



## Mega Man

That stinks sorry to hear man, safe and speedy recovery


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Thanks guys!


----------



## neurotix

Hope you feel better man.

The music you posted was pretty cool, btw. When I was a kid, a friend had Top Gear 2 on snes and I used to play it a lot. Really fun game though nowadays I'd probably rather play Outrun (especially Outrun 2019 on Genesis- this is a very cheap game at $8 on Amazon. Highly recommended to any Genesis owners though it's quite tough.)


----------



## Mega Man

Sketchin


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Sketchin


Skitchin'?

That's the Road Rash on rollerblades thing right? I haven't tried it but I like Road Rash. One of the guys from Game Sack said he liked Skitchin but that it's pretty repetitive.

Do you have Outrun 2019?


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I love old school Outrun and Super Hang-On, never played Outrun 2019 I don't think though. And I like Top Gear series too, but mostly because that's the only game my Dad and I ever played together, and I remember completing it on two player taking turns coming in first and second lol Jerk doesn't even remember that of course, but that will be remembered as one of few occasions we actually got along for more than a few minutes. Also, I have heard of and seen Skitchin', but never had much interest...Road Rash series was "OK". This is about as long of a post as I'm likely to type, BTW...just plain frustrating


----------



## Aaron_Henderson




----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Sketchin
> 
> 
> 
> Skitchin'?
> 
> That's the Road Rash on rollerblades thing right? I haven't tried it but I like Road Rash. One of the guys from Game Sack said he liked Skitchin but that it's pretty repetitive.
> 
> Do you have Outrun 2019?
Click to expand...

Sigh yes, yay auto correct


----------



## Wolfsbora

Hi guys,

A good friend of mine pointed out that I don't always stick around for discussions on this thread, and he's completely right. Which is a shame, because I love you guys and I love the content!!!!

Well, here are my pickups over the last 7 days:



I'm really happy with it all and you guys wouldn't believe me if I told you how much I paid for everything...


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

If you don't mind sharing what you paid...deals are always interesting to me...a lot of what I watch on Youtube is about hunting out deals and such. And of course I would believe you lol When I say I am jelly, it's just joking...mostly...we all love scoring stuff on the cheap







I always like to share what I paid because I like hearing about other's experiences, get some insight as to what the retro "scene" is like in other areas, etc. Got some gems there though dude, nice score...as usual


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> If you don't mind sharing what you paid...deals are always interesting to me...a lot of what I watch on Youtube is about hunting out deals and such. And of course I would believe you lol When I say I am jelly, it's just joking...mostly...we all love scoring stuff on the cheap
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I always like to share what I paid because I like hearing about other's experiences, get some insight as to what the retro "scene" is like in other areas, etc. Got some gems there though dude, nice score...as usual


I highly respect that! I paid $160 for all of that... Part of that deal is that I'm doing the console repair for that store in Maryland so they hooked me up BIG TIME. Such as, they didn't charge me for the actual cart for Illusion of Gaia, just the box and manual. The Atari Lynx and Warbirds were free because of the deal we made on the amount I'll be making off of each console. Majora's Mask, Plumbers Don't Wear Ties, and Traysia were all incorrectly priced at a different store. They hadn't been updated in years because they just sat in the same spot for 2 to 3 years. I got them for the earlier prices. The cashier was impressed haha. Phantasy Star IV (my favorite pickup other than Plumbers Don't Wear Ties, the subject of the best AVGN episode) was only $20, another HUGE score for me. Base Wars for the NES (such a fun game when playing against another person) was free. Jurassic Park & Clay Fighter were only $10 (2 games my brother and I loved as a kid).


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I played the living heck out of Jurassic Park on SNES as a kid...anything Jurassic Park and dinosaurs in general...but it's actually a really good game IMO, though very hard to beat. If I remember, you can't save the game? The first person sections were a cool way to break up the exploration...the raptor breeding caves were tough though. Love that game though. Clay Fighter is fun too, but I think I played the Genesis version of that more, and the one on N64. Not the greatest game, kind of in the realm of Primal Rage...not much depth but lots of cool stuff to look at. Super Mario 2, Majora's Mask and Illusion of Gaia are the only other games I've played there...but I am definitely picking up Phantasy Star 4 at some point. And Traysia looks quite interesting. And as weird as it may sound, I could never really get into any of the 3d Zelda games enough to finish them. I still plan to one day, but Zelda wouldn't make my N64 top ten list, even with the N64's pretty lackluster library. (this took forever to type with one hand...lol)


----------



## Wolfsbora

My brother would play Jurassic Park all of the time. He was way better than me. You are right, there is no saving in the game. You're stuck doing a full playthrough in one sitting! It's also the only game from that era that I could remember that did that first person view and then back to the overhead view.

Clay Fighter for the SNES/Genesis is the way to go, and only when played with another person. The computer is insanely difficult, even in the first round. As soon as you start winning, the computer ramps it up and beats the snot out of you. Btw, there is an N64 version that is highly collectible because I believe it was only released to Blockbuster. I could be wrong, though.

I never owned Super Mario Bros 2 as a kid. We had the first and the third (arguably, one of the best games of all time). So, I would make my dad rent SMB2 quite often because I was the only one that really liked it. Illusion of Gaia is definitely in the style of A Link to the Past when it comes to the style of "action RPG". It's definitely not your typical Chrono Trigger-style game. Almost a cross between A Link to the Past and Secret of Mana.

3D Zelda games are a blast. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think Majora's Mask is better than Ocarina of Time, simply because it has all of the elements of Ocarina of Time, but also the fact that you have to do almost a "Groundhog Day" style of playthrough with the 3 day time limit that is imposed on you. I highly recommend playing at least Majora's Mask!









Phantasy Star IV is a great game. From my understanding, it isn't as tough as PS2 but it is still plenty difficult. Probably more difficult than its SNES counterpart.

I'm not sure that I'm going to enjoy Traysia, I bought it because it is collectible, it was a great price, and I never see it at retro stores, especially with the clamshell case. If you've played the Ultima series on NES, you'll probably like Traysia. It is a very in-depth RPG. Apparently the pacing is sub par for a lot of people.


----------



## neurotix

You're totally right about Clayfighter, I used to rent it as a kid, and I had no one to play it with, so I had to fight the computer. After the first fight it's basically impossible. It turns into a counter bot that counters everything you do perfectly. Yeah, screw that game, I hate it. Damn Blue Suede Goo...

Illusion of Gaia is pretty cool, you're right, it's somewhere between SoM and Zelda. It was developed by Quintet and they went on to make two more games in the series, Soul Blazer and Terranigma. Soul Blazer is not too expensive and got a US release. Terranigma (probably the best game in the series) never got a US release but it was released in English in Europe, so you can play this ROM easily or get a repro cart. I'd highly recommend this one, it's quite good.

Phantasy Star IV for $20 is a great deal. That's half what it goes for online. Before you start playing you may want to change the battery. Yes, it is harder than Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy but it is not unfair and not unmanageable. At least it doesn't have the staircase mazes of PSII. The best advice I can give on this game for a newcomer is to always fill your inventory with Mates before the next dungeon (Monomate, Dimate etc.) You'll need them. Save TP for boss battles, so try not to use healing spells at all. Also, if you're taking a lot of damage, upgrade your armor if you can. The enemies in each dungeon are balanced towards you having the best armor available. Sell your old stuff and upgrade. Also, when you get a little ways into the game, look up combination techs. They are very useful. About 1/3rd of the way through the game, look up how to beat Sandworms (the big ones). This is around the point you get to Ladea tower. You can take them down with water magic. Massive exp for doing so. Finally, Deban and Barrier at the start of every boss fight.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> You're totally right about Clayfighter, I used to rent it as a kid, and I had no one to play it with, so I had to fight the computer. After the first fight it's basically impossible. It turns into a counter bot that counters everything you do perfectly. Yeah, screw that game, I hate it. Damn Blue Suede Goo...
> 
> Illusion of Gaia is pretty cool, you're right, it's somewhere between SoM and Zelda. It was developed by Quintet and they went on to make two more games in the series, Soul Blazer and Terranigma. Soul Blazer is not too expensive and got a US release. Terranigma (probably the best game in the series) never got a US release but it was released in English in Europe, so you can play this ROM easily or get a repro cart. I'd highly recommend this one, it's quite good.
> 
> Phantasy Star IV for $20 is a great deal. That's half what it goes for online. Before you start playing you may want to change the battery. Yes, it is harder than Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy but it is not unfair and not unmanageable. At least it doesn't have the staircase mazes of PSII. The best advice I can give on this game for a newcomer is to always fill your inventory with Mates before the next dungeon (Monomate, Dimate etc.) You'll need them. Save TP for boss battles, so try not to use healing spells at all. Also, if you're taking a lot of damage, upgrade your armor if you can. The enemies in each dungeon are balanced towards you having the best armor available. Sell your old stuff and upgrade. Also, when you get a little ways into the game, look up combination techs. They are very useful. About 1/3rd of the way through the game, look up how to beat Sandworms (the big ones). This is around the point you get to Ladea tower. You can take them down with water magic. Massive exp for doing so. Finally, Deban and Barrier at the start of every boss fight.


Thank you for the recommendations on Terranigma and Soul Blazer! I'll have to check them out.

And, thank you for the advice on Phantasy Star IV. I've been trying my best to keep up on the armor and weapons. The thing I don't like is that it doesn't tell you if you already own the armor or weapons so I have to make sure I go into the menu and look before I buy.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Thank you for the recommendations on Terranigma and Soul Blazer! I'll have to check them out.
> 
> And, thank you for the advice on Phantasy Star IV. I've been trying my best to keep up on the armor and weapons. The thing I don't like is that it doesn't tell you if you already own the armor or weapons so I have to make sure I go into the menu and look before I buy.


Terranigma repro carts are fairly cheap. It's an awesome game too. Action RPG just like Illusion of Gaia, but you do get a lot more moves. And you get to revive the world! (as in, our world, Earth.) In your endless dumbassery you basically open Pandora's Box, freezing every person in the world into a block of stone. The different areas of the Earth all decay, and even the continents disappear. You are underground at the beginning for some reason, in a bizarre mini world. You have to go through 5 towers and each one you go through restores a continent (North America, etc.) Once you restore them you have to go through them and complete dungeons and beat bosses to restore life to townspeople and fix other wrongs as a result of you opening the box. Pretty cool idea and it's executed well.

PSIV doesn't tell you if you already have the armor and weapons yeah, but many games back then didn't either.

Make sure you figure out how to do combination techs (use the macro system). They look really cool and they're powerful.


----------



## Wolfsbora

You're really making me want to get Terranigma!! It sounds really interesting.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I remember getting hooked on Terranigma when I used to mess with emulators a lot more than I do now. Definitely a cool game!


----------



## neurotix

I wanna post a video or review of it but I can't really find anything good that's not long and drawn out, or by a foreigner.

Clan of the Gray Wolf's review is good but has a lot of lollygagging and lame jokes and facepalm real life sequences. I'd suggest watching it but it's a 3 part series.

http://www.ocdreproductions.com/Terranigma/p1560736_7415357.aspx

It's pricey and will take longer to get but ocdreproductions makes extremely good quality repros. I got my Tales of Phantasia and Bahamut Lagoon from them. They do high quality work and the labels look nice. The PCBs are super clean too. If you buy from them you will get a much better quality cartridge than if you get it from Hong Kong or China on ebay (and it will probably arrive faster too). They take a little time to get from him because he actually makes each order individually.

If you guys want I can take pictures of ToP and Bahamut Lagoon including the PCBs. If you're undecided if it's worth it or not.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

And there it is, finally completed Phantasy Star 2 -


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> And there it is, finally completed Phantasy Star 2 -


Congratulations! Did you like the ending?

I can only think of a couple JRPGs I've finished that are harder than that game, and none of them are harder regarding dungeon layouts (e.g. PSII has some of the most confusing dungeons I've encountered outside of something like Wizardry). Romancing Saga: Minstrel Song on PS2 is definitely harder than PSII but I can't think of any others offhand.


----------



## andrews2547

Here is a screenshot from one of my favourite games.










It's a shame they never brought it to PC.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Congratulations! Did you like the ending?
> 
> I can only think of a couple JRPGs I've finished that are harder than that game, and none of them are harder regarding dungeon layouts (e.g. PSII has some of the most confusing dungeons I've encountered outside of something like Wizardry). Romancing Saga: Minstrel Song on PS2 is definitely harder than PSII but I can't think of any others offhand.


Well I did use walkthroughs for most of the dungeons, just because of how similar everything looks in each one, and I had the maps and manual open on my computer while playing. A lot of the dungeons I can do without a walkthrough now, though...especially the last dungeon lol So I did "cheat" a bit using the walkthroughs for dungeons, but I only used them minimally to know which direction to go, and nothing more. I didn't follow a walkthrough for the whole the game or anything. That's why I missed the visiphone, I had no idea about it. Your tips were very helpful Neurotix! Without them, I may have had to rely on the internet more than I did. The game honestly didn't give me much trouble though except for Dark Force, and even that wasn't *too bad with the tips you gave me and some trail and error. Going to take a break from JRPG for a bit though and play something else...going between Cold Fear on Playstation 2 and Alone in the Dark New Nightmare on Playstation...I am going to go back and finish up Ninja Gaiden on Xbox though before either of those, but I am nearly done with that one too. Just put it down for Phantasy Star 2


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Well I did use walkthroughs for most of the dungeons, just because of how similar everything looks in each one, and I had the maps and manual open on my computer while playing. A lot of the dungeons I can do without a walkthrough now, though...especially the last dungeon lol So I did "cheat" a bit using the walkthroughs for dungeons, but I only used them minimally to know which direction to go, and nothing more. I didn't follow a walkthrough for the whole the game or anything. That's why I missed the visiphone, I had no idea about it. Your tips were very helpful Neurotix! Without them, I may have had to rely on the internet more than I did. The game honestly didn't give me much trouble though except for Dark Force, and even that wasn't *too bad with the tips you gave me and some trail and error. Going to take a break from JRPG for a bit though and play something else...going between Cold Fear on Playstation 2 and Alone in the Dark New Nightmare on Playstation...I am going to go back and finish up Ninja Gaiden on Xbox though before either of those, but I am nearly done with that one too. Just put it down for Phantasy Star 2


Personally I had to use the maps from FantasyAnime.com for pretty much the entire game. The dungeons are just way too confusing and difficult. On top of that the encounter rate is pretty high. Also, unlike any Final Fantasy game, the random encounters can be tough at times. You have to stop and use Mates after nearly every battle. There's a point at the end of the game, I think it might be the Naval dungeon or the one before it, there's these blue Sword enemies and sometimes they come in packs of 4, I Game Over'ed on those a few times because they do insane damage and sometimes they use an attack that hits your whole team. If they all do it, you're screwed.

Dark Force is absolutely nasty in that game. The possession and hobbling your team is really tough to get through. Again, there's a luck element here. The Neisword could "shine" and dispel the effects the next turn, or your whole team could get possessed for multiple rounds with no way to heal. DF is much easier in PSIV. He's still a big threat when you encounter him, but nothing like that.

I'd still recommend you try out some PC Engine/Turbografx shooters in an emulator on the side. They're games you can just play for an hour and then stop when you game over. Star Soldier is too good. This assumes you like shoot-em-ups at all.


----------



## technyk32

technyk32 - Atari 2600 (x2), Winbook XP (Intel i486DX4-100, 32MB RAM, 1MB VRAM), Homebuilt Windows 98 PC (AMD Athlon 650 Thunderbird, MSI 6167 Slot A Motherboard, ATI Rage 3D Pro 16MB, 128MB PC100)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I do like shoot-em ups, though I have never really gotten into any of them too seriously...again, short posts, still typing with my left hand.


----------



## neurotix

technyk32 added.

It's cool that Policenauts on Saturn is in English, but the PSX version has been for quite some time. Either way, I'm not the biggest fan of Snatcher and I've never played a Metal Gear Solid game besides the first one (hated it) so it's not a big deal to me. I don't see the big fuss over Hideo Kojima, honestly.


----------



## Dimensive

So I've had a Sega Master System since it came out. I just pulled it out the other day to test it and while it does work, the RF port is on its last leg. Anyone know of any solutions or where I can buy an A/V Out cable?


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> So I've had a Sega Master System since it came out. I just pulled it out the other day to test it and while it does work, the RF port is on its last leg. Anyone know of any solutions or where I can buy an A/V Out cable?


The Sega Master System uses the same DIN-8 (full size) connector as the Sega Genesis model 1. This means if you have a model 1 Genesis the AV cable will work for both systems. The pinouts are identical too; meaning that composite video and left/right audio are on the same pins between the SMS and Genesis.

This should do the trick. The SMS cannot do stereo sound as far as I know. So having just the white RCA audio will work fine and on most older CRT TVs will give you mono sound on both channels. Oh, and if for whatever reason that one *doesn't* work, feel free to come back and berate me and I'll apologize or something, but I'm pretty sure it will work. When you get it, be sure to let me know!


----------



## Dimensive

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> The Sega Master System uses the same DIN-8 (full size) connector as the Sega Genesis model 1. This means if you have a model 1 Genesis the AV cable will work for both systems. The pinouts are identical too; meaning that composite video and left/right audio are on the same pins between the SMS and Genesis.
> 
> This should do the trick. The SMS cannot do stereo sound as far as I know. So having just the white RCA audio will work fine and on most older CRT TVs will give you mono sound on both channels. Oh, and if for whatever reason that one *doesn't* work, feel free to come back and berate me and I'll apologize or something, but I'm pretty sure it will work. When you get it, be sure to let me know!


Awesome, definitely appreciate it! I had a Genesis at one point and another Master System, both of which my brother did no telling what with. Hopefully the AV port on my SMS is working.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> Awesome, definitely appreciate it! I had a Genesis at one point and another Master System, both of which my brother did no telling what with. Hopefully the AV port on my SMS is working.


Yes. Since you complained that the RF output is failing, it could either be 1) the RF box is failing (this happens frequently) or 2) the female DIN-8 output connector on the back of the Master System is failing. You won't know which is the case until you get the cables.

How many games do you have for it? What are your favorites?


----------



## Dimensive

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Yes. Since you complained that the RF output is failing, it could either be 1) the RF box is failing (this happens frequently) or 2) the female DIN-8 output connector on the back of the Master System is failing. You won't know which is the case until you get the cables.
> 
> How many games do you have for it? What are your favorites?


I think I have around 10 games for it. Two of my favorites which I don't have anymore are Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap and Zillion. Always loved the Alex Kidd/Wonder Boy games and got my start on RPGs with Miracle Warriors & Ys.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> I think I have around 10 games for it. Two of my favorites which I don't have anymore are Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap and Zillion. Always loved the Alex Kidd/Wonder Boy games and got my start on RPGs with Miracle Warriors & Ys.


I have 39 games last I counted. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1e6cDsJ05Hi5wZ6nLC9XS-RMCY1ZF2-xTTg4kz1pdrUA/edit#gid=0

My favorites are Zaxxon 3D, Maze Hunter 3D, Phantasy Star, Ys, Spellcaster, Action Fighter, R-Type, Columns (SMS version of this game is quite different and very fun 2p), Rampage, Sonic Chaos (UK release only), and Wonderboy in Monster Land.

The only one you listed I don't have is Zillion but I've played it before (in high school- I was big into emulation and got into the SMS in the Meka emulator to try out games for the system.) It's pretty good. The sequel wasn't as good.

I used to have Alex Kidd The Lost Stars and another Alex Kidd game (High-Tech world?) but they were both trash so I sold them. I want Alex Kidd in Shinobi World because it's the only other good one, but afaik it's pretty expensive. (nearly $100)


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> So I've had a Sega Master System since it came out. I just pulled it out the other day to test it and while it does work, the RF port is on its last leg. Anyone know of any solutions or where I can buy an A/V Out cable?
> 
> 
> 
> The Sega Master System uses the same DIN-8 (full size) connector as the Sega Genesis model 1. This means if you have a model 1 Genesis the AV cable will work for both systems. The pinouts are identical too; meaning that composite video and left/right audio are on the same pins between the SMS and Genesis.
> 
> This should do the trick. The SMS cannot do stereo sound as far as I know. So having just the white RCA audio will work fine and on most older CRT TVs will give you mono sound on both channels. Oh, and if for whatever reason that one *doesn't* work, feel free to come back and berate me and I'll apologize or something, but I'm pretty sure it will work. When you get it, be sure to let me know!
Click to expand...

I have both they do work
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> Awesome, definitely appreciate it! I had a Genesis at one point and another Master System, both of which my brother did no telling what with. Hopefully the AV port on my SMS is working.
> 
> 
> 
> Yes. Since you complained that the RF output is failing, it could either be 1) the RF box is failing (this happens frequently) or 2) the female DIN-8 output connector on the back of the Master System is failing. You won't know which is the case until you get the cables.
> 
> How many games do you have for it? What are your favorites?
Click to expand...

Highly unlikely it is the pet
Pet, they tend to be rock solid. Probably a cap or the rf module


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> I have both they do work
> Highly unlikely it is the pet
> Pet, they tend to be rock solid. Probably a cap or the rf module


That's what I was getting at, I didn't literally mean the port itself was failing







Just whatever cap or components it's connected to.


----------



## Dimensive

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I have 39 games last I counted. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1e6cDsJ05Hi5wZ6nLC9XS-RMCY1ZF2-xTTg4kz1pdrUA/edit#gid=0
> 
> My favorites are Zaxxon 3D, Maze Hunter 3D, Phantasy Star, Ys, Spellcaster, Action Fighter, R-Type, Columns (SMS version of this game is quite different and very fun 2p), Rampage, Sonic Chaos (UK release only), and Wonderboy in Monster Land.
> 
> The only one you listed I don't have is Zillion but I've played it before (in high school- I was big into emulation and got into the SMS in the Meka emulator to try out games for the system.) It's pretty good. The sequel wasn't as good.
> 
> I used to have Alex Kidd The Lost Stars and another Alex Kidd game (High-Tech world?) but they were both trash so I sold them. I want Alex Kidd in Shinobi World because it's the only other good one, but afaik it's pretty expensive. (nearly $100)


Ah Phantasy Star, the game that I always got lost in! Action Fighter, Rampage (think I still have that one), R-Type, and Wonderboy in Monster Land were awesome games. The first Zillion was great, but the second was no good, in my opinion. The first Alex Kidd (in Miracle World) was the better of them, but they all were a part of my childhood.


----------



## Wolfsbora

I missed the chance to get a complete in box Phantasy Star for the SMS. I really wish I had jumped on it. When I bought Phantasy Star IV, they had II and III, both complete in box for an awesome price. If anyone here lives near Frederick, MD, or visits, you have to go to Play Raven. So far, it is the best retro store I've been to.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I missed the chance to get a complete in box Phantasy Star for the SMS. I really wish I had jumped on it. When I bought Phantasy Star IV, they had II and III, both complete in box for an awesome price. If anyone here lives near Frederick, MD, or visits, you have to go to Play Raven. So far, it is the best retro store I've been to.


I have Phantasy Star complete in box, I had to buy the manual separately and put it together though. Cost $55 to make and it regularly sells for $100. I don't have the map that came with it, though.

Same for Phantasy Star II- manual, map, and hint book. I've seen wild prices for this, from $60 all the way up to $200 or so. It isn't truly complete if it just has the manual- you need the hint book and map too. Be careful with what you pay if it only has the manual.

PSIII I don't bother with. I hate that game. I should probably get a cart only copy just to say I have every game in the classic series.

PSIV is cart only. This one came out later when Sega switched from clamshell cases to cardboard stock cases (similar to Nintendo). As a result, it is much harder to find complete and usually the box is in bad shape. If I could find a complete one in good shape I would totally buy it though.

I have no intentions of going to Maryland but I'll keep that in mind!


----------



## Dimensive

I bought Phantasy Star from a pawn shop for $5 when I was kid, then sold it for $80 when I was an idiot teenager.


----------



## Mega Man

2 great windows bundles imo guys

http://tinyurl.com/hz92oyg

http://tinyurl.com/h9owqzp


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> 2 great windows bundles imo guys
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/hz92oyg
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/h9owqzp


these links are broken...


----------



## neurotix

The Genesis/Mega Drive one is good for sure. Makes me wonder why I own a Genesis.

Personally, I use my modded Xbox and emulators for games I don't have. But if you absolutely have to do everything "legal" then the Steam ones are the way to go. I wonder how the emulation on them is, especially the sound quality?

The Dreamcast one isn't as good, and Nights isn't even a Dreamcast game.


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> 2 great windows bundles imo guys
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/hz92oyg
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/h9owqzp
> 
> 
> 
> these links are broken...
Click to expand...

they both work for me :/

here they are again

sega/megadrive

dreamcast ( and saturn )


----------



## subassy

Guess it's the tiny urls, the domain shareasale.com doesn't work for me but bundlestars.com does...


----------



## Mega Man

wow, they are not retro, but i feel they should be .....

check out Zenodyne R and fire arrow plus ( this is one of my absolute fav genres that imo got left out due to 3d !!! )


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Something a bit different...but I've been messing around getting Windows 98 SE installed on an older laptop I have (ZE4900 w/ Pentium 755 M and 1GB RAM since I had to remove 1GB for Windows 98 to boot), The laptop is really an XP era PC, but it's close enough I have been able to find most of the drivers without any issue, mainly all I cared about was the IGPU and sound, both of which are now working. To install it was easy, just use a Windows 98 boot cd, and then I copied the contents of the install disk onto a small FAT32 partition I had made since this laptop is too old to support USB booting. Anyway...the nostalgia is strong right now lol Been so long since I've used a Windows 98 PC, it's been fun just messing around with it for the past while. Just now installing some classic DOS / Win95 era games on it now as I type this...


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Something a bit different...but I've been messing around getting Windows 98 SE installed on an older laptop I have (ZE4900 w/ Pentium 755 M and 1GB RAM since I had to remove 1GB for Windows 98 to boot), The laptop is really an XP era PC, but it's close enough I have been able to find most of the drivers without any issue, mainly all I cared about was the IGPU and sound, both of which are now working. To install it was easy, just use a Windows 98 boot cd, and then I copied the contents of the install disk onto a small FAT32 partition I had made since this laptop is too old to support USB booting. Anyway...the nostalgia is strong right now lol Been so long since I've used a Windows 98 PC, it's been fun just messing around with it for the past while. Just now installing some classic DOS / Win95 era games on it now as I type this...


You should get and try Tyrian2000, my favorite DOS game. It's an overhead shooter if you've never played it, you play using the mouse mostly. It has a really awesome and in depth upgrade system for your ship. There's like a hundred different weapons you can get (you buy them).

The game is free and was also made open source in 2004. You can download it at this site. Top one should work.

If you decide to try it, do the "1 player full game" not the "Arcade mode".


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> You should get and try Tyrian2000, my favorite DOS game. It's an overhead shooter if you've never played it, you play using the mouse mostly. It has a really awesome and in depth upgrade system for your ship. There's like a hundred different weapons you can get (you buy them).
> 
> The game is free and was also made open source in 2004. You can download it at this site. Top one should work.
> 
> If you decide to try it, do the "1 player full game" not the "Arcade mode".


Will check it out, still trying to figure out how to get USB stick working on it though (been burning DVD's with stuff on them and going back and forth between main PC and Win98 laptop...a pain and I'm running out of discs). I am pretty sure I have heard of Tyrian, but I am also pretty sure I haven't played it either...I'll let you know my thoughts! Haven't been messing with the laptop much since I finally got it running decent enough with just sound and VGA...there were some issues that I've since sorted. Now I have full hardware acceleration in Direct3D and working sound...at the same time lol Just installed the Doom shareware and some other games to test, and works great. Going to try and keep it all correct for the era, might even go as far to install some old software I remember using as a kid, like some of the encyclopedia stuff and such. Now all I really need is a period correct gamepad and perhaps a joystick. I like this setup because it's easy to put away, and if I really want, I can haul out the CRT I have and hook it up quite easily. The 1024x768 lcd works pretty well though for most of the games from this era. Just going through my games to see what will run on Windows 98...most of what I have is XP or later. But I do have some Win9x era stuff too, like the original Fallout, Tribes, Another World...I don't know, there's a few.

EDIT - scores about 6000 in 3D Mark 99, not sure if that's decent or not for these games, but the tests were basically stuck at 60 fps, so hopefully get good performance in all the old games.


----------



## Wolfsbora

That's awesome, Aaron! You're making me want to take my XP laptop and install either 95 or 98 on it. I have such fond memories of 95. The Encarta encyclopedia was awesome back before the web had the capability to display that type of media. I remember watching Weezer's "Buddy Holly" video over and over. It really was a step in the right direction for UI/UX. I would play DOOM, Blake Stone, King Arthur's Quest (the latter part of the series) in Windowed DOS.

I asked the guys in MD to hold on to a Phantasy Star IV box and manual if one comes through. They're awesome about selling the game and box separately if needed.

Here is my latest haul:

Obviously the best titles out of it are Metroid for NES and Street Fighter II Turbo (my favorite out of the series). I only paid $38 for the lot. All titles I didn't have. Craigslist came through for me again.


----------



## neurotix

Is that SMB/Duck Hunt/World Class Track Meet? A little uncommon.


----------



## Mega Man

Yes it is

Metroid is Great find


----------



## Dimensive

Alright, AV cable will be here today for my SMS. Fingers crossed!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> That's awesome, Aaron! You're making me want to take my XP laptop and install either 95 or 98 on it. I have such fond memories of 95. The Encarta encyclopedia was awesome back before the web had the capability to display that type of media. I remember watching Weezer's "Buddy Holly" video over and over. It really was a step in the right direction for UI/UX. I would play DOOM, Blake Stone, King Arthur's Quest (the latter part of the series) in Windowed DOS.
> 
> I asked the guys in MD to hold on to a Phantasy Star IV box and manual if one comes through. They're awesome about selling the game and box separately if needed.
> 
> Here is my latest haul:
> 
> Obviously the best titles out of it are Metroid for NES and Street Fighter II Turbo (my favorite out of the series). I only paid $38 for the lot. All titles I didn't have. Craigslist came through for me again.


That's a particularly nice score for Craigslist...our local classifieds are saturated with retro games now so deals like that are a pretty rare opportunity to the point I don't really use classifieds for games anymore. I still do for consoles and such, and if I am really looking for something. I still do browse from time to time, but never find a whole lot that isn't overpriced. I was going to also ask about that Mario / Duck Hunt cart because I had no idea what it was, but you guys had already answered that








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> Alright, AV cable will be here today for my SMS. Fingers crossed!


Let us know how it goes!


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> That's a particularly nice score for Craigslist...our local classifieds are saturated with retro games now so deals like that are a pretty rare opportunity to the point I don't really use classifieds for games anymore. I still do for consoles and such, and if I am really looking for something. I still do browse from time to time, but never find a whole lot that isn't overpriced. I was going to also ask about that Mario / Duck Hunt cart because I had no idea what it was, but you guys had already answered that
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Let us know how it goes!


I haven't really gotten any Craigslist deals since 2011/2012, but I haven't tried either.

It might be worth keeping an eye on because you never know when something good might show up. Sometimes people hold on to this stuff for 20, 30 years and then find it while cleaning or while cleaning out a storage locker etc. Oftentimes they just want to get rid of it quickly, and you can get a very good deal for that reason.

I got from Craigslist:

1) Almost all of my good Game Gear games including: Shinobi 1 & 2, Streets of Rage, Shining Force, Sonic 1 and a few other good games for $30. At the time, just Shining Force was $30 online. The women I got them from said she had them since the 90s and that her system no longer worked so she just got rid of all her games (lucky me!)

2) A pile of NES games for $60 including Ninja Turtles 2 & 3, Mega Man 6, Adventure Island, and Link to the Past for SNES and about 8 other NES games. At the time, just LttP and Mega Man 6 would have cost $60 online. I had to drive relatively far, to a small town, to get these. Deal was worth it though.

I've gotten other odds and ends from CL but those are the best deals.

Just the chance of maybe getting a deal like that makes keeping your eye on Craigslist worth it to me.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I haven't really gotten any Craigslist deals since 2011/2012, but I haven't tried either.
> 
> It might be worth keeping an eye on because you never know when something good might show up. Sometimes people hold on to this stuff for 20, 30 years and then find it while cleaning or while cleaning out a storage locker etc. Oftentimes they just want to get rid of it quickly, and you can get a very good deal for that reason.
> 
> I got from Craigslist:
> 
> 1) Almost all of my good Game Gear games including: Shinobi 1 & 2, Streets of Rage, Shining Force, Sonic 1 and a few other good games for $30. At the time, just Shining Force was $30 online. The women I got them from said she had them since the 90s and that her system no longer worked so she just got rid of all her games (lucky me!)
> 
> 2) A pile of NES games for $60 including Ninja Turtles 2 & 3, Mega Man 6, Adventure Island, and Link to the Past for SNES and about 8 other NES games. At the time, just LttP and Mega Man 6 would have cost $60 online. I had to drive relatively far, to a small town, to get these. Deal was worth it though.
> 
> I've gotten other odds and ends from CL but those are the best deals.
> 
> Just the chance of maybe getting a deal like that makes keeping your eye on Craigslist worth it to me.


Like I said, I do still browse from time to time...quite a bit still, I guess...since I am always on Kijiji, a similar site to Craigslist. There is actually a section now just for retro games that's how big it has gotten here though. I grabbed my PS3, PS2, SNES, two Xbox...some Playstation/PS2 games...probably some other stuff too. It's not that I don't look...it's just that I never find much anymore







Local pawn shops, game stores...all seem to have better prices. Sometimes you do come across good deals still though, just not as often as you used to be able to. This is all just me referencing my local scene, no clue what it's like other places. It's pretty well known around here that Kijiji and the like have hit Ebay+ prices...stupid, really.


----------



## neurotix

One of the best places to find obscure old games is at conventions. If you have one near you, you should go. Midwest Gaming Classic gave me a good haul, especially for Master System. Got my 3D glasses and games for them there, as well as a couple other SMS games. Just be sure to save up a lot of money. Prices aren't ebay prices but still, you'll see so much you want.

My stance is that I'm perfectly okay with buying retro games online and even paying Ebay or Amazon prices. Occasionally I get a really good deal.

Master System games besides Great Football, Great Golf etc. or the ubiquitous Hang On/Safari Hunt are impossible to find here. So most of the time I HAVE to buy them online. Probably got a good 80% of my collection that way, although I did score Phantasy Star with the box (no manual) for $25 one time locally.

I recently bought Aerial Assault, a pretty fun horizontal shooter for SMS online. It was $30. However, the others on Amazon are $70 and $80 (there's only two). The ones on Ebay are $80. This is for the US release (which mine is) with more colorful artwork and a very exaggerated jet on the box art. The European release is more common and not as expensive with an F-14 on the box art, that's the majority of what you'll find on Ebay. If you didn't know, European PAL Master System games will work on a US Master System and as far as I know, they switch their video mode to the region of the system. There's no region lock. And the games appear to play in 60hz. So if you want to collect for SMS, but want some games that are rare and expensive here, you can buy the European releases for much less and they will play on your Master System with no modification.

I have a couple more Master System games on the way, but one is coming from France and another from Australia. It will be some time before they get here. I am trying to expand my Master System collection and get more good games for the system that justify owning it. Some of the ones I have are just outright bad or not fun. I'm trying to get more that I like. I will take pictures of all of them when they get here.

I also need more shelving for my games, my Master System shelf space is full to the brim with really no more room for boxed games.


----------



## neurotix

This shelf:



No more room for any boxed games but I'm getting at least 3 more.

This closet:



I am thinking of putting a 5-shelf tall bookshelf in here. I could display some of my more expensive treasures in here as well as give PC Engine games their own dedicated space. I would have more room for NES games as well, because like my Master System shelf, my NES shelf is full and really has no more room for games.

If I did that I could also possibly collect for CD based systems. I'm thinking PS1 because they're cheap but I'm also considering Dreamcast.


----------



## Dimensive

It works!


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> It works!


Fantastic man. Glad I could help you out.

Reviving old systems is great.

Btw, I have Zillion on the way since I don't have it. I may need to use an FAQ to play it, because I'm not too familiar with it (the last time I really played it was probably 20 years ago).


----------



## Dimensive

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Fantastic man. Glad I could help you out.
> 
> Reviving old systems is great.
> 
> Btw, I have Zillion on the way since I don't have it. I may need to use an FAQ to play it, because I'm not too familiar with it (the last time I really played it was probably 20 years ago).


Yea, thanks a bunch. I suppose I need to start tracking down some old games that I no longer have.

Zillion isn't too difficult, but a FAQ will definitely help.


----------



## Dimensive

I'm more than ready to play this game once again, in HD and in the original style.

https://www.destructoid.com/you-can-swap-between-8-bit-and-hd-visuals-at-any-time-in-wonder-boy-the-dragon-s-trap-420651.phtml


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> One of the best places to find obscure old games is at conventions. If you have one near you, you should go. Midwest Gaming Classic gave me a good haul, especially for Master System. Got my 3D glasses and games for them there, as well as a couple other SMS games. Just be sure to save up a lot of money. Prices aren't ebay prices but still, you'll see so much you want.
> 
> My stance is that I'm perfectly okay with buying retro games online and even paying Ebay or Amazon prices. Occasionally I get a really good deal.
> 
> Master System games besides Great Football, Great Golf etc. or the ubiquitous Hang On/Safari Hunt are impossible to find here. So most of the time I HAVE to buy them online. Probably got a good 80% of my collection that way, although I did score Phantasy Star with the box (no manual) for $25 one time locally.
> 
> I recently bought Aerial Assault, a pretty fun horizontal shooter for SMS online. It was $30. However, the others on Amazon are $70 and $80 (there's only two). The ones on Ebay are $80. This is for the US release (which mine is) with more colorful artwork and a very exaggerated jet on the box art. The European release is more common and not as expensive with an F-14 on the box art, that's the majority of what you'll find on Ebay. If you didn't know, European PAL Master System games will work on a US Master System and as far as I know, they switch their video mode to the region of the system. There's no region lock. And the games appear to play in 60hz. So if you want to collect for SMS, but want some games that are rare and expensive here, you can buy the European releases for much less and they will play on your Master System with no modification.
> 
> I have a couple more Master System games on the way, but one is coming from France and another from Australia. It will be some time before they get here. I am trying to expand my Master System collection and get more good games for the system that justify owning it. Some of the ones I have are just outright bad or not fun. I'm trying to get more that I like. I will take pictures of all of them when they get here.
> 
> I also need more shelving for my games, my Master System shelf space is full to the brim with really no more room for boxed games.


There are actually quite a few conventions very local to me, in town for many of them (Rerez and a few other popular Youtubers are based out of my town). Ontario in general has quite a few...but I have yet to go to one. I have really wanted to, but because I am a little bit, well, anti-social, I have anxiety about large crowds, and the ones here are always packed. I made the mistake of going to a toy convention here with my ex and her son and it was literally elbow to elbow...moving at a snails pace around the parameter of the event. It took about an hour to get half way around, can't turn around and go back or anything, but they had a "retro gaming room" at that point (put on by a couple local gamestores, The Games Exchange one of my fav stores was part of it). So we went in there and I tried to get my ex's son to play some retro stuff since they had everything from Atari 2600, NES, N64, etc...but they also had Wii U, so of course he wanted to play the Mario Kart on that







So we hung out there for a bit, made the rest of the way around, scored a couple sweet deals actually...but overall it was just so busy you couldn't even get a good look at anything. I would still like to go to a gaming convention though, I am just kind of being a wuss about it...I guess









Also, I think I have said this before...but I have never played a Master System before...that I can remember, any how. Something I might get into though at some point...there is some adapter to play them on your Genesis I guess, but it would be neat to have the actual console...since Sega, and the design is actually pretty awesome looking. I'd still get a Game Gear first though, I think.

I do know what you mean about needing more shelving space though...



But I don't even have much room left to put shelves as you can see...unlike you, that closet looks to be bare enough that it's basically not doing anything right now...might as well put it to use and display some games. I also use my closet to display stuff...well, a couple pet enclosures and my dresser. The other side of it does have clothes though...I had no where else to put the stuff, I was lucky it even fit at all









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> It works!


Sweet!


----------



## Mega Man

That is pretty cool


----------



## subassy

Not sure how much this qualifies for the thread and perhaps everybody already knows this but...

I was just looking up the progress on PS Vita/PSTV soft modding and it looks like quit a lot of progress has been made.

Okay maybe I should back up a step. After having this micro-PC case I rescued from the e-waste bin at work about 18 months ago I finally started doing what I originally wanted to do: turning this PC into a little emulation PC that I would connect to the TV. It's only a Core2Duo though. It was actually kind of an experience because the chassis was only made for a single 2.5" HDD and a slimline optical drive but I wanted to just run two hard drives. So I had cut off the power connector for the optical drive, do some wire stripping then solder/heat shrink on a normal SATA power connector. Okay it _sounds_ simple but I really had no idea it was going to work (I think the power thing is technically 3 volts instead of the standard 5). But it did. The OS drive is actually the kind that's even smaller than 2.5", I want to say it's 2" and requires a special adapter just to work with normal SATA power/data. Sorry for the digression...

I tested out the various emulators find it can do PS1 games but the best I could get from a PS2 was about 15FPS. I had tested out a PSP game and it seemed to work. But alas some PSP games are much more resource intensive than others and run about as slow as the PS2 games.

Thus prompting me to check on the progress of the softmods for the PSTV. And apparently the PSTV can be modded to go into a generic PSP mode or more specifically some kind of "virtual PSP" with the whole XMB UI and everything. So it this "virtual PSP" would have to be itself softmodded to run game ISOs the same way an actual PSP has to be modded to run them. So either I have to figure out how to set tthat all up or just put that idea on hold until I can find a more powerful PC to use for all this emulation.

Oh, and I bought launchbox premium so I could use big box as front end UI along with an emumovies account. The two work flawlessly together.


----------



## Dimensive

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Thus prompting me to check on the progress of the softmods for the PSTV. And apparently the PSTV can be modded to go into a generic PSP mode or more specifically some kind of "virtual PSP" with the whole XMB UI and everything. So it this "virtual PSP" would have to be itself softmodded to run game ISOs the same way an actual PSP has to be modded to run them. So either I have to figure out how to set tthat all up or just put that idea on hold until I can find a more powerful PC to use for all this emulation.


I assume you're talking about Adrenaline and if so, it does not need to be modded to play PSP ISOs or CSOs.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Thus prompting me to check on the progress of the softmods for the PSTV. And apparently the PSTV can be modded to go into a generic PSP mode or more specifically some kind of "virtual PSP" with the whole XMB UI and everything. So it this "virtual PSP" would have to be itself softmodded to run game ISOs the same way an actual PSP has to be modded to run them. So either I have to figure out how to set tthat all up or just put that idea on hold until I can find a more powerful PC to use for all this emulation.


I've actually done this. There are actually two, separate mods that you need to do. The first is an exploit of the PSP emulator built into the Vita firmware; this is what allows the PS Vita to be backwards compatible with PSP games. This mod was called TN-V, and you installed it through an exploit in a game (Mimana Iyar Chronicle) that would give you a custom bubble for TN-V; once launched, you would basically be in a PSP XMB. You could then use the content manager program on your PC and the Vita simultaneously to copy PSP ISOs to your Vita, and then go into TN-V XMB, click on "install", and after it installed the game you could play it through this XMB. This only worked for PSP games; emulators for the PSP installed inside of this XMB would either not work outright or run so slow as to be unusable. This was the mod that I did a year or two ago.

The other mod is called VHBL (Vita Half-Byte Loader); this was a HEN (Homebrew Enabler) that essentially gave you a menu and allowed you to run emulators written for the PSP at native speed. For whatever reason, you had to do it this way as opposed to installing the emulators inside of the XMB from TN-V. I never did this mod, it was too complicated and I couldn't get it to work.

Nowadays, neither of these methods need to be done, since they found an exploit within the web browser of the Vita that allows them to glitch out the system and run unsigned code, which allows the webpage to automagically install both of these things for you. The mod is called Henkaku. I obviously won't give links to it but it's not hard to find. The problem with this method is that afaik you MUST be on firmware 3.60 for it to work. I am not sure if lower versions are supported, but I know for a fact anything higher than 3.60 WON'T WORK. Don't even bother trying if you're on a higher firmware. Take it from someone who has experience in this scene. (Btw, TN-V and VHBL aren't supported on anything higher either, they were patched out, so don't bother messing around with those either if you have 3.61 or higher.)

Neither my Vita or my PSTV have these hacks anymore. The reason for that is that I got a few games (Vita games; cards) that refused to run with the firmware I was on. (3.55) So I had to choose between being able to play PSP games on my Vita, or playing the new Vita releases I got that I really wanted to play. I decided I would update my Vita so I could play my new games, instead of being able to run PSP games on it. I have two modded PSPs anyway (A 1000 and a PSP Go) so it's really not a problem. Besides, PSP games on the Vita look quite chunky and unappealing due to the native resolution of the Vita being much higher; they just get upscaled and don't look too good, the infamous jaggies of the PSP look particularly bad. The PSTV was even worse since it generally runs an even higher resolution of 1280x720. Trust me when I say that playing 480x272 PSP games, upscaled to 1280x720 by the PSTV, and further upscaled to 1920x1080 on my 55" TV- it looks like ass and it's not even worth it.

As far as the emulators go, a PSTV would be ideal if the emulators were native but they're not. They're PSP emulators originally with all the problems with resolution I just stated. The PSTV is even smaller than a Raspberry Pi board as far as I know, and you can use a Dualshock 3 or even a Dualshock 4, and most retro systems are supported... but really, just get a Raspberry Pi. You'll have a much better experience, much nicer frontend, native resolution on your TV with the EMULATOR doing the upscaling, and so forth.

Hope this helps.


----------



## Dimensive

Indeed, you must be on version 3.60 on the Vita or PSTV to run Henkaku. Adrenaline allows you to run the PSP XMB and play PSP games from the ISO/CSO like a modded PSP would. The quality doesn't look that bad on the Vita because there are filters that can be used in Adrenaline to smooth out the jagged edges. I don't know how long ago it happened, but you can now hook up the Vita (PSTV should allow USB flash drives soon) to your PC as a mass storage device and copy contents over to it as if it were a any kind of external device (flash drive, SD card, etc.).


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> Indeed, you must be on version 3.60 on the Vita or PSTV to run Henkaku. Adrenaline allows you to run the PSP XMB and play PSP games from the ISO/CSO like a modded PSP would. The quality doesn't look that bad on the Vita because there are filters that can be used in Adrenaline to smooth out the jagged edges. I don't know how long ago it happened, but you can now hook up the Vita (PSTV should allow USB flash drives soon) to your PC as a mass storage device and copy contents over to it as if it were a any kind of external device (flash drive, SD card, etc.).


I see. It seemed like just Henkaku for VHBL seemed like a godsend and vastly easier than trying to install it manually. I did all this stuff to my Vita when it was on 3.55, and I heard from people who had upgraded to 3.60 that while VHBL worked, TN-V did not, so I didn't upgrade. (That would have meant no PSP games on it.)

When I had the mod, in order to get my PSP games on it, I had to copy them all one by one using content manager on PC and the Vita, and I didn't use a cable, I just did it over Wi-fi. I'm glad to hear they are working on a solution to make it much easier.

My Vita and PSTV are both on 3.63 so no Henkaku for me. PSTVs are cheap enough used though, and most have sat unused since launch, so if you buy one online there's a good chance of getting one with a lower firmware.

Still, I'd rather just play PSP games on my PSPs, because even with a filter to smooth it out, you are still upscaling everything from 480x272. Also, if I had the games on my Vita or PSTV, what's the point of still having modded PSPs? Also, as far as I know, a lot of PSP plugins that work with PSP CFW don't work inside of the XMB from TN-V and probably Adrenaline. I use some of these to sort my games and emulators nicely on my modded PSPs. It's also nice having it all in one place in the XMB as opposed to needing numerous mods for the Vita.

So, I knew all this when I upgraded my Vita and I'm okay with it.


----------



## neurotix

By the way, Dimensive, I don't see you in the club members list. Did you want to join? Please see the instructions in the original post if you want to. Thanks.


----------



## subassy

The YouTube video I saw was about Henkaku, but I thought he said the next step was a soft mod for iso loading. Have to do more research.

I wanted to play PSP on a TV because I don't think I'll otherwise play them.

Will a pi really run PSP at full speed? I'm just going to use my Dell "SFF" for emulation on TV. I already have it and Windows has more front end/software options anyway. I already put 8 gigs of memory in it


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> The YouTube video I saw was about Henkaku, but I thought he said the next step was a soft mod for iso loading. Have to do more research.
> 
> I wanted to play PSP on a TV because I don't think I'll otherwise play them.
> 
> Will a pi really run PSP at full speed? I'm just going to use my Dell "SFF" for emulation on TV. I already have it and Windows has more front end/software options anyway. I already put 8 gigs of memory in it


If you run TN-V you don't need to do anything else to get ISOs to work because it includes a softmod (actually a CFW) with an ISO loader already. As I stated though (understandable if it's hard to follow) TN-V will not work past firmware 3.55 and I'm unsure if Henkaku works on firmwares earlier than 3.60.

I don't know if Adrenaline works the same way; I'm betting it does. (If it already exploits the PSP XMB, it shouldn't be much harder to install CFW onto it automatically as well.) Perhaps Dimensive can confirm if this is the case?

A Pi will not run PSP games because Pis run Linux and I have no idea if there's a version of PPSSPP for Linux. Honestly, if you want to emulate PSP I suggest you just use PPSSPP on your laptop. It will probably run it fine on a GTX680M.

I think you're right though; the best way to play PSP games on a TV is probably a modded PSTV. You could try and snag one off Ebay or Amazon and see if it has a low enough firmware. If you do, make sure you DON'T update it through "System Update" in the settings menu. You will have to update to 3.60 manually by getting the frimware somewhere. You used to be able to grab PSP firmwares, nearly any version, directly from Sony (these were called "OFWs" or original firmware.) I don't know if they allow manual downloading of Vita firmwares or not.

Newer PSP models (2000+) support component-out through a cable, so if your TV has RGB component ports you can output the PSP video and audio to your TV this way. I have the cable for this for my PSP Go. However, the problem with this (at least on my PSP Go) is that you cannot make it fullscreen unless your TV supports a pretty big overscan. So when I did it with my Go, the video was letterboxed on the top, bottom and sides. Needless to say I didn't like it and wanted to play the games full screen. Also, the Go has just one port called a "universal port" (or something like that in Sony's nonsense) meaning that the system could not be connected to charge while doing video-out because the charger and component cable use the same port. The Go has pretty poor battery life (3-4 hours) so obviously, playing games on the TV doesn't work for long either. This is really unfortunate because the Go supports Bluetooth and I can pair a PS3 controller to it, so I could hook the PSP to the TV and then sit on the couch with a controller to play...

Honestly, for anyone looking to play PSP games, I would just suggest getting a real PSP (probably a 1000) and modding it. The process is easy and old PSP's are relatively cheap. (under $80). This way, you could also have a portable system when you go somewhere, and it will emulate all 8-bit and 16-bit consoles as well as nearly every portable that came before it (Game Boy, GBC, Game Gear, Lynx, Wonderswan, even GBA- it does all these.)


----------



## Dimensive

Adrenaline requires no modification to run PSP games. You install it via ePSP Bubble Installer 2.0 and when you run it, it's the PSP XMB.


----------



## neurotix

Nice, I figured this was probably the case with Adrenaline being that TN-V worked the same way. Glad to know that modding the Vita is much easier than when I did it. (It was a real pain.)

Thanks for the pictures of it too.


----------



## neurotix

Sorry for double posting (again).

I got Zillion for my Master System, with the box, for $10 on Ebay. Unfortunately, the box is in pretty bad shape, but the cartridge is acceptable. I cleaned the contacts on it with alcohol (like with every game I get) and they weren't dirty.

I haven't played this game since high school... fun to play it again.

I really have no idea what I'm doing. Every computer terminal tells me I have no I.D. card. I'm at the very beginning. I swear I got one by blasting some of the metal things in the computer rooms, but it doesn't work on any of the three computer terminals I can access.

I really like the sound effects in this game, it sounds pretty satisfying when I shoot the enemy robots (?). I like how you can prone and crawl around and they can't, you can avoid getting hit by their lasers while blasting them.

Why does the guy I control have blue skin? There's an anime guy in the intro and I think it's him. He doesn't have blue skin though.

From what I'm aware, this game was based off a Japanese anime from the 80's. The main characters gun is also the Sega Light Phaser accessory for the SMS. I believe this game was a big release for the system there and probably sold consoles.

The game has no FM soundtrack as I'm playing it on my PowerBase Mini FM on my Genesis. The PSG sound is acceptable and catchy though.

So far I like it but I'll definitely need a walkthrough as I'm clueless on what to do.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson




----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*


Why remake it? I would listen to the whole thing if it were the original.

I don't really care for remade game music, in most cases the originals sound much better.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Why remake it? I would listen to the whole thing if it were the original.
> 
> I don't really care for remade game music, in most cases the originals sound much better.


I would argue there are exceptions, and certain people are quite talented...Matt Gray has been making music since the 80's...i can also tell if something is well done, typically, and anything by Matt Gray certainly fits that description. Music taste is subjective, of course, just like taste in everything else. I would also say, in this instance, the remake is far better than the original, IMO. Also, I am pretty sure all the music I have posted so far in the thread has been remasters/remakes. Except the one Snatcher tune, now that I think of it, I guess.

Here, this is Matt Gray... -

http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php/Matt_Gray





This one is not a remake though.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This one is not a remake though.


Definitely cool.

I never had a Commodore 64, I've never even used one. They were before my time and we had Macs back then. Really no room for something like that around here either.

The SID chip is absolutely amazing though.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Definitely cool.
> 
> I never had a Commodore 64, I've never even used one. They were before my time and we had Macs back then. Really no room for something like that around here either.
> 
> The SID chip is absolutely amazing though.


I never did have one either, though it's high up on my list of things to buy. I think I did say I used them a lot in public school. I don't know how, but my rural kindergarten class I remember had about 10 of them right in the class room. I think we used C64 until around the time Windows 95 came out, then we switched some of our computer lab to Windows 3.1 with I think a single Win95 PC in the whole school. When I graduated grade 8 the C64 were still in use, and most of the computers were still Windows 3.1 though lol Each class did have a Windows PC too though at that point. I never got to play anything as cool as Deliverance though...mostly just educational games and text adventures







It's all pretty vague since this was when I was 4-5 years old. I've always just loved the C64 hardware since then. All I had used up to that point was monochrome (green or orange) screen business type PC, and all I ever did on those was crappy games and typing.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I never did have one either, though it's high up on my list of things to buy. I think I did say I used them a lot in public school. I don't know how, but my rural kindergarten class I remember had about 10 of them right in the class room. I think we used C64 until around the time Windows 95 came out, then we switched some of our computer lab to Windows 3.1 with I think a single Win95 PC in the whole school. When I graduated grade 8 the C64 were still in use, and most of the computers were still Windows 3.1 though lol Each class did have a Windows PC too though at that point. I never got to play anything as cool as Deliverance though...mostly just educational games and text adventures
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's all pretty vague since this was when I was 4-5 years old. I've always just loved the C64 hardware since then. All I had used up to that point was monochrome (green or orange) screen business type PC, and all I ever did on those was crappy games and typing.
> 
> snip


We had Apple IIs in school but all we ever did was play Oregon Trail and go hunting. When your carriage is full of 5000 lbs. of Buffalo meat, most of it spoiled, everyone dies from cholera. Or you can't cross rivers at all and sink while trying to ford them. Because the carriage is too heavy.

However, we had Macs at home. First computer I EVER used was a neighbors Mac Plus. Floppy only. I used to look at premade pictures in MacPaint, one was of an F-15, but you had to swap floppy disks many times for the image to load because it was so big it had to be split between multiple disks. I must have been 5 years old. I seem to recall they might have had a modem, and used it with some terminal program to access the Dartmouth College library index remotely (my dad went to school there). Later, my dad had a Mac Classic (another, newer compact Mac- came out after the SE) and he had a 1200 baud modem and AOL 2.0. My first introduction to anything online, and this was before the internet existed. I didn't get my first PC until 1997 or so, I think I was 12. Pentium 75mhz. I've only had PCs since. I had used them at friends houses before of course, my older friends grandpa had a Tandy something with the orange monitor, he showed me The Bard's Tale on it, and I loved it.


----------



## neurotix

I figured I'd put this in a separate post, so it's cleaner.

I thought about it more and I guess I lied, I DO like remade video game music, but generally in more of a metal style. And it also kind of depends on the system, I don't think most NES music can be remade that well, the original sound is usually always better. C64 is one of those machines where I think the SID chip is amazing on it's own. Probably the same for the Genesis Yamaha 2612 and SNES Sony SPC-700. I really didn't like the remade Streets of Rage music for Streets of Rage Remake, for example, I would much rather listen to that music directly from my Genesis 1 with my stereo speakers. I don't really know anything about music, I can't read music, I don't play instruments, so what do I know? I just prefer the original sound of most systems though.

Anyway yeah, I like quite a few bands that cover game music, maybe the difference for me is that it's an actual band and not just a computer made remix. Unsurprisingly a lot of these bands are Japanese. Game music is a big industry there.

Western bands are: The Minibosses, Powerglove, NESkimos, a few more obscure ones
Japanese bands are: Mintjam, CROW'SCLAW (one of my favorite bands- period), Hellion Sounds, Magical Trick Society

Here's two of my favorites as an example-

(This is FF8, your favorite game Aaron)






FF5


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I figured I'd put this in a separate post, so it's cleaner.
> 
> I thought about it more and I guess I lied, I DO like remade video game music, but generally in more of a metal style. And it also kind of depends on the system, I don't think most NES music can be remade that well, the original sound is usually always better. C64 is one of those machines where I think the SID chip is amazing on it's own. Probably the same for the Genesis Yamaha 2612 and SNES Sony SPC-700. I really didn't like the remade Streets of Rage music for Streets of Rage Remake, for example, I would much rather listen to that music directly from my Genesis 1 with my stereo speakers. I don't really know anything about music, I can't read music, I don't play instruments, so what do I know? I just prefer the original sound of most systems though.
> 
> Anyway yeah, I like quite a few bands that cover game music, maybe the difference for me is that it's an actual band and not just a computer made remix. Unsurprisingly a lot of these bands are Japanese. Game music is a big industry there.
> 
> Western bands are: The Minibosses, Powerglove, NESkimos, a few more obscure ones
> Japanese bands are: Mintjam, CROW'SCLAW (one of my favorite bands- period), Hellion Sounds, Magical Trick Society
> 
> Here's two of my favorites as an example-
> 
> (This is FF8, your favorite game Aaron)
> 
> FF5


I love music of all types, and I especially appreciate when others share there favs as well







Any music posted in this thread I have listened to, even if I didn't make a comment. The only band I've heard of you mentioned is Powerglove, so giving the others a listen right now. I literally listen to anything, mostly obscure stuff though because I listen to so much music and get tired of hearing the same stuff over and over. I used to listen to a lot of metal when I was younger, but not as much anymore...still do though. I am no musical prodigy or anything, music is just one of those things...if I had to pick between music and video games, I am pretty sure I'd have to go with music







My guitar is one of my main sources of stress relief...even though I am not very good, I just enjoy it.

Also, unrelated, but I thought this was kind of, interesting? lol Not sure yet -


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I love music of all types, and I especially appreciate when others share there favs as well
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Any music posted in this thread I have listened to, even if I didn't make a comment. The only band I've heard of you mentioned is Powerglove, so giving the others a listen right now. I literally listen to anything, mostly obscure stuff though because I listen to so much music and get tired of hearing the same stuff over and over. I used to listen to a lot of metal when I was younger, but not as much anymore...still do though. I am no musical prodigy or anything, music is just one of those things...if I had to pick between music and video games, I am pretty sure I'd have to go with music
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My guitar is one of my main sources of stress relief...even though I am not very good, I just enjoy it.
> 
> Also, unrelated, but I thought this was kind of, interesting? lol Not sure yet -


Can't you do most of that stuff with a lot of other controllers in Windows?

I'm pretty sure stuff like Xpadder has support for macros, deadzones etc. and you don't necessarily need to map it to keys on the keyboard.

The Dolphin emulator makes use of a lot of those features for controllers. However I'm not sure if it uses Directinput or Xinput.


----------



## subassy

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!



Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I love music of all types, and I especially appreciate when others share there favs as well
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Any music posted in this thread I have listened to, even if I didn't make a comment. The only band I've heard of you mentioned is Powerglove, so giving the others a listen right now. I literally listen to anything, mostly obscure stuff though because I listen to so much music and get tired of hearing the same stuff over and over. I used to listen to a lot of metal when I was younger, but not as much anymore...still do though. I am no musical prodigy or anything, music is just one of those things...if I had to pick between music and video games, I am pretty sure I'd have to go with music
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My guitar is one of my main sources of stress relief...even though I am not very good, I just enjoy it.
> 
> Also, unrelated, but I thought this was kind of, interesting? lol Not sure yet -






I like the idea. I mean a little LCD screen that allows for switching between consoles and bluetooth and on-the-fly macro creation? If they can get that working all slick and relatively painlessly that would definitely be a cool thing.

The issue is I'm not sure what the audience is. With all those features and its own screen it's going to be really expensive. There is that special $200 elite controller for Xbone but there's no guarantee that $200 elite gamepad purchaser will be the same group interested in learning on-the-fly macros and cross console gamepad switching. In my limited experience there seems to be a pretty hard preference for console enthusiast is the layout of _their_ gamepad e.g. most Xbone players aren't going to want the analog sticks is "playstation configuration" and probably if even one PS4 gamepad feature is missing there will be complaints from those players.

What would have been better or at least a valid option is the same thing but as a fight/arcade stick. At least then there would be more interest from a few of the PC enthusiasts. That's the first thing I thought about when I heard all those features: wouldn't it be cool if this was available as an x-arcade type form factor...with a track ball and maybe a spinner/dial, now that would be cool.

I just don't see how they can bring in a quality product at an affordable price that will appeal to enough people to make their money back. Because I doubt it will come in under $200 and if most of the features are there to appeal to PC gamers especially I don't think the demand for adapting non-gamepad based PC games to a gamepad is really going to appeal to that many people. Not that anybody asked...


----------



## Mega Man

i like it, but i like several and i dont use the ones i have enough, i may buy it though. it will be after ryzen !


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Just figured it might be something to keep an eye on, considering who it's being made by and all







I just find controller in general interesting, something like that would just be kind of neat to show off, I guess...even if I never ended up using it. It'll be out of my price range anyway, I am sure. The arcade stick is a great idea, actually...you could probably mention it to Rerez, part of who's behind this thing...he was doing a Q&A earlier and was basically open to all kinds of input and suggestions, I was surprised. I actually bet he would be interested in doing an arcade stick version in the future...PCB only version might be kind of cool to mess with...

More music cause I am bored -






I really suggest reading the info before shrugging these "remakes" off...can't make you appreciate what this is though


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> snip
> 
> I really suggest reading the info before shrugging these "remakes" off...can't make you appreciate what this is though


Pretty good. I like it. I read what it said too. It's great that he's still revisiting his old work after all these years.

Magical Trick Society, Glacier Land from the Dragon Spirit cover album. I uploaded this one myself since it wasn't on youtube and it's the best track on the album. One of my favorite NES games too (Dragon Spirit: The New Legend)






Hellion Sounds - Wayfayer - Kenji Ito cover album. This is from SaGa 2 (called Final Fantasy Legend 2 here)


----------



## subassy

Today I was watching random videos...as people do? and randomly came across this video about recalled video games. One of them was the PS1 version of _Tiger Woods PGA Tour '99_: some jerk snuck the original 5 minute pilot of South Park as a 50MB file (ZZDUMMY.DAT) on to the disc without EA noticing. So EA recalled "100,000 copies" of the game to replace it with a version without the file. The recall made it seem like the south park version would be rare-and-therefore-special.

So I mention that pointless bit of trivia to mention by incredible coincidence the very day I found out about Tiger Woods '99 I found a copy of Tiger Woods '99 at a thrift store (for $1.50, because WTH wants a copy of Tiger Woods 99 for PS1?), I just stuck it in my drive and...look the pilot of south park...

Same thrift store, found this. N64 steering wheel thing:


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Today I was watching random videos...as people do? and randomly came across this video about recalled video games. One of them was the PS1 version of _Tiger Woods PGA Tour '99_: some jerk snuck the original 5 minute pilot of South Park as a 50MB file (ZZDUMMY.DAT) on to the disc without EA noticing. So EA recalled "100,000 copies" of the game to replace it with a version without the file. The recall made it seem like the south park version would be rare-and-therefore-special.
> 
> So I mention that pointless bit of trivia to mention by incredible coincidence the very day I found out about Tiger Woods '99 I found a copy of Tiger Woods '99 at a thrift store (for $1.50, because WTH wants a copy of Tiger Woods 99 for PS1?), I just stuck it in my drive and...look the pilot of south park...
> 
> Same thrift store, found this. N64 steering wheel thing:


I think I have heard about the South Park on Tiger Woods Golf thing before in the past.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I picked up a thing, nothing fancy as usual, and not much money to spend, also as usual, but got a boxed Sonic 3 for Genesis. Grabbed it from Microplay...been getting a lot from there lately. Didn't think it was that great of a price at $15 Canadian, but apparently, it is...going for well over $30 on Ebay.

Also...the Switch is out...does anyone care as little as I do?








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Pretty good. I like it. I read what it said too. It's great that he's still revisiting his old work after all these years.
> 
> Magical Trick Society, Glacier Land from the Dragon Spirit cover album. I uploaded this one myself since it wasn't on youtube and it's the best track on the album. One of my favorite NES games too (Dragon Spirit: The New Legend)


Cool!







Love that cover art as well...
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Today I was watching random videos...as people do? and randomly came across this video about recalled video games. One of them was the PS1 version of _Tiger Woods PGA Tour '99_: some jerk snuck the original 5 minute pilot of South Park as a 50MB file (ZZDUMMY.DAT) on to the disc without EA noticing. So EA recalled "100,000 copies" of the game to replace it with a version without the file. The recall made it seem like the south park version would be rare-and-therefore-special.
> 
> So I mention that pointless bit of trivia to mention by incredible coincidence the very day I found out about Tiger Woods '99 I found a copy of Tiger Woods '99 at a thrift store (for $1.50, because WTH wants a copy of Tiger Woods 99 for PS1?), I just stuck it in my drive and...look the pilot of south park...
> 
> Same thrift store, found this. N64 steering wheel thing:


I hadn't head of this, did you check and see if it was worth anything? Also, I wonder if dude had to pay up after that, or if he just got away with it?


----------



## Wolfsbora

Sounds like a decent place for pickups, Aaron!

Here's my recent pickups:

We think a bit crazy on the Wipeout series, wouldn't you say?


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I actually almost grabbed Wipeout 64 until I saw Sonic 3







Been meaning to get into the Front Mission series..always been interested because, of, well, mecha, but strategy RPG's hadn't been my thing. I've since played a few strategy RPG's and realized I was just being ridiculous







The Faery Tale Adventure looks like something I would have enjoyed immensely as a kid before we got an actual PC.


----------



## neurotix

Sonic 3 in box is something I want because I have Sonic 1 and 2 in box. (complete)

I only have a cart of it. Have Sonic & Knuckles too though (Lock-On Technology!)

Front Mission I can elaborate on, afaik Front Mission 4 is probably the worst one, you should also avoid Front Mission Evolved for PS3 and 360 (it's a Western style action game more than the original strategy RPG setting).

Front Mission 2 on PSX was never released here. Front Mission 3 on PSX WAS and is supposed to be pretty good. I've never played it though. Front Mission 5 was the last real entry in the series, on PS2. However it was not released here. Some time ago, it was totally translated and you can play it on PS2 (with FMCB and ESR) or in an emulator. The iso is not hard to find. This game is quite good, though has some large difficulty spikes.

The one I would recommend, however, is the original Front Mission on Super Famicom (SNES) with the fan translation patch. This is easily one of my favorite games of all time. It has excellent gameplay, graphics and music. It would be playable in an emulator quite easily, or you could get a repro cart. On top of that, an enhanced remake for the Nintendo DS was released here in English as an official release in 2007. This one actually has a brand new second campaign that was not in the SFC release. However, it is much more difficult than the original campaign and intended to be a "master's game" so it may be too tough.

Additionally there was a game called Front Mission Gun Hazard that was also on Super Famicom and never released here. It has been translated as well. This one is not a SRPG, it is actually a side scrolling shooter type game with heavy RPG elements.

I'm not sure about any other games; I think there were mobile spinoffs for Japanese-only cell phones (NTT DoCoMo etc.) The only one I have actually played till the end is the original, and all the others seemed to pale in comparison to me.


----------



## neurotix

SNES version music is better than the DS port, I'm afraid. Noriko Matsueda did a really good job with the soundtrack. This youtube version is of course missing the digitized voice "thank you" when buying something though xD


----------



## Mega Man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I picked up a thing, nothing fancy as usual, and not much money to spend, also as usual, but got a boxed Sonic 3 for Genesis. Grabbed it from Microplay...been getting a lot from there lately. Didn't think it was that great of a price at $15 Canadian, but apparently, it is...going for well over $30 on Ebay.
> 
> Also...the Switch is out...does anyone care as little as I do?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Pretty good. I like it. I read what it said too. It's great that he's still revisiting his old work after all these years.
> 
> Magical Trick Society, Glacier Land from the Dragon Spirit cover album. I uploaded this one myself since it wasn't on youtube and it's the best track on the album. One of my favorite NES games too (Dragon Spirit: The New Legend)
> 
> 
> 
> Cool!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Love that cover art as well...
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Today I was watching random videos...as people do? and randomly came across this video about recalled video games. One of them was the PS1 version of _Tiger Woods PGA Tour '99_: some jerk snuck the original 5 minute pilot of South Park as a 50MB file (ZZDUMMY.DAT) on to the disc without EA noticing. So EA recalled "100,000 copies" of the game to replace it with a version without the file. The recall made it seem like the south park version would be rare-and-therefore-special.
> 
> So I mention that pointless bit of trivia to mention by incredible coincidence the very day I found out about Tiger Woods '99 I found a copy of Tiger Woods '99 at a thrift store (for $1.50, because WTH wants a copy of Tiger Woods 99 for PS1?), I just stuck it in my drive and...look the pilot of south park...
> 
> Same thrift store, found this. N64 steering wheel thing:
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I hadn't head of this, did you check and see if it was worth anything? Also, I wonder if dude had to pay up after that, or if he just got away with it?
Click to expand...

Frankly I am thinking of picking up games I want new. And waiting till all 3 new consoles are eol.... before buying. This gen was absolute trash

Nintendo has an ad comparing the switch to the xbone and ps4 /fail


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Frankly I am thinking of picking up games I want new. And waiting till all 3 new consoles are eol.... before buying. This gen was absolute trash
> 
> Nintendo has an ad comparing the switch to the xbone and ps4 /fail


I agree, this generation is pretty bad. I wanted a PS4 and was thinking of getting one recently until I realized the only game I really want to play on it is Disgaea 5. Pretty much everything else I can play on my PC and generally have a better experience.

For the Switch all I really want to play is Xenoblade, but no idea when it will come out. There's no way I'm paying launch price for it either, especially with the ridiculous accessory prices ($80 for a controller? Come on)

I waited until the PS3 and 360 were end of life to get them and only paid $100 each with two controllers on Ebay. Most of the games for them were under $10 as well. Tbh the PS3 has more exclusives for it I would want to play compared to the PS4. And it was a lot cheaper.

I would have totally wanted a PS4 for Rogue Galaxy, which I guess people were saying was supposed to be a remake, but instead it's just a straight port of the PS2 game... and I already have that and finished it a few years ago.


----------



## subassy

Well last night I got alerted to an instock Switch, albeit a bundle, so I jumped on it. So you'd think I'd be done with game buying for a while, but no.

I went to this neighborhood-wide yard sale this morning and found:

_Shenmue_ for Dreamcast. Looks legit this time. Has four or five discs. If only I had a working DC. Oh, and I paid $4.
I spotted a "Marvel vs Capcom" case, for PS1. But when I opened it it had _Bloody Roar 2_. I asked if I could keep the case anyway so they gave it to me. BR2 seems to be worth...well not nothing. So..._free_
_Gubble_ for PS1. Just a random game I spotted and took with the other two, also $4. Most likely nothing special.
Disappointment on the Marvel vs. Capcom thing, but overall not a terrible friday morning.


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> _Shenmue_ for Dreamcast. Looks legit this time. Has four or five discs. If only I had a working DC. Oh, and I paid $4.


4 discs would be the regular release (3 game discs + the "Passport" disc), and 5 would indicate the Limited Edition release which comes with a "Jukebox" CD that has about 10 tracks on it.


----------



## madpossum

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Well last night I got alerted to an instock Switch, albeit a bundle, so I jumped on it. So you'd think I'd be done with game buying for a while, but no.
> 
> I went to this neighborhood-wide yard sale this morning and found:
> 
> _Shenmue_ for Dreamcast. Looks legit this time. Has four or five discs. If only I had a working DC. Oh, and I paid $4.
> I spotted a "Marvel vs Capcom" case, for PS1. But when I opened it it had _Bloody Roar 2_. I asked if I could keep the case anyway so they gave it to me. BR2 seems to be worth...well not nothing. So..._free_
> _Gubble_ for PS1. Just a random game I spotted and took with the other two, also $4. Most likely nothing special.
> Disappointment on the Marvel vs. Capcom thing, but overall not a terrible friday morning.


MvC for the PS1 was a horrible, terrible port. I can't believe people are paying so much for it now. I had it back in the day and promptly got rid of it after about a week. Might be the worst fighting game port I ever played. I have the DC versions of MvC and MvC2, those are excellent.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *madpossum*
> 
> MvC for the PS1 was a horrible, terrible port. I can't believe people are paying so much for it now. I had it back in the day and promptly got rid of it after about a week. Might be the worst fighting game port I ever played. I have the DC versions of MvC and MvC2, those are excellent.


Any of the CPS2 fighters on PS1 were bad. The PS1 just didn't have enough memory to do them right. Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter was also bad. These games were much better on the Saturn with the 4mb expansion cart.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 was actually ok on PS1, and so was Alpha 2. But it couldn't do the VS. games very well.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Dreamcast and Saturn are pretty much the way to go for Capcom fighters...I used to love them in the arcade, I don't play them much anymore though. Probably because I've never had a proper fight stick...


----------



## madpossum

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Dreamcast and Saturn are pretty much the way to go for Capcom fighters...I used to love them in the arcade, I don't play them much anymore though. Probably because I've never had a proper fight stick...


The amount of money I've spent on fight sticks is depressing, especially since I prefer the old American style HAPP sticks and buttons and straight button layout. Everyone else goes with Japanese style sticks and buttons/layout, so that's all you can buy off the shelf. Which means I've gone for customs.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *madpossum*
> 
> The amount of money I've spent on fight sticks is depressing, especially since I prefer the old American style HAPP sticks and buttons and straight button layout. Everyone else goes with Japanese style sticks and buttons/layout, so that's all you can buy off the shelf. Which means I've gone for customs.


Have you shared any pictures of them yet? If not, you should do so, if you did, sorry I missed them!


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Have you shared any pictures of them yet? If not, you should do so, if you did, sorry I missed them!


He did. They look phenomenal.

I'm one of those that prefer the Japanese style sticks, though I was mainly a 3s player so that's why. I don't play too well on Happ/American controls, but on madpossum's sticks I think I could probably get down once I adjust.

I would have to dig to find the pictures of them, it was quite a while ago and the thread has been moving fast lately. madpossum, do you mind reposting the pictures of your arcade sticks when you get a chance?


----------



## madpossum

Sorry, been busy lately.







My case


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

The sticks are awesome...I'll admit I know little about them, but they certainly look like quality builds! I want one...been wanting one for awhile now...just haven't had the money to buy parts or get around to making a case. I've got a bunch of heavy gauge steel sitting around though for just such things. There are just so many things I want and so little money to get them, so it takes me time...there are still quite a few consoles I'd buy before spending good money on a quality fight stick setup. Some day soon though...and I'll likely ask for some opinions in this thread when it comes time to pick out hardware for it. Definitely will be building my own though. I used to really be into fighting games as a kid, probably more than any other genre, though I was never "good" at them, nor was I ever serious into one series. That kind of died off after arcades though, for me, and to a lesser extent, after Dreamcast. I haven't played many of the modern fighting games...but have picked up a few fairly recently, such as a few from the Guilty Gear series, a BlazBlue game...just haven't played them yet. Any other recent fighters that you guys would recommend? I prefer 2D style, but 3D is fine as well, as long as the games have some depth. Well, even then...Dead or Alive 2 is one of my fav fighting games of all time (counter everything), and people consider that game to lack depth, and I guess I agree. I just really liked the counter system in that game, and the tag combo things were awesome as well.


----------



## madpossum

A recent fighting game that flew under the radar that is unique, has a deep fighting system, and great graphics is a game called Battle Fantasia. I have it for the Xbox 360, it came out for the PS3 as well. It sorta plays like Street Fighter 3 but is very unique. I loved it but not many people played it. It's probably cheap to get.

I made a Youtube video a little while ago about fighting games I thought were fun but underappreciated, the video quality is meh but the game recommendations are good, LOL.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *madpossum*
> 
> A recent fighting game that flew under the radar that is unique, has a deep fighting system, and great graphics is a game called Battle Fantasia. I have it for the Xbox 360, it came out for the PS3 as well. It sorta plays like Street Fighter 3 but is very unique. I loved it but not many people played it. It's probably cheap to get.
> 
> I made a Youtube video a little while ago about fighting games I thought were fun but underappreciated, the video quality is meh but the game recommendations are good, LOL.


Sweet, even better than the typed response I was expecting lol I'll keep an eye out for Battle Fantasia







And of course I am about the watch your vid for some more recommendations.

EDIT - I was actually familiar with all the other games except Battle Fantasia, but that looked pretty solid. I was most happy to see Tobal on there...almost forgot about that game...remember spending hours going through that adventure mode thing, There really hasn't been anything like it since. Also...Bushido Blade...awesome series. And I haven't played it yet, but that new King of Fighters XIII or whatever number it's on now, actually looks really good. I mean, it is KOF series I suppose...which are always good. But then so was Street Fighter, and I wasn't a huge fan of IV or later.


----------



## madpossum

KOF 12 and 13 are really good and play much more like old school 2D fighters than SF4 does. They are also the best looking fighting games off all time, IMO. I haven't played KOF 14 yet, I've heard it's good but I'm disappointed they went with 3d models instead of the hand drawn sprites of 12 and 13. I've recently got a PS4 so might pick it up, though.

As far as newer 2D FG's I'd recommend *Skullgirls*, *Persona 4 Arena*, *Tatsunoko vs Capcom*, any of the *BlazBlue* games. *Injustice* was a fun game with some unique elements. *Street Fighter V* is, IMO, much better than IV (though still not as good as 2) and plays more "old school" than IV did. I don't play it very often, though.

And my favorite newer FG (and favorite game of all time) is *Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix*, It's basically Super SF2 Turbo with new graphics and new moves and balance changes. A lot of the old school, hard core Super Turbo players poo poo on it because they don't like some of the changes, but I like most of them. There's still people playing online on the 360 and PS3 (more so on the PS3). I don't play fighting games much at all anymore, but when I do it's usually still this game.


----------



## neurotix

Blazblue is excellent.

I can't believe you didn't mention Melty Blood at all. Such an awesome game and series. I played Melty Blood Act Cadenza a lot but quit when Actress Again came out (and they changed the moveset/combos of pretty much the entire cast- I didn't want to relearn it). So now if I play it with my wife we just play Melty Blood Act Cadenza on PS2.

I have HD Remix and I can vouch for it being good as well. Honestly I still prefer Super Turbo though, HDR ended up looking more like SF Flash edition or something. I'll play both though. At least they made Cammy better in HDR. My only problem is that right now, somehow I lost my "license" for the game because it's on an old PSN account that I don't know the password to, so I can't even play HDR on my PS3 (or Super Puzzle Fighter). I need to get it sorted out but it's not high on my list simply because I don't care for online play at all (and madpossum, if you're curious, yes I have 3rd Strike Online edition and no, I don't really care for it, there's noticeable lag that makes one frame links really hard, I'd still prefer to play 3s on PS2 for this reason)

As far as sticks go, in my experience, American style sticks are good for games with large, fast movements. This is probably because they tend to have a longer throw distance to the gate restrictor. (Keep in mind it's been a while since I used one.) This makes them particularly suited to classic Street Fighter games with fireball/uppercut motions, and charge motions (such as Guile/E.Honda). The motions have to be done more deliberately on these games, and thus they are more accurate. This means that these sticks would be a good contender for King of Fighters games as well where the game is less about lengthy, big combos and more about spamming specials/supers and the reversal game. (Older KoF games were like this (95-02), I don't know about now.) These sticks would also be excellent candidates for any kind of classic arcade game with the appropriate restrictor plate (e.g. two-way for Galaga, four-way for Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, etc.)

Japanese style sticks have a shorter throw and different switches, and so they are more suited to games requiring a LOT of very fast, precise inputs. This makes them quite good for 3rd Strike, considering 95% of 3rd Strike is about landing your super from c.mk. You are basically constantly buffering qcf, qcf very quickly while sticking out pokes and if anything lands, you go into your super. Qcf x2 obviously would be easier and faster to do on a smaller, faster stick. (Japanese 3s cabs use Seimitsu sticks.) These sticks are also very good for "Doujin" fighters (Blazblue, Melty Blood, Arcana Heart, Persona 4 Arena, Guilty Gear...) because those games involve many quick inputs in succession for very long combo chains (20 hit+ in some cases). By extension, that also makes these types of sticks excellent for Marvel vs Capcom games and their sequels, which work in a similar way. Finally, Japanese sticks (or really any stick with a ball top instead of bat top) are also excellent for shmups, particularly the danmaku ("bullet hell") style games by Cave, Toaplan and Raizing/Eighting. The reason they are better is the shorter throw distance = quicker and more precise directional control for dodging bullets.

That's the general idea, but ultimately the decision is up to you, and realistically you should use whatever you're most comfortable with for everything. It's a big matter of preference. And what I said about each one is arguable. A lot of it comes down to preference and feel. Barring building one of each kind from high quality components (e.g. Happ and Sanwa), you should get out to some arcades and try sticks and buttons of different origins. Of course, you could build an all-Happ stick and decide that you don't like like the buttons but you like the stick. In this case, it wouldn't be much harder to drill bigger holes and put in Sanwa buttons while keeping the American style stick. This is the beauty of the hobby, you can pick what suits you best. Even among Happ or Sanwa sticks, there are different ways of customizing them, not only are there different models from each brand, but you can usually buy restrictor gates separately (e.g. square, circular, octagonal, 4-way, etc.) Mine is customized in this way. So again, finally, a lot of it is down to preference and they're customizable, but it wouldn't hurt to try each type first before you decide on what you want in your own one.

EDIT: Fixed a few mistakes


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Thanks for the wealth of info fellas, I am sure I'll post a build list here though when it comes time to order...your post in particular Neurotix gives me a great place to start though in choosing hardware. And unfortunately, there really aren't any arcades left local to me...the last good one closed down almost 10 years ago now. There is a small one at this Water Park type place, that shrinks more and more each year, and is mostly just those stupid ticket games at this point. We used to have a really huge arcade here at a place called Sports World, but it also closed down years ago.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Thanks for the wealth of info fellas, I am sure I'll post a build list here though when it comes time to order...your post in particular Neurotix gives me a great place to start though in choosing hardware. And unfortunately, there really aren't any arcades left local to me...the last good one closed down almost 10 years ago now. There is a small one at this Water Park type place, that shrinks more and more each year, and is mostly just those stupid ticket games at this point. We used to have a really huge arcade here at a place called Sports World, but it also closed down years ago.


You should also consider what system to get your stick wired for, in the case of a custom stick. Mine is wired for Playstation 2, but really it's wired for Playstation 1 (using the original non-Dualshock PCB, the very first Playstation controller before they added analog, which at the time I had it built was thought to be the best). PS1 is forwards-compatible with PS2. The advantage of this is that it will work on a PS1 and a PS2, and there are converters for many systems such as Dreamcast, Xbox, Gamecube, PS3, Xbox 360, and so on. I basically have a converter for all of those systems. I was advised to get a particular USB converter for PS3, it's Korean, and thought to be the best (e.g. no additional lag) PS2 -> PS3 converter. I have no idea if it would work on a PS4 or not though. If it doesn't, I'm betting there is probably a PS2 -> PS4 converter just for this purpose (for playing fighters on PS4 using custom sticks wired for PS2). I'm guessing this may be why madpossum has so many sticks, is that some of them are wired for different systems.

A good starting point might be to actually invest in a used arcade stick for 360 or PS3. Quite a few years ago now, Mad Catz made some really high quality "fightsticks" for PS3/360. There was the regular one which was cheaper and smaller and the "Tournament Edition" one which is larger, very solid, and uses authentic Sanwa parts. Either of these can be modded quite easily to either use different parts, or to replace the artwork. When they launched, the normal one was like $80 and the "TE" one was $150-ish. That would be a much cheaper method of entry than getting a custom one made (mine ran me about $300 and I know of some people who spent much more than that on a custom stick with having them wired for multiple systems, etc..)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> You should also consider what system to get your stick wired for, in the case of a custom stick. Mine is wired for Playstation 2, but really it's wired for Playstation 1 (using the original non-Dualshock PCB, the very first Playstation controller before they added analog, which at the time I had it built was thought to be the best). PS1 is forwards-compatible with PS2. The advantage of this is that it will work on a PS1 and a PS2, and there are converters for many systems such as Dreamcast, Xbox, Gamecube, PS3, Xbox 360, and so on. I basically have a converter for all of those systems. I was advised to get a particular USB converter for PS3, it's Korean, and thought to be the best (e.g. no additional lag) PS2 -> PS3 converter. I have no idea if it would work on a PS4 or not though. If it doesn't, I'm betting there is probably a PS2 -> PS4 converter just for this purpose (for playing fighters on PS4 using custom sticks wired for PS2). I'm guessing this may be why madpossum has so many sticks, is that some of them are wired for different systems.
> 
> A good starting point might be to actually invest in a used arcade stick for 360 or PS3. Quite a few years ago now, Mad Catz made some really high quality "fightsticks" for PS3/360. There was the regular one which was cheaper and smaller and the "Tournament Edition" one which is larger, very solid, and uses authentic Sanwa parts. Either of these can be modded quite easily to either use different parts, or to replace the artwork. When they launched, the normal one was like $80 and the "TE" one was $150-ish. That would be a much cheaper method of entry than getting a custom one made (mine ran me about $300 and I know of some people who spent much more than that on a custom stick with having them wired for multiple systems, etc..)


This part doesn't bother me at all...I was thinking of going universal, with adapters and switches...hard to explain, but it'll basically have all the inputs hooked to switches, and I will use cheap gamepad PCBs for various systems from that, with custom adapter cables used for each unique system controller port...it's simple in my head, tough to explain if you're not following without a diagram of sorts...it would start out using a basic keyboard matrix so it would be used on PC, and I would add controller PCB from there, adding more systems as I feel like it. The end result would be a single arcade stick setup, with a single port/connector on the rear (probably use VGA connectors or something), and then I would build adapter cables that would like, PS1/PS2 to VGA, USB to VGA for Xbox 360/PS3, etc. There would be a multi-way switch or a few of them on the stick to select which "system" the stick would be hooked up to. I would totally be doing all the custom work myself and not paying anyone. The case will be heavy gauge steel and wood, as heavy as possible. And I would want to order quality parts that fit a certain colour scheme, etc. I do know quite a bit about modding electronics and whatnot, and making cases from scratch is no deal at all. I mess with steel and angle grinders and such all the time.


----------



## neurotix

That sounds expensive.

If you have the electronics know-how, I suppose there's nothing stopping you from making the adapter cables or including multiple PCBs w/ switches to add compatibility for multiple systems.

I would still recommend either 1) getting a Mad Catz stick not only to play around with, but to study or use as a blueprint or 2) Go to shoryuken.com, check out the custom stick section, get ideas, and look at other people's blueprints for sticks, this should give you a good basis for making your own and make it much easier to do.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> That sounds expensive.
> 
> If you have the electronics know-how, I suppose there's nothing stopping you from making the adapter cables or including multiple PCBs w/ switches to add compatibility for multiple systems.
> 
> I would still recommend either 1) getting a Mad Catz stick not only to play around with, but to study or use as a blueprint or 2) Go to shoryuken.com, check out the custom stick section, get ideas, and look at other people's blueprints for sticks, this should give you a good basis for making your own and make it much easier to do.


Shouldn't be expensive honestly, I want to spend on quality buttons and stick, everything else should be around a few dollars per gamepad to strip for PCB, so lets say $30-40 in gamepads, subtracting ones I already own and can cannibilize...probably more like $10...casing ...I already have wood, steel, and all the tools for taking it from raw materials to finished product. I already have stock of acrylic, spray paint, wood stain...the switches are less than $1 each, and i would likely need about 3, maybe more, maybe less, depending on the actual switches I am able to find. And then the adapter cables...I already keep boxes and bags of old cables (I am probably destined to be a hoarder when i age), so that's another thing I don't have to pay for. Basically the only cost to me here is stick, buttons, and lets say $30 in bits and bobs. I will definitely be checking out the work of others though before I get right into this endeavor. This is likely awhile off yet anyway, but I guess there would be nothing stopping my from starting to mess around with now and ordering hardware later on. And I was thinking of a brushed aluminum "look" sides and bottom, with purple stained wood top, sanded to soft perfection (no gloss).


----------



## neurotix

https://www.focusattack.com/hardware-pcb/

That's just the PCB and adapter section, but there's also sections for the actual sticks and buttons.

I got my buttons that are in my stick right now from there.

Great products and fast shipping.

Go nuts!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> https://www.focusattack.com/hardware-pcb/
> 
> That's just the PCB and adapter section, but there's also sections for the actual sticks and buttons.
> 
> I got my buttons that are in my stick right now from there.
> 
> Great products and fast shipping.
> 
> Go nuts!


Thanks, not got any money at the moment, so won't be ordering right now, but I've got'er bookmarked for when the time comes, and am perusing







I won't be using any of that stuff though...I am literally just going to be gutting gamepads, removing anything surface mounted like joysticks and whatnot, and soldering directly to the boards. There will basically be a stack of them inside the finished unit, all going to the switch(es) I mentioned. It's actually not complicated at all, though I can see how it could seem that way with all the different adapters and everything available online. You literally can just solder to so many points on a gamepad PCB, even the pads right underneath the rubber domes...lots of room. Don't need to pinout the cables or anything like that.

EDIT - also, sticks and buttons seem to be much cheaper than I remember...so that's cool, probably less than $100 easy for that stuff.


----------



## neurotix

I have something to show you guys, a few weeks ago I gave in and ordered a Terranigma repro cart from www.ocdreproductions.com , since we were discussing it.

I thought you guys would want to see the quality of the cart.





Can see my battery solder job below in the top right - battery needed to be replaced









Overall I'm very pleased with the quality of it. The only bad thing was he had left the original battery of the donor cart on the board instead of installing a new one. So I had to fix that myself. (Other carts I've gotten from him had brand new batteries so I'm not sure why this happened.) Nice, clean PCB though with no wires.

Label looks fantastic and there was even an option to choose the European or Japanese style label for this game (I went with Japanese). It did take 10 days or so for it to arrive, but that's because each cart is custom made.

Very happy with it and look forward to playing it, I'm playing FF Type-0 HD on my PC right now so once I finish that I'm thinking I'll play Terranigma.


----------



## madpossum

As far as PCB's for fight Sticks, are Cthulu boards still available to buy? They were basically one small PCBs that you wired your stick and buttons to and it worked with a variety of systems (there were different versions that worked with different systems). The most best ones worked with PS1, PS2, PS3, Xbox360, and Dreamcast. Using one of those would be a lot easier than pad hacking a bunch of controllers.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *madpossum*
> 
> As far as PCB's for fight Sticks, are Cthulu boards still available to buy? They were basically one small PCBs that you wired your stick and buttons to and it worked with a variety of systems (there were different versions that worked with different systems). The most best ones worked with PS1, PS2, PS3, Xbox360, and Dreamcast. Using one of those would be a lot easier than pad hacking a bunch of controllers.


This is basically what I was trying to get at.

And yes, I remember those.

I'm sure there is a similar or newer version of them. Or maybe you could get old unused ones on Ebay or something.

https://www.focusattack.com/brook-universal-fighting-board/

That one works with all the latest systems as well as previous gen, so it works with PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, and PC. I don't know about Dreamcast, PS2 and other older systems though. (Which is why I suggested wiring for PS1/PS2 and using converters for Dreamcast, Xbox, PS3 etc.)


----------



## subassy

I've probably already said this. Or said it some place else. I don't remember. Sorry if this isn't that great an idea.

I was thinking of using one of those generic "universal" DDR pads (I know there's Gamestop branded ones) as the basis of an arcade stick. I say arcade stick because I'm not sure it would work as a fight stick as the DDr pads I've seen have only 4 player button (along with 8 directions and start/select). But the PCB involved does have a connector GC/original xbox and PS2 (which...might?...work with PS1). Maybe if nothing else you could learn something from that PCB, I don't know. I don't think those DDR pads have a switch you have to change. It just works with whatever console you connect it to (as is my understanding). Could probably just as easily use a guitar hero controller. Those aren't typically universal, just really cheap and ever thrift store has a pile of them. I actually found a 360 guitar that connects without an extra dongle (I think the PS3 versions require a dongle instead of just connecting like a wireless gamepad). I think it has 5 player buttons so it's step up. Just a matter of removing the 50 or so screws and ripping apart the PCB inside to be the shape I need. That'll be the fun part.

I was thinking also about making a wireless universal controller. Since I now have wireless gamepads for PS2 and original xbox as well as PS3 and 360 and third party wireless for PC (and obviously the 360 pads work for PC). Actually there's gamepads and guitar controllers for Wii that just have a little pocket for the "Wii-mote" so that wouldn't be that hard to add in. I mean just a cable to connect the wii-mote.

Sorry, kind of thinking out loud here. I don't know if a really effective stick could be cobbled together with these things but at least it would probably be less than $90.

I actually have two arcade/fight stick shells already. Would just have to figure out how to stick the PCBs in them. And I guess some kind of rechargeable battery, a switch to toggle what said battery is powering, a port on the outside to re-charge said battery and and on/off switch. Maybe a power LED. You know, easy...


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I've probably already said this. Or said it some place else. I don't remember. Sorry if this isn't that great an idea.
> 
> I was thinking of using one of those generic "universal" DDR pads (I know there's Gamestop branded ones) as the basis of an arcade stick. I say arcade stick because I'm not sure it would work as a fight stick as the DDr pads I've seen have only 4 player button (along with 8 directions and start/select). But the PCB involved does have a connector GC/original xbox and PS2 (which...might?...work with PS1). Maybe if nothing else you could learn something from that PCB, I don't know. I don't think those DDR pads have a switch you have to change. It just works with whatever console you connect it to (as is my understanding). Could probably just as easily use a guitar hero controller. Those aren't typically universal, just really cheap and ever thrift store has a pile of them. I actually found a 360 guitar that connects without an extra dongle (I think the PS3 versions require a dongle instead of just connecting like a wireless gamepad). I think it has 5 player buttons so it's step up. Just a matter of removing the 50 or so screws and ripping apart the PCB inside to be the shape I need. That'll be the fun part.
> 
> I was thinking also about making a wireless universal controller. Since I now have wireless gamepads for PS2 and original xbox as well as PS3 and 360 and third party wireless for PC (and obviously the 360 pads work for PC). Actually there's gamepads and guitar controllers for Wii that just have a little pocket for the "Wii-mote" so that wouldn't be that hard to add in. I mean just a cable to connect the wii-mote.
> 
> Sorry, kind of thinking out loud here. I don't know if a really effective stick could be cobbled together with these things but at least it would probably be less than $90.
> 
> I actually have two arcade/fight stick shells already. Would just have to figure out how to stick the PCBs in them. And I guess some kind of rechargeable battery, a switch to toggle what said battery is powering, a port on the outside to re-charge said battery and and on/off switch. Maybe a power LED. You know, easy...


I think the DDR thing would work, except for the fact that it only has 4 buttons. Most sticks have 6 (Street Fighter requires 6, as do many other more recent fighters). If you don't need the extra 2 buttons, it would work fine for a whole host of classic arcade games in MAME as well as Neo Geo (which only has 4 buttons). Certain CPS1 and CPS2 games would be fine with 4 buttons as well (like Aliens vs Predator, any CPS1 beat em up or shooter...)

It should probably work fine on PS1 because PS2 controllers are backwards compatible with PS1. And PS1 pads will work in a PS2. Basically any controller for Sony made before the PS3 will work on both systems.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Looks like a very high quality repro there Neurotix, awesome game as well. Price is not bad either









And about the arcade stick PCB...I was aware such things existed, but, as I am sure many know...I am a cheapskate. Spending $100 on PCB, another $100 on hardware, plus say another $50 in bits and bobs...and that's in USD, looking more like $250+ Canadian for such a setup. My idea may not be as pretty (the electronics, I mean, which won't be seen anyway), but it'll do the same thing, for a fraction of the cost, and be more flexible in the end, as I can add compatibility for any console at any time. I definitely appreciate all the advice and discussion though dudes!


----------



## Wolfsbora

That is an awesome quality repro, neurotix! I'd love to get into the business of reproduction carts. Just to be involved in that sort of thing would be so much fun.

As far as building your own fight stick, I fully support it. I may end up building one too. I need to finish all of my arcade games first, though.

FINALLY found a copy of Super Mario RPG:


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Do you tend to leave price stickers and such on your games Wolfsbora? I know some people do as they feel it conserves part of the history...but I always peel mine off cause I can't stand how they look







Also...your SNES is just begging for the "Retrobright" treatment...I recently picked up some hydrogen peroxide gel, but I don't have anything to use it on yet


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Do you tend to leave price stickers and such on your games Wolfsbora? I know some people do as they feel it conserves part of the history...but I always peel mine off cause I can't stand how they look
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also...your SNES is just begging for the "Retrobright" treatment...I recently picked up some hydrogen peroxide gel, but I don't have anything to use it on yet


I usually take any new price tags off but will sometimes keep the old rental store stickers on. In this case, I was too impatient and wanted to play the game asap







. As far as the gel, what is it called? I have quite a few pieces of electronics that I'd like to do during the spring when the sun is out more often.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> I usually take any new price tags off but will sometimes keep the old rental store stickers on. In this case, I was too impatient and wanted to play the game asap
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> . As far as the gel, what is it called? I have quite a few pieces of electronics that I'd like to do during the spring when the sun is out more often.


The gel is nothing special...just standard hydrogen peroxide in a gel form...my Mom actually picked it up for me, but she got it from a dollar store...pharmacy should carry it though, just ask and they will know what you are talking about I am sure. I think it was only like $3 for the (at least 750ml) bottle. Also, some people have been using UV lights instead of the sun for a more controlled and indoor environment. Some have got streaking and such just leaving it out in the sun, though the sun method still works. I wouldn't spend on a UV light, but if you already happened to have one...like I do (reptiles...they need 'em). I can get a picture of the bottle of hydrogen peroxide if you are really not sure...it's in a standard looking container that hydrogen peroxide would come in though, those brown ones...this one is the same, just white bottle instead.

Also, nothing that cool, but my closest local store, the one I am always going to because it's walking distance away, is having a bit of a promotion...thought it was kind of interesting that retro games are included...and dude gave me a free stamp when I asked about. I only went in the spend $5 in change I had in my pocket...ended up with just Uncharted for PS3 cause it was packed in there as they were having a 2 for 1 / 3 for 2 sale on yesterday on used games (I can't really do crowds well). Basically though, the card is spend $90, get $20 towards another used game(s). So a good chunk of savings for me if they keep this promotion going for awhile (on top of their already good prices). Also...the store is kind of odd...like a mix between EB Games and your typical retro game store...it's tough to explain, but basically, it's a smaller chain throughout Ontario, they even have their own magazine (advertising lol). It's a really cool store though, and has been around since I was a kid...just good prices, good service, and walking distance away.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> That is an awesome quality repro, neurotix! I'd love to get into the business of reproduction carts. Just to be involved in that sort of thing would be so much fun.
> 
> As far as building your own fight stick, I fully support it. I may end up building one too. I need to finish all of my arcade games first, though.
> 
> FINALLY found a copy of Super Mario RPG:


Yes I have Super Mario RPG as well, though I haven't gotten around to playing it yet (maybe with my fiance because she'd love it- especially the playable characters and the story).

I'm happy with my repros from them. And if you ever want to get any and need game recommendations, let me know.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> The gel is nothing special...just standard hydrogen peroxide in a gel form...my Mom actually picked it up for me, but she got it from a dollar store...pharmacy should carry it though, just ask and they will know what you are talking about I am sure. I think it was only like $3 for the (at least 750ml) bottle. Also, some people have been using UV lights instead of the sun for a more controlled and indoor environment. Some have got streaking and such just leaving it out in the sun, though the sun method still works. I wouldn't spend on a UV light, but if you already happened to have one...like I do (reptiles...they need 'em). I can get a picture of the bottle of hydrogen peroxide if you are really not sure...it's in a standard looking container that hydrogen peroxide would come in though, those brown ones...this one is the same, just white bottle instead.
> 
> snip


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retr0bright

Retrobright is the name of the stuff.

I've heard it works much better in the sun.

If you want to do it the most effective way, then go watch this video: 



 You need to wrap the system in plastic wrap and massage the stuff in. It also needs to be turned every few hours.

The consoles (and old computers) got this way because plastic back then was "brominated" (mixed with bromine) as a fire ******ant. Unfortunately, this causes them to yellow with age and exposure to direct sunlight.

Consoles even through the Dreamcast can have this effect, Dreamcasts are notorious for turning yellow. I need to do this to a corner of mine, the one I fixed recently and cobbled together a working one from a couple dead ones by swapping in a new GD-ROM drive, a fresh controller board with new battery and resistors replaced, etc. I used the best case halves I had on it (that weren't yellowed), but the base (that all the components and board and attached to- big job getting it off) is just slightly yellowed in a corner. I do want to fix it when it's nice out, and I'm pretty sure I can do so without dismantling the unit.

Luckily my DCs seem to be the only systems with this issue, my SNES is basically mint, we got it around 2012 for $40 with two controllers and hookups... now just the unit itself is worth like $100+ if it has no yellowing. Ridiculous, I don't think it's worth that, they're making the barrier to entry to this hobby wayyyy too high.

I even have a UV blacklight in my game room, well since I used to be a stoner I like things like that







It's not on all the time though. They say you shouldn't do it but I haven't really noticed any effect on my systems. I only turn it on once every few months now.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Yes I have Super Mario RPG as well, though I haven't gotten around to playing it yet (maybe with my fiance because she'd love it- especially the playable characters and the story).
> 
> I'm happy with my repros from them. And if you ever want to get any and need game recommendations, let me know.
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retr0bright
> 
> Retrobright is the name of the stuff.
> 
> I've heard it works much better in the sun.
> 
> If you want to do it the most effective way, then go watch this video:
> 
> 
> 
> You need to wrap the system in plastic wrap and massage the stuff in. It also needs to be turned every few hours.
> 
> The consoles (and old computers) got this way because plastic back then was "brominated" (mixed with bromine) as a fire ******ant. Unfortunately, this causes them to yellow with age and exposure to direct sunlight.
> 
> Consoles even through the Dreamcast can have this effect, Dreamcasts are notorious for turning yellow. I need to do this to a corner of mine, the one I fixed recently and cobbled together a working one from a couple dead ones by swapping in a new GD-ROM drive, a fresh controller board with new battery and resistors replaced, etc. I used the best case halves I had on it (that weren't yellowed), but the base (that all the components and board and attached to- big job getting it off) is just slightly yellowed in a corner. I do want to fix it when it's nice out, and I'm pretty sure I can do so without dismantling the unit.
> 
> Luckily my DCs seem to be the only systems with this issue, my SNES is basically mint, we got it around 2012 for $40 with two controllers and hookups... now just the unit itself is worth like $100+ if it has no yellowing. Ridiculous, I don't think it's worth that, they're making the barrier to entry to this hobby wayyyy too high.
> 
> I even have a UV blacklight in my room, well since I used to be a stoner I like things like that
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's not on all the time though. They say you shouldn't do it but I haven't really noticed any effect on my systems. I only turn it on once every few months now.


Retrobright is just baking soda and hydrogen peroxide gel though, no? I was pretty sure hydrogen peroxide was the main ingredient here...I think the baking soda was more to help mix into a gel, and a bit of cleaning. I would personally just clean it all very well and give it a thick coating of hydrogen peroxide gel, and cover in plastic wrap. My consoles are still good though, and I have never tried this yet...but I don't have a NES yet either...and I fully expect that to be, at best, slightly yellowed, and at worst, almost brown. I really hope my Dreamcast stays bright...but I swear you can almost see it starting...I am sure if I put it beside a brand new one it would be noticeable. It's not just to the naked eye sitting there though, so maybe I am just paranoid about it going







And I used to have a blacklight in my room, but I never used it and ended up tearing it apart for the ballast inside and using it for one of my reptile tanks or something.

I was also lucky and got a good SNES for a good price...turned out to be a dude from one of the game stores in town, he dropped it off and everything for $60, so around $40 USD too, with a couple controllers and the hook-ups. The game stores around here I think charge around $100 even for yellowed units now...it's getting crazy for Nintendo stuff. Which is the excuse I am going to stick with for my very poor SNES collection of...2 games







lol I think it's also because I lived with a SNES growing up, and have played so many of the games already...a lot. I still want to own them all at some point...but when I see common stuff selling for $35-50...I tend to pick up something with Sega on it instead, or Sony...etc. I had a Genesis too growing up, but I had a split family or whatever, divorced parents, and the Genesis was at my Mom's, and my Dad's was the SNES, and I lived with my Dad as a kid...so I didn't get to play my Genesis half as much as the SNES.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Retrobright is just baking soda and hydrogen peroxide gel though, no? I was pretty sure hydrogen peroxide was the main ingredient here...I think the baking soda was more to help mix into a gel, and a bit of cleaning. I would personally just clean it all very well and give it a thick coating of hydrogen peroxide gel, and cover in plastic wrap. My consoles are still good though, and I have never tried this yet...but I don't have a NES yet either...and I fully expect that to be, at best, slightly yellowed, and at worst, almost brown. I really hope my Dreamcast stays bright...but I swear you can almost see it starting...I am sure if I put it beside a brand new one it would be noticeable. It's not just to the naked eye sitting there though, so maybe I am just paranoid about it going
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And I used to have a blacklight in my room, but I never used it and ended up tearing it apart for the ballast inside and using it for one of my reptile tanks or something.
> 
> I was also lucky and got a good SNES for a good price...turned out to be a dude from one of the game stores in town, he dropped it off and everything for $60, so around $40 USD too, with a couple controllers and the hook-ups. The game stores around here I think charge around $100 even for yellowed units now...it's getting crazy for Nintendo stuff. Which is the excuse I am going to stick with for my very poor SNES collection of...2 games
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> lol I think it's also because I lived with a SNES growing up, and have played so many of the games already...a lot. I still want to own them all at some point...but when I see common stuff selling for $35-50...I tend to pick up something with Sega on it instead, or Sony...etc. I had a Genesis too growing up, but I had a split family or whatever, divorced parents, and the Genesis was at my Mom's, and my Dad's was the SNES, and I lived with my Dad as a kid...so I didn't get to play my Genesis half as much as the SNES.


For your first paragraph, from the page I linked:

Approximately 1/4 teaspoonful (4.9 ml) per gallon (3.8 l) (1/3072) of Tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED)-based laundry booster (concentrations of TAED vary). (added to Hydrogen Peroxide -neurotix)

Xanthan gum or arrowroot can be added to the mixture, creating an easier-to-apply gel.

So if you get those two things, you can make your own.

As far as the SNES, yes it is a very expensive console to collect for now. However, if you look, some common games are still quite cheap. I recently got Arkanoid - Doh it Again for around $8 + shipping and it's a pretty fun game if you like Arkanoid (it's basically Breakout with powerups - break bricks with a ball, no alliteration intended). I also got Gradius III complete in box, in really nice condition, for only $30 and it wasn't that long ago (2 years)? UN Squadron is a pretty fun game, I'm sure you and everyone else is familiar with it and it's not very expensive.

I only have around 22 games and 5 repro carts. But again I've been collecting for at least 5 years and got some of them when they were cheaper (although not by much... $30 for Mario All-Stars etc.)

I'm happy with my collection though as I have all the games I had and rented as a kid.

My most expensive ones are Chrono Trigger, FF2, FF3, Lufia 1, Super Mario RPG and Secret of Mana. These all cost quite a bit and Chrono was the most expensive. So worth it for that one though, imo the best JRPG ever made and I've played hundreds.

Honestly the NES might be a better system to collect for, with a lot of games being $30 or less, including some real gems like Dragon Spirit being more expansive than the arcade version (more levels) and quite cheap to boot. All kinds of stuff is around the $30 mark like Castlevanias, Contras, Ninja Turtles 2 & 3, Mario games, and so forth.

You are correct though, the Genesis is an amazing system to get into and many excellent games are quite cheap... I don't know of many other systems where the best RPGs are all $40 or less (Both Shining Force, PSIV, Landstalker, Beyond Oasis etc.) Additionally it has a ton of great shmups for cheap like the Thunder Force games, many Toaplan games. Sonic games are much cheaper, even complete, than Mario games on the SNES cart only. It also has ports/sequels of a lot of classic Sega arcade games for very cheap like Outrun, Space Harrier II etc. Also it has pretty quality ports of Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter and a few other fighting games from the era. They weren't as good as the SNES versions, however the 6-button Genesis pads are superior to the SNES controllers for these games and were essentially made for them. Finally, it is undisputably the best system for 16-bit sports games with some of the original Madden games being exclusive to the system (I played a lot of the original Madden with a friend at his house when it was BRAND NEW and haven't touched it since).

If you get a Sega CD, despite the high inital cost now, well it has no copy protection. Considering the high price of many of the best games for the system...I have no problem with this, and it extends the Genesis library by a decent amount. The 32X is not bad either and has excellent ports of Space Harrier and Afterburner.

The Master System is also worth looking into and here is quite the niche system, very unpopular and practically unheard of. So many, many of the games I've gotten for it have been under $10 complete, and it really does have some games worth playing. Again, high initial cost of the console now but cheap games. However, the only problem is (at least here) the games are notoriously difficult to find in the wild and when you do find them it's almost always Great Baseball, Great Football, Hang On/Safari Hunt etc. If you have no problem buying games for it online you can find what you want very cheaply though. And any expensive US games? Import them from Europe or Australia instead for much cheaper, since PAL games work on a US Master System no problem, there's no region protection, and they run in 60Hz (afaik).

That's about it, sorry for the wall of text. If you read it all that's great. Don't feel obligated to respond to everything I said.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> For your first paragraph, from the page I linked:
> 
> Approximately 1/4 teaspoonful (4.9 ml) per gallon (3.8 l) (1/3072) of Tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED)-based laundry booster (concentrations of TAED vary). (added to Hydrogen Peroxide -neurotix)
> 
> Xanthan gum or arrowroot can be added to the mixture, creating an easier-to-apply gel.
> 
> So if you get those two things, you can make your own.
> 
> As far as the SNES, yes it is a very expensive console to collect for now. However, if you look, some common games are still quite cheap. I recently got Arkanoid - Doh it Again for around $8 + shipping and it's a pretty fun game if you like Arkanoid (it's basically Breakout with powerups - break bricks with a ball, no alliteration intended). I also got Gradius III complete in box, in really nice condition, for only $30 and it wasn't that long ago (2 years)? UN Squadron is a pretty fun game, I'm sure you and everyone else is familiar with it and it's not very expensive.
> 
> I only have around 22 games and 5 repro carts. But again I've been collecting for at least 5 years and got some of them when they were cheaper (although not by much... $30 for Mario All-Stars etc.)
> 
> I'm happy with my collection though as I have all the games I had and rented as a kid.
> 
> My most expensive ones are Chrono Trigger, FF2, FF3, Lufia 1, Super Mario RPG and Secret of Mana. These all cost quite a bit and Chrono was the most expensive. So worth it for that one though, imo the best JRPG ever made and I've played hundreds.
> 
> Honestly the NES might be a better system to collect for, with a lot of games being $30 or less, including some real gems like Dragon Spirit being more expansive than the arcade version (more levels) and quite cheap to boot. All kinds of stuff is around the $30 mark like Castlevanias, Contras, Ninja Turtles 2 & 3, Mario games, and so forth.
> 
> You are correct though, the Genesis is an amazing system to get into and many excellent games are quite cheap... I don't know of many other systems where the best RPGs are all $40 or less (Both Shining Force, PSIV, Landstalker, Beyond Oasis etc.) Additionally it has a ton of great shmups for cheap like the Thunder Force games, many Toaplan games. Sonic games are much cheaper, even complete, than Mario games on the SNES cart only. It also has ports/sequels of a lot of classic Sega arcade games for very cheap like Outrun, Space Harrier II etc. Also it has pretty quality ports of Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter and a few other fighting games from the era. They weren't as good as the SNES versions, however the 6-button Genesis pads are superior to the SNES controllers for these games and were essentially made for them. Finally, it is undisputably the best system for 16-bit sports games with some of the original Madden games being exclusive to the system (I played a lot of the original Madden with a friend at his house when it was BRAND NEW and haven't touched it since).
> 
> If you get a Sega CD, despite the high inital cost now, well it has no copy protection. Considering the high price of many of the best games for the system...I have no problem with this, and it extends the Genesis library by a decent amount. The 32X is not bad either and has excellent ports of Space Harrier and Afterburner.
> 
> The Master System is also worth looking into and here is quite the niche system, very unpopular and practically unheard of. So many, many of the games I've gotten for it have been under $10 complete, and it really does have some games worth playing. Again, high initial cost of the console now but cheap games. However, the only problem is (at least here) the games are notoriously difficult to find in the wild and when you do find them it's almost always Great Baseball, Great Football, Hang On/Safari Hunt etc. If you have no problem buying games for it online you can find what you want very cheaply though. And any expensive US games? Import them from Europe or Australia instead for much cheaper, since PAL games work on a US Master System no problem, there's no region protection, and they run in 60Hz (afaik).
> 
> That's about it, sorry for the wall of text. If you read it all that's great. Don't feel obligated to respond to everything I said.


I actually meant that the only thing that is actually whitening yellowed consoles is the hydrogen peroxide, and it can already be easily found in a gel...all the other stuff is just like, people "secret sauce" kind of deal...the science behind say it may speed up the process, but most of the people I see that do this on the regular have simplified the procedure down to the purest hydrogen peroxide you can find in a gel format and go to town. The other stuff is not necessary at all. Just clean, then apply the gel. Simple as that. Though again, I have not tried it personally, but the science behind it says hydrogen peroxide is the only thing you really need.

And I love Arkanoid Doh it Again lol One of the best break out type games I can remember. I am pretty familiar with the entire SNES library...my only real must haves though are JRPG, and a few others...so the pricey crap, of course. There isn't a ton of SNES carts sitting around for sale locally either...but it's not like there isn't anything to choose from. My SNES collection will grow eventually...on my budget, it just takes time. I have started to see NES games actually dropping in price locally, now that you mention it...there is not a ton of games I would want, but always more than I think. Contra, for sure...Tetris, for sure...all the Mario games...Kirby...Galaga...there's actually quite a list of NES games I would buy, now that I think of it. I remember liking a lot of side scrolling shooters on it, but I was young and can't remember names or anything. I've went and looked at screenshots so many times and just can't remember. There was one game in particular, I don't even think was for NES anymore...I can only remember what the art looked like on the cartridge...it may have been for an older Sega system, but I went through and looked at screenshots for every side scrolling shooter on Master System and came up with nothing...I like shooters, just have a horrible memory for them since there was SO many of them during that era, on consoles, in arcades...

Also, Mortal Kombat was one of the fighters I would argue the Genesis was the best version, at least that's how I remember it...Mortal Kombat was one of the main reasons I really wanted a Genesis...that the SNES has no or less spectacular blood effects...and back then, for some reason, that was hugely important to me as a young boy







Also, it was probably placebo from the "blast processing", but it also felt more responsive than the SNES version...could have just been the controllers being better suited to fighters too, I don't know. I definitely liked the Genesis version a lot more. In fact, I was one of the people who generally liked the Genesis versions of games for the sound, even if the graphics did have less colour







Street Fighter was better in all aspects on SNES though, I will give you that. And sports games...I have always kind of played them, but never had a ton of interest in them...but I like them enough to have favourites...Blades of Steel on NES, NFL 2K on Dreamcast, and NHL 08 on PC lol I never would have wasted a rental on a sports game as a kid though, and I don't think I've played many sports game on Genesis...I remember renting Bass Master's fishing or something one time and just feeling so ripped off lol I do remember playing NHL 94 on Genesis at other people's houses, but I really didn't care about it. I will say though that one of my favourite things about collecting for Genesis is the variance in games...there is so many different style games on the system...SNES had more of a certain feel to it, if that makes sense...less variety between games, from my perspective at least.

The Sega CD is just a matter of having enough money...that'll be my next big retro related purchase...32X I don't care about as much, but it's still at "must have" status. And Master System is not too far down that list either, but got some others things I'd like to get before that.


----------



## neurotix

Yes, I am also not big at all on sports games and really haven't played any new ones in decades. I loved NBA Jam though.

The only sports game I know how to play is NES Ice Hockey. Also my favorite one.

Sorry though, I can't reply to everything, unfortunately this is eating away at my gaming time (and we've sent a lot of pm's to each other today.)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Yes, I am also not big at all on sports games and really haven't played any new ones in decades. I loved NBA Jam though.
> 
> The only sports game I know how to play is NES Ice Hockey. Also my favorite one.
> 
> Sorry though, I can't reply to everything, unfortunately this is eating away at my gaming time (and we've sent a lot of pm's to each other today.)


No worries bud, hope you got some game time in







Also, can't believe I forgot about NBA Jam...played the heck out of that one too..."He's on fire!" "He's heating up!"


----------



## madpossum

"Boomshakalaka!"

Ice Hockey and Blades of Steel on the NES are still two of my favorite sports games of all time. Great two player games.

Speaking of great 2 player games on the NES, you guys ever play Archon? Used to love that game, been trying to get my sons to play me in it, LOL.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I hadn't played Archon before...looks quite interesting though...kind of reminds me of that game they play in Star Wars on the Millenium Falcon...Dejarik it's called I guess.


----------



## neurotix

bridgypoo found this on ebay.



Any one want a "Kirby" SNES? Gee, I wonder why the middle is still gray...

but it comes with Bubsy!!!


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> bridgypoo found this on ebay.
> 
> Any one want a "Kirby" SNES? Gee, I wonder why the middle is still gray...
> 
> but it comes with Bubsy!!!


Oh come on, it's purdy! lol Did I tell you I actually beat, and maybe even somewhat enjoyed Bubsy back in the day


----------



## neurotix

I'll try and keep this brief as possible..

I had to repair my SNES today. Man, these things are a pain to get apart and even worse to get back together (because of the spring loaded eject button). Basically the thing was having real difficulty loading games, and of course my games were clean (being that it was Chrono Trigger, FF3 etc. that I cleaned meticulously and they've had dust covers on since I got them). The majority of the time games wouldn't load on the first time, I'd have to reinsert them multiple times and then they would finally work. (Sounds like the NES). Anyway, I decided to try the boil trick on the SNES 62-pin connector. Luckily, my SNES is one of the earlier ones with a removable connector, I guess the later models have the connector soldered on and there's no way to remove or fix it. I did it and put the machine back together, and it works! Loading games every time on the first try, just as I remember as a kid. (SNES generally never gave me any problems loading games for the entire time I had it).

Moreover, I had to replace the battery in my Secret of Mana as well as Lufia. SoM was actually acting funny once when I tried to play it, it went to a black screen with some small green squares in areas, and then a white screen with green lines... and my placeholder saves were gone (since I had already replaced the battery)... Well, after I finished replacing the battery I turned the board a certain way and in the light, I could see yellow electrolytic fluid... put alcohol on a Q-tip and sure enough, it was fluid. I looked at the cap on the other side and the top wasn't cracked and wasn't even rounded or bubbling over. But either way it's obviously leaking.

I ordered a 10 pack of Japanese Nichicon 6.3v 22uF capacitors. The original spec for the one on my SoM board is actually 6.2v but I read that replacing with a higher voltage one is fine as long as capacitance is the same. We'll see how it goes although I won't really know for a few months when I check it to make sure it's working, if it will hold the saves. Just waiting on the capacitors.

Oh and Aaron, sorry but Bubsy sucks


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Glad you got the SNES sorted out, I'll keep in the "boil" the conncector thing in mind if I ever run into issues...luckily, none of my consoles give me any trouble as long. I always clean the games when they are brought home and all my consoles have been opened and cleaned as well. Also...I know Bubsy is one of the most hated games in retro gaming history...but I seriously didn't mind it as a kid, and probably still wouldn't mind strictly based off nostalgia...when you only get one rental at a time, you tend to play the game...even if it sucks lol


----------



## neurotix

Right..

Bubsy was a wasted rental for me. I didn't even play it even though I had it for 3 days. I hate that game.

I generally don't like retro platformers unless they are Sonic or Mario, with a few exceptions like Rocket Knight Adventures on Genesis. But not many I like other than Mario and Sonic.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Right..
> 
> Bubsy was a wasted rental for me. I didn't even play it even though I had it for 3 days. I hate that game.
> 
> I generally don't like retro platformers unless they are Sonic or Mario, with a few exceptions like Rocket Knight Adventures on Genesis. But not many I like other than Mario and Sonic.


I LOVE platformers, like, love them...not many I've played I didn't somewhat enjoy. I am not arguing that Bubsy is a good, by the way...I'll admit it's crap...but I will also admit I enjoy it still lol I don't particularly let what other's say influence my taste in things...if I like or dislike something, I stick to it, don't care if it's popular opinion or not


----------



## neurotix

I'm not saying you can't like it







Just voicing my opinion.

Yeah I'm struggling to think of other ones I like that aren't run and gun or action games. I really love Shinobi 3 and Revenge of Shinobi and those are action platformers, I guess.

Yoshi's Island is fantastic but again, Mario.

Can't think of many others on SNES.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I'm not saying you can't like it
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Just voicing my opinion.
> 
> Yeah I'm struggling to think of other ones I like that aren't run and gun or action games. I really love Shinobi 3 and Revenge of Shinobi and those are action platformers, I guess.
> 
> Yoshi's Island is fantastic but again, Mario.
> 
> Can't think of many others on SNES.


Have you played a game called Dynamite Headdy? One of my favourite platformers...I played it on Genesis, not sure if it came out on SNES too, but I think it might have...you might like that one. Also...Tomba! is a great classic. Kirby for NES is one of the best games on the system...I like most platformers though...even one that aren't real great...Cool Spot, for example..I remember really enjoying Pandemonium on my Saturn as well. I really like 3d platformers as well, in case that wasn't apparent with my game purchases...I love just relaxing and playing something like the first Jak and Daxter game or something similar.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Have you played a game called Dynamite Headdy? One of my favourite platformers...I played it on Genesis, not sure if it came out on SNES too, but I think it might have...you might like that one. Also...Tomba! is a great classic. Kirby for NES is one of the best games on the system...I like most platformers though...even one that aren't real great...Cool Spot, for example..I remember really enjoying Pandemonium on my Saturn as well. I really like 3d platformers as well, in case that wasn't apparent with my game purchases...I love just relaxing and playing something like the first Jak and Daxter game or something similar.


I've played Dynamite Headdy in an emulator before when I was younger. I didn't see the appeal.

Tomba is pretty amazing. And the Kirby games are fantastic, I have Kirby's Adventure and some of the Game Boy games too.

Pandemonium and even Gex are really good.

For 16-bit systems I prefer Mario or Sonic. But I guess there's a lot of good ones on the NES too that aren't Mario.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

So I went to Microplay today and they still had their 2 for 1 sale on (only certain systems), and I ended up spending $20 Canadian and getting Soul Calibur 4, The Last of Us, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Final Fantasy XIII (already own it on Xbox 360, but that console is basically my mom's at this point...she uses it for TV and Guitar Hero lol). All of them with manuals and whatnot and no greatest hits or anything...not bad. For some reason Soul Calibur was the cheapest priced game, but seems to be the most expensive on Ebay...weird. Their price was only $5.


----------



## neurotix

Been playing the hell out of this lately. What an amazing game. Still prefer this one to Lufia 2.

I'm about halfway through and just got the ship. The game really opens up once you have it. Now I just need to acquire about a bazillion gold to afford the high end gear from Epro. It'll make the rest of the game much easier if I get it though.


----------



## neurotix

@subassy @Dimensive

I put together a modded Playstation TV again as a hobbyist project. I was essentially interested in what they can do now, with the advancements made since I messed with it last. I'm not disappointed. However, my current PSTV was updated too far to be compatible, so I had to buy a different one.

I had originally tried to put a retropie together, but screw that mess. It wouldn't even work with wireless controllers (DualShock3) without a ton of hassle and Linux nonsense. Linux is still ass for gaming. So I'm not surprised the retropie thing was full of problems. Instead, I decided to get to modding a PSTV.

I paid $70 for one on Ebay with guaranteed 3.60 firmware, and I paid $75 for a 32GB memory card (screw $ony.) I would estimate it could be done cheaper if you bought a PSTV that was not guaranteed to have 3.60. I saw "launch model" PS TVs new in box on Amazon starting around $40. This may be a good starting point. Or you could look around locally for one (if you can find one, they weren't popular) that way you could check the firmware before you buy. For a memory card, you could probably get by with a 16GB if you only plan on putting PSP games on it. I'd wager the stuff you need could be gotten for under $100, and if you already have a PS3 and Dualshock3 controllers you could simply use one of those with the device.

Anyway, the modding went well and I'm essentially finished with it now. I ran into a few snags along the way, and once even thought it impossible to do (you need a PSP game from PSN on your device to be able to install Adrenaline. I was doing it on a fresh, blank memory card. I own PSP games from the PSN store, however, even with Henkaku installed it is impossible to connect to the PSN Store because Sony blocks it, even the spoofing the Henkaku does. So I had no way to get a PSP game onto the card. Luckily, however, I found something that allowed me to get a PSP bubble for Adrenaline to piggyback on.)

So the setup is:

Playstation TV
32GB memory card.
3.60 Henkaku
Vitamin 2.0
Adrenaline 6.61
Vitashell 1.51
Maidump v233.2zEx
Retroarch 1.41

As for the functionality, well, I'll leave it to the more retro, acceptable stuff to discuss and leave out the other more blatant, uh, well
















Retroarch, I really don't care for it at all compared to the PSP platform emulators (such as SNES9xTYLmecm, picodrive, [e]mulator, and all the others you can run on a real PSP). The interface is clunky and slow. Half the cores don't work, I had really wanted to play CPS2 games (D&D, Aliens vs Predator) as well as Cave shmups, and these don't work at all. Even SNES emulation is really poor and slow, and this is in a native Vita emulator, the Vita should be more than powerful enough to emulate SNES fullspeed if my smartphone from 6 years ago did. Even my AMD K6-2 350 system in 1998 emulated the SNES full speed in ZSNES.

The plus side is that Genesis, NES and Turbografx games all run fine in Retroarch. Neo Geo and CPS1 seem to work fine but I didn't try many games (especially not very large later releases for Neo Geo e.g. Metal Slug 4 and 5, Samurai Shodown 5 SP etc.) However, I really dislike the limited options in Retroarch, there's not even a decent looking filter (HQ2X? Super Eagle? Super 2xSai? Where are these?) Additionally, the games look very blurry.

I tried running actual PSP emulators inside of Adrenaline and it's a no go, unfortunately they all either run extremely slow or outright don't work.

The PSP emulation, or rather CFW, in Adrenaline is pretty good. At least, it's better than TN-V. Unfortunately I was not as impressed as Dimensive with the video options available. As I said, the game look very blurry when upscaled from PSP Native -> 720p (PSTV) -> 1080p HD via my TV's upscaler. The very limited filter options don't help much. You can have either blurry, slightly less blurry (bilinear eww), awful scanlines, or worse awful scanlines. That's about it. I was really hoping for HQ2X or Scale2X filters that (good) emulators use. Oh well, it's good to at least be able to play PSP games on my TV in fullscreen again. Also, the options Adrenaline offers compared to Coldbird's Pro-C PSP CFW are pretty bare bones. I don't even think it supports custom themes or .prx plugins at all. A little disappointing for me because I loved modding my CFW with plugins.

Is it worth the price of admission? For me, definitely. Especially considering how much I love Vita games and the types of new games that are on it (e.g RPGs, we all know this by now). On top of that you get emulators for a few decent systems, and PSP games on the big TV.

If you guys ever want my suggestions for PSP RPGs or even PSP games in general (give me a genre) let me know. I'm like the biggest PSP fanboy you'll ever meet, and though I loved the DS too, I would definitely choose PSP in a heartbeat. So many great games on the system. And I'd really recommend modding a PSTV if it's the only way you'll actually play your PSP games because you'll have a great time.

Overall? The amount of progress that has been made in the Vita scene in the last few years is amazing. I really hope the talented people that figure these things out keep it up. At this rate, I'm sure it won't be long before the whole thing is exposed, at least on 3.60. And then maybe we can get some proper emulators instead of buggy and laggy retroarch, and possibly even some true plugins for the Vita to customize our devices further (I'd give anything for a custom XMB interface plugin- the bubble interface sucks, it's clunky and annoying and I've always disliked it.)

Anyway I hope this is at least interesting and helps someone even if it's been long winded. Thanks for reading.


----------



## Dimensive

Hate to break it to you, but you wasted $75 on a memory card. VitaShell 1.60 has USB mass storage, so you can use a flash drive on it. And because they stopped production, pretty much any unopened PSTV is going to have firmware below 3.60.

http://www.psx-place.com/threads/vitashell-v1-60-usb-storage-support-for-pstv-users-new-theme-in-this-anticipated-update.13141/


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> Hate to break it to you, but you wasted $75 on a memory card. VitaShell 1.60 has USB mass storage, so you can use a flash drive on it. And because they stopped production, pretty much any unopened PSTV is going to have firmware below 3.60.
> 
> http://www.psx-place.com/threads/vitashell-v1-60-usb-storage-support-for-pstv-users-new-theme-in-this-anticipated-update.13141/


Yeah well, that's from what, like 4 days ago?

It's not like it's been around forever or widely known.

When I started doing this I got Vitashell 1.51 which was claimed to be the "latest" version. And when I bought the memory card this update wasn't out yet. So I had no choice.

Also, I'm not really sure that you could even install or configure Vitashell without first having a Vita memory card to store it on.

It's good to know I can use a USB flash drive as a memory device now. I'll have to purchase a large one. Even so, 32GB holds a decent amount of stuff. And if I want to I can resell the card. (It's not like I couldn't afford many of these things if I wanted to.)

Thanks though.


----------



## neurotix

pso toons


----------



## neurotix

Did I kill the thread or is everyone just really busy?


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Did I kill the thread or is everyone just really busy?


Not sure on everybody else, but I've been playing Zelda a lot. Maybe that/other games are just taking up a lot of time. And maybe...spring break? Is that a thing? Been awhile since school.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Not sure on everybody else, but I've been playing Zelda a lot. Maybe that/other games are just taking up a lot of time. And maybe...spring break? Is that a thing? Been awhile since school.


Oh hey.

Zelda BOTW? I've heard it's really amazing. Are you playing the Wii U or Switch version? Since I have Wii U, I've thought about getting it for that system.

I'm not big on 3D Zelda, the last one I played was Ocarina of Time (N64) and I got fairly far but I couldn't really get into it. The last Zelda I truly loved and still do, and my favorite one to this day, is probably Link to the Past. When I was like 14 I cleared the whole game, got every heart piece, every item and everything in one long session in about 12 hrs.

I have Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword for Wii, they're basically on my backlog and long forgotten about. Haven't even tried them. Not big on motion controls.

Now that I have my modded PSTV I'll probably be playing that, so I don't know when I'll get BOTW for Wii U.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Oh hey.
> 
> Zelda BOTW? I've heard it's really amazing. Are you playing the Wii U or Switch version? Since I have Wii U, I've thought about getting it for that system.
> 
> I'm not big on 3D Zelda, the last one I played was Ocarina of Time (N64) and I got fairly far but I couldn't really get into it. The last Zelda I truly loved and still do, and my favorite one to this day, is probably Link to the Past. When I was like 14 I cleared the whole game, got every heart piece, every item and everything in one long session in about 12 hrs.
> 
> I have Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword for Wii, they're basically on my backlog and long forgotten about. Haven't even tried them. Not big on motion controls.
> 
> Now that I have my modded PSTV I'll probably be playing that, so I don't know when I'll get BOTW for Wii U.


Yep, BotW [on switch, mainly with the "pro controller"]. You're story on TP is pretty much mine. I have it but never really tried it. Actually BotW got me excited about zelda again so I just bought skyward sword. No idea if I'll like it. I was thinking about getting wind waker but haven't decided yet. I was contemplating a zelda-a-thon starting from the original (skipping 2) and continuing on throuugh LttP, awakening, OoT/mask etc. Not sure if I'd try and do GBA/DS or not. Maybe.

Anyway, I haven't played a zelda since OoT and it's actually been ~20 years so I don't even remember it that well. And never even played majora's mask.

From what I've seen/heard/read online, BotW is quite different that any other zelda. Having come from elderscroll type open world games, I would say it's more in that direction but not quite as open. For instance in Skyrim every object seems to be a thing. I mean there's plates, cups, silverware, all kinds of random objects and you pick up, look at it and drop and at random. But BotW isn't quite that far. It's a wide open world though, giving you a lot of flexibility in where you go and when and how quickly you want to move the plot along.

So you can't do crazy experiments to the extreme, like Skyrim but there are still a lot of things you can do. You can tie these balloon things to a raft and turn into a...sky raft? Which I haven't done yet. But I could. There's a large body of water to raft across and islands to explore. There's different varieties of chuchu jelly that will do different things upon being struck. I think I know of some creative things to do with that, which I haven't fully explored yet. You can start a brush/grass fire to create an up draft. Which you can use with your para glider. Oh, and you get a para-glider. Actually the sky raft combined with the fire combined with the certain chuchu jelly combined with the sky raft....now I'm thinking randomly. hmmmm.

There are some things I don't necessarily like about it, of course. Like the way the map marking system works. Why limit me on the number of marks? What, are they expensive? Also the camera can be frustrating and the stick for running makes link crouch when pushed. Which is easy to do inadvertently. Not so good when in the middle of a fight. But I'm getting better.

The art style/narrative is a lot like an anime thing. If you're some kind of Japanese culture enthusiast I think you'd appreciate that part of the game.

There is a lot to do though with a really, really large map. And I am putting a ton of time into it. I have to go out of my way to make myself take a day off. I've been playing it pretty much non-stop since I got it (about 2 1/2 weeks). If you need anything _at all_ for your Wii U definately get it. Or at least 



.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Yep, BotW [on switch, mainly with the "pro controller"]. You're story on TP is pretty much mine. I have it but never really tried it. Actually BotW got me excited about zelda again so I just bought skyward sword. No idea if I'll like it. I was thinking about getting wind waker but haven't decided yet. I was contemplating a zelda-a-thon starting from the original (skipping 2) and continuing on throuugh LttP, awakening, OoT/mask etc. Not sure if I'd try and do GBA/DS or not. Maybe.
> 
> Anyway, I haven't played a zelda since OoT and it's actually been ~20 years so I don't even remember it that well. And never even played majora's mask.
> 
> From what I've seen/heard/read online, BotW is quite different that any other zelda. Having come from elderscroll type open world games, I would say it's more in that direction but not quite as open. For instance in Skyrim every object seems to be a thing. I mean there's plates, cups, silverware, all kinds of random objects and you pick up, look at it and drop and at random. But BotW isn't quite that far. It's a wide open world though, giving you a lot of flexibility in where you go and when and how quickly you want to move the plot along.
> 
> So you can't do crazy experiments to the extreme, like Skyrim but there are still a lot of things you can do. You can tie these balloon things to a raft and turn into a...sky raft? Which I haven't done yet. But I could. There's a large body of water to raft across and islands to explore. There's different varieties of chuchu jelly that will do different things upon being struck. I think I know of some creative things to do with that, which I haven't fully explored yet. You can start a brush/grass fire to create an up draft. Which you can use with your para glider. Oh, and you get a para-glider. Actually the sky raft combined with the fire combined with the certain chuchu jelly combined with the sky raft....now I'm thinking randomly. hmmmm.
> 
> There are some things I don't necessarily like about it, of course. Like the way the map marking system works. Why limit me on the number of marks? What, are they expensive? Also the camera can be frustrating and the stick for running makes link crouch when pushed. Which is easy to do inadvertently. Not so good when in the middle of a fight. But I'm getting better.
> 
> The art style/narrative is a lot like an anime thing. If you're some kind of Japanese culture enthusiast I think you'd appreciate that part of the game.
> 
> There is a lot to do though with a really, really large map. And I am putting a ton of time into it. I have to go out of my way to make myself take a day off. I've been playing it pretty much non-stop since I got it (about 2 1/2 weeks). If you need anything _at all_ for your Wii U definately get it. Or at least
> 
> 
> 
> .


I won't respond to all of this, but yeah, that sounds awesome. I like all the different things you can do that you described.

I will be getting the Wii U version because that's what I have. The Switch has too many problems right now (e.g. 



 ) and I don't want to be a beta tester. I understand many people have these systems and don't have those problems, but there's other reasons I'm waiting too. I'm not very interested in Super Mario Odyssey, I would much prefer a Mario similar to 3D World on the Wii U (which was outstanding). The main game I would be interested in on the Switch is Xenoblade Chronicles 2- however, we don't know when it will be out or even if it will be any good. I loved the original Xenoblade for Wii and thought Xenoblade Chronicles X on Wii U was even better. But I don't know if I can justify getting a Switch and dropping $400+ for just one game. Tbh it would come out of my PC savings fund, and I'm trying to hold onto that and build a killer rig in 2018/2019 (two new high end GPUs (Navi?) and Icelake). Anyway, I would like to wait until the Switch has a "Switch XL" or "New Nintendo Switch" version, and get that, and probably for less than $300. Or I may just get a used one in a year or two for under $200. (Hopefully)

I got probably 250 hrs+ out of Xenoblade Chronicles X on Wii U so that game alone made my Wii U worth it. Let alone Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Yoshi's Wooly World etc. I know that if I get the Switch it will be a Xenoblade machine when the new one comes out.

I heard that the Wii U version of Zelda BOTW is actually better in some ways, such as inventory management being done on the Gamepad second screen, making it much easier to do. Afaik this game was originally started development for the Wii U. (Also, isn't it kind of stupid to release a game as a launch game for a console, then also release it for your older system too? What incentive do I have to upgrade to the Switch when I can play the major launch game on the system I currently have?)
Quote:


> The art style/narrative is a lot like an anime thing. If you're some kind of Japanese culture enthusiast I think you'd appreciate that part of the game.


LOL @ this. Yes, you are correct. I'm a huge weeaboo. I've watched like hundreds of anime to completion, from very old (70s/80s) to new. I like to think I'm a little better than most people like this because I'm not a weirdo (for the most part) and I'm not stupid about it (e.g. I have studied Japanese history and philosophy since I was a teenager, and am currently trying to learn the language). I also watch subbed Japanese TV shows (Gaki no Tsukai- like my current avatar), I also love old B&W samurai films, especially Akira Kurosawa. I did Karate and stuff when I was younger too. So, I appreciate that style in a game, of course I mostly play Japanese games, especially on consoles, especially roleplayers. Most of these have an anime art style as well. But it's not a dealbreaker for me, I'll play anything, and it's good to get away from games like that sometimes (which is what my computer is for- if I get sick of anime themed games I'll go play Doom 2016 or Unreal Tournament or something that is the complete opposite.)


----------



## fitzy-775

Bought this gameboy the other day and just had to get pokemon gold as well.


----------



## neurotix

Congrats dude. Nice find. Hope you didn't pay too much for Pokemon, for a while they were pretty expensive because of Pokemon Go.

I have Pokemon Crystal and it's the only Pokemon game I own. I need the GBA ones.


----------



## fitzy-775

I payed $32 AUD for it on ebay with a new battery which is pretty good.


----------



## neurotix

Is it a Game Boy Light? Japanese region or did they release it in AUS too?

I can tell because of the backlit screen. Also, if you said it has a new battery, and has to plug in to charge, well none of the standard Game Boys did that, they all took AA batteries.

Most of us are from the US (assuming you're actually from Australia), and here they never released that model of Game Boy. We had the original, the Play it Loud series (just the original painted different colors), and then the Game Boy Color. I have a Game Boy Color and it is not backlit or frontlit so it's impossible to play in dark conditions. I actually bought a small LED bendable lamp from Ikea so I could spotlight the thing and see well enough to play it. Nowadays that lamp gets used more for soldering and art projects though. Even the original Game Boy Advance was not backlit here. It wasn't until the Game Boy Advance SP (the flippy one) that they lit the screen. Most are frontlit, but the later models (you can find out by the color) are actually backlit. You can buy kits, however, that can add backlighting to any Game Boy. Need to know how to solder though and be really careful. It's a project of mine to do this to my Game Boy Color.

Now if I wanna play my original Game Boy games I just use my Game Boy Advance SP, which is a frontlit model. Works well.


----------



## fitzy-775

i bought pokemon gold for $32. I bought this original game boy off ebay for $110. It came with a modded back lit screen and new case.


----------



## catmmm

My dad found this in his basement in perfect condition and gave it to me because I stole the Sega from him.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *catmmm*
> 
> 
> 
> My dad found this in his basement in perfect condition and gave it to me because I stole the Sega from him.


Pretty cool. I'd pay money for that.


----------



## subassy

There's a convert-to-ms.pacman feature added to Google maps if anybody missed it. Just wish local streets were more interesting


----------



## Mega Man

Pretty cool. Sorry I been so distant. Zen, rl, and new updates to my nas have me slammed. By new up date I mean ground up update. Having to rebuild both my plex and emby libraries. Hopefully the last time (I am ocd about them .... have to be perfect) so I am building a Windows plex and emby server as well (now have to maintain 4 libraries which is easy. It is starting it that takes days to organize) , just in case ( the old jails used the freebsd versions, which were probe to issues lets say, the new version uses docker which I think is a Linux version seems far more stable. And windows.... well uses windows which seems to be the most updated


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Pretty cool. Sorry I been so distant. Zen, rl, and new updates to my nas have me slammed. By new up date I mean ground up update. Having to rebuild both my plex and emby libraries. Hopefully the last time (I am ocd about them .... have to be perfect) so I am building a Windows plex and emby server as well (now have to maintain 4 libraries which is easy. It is starting it that takes days to organize) , just in case ( the old jails used the freebsd versions, which were probe to issues lets say, the new version uses docker which I think is a Linux version seems far more stable. And windows.... well uses windows which seems to be the most updated


It's no worries man. Remember you're welcome here any time you have the time and want to post.

Ryzen, eh? Have you finished building it yet? Did you get the 1700X or something else? What GPUs will you be using?

I don't know what emby is, but I do have and use Plex and it has given us no shortage of headaches and problems too. We're using an old, out of date version of it because I stream things to my PS3 + HDTV and with the latest versions of Plex, audio will not work on the PS3, particularly with .MKV files. (The majority of my library is MKVs = anime). So we are forced to use older Plex for the PS3. Additionally, Plex has been a real problem lately when it comes to encoding subtitles, obviously I have TONS (like thousands) of files that have subtitles, and my Japanese is not that good that I can understand the stuff I watch without them. For whatever reason recently Plex just stopped wanting to display subtitles that are in .ass format. We messed around with it a lot and finally got them all working again, but man, what a headache.

Thankfully a lot of the anime I have has hard coded subs that are a part of the file itself, and do not need a separate subtitle file. So those always work.

Technology is great, when it works (-my dad)


----------



## Mega Man

Look into emby. Imo emby is superior, plex has more apps and slightly more polished.

1800x originally had a tomahawk ( b350, it was all they had) now have a titanium (very pretty board). Will be reusing the tomahawk when I build one for wife's work. Will also be getting an Asus. But waiting for formulas, and honestly probably the x399 platform. (Quad channel memory 16 core, 32 thread)

Hoping super micro makes some server boards for the new and ryzen server platform (2x32 core, 64 thread cpu and iirc 16 channel memory ) I may spring for single socket mobo. Idk but I want it for my freenas

edit

waiting for vega to drop


----------



## cones

Set them to save the info to NFO files with the media, it makes rebuilding the library much faster.


----------



## Mega Man

Thanks. That is excessively useful info


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Haven't been on OCN much lately, but I stopped by to update a few things, so I figured I might as well post this - picked up Strider NES complete, it even came with a plastic protective cover for the box, the cartridge sleeve, even the cellophane around the manual/inserts...that was $22.50...and I also grabbed Time Crisis for Playstation CIB for $7.50, and Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2 : Bush Rescue CIB for $12.50, all from Microplay...haven't been going to the others stores very much lately, I suppose I should go check them out again soon though...cause now I need to find a cheap Playstation light gun.


----------



## neurotix

Sorry for the slow reply buddy.

Strider NES is pretty cool. Just avoid Strider Returns (aka Strider II) on Genesis if you see it. That game is terrible.

There's a different Strider 2 actually made by Capcom that was in arcades in the late 90s. I got to play the actual arcade machine when it was new, at a local arcade (now defunct). Haven't seen the arcade machine since. It has a Playstation port and is an absolutely excellent game, my favorite in the series. No idea on the price but if you see this one, pick it up. (It also includes a port of the original Strider. It's a two-disc set.)


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Sorry for the slow reply buddy.
> 
> Strider NES is pretty cool. Just avoid Strider Returns (aka Strider II) on Genesis if you see it. That game is terrible.
> 
> There's a different Strider 2 actually made by Capcom that was in arcades in the late 90s. I got to play the actual arcade machine when it was new, at a local arcade (now defunct). Haven't seen the arcade machine since. It has a Playstation port and is an absolutely excellent game, my favorite in the series. No idea on the price but if you see this one, pick it up. (It also includes a port of the original Strider. It's a two-disc set.)


I actually vaguely remember playing Strider 2 in the arcade, and that actually being my only experience with the Strider series. I know the character art in the NES game is entirely different than the more Japanese style I remembered from Strider 2, but it still looked good, and the box was nice, and it was cheap...so yeah, I picked it up. I am actually more excited about Time Crisis, well, once I get a lightgun. I haven't even had time to play any of the games yet though. Also...I will keep in mind to stay away from Strider Returns


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I actually vaguely remember playing Strider 2 in the arcade, and that actually being my only experience with the Strider series. I know the character art in the NES game is entirely different than the more Japanese style I remembered from Strider 2, but it still looked good, and the box was nice, and it was cheap...so yeah, I picked it up. I am actually more excited about Time Crisis, well, once I get a lightgun. I haven't even had time to play any of the games yet though. Also...I will keep in mind to stay away from Strider Returns


Strider 2 definitely has a more anime style than the original game or the home ports. It also plays totally differently.

Keep your eyes open for Strider (Genesis). The Genesis port of the original Strider was actually very good. It was reprogrammed and ported by Sega. Sega did this for other arcade games like Final Fight for the Sega CD which ended up being the best home version of Final Fight you could get back then. It also had awesome remixed music, some of the best remixed music of any game I've heard, that really took advantage of the CD format.






Hopefully you're familiar with the original... I'd hope everyone here would know the Stage 1 Final Fight music


----------



## Wolfsbora

Hi folks, my apologies for the lack of posts. Life is kicking my butt. Here are some recent pickups:




I must say, I think Biomotor Unitron is my favorite handheld title so far. It's basically Pokémon but for grown-ups (don't get me wrong, I loved Pokémon Blue).

As far as the Genesis, I'd been after the Splatterhouse series and specifically 3, I was able to finally get it! It's only missing the manual.

The best part is that I didn't pay a cent for any of it, each of these were a trade for repairing a bunch of PS2s.

If any of you live in the D.C. area, or south Pennsylvania, you need to take a trip to Play Raven in Frederick, Maryland. The guys are awesome and the pricing is lower than retail.


----------



## neurotix

Yay! You got Xenogears!

I hope you can find the time to play it considering you have Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, FFII, FFIII for SNES to play...

My top list of favorite RPGs would look something like this:

1. FFIV (aka FFII here, you have this)
2. Chrono Trigger
3. Xenogears
4. FFVI (aka FFIII)

This is just my personal list, I really love FFIV, considering it was my first RPG and probably the one I've played more than any other to this day, finishing it (probably) over 50 times. The last time I played it I got to the final save point with all the uber gear from the final dungeon with under 10 hrs. on the in game clock. However, I would still say that FFVI (aka III) is the best Final Fantasy game ever made, and probably one of the best JRPGs ever made, right up there with Chrono Trigger. By extension, two of the best games ever made, period. I just have a soft spot for FFIV...

Xenogears has the best story in any RPG, or game, I've ever played, hands down. And I've played thousands of games and hundreds, if not thousands of JRPGs, finishing hundreds.

The story was by Tetsuya Takahashi and Soraya Saga (Kaori Tanaka), his wife.. Takahashi was a graphic and map designer on FFIV-FFVI, he was also the graphics director overseeing all the graphics in the game for Chrono Trigger. Soraya Saga was a scenario writer for many Square games, but most notably, FFVI where she created the characters and story of Edgar and Sabin. That is to say, she created Edgar and Sabin. They came up with the story for Xenogears in their free time and presented it to Square as a scenario for FFVII, but it was rejected as being too dark. However, they were green lit to develop it as a different game, and thus came Xenogears. They were reading a lot of Freud, Nietzsche, Jung, etc. when they wrote the game...

I hope you enjoy it when you play it, it's one of my favorite games of all time... there hasn't really been anything like it before or since. Sure, they went on to make Xenosaga but those games suck (imo) and are really totally different from Gears, even if they share story elements. And the Xenoblade series, while amazing, is totally different in gameplay AND story.


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## Wolfsbora

Yup, I've been jumping between Xenogears and Biomotor Unitron when I can't be sitting in front of a TV.

So far, Xenogears has my attention. The characters are quite interesting, the battle system is perfect this age and style of game. I'm thoroughly loving it!

@neurotix your list of RPGs are pretty close to mine. I'll have to think it out.


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## neurotix

It's really a great game with fantastic gameplay and story. How far are you? It would be wise to use a FAQ as you go along, the game has a lot of missable items that are necessary if you want to have an uber party at the end of the game. (Power Crisis in Shevat, Trader Card).

Without spoiling anything, just be aware that the 2nd disc is nothing like the first. Lots and lots of talking/reading (like half hour+) followed by a short dungeon, repeat. Though at the end of the disc they give you free roam again, but you can't revisit most locations. This is because the game went over budget and over deadline, so they had to fit the whole story in essentially without letting you play it by going from place to place.

Yasunori Mitsuda did an amazing job on the soundtrack... Can't decide which is better, this or Chrono Cross. Chrono Trigger is still his best work though (ironic that it was the first game he composed for..)

A small tip would be, near the end of disc 1 you can powerlevel and get to level 99 if you want. Last time I played I only got Fei to level 80 to get Kokei/Yamikei and Kishin. This might be the best place in the game to level up, maybe even more so than the final dungeon. It is in the 3rd Solaris generator dungeon, the underwater one, which is just a series of underwater tunnels with a boss at the end. (You just keep going through underwater tunnels away from the camera.) Basically just fight the enemies in your gears here, they give a lot of EXP, and then go heal at the repair bot at the end of one of the tunnels to restore fuel.

If I were to choose my top 10 RPGs of all time it would probably be..

1. FFIV
2. Chrono Trigger
3. Xenogears
4. FFVI
5. Phantasy Star IV
6. FF (NES)
7. Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U)
8. Dragon Quest IX (DS)
9. Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
10. Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)

Honorable mentions would be FFVII, FFIX, FFV, Soma Bringer (DS), any translated Square Super Famicom games (Bahamut Lagoon, Front Mission, Live a Live, Treasure Hunter G etc.), Phantasy Star Online (the original), Both original Shining Force games, Disgaea (original), Tactics Ogre, Tales of Vesperia, and quite a few more PS2 and DS games, to keep the list short. Sorry there's no inclusion of Western RPGs, I basically can't stand stuff like Baldur's Gate, Diablo etc. I think they've aged terribly, they're too slow paced and quite boring. I think the only ones I really liked enough to finish were the Dragon Age games. Just not really my style or aesthetic and I find the gameplay of most of them incredibly boring.


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## Wolfsbora

I'm really starting to dig Xenogears. The story takes. Bit to get going but once it starts to unravel the game really comes alive! And yeah, that battle system is just awesome.


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## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Honorable mentions would be FFVII, FFIX, FFV, Soma Bringer (DS), any translated Square Super Famicom games (Bahamut Lagoon, Front Mission, Live a Live, Treasure Hunter G etc.), Phantasy Star Online (the original), Both original Shining Force games, Disgaea (original), Tactics Ogre, Tales of Vesperia, and quite a few more PS2 and DS games, to keep the list short. Sorry there's no inclusion of Western RPGs, I basically can't stand stuff like Baldur's Gate, Diablo etc. I think they've aged terribly, they're too slow paced and quite boring. I think the only ones I really liked enough to finish were the Dragon Age games. Just not really my style or aesthetic and I find the gameplay of most of them incredibly boring.


I haven't played that many RPGs in general. But I in some what defense of western RPGs I did manage to make it through _Planescape: Torment_. And for the record and I really, really loved the story. I also made it through the first Fallout and really liked it. Truthfully I'm not sure I would consider the Diablo series an RPG. It's more of a graphical version of _Rogue_ or _Net hack_ - closer to an arcade thing, like Gauntlet. And about as much story as Gauntlet.

I did once play Final Fantasy I ... on the PSP. Couldn't get through it without a walkthrough though. I noticed you didn't mention _Dragon Warrior_. I don't actually know anything about the series outside of popularity in Japan. Do you have any opinion on it?


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## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I haven't played that many RPGs in general. But I in some what defense of western RPGs I did manage to make it through _Planescape: Torment_. And for the record and I really, really loved the story. I also made it through the first Fallout and really liked it. Truthfully I'm not sure I would consider the Diablo series an RPG. It's more of a graphical version of _Rogue_ or _Net hack_ - closer to an arcade thing, like Gauntlet. And about as much story as Gauntlet.
> 
> I did once play Final Fantasy I ... on the PSP. Couldn't get through it without a walkthrough though. I noticed you didn't mention _Dragon Warrior_. I don't actually know anything about the series outside of popularity in Japan. Do you have any opinion on it?


Diablo II was actually okay, at least I recognize how groundbreaking it was at the time, and how it spawned a whole genre. Going back and trying to play it now, though, I thought it was perhaps a bit archaic compared to modern takes on the genre (Torchlight). You're right, the games are more like Nethack. They're pretty much the direct inspiration for Phantasy Star Online and all it's sequels, and I love those, so yeah. You are not the first person to recommend Planescape: Torment to me, boredgunner did as well. I will have to check it out now, but when I'll get to it, I have no idea. Gauntlet is cool, I liked Gauntlet Legends or whatever that was in arcades and on DC and N64. Gauntlet IV on Genesis is good too, and has music by Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage).

I've been playing the first Final Fantasy since... probably 1991. The PSP remake is excellent, but has greatly reduced difficulty compared to the original NES title. I can see how someone would need a walkthrough if you've never played it. The game doesn't ever really spell out what you need to do (go here and get this, etc.) The original FF is more of a dungeon crawler, light on story, heavy on gameplay- leveling up, going through dungeons, finding new gear. Don't think that that is what all FF games are like, because later ones are MUCH more focused on story, pretty much from FFVII on you'll have a LOT of story scenes, reading (or voice acting) and so on. The 8 and 16-bit games balanced the story with gameplay pretty well, but the later ones (especially all the recent ones) force you to watch like hours and hours of dialogue. That can be a good thing when the story is actually good (like in Xenogears...) But when it's FFXIII-3 Lightning Returns...not so much.









I did mention Dragon Warrior! I said Dragon Quest IX for number 8 in my top ten list. But if you don't play many RPGs, especially not Japanese ones, you wouldn't know that Dragon Warrior *IS* Dragon Quest. Back when they first released Dragon Quest here, some company already had a tabletop RPG game called _DragonQuest_ and so the name was changed to Dragon Warrior to avoid lawsuits. Nowadays that company is defunct and nobody cares anymore (and perhaps Square-Enix bought the rights to the name) so the games are released as Dragon Quest here.

As far as my thoughts on Dragon Quest, I have Dragon Warrior (NES) which is Dragon Quest 1. This game is archaic, I did get really far at one point but man, what a brutal game (GRIND GRIND GRIND! That is, kill hundreds of the same monster to get gold to purchase better equipment and to level up). I have Dragon Quest 3 for GBC, and I've played the Super Nintendo port of it, I never got very far but it's supposed to be one of the best in the series. This is on my list to play. And Dragon Quest IX/9 is one of the best games I've ever played. Probably one of the best, if not the best, JRPG of the last 15 years or so. It has a main campaign of around 50 hours but once you finish that, the game basically never ends unless you want it to. I played for probably 200 hours and stopped.

Final Fantasy is more popular than Dragon Quest here, by far. The last Dragon Quest game was online and they simply didn't release it here at all. The reason for this, I think, is that 1) Dragon Quest is turn based. 2) Dragon Quest is grind-heavy. 3) Dragon Quest is generally light on story. They are truly old school. They rely on gameplay that is unpopular here now and reviewed badly. However, the series is immensely popular in Japan, even now, and afaik still outsells Final Fantasy and is more popular. It is even considered Japan's national video game.

Personally, the reason I don't talk much about DQ and tend to prefer the older Square games is simply that that's what I grew up with. And as mentioned, Dragon Quest may even be too heavy handed and grind heavy even for me.

And sorry for all the constant RPG talk. If you ever want to talk about other genres just bring them up because I play almost everything.


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## subassy

Oh, sorry I missed it was on the list

I remember reading (20 years ago) that in Japan which ever system Dragon Quest is released on is the "dominant" system of that generation. Also that at the time Enix was asked to release the game on weekends because if it was released on week days so many people took the day off to play it the stock market went down. Now _that's_ a popular game.

I also read ~10 years ago DragonQuest was released on a handheld...I think it was DS...instead of a console (PS3, I think). Probably explains why so many NDS were sold in Japan.

Anyway I was just curious about that. And I still recommend Planescape because I ended up really loving the story and the ending. If you played that many RPGs maybe you won't be that impressed. But I really loved it.


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## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Oh, sorry I missed it was on the list
> 
> I remember reading (20 years ago) that in Japan which ever system Dragon Quest is released on is the "dominant" system of that generation. Also that at the time Enix was asked to release the game on weekends because if it was released on week days so many people took the day off to play it the stock market went down. Now _that's_ a popular game.
> 
> I also read ~10 years ago DragonQuest was released on a handheld...I think it was DS...instead of a console (PS3, I think). Probably explains why so many NDS were sold in Japan.
> 
> Anyway I was just curious about that. And I still recommend Planescape because I ended up really loving the story and the ending. If you played that many RPGs maybe you won't be that impressed. But I really loved it.


First four Dragon Quest were on Famicom (NES, you probably know this), and of course it stomped the competition with like 90% market share everywhere but Europe, where the Master System did extremely well, because the NES had limited availability due to licensing and other issues. So, in Japan, the Famicom was far more popular. This wasn't just due to Dragon Quest but also, the first three Final Fantasy games were on Famicom, two of which we didn't get back then. (Final Fantasy was released in 1987 in Japan but we didn't see it in America until 1990.)

On top of that, the Super Famicom had Dragon Quest 5 and 6, as well as a remake of 3. Prior to this though, there was a gap, because the SNES (SuFami) didn't come out til late 1990 there. So, from around 1987 until 1990 the PC Engine (aka Turbografx) was quite popular in Japan. In particular, the Turbografx-CD or as it's known there, the PC Engine Super CD-ROM2. Of course, this thing was quite expensive for the time, and was the first CD based home console. However, it had many, many anime-themed games, or even games based directly on an anime, as well as RPGs like the Far East of Eden series. But once the Super Famicom came out, it was over. (especially since it was much cheaper).

There was only one Dragon Quest game on Playstation and it was Dragon Quest 7. There may have been remakes of earlier games but the only new one was 7. This one is considered by some to be the worst of the series. Having played it briefly quite a while ago, I can see why. It had vastly inferior graphics compared to Square games of the time. It also had a long development cycle and was delayed. After this game having such a poor reception, another DQ game didn't come out for quite a few years, not until DQ8 on the PS2. And DQ7 was considered so bad that to bring the spark back to the series, they actually contracted Level-5 to develop the next game. So DQ8 was actually developed by Level-5 instead of Enix because DQ7 was considered so bad. (Level-5 is known for the Dark Cloud series originally, but later, Rogue Galaxy, Valhalla Knights and many other games.) As a result, DQ8 was pretty fantastic. During this big period in between games, Square really dominated, even in Japan, and if you know anything about Squaresoft and the Playstation it was basically their Silver Age. (The golden age obviously being Super Famicom era with stuff like Chrono Trigger etc.)

The Dragon Quest for DS you're talking about is Dragon Quest IX (9), the one I mentioned playing for 200 hours... it was also co-developed by Level-5 and personally, it's the only Dragon Quest game I finished. It's fantastic and even if you don't like RPGs much, if you have a DS, pick it up if you find it.

The stuff about the games having to be released on weekends so kids don't skip school, and the stock market tanking, is all an urban myth from what I've heard. The most recent Dragon Quest X was released on a Thursday.. If you do some research into this, you'll probably find out the same thing, that it's basically just a rumor. Sorry =/

I've played a lot of RPGs but I've played mostly *JRPGs* and quite few Western RPGs, let alone older ones. I've played classics like Wizardry, The Bard's Tale, Ultima and such but not really late 90s stuff like Baldur's Gate, etc. I do think of Planescape occasionally and will probably try it eventually. But I could never stick out stuff like Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights. So we'll see.


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## Aaron_Henderson

Hey guys, got some pics of my latest pickups, Strider/Time Crisis/Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2 you guys already know about, but I got a bunch more Genesis games over the past while as well.




Also, going to be painting my game shelves and console unit tomorrow and reorganizing everything...should be loads of fun







Think I might paint them white instead of black like I had originally planned, though I still haven't really decided.


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## neurotix

Awesome stuff Aaron.

X-Men and X-Men 2 Clone Wars are probably the best games there, in my opinion. I have them both as well as Super Street Fighter II (as well as two 6-button pads). Is the Ren & Stimpy game, Stimpy's Invention? I freakin love that game and as I mentioned, I don't care much for platformers outside of Sonic and Mario. I had a friend who had that game and he let me borrow it and his Genesis. It's hilarious. I really like the bike stage where you have to pedal and jump over cars and the guy is chasing you in a truck (lol).

I'd be interested in seeing the shelves once you paint them.

EDIT: Oh and should mention that X-Men 1 on Genesis is BRUTALLY difficult, at least for me. I don't think I ever even made it past the second stage (the big futuristic maze).


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## Aaron_Henderson

A lot of JRPG talk I missed, but all I really want to comment is that Xenogears has been on my "must play" list for so many years, and for some reason, have just never gotten around to it. One of my friends in public school, I'd guess around Grade 5 or 6, was always telling me it was the best JRPG he ever played, and he his parents were well off and bought him nearly every JRPG that came out, so I always took his recommendations seriously. Suikoden is another one I have on my "must play" list but have just never gotten around to it. One day I'll buy both, in no rush though, lots to play in the meantime. Though I really need to make a point in looking for both games when I am out and about. I've yet to dive into the Dragon Quest series either. though I have Dragon Warrior and Dragon Quest VIII.

Also, somewhat related to painting my shelves and reorganizing my game stuff...I swapped out the 19" CRT I was using for a 27" (still no component though, but component looks pretty good on my LCD). And picked up a few more input switch boxes and surge protectors, which I am hoping to integrate into my console unit a little nicer than it is currently. The one input box I got has S-Video, so I can use that for my Gamecube. And am about to order a Dreamcast VGA cable, which my Dreamcast will then be hooked up the LCD TV, as well as the component consoles (PS2 and Xbox right now). Also, grabbed an 18' HDMI cable so I can finally run my main PC to my LCD TV as well. Oh, and some new speaker cable. So lots to do tomorrow







Might take a few days.

I remember playing most of the Genesis games I picked up recently, except for Asterix and Taz Mania. The rest I remember though. I played both X-Men games a lot when I used to babysit a friend's two little cousins. They had both and we played all the time. Then re-enacted it and got in trouble from time to time for one of them getting hurt lol I don't think we ever beat either of them though. Mortal Kombat is a guilty pleasure of mine...up until Ultimate MK3, anyway. And yeah, it is Stimpy's Invention, the Ren and Stimpy game, which I did beat and remember quite well lol There were a couple of Genesis games though, that Fire Dogs one or something was not so great. They had Super Street Fighter 2 and Street Fighter 2 Championship Edition, I wasn't sure what was better so I grabbed the former. Also...I think you might know Neurotix that I am a bit of a dinosaur guy, and thus, Jurassic Park...I like the SNES Jurassic Park game a lot more then this one (or Rampage Edition or whatever it was), but both are really good, IMO. And both are very hard, IMO. I have beat the SNES one, but not the Genesis. Anyway...I am going to go read through some of the posts I missed in the thread and then probably toss Mortal Kombat 2 on before bed


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## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> A lot of JRPG talk I missed, but all I really want to comment is that Xenogears has been on my "must play" list for so many years, and for some reason, have just never gotten around to it. One of my friends in public school, I'd guess around Grade 5 or 6, was always telling me it was the best JRPG he ever played, and he his parents were well off and bought him nearly every JRPG that came out, so I always took his recommendations seriously. Suikoden is another one I have on my "must play" list but have just never gotten around to it. One day I'll buy both, in no rush though, lots to play in the meantime. Though I really need to make a point in looking for both games when I am out and about. I've yet to dive into the Dragon Quest series either. though I have Dragon Warrior and Dragon Quest VIII.
> 
> Also, somewhat related to painting my shelves and reorganizing my game stuff...I swapped out the 19" CRT I was using for a 27" (still no component though, but component looks pretty good on my LCD). And picked up a few more input switch boxes and surge protectors, which I am hoping to integrate into my console unit a little nicer than it is currently. The one input box I got has S-Video, so I can use that for my Gamecube. And am about to order a Dreamcast VGA cable, which my Dreamcast will then be hooked up the LCD TV, as well as the component consoles (PS2 and Xbox right now). Also, grabbed an 18' HDMI cable so I can finally run my main PC to my LCD TV as well. Oh, and some new speaker cable. So lots to do tomorrow
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Might take a few days.
> 
> I remember playing most of the Genesis games I picked up recently, except for Asterix and Taz Mania. The rest I remember though. I played both X-Men games a lot when I used to babysit a friend's two little cousins. They had both and we played all the time. Then re-enacted it and got in trouble from time to time for one of them getting hurt lol I don't think we ever beat either of them though. Mortal Kombat is a guilty pleasure of mine...up until Ultimate MK3, anyway. And yeah, it is Stimpy's Invention, the Ren and Stimpy game, which I did beat and remember quite well lol There were a couple of Genesis games though, that Fire Dogs one or something was not so great. They had Super Street Fighter 2 and Street Fighter 2 Championship Edition, I wasn't sure what was better so I grabbed the former. Also...I think you might know Neurotix that I am a bit of a dinosaur guy, and thus, Jurassic Park...I like the SNES Jurassic Park game a lot more then this one (or Rampage Edition or whatever it was), but both are really good, IMO. And both are very hard, IMO. I have beat the SNES one, but not the Genesis. Anyway...I am going to go read through some of the posts I missed in the thread and then probably toss Mortal Kombat 2 on before bed


Xenogears is one of my favorite games of all time. And I've finished a lot, including some really difficult ones, so you should take my opinion the same way too







It's nothing like PSII in terms of difficulty, it is actually balanced quite well. There are some difficult boss battles towards the end of the game, but most of them rely on gimmicks you have to figure out, and if you get stuck look at a boss FAQ or something and they will spell out the strategy. You can make your characters very powerful on foot quite early as I mentioned, however, that doesn't carry over to Gear battles (battles in the giant mecha), and most of the tough fights at the end of the game are Gear-only. As long as you have the best Gear parts you can buy, you will be ok with the proper strategy. The one bad thing about the game may be the random encounter rate, it can be quite high in places, but usually running will succeed pretty often. It can get annoying in some spots, especially with some of the more gimmicky, annoying normal enemies, but overall isn't too bad. One small (kind of) spoiler: for some reason the final boss is a total pushover. He only has 65000 HP but at that point in the game your gears can potentially do 19998 dmg a round. It is possible to beat him in two rounds. Oh well, at least the final boss music is outstanding ("Awakening"). As far as I know, the game only has one optional superboss and he can be cheesed out fairly easily (so he can't even hit you). He is also a story battle about midway through Disc 2, so you have to fight him, and you don't even have the best Gear equips yet...so once you're at the end, the final boss is really all that's left to do. Anyway, I think you might even find the game a cakewalk, but the story and characters and music are really the biggest draw of this game. Just be prepared for lots and lots of reading and unskippable dialogue. You should definitely play this when you get the chance. (Sorry, I could write a dissertation on this game.)

Oh and Suikoden is also one I need to play. I know I tried it briefly at one point. (I think). I know FOR SURE that I played Suikoden 2 because it's praised so highly and a lot of people I knew online back then recommended it. I basically ended up hating it solely because of the poor balance in battles. I got stuck on an early boss fight and could not figure out how to win. Grinding didn't work. I didn't care for the rest of it either, it seemed really generic and the translation was poor. I had other stuff I wanted to play so I just decided it sucked and moved on. But this is coming from someone who despises SMT and the Persona series, when I'm really supposed to love it, so who knows. Oh, and I also need to try Vandal Hearts for the PSX too. Known about it for a while and still haven't tried it.

I'm not even sure on the size of my CRT but I think it's a 27". However, it does have composite on the front, composite on the back, as well as component and S-video on the back. The Dreamcast can also be hooked up in S-video, which is how I hook mine up now, though I don't know if it does 60hz or 30hz (interlaced). I can't really tell the difference and the picture looks phenomenal so I'm happy with it. The S-video cables are cheaper, too. The Saturn can also be hooked up through S-video, which I do as well, and afaik it is basically the best quality stock video you can get from the unit. Stuff really looks fantastic on it (especially the plethora of 2D games like many RPGs, fighting games and shmups.) I think that next to RGB modding a Saturn, S-video is as good as it gets. I also hook my PS2 up through S-video and it looks equally amazing. I would like to eventually S-video (or RGB) mod my Genesis, since it has absolute garbage composite quality. The SNES and my PC Engine actually have acceptable composite quality to my eye, sure the colors can be a little blurry but these systems had quite good quality components inside and great video encoders for the time. So I'm ok with those staying on composite.

Asterix is essentially trash, I tried it and hated it, and I own it too. Seems to be recommended mainly be Europeans who have fond memories of it. I think it's based on a French comic strip. I really just didn't see the appeal and thought the game was bad. Would much rather play Sonic or Shinobi.

I also loved Mortal Kombat as a kid but more for the comedy factor than the gameplay. Being a competitive Street Fighter player and also having played Mortal Kombat, I can pretty easily say that Mortal Kombat is trash as a fighting game compared to SF. At least the early ones were. UMK3 was the best classic one, not just in character roster but also in mechanics. There's a lot of glitch combos and such that you can do that really break the game. And I also stopped caring about MK after UMK3. Though I hear from people that play them (people from Milwaukee I used to play fighting games with at tournaments) that MK9 and MKX are actually properly deep and solid fighters.


----------



## neurotix

Ok so...

My recent pickups, got these around a month and a half ago actually..





I had originally written a lot more about these including a description of each game but OCN was being a prick and the submitting the post hung. I'm not typing it all out again.

I'll just say that I paid $30 for Aerial Assault (which is the rare US release) and the cheapest one now on Amazon is $70.

Sonic and Scramble Spirits came from Australia and France and took a while to arrive. They weren't too expensive. Scramble Spirits in particular is pretty awesome (though it flickers) and has great FM sound on my PowerBase Mini.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Hey guys, got some pics of my latest pickups, Strider/Time Crisis/Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2 you guys already know about, but I got a bunch more Genesis games over the past while as well.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also, going to be painting my game shelves and console unit tomorrow and reorganizing everything...should be loads of fun
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Think I might paint them white instead of black like I had originally planned, though I still haven't really decided.


Awesome, awesome pickups!! I see a CIB Strider back there! That's a title I'd like to find CIB. I actually have the box for your version of Super Street Fighter II without the game my case has a different version of SSII cart. Great pickups, Aaron!
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Ok so...
> 
> My recent pickups, got these around a month and a half ago actually..
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I had originally written a lot more about these including a description of each game but OCN was being a prick and the submitting the post hung. I'm not typing it all out again.
> 
> I'll just say that I paid $30 for Aerial Assault (which is the rare US release) and the cheapest one now on Amazon is $70.
> 
> Sonic and Scramble Spirits came from Australia and France and took a while to arrive. They weren't too expensive. Scramble Spirits in particular is pretty awesome (though it flickers) and has great FM sound on my PowerBase Mini.


Those are some really great titles! Now you have me itching to get those titles!


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## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Those are some really great titles! Now you have me itching to get those titles!


Did you look them up on youtube or something?

Considering Scramble Spirits and Sonic are both PAL (they will play fine on a US system though) and were $30 each, and Aerial Assault is hard as hell to find the US version, I'd recommend not starting with these and maybe getting some cheaper US games. Rastan, Shinobi, Kenseiden, Double Dragon, Penguin Land, Outrun, Action Fighter, Altered Beast, Thunder Blade, Choplifter, Alien Syndrome, are all good picks for starting games and are under $10.

You can see all my SMS games here and roughly what they are worth, though the prices may be out of date, I'm guessing they haven't risen too much. And you can probably count on them being cheaper if you can find them in real life instead of online.

This is assuming you still have just one game for the system, of course.


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## neurotix

Where is everyone?


----------



## Mega Man

Just busy


----------



## Mr357

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Where is everyone?


Enjoying this radical new game- Info Wars for the Sega CD!


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## neurotix

LOL

That guy is nuts.

Pretty spot on, his radio show would make for a good Sega CD game xD


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## Aaron_Henderson

I can't even click that Alex Jones thing, heard enough about him to last a lifetime over the past little while








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Where is everyone?


I really haven't been feeling well, and with any energy I've had, I've had to keep busy doing other things. Haven't even played any games...though I've bought a few more since my last post...so out of it lately though the only games I am really remembering at the moment is Persona 4 PS2 ($15 brand new), and Heavy Rain for PS3 ($7.50).


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I can't even click that Alex Jones thing, heard enough about him to last a lifetime over the past little while
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I really haven't been feeling well, and with any energy I've had, I've had to keep busy doing other things. Haven't even played any games...though I've bought a few more since my last post...so out of it lately though the only games I am really remembering at the moment is Persona 4 PS2 ($15 brand new), and Heavy Rain for PS3 ($7.50).


I hope you feel better, man.


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## neurotix

@madpossum and anyone else who likes Street Fighter/fighting games

Some videos from when I was actually marginally decent at Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. Apologies for shaky camera. Hope it doesn't ruin it.

(I am Ibuki, the ninja girl)






I also played Makoto, though this combo is difficult to pull off in a real match:


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## Mazeppa79

I have always been a computer guy. My first computer was an Spectrum +2. But, even before that, my parents bought a thing called "Palson CX 306" to entertain my big brothers. It is a console with some in-built games and it is the most retro gaming thing I have at home.



With this you can play...

Tennis!


Soccer!


Hockey!


Basketball!


Basque pelota!


Labyrinth?!?


And even shooting!!!


It is funny that my 10 years old nephew loves this console... and that makes me wonder if we need the crazy realistic graphics of modern video games XDDD


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mazeppa79*
> 
> I have always been a computer guy. My first computer was an Spectrum +2. But, even before that, my parents bought a thing called "Palson CX 306" to entertain my big brothers. It is a console with some in-built games and it is the most retro gaming thing I have at home.
> 
> 
> 
> With this you can play...
> 
> Tennis!
> snip
> 
> It is funny that my 10 years old nephew loves this console... and that makes me wonder if we need the crazy realistic graphics of modern video games XDDD


Wow, never heard of that one, but yeah it's basically a Pong console.

Certainly games without modern graphics can be good. You should take him to an arcade sometime if there is one near you.


----------



## Mazeppa79

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> You should take him to an arcade sometime if there is one near you.


Yes, there is a place with classic arcade machines near (Street Figther, Bubble Bobble, Toki...). The owners only open it once or twice a year to make events... pay the entrance and play all you want. It sounds like a good plan.


----------



## madpossum

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> @madpossum and anyone else who likes Street Fighter/fighting games
> 
> Some videos from when I was actually marginally decent at Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. Apologies for shaky camera. Hope it doesn't ruin it.
> 
> (I am Ibuki, the ninja girl)


Good stuff, all I could manage in 3rd Strike was playing a very scrubby Chun Li, LOL.

My Youtube channel is full of Street Fighter 2 matches (if I got in a room with really good players I tried to record). I grabbed a couple random matches:





The last match on this one is really good:





A guide vid I made for my main character in SF2:


----------



## madpossum

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mazeppa79*
> 
> Yes, there is a place with classic arcade machines near (Street Figther, Bubble Bobble, Toki...). The owners only open it once or twice a year to make events... pay the entrance and play all you want. It sounds like a good plan.


We used to have a couple places like that around here me and my sons used to go to. They used to host fighting game tournies all the time. One price and you could play all day. They were a lot more fun for me than them since I had nostalgia on my side, LOL.


----------



## Mazeppa79

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *madpossum*
> 
> They were a lot more fun for me than them since I had nostalgia on my side, LOL.


I feel you, scanlines are sooooo sexy









This is the place I was talking about. Rastan, Gauntlet, Moon Cresta, Maldita Castilla... Out Run at 13:15. I have paradise so close... I must definitely go there.


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## neurotix

I'll watch all these tomorrow and reply, guys. Busy, busy day tomorrow. At some point I'll have my brother record us playing ST madpossum, though it will be Anniversary Edition on my PS2 on my CRT in s-video. ("Hyper SF2")


----------



## neurotix

I got a tripod for my phone:






If you guys want me to record my wife and I playing 3rd Strike or SSF2T let me know. (She's actually decent at these games)


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## neurotix

I can also play SNK games pretty well- Garou Mark of the Wolves, Samurai Shodown 5SP, KOF2002, KOF98 (not great at this one), other KOF games, Melty Blood, Blazblue (though these last two aren't SNK). Out of those, I am probably best at Garou MOTW. My wife will play but she's not very good at that one. Basically I only know how to play fighting games that are decades old that no one cares about anymore









My arcade stick has actually kind of been giving me issues, in a few ways. The stick itself feels off and sort of messed up, I looked at it and cleaned it up since it had old stick grease (oil) on it. It didn't help. Having issues doing motions consistently and it feels like it's dropping inputs. On top of that, I know for a fact my HP and HK buttons (for Capcom games) are dropping inputs, because I screw up Makoto's stand HP -> QCF+2P follow up after a command grab in 3rd Strike. The HP basically doesn't come out. Another time I was in training mode and my HK literally stopped working. I know the reason for this, it's basically because some of the wires on the wiring harness are missing quick disconnects, they ripped off a long time ago while changing buttons. So it's just a stripped wire going through the hole on the metal prong terminal on the button. This probably gets wiggled around and stuff while playing from the force of hitting the buttons.

Anyway my plan is to probably totally replace the stick itself with an identical, new Seimitsu LS-32-01 from Focus Attack. The bottom plate is rusted and the central shaft is too. I will keep the cherry red bubbletop from my old stick (this was modded anyway, the stick didn't come with it). I might also get some translucent red Sanwa pushbuttons but I think they only make them in the snap in type and I've always used screw in buttons. (Even though I just replaced the buttons) I'd like the buttons to match my bubbletop. While I'm at it I will probably replace the art with new art too, probably with a red theme. The guy who made my stick was essentially a master woodworker and it has beautiful curly maple wood stained red with clearcoat. I think having red art might match the wood. Finally, once all this is done I will actually solder the loose wires to the terminals on the new buttons and I think this will fix the input dropping issues.


----------



## neurotix

Everyone's busy I guess. No worries.

If anyone wants to chat or talk about anything else retro related, I will be here.







Other than that, this will be my last post for a while since no one is responding.

My wife has been playing SteamWorld Heist on my PSTV. I thought it was newer but apparently it came out in Dec. 2015. Anyway, if you like innovative retro style games, check it out. Pretty cheap on Steam. It's essentially a Steampunk inspired turn based strategy RPG in space. Pretty cool stuff.


----------



## subassy

I didn't actually know this when I was bringing it up but there's been an enhanced edition of _Planescape: Torment_ released on steam. I mean if anybody were interested. I dont think I had even opened steam for more than a month as of the above conversation and yet some how it just happened to have corresponded with my mentioning it. Or possibly a better explanation.


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## neurotix

How much is it?

Numerous people have recommended it to me, since I always say I like RPGs so much. However, I've tried Baldur's Gate 2, Icewind Dale, and Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2 and didn't like any of them. I thought some Japanese turn-based strategy RPGs were slow and plodding (Tactics Ogre et al), but retro Western style PC RPGs are much worse. I just found them overwhelmingly boring and archaic. Played them all maybe 10 hours each then gave up cuz I was so bored.

All the screens and everything make Planescape: Torment to be very similar, so I don't know if I'll like it, but I might give it a chance. However, I have a huge backlog of games across all my systems so I'm really not sure when I would get to it.

Thanks for the heads up though.


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## subassy

The thing about the ones you mentioned ( Baldur's Gate 2, Icewind Dale, and Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2 ) is that they to one extent or another based around the AD&D ruleset, which as I understand it JRPGs usually are not. Not being into AD&D I didn't understand this at first but I've sort of grown into it as a style over time. Me and AD&D is like me and programming (one toe dipped in but still a contentious.."relationship"...for lack of a better term). Although I wouldn't utter NWN 2 in the same breath as NWN 1 as I do not consider them related at all (different developers, 1 is much better). Once I kind of comprehended the play style and kind of got my head around the concept of how it's supposed to work it made it much easier.

Actually I only managed to finish PS:T with the help of a walk through. Anyway, it's not really about play style it's more about the story. I really, really loved the story of PS:T.


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## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> The thing about the ones you mentioned ( Baldur's Gate 2, Icewind Dale, and Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2 ) is that they to one extent or another based around the AD&D ruleset, which as I understand it JRPGs usually are not. Not being into AD&D I didn't understand this at first but I've sort of grown into it as a style over time. Me and AD&D is like me and programming (one toe dipped in but still a contentious.."relationship"...for lack of a better term). Although I wouldn't utter NWN 2 in the same breath as NWN 1 as I do not consider them related at all (different developers, 1 is much better). Once I kind of comprehended the play style and kind of got my head around the concept of how it's supposed to work it made it much easier.
> 
> Actually I only managed to finish PS:T with the help of a walk through. Anyway, it's not really about play style it's more about the story. I really, really loved the story of PS:T.


I've played DND a few times but not dedicated myself to a character or played for any extended amount of time. Again, it's too slow for my tastes. I did play a pen and paper game called Earthdawn as a kid extensively though, it is basically just a different take on something like DND, still with a high fantasy theme. Nowadays though, those games are just too slow and boring for me.

I agree, from what I played, NWN 1 was far superior to NWN2.

JRPGs are definitely not based around the DND ruleset though are a rare few that come close to the complexity. They are generally similar though (at least the old turn-based ones) in the characters having stats, skills, restrictions and the combat is determined somewhat by dice rolls and so on. Of course, all this usually happens behind the scenes, but there are things like damage algorithms that differ between characters, spells and so forth. Traditionally, JRPGs are more about the story, as well as having predefined characters with backstories and such. If you go far enough back to games like Wizardry, it is actually very similar to DND though not a carbon copy, with totally user generated characters. Wizardry was the inspiration for Dragon Quest, and Dragon Quest in turn inspired everything that came after.

PS:T is definitely on my list to check out.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Sorry for my lack of communication! Btw, Torment: Tides of Numenera is absolutely awesome. I never played the original but I think you guys would like the new one. I was a Kickstarter backer of it and Wasteland 2. I'm satisfied with my pledges. I have been busy collecting and trading, though. Have a look at some recent pickups:


The fan translated homebrew NES cart of Sweet Home! Quite possibly in my top 3 NES games of all time.


I recently got Metal Slug 1st Mission & SNK vs Capcom Match of the Millennium for the Neo•Geo Pocket Color. I absolutely love this handheld! SNK vs Capcom Match of the Millennium is officially my favorite handheld fighter. 
Here is my newly acquired Bandai SwanCrystal! I made a decent trade for this. Also, I have 3 games on their way: Klonoa, Gunpei EX, and an RPG involving the Chocobo (it's supposed to be easier to follow along than other Japanese-only RPGs).

That's about it for now. I'll keep you guys posted!


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## subassy

Over the weekend I found only a minor thing: a complete _Sly Racoon_ triology for PS2. And actually 2 out of the 3 still sealed-in-box. And the last one at least complete and in good condition. It was $5.20/$5.20/$4.20 on the pricing. I think the second one is going for ~$25 sealed so I think I found a good deal.

Not that note worthy but I was still happy with the find. I'll probably end up with the PS3 all-in-one collection anyway.


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## Mega Man

i hate this thread, makes me want to spend money.... i really want a neo geo........


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## neurotix

Good pickups guys, great in Wolfsbora's case (I'm pretty jealous).

I really really want a Neo Geo Pocket Color but the system and games are kind of expensive for me. Instead I emulate them on PSP ( [e]mulator or RACE are the best).

SwanCrystal, I don't know if anyone here even really knows what that is, I know what it is though. As far as Wonderswan goes there's really only two games I've played for it, Makai Toushi SaGa translated (a full color remake of the first "Final Fantasy Legend" for Game Boy, that is, the very first SaGa game). The other one I loved was Dicing Knight Period, I don't think you need a patch for this but I'd highly recommend trying it out. It's essentially Zelda in a huge randomly generated labyrinth. You get various boost items, among them a drill that lets you drill through walls and you can make new paths through the dungeon using it. Dicing Knight Period was actually a homebrew and winner of a Japanese contest for homebrew for the Wonderswan. It is crazy expensive and rare last I looked though and no chance of getting it from somewhere that's not Japan. I'd recommend emulating it in PSP. Another good similar style game is Cave Noire for the Game Boy. AGTP translated it. But I have no idea if you could even get a repro cart of it or not. OCD Reproductions might have it. Both of these games basically cross Zelda with a roguelike.

I'm familiar with Sweet Home but haven't played it, I've heard it's pretty good though.. murder mystery RPG right? See if you can find a translated repro cart of Radia Senki: Reimei Hen for NES (Chronicle of the Radia War). I played a lot of the translated version in high school. Really awesome game, sort of similar to Secret of Mana in ways.

You really need to get a Game Gear and a few games. I have one that works but needs to be recapped, sound is starting to fail. It's on my backlog of gaming projects to repair it.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> i hate this thread, makes me want to spend money.... i really want a neo geo........


I would love a Neo Geo, or even a consolized MVS, but man it would still be very expensive.

I'd only really want one game and that would be Windjammers aka the best 2 player game ever created, the best sports game ever, and definitely the most neon 90's game ever.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Hey guys...got a lot of catching up to do...just haven't been feeling well for the past while...I did manage to do this though -

This is the interior of a input switch cover thing I made for the console shelf thing -


Here is where it is located on the cabinet since it's black and you can't see it pictures (you can get to the switches through ports on the front cover, I just need to print stickers to label the inputs)


Here's what it actually looks like...basically invisible (those are power cables you still see







) -



And here is my game shelf -


I still haven't done the LED lighting, and I need to find some drawer / cabinet handles that suit it, and make a similar thing to my input cover for all the power bars / cables. It's nearly done now though...was a ton of work putting everything back together and my game shelf, I just shoved everything back on there for now. Oh, and I also got a bunch of new games, and a Wii mini with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles the Crystal Bearers...can't remember the other stuff off hand, but I might grab some pics when I have some time and actually feel up to it. A few SNES / Genesis games, and I think some more Xbox and PS2 games too...oh, not even sure if I mentioned it, but I definitely remember picking up A Link to the Past, that was one of the more memorable ones, since that's basically my favourite SNES game...sometimes it is anyway.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Hey guys...got a lot of catching up to do...just haven't been feeling well for the past while...I did manage to do this though -
> 
> This is the interior of a input switch cover thing I made for the console shelf thing -








































Is it good or bad that I'm more drawn to the cable management than the actual systems setup?


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Is it good or bad that I'm more drawn to the cable management than the actual systems setup?


Thanks man, that's were most of the work went into







Time consuming, but worth it, IMO. I was going to use the actual switches from these switch boxes and solder up a input box from scratch, but this turned out MUCH easier, and was still a major pain in the butt. The power cables are sure to be just as fun, but I can hide them in a place that I don't need to access as easily as the input switches. I plan to put them in the cabinet beneath all the consoles I think, but I still want to make a box for them so I can store other game related stuff down there in bins, like extra cables and controllers and stuff I don't ever use. There is a drawer right beneath the consoles as well that holds all the controllers I actually use, so that's handy too. Anyway...I gotta go


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## neurotix

Aaron, your setup looks amazing, and I agree, the switch boxes and cable management are top notch. Good work.

Post more pictures for us once it's finished and you get LED lighting in.

I would do something similar but I really don't think it would work out well in this room. Plus, I really don't have any money for the switchers, and I don't care too much about having them all hooked up at once, ready to play. (I try to unplug nearly everything I have if it's not going to be immediately used, saves on the power bill, power bill for a house with 5 adults can be quite expensive.)

I don't mind hooking up what I want when I'm going to use it. Then I just put it away when I'm done. Currently I always have my Dreamcast and PS2 ready to go, underneath the TV, but if I wished I could hook up two other systems at once (composite on both front and back of the TV). This usually ends up messy looking though.

I'll admit, with my back and other pain problems, having to hook the systems up and get out all the cables can be a bit of a deterrent to playing. I manage though. My laundry basket full of controllers and bin full of power bricks and AV cables are pretty neat though so it's usually a quick process to hook something up anyway. I can always find what I need but god help my wife or my brother in picking the correct cables and power brick









Still, you did a great job. Hope you feel better.


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## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Aaron, your setup looks amazing, and I agree, the switch boxes and cable management are top notch. Good work.
> 
> Post more pictures for us once it's finished and you get LED lighting in.
> 
> I would do something similar but I really don't think it would work out well in this room. Plus, I really don't have any money for the switchers, and I don't care too much about having them all hooked up at once, ready to play. (I try to unplug nearly everything I have if it's not going to be immediately used, saves on the power bill, power bill for a house with 5 adults can be quite expensive.)
> 
> I don't mind hooking up what I want when I'm going to use it. Then I just put it away when I'm done. Currently I always have my Dreamcast and PS2 ready to go, underneath the TV, but if I wished I could hook up two other systems at once (composite on both front and back of the TV). This usually ends up messy looking though.
> 
> I'll admit, with my back and other pain problems, having to hook the systems up and get out all the cables can be a bit of a deterrent to playing. I manage though. My laundry basket full of controllers and bin full of power bricks and AV cables are pretty neat though so it's usually a quick process to hook something up anyway. I can always find what I need but god help my wife or my brother in picking the correct cables and power brick
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Still, you did a great job. Hope you feel better.


Thanks bud, I promise to respond on some of the stuff I've missed in the thread as soon as I can!


----------



## neurotix

I did this and took these pictures about a month ago but never shared it:







Cleared some stuff out of my closet to put another shelf in to hold games.

This allowed me to give my PC Engine games their own space, I was also able to move my Super Nintendo carts off the bottom shelf (basically the floor) so they don't get dusty.

Plenty of room for more games now, if I wanted to I could collect PS1, Dreamcast, Saturn, Sega CD etc. games and lift my ban on disc based games. Of those though, the only games I'd be able to afford would be PS1.... any of the games I'd want for the other systems would be like hundreds of dollars each, and money will be tight for a while as my wife needs a new car.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I did this and took these pictures about a month ago but never shared it:
> 
> Cleared some stuff out of my closet to put another shelf in to hold games.
> 
> This allowed me to give my PC Engine games their own space, I was also able to move my Super Nintendo carts off the bottom shelf (basically the floor) so they don't get dusty.
> 
> Plenty of room for more games now, if I wanted to I could collect PS1, Dreamcast, Saturn, Sega CD etc. games and lift my ban on disc based games. Of those though, the only games I'd be able to afford would be PS1.... any of the games I'd want for the other systems would be like hundreds of dollars each, and money will be tight for a while as my wife needs a new car.


This looks great man, and free space for more games? Sweet







I would definitely recommend getting at least a small disc based collection going...even if it's just JRPG!

Also...I am going through late, but I will respond to a bunch of posts in a bit...but for now I will share most of my latest pickups. I got a few more than this, but just couldn't remember and didn't feel like going through my entire collection to find them. There were definitely a few PS3 games, and I thought a couple more Genesis games, and perhaps another Xbox/PS2 game or two, but this is the "bulk" of it...oh, and the Wii mini. I can't remember what I paid for most of it, but I just got Suikoden 4 complete with the strategy guide for $25 yesterday, so I remember that











EDIT -
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I can also play SNK games pretty well- Garou Mark of the Wolves, Samurai Shodown 5SP, KOF2002, KOF98 (not great at this one), other KOF games, Melty Blood, Blazblue (though these last two aren't SNK). Out of those, I am probably best at Garou MOTW. My wife will play but she's not very good at that one. Basically I only know how to play fighting games that are decades old that no one cares about anymore
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My arcade stick has actually kind of been giving me issues, in a few ways. The stick itself feels off and sort of messed up, I looked at it and cleaned it up since it had old stick grease (oil) on it. It didn't help. Having issues doing motions consistently and it feels like it's dropping inputs. On top of that, I know for a fact my HP and HK buttons (for Capcom games) are dropping inputs, because I screw up Makoto's stand HP -> QCF+2P follow up after a command grab in 3rd Strike. The HP basically doesn't come out. Another time I was in training mode and my HK literally stopped working. I know the reason for this, it's basically because some of the wires on the wiring harness are missing quick disconnects, they ripped off a long time ago while changing buttons. So it's just a stripped wire going through the hole on the metal prong terminal on the button. This probably gets wiggled around and stuff while playing from the force of hitting the buttons.
> 
> Anyway my plan is to probably totally replace the stick itself with an identical, new Seimitsu LS-32-01 from Focus Attack. The bottom plate is rusted and the central shaft is too. I will keep the cherry red bubbletop from my old stick (this was modded anyway, the stick didn't come with it). I might also get some translucent red Sanwa pushbuttons but I think they only make them in the snap in type and I've always used screw in buttons. (Even though I just replaced the buttons) I'd like the buttons to match my bubbletop. While I'm at it I will probably replace the art with new art too, probably with a red theme. The guy who made my stick was essentially a master woodworker and it has beautiful curly maple wood stained red with clearcoat. I think having red art might match the wood. Finally, once all this is done I will actually solder the loose wires to the terminals on the new buttons and I think this will fix the input dropping issues.


I bet a bit of solder fixes the connection issues. If not, not sure cause I've not worked with the switches before, but would be very interested to see it after the fix / upgrade / new art. Of course you should definitely keep the fancy custom wood housing as is! I still haven't got my pieces ordered to do my custom stick, but very soon...just getting rid of the last of my spare PC, and then I should be able to get to that. Was thinking about using wood too, and just a heavy steel plate for the bottom now. I've had all the switches and stuff in a cart and ready to order a few times now, but other things keep coming up lol
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfsbora*
> 
> Sorry for my lack of communication! Btw, Torment: Tides of Numenera is absolutely awesome. I never played the original but I think you guys would like the new one. I was a Kickstarter backer of it and Wasteland 2. I'm satisfied with my pledges. I have been busy collecting and trading, though. Have a look at some recent pickups:
> 
> The fan translated homebrew NES cart of Sweet Home! Quite possibly in my top 3 NES games of all time.
> 
> I recently got Metal Slug 1st Mission & SNK vs Capcom Match of the Millennium for the Neo•Geo Pocket Color. I absolutely love this handheld! SNK vs Capcom Match of the Millennium is officially my favorite handheld fighter.
> Here is my newly acquired Bandai SwanCrystal! I made a decent trade for this. Also, I have 3 games on their way: Klonoa, Gunpei EX, and an RPG involving the Chocobo (it's supposed to be easier to follow along than other Japanese-only RPGs).
> 
> That's about it for now. I'll keep you guys posted!


Awesome stuff! I don't know much about the SwanCrystal, but it certainly looks cool








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mazeppa79*
> 
> I have always been a computer guy. My first computer was an Spectrum +2. But, even before that, my parents bought a thing called "Palson CX 306" to entertain my big brothers. It is a console with some in-built games and it is the most retro gaming thing I have at home.
> 
> It is funny that my 10 years old nephew loves this console... and that makes me wonder if we need the crazy realistic graphics of modern video games XDDD


Apparently it's worth a bit of money, nothing crazy, but from what I could find, probably worth about $80 lol Definitely retro!


----------



## neurotix

Thanks for replying! Nice pickups. I remember Drakkhen. I used to rent that game simply because it's an RPG, then be lost as to what to do all weekend (this was before FAQs)... I remember bumping into a grave at night and being attacked (and owned) by the cat ghost. That game is terrible.

I'll be sure to post pictures of the stick when I'm done with it.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

I am surprised you picked on Drakkhen as being a crap game when I have Rastan 2 sitting in that pile as well







I wanted some oddballs with cool art to go on my shelf, and perhaps have a few beers and actually try to play through them someday lol


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## neurotix

Oh jeez. I haven't played it personally but seen reviews of Rastan 2. Yes, it's also terrible (why is your guy so big?)

Drakkhen I have many (bad) memories of, so that's probably why. You have a point, it might be fun to try and play through it while messed up.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

LEDs installed on console shelf, just finished, so will get better photos of once I clean up and dust and whatnot. Still gonna light the game shelf, but that might be a bit trickier. Game shelf just needs handles / drawer pulls now and it's finally done...just haven't found any I like yet. Might make some out of something gaming related...



EDIT - also got an idea this morning to put a couple more shelves into the unit, one more for consoles, and then another more shallow shelf for displaying hand helds...not sure I will do that right away, but just looking at what I am facing when it comes time to expand...which could be any time, honestly







Anything that can be set up vertically will go on the top, and I can remove my Xbox PC for more space too...probably move the PS2 to the top and stand it up vertically. Or might just convert the bottom cabinet area...remove the doors and put shelving down there as well....meh, getting ahead of myself...I'll cross that bridge when the next console arrives.


----------



## neurotix

Looks good


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Looks good


Thanks man, here is the view from my desk chair when facing the retro side of the room (other side is my PC side), after a good cleanup and dusting -



It's tough to get a good idea of this room across in photos...it's really small (8'x8' plus the closet and entry way area), and lit with all sorts of different warm and cool lighting, and overall really dark since it gets hot with the blinds open...too many animals with heat sources and electronics going. Air conditioner is useless because the rest of the house will be 10 C cooler than my room. So it's darkness and fans for me. I might be getting some more space though this summer and renting out another spare room for an office, so things might change...I think I'll leave it mostly as is, just get a small TV stand instead of the desk it sits on now, and a wall mount for the LCD. Not touching that though until I actually have the extra space.


----------



## neurotix

Looks great.

So you have the switchers hooked up, do some of them go to the CRT and some to the LCD TV?

Right away, Xbox and possibly Dreamcast should probably output to the LCD, since they can do higher resolution modes.

The whole thing is going to look really nice once the game shelf is lighted too.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

The only things connected to the LCD are Xbox and PS2 using component, PS3 using HDMI, Xbox PC using HDMI, and main PC using HDMI. I still have free VGA port on TV too, which is what I plan for the Dreamcast eventually, but it honestly looks good on the CRT for now...and IMO, I like it on the CRT better than LCD. regardless of resolution, using the regular composite cables. I really prefer CRT over LCD for everything, honestly...just one of those things. A plasma would suit me much better than any LCD I think, but I have never used one personally. This setup is fine though for now...I am more than happy with using it as is. I really don't know why it's taken me so long to get a Dreamcast VGA cable though...any recommendation on what one to buy, or even what ones NOT to buy? Oh, I forgot...I use S-video to the CRT as well, but only the Gamecube uses it...N64 uses too much weird dithering effects that don't look good on S-Video, so I prefer composite. Anyway...this is definitely the best gaming setup I have ever had, and I enjoy it, even as it sits now, so so much...I love being able to spin around in my desk chair and have that staring back at me at any time throughout the day. It's all so convenient to use now, it's awesome. Any system, just flip a switch and turn the TV to the right input selection. Everything has mem cards, spare controllers, easy for any random guest to scour through and access. I wish I could send a picture to my child self and show young Aaron what he gets in the future lol

Also, kind of a side note...but anyone else think the Dreamcast has pretty decent composite output? Not many systems look as nice with just regular composite cables, IMO. Heck, PS2 barely looks as good with component cables...PS2, the model I have anyway, has TERRIBLE video output no matter what cables are used.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> The only things connected to the LCD are Xbox and PS2 using component, PS3 using HDMI, Xbox PC using HDMI, and main PC using HDMI. I still have free VGA port on TV too, which is what I plan for the Dreamcast eventually, but it honestly looks good on the CRT for now...and IMO, I like it on the CRT better than LCD. regardless of resolution, using the regular composite cables. I really prefer CRT over LCD for everything, honestly...just one of those things. A plasma would suit me much better than any LCD I think, but I have never used one personally. This setup is fine though for now...I am more than happy with using it as is. I really don't know why it's taken me so long to get a Dreamcast VGA cable though...any recommendation on what one to buy, or even what ones NOT to buy? Oh, I forgot...I use S-video to the CRT as well, but only the Gamecube uses it...N64 uses too much weird dithering effects that don't look good on S-Video, so I prefer composite. Anyway...this is definitely the best gaming setup I have ever had, and I enjoy it, even as it sits now, so so much...I love being able to spin around in my desk chair and have that staring back at me at any time throughout the day. It's all so convenient to use now, it's awesome. Any system, just flip a switch and turn the TV to the right input selection. Everything has mem cards, spare controllers, easy for any random guest to scour through and access. I wish I could send a picture to my child self and show young Aaron what he gets in the future lol
> 
> Also, kind of a side note...but anyone else think the Dreamcast has pretty decent composite output? Not many systems look as nice with just regular composite cables, IMO. Heck, PS2 barely looks as good with component cables...PS2, the model I have anyway, has TERRIBLE video output no matter what cables are used.


If your CRT has direct S-Video input, I would recommend a cheap S-Video cable for the Dreamcast, or even the PS2 and Saturn. (this and this I think)

I use S-Video instead of VGA for my Dreamcast on my CRT, it appears to be 60hz and non-interlaced, though I can't confirm this. The quality looks fantastic to me though. S-Video is also great on the Saturn and afaik, it's the best stock video you can get from a Saturn, and I think a S-Video cable was an official accessory (though probably only in Japan- the Saturn was more popular there too).

Get those two cables and you'll be set for DC and Saturn. I have them both and have had them for over a year and they still work great.

I run my PS2 on S-Video and since I play a lot of fighters on it, including 3rd Strike, I'm like 99% sure it's 60fps. The cable I have is probably a rocketfish cable or w/e from Best Buy. It also has component. However, with component on my slimline PS2, all PS1 games have a pink layer over them (basically the video has a strong magenta hue overlaying it). This doesn't happen with S-Video. So if you want to play PS1 games on your PS2, I'd recommend S-Video, though I can't confirm this happens on the original fat PS2.

You are correct, the Dreamcast has excellent composite output, and that's how I always played Dreamcast until very recently. Never had a problem with it. The Saturn also has quality composite output. If anything, they are nowhere near as bad as the Genesis.
Quote:


> I wish I could send a picture to my child self and show young Aaron what he gets in the future lol


This x1000. Repped. I often have this thought myself, especially when it comes to my rig.


----------



## Mega Man

Yea I finally have all the skills to make what I want for my collection, I can't wait, honestly I have 99%of it too.

I will do the same as you Aaron. But I will be building a system selector and it will automatically switch power to the correct tv (lcd/or 36inch crt with curved glass) the big difference is I will be using a pc psu for all the power supplies I already have dc to dc transformers, which mostly are not needed as most of the "9vdc" power supplies are actually 12vdc. But can you image Sega 32x cd with only 1 pc psu powering it?


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> This x1000. Repped. I often have this thought myself, especially when it comes to my rig.


I think about stuff like that all the time...I know it's weird, but hey, I also know I am not alone in that








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Yea I finally have all the skills to make what I want for my collection, I can't wait, honestly I have 99%of it too.
> 
> I will do the same as you Aaron. But I will be building a system selector and it will automatically switch power to the correct tv (lcd/or 36inch crt with curved glass) the big difference is I will be using a pc psu for all the power supplies I already have dc to dc transformers, which mostly are not needed as most of the "9vdc" power supplies are actually 12vdc. But can you image Sega 32x cd with only 1 pc psu powering it?


OMG why did I not think of this too for the power cables? Would you be insulted or flattered if I totally copied your PC power supply idea? That's totally brilliant, by the way!







So some switching relays and a PC power supply then? Maybe I'll PM you for some details a bit later...









Also, I know all this setup talk isn't exactly retro game content, but it's just very interesting to me...stuff I have thought about for years and am finally able to implement...


----------



## Mega Man

Not at all. Feel free


----------



## iTurn

Haven't picked up anything in a while until I got these 2 on Saturday for 10.00 each


----------



## subassy

I've always wanted that Catwoman game...


----------



## Wolfsbora

Aaron, your console setup is awesome! I'm so jealous!

Here's my latest pickups via an incredible trade:



I got all of those for trading just Goldeneye CIB & Shadow of the Empire CIB.


----------



## neurotix

Great stuff except for Plumbers Don't Wear Ties... you'll have a lot of fun with that one, for sure. XD

I am unsurprised you traded a complete Goldeneye 64 and Shadow of the Empire for all this. Complete N64 games go a for a lot these days and are in high demand. Complete Saturn games have mostly always been expensive, especially the RPGs, but it's only been in the last few years that N64 games have become sought after. PSone games will probably never be in much demand since it was the dominant system, but who knows. (Aside from certain rare RPGs complete, I can't think of many PSone games worth more than about $60)


----------



## neurotix

Ok so I finished with my arcade stick a few days ago, here it is:









I'll save you guys a wall of text about the issues I encountered. I also didn't do any soldering to any of the buttons for the wires without QDs, I didn't need to, as I found the problem that was causing inputs dropping and fixed it (two wires twisted together on one of the buttons, one of the wires basically had no exposed wire, I stripped it and retwisted them and attached it, problem seems solved).

I put in a brand new Seimitsu LS-32-01 with Kowal octopus restrictor gate. The buttons are Sanwa OBSC-30 translucent red buttons. Obviously, I changed the art as well. As my main game was always 3rd Strike and I played Ken, Ibuki and Makoto best, I went with line art of them, and a red gradient background. I wanted two things from this project: buttons that matched my red bubbletop, and red art that highlights the beauty of the wood (curly maple stained red.)

I'm happy with it and don't plan to switch art or change anything for a long time.

For comparison, here's the old stick:



If you look to the right of the photo, you can see the old Seimitsu stick (~9 years old). Not only was the base plate rusted and the switches old but I think I stupidly put WD-40 in it one time to grease it, this caused issues later with lots of black corrosion type stuff on the actuator plastic etc. The new one feels much, much better to play on so it's not just all style.

Hope you guys like.


----------



## cainy1991

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Ok so I finished with my arcade stick a few days ago, here it is:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'll save you guys a wall of text about the issues I encountered. I also didn't do any soldering to any of the buttons for the wires without QDs, I didn't need to, as I found the problem that was causing inputs dropping and fixed it (two wires twisted together on one of the buttons, one of the wires basically had no exposed wire, I stripped it and retwisted them and attached it, problem seems solved).
> 
> I put in a brand new Seimitsu LS-32-01 with Kowal octopus restrictor gate. The buttons are Sanwa OBSC-30 translucent red buttons. Obviously, I changed the art as well. As my main game was always 3rd Strike and I played Ken, Ibuki and Makoto best, I went with line art of them, and a red gradient background. I wanted two things from this project: buttons that matched my red bubbletop, and red art that highlights the beauty of the wood (curly maple stained red.)
> 
> I'm happy with it and don't plan to switch art or change anything for a long time.
> 
> For comparison, here's the old stick:
> 
> 
> 
> If you look to the right of the photo, you can see the old Seimitsu stick (~9 years old). Not only was the base plate rusted and the switches old but I think I stupidly put WD-40 in it one time to grease it, this caused issues later with lots of black corrosion type stuff on the actuator plastic etc. The new one feels much, much better to play on so it's not just all style.
> 
> Hope you guys like.


I never knew I needed one of these till now!









Awesome work fine sir!

As someone who has built a fair few guitars I am slightly sad to see such pretty flamed maple go into an arcade set up..
But.. as someone who spent a large portion of their childhood and money at a local arcade, I love it..
So torn! lol


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cainy1991*
> 
> I never knew I needed one of these till now!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Awesome work fine sir!
> 
> As someone who has built a fair few guitars I am slightly sad to see such pretty flamed maple go into an arcade set up..
> But.. as someone who spent a large portion of their childhood and money at a local arcade, I love it..
> So torn! lol


Thanks, I didn't build it myself originally though, I'm a dunce when it comes to woodworking and I don't have any power tools. A guy named Kaytrim in Iowa built it for me. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm honest...

I did however make the art, install the buttons, replace the stick, and wire it all back up.

Here's more pictures of what it's looked like at other times.





I had to dig a lot to find it, but this is what it looked like when it was originally commissioned in 2009:



There is also a neat blog post Kaytrim made about my stick and I: https://kaytrimskustoms.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/why-do-i-build-custom-joysticks/

Unfortunately he stopped making arcade sticks after some serious difficulties in life, however his old website is still up and the blog is an interesting read, you could learn a lot about making these if you read through it. My stick was one of the last ones he made (it might have even been the last).


----------



## Wolfsbora

Hi neurotix, you're making me want to build one of those, specifically a highly customized joystick for the Neo•Geo. I'm a huge fan of your setup!


----------



## neurotix

Thanks.

I'm not sure if you'd want to do it for Neo Geo or not. You could probably do a padhack using one of the Neo Geo control pads. My stick is wired for PS1, so it works on PS1 and PS2 out of the box, and the PS2 is a great system for older fighting games, having ports of most of the big arcade games from the late 90s/early 00s. It also has compilations of many other arcade games, like Metal Slug, Capcom Classics Collection and all that stuff. My PS2 is softmodded so I have access to Japanese-only releases which are perfectly playable without knowing Japanese. This only increases the amount of fighters available. Finally, I have USB converters that will allow me to use my stick on PC, PS3, 360, OG Xbox (softmodded with MAME), and I could probably get converters for Xbox One and PS4. PS1 or PS2 wired arcade sticks have been a standard in the fighting game community since at least 2000, so I'm betting there's converters for the recent systems.

If you wire your stick for Neo Geo, then you can use it on a Neo Geo. That's really it. I looked at the invoice for my stick originally and it was $245. Including shipping that's roughly $300 now. With something so pricey (and nice to play on) you really want to be able to use it on as many systems as possible. I don't think there's such a thing as a Neo Geo -> PS1 converter, even if there is good luck using it on anything newer, or your PC.

Also, Neo Geo style sticks (with 4 buttons straight across) lock you out from playing Street Fighter and many newer fighters (doujins). I would suggest getting a 6 button stick because I pretty much haven't found a fighting game (or any arcade game) I can't play, yet, with 6 buttons on the face.

You guys might be impressed and talk about building one yourself, keeping in mind I didn't actually build mine, I would suggest just getting someone to build one for you, if you really think you'll use it and you can afford it. Mine was on the high end at the time and tbh I have not seen very many sticks that looked better than mine or impressed me at all, when I went to tournaments. I think you could probably get a custom built for under $200. First place to look would be shoryuken.com forums. Or, if you really want to DIY it, get a Mad Catz FightStick for 360 or PS3 (either version) used on Ebay, then buy buttons and a stick to put in it. With a little creativity and the right tools and some time, they can even be totally customized, they can be painted and have new art applied. I'm sure there are templates for the art online already. Both models of that stick were basically designed to be heavily modded from the start. And even though they say Mad Catz, both of them are quality out of the box.


----------



## Mega Man

Derete


----------



## Mega Man

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-hms-tmobile-us&source=android-browser&q=neo+geo+controller+converter

I would do usb my self. Usb can generally be converted to anything


----------



## neurotix

Oh wow, well I guess when you pay hundreds for an AES and even more for the games... I should've figured there would be a converter.

I would probably go for USB myself too nowadays, but PS1/PS2 still works fine for me.

I don't really play modern fighters anyway, I don't own either of the current gen systems, and don't have much interest in picking up a new game. I think if I were going to play a modern fighter, I would go with the latest versions of Blazblue, Guilty Gear or Melty Blood. Those are kind of underplayed here though. But really, my heart is with 3rd Strike, SSF2T, SFA3, Garou and a few other olllllddddd fighters.


----------



## neurotix

Convention information updated.

You guys should go to one of these if it's within driving distance and you can get time off from work. I went to Midwest Gaming Classic and had a blast, and found many games I would have never found otherwise. Even if you can only go for one day, it's worth it. Just save money beforehand so you can actually buy stuff


----------



## acheleg

nes x2 (1985) and xbox original (1999)


----------



## acheleg

just made a pretty penny off S.C.A.T on ebay*


----------



## madpossum

So I was hauling some boxes out of storage (getting parts for an old fight stick that I wasn't using so I can padhack it to use with the Nintendo Switch) and was able to get to some of the retro games I have packed away. I don't have hardly any that are CIB anymore, so most of these are loose carts (as long as I could play them was all that really mattered to me). I have a lot more still packed away, I can, however, get to a few PS1 games and a ton of original Xbox games (still play those on the 360's) if anyone wants to see those.


----------



## Mega Man

Very nice. I am impressed


----------



## neurotix

Acheleg added, welcome to the club!

madpossum, you have some really nice stuff. Thanks for showing us. Street Fighter Double Impact is worth a decent amount now. 3rd Strike for Dreamcast is too. Too bad your Double Impact isn't Cannon Spike though


----------



## neurotix

@SwishaMane @Dimensive





My skinned and modded PSPs and Vitas. I no longer have the Vita with the greenish skin, sold it, only have the blue one on the far right. Also still have two PS TVs.

Small collection of boxes and accessories too.


----------



## Dimensive

Nice little collection, just need to display them nicely! Have you seen what's been going on in the Vita scene? Some good developments lately.

This is what I've done with my handhelds:


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> Nice little collection, just need to display them nicely! Have you seen what's been going on in the Vita scene? Some good developments lately.
> 
> This is what I've done with my handhelds:


That's quite sick, I like. I have carrying cases for most of my handhelds so I use those usually. I'm (more than) a little paranoid about some people maybe stealing my games or handhelds. So keeping them in a case and up high on a shelf makes me feel better. I even tuck away some of my expensive SNES RPGs.

I've mostly been looking at Vita translations lately, though haven't started playing many of them. Chaos Rings III, Sora no Kiseki FC Evolution (aka Trails in the Sky remake), and Toukiden 2 (quite excited for this one, even though I think it just applies the English script to the Japanese version, but it works on 3.60 and the English release requires 3.63+)

I've mostly only kept up on Adrenaline, good thing TheFlow doesn't seem to actually be stopping work on it, even though he said he would. The releases keep coming, I need to update again, I think mine is still on 4.0.

I think I need to update Henkaku as well. I usually just use the email installer because it seems to fail less.

Feel free to keep me updated if anything cool comes out









I should really collect all my handhelds and take a picture for you guys...


----------



## Dimensive

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> That's quite sick, I like. I have carrying cases for most of my handhelds so I use those usually. I'm (more than) a little paranoid about some people maybe stealing my games or handhelds. So keeping them in a case and up high on a shelf makes me feel better. I even tuck away some of my expensive SNES RPGs.
> 
> I've mostly been looking at Vita translations lately, though haven't started playing many of them. Chaos Rings III, Sora no Kiseki FC Evolution (aka Trails in the Sky remake), and Toukiden 2 (quite excited for this one, even though I think it just applies the English script to the Japanese version, but it works on 3.60 and the English release requires 3.63+)
> 
> I've mostly only kept up on Adrenaline, good thing TheFlow doesn't seem to actually be stopping work on it, even though he said he would. The releases keep coming, I need to update again, I think mine is still on 4.0.
> 
> I think I need to update Henkaku as well. I usually just use the email installer because it seems to fail less.
> 
> Feel free to keep me updated if anything cool comes out
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I should really collect all my handhelds and take a picture for you guys...


I definitely need to update Henkaku and Adrenaline on my Vita/PSTV. I just updated my 3DS's the other day to boot9strap. Unfortunately I haven't gamed much since playing through Shadow of Mordor and INSIDE last month. But I have a backlog of games that I'm looking to play on my PSP...someday.

I think the biggest development from the Vita scene has been this: PSVita 3G to Memory Card Adapter

http://wololo.net/2017/05/30/psvita-3g-memory-card-adapter-indiegogo-campaign-yifan-lu/


----------



## neurotix

Yeah, I saw that, but my Vita isn't a 3G model


----------



## Dimensive

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Yeah, I saw that, but my Vita isn't a 3G model


Same, but who knows what this will mean in the future. We got microSD card support for the PSP, so we can hope for the same on all Vita models.


----------



## neurotix

Anyone with a Game Gear or who had one back in the day think that the Game Gear Sonic games are as good or better than the Genesis games? Weird opinion, I know, but the GG games seem more fun to me and have awesome chiptune soundtracks. Sonic Chaos and Sonic Triple Trouble are a blast. For that matter, the GG Shining Force games are excellent too. Streets of Rage GG games pretty much suck but have amazing music remixed for the GG by Yuzo Koshiro.


----------



## Dimensive

I didn't have much time with the Game Gear when I was kid. I had a Game Boy, instead. I recall playing one of the Sonic games though because a friend of mine had one, but don't remember much more than that.


----------



## Wolfsbora

Click here to check out the new article in The Gaming Flashback - A Retro Gaming Periodical - "Redeeming the Sega CD" by guest columnist @neurotix!


----------



## neurotix

Thank you for posting that. Anyone who had/has a Sega CD should go take a look and join the discussion









Yeah, I never had the Game Gear as a kid. A few kids on the school bus had both the Game Gear and Game Boy, but I wouldn't dare ask my dad for either. I believe I got to play the first Sonic game on it once. That was really it.

Later I DID get a handheld and it was a Game Boy. I had quite a few games for it too because they were cheaper, so my mom was happy she didn't have to spend $110 on a game (like with Chrono Trigger and FF3, those were very expensive when new). Mine was the Play it Loud edition and I think it was blue. I ended up selling it when I got a bit older. I actually sold the majority of the systems and games I had so I could buy other things since money was tight. That's ok though because now I have everything I had as a kid and more.


----------



## neurotix

Right, I vastly overestimated that Chrono Trigger price. Sorry.

Apparently it was 79.99 when released in March 95, which equals 129.19 now. A loose copy is selling on Amazon for around $134 right now. Not bad.

https://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Chrono_Trigger_Price_Study.html - extremely out of date but interesting for anyone who likes the game and tracks the price. Wish I could have gotten my copy for $30 like that site says. (That site must have been around 2000~2001 or so if I had to guess.)


----------



## madpossum

I remember paying around $70-80 for one or both of the Final Fantasy games on SNES as well back when they released. In fact, I think there was a class action lawsuit against Nintendo about them inflating the prices of their games. I'm pretty sure Nintendo lost because I seem to remember getting a check or rebate coupon or something like that for about $10 in the mail years later, LOL.


----------



## neurotix

I never heard about the lawsuit, but I'm not surprised.


----------



## madpossum

I found an old NY Times article about it, apparently the rebate I got was $5, not $10.

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/11/business/nintendo-to-pay-25-million-in-rebates-on-price-fixing.html

So the State governments, the Federal government, and the lawyers made out. Me? I got a $5 coupon, LOL.


----------



## neurotix

Thanks for posting that. Reading now. Rep+


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

I've got some reading to catch upon in here : D , Just threw together a hand held arcade controller with 7" LCD screen with buttons / speakers , its using the standard jamma setup .

Skip to the end of the video to see the setup .


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> I've got some reading to catch upon in here : D , Just threw together a hand held arcade controller with 7" LCD screen with buttons / speakers , its using the standard jamma setup .
> 
> Skip to the end of the video to see the setup .


This is really, really amazing. Nice work.

I don't know what to say other than that. I'm just


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> I've got some reading to catch upon in here : D , Just threw together a hand held arcade controller with 7" LCD screen with buttons / speakers , its using the standard jamma setup .
> 
> Skip to the end of the video to see the setup .


Just wondering, what's powering it? I haven't watched whole video sorry if obvious. Is it one of those "500-in-1" mame boards?


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Just wondering, what's powering it? I haven't watched whole video sorry if obvious. Is it one of those "500-in-1" mame boards?


You can see it at the end, he's using an actual Taito G-Net JAMMA board, with a harness ending in custom wiring that goes to the LCD and buttons. (or so I gather)

EDIT: http://wiki.arcadeotaku.com/w/Taito_G-Net

I think maybe his has the BIOS mod that page talks about, with the game on a PCMCIA card (probably reflashable), as it looks like this is what is mounted on top of the board at the end, and I can definitely see what seems to be a PCMCIA card right on the top. Granted I don't think I've ever seen one or had a laptop that can use it, but that little SSD thing on the very top with the game's label on it looks like it might be.

Another edit: Under media it says PCMIA II cards on that page so perhaps it's not modded. I suppose Twirly will have to tell us.


----------



## Dimensive

Not sure if I'm going to keep the SNES there.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> This is really, really amazing. Nice work.
> 
> I don't know what to say other than that. I'm just


Thanks , Glad you think so : ) , It turned out well , though its abit fiddly holding it due to some wires on the back .

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Just wondering, what's powering it? I haven't watched whole video sorry if obvious. Is it one of those "500-in-1" mame boards?


Its a Tatio G Net system but most jamma based arcade board would work .

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> You can see it at the end, he's using an actual Taito G-Net JAMMA board, with a harness ending in custom wiring that goes to the LCD and buttons. (or so I gather)
> 
> EDIT: http://wiki.arcadeotaku.com/w/Taito_G-Net
> 
> I think maybe his has the BIOS mod that page talks about, with the game on a PCMCIA card (probably reflashable), as it looks like this is what is mounted on top of the board at the end, and I can definitely see what seems to be a PCMCIA card right on the top. Granted I don't think I've ever seen one or had a laptop that can use it, but that little SSD thing on the very top with the game's label on it looks like it might be.
> 
> Another edit: Under media it says PCMIA II cards on that page so perhaps it's not modded. I suppose Twirly will have to tell us.


I have three of them all unmodded such as the one in the video , games are originals . The modded ones can use CF cards using an adapter with a game per card .


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> 
> 
> Not sure if I'm going to keep the SNES there.


This is actually not too dissimilar from mine (in my living room), I'll post pictures later. If you don't have a CRT in another room to hook the SNES up to, leave it? My choice would probably be an original Xbox, softmodded, because you can play all kinds of retro games on it in 720p or 1080i. I keep my retro systems in the "game room" and they get hooked up to a CRT, anything that can do 720p or better is in my living room, hooked up to the large flat screen. I like the handhelds there though.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> Thanks , Glad you think so : ) , It turned out well , though its abit fiddly holding it due to some wires on the back .
> Its a Tatio G Net system but most jamma based arcade board would work .
> I have three of them all unmodded such as the one in the video , games are originals . The modded ones can use CF cards using an adapter with a game per card .


Was Taito G-Net ever released in North America or even outside of Japan? I looked at the game list and didn't recognize most of the games, I don't think I've seen them here, and I've been to the biggest arcade in the country (Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, IL, outside of Chicago). I don't recall them having any of those, though they did have a custom made dual cab with Dodonpachi + Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou (Cave).

Are you going to work on some kind of mount to make it more playable and hide the wires? It actually looks like it might have more uses than just playing it, maybe you could hook it up to new boards to test if they work.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Was Taito G-Net ever released in North America or even outside of Japan? I looked at the game list and didn't recognize most of the games, I don't think I've seen them here, and I've been to the biggest arcade in the country (Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, IL, outside of Chicago). I don't recall them having any of those, though they did have a custom made dual cab with Dodonpachi + Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou (Cave).
> 
> Are you going to work on some kind of mount to make it more playable and hide the wires? It actually looks like it might have more uses than just playing it, maybe you could hook it up to new boards to test if they work.


I'm not sure that it was released far from home , I think nearly all the games are In Japanese bar a few , the last game added to the system was in 2004 but I mainly got them for the super puzzle bobble to go with the others

I might do something along them lines , only a few wires need to be tied and its ok to hold comfortably and as I don't mind the mess behind it I might leave it as is . One reason I made it was for testing too as any board that's jamma+ ( standardised connector / pinout ) will work with the unit including the taito F3 systems I have and taito space invaders 91 .


----------



## Dimensive

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> This is actually not too dissimilar from mine (in my living room), I'll post pictures later. If you don't have a CRT in another room to hook the SNES up to, leave it? My choice would probably be an original Xbox, softmodded, because you can play all kinds of retro games on it in 720p or 1080i. I keep my retro systems in the "game room" and they get hooked up to a CRT, anything that can do 720p or better is in my living room, hooked up to the large flat screen. I like the handhelds there though.


The only problem with leaving the SNES there is the controller won't reach far enough. Do you know of a good extension cable? I have an original Xbox with a modchip, and both my 360/PS3 are modded, but I don't think I'll use them for retro gaming since I have a PC hooked up as well... I have too much stuff.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> I'm not sure that it was released far from home , I think nearly all the games are In Japanese bar a few , the last game added to the system was in 2004 but I mainly got them for the super puzzle bobble to go with the others
> 
> I might do something along them lines , only a few wires need to be tied and its ok to hold comfortably and as I don't mind the mess behind it I might leave it as is . One reason I made it was for testing too as any board that's jamma+ ( standardised connector / pinout ) will work with the unit including the taito F3 systems I have and taito space invaders 91 .


Gotcha, I figured both the system wasn't released here, and that you could use the LCD for testing. Do you have a Supergun or know how to build one?
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dimensive*
> 
> The only problem with leaving the SNES there is the controller won't reach far enough. Do you know of a good extension cable? I have an original Xbox with a modchip, and both my 360/PS3 are modded, but I don't think I'll use them for retro gaming since I have a PC hooked up as well... I have too much stuff.


Good extension cable... check Amazon, retrobit probably makes them and they make good stuff in my experience. (gotta leave soon or I'd look myself)

I know the feeling, I have too much stuff as well. If you have a PC you use for emulation (that you can hook to the TV) you are probably good anyway. My OG Xbox still gets used a lot for stuff like MAME and Neo Geo emulators, it's still a great console when modded because it does everything from Atari up to N64. Mine has a larger hard drive, full romsets, and box art and video previews for every game... Sometimes it's easier to just play games on there instead of hooking up different systems in my game room.


----------



## subassy

@TwirlyWhirly555
I was a little cramped on my phone when i posted the reply. So I'd like to add it looks very impressive!
Also, I thought the JAMMA thing was a standard for the control panel interface. Or I could be mis-reading the conext or just wrong on the JAMMA thing.


----------



## subassy

Here's something retro for you all: a handspring visor..._deluxe!_ complete with a "GameFace" and a Tiger Woods game cartridge thing. Go ahead, tell me how jealous you are...








Also, $5 from thrift store. Didn't come with a cradle, although that probably doesn't make much difference. Works flawlessly though.



http://imgur.com/JU3U6


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> @TwirlyWhirly555
> I was a little cramped on my phone when i posted the reply. So I'd like to add it looks very impressive!
> Also, I thought the JAMMA thing was a standard for the control panel interface. Or I could be mis-reading the conext or just wrong on the JAMMA thing.


JAMMA is a universal standard for connecting arcade machine boards to the rest of the cabinet, as far as I'm aware. It includes the controls but also test menus, reset menus, coin feeder, video signal (to monitor), power supply, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Amusement_Machine_and_Marketing_Association


----------



## neurotix

Any of you guys played NieR:Automata and heard the 8 bit music during the hacking minigame? Absolutely fantastic.

Original





8-Bit


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Any of you guys played NieR:Automata and heard the 8 bit music during the hacking minigame? Absolutely fantastic.


Haven't tried _NieR:Automata_ yet but it's on my steam wish list. Actually I have about 100 games on steam wishlist. I've been waiting impatiently for a steam sale which just hit...i guess technically yesterday. The one day I forgot to check. So I might end up getting _NieR:Automata_ if the price were right. And I have any left.

Tunes are cool though.


----------



## subassy

I've started on my "game room" again. I'm really determined to "finish" it this time around. It's getting a little frustrating though and I could use some inspiration on organization and wire management.

I do have this surround sound receiver hooked up to 5 speakers (no subwoofer though, probably won't ever have one; no place to put it anyway. Does that means it's a "5.0" audio system?).

So there's two CRT TVs (one flat/high quality for a PS2 and Xbox, and one convex for light guns and 80s/90s type consoles) and the surround receiver just for audio. The receiver has some kind of "music enhancement" setting that turns two channel stereo into 5 channel (I'm sure the 2600 games will sound great across 5 speakers). I'm sure it'll produce scoffs from the true audiophiles but it's fine for me. There's about 10 consoles total.

Anyway, between the component output, the RCA output and RF output to two TV and the trying to tie it all to the audio receiver this is starting to feel a bit complex. If anybody happens to know of some imgur albums or have some general tips on how to make this organized/easier I would appreciate it. Some way of making it not impossible to identify which cord goes to which console and also not impossible reorganize if I have to take something out and move it for some reason. I'm probably making it harder than it has to be. That's what usually happens.


----------



## neurotix

Nier:Automata is great, it's mainly an action RPG but crossed with a shoot em up and even a retro game. It does many things well. Unfortunately, there's some performance/resolution scaling issues, but there's a fix for those (a fan patch called FAR). Definitely needed if you're going to play it on PC. I honestly like it more than any other modern game I've played since Xenoblade Chronicles X on Wii U (2015). So it's the best game in years for me. I have Breath of the Wild now but still haven't gotten to it (don't know when). So, best game of 2017 for me will probably be between Nier:Automata and Zelda. You know my genres and interests so, yeah.

Regarding the game room setup, can you post pictures? Also, dig through this thread and look at Aaron_Henderson's setup for his game systems/switcher box. I think if you really want it to be clean, there's no choice but to use zipties and cable management tie mounts. http://www.cabletiesandmore.com/american/catalog/mounts-with18-50lb-cable-ties-natural-pack-pla-76.php?gclid=CLXY-ZKZ1dQCFRu4wAodLSsBiQ

The audio thing, I have much the same setup (for music) and had to ask a friend on here who's an audiophile on help getting a subwoofer for my system. I have an old 90's Pioneer receiver and two floor standing Technics SB-A32's. (2 8" woofers EACH). I wanted to add more bass to it for some low Hz songs, the Technics are great but old and can't do very low bass notes well (below 40Hz or so). So anyway, now I have a 12" 300 watt Polk Audio PSW-505 added to it. I mostly listen to metal and rap and it sounds fantastic, shakes the walls even more, and so on so I'm quite happy. My point is basically you won't get any flack from me about your audio setup because mine is not "pro" or "modern" or whatever either. I just wanted to add on to what I had and not shell out tons of money on something that gets used maybe once a month. Don't need a modern receiver, sound bar, surround sound or any of that. What I have gets the job done (well)


----------



## neurotix

This may or may not help you in some way:






You should definitely watch this guy's channel, he's awesome.

Take a look at the related videos too, I'm sure you could get a lot of ideas from youtube, there may even be guides on how to do clean cable management with a receiver.

Hope this helps.


----------



## subassy

I had a feeling I would have to post pictures. There's a lot of room or lighting for effective pictures. I did get a new phone recently though so maybe it will do better, I don't know.

I've been kind of drawing some loose diagrams and prioritizing console I want to connect. For instance I have only one TG16 game so unless I buy an EverDrive for it it probably won't be much of a priority. Don't think I'll be hooking up the 5200, either. And I think I have plan on some of the wiring for the speakers. I'm trying to avoid re-doing the whole shelving system but I'm starting to think that's what I'll have to do anyway.

I've actually seen that video before, on organizing wiring. I think that's the same guy the recommended certain era laptops as the most convenient way to get retro DOS gaming. I did just order a bunch of RCA "couplers" so I can run the audio and video for the various consoles for audio/video separately if I need to (i mean for instance N64's video goes directly to the TV but the left/right can't reach to the receiver so I would need an extension just for left/right, right?).


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Only one more console, but can my list be updated in OP?

Here's updated one -
Xbox, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, Playstation One, Playstation 2, Nintendo DS, Gamecube w/GBA adapter, Playstation 3, PSP, Xbox 360, SNES, Saturn, Wii Mini (and my clone NES that doesn't count)

Also bought a few games, but I am drawing a blank now except for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for NES...
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Here's something retro for you all: a handspring visor..._deluxe!_ complete with a "GameFace" and a Tiger Woods game cartridge thing. Go ahead, tell me how jealous you are...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also, $5 from thrift store. Didn't come with a cradle, although that probably doesn't make much difference. Works flawlessly though.
> 
> 
> 
> http://imgur.com/JU3U6


I have this "Palm Tungsten E2" that I've had since it was pretty new...I guess it's kind of retro gaming thing now...had exclusive games and stuff. I use some rarer software on it that allows the SD card slot to go to 32GB instead of 2GB lol Or something like that. Haven't touched it in ages, but it's out on display somewhere. There was emulators for it too, could run all the way up to SNES games...though not full speed with sound...had to use frame skip 2 and it would work well enough for back then. NES was great on it. It could play 3d games...played Quake, Doom, Duke 3D...some exclusive 3D shooters and the best version of Bejeweled in the world lol You could overclock it...like, the bus and CPU, and memory...but in straps, and I think mine went from 200MHz cpu to 333MHz or something, and double bus and memory speed. But then the LCD would emit buzz, so wasn't good for audio quality. The layout of the buttons made gaming a chore though for action games...like, side scrollers and stuff. I also have a Palm brand IR folding keyboard for it, and it has bluetooth, so you can hook bluetooth mouse to it. Or even bluetooth headphones. It was pretty advanced toy back in the day. No carts for games or anything though...all downloads. I can get some pictures of it sometime...still in good shape. I wonder if it's worth anything now.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TwirlyWhirly555*
> 
> I've got some reading to catch upon in here : D , Just threw together a hand held arcade controller with 7" LCD screen with buttons / speakers , its using the standard jamma setup .
> 
> Skip to the end of the video to see the setup .


That's too cool man! Do you have access to a 3D printer to do a housing for it? Or the skills to do by hand? I love projects like that...I do things...but most end up unfinished...

[/quote]
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Nier:Automata is great, it's mainly an action RPG but crossed with a shoot em up and even a retro game. It does many things well. Unfortunately, there's some performance/resolution scaling issues, but there's a fix for those (a fan patch called FAR). Definitely needed if you're going to play it on PC. I honestly like it more than any other modern game I've played since Xenoblade Chronicles X on Wii U (2015). So it's the best game in years for me. I have Breath of the Wild now but still haven't gotten to it (don't know when). So, best game of 2017 for me will probably be between Nier:Automata and Zelda. You know my genres and interests so, yeah.


I have been keeping my eye on this game since you first recommended it to me, but it's still too expensive...I will pick it up at some point though. I'm too cheap









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Ok so I finished with my arcade stick a few days ago, here it is:


Freaking sweet dude


----------



## Mega Man

So, although not retro gaming, figured you all would like it.

Recently found out about the dragon boxes for dbz.... never knew about them....

So now I own all of them. I purchases vol 6 with a damaged (really deep scratch) disc 6,

Will buy a jfj easy pro plus and attempt repairs then ill have it for old games. If it does not work ill buy another copy

But still very happy and wow what a diff I love this set


----------



## neurotix

Aaron, your list has been updated man. I added the clone NES too because last I looked you had a decent amount old NES games. Doesn't matter how you play them. In fact, your clone NES is probably better than a real one and all the headaches it has. Nearly every time I hook mine up, I have to clean games or blow on them to get them working. I did the boil connector trick, at one point I replaced the 72-pin connector (put the real one back in though, and it was boiled), cut the 10NES lockout chip pin, etc. Still gives me tons of issues. I'm betting this is probably not an issue for you at all with a clone NES.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> So, although not retro gaming, figured you all would like it.
> 
> Recently found out about the dragon boxes for dbz.... never knew about them....
> 
> So now I own all of them. I purchases vol 6 with a damaged (really deep scratch) disc 6,
> 
> Will buy a jfj easy pro plus and attempt repairs then ill have it for old games. If it food not work ill buy another copy
> 
> But still very happy and wow what a diff I love this set


It's definitely cool. I was huge into DBZ in high school, it was the first anime I was ever really obsessed with, and it is still the best shōnen manga/anime ever made. Nothing else comes close and One Piece, Bleach and Naruto are pale imitations.

I saw the whole original series on Chinese fansub tapes in the late 90s. Quality was not good, but at least it had all the original episodes as they were broadcast in Japan, unaltered. I watched the American version when it was still running on TV and it was horrific. I could never stand it, Funimation is awful and will always be awful. Anyway, I'm glad you're happy with your set, as for me DBZ was just a gateway into the larger world of anime. I still love the show and won't deny it's a classic, but I moved on to other shows. My favorite genre is probably psychological thriller, my favorite show ever by far is Serial Experiments Lain (I use a lot of avatars of Lain...) The best one I've seen recently is probably Psycho-Pass. But at the time being I'm slowly working my way through Urusei Yatsura (early 80s), I generally prefer old anime. Trying to work my way through Takahashi Rumiko's anime, except after Urusei Yatsura, all I'll have left is Inuyasha and I know for a fact I don't like it so I'll stop there.

If you really only like DBZ, I'd highly recommend Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken) if you haven't seen it. It's another fighting manga. You'd probably really enjoy it.

Anyway that's enough of me being a weeaboo.


----------



## Mega Man

That's what's cool about the dragon boxes, true, real uncut. Its toffee first time that they used the real opening theme song too (in the us)

Funimation has a place in my heart, while they do stupid stuff at least they give us a chance to watch some cool stuff


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> That's what's cool about the dragon boxes, true, real uncut. Its toffee first time that they used the real opening theme song too (in the us)
> 
> Funimation has a place in my heart, while they do stupid stuff at least they give us a chance to watch some cool stuff


They've gotten better in recent years, they're ok when they just distribute stuff and subtitle it. I think I watched all of Slayers Revolution and Evolution-R for free on their Youtube channel.

We Gotta Power is my favorite opening song.


----------



## TwirlyWhirly555

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> That's too cool man! Do you have access to a 3D printer to do a housing for it? Or the skills to do by hand? I love projects like that...I do things...but most end up unfinished...


Thanks : D , Unfortunately I don't , I could probably make some form of case myself but getting motivated to actually do it isn't as likely . Nice , That's the way it always goes, start something , never quite Finnish it . I have a few things I need to Finnish .... one day .


----------



## neurotix

Hey guys, sorry for being so quiet, I probably will for the rest of the week, quite busy.

However I thought I'd post pictures of a game I got a few months ago, I don't believe I posted them.











Phantasy Star III, complete in box... might be missing some inserts. $25.

Too bad it's not a very good game imo, but now I have complete copies of the first 3 games, of course I have Phantasy Star IV on cart and have completed it many many times. I just need to find a complete in box PSIV and my collection of the classic PS games will be complete. It is quite pricey though so I'm in no rush.


----------



## Mega Man

its been far far too long. time is so scarce with my daughter and home repairs. but i did get this, not necessarily new ... but first.

really hate nintendo. was really interested in the minis, but they made them such a rare thing, no one has them, now they are doing the same with the SNES. i like collectors editions. but not when they dont produce enough for the initial run. really frankly pathetic.

starting to finally build shelving in my house. within the next 2 years my goal is to build the shelving to have 100% of my collection displayed. i have all the dragon boxes, working through all of it, still in season 1... and i have to repair a disc in vol 6.

which brings me to this- i am going to be buying a JFJ easy pro- kinda hyped. it will help with collecting some games used ! ( and my movies )

so i recently go these..... kinda i grew up on this system. this was my sega. my brother is a freaking nightmare. he lost a few manuals, the controllers and a few games ( i had a cool game i likes, about recycling - which ironically pushes a belief i dont agree with ( but this gets more into politics, which ill leave out ) "Awesome Possum "

but rocket knight adventures was a fun game !! ( precursor to sparkster )

but now i have 2 skitchen games and 2 gunstar heros !!!!!!! blaster master 2 !! ( 1 was one of my fav for the nes )
And another Sega....



the n64 stuff is just from my brother !

also anywone hear about LP ?


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> its been far far too long. time is so scarce with my daughter and home repairs. but i did get this, not necessarily new ... but first.
> 
> really hate nintendo. was really interested in the minis, but they made them such a rare thing, no one has them, now they are doing the same with the SNES. i like collectors editions. but not when they dont produce enough for the initial run. really frankly pathetic.
> 
> starting to finally build shelving in my house. within the next 2 years my goal is to build the shelving to have 100% of my collection displayed. i have all the dragon boxes, working through all of it, still in season 1... and i have to repair a disc in vol 6.
> 
> which brings me to this- i am going to be buying a JFJ easy pro- kinda hyped. it will help with collecting some games used ! ( and my movies )
> 
> so i recently go these..... kinda i grew up on this system. this was my sega. my brother is a freaking nightmare. he lost a few manuals, the controllers and a few games ( i had a cool game i likes, about recycling - which ironically pushes a belief i dont agree with ( but this gets more into politics, which ill leave out ) "Awesome Possum "
> 
> but rocket knight adventures was a fun game !! ( precursor to sparkster )
> 
> but now i have 2 skitchen games and 2 gunstar heros !!!!!!! blaster master 2 !! ( 1 was one of my fav for the nes )
> And another Sega....
> 
> 
> 
> the n64 stuff is just from my brother !
> 
> also anywone hear about LP ?


I agree, I wanted the NES Mini. Don't care too much about a SNES Mini. In a perfect world, they could have made the NES Mini for at least a year and really ramp up production, and this way everyone who wants one can have it.

The shelving project sounds cool, I'd like to see that and your collection on it when finished.

No clue what a JFJ Easy Pro is.

I also have Rocket Knight Adventures and Gunstar Heroes, both excellent games. Mine aren't complete though.

I found out recently about this Genesis/Mega Drive game that was Japan only, called Battle Mania Daiginjou. You can see how much an import copy is here. Anyway I emailed the guy at OCD Reproductions, where I get my repro carts, and asked if he could make it for me. The game was fully translated in 2006. He said he could, and for $35. He also added it to the site as "Battle Mania 2 Trouble Shooter".

Battle Mania Daiginjou is the sequel to the first Battle Mania, which was actually released in the States as "Trouble Shooter", so the sequel is unofficially referred to as "Trouble Shooter 2". It's more or less a horizontal scrolling shmup with an interesting play mechanic (play the rom and see). It has really excellent design, graphics, and music. Anyway I will own it soon just as soon as OCD can make me a copy. Really excited to hear the excellent music on a real Genesis with my stereo speakers.


----------



## Mega Man

Really i want the star fox 2


----------



## neurotix

Yep it's on the SNES Mini right?

The site I linked makes repro carts of it.


----------



## Mega Man

For 35... i could get the snes mini for 80


----------



## subassy

Wednesday night I ran into something of a win at my local goodwill. Actually any time a goodwill has something more than barbie/shrek/wii fit/ddr/guitar hero/kinect-blah-blah...is something of a win.

But that night I found _five_ of what looked like worth wile games. And two of them are still sealed. All five were $3.20.

One of the three not sealed was a PS1 game called _Warzone 2100_. Nothing special about it as a title. Except by remarkable coincidence I just happened to be poking around a "free pen drive apps" sort of software site - something i do very rarely - and found out it had been released free/open source for Windows. So if I really want it I don't have to use a PS1 emulator. I can use the Windows one. Assuming it's worth playing I mean. For all I know it isn't.

Here's the pick up list should anybody be interested. Nothing too special, just happy to see some non-barbie-dance-dance titles.

Stunt GP (black/sealed) - PS2
Samurai Warriors - black/missing manual - PS2
Rhythm Heaven - sealed/cib - NDS
Warzone 2100 - cib - PS1
Populous: The Beginning - cib - PS1

Unrelated question:
Anybody try the Castlevania TV series on Netflix yet? I've watched the first two episodes so far. Seems a bit more mature than I was expecting. Not an expert on the lore of course but it's not terrible


----------



## Mega Man

not yet..

kinfda cool near me .... may buy it undecided, price is pretty great

https://denver.craigslist.org/vgm/d/super-famicom-japanese/6187491801.html

holy crap i am buying this

https://denver.craigslist.org/vgm/d/twisted-metal-playstation/6221669850.html

anyone want all stars. seems a great buy for CIB

https://denver.craigslist.org/vgm/d/mario-party-super-mario-all/6181788310.html


----------



## Mega Man

Super stoked

It's mine.


Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!















Original cardboard long box....

First thing i have bought since my daughter was born


----------



## Mega Man

So, went to my friends, and played some games,

Wanted to show off a small portion of his collection.







We played the legend of the mystic ninja


----------



## neurotix

So many boxed RPGs... wow!


----------



## Mega Man

figured you would appreciate it !

thats not all of his stuff.

he is the first owner for most of it ...


----------



## neurotix

Here's my SNES stuff.











Sorry if some of them are blurry. Mine are all cart only. Though I do have a CIB Gradius III in excellent condition if anyone wants to see it. I'll open it up. It was only $30 too.


----------



## acheleg

i was going thru some of ny never played nes games, and found out that i had a rare canadian-only release called SCAT. I posted it on ebay for $50 because it had "property of blockbuster" stamped on it (i bought it as a legit retired rental). Dont know if this is in your hints, but within an hour i found out that a mix of baking soda and white toothpaste could clean ink right off plastic nintendo cartridges. So, i doubled the price, took new pictures, and sold it that night.

The only reason i keep my classic nes around is for duck hunt, everything else can be emulated somehow. Ive always been more of a PC gamer, anyway. Im building a couple of win 98/dos gaming computers on 815 mobos- good excuse to order some new dos games to test my builds. So, i ordered Myst (missed it when it was new), the first tomb raider (to test the 1st gen 3d acceleration on my verge 3d card), and duke nukem (for earlier gen gaming compatibility. Audio and usb drivers for dos and win 98 can be quite the pain sometimes... these ct 4700's are throwing me for a loop. 1 of these computers is actually being built on an 810 chipset integrated server board to be mounted inside a "c" rated classic nes case for dos gaming...

Anyway, i play a lot of civ 2 and sim city 2000, when im not fixing/modding something, or playing a new-gen pc game.


----------



## neurotix

90% alcohol or higher is usually my preferred choice for getting permanent marker off of old cartridges. It helps if you put it on a magic eraser.

There's a bunch of other tips for getting things like rental labels off in this video:






Duck Hunt is definitely one of my favorite games ever, it's a shame I can't play it because light guns don't work on my flat CRT. I had a curved CRT but it had issues with one of the sound channels cutting out and the picture wasn't as crisp, it also didn't have anything but composite whereas my flat CRT has RGB component and S-Video. Also, even on my curved CRT, my Sega Light Phaser didn't work (Master System). So I had to choose between the games looking and sounding really good, or having them not look as good but having light guns work. I have Rambo 3 for Master System (it's kind of like Operation Wolf) but I can't play it because I've tried like 4 TV's and none of them work with the Light Phaser. I also tried like 4 different Light Phasers, thinking the one I had was broken, and none worked. I ended up giving up.

Good luck on the NES PC build. Someone else here has a build log for one like that. I don't think it was you, though.


----------



## subassy

This might be off topic. I mean it does involve a nintendo zapper but still not directly on topic. Mostly I just thought it was _really_ cool.


----------



## neurotix

Do any of you guys know of any replacement for the official Sega CD RAM cart? I have one and paid a pretty outrageous sum (~$70) and it's a piece of crap. When I got it, it wasn't even working and one of the caps had dried up on the board, the battery was probably dead too, and it uses a special kind of battery (it's rechargeable). I bought a kit on Ebay and got the correct battery it needed as well as a correct capacitor replacement. I did these and the cart seemed to work, but recently I hooked up my Sega CD and tested the cart and all the saves I copied to it ~6 months ago are gone. I've heard that the battery in these things has to be constantly recharged by being used or this happens. Anyway, it sucks, as I want to play Sega CD RPGs (Lunar, Vay, Dark Wizard, Shining Force CD etc.) but the internal memory of the CD is low, and I need a RAM backup solution to hold the saves for a long time so I can go back to them.

@Mega Man


----------



## Mega Man

Afaik there is one ( may be thinking of the Saturn) but super super rare. Best thing I can recommend is a larger battery capacity, same voltage and composition


----------



## neurotix

http://www.sega-16.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-16179.html

CR2450 apparently.


----------



## Mega Man

W.e it is I have a few of them. Butt iitc they are rechargeable Lipo 3.0v iirc


----------



## subassy

Hey I got a Genesis, finally. Got to stage 3 of Sonic, most I've ever played it.
It's a gen 1 and I'm thinking of av modding it.


----------



## Mega Man

Enjoy. It's my fav system.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Hey I got a Genesis, finally. Got to stage 3 of Sonic, most I've ever played it.
> It's a gen 1 and I'm thinking of av modding it.


Great. Now get a Sega CD









Seriously though, the Genesis is a great system to collect for as most of it's best games are still affordable. All the top notch RPGs are right around $40 (including Phantasy Star IV and Shining Force II). On top of that, it has tons of other great games at the $30 or $20 mark. I personally got into repro carts myself and am playing Japanese Genesis (Mega Drive) games that didn't get released here.

I'd recommend you try and find the Genesis 6-Pak or buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00005043U/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1502272012&sr=8-1&keywords=genesis+6+pack

$8 gets you Revenge of Shinobi, Sonic 1, Super Hang-On, Streets of Rage, Columns, and Golden Axe. Pretty great games to start with, there.


----------



## subassy

I might have to do the 6 in 1, that is a good highlights real. Not sure I'll ever really collect for it, though the affordablility is very compelling.


----------



## Mega Man

If you ever get a chance skitchin and Gunstar heros both are amazing, and imo rare gems that I think would do well if they brought back.

I dont know loose, but cib they are not cheap ( though not bad )

But well, well worth it imo


----------



## subassy

I'm thinking about (no really, just _thinking_ about it) re-purposing my gamegear for something else. Take out the guts leaving only the shell. Something like a portable 2600 or a rPI zero-based portable game system. I don't thing my leet skills are quite to the point I could do a gameboy shell. But the GG one seems large enough I could probably manage something.

Keeping in mind I have never actually attempted to disassemble a gamegear, _hypothetically_ would someone want the guts of said gamegear for...conversion into a psuedo master system or parts or whatever...?

I mean it would be an as-is proposal. I'm reasonably certain this particular GG needs a re-cap done on it.


----------



## Mega Man

Not i sorry


----------



## acheleg

im more into pc gaming than anything. ive been playing sid meyers civ 2 in virtualbox for decades. now im starting to get back into gaming on vintage hardware again, and its gotten damn near impossible to find windows 98 or DOS drivers. Ive had luck finding creative drivers, as well as ati drivers, but im at a loss as to where to find a good USB universal mass storage device driver. i cant remember where i got the one that i used to use. Ive tried iomegas universal mass storage device driver that they made for the zip 250 usb, but that driver didnt work to allow windows 98 to access a usb flash drive, which is what i want to do. Where is a good win 98 mass storage driver still posted publicly and safely- id like do download directly from a manufacturer's site, but iomegas a no go, and most other manufacturers have stopped listing windows 98 and dos drivers long ago virus-free and working vintage driver resources would be wonderful to find, as well as brushing up on the changes to DOS over the versions. You cant find these kind of books at the library anymore, its only available in random corners of the internet, and your lucky if you dont get an ancient computer virus looking for most ANY driver- which is why i wish i knew of more manufacturers that still had vintage drivers posted.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *acheleg*
> 
> im more into pc gaming than anything. ive been playing sid meyers civ 2 in virtualbox for decades. now im starting to get back into gaming on vintage hardware again, and its gotten damn near impossible to find windows 98 or DOS drivers. Ive had luck finding creative drivers, as well as ati drivers, but im at a loss as to where to find a good USB universal mass storage device driver. i cant remember where i got the one that i used to use. Ive tried iomegas universal mass storage device driver that they made for the zip 250 usb, but that driver didnt work to allow windows 98 to access a usb flash drive, which is what i want to do. Where is a good win 98 mass storage driver still posted publicly and safely- id like do download directly from a manufacturer's site, but iomegas a no go, and most other manufacturers have stopped listing windows 98 and dos drivers long ago virus-free and working vintage driver resources would be wonderful to find, as well as brushing up on the changes to DOS over the versions. You cant find these kind of books at the library anymore, its only available in random corners of the internet, and your lucky if you dont get an ancient computer virus looking for most ANY driver- which is why i wish i knew of more manufacturers that still had vintage drivers posted.


I was actually contemplating setting up a windows 98 machine not that long ago. I found what I thought to be the latest version of the "community service pack" and an unofficial community driver pack.

Okay _had_ being the operative word. I really _really_ thought I saved all those links and/or files some place. Actually I might still be able to find the "community service pack" but I have no idea what i did with the driver pack info. Sorry to be of almost-help. I thought I had it saved. If I find it I will post it for you.


----------



## subassy

I found that windows 98 page I was referring to if anybody still needs it. It's like somebody just left their web directory wide open. Strange. Seems to have both driver packs and different versions of the community service pack.
Enjoy:
http://www.tmeeco.eu/9X4EVER/GOODIES/


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I found that windows 98 page I was referring to if anybody still needs it. It's like somebody just left their web directory wide open. Strange. Seems to have both driver packs and different versions of the community service pack.
> Enjoy:
> http://www.tmeeco.eu/9X4EVER/GOODIES/


Thank the internet for miracles like this.









I run across this stuff too occasionally. I'll save it in case there's some really old Win9x machine I find. For DOS games I'm fine with just Dosbox because I don't have any room for old computers, sadly.


----------



## neurotix




----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I'm thinking about (no really, just _thinking_ about it) re-purposing my gamegear for something else. Take out the guts leaving only the shell. Something like a portable 2600 or a rPI zero-based portable game system. I don't thing my leet skills are quite to the point I could do a gameboy shell. But the GG one seems large enough I could probably manage something.
> 
> Keeping in mind I have never actually attempted to disassemble a gamegear, _hypothetically_ would someone want the guts of said gamegear for...conversion into a psuedo master system or parts or whatever...?
> 
> I mean it would be an as-is proposal. I'm reasonably certain this particular GG needs a re-cap done on it.


I would be interested in it...I wouldn't want to cannibalize one myself, but if you're going to do it anyway...I'd take the guts...and use it to build a Game Gear "console" with a TV out mod...my soldering skills are getting pretty good...just repaired my monitor be replacing a resistor...a pretty small one...with a cheap soldering iron and cheapest desoldering pump ever. Even scavenged an old PSU for the proper rated resistor. Also...I am so broke now due to...things...and always looking for new projects since I can't afford anything right now


----------



## Mega Man

Sorry to hear, good to hear from you, have not got a While.

I am Broke too. Holding on for dear life till my truck is paid off in Jan. O happy days....


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Sorry to hear, good to hear from you, have not got a While.
> 
> I am Broke too. Holding on for dear life till my truck is paid off in Jan. O happy days....


Yeah, been going through some dark times, but through the worst of it now lol Was actually homeless living in a tent for awhile there...while mentally ill...not fun. Sad thing...I had first and lasts months rent...but no one would rent to me cause I was so "ill"...but have found a place, have been here almost a week now and feeling much better...and of course, am able to game again lol Sucks I had to dismantle my setup after spending on getting it the way I liked, but I did manage to keep all my games and consoles lol All that fancy cable work I did though...it's now just a random bag of random cables...only my SNES is hooked up right now. I am going to be broke for a bit cause I can't really work for awhile...but am starting to get some odd electronics repair jobs and computer stuff, that kind of thing, to keep me going. Like I said, I am over the hump now, things are starting to look up


----------



## Mega Man

I am glad. My short version - i am in hell as of right now, clawing my way out. Soon though it will be better.

Wife wanted a cruise so there is that. Well be fun going to Alaska. But that is one high point of a few months of being shat on......

Glad you were able to keep everything. I have been homeless as well, and I know what it is like. Hang in there


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> I am glad. My short version - i am in hell as of right now, clawing my way out. Soon though it will be better.
> 
> Wife wanted a cruise so there is that. Well be fun going to Alaska. But that is one high point of a few months of being shat on......
> 
> Glad you were able to keep everything. I have been homeless as well, and I know what it is like. Hang in there


Yeah, life can be brutal sometimes, eh? Alaska sounds pretty freaking epic though! I'd love to go one day...except I fear I would never return lol So I am so lost as to what to play right now...can't even remember what I was playing when I started going through all this...I have been craving a JRPG though...and haven't even played my Wii yet...and have some Final Fantasy game for it...so I might start that tonight. Going to just take it easy tonight since I have appointments all day tomorrow...eat. sleep, and game, basically lol Also...not really sure I should even put this here, but what the heck...we are pretty tight knit in this thread, I think...so I have also quit smoking weed now too...and for some reason feel like I have to tell people because I am pretty proud of that


----------



## Mega Man

That is awesome! I am proud of you.

Btw where do you live.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> That is awesome! I am proud of you.
> 
> Btw where do you live.


Thanks bud







And I am from Canuckistan...Canada...was in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, but now am near a smaller town north of there called Elmira...I am actually living on a pretty sweet farm outside of town...it's mostly Amish and Mennonite's around here...almost as many horse and buggy as cars lol Nice quiet place for me to get my head straight though, and the gentlemen that rents to me is super nice and knows about my issues...he literally gave me the biggest hug I have had in years the other day after getting home from the hospital...so yeah, I am happy to be out here! The view here is freaking fantastic...highest point in the region...I can literally look out the windows and see over 20km away. I am definitely an oddball out here though lol Everyone in the house looked at me like I was a wizard today when I was soldering PCB components to fix my monitor this morning lol


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Thanks bud
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And I am from Canuckistan...Canada...was in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, but now am near a smaller town north of there called Elmira...I am actually living on a pretty sweet farm outside of town...it's mostly Amish and Mennonite's around here...almost as many horse and buggy as cars lol Nice quiet place for me to get my head straight though, and the gentlemen that rents to me is super nice and knows about my issues...he literally gave me the biggest hug I have had in years the other day after getting home from the hospital...so yeah, I am happy to be out here! The view here is freaking fantastic...highest point in the region...I can literally look out the windows and see over 20km away. I am definitely an oddball out here though lol Everyone in the house looked at me like I was a wizard today when I was soldering PCB components to fix my monitor this morning lol


This is pretty great knowing exactly what you're talking about. We have Amish here too.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> Yeah, life can be brutal sometimes, eh? Alaska sounds pretty freaking epic though! I'd love to go one day...except I fear I would never return lol So I am so lost as to what to play right now...can't even remember what I was playing when I started going through all this...I have been craving a JRPG though...and haven't even played my Wii yet...and have some Final Fantasy game for it...so I might start that tonight. Going to just take it easy tonight since I have appointments all day tomorrow...eat. sleep, and game, basically lol Also...not really sure I should even put this here, but what the heck...we are pretty tight knit in this thread, I think...so I have also quit smoking weed now too...and for some reason feel like I have to tell people because I am pretty proud of that


None of the Final Fantasy games on Wii are any good









You should play translated JRPGs from fantasyanime.com in an SNES emulator on PSP or something. The emulator "snes9xmecm" works pretty great and mostly fullspeed (I'd say 95%). I think it will only work with PSP-2000 or newer though.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> This is pretty great knowing exactly what you're talking about. We have Amish here too.
> 
> None of the Final Fantasy games on Wii are any good
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You should play translated JRPGs from fantasyanime.com in an SNES emulator on PSP or something. The emulator "snes9xmecm" works pretty great and mostly fullspeed (I'd say 95%). I think it will only work with PSP-2000 or newer though.


I made a joke to my one ex who also lives out here (she linked me to the place, actually) that I like it here, but all the cute girls are mennonite...she's all like, "Ew, they don't even shave their legs or anything"...my response? "I can help them shave..." lol I was just joking anyway as they aren't really allowed to date outside of their religion, but kind of funny that was her response I thought. I like it out here...people are just nice. Everyone says hello and waves, even when just going by in the buggies. And I grew up in the country so I know the life out here pretty well.

Well...you should know that I love anything Final Fantasy...even Final Fantasy XIII lol And I did play the same game on Android I think, and was enjoying it...or a similar style one, anyway.

And of course I picked PSP-1000 because that was the one I was most familiar with...but it's OK...I just got back into emulation on my phone...and guess what kind of ROMS it's loaded with? Translated JRPG lol Only SNES and GBA right now...but will be expanding on that soon. I've got about every SNES JRPG on there now though, and I tried to make sure I got the most complete or highest rated translations. I started playing the GBA version of Final Fantasy 5 when I was in the tent...and have been really enjoying it so far. Not that far yet though. I am really only gaming about 2-5 hours a week right now though...but will be playing more now. Oh, and I have a sweet MOGA gamepad for my phone that works pretty nicely.

Also, first thing I did when I checked this thread was listen to the song from that repro cart you had mentioned...and it's good, I was going to comment on it and forgot.


----------



## Mega Man

Although not new, and everything I owned prior, I felt like going old school and wanted to share with everyone



Ah, what's this. In the back there


Its that the mythic and legendary game cube component cables


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aaron_Henderson*
> 
> I made a joke to my one ex who also lives out here (she linked me to the place, actually) that I like it here, but all the cute girls are mennonite...she's all like, "Ew, they don't even shave their legs or anything"...my response? "I can help them shave..." lol I was just joking anyway as they aren't really allowed to date outside of their religion, but kind of funny that was her response I thought. I like it out here...people are just nice. Everyone says hello and waves, even when just going by in the buggies. And I grew up in the country so I know the life out here pretty well.
> 
> Well...you should know that I love anything Final Fantasy...even Final Fantasy XIII lol And I did play the same game on Android I think, and was enjoying it...or a similar style one, anyway.
> 
> And of course I picked PSP-1000 because that was the one I was most familiar with...but it's OK...I just got back into emulation on my phone...and guess what kind of ROMS it's loaded with? Translated JRPG lol Only SNES and GBA right now...but will be expanding on that soon. I've got about every SNES JRPG on there now though, and I tried to make sure I got the most complete or highest rated translations. I started playing the GBA version of Final Fantasy 5 when I was in the tent...and have been really enjoying it so far. Not that far yet though. I am really only gaming about 2-5 hours a week right now though...but will be playing more now. Oh, and I have a sweet MOGA gamepad for my phone that works pretty nicely.
> 
> Also, first thing I did when I checked this thread was listen to the song from that repro cart you had mentioned...and it's good, I was going to comment on it and forgot.


Final Fantasy 5 is excellent. The main plot and characters are a bit sub-par, but the graphics, battle system and even the soundtrack are fantastic. FF5 was really the first game to introduce a fully customizable job system. Technically, FF3j (Famicom/DS) had a job system, but unfortunately the jobs were all set and couldn't have their abilities customized. The way things like throwing Shurikens was handled in FF3, where they have to be equipped (and re-equipped after each use *ugh*), was pretty poor so it's good FF5 has a more modern system. FF5 was the first game to really let you pick battle abilities, making things like a Ninja with black magic, Knight with white magic, Paladin with Summon, etc. possible. Obviously this is the basis for later games like FF Tactics series and some others.

My best advice is to experiment, the entire game is finishable (with time- 20-30 hours) there's a lot of valid strategies and setups. I know that early on in the first world, acquiring Level 5 Death makes a huge difference. It allows you to skip one pretty nasty boss fight (a mecha guardian outside the 4th shrine, which is a flying fortress, he just constantly bombards your party with missiles and is quite fast). There's a few others where if you have Lv. 5 Death it's a free pass to win. Late in the game, getting the "mimic" job and Bahamut is a must, because this makes the final boss fight doable without mastering a bunch of jobs (Ninja and Archer, for X-Fight and Dual Wield, attack 8 times at once with this...) You can cast Bahamut and simply mime it, and use items and white magic for healing.

http://fantasyanime.com/finalfantasy/ff5/index.htm

The Genesis music is good because it's a fairly rare example of the system playing high notes well and just sounding really awesome. The high points of the sound chip are taken advantage of, such as deep bass and excellent drums. Listen to that then listen to the music from any EA game (John Madden etc.) and you'll see what I mean. The Genesis' sound chip needs to be programmed a certain way to sound good. Yuzo uses a PC-8801 computer with special software for the Streets of Rage games. Fumito Tamayama is the composer and he used another obscure Japanese only computer to do it. There's also a nice article about the game (and the original) here: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/troubleshooter/troubleshooter.htm

Don't feel obliged to respond to everything.


----------



## neurotix

@Dimensive

https://yifan.lu/2017/08/22/psvsd-custom-vita-microsd-card-adapter/


----------



## Dimensive

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> @Dimensive
> 
> https://yifan.lu/2017/08/22/psvsd-custom-vita-microsd-card-adapter/


I bought one for like $2 a couple weeks ago, but I haven't used it yet. Will probably mess with it over the weekend.


----------



## subassy

GameStop is having a retro game sale, not sure how long it's supposed to last. Just have to see have to decide if you can trust GameStop. Not a great reputation on used retro games.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> GameStop is having a retro game sale, not sure how long it's supposed to last. Just have to see have to decide if you can trust GameStop. Not a great reputation on used retro games.


Don't buy from GameStop. GameStop sucks and knows nothing about retro games.

Buy local from a good shop and get to know the people there. It's worth it, I get discounts. I support the local economy and a guy who loves the games and business (though he's not perfect)... Funcoland was pretty awesome. It's a shame they turned into GameStop.







At least I got to go to it here when they were still around, they had a serious NES stock, anything you can think of within reason. Hundreds of games on hand. Good prices too. I want Funcoland back









I'm still having a really rough time and really need to focus on getting help and getting better. Was in the ER again today. Effective immediately I am on hiatus from the club (which shouldn't be a problem because it's dead).

I don't know how long this will take but I will check in occasionally. I probably won't post for a while though. Be well and happy gaming everyone.

Joe


----------



## neurotix

delete


----------



## neurotix

delete


----------



## FlawleZ

I'd like to join. I have the following systems:
NES,Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Sega Genesis, Sega 32X, Sega Saturn, Sega GameGear, Sega Nomad, Sega Dreamcast, Atari Lynx, Atari Jaguar, Jaguar CD, 3DO, PlayStation 1 - 4.


----------



## Mega Man

Wow, welcome


----------



## WhiteWulfe

Congrats on the overclocked account neurotix! I'll reply to your pm later on, when I'm not on my phone ^_^

As for the club here, it's a rather nice looking one, and reminds me I need to get some sort of cable so I can fire up my PS1 and gigantic black and green box of doom (aka Xbox)... In a way that works with my current tv (silly things having only a few inputs)


----------



## Wolfsbora

Folks, Wolfy has returned. @neurotix, I've missed the hell out of you, man! Same to everyone else here. A huge congrats on the Overclocked account! That is awesome!

I hope this post fines everybody well and their retro collections constantly expanding!


----------



## neurotix

Wolfy I'm so glad you're safe.

I can't say too much right now and I don't want to give details.

I'll post again when I can, but rest assured I'm reading the PMs you guys sent at least.

I should be able to post regularly again soon, but for the time being I've added FlawLez.

Take care guys.


----------



## Mega Man

Hey guys

Good to see you, I am in Alaska.

Dealing with my father in law. He drives me nuts.

Vacation is good and needed.

@neurotix I been wanting to pm you but have not had time been busy. Glad everyone is doing well, going through hell myself. This is a nice respite


----------



## repo_man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *WhiteWulfe*
> 
> Congrats on the overclocked account neurotix! I'll reply to your pm later on, when I'm not on my phone ^_^
> 
> As for the club here, it's a rather nice looking one, and reminds me I need to get some sort of cable so I can fire up my PS1 and gigantic black and green box of doom (aka Xbox)... In a way that works with my current tv (silly things having only a few inputs)


Wulfe!!! Good to see you around, dude.








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Hey guys
> 
> Good to see you, I am in Alaska.
> 
> Dealing with my father in law. He drives me nuts.
> 
> Vacation is good and needed.
> 
> @neurotix I been wanting to pm you but have not had time been busy. Glad everyone is doing well, going through hell myself. This is a nice respite


Glad the vacation has been good, Mega.


----------



## WhiteWulfe

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *repo_man*
> 
> Wulfe!!! Good to see you around, dude.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Glad the vacation has been good, Mega.


I'm still around, although I spend a lot of my time in the BOINC and HWBot sections for some reason









Haven't looked at the OP, but I have this odd feeling I could probably apply to be on here given the various consoles we have at the house that still see some gameplay... ^_^;;;;


----------



## neurotix

I'm back.

Wulfe you should list your consoles like in the op and I'll add you, this is a fun club for all of us old men.

also



'Nuff said.


----------



## WhiteWulfe

Nice on the 1080 Ti's, I scored an EP45T-Extreme for cheap so I got some pretty as well ^_^

As for consoles.... Playstation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox would be my list.


----------



## neurotix

delete


----------



## Wolfsbora

Hang in there @neurotix! Myself and everyone in this club are here for you. I'll reach out to my dude at Sapphire again (he's been super busy but promised he'd hook you up through me). I'll keep you posted! Also, AWESOME on the 1080 Ti! I'm so jealous! I'd love to replace my 980 Ti Classy with a 1080 Ti variant but not quite any finances at the moment to help out with that.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Guys I'm still struggling I might even put a blackout on social media for the time being.
> 
> I'll watch and add anyone to the club who wants it but probably not much else... gonna be busy figuring out and OCing my 1080tis. And of course spending a lot of time with family, and resting. I could have probably died at least twice (maybe 3 times) in the last two weeks. I won't give any more detail than that and I've already told the story however many times. Don't feel like typing it all out again, because then I'd have a WhiteWulfe post (keep working on that novel buddy
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> )
> 
> Take care guys. I'll be back when I'm doing better.
> 
> Of course the people who have my number can reach me by texts on the phone if it's very urgent
> 
> Oh and Wolfsbora can you still get in touch with the guy you know at Sapphire? I asked for loot/schwag like 3 years ago, they said they'd send some stuff and never did. I ask them ("Sapphire Fan Club"?) on Facebook like once a year and they just ignore me now. I think you don't need my address but PM me if you do because I will probably still lurk a little bit everyday (I usually check everything here and on Facebook first thing in the morning every day.)
> 
> Be safe everyone.


----------



## Jameswalt1

Love to join!

Sega Genesis, 32X, Sega CD, Sony PlayStation 1, SNES, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Saturn, Sega Master System. 500+ games, all boxed and complete.


----------



## Mega Man

Which overs are your fav?


----------



## neurotix

Guys I'm still struggling heavily.

I think my wife (Bridgypoo) talked to some of you about it.

Needless to say I will be on hiatus for a time, Jameswalt I *will* add you later tonight though.

Be safe everyone, this has turned from the "retro game club" into the "extremely troubled old man club"









Focusing on me, getting help, to the exclusion of everything else at this point.


----------



## Jameswalt1

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Guys I'm still struggling heavily.
> 
> I think my wife (Bridgypoo) talked to some of you about it.
> 
> Needless to say I will be on hiatus for a time, Jameswalt I *will* add you later tonight though.
> 
> Be safe everyone, this has turned from the "retro game club" into the "extremely troubled old man club"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Focusing on me, getting help, to the exclusion of everything else at this point.


Sorry to hear man, I don't know anything that's going on, but I wish you the best


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jameswalt1*
> 
> Sorry to hear man, I don't know anything that's going on, but I wish you the best


You've been added.

Thanks so much man. It's complicated so I won't go into it totally publicly, but let's just say I deal with numerous pain conditions on a daily basis (fibromyalgia, arthritis in my lower back) and these affect me severely mentally, especially considering just a few years ago I'd never imagine I'd be in so much pain. Was already a headcase and this just makes it that much worse. Been on disability for years now. My wife buys me all my toys. A few of the other guys here deal with similar problems and thus, the club is very slow right now. Pretty much because we're all busy and all trying to get help for these things in a very broken system.

I knew I recognized you from somewhere, and it's probably from your build logs! Knowing you are probably the single most famous case modder/custom builder on the site. It's an honor to have you in my club









As for me I'm just a big Corsair case fanboy, and though I could probably watercool my systems, refuse to on the basis of the extra cost, extra weight it adds to the systems, and complexity (e.g. tearing the whole thing down every time I need to swap a component.) I just got dual EVGA 1080ti FTW3 and now Big Red is so heavy I can't even move it by myself. Actually, I've had CrossfireX Radeons for a long time, you can see that in my build log in my sig if you want, so it's actually not a recent thing that I can't move my system to work on it. No way to work on it at my desk when I'm a Surround/Eyefinity user and could never go back to a single monitor I love it so much. But yeah I risk my lower back exploding or blowing a disk out moving my system around now, and that would be worse if it were watercooled. I would LOVE to be well enough to put together custom watercooled systems for other people. Watched a ton of youtube tutorials and confident I could do it (after all I did Big Red and learned it all, if you check my build log you can see the evolution of it since 2009 or so).

As far as retro games, my favorite genre is JRPGs, and that is still my favorite genre today with modern games, except good ones seem to be few and far between now. (NieR: Automata was excellent, and before that, Xenoblade Chronicles X on Wii U... everyone keeps telling me to play Persona 5. We'll see.)

If you really do have that many games boxed and complete I would LOVE to see pictures of the Sega CD and Saturn stuff considering it's crazy expensive for anything really good (e.g. JRPGs for me). I could never afford buying games like Lunar, Snatcher, Panzer Dragoon Saga, etc. and still buy PC parts.

Welcome to the club and thanks. I will still be around to chat if you want but, on a limited basis because I need to focus on getting well.









P.S. I am a huge fan of Blade Runner and all things Cyberpunk. Also an incredibly huge anime fan and loved stuff like Bubblegum Crisis 2032, and any and all cyberpunk anime. Extremely hyped for Cyberpunk 2077 (if it ever comes out- let's hope it's not the next Duke Nukem Forever). I'll keep an eye on your latest build.


----------



## Jameswalt1

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> You've been added.
> 
> Thanks so much man. It's complicated so I won't go into it totally publicly, but let's just say I deal with numerous pain conditions on a daily basis (fibromyalgia, arthritis in my lower back) and these affect me severely mentally, especially considering just a few years ago I'd never imagine I'd be in so much pain. Was already a headcase and this just makes it that much worse. Been on disability for years now. My wife buys me all my toys. A few of the other guys here deal with similar problems and thus, the club is very slow right now. Pretty much because we're all busy and all trying to get help for these things in a very broken system.
> 
> I knew I recognized you from somewhere, and it's probably from your build logs! Knowing you are probably the single most famous case modder/custom builder on the site. It's an honor to have you in my club
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As for me I'm just a big Corsair case fanboy, and though I could probably watercool my systems, refuse to on the basis of the extra cost, extra weight it adds to the systems, and complexity (e.g. tearing the whole thing down every time I need to swap a component.) I just got dual EVGA 1080ti FTW3 and now Big Red is so heavy I can't even move it by myself. Actually, I've had CrossfireX Radeons for a long time, you can see that in my build log in my sig if you want, so it's actually not a recent thing that I can't move my system to work on it. No way to work on it at my desk when I'm a Surround/Eyefinity user and could never go back to a single monitor I love it so much. But yeah I risk my lower back exploding or blowing a disk out moving my system around now, and that would be worse if it were watercooled. I would LOVE to be well enough to put together custom watercooled systems for other people. Watched a ton of youtube tutorials and confident I could do it (after all I did Big Red and learned it all, if you check my build log you can see the evolution of it since 2009 or so).
> 
> As far as retro games, my favorite genre is JRPGs, and that is still my favorite genre today with modern games, except good ones seem to be few and far between now. (NieR: Automata was excellent, and before that, Xenoblade Chronicles X on Wii U... everyone keeps telling me to play Persona 5. We'll see.)
> 
> If you really do have that many games boxed and complete I would LOVE to see pictures of the Sega CD and Saturn stuff considering it's crazy expensive for anything really good (e.g. JRPGs for me). I could never afford buying games like Lunar, Snatcher, Panzer Dragoon Saga, etc. and still buy PC parts.
> 
> Welcome to the club and thanks. I will still be around to chat if you want but, on a limited basis because I need to focus on getting well.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> P.S. I am a huge fan of Blade Runner and all things Cyberpunk. Also an incredibly huge anime fan and loved stuff like Bubblegum Crisis 2032, and any and all cyberpunk anime. Extremely hyped for Cyberpunk 2077 (if it ever comes out- let's hope it's not the next Duke Nukem Forever). I'll keep an eye on your latest build.


Well stay strong brother! I will definitely share some pics, I'm mega nerdy about my game collection and everything is mint and in plastic protectors etc.









I'm just recently getting into JRPG's, especially the retro ones that I missed. I just started FF3/6 on SNES, as well as Albert's Odyssey on Saturn. I also just finished an action RPG on the Genesis I used to have when I was a kid, which holds a nostalgic soft spot in my heart, called Crusader of Centy (Soleil in the UK).

Needless to say I too love all things cyberpunk, especially Blade Runner







and I am absolutely frothing at the mouth for Cyberpunk 2077 lol


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jameswalt1*
> 
> Well stay strong brother! I will definitely share some pics, I'm mega nerdy about my game collection and everything is mint and in plastic protectors etc.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm just recently getting into JRPG's, especially the retro ones that I missed. I just started FF3/6 on SNES, as well as Albert's Odyssey on Saturn. I also just finished an action RPG on the Genesis I used to have when I was a kid, which holds a nostalgic soft spot in my heart, called Crusader of Centy (Soleil in the UK).
> 
> Needless to say I too love all things cyberpunk, especially Blade Runner
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and I am absolutely frothing at the mouth for Cyberpunk 2077 lol


Thanks for the encouragement dude.

FF6 is one of those rare 10/10 games and realistically the best FF game ever made, probably to this day. As much as I love FF7, FF6 is still the best, least when it comes to characters and character development. My personal favorite and favorite game of all time is FF2/4. Check it out if you haven't. I prefer the fan-translated Japanese FF4 because the American release (FF2) from back in the day dumbed it down a lot and removed over half the items and abilities in the game as well as a few important spells.

If you like Albert Odyssey, Wolfsbora and yourself will have much to talk about. Played a little bit myself but need to get into it more. Saturn swap trick ftw.

Crusader of Centy is fantastic, like Zelda Link to the Past, but for Genesis. Man, you have expensive tastes. For the price of one copy (even loose) of that game, you could easily buy 3 flash carts and play the entire Genesis library.

I'll post pics of my game room/collection for you later if I can dig up the most recent ones. Thought I saved them in a folder on my PC but can't find them. Might have to re-take the pics.


----------



## Jameswalt1

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Thanks for the encouragement dude.
> 
> FF6 is one of those rare 10/10 games and realistically the best FF game ever made, probably to this day. As much as I love FF7, FF6 is still the best, least when it comes to characters and character development. My personal favorite and favorite game of all time is FF2/4. Check it out if you haven't. I prefer the fan-translated Japanese FF4 because the American release (FF2) from back in the day dumbed it down a lot and removed over half the items and abilities in the game as well as a few important spells.
> 
> If you like Albert Odyssey, Wolfsbora and yourself will have much to talk about. Played a little bit myself but need to get into it more. Saturn swap trick ftw.
> 
> Crusader of Centy is fantastic, like Zelda Link to the Past, but for Genesis. Man, you have expensive tastes. For the price of one copy (even loose) of that game, you could easily buy 3 flash carts and play the entire Genesis library.
> 
> I'll post pics of my game room/collection for you later if I can dig up the most recent ones. Thought I saved them in a folder on my PC but can't find them. Might have to re-take the pics.


Yes share game room pics!


----------



## neurotix

Ok give me a few minutes and I'll take them. No clue what happened to the ones I took most recently.


----------



## neurotix

Spoiler: Neurotix's Game Room!















































Included pics of my living room TV and modern console setup.


----------



## Jameswalt1

Oh my! That's a hell of a room!

I'm out of town right now, but I have these console set-up pics on my phone


----------



## neurotix

Very nice. SCART switcher.

Interesting selection of consoles. PSone, SNES Jr, Japanese Saturn I think. Rarer ones that most people don't have.

And yes, this room is loaded and must have near $20k of stuff in it when you include everything (the Blue PC is my wife's, bridgypoo). So, it doubles as my retro room as well as PC room. There's actually a ton of hidden stuff, namely my more recent expanding collection of handheld systems. I need to get them all together sometime and show them off.

Here's what's inside the fridge:



I have a thing for Japanese sake because I'm a huge fan of Japanese culture and games and anime....but a weakling to the hard liquor. There's some plum gekkeikan (Umeshu- plum wine) in the bottom drawer. There's also some local WI brew, Summer Shandy, the typical shandy (beer + lemonade).

All this stuff just sits, would love to have everyone in the club over for a big retro game party. Haven't drunk any of it in months- the meds I'm on for fibromyalgia and arthritis REALLY don't mix well with alcohol (particularly gabapentin). Even one drink makes me feel sick as a dog for the rest of the entire night.









Cheers. (and apologies if you are a recovering alcoholic or anyone else here is- don't mean to be an instrument of temptation... just thought I'd share.)


----------



## Jameswalt1

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Very nice. SCART switcher.
> 
> Interesting selection of consoles. PSone, SNES Jr, Japanese Saturn I think. Rarer ones that most people don't have.
> 
> And yes, this room is loaded and must have near $20k of stuff in it when you include everything (the Blue PC is my wife's, bridgypoo). So, it doubles as my retro room as well as PC room. There's actually a ton of hidden stuff, namely my more recent expanding collection of handheld systems. I need to get them all together sometime and show them off.
> 
> Here's what's inside the fridge:
> 
> I have a thing for Japanese sake because I'm a huge fan of Japanese culture and games and anime....but a weakling to the hard liquor. There's some plum gekkeikan (Umeshu- plum wine) in the bottom drawer. There's also some local WI brew, Summer Shandy, the typical shandy (beer + lemonade).
> 
> All this stuff just sits, would love to have everyone in the club over for a big retro game party. Haven't drunk any of it in months- the meds I'm on for fibromyalgia and arthritis REALLY don't mix well with alcohol (particularly gabapentin). Even one drink makes me feel sick as a dog for the rest of the entire night.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers. (and apologies if you are a recovering alcoholic or anyone else here is- don't mean to be an instrument of temptation... just thought I'd share.)


Funny! I also have a huge thing for Japanese culture, especially games and cinema. I have an insane Japanese movie collection too









Retro game night - something I want to do and I have a fun idea I was throwing around that I'm going to put on paper soon. The Idea came when me and my buddy were looking through my game collection looking for something to play and couldn't decide...

The idea is a two-level digital spin-wheel/randomizer that tells you what you're going to play based around interesting categories. The first spin is the category, the second spin is the game selection results associated with the given category...

Examples:

First level spin result: "Same Game Different Console"
Second level spin result: "Spider-Man vs Kingpin - Genesis, Master System, Sega CD", or "Resident Evil 2- PlayStation 1, Dreamcast, N64"

First level spin result: "Side scrolling beat-em ups without sequels"
Second level spin result: "Mystical Fighter - Genesis", or "Guardian of Heroes - Saturn", or "Alien Storm - Genesis"

With larger collections it could be a fun way to play an assortment of games you might not usually play, and in the first example make you play various versions of a game to compare. There could be dozens of specific categories, for example; "Movie Licensed Games", "Amazing Cover-Art, Bad Game", "Data East Games", "Arcade Ports", "2 Player Puzzle games", "Schmups Made Between 1990-1993".... There could be soooo many interesting categories


----------



## neurotix

This sounds really fun, but you better leave out the JRPGs...

"Hey guys we landed on PS1 and Xenogears...." "Welp there goes 70 hours...."

Tbh based on what you said, I'd rather watch Kurosawa flicks with you all day. =P Haven't seen them all, but I think my favorite is High and Low. Got a "Three Outlaw Samurai" Blu-Ray but haven't got around to it. Life has been chaotic to say the least, think you've figured that much out. Anime would be Haibane Renmei, Lain and Urusei Yatsura. (Or anything by Yoshi toshi ABe, Takahashi Rumiko, Tsukasa Hojo....) For stuff more recent/popular I really liked Psycho-Pass. AoT, SAO, seen all that stuff and like it for what it is and am a fan, but still tend to prefer 80s/90s shows, especially now that a wealth of shows are available subbed in HQ that weren't back then. Check out one called Irresponsible Captain Tylor if I could recommend a single one. So slept on but one of the best comedy anime I've seen, from the 90s too.

Not sure if you like j-pop, or j-metal, but I saw BABYMETAL with my wife and sister in Chicago last year. Met Robb Rivera of Nonpoint (metal band) and he was right by us for the whole concert. His baby daughter was dressed like the BABYMETAL girls too. Seen Nonpoint live twice myself too... pretty surreal.

Really into Kyary Pamyu Pamyu too and teaching myself Japanese by learning her songs as well as BABYMETAL's and more traditional resources as well... can say I'm a proud Kyary fan now and 10 years ago would never have even given it a chance lol.

Lots going on for me atm, as well as for everyone else here, but you'll fit in well no doubt since many of us have similar interests. Probably since the majority of console games/systems when we were young all came from Japan, up to the 360 generation. We're just more aware now that we're older. Heck, when I was a kid an RPG was just an RPG, not JRPG/WRPG/CRPG as it is now. FF was just an RPG and damn good ones at that. Wish I could say the same about that series now... (Last one I liked was FF9...that came out in 2000. Damn I feel older by the year, especially with the games I like).

Sure if you post about anything retro related, someone (if not me) will get back to you eventually.... but as I said my life is chaos atm and need to focus on getting well. Thanks a ton though bro. Awesome member to have in the club.


----------



## subassy

My only anime news is a purchase of "Cowboy Bebop" on Amazon streaming. Haven't seen it in 10 years at least. Ya I'm not much for anime. I can't believe I paid full price and I can't even switch between English/Japanese voicing.

Anyway I hope you feel better neurotix. Writing always helped me. I was writing for an hour a night for a while there. Another one of those things I've been planning to "get back to" for...7 years. Or close to that. I mean for whatever it's worth.


----------



## WhiteWulfe

That area is even more epic than I remember Neurotix ^_^


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *WhiteWulfe*
> 
> That area is even more epic than I remember Neurotix ^_^


I don't follow? Not sure what you're referring to (the Japanophile stuff?)


----------



## WhiteWulfe

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I don't follow? Not sure what you're referring to (the Japanophile stuff?)


Oh! It was a comment in reference to a comparison of what I remember you posting a few years ago to how it is now. Love the collection and how it's gotten larger ^_^

Oh, I joined the surround gaming bliss a while back... So happy with it, I've gotten a few "omg omg omg aaaaaaack!" moments in Elite Dangerous that's for sure. I also don't bump into things next to me anywhere near as often for some reason


----------



## Mega Man

http://www.overclock.net/t/1638622/polygon-the-duke-xbox-s-biggest-controller-of-all-time-will-be-in-stores-soon#post_26352364

Thought this was relevant


----------



## technyk32

In addition to my two Atari 2600s, I picked up an original Xbox about a month ago. Plus a buttload of alcohol and q-tips







BTW idk if anyone else here does this or not, but I've found small paintbrushes are amazing for cleaning out the little nooks and crannies.


----------



## Jameswalt1

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> http://www.overclock.net/t/1638622/polygon-the-duke-xbox-s-biggest-controller-of-all-time-will-be-in-stores-soon#post_26352364
> 
> Thought this was relevant


Ummmm AMAZING.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *technyk32*
> 
> In addition to my two Atari 2600s, I picked up an original Xbox about a month ago. Plus a buttload of alcohol and q-tips
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> BTW idk if anyone else here does this or not, but I've found small paintbrushes are amazing for cleaning out the little nooks and crannies.


Good tip!


----------



## WhiteWulfe

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> http://www.overclock.net/t/1638622/polygon-the-duke-xbox-s-biggest-controller-of-all-time-will-be-in-stores-soon#post_26352364
> 
> Thought this was relevant


Sooooooo happy to see this. The Controller S is just too darn small for someone with large hands!!

...Yup, I'm one of those guys who greatly preferred the original controller ^_^


----------



## Jameswalt1

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *WhiteWulfe*
> 
> Sooooooo happy to see this. The Controller S is just too darn small for someone with large hands!!
> 
> ...Yup, I'm one of those guys who greatly preferred the original controller ^_^


Indeed, long live the Duke!


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *WhiteWulfe*
> 
> Oh! It was a comment in reference to a comparison of what I remember you posting a few years ago to how it is now. Love the collection and how it's gotten larger ^_^
> 
> Oh, I joined the surround gaming bliss a while back... So happy with it, I've gotten a few "omg omg omg aaaaaaack!" moments in Elite Dangerous that's for sure. I also don't bump into things next to me anywhere near as often for some reason


Got it. Yeah I originally only had one shelf (the one near the console display shelves, filled mostly with loose carts) but ended up amassing a very extensive and cool Sega Master System collection (console is pretty underrated and had some great games not available on NES). Ran out of room and had to install a second bookshelf in the closet. Gotten a ton of random collectables and everything through the years. In the midst of an existential crisis currently though and atm wondering if any of it means anything to me because sitting in this room playing video games for the rest of my life is just not realistic. Have way way more games than I need or could ever possibly play but at the same time, don't want to sell any of it either. Having fibromyalgia, arthritis in my back, etc. I cannot be sedentary anymore, and since being very physically active (not by choice) in the last month I know I need to commit to change unless I want to be in tortuous pain again all the time, which makes playing and enjoying my games, PC, etc. a complete impossibility and just drives me to the depths of despair. Everything for me is always a Catch-22. Isn't life grand?







(To be clear I've finished maybe... 5 games in the last 2 1/2 years but probably collected 100 more in that time as well. I'm VERY bad at finishing games I start, with some exceptions (Can always finish FF3 or Chrono Trigger or any of those.... but pretty bad at every other genres save 2D fighters and Beat-em-ups. I need a serious lifestyle change and am very unsure about continuing a life of decadent escapism while everyone in the family works but me because I'm "disabled".)

Surround/Eyefinity is Eye opening, as soon as I had it (and just one very expensive 7970 to drive it) I knew I'd never play on a single monitor again.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *technyk32*
> 
> In addition to my two Atari 2600s, I picked up an original Xbox about a month ago. Plus a buttload of alcohol and q-tips
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> BTW idk if anyone else here does this or not, but I've found small paintbrushes are amazing for cleaning out the little nooks and crannies.


Softmod that Xbox. Not THAT difficult to do unless the dashboard has been upgraded past the point of it being possible. I believe the original release of Halo 2 and the dashboard update included with that is the last one that allows the glitch to softmod the machine. Be warned, it requires destroying a "cheapo" Xbox controller and then destroying a USB cable with a female port on the end (so you can make a custom converter/cable to allow plugging a USB flash stick into an Xbox controller port. Not that difficult and many tutorials on how to do it. Or you could buy and install an old mod chip if you can find one. There may be easier ways of doing it now but I used the glitch in 007 Agent Under Fire (and the aforementioned cable) to softmod mine. Totally worth it though since it makes a very excellent, feature rich, retro emulation box and even supports 720p/1080i with a component cable. My 2015 1080p TV (55" Insignia we got on black Friday) has component on it and I insisted on a TV with it for this reason. Looks absolutely great in 720p even upscaled to 1080p and the emulators are much better and more feature rich because Linux sucks for games (retropie). Was horrified at the image quality of retropie SNES games in comparison to my venerable Xbox + zsnexbox or Snes9xbox. If you have a 4K TV or something with only HDMI, no point, do a retropie instead, but I've tried retropie and still vastly prefer my modded OG Xbox. Anyway check out Gun Valkyrie and Pazner Dragoon Orta for the Xbox if you can find them for decent prices. Gun Valkyrie especially is a cult classic.

As far as the Xbox "Duke" controller discussion see my post in the thread Mega Man linked. Be well guys.


----------



## technyk32

Nah I don't think I'm going to softmod the Xbox. When I got it it also came with a bunch of games, and I honestly don't want to mess with it right now, as it works fine.
It did also come with the component out attachment, so that's nice.


----------



## neurotix

Understandable. I think when I did it (2009? 2010?) it was still fairly popular to do. I'm not lying though when I say that even 720p upscaled by my TV to 1080p on the Xbox looked much better than RetroPie @ 1080p when I tried it.

Still have a Raspberry Pi in a case all set to go, as well as a 32gb SD card, and will have to finish the job/setting it up eventually. But for my needs the modded Xbox works great.

Feeling better by the day, but I'm really not lying when I say that laying around in my game room/living room for years was a huge part of the problem (I never exercised, went on walks etc.) so I need to find some balance which is very difficult for a person like me.

Still haven't really tested my 1080tis at all, need to bench them, tweak them etc. More interested in my PC/PC gaming than my retro stuff atm.

Sorry for the bad attitude lol. Anyway my Sega Saturn is hooked up atm to my CRT. Been into Japanese import shmups lately, Soukyugurentai, Steam Hearts, Battle Garegga, Sexy Parodius and a few others. I am TERRIBLE at shmups and have no chance in hell of ever clearing one on one credit. But they make for great 2P co op games. Its also been an interest of mine for a while to play and finish the entire Shining Force III (all three scenarios- fan translation).

Send me on of your Atari VCS systems







I have the Flashback 2 which you can mod to add a functioning cartridge slot. But you need parts, a dremel, and soldering skills. When I bought the Atari Flashback 2 ($10 at a thrift shop, complete, with two joysticks) I had no dremel, soldering iron, or soldering skills- and now I do! I always see Atari games at a local thrift shop, sitting for years, 25c each. Could go buy all of them and play them if I did that mod (worth it- the thing hooks up in composite at least- no idea if the 2600 can be modded to use anything other than RF).

Anyone here have Sonic Mania yet? I have had it since PC launch and not even tried it. Just been hell for me for the last month but things are finally getting better.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Send me on of your Atari VCS systems
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I have the Flashback 2 which you can mod to add a functioning cartridge slot. But you need parts, a dremel, and soldering skills. When I bought the Atari Flashback 2 ($10 at a thrift shop, complete, with two joysticks) I had no dremel, soldering iron, or soldering skills- and now I do! I always see Atari games at a local thrift shop, sitting for years, 25c each. Could go buy all of them and play them if I did that mod (worth it- the thing hooks up in composite at least- no idea if the 2600 can be modded to use anything other than RF).
> 
> Anyone here have Sonic Mania yet? I have had it since PC launch and not even tried it. Just been hell for me for the last month but things are finally getting better.


As it so happens I am also working on a flashback 2 mod. You actually don't need anything extra for the mod. Except the cartridge slot or "edge connector", which you can buy from digikey. I don't know if it's available from any place beside digikey. (Which you probably already knew. Sorry.) Or if you wanted to de-solder an edge connector from an actual atari I guess. I actually de-soldered a connector _and_ ordered some from digikey. Haven't decided which way I'm going to go yet. There's these tabs on the games you see that the push up the little dust cover flap and...

I've been doing a lot of research for a project I'm working on that use the FB2 with cartridge mode. I'm getting impatient with myself and wish I would get with it already. I also hope that last sentence qualifies as English. I won't be using the original case though, just the PCB inside. A hint on the project: I'll be running the FB2 off an ATX PSU. What could it be? It's a mystery. I'm also working on splitting the audio signal so it some out of both channels. It won't be stereo, just mirrored mono. But I'm going for it anyway because why not.

Anyway, I wish there were 2600 carts around my area for any price never mind 25 cents. If you don't have them buy them all! Even the bad ones.

The original 2600 was RF only but can be modded for RCA. There's just the one wire coming out of them though, with what looks like an RCA connector. But really it's RF that conveniently transmits audio/video. You can get a tiny RF/RCA adapter, makes it very easy to hook up. I mean if you don't have anything else connected to that particular TV's RF. I'm pretty sure the FB2 will be batter quality and easier to deal with. RCA mod on a 2600 would be kind of a fun learning project though.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> As it so happens I am also working on a flashback 2 mod. You actually don't need anything extra for the mod. Except the cartridge slot or "edge connector", which you can buy from digikey. I don't know if it's available from any place beside digikey. (Which you probably already knew. Sorry.) Or if you wanted to de-solder an edge connector from an actual atari I guess. I actually de-soldered a connector _and_ ordered some from digikey. Haven't decided which way I'm going to go yet. There's these tabs on the games you see that the push up the little dust cover flap and...
> 
> I've been doing a lot of research for a project I'm working on that use the FB2 with cartridge mode. I'm getting impatient with myself and wish I would get with it already. I also hope that last sentence qualifies as English. I won't be using the original case though, just the PCB inside. A hint on the project: I'll be running the FB2 off an ATX PSU. What could it be? It's a mystery. I'm also working on splitting the audio signal so it some out of both channels. It won't be stereo, just mirrored mono. But I'm going for it anyway because why not.
> 
> Anyway, I wish there were 2600 carts around my area for any price never mind 25 cents. If you don't have them buy them all! Even the bad ones.
> 
> The original 2600 was RF only but can be modded for RCA. There's just the one wire coming out of them though, with what looks like an RCA connector. But really it's RF that conveniently transmits audio/video. You can get a tiny RF/RCA adapter, makes it very easy to hook up. I mean if you don't have anything else connected to that particular TV's RF. I'm pretty sure the FB2 will be batter quality and easier to deal with. RCA mod on a 2600 would be kind of a fun learning project though.


YOU OWE ME SOME CRAPPY AND RANDOM NES GAMES. I didn't forget







Just got tired of asking and never getting them and gave up.

This all helps a lot, especially the cartridge edge connector part, if what you say is true about them being the only site that has it. I did not know that. (sorry) I'm sure I can probably figure the rest out/find a guide. As for me, I'll keep the thing as stock as possible, and stick with the original case for the Flashback 2. (I'm actually fairly happy with it as is, has all my favorite 2600 games already save a couple.)

I *think* they had the games at this store here called Half Price Books. It is probably more than 25c each, probably no more than a dollar each if I recall. The store sells mostly used books but also DVDs, Blu-Rays, vinyl, CDs, LPs, tapes, and retro games (usually a bad selection + high prices on anything decent and that usually means anything Nintendo (NES, SNES, N64). But every time I go there I see these same 2600 games just sitting, most likely because 99% of people that go there have no clue what they are or don't even pick them up and look. When wifey gets paid next I guess we'll have to go look and see what they have and the prices on those 2600 carts.

2600 was before my time (I was born in '84) but I was always a video game fanatic. Just had to try them out in the emulator Stella in high school, this was around the year 2000. Retro education. My favorites are Pitfall and River Raid, Centipede is also fun. The Flashback 2 has all 3. I do recall there was a game or two I like for Atari 2600 that aren't on the Flashback 2 but totally can't remember what it was (Kaboom is one I want, but I think it requires the dial/spinner controllers to be any fun, just like Arkanoid on NES, and those are rare and command a high price). I'd love to get a Colecovision, but am betting they are expensive and rare and the games are too, to the point that I don't remember ever seeing one or any games..... period. Like never in my life around here. Seen a few Intellivisions but no interest, they wanted $150 and it came with 1 game. I'd rather just stick with Atari VCS since it's not so hard to find games and was the most popular. If I could get a real one and not the Flashback I'd definitely want a Darth Vader unit (all black). Want a Vectrex too just to try it, my go to store in town had one (working) for about $300... too rich for my blood, just to mess around with. But an excellent price if I recall.

Only saw an actual Turbografx-16 here once too and it was hooked up for people to try, and again, around the year 2000. But I have my PC Engine now, a small collection, and a Turbo Everdrive. Definitely the best way to go since the TG16 is too expensive, as are the games. It also needs to be modded for composite or RGB unless you get the Turbo Booster accessory but that prevents the use of the CD drive, meaning if you want to use the CD drive on an unmodded system, as far as I'm aware, it is RF only unless you mod it. (Or you could just buy a Turbo Duo or PC Engine Duo)... CD unit that matches my Core Grafx is like $350 + shipping from Japan + unreliable and often needs a complete recap.


----------



## technyk32

I'm actually cleaning up the insides of one of the ataris. It was sitting in my grandparents' basement for years, and their basement used to flood when there were severe storms. It smells like ass right now :/


----------



## neurotix

Yep. I think they *are* 40 years old this year, right? (1977 was the release year?) There's a good chance if you find a 2600 it may have been sitting for 35+ years.

Walked in to my favorite retro games store once and the owner had at least 3 2600s disassembled. He was soldering one to fix it. Pretty neat that they are so simple and easy to repair/work on. The circuit boards are actually ridiculously simple and were made using mostly off the shelf parts from the time, at least from what I've heard. The NES/Famicom was like this too. All retro systems probably up to the Dreamcast/PS2/Xbox/GC generation were easy enough to repair/solder on. But solid state electronics got so complex and delicate after the PS1 generation, I'd rather do a motherboard swap or something to fix anything newer - made a backup "Franken-Dreamcast" this way, by using parts from a few different broken ones. Managed to get one clean, working unit this way to use if my main one fails. The Dreamcast is actually modular in design, very cool since modularity in consoles was never a thing, and it was designed years before PCs were truly modular. Afaik consoles still generally aren't. And a PS4, Xbone etc. are probably not easily user repairable. I'll post a video for you I like that gives tips on cleaning things up (e.g. dust, stickers, etc. on retro game stuff.)


----------



## technyk32

Yeah it was released on 9/11/1977.
I believe mine are early 80s vintage though, since they have 4 switches. I think the original Xbox should be pretty easy to repair though, since it uses a lot of standard components as well. I mean it's basically a PC inside.


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Yep. I think they *are* 40 years old this year, right? (1977 was the release year?) There's a good chance if you find a 2600 it may have been sitting for 35+ years.
> 
> Walked in to my favorite retro games store once and the owner had at least 3 2600s disassembled. He was soldering one to fix it. Pretty neat that they are so simple and easy to repair/work on. The circuit boards are actually ridiculously simple and were made using mostly off the shelf parts from the time, at least from what I've heard. The NES/Famicom was like this too. All retro systems probably up to the Dreamcast/PS2/Xbox/GC generation were easy enough to repair/solder on. But solid state electronics got so complex and delicate after the PS1 generation, I'd rather do a motherboard swap or something to fix anything newer - made a backup "Franken-Dreamcast" this way, by using parts from a few different broken ones. Managed to get one clean, working unit this way to use if my main one fails. The Dreamcast is actually modular in design, very cool since modularity in consoles was never a thing, and it was designed years before PCs were truly modular. Afaik consoles still generally aren't. And a PS4, Xbone etc. are probably not easily user repairable. I'll post a video for you I like that gives tips on cleaning things up (e.g. dust, stickers, etc. on retro game stuff.)


The more I learn about the 2600 the more of a fan I am of the technology. I mean the controller is _literally_ 5 on/off buttons. The paddle controllers are _litterally_ a 1M ohm potentiometer. The main processors have just enough power to put an image on a TV screen and move some shapes around. I think the 6507 was the one so primitive it couldn't subtract numbers. Just increment. The video is made by using the CRT's timing in the lines as it refreshes.

It's like just barely a step up from a friggin ham radio kit. And atari boxed it up and shipped it out for...I think in today's dollars it'd be about $800 (wikipedia says $786.49 in 2016, close enough)...it was lot for an entertainment thing in 1977. Anyway, I'm a fan of the "elegant simplicity" of the thing.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> The more I learn about the 2600 the more of a fan I am of the technology. I mean the controller is _literally_ 5 on/off buttons. The paddle controllers are _litterally_ a 1M ohm potentiometer. The main processors have just enough power to put an image on a TV screen and move some shapes around. I think the 6507 was the one so primitive it couldn't subtract numbers. Just increment. The video is made by using the CRT's timing in the lines as it refreshes.
> 
> It's like just barely a step up from a friggin ham radio kit. And atari boxed it up and shipped it out for...I think in today's dollars it'd be about $800 (wikipedia says $786.49 in 2016, close enough)...it was lot for an entertainment thing in 1977. Anyway, I'm a fan of the "elegant simplicity" of the thing.


Great information. Especially the first paragraph. Though I did know that the system, "VDP" and so on was so slow that it basically had to race the electron beam in a CRT so to speak and had to be coded to, as you said "The video is made by using the CRT's timing in the lines as it refreshes."

I also knew about the price adjusted for inflation.

I'm not a programmer by any means (though you could argue I'm a web developer- self taught though- and I can do some cool stuff with LUA but that's it). However I know enough to know that Howard Scott Warshaw was and still is a genius. Yar's Revenge is still great fun, if repetitive and maybe a bit easy if you know how it works. One of the best 2600 games period, a shame he is mostly only remembered for...... that game (it starts with an "E" and ends with a "T".) One bad game isn't the be all end all. Especially considering he made these classic, timeless games totally by himself in a matter of weeks a lot of the time. And afaik they HAD to be coded in 6502 assembler, on a COMPLETELY GIMPED 6502. The hobbiest scene is awesome and it's amazing that nearly 40 years later someone was able to make "Halo 2600". Ask any "programmer" at any huge game company conglomerate now to make an Atari 2600 game by themselves... I'd just wager a guess that under 1% would even be able to learn the CPU specific assembly let alone make a game totally by themselves in a matter of weeks. (Though... Warshaw was brilliant and had tons of training with the relevant hardware at the time, e.g. schooling, experience... asking a bit much here) Just total geniuses a lot of the time that programmed the games for these old systems under such strict technological limitations, strict deadlines, etc. NES is also a similar nightmare to program games for from what I've heard. (Mappers)

Steve Wozniak is a hero of mine too, as much as I can't stand Apple now, I was a Mac user and fan (not by my own choice) in the late 80s/early 90s. By that point him and Jobs had both left, as far as I'm aware. If you've never read it or heard it than look up how Woz had completely redesigned the Atari arcade hardware of the time (mid 70s); probably one of the greatest electrical engineers ever to live. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakout_(video_game)

Funny then that even I heard it anecdotally and didn't even realize it was Breakout (way before my time but one of my favorite, if not my favorite game of that era. Don't play the original much now (too old... even Super Breakout is too primitive) because *ARKANOID*. My mom got really addicted to this game called DX Ball (freeware) in the late 90s, she was hooked, and it is basically a DirectX clone of Arkanoid (didn't know at the time). Adding power ups to Breakout makes it way more random and much more fun. Funny thing, DX Ball is ancient and programmed in like... DX2 originally? Or the original DirectX in Win95? It's been updated to work in XP kernel Windows releases but still was coded in a very old version of DirectX the last time it was updated. On some of the AMD cards I had in my systems it didn't even work properly (color palette was messed up- kind of a pinkish, rainbow nonsense all over the bricks and paddle. Made it impossible to tell what power ups were what, because they are icons, made the game unplayable. But the R5 230 in the system she uses now plays it correctly. I'd give it a shot if you like Breakout, it's actually probably better than Arkanoid (least the original arcade or NES versions), the mouse works very well for it assuming you don't have your DPI super high or something.)









EDIT: for clarity


----------



## subassy

I was reading on the programming stuff. There's actually a version of BASIC for making games for it. And someone else made a visual IDE to go along with it. I know a little basic but I can't even make tetris with JS/HTML so I probably can't do much with the 2600 regardless of language (never did make a pong with VB. isn't that the cliche first VB project? pong?). I just try to imagine the tools they had to use to 1977 to make those games. Must have been horrendous. Main frames that sort of emulated stripped down 6502 or something? I don't think even the apple 1 was out at that point. No idea.

I've never looked at nevermind attempted 6502 assembly but from what I hear it's actually not that complex or at least not as bad as assembly has a reputation for on account of x86 assembly. Relatively few registers and keywords etc. I've read any number of things about 10 year olds in the 80s programming in assembly instead of basic because it was faster. So not to say it's easy just that possibly it's not nearly as complex as the reputation it has now might imply.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I was reading on the programming stuff. There's actually a version of BASIC for making games for it. And someone else made a visual IDE to go along with it. I know a little basic but I can't even make tetris with JS/HTML so I probably can't do much with the 2600 regardless of language (never did make a pong with VB. isn't that the cliche first VB project? pong?). I just try to imagine the tools they had to use to 1977 to make those games. Must have been horrendous. Main frames that sort of emulated stripped down 6502 or something? I don't think even the apple 1 was out at that point. No idea.
> 
> I've never looked at nevermind attempted 6502 assembly but from what I hear it's actually not that complex or at least not as bad as assembly has a reputation for on account of x86 assembly. Relatively few registers and keywords etc. I've read any number of things about 10 year olds in the 80s programming in assembly instead of basic because it was faster. So not to say it's easy just that possibly it's not nearly as complex as the reputation it has now might imply.


Yep, they most certainly had tools and very specialized knowledge. The chips were simpler, the assembly was simpler, but it's still something that's a "lost art" because of Object Oriented Programming and high-level languages which were in their infancy EVEN in the 1980s, let alone the late 70s.

Someone like Howard Scott Warshaw who could program Atari games by himself in 6 weeks... yeah a true coder/hacker right there. Conversely though, he would be near useless working for a modern game studio, and couldn't do something like complex 3D rendering to make psuedo-realistic 3D models and environments (well... again we are making vast oversimplifications, assumptions and so forth.... dude's a genius and COULD probably do that stuff if he wanted, but the kids doing it now probably would need a lot of time to learn 6502 assembly to make an Atari game, it's still that damn difficult, which is my point. Even the actual coders for modern games.... doubt they have experience with low level languages, or if they do it's very limited.)

Wolfsbora is a programmer by trade... I've tried my hand at it enough to know I can't do it, and am basically speaking as a self educated history buff and of course a computer geek. I know just enough to know I really don't know jack about computers compared to the people who make chips or code for a living. I'm a right brain dominant person and my talents are much more with language, writing, art, and the creative fields. I did run 5 different RO private servers, a WoW private server, scripted for them in LUA, as well as set up the web packages and configured and skinned them all myself (e.g. installing stuff like PHPBB). I also made a website when we first got the internet in my house around 1997, my first site was on Geocities and was a FF4 (Final Fantasy IV shrine). Made at least 5 websites and preferred to make them by hand in Notepad, and made most of the art in The Gimp. Basically I'd never be able to learn or *apply* assembly though and even failed hard trying to learn and use C++. Confident I have dyscalculia and I'm horrible at math. But stuff like LUA, game servers, PHP packages, HTML, I can do. I did want to be a programmer but learned the hard way I'm just too poor at math. So take what I say about programming with a grain of salt, it's more my history knowledge and study of retrogaming, the consoles, the culture, the history etc. I could just be talking out of my ass with all this but, pretty confident in what I'm saying.

On that note. Why do you think the majority of people make NES ROM hacks? When do you really ever see a totally new game coded for the NES from scratch? The dude that made Retro City Ransom did it (awesome game imo). I think the NES version he made out of it is called ROM City Ransom or something like that. What he wanted to make the game into was pretty much impossible given the hardware limitations. The NES/Famicom is pretty notorious for being difficult to develop for, especially now, because of the mappers in the cartridges expanding the capabilities of the base system (which were good in 1983, when the Famicom came out in Japan, but by the late 80s were pretty restrictive, especially compared to something like the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive).


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Wolfsbora is a programmer by trade... I've tried my hand at it enough to know I can't do it, and am basically speaking as a self educated history buff and of course a computer geek. I know just enough to know I really don't know jack about computers compared to the people who make chips or code for a living. I'm a right brain dominant person and my talents are much more with language, writing, art, and the creative fields. I did run 5 different RO private servers, a WoW private server, scripted for them in LUA, as well as set up the web packages and configured and skinned them all myself (e.g. installing stuff like PHPBB). I also made a website when we first got the internet in my house around 1997, my first site was on Geocities and was a FF4 (Final Fantasy IV shrine). Made at least 5 websites and preferred to make them by hand in Notepad, and made most of the art in The Gimp. Basically I'd never be able to learn or *apply* assembly though and even failed hard trying to learn and use C++. Confident I have dyscalculia and I'm horrible at math. But stuff like LUA, game servers, PHP packages, HTML, I can do. I did want to be a programmer but learned the hard way I'm just too poor at math. So take what I say about programming with a grain of salt, it's more my history knowledge and study of retrogaming, the consoles, the culture, the history etc. I could just be talking out of my ass with all this but, pretty confident in what I'm saying.


If I was going to write an autobiographical paragraph mine would look almost word-for-word like this one. I mean seriously. _Nearly_ indistinguishable. I think I'm a few years older than you and I seem to recall using a free webspace thing called XOOM but could never settle on a single subject. I seem to recall a "linux log" site. Linux was so much "fun" in 2002. I think I lost that site. And I did run a NWN server for a little bit. Not as l33t as a pirate WOW server but you know. Fun. Other difference is that I tried to teach myself C as a senior in high school. There was this minimum math grade you had to have if I recall correctly to take even BASIC/VB. Although I don't know how hard I actually tried to get in. I was just discouraged directly and indirectly by the emphasis on needing advanced math. So I said fine and bought a C programming book. I think I learned algebra from that C book instead of the other way around. Way more than I learned in 4 years of high school (lesson there kids...don't let people discourage you...). I'm still terrible at math even now. Much better at writing. Or at least my attention span is much greater. NaNoWriMo is coming up in November, a thing I recommend if you've never heard of it. I have to practice for several months leading up to do it. I already did my 50k a few years ago. Actually I'm kind of into history too. Just paid $50 bucks for that Vietnam documentary (damn you ken burns!).

Sorry, getting off subject. Just made me laugh a little how many similarities we seem to have.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> If I was going to write an autobiographical paragraph mine would look almost word-for-word like this one. I mean seriously. _Nearly_ indistinguishable. I think I'm a few years older than you and I seem to recall using a free webspace thing called XOOM but could never settle on a single subject. I seem to recall a "linux log" site. Linux was so much "fun" in 2002. I think I lost that site. And I did run a NWN server for a little bit. Not as l33t as a pirate WOW server but you know. Fun. Other difference is that I tried to teach myself C as a senior in high school. There was this minimum math grade you had to have if I recall correctly to take even BASIC/VB. Although I don't know how hard I actually tried to get in. I was just discouraged directly and indirectly by the emphasis on needing advanced math. So I said fine and bought a C programming book. I think I learned algebra from that C book instead of the other way around. Way more than I learned in 4 years of high school (lesson there kids...don't let people discourage you...). I'm still terrible at math even now. Much better at writing. Or at least my attention span is much greater. NaNoWriMo is coming up in November, a thing I recommend if you've never heard of it. I have to practice for several months leading up to do it. I already did my 50k a few years ago. Actually I'm kind of into history too. Just paid $50 bucks for that Vietnam documentary (damn you ken burns!).
> 
> Sorry, getting off subject. Just made me laugh a little how many similarities we seem to have.


Yeah I remember XOOM. I think it was one of the first free web hosts without banner ads and my friend and I that made sites that used it. Yes, I think you're a bit older than me. I DID get into Linux around 2003 (Knoppix) but never learned it well and KDE isn't the best Window Manager to start with. Later (2010~) I had more experience from using Ubuntu for a year or two, and then was able to set up a custom, stripped down Debian (I think it was based on Crunchbang but I added XFCE. Still prefer GNOME 2.0 but very out of date. I just hated Unity interface for Ubuntu). My most popular RO (Ragnarok Online) server had about ~150 people on during peak hours, WoW had ~200 eventually. I still have videos I made of them on youtube (to promote them), as well as RO PVP videos. However, unless you're familiar with these two games the videos are useless, as they show off most of the customization work I did, very extensive and changed the game/game world dramatically compared to stock, if you are unfamiliar with the games it wouldn't make sense.

I remember doing very.... basic.... BASIC programs when I was about 12 or so. I also taught myself MS-DOS command line from a library book.... without having a PC at home (I had a useless out of date Mac IIci my dad gave me. That changed though when my uncle gave me his old Pentium 75mhz system. I liked making batch scripts that would ask my friends to enter their names, then insult one of them depending on the person, order etc. lol)

The C++ stuff I did was mostly for a game I was trying to make for something called BYOND (look it up). I was more or less trying to clone Lufia and the Fortress of Doom into a GMUD version. I was able to do a lot until it got to the point of drawing text windows and making the battle system. Then I discovered I'll just never be a good programmer as my math is bad.

I'll for sure check out the link later, keeping in mind my life is still hectic and I'm going through some serious life changes right now.

History, I really like Cold War/Spy stuff. But... it's probably unhealthy to read too much about it.

We do have a lot in common. You know what else I like that you do? NES games.







(sorry couldn't resist)


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## neurotix

Guys what's your favorite or first memory of playing an arcade game?

Mine is Sinistar. Was probably the first "Golden Age" (eg. late 70s/early 80s) arcade game I ever played. It was in a used games shop. I don't think I had even played Donkey Kong at that point, maybe I had played Ms Pac Man but at the time, I was super into Street Fighter II (just released). This was in Albuquerque, NM, early 90s. Nearly every major intersection had a 7/11 convenience store, usually with a small space cutout to hold maybe 4 arcade machines, tops, but every single one had Street Fighter II at the time. I used to mostly play (and play 2 player) at the closest one and pretty much everyone I played, I beat in SFII. Kinda funny though, I would walk two blocks from my house to a different 7/11 and occasionally fight different people and get destroyed. (Usually older kids.) Great memories.

Sinistar was amazing, especially the digitized voice, and scared the daylights out of me. I was maybe 9 or 10... but that feeling of "oh snap he's coming to get me" is still unparalled, when he's screaming and chasing you. lol Big adrenaline rush from such a simple game but Sinistar is still frightening looking to this day



He is basically the death star with a skeleton head... that moves and chases you to no end. Until you die. I'm still pretty bad at this game to this day but I had no hope of beating him when I was young









I played the upright cab back in the day... would love to have this cab now if I had room just to hear the attract mode (him screaming) 24/7.



Apparently there's a sit down version.

Oh, and I've been to Family Fun Arcade in CA (best SFIII:3s players in the country there before it closed), Capcom's Nickel City in Northbrook, IL and Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, IL. As well as many many small local ones that have been closed for many years now (usually Aladdin's Castles in malls....) Galloping Ghost is worth the drive (well, no more than 6hrs) as they are supposedly the biggest arcade in the world, not just the US. like 500 machines all run off daisy chained power strips and extension cords







Really thought it was a huge electrical hazard but what do I know.

So, share your arcade stories or more specifically, the first arcade game you played (if you remember), your favorite one, or whatever else.

My dream is to play the Sega G-Loc R360... and some Japanese only more modern machines I've learned about (check out Kid Shoryuken on youtube, he does arcade tours of the huge Japanese arcades in Akihabara).


----------



## Mega Man

Sit down donkey Kong 3, and mk


----------



## subassy

To jump back to prior conversation, this is quite possibly the greatest the FB2 cart mod image ever created:
http://portablesofdoom.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/post-3314-127447749244.jpg

And this seems to be the most common search result but this site seems to be the best guide in web page form.

Edit: since OCN seems to like re-HTML'ing so much, here's a direct link to that image:
http://portablesofdoom.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/post-3314-127447749244.jpg


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## neurotix

Thanks Mega. I don't understand why people hate DK3 so much. Sure, Donkey Kong and even DK Jr. are better but DK3 is not a BAD game (has Miyamoto ever made one? Maybe Devil World on Famicom?) I always found it fun if a bit annoying (bugs come after you right?) It sort of tried to combine a shooter with a platformer but VERY early, probably too early for it, I wonder if Super Mario Sunshine (GC) was going for the same thing.

subassy, thanks, I will take a look at it later, but if it is totally custom (e.g. I cannot buy that circuit board preassembled) then, I'd prefer something simple and easy (the simpler it is, the better, as long as it works... Woz would agree)

Limited time on OCN and lots of things I want to do, so arcade stories would be good (or anything else you all want to discuss).


----------



## Jameswalt1

Here's my collection thus far:


----------



## Mega Man

ok, yea ill just say it.

i
hate
you

nice collection though


----------



## neurotix

@ Mega agreed! lol

That boxed Genesis collection is totally boss (is this what kids still say?) I'll take a closer look later. Pretty sure my boxed Master System collection has you beat (dunno about Mega Man's though). I even have quite a few very good import (EU/AU) SMS games, 3D glasses and so on. So I can try and feel good about that, lol.

So nice.


----------



## Jameswalt1

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> @ Mega agreed! lol
> 
> That boxed Genesis collection is totally boss (is this what kids still say?) I'll take a closer look later. Pretty sure my boxed Master System collection has you beat (dunno about Mega Man's though). I even have quite a few very good import (EU/AU) SMS games, 3D glasses and so on. So I can try and feel good about that, lol.
> 
> So nice.


Loooove Master System! My 32x is a recent addition and I screwed up forgetting you cant do pass through for MS games, so my PowerBase FM Mini is useless now







I'm currently looking for a mint MS model one, I'll just forget the FM sound. I thought about getting another genesis, like a model 2 so I can use the PowerBase FM and get the FM sound but I think I'd rather grab a model 1 MS instead, since it's what I had when I was a kid.

What are your fav MS games?


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## neurotix

The 32x sucks. Sorry. I almost never hook it up or bother. I still run my Genesis with my model 1 Sega CD, and it's not modded (don't care that much), so I just use composite. Don't have to move my CRT around to reach the back either (for S-Video or component). Just hook it up to the front. My point being, the 32x has a superior video encoder in it, this way I can get better composite video quality (vastly reduced rainbow banding in the waterfalls in Sonic 1- best test of video clarity). So, basically when I want better video.... I hook up the 32x. Actually, I have Space Harrier for it and that's pretty great but I have many other ways to play it (like the Japanese Saturn version with S-Video- 60 fps too! I don't think any other version, even arcade, does 60 fps).

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1e6cDsJ05Hi5wZ6nLC9XS-RMCY1ZF2-xTTg4kz1pdrUA/edit?ts=574f7b00#gid=0 (spreadsheet game list with rough sell price (for Amazon))

I can also change the spreadsheet to show my full collection (e.g. every game I have). Wonderful wife helped me with this and supports my hobby, she's a gamer too. I have a great PC Engine collection as well, and bought some quite nice PC Engine games (really mint, with manuals, made my own custom cases for them) from Mr357 on here. PC Engine was Turbografx-16 here (TG-16 games cost like 3 times as much as the Japanese counterparts). I sold a spare, glitchy PC Engine Core Grafx to Wolfsbora.

As far as Master System game recommendations.... Sonic Chaos (never released here- get it from the UK). Same as the Game Gear game. A short, but very good 8 Bit Sonic game. Sonic the Hedgehog is also good- music by Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage, Ys) The US version is RARE and EXPENSIVE. But my complete UK version was $30-ish. Alien Syndrome- don't waste your time. I like the arcade game, but the SMS game doesn't have 2 player... if I recall. Kenseiden is amazing, cheap, and really fun (but VERY difficult). Good graphics and music, think it supports FM too. Feudal Japanese samurai vs zombies (Oni and such), kind of similar to Shinobi at least in the gameplay/difficulty (brutal by today's standards- the farthest I've gotten is level 6 or so.) Action Fighter is cheap and a Spy Hunter clone- solid action game, cheap. Phantasy Star- my crown jewel (since it's CIB now). Paid $30 for the game with case in like 2013, got a manual for $20 on Ebay, boom expensive game. I love JRPGs so.. Dragon Crystal- same as the GG game. Also had to import, $30. It is basically a rogue/nethack/moria clone (like Fatal Labyrinth for Genesis, it's sort of an old school dungeon dive survival action RPG). Penguin Land is a very cute, very difficult, unique puzzler- watch a video. Explains it much better. My wife's favorite SMS game (and maybe Sega game?). The SMS version is quite difficult from the start, there was a Sega CD version but it was Japan only on the Game no Kanzume vol 2 compilation disc (short, small games from a Japan-only download service for the Mega Drive- the games were then all released on Mega CD). Aerial Assault is an awesome SMS shoot em up, I actually lucked out and got the rarer art US release on Amazon for $30 instead of $80. Columns for SMS is necessary, VERY fun 2 player, my sister and I played hours and hours of this (use the fruit pieces- can change the blocks skin) Somehow very different and better feeling than the Genesis columns games, even with worse graphics. All the 3D games- this a different topic but the glasses and 3D effect is impressive, even now. Cannot use them with Power Base Mini Fm, only on a Master System Power Base (e.g. the console), model 1, or on the official Power Base Converter from Sega (which only works on the model 1 Genesis and wont fit in the model 2- I think.) Oh and R-Type is an incredible port, I may like it more than the PC Engine version, they did really good in converting it from the arcade. Has great music in either PSG or FM as well. I sort of like the PSG music better. Choplifter, Spellcaster and Double Dragon- worth it. I detest Alex Kidd (pretty much all of them) but kept Miracle World, had the others and sold them, that ragequit guy on youtube playing Alex Kidd in Miracle World is pretty much me (I had the NES as a kid... sorry, Mario stomps all over any Alex Kidd game easily)









EDIT: UK/AU SMS games will play fine on a US Master System with no modifications, and probably your Mini FM no problem (I have the same Mini FM- love it). Ebay if you're willing to pay shipping and wait probably a month to get it.

Anyway, to pick a favorite.... Phantasy Star. Actually, it's really tough to pick just one, but the ones I've played the most are Wonderboy in Monsterland, Sonic, PS, Columns (2 player) and Shinobi. In high school in an emulator. Now though.... Zaxxon 3D is just too good, if repetitive. It has awesome FM music but, again, can't use the 3D glasses on the Power Base Mini. (There's a code to disable the 3D though). The 3D effect in this is probably the best, it looks like the ship you fly is actually hovering out 6 inches or so in front of the TV. With your shots flying into the screen. It is quite awkward to get used to playing it, and tough to aim shots and hit enemy fighters initially... I've cleared 6 loops before I died. Other than that it is just Sega Zaxxon from a different angle. (I really like it though.)

Pics of my stuff to follow (you asked me about the SMS, you get a wall of text







)


----------



## neurotix

Spoiler: SMS games and stuff...





















Could not help myself with the last one and couldn't keep a straight face LOL.









The 3D glasses are really great though- Maze Hunter 3D is very good (but takes patience), unfortunately there's no code to turn off the 3D, you need an SMS or Power Base Converter and the glasses to play it. Maze game, very unique, I suppose you could emulate it (which allows for disabling the 3D in a certain emulator). Blade Eagle 3D is terrible, don't bother. Still need to complete the 3D games set. Line of Fire is one I want next but pretty rare.


----------



## neurotix

Sorry I'm being so wordy guys, I'm still.... messed up to say the least. Recovering from the events of the month.

I made these though for the local SF crowd (NSFW, possibly embarrassing to me







):












Spoiler: Stuff about 2D fighters



Realistically nobody in my state plays this game anymore, probably no interest, SF5 and the "Capcom Pro League" and Evo trying make the SF scene into a MLG clone with sponsored teams and such is the focus. (No interest and I think the game is a scam, with having to buy around half the cast through DLC as soon as you buy the game...utter garbage- people seem to just outright hate the game too) and my old rival who would come over to play has long since given up and is pretty messed up (e.g. don't want him in my house- he just had a kid too, works a lot, and has no time anyway). Nobody even has a PS2 compatible arcade stick anymore. (Though you can play on PC) I detest the "3rd Strike Online" remake for PS3/360, it's terrible, very laggy, glitchy, and playing it online is impossible because the netcode is really bad (everything I've ever used with GGPO or even GGPO itself for Windows has been a bad mess of lag- I have good internet and forward ports too) Even in versus mode 3sO sucks, if you win you can't change characters at all without exiting and reentering versus mode. Not like this on PS2. Or even in an emulator. Oh and the built in 15ms delay on most big screen TVs now, even in game mode, makes some combos (1 frame super links) in 3rd Strike impossible. Probably no hope of reviving the scene here. My wife will still play me (and is pretty good and wins) but, it's very skewed in my favor. She's played it since it was first emulated- 2008 or so. Taught her and we only play maybe once every 6 months now but I'm always impressed at stuff she does lately even w/o practice(Ken user).

fightcade.com supports it and I've had an account on it since it was called 2DF in 2008 (basically a P2P Kaillera matchmaking service. If anyone would be down to play old 2D fighting games, or even arcades like Metal Slug, with me on it, I'd be more than happy to. But uh, you probably won't beat me in 2D fighters unless you're quite good- I'm average tbh- @madpossum would probably easily beat me in SSF2T but he's even told me he's no good at 3rd Strike).


----------



## Mega Man

Don't apologize


----------



## Jameswalt1

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: SMS games and stuff...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Could not help myself with the last one and couldn't keep a straight face LOL.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The 3D glasses are really great though- Maze Hunter 3D is very good (but takes patience), unfortunately there's no code to turn off the 3D, you need an SMS or Power Base Converter and the glasses to play it. Maze game, very unique, I suppose you could emulate it (which allows for disabling the 3D in a certain emulator). Blade Eagle 3D is terrible, don't bother. Still need to complete the 3D games set. Line of Fire is one I want next but pretty rare.


Great collection!

Yeah I've been mainly ordering MS games from Europe as there's so many more for sale and the quantity of actual releases is much higher. I grew up in England and has a Master System, I didn't realize until recently when I started collecting that sooomany games were not released in the US. Gems like Sonic 2, Ninja Gaiden, Asterix, the list goes on... Literally double the library in Europe.

My personal favorite of all time on the Master System is Psycho Fox, absolute gem that went on to become the basis of Magical Hat in Japan on the Mega Drive, which in turn was changed into Decap Attack on the Genesis in the US.

Thanks for the good read!


----------



## neurotix

Check out Scramble Spirits. The one I got most recently (but was probably at the beginning of the year).

It's a vertical shmup with a fair difficulty level (I've made it to stage 6 or so, and I'm not very good at shmups, but it's not easy and when my wife and brother both tried it they found it tough).

Has a great FM soundtrack, nice use of color in the graphics, however it is programmed somewhat poorly and has a lot of flickering, but not much slowdown if I remember. The flickering is just around the level of a typical NES game, which is really no problem for me. It's playable but it's not Power Strike (Compile), as far as I known it was made by Sega (it's an arcade port). Just looked it up and the arcade machine had 2x 68000 @ 10MHz(beefy for 1988) and this version was released for Master System the same year (with a puny Z80), so just the fact they got it running on the SMS is no small feat.

I like it and if you prefer action games or shoot em ups you'll probably enjoy it.


----------



## neurotix

I really love the SMS 3D glasses like I said, but I rarely use mine and have to be very careful with them when I do, because they are starting to break at the weakest point on the right earpiece. I paid $80 for them and the adapter at MGC in 2012 or something, and also got a few of the 3D games complete for like $10 each. I might have to post pictures and ask advice on fixing them where they are breaking, if you look on Ebay it's common to find 3D glasses that you can't even really use because the earpieces have broken off (meaning there's no way to keep them on your head). I probably need to use a very strong glue to bond the plastic together where it's breaking so they don't get worse. Also, I wear glasses and basically have to wear them or I'm blind, meaning I have to wear those and then put the 3D glasses over them, which is uncomfortable and makes them break at that point worse. Still, I hook up the SMS just to play Zaxxon 3D probably once a year. The rest of the time I'd rather use my Power Base Mini FM on the Genesis now to get FM sound. I might do the FM sound mod to my SMS Power Base now that I can solder and probably use my dremel to make a hole in the back for the switch to toggle between FM sound and PCM. Unfortunately, one of my favorite games for SMS, Phantasy Star, does have an FM soundtrack but it isn't in the US release of the game (the ROM is too big, they had to take it out during the translation). I could possibly get a repro because there's a ROM floating around that adds the FM soundtrack back to the US ROM. Oh and I'll post it again for Jameswalt1, here's my Genesis official stereo speakers playing the FM soundtrack to Spellcaster (one of my favorite games, and one of the best sounding FM soundtracks).


----------



## Jameswalt1

That sounds great, and awesome game! Phantasy Star would be fantastic with the FM soundtrack... I've been trying to get that game in general.

I just ordered an original Master System for my set up, since I created that issue with my 32x. I'll have to look into the FM mod. I was possibly going to get a Japanese MD 2 instead to be able to play Japanese mega drive games and use my FM mini with it, but alas, I couldn't resist zn original SMS


----------



## neurotix

Here you are bro:

Master System FM sound mod

You should get one asap if you want one, around the time I got my Power Base Mini FM I had wanted this, but it was out of stock (for a month or two).

Pretty expensive and comes from Australia, but they love the SMS and Sega in general there, it will probably sound great when installed correctly and may even sound better than the Mini FM depending on the sound amp circuit and other l33t variables I don't know anything about.


----------



## Jameswalt1

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Here you are bro:
> 
> Master System FM sound mod
> 
> You should get one asap if you want one, around the time I got my Power Base Mini FM I had wanted this, but it was out of stock (for a month or two).
> 
> Pretty expensive and comes from Australia, but they love the SMS and Sega in general there, it will probably sound great when installed correctly and may even sound better than the Mini FM depending on the sound amp circuit and other l33t variables I don't know anything about.


Awesome, done deal!


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## Jameswalt1

SMS added!


----------



## Mega Man

Congrats


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## neurotix

Nice!


----------



## Bridgypoo

Loving that psone







also the stand and that cable management


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Bridgypoo*
> 
> Loving that psone
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> also the stand and that cable management


Thanks for pointing that out. Yeah, it looks like jameswalt1 has a pretty high end SCART switcher back behind the SMS and probably all of his systems are RGB modded.

I'd love to do this but, too expensive for me. My newer systems actually look pretty great in S-Video (PS2, Dreamcast, Saturn). The SNES and PC Engine look acceptable in composite to me, but I have a pretty great TV. The one I really want to mod is my Genesis, such terrible video quality. First I'll need to recap my Game Gear, my sister also got me a pretty in depth learn to solder kit from Amazon that someone here recommended (Subassy?) I need to do that and then properly recap my dying Game Gear and then maybe I'll have the confidence/know-how to RGB mod my Genesis. At the very least I've collected all the things I'd need for such a project bit-by-bit over the last two years (dremel, soldering iron+station, most recently got some flux and some patch wires). Kind of avoiding anything like this for the time being, but also avoiding anything that could really frustrate me as a general rule.

The Vita homebrew scene is really tough to keep up with so I'm actually more interested in that at the moment... seems I leave my Vita alone for a month and then I'm 5 versions behind in HENKaku and find out about all this amazing homebrew that has come out.


----------



## subassy

Well stuff you guys are discuss seems to much cooler that what I've been doing lately. Just buying a lot on steam for some reason. I did buy both volumes of megaman collections for ~$17. No idea if that is good price. But i'm glad I have them now.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Well stuff you guys are discuss seems to much cooler that what I've been doing lately. Just buying a lot on steam for some reason. I did buy both volumes of megaman collections for ~$17. No idea if that is good price. But i'm glad I have them now.


Not really. I'm not actually DOING any mods, lol. Just have a lot of plans. Though, I did recently do PseudoSaturn and it's working great, I'm able to use a different model 2 Saturn I purchased a while back now. Really looking forward to the guy who cracked the Saturn eventually making plans for an Everdrive for it. PseudoSaturn works for now though, and I have another Action Replay 4-in-1 cart I'm keeping to use to backup my saves. So far, all the games I've tried have worked (I'm using a fork with better compatibility called Pseudo Saturn Kai.) Even patched Dragon Force 2, Shining Force III translated (only tried the first disc), and some obscure Japanese shooters I have (Soukyugurentai, Steam Hearts, a few others).

What games are included in the Mega Man collection? Personally the only one I need/care about is Mega Man 2 on NES. Though now I can also play Mega Man X on my SNES Everdrive, but it doesn't support the C4 chip in X2/X3 so can't play those (and too expensive for me to buy).... really the only one I loved and played extensively when I was young was 2 because it was the only one I had. A friend of mine really liked 3 a lot, I should get a copy but I'm betting it's very expensive by now (I know 4 and 5 for NES are super expensive nowadays).

I avoid modern collections of old games as a general rule, especially some of the poor Sega collections over the years.... I heard that the PS3/360 "Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection" has Monster World IV in it as an unlockable though. Wonder how the translation is. Oh, and that one they made recently mostly for use with the VR headsets looks really cool (it's like you're in a 90s living room with a CRT and a Genesis and can play different Genesis games. Neat idea. But I don't have a Rift or a Vive.)


----------



## subassy

Well I haven't actually played them. I was actually planning on it but started playing the south park game tonight. And then it was 10pm. Not sure how that happened.

Anyway, the first collection seem to be megeman 1 - 6 along with some extra features. The steam page mentions it's on a different engine though. One of the reviews did mention the engine might be closer to the Genesis engine. Not sure if that's true. Or if that would be a good thing. So maybe it's really that close to original megaman. I'm not sure if it's anything like the PS2 megaman collection either for that matter.

Collection 2 seems to include 7 - 10. I'm not that knowledgeable of megeman actually. Says it includes some DLC for 9 and 10. Which makes sense. And like the other collection includes varying difficulty levels and a "museum" thing. All the standard stuff for this kind of collection.

Perhaps if I remember I'll post an update after I've actually played the games.


----------



## Mega Man

It's the worst collection i have sen yet for mega man (sorry sub) for the cost.

1-6 and 7-10... look into the GameCube version. They have a wining strategy, but they just won't make a new Megaman.... i Just dont get it...


----------



## neurotix

The guy calling himself Mega Man would probably know better than the rest of us.

Lol. Like I said, I only really care about NES Mega Man 2 and possibly the first Mega Man X (my brother claims he cleared this game in ZSNES..... using a keyboard. Jeez. I should probably play it with him on my SNES sometime and have him teach me the game.)

Mega Man, what do you think of Wily Wars for Genesis? I remember playing it in an emulator in high school and thinking it was pretty good, except the sound/music wasn't great.

The collections is why I will usually stick with an emulator and just play the originals, but Mega Man (or any action games outside of um... arcade games, especially old fighters) isn't what I'm great at. Old school JRPGs, especially classic Squaresoft is more of my area. Pretty disgusted by the looks of the FF7 remake just on the fact that it won't be turn based.


----------



## Mega Man

I dunno, never played it.

Ot - my father in law is hitting my last nerves. He just does not get it, he has good intentions, but instead of asking me, he moves things he has no buissness touching. He thinks of only "it will fit here" and not the fact it does not fit (speaking of my garage in this story) when my truck is there, or it may scratch my truck when (not if) it falls nor does he think why does he have this here....... It is reaching my last nerves, and i just needed to vent, sorry to use this thread but you guys listen...


----------



## subassy

I played collection for about an hour this morning. I was playing over a steam link and I'm not sure on the quality of the 360 gamepad I was using. But the controls were way off. Missed button pushes all around. I was playing MM3 but I didn't even make it to a boss. I'm pretty sure it was the streaming and/or gamepad though. I have a bad habit of buying $4 gamepads when i see them.

I briefly brought up volume 2 just to look at it. I didn't even know what era 7 - 10 were from. I'm guessing 7 was a GBA game though from the little window with borders. Didn't play long enough to form an opinion. Besides not apparently having a way to skip passed the little movie sequence.


----------



## Mega Man

Gba was way way after, that was snes


----------



## subassy

See shows how little I know. I thought SNES was just the megaman x series.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> I dunno, never played it.
> 
> Ot - my father in law is hitting my last nerves. He just does not get it, he has good intentions, but instead of asking me, he moves things he has no buissness touching. He thinks of only "it will fit here" and not the fact it does not fit (speaking of my garage in this story) when my truck is there, or it may scratch my truck when (not if) it falls nor does he think why does he have this here....... It is reaching my last nerves, and i just needed to vent, sorry to use this thread but you guys listen...


I can definitely relate to this but with my mom and my wife (sorry bridgypoo!) It's okay man, just try and be patient. For me it's more... complicated and related to my mental illness, but ESPECIALLY with my mom I feel she doesn't get it (I get and have had some VERY bad side effects from a lot of the psych pills I've been tried on, one even nearly killed me recently (beginning of Sept.) and put me in the hospital.) She still suggests different medicines for me to take, when even something as simple as benadryl to help me sleep makes me feel like $%^& the next day. Just woozy, lightheaded, drunken, terrible. It's because of how all kinds of different things interact with what I take.... and how all of them, as well as some other crazy things I've let psychiatry do to me over the last 3 years have affected me. Unfortunately, she's a nurse and doesn't "get it" either in terms of looking at the big picture and realizing there's probably more danger in some of the meds than benefit. As well as my state of mind not being totally related to my illness, and a lot of it being more related to my political beliefs, outlook on life, personal experiences, experiences with my relatives and other people, etc.

My advice is to just try to be patient and remember the generation gap... either that or, sometimes you have to be a bit harsh to get the point across if they just refuse to listen. (This might mean yelling a bit or arguing just for the sake of getting it through, though depending on your situation and temperament as well as your father's, this might not be a good idea.) The problem is.... yeah most people don't listen. Even when you repeat things. I hate to quote this guy but.... "If you repeat something often enough, people will believe it" (not giving the quote source). Just stick with it, and if worse comes to worse, find a place to get away even if you just lock yourself in a bedroom for a while to cool off. I definitely get this though man, it's difficult living with others sometimes.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I played collection for about an hour this morning. I was playing over a steam link and I'm not sure on the quality of the 360 gamepad I was using. But the controls were way off. Missed button pushes all around. I was playing MM3 but I didn't even make it to a boss. I'm pretty sure it was the streaming and/or gamepad though. I have a bad habit of buying $4 gamepads when i see them.
> 
> I briefly brought up volume 2 just to look at it. I didn't even know what era 7 - 10 were from. I'm guessing 7 was a GBA game though from the little window with borders. Didn't play long enough to form an opinion. Besides not apparently having a way to skip passed the little movie sequence.


What is "steam link"? Streaming it to a different PC/console over the net? I don't use features like that usually. My suggestion for a decent gamepad would probably be a cheapo Rock Candy wired 360 pad from Target if they still have them. Got a red one for my rig, a blue one for Bridgett's, and a green one for my brother's. They seem to work great, no issues, no need to remap buttons in most of the compilation games but especially in the Japanese console port games I'm usually interested in (anything from Bamco.....or Koei). Works great for me anyway in 99% of games.

7 was on SNES and was a continuation of the classic series (They made MM6 for NES, then made MMX for SNES, and possibly MMX2, and then decided to bring the classic style Mega Man e.g. blue bomber to SNES). MM8 was the next one in the classic series but on PSX and Saturn (I played the Saturn version a bit. REALLY awesome graphics and fluid animation in that one.) Then the series sat for like 10 years and around 2009 or so they made a MM9 for Wii, 360 and PS3, this was after the indie/retro game resurgence in that generation. So, MM9 is like the NES games but they REALLY cranked the difficulty up to ten. Shortly after they made a sequel, and that was MM10. (9 and 10 are just way too tough for me. I'm sure if I dedicated myself I could clear them but I'm not big on games that are difficult just to be difficult. No fun to me. Unless it's a JRPG like the SaGa series, love those but they are also ungodly tough almost to a stupid degree, requiring you to find ways to exploit and break the game basically. Not really the same since they're turn based though and not twitch action or pattern memorization).

Don't ask me about anything after Mega Man X4 though or any of the side or spinoff games. I know the history of the classic series but not the X series. Totally lost there....


----------



## Mega Man

Steam link is an awesome hardware that streams 1080p from pc

It sounds ti me like network lag was the cause of his issues, it prefers both source pc and steam link on wired network But i have had great luck with wired for source and wifi for steam link (ac, top end [when purchased, mite mid ranger] router)

I love my 2 all-out fun. Last i knew they are only 20 at gamestop, and i don't try to stream keyboard and mouse, but i highly recommend stream controller (you do not need dongle for steam link i leave it hooked up to my pc iirc steam key plus x changes inputs and you can have up to 4 different things, i have 3 the dongle and 2 different steam links )

Edit http://www.overclock.net/t/1640395/steam-icey-steam-link-bundle-8-59#post_26403514

Best price i have seen


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Steam link is an awesome hardware that streams 1080p from pc
> 
> It sounds ti me like network lag was the cause of his issues, it prefers both source pc and steam link on wired network But i have had great luck with wired for source and wifi for steam link (ac, top end [when purchased, mite mid ranger] router)
> 
> I love my 2 all-out fun. Last i knew they are only 20 at gamestop, and i don't try to stream keyboard and mouse, but i highly recommend stream controller (you do not need dongle for steam link i leave it hooked up to my pc iirc steam key plus x changes inputs and you can have up to 4 different things, i have 3 the dongle and 2 different steam links )
> 
> Edit http://www.overclock.net/t/1640395/steam-icey-steam-link-bundle-8-59#post_26403514
> 
> Best price i have seen


Yes, that. Didn't really get popular did it?

I'm using an Ethernet over power lines adapter so that could be part of it. Do need to buy a fancy ac router though, I think that would solve a lot of issues.

I did turn the stream quality down, I think it is helping. And I'm using a genuine 360 wireless pad.


----------



## Bridgypoo

I'll just leave this here...
http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/iqhk/


----------



## Mega Man

Yea, fully aware of it...


----------



## neurotix

Lol don't mind her.


----------



## Bridgypoo

No! I thought it was cool looking, especially for Halloween


----------



## Jameswalt1

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Thanks for pointing that out. Yeah, it looks like jameswalt1 has a pretty high end SCART switcher back behind the SMS and probably all of his systems are RGB modded.
> 
> I'd love to do this but, too expensive for me. My newer systems actually look pretty great in S-Video (PS2, Dreamcast, Saturn). The SNES and PC Engine look acceptable in composite to me, but I have a pretty great TV. The one I really want to mod is my Genesis, such terrible video quality. First I'll need to recap my Game Gear, my sister also got me a pretty in depth learn to solder kit from Amazon that someone here recommended (Subassy?) I need to do that and then properly recap my dying Game Gear and then maybe I'll have the confidence/know-how to RGB mod my Genesis. At the very least I've collected all the things I'd need for such a project bit-by-bit over the last two years (dremel, soldering iron+station, most recently got some flux and some patch wires). Kind of avoiding anything like this for the time being, but also avoiding anything that could really frustrate me as a general rule.
> 
> The Vita homebrew scene is really tough to keep up with so I'm actually more interested in that at the moment... seems I leave my Vita alone for a month and then I'm 5 versions behind in HENKaku and find out about all this amazing homebrew that has come out.


Modded game gears are awesome!

In regards to RGB consoles, the PSOne, SNES, Genesis (except model 3), Saturn, Dreamcast, and Master System are all RGB standard, you just need the appropriate [high quality] Scart cable, and depending on what TV you're connecting it to, an RGB upscaler unit such as a Framemeister or OSSC. I have a Framemeister, and a Scart switch before it in the chain to attach multiple consoles.

NES, N64 and TurboGrafx are three notable consoles that are not RGB ready out of the box and need modded.

In fact, the Genesis of all consoles has the finest standard RGB quality of all consoles.


----------



## neurotix

Gonna be going with this for my Genesis:

https://store.retrofixes.com/products/sega-genesis-svideo-composite-stereo-upgrade-kit

I know all the old systems use RGB internally, but I am basically unwilling to spend so much money on a Framemeister + SCART switchers + cables etc.

Also, my CRT basically only has composite, component and S-Video and I'm pretty much unwilling to get rid of it and buy a Sony PVM (if I could even find one). Especially with my illnesses and pain issues I really just cannot move the current CRT, go pick up a PVM, move it and so on. I'm also unwilling to hook up old systems to a modern TV (meaning there's not much point in a framemeister anyway).

Overall I'm VERY satisfied with my current setup and CRT, especially for the systems that can use S-Video with a simple, cheap cable (PS2, Saturn, Dreamcast currently). The PC Engine and SNES look acceptable to me in composite, I would like to keep my PC Engine stock but I may consider modding the SNES in the future.

I'm not very good at soldering and have only really done battery changes in cartridges so this will be my first modding project like this. I'll be happy to be able to play my large Genesis and Master System collection in S-Video, which should be a huge step up over composite. I'm unsure when I will install the mod, and will probably have to watch more Youtube tutorials on such things first. I also need to buy stuff like a wire stripper, plastic epoxy and a quad hands would help (to hold things in place as I solder- I currently have no solution for that.) So, you could say actually doing the mod is more important to me (e.g. the journey as opposed to the end result). Also need to recap a failing Game Gear as I said.

I do have a modded Game Gear but I took the lazy route and bought one that had been recapped + LED backlight modded for $100 on Ebay. Haven't used it much, tested the battery life or any of that. Tbh not really into retro gaming much at the moment, more into anime and my modded Vita. I still want to learn to do these things though because it interests me and it may be necessary in the future (I'm sure it's just a matter of time before all the caps in my Model 1 Sega CD fail).


----------



## neurotix

Sorry if that sounded dismissive or anything. I don't even hook all my systems up at once and space is at a premium in this room already (considering there are two desktop computers with multiple monitors in this room). Also, there's no way to plug them all in even without investing in different power strips for all the bricks. I'm also unsure whether or not RGB SCART would even be useful or applicable to a CRT TV that only has RGB component and S-Video on the back. And personally I believe that these old systems were made for CRTs and should be used with them, with some exceptions (obviously, the PS2 and Dreamcast could be connected to a flat panel that supports VGA or component, and they will work in higher resolution that way too. Anything older than that though...). So, I don't even have a TV in here with HDMI, and I'm pretty sure the Framemeister is mostly for getting an RGB signal out of an old system and then converting + upscaling it to be able to connect to a modern TV through HDMI. I've hooked old systems up to a modern TV of course, to test, and they look like garbage... My preference for CRTs comes from the fact that many action games from back then will be lag-free on a CRT, whereas even with a Framemeister (afaik), they will lag on a modern TV (especially my LED 55") because LCD and LED TVs have built-in lag even with a "Game Mode" and most companies will probably be fudging the response time. (Keep in mind I was a pretty dedicated semi-pro fighting game player, so stuff like this matters to me as I still play those old 2D fighters on my PS2). Of course, you guys can feel free to argue this and correct me if I'm wrong... but I keep my CRT for a reason







Almost all LCD/LED TVs and monitors have quite a lot of built in delay that really can't be compensated for.

Jameswalt, this doesn't change the fact that your setup is fantastic. You have obviously put a lot of time and effort (and probably money) into getting the most out of your retro systems, and that's awesome. As for me I am pretty satisfied with the S-Video on my CRT. If you don't have a problem or are interested in it, I'd love to see your setup in action, if you want to make a Youtube video and upload it.

Mega Man or anyone else who knows- WHAT FLUX do I need for soldering battery tabs or other metal -> metal solders? We got one on Amazon but it says on the label "not for use on electronics". Says it contains zinc chloride. I can take a picture or link it if need be.


----------



## Mega Man

Depends, imo get the no clean flux pen.

There are many, some have solder built in, some are a paste... i like the pen and its usually my goto

I have all. I use them for different things


----------



## subassy

Ya there's multiple kinds of flux, there's a kind for plumbing pipe fittings. Not supposed to use that for electronics.

I bought this one previously and it seems to work. Not sure what actually happens when it expires though.

SRA #312 Soldering Flux Pen Low-Solids, No-Clean 10ml - Refillable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008OC0E5M/


----------



## Mega Man

Not what i ment, there are many fluxes for electronics, some pastes, some pens, solder paste ..... difference thicknesses.....


----------



## neurotix

Thanks guys. Yeah the stuff I got seems like it's for pipe fiting or something. I'll take a picture of it.

I guess I'll be getting one of those pens. Tbh I have tabbed batteries, it's just that I tried to replace a battery in a Game Gear game one time (Crystal Warriors), it didn't go well because the Game Boy batteries with tabs I have are the right type of battery, but the tabs aren't the same. Basically, the contacts are just straight across on Game Boy carts but on GG carts they are actually at a 45 degree angle, like this:



This is because the circuit board layout is different and the battery in it I removed had the tabs soldered on like that from the factory. Stupid Sega.

Anyway, I looked on Ebay when I was doing it and saw no GG replacement batteries that had the tabs with one at a 45 degree angle, they all had them straight across. Maybe it was just my Crystal Warriors... well, I ruined it because I had to glue it together because I did the best I could, it had no battery in it, the old one was removed, and my solution didn't allow the cart to close properly....yeah. It's ok though.

I wanna replace my Shining Force Sword of Hayja battery but REALLY want to make sure it's done correctly this time. Before, I don't think I even knew that I needed flux for a metal to metal solder. Should be much easier to desolder one tab and resolder it on using the flux pen first. That's my favorite GG game so I'd really like to get it right this time. I'm a beginner solderer so... live and learn I guess.









Btw, Crystal Warriors has a Japan only sequel, Royal Stone, and a few years ago it was translated to English. On my list of games to play, have it on my PSP


----------



## Mega Man

Remove the top tab and use a wire. You just have to use High temps and quickly solder to solder on batteries. Another option is to solder the wire on the tab and just insulate it so it can't damage anything.

Don't user plumbing solder or flux (pipefitting) it uses acid and can (over time) damage electronics.

Only use electronic solder and flux


----------



## neurotix

Thanks for the tips Mega.

I'll probably go with the wire method, as now I have proper patch wires. Before when I did it I didn't even have wire at all. Now I do, so something like this would be possible (and easier).


----------



## neurotix

Been wanting to post this for a while.






I have a VHS tape given to me by Tony Defily (pro Street Fighter player I knew) in 2003 of the Midwest Challenge 2003 tournament, the game is Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike and it is a 5 versus 5 team tournament. The tournament took place at Capcom's Nickel City arcade in Northbrook, IL that I have been to many times, especially to play that game back then (Tony introduced me to everyone...). I ripped it and uploaded it to Youtube and then linked it in the "Chicago Fighting Game Community" Facebook page. It got TONS of attention from many well known players from back in the day, many of whom were playing in the video. Team Chicago is on the left side, and they are fighting other teams from other arcades around the Midwest (such as Omaha, Nebraska and Dubuque, Iowa). More info is at the original video.

I will point out that one of the players on Team Chicago is FLoE (Ari Weintraub), who is now a major Esports player in Street Fighter V, he is the very big guy on the left side wearing a blue striped button down shirt. He plays a white Ken and a pink Chun-Li in the video. FLoE is now in the top 500 of SFV players in the world and on the Capcom Pro Tour. There are even interviews with him. I met him back in the day when the SF scene was all but dead here (2002~2003) and remember it well, he did comment on my video on Facebook and was quite nice but I doubt he remembers me.

Anyway I wanted to post this to show the arcade scene for this game back in the day, especially before the arrival of streaming, and modern internet culture. Where you played shoulder to shoulder and not over the internet with a headset, being able to talk trash in a manner you'd never get away with in real life. Because back then it had a lot more respect in it, and all the guys at that arcade took me in as their own even though I only went for casuals maybe 5-6 times- I still remember it well.

The SF scene in Chicago has long since moved on and that arcade has changed ownership quite a few times. It had a very large selection of classic arcade machines as well as competitive 2D fighters. When I went to it the last time in 2013 all of their best machines were gone and the whole front of the place had been filled with more modern ticket game machines. They even got rid of the Viper Phase 1 cab that was on freeplay in the back.









Long live arcades!


----------



## subassy

Well I've never played the games and the anime had a talent for putting me to sleep (it was on adult swim in 2003 or so) but there's this pack of the games for Windows...
.hack games. Link is for .hack games. Just came out today.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/525480/hackGU_Last_Recode

Don't think I have a reason to want these other than the ps2 versions are valuable.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Well I've never played the games and the anime had a talent for putting me to sleep (it was on adult swim in 2003 or so) but there's this pack of the games for Windows...
> .hack games. Link is for .hack games. Just came out today.
> 
> http://store.steampowered.com/app/525480/hackGU_Last_Recode
> 
> Don't think I have a reason to want these other than the ps2 versions are valuable.


Interesting, I know a bit about .Hack.

I've played the first game in the .Hack//GU series. Ugh. I liked the story and the characters, but the gameplay was 1) a chore and 2) boring. It is essentially an action RPG, but crossed with an MMO so you get messages from different NPCs and party members not in your party as if they were emails, because the whole thing is taking place in an MMO (essentially). I think there are some real world scenes that show the characters in real life, but all of the gameplay usually takes place in the game world.

It would have been good, except in the one I played, the game usually revolved around a hub town of sorts, with the dungeons being quite a long slog through weirdly named areas ("(Delta) Chasing/ Cupid's/ Phantom" as an example). I recall there being some system of actually picking different words and putting them together to be able to "make your own dungeon", though it really just affects things like the field type (e.g. background (forest, swamp etc), mobs, mob level). For the actual story quests I think you go to them automatically. Anyway yeah, the dungeons go on forever and are basically just bland corridors of hallways.

I've heard that the first trilogy (with Kite as the main character- green haired, orange clothed boy with daggers) is much better overall. .hack//GU has a new set of characters in the same world. I'll admit that I do like the character designs though, especially Haseo and Shino.

Yes I agree that the anime is very boring and seemingly uneventful, it was more about dialogue and talking about things than any action or fighting. Watched it on Adult Swim back then and it seemed to be just an anime made to sell games. Sorry if anyone is a frantic fan of the series, I don't mean to offend, but I never really got this series, mainly because the anime was boring and the games were poorly made.

Being a huge anime fan and having seen hundreds of shows from the 80s all the way til now... this is why Sword Art Online is so popular (and actually good overall... a 7.5/10 from me). Because it was the first anime series to get the online MMO world right, and on top of that, there was a huge element of risk to it. It's actually interesting all the way through in not just the first, but the second season. It isn't boring and incomprehensible like .Hack is most of the time in it's anime. (Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention) It's arguable whether SAO or Accel World is better (same author)- I liked Accel World better, but unfortunately, the PSP games based on it never came to the US. At the least, if you are an SAO fan there are numerous games in English to pick from now; whether they are good could be debated, but they seem to capture the essence of MMOs pretty well (though I've just played _Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment_ for Vita.) I played Ragnarok Online, Lineage 2, and World of Warcraft extensively, at a high level, and I really do identify with SAO (the anime) because of it- it's pretty accurate in portraying the social interactions that take place in a raid group etc. Anyway yeah, game wise SAO just had a new game released, Sword Art Online Hollow Realization, and it looks like it might be better than the others so far. Planning to try it soon. (It got lukewarm reviews though, and the Vita game I played previously was just....ok, and the game mechanics were kind of poorly explained and confusing, hoping this one is better, not hoping for too much though.)

Kind of ironic that Bandai Namco made all the .Hack games 10-15 years ago and now is making all the SAO games today.

Hope this doesn't let you down- maybe you'll like the .Hack//GU games- I hope you do! I didn't though







I think there are probably many much better RPGs on the PS2. (Rogue Galaxy is probably my favorite.) But who knows, just because it wasn't my cup of tea doesn't mean it will be yours.


----------



## neurotix

Hoping everyone is just busy and not simply tired of my long posts and opinions.

subassy, I hope you like those games you got.


----------



## Mega Man

Not at all tied of them, just busy....


----------



## Bridgypoo

Well in good news, neuro had a project with his Genesis that went well! He did the s-video mod and it looks awesome now vs the AV!


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## Mega Man

Nice, congrats


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## neurotix

Never done any kind of mod like this before, only replaced batteries and caps on game boards.

If anyone is interested I can post pictures of it.

It works great and the video is greatly improved in quality over the composite signal from the Genesis.


----------



## repo_man

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> Never done any kind of mod like this before, only replaced batteries and caps on game boards.
> 
> If anyone is interested I can post pictures of it.
> 
> It works great and the video is greatly improved in quality over the composite signal from the Genesis.


You know the rule. Pics or it didn't happen, mayne!


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## neurotix

k here you go.


Spoiler: Genesis Model 1 S-Video mod























First 4 pics are actually just my work area, the Genesis with top removed, and the mainboard. Last 3 pics are the mod installation, including soldering to the chip legs (+5v, ground, chroma, and luma)- the Sony encoder chip in the Genesis (CXA1145) actually puts S-Video out on those pins.

The kit is from RetroFixes, but I didn't realize that people had been doing this mod for a long time a different way, and I didn't really need the kit. Just some wiring, two resistors, two capacitors, a transistor, and the S-Video jack. It would be much cheaper this way instead of buying the kit, but the kit basically just requires soldering wires, whereas the older way has you soldering resistors and capacitors inline. So I had to solder the wires to the (tiny) board first, on both sides, then run those to the appropriate points on the small board that fits over the S-Video jack, and the legs of the Sony video encoder chip.

The hardest part, by far, was soldering the board to the back of the S-Video jack. I thought I had good pictures of it but I don't- basically, the S-Video jack itself goes in from the outside into the back of the system, and you put the board over it from inside the system, and then have to solder the pins of the S-Video jack onto the board that fits over it- but these pins are thin, tiny and VERY close together, and I don't have a thin enough tip for my soldering iron, and thus had to make do with what I have (definitely getting a soldering bit with a fine pointed tip to use from now on). You can see the back of the jack, and this small board, in the 3rd pic from the bottom above. Oh, and I suppose I should mention I removed the RF box from the back of the Genesis, to free up that hole in the back of the plastic case to mount the new S-Video jack in. (This took like 4-5 hours- never had so much trouble desoldering something in my life.) Otherwise I would have had to drill a hole elsewhere in the case plastic to mount the S-Video jack in. This way, it is actually with the rest of the ports on the port panel on the rear left side of the Genesis. Damn RF box...

I don't have a picture of the port on the back of it right now, but I could take one of the finished product tomorrow. Had some issues gluing it using plastic epoxy, and having it lift up on one side even after being glued, so it doesn't look the cleanest. But the mod works and the jack is staying in place so I'm happy. I will also take some comparison screens of the video quality on my CRT. (Composite and S-Video comparison).


----------



## subassy

Biggest retro game-related thing I've purchased in months...a still sealed-in-package "i-Link" cable for PS2. I'm not assuming it's collectible or worth anything. I just liked how obscure it is. I wonder if it's faster than USB 1.1 for transferring data to an internal HDD. Probably not even possible. And if so not by much.

Also on semi-related note....Okami HD for Windows is coming out soon. I've never played that. Would an HD rendition be worth $20? I actually own it for wii. Just never fired it up. Not even sure my PC could run it judging by that minimum video card. Maybe if I turn settings way down.


----------



## neurotix

I wish we could get some discussion about the mod I did to my Genesis, it does take time to take photos, copy them, post them, and describe the process.









subassy, no clue about the iLink cable, never even heard of it, but I have a slimline PS2 so it's probably not even usable. I do have FMCB, but I've never used a fat PS2, HD loader, etc. (Always been interested to try and set it up, and get a larger hard drive installed, and run all the games off of that though.)

We have Okami HD for PS3 but haven't played it. It looks awesome though and I've seen plenty of reviews of it on Game Sack and other youtube shows. I would think that if it's an HD Remake of a PS3 game that is in itself a HD Remake of a PS2 game, it should run fine on old graphics cards on PC as long as the porting is done right. HD 7000 series and up and GTX 600 series and up should do fine, but you may need to turn some settings down. Let me know how it goes if you get it because I'm interested- seems like even now, running most Japanese console ports on PC should be possible on really any GPU since that era. Even recent stuff like Tales of Berseria, NieR: Automata, Sword Art Online games, anything Namco-Bandai seems to run well on even midrange cards from 5 years ago (7870, 660ti level). Bridgett's AMD 380X in the "Blue" rig is still more than enough for most of these games.

The Wii version might be worth playing though, because the game has a unique mechanic where you can kill enemies by drawing on the screen with a brush (as in, a classical Chinese calligraphy brush). On the PS2 and PS3 I believe you use the right analog to "draw" with this feature, whereas on the Wii it uses motion controls (probably pointing the IR at the screen and drawing). Oh, and if you like games with that art style and have a Wii, check out Muramasa: The Demon Blade if you haven't already played it. Very similar aesthetic action RPG made by Vanillaware- excellent graphics, 2D sprite art and music, and very addictive and fun gameplay. Gotta collect all the Muramasa swords


----------



## Mega Man

Sorry man been busy, good job on the mod, solder and flux are most important on small pins, a tip cleaner (i prefer steel wool) besides that good job.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Biggest retro game-related thing I've purchased in months...a still sealed-in-package "i-Link" cable for PS2. I'm not assuming it's collectible or worth anything. I just liked how obscure it is. I wonder if it's faster than USB 1.1 for transferring data to an internal HDD. Probably not even possible. And if so not by much.
> 
> Also on semi-related note....Okami HD for Windows is coming out soon. I've never played that. Would an HD rendition be worth $20? I actually own it for wii. Just never fired it up. Not even sure my PC could run it judging by that minimum video card. Maybe if I turn settings way down.


just a fire wire cable


----------



## subassy

Actually I am interested in the Genesis mod. I was planning to do a similar mod to my finally purchased demo too. Although I think I was just going to be happy with a regular AV mod. Not sure if I'd go with a full S-Video. So I hope you post more info and screenshots is what I am saying. Just don't know when I'll ever get to that.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mega Man*
> 
> Sorry man been busy, good job on the mod, solder and flux are most important on small pins, a tip cleaner (i prefer steel wool) besides that good job.


I got a different tip for my soldering iron, it comes to a very fine point and is quite thin- should make soldering anything that small much easier, plus make it possible to solder SMD components (I'll need a magnifying glass for that though) in the future. It was just difficult because of how close they are together.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Actually I am interested in the Genesis mod. I was planning to do a similar mod to my finally purchased demo too. Although I think I was just going to be happy with a regular AV mod. Not sure if I'd go with a full S-Video. So I hope you post more info and screenshots is what I am saying. Just don't know when I'll ever get to that.


"Finally purchased demo", can you explain what you mean? I think I remember saying you finally got a Genesis but I'm not sure what you mean by that.

What do you mean by AV mod if you mean the Genesis (you know it can use composite AV cables right? Hope you aren't still on RF.... no mod needed to use those.)


----------



## Mega Man

You can do smd with larger top, all in the flux,


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## neurotix

Might be tough for me- have shaky hands


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I got a different tip for my soldering iron, it comes to a very fine point and is quite thin- should make soldering anything that small much easier, plus make it possible to solder SMD components (I'll need a magnifying glass for that though) in the future. It was just difficult because of how close they are together.
> "Finally purchased demo", can you explain what you mean? I think I remember saying you finally got a Genesis but I'm not sure what you mean by that.
> 
> What do you mean by AV mod if you mean the Genesis (you know it can use composite AV cables right? Hope you aren't still on RF.... no mod needed to use those.)


I think I meant _finally purchased genesis_. And By AV mod I just meant having yellow/white/red directly sticking out of back. I have a gen 1 genesis so the default cables seem be mono. With a suggestion of using the head phone jack from stereo sound. The mods look like the stereo sound can be directly tapped from the sound chip and run to the back or put in a wire to the headphone jack directly which has the added details of the volume slider adjusting the sound volume. Sounds kind of dumb that way. I'd rather just have straight sound if possible. Being to use any random RCA cables would be nice instead of some stupid DIN connector. I could try s-video but it seems unnecessary for me. Not sure I need that great of quality.


----------



## neurotix

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> I think I meant _finally purchased genesis_. And By AV mod I just meant having yellow/white/red directly sticking out of back. I have a gen 1 genesis so the default cables seem be mono. With a suggestion of using the head phone jack from stereo sound. The mods look like the stereo sound can be directly tapped from the sound chip and run to the back or put in a wire to the headphone jack directly which has the added details of the volume slider adjusting the sound volume. Sounds kind of dumb that way. I'd rather just have straight sound if possible. Being to use any random RCA cables would be nice instead of some stupid DIN connector. I could try s-video but it seems unnecessary for me. Not sure I need that great of quality.


Gotcha.

Personally, I found no problem using a 3.5mm headphone to red/white audio splitter coming from the front of the Genesis. If you do this on the model 1 Genesis, you get filtered sound- the front audio jack puts out sound that has been filtered with a low pass filter (if I'm remembering correctly), which gives it that signature bass heavy Genesis sound for games like Streets of Rage, etc. So for a long time, I got stereo audio from the front directly to my TV, and simply hooked up the composite for video. (Now I hook up my Genesis stereo speakers, put the volume on them to max, and then use the headphone slider on the front to control the volume. You lose this ability obviously if you tap the audio chip directly.)

If you get audio directly from the chip via a mod, you will not get the low pass filtered sound. It comes down to preference and if you like the sound filtered or not.

This all depends on your model of Genesis 1, however- mine is a VA6 motherboard apparently, and sounds great to me. Any Genesis 1 with "High Definition Graphics" printed on the circle of plastic around the cartridge port, is a good one. Otherwise check this guide. If you have one with a VA7 motherboard I don't think you can even do the mod as it has an ASIC YM3438. It is not possible to mod and even if you did, it wouldn't be worth it as it would sound like garbage. (This can be fixed by installing a MegaAMP but might just be better to sell your bad Genesis 1 and buy a "Hi Def Graphics" model- they're only about $30 on Ebay.)

If you have one worth modding and want to do it, here you go. You'll need to pick the "Gold" kit from the dropdown box which is the only one with a composite jack. the instructions for installing the kit are here. On the bright side, installing the composite + audio jacks is quite a bit easier than installing the S-Video jack as you do not need to solder wires to the small board it comes with- you basically just solder 3 wires for each jack, drill holes, mount the jacks with epoxy and then solder the wires for each lead to the jacks.

Tbh though- if you have a TV that can use S-Video, I'd highly recommend doing S-Video instead of composite, as the Genesis composite quality is pretty much the worst out of all my consoles. It's terrible. I was happy with the PC-Engine (i.e. Turbografx) and SNES on composite, but the Genesis looks terrible in comparison. Your call though.

If you decide to do it and need any advice, feel free to ask (not like I'm a wizard with this stuff but hey.)


----------



## neurotix

delete


----------



## Mega Man

Sorry to hear that, that was not intended. Frankly I have been distancing myself from ocn, as it it the holidays, but there are a few places I post, as no one else can seem to help.

You will be missed- however just because a -4-thread is quiet does not mean it is dead. Simply put I dont post alot here because I will want to buy more, and atm, i can't. Kids do that. But frankly I think you are overreacting


----------



## Bridgypoo

delete


----------



## subassy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *neurotix*
> 
> I am leaving OCN.
> 
> I am not willing to waste anymore time on a failed club- taking hours of my time to stimulate discussion by typing detailed replies, only to have them ignored and sit for weeks while club members still post in other sections of the site.
> 
> It's dead anyway.
> 
> This club was the only thing keeping me using this site, and with its levels of activity lately, there is nothing keeping me here. I have not bothered answering questions, helping with overclocking issues, etc. for years since I am either 1) ignored outright for presenting a minority viewpoint or thinking outside the box; or 2) straw manned and red herringed by everyone, to support the majority viewpoint, with the burden of proof being solely on me. One look through my post history in threads where I try and help people with their PC issues will show this.
> 
> I will join a different HWBOT team and folding team as well.
> 
> As for who wants to take it over to keep it running, I see no point in being involved. Decide amongst yourselves, if anyone even cares.


Alright fine I'll send you the games. Jeeze.









That was supposed to be a joke. The decision hinging on my not sending the games not the sending games part. I will send the games. Actually a bonus game too. Really rare. I'm sure you'll appreciate it.









I'm sorry to hear you're leaving. I hope you changing your mind. I only don't post because I've got nothing interesting to say. Haven't picked up any more long forgotten palm game devices from 20 years ago. Haven't bought much of anything lately actually. Too much time buying steam games. For some reason. Also a new gaming laptop. I think I'll be short budgeted for a while after this.


----------



## Bridgypoo

It's too late. Neuro has changed his password and email so he can't get into his account so he's not coming back. It is irretrievable. This has nothing to do with either of you, but with other people in the club and interactions with them that aren't public (not naming names).

Subassy, don't worry about sending anything.

From now on I'm not replying.


----------



## Jameswalt1

Just caught up on this thread. Sorry to see the latest :/


----------



## madpossum

If anybody sees this that knows Neurotix outside OCN tell him sorry I've been out of the thread for long time (work has me doing 12-14 days and family life been crazy), I don't get on OCN very often at all anymore and have little time for hobbies lately, but always tried to check this thread when did, even if didn't post. Enjoyed talking about retro games with you guys and he did a good job to try and keep the thread rolling.


----------



## Mega Man

Frankly, i am not happy with him. I understand he has issues, but he acted like a kid, no one is going anywhere, we are still here. Just because we dont post every day means nothing


----------



## Mega Man

Omg if anyone has not heard sega forever is rereleasing Sega games for free with ads or paid without, for both android and apple. Sombre *GREAT GAMES* too. But the best ever was just released, Gunstar heros. Other games include altered best, sonic 2.

I hope they release Skitchin. However i hate touchscreen controls, i recommend a Bluetooth controller

If anyone does not have a objection I will probably take over the club. We don't need to post every week. We don't have time, to always live in the past, but it is fun to visit


----------



## subassy

Never bought in to a Kickstarter but this has me tempted
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1316851183/nesmaker-make-nes-games-no-coding-required/faqs

It's like a game maker for Homebrew nes games...

Also, wow this new OCN design is going to take a while to get accustomed to.


----------



## treadstone

hi i was looking thru my attic and found a few sealed Nintendo and 2 super nintendo games still in the shrink wrap,

plus the stick joystic controller, i will keep digging

are they worth anything?

thanks
tread


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Man I miss this thread...I feel partially responsible for the decline in activity here...


----------



## subassy

treadstone said:


> hi i was looking thru my attic and found a few sealed Nintendo and 2 super nintendo games still in the shrink wrap,
> 
> plus the stick joystic controller, i will keep digging
> 
> are they worth anything?
> 
> thanks
> tread


Like anything else different games are worth different amount. I mean if it's wheel of fortune or some random sports game it's not going to be worth anything. I would say consult a price guide/completed ebay transactions to see if those particular games are worth anything.

And I miss this thread too.


----------



## treadstone

subassy said:


> Like anything else different games are worth different amount. I mean if it's wheel of fortune or some random sports game it's not going to be worth anything. I would say consult a price guide/completed ebay transactions to see if those particular games are worth anything.
> 
> And I miss this thread too.


\


thanks, i would love to find an online guide..

tread


----------



## MNiceGuy

treadstone said:


> \
> 
> 
> thanks, i would love to find an online guide..
> 
> tread


This is a reasonably good guideline:

https://www.pricecharting.com/

Ebay is a good indicator as well. The value of games, especially those which are still sealed, can vary dramatically depending on what they are. Super Metroid sealed is going to yield you much more than something like John Madden Football all other considerations being equal.


----------



## treadstone

MNiceGuy said:


> This is a reasonably good guideline:
> 
> https://www.pricecharting.com/
> 
> Ebay is a good indicator as well. The value of games, especially those which are still sealed, can vary dramatically depending on what they are. Super Metroid sealed is going to yield you much more than something like John Madden Football all other considerations being equal.


sweet, that pricecharting site is great, ebay is ok but's it's ebay, lol.///

thanks


----------



## neurotix

Hi all,

I am back (as if that was not obvious). I got in contact with the staff and regained access to my account, though I am well aware that few are pleased with me. I would understand perfectly if anyone is still upset, angry, or doesn't wish to communicate with me.

I humbly apologize for all the problems in the past. I have fully resolved to leave my personal issues and problems off of the site (likely in private messages, as well) and simply use the site as intended with none of the drama.

I will "resume" being club leader inasmuch as I will post occasionally and add anyone new who wishes to be added to the club roster. The level of activity on my part will be nowhere near what it was before, unless others make it so by posting. Honestly, I will most likely be on other sections of the site, but even then I will probably only check it every few days.

Thank you for your time reading this.

Sincere apologies and Happy Holidays,
neuro


----------



## treadstone

neurotix said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I am back (as if that was not obvious). I got in contact with the staff and regained access to my account, though I am well aware that few are pleased with me. I would understand perfectly if anyone is still upset, angry, or doesn't wish to communicate with me.
> 
> I humbly apologize for all the problems in the past. I have fully resolved to leave my personal issues and problems off of the site (likely in private messages, as well) and simply use the site as intended with none of the drama.
> 
> I will "resume" being club leader inasmuch as I will post occasionally and add anyone new who wishes to be added to the club roster. The level of activity on my part with be nowhere near what it was before, unless others make it so by posting. Honestly, I will most likely be on other sections of the site, but even then I will probably only check it every few days.
> 
> Thank you for your time reading this.
> 
> Sincere apologies and Happy Holidays,
> neuro




Welcome back, good time to just move forward.

I wish you and all the retro gamers a safe and fun holiday system.

GodSpeed
-tread


----------



## subassy

Welcome back!
I'll finally have a place to interesting stuff.


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Well...I could post any number of things here as it's been awhile...I guess I'll just post the highlights of my collecting over the past while. Been buying a lot less retro gaming related stuff due to, well, living with my girlfriend and having other things to spend money on. But...I did manage to acquire a few things...namely, a CIB copy of Shenmue for Dreamcast, and my own "holy grail" TV...one of the Panasonic Tau series (I owned one when they were new and it cost me $2000+)...just a 30"...previously owned a 34"...but it supports 720P/1080i, has HDMI, Component, S-video, and Composite. Have all my systems hooked up simultaneously like before with a bunch of switch boxes. My collection isn't on display as it once was though...I bought all new shelving and stuff to display it in our living room...but...we have a bunny...and he runs around loose most of the day...well...bunnies chew things...especially cables...so I eventually had to take it all down and move it into the bedroom. I just need to get some more shelving to display it better in the bedroom...but haven't had the money because of the holidays and what not. Oh...another thing I picked up that can possibly fit here...a Windows 98 SE retro PC i restored / put together...a Dell Dimension 4300 with a P3 800MHz, 2GB RAM, and an overkill 9600XT. Did the whole "DIY retro bright" method to the case and keyboard / mouse...and it all came out looking nearly new! Now I kind of want to try it on my slightly yellowed Dreamcast...my other systems are mostly not yellowing yet.


----------



## neurotix

Aaron_Henderson said:


> Well...I could post any number of things here as it's been awhile...I guess I'll just post the highlights of my collecting over the past while. Been buying a lot less retro gaming related stuff due to, well, living with my girlfriend and having other things to spend money on. But...I did manage to acquire a few things...namely, a CIB copy of Shenmue for Dreamcast, and my own "holy grail" TV...one of the Panasonic Tau series (I owned one when they were new and it cost me $2000+)...just a 30"...previously owned a 34"...but it supports 720P/1080i, has HDMI, Component, S-video, and Composite. Have all my systems hooked up simultaneously like before with a bunch of switch boxes. My collection isn't on display as it once was though...I bought all new shelving and stuff to display it in our living room...but...we have a bunny...and he runs around loose most of the day...well...bunnies chew things...especially cables...so I eventually had to take it all down and move it into the bedroom. I just need to get some more shelving to display it better in the bedroom...but haven't had the money because of the holidays and what not. Oh...another thing I picked up that can possibly fit here...a Windows 98 SE retro PC i restored / put together...a Dell Dimension 4300 with a P3 800MHz, 2GB RAM, and an overkill 9600XT. Did the whole "DIY retro bright" method to the case and keyboard / mouse...and it all came out looking nearly new! Now I kind of want to try it on my slightly yellowed Dreamcast...my other systems are mostly not yellowing yet.


Hey Aaron. I really hope things are going well for you. Part of why I left OCN is that I felt that you following my advice had basically ruined your life and living situation. I'm really glad to hear that things are better. If you want me to edit this out, just ask... I did say no personal stuff.

A CIB copy of Shenmue is definitely cool- I can't say much besides I've tried the game numerous times and found it extremely tedious and boring. Just my personal taste. I'm not sure what my favorite DC game is- there's so many good ones. I have played a lot of puzzle games with my wife, and my younger sister in the past. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Bust-a-Move 4 (Puzzle Bobble 4), an amazing indie game called Wind & Water: Puzzle Battles (I bought a rereleased copy, complete, from Germany because the original print costs like $300 for a copy on Ebay), and a few others. I also like Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram (pretty close to saying it's my favorite DC game if you have someone to play with), I really want Twin Sticks for it but you have to get them from Japan and they are very expensive. Either Power Stone game is good, any of the Capcom fighters (Tech Romancer is awesome), as well as Quake 3 Arena and Unreal Tournament- get these if you see them. They are amazing ports and Quake even supports 4 player split screen, as well as online play, and if you have a DreamPi you can still play online 


My stuff is still mostly the same and I haven't bought or sold any games for quite a while- probably all year. I think the last thing I got might have been my PS2 HRAP and before that, a repro cart of Battle Mania Daiginjou for Genesis. Unless capacitors count because I recapped the mainboard of my Model 1 Sega CD, since the caps were leaking pretty bad.

The retro PC is definitely cool. I do watch LGR and remember all that stuff, have watched his builds and so forth. Personally, I stick to DOSbox, and a lot of WinXP era games still work fine on modern hardware under Win7. And it's not exactly my interest (I really like early 90s to mid 90s DOS games.) I don't have the room for another PC setup, unfortunately. Also, when I was young my introduction to PCs was 68k Macs- the first computer I used was a Macintosh Plus. There are emulators for a lot of the old Mac games, and I have a hardfile with a ton of them, but a lot of them run way too fast because the emulators don't have good speed toggles (like reducing frame cycles in DOSbox). So, I'd rather get a compact Mac, probably a Macintosh SE/30, and install a SD card floppy emulator mod.

It is very hard to find a non yellowed Super Nintendo. Pretty much all of my systems have minimal yellowing. A good strategy for those is to buy a busted one cheap (that is not yellowed but broken), then a cheaper yellow SNES, and do a case swap. I did this so I could have a main one and a backup. 

Do you still have Alicia Dragoon and PSII?


----------



## Aaron_Henderson

Please don't feel at all responsible for my hardships...I've had a rough past but I'm still here and still collecting. Things still aren't perfect, but much better than they had been. Been living at my current place for almost a year now and ready to renew my lease for another year. So a little hopeful as of late than I was.

But yeah...Dreamcast...definitely a fanboy...played just about everything due to being able to just burn CD-R. Definitely played everything you mentioned! One of the things I want to add to my collection more than anything is the Hello Kitty DC with keyboard and everything haha

And of course I still have Alisia Dragoon and Phantasy Star II...probably never play through PSII again, but I still play Alisia Dragoon quite often...even my gf plays it and she can nsarly beat it. One of my fav Genesis games that I would never have really known about if it wasn't for you.


----------



## neurotix

Aaron_Henderson said:


> Please don't feel at all responsible for my hardships...I've had a rough past but I'm still here and still collecting. Things still aren't perfect, but much better than they had been. Been living at my current place for almost a year now and ready to renew my lease for another year. So a little hopeful as of late than I was.
> 
> But yeah...Dreamcast...definitely a fanboy...played just about everything due to being able to just burn CD-R. Definitely played everything you mentioned! One of the things I want to add to my collection more than anything is the Hello Kitty DC with keyboard and everything haha
> 
> And of course I still have Alisia Dragoon and Phantasy Star II...probably never play through PSII again, but I still play Alisia Dragoon quite often...even my gf plays it and she can nsarly beat it. One of my fav Genesis games that I would never have really known about if it wasn't for you.


Glad to hear things are going well for you. And you have a woman now who seems loyal. That can't hurt!

I also want the Hello Kitty DC extremely bad. Don't know if I want the blue or pink version. I looked recently and one with box on ebay from Japan is like $400. A bit too rich for me.

I made the same decision the last time I played through Phantasy Star II. It's a great game and had a lot of great ideas for it's time (i.e. Nei and what happens to her- 8 years before Aeris ,) a good story, an excellent soundtrack, and so forth. The world design (e.g. the sci-fi apocalyptic setting- Dezoris is cool) was good. Unfortunately, the game is a slog nowadays and I was honestly surprised you finished it and a little proud lol. I've only finished it twice and can't imagine playing it in 89 without maps or the hint book (which doesn't include full maps of every dungeon- I have a complete copy with the map and hint book in near mint condition). The battles are too frequent, the enemies do too much damage, you have to stop and heal using bad menus after every fight, and the dungeons are confusing and lack context (e.g. roadmarks). Half the time you can't even tell what floor you're on. The last time I cleared it was around 2011 or so and I decided I never want to play it again  I also beat it with Rolf at level 28 (generally people get him to 35 for the technique, Megid, and use that strategy for the final bosses.) So I feel I conquered it. Interestingly, it was the very first JRPG released in America ( a few months before Final Fantasy for NES). The first FF is by far the superior game and way more balanced but, this does depend on how you play and whether you are leveled or not. 

If you think that game was a slog, try PSIII. I hate that game. PSIV is the best of the original series and the first is really good too but has those first-person dungeons (plenty of maps for them- try rpgclassics or fantasyanime.com (awesome site)).

Alisia Dragoon is cool, I really like the art, idea and aesthetic but it ends up being tedious to me quite quickly because of how many enemies (especially small popcorn enemies) the game throws at you. I just ended up losing my patience and turning it off in stage 2. I think I like action platformers that are more timing-focused more (like Shinobi III or Revenge of Shinobi and possibly old Ninja Gaiden), whereas Alisia seems like a shmup/action hybrid. I'm not terrible at shmups but not good enough to clear one on one credit either.

I have been playing Ys VIII for my Switch and am really considering getting into that series. I have a spinoff or two for the Vita, and the remake of the first two games, as well as the original for Master System (cart only). There is also Ys VII for PSP which a lot of people say is basically the best of the series. Nihon Falcom is making great JRPGs nowadays. I find their art style a little too generic and boring (it's just the very generic modern anime style look that all Japanese games and most anime use now) but the characters and gameplay are usually top notch.


----------



## TwilightRavens

Lets see what I can remember what I have off hand. Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PlayStation One, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 60GB (the one that plays all PS2 games), PlayStation Portable-3000, Xbox 360, Pentium III-S 1.4GHz with a 3dfx Voodoo2 128MB of RAM and Windows 98SE. Will add more as (if) I remember them.

If it counts then a PS Vita as I haven’t seen games come out for it in years. I have a few others that are broken that I didn’t include because I didn’t think they’d count.


----------



## neurotix

TwilightRavens said:


> Lets see what I can remember what I have off hand. Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PlayStation One, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 60GB (the one that plays all PS2 games), PlayStation Portable-3000, Xbox 360, Pentium III-S 1.4GHz with a 3dfx Voodoo2 128MB of RAM and Windows 98SE. Will add more as (if) I remember them.
> 
> If it counts then a PS Vita as I haven’t seen games come out for it in years. I have a few others that are broken that I didn’t include because I didn’t think they’d count.


You have been added to the club. Welcome! If you want to add your broken systems, I would be fine with that, as long as they are retro (probably defined as pre-2010). No, I would not count the Vita and most members probably wouldn't either as it was released in 2012 and games are actually still being released for it, though at this point the majority are games that either came out in Japan a few years ago or low-budget, digital only indie titles or otome games. You can see a partial list of some of the games here. I have a Vita-1000 and PSTV myself. (Most games in the style of Vita games, that is niche Japanese RPGs, visual novels, strategy games and the like, are now coming out for the Switch here instead.)

*CLUB UPDATE*

I have gone through the members list and original post and am reformatting/correcting it to work with the new site, though this is only relevant for the desktop version. Unfortunately, it has broken it in the process. I removed all of the smilies from the club members list from the old site format, as they no longer worked and showed stuff like "speccool.gif" in place of the smiley. For whatever reason, doing so broke the club image and made it HUUUUGGGE (can still be seen as of right now). Additionally, code tags don't work, which our club signature is in- they make a proper code box, however, it does not prevent BBtags from being interpreted as code, meaning that the club signature cannot be copied and pasted into your signature.

I reported this as a bug and simply got told to reupload the original image at the top of the post (which I think I still have)- I cannot resize the image as per the old site by editing it's dimensions in pixels in the img tag. I also have no idea how to upload an image without an advanced editor and get it hosted on ocn's servers, and have it insert a link to it automagically. Someone did tell me how but it is convoluted. 

Anyway, I will be looking into this and at least fixing the giant "OCN RETRO" image but as for the other issues, I was offered no solution.


----------



## TwilightRavens

neurotix said:


> You have been added to the club. Welcome! If you want to add your broken systems, I would be fine with that, as long as they are retro (probably defined as pre-2010). No, I would not count the Vita and most members probably wouldn't either as it was released in 2012 and games are actually still being released for it, though at this point the majority are games that either came out in Japan a few years ago or low-budget, digital only indie titles or otome games. You can see a partial list of some of the games here. I have a Vita-1000 and PSTV myself. (Most games in the style of Vita games, that is niche Japanese RPGs, visual novels, strategy games and the like, are now coming out for the Switch here instead.)
> 
> *CLUB UPDATE*
> 
> I have gone through the members list and original post and am reformatting/correcting it to work with the new site, though this is only relevant for the desktop version. Unfortunately, it has broken it in the process. I removed all of the smilies from the club members list from the old site format, as they no longer worked and showed stuff like "speccool.gif" in place of the smiley. For whatever reason, doing so broke the club image and made it HUUUUGGGE (can still be seen as of right now). Additionally, code tags don't work, which our club signature is in- they make a proper code box, however, it does not prevent BBtags from being interpreted as code, meaning that the club signature cannot be copied and pasted into your signature.
> 
> I reported this as a bug and simply got told to reupload the original image at the top of the post (which I think I still have)- I cannot resize the image as per the old site by editing it's dimensions in pixels in the img tag. I also have no idea how to upload an image without an advanced editor and get it hosted on ocn's servers, and have it insert a link to it automagically. Someone did tell me how but it is convoluted.
> 
> Anyway, I will be looking into this and at least fixing the giant "OCN RETRO" image but as for the other issues, I was offered no solution.


Cool and thanks, glad to be a part of the club. Yeah I knew Vita wasn’t I was just making a joke lol. Anyway I do have an Atari 2600 (broken) Super Famicom (broken) a Commidore 64 (broken) and a Sega Master System which bios just crapped its pants one day and haven’t really had the time or money to get a new chip and a few capacitors.

Been spending a lot of time and stuff working on a cool little retro-ish project that I have been honestly having too much fun with (See the build Pluto in my sig if you are curious) a build that pretty much makes zero sense but hell with it, its my pc and who says it has to make sense .


----------



## neurotix

TwilightRavens said:


> Cool and thanks, glad to be a part of the club. Yeah I knew Vita wasn’t I was just making a joke lol. Anyway I do have an Atari 2600 (broken) Super Famicom (broken) a Commidore 64 (broken) and a Sega Master System which bios just crapped its pants one day and haven’t really had the time or money to get a new chip and a few capacitors.
> 
> Been spending a lot of time and stuff working on a cool little retro-ish project that I have been honestly having too much fun with (See the build Pluto in my sig if you are curious) a build that pretty much makes zero sense but hell with it, its my pc and who says it has to make sense .


I love my Vita and PSTV.

Pluto is interesting. How's it keep up with newer games? I'd imagine that even more recent or new Japanese titles would probably run totally fine on it at 1080p as they still develop and release games for the PS3 or on its SDK then port them to the PS4 and PC (Ys VIII is this way). As far as AAA western games I'd guess the CPU would hold you back. I think there was a pretty active club on OCN for Nvidia SLI chipset boards like the 790i. I'm sure the power consumption would be bad but a Core 2 Quad should still be capable of running a lot of games up through 2014 or so.


----------



## TwilightRavens

neurotix said:


> I love my Vita and PSTV.
> 
> Pluto is interesting. How's it keep up with newer games? I'd imagine that even more recent or new Japanese titles would probably run totally fine on it at 1080p as they still develop and release games for the PS3 or on its SDK then port them to the PS4 and PC (Ys VIII is this way). As far as AAA western games I'd guess the CPU would hold you back. I think there was a pretty active club on OCN for Nvidia SLI chipset boards like the 790i. I'm sure the power consumption would be bad but a Core 2 Quad should still be capable of running a lot of games up through 2014 or so.


Its able to run GTA V on a mix of High and Very High settings between 40-60 fps and its not too stuttery, Skyrim stays at 60 but I still have to iron out the SLI profile on it as its pretty stuttery. Been meaning to retest Fallout 4 since I got the second GPU but all in all its not terrible for its age, about on par or slightly better than a stock bulldozer chip.

And yeah I’m in the LGA 775 club along with 790i won’t die club.


----------



## speed_demon

Didnt see this posted in here and think you all might appreciate it - Retro Gaming Wallpapers https://imgur.com/gallery/wmwGA

As for the club I have a NES.


----------



## neurotix

TwilightRavens said:


> Its able to run GTA V on a mix of High and Very High settings between 40-60 fps and its not too stuttery, Skyrim stays at 60 but I still have to iron out the SLI profile on it as its pretty stuttery. Been meaning to retest Fallout 4 since I got the second GPU but all in all its not terrible for its age, about on par or slightly better than a stock bulldozer chip.
> 
> And yeah I’m in the LGA 775 club along with 790i won’t die club.


GTAV is surprising. Don't bother with the Skyrim stutter- it stutters on my rig and even on the AMD systems I had (7970, 290 Crossfire, Fury Crossfire, and many more GCN cards).

speed_demon, you're added. I have seen some of the wallpapers, but not all of them! Thanks.


----------



## neurotix

Club image, signature info and so forth are updated 

Any consoles or games you new members are looking to get?


----------



## TwilightRavens

neurotix said:


> GTAV is surprising. Don't bother with the Skyrim stutter- it stutters on my rig and even on the AMD systems I had (7970, 290 Crossfire, Fury Crossfire, and many more GCN cards).
> 
> speed_demon, you're added. I have seen some of the wallpapers, but not all of them! Thanks.


Yeah it stutters on my main rig with a Broadwell i7/290X combo so it’s mostly just the game itself I believe


----------



## neurotix

Club appears to be dead as a door knob, but just letting anyone still checking know that I'm very active on OCN right now and still available for retro console/handheld/computer discussion.

I can also add club members if anyone is interested in joining.

I still have all my systems and games. They generally sit and dont get used constantly or that often but do all see use occasionally. I also don't go games hunting or buy any retro games at all anymore, because I generally have 99.5% of the games I was after currently and then some. (I never had a Master System or Turbografx/PC Engine as a kid, and now have both and 20+ games each... I try to only collect the best games for a system or ones I owned, rented, played or friends owned as a kid. I actually have far more than that.) The only stuff I'm interested in is... well the biggest one I never got was Crusader of Centy for Sega Genesis but its $300 cart only and I've never seen it in a store. I generally don't pay more than $40 for any old games, and the few times I did it was $70 for Secret of Mana and $105 for Chrono Trigger. But I'd never pay $300 for a single game. I should be able to get a repro on ebay of Crusader of Centy for $30 or so. Probably 95% of my games cost under $20 and often under $10.

I've actually gone from playing/collecting the game systems and cartridges to learning how to mod and repair them, and solder, and am more interested in that and trying to make money doing it, but am unable to do that stuff currently or for the foreseeable future due to pain.

Anyway, there HAS been an addition of a system in the last year- a fully working, decent condition Macintosh SE that I've partially refurbished. With minimal burn in to the tube. $75 locally with keyboard, mouse, power cord, and... a bunch of disks. It is very similar to the first computer I ever used, a Macintosh Plus. I added a FloppyEmu device, front mounted, to be able to make/boot off of disk images, including a 500MB hard disk image, loaded with games. If anyone is interested I will post pictures and video of the machine and the super clean front mounted FloppyEmu device I installed on it, with built in OLED display for browsing/loading disk images. The machine came with... some interesting floppy disks that absolutely required imaging and making backups before they failed. The former owners claimed to have met in Cupertino in 1983 while one was doing a CompSci degree and working at Apple part time on the original Macintosh project. A lot of the datestamps on the 20 disks it came with, as well as the software on them, seem to validate this  (Read: the disks are full of never-before-seen, lost to time, not available online, prototype/dev software from Apple for the original Macintosh... people who know better than me and were actually alive in 1983 have verified this.)

Regards!


----------



## TwilightRavens

I was actually just thinking about this club yesterday, when i was thinking about either going to trying and build a windows 98se system based around a Tualatin Pentium-III, or maybe try and go overkill and get an LGA 775 board that has windows 98se support (there are actually a few) and just grab a core 2 duo.

I feel the Pentium-III route would be the most period correct, but it would also be way more complicated and expensive. I could go the P4 route, but that whole P4 line was just a disaster.


----------



## neurotix

TwilightRavens said:


> I was actually just thinking about this club yesterday, when i was thinking about either going to trying and build a windows 98se system based around a Tualatin Pentium-III, or maybe try and go overkill and get an LGA 775 board that has windows 98se support (there are actually a few) and just grab a core 2 duo.
> 
> I feel the Pentium-III route would be the most period correct, but it would also be way more complicated and expensive. I could go the P4 route, but that whole P4 line was just a disaster.


Whats the goal with this? To play 99-2002 era early 3D games, and also have some support for DOS games?

Take what I'm going to say with a grain of salt- I used an AMD K6-2 350MHz overclocked to 450MHz during this period, and it was in an HP prebuilt. It didn't run 3d accelerated games well at all- but we were poor. Later, we got a P4-1.8GHz generic prebuilt off of ebay and it suited me fine, mostly to play Ragnarok Online and emulators.

That said, I was around back then and an adult but had no money. I sorta kept up with pc hardware but not much because I couldn't afford any of it.

From what I've heard a Pentium III 733MHz is faster than a 1.2GHz (or so) P4. 

That said- if it were me, I would try to source a contemporary (2001) Athlon Classic or Thunderbird and a goldfinger device or board that supports overclocking (Thunderbird). I'd purposely try and get a lower speed (600-700MHz) model, and see about mounting a modern heatsink and fan to it, if possible. Because back then people were buying 600MHz Athlons and overclocking them to 1GHz+ and blowing away Pentium III rigs.  Tbh it would be interesting to learn the architecture and see what I missed.

I'd also look for a modern MicroSD to IDE hdd converter device, so you can have both 98se and XP to boot off of.

Graphics I really have no idea, but I am pretty sure that by 2001 any of the Voodoo boards sucked, and I know the Geforce 256 (original Nvidia GPU) was like 2x as fast as anything else on the market on launch, but I don't know if it supported Glide or not, or if it was out in 01. Alternatively I'd look at ATi's offerings that year.

Regards


----------



## skupples

i just picked up one of those $100 32gb refurb wii Us for some home brew fun


----------



## neurotix

skupples said:


> i just picked up one of those $100 32gb refurb wii Us for some home brew fun


Nice! I also have a Wii U. Super Mario 3D World and Xenoblade Chronicles X were my two favorites. Both were well worth the cost of the system, though Xenoblade is a pretty arduous undertaking and has an essentially endless postgame (I think I have around 440 hours played). Laser cutting the necks off Brontosauruses in a floating Japanese robot so their heads fall off after you clear the game and build that mecha is worth the price of admission alone. Although lots of people hated the music and didn't understand the gameplay, as it is quite strange and not like most standard JRPGs, either turn based or action ones. Tbh in my top 3 games of the last decade, easily, but I have different choices compared to most to say the least.

Do you have any other retro consoles and want to be added to the club? (I don't recall if you're already a member or not) What homebrew do you plan to play, emulators?


----------



## skupples

yep, i got a hard copy of xeno. Looking forward to that one. 

you can add me to the club, sure.

I'd like to build my old man something from a Pi for the holidays. His retron decided to die.


----------



## TwilightRavens

neurotix said:


> Whats the goal with this? To play 99-2002 era early 3D games, and also have some support for DOS games?
> 
> Take what I'm going to say with a grain of salt- I used an AMD K6-2 350MHz overclocked to 450MHz during this period, and it was in an HP prebuilt. It didn't run 3d accelerated games well at all- but we were poor. Later, we got a P4-1.8GHz generic prebuilt off of ebay and it suited me fine, mostly to play Ragnarok Online and emulators.
> 
> That said, I was around back then and an adult but had no money. I sorta kept up with pc hardware but not much because I couldn't afford any of it.
> 
> From what I've heard a Pentium III 733MHz is faster than a 1.2GHz (or so) P4.
> 
> That said- if it were me, I would try to source a contemporary (2001) Athlon Classic or Thunderbird and a goldfinger device or board that supports overclocking (Thunderbird). I'd purposely try and get a lower speed (600-700MHz) model, and see about mounting a modern heatsink and fan to it, if possible. Because back then people were buying 600MHz Athlons and overclocking them to 1GHz+ and blowing away Pentium III rigs.  Tbh it would be interesting to learn the architecture and see what I missed.
> 
> I'd also look for a modern MicroSD to IDE hdd converter device, so you can have both 98se and XP to boot off of.
> 
> Graphics I really have no idea, but I am pretty sure that by 2001 any of the Voodoo boards sucked, and I know the Geforce 256 (original Nvidia GPU) was like 2x as fast as anything else on the market on launch, but I don't know if it supported Glide or not, or if it was out in 01. Alternatively I'd look at ATi's offerings that year.
> 
> Regards


Well I was thinking quite a lot of DOS games mainly (Wolfenstein, Doom, Diablo, TES I and II etc) while also being able to play up to something like newest game that i was thinking that it would play is Morrowind era stuff give or take, so probably 1992-2002 ish.

Was thinking a Tually P-III (1.4GHz) mainly because it beats even a 2.5GHz P4 in almost everything. The chips aren’t too expensive like $20-$30 its just finding a Tually capable motherboard is the hard part, most surviving S370 board only support up to coppermine, which isn’t bad but I really want an “overkill” 98SE machine if you get what i mean. But the reason i said C2D is the boards aren’t too expensive its just finding a chipset with 98 drivers is the difficult part, ever harder is finding on that has drivers and support something other than Prescott or Cedar Mill, there are a few that support Conroe and Wolfdale, i have a bunch of 775 chips so that’s a non issue and would be one less expense. 

Another thing about it is getting a 775 board would technically open up more options in terms of GPU’s because you could go PCI-E route, even though getting PCI-E support in W98 is... well another story all together.

But yeah I’d like to go the 775 route that way I wouldn’t need to buy a CPU + Motherboard + compatible PSU and even some SD or DDR ram and just stick with the EVGA PSU, a C2D i have laying around and some DDR2 667 that i also have in a box somewhere around here.

It also would allow me to not cut into my fund for my main PC replacement that i have planned towards the end of next year. I could do a VM i guess, but there really is nothing like playing that era games on actual hardware (yes I know Morrowind runs in windows 10 and stuff) but you get what i mean i think.


----------



## neurotix

skupples said:


> yep, i got a hard copy of xeno. Looking forward to that one.
> 
> you can add me to the club, sure.
> 
> I'd like to build my old man something from a Pi for the holidays. His retron decided to die.



Alright, do you have anything older than the Wii U I can list? (Generally we want to only list consoles older than 10 yrs, if you still have an original Wii, 360 or PS3 I can list that, if not I'll make an exception)


> Well I was thinking quite a lot of DOS games mainly (Wolfenstein, Doom, Diablo, TES I and II etc) while also being able to play up to something like newest game that i was thinking that it would play is Morrowind era stuff give or take, so probably 1992-2002 ish.

Was thinking a Tually P-III (1.4GHz) mainly because it beats even a 2.5GHz P4 in almost everything. The chips aren’t too expensive like $20-$30 its just finding a Tually capable motherboard is the hard part, most surviving S370 board only support up to coppermine, which isn’t bad but I really want an “overkill” 98SE machine if you get what i mean. But the reason i said C2D is the boards aren’t too expensive its just finding a chipset with 98 drivers is the difficult part, ever harder is finding on that has drivers and support something other than Prescott or Cedar Mill, there are a few that support Conroe and Wolfdale, i > have a bunch of 775 chips so that’s a non issue and would be one less expense. 


You should look into a Pentium II, original Pentium, or something like a P3-700 then? I do watch a lot of LGR- if you want to play DOS games you don't want a 1.4GHz or 2.5GHz chip, won't some of the games you mentioned run too fast to be playable?

If you want to play Morrowind and use a 775 Core chip, you should probably run WinXP and play Doom and that stuff in Dosbox- you'll also be able to play earlier (81-92-ish) DOS games that definitely need a frame limiter and would run too fast on even a Pentium, let alone something that recent.

I suppose you'd want to research Doom, Diablo (this will run fine and not too fast, as will SC1 afaik), Wolf3D, etc and verify they won't run too fast on something newer than a Pentium II.

GL


----------



## TwilightRavens

neurotix said:


> You should look into a Pentium II, original Pentium, or something like a P3-700 then? I do watch a lot of LGR- if you want to play DOS games you don't want a 1.4GHz or 2.5GHz chip, won't some of the games you mentioned run too fast to be playable?
> 
> If you want to play Morrowind and use a 775 Core chip, you should probably run WinXP and play Doom and that stuff in Dosbox- you'll also be able to play earlier (81-92-ish) DOS games that definitely need a frame limiter and would run too fast on even a Pentium, let alone something that recent.
> 
> I suppose you'd want to research Doom, Diablo (this will run fine and not too fast, as will SC1 afaik), Wolf3D, etc and verify they won't run too fast on something newer than a Pentium II.
> 
> GL


Yeah I would consider a PII but i want an “overkill” 98SE setup, with the possibility of running W2000. I also thought about going the AMD route but AMD wasn’t really more or less better until the Athlon XP days which were pretty much only Windows XP. Though now that I think on it I “could” go the S754 route and the get an Athlon 64 3700+ or 3800+ route. But I might do what a friend of mine did and get a cheap SiS 775 board that actually has 98SE support and Conroe/Wolfdale support, although it is limited to a 1066FSB so it downclocks 1333MHz chips to 1066MHz. But it does have an ipc advantage so a lower clockspeed wouldn’t matter.

As far as the older games go I do know of a program that limits the cpu cycles so the games don’t run uber fast, and breaking them I had planned on using that. I really just want to see how modern I can actually go with a 98SE/2000 PC, with the most bleeding edge hardware I can get with support. I guess you can call it a “project within a project”.


----------



## neurotix

@skupples added


----------



## TwilightRavens

I’d like to so if it is possible to get a GTX 285 to work in Windows 2000, I have heard conflicting reports of yes and no. I’d like to think yes because it XP does share the same codebase as 2000, even the windows driver model version is the same, but it gets tricky if Nvidia explicitly excluded w2000 by referencing something like “if os is equal to or greater than Windows NT ver 5.1+” that’s where issues would arise because 2000 is 5.0.


----------



## neurotix

Since I mentioned it.

This is just one of around 50 or so pieces of prototype software, on disks in a disk binder, that I received with this Macintosh SE, bought locally for $75 in working condition.

The original listing had no mention of anything other than it coming with some floppy disks.










I didn't even pick the machine up, my wife did, and she said the former owners met in Cupertino in 1983 when one of them was doing an internship at Apple while working on a CS degree.

Indeed, the 400k MFS format Macintosh disks have many, many applications not found online, including some early games previously lost to time, and some of the applications have datestamps as early as Oct 1983. (The original Macintosh 128k launched in Jan 84.)

These were the first computers I learned how to use, and upon seeing what was on the disks, I immediately realized what they were and that it correlated with what my wife told me. So I ordered and installed a FloppyEmu SD card device for booting disk images made in the emulator, Mini Vmac. 

I also totally disassembled and cleaned the unit, it was extremely dusty. I removed the failed 20MB SCSI hard disk, I upgraded the unit from its stock 1MB memory configuration to four 9-chip 1MB 80ns SIMMs (cutting access time to main memory roughly in half), and I partially disassembled, cleaned and relubricated the 800KB dual-sided FDD.

I then proceeded to image or otherwise save all of the programs I could on the failing diskettes from late 1983.

I'd estimate that I saved about 95% of the applications and contents out of about 20 diskettes- some were too far deteriorated to save.

None of the original diskettes are in use anymore, and are being kept in a climate and humidity controlled room. All are run off the SD card in the FloppyEmu. In the video, I was using a much newer floppy made around 2001, that had the software from the original diskette copied to it via FloppyEmu.

The software in the video above was explained/referenced in a newsgroup posting from 1985 we tracked down:

J. Eric Roskos (May 17, 1985):

This reminds me of a question that has been bothering me for a long
time. Back when the Apple Macintosh personal computer first came out,
there was a demo disk distributed to various dealers, etc., of a voice
synthesis program (it's the one that had different names over the
early part of the product life, names like MacinTalk, MacTalk, etc.,
and I don't know the name it has now or had then). Included with it
was a little demo that recited the well-known "In the olden days,
before 1984, not many people used computers, and for a very good
reason: not many knew how, and..." story.

Well, if you looked in the text file that contained the text of this
message, there was a delimiting string at the end of the message,
something like "#####", and then some more phonetic text. If you took
out the "####", after it got through telling you about Apple, it would
start giving you a little talk about how the Fairlight CMI worked! Why
is this? Was that voice synthesizer made by the same people who make
the CMI? Or is there a version of it that runs on the CMI? or what?

-----

[email protected] (May 20, 1985):

The name of the program was indeed Macintalk. It fell into obscurity
after last spring when it first released, was re-released (with better
sound) in December to a few developers, including myself, and is now
on the verge of falling into obscurity again. I really hope that Apple
finally finishes off the contract work on this thing and releases it
completely.

Macintalk was written by the same people who wrote SAM (Software
Automated Mouth) for the Atari and Apple II. They were commissioned
early on by Apple to do a Mac port, and it appeared in the original
Mac demo in January, '84 (on a 512K Mac!) Over the past year, I have
been able to collect bits and pieces of old Macintalk junk including
the Mac/Fairlight script mentioned earlier. The New (December '84)
Macintalk sounds a lot better. It sounds like a computer in its mid
30's rather than an old man whose false teeth are out for repair.

https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!msg/comp.sys.mac.system/BOekHR6KGvg/-_OBQaXQAeMJ


This software, and many others on my diskettes, had never resurfaced before and was not available anywhere online in any archives of 68k Mac software for use in emulators.

Anyway, I hope you guys find this interesting. :thumb:


----------



## subassy

Haven't been paying a lot of attention to OCN for a while. That's cool story about the Mac though. Have you thought about seeing if archive.org wants the image files? 

Haven't had a lot of play time with retro games for quite a while. I've been working most recently on a file server for myself. Once I have a place to store everything I could ever want to store (like a ton ROMs and ISO files also PS3) I feel like I can move on to other things. Like occasionally /playing/ games.

I did start playing Links Awakening for Switch. If that counts as a retro game(?).


----------



## neurotix

subassy said:


> Haven't been paying a lot of attention to OCN for a while. That's cool story about the Mac though. Have you thought about seeing if archive.org wants the image files?
> 
> Haven't had a lot of play time with retro games for quite a while. I've been working most recently on a file server for myself. Once I have a place to store everything I could ever want to store (like a ton ROMs and ISO files also PS3) I feel like I can move on to other things. Like occasionally /playing/ games.
> 
> I did start playing Links Awakening for Switch. If that counts as a retro game(?).



I've looked, and apparently Jason Scott at archive.org had uploaded a small number of classic b&w 68k Macintosh apps and games.

However, I've tried and I cannot find a contact email listed for him anywhere on the site. I can't even find a generic contact email for the archive.

I absolutely want to do this and already looked into it myself- do you know how to get in touch with anyone there?


----------



## subassy

I did some searching and found a "contribute" page but it owuldn't let me continue without a login. 
So I created a quick login and switched over to the software part of archive.org but when I hit upload it still only mentions videos and audio recordings to upload. So I don't know if that includes software or not as I have nothing to experiment with. 

I did find this contact page:
https://archive.org/about/contact.php

Looks like there's something of a forum and a FAQ with a contact email if that doesn't turn anything up.

I don't know if this is what you were looking for. Kind of wish I had something to contribute now. I'd kind of like to know.

This page might help too. Not sure if you have to be logged in to see it or not.
https://help.archive.org/hc/en-us/a...ow-to-upload-files-to-create-a-new-item-page-


----------



## Iconoclast

I know some might not view this as "retro," as I've heard Windows XP as being scoffed at in youtube videos discussing retro PC gaming, but someone pointed me towards this thread from my post in the Operating Systems directory, so I'm giving it a go here...

After I built my sig rig, I decided to turn my nearly 10 year old Core 2 Duo system into a Windows XP machine to run old games. It's an Intel E8400 on an Evga 780i board with 4gb's of DDR2 ram paired with a Radeon R9 270. Works satisfactorily, but I've been considering "upgrading" to a DDR3 platform, specifically an I3 2100 on an Intel Dq77mk motherboard with 8gb of DDR3 ram that I can purchase used locally.
Would any old souls out here be able to tell me whether I would see any benefits to such an upgrade an old XP Retro Gaming system?
I'm also curious if anyone else out here tears up old games on an XP rig at all?


----------



## neurotix

Hey, I've gotten used to this thread being basically dead, but I can definitely help you out, as can another member who posted recently and does have a similar rig tmk.

I'll type out a proper answer later when I am more awake and at my keyboard, pm me if I forget to reply, I don't check this club anymore due to it being dead.

Also, WinXP is definitely retro given that it came out in 2001 or about that. This club is more about retro games consoles but everyone agrees (including places outside these forums) that the Dreamcast, Xbox, Gamecube and PS2 are solidly retro and WinXP PCs were literally the same era.

Personally I think it depends. Because Vista sucked and 7 didnt come out until 2009 and didn't reach a decent install base until 2010. If you are talking playing DX9 games (Skyrim was..) on WinXP on Sandy Bridge then no not really. If you are talking playing Doom 3 or other contemporary games on an Athlon XP 1800+ and a Geforce 256 or Radeon 9800 then yes, of course it is retro.  EDIT: And if you have much faster hardware but are playing games from 2001-2007 then it is retro too. If you have access to older hardware and go backwards I just find that cooler tbh.


----------



## neurotix

Iconoclast said:


> I know some might not view this as "retro," as I've heard Windows XP as being scoffed at in youtube videos discussing retro PC gaming, but someone pointed me towards this thread from my post in the Operating Systems directory, so I'm giving it a go here...
> 
> After I built my sig rig, I decided to turn my nearly 10 year old Core 2 Duo system into a Windows XP machine to run old games. It's an Intel E8400 on an Evga 780i board with 4gb's of DDR2 ram paired with a Radeon R9 270. Works satisfactorily, but I've been considering "upgrading" to a DDR3 platform, specifically an I3 2100 on an Intel Dq77mk motherboard with 8gb of DDR3 ram that I can purchase used locally.
> Would any old souls out here be able to tell me whether I would see any benefits to such an upgrade an old XP Retro Gaming system?
> I'm also curious if anyone else out here tears up old games on an XP rig at all?



Alright, almost forgot about this. Lets go through it.

Getting scoffed at is probably from guys my age and older who don't see a system of that vintage as being retro, or any WinXP system really, or 3D games.

However, I'm a little in between and can understand theres people younger than me/ a whole generation now who grew up playing mostly nothing but 3D games, and right now the N64 is pretty hot/desirable in the console space for this reason (and has been for a few years), driving a major price boom. Similar to the snes for guys my age (mid 30s) back around 2011, causing Super Mario World and Zelda LttP to go from being $15 games to $40 games.

Anyway, PC wise I grew up and when I first started/used PCs in school they had 386sx 25mhz or 486 dx2 66mhz and Windows 3.11 for Workgroups. All games were dos games. Later I played tons of mid 90s dos games like Duke3d, Terminal Velocity, Descent, Final Doom, Tyrian,Jazz Jackrabbit, etc. etc. and later Quake 3 Arena and Unreal Tournament. So to me my dream machine would be an overclockable Athlon 600mhz, DDR-333 cas 2, Geforce 256 or something else capable of Doom 3, and dual booting 98se (or DOS 6.22) and WinXP SP2. Using Dos for those games and XP for UT, Q3A etc. With a GPU that can run UT 2k4 because Onslaught mode.

Anyway, I get your point. Do you already have the Sandy i3? Yes, you will get better performance (especially in Crysis or Oblivion or other 2007+ games). Having better single core IPC and DDR3 would hopefully increase minimum fps and raise average and maximums. 

My suggestion would be determining how recent you can go and still have functioning drivers. I would think that even some boards that only have Win7 drivers available might have compatibility with WinXP but you may need to decompress the .cab files, and install drivers manually from device manager in WinXP by doing Have Disk.. and pointing it to the .inf file.

If thats the case I would go full bore with a bare metal install of XP and try and go as recent as possible, possibly even Haswell or Ivy, probably an i5 (more cache! Old games love cache!) and acquire some 'Samsung Miracle RAM' DDR3 and run it at 2400mhz cas 10.

Then I would sell the R9 270 and get an older GPU from 2008-2009 era. Possibly older. An 8800GT/9800 GTX/GTX 285/4870x2/5870/3870 or the like. Running the last drivers released (Catalyst 12.xx is the latest for these cards for ATI afaik)

The gpu should be older for better compatibility with old software, avoiding texture glitches/issues, etc. Might want a dedicated PhysX card too. AMD usually maintains great compatibility with older software, better than Nvidia , I think selling the 270 and going with a 4870x2 would fare better and shred old games and be more compatible with buggy old ganes...

Also playing with some crazy hardware from that era like an 8 core dual socket AMD FASN8 Phenom platform, Core 2 Extreme or similar dual socket, AMD FX-62, etc. is infinitely cooler imo just like owning an older sports car - these setups were crazy expensive then! Throw in some old SATA 1 hdds and dual boot Linux and you got yourself a cheap NAS when you arent gaming on it (do a dual Linux Mint/WinXP build, use Samba in Linuz2 for file hosting/streaming)

As for me no interest in older 3d/WinXP games but DOS games I mentioned, and I have like 24 consoles as well and a huge backlog so yeah.

Hope this helps answer your questions, check this out too, its relevant.


----------



## Iconoclast

neurotix said:


> Alright, almost forgot about this. Lets go through it.
> 
> Getting scoffed at is probably from guys my age and older who don't see a system of that vintage as being retro, or any WinXP system really, or 3D games.
> 
> However, I'm a little in between and can understand theres people younger than me/ a whole generation now who grew up playing mostly nothing but 3D games, and right now the N64 is pretty hot/desirable in the console space for this reason (and has been for a few years), driving a major price boom. Similar to the snes for guys my age (mid 30s) back around 2011, causing Super Mario World and Zelda LttP to go from being $15 games to $40 games.
> 
> Anyway, PC wise I grew up and when I first started/used PCs in school they had 386sx 25mhz or 486 dx2 66mhz and Windows 3.11 for Workgroups. All games were dos games. Later I played tons of mid 90s dos games like Duke3d, Terminal Velocity, Descent, Final Doom, Tyrian,Jazz Jackrabbit, etc. etc. and later Quake 3 Arena and Unreal Tournament. So to me my dream machine would be an overclockable Athlon 600mhz, DDR-333 cas 2, Geforce 256 or something else capable of Doom 3, and dual booting 98se (or DOS 6.22) and WinXP SP2. Using Dos for those games and XP for UT, Q3A etc. With a GPU that can run UT 2k4 because Onslaught mode.
> 
> Anyway, I get your point. Do you already have the Sandy i3? Yes, you will get better performance (especially in Crysis or Oblivion or other 2007+ games). Having better single core IPC and DDR3 would hopefully increase minimum fps and raise average and maximums.
> 
> My suggestion would be determining how recent you can go and still have functioning drivers. I would think that even some boards that only have Win7 drivers available might have compatibility with WinXP but you may need to decompress the .cab files, and install drivers manually from device manager in WinXP by doing Have Disk.. and pointing it to the .inf file.
> 
> If thats the case I would go full bore with a bare metal install of XP and try and go as recent as possible, possibly even Haswell or Ivy, probably an i5 (more cache! Old games love cache!) and acquire some 'Samsung Miracle RAM' DDR3 and run it at 2400mhz cas 10.
> 
> Then I would sell the R9 270 and get an older GPU from 2008-2009 era. Possibly older. An 8800GT/9800 GTX/GTX 285/4870x2/5870/3870 or the like. Running the last drivers released (Catalyst 12.xx is the latest for these cards for ATI afaik)
> 
> The gpu should be older for better compatibility with old software, avoiding texture glitches/issues, etc. Might want a dedicated PhysX card too. AMD usually maintains great compatibility with older software, better than Nvidia , I think selling the 270 and going with a 4870x2 would fare better and shred old games and be more compatible with buggy old ganes...
> 
> Also playing with some crazy hardware from that era like an 8 core dual socket AMD FASN8 Phenom platform, Core 2 Extreme or similar dual socket, AMD FX-62, etc. is infinitely cooler imo just like owning an older sports car - these setups were crazy expensive then! Throw in some old SATA 1 hdds and dual boot Linux and you got yourself a cheap NAS when you arent gaming on it (do a dual Linux Mint/WinXP build, use Samba in Linuz2 for file hosting/streaming)
> 
> As for me no interest in older 3d/WinXP games but DOS games I mentioned, and I have like 24 consoles as well and a huge backlog so yeah.
> 
> Hope this helps answer your questions, check this out too, its relevant.
> 
> https://youtu.be/46j6fDkMq9I



Thanks for the thorough response, my dude! I think we're cut from the same cloth. I too grew up playing Doom Shareware, Sim City, Battlechess and Commander Keen on a 486, sporting Windows 3.1. Good times... Then I graduated to AGP based systems with my old ATI Radeon X1950 256mb card running Quake 3 arena and Unreal Tournament and pre 1.6 Counter-Strike.

You raised an excellent point about GPU compatibility issues. When I was playing Crysis, it maintains a steady 60fps (in sync with the monitor's refresh rate), but has some weird texture issues when looking around. I want the CPU/Motherboard/Ram combo to be the latest gen I can get that's still compatible, but I should look into finding an older gen GPU that I can also get the most out of the system with.
It's funny that mention an 8800gt, because one of the iterations of this old system on XP, before the move to Win7, was an 8800gt. It ran Crysis back then.


----------



## Iconoclast

Seems to be plenty of issues with the 4870x2 so I think I would be looking at using a 5870.


----------



## TwilightRavens

neurotix said:


> Alright, almost forgot about this. Lets go through it.
> 
> 
> 
> Getting scoffed at is probably from guys my age and older who don't see a system of that vintage as being retro, or any WinXP system really, or 3D games.
> 
> 
> 
> However, I'm a little in between and can understand theres people younger than me/ a whole generation now who grew up playing mostly nothing but 3D games, and right now the N64 is pretty hot/desirable in the console space for this reason (and has been for a few years), driving a major price boom. Similar to the snes for guys my age (mid 30s) back around 2011, causing Super Mario World and Zelda LttP to go from being $15 games to $40 games.
> 
> 
> 
> Anyway, PC wise I grew up and when I first started/used PCs in school they had 386sx 25mhz or 486 dx2 66mhz and Windows 3.11 for Workgroups. All games were dos games. Later I played tons of mid 90s dos games like Duke3d, Terminal Velocity, Descent, Final Doom, Tyrian,Jazz Jackrabbit, etc. etc. and later Quake 3 Arena and Unreal Tournament. So to me my dream machine would be an overclockable Athlon 600mhz, DDR-333 cas 2, Geforce 256 or something else capable of Doom 3, and dual booting 98se (or DOS 6.22) and WinXP SP2. Using Dos for those games and XP for UT, Q3A etc. With a GPU that can run UT 2k4 because Onslaught mode.
> 
> 
> 
> Anyway, I get your point. Do you already have the Sandy i3? Yes, you will get better performance (especially in Crysis or Oblivion or other 2007+ games). Having better single core IPC and DDR3 would hopefully increase minimum fps and raise average and maximums.
> 
> 
> 
> My suggestion would be determining how recent you can go and still have functioning drivers. I would think that even some boards that only have Win7 drivers available might have compatibility with WinXP but you may need to decompress the .cab files, and install drivers manually from device manager in WinXP by doing Have Disk.. and pointing it to the .inf file.
> 
> 
> 
> If thats the case I would go full bore with a bare metal install of XP and try and go as recent as possible, possibly even Haswell or Ivy, probably an i5 (more cache! Old games love cache!) and acquire some 'Samsung Miracle RAM' DDR3 and run it at 2400mhz cas 10.
> 
> 
> 
> Then I would sell the R9 270 and get an older GPU from 2008-2009 era. Possibly older. An 8800GT/9800 GTX/GTX 285/4870x2/5870/3870 or the like. Running the last drivers released (Catalyst 12.xx is the latest for these cards for ATI afaik)
> 
> 
> 
> The gpu should be older for better compatibility with old software, avoiding texture glitches/issues, etc. Might want a dedicated PhysX card too. AMD usually maintains great compatibility with older software, better than Nvidia , I think selling the 270 and going with a 4870x2 would fare better and shred old games and be more compatible with buggy old ganes...
> 
> 
> 
> Also playing with some crazy hardware from that era like an 8 core dual socket AMD FASN8 Phenom platform, Core 2 Extreme or similar dual socket, AMD FX-62, etc. is infinitely cooler imo just like owning an older sports car - these setups were crazy expensive then! Throw in some old SATA 1 hdds and dual boot Linux and you got yourself a cheap NAS when you arent gaming on it (do a dual Linux Mint/WinXP build, use Samba in Linuz2 for file hosting/streaming)
> 
> 
> 
> As for me no interest in older 3d/WinXP games but DOS games I mentioned, and I have like 24 consoles as well and a huge backlog so yeah.
> 
> 
> 
> Hope this helps answer your questions, check this out too, its relevant.
> 
> 
> 
> https://youtu.be/46j6fDkMq9I




I mean if you wouldn’t mind Windows 2000 I believe I read somewhere that a guy had ported Z170 chipset drivers and GTX 1000 series to Windows 2000 and they are readily available, I’ll see if I can find a link for it.

Edit: My bad it actually was Windows XP, check this thread out if you are interested: https://www.win-raid.com/t2772f45-Windows-Bit-OS-iNTEL-SATA-amp-Gaming-Discussions-XP.html


----------



## neurotix

TwilightRavens said:


> I mean if you wouldn’t mind Windows 2000 I believe I read somewhere that a guy had ported Z170 chipset drivers and GTX 1000 series to Windows 2000 and they are readily available, I’ll see if I can find a link for it.
> 
> Edit: My bad it actually was Windows XP, check this thread out if you are interested: https://www.win-raid.com/t2772f45-Windows-Bit-OS-iNTEL-SATA-amp-Gaming-Discussions-XP.html



If thats the case then you should just go with a Z170, 6600k and a cheap used GTX 1060 and max every game on XP.

Crysis and other late games (Stalker, some others) are very demanding and since seeing how crappy Crysis runs on an 8800 GT you should just go overkill and run XP on something recent.

Also look for a late (2005) flat Trinitron or Toshiba CRT but good ones are getting expensive. You might need a DVI to VGA passive converter or something to be able to connect it.

Tbh monitor technology probably matters most. Black levels, contrast ratio, response time, etc. are all vastly superior on a quality CRT- even better than modern OLED. Look for a good aperture grill or shadow mask CRT.


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## TwilightRavens

Oh and a update my my project for the old W98/2K build, I have sorta put it to the side for now, my main rig (Z97 with Broadwell i7) the board is dying so I figured it was time for a total system update to X570. However I did talk to someone around here where I live and this guy might have a late PIII/early P4 era system in his parents house back in Baltimore so I told him if he wanted a set of DDR4 ram I’d be willing to trade my wife’s old kit for that old system. Depending on what condition it is I might be able to strip it down and see what there is to work with. If its in like an old acer or dell case I have a case I might be able to mod to get it to work in, USB 3.0 header wouldn’t get any use but really It didn’t get any use either when I had my EVGA 790i Ultra in there back before it blew up.


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## neurotix

I love retro pc games but I own like every Sega console ever (actually a lie LOL I don't have a CD-X, JVC X'eye, Wondermega, or Nomad  )

1989 Yamaha style


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## neurotix

Last year's SFIII: 3rd Strike nationals in Japan basically

At this point I think everyone has seen the Umehara Daigo parry vid so surely, we can appreciate the skill on display here across generational gaps lol

I've played the game since 2003 myself and used to drive out and play at Capcom's Nickel City in Northbrook, IL (Chicago).

Not many want to learn the game anymore, with 1 frame links (combos that have to be done in 1/60th of a second lol)


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## ilmazzo

Whoa

This is definetly a interesting thread!!!

Due to this coronavirus crazyness I find myself quarantined in my own block since early March and due to the huge free time I can have after smartworking 

you know, smart cough! working cough! ........










and since children and wife are out almost all day to allow me to , hum, smartworking, I lost my mind into a pentium 1 build and a p3 coppermine build for my voodoo 1 and voodoo 5

Soooo, I think I'll put something here in the next days


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## ilmazzo

Last build I'm working on





Last one is just a preview to see how it looks from the plexy side

Components: 

Thermaltake Armor Jr (ventola 120 noctua in e 120 out)
P3 Coppermine 1ghz 133fsb
Mobo compaq garcia i815
Ram 2x128mb PC133 SDRAM CL3
3dfx VooDoo 5 5500 64mb agp2x
Scheda audio Genius Maker 5.1 Pci
Ethernet realtek 8139c 100mbit
Hd maxtor [email protected] ntfs
Alimentatore atx Bestec 300W
Floppy
Masterizzatore dvd pata Philips
Rehobus Schyte 3,5” I'll use just the two temp sensors, case fans will be left at full speed and are hooked directly to the psu


Right now it has a OG windows xp installation but I can't install pretty anything that worth it so I'm trying to install SPs on it but can't find any reliable source for it... In a time being I think I'll do a dual boot with Win98SE.

ps: I reused a hdd cage I had lying around from a bitfenix case because the original one I think was gone, since the case was painted in black internally by the previous owner the paint is falling down whenever I strenght something in the 5,25'' bays and it looks ugly but atm I don't have time to do something different, maybe I'll cover it with some sticker ahahahh


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## TwilightRavens

Just purchased a dual socket P-III Tualtin motherboard, gonna have some fun with that in a few days


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## ilmazzo

Are u gonna put windows 2k on it? I wonder how well does it support dual socket systems...


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## TwilightRavens

ilmazzo said:


> Are u gonna put windows 2k on it? I wonder how well does it support dual socket systems...



Probably 2k for dual socket mode and 98se for single socket mode, according to the manufacturer it supports 2 x 1.4GHz P-III’s running full speed no issues, and 2GB of SDRAM PC-133 officially, possibly 4GB with 4 x 1GB sticks.

As far as GPU goes that’s up in the air, on one hand I could get a Nvidia 6800 Ultra AGP, Radeon HD 4670 AGP or a Radeon HD 3850 AGP, but neither have windows 98 drivers and the HD 3850 and 4670 don’t have 2k drivers.


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## neurotix

Not sure what to say, but traditionally this thread had been an offshoot of the Sega fanclub and the PSP fanclub, with my friends Mega Man and jetpak12 from each, so it was more about retro console hardware and game collecting than retro pc stuff.

Tbh I really have no desire to go back to buggy Win98 or XP, especially when I use modern linux. I only ever really got into very popular pc games like Duke3D, Doom, Tyrian, Descent and Jazz Jackrabbit. I played a lot of Q3A and UT as well. However, many of these have homebrew or official ports to PS Vita so I can play those, all the Quake games, etc. on that (with a pad though, which is fine for Tyrian or Jazz)

Other than that though I'd use Dosbox, but I have legit copies of every good Snes RPG (Chrono Trigger), SMS with 3D glasses, PC Engine, working Sega CD model 1, etc. I must have 70+ Genesis games and also both Shining Force, all the PS games (even a CIB Phantasy Star for SMS worth $200..) All of that is more my interest, as well as NES, Atari, Coleco, arcades, even Wii, PS2, PSP, Vita, DS, 3DS, 360, PS3, Xbox (OG), etc. 

Dunno but I miss my old friends in this thread. Retro pcs unfortunately were never really the main focus of this thread. Not interested in discussing retro pcs more. Go ahead. Sorry :thumbsdow


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## ilmazzo

No problem.

Is anywhere in this forum a thread for PC retrogaming stuff? I'll move there in case....and this thread title should be modified according to the console orientation so the two threads don't get mixed.

cheers


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## neurotix

ilmazzo said:


> No problem.
> 
> Is anywhere in this forum a thread for PC retrogaming stuff? I'll move there in case....and this thread title should be modified according to the console orientation so the two threads don't get mixed.
> 
> cheers


You do... realize this club existed for more than a year before you even joined the forum, and discussion was retro consoles from the beginning, but someone asked about retro computers ( and wanted a NEC V30 box and 486 dx2 66mhz box added) so I said sure, but they also had made a homebrew portable NES among other things.

All the way up til 2017 this thread was almost 100% 80s and 90s console discussion. As I said, you are welcome to continue discussing with Twilight but I am not interested.

No place to make demands either really, read back on the first page to see, you cannot just barge in to a long existing thread and demand these things. I have no problem discussing retro pcs but would like some sort of balance and old console gaming is what I really grew up on, different design mentality from retro dos games or 3D late 90s games. If none of you are into console gaming, then go ahead without me and Ill wait until theres people actually interested in retro consoles, repair, modding, collecting, etc

EDIT: Also your build looks good- this has nothing to do with that, nor am I wholly uninterested, just want to discuss consoles too (in the era of your rig I was playing the PSX, PS2, Dreamcast etc. and wasnt into early 3D pc games, and all early 3D games have generally aged very poorly imo so if I didnt play it back then its hard to go back to old 3D pc games imo. If we could have afforded a decent machine then maybe itd be different. Congrats on your build. It must have been difficult to source the components)


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## skupples

ohhh the benefits of not moving much.

i wish I still had all my old stuff, but i've just moved too far too many times.

should probably get back to turning my shield into a homebrew box.


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## neurotix

skupples said:


> ohhh the benefits of not moving much.
> 
> i wish I still had all my old stuff, but i've just moved too far too many times.
> 
> should probably get back to turning my shield into a homebrew box.


Hey man. Did you see my kb in the keyboard thread?

Not the first time Ive heard about losing things in a move...

Did you finish the retropie for your dad? Get around to Xenoblade on Wii U yet?


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## TwilightRavens

Sorry, I’ll take it to another thread, didn’t mean to offend.


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## neurotix

Think you are both misunderstanding, I shouldnt have interjected, as I said please continue. If I see anything to comment on, I will.

I have a lot of projects and a few full system recaps to do, also recap a Sega CD model 1 power board and disc drive board. Bought a spare laser for the unit recently because theyve long stopped making them. (Giant lens). I have a Game Gear with no audio to recap, and also need to recap my Sega Genesis model 1 VA5 mobo. I have a dead Sega Genesis 1 I got on ebay, and Im pretty sure a leaking cap took out pads on the right side of VDP1, I looked up the pinout and its address lines that connect the m68k to the Z-80 and system ram. I think if I replace the cap (and pull a similar spec one out of a few dead Dreamcasts and Snes lying around here) and retin the damaged address bus pins on the right side of the IC (surface mount flat pack) that maybe it will come back to life. 

You all should see my soldering station. Also doubling as a place to mod and paint stuff like keyboards and case panels.

Please dont misunderstand, Id rather have discussion about pcs, rather than none. What games do you both play?


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## skupples

neurotix said:


> Hey man. Did you see my kb in the keyboard thread?
> 
> Not the first time Ive heard about losing things in a move...
> 
> Did you finish the retropie for your dad? Get around to Xenoblade on Wii U yet?


haha!


I did get the wii U done, its over at my apartment in Fort Lauderdale. 

then half my team quit, & COVID came a few weeks later. I got sick in October/November, then most likely had the virus in late January/early February. 

for the old man - I ended up ordering him a classic Texas instruments desk calculator, like the one he used at his first CPA gig. However, it died after a few weeks of use. It started flickering on/off, then nothing. So I need to open it up & figure out if its something repairable. should be. 

I got the shield rooted, and have started rounding out my basic android knowledge. however, i keep having USB communication issues that make it a pain in the ass. I now have a new mini-HP desktop that works perfectly with my arduino, so hopefully that means communicating with shield won't be an issue either.

can't lie. I'm a fan of modern mini-PCs. Specially the ones with shoved full with i7, mini-dgpu, & NVME.


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## neurotix

skupples said:


> haha!
> 
> 
> I did get the wii U done, its over at my apartment in Fort Lauderdale.
> 
> then half my team quit, & COVID came a few weeks later. I got sick in October/November, then most likely had the virus in late January/early February.
> 
> for the old man - I ended up ordering him a classic Texas instruments desk calculator, like the one he used at his first CPA gig. However, it died after a few weeks of use. It started flickering on/off, then nothing. So I need to open it up & figure out if its something repairable. should be.
> 
> I got the shield rooted, and have started rounding out my basic android knowledge. however, i keep having USB communication issues that make it a pain in the ass. I now have a new mini-HP desktop that works perfectly with my arduino, so hopefully that means communicating with shield won't be an issue either.
> 
> can't lie. I'm a fan of modern mini-PCs. Specially the ones with shoved full with i7, mini-dgpu, & NVME.


Whats the usb issue? 

Always thought the shield looked cool. And yes, Intel NUCs or SFF machines like that are much, much better for running Kodi (Or a HTPC Linux for a set top box similar to the old Mythbuntu- havent kept up on these).

My Rasppi for example has issues with certain files, codec, etc. Seems to not like certain x264 vids, h.265 and especially Hi-10p which seems to play but will have random green or pink garbage in parts of stream. Modern Intel D-GPU is far better at encoding because of hardware acceleration for newer codecs. My pi was refusing to play (stuttering, sub 1 fps garbled mess) a x264 file, until I went to the CLI and installed ffmpeg from the repo, (what media center based on Linux wouldnt include this? osmc I guess)..

Did you know you can run Linux on a Dreamcast? With a VGA box and a CRT, at 640x480. If you get a DreamPi you can connect to the net without a Broadband adapter and play Quake 3 multiplayer, PSO, etc. With a keyboard and mouse you can use it like a pc with Linux. The DC came out in 98 in Japan too, lol. I heard I might be able to use a DreamPi to get my Macintosh SE online as well, lol..


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## TwilightRavens

In that case this rig will hopefully fit two purposes, to see how modern i can game on Windows 2000 (XP era games), and have a retro 98SE PC for running games natively like The first two Elder Scrolls (Arena and Daggerfall), Diablo and Diablo II, DOOM etc, Quake III, games like that that would be more fun on a period correct PC.


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## neurotix

TwilightRavens said:


> In that case this rig will hopefully fit two purposes, to see how modern i can game on Windows 2000 (XP era games), and have a retro 98SE PC for running games natively like The first two Elder Scrolls (Arena and Daggerfall), Diablo and Diablo II, DOOM etc, Quake III, games like that that would be more fun on a period correct PC.


Aside from Elder Scrolls, all of those are great games, especially Diablo II, which I have played. They are also multiplayer and were played heavily at lan parties, in computer labs in my HS (though that was Starcraft, I think kids played Diablo as well in there at lunch). Sort of begs the question of a lan party/multiplayer setup (maybe another rig with a null modem cable?) Unless you dont care about multiplayer...


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## TwilightRavens

neurotix said:


> Aside from Elder Scrolls, all of those are great games, especially Diablo II, which I have played. They are also multiplayer and were played heavily at lan parties, in computer labs in my HS (though that was Starcraft, I think kids played Diablo as well in there at lunch). Sort of begs the question of a lan party/multiplayer setup (maybe another rig with a null modem cable?) Unless you dont care about multiplayer...



Oh definitely down the line once I find someone in my area that plays those kinds of games lol.


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## neurotix

TwilightRavens said:


> Oh definitely down the line once I find someone in my area that plays those kinds of games lol.


id do Diablo 2 with you on Discord or something if you wanted. I had a version with working LAN multiplayer. I had no trouble running it under Win7, not sure about Win10. Id imagine we could use something like LogMeIn Hamachi to join a local vpn, then enter vpn ip in the connection menu or someone hosts a server. Id totally do UT2004 multiplayer with you as well this way if you wanted. 

EDIT: I play necro in D2- skeleton mob baby

Im always down for old arcade games or console emulation too and use something like Kaillera p2p over Hamachi, or even the service Fightcade (Fightcade.com) as Ive played SFIII 3rd Strike on there since 2007 when it was called 2DF. But youll get rekt lol in that or SF2.. Those services support other games like Final Fight, etc. but you gotta find roms on your own. Id totally play Gens over Kaillera too, Streets of Rage..

PM me if you wanna do any of this...

Also EDIT: Your rig looks super clean, I see you got an upgrade, Wraith cooler cant OC well but it does look fantastic in operation, I used one for a week before getting an h100i mounting bracket and now I'm using the Liquid Freezer II 360mm..


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## TwilightRavens

There’s the board and CPU (sorry the camera on my phone isn’t the best)


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## ilmazzo

neurotix said:


> Also EDIT: Your rig looks super clean, I see you got an upgrade, Wraith cooler cant OC well but it does look fantastic in operation, I used one for a week before getting an h100i mounting bracket and now I'm using the Liquid Freezer II 360mm..


yeah very nice, but I don't understand why the fan at the bottom is sucking air from the case instead of pushing it in, hot air tend to go in the upper case, that fan there seems just to suck the fresh air coming from the front fan outside of the case....anyway bit of OT here 

I like the layout of the p3 mobo! Mine is a little bit more complicated to route the psu and ribbon cables in a vertical case


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## TwilightRavens

ilmazzo said:


> I like the layout of the p3 mobo! Mine is a little bit more complicated to route the psu and ribbon cables in a vertical case


Yeah it’ll be a blast to work with, even if the board has zero overclocking options it’ll still pretty much chew through anything of that time once I get two of em in there.


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