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Buying retro console hardware/software

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Posts

  • MadpandaMadpanda suburbs west of chicagoRegistered User regular
    edited April 2012
    Collecting the original carts is a big part of the fun for me. Seeing shelves of original genesis/nes/snes etc carts gives you something that having a list on the Wii Virtual console doesn't.

    That being said I am not trying to shit on people who play it on VC, and I think anyone who does have a problem with it is reinforcing a negative stereo type about gamers in general, i.e your having fun in your own way angers me.

    VC is the most cost effective and easy way of enjoying these games legally outside of some of the compilation discs which are cheaper per game.

    You do bring up a point about battery saves though. A lot of the original ones will be dead or soon dying if they haven't been replaced. I've replaced all of my snes batteries with coin battery holders so I can easily switch them. This process requires basic soldering knowledge and most importantly, finding the right holder which will easily, or with a little wrangling, mount flush with the board AND let the case close.


    Which is another reason why buying from forums has its advantages over ebay, most sellers will call out if the battery has been replaced. I've even been pleasantly surprised on a few random pickups that had battery holders already installed.

    Madpanda on
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    Steam/PSN/XBL/Minecraft / LoL / - Benevicious | WoW - Duckwood - Rajhek
  • TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    Again, if you're worried about saves dying, there are options. Retrode is an awesome tool for rom dumping, but it also has the ability to not only read sram, but also write it as well. You can backup your saves with retrode and put them back onto the cart if the battery dies.

    Aside from there, there are also pass through save carts, which work like a game genie in that you plug one cart into another. these save carts store ram values for you, and can work like save states. They're less common today, but back in the early 90's, you could buy them through import shops and magazine listings. I know they exist well up until the N64.

  • RainbowDespairRainbowDespair Registered User regular
    These games weren't made with better audio/visual cables in mind. Even stuff like s-video breaks dithering effects in older games. These games were made with CRT-color bleed in mind. And there are clock differences, which are noticeable in games like Mario Bros. I also prefer my SNES controller to either the wiimote, GCN controller, or classic controller. No batteries to deal with, either.

    Hehe, tell me about it. I tried playing Pier Solar on my HDTV (a rather good HDTV at that) and wow, was it hideous. It took a good 30 minutes of messing around with the TV settings before I got it to a level I felt was playable (mostly I turned down the sharpness to basically 0). Oh and technical marvel that Pier Solar is, the gameplay is rather unbalanced but then again, maybe it gets better later on.

    But yeah, I guess I've never understood the appeal of collecting things.

  • MadpandaMadpanda suburbs west of chicagoRegistered User regular
    Brainiac 8 wrote: »
    Does anyone know of any retro game shops in the Atlanta area? I'll be going there next month and I might want to check it out.

    check racketboy.com forums, they have a listing of physical stores by state.

    camo_sig2.png
    Steam/PSN/XBL/Minecraft / LoL / - Benevicious | WoW - Duckwood - Rajhek
  • TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    These games weren't made with better audio/visual cables in mind. Even stuff like s-video breaks dithering effects in older games. These games were made with CRT-color bleed in mind. And there are clock differences, which are noticeable in games like Mario Bros. I also prefer my SNES controller to either the wiimote, GCN controller, or classic controller. No batteries to deal with, either.

    Hehe, tell me about it. I tried playing Pier Solar on my HDTV (a rather good HDTV at that) and wow, was it hideous. It took a good 30 minutes of messing around with the TV settings before I got it to a level I felt was playable (mostly I turned down the sharpness to basically 0). Oh and technical marvel that Pier Solar is, the gameplay is rather unbalanced but then again, maybe it gets better later on.

    But yeah, I guess I've never understood the appeal of collecting things.

    I touched on it earlier, but a big part of the joy of collecting for me is the aesthetic arranging of my collectables. I'll spend hours bulding shelves and organizing my stuff. It's a sort of self appreciation sort of thing. Having my own room with wall to wall games, all displayed in a pleasing way, really does it for me.

    I said earlier in this topic that maintaining my collection is a hobby unto itself. I, of course, enjoy playing the games, but that's only part of the joy of collecting. The thrill of landing a rare, sought-after, and (most importantly GOOD) game is intense. I also like to take the gamble and throw down on a game I'm not sure of. Sure, sometimes I get burned, but it's part of the fun.

    My mindset when I collect games is that I want to have the best of the best. A collection full of quality and variety that, regardless of when or where a random individual grew up, they could walk into my game room and find something to sit down and enjoy.

  • TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    Here, an example of the type of save state cart I'm talking about:

    PAxxH.jpg

    TheSonicRetard on
  • Snake GandhiSnake Gandhi Des Moines, IARegistered User regular
    I'm thinking about picking up a Dreamcast and Saturn myself, and was curious if there was anything I needed to keep an eye out for before buying one?

    I'm currently on a big fighting game kick and happen to have an old 32" crt tv in my game room that would be great for some older systems. And AFAIK the Sega systems had the best versions of Capcom's fighting games which is mainly what I'm after.

  • DisruptorX2DisruptorX2 Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    I've found 16 bit games look great on HD TVs, with the composite cables. But even with those, you can see the colors shifting in a way you wouldn't on a CRT.

    Playing an emulated version on a modern console is not the same. On 360, the games are upscaled and have stuff like saved states. I also buy games I want to last and play well into the future. My SNES is 20 years old and made of pure nintendium. The 360, well, you know about the 360. Its also noisy as fuck and requires batteries.

    As for saves, who cares? I make a new game every time I pick up an old RPG. And I really don't care about my Mario saves. The rate at which the battery in a cart dies is nothing compared to the rate at which hard drives fail. I have no PC game save files from the 90s, that's for sure.

    DisruptorX2 on
    1208768734831.jpg
  • EclecticGrooveEclecticGroove Registered User regular
    I know there were a few revisions of the Saturn, and some are easier to mod than others. Modding one is very handy if you're going to be playing any imports as it makes it dead easy to do. Buying one pre-modded from someone reputable would be a good idea if you're not much into mucking about with the internals on a system.

    As far as the DC goes, I know the drive can go bad after a bit, but that's really the only issue I'm aware of with it.

    I'm sure TSR has a truckload of more info on either however.

  • TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    I'm thinking about picking up a Dreamcast and Saturn myself, and was curious if there was anything I needed to keep an eye out for before buying one?

    I'm currently on a big fighting game kick and happen to have an old 32" crt tv in my game room that would be great for some older systems. And AFAIK the Sega systems had the best versions of Capcom's fighting games which is mainly what I'm after.

    Some of those saturn games require a 4mb ram cartridge, and while a Pro Action replay plus will act a 4mb ram cart in addition to an import cart (and a save cart), it has compatibility issues with some games, notably Vampire Savior (amongst a few others). You should really keep an eye out when importing a saturn fighting game to make sure it's compatible with your PAR+. Alternatively, you could just buy a JPN saturn and use the cart to play US imports.

    OR, if you're a boss, buy a Mas Supernova:

    supernova.jpg

    And a CPS2 A-board:

    9242_Capcom.jpg

    And build your own Capcom game system buy buying b-board cartridges and accept nothing but the real deal:

    super-street-fighter-2-turbo-x-cps2-a-jamma-pcb-working_220741588550.jpg

    Arcade retro collecting isn't as outrageously expensive as you might think. Jamma compatible PCBs will run you between $30 to $150, which is about what Neo Geo games run for. I bought a Mortal Kombat II Challenger Edition PCB, with working sound board, for $75 a while back. CPS2 games are also generally cheap, more in-line with standard Neo Geo games. Marvel vs Capcom, for example, can be had for less than $100. I got Aliens vs Predator for $150, my most expensive CPS2 game to date. the hard part is actually building a supergun, which is cheap but time consuming. You can buy a mas supernova from a seller I know for about $400, but if you know what you're doing, you can build your own for maybe $50.

    TheSonicRetard on
  • Snake GandhiSnake Gandhi Des Moines, IARegistered User regular
    Some of those saturn games require a 4mb ram cartridge, and while a Pro Action replay plus will act a 4mb ram cart in addition to an import cart (and a save cart), it has compatibility issues with some games, notably Vampire Savior (amongst a few others). You should really keep an eye out when importing a saturn fighting game to make sure it's compatible with your PAR+. Alternatively, you could just buy a JPN saturn and use the cart to play US imports.
    Does a JPN Saturn and a PAR+ have any issues with American games, or is it just the other way around?
    OR, if you're a boss, buy a Mas Supernova:

    And a CPS2 A-board:

    And build your own Capcom game system buy buying b-board cartridges and accept nothing but the real deal:
    That sounds pretty damn cool. I probably shouldn't ask, but what would a setup like that cost, roughly?

  • DisruptorX2DisruptorX2 Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    If you have shelves of neatly ordered games like Sonic, there, you are secure in the knowledge that you have a physical collection of the real deal, which you can pop into your console at any time and play. Feels good. Its like collecting records. MP3s are far more convenient and boast the latest technology, but they aren't the real thing, and, more importantly, you can't admire the cover art and physical medium.

    My collection is more "games I had as a kid" and "games I still play", when it comes to SNES though. I haven't really added to my SNES collection since I became an adult. But that's mostly because there are few games I don't own that I'd actually play. Some of them I do have on other platforms, namely Megaman X, Rock and Roll Racing, Super Ghouls and Ghosts. If I really, really enjoy a game, as I did with the final fantasies, I want the physical copy, and preferably on the original console.

    I only do digital on disposable games. Like most of the stuff I buy on Steam.

    DisruptorX2 on
    1208768734831.jpg
  • ArtoriaArtoria Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    I'm thinking about picking up a Dreamcast and Saturn myself, and was curious if there was anything I needed to keep an eye out for before buying one?

    I'm currently on a big fighting game kick and happen to have an old 32" crt tv in my game room that would be great for some older systems. And AFAIK the Sega systems had the best versions of Capcom's fighting games which is mainly what I'm after.

    [Some of those saturn games require a 4mb ram cartridge, and while a Pro Action replay plus will act a 4mb ram cart in addition to an import cart (and a save cart), it has compatibility issues with some games, notably Vampire Savior (amongst a few others). You should really keep an eye out when importing a saturn fighting game to make sure it's compatible with your PAR+. Alternatively, you could just buy a JPN saturn and use the cart to play US imports.

    OR, if you're a boss, buy a Mas Supernova:

    supernova.jpg
    And a CPS2 A-board:

    9242_Capcom.jpg
    And build your own Capcom game system buy buying b-board cartridges and accept nothing but the real deal:

    http://www.musclecars.net/parts/parts-images-large/super-street-fighter-2-turbo-x-cps2-a-jamma-pcb-working_220741588550.jpg[/img]

    Arcade retro collecting isn't as outrageously expensive as you might think. Jamma compatible PCBs will run you between $30 to $150, which is about what Neo Geo games run for. I bought a Mortal Kombat II Challenger Edition PCB, with working sound board, for $75 a while back. CPS2 games are also generally cheap, more in-line with standard Neo Geo games. Marvel vs Capcom, for example, can be had for less than $100. I got Aliens vs Predator for $150, my most expensive CPS2 game to date. the hard part is actually building a supergun, which is cheap but time consuming. You can buy a mas supernova from a seller I know for about $400, but if you know what you're doing, you can build your own for maybe $50.


    See I want to do this but I have never been a big fan of having loose PCBs just laying around I'd be scared to death that i would trip and snap it in two. Or I'd fry myself un-pluging it from that thing. If there was a way I could put them in a casing then plug them into a supergun that would work.

    I've been eying a consolized Neo Geo for a while but I'm not sure how reliable it is and $800 is a lot to drop on one.


    Also Sorry to hear about what happened during Rita. Ike was not kind to me and I lost a lot of stuff too. The sad part is the insurance company didn't think the games were worth as much as they actually were.

    Artoria on
  • TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    Some of those saturn games require a 4mb ram cartridge, and while a Pro Action replay plus will act a 4mb ram cart in addition to an import cart (and a save cart), it has compatibility issues with some games, notably Vampire Savior (amongst a few others). You should really keep an eye out when importing a saturn fighting game to make sure it's compatible with your PAR+. Alternatively, you could just buy a JPN saturn and use the cart to play US imports.
    Does a JPN Saturn and a PAR+ have any issues with American games, or is it just the other way around?
    OR, if you're a boss, buy a Mas Supernova:

    And a CPS2 A-board:

    And build your own Capcom game system buy buying b-board cartridges and accept nothing but the real deal:
    That sounds pretty damn cool. I probably shouldn't ask, but what would a setup like that cost, roughly?

    No us saturn games support the 2 or 4 mb ram cart, so you have no problems with a jpn saturn playing us games using a par+. That's probably the best option, actually.

    Model 2 saturns are easy to mod. They have round buttons. Model 1 saturns are hard to mod, an have oval buttons. They are easier to do the swap trick with, though, because there is an access light which tells you when to change discs.

    You can buy a handbuilt mas supernova with 2 joysticks, from the dude who used to own mas, for $399. I have a vga port on mine with a good upscaler, so it cost me $499. A cps2 a board will run you $50. Games are between $50-$150. I got dungeons and dragons 2 for $150, for example. These cps2 boards have suicide chips in them which cause the games to become unusable if a battery dies, but there there is a service out there to phoenix dead boards (and install cheats, too).

  • anoffdayanoffday To be changed whenever Anoffday gets around to it. Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    I understand wanting to collect older systems for the games that were never ported elsewhere, but I've never understood the appeal to buying games for their original console when perfectly fine digital copies on more recent consoles exist. Like for example, you could spend $50+ on a used SNES cartridge of Chrono Trigger or you could just spend $8 and download the Wii VC version and not only did you spend a lot less but you also have the advantage of running it on a more modern system with a nicer controller and better audio/visual cables (as well as not having to worry about whether or not the cartridge or its save is going to give out).

    There are a few cases where the re releases are either poor ports (or based on poor ports) or they simply changed the game so significantly that everyone may not enjoy all aspects of it.

    And of course, for some it's just the collectors value of it. I love some of the newer releases of older games, Sonic CD (which I have the original of still as well), is a perfect example of a release done with great care, and a nice coat of awesome on it too. Not all games are so lucky to get that level of attention.

    It's completely different. I was just talking about this with my wife. She's been reading a lot of books on the kindle and I know for a fact there are still a ton of people who prefer an actual book. It's the same idea. One look at my steam profile and you can tell I'm not against digital distribution, but physical copies are my favorites. The experience is completely different. Not too mention letting people borrow your games, which I still do with my SNES games and a friend. For example, if you came out with breath of death for the SNES, I'd buy that over digital copy, even though it would understandably cost more.

    Not too mention having a huge collection of video games just looks awesome. At least I think so.

    And yeah, some ports suck. But I am glad it's an option for people who don't have the original hardware. Games like Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG should be played by gamers today. I just prefer the actual carts.

    anoffday on
    Steam: offday
  • TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    Several arcade games come on nice looking carts with cover art and everything. The cps2 for example uses huge plastic carts, and the ab board resembles a console. The sega titan v uses big sms looking carts. Really, only stand alone games come on motherboard looking pcbs. I store mine in big boxes with cloth wrapped around them. Some are huge, though. Primal rage is maybe the size of 4 or 5 sega genesis + sega cd units.

  • Snake GandhiSnake Gandhi Des Moines, IARegistered User regular
    No us saturn games support the 2 or 4 mb ram cart, so you have no problems with a jpn saturn playing us games using a par+. That's probably the best option, actually.
    Groovy, thanks.
    You can buy a handbuilt mas supernova with 2 joysticks, from the dude who used to own mas, for $399. I have a vga port on mine with a good upscaler, so it cost me $499. A cps2 a board will run you $50. Games are between $50-$150. I got dungeons and dragons 2 for $150, for example. These cps2 boards have suicide chips in them which cause the games to become unusable if a battery dies, but there there is a service out there to phoenix dead boards (and install cheats, too).
    ... I knew I shouldn't have asked.

  • DisruptorX2DisruptorX2 Registered User regular
    anoffday wrote: »
    One look at my steam profile and you can tell I'm not against digital distribution, but physical copies are my favorites. The experience is completely different.

    I'm even guilty of doing the opposite of what I claimed above. I have physical big boxes for the entire Fallout series except New Vegas, arguably the best one after the first. I only have that on digital download. But I'm thinking of seeing if I can still get a collector's edition of that.

    1208768734831.jpg
  • Lindsay LohanLindsay Lohan Registered User regular
    Several arcade games come on nice looking carts with cover art and everything. The cps2 for example uses huge plastic carts, and the ab board resembles a console. The sega titan v uses big sms looking carts. Really, only stand alone games come on motherboard looking pcbs. I store mine in big boxes with cloth wrapped around them. Some are huge, though. Primal rage is maybe the size of 4 or 5 sega genesis + sega cd units.
    To be fair it takes a lot of chips and bits to make cutting edge dinosaur urination animations.

    I have to ask - what is in your Jaguar collection? I'm struggling to think of more than maybe 2-3 games worth owning on the console...

  • EclecticGrooveEclecticGroove Registered User regular
    anoffday wrote: »
    It's completely different. I was just talking about this with my wife. She's been reading a lot of books on the kindle and I know for a fact there are still a ton of people who prefer an actual book. It's the same idea. One look at my steam profile and you can tell I'm not against digital distribution, but physical copies are my favorites. The experience is completely different. Not too mention letting people borrow your games, which I still do with my SNES games and a friend. For example, if you came out with breath of death for the SNES, I'd buy that over digital copy, even though it would understandably cost more.

    Not too mention having a huge collection of video games just looks awesome. At least I think so.

    And yeah, some ports suck. But I am glad it's an option for people who don't have the original hardware. Games like Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG should be played by gamers today. I just prefer the actual carts.

    Oh, no doubt. I figured that part didn't need to be specified. I was only answering the specific "why get game x if it's been re-released on another system" aspect. Some of those can very well be physical copies, not all remakes or re releases are digital copies. I have my copies of Lunar for the PSX for instance, mostly because WD did awesome packaging for them and I would have them regardless of having the Sega CD originals or not.

    I just wish there would be a more reliable way to play this stuff on newer TV's and both look good with higher resolution, and still look like they were intended to.
    They should make some sort of pass through device that can emulate the CRT effects the older games were trying to use on newer TV's + upscale them... Since I know only a very small percentage will ever get a remake, and an even smaller number of those will be handled with any real care. Most are nothing more than an emulator made to work on a given console with a blur filter slapped on top of it.

  • RainbowDespairRainbowDespair Registered User regular
    On a different note, I know there are adapters so that you can use old controllers on PCs and whatnot. Does the reverse exist? I wouldn't mind picking up a SNES or Saturn for some of the old games that aren't available elsewhere, but if possible, I'd much rather use a modern controller like the 360 or PS3 controller or a good Logitech controller to play them simply for the ergonomic factor.

  • MadpandaMadpanda suburbs west of chicagoRegistered User regular
    edited April 2012
    On the cheaper end of the spectrum, here is what my supergun setup consists of

    Radio Shack project box $8
    Assorted wiring,switches,ports,terminal strips $20
    PC power supply $25
    Scart-rgb -> component video converter $50
    PCB's from the guy who makes mc ctuhulu boards to split out psx controllers into something usable by the supergun $20
    Misc cables, db-25 for controllers, pc power, scart cable $15
    Total $138 to make a setup capable of playing arcade boards on a crt tv.

    4 slot neo geo mvs board - $120
    MVS to Jamma convertor , this is needed so I can use my mvs neo board on a jamma compatible supergun- $20
    Neo games range from $10 for super common stuff like samurai shodown to mid/low $100's without getting into some super rare obscure stuff. The most I have paid for a game is around $100 for Strikers 1945 plus.


    You can still do it cheaper, substituing the pc supply for a smaller one, I wasn't able to find one with the amount of growing room amps I wanted though. You can get a slightly cheaper internal video convertor that only does svideo-composite for $30.


    The scart-rgb->component convertor I also use with genesis/sms/snes/pc engine/saturn/dreamcast. These either Nativity output rgb or have been modded to. I prefer this look to running composite. I am aware this isn't 100% how it was supposed to be viewed. But it looks amazing to me on a 27inch sony crt tv which I got off craigslist for $50.



    @RainbowDespair

    Here you go http://www.tototek.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=23&products_id=53

    I think thats the best you can get. I don't know enough to say for sure but I would guess anything usb won't work because input reading is done partially by a driver loaded on the host computer/console. I mean you might be able to finagle something with a arduino or a rasberryPI but I'm guessing thats way more than you are looking for.

    Madpanda on
    camo_sig2.png
    Steam/PSN/XBL/Minecraft / LoL / - Benevicious | WoW - Duckwood - Rajhek
  • TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    Of gamIs wort playing, i got nba jam te, barkley shut up n jam, pitfall, rayman, tempest 2000, hyperforce, ultravortek, defender 2000, protector se, wolfenstein 3d, doom, alien vs predator, super burnout, flashback, raiden, blue lightning cd, primal rage cd, and myst. I have a ton of awful games like checkered flag and fight for life, too.

    I also have a jag pro controller, which i absolutely recommend to anybody trying to honestly enjoy their jaguar.

  • TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    On the subject of dd, i love it. I only buy dd pc games, i have large dd collections on my vita, 3ds, wii, ps3, and xbox 360. But i also like having a deluxe box to show off. Really, i just flat-out like games.

  • RainbowDespairRainbowDespair Registered User regular
    Madpanda wrote: »
    @RainbowDespair

    Here you go http://www.tototek.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=23&products_id=53

    I think thats the best you can get. I don't know enough to say for sure but I would guess anything usb won't work because input reading is done partially by a driver loaded on the host computer/console. I mean you might be able to finagle something with a arduino or a rasberryPI but I'm guessing thats way more than you are looking for.

    Cool, thanks for the link. Not quite modern but PS2 controllers aren't bad. Is there anything like that for the Saturn?

  • MadpandaMadpanda suburbs west of chicagoRegistered User regular
    Not that I can find on a quick search, you might have to do saturn -> psx -> snes

    camo_sig2.png
    Steam/PSN/XBL/Minecraft / LoL / - Benevicious | WoW - Duckwood - Rajhek
  • Lindsay LohanLindsay Lohan Registered User regular
    Of gamIs wort playing, i got nba jam te, barkley shut up n jam, pitfall, rayman, tempest 2000, hyperforce, ultravortek, defender 2000, protector se, wolfenstein 3d, doom, alien vs predator, super burnout, flashback, raiden, blue lightning cd, primal rage cd, and myst. I have a ton of awful games like checkered flag and fight for life, too.

    I also have a jag pro controller, which i absolutely recommend to anybody trying to honestly enjoy their jaguar.
    I've never played the Jag version - but I've always felt that Pitfall the Mayan Adventure was a very underrated game. Then again, I would say the same thing about Pitfall the Lost Expedition on the PS2 - great game that no-one seemed to play.

  • RainbowDespairRainbowDespair Registered User regular
    Yeah, I'm not seeing any controller adapters for the Saturn either. What's the best actual Saturn controller (no joysticks)? I had the one that came with Nights and remember disliking it for being too large and having a loose and cheap feel to the buttons and analog stick (though it was better than the default controller that came with the system).

  • MadpandaMadpanda suburbs west of chicagoRegistered User regular
    The mark 2 saturn pad is the good one.

    camo_sig2.png
    Steam/PSN/XBL/Minecraft / LoL / - Benevicious | WoW - Duckwood - Rajhek
  • TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    Of gamIs wort playing, i got nba jam te, barkley shut up n jam, pitfall, rayman, tempest 2000, hyperforce, ultravortek, defender 2000, protector se, wolfenstein 3d, doom, alien vs predator, super burnout, flashback, raiden, blue lightning cd, primal rage cd, and myst. I have a ton of awful games like checkered flag and fight for life, too.

    I also have a jag pro controller, which i absolutely recommend to anybody trying to honestly enjoy their jaguar.
    I've never played the Jag version - but I've always felt that Pitfall the Mayan Adventure was a very underrated game. Then again, I would say the same thing about Pitfall the Lost Expedition on the PS2 - great game that no-one seemed to play.

    It's an alright game. Not terrible, but also not excellent. I call it a B-tier game, a game which is by no means bad, and was decently hyped at launch, but quickly falls off and never approaches anywhere near the status of all-time greats. It's B-tier games like pitfall that I enjoy picking up the most, as they tend to be massively ported.

    When I approach a new, obscure system, my strategy to build up a decent library quickly is to, first, get all the A-tier great games available, then snatch up all the B-tier games. With systems like the Sega Genesis and SNES, there are enough A-tier games that I can approach a library of 50+ games without ever having to dip into B-tier status. But, if such a game is available on, say, the jaguar or Amiga CD32, I'll usually get that version over the Sega or SNES version. because, on the mainstream consoles, those kinds of games kinda get lost in the crowd, where they shine a bit brighter on something like the Jaguar. For example, while you'd be hardpressed to find someone who calls Flashback a bad game, you also won't see many lists calling it a top 20 SNES or Genesis title. It's a game definitely worth playing, but saying you have it on the Genesis does little to add to your genesis collection. Picking it up for the Jaguar instead gives you A) Access to a great port of the game, and B) something worth playing on the jaguar itself, and C) the satisfaction of actually owning the game period. I've built up large 3DO and Amiga CD32 libraries doing this. In the end, I wind up with all the B-tier games I actually intended to pick up, without diluting my awesome mainstream console collections, and I have a ton of stuff that I can actually sitdown and enjoy on these more obscure systems.

    Plus, getting pitfall for an atari system just feels so right.

  • DisruptorX2DisruptorX2 Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    I'm pretty sure getting a Jaguar is a collector move from the start. I mean, from a gaming perspective, it failed for a reason. Unusual and rare consoles are just inherently interesting.

    I always found the cd-i and 3d0 fascinating from when I first saw their ridiculous price tags and played a very carefully planned display (it had the driving minigame from the otherwise horrific Jurassic Park 3d0). I can't justify paying that much for something I'd never seriously use, but I totally understand the desire.

    DisruptorX2 on
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  • TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    The jaguar failed for a variety of reasons, which pretty much everybody knows about. But there isn't a single console out there without at least 1 game worth playing. The Jaguar has a few pretty fun games, they just came way, way too late. The early games which sold, and killed, the console were nothing more than packaged tech demos and half finished games. People think all the jaguar is, is shitty games with poor framerates. Truth is, the Jaguar is pretty damn powerful, and no game comes even close to taking full advantage of the hardware. The games I listed above are pretty much the best games on the system, stuff worth checking out. super burnout might just be the best unknown game on the system, it's basically hang-on made for the jaguar. but with tons of scaling and a silky smooth framerate. it would have been a fun game on any system, but it just so happened to land exclusively on the jaguar.

  • DisruptorX2DisruptorX2 Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    Does the cd-i have a good game that isn't a PC port? I know Virtual Boy does, because Wario Land kicks ass. This always pissed me off; the real sequel to Wario Land wasn't for the gameboy.

    And don't take my comment the wrong way. Jaguar is pretty cool.

    DisruptorX2 on
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  • anoffdayanoffday To be changed whenever Anoffday gets around to it. Registered User regular
    I've never even played a Jaguar. Power wise it's equivalent to Nintendo 64, isn't it? Or am I thinking of something else?

    Steam: offday
  • TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    Well Burn Cycle was a CD-i exclusive for a while, before being ported to the PC (and 3DO I believe). It's pretty much the best CD-i game around. I'm also partial to Hotel Mario, which gets lumped in with the Zelda games for some reason. Hotel Mario might not have been Super Mario Wacky Worlds, but it wasn't bad. it was more like the old pre-super mario bros mario games.

    Every system needs a great platformer to define its library, IMO. Nintendo had Mario, Sega had Sonic, 3DO had Gex, Jaguar had Rayman, Amiga had Zool 2, Turbo grafx had Bonk. The CD-i, like its contemporaries, has 2 awesome platformers which I haven't seen on any other system, which are tragically overlooked. Lucky Luke, and the apprentice, are 2 very competent platformers on the system, both using the same engine, that never ever get talked about. If you ever find yourself with a CD-i, get either of those two games. They're the best 2 games on the system.

  • TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    anoffday wrote: »
    I've never even played a Jaguar. Power wise it's equivalent to Nintendo 64, isn't it? Or am I thinking of something else?

    It's got a 64-bit bus width, but no, it's not really comparable to an N64. They're completely different beasts. The term "64-bit" might fool you into thinking they're comparable, but that's such a superficial spec to determine a system by. The Jaguar is more like the saturn than anything else. It's a complete 2D beast, with a bizarre architecture and a piss poor SDK, which made porting games to it a hassle and developing games for it exclusively even more of a chore. but, provided you built a game for the ground up with the jaguar in mind, it could do wonderful things. That the jaguar port of doom bests the PSX version in essentially every way except number of stages (because the PSX version came on a CD, and the Jaguar version used expensive carts) is telling.

    In truth, it seems more and more likely that the stuff that went into the jaguar was actually meant for an arcade unit. The Jaguar we got today is the mash up of virtually everything Atari had going on in development at the time. they were planning a 32-bit home console called the panther, a 64-bit next-gen console called the Jaguar, and an arcade unit unnamed (which eventually wound up being CoJag, or "Coin-operated jaguar." Area 51 ran on CoJag). A more apt comparison, but one likely lost of many people, is that the Jaguar is the western equivalent to Sega's System 32 hardware. it could scale and push a virtually unlimited amount of sprites of any size.

    TheSonicRetard on
  • harvestharvest By birthright, a stupendous badass.Registered User regular
    So, boxing my games. @TheSonicRetard where did you get your DVD cases more importantly, where did you get the cover images? I have a lame-ass HP printer so I doubt any labels I printed would look as cool but at least it's something, hey?

    Anyway my games are just kind of stacked up on a shelf and I'd much rather have them in cool boxes lined up in alphabetical order with the spine labels showing. My payday is in a few days and I can spend a couple hundred dollars getting set up for boxing and labeling my stuff.

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  • TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    I bought my double-wide DVD cases on ebay for like $50 for 100. you can get the covers at www.thecoverproject.net

    I recommend printing them at kinkos or some place like that, because they'll look very washed out on a normal inkjet printer. Also, use 11x17 paper, as a normal sheet of paper is too small for a double-wide box.

  • MadpandaMadpanda suburbs west of chicagoRegistered User regular
    edited April 2012
    TSR might use a different case but this is what I use

    http://www.meritline.com/27mm-8-disc-dvd-case-black---p-45034.aspx

    Covers are from thecoverproject.net The standard UGC covers fit fine if you scale them to 102%

    You will need 8.5x14 paper to print them up though, this is what I use

    https://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/ProductMediaSpec.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&infoType=Overview&oid=-17122&category=Paper+&+Media

    Dvd covers you can fit on 8.5x11 by cutting off the margins and turning off horizontal centering, still telling the printer you are using 8.5x14.

    I also use epson for dvd covers but the premium presentation matte which i can get locally at target or compusa, its a heavier weight and the covers come out better imo. The only place i've found for heavy weight (50lb+) 8.5x14 was really expensive, like $30 shipped for 50 sheets.

    Madpanda on
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    Steam/PSN/XBL/Minecraft / LoL / - Benevicious | WoW - Duckwood - Rajhek
  • TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    EclecticGroove, your account has been approved over at Sega-16 :D

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