3DS DD (on sale)
--
Witch & Hero II - $3 - the first one is a fun little game, so when I saw that the second game is on sale again I decided to pick it up. It's a bit better than the first one since you can move the witch as well this time.
Its too bad it also took inspiration from the Knuckles Chaotix controls. In both cases, we've got a game with an interesting control gimic that's incredibly hard to actually pull off.
What do you mean, the Chaotix controls? There's nothing like the spring system in Lost Worlds, and the Chaotix bonus stages controls are fairly straightforward... move around and jump, that's about it...
But yes, the controls definitely are taking some getting used to, that is true. Making things worse, he manual doesn't explain all of them well, most importantly the difference between A and B. Both buttons jump... but in the air, only A does the real homing attack; B is another attack, a much less useful kick. When I first picked this up I naturally hit B to jump instead of A, so I was getting annoyed fighting one of the early bossfights because it seemed like it was way too hard, and that's because I was hitting the wrong button. You get used to it, but it is a bit odd.
B2G1 at Gamestop a few days ago. Some good stuff here and some not.
Wii U
--
Need for Speed: Most Wanted - $18, complete - I've wanted this one for a while; this was the one game I was sure I'd get in this B2G1 deal, and get it I did.
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD - free, would have been $17, complete - It's been a long time, I'd like to replay this game... and the added Wii U Gamepad screen support, motion aiming, and Hard mode sound like nice additions versus the GC original.
Skylanders Superchargers - free, would have been $3, disc in case only - I have a compatible portal, but I will need to get a car Skylander figure to play this, but that's gotten harder since Gamestops don't carry used Skylanders figs anymore... eh, I'll find one somehow. This is a pretty solid series, but with the decline of toys to life it's getting a bit harder to find the figures, at least for cheap... too bad.
Wii
--
Wii Play Motion - $4.50, complete - The first Wii Play was an okay little minigame collection, but I've never played the much-later followup here.
Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 - $9, complete - The last localized game in this pretty fun, simple fighting game series.
3DS
--
Kirby Triple Deluxe - $17, cart in generic case - I have no idea why I didn't get this years ago, with how much I like this franchise... but as expected, this is a great game. It's very much in the vein of Kirby's Return to Dream Land for the Wii of course, except with dual-plane elements inspired by VB Wario Land and such. It's simpe but great stuff.
Style Savvy Trendsetters - free, would have been $9, cart only - Eh, it was the right price and the first one (on DS) was okay for a little while. (I mainly got this, though, because the game I wanted the most, 7th Dragon III, cost $13 more than this, and I decided that I'd spent enough recently and should get something that wouldn't increase the total spent.)
PS3
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Journey Collector's Edition - $18, complete - I don't know if this will be a great value for the money in terms of time since this is supposed to be quite short, even with Flow and Flower also on the disc (and some minigames), but it's supposed to be great so I got it.
X360
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Phantasy Star Universe - $6.30, complete - This is pretty much a waste of money I know (since you can only play the first chapter on the game on the 360; on PC you can at least play the first two chapters, with mods and a fanrun server anyway, and chapter 3... may still be permanently inaccessible since it was online only? Not sure about that. But I want this for 360 anyway, it's a great series and it's nice to have a version of at least part (the least good part perhaps, but part) of the game that you can play without being online; the PC version is online-only pretty much, so you need that fan server.
That's basically what I mean. I'm not saying the systems are the same, they're completely different. However, they are both badly explained and very difficult to pull off.
Ah. Yeah, that makes sense, both the spring system and Lost Worlds' jumping and parkour are not easy to get used to.
Wii
--
Pitfall: The Big Adventure - complete, $5 - A slightly altered Wii port of Pitfall: The Lost Expedition, a GC/Xbox/PS2 3d platformer I don't have. This is that game but with motion controls, so it could be worse, but I'd like to see. Plus I don't have the original...
Yugioh 5D's: Wheelie Breakers - $7, complete - This is a racing game based on the Yugioh series with motorcycles. I never watched this one, but I've wanted to try this game anyway... it sounds like a weird mix, cards and motorcycles? The game is supposed to be very short, but that's alright.
SNES
--
Super Ninja Boy - $15, cart only - An alright, two-player co-op topdown action-rpg game. Decent price (it sells for this much on ebay). It looks like it's a JRPG setup, but with beat 'em up battles... interesting.
Also I got a Skylanders car for Superchargers.
Xbox 360 DD - summer sale (ends today)
--
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ - $2.50
Soul Calibur II HD - $5
Wii U
--
Skylanders Giants - $0.75, complete
Skylanders Swap Force - $0.75, complete - Gamestop is selling the Wii U versions of these two for under a dollar so I got them; I do have the Wii versions, but these look a lot nicer...
Skylanders Trap Team -= $2, complete - One other note is that other platform versions of the games cost more. Huh. And there was some discount that cut the prices (just for these three titles) even lower than the stickers.
3DS
--
Chibi-Robo: Zip Lash - $7.20, complete (jewelcase only, no Amiibo) - The decent but not great Chibi-Robo 2.5d platformer.
PS3 DD - sale (relating to my new thread...)
--
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale - $4
Hohokum - $5 (download-only title, looks interesting)
Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus - $5 (also comes with a copy of the download-only game Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, which is being sold individually in this sale for... $7.50? What, that makes no sense!)
Twisted Metal - $3
On the subject of R&C: Into the Nexus, the physical-disc copy apparently comes with a download code for Quest for Booty, so you'd need to buy a new copy or a used one with an unused key (unlikely) to get both games that way. Combine that with the far lower price for this digital release ($5 v. $18, for Nexus only in the latter case) and I was convinced to buy digital. As for the other two games here that also have disc releases, they're ones I want to try but don't want to spend much on so I finally got copies this way.)
So I saw a couple of (untested) Atari 2600s, and got one with no power supply for $10. It's a 4-switch system and came with one controller. I have a 2600 power supply from a 2600 I got years ago that never worked, so I was hoping it'd work because the other 2600 they had, with power, was $35 (though it did also come with two controllers versus one for this one). I've been through several systems over the years, trying to get something 2600 compatible that actually works, but the closest I got was my 7800, which of course had its power button die several years ago now. I still need to get that fixed or replaced, but...
This system actually works! It's been several years now since I've been able to play 2600 games on a TV, so this is pretty cool. I still need something for 7800 games, but this is pretty nice, and at only $10 it was cheap. It's nice to be able to play 2600 games again. I also got a couple of games:
Atari 2600
--
Sub Scan - $2, cart only. This is a simple and kind of boring (but challenging) game where you play as a ship trying to hit submarines with depth charges. It's from Sega though so I had to get it.
Krull - $2, cart only. Decent action-adventure-ish game using a license from the fantasy action movie of the same name.
Bump 'n Jump - $2, cart only. This is an arcade port. The game is hugely downgraded on 2600 of course, but it's interesting to see that they tried... and it is still recognizable as Bump n Jump, which is cool.
Nintendo 64
--
Batman Beyond - $15, cart only. This is a beat 'em up and it's supposed to be pretty bad, but I DO want to eventually get all the N64 games that aren't sports games, so I should get it; it's a later release, not a game you see very often.
I'm surprised you had such bad luck finding a working Atari 2600. My experience has been those things are built to last. I suppose they are old enough that even good build quality won't protect them forever, but still surprising. My own is working good at least. I've got a 6 switch model & love the thing. I suppose in the long run I should get a 7800 since it's fully backwards compatible and also has better video & audio, but haven't yet reached the point where I want to start collecting the more obscure consoles. Problem is, it may be too late for me to start that considering just how expensive those things are now.
As systems get older they start to break down, and the 2600 (and 7800) are no exceptions...
First I got a 2600, 4-switch, back in I forget when, the early '10s I believe. It never worked (no picture or sound, only static), though it did get me this power supply I'm finally using. It was a bundle too, so it also got be several controllers and a bunch of games.
Then I got the 7800 a couple of years after that, which was pretty cool for a year or more until the power button stopped working. That is a fixable problem if you have a replacement and know how to solder, but as I don't I've been stuck... and with how they are going up in value as you say, I haven't wanted to buy another one when the problem could just recur!
Then I think it was sometime last year (or maybe a bit before that) I got an Atari 2600 adapter for the 5200... but it doesn't work either, in the weirdest ways. There must be something really wrong with one of the chips, because while it will turn on, it has crazy graphical corruption, wrong colors on the screen all the time, sprite doubling, tripling, or quadrupling (and yes all of these duplicate sprites will move together and all are "your sprite" so you just die immediately because of how crazy big a target you are), and more... it's interesting stuff, but not really usable.
After that I kind of gave up until now, and stuck with just the 5200 as far as Atari goes, which works just fine, occasional controller issues aside. I wasn't sure if I wanted another 2600 adapter for the 5200; they are handy due to how it saves space, but kind of wobbly in the 5200 and doesn't play 7800 games, so it's not ideal. And both the 7800 and 2600 5200 adapter don't have the color / B&W switch, which makes several games (Secret Quest and Riddle of the Sphinx, for example) semi-unplayable; this is a good part of why I got this system, not just to have one that works but to have something with the color / B&W switch that works. And as for a 7800, I really should get mine fixed, I just doubt I could do it myself so I've never tried (not that I have a replacement switch anyway...).
So yeah, I was just trying a bunch of the Atari games I've bought over the past few years but haven't really played. Secret Quest might be my favorite, on first impressions.
Atari 2600 (all cart only)
--
Sorcerer - $7 (this one has a cool cover)
California Games - $2 (the 2600 version of this popular game is actually pretty good)
Zaxxon - $3 (an interesting take on the game...)
Game Boy Advance
--
Sonic Advance 3 - $5 - I've always somewhat disliked most of Dimps' Sonic games, and never did buy any of the Sonic Advance games because of it, but I should at least try one (even if I'm not expecting much) and this was reasonably priced, so I got it.
3DS DD - on sale
--
Jett Rocket II - $6.90 - A sequel to the WiiWare 3d platformer from Shin'en. This time it has some 3d platforming parts, but also 2.5d platforming as well.
Parascientific Escape (2): Gear Detective - $4 - The first one looks better than this sequel, but I guess I'll give it a try.
Fairune 2 - $5.70 - The first Fairune is a pretty fun simple little Zelda-ish game, so I've wanted to try the second one.
Wii U
--
Zelda: Breath of the Wild - $40, complete. Against some of my better judgment, I got this game. Actually, I got it about a week and a half ago, got off the plateau, and stopped there, but I picked it up again today so I probably should mention that I have it... I'll say more in its thread.
First, well, did I ever mention that I backed the Mighty No. 9 kickstarter, years back? Well I did, foolishly it turned out. Well, a year late, they FINALLY sent out the physical rewards, so I got my box and manual in the mail recently. That's absurdly late, but at least they eventually sent out stuff. The NES-style box looks nice too, and the manual is nicely long at 34 pages and covers the game in detail. So at least I can't complain there.
Anyway, I got some games yesterday. All of this stuff except for the first one (BotW DLC) are various Wii U and 3DS eShop titles which are currently (or were when I got them yesterday) on sale.
Wii U Digital Download
--
Zelda Breath of the Wild DLC Pack - $20 - ... I was thinking of waiting to hear what the second DLC will be before buying this, but I'd really like to see that map line so I got this. And yeah, it's a cool feature.
Swap Fire - $1 (on sale) -An indie FPS. For a dollar I thought I'd give it a try.
Art of Balance - $6.50 - This is a Wii U port of Shin'en's WiiWare puzzle game of the same name. I never got that, but for this price on sale I'd like to give it a try.
ACE - Alien Cleanup Elite - $2.75 - A 2d sprite-art run & gun/platformer. Very basic looking stuff. (There are almost no mentions of this game online apart from a couple of wordless Youtube videos... recent-ish Wii U eShop releases from teams of only a couple of people do not get much attention.)
Twin Robots - $3.50 - This is a puzzle-platformer with 2.5d graphics. It looks simple but maybe okay?
Citadale - The Legends Trilogy - $4.50 - The first Citadale seems to mostly have been mentioned online for initially copying some Castlevania sprite art, but apparently that stuff was removed. This second (yes, second) title apparently includes the original one, plus two more games which may be different? It's supposed to be classic Castlevania-like, though, just very low budget and indie.
Grand Prix Rock'n Racing - $3 - This series of overhead-view racing games from Enjoy Up games got a lot more attention than any of the titles above on this list here (Zelda excepted), since it's made by an established developer, but the few reviews the games have call them atrociously bad, so... yeah. I got one because I really like some top-down racing games, and this game has a nice look to it. Apparently the controls are terrible, but I want to try it either way.
3DS Digital Download
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Brave Dungeon - $4 (on sale) - This is a simple dungeon-crawler RPG by Circle, set in the Dark Witch universe but with one of that games' side characters. It's alright.
GBA
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Yoshi Topsy Turvy - $8, cart only - The other tilt-sensor GBA cart (along with WarioWare Twisted), Yoshi Topsy Turvy is a platformer. I've actually never played it, but it's supposed to be okay?
DS
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Teenage Zombies: "Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys" - $6, complete - This is a puzzle-platformer where you switch between three characters. It looks like it has a decent sense of humor, but I haven't tried the gameplay yet.
All of these games had sticker prices higher than this, but I got some good deals.
Atari 2600
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Fantastic Voyage - $5, cart only - A vertical shmup through a tunnel (blood vessel), along the lines of Vanguard or River Raid.
Eggomania - $2, cart only - a paddle controller game. It's a Kaboom clone.
Planet Patrol - $3, cart only - A horizontal shmup where you go right to left. Nice visuals for the 2600.
Odyssey 2
--
Attack of the Timelord - $20, complete - A static-screen shooter with good action and fantastic boxart. The game has The Voice support too, I really need to get one of those things...
Xbox 360
--
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe - $3, complete - Midway's last game.
Playstation
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Nectaris: Military Madness - $7, complete - The PS1 incarnation in Hudson's pretty solid hex-based strategy series with gameplay sort of like the Famicom/Advance Wars franchise.
PC DD
--
Starcraft Remastered - $15. This came out Monday, and I held out all the way until Tuesday before buying it. I'm still terrible at Starcraft (I haven't won a match yet in the new auto-matchmaking mode...), but it's still the best anyway!
Genesis
--
Bimini Run - $9, complete - This vehicular boat shooting game is supposed to be mediocre, but it might be interesting and is complete so I got it.
Nintendo 64
--
Goldeneye 007 - $17, cart only - I know you can get this for cheaper than this online so why should I have bought it now when I waited this long (after borrowing a copy and finishing it back in 2000), but sadly enough this is as cheap as I've seen this game go for locally in a long time, and it is something I need to get sometime, so I got it. I wonder if it's as 'good but not exceptional' as I remember it being back then... or worse, it is a game I have often thought has aged a lot worse than PD.
Wii U - Digital Download
--
FAST Racing Neo - $11.20, on sale. This has been one of my most-wanted Wii U games ever since I got the system, but I held off on getting it... and now I'm glad I did, because it went on sale! So yeah, I got it now for sure. There is also a $5 DLC addon that I haven't gotten yet but probably will soon, because that's pretty cheap and this is a very good game. The first one for WiiWare is good, and this is at least as good.
PS3
--
Uncharted 3 - $3, complete. I guess I should complete the trilogy.
Wii
--
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures - $3, complete. I don't love the Lego games but they can be silly fun, so yes I'm going to get this one for sure at this price.
FAST Racing Neo has fantastic graphics, but I don't like the slippery controls as much as the controls in the best futuristic racing games (F-Zero, Wipeout, XG...). It's good but not great, I think.
PS3
--
Folklore - $13.50, complete - for some reason I've wanted to play this game, but it's been hard to find for a reasonable price. I finally did.
Wii
--
Emergency Heroes - $3, complete - There are so many random cheap Wii games out there, and I decided to try this one.
DS
--
Meteos: Disney Magic - $5, complete - The first followup to the quite good DS puzzle game Meteos is this thing, which has the same gameplay but now with a Disney theme.
3DS
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Skylanders: Swap Force - $1, cart in generic case - The handheld Skylanders games aren't as good as the console ones, but they are decently fun action/platformer games too and they're really cheap, so this is worth it.
It's pretty good. It took a moment to remember how to play Meteos, but this is more of that and it's a lot of fun. Each level has different characteristics, making you have to play slightly differently on each one, which is cool.
Atari 2600
--
Sky Jinks - cart only, $2
Atari 7800
--
Hat Trick - $2, cart only
Playstation 3
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Little Big Planet GOTY Edition - $3, complete
Nintendo DS
--
Elite Forces: Unit 77 - $5, cart only
Nintendo 64
--
Mortal Kombat Trilogy - $12, cart only. I'm no MK fan but I needed to get this sometime and this is a pretty reasonable price for it.
DS
--
Tony Hawk's Motion - $1, DS cart with GBA-port motion cartridge
Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes of Light - $9, cart only
Wii
--
Samurai Warriors Katana - $5, complete. This has the Warriors name, but the gameplay here is first-person-slasher-with-Wiimote.
Skylanders Superchargers Racing - $4, 'complete' (game in jewelcase only). The Wii / 3DS version of Superchargers is a pure racing game, unlike the part-racing and part-action game for the other platforms, so I'd like to have it even though I also have the Wii U version. The 3DS version might be nice, but this one is much easier to find.
Wii U
--
Legend of Kay Anniversary - $9, complete - This 3d platformer is an enhanced version of an older PS2 game. It's kind of a random older game to see get a Wii U remake, but it's supposed to be decent and I like the genre so I've wanted to try it.
DS
--
Blue Dragon Plus - $4.50, card only
Puzzle Quest 2 - $8, card only - I loved the first game and Galactrix but never have played this one... I definitely will now.
3DS
--
Return to PoPoLoCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale - $9, complete
Wii
--
Target Terror - $5, complete
Playstation (1)
--
Blaster Master: Blasting Again - $10, sealed
BRAHMA Force: The Assault on Beltlogger 9 - $10, complete
Nintendo 64
--
Quest 64 - $7, cart only
Atari 2600
--
Fathom - $10, cart only - An interestingly weird Imagic title.
Tron Deadly Discs - $5, cart only - I tried to get a copy of this once before but it didn't work. This does.
Xbox 360
--
Fuzion Frenzy 2 - $5, complete
NBA Ballers: Chosen One - $5, complete - Sadly this was Midway's last basketball game. I hope it's as good as most of their other ones before it.
PS3
--
Ratchet & Clank Collection - $5, complete - This is the PS2 remake collection. I have two of the PS2 games but not the third, and this will look a lot better anyway. Also, great price for it...
So it was by birthday a couple of weeks ago, and I spent some of the money on this stuff... hmm. Not sure about most of this. :p First though, the good thing in this purchase. Then the rest.
Wii U
--
Super Smash Bros. For Wii U - $40, complete - I know I have it for 3DS, but finally convinced myself to get this for Wii U as well.
Xbox 360
--
An Xbox 360 Kinect addon, with a couple of attachments on it -- a Nyko Zoom lens thing (that I don't think I will need, it's for small rooms), and a PDP TV Clip for Kinect attached to the bottom (this I will use to help stabilize it a bit more), for $10. I expect nothing from this -- controllers are better -- but while most of the many Kinect games are quite uninteresting, a few interest me enough that once these things hit $10 I decided to eventually get one. Well, I did that now.
Kinect Adventures - $2, disc only - the pack-in.
Kinect Sports - $2, disc only - the first of the Rare Kinect games.
Also I got this some time back, but I don't think I ever mentioned it because it requires Kinect:
Fable: The Journey - I got this new for like $3, last year I think. I think it's still sealed, but I'll probably open it soon now that I have this thing.
Also I have one other game that supports Kinect but doesn't require it, Child of Eden. I tried it with a controller but didn't find it all that amazing (seems fine but bland?), so I wonder how it plays with body controls... or if the PS3 version, which supports the PS Move, would be better. Hmm.
Sonic Advance is an okay sonic game. The first few levels are fine, but then it's a pretty sharp decline to unfair leaps of faith over bottomless pits.
I forgot, I actually already had Sonic Advance... or rather, I have the bad N-Gage port, Sonic N. It's the same game, just broken because of the N-Gage's no-good vertical screen. So, you either can have the GBA graphics but no forward visibility, or tiny zoomed out graphics but it's actually playable. I quit playing that version quite quickly for good reason. :p
Anyway though, so Sonic Advance is like almost every one of Dimps' Sonic games, then? They love annoying trap-heavy levels like that, and it is not fun. I am not exactly a fan of many of their attempts at Sonic... most really are not good, until a couple of their last ones -- Sonic Colors (DS) and Sonic Lost World (3DS) -- which are actually alright. (The other ones they made are the NGPC Sonic game, the three GBA games, the two Sonic Rush games, and the two Sonic 4 episodes.)
... How did most of those Dimps Sonic games get such decent to good review scores, anyway? The level designs are so flawed, and the gameplay never hits Genesis Sonic levels of greatness either!
On another note, I definitely like Smash 4 more on Wii U than 3DS. I love handhelds, but they just are not as good for playing something like a fighting game, the controls are not as comfortable or easy to use well. This game is a good example of that.
The reviewers didn't really have the mental tools they needed to evaluate level design. They saw that Sonic was moving and controlling like Sonic should and proclaimed "a return to the 2D style". Later, they would proclaim "Sonic was never good" using these Advance games to justify that.
Colors is pretty fun, and so is Generations. Lost World felt like an evolution the series needed to me when I first played it, but it's the execution where things fall apart. It's a lot harder to go back to that now. I really do want good 3D Sonic, that is good enough that a 3D game doesn't need to force in 2D sections to get fans to like it. 3D sonic is just so hard to get right, but if Lost World style parkour (with better and more obvious controls) and a less powerful "boost" mechanic can be combined with solid level design that makes you want to explore and also provides multiple "speed paths" through those other sections, then Sega can get there.
Dark Jaguar Wrote:The reviewers didn't really have the mental tools they needed to evaluate level design. They saw that Sonic was moving and controlling like Sonic should and proclaimed "a return to the 2D style". Later, they would proclaim "Sonic was never good" using these Advance games to justify that.
Hmm... that could be part of it, but thinking about it, I think that most of them are handheld games is a key part of the reason. A lot of people (somewhat wrongly) think less of handheld games than they do TV console ones, and Dimps' first six Sonic games were all handheld titles. They have cripplingly bad level design problems and sometimes other issues, sure, but they're 2d Sonic and it's only a handheld, so it's fine!
But then Dimps made Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, and only the graphics were improved versus their handheld titles, not the level design... and people suddenly started actually paying attention to how bad Dimps' level designs (and physics) are in their Sonic games, and most judged Sonic 4 Ep. 1 harshly as a result. I'd guess that the same exact game would have gotten better reviews on handhelds because of the much lower expectations people have for handheld games.
And maybe Dimps at least partially paid attention? I mean, after Sonic 4 Ep. 1 Dimps made three more Sonic games, and those are probably their three overall best ones -- Sonic Colors (DS), Sonic 4 Ep. 2, and Sonic Lost World (3DS). That last one is probably my favorite Dimps Sonic game. So maybe what Dimps needed all along were reviewers who actually took their handheld games seriously and compared them more directly to the Genesis Sonic classics. I doubt Dimps could ever make something people love as much as Sonic Mania, but when they were finally significantly criticized they did try to improve, at least.
Quote:Colors is pretty fun, and so is Generations. Lost World felt like an evolution the series needed to me when I first played it, but it's the execution where things fall apart. It's a lot harder to go back to that now. I really do want good 3D Sonic, that is good enough that a 3D game doesn't need to force in 2D sections to get fans to like it. 3D sonic is just so hard to get right, but if Lost World style parkour (with better and more obvious controls) and a less powerful "boost" mechanic can be combined with solid level design that makes you want to explore and also provides multiple "speed paths" through those other sections, then Sega can get there.
I don't know, Lost World is fun. It is really hard to get 3d Sonic right, and none of the 3d Sonic games match up to most any 3d Mario game, but that's a decently fun one... though sure, it has some issues.
I've seen how sonic can just sort of eternally stand almost on a wall in Sonic 4. It doesn't hurt the game tooo much but it does trivialize the momentum-based level design if Sonic doesn't need momentum to overcome obstacles. I will admit that adding the forward "homing dash' to Sonic's moves did a lot for maintaining that momentum, but the stage design is once again where it falls apart. Episode 2 does seem to have a bit better level design, but after Sonic Mania I've realized just where it falls flat.
First, I actually got this a couple of days ago when it was one sale. (It might still be? Not sure.)
Xbox 360 Digital Download
--
Street Fighter III Third Strike: Online Edition - $3.75 - A 360 release of this great classic, one of the better fighting games ever. I only actually have 3rd Strike for the original Xbox so this is nice to have.
Now more importantly, I found some pretty neat Atari stuff today...
Atari 2600
--
The Muppets: Pigs in Space starring Miss Piggy - $2, cart only (sells for $10-plus on ebay.) This game has three parts, one like Space Invaders, one like Frogger, and one a bit like Vanguard.
Gravitar - $2, cart only (red-label release) - This arcade port is sure to be a huge downgrade from the vector arcade game, but the original is pretty good so I've been wanting to try this port. (this one is at least $9 on ebay.)
Space War - $2, cart only - The 2600 version of one of the first computer games.
Solar Storm - $2, cart only (from Imagic) - I didn't know this one, but the name sounds interesting and it's got to be uncommon (since it's an Imagic game I hadn't seen), so I got it. And yeah, it sells for over $10 online. It's a paddle-controller shmup too, so it sounds good. Cool stuff.
Marine Wars - $2, cart only (from Konami) - This is the really interesting one! I did not know that Konami released its own 2600 games, I thought that Parker Bros. had the Konami license and released all of their games on home systems in the early '80s -- think Frogger, Tutanhkam, etc. But no, here's an actual 2600 game from Konami itself, in a weird custom cartridge I don't think I have seen before. And looking it up, this game sells for at least $28 on ebay, so it's worth a good amount for a 2600 game. (Looking it up, Konami released three 2600 games themselves: this, Pooyan, and Strategy X. This one might be the best of the three.) As for the gameplay, looking at the cartridge I expected a (probably not good) flight simulator, but it's actually a shmuppish game where you control a ship which you can move side to side, shooting up the screen at enemy ships. It has some nice visuals for the system. This idea has been done before on the 2600 but this one is better than Atari's Air-Sea Battle, so that's good.
Star Wars - Return of the Jedi: Death Star Battle - $8, cart with manual - This is an apparently mediocre shooter. There is also an Atari 5200 version, but it's just 'this but with slightly better graphics' so I got this. I now have versions of all four of the (released) Parker Bros. Star Wars games on the 2600/5200. (If I wanted to complete the set I'd need the 5200 version of this one and the 2600 version of Star Wars: The Arcade Game.) This game may not be amazing but this was a good price for the game with its manual, it'd sell for over this online.
Sesame Street: Alpha Beam with Ernie - $2 (for cartridge) + $6 (for Kids Controller with Alpha Beam overlay, plus bonus Video Touch Pad Controller) -- These were sold separately, but even though I have a Kids' Controller and the basic controls would be easy enough to use without the overlay, I think it was well worth it to also get the overlay, even if I had to get that other stuff with it. The game and overlays each sell for at least $6 or $7 online. As for the gameplay, it's an edutainment game which teaches letter matching -- letters fly by a spaceship, and you need to grab the right ones into four bays you can switch between. (The other game from this 4-title line that I have is Big Birds' Egg Catch. That one's a big more of an action game, as you have to grab eggs falling through some twisting paths.)
Game Boy Advance
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Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed - $2, cart only - This is a polygonal and fully textured 3d racing game... on the GBA. I doubt it will be good (textured 3d on the GBA looks terrible!) but would like to give it a try.
Genesis
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Marvel Comics' Spider-man (aka Spider-Man: The Animated Series) - $9, complete - No, this isn't the better-known Sega Spider-Man game on the Genesis that released in '91. This is a completely different game, from Acclaim, with pretty much the same name, that released in '94. "The Animated Series" is just what it's called online to differentiate it from the other one. I know a lot of people dislike 8/16-bit era Acclaim, but their late-gen licensed games often are actually good -- see Stargate or Judge Dredd for example. I hope this one is too. It's a good price for a complete copy.
You really need to get some of the good Muppet movies, not these crappy games based on sketches from the show! Take Manhattan already! No! No not you Shredder! The Muppets!
I forgot about two games, which now are added to my previous post -- Space War (2600) and Rad Racer II (NES).
As for Muppet movies, perhaps. Umm... I'm not sure if I own any, though. I might have a VHS copy of Muppet Treasure Island somewhere? Never seen it, though. On that note, I also have the mid '90s PC adventure game of that same name; owned it for years, never played it. I think it got good reviews at the time.
Quote:I've seen how sonic can just sort of eternally stand almost on a wall in Sonic 4. It doesn't hurt the game tooo much but it does trivialize the momentum-based level design if Sonic doesn't need momentum to overcome obstacles.
Yeah, the physics in that game are pretty bad. But I'm sure that their handheld games before it also have problems too, it can't be only Sonic 4... but people held console games to a much higher standard so they got away with it there.
Quote: I will admit that adding the forward "homing dash' to Sonic's moves did a lot for maintaining that momentum, but the stage design is once again where it falls apart. Episode 2 does seem to have a bit better level design, but after Sonic Mania I've realized just where it falls flat.
Adding the homing dash to 2d Sonic games feels really weird somehow... I've only played a little of Sonic 4, but probably because I 'expect' 2d Sonic to play like the Genesis games, adding this 3d-Sonic homing attack seems kind of wrong. It makes the game simpler to an unnecessary degree too, homing attacks aren't nearly as needed in 2d games as they are in 3d!
I don't disagree there. The drop dash in Mania was a much more well thought out addition that is simple to execute and easy to understand. It works out a lot better with the level design without trivializing anything.
... How about a couple more mediocre Genesis games, then, on top of yesterdays?
Genesis
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TaleSpin - $8, complete - A very average platfomer by all accounts. It does have two player co-op though, which is interesting.
Justice League Task Force - $7, complete - This Genesis version of this fighting game is just as mediocre-at-best as the SNES version (which I've owned for a long time) is. There is an interesting story behind the game that makes it worth remembering, though: Blizzard developed the SNES version of this game, and met the Genesis version developers, Condor, during development. Then they bought that studio, which became Blizzard North, developers of Diablo. So Diablo only exists because of this game.
NES
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Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - $12, cart only
Xbox 360
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The Sabateur - free with other purchases (would have been $3), complete
Also I thought I remember posting about this game I got a week or two ago but can't find anything, so if I really didn't, here it is:
PS3
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Trails of Cold Steel II - $20, new - The first one is pretty good so I've been wanting to complete the set.
Dark Jaguar Wrote:I don't disagree there. The drop dash in Mania was a much more well thought out addition that is simple to execute and easy to understand. It works out a lot better with the level design without trivializing anything.
How does that work, you can spin-dash from a jump just by hitting a direction? That does sound useful, and a lot better in 2d than overly-automated homing attacks are.
If you let go of the jump button and then hold it down again while in the air after a jump, you will charge the dash in the air and when you land that stored charge will instantly take off in a spin dash. You have to let go and press again so that you don't accidentally trigger it when doing normal jumps on tricky platforms. The manual (which is sadly online-only) explains the move. I think maybe a "demonstration" after being on the title screen could show it off a bit more clearly, but there it is. It's a very nice move that not only lets you keep moving even after hitting some obstacle that brings you to a stop but also completely reverse your direction any time you want. After all, you gotta go fast.
PC DD
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Overwatch - $30, on sale. I've been thinking of getting Blizzard's FPS ever since I built this computer earlier this year, but I didn't want to pay full price for it because I doubt it's something I'd play for a long time to make it worth that money. Well, the game is finally on sale, so I got it. I got the regular edition even though the deluxe edition has a bigger discount ($40 to $30, versus $60 to $40) because I just don't think most of that stuff sounds interesting. The game also has a free weekend going on right now, which ends in a few hours, and I tried the game yesterday; it's decently fun, good enough to get.
GalGun - $10, on sale. ... I don't know, I got this even though it sounds really dumb. 75% off is the best price this game has had so far.
3DS / Wii U DD
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Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars - $20. You get both versions of this game for one price, but so far I've only downloaded it for 3DS, which is where I plan to play the game. It's a great puzzle game, just like the last DS MvDK game but with new levels, so I like it a lot gameplay-wise -- I loved that game, it was great! However, even though one of the major focuses of this game, its online level creation and trading, is going to be shut off in Novemeber when Miiverse goes down, Nintendo is not putting this game on sale or reducing the price. Any decent company here would either reduce the price or fix the game like Mario Maker, so that the game can continue to be used without Miiverse. I've played this now, and you could do a Mario Maker-like thing I believe; strip out the comment box and such, but leave the levels. They're going to do that in Mario Maker, why can't they here as well? It wasn't worth the money, so instead they're going to tear out more than half of the game and still sell it for full price? Ugh... :bummed: And it's a real shame, because again this game's pretty fun.
3DS DD - stuff on sale
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Chicken Wiggle - $10, on sale - This is a new platformer from the guy behind Mutant Mudds. It looks good but apparently hasn't sold great so far, but maybe this sale helped... and it has stuff like online level creation and trading, which could be cool.
Samurai Defender - $2, on sale - a basic defense game
Brave Tank Hero - $2.50, on sale - Tank action game. There is also a Wii U version but you have to buy them separately, unfortunately; I'll only get this one for now.
Quell: Memento - $2, on sale - The second Quell game. It's another tricky puzzler.
3D MahJong - $3.50, on sale - This is a Shanghai game, with some nice 3d support. Sounds good.
Gotcha Racing - $3, on sale - A topdown racing game with gatcha for upgrades.
Drancia Saga - $4, on sale - A simple side-scrolling action game, with RPG elements I believe.
Kingdom's Item Shop - $4, on sale - a bit Atelier-like perhaps, but low budget?
3DS / Wii U DLC
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Hyrule Warriors DLC complete bundle - $20 (for both platforms) - I was trying to decide which Nintendo game DLC to get next, and decided on this one because it really would be pretty cool to play as Marin. I still only have the 3DS version of the game, but got the version with both because I'm sure to get the Wii U version eventually.
First a new game. Then a bunch of used games; Gamestop had a buy-2-get-1-free deal that ended today, so I got a bunch of stuff.
3DS
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Metroid: Samus Returns - $36, new - I've heard it's good, so here's hoping that it lives up to expectations because I got it!
Final Fantasy Explorers - $18, complete - Not something I'd have gotten if not for the B2G1 effectively reducing the price.
Xbox 360
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Pac-Man & the Ghostly Adventures 2 - $18, disc in generic case - A 3d platformer series I've wanted to try for some time. I'd kind of rather have it for Wii U, but I'm sure this version is the same.
Kinect Sports Season 2 - $2.60, complete
Kinect Disneyland Adventures - free (would be $3), complete
Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor - $2.60, complete - I've heard this is atrocious thanks to busted Kinect "controls", but that makes me want to try it!
Wii U
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Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker - $18, complete - A game I've quite wanted to play, the mini levels in 3D World are pretty good.
Star Fox Zero - free (would be $18), SFZ game & case only (no outer box or Star Fox Guard, though I have Guard already so that's fine.) - This recently dropped in price, so I picked it up.
Hyrule Warriors - $18, complete - Warriors games are kind of fun despite being all about mashing one button. I like the 3DS version, so I wanted this too.
Mighty No. 9 - free (would be $6.30), "used" but sealed copy - I have this for PC but for this price why not... it's not great but not awful either.
NES Remix Pack - free (would be $18), disc in generic case - I've heard mixed things but I very much want to play these titles.
Wii
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Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition - $9, complete - ... I don't know why I actually got this...
How To Train Your Dragon - $9, complete (Mighty No. 9 was the free one with these two.)
GBA
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Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam - $1.50, cart only. This version is different from the Wii and DS ones, but I doubt that it's all that good...
Playstation
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Spider - $4.50 (half off), complete. Spider is a 2.5d platformer where you play as a spider. It's a pretty decent concept and an alright game, and it's not the easiest one to find; I've wanted it for some time, as it looks interesting and it's from Boss Games, the developer behind four good N64 racing games. This one is their only PS1 game and their only game that wasn't a racing game.
Also I got two 2GB SD cards for $4 each, because the original Wii only supports SD cards upto 2GB. I currently have one of course and it's far from full thanks to the 40MB size max for WiiWare games, but either for more games I get over the next six months or for homebrew it might be nice to have more.
Finally I, at last, got a Wii Classic Controller Pro for $6. As I've said before I've never owned a CC or CC Pro and I don't know that I actually need one, but... why not, there are some games it might be nice for and it was cheap.
The original Wii doesn't have such a limit. That's their "official" limit, but if it's compatible with SD cards, it's compatible with them forever and ever. I have a 64GB card in mine. Keep in mind if you get a 64GB or up size card, you need to reformat it to FAT32. The Wii isn't compatible with the EXFat file system.
Anyway, if you want to spend the extra money, toss in a super high capacity SD card and mod the system. With the store dying in a few years, there are fewer and fewer reasons to worry about hacking it, so go for it and put every single Wii and Gamecube game on Flash for your convenience.
That's interesting, I thought I'd always heard that the Wii doesn't support SDHC or SDXC memory cards, only regular ones, which max out at 2GB...
Quote:Anyway, if you want to spend the extra money, toss in a super high capacity SD card and mod the system. With the store dying in a few years, there are fewer and fewer reasons to worry about hacking it, so go for it and put every single Wii and Gamecube game on Flash for your convenience.
As I said in the thread I made about this a few days ago, I feel like it'd be wrong to download any WiiWare games I don't actually own before they've shut the service down. I'll probably spend a bunch on more of them before the Mar. 2018 'you can't add money anymore' date actually. After that though, sure, I'd do that.
I might try installing homebrew on it before that, though. I'll probably use one of these cards for installing the homebrew channel and such, at some point...
I wasn't suggesting piracy. I meant plug in every disc you have and rip them as internally runnable programs, with all the benefits from doing the same with the PSP.
On the note of the Wii though, I've been going through the WiiWare/VC shop again recently, deciding what's maybe worth getting while we still can. But first, some newer stuff.
3DS DD
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Drone Fight - $3 (on sale) - a simple flight racing game.
Touch Battle Tank - Tag Combat - $3 (on sale) - topdown tank game. You move with the stick and aim with the stylus.
Go! Go! Kokopolo 3D - $4.50 (on sale) - Looks like it could be a fun classic arcade-style game.
Wii U DD
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Astral Breakers - $1 (on sale) - a puzzle game.
Wii U DD DLC
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Mario Kart 8 - for $8 I got the first DLC pack, with the Zelda stuff. I already had the second one from a My Nintendo reward, so now I have all of the games' DLC.
Hyrule Warriors - that other DLC bundle I got before included all of the 3DS DLC, but unfortunately that doesn't include the DLC from the Wii U version, which is included on the cart in the 3DS game. You still need to buy that separately to play it on the Wii U version, so I got most of it here. (There is one final Hyrule Warriors DLC, a $13 pack for the Wii U which lets you play as the characters added in the 3DS version in that one. I don't have that DLC pack yet.) Overall this is a simple but fun game. The 3DS version is definitely better, as it has a lot more content that you can't play on the Wii U version (only all of the characters are on Wii U, not all of the maps and stuff the 3DS adds), but it's nice to play it on a TV and with the better graphics of the Wii U version so I do think having both is worth it.
... And now my Wii U's small little 32GB internal memory really is full, there are no more large demos I'd downloaded that I can delete to free up space and such. I'll need an external hard drive soon, and that is made more annoying by the Wii U's bad hardware design in that it requires a HDD with external power, instead of supporting small USB-powered drives like the one I use on the 360.
Use a flash drive. That won't require external power and there are a lot of pretty large capacity ones available these days. The Wii U's bigger design issue is the SD card slot is used exclusively for backwards compatibility with Wii software.
Wii DD (WiiWare) - A batch of these for now.
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Snail Mail - $6 - The name doesn't sound good, but this is actually a futuristic racing game! I had no idea...
ThruSpace - $8 - Interesting Nintendo puzzle-action title.
Mr. Driller W - $8 - Mr. Driller is fun, I like the DS version.
Alien Crush Returns - $8 - The original Alien Crush is amazing, but I'd never gotten most of Hudson's WiiWare games. I hope it's good, though I doubt it'll be as great as the original...
Also I got the rest of the DLC for Mega Man 9, $7 worth. I'd only gotten one of the DLC items before, the bottom one on the list. I don't know if I'll use the two higher difficulties, but the endless mode is amusing. (I checked, I do already have all of the MM10 DLC, though.)
And I haven't yet, but I'll probably also get some more of the FFCC: My Life as a Darklord DLC. I'd never gotten any of the "pay to get more units and room types!" DLCs, but I probably should at some point... both My Life as a Darklord and MLAA King have lots of DLC, which is kind of scummy and that's why I never got that stuff before, but the farther you get into the game the more you need more unit and floor types than it offers for free... and it is a pretty good game.
Quote:Use a flash drive. That won't require external power and there are a lot of pretty large capacity ones available these days.
That's definitely an option, but I'd probably want more storage space than you can affordably get in a USB stick. Looking into it though, there is another option, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Gol...ve+powered -- a Y-cable that uses two USB ports in the system, to add a second USB port to get enough power to run the device. This plus a 1 or 2 TB external drive is probably what I'll do. It looks like you can get some external drives of those sizes pretty cheap now, which is nice. A 1 or 2 TB HDD plus that cable will get a lot more space than that much money in flashdrives...
Quote:The Wii U's bigger design issue is the SD card slot is used exclusively for backwards compatibility with Wii software.
Yeah, that's a really odd design decision. Why in the world does it have a SD card port on it... that you can't use except in Wii mode and maybe with Smash? It's just bizarre!
On the note of bad Wii U design decisions, that the GC controller adapter only works with Smash (and PCs as a Gamecube controller adapter, with the right driver) is insane! Why in the world doesn't it work for GC controller support in Wii games that support GC controllers, that makes no sense...
And similarly, why does the Pokken controller only work with Pokken Tournament and nothing else? Why make a nice d-pad-and-buttons controller like that... and have it only work with one game? I'd get one of those if it worked with everything, like it should! The d-pad-and-buttons controllers on other consoles (PS3 and 360 for example) work with everything, because they're just regular controllers just without an analog stick.
So I spent $12 more on FFCC: MLAAD DLC. Both of the "My Life As A" games are so exploitatively designed, they exist to get you to spend a lot on DLC. It's a very fun game, but the total amount the game would cost if you got all the DLC, and you'll want a lot of it to finish the game without way too much replay, is too high. I'm willing to do this with Darklord, but the amount of DLC is one reason I've never gotten King...
Anyway, I got two games today.
Sega Master System
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Super Tennis - $5, complete - This is a Sega Card game, so it's one of the few card-based SMS games. It looks okay.
Genesis
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Super Baseball 2020 - $6, complete - This is a port of the SNK Neo-Geo game of the same name. It's silly stuff, with powerup areas, bombs in the outfield, robot players, and more! So yeah, it's the opposite of a sim, but it looks fun.
PS3 DD - on sale
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LittleBigPlanet 3 - $3. This game has a physical release, but that costs a lot more than this, so I'll get it this way.
StarDrone - $1.60. This is a decent-looking topdown arcadey game. It looks a bit like CluCluLand maybe? Except it apparently has PS Move controller support... huh. It's also on PC but without Move support of course.
Raiden IV: Overkill - $3. I have the original physical-release 360 version of this game, but the PS3/PC and digital-only Overkill version has some added content, including more ships and levels. T
Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- - $6. This is another one also on PC, but even cosnidering that its recently-released DLC Rev.2 expansion is $20 on PS3 (and $19 on PC), this price is lower than the game+DLC has gone for on PC so far. Maybe it'll go for less sometime, and maybe I'll buy it again because it can be nice to have a game both on PC and console. (This is the second GG Xrd game. I have the first, -SIGN-, for PC.)
PSP DD
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Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light - $1. This sounds like a mediocre RPG, but for this price it's worth trying I think.