So, as a gift for my finishing my masters' my mom said she'd pay for a new computer monitor for me, since my old Dell CRT finally died, after 12 1/2 years of constant use. I chose an Asus PA248, a 24", 16:10 IPS LED LCD monitor from their ProArt line. It's basically a low-end high-end monitor ($310 now, if I'd been paying). It seems pretty nice so far... the colors may not quite be CRT quality, but they are pretty good and are a vast improvement over the mediocre Dell LCD that is my second screen. Pretty big difference between the two, that's for sure. It's a huge screen too, much larger than I've had from a single monitor before.
Of course my computer has issues handling games at 1920x1200 -- yeah, I need to drop that resolution down for most things from recent years, that's just too many pixels for this poor Core 2 Duo CPU -- but still, it's pretty cool. The monitor has some nice features like accepting multiple inputs and rotation support so you can use vertical (landscape) mode, too.
As for my gift for myself (I guess that's probably the best way to think about it)... that's below. First a few random other games I got.
Atari 7800
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RealSports Baseball - cart only, $2. This is a pretty poor baseball game, but it was cheap and there and is a 7800 game, so I got it anyway. The game looks very badly dated, even early NES baseball games are better than this... and looking at reviews, even the Atari 5200 version of the game is better! Huh. Still though, it's nice to have.
PS1
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Turbo Prop Racing - $3, complete. Water racing game.
PS2
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Front Mission 4 - $3, complete. Strategy game. I haven't played much of this series...
Wii
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Counter Force - $1, complete. Rail shooter. Short game, but for $1, why not get it?
Finally, the other thing I got was an Xbox 360 (Slim). I got a 4GB system, since it's $100 for the one with a 250GB HDD, but once I need a hard drive (once I start buying some more download titles), yeah, even 360 Slim HDDs aren't $100, that's for sure. I considered getting the new 360 model that just released, but it removes the component video output jack, so yeah, forget that; my TV doesn't have HDMI, and I don't want to be stuck in composite only, or have to get a HDMI to component adapter!
(Oh, I already have a component cable compatible with the 360.)
In addition to the system, I also got a PDP Versus Fighting Pad, or something like that. It was $20, and it's completely and totally awesome! It's a gamepad with a Neo-Geo CD/NGPC-style clicky, microswitched digital stick on the left, and six buttons on the right, plus the triggers as shoulder buttons. Yeah, it's quite awesome. It doesn't quite have first party build quality I think, but it's close, and feels fairly solid; better than Mad Catz stuff at least. And the stick is fantastic, makes fighting games, shooters, etc. feel natural! I can already say that I'd highly recommend one.
Next I need one of these...
http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Pad-EX-Tu...B002LT9PXQ Yes, there's a 6-face-button X360 controller, and it's licensed and from Hori, too! I will DEFINITELY need to get one. I, of course, love 6 face button layouts, and think that they're much better than four... I'm already kind of hating the LB and RB buttons. Why anyone actually LIKES those buttons, or Z on the Gamecube controller, the upper shoulder buttons on all Sony pads, etc., I have no idea, but I've always disliked two shoulder button per side designs, and while I'm kind of used to it now, I still think that one (trigger, preferably) per side, with six face buttons, is a better design.
As for games... yeah, I got quite a few, some from a local store and some from several Gamestops. Prices are very cheap now, that was one of the major reasons I bought the system... at full price I'd have been able to get what, 2 1/2 or maybe 3 (if some were cheap) of these? I haven't tried most of the games yet, of course (just got the system yesterday!), but I will.
X360 - games are complete unless noted.
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This first section I bought within the last week.
Soul Calibur V - $12 (part of B2G1) - I want to play Soul Calibur IV more, but this was there. I'll get IV.
The King of Fighters XII - $12 (part of B2G1) - KOF XIII sounds much better, but this is cheap...
Namco Museum Virtual Arcade - free, would be $12 (part of B2G1) (contains Pac-Man Championship Edition, Galaga Legions, Mr. Driller Online, Pac-Man Arrangement, Dig Dug Arrangement, and some classic game roms)
Blue Dragon - $10 (part of B2G1)
Viva Pinata - free as a part of a B2G1 deal, would be $10 (no manual)
Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection - $10 (part of B2G1)
Kameo - $5 (part of a B2G1 from a few days ago)
Dead or Alive 4 - $5 - I like the DOA series a lot, so I'm very happy to finally be able to play this! I played some. It feels a lot like DOA 2 Ultimate, just with slightly better graphics and some balance changes (counters do a lot less damage now, for instance). Seems like a great game. (the Compilation Disc is not listed on IGN.)
Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged - $4 (contains Bejeweled 2, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, Wik: Fable of Souls, Hardwood Backgammon, Outpost Kaloki X, and Texas Hold 'em Poker)
Xbox Live Arcade Compilation Disc / Sega Superstars Tennis 2-in-1 case - $4 (Sega Superstars Tennis has a manual, but not the compilation disc.) (the Compilation Disc contains Pac-Man Championship Edition, Uno!, Luxor 2, Boom Boom Rocket, and Feeding Frenzy, plus a few demos)
This second batch (below) I got today from several Gamestops.
Raiden Fighters Aces - $9
Golden Axe: Beast Rider - $4.50 - I tried it. It's bland. Could be worse, but it's not great.
Too Human - $2.70 - I need to try it.
Crackdown - $2.70
WarTech: Senko no Ronde - $2.70 - From G.Rev!
Stuntman: Ignition - $5.40 - Fun racing game. You have to do the stunts as told... I liked these games.
Qubed - $3.60 (contains Every Extend Extra Extreme, Lumines Live, and Rez HD) - pretty amazing for under $4! I don't like Lumines much, but the other two are really great games. (collection not listed on IGN)
Bullet Witch - $4.50
Deathsmiles - $9 (no manual) - Cave hori shooter. So many bullets and colors, it's sensory-overload material...
Final Fantasy XIII - $11.70
Prince of Persia [2009] - $2.70
Project Sylpheed - $2.70 - The Sega CD Silpheed game was outstanding. I hope this is decent; I know it's a 3d game, but it could be fun... or at least, maybe slightly better than the mediocre PS2 Silpheed shmup?
Virtua Fighter 5 Online - $4.50
Perfect Dark Zero Collector's Edition - $1.80 (missing plastic sleeve that goes over the metal case, but everything else is here, inc. the bonus disc)
Xbox 360
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Child of Eden - $5, complete - From the creator of Rez.
Wii
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Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles - $8, complete.
PS2
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Ratchet & Clank - $1, disc only
Xbox - these games were all disc only, and it was $6 for 10, so I got 10 (even though there were only 3-4 that I really wanted, why not when 6-7 more games are only a couple of dollars more...)
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Halo 2
Metal Slug 4 (not with 5? It was a 2-pack... ah well, still cool! Even if I have the collection for PS2, this is great to have.)
Carmen Sandiego and the Secret of the Stolen Drums
Big Mutha Truckers
Big Mutha Truckers 2
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
Starsky & Hutch
Sneak King
Enter the Matrix
SX Superstar
$1.80 is pretty good for a collector's edition of PD0. In the long run, it didn't really match the original Perfect Dark, but it was hardly a bad game. It did "cover" before Gears of War made it an industry standard, so it should get some credit there. (Frankly, graft the cover mechanic onto the original Perfect Dark and you've probably got the best game ever, then again since the original wasn't designed with cover in mind, it might trivialize a lot of the challenge. At least "peeking" can simulate popping in and out of cover pretty well.)
Child of Eden is a very fun game. One of the few good Kinect games in fact. It'll wear you out though, which may be a good thing depending on your aims.
I don't have a Kinect, so I'll have to just play it with controller for now... but yeah, that did seem to be a good price for it. And as for PDZ, that's its Gamestop price, but I was lucky to find a complete collectors' edition version; mostly they just have the standard release of course. One of the major reasons I got the 360 (over, say, a PS3, which has games I want to play too) was to play Rare's 360 games... I think I will start Kameo soon.
And on that note... I got more stuff. Yeah, I need to stop. But there were some interesting things... :)
SNES
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Soul Blazer - $40, cart only (part of buy 2 get 1 free deal)
Genesis
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Truxton - $20, cart in case (no manual) (part of B2G1 deal) - Quite good, but hard, shmup. Good find.
Xbox 360
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Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts - $10, case but not manual (part of B2G1)
Tenchu Z - complete, free, would be $15 (part of B2G1)
Pure - $1.80, complete
Ninety-Nine Nights - $4.50, complete
Game Boy/Color (dual mode)
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Mega Man Xtreme - $10, cart only (the one MM GB game I haven't played...) (part of B2G1)
Wii
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Centipede: Infestation - $4.50, complete
Dreamcast
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Q-Bert - free (in B2G1), would be $10, complete (I have this for PC, but it doesn't work on Vista, so why not get a console version...)
PS2 (Gamestop is clearing out their PS2 games. Finally found a store that actually had some worth getting!)
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Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 1 - $18, complete, part of B2G1
Tales of Legendia - $18, complete, part of B2G1
God Hand -free (in B2G1), would have been $11.80, complete
Dark Jaguar Wrote:Handheld rumble hasn't been completely abandoned. The most popular handheld in this generation has rumble all over the place. That handheld being smart phones. They all have "haptic feedback" which is the modern trendy way to say "rumble". The claim is "haptic feedback" is a good replacement for being able to feel where your fingers are by what they are touching. It isn't, because the feedback is delayed until after you actually send input, meaning it's a bit late to know what the heck you just pressed.
At any rate, it's not that mobile gaming lacks rumble, it's that Nintendo specifically has abandoned it (Sony never saw the point to begin with, though their XPeria line of phones have rumble, if that counts). Nintendo seems more than ready to abandon their old innovations all the time though. Remember pressure sensitive shoulder buttons? Well, okay Sega innovated those, but Nintendo did well with the Gamecube's pressure sensitive buttons. Nintendo actually did put pressure sensitive buttons on the Classic Controller for the Wii, but in a very bold and rather annoying move, they actually removed an existing controller feature already on that controller from a revised model, because the Classic Controller Pro had no pressure sensitivity. Rather annoying. Though, I don't believe any Wii games up to that point had bothered using the pressure sensitivity, so not a huge loss of much other than potential. On the Wii U, they added buttons to the analog sticks like both Sony and Microsoft's controllers have (adding two extra buttons), but they didn't put in analog switches for two of the shoulder buttons as just about everyone expects of a controller these days. It's a very odd move, especially considering those Wii U pads are rather expensive to replace, so "updating" one isn't very economical. Nintendo themselves know just how useful pressure sensitive controls can be. While the new Luigi's Mansion does an admirable job working around that deficit on the 3DS, I suspect a HD port of the original Luigi's Mansion or Super Mario Sunshine to Wii U would suffer for want of such fine control. It has been a while since I played Wind Waker, but did that game make use of the pressure sensitivity in any way? I don't recall that it did, so that game's HD port should go well enough at least.
Huh, phones have vibration feedback? I've never played a cellphone game before and don't own a cellphone, after all. That makes it even more disappointing that Nintendo and Sony haven't put it in, then. Rumble is fun!
Quote:Yes, I missed out on the previous Panel de Pon games. I just had no idea what I was missing out on. Nintendo picked some very strange ways to market the game in America that simply didn't appeal to me (and remember, I AM into pokemon, though not as much as I was back then). I'm sure I'd have picked up at least one before now had I realized there even was a series. As it was, I didn't even realize that Pokemon Puzzle League WAS Tetris Attack in a new skin.
I'm sure my PPL and Tetris Attack reviews in my SNES and N64 reviews threads point out the series... with all the title changes though it is easy to miss if you're not paying attention.
Quote:As you say, Planet Puzzle League has an all too generic look and feel to it. It isn't as bad as Magnetica, in that the pieces music and background do change as the game goes on, but it does a rather sad impression of Lumines. Meteos is a good example of a game with a running theme, and it does a great job of having personality. Tetris and Dr. Mario also had solid personalities. (Everyone associates Tetris with russian folk music, even though for some stupid reason almost every release after the first ones has purposefully attempted to use weird techno tracks instead of what worked. Well, Tetris DS used classic Nintendo themes, and Tetris Axis does have some proper Russian music put into the mix, which is nice.)
Yeah, it really was disappointing that Planet Puzzle League has no characters, story/arcade mode, etc. Why did they think that removing all of that was a good idea? It is still a great puzzle game, but it hurts the replay value, I think. There were a few new modes, but the game really does rely on "play for score" more so than previous versions of the game.
As for Tetris, it's good to know that Tetris Axis actually has Russian music in it. Whenever I get a 3DS, I'll definitely have to get the game; having actual Russian music does make Tetris games a bit more interesting. Tetris DS was pretty good anyway, though.
Quote: If you haven't played a Lumines game, I highly recommend it. That game puts the backgrounds, music, and alternate block colors and shapes to work in a way I've never seen before, and while other games attempted to duplicate the look, none ever really "got" it. The time and pacing of block falling and line clearing sync up with the music itself (matched blocks only disappear when a musical bar scrolls across them on the screen, so different tunes are going to "feel" very different in terms of gameplay). Lumines 2 is great, but the US version used a lot of... questionable music (Like "Hollaback Girl"), although the main theme is very addictive, at least I liked it. Lumines 1 is no slouch either though. The only problem is you'll need get a PSP to play it. I'm sure you can find an early model rather cheap these days, as well as a UMD of Lumines.
I got a PSP back in fall 2011, you know. Its disc drive failed and I got a replacement early this year, but unlike my replacement DS, that one I haven't broken, and it's working great. That is fortunate, since it's green and looks awesome (since green is my favorite color, after all).
Anyway, I don't like Lumines very much... I have Lumines 2 for PSP, but don't like it enough to want to get any good at the game, or play it. Somehow I find it more frustrating than fun... I haven't played the game all that much, but playing it a little didn't make me want to continue. It's hard! Bust-A-Move is underwhelming on PSP as well; such huge areas of the screen have nothing in them! The DS BAM games are probably more fun.
Phones having rumble surprises you? Think of it this way. They didn't add force feedback for the games, it was already THERE and games just made use of it. Why was it already there?
Ever been told to "put your phone on vibrate"? There ya go.
Yeah, that's true. I guess I didn't know games used that ingame.
Modern phones have full fledged OSes. They can use any and all of the hardware available to the OS itself. All the major phone operating systems have built in APIs to call up the vibrate function. This is nothing like the cheaply programmed operating systems to be found individually coded phone by phone as little as 5 years ago.
The biggest problem at the moment is with Android and the utter failure to implement a proper driver structure, resulting in a need to recompile the OS for every single individual piece of hardware out there. If Android used a unified driver architecture, the OS itself would remain unchanged, and all one would need to do is download the proper driver package for the phone they are using. No more need to recompile the entire OS just because some drivers changed.
That sounds like a pretty ridiculous way to design an OS... who would do that? Why?
The problems lie a little deeper than with PCs, or even Apple owned hardware. As you know, with Apple's OS, they strictly control ALL the hardware the OS is designed to work on, so they can very easily make sure it will work with all hardware configurations. Driver issues are invisible to the end user, because the OS discs include all the driver related information that's needed right there.
With PCs, there is a long lineage of "legacy" behind it. Video hardware and processor hardware is set up with "basic operations" modes, so even without a driver, a "universal" driver can be used just long enough for a user to install the driver meant to utilize all the hardware's features. That's why if you don't have video driver hardware installed, you can still see the screen, even if in incredibly low color depth and resolution. It is using an incredibly old but consistent standard for communicating with graphics devices. There also a universal communication language between the OS and the hardware layer called the "BIOS" which allows a very basic language to control the hardware just long enough for something more complex to come about. BIOS is being replaced with UEFI, but the same basic advantage exists, a universal standard to allow an OS to communicate with the hardware no matter how the hardware may differ.
However, mobile phones are a whole different ball game. NO universal standard was ever really developed. There IS no universal BIOS, just whatever bootloader the manufacturer hard coded into the system. As such, the way the OS gets installed varies from one iteration to the next. I complained that Android needs a driver architecture, but the reality goes deeper. Before Google can add such a system to the OS, mobile phone hardware makers need to agree on an industry standard for bare minimum instructions to the hardware. When this is in place, then an OS will have a way to communicate with the hardware to begin with so the user can get far enough to GET to a point where a driver package can be installed.
It gets worse when you consider that mobile phone hardware vendors (more specifically, the manufacturers of the individual components like the antenna array) will put a price on their drivers (not always, but often enough for it to be a problem), and require them to be licensed out to those compiling the OS for that device. These drivers are all too often "close sourced" on top of that, meaning that if some company deems it not worth their time to upgrade their particular iteration of Android for their particular phone to the latest version, it is up to homebrew communities to do it instead, and if the driver was close sourced, they will either have to give up or struggle to cobble together their own driver, which without any sort of documentation to go by leaving them to reverse engineer how the hardware works, very often will be rather buggy.
(This is compounded with phone manufacturers insisting on coding in all sorts of messy bloatware right into their own personal builds of Android, and the locked and guarded ecosystems of phone manufacturers and phone providers in general. It is nothing like the PC world.)
It is a sad situation in the mobile phone world, and it is the reason why the widely used Android OS is still struggling with so many early adopters stuck at version 2.1 of the OS. Simply put, they have no way out of it. In short, the ONLY android phones worth getting are the Nexus brand, the only brand that Google has direct control over and directly codes releases of Android for. Those are the only ones where you can know for sure that you've got full access to the latest Android the moment they release it and without bloatware.
Huh, that's a real mess. I'd have thought that Google would have mandated certain standards for phones that were going to have Android on them, but I guess they didn't... must be annoying for developers, for sure.
Xbox 360
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BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger - $8, complete _I have the PSP versions, but I wanted it on console too. Next I'll need to get the final version of Continuum Shift for the 360 (that's the second BlazBlue game; Calamity Trigger is the first). This version has fewer features than the PSP version of CT, but does have better graphics of course.
Afro Samurai - no manual - hack and slash action game.
Two Worlds - complete - Euro-RPG.
X360 Digital Downloads
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Metal Slug XX - $15 - One of my top must-have XBLA games, and I played through it. This is an enhanced port of Metal Slug 7 from the DS, and it's pretty good. I wish that it had some shmup segments, but otherwise, great stuff! (The other $15 XBLA games I want the most are R-Type Dimensions and Hydro Thunder Hurricane.)
Metal Slug XX DLC (to play as Leona too) - $1
Akane the Kunoichi - $1, XBLA Indie Games game - decent enough platformer to be worth a dollar.
Little Racers: STREET - $1, XBLA Indie Games game - reasonably fun little topdown racing game. - game not listed on IGN
Daytona USA - $5, on sale currently - I went back and forth on this one, since I already have 4+ versions of Daytona, but I ended up getting it.
Guardian Heroes - $2, on sale currently - Hopefully I like it. It's cheap enough to try.
I also did a $1 one-month intro XBLA Gold thing, mostly to get those free games (to download once I get a HDD). This month is Fable 3; next month apparently is Halo 3 and Assassin's Creed 2.
Wii Virtual Console
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Sengoku 3 - $9. This is a new release for the Neo-Geo VC. It's acctually the first Neo-Geo VC game I've bought, because most of the others are either very early releases I don't really want or are games much more cheaply had in various collections (I would buy Blazing Star if it ever shows up in the US store though...), but this one's seeing its first re-release since the Neo-Geo, and it's a very good game. Sengoku 3 is the best beat 'em up on the Neo-Geo, and the only one released for the platform after its early years. Good game, and it's great to see it (and also to see them still releasing Neo-Geo VC games!). Game not listed on IGN.
WiiWare
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Jett Rocket - $10. I wanted to buy $20 in Wii points, so I had to find something else to get... and ended up deciding on this one, which I've been meaning to play for years anyway. I'm sure I'll enjoy it; the demo was fun. It's a 3d platformer of course.
Google's recent desire IS to mandate things, but they can only mandate so much. Keep in mind that Android is open source. ANYONE can compile a version for their phone with or without Google's blessing. In a lot of ways, this is a good thing, but as I mentioned above, it has created a host of issues.
Oh, it's open source... right, that would be the reason then.
Open sourced code is only a PART of the problem (and being open source is overall a massive plus to the OS). The rest of the issues I listed are what make it become a major issue. Ubuntu, for example, is an OS built for PCs and doesn't suffer from this sort of driver issue. Oh yes, you'll need drivers, but you don't need to recompile Ubuntu for every last variation of hardware out there. With Ubuntu, it generally just works, and then maybe you'll install a video card driver (Ubutu's built in driver database is pretty vast, so that also helps). Ubuntu has a lot of fragmented versions, but that's not an issue if the hardware support is there.
PSP
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Crush - $5, complete - 2d/3d puzzle-platformer
Little Big Planet - $5, disc only
PS2
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EyeToy: Antigrav - $3, complete - futuristic racing game that requires the EyeToy Camera, which I got one of last week for fifty cents. I have low expectations for the game, but it's a futuristic racing game, so I have to have it. I'm not sure if I want any of the other EyeToy games, though; they all seem to be basic arm-waving minigame collection things, or music games (and half of them were only released in Europe, too).
You sure do love those futuristic racing games. When you rate F-Zero as your favorite SNES game of all time, I start to understand your tastes a bit more. I think F-Zero is a good game, great even, but it isn't even close to being on my top twenty best SNES games of all time, much less being on the first, so that's where our tastes differ.
No, F-Zero is my second favorite SNES game; Super Mario World is first. F-Zero is my favorite 4th gen racing game, though, and Outrun 2019 on Genesis (also a futuristic racing game) is second. :)
All games are cart only.
Atari 2600
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Othello - $1 - I really like the board game.
Space Invaders - $1 - nice to have it.
Circus Atari - $2 - I like Acrobats! for O2, so I wanted to try Atari's version.
Genesis
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Warsong - $16 - the first, and only, Langrisser game localized to the US. Goes for a bit more than this now on EBay.
Rolling Thunder 2 - $10 - Maybe a bit above ebay prices, but this is a game I've wanted for years, but hadn't seen any copies of. It's really great to finally have it.
Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge - $5 - I have the Game Gear version of this very difficult platformer, but I wanted to have it on a console too.
I also got a Genesis controller, the original 3-button kind, in box for $6. Seemed like a pretty decent price for a boxed one, and I'd like to have one 3-button controller; I only had 6 button controllers before today. I have two games which don't work with controller extension cables attached to a 6-button controller (Ultimate Qix and Forgotten Worlds), whether or not I hold down M. I wonder if they'll work with a 3-button controller and the extension cable... and anyway, the box is pretty cool.
NES
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Vindicators - free with the purchase of the rest of this stuff, would have been $5.25 - I really like the arcade version (in Midway Arcade Treasures 1), hopefully this NES game is decent too.
ABF, I got a question for you. Didn't you say at some point that there was a Gameboy game that stored some of the ROM data in the saved data, so that if the battery ever died, there would be no way to play the game any more or restore that data? Which game was that?
Well, Forgotten Worlds does work with the 3-button controller attached to a controller extension cable. Awesome. Also, the 3-button controller makes the Genesis feel so much more '80s... I'm used to the incredibly comfortable, small 6-button pad. This 3-button one is larger and more angular. Not quite as comfortable, but it's still certainly a very good controller.
Quote: ABF, I got a question for you. Didn't you say at some point that there was a Gameboy game that stored some of the ROM data in the saved data, so that if the battery ever died, there would be no way to play the game any more or restore that data? Which game was that?
Hmm... I don't remember that offhand, no. I do know some arcade games did that (they're called "suicide batteries"), but home console games? If any do, I don't remember it.
So, I got a few things. First a package from ebay, second a few things I got locally.
The Ebay stuff was $20 for the four games, about $4-6 per game.
Sega Master System
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Bomber Raid - cart only. This is a shmup from Sega. Kind of feels like 1942 with a dash of Compile, or something. It's alright. Unfortunately the game requires SMS controllers, Genesis controllers don't work with this one. :(
Gamecube
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XGRA - disc in generic case. My XGRA disc died a few years back (got scratched, or something, I don't know; tried resurfacing, it didn't work), so I've been thinking of getting a replacement... and I finally have. And yeah, the game is still one of the best racing games ever made. :) It's fantastic to have this game again.
PC
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Heretic II - jewelcase only. For some reason Heretic, Hexen, and Hexen II are on DD services, but not this fourth and final game in the series. It's okay, but not great, but it was cheap enough to be worth getting, now that I have Heretic 1 and Hexen 2 thanks to some DD deals (I've had Hexen since like 1995, of course).
Saturn
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Command & Conquer (GDI disc only, disc only) - I got the NOD disc maybe last year, locally, but didn't have the GDI disc... so when I saw this, for a pretty reasonable price, I decided to pick it up in order to complete my copy of Saturn C&C. It's an okay version of the game, considering the hardware.
Also got these locally:
Dreamcast
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Tee Off - $3, complete. Golf game with a Gateball mode. Apparently it's a Japanese variant of Croquet. I wouldn't have bought it just for golf, but the other mode sounds somewhat unique... very few games about that.
And finally, and maybe most interestingly, I got a Brain Boy. It's a third party Game Boy Color accessory, and looking them up online, they cost a good $12-30 online. This one cost me $2, and works perfectly. The thing was mostly released as a Pokemon hacking accessory, as it allows you to modify your pokemon or something with some of the GB/GBC Pokemon games, but it also allows you to do several other things. First, you can create, and save to the cartridge, color palettes for use with original GB games. This lets you choose each of 10 colors, 4 for the background, 3 for the active sprites, and 3 for inactive sprites. Pretty cool feature! It's like a Super Game Boy, with the GBC's "sprites are colored separately from backgrounds" colorization mechanic. Pretty interesting. Even better, though, the Brain Boy has some kind of flash memory chip on it (yes, I see no battery in sight, only two chips!), and works as a SAVE FILE BACKUP DEVICE for ANY GAME BOY or GBC game! And it's a pretty large space, too. Room for quite a few backups. Unfortunately you can't upload the files from this thing to a computer, as it's just a cart and has no ports on it, but still, for saving some of those files from dying GB batteries, or for while you're replacing one of those batteries if you know how... yeah, it's a really, really awesome feature. You can enter a name for each file you've saved, and it actually lets you upload any games' file to any cartridge. Yeah, I'm sure you could mess games up very easily, so pay attention. Still though, it's a really, really cool feature. The Brain Boy is quite large and bulky, and using it with a Game Boy Advance SP is pretty funny looking, but it works... very nice find, I think! Oh, and finally, there's also a somewhat amusing option to run B&W Game Boy games with the CPU running at double speed (ie, GBC speeds). The results can be entertaining. :) There's another version of this device called the "Monster Brain". I believe that it's the same, except it has Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal support added; I think that this one has only Red, Blue, Yellow, and the Trading Card Game, for save file editing.
Cooooool! Suuuper fantastic!
Now I want one....
Yeah, I thought you might find that as interesting as I do... :)
PS2
--
Kessen 3 - $5, complete - I've wanted to try this series for a long time. Finally got one of them.
SNES
--
Claymates - $10, cart only. We'll see if it's any good.
These next four were $5 each.
Game Boy/GBC Dual Mode
--
Wings of Fury (with plastic case) - port of an early '90s title.
Test Drive 6 - mediocre topdown racer.
Game Boy Color
--
Turok: Rage Wars - The first two Turok GB and GB/C games were sidescrollers (I have the second one), but the next two (for GBC) are actually top-down, more like Armorines GBC I think. Hopefully it'll be fun. Acclaim's handheld Turok games were alright.
Game Gear
--
The Addams Family (with plastic case) - Ocean title, on many platforms. I haven't played any other version of it before, but this one is alright. Seems like an average licensed platformer, which is slightly better than I was expecting. And unlike The Addams Family: Puggsly's Scavenger Hunt for Game Boy, this one actually has ingame music. That's good.
PC
--
Civilization II: Test of Time - $2, jewelcase only. The last revision of Civ II, and the worst one. I remember seeing the mediocre reviews this got and not being interested, but well, it was cheap, and is "Civ II" (sort of, not really), so I guess I should have it.
PC DD - Steam sale time again...
--
Dark Souls - $7.50. Yeah, finally got it.
DS
--
Freedom Wings - complete, $3
Wii - both complete
--
Ocean Commander - $3 - slightly uncommon, super low budget, easy shmup
Neopets Puzzle Adventure - $1 - Go-lite, with Neopets, I think? For $1 it seemed worth the chance.
Xbox 360
--
Stranglehold - $3 - complete
Ninja Gaiden 2 - $4.80, disc and case (no manual)
Project Gotham Racing 3 - $2, complete
Xbox Live Arcade Game Pack - $3, disc in case (no manual). Why did MS keep using different names for each one of its XBLA compilations? Why not just call them Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, and such? But no, each one has a different randomly assigned (or something) name. Anyway, this one has Lumines Live, Bomberman Live, and Geometry Wars 2 on it. Mostly got it for the last one. - compilation not listed on IGN, so I had to add the games as individual titles (add it darnit!)
Bomberman: Act Zero - $3.90, complete. Yeah, yeah, it's widely hated. I want to try it anyway, and it's cheap.
Battle Fantasia - $4.80, disc in case (no manual). Slightly obscure Arc System Works fighting game. This one's polygonal, unlike most of theirs.
Fable 2 Platinum Collection edition - $13.50, disc in case (no manual). This is a good $10 more than the regular release, but includes both of the DLCs, which would cost a good $17.50 or so for the two of them, so it's actually the cheaper version of the game.
Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 - $7.50, complete. Hopefully it'll be better than the first one.
Xbox
--
Pocket Bike Racer - $1 - another of the Burger King game trio.
Amazing things happened.
Firstly, I won a DSi XL in some sort of contest. Very nice! Sure, no 3DS XL, but it does a great job at playing DS games, and Chrono Trigger DS in particular looks amazing on it. Also, those speakers are insane! Anyway, worked well, registered it on Nintendo Fun Club and got some coins, and already linked the store on it to my Nintendo Club account as well.
Secondly, Square-Enix re-released the PC version of Final Fantasy VII recently. Even at $10 I didn't think it worth it, but a few days ago a site was having a sale so I went ahead and got it for about $2. The game is slightly enhanced from the first PC release, in that it has bug fixes to work on modern operating systems and hardware. Also, they added achievements (nothing for raising a golden chocobo in there though) and cloud saving. Yes... Final Fantasy VII... has "Cloud saving". The puns just write themselves.
Anyway, those are the only things they changed. While the game supports controllers, without a custom driver you can't assign "trigger style" shoulder buttons or modern d-pads as buttons in it because it supports an older standard for how controllers are set up. Fortunately, custom drivers work just fine for exactly this purpose.
The music has gotten a LOT of complaints, and I understand why. The game still uses MIDI. Now, that's not too big a problem, as the Playstation version ALSO used MIDI. The problem is how MIDI is implemented on most modern PCs. Most people out there have their PC set up to use either a crappy Sound Blaster 16 clone of a sound card or have their OS to use software based MIDI instead of their sound card's MIDI. If they have both, there's no salvation. Here's the deal, while Sound Blaster 16 was the most sold sound card, it never implemented proper MIDI support. It's own midi sounded terrible, and was done as a cost saving measure, Creative simply trying to provide a sound card that was affordable, so quality was sacrificed for cost. When Microsoft decided to implement a software based MIDI rendering solution, they used a cheap one acquired from Roland sound with quality pretty much identical to the old Sound Blaster 16. Microsoft has not updated this software midi renderer since 1998. Yes, even Windows 8 uses this massively outdated code base for MIDI. It sounds awful. However, many modern dedicated sound cards do MUCH better midi than that. If you have Windows Vista or above though, this is not enough. The driver installer can't manually set the default midi device, and Microsoft removed the option to do so manually from the sound settings control panel. There ARE solutions available to change this setting with third party apps though. They only need to be run once and don't need to start up every time windows starts, they're just altering a windows setting one time, and they're done. However, someone needs to be aware these exist in the first place. So, MOST people playing FF7 are hearing the midi rendered with that crappy renderer, and yes, it sounds terrible. I myself didn't run into that problem and my FF7 is using my own sound card for midi instead of the software solution. Mine sounds almost identical to the original Playstation game. (Not the same, the Playstation uses a nonstandard implementation of MIDI, so a few things are different.)
Anyway, here's the real bonus to getting the PC version, the mods! The game is massively dated today, but a modding community has sprung up to give new life. There are mods to replace all the music with solid recordings of the original sound track, replace some of the FMVs with Square Enix's various updated renderings of FF7 scenes, update the character models to amazing quality like they just stepped out of one of the Dissidia games, completely update the textures in all the battle scenes, and even sharpen and update the prerendered backgrounds. There's also a handful of bug fixes and so on.
However, all of that aside, here's what really gets me excited. There's a massive project underway to retranslate the ENTIRE game. Simply put, the original translation of FF7, the one we all fell in love with at the time, was AWFUL. I'm sure we all remember reading some rather odd and out of place dialog, or being confused by dialog that seemed to be saying the opposite of what was going on. Play the game again today, and you'll see that it's far worse than you may remember. This translation is probably second only to the original translation of FFIV in terribleness. When Final Fantasy 8 came along a few years later, Square had finally gotten their translating act together and had a solid system in place. FF8 and onward's translations were extremely well done. FF7's however was rushed and ugly, not even as good as the first translation of Chrono Trigger or FF6. In fact, since then every single one of the early Final Fantasy games has seen far higher quality retranslations done, from FF1 -FF6 and including Tactics (Tactics, oddly enough, still had a better original translation than FF7 did). This leaves FF7, far and away the most popular of the Final Fantasy games (though not my personal favorite), as being the odd duck of having the worst translation in the series, if you are only counting the most current official translations. To be blunt, the game NEEDS to be translated again. This new release does NOT update the translation at all. Cloud still shouts at Barret to "Attack it while its tail is up, it will counter attack!" (obviously, if the enemy is going to counter attack, the correct advice is meant to be "DON'T attack it while its tail is up, OR it will counter attack!", and yes, there are many more examples of exactly this sort of backwards translation throughout the game, and for dialog more important to the plot besides).
There's also the standard "now the world map looks like a piece of tattered old parchment!" graphics mod that EVERY SINGLE GAME with a big modding community gets at some point. It looks great, but it is really out of place in the world of FF7. I would instead suggest a mass printed Shin-ra produced glossy world map, dirty with some tears, cigarette burns, and a coffee ring stain on it, that would fit the world better.
So the various graphics, audio, and gameplay updates are great and all, but all in all the retranslation ALONE makes replaying the game on the PC worth it. (Sadly, there are a few misguided "purists" out there who are actually offended at the idea of rewriting the script, so attached are they to the original that even the objectively poorly translated and written original script has become sacred, and the stuff saying exactly the opposite of what the Japanese script says? They actually suggest that was INTENTIONAL, and the story is OFFICIALLY supposed to have those changes in the US! I really have no idea how to respond to that.)
A free DSi XL? That's pretty cool! Wish I had one too. :)
PC DD (Steam sale)
--
Fez - $5 - it's mostly open-ended adventure/puzzle platformer stuff, so I'm not sure if I'll like it, but I thought I should have it either way.
As for FFVII, I have very little interest in buying it again, but I do remember that gameplay aside, the terrible translation and low-rez CG backgrounds were two of the biggest complaints back when the PC version originally released back in '98. I'm sure the backgrounds look even worse now, at higher modern resolutions...
They won't look "worse" if the resolution of the game is divisible into the set resolution of the screen, but they won't look better either.
All the same, the various fan patches and such will make playing through it again worth it. Until then, my PC copy will sit in my Steam folder, watching... waiting... (I can still enjoy the game, even after all these years, even considering the terrible translated script, but I have many other things to play at the moment with far better translations, like Chrono Trigger DS).
Oddly enough, Super Mario RPG actually had a pretty decent translation all told. I wonder if it was Nintendo or Square's translators behind that task? By and large, Nintendo has actually had some pretty solid translators over the years. They are better now than in the past, but they were never terrible.
I still wonder about weird choices like changing King Koopa's name to Bowser. I remember as a kid not a single one of my friends or family, or the TV shows, or the movie, called him "Bowser". We ALL just called him "Koopa". How'd that happen? The Super Mario Bros. manual DOES state he's called "Bowser", but somehow we all just ignored that. I suspect that's because very few of us read the manuals back then. Part of that would be those of us as kids getting used copies instead of brand new, or renting them outright, so we had little to go on besides the shows for the character names.
How about you ABF? Do you recall everyone you knew calling him "Koopa" instead of "Bowser" as a kid?
Anyway, back on track, here's another nice item I picked up. I managed to snag a white Gamecube controller. It's official and everything, but made to match a Wii instead of a Gamecube. Also, the cord is a LOT longer. This resolves one of the biggest issues with the original version of that controller, cord length. (In fact, I bought a couple of extension cords just for my Gamecube controllers, an act I never once committed on any other console.) Very nice, though it still is a Gamecube controller, so while it is awesome in just about every way, the d-pad is still terrible.
Hmm, wasn't he officially called "King Koopa" sometimes, as well as Bowser? I don't really remember what people called him, but it was probably some of both.
As for Mario RPG, yeah, I'd guess that Nintendo did that translation; it's much better than a Square one, as you suggest.
As for that white GC controller, that's cool... I have purple, black, and orange, but not white (or silver). It might be cool to have, though. I do have a controller extender for the GC, but still, more colors is nice. :)
PC DD - Steam sale
--
System Shock 2 - $2.50 - Yes, I didn't have this game before.
PC
--
Rockett's Secret Invitation - $2, jewelcase only - game not listed on IGN
PSP DD (PSN) - sale that ends yesterday or today - these games were $3.50 each
--
Class of Heroes - dungeon crawler
Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble - beat 'em up
Hexyz Force - RPG
Keep in mind I'm comparing it to Square's early translations, not the later ones after they got their act together, which was basically from FF8 onwards.
I do distinctly recall reading that "King Bowser" was doing something nefarious in Super Mario World and wondering who the heck "Bowser" was supposed to be. It only occurred to me a bit into the game that that was King Koopa.
Class of Heroes is really hard. Not terrible, I think, but hard.
Dark Jaguar Wrote:I do distinctly recall reading that "King Bowser" was doing something nefarious in Super Mario World and wondering who the heck "Bowser" was supposed to be. It only occurred to me a bit into the game that that was King Koopa.
Hah... I didn't actually own a game with Bowser in it for quite a while, so I didn't have that issue as a kid; I think the first game I owned with Bowser was... uh, what was it... either Super Mario Bros. Deluxe or Mario 64, whichever one I got first (both in '99). I can't think of anything I had before that with Bowser actually in it... the Mario Land games didn't have him, after all.
PC DD - Steam sale
--
Civilization V: Gold Edition - $12.50. Usually I would not spend so much on a Steam game (yes, $12.50 puts this in probably the top two of Steam games I've ever bought), but... it's Civilization. Civ II was one of my favorite games of the '90s, and I know I fell out of love with the franchise back in early 2002 (after Civ III released and disappointed me), but still, I really should get this one, and this is a good price and a good package; it includes everything except for the new addon, Brave New World, which is too recent to be on sale, sadly.
PC DD - Steam sale
--
Torchlight 2 - $5 - I'm not as far into the first game as I should be, but it's pretty good, so I'm sure this is worth getting.
PC DD - Steam sale
--
Mount & Blades: Warband - $5 - Looks pretty interesting, though given that you can't really lose and winning is almost as difficult, I don't know if I'll stick with it long...
Rayman Origins - $6.80 - I have Raymans 1-3 on PC, so yeah, it's nice to have this one too. :)
I'm trying to avoid checking out the summer sales. They're just too good, and while I know I literally will save MORE money if I just don't buy these games, if I see the deal, I won't be able to help myself.
You know you want to give in, that Steam list won't get longer on its own!
Damn you! I got Remember Me... And Loom... And Fate of Atlantis... It was all a blur, there are others I think.
Good job! :D
PC DD - Steam sale
--
Strike Suit Zero Collection - $6. This includes the base game and all the DLC. 85% off is a pretty good offer, I think... and hopefully this is good; space combat games are of course a genre I have loved.
PC DD - Steam sale - some indie pickups for the final day of the sale! It's in its last hours now...
--
Sine Mora - $2.50 - shmup
Fly'N - $2.50 - 2d platformer
Ben There, Dan That and Time, Gentlemen, Please! - $0.50 - adeventure
Super Hexagon - $1 - arcade action game
Dyad - $3.74 -tube rail shooter
Shatter - $2 - Arkanoid-esque
Wii
--
Kirby's Dream Collection - $8, new - On sale this week at Best Buy. Online they sold out fast, but Best Buy of course has a near-useless "find stuff in real stores" function on its website, so you have to just go there and check (seriously, Best Buy, get on actually tracking stock correctly already!). And what do you know, they had one copy left at the store. Pretty cool!
The rest of the games I got are used.
Spyborgs - $2, complete - beat 'em up. It's supposed to be decent. Super cheap price!
The Golden Compass - $1, complete - mediocre movie game for a film I haven't seen... though I did read the book. And it was only a dollar.
Nitrobike - $4.50, complete - I don't have any idea why it took so many years before I finally got this, but yeah, I finally have it. I hope it's good.
Xbox 360
--
Venetica - $9, complete - got mediocre reviews; hopefully it's okay.
Soul Calibur IV - $6.20, case with disc (no manual) - I've wanted this one pretty badly. Soul Calibur V isn't that good, but this one I'm hoping will be better... should be, I think.
Golden Compass... terrible game based on mediocre movie based on excellent book.
Will it be worth a dollar? We'll see! I paid $1 for Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes a while back, and I feel like I was ripped off... yes, it's that bad.
SNES
--
Dirt Trax FX - cart only, $6, part of B2G1 deal - I am very interested to see what I think of this one... it's the last US-released Super FX game that I didn't have.
Genesis
--
Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings - free, would have been $2, cart only, part of B2G1 deal - platformer licensed from the '96 Olympic Games with its mascot.
Game Boy Color (GBC Only)
--
Little Mermaid II Pinball Frenzy - cart only, $3 - rumble cart. I often like GB/C pinball games, hopefully this one is good too.
Racin' Ratz - $3, cart only - Actually it's a top-down action/adventure game of sorts, oddly enough.
Gamecube
--
Big Air Freestyle - $5, complete - racing game from Paradigm
PS2
--
Rumble Racing - free, would have been $5, complete - EA racing game. Might be fun?
And finally, the below, from ebay. More TGCD stuff... and I have some more on the way. :p Probably got too much... but now that I'm finally buying Turbo CD stuff, I couldn't resist. It's not like I'll ever see this stuff locally.
TurboGrafx-CD - this was $5 shipping for all three games combined, plus the game costs below. These are US versions.
--
Ys Books I & II - $11, disc and manual (action-rpg)
Last Alert - $16.50, disc and manual (top-down run & gun action game with awesomely terrible voice acting)
Final Zone II - $2.24, disc and manual (top-down action game; the first US Final Zone title was for Genesis. This one has more of that comically bad voice acting. :))
Prince of Persia - free, included with Ys I&II, disc only. This is a Super CD game, so even once I have a working TGCD drive (which will be soon, I'm getting it repaired) I will only be able to play it emulated on my PC for now since I don't have a Super System Card (I'll get something later this year, but not now...), but still, nice bonus! I actually only have PoP for the GB/C, so yeah. Nice to have, sure.
First, this is from last week. Got locally. I think it's the most expensive used game I've ever bought, by a good margin (I bought one $40 used game before, but that was part of a B2G1 deal... this cost more, and was not in a deal.). I think it was worth it though... maybe. I mean, I do like the game, mostly, now, but... that was pricey.
Saturn
--
Mega Man 8 - $50, complete
Also, I got these back in January, and mentioned it in my Odyssey 2 thread, but not in the collection threads, so I'll list them now. It's all from EBay.
Odyssey 2 - all games are complete.
--
Blockout! Breakdown! - $4.82 including shipping. See review in the O2 thread! Good game. This game was by itself.
The eight below titles were a lot that came together. $31 total, including shipping.
Nimble Numbers Ned! - The Voice required. Platformer/math game hybrid. Not so great.
Sid the Spellbinder! - The Voice required. Shooter/typing game hybrid. It's fun.
Type and Tell! - The Voice required. This isn't a game; instead, it's the O2's version of the Speak & Spell's voice synthesizer. Type and it says it.
Turtles! - The Voice supported, but not required (it adds music). Quite fun Pac-Man-style game. Uncommon title.
In addition to those four games, the lot also came with four duplicate copies of games I already have: Pick Axe Pete, Speedway!/Spinout!/Cryptologic!, Alpine Skiing!, and P.T. Barnum's Acrobats!. I bought it for the other four, which are all uncommon (being late, Voice titles).
These are also from ebay.
TurboGrafx-16
--
TV Sports Hockey - complete, free - included as a bonus with Sherlock Holmes and The Addams Family. I played a match. It's very NES-like stuff, but it's okay. It's from Cinemaware, and you can tell... it has minigame elements. :p EA released its first Genesis hockey game the same year as this one, 1991, and that is certainly a better game, but still, this isn't bad, really. It's better than NES hockey games for sure, anyway.
TurboGrafx CD
--
The Addams Family - complete, this lot (this game, the one below, and the one above as a free bonus) was $22 including shipping. This one's a platformer, with an open world, from Icom (who did a bunch of TG16/CD stuff; it's mostly mediocre, but often interesting).
Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective - complete. I have this game for Sega CD, but the Turbo CD version should have more colors... and it is a fine mystery detective adventure game, once you get used to it and its slow pace. In the above lot.
Cosmic Fantasy 2 - complete, $13.75. Working Designs' first traditional RPG...sure, they'd done Cadash the year before (1991), and also did Exile in 1992 along with this game, but this was Vic Ireland's first localized traditional RPG (those other two are action-RPGs). I'd probably like Exile more, for sure, but this was cheaper... hopefully it's tolerable enough to be worth playing some, though, even if it is surely quite simplistic.
Gamestop has two different deals running right now, one for Buy 1 get 1 free from a certain specific list of titles:
http://www.gamestop.com/browse?nav=16k-3-playcay,28zu0 and the other for buy 2 get 1 free for all used Wii games. So I got some stuff.
Xbox 360
--
Enslaved - $9, B1G1, complete
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. - free, would be $9, B1G1, no manual
Resident Evil 5 - $9, B1G1, no manual
I also got one other free but would be $9 B1G1 360 game, though I'll probably give it away as a gift later so I won't list it with my collection.
Wii
--
Domino Rally - $4.50, no manual, B2G1 - I have no idea if this is going to be any good or not at all...
A Boy and his Blob - $4.50, complete, B2G1
Metroid: Other M - free, would be $3.80, B2G1 - I should try the gameplay at least sometime, and free seems like maybe the right price... though ideally I'd have to have them pay ME to play this thing, that's not going to happen. :p
The House of the Dead Overkill - free in B2G1, would be $16.19, complete
Dokapon Kingdom - $22, complete, B2G1 - kind of frustrating but interesting boardgame/JRPG hybrid...
Driver San Francisco - $17, complete, B2G1
Looking up ebay values, those 360 games sell for $3-5 at cheapest prices on ebay, so I actually lost maybe $1.50 versus cheapest ebay values there, and Driver San Francisco for Wii goes for $10 less than that on ebay, but still overall I came out ahead, because of the B2G1 deals. Dokapon Kingdom DOES sell for that much on ebay, and the three cheaper Wii games also cost a bit more than that on Ebay too. So yeah, not bad. And not getting Mario Galaxy 2 ($40, Kirby's Return to Dream Land ($40, or Epic Mickey 2 ($25) was a good idea... none of the three are over $15 on ebay cheapest values. Even in B2G1, there's no way you'll get close to their actual value.
Oh, I also got two games that weren't in a deal. Both were card only.
Nintendo DS
--
Steel Horizon - $1 - this game is a strategy game. It's apparently simplistic and disappointing, but for $1... eh, I'll give it a try anyway.
Legend of Kay - $5 - remake/sequel/something of a PS2 3d action/platform game.
A few Japan-only-released games may be missing from this list, but this should be almost everything I got in the last two months, since we just lost two months of posts.
Race the Sun (PC) - Game not listed on IGN. Awesome little $10 endless-runner-style racing game... get it! The graphics re all black and white, and you fly forward and see how many stages you can get through while trying to do various mission objectives.
The Sims 3 PC - DD (EA Humble Bundle)
The Sims 3: High-End Loft Stuff PC - DD (EA Humble Bundle)
The Sims 3: Late Night PC - DD (EA Humble Bundle)
Mario Party 3 Nintendo 64, N64 (JP Import)
SD Flying Dragon Densetsu Nintendo 64, N64 (JP Import)
Ganbare Goemon: Kirakira Douchuu -- Boku ga Dancer ni natta Riyuu Super NES, SNES (JP Import)
Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shogun Magginesu! Super NES, SNES (JP Import)
Commando NES, NES (JP Import)
Eternal Legend Game Gear, GG (JP Import)
Super Golf Game Gear, GG (JP Import)
Putt & Putter: Miniature Golf Game Gear, GG (JP Import)
Puzzle & Action: Tant-R Game Gear, GG (JP Import)
Mappy Game Gear, GG (JP Import)
Nazo Puyo 2 Game Gear, GG (JP Import)
Faceball 2000 Game Gear, GG (JP Import)
Land of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse Game Gear, GG (JP Import)
Black/Matrix Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Welcome to Pia Carrot!! 2 Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Eve: The Lost One Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Magical Drop II Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Dragon Master Silk Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Grandia Digital Museum Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Gokujou Parodius Da: Deluxe Pack Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Quo Vadis Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Quo Vadis 2 Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Kaze no Densetsu Xanadu TurboGrafx-CD, TGCD (JP Import)
Armed Formation F TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Time Cruise TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
SonSon 2 TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed PC - DD (was on sale)
Venture Atari 2600, 2600
Soldiers of Fortune Genesis, Gen
Outer Space Atari 2600, 2600
Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3 Xbox
Outlaw Volleyball Xbox
Hot Shots Golf Fore! PlayStation 2, PS2
ATV Offroad Fury 4 PlayStation 2, PS2
Space Attack Atari 2600, 2600
Racquetball Atari 2600, 2600
Magic: The Gathering -- Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 Xbox 360 - DD (XBLA) - Free from Games with Gold
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record Xbox 360 - DD (XBLA) - Free from Games with Gold
Dead Rising 2 Xbox 360 - DD (XBLA) - Free from Games with Gold
Fable III Xbox 360 - DD (XBLA) - Free from Games with Gold
Assassin's Creed II PC - DD (actually got this years back, but had failed to list it in my online list)
Assassin's Creed II Xbox 360 - DD (XBLA) - Free from Games with Gold
Rocket Knight Xbox 360 - DD (XBLA) (was on sale)
Defense Grid: The Awakening Xbox 360 - DD (XBLA) - Free from Games with Gold
Swarm Xbox 360 - DD (XBLA) (was on sale)
Hydro Thunder Hurricane Xbox 360 - DD (XBLA) (was on sale)
Castlevania: Harmony of Despair Xbox 360 - DD (XBLA) (was on sale)
Hard Corps: Uprising Xbox 360 - DD (XBLA) (was on sale)
Side Arms Special TurboGrafx-CD, TGCD (JP Import)
Buster Bros. TurboGrafx-CD, TGCD (JP Import)
Final Soldier TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Final Blaster TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Bomberman '93 TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Street Fighter II: Champion Edition TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Kickball TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Wonder Momo TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Energy TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Tricky Kick TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Fantasy Zone TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Kyukyoku Tiger TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Doraemon: Meikyuu Daisakusen TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Doraemon Nobita & The 3 Fairy Spirit Stones Nintendo 64, N64 (JP Import)
Breath of Fire II Super NES, SNES (JP Import)
Trinea Super NES, SNES (JP Import)
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 -- Uprising PC - DD (EA Humble Bundle)
Populous PC - DD (EA Humble Bundle)
Medal of Honor PC - DD (EA Humble Bundle)
Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Crysis 2 PC - DD (EA Humble Bundle)
Battlefield 3 PC - DD (EA Humble Bundle)
Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box PC - DD (EA Humble Bundle)
Dead Space 3 PC - DD (EA Humble Bundle)
Dead Space PC - DD (EA Humble Bundle)
Tiny Tank: Up Your Arsenal PlayStation, PSX, PS1
Jungle Hunt Atari 2600, 2600
Slot Racers Atari 2600, 2600
Need for Speed Carbon Xbox 360
Laser Blast Atari 2600, 2600
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Wii
Summon Night: Craft Master Monogatari Hajimari no Ishi Game Boy Advance, GBA (JP Import)
Rune Jade Dreamcast, DC (JP Import)
Slayers Royal 2 Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Slayers Royal Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Sakura Wars: Hanagumi Taisen Columns Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Asuka 120% Burning Fest Limited Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Mighty Hits Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Vatlva Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Assault Suit Leynos 2 Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Sonic Wings Special Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Bulk Slash Saturn, SS (JP Import)
Avenger TurboGrafx-CD, TGCD (JP Import)
L-Dis TurboGrafx-CD, TGCD (JP Import)
Valis IV TurboGrafx-CD, TGCD (JP Import)
Daisenpuu Custom TurboGrafx-CD, TGCD (JP Import)
P-47: The Freedom Fighter TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Download TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Moto Roader II TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Red Faction II PC
Legend of Kay Nintendo DS, NDS
Steel Horizon Nintendo DS, NDS
Driver: San Francisco Wii
Dokapon Kingdom Wii
The House of the Dead: Overkill Wii
Metroid: Other M Wii
A Boy and His Blob Wii
Domino Rally Wii
Resident Evil 5 Xbox 360
Tom Clancy's HAWX Xbox 360
Enslaved Xbox 360
TV Sports Hockey TurboGrafx-16, TG16
Cosmic Fantasy 2 TurboGrafx-CD, TGCD
Endless Ocean Wii
Sorcerer's Maze PlayStation, PSX, PS1
Cleopatra's Fortune PlayStation, PSX, PS1
Saga Frontier 2 PlayStation, PSX, PS1
Galaga: Destination Earth PlayStation, PSX, PS1
Knight's Apprentice: Memorick's Adventures Xbox
Shadow Hearts: From the New World PlayStation 2, PS2
Ex-Mutants Genesis, Gen
Gaiares Genesis, Gen
Wacky Races Game Boy Color, GBC
Catrap Game Boy, GB
Mysterium Game Boy, GB
Taz-Mania Game Gear, GG
Sonic Drift 2 Game Gear, GG
Ariel the Little Mermaid Game Gear, GG
Mappy-Land NES
Efera & Jiliora: The Emblem from Darkness TurboGrafx-CD, TGCD (JP Import)
Fighting Run TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Hihou Densetsu: Chris no Bouken TurboGrafx-CD, TGCD (JP Import)
Road Spirits TurboGrafx-CD, TGCD (JP Import)
Banana NES (JP Import)
Gomola Speed TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Spin Pair TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Daisenpuu TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
W-Ring: The Double Rings TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Cyber Cross TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Jinmu Denshou TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Bikkuriman World TurboGrafx-16, TG16 (JP Import)
Tokorosan no Mamorumo Semerumo NES (JP Import)
Gears of War Triple Pack Xbox 360, X360
Test Drive Unlimited Xbox 360, X360
Vanquish Xbox 360, X360
Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Xbox 360, X360
Wet Xbox 360, X360
Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia Xbox 360, X360
City Connection NES
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn Nintendo DS, NDS
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings Nintendo DS, NDS
Half-Life: Blue Shift PC - DD
Prices - Import Games
BOX 1 -
Sonic Wings Special Sega Saturn JP GAME. $22.51
Efera and Jiliora NEC CD-ROM SYSTEM JP GAME. $3.13
Down Load Hu-Card JP GAME. $17.00
Mighty Hit Sega Saturn JP GAME. $0.76
Rune Jade DreamCast JP GAME. $3.25
P47 Hu-Card JP GAME. $13.01
Gussun Oyoyo S Sega Saturn JP GAME. $2.75
Slayers Royal Sega Saturn JP GAME. $1.27
Eldis NEC CD-ROM SYSTEM JP GAME. $11.50
Daisenpuu Hu-Card JP GAME. $11.50
Vatlva Sega Saturn JP GAME. $3.00
Double Ring Hu-Card JP GAME. $22.75
Asuka 120% Limited Sega Saturn JP GAME. $9.50
Valis 4 NEC CD-ROM SYSTEM JP GAME. $11.50
Summon Night Craft Sword Monogatari: Hajimari no Ishi $9.50
Assault Suit Leynos 2 Sega Saturn JP GAME. $10.50
Avenger NEC CD-ROM SYSTEM JP GAME. $8.50
Bulk Slash Sega Saturn JP GAME. $35.00
Super Genjin 2 (No Box/Instruction) Super Famicom/ $7.08 - Super Bonk 2
Vampire Savior Sega Saturn JP GAME. $7.07
Slayers Royal 2 Sega Saturn JP GAME. $0.84
Daisenpu Custom NEC CD-ROM SYSTEM JP GAME. $11.62
Road Sprits NEC CD-ROM SYSTEM JP GAME. $4.25
Sakura Taisen Hanagumi Taisen Columns Sega Saturn $3.75
Moto Roader 2 Hu-Card JP GAME. $12.50
Subtotal: $244.04
Shipping and handling via Expedited Shipping from outside US: $78.00
Total: $322.04
BOX 2 -
Kickball Hu-Card JP GAME. $1.25
Spin Pair Hu-Card JP GAME. $1.25
Final Soldier Hu-Card JP GAME. $11.50
Side Arms Special NEC CD-ROM SYSTEM JP GAME. $9.49
Final Blaster Hu-Card JP GAME. $16.00
Pomping World NEC CD-ROM SYSTEM JP GAME. $1.25 [Buster Bros.]
PC Engine Hu-Card Soft Set Hu-Card JP GAME. $15.50
MultiTap, Controller Set (PC Engine) Accessories J $12.00 [5-port multitap & 2-button turbo controller]
Controller Set for PC Engine Accessories JP GAME $25.05 [two NEC Avenue 3 controllers]
Bomberman '93 Hu-Card JP GAME. $12.00
Street Fighter 2 Dash Hu-Card JP GAME. $4.84
Gomola Speed Hu-Card JP GAME. $4.81
Energy Hu-Card JP GAME. $1.50
Hihou Densetsu Chris no Bouken NEC CD-ROM SYSTEM J $7.00
Fighting Run Hu-Card JP GAME. $3.50
Super Famicom Soft Set Super Famicom/SNES JP GAME. $8.50
Subtotal: $135.44
Shipping and handling via Expedited Shipping from outside US: $78.00
Total: $213.44
BOX 3 -
SegaSaturn Game Soft Set Sega Saturn JP GAME. $4.25
GameGear Soft Set GameGear JP GAME. $8.16
GameGear Soft Set GameGear JP GAME. $6.57
Puyo Puyo Sun Sega Saturn JP GAME. $0.01
PC Engine Hu-Card Soft Set Hu-Card JP GAME. $21.50
Famicom(NES), Game Set (No Box) Famicom/NES JP GAM $10.00 (Commando, Banana, Tokorosan no Mamorumo Semerumo, Adventure Island)
Quovadis Sega Saturn JP GAME. $1.99
Ganbare Goemon Kirakira Douchu Super Famicom/SNES (No Box/Instruction) $5.00
Dragon Master Silk Sega Saturn JP GAME. $4.99
Goemon 2 (No Box/Instruction) Super Famicom/SNES J $4.25
Memory Base 128(PC Engine) (No Box/Instruction) Ac $26.00
GameGear Soft Set GameGear JP GAME. $9.16
GameGear Soft Set GameGear JP GAME. $5.55
Gokujyo Parodius Delux Pack Sega Saturn JP GAME. $19.50
Grandia Digital Museum Sega Saturn JP GAME. $12.51
Nintendo 64 Soft Set Nintendo64 JP GAME. $14.48
The Legend of Xanadu Turbo Duo JP GAME. $2.99
Subtotal: $156.91
Shipping and handling via Expedited Shipping from outside US: $86.00
Total: $242.91
One I missed is Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes (X360), the latest and current free "games with gold" title.