29th October 2020, 7:07 PM
So what gaming-related have I gotten in the past few weeks?
Well, not a huge amount, but... wait no, I kind of did get a bunch. Forget that.
Starting with physical stuff.
Dark Arena - GBA - $6, cart only. This is an okay FPS. I actually got this back on October 8th, before my previous post, but forgot to mention it.
El Shadai: Acension to the Metatron - Xbox 360 - $7, complete
Fairytale Fights - Xbox 360 - $7, complete - These two I got recently, nice finds for cheap. It's hard to find good 360 games I don't own yet but these were two of those! I got these two last Friday so they are the most recent game purchases on this list.
Additionally, I just received a few new surge protectors and HDMI switches that I ordered from Amazon for a little upgrade/replacement to add some more outlets and replace a failing HDMI switch.
And finally, for only $57, a couple of weeks ago (it actually arrived on the 16th, the day after my last post) I got... a region-modded, non-TMSS, Sega Genesis model 1! This system has a hard mod with a switch, so it isn't the modern switchless mod, but I am quite fine with that. What I wanted was a modded non-TMSS Genesis, and I now have one and it's awesome. This system has a three-way switch on it, for NTSC US, NTSC Japan, and PAL modes. The switch was put where the modem port usually is, so if I ever got a nearly useless Meganet Modem I wouldn't be able to plug it in since this system doesn't have taht port anymore. This made me consider not getting this but... seriously, I have absolutely NO use for that modem and nor does next ot anyone else so oh well. Addtionally, the modder did something else pretty cool -- the RF port has been replaced with a copy of the headphone jack. So, you don't need to snake a cable around from the front of the console to hook up the Genesis 1's audio output to a Sega CD, you can just use this port on the back. The headphone jack on the front also still works as well.
This added audio jack is important because as most people know, the Genesis 1's rear AV port only supports mono sound, not stereo; stereo sound only comes out of the headphone jack. Additonally, and I had forgotten this, while the Genesis 2 will output sound from the console through the side Sega CD port so that you can use the Sega CD's audio output jacks without any issue, unfortunatley the Genesis 1 does not do this. Instead, even though it could, it only takes in the audio and video from the Sega CD, it doesn't also send audio back. So, you need to use a male to male headphone mixing cable going from your headphone jack to your Sega CD's mixing input port, then you will atually get Genesis audio out of the SCD. This is pretty stupid and a dumb omission of Sega's when they designed the model 1, they should have realized that audio output on the side would be important, but oh well. It's worth it to get the better sound quality and full compatibility this console has -- this will play all gGenesis and Megadrive games with no issue. Of course it won't play other-region Sega CD games or PAL 32X games, I wuold need to get those systems modded to play THOSE, but oh well; the SCD has workarounds (use backups that you change to your region) and there are only a couple of PAL-exclusive 32X games, though they would be neat to play sometime... oh well. Of course sicne it's a non-TMSS model it will also run those early EA games that don't work on any other system. I don't own any currently but definitely want Zany Golf now.
Oh, the reason this was so cheap-ish is probably that there is some cosmetic damage on the system. There are some noticeable scratches on the top, and the end of the 6 from "16-BIT" is gone in the worst of them. But since I have a 32X covering the top anyway this is a pretty minor issue as far as I'm concerned, how it works is more important and so far it has worked perfectly.
But other than better sound -- and yes I can tell the difference, the Genesis 2 sounds fine but this is better -- what does this get? Well, it gets me able to play one game I own but could not previsouly use, my Japanese copy of Virtua Racing Deluxe for 32X. Remember, it has a save chip in the cart so it saves your high scores, a HUGE deal in this game! V.R. Deluxe is an absurdly hard game and in those rare cases you actually finish a race and don't run out of time, you want that time to actually stick. WIth this, it will. And second, I mentioned that European copy of Micro Machiens '96: Turbo Tournament a few posts ago. This game runs in NTSC, but it runs fast. And in a game as absurdly fast as this game is, that is a big problem. The game is playable in NTSC... but only barely, you go so fast that the already insane amount of memorization this game requires is amped up significantly to near-impossible levels. Micro Machines 2, and this MD-exclusive '96 version that is an enahnced sequel/expansion to it, is one of the fastest racing games around, and the MD version was designed for PAL. When you play this game in both 50hz and 60, you can tell the difference; the controls feel better in 50hz, and the slightly slower scrolling gives you a shred of a chance in this game, once you spend hours memorizing everything and finishing in last three thousand times of course. ... Yeah, I got Micro Machines 2 for the PC back in the '90s, and had very mixed feelings for it, and this game is identical in that respect -- it's got fantastic graphics, great design, and an impressive feature set; it has a save chip in the cart for times and for its built-in track editor; and more. But it's just SO FAST! Every track requires crazy memorization to not finish last in, and it gets frustrating. Micro Machines 1 is also a fast game, and you need to memorize a lot to finish it, but they incrased the speed significantly in the seuqel and I've always thought that it might have been too much. Still, as a longtime fan of the franchise it is awesome to ahve this game and I'm thrllled to have this modded system that lets me play it right. Oh, and my 4K TV can display PAL no problem. My CRT is very unhappy with that signal and I won't be running anything in PAL on that screen!
Everything else I got are digital purchases.
So, since Sony is limiting access to the PS3 store and may be shutting down the web store entirely (it is currently hidden but actually still accessible with the right URL, but I don't know how lng that will last), I got a whole bunch of digital PS3/Vita games... or rather, mostly PS1 classics releases of previously Japan-only import titles, since that is most of what I bought.
PS3/PSP/Vita DD - PSone Classics - all games $6 each
--
Cho Aniki (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
The Firemen 2: Pete and Danny (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
GaiaSeed (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Lucifer Ring (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Mahjong Uranai Fortuna-Tsuki no Megami Tachi (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Oz no Mahoutsukai ~ANother World~ RUngRung (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Rapid Angel (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Wolf Fang (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
PS3 DD only - PSone Classics - all games $6 each
--
Makeruna Makendo 2 (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Zanac x Zanac (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Lup Salad (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Many of these games are totally unavailable on ebay thiese days or cost WAY more than this and many are pretty interesting, so this purchase was well worth it I think in most cases.
Additionally, I got some PS3/PSP/Vita games.
PS3 DD
--
Novastrike - $5
Nucleus - $10
PixelJunk Racers 2nd Lap - $7
Hamsterball - $10
Anarchy: Rush Hour - $5
Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars- $3
PSP DD (Vita compatible)
--
Sweet Fuse: at Your Side - $10
PS3/Vita DD (cross-buy)
--
MotorStorm RC "Complete Edition" - $10. This is a pretty good RC car racing game with an overhead perspective. With good, acccurate controls and good tracks and graphics it's one of the better RC car games I have played, I'd say. Progress seems to eseamlessly carry over between the two versions too, which is neat. There is only one negative, and that's that buying this game adds about SEVENTY FIVE things to your download list! The game has 30-something pieces of car DLC plus a couple of expansion DLCs, and the game as you buy it now includes it all... but it won't auto-download it all since this is Sony. Oh no. You need to manually download all of this stuff, one file at a time. What a pain! Sony's OS is so bad... and worse once the old web store totally goes away and people have to scroll down their downlioad list 75 times to slooowly download all of the files, since after adding each file to your queue it dumps you back to the top of the list! The actual game IS good and well worth playing, though.
I also got a couple other digital games on other platforms.
Endless Legend - Emperor Edition PC / Mac - DD 10/18/20 Steam Sale $7.50
RAD Xbox One, XONE - DD 10/18/20 On Sale $6.00
SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis Classics PC / Mac / Linux - DD 10/18/20 Steam Sale $7.20
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III PC / Mac / Linux - DD 10/18/20 Steam Sale $4.00
While I was at it I also added all four of Sega's available-for-one-day-only cancelled game prototypes they listed on Steam on the 18th. I haven't played any of them yet but I will.
Well, not a huge amount, but... wait no, I kind of did get a bunch. Forget that.
Starting with physical stuff.
Dark Arena - GBA - $6, cart only. This is an okay FPS. I actually got this back on October 8th, before my previous post, but forgot to mention it.
El Shadai: Acension to the Metatron - Xbox 360 - $7, complete
Fairytale Fights - Xbox 360 - $7, complete - These two I got recently, nice finds for cheap. It's hard to find good 360 games I don't own yet but these were two of those! I got these two last Friday so they are the most recent game purchases on this list.
Additionally, I just received a few new surge protectors and HDMI switches that I ordered from Amazon for a little upgrade/replacement to add some more outlets and replace a failing HDMI switch.
And finally, for only $57, a couple of weeks ago (it actually arrived on the 16th, the day after my last post) I got... a region-modded, non-TMSS, Sega Genesis model 1! This system has a hard mod with a switch, so it isn't the modern switchless mod, but I am quite fine with that. What I wanted was a modded non-TMSS Genesis, and I now have one and it's awesome. This system has a three-way switch on it, for NTSC US, NTSC Japan, and PAL modes. The switch was put where the modem port usually is, so if I ever got a nearly useless Meganet Modem I wouldn't be able to plug it in since this system doesn't have taht port anymore. This made me consider not getting this but... seriously, I have absolutely NO use for that modem and nor does next ot anyone else so oh well. Addtionally, the modder did something else pretty cool -- the RF port has been replaced with a copy of the headphone jack. So, you don't need to snake a cable around from the front of the console to hook up the Genesis 1's audio output to a Sega CD, you can just use this port on the back. The headphone jack on the front also still works as well.
This added audio jack is important because as most people know, the Genesis 1's rear AV port only supports mono sound, not stereo; stereo sound only comes out of the headphone jack. Additonally, and I had forgotten this, while the Genesis 2 will output sound from the console through the side Sega CD port so that you can use the Sega CD's audio output jacks without any issue, unfortunatley the Genesis 1 does not do this. Instead, even though it could, it only takes in the audio and video from the Sega CD, it doesn't also send audio back. So, you need to use a male to male headphone mixing cable going from your headphone jack to your Sega CD's mixing input port, then you will atually get Genesis audio out of the SCD. This is pretty stupid and a dumb omission of Sega's when they designed the model 1, they should have realized that audio output on the side would be important, but oh well. It's worth it to get the better sound quality and full compatibility this console has -- this will play all gGenesis and Megadrive games with no issue. Of course it won't play other-region Sega CD games or PAL 32X games, I wuold need to get those systems modded to play THOSE, but oh well; the SCD has workarounds (use backups that you change to your region) and there are only a couple of PAL-exclusive 32X games, though they would be neat to play sometime... oh well. Of course sicne it's a non-TMSS model it will also run those early EA games that don't work on any other system. I don't own any currently but definitely want Zany Golf now.
Oh, the reason this was so cheap-ish is probably that there is some cosmetic damage on the system. There are some noticeable scratches on the top, and the end of the 6 from "16-BIT" is gone in the worst of them. But since I have a 32X covering the top anyway this is a pretty minor issue as far as I'm concerned, how it works is more important and so far it has worked perfectly.
But other than better sound -- and yes I can tell the difference, the Genesis 2 sounds fine but this is better -- what does this get? Well, it gets me able to play one game I own but could not previsouly use, my Japanese copy of Virtua Racing Deluxe for 32X. Remember, it has a save chip in the cart so it saves your high scores, a HUGE deal in this game! V.R. Deluxe is an absurdly hard game and in those rare cases you actually finish a race and don't run out of time, you want that time to actually stick. WIth this, it will. And second, I mentioned that European copy of Micro Machiens '96: Turbo Tournament a few posts ago. This game runs in NTSC, but it runs fast. And in a game as absurdly fast as this game is, that is a big problem. The game is playable in NTSC... but only barely, you go so fast that the already insane amount of memorization this game requires is amped up significantly to near-impossible levels. Micro Machines 2, and this MD-exclusive '96 version that is an enahnced sequel/expansion to it, is one of the fastest racing games around, and the MD version was designed for PAL. When you play this game in both 50hz and 60, you can tell the difference; the controls feel better in 50hz, and the slightly slower scrolling gives you a shred of a chance in this game, once you spend hours memorizing everything and finishing in last three thousand times of course. ... Yeah, I got Micro Machines 2 for the PC back in the '90s, and had very mixed feelings for it, and this game is identical in that respect -- it's got fantastic graphics, great design, and an impressive feature set; it has a save chip in the cart for times and for its built-in track editor; and more. But it's just SO FAST! Every track requires crazy memorization to not finish last in, and it gets frustrating. Micro Machines 1 is also a fast game, and you need to memorize a lot to finish it, but they incrased the speed significantly in the seuqel and I've always thought that it might have been too much. Still, as a longtime fan of the franchise it is awesome to ahve this game and I'm thrllled to have this modded system that lets me play it right. Oh, and my 4K TV can display PAL no problem. My CRT is very unhappy with that signal and I won't be running anything in PAL on that screen!
Everything else I got are digital purchases.
So, since Sony is limiting access to the PS3 store and may be shutting down the web store entirely (it is currently hidden but actually still accessible with the right URL, but I don't know how lng that will last), I got a whole bunch of digital PS3/Vita games... or rather, mostly PS1 classics releases of previously Japan-only import titles, since that is most of what I bought.
PS3/PSP/Vita DD - PSone Classics - all games $6 each
--
Cho Aniki (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
The Firemen 2: Pete and Danny (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
GaiaSeed (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Lucifer Ring (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Mahjong Uranai Fortuna-Tsuki no Megami Tachi (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Oz no Mahoutsukai ~ANother World~ RUngRung (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Rapid Angel (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Wolf Fang (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
PS3 DD only - PSone Classics - all games $6 each
--
Makeruna Makendo 2 (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Zanac x Zanac (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Lup Salad (Japanese language but sold in the US store)
Many of these games are totally unavailable on ebay thiese days or cost WAY more than this and many are pretty interesting, so this purchase was well worth it I think in most cases.
Additionally, I got some PS3/PSP/Vita games.
PS3 DD
--
Novastrike - $5
Nucleus - $10
PixelJunk Racers 2nd Lap - $7
Hamsterball - $10
Anarchy: Rush Hour - $5
Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars- $3
PSP DD (Vita compatible)
--
Sweet Fuse: at Your Side - $10
PS3/Vita DD (cross-buy)
--
MotorStorm RC "Complete Edition" - $10. This is a pretty good RC car racing game with an overhead perspective. With good, acccurate controls and good tracks and graphics it's one of the better RC car games I have played, I'd say. Progress seems to eseamlessly carry over between the two versions too, which is neat. There is only one negative, and that's that buying this game adds about SEVENTY FIVE things to your download list! The game has 30-something pieces of car DLC plus a couple of expansion DLCs, and the game as you buy it now includes it all... but it won't auto-download it all since this is Sony. Oh no. You need to manually download all of this stuff, one file at a time. What a pain! Sony's OS is so bad... and worse once the old web store totally goes away and people have to scroll down their downlioad list 75 times to slooowly download all of the files, since after adding each file to your queue it dumps you back to the top of the list! The actual game IS good and well worth playing, though.
I also got a couple other digital games on other platforms.
Endless Legend - Emperor Edition PC / Mac - DD 10/18/20 Steam Sale $7.50
RAD Xbox One, XONE - DD 10/18/20 On Sale $6.00
SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis Classics PC / Mac / Linux - DD 10/18/20 Steam Sale $7.20
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III PC / Mac / Linux - DD 10/18/20 Steam Sale $4.00
While I was at it I also added all four of Sega's available-for-one-day-only cancelled game prototypes they listed on Steam on the 18th. I haven't played any of them yet but I will.
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