6th December 2020, 6:51 PM
(This post was last modified: 16th December 2020, 8:10 PM by A Black Falcon.)
... So what have I been doing? Buying way too many videogame things, of course.
Basically, my theme for my purchases has been "some stuff I actually want, some I don't know that I do and knowingly overpay for". Because yeah, there were a lot of sales during Thanksgivingtime, and I... kind of got some stuff on sale but mostly not for anywhere near the best prices. And I kind of bought a LOT.
So, let's start with the most expensive thing. The week before Thanks giving, homebrew publisher Songbird had a little sale; $5 to $10 off some of their pretty expensive Lynx and Jaguar games. Songbird's Jag library, and the Telegames Jag releases that they are the main US distributor for now, are things that have interested me a lot for quite some time, and I used this excuse to finally buy a bunch of stuff from them.
I made the order on the 18th and it was shipped immediately (nice!) and it arrived on the 21st. The shipping was $8 total, which I added into the prices below.
Atari Jaguar (cart games say Jaguar, CD games Jaguar CD)
--
Protector SE Atari Jaguar, JAG comes with two Jag CD bonus discs - Jag-Ads and Duranik prototype demo New $92.00
Protector: Resurgence Atari Jaguar CD, JCD On Sale - $10 off; comes with overlays for four of Songbird's Jag games New $31.00 [This is an expansion disc for the cart-based main Protector game, with added levels and music and such.]
Skyhammer Atari Jaguar, JAG On Sale - $10 off New $81.00
Robinson's Requiem Atari Jaguar CD, JCD On Sale - $10 off New $51.00
World Tour Racing Atari Jaguar CD, JCD New $71.00
Phase Zero Demo [Beta] Atari Jaguar, JAG On Sale - $5 off New $56.00
Hyper Force Atari Jaguar, JAG On Sale - $10 off New $71.00
Of these, Protector: Resurgence and its expansion disc are (Defender-inspired) homebrew titles released within the past decade, while the other games are titles from the Jaguar's original run that werem in most cases, functionally complete when cancelled because of the failure of the system. The one unfinished game is Phase Zero, which is sold as a "demo" since only several levels of the game were actually finished, but the rest are done. Skyhammer and World Tour Racing have been two of my most-wanted Jag games from long before I bought the cosnole, so I'm excited to have them. And they are just as interesting as I thought; both are definitely good examples of what the hardware can, and can't, do well in terms of 3d graphics. Skyhammer is one of the most visually impressive Jaguar games for sure. The draw distance is short, but the fully textured 3d environment looks good for the time anyway. As for World Tour Racing, its framerate is poor, the gameplay and handling model simple, and the total absence of any saving other than passwords for championship progress is really lame, but the core of a decent arcade-style racing game is here, so it's worth playing anyway.
Next, I did something pretty foolish by almost any standard. I was in a store on Sunday the 22rd (I haven't done much of THAT this year, going into stores looking at games...), and after thinking about it for a while, bought something expensive that I could have gotten for a lot less on ebay. Now, on ebay I'd have far less of a gaurantee that it's actually work, wouldn't have a good return policy like this did, probably wouldn't have the box with it, etc. , and these things were a definite factor in why I bought it. And those ARE decent reasons, though I probably shouldn't have considering. Oh well, I did and can't say I regret it from a functional perspective, it works great and I don't need to worry about it breaking in shipping or something.
Yes, I bought... a PlayStation 4 Pro, used and complete in box for $280. It came with a black controller, and I bought a used gold PS4 controller for $40 a few days later which is the one I'm using. Actually, I started planning to buy a PS4 at the beginning of the year, and when I bought this thing I already had nine PS4 games I'd bought earlier on this year. I didn't list them because i didn't have the system yet.
The PS4 games I already had were (all purchased between like January and July of 2020)
Disc games
--
InFamous: Second Son - disc only, $2
Knack - $5, complete - I honestly want to play it, jokes aside.
Knack 2 - free in a B2G1, would have been $15, disc in generic case
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness - $15, disc in generic case
Wipeout: Omega Collection - free in a B2G1, would have been $15, complete - This may be a compilation but it's certainly the system's top must have game for me.
Downloads (DD)
--
Touhou Gensou Rondo: Bullet Ballet - $5, on sale (this is basically a take on Senko no Ronde.)
Arc of Alchemist - $10
Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood - on sale, $8
Brain in Retro Space with VS Mode - $6
And when I bought the system I also got a $2 disc only copy of MLB The Show 17.
Then next, I made a web order from Gamestop. This was defiitely NOT their best sale of the Thanksgiving/Black Friday period, so pricewise I overpaid by quite a bit as the sale was 'buy 3 get 1 free' and not the 'buy 2 get 2 free' and '50% off if you buy 5+ games' things they'd do later (and indeed are still running), but on the other hand the results were amazing -- all but one of the eight games I ordered used came complete with their original cases! That's incredibly rare from an online Gamestop order, so I don't regret buying this when I did at all, it turned out well with all those real cases.
Xbox One/ Xbox Series X
--
Gears 5 - New, $10 - I do not like this series gameplay-wise, but got this anyway because of everything I've heard about how this has some of the XSX's best graphics. Well, on the positive side it DOES look incredible, but on the negative side it still plays like Gears. Oh well.
The Surge 2 - free in a B3G1, would be $8, complete
PS4
--
Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition - $9, complete. There is a PC port of this game but it sounds pretty shoddy technically.
Bloodborne - $9, complete
MediEvil (2019) - $9, complete
Gran Turismo Sport - free in a B3G1, would be $9, complete
Sakura Wars (2020) - $30, new
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - $30, new - I have heard a lot of good things about this game, it's a PS4 exclusive that made me want the console.
Nioh 2 - $9, complete. This game will be coming to other platforms next year, but this is cheaper now than that will be.
Wii U
--
Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! - disc in generic case, free in B3G1 (would have been $5)
Then on the 27th, I bought some digital stuff from Nintendo's stores.
3DS DD
--
Picross e - $3
Picross e2 - $3
Picross e3 - $3
Picross e4 - $3
Picross e5 - $3
Sanrio characters Picross - $4
All of these were 50% off, and I bought them to almost complete my 3DS Picross collection -- the only one I don't have now is the Pokemon one, which was not on sale. This is a purchase I very much will be using, and am -- I'm working on Picross e(1) now, I'll never get tired of Picross but post-3DS probably will play it a lot less since the Switch games control so much worse -- a reactive stylus is perfect for these games, way better than stupid awful finger touch is! Idon't own any of the Switch ones and don't want them so long as a better alternative exists.
Also that day, an order arrived from Best Buy; I also did a digital order there for a few games. Well, two of the games arrived that day and the other two two days later, but close enough. All four are new.
PS4
--
Final Fantasy 7 Remake - $29
Persona 5 Royal - $20
Switch
--
Trials of Mana - $20
Xbox One/XSX
--
Borderlands 3 - $10 - Gotten in part because it is XSX enhanced and I have found these games amusing in the past.
Then on the 30th, I bought a bunch more digital Switch games.
Switch DD
--
Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Two Crude [Dudes] - $4
Next Penelope, The - free promotion
ACA NeoGeo: Ghost Pilots - $4
Coffee Crisis - free promotion
Doom 64 - $2
Doom II Classic Complete - $2
Doom Classic Complete - Ultimate Doom, The - $2
ACA NeoGeo: Aero Fighters 3 - $4
Caligula Effect, The: Overload - $20
Panzer Dragoon (Remake) - $13
I was also thinking about getting some stuff on Steam, but ended up not doing so. I'll buy there next sale.
Basically, my theme for my purchases has been "some stuff I actually want, some I don't know that I do and knowingly overpay for". Because yeah, there were a lot of sales during Thanksgivingtime, and I... kind of got some stuff on sale but mostly not for anywhere near the best prices. And I kind of bought a LOT.
So, let's start with the most expensive thing. The week before Thanks giving, homebrew publisher Songbird had a little sale; $5 to $10 off some of their pretty expensive Lynx and Jaguar games. Songbird's Jag library, and the Telegames Jag releases that they are the main US distributor for now, are things that have interested me a lot for quite some time, and I used this excuse to finally buy a bunch of stuff from them.
I made the order on the 18th and it was shipped immediately (nice!) and it arrived on the 21st. The shipping was $8 total, which I added into the prices below.
Atari Jaguar (cart games say Jaguar, CD games Jaguar CD)
--
Protector SE Atari Jaguar, JAG comes with two Jag CD bonus discs - Jag-Ads and Duranik prototype demo New $92.00
Protector: Resurgence Atari Jaguar CD, JCD On Sale - $10 off; comes with overlays for four of Songbird's Jag games New $31.00 [This is an expansion disc for the cart-based main Protector game, with added levels and music and such.]
Skyhammer Atari Jaguar, JAG On Sale - $10 off New $81.00
Robinson's Requiem Atari Jaguar CD, JCD On Sale - $10 off New $51.00
World Tour Racing Atari Jaguar CD, JCD New $71.00
Phase Zero Demo [Beta] Atari Jaguar, JAG On Sale - $5 off New $56.00
Hyper Force Atari Jaguar, JAG On Sale - $10 off New $71.00
Of these, Protector: Resurgence and its expansion disc are (Defender-inspired) homebrew titles released within the past decade, while the other games are titles from the Jaguar's original run that werem in most cases, functionally complete when cancelled because of the failure of the system. The one unfinished game is Phase Zero, which is sold as a "demo" since only several levels of the game were actually finished, but the rest are done. Skyhammer and World Tour Racing have been two of my most-wanted Jag games from long before I bought the cosnole, so I'm excited to have them. And they are just as interesting as I thought; both are definitely good examples of what the hardware can, and can't, do well in terms of 3d graphics. Skyhammer is one of the most visually impressive Jaguar games for sure. The draw distance is short, but the fully textured 3d environment looks good for the time anyway. As for World Tour Racing, its framerate is poor, the gameplay and handling model simple, and the total absence of any saving other than passwords for championship progress is really lame, but the core of a decent arcade-style racing game is here, so it's worth playing anyway.
Next, I did something pretty foolish by almost any standard. I was in a store on Sunday the 22rd (I haven't done much of THAT this year, going into stores looking at games...), and after thinking about it for a while, bought something expensive that I could have gotten for a lot less on ebay. Now, on ebay I'd have far less of a gaurantee that it's actually work, wouldn't have a good return policy like this did, probably wouldn't have the box with it, etc. , and these things were a definite factor in why I bought it. And those ARE decent reasons, though I probably shouldn't have considering. Oh well, I did and can't say I regret it from a functional perspective, it works great and I don't need to worry about it breaking in shipping or something.
Yes, I bought... a PlayStation 4 Pro, used and complete in box for $280. It came with a black controller, and I bought a used gold PS4 controller for $40 a few days later which is the one I'm using. Actually, I started planning to buy a PS4 at the beginning of the year, and when I bought this thing I already had nine PS4 games I'd bought earlier on this year. I didn't list them because i didn't have the system yet.
The PS4 games I already had were (all purchased between like January and July of 2020)
Disc games
--
InFamous: Second Son - disc only, $2
Knack - $5, complete - I honestly want to play it, jokes aside.
Knack 2 - free in a B2G1, would have been $15, disc in generic case
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness - $15, disc in generic case
Wipeout: Omega Collection - free in a B2G1, would have been $15, complete - This may be a compilation but it's certainly the system's top must have game for me.
Downloads (DD)
--
Touhou Gensou Rondo: Bullet Ballet - $5, on sale (this is basically a take on Senko no Ronde.)
Arc of Alchemist - $10
Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood - on sale, $8
Brain in Retro Space with VS Mode - $6
And when I bought the system I also got a $2 disc only copy of MLB The Show 17.
Then next, I made a web order from Gamestop. This was defiitely NOT their best sale of the Thanksgiving/Black Friday period, so pricewise I overpaid by quite a bit as the sale was 'buy 3 get 1 free' and not the 'buy 2 get 2 free' and '50% off if you buy 5+ games' things they'd do later (and indeed are still running), but on the other hand the results were amazing -- all but one of the eight games I ordered used came complete with their original cases! That's incredibly rare from an online Gamestop order, so I don't regret buying this when I did at all, it turned out well with all those real cases.
Xbox One/ Xbox Series X
--
Gears 5 - New, $10 - I do not like this series gameplay-wise, but got this anyway because of everything I've heard about how this has some of the XSX's best graphics. Well, on the positive side it DOES look incredible, but on the negative side it still plays like Gears. Oh well.
The Surge 2 - free in a B3G1, would be $8, complete
PS4
--
Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition - $9, complete. There is a PC port of this game but it sounds pretty shoddy technically.
Bloodborne - $9, complete
MediEvil (2019) - $9, complete
Gran Turismo Sport - free in a B3G1, would be $9, complete
Sakura Wars (2020) - $30, new
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - $30, new - I have heard a lot of good things about this game, it's a PS4 exclusive that made me want the console.
Nioh 2 - $9, complete. This game will be coming to other platforms next year, but this is cheaper now than that will be.
Wii U
--
Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! - disc in generic case, free in B3G1 (would have been $5)
Then on the 27th, I bought some digital stuff from Nintendo's stores.
3DS DD
--
Picross e - $3
Picross e2 - $3
Picross e3 - $3
Picross e4 - $3
Picross e5 - $3
Sanrio characters Picross - $4
All of these were 50% off, and I bought them to almost complete my 3DS Picross collection -- the only one I don't have now is the Pokemon one, which was not on sale. This is a purchase I very much will be using, and am -- I'm working on Picross e(1) now, I'll never get tired of Picross but post-3DS probably will play it a lot less since the Switch games control so much worse -- a reactive stylus is perfect for these games, way better than stupid awful finger touch is! Idon't own any of the Switch ones and don't want them so long as a better alternative exists.
Also that day, an order arrived from Best Buy; I also did a digital order there for a few games. Well, two of the games arrived that day and the other two two days later, but close enough. All four are new.
PS4
--
Final Fantasy 7 Remake - $29
Persona 5 Royal - $20
Switch
--
Trials of Mana - $20
Xbox One/XSX
--
Borderlands 3 - $10 - Gotten in part because it is XSX enhanced and I have found these games amusing in the past.
Then on the 30th, I bought a bunch more digital Switch games.
Switch DD
--
Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Two Crude [Dudes] - $4
Next Penelope, The - free promotion
ACA NeoGeo: Ghost Pilots - $4
Coffee Crisis - free promotion
Doom 64 - $2
Doom II Classic Complete - $2
Doom Classic Complete - Ultimate Doom, The - $2
ACA NeoGeo: Aero Fighters 3 - $4
Caligula Effect, The: Overload - $20
Panzer Dragoon (Remake) - $13
I was also thinking about getting some stuff on Steam, but ended up not doing so. I'll buy there next sale.