Retro gaming (1 Viewer)

[Steve Y]

I prefer the "official" emulated platforms for retro gaming. I just like the options and the fact that they're small, digital and look a little nicer. Because I no longer have any of my original cartridges, if I wanted to play old games I'd have to buy them again to run them on third party hardware.

I'm still enjoying the Nintendo's official European SNES Classic. It looks like the Japanese Super Famicom I imported back when, with the colorful and rounded design, but all the games are in English. The emulation has a few blips (a missing background effect on Yoshi's Island is the biggest issue, but doesn't occur that often). If you can find one, these Classics are a great solution for someone with limited space.

I've also found myself playing old games on my (new) Nintendo 3DS. Genesis, SNES, and NES games, mostly. The Wii is also a treasure trove of games from old systems, including the Sega Master System and the Turbografx 16. They even released some games from the Commodore 64, but unfortunately pulled them from sale a few years back. I only managed to buy Tower Toppler, which is great, but I regret not purchasing The Last Ninja 1 & 2 when I had a chance.

Retro gamers who own a Wii or a Wii U, take note: Nintendo will remove the ability to buy "Nintendo Points" in the original Wii Store on March 26th. So if you want to purchase some of these retro games digitally, you'll have to buy points soon. I think the store will be up until early next year, though.

 

[LeoA]

The Super NT already has been unlocked and can run standard SNES rom images off SD card.

Can't run games that had enhancement chips , but 95% of the library didn't have additional hardware on the cartridge like a co-processor.

 

[Steve Y]

The Super NT already has been unlocked and can run standard SNES rom images off SD card.

Can't run games that had enhancement chips , but 95% of the library didn't have additional hardware on the cartridge like a co-processor.

Wow, that's really interesting. I do think the "official" hardware looks better, and the UI is tremendously fun (little Mario and Luigi figures bounce around the screen in sleep mode and play back short clips from the games), but it's nice to know there's an option for people who don't want a shelf full of plastic, assuming they've backed up their games.

 

[Bryan^H]

I wish there was a dedicated price guide for all old video games like Overstreet for Comic books, or the guides for coins, stamps, baseball cards etc. Something to stop inflated pricing run amok.

This is the biggest reason we are still in the "wild west" or "name your price" values that continue to flood the hobby I think. You will have a SNES title that by rights shouldn't be more than $10, it will be featured favorably on a YouTube channel such as Cinemassacre, or MEtal Jesus Rocks, and now you have a game that will forever be $70..or more. And that is where we are. It is ridiculous, and complete nonsense. If there were an guide it would help immensely in cooling down these fevered price hikes. If someone says 'wait a minute the guide says it is worth $10, I'm not paying $75 for something that is only worth the honest value of $10.

It would work, and it is what this hobby needs the most.

 

[LeoA]

The Metal Jesus effect struck the Xbox HDMI cable that recently came out. He featured it on his channel and liked it, so suddenly thousands of people bought it and now it's sold out everywhere.

Hopefully they produce more, since I'd like to also grab one.

 

[bmasters9]

One thing that I've been the victim of several times over my playings of the Sonic The Hedgehog series: spike traps that, when they come down on you, not only take your rings, but kill you at the same time. The first time I ever was a victim of this was in O-R 1991 Sonic: in Marble Zone act 3, there are two deep-penetrating spiked chandeliers in the middle of the act, one on each side of a secret room having an extra life. IIRC, I didn't have a shield on, and I found myself under the spiked chandelier on the right side (some people who have played this first Sonic go this way for a shortcut).

What I did not realize was that, if you do not get out from under either spiked chandelier, they will come down fast and hard, and, as I said, not only take your rings, but instantaneously kill you (and the animation quite literally drives the point home; you not only see your rings in a tight cluster behind you, but also, Sonic's death throw sprite). If you do have a shield on when they hit, it's somewhat less embarrassing; all you see is the death throw sprite.

I'd post a picture of how it works, but I'm not willing to relive that quite painful memory again.

Also, O-R Sonic is not the only game that has had this; both acts of Flying Battery, and the first act of Lava Reef Zone, in Sonic & Knuckles (and the Sonic 3 and Knuckles combined game), have had similar mechanisms.

 

[Bryan^H]

A prime example of what I was talking about a couple posts earlier:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/382389891119


One of my favorite games from the Atari 2600. Just a couple years ago, Krull was as common as wheels on a car. you could find sealed copies, mint or otherwise ranging from $7-$15 on average.
The above auction has 30 bids, and will most likely end at well over $50.

Mentioned one time on Cinnemassacre, and it is out of reach. Waaaay out of reach for a 2600 game.

My point, a couple guys talking about a game should not dictate the price of a game. It is odd to me that the pricing of this hobby is almost exclusively based on YouTube's more popular channels, and what they find decent.

 

[Bryan^H]

I got into my favorite fantasy game of the arcade era-Cadash. Hard to choose a better game than Rastan, but the level building, and buying different items-along with different classes to choose from elevate this one to my number one favorite fantasy game.


Some may wonder why this would be my choice over Capcom's beautiful arcade greats 'Knights of the Round', or 'King of Dragons'.
well, the short answer is they are blatant quarter munchers. Do they play, and look great? Absolutely. But at the heart of it you know you are being manipulated into giving Capcom $5-$10 worth of quarters to finish. Have you ever seen anyone beat them on less than a handful of tokens, or multiple continues? I haven't. They aren't that type of game, and were not designed that way.

Playing them for free at home now makes them feel all the more shallow(something lost to me as a youth in my favorite arcade).

Cadash, you can level, learn, and overcome the difficulties of the game and beat it in one play--if you are good enough.

 

[Steve Y]

I got into my favorite fantasy game of the arcade era-Cadash. Hard to choose a better game than Rastan, but the level building, and buying different items-along with different classes to choose from elevate this one to my number one favorite fantasy game.

I played the arcade version of Cadash at an arcade expo a few years ago, but this makes me want to seek it out again. I wasn't sure what to make of it. It looks so much better than the TG-16 version. In terms of its design, it seems made for consoles (comparisons to Zelda 2), but putting dialogue and statistics in an arcade game (with arcade-style graphics) seemed downright strange at the time.

 

[Bryan^H]

I played the arcade version of Cadash at an arcade expo a few years ago, but this makes me want to seek it out again. I wasn't sure what to make of it. It looks so much better than the TG-16 version. In terms of its design, it seems made for consoles (comparisons to Zelda 2), but putting dialogue and statistics in an arcade game (with arcade-style graphics) seemed downright strange at the time.

Yes, it is an oddball in the world of arcade games. It isn't meant to be played hastily, slow level building in spots (level grinding in an arcade game from the 80's? CRAZY!) I guess the rule of 3-5 minutes per quarter were forgotten to the game developers of Taito...or more likely this is when the home console market was in full swing, and they knew they would make their money that way. It is odd it was on the TG16, and Sega Genesis only. I never understood why this wasn't on the SNES. Of course the SNES launched 2 years after this was a hot game, so maybe it was deemed an "old game" at that point.

I have two copies I bought used for the Genesis-both are in sad condition.
I used to have a mint complete copy that I stupidly sold(along with 71 other Genesis carts all mint with case and manuals) in what I like to refer to as the great video game purge of 1999.

 

[Bryan^H]

Why aren't there dedicated S-Video cables for the NES, Sega Genesis? Two systems that would benefit dramatically with such a simple addition. So many retro gaming companies out now making all kinds of add ons, simplified solutions(check out the Genesis, Sega CD, 32x all in one power cord...brilliant) and but I'm still stuck with inferior composite for my CRT Televisions, that all have an S-Video input.

At least for my SNES, 64, and GameCube I'm covered.

 

[LeoA]

There aren't s-video cables for the Genesis? I'm pretty sure there actually are, but maybe I'm wrong. Do any of your CRT's happen to have component? I love the Genesis component cable from HD Retrovision on my standard definition Trinitron and recommend it. It taps into the system's native RGB capabilities and converts it to the more friendly component video standard for NTSC gamers.

NES hardware for sure can't output S-Video without major modifications. Modifications have started to happen to improve picture quality, but gamers take it all the way instead by making it be component, RGB, or HDMI it seems. And I'm afraid they're not cheap.

The Analogue NT Mini could do this (a fpga NES) with composite, s-video, component, rgb, and HDMI outputs. But they were nearly $500 with shipping and are now out of stock.

 

[Bryan^H]

There aren't s-video cables for the Genesis? I'm pretty sure there actually are, but maybe I'm wrong. Do any of your CRT's happen to have component? I love the Genesis component cable from HD Retrovision on my standard definition Trinitron and recommend it. It taps into the system's native RGB capabilities and converts it to the more friendly component video standard for NTSC gamers.

NES hardware for sure can't output S-Video without major modifications. Modifications have started to happen to improve picture quality, but gamers take it all the way instead by making it be component, RGB, or HDMI it seems. And I'm afraid they're not cheap.

The Analogue NT Mini could do this (a fpga NES) with composite, s-video, component, rgb, and HDMI outputs. But they were nearly $500 with shipping and are now out of stock.

Thanks Leo. I have been waiting for the Analogue NT Mini to be restocked for a long time. I hope it isn't out of production for good. I would love to own one. I heard about it too late, and it has been "out of stock" every time I'm willing to purchase it($500 is a big chunk of change, but I'd do it in a heartbeat whenever I have that extra cash).


My 3 like CRT TV's (27" Philips) have S-Video, and composite only. The Cadillac of my CRT collection is an HD 27" Samsung, it has Component. This TV is deligated as my main PS2/XBox untit with component cables.


I checked for Sega Genesis Component cable a few weeks ago, but they were out of stock in all lengths

I looked for S-Video cables for the Genesis all over, but couldn't find any. Maybe they exist, but if so they are elusive..

 

[Bryan^H]

I still have to unbox all my games for my game room, I'm just saving money now for enough display stands for my games(not cheap) and sturdy stands for all my TV's.

One thing is for certain, it won't be just another "room of spines" I love cover art, and front facing displays of all the games I buy. I think I own close to 2,000 games, and I assure you There may be 200 at the ready at all times-starting with my favorites, from each system and working my way down the list. After I reach the limit of a couple hundred ....in the basement, and closet the rest of them go. Sure, I will rotate out my stock from time to time, but I will never have every game on display at all times.

 

[LeoA]

That really surprises me. I guess I always just assumed it could do S-Video, but it looks like you'd have to mod it.

Sega Genesis RGB is so beautiful though that I think it would be worth watching for the HD Retrovision cable to come back into stock (Each batch doen't stick around long) to connect to your Samsung with.

 

[Bryan^H]

The Sega Genesis RGB cord is an instant purchase as soon as I see it available.

I wish Analogue would inform people if The NT Mini will be made again. I'm not joking when I say used units go for $1,000 or more on E-Bay. That is just insane.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Over the weekend I pulled out the Nintendo 64 so my wife and I could play through some Super Mario 64. Took a while to get set up and decided to modify my wall-mounted TV situation (plugged component and L/R audio cables into the TV, ran them through the wall and out the bottom receptacle), and now have a potential long-term setup for whenever the itch strikes to break out the old stuff. The SNES happens to be in the same storage bin so we may give that a whirl before everything goes back.

And before anyone asks, no, I don't have a component N64 cable. However, my TV treats the Green input as a regular [yellow] video input, so I figured I'd plug in a component cable to all 3 spots and just leave it in case I want to play something with component video later on. I have a small A/V switcher sitting on the cabinet that the cables are all going through, set up solely for retro gaming, which can be taken out or put away as needed.

 

[CraigF]

Do any of you guys know if there was a Sega "stand up" game system? It looks like a regular video game console you'd have seen in an arcade back in the day, built to the same durability standards, so I'm going to guess that's what it is, except made for "consumer" sale.

It is offered to me by someone who has had it for years, maybe almost 30 as best I can remember, and she only has a couple "cartridges". I don't know if they're normal Sega cartridges, and didn't even know the machine used carts, because I always just played the same game on it. Haven't seen the system powered on for a few years, it's not in a place anywhere near me now, but it apparently still works well enough.

Worth taking a look at, and more to the point, trucking it over here? Don't want to end up with a "white elephant". I am not even confident it actually accepts cartridges, or at least what we would call a cartridge, and might instead take a "ROM pack" or something else slightly more commercial-oriented (i.e. needs to be installed, rather than conveniently plugged in from the outside). And the owner is a total computerphobe, she knows nothing technical about it, it is quite amusing to me that she owns something as "advanced" as this device, she even pays people to change her light bulbs! (not kidding)

 

[LeoA]

I'm unaware of Sega ever having an arcade cabinet that utilized their home console hardware for consumer sale or arcade sale. Some companies did offer such console hardware to arcade operators though, with Nintendo the most famous with their Playchoice line (NES hardware and games) and the Nintendo Super System (The SNES equivalent).

I'd be more inclined to think that it's a store kiosk used for demo purposes, such as this Sega Genesis example. Sort of has an arcade look to it, and it's just a regular Genesis inside with a multi-cart expander interfaced to the Genesis cartridge slot, which accepts six standard Genesis cartridges. The player uses buttons to select which game they want to play.

Would've seen these in places like the electronics department of department stores back in the day. The concept has sort of faded away after being a fixture since the earliest days of home consoles, but you still see store kiosks in GameStops and most Wal-Mart's seem to now have a Nintendo Switch kiosk (Previously, I hadn't seen a store kiosk in a department store since perhaps early in the Xbox 360's life).

Edit: Sega did have such arcade hardware, but they didn't see North American releases.

https://segaretro.org/Mega-Tech_System

https://segaretro.org/Mega_Play

 

[CraigF]

^ It's definitely not the gray store demo unit, but as best I can remember, looks more like the unit in the first link. It is rather large! The vintage fits too. The owner is not "from" North America, but has lived here since the early 80s for sure. It is so unlike her to own such a device, that I have to guess she got it under "unusual" circumstances, and for her young nieces/nephews at the time. Perhaps a relative acquired/imported it, will find out. Sounds like I'd be pretty much limited to whatever games are already installed, and that Sega went out of their way to prevent regular carts from being used instead of the special ones. Yeah, the cart slots were never obvious to me, so internal ones fits. But my memory is fuzzy, the machine has been such a "fixture" for so long I never really examined it except when it was new (to me, ~30 years ago).

Thanks for the info. It made me think more about just how large this unit is, and what a pain it would be to transport it here, and then to get it into the basement. Maybe the owner just wants me to get rid of it for her, kind of like me and a couple of my large CRT TVs.