BionicDodo

@MARl0 You can take a 'virtual holiday' and change your account location to Japan, buy the game and then return your location to wherever you actually are. The only issue with it is that you can't keep any account credit in the other currency when switching your location/switching back.

On the price tag, it will quite likely drop 20% next month in the Black Friday sale.

One of my favourite games on one of my favourite consoles. What a combination! Will definitely give this one a go.

I hate to be that guy, but... The Saroo isn't really an ODE as it doesn't emulate the optical drive. In fact, I believe the reason it is able to speed up loading times is because it isn't held back by the bottleneck of the optical drive interface.

Excellent news! I'm a big fan of both the Master System and his work, so will definitely be grabbing this.

@ahchay Thanks for the info. I took a look and they are indeed expensive for unbranded clone devices!

Good luck with your game. I love my NGPC and may just give this one a go.

@The_Nintendo_Pedant I agree. I want to love the 8Bitdo pad but there's too much dead zone on the stick for me. It requires a fair change of direction to click. For shmups I want to be able to switch from heading left to heading right instantly.

Surely one of these Chinese emulation handheld companies could release a NGPC clone with a higher resolution screen that can play any 2D games?

@The_Nintendo_Pedant 100% agree. My controller dream wish for some time has been a fully featured JoyCon with one of those sticks on it. It would need to include battery and connectivity so that it could work in a FlipGrip for TATE shmups. Now I want the S2 equivalent (and an S2 FlipGrip to go with it).

The closest I've come across in recent years was the 8Bitdo NEOGEO CD style controller.

This is brilliant! For some reason the flat nature of the baddies always stuck out to me more in Duke 3D than in other FPS of the era, so this is a very welcome mod.

My yoof. Every screenshot and review excited me, even when games were rated as poor or mediocre. I read all of the import news in awe each month.

Fair play for giving it a go, but I'm not super impressed by this one either. The art is quite frankly a bit ugly.

Might be my favourite fighting game of all time. Code Mystics should mean it will be a top quality release. I own it in many other forms, and don't play online, so will probably wait for a sale.

I still wish a game could somehow be created with the roster and 'feel' of RB2, the brilliant ring-outs of RB1 and the overall presentation of RB Special. I return to all three as they each feature something I love.

I read about this one on the PC Engine Software Bible site. They suggested it might have been a license added to an already in-development game as there are various elements that make no sense in relation to the source material.

Ooh, that's actually pretty cool. I don't need it, but I want it!

Despite growing up in the UK in the 80s, I never owned a Spectrum and only played a little at a friend's house. That said, I am strangely drawn towards this. I can't justify the cost, but that doesn't mean I won't accidentally buy one.

What I'd really love is an FPGA recreation of the Acorn Archimedes series, but that's far too niche to ever happen. An Amiga equivalent would be very cool.

@RossoftheRobots Ah, makes sense, thanks for the info.

So how does the reversible cover work with the series numbering? Does the blue alternative cover just not have a number?

Yeah, all of this stuff scares me. I'm also sick of Google searches beginning with 'facts' to answer my search query that are almost always just taken from random Reddit posts.

My advice to anyone looking to do any work like this is to never mix business with pleasure. Your home Google account with family photos etc should never cross paths with your professional work.

Hah, good working title.

I love Ridge Racer but I wish this release was more like the SEGA AGES ones and combined Ridge Racer with RR2 (and maybe even Rave Racer) and added a chase cam option. Given that RR2 was basically just an update of the original game it seems kinda pointless just to release the first version on its own.

@Moroboshi876 I'm with you on this one. I've seen some in large toy shops and they aren't a comfortable height for me (and I'm of average height). They also aren't too comfortable to play two player as there isn't much room in front.

I get that the smaller footprint is useful for the average home, but I wish they didn't have to be so short. I guess tall and skinny might look weird and potentially be unstable.

I was disappointed to read reviews of the Retro Fighters D6 as I quite fancied one. My Dreamcast go-to for fighting games has been a Total Control 3 adapter and six-button Saturn pad for as long as I can remember.

I love Blast Arena and this one looks lovely too. Thanks for the heads up!

This is great news, thanks for the heads up!

Would be fabulous if it was down to a new deal between Namco and Blaze that brought further Namco titles to the system.

I was already absolutely sick of the modern obsession with crossovers and guest characters in games as I find they destroy my belief in the world the game/series has built. I'm all for Smash or Capcom vs SNK, I just don't like them featuring all these guests in the main series games. Unsurprisingly, I am unamused by the new additions to the world of Fatal Fury. I don't even want to see Street Fighter characters in there!

I wish I could buy an omnibus of collected issues of Mean Machines, like the comics collections they publish, with covers and everything included. This magazine was so important to me as a child, even some of the adverts send me hurtling back in time.

Looking forward to this one, and praying the NEOGEO content isn't all just built in games on mini arcade cabinets and handhelds. I want NEOGEO cartridges, in the same way I want Taito and Capcom ones. Fingers crossed.

I bought a 3D printed grip very similar to this from Etsy shortly after I received my EXP. It really helps with TATE play. I now find myself wanting this official model, even though I suspect they're very similar.

One thing I've never understood is why companies like this don't just pay fan translators and use their pre-existing translation. Why pay some cretin like this guy to copy a fan translation, rather than offering the original translator a fee to use the work they've already done? I get that some people might not want their work to be used in a commercial release, but that can't always be true.

As for there being no pre-orders, Hit and Amazon UK both have it available to order now for Switch and PS4.

I love the Panzer Dragoon games but the remake just didn't do it for me, even after the patches. I can't quite put my finger on what was wrong with it, but it just didn't feel right.

I'll go with Bubble Symphony.

I remember some home ports of arcade games back then being unfavourably compared to the originals technically, and also accused of being too short/repetitive to be worth owning, so making original games rather than straight ports did actually make some sense. Still cool to see new arcade ports all these years later though.

My dream left JoyCon would have a little digital stick like the NEOGEO Pocket one. It would also include battery and wireless so that it would still work in a FlipGrip. You'd then have the perfect handheld shmup machine.

Really looking forward to this one eventually being completed. Would definitely take GG Shinobi 2 as well!

I love Itch and I can't stand Funko. So this news does not make me happy! I'm hearing a lot of worrying reports about these AI powered IP protection bots, especially given the automated nature of many platforms' takedown procedures.

Not too concerned about the delay as I have plenty to be getting on with. Wish the physical release wasn't being handled by just LRG though. Wish there was a Mega Drive release from a European distributor.

I remember drooling over screenshots of this game in a magazine back in the day and then being crestfallen when the reviews eventually came out. I loved all the Mickey and pals games on the Master System and Mega Drive, so this one was a huge disappointment to me. Will have to finally check it out.

Yeah, my FPGBC cost me less than half the cost of one of these and seems to basically do the exact same job, so I'm good with that. If I ever decide to buy a more premium device it will be an Analogue Pocket.

@KoopaTheGamer None of this makes any sense!

Yeah, I think we all know that car's a rental.

I love Evercade (I own the original handheld, the EXP, the VS and every cartridge) but I just can't justify any kind of arcade hardware that doesn't have two sets of controls.

I love DOOM 64 and DOOM in general, so I am all over this.

I would love for this 'trilogy' to receive a release on modern consoles like the Collection of Mana. In the meantime I think I will check out this new translation. Thanks for the heads up!

Personally I think these things are pointless and also ugly as sin. What's the point of putting in a window to 'see the console's insides' if you hack half the insides out in the process?!

I love Bitmap Books as their products are always so well produced. I own the SNES book and will be picking this one up to.

This is indeed very sad news. I love the site and have been enjoying hacks from it for well over a decade.

I own a complete copy of this game for my Mega Drive and rather like it. Well definitely check this improvement hack out.

I believe I received this game for Steam as part of a Humble Bundle probably 10+ years ago and have still never played it!

While I highly doubt it will happen, it would be amazing if Sega linked up with them and released this as a limited batch official Dreamcast release, with proper packaging and manual.