Damo

@-wc- "A spiritual successor is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous work, but does not explicitly continue the product line or media franchise of its predecessor, and is thus only a successor "in spirit""

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_successor

@MarioBrickLayer I'm amazed they haven't done one already, as even with N64 games on NSO, people would still buy an N64 Mini. It would be easy money for them!

@MarioBrickLayer I can't help but feel that the Master System would be a big ask. I just don't think there's a big enough market for it... but I'm happy to be proven wrong.

Machines like the Saturn might be tricky mainly down to the fact that the current SoCs which run many of these systems won't be powerful enough.

@farrgazer I've used multiple power bricks and USB sources and haven't had a single issue.

@Diogmites That's a fair point! Herzog Zwei was one of the first games I ever played on my Japanese Mega Drive back in 1990... I adore that game. Doesn't get enough credit!

@LillianC14 That's pretty much the only one we haven't tested as yet. We'll look into sourcing a unit and getting it added to the list.

@sdelfin You're quite right, and I've added that into in, thanks!

@KingMike I don't think even those companies got the same terms as Namco.

@mus422 Nope. This will be an alternative for those who don't want to shell out for the hardware.

@-wc- "You're Giving Me The 'It's Not You, It's Me' Routine? I Invented 'It's Not You, It's Me.'"

No harm, no foul. Just glad to see the engagement! It's all good!

@-wc- @antdickens has already said it better than I could - this was a feature which sprang from a conversation in the office which we found interesting - but I do find it slightly amusing that you're offended that a website would talk about a topical game/series in order to generate interest, like that's some kind of dark art!

(Oh, and in reply to your first post, F-Zero on the SNES wasn't technically a 2D game, so it doesn't count.)

@Pillowpants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_II

"Street Fighter II: The World Warrior is a fighting game developed by Capcom and originally released for arcades in 1991"

1v1 titles like this have always been referred to as 'fighting games', at least as far as I know, but I realise the term can loosely be applied to any game where your goal is to 'beat up' someone else

@Pillowpants They're technically 'fighting games'.

@Herna Any list that is trying to cover a genre with this much history is likely to feel all over the place, I'd argue. It's a hard job trying to factor in all of the best titles in a genre, especially one which has undergone a resurgence of late. You could argue that a best beat 'em up list should be 50 titles long, or more!

As for compilations, the D&D entry is a two-pack and is the only way those two D&D games have EVER been retailed, which is why we included it. Just listing Capcom's Beat 'em Up Bundle as a single entry would have been unfair, I feel. The two D&D games are very much the same thing; SoM is an expansion of ToD in my eyes, so it felt fair in this case.

As for the other 'omissions', a list is someone's opinion, so your list will be different to our list. Expecting them to match 100% is impossible.

The aim of these lists is ultimately to present a newcomer with 25 games that are a good introduction to the genre, and this list does that, even if your personal favourites are missing.

@Herna We haven't sidelined anything - as we say in the opening, we've included one entry from each series. SoR4 is utterly fantastic, and improves on SoR2 in every meaningful way (although the visuals are still a point of contention for many, I realise). We picked that over SoR2, but we mentioned the second game in the entry.

@RootsGenoa Given how many beat 'em ups have been released in the past few decades, no list was ever going to please everyone.

@LikeWhoa So the list is 'trash' because we didn't include an unofficial hack and Power Stone 2, which isn't even a beat 'em up (it's a multiplayer arena-based fighting game)?

@Gryzor You appear to be willfully missing the point of this piece, which is to point out that video games cost $70 thirty years ago - there's no attempt to excuse corporate greed here (hence the mention in the piece that games should be cheaper today, given the size of the industry).

Anyway, you've clearly made your mind up, so good day.

@Gryzor "There's also a higher profit margin in 2023 vs 1994, because publishers don't have to:

Manufacture a cartridge.
Design and write a 30 page colour manual.
Print and assemble the box, manual and cartridge label.
Ship via sea freight from Nintendo's manufacturing site in Japan.
Pay shipment insurance.
Pay for warehouse storage between shipment and distribution.
Pay the local distribution company in each country.
Pay the brick and mortar store for retail shelf-space.
Pay a marketing contribution to the distributor and retailer."

Unless I'm missing something, companies like Nintendo still do all of that (minus the manual, which is something I'm against - all games should come with a physical manual). Digital hasn't totally removed the production of physical games.

For your next task, compare the actual cost of video game development in 1994 to 2023.

@-wc- @Gryzor Irrespective of what viewpoint you have on this particular topic (and the feature itself, I feel, does a good job of explaining the whys and wherefores of pricing, both in 1994 and 2023), the fact remains that decades ago, players were expected to pay $70 for a video game that offered arguably much less content than one in 2023. That price point isn't a new thing, not by a long chalk.

Regardless of the size of the market, production costs, etc, the consumer was paying what would be in modern money closer to $140 for a game - which is why gamers of a certain vintage might be a little less bothered by price increases. That was the crux of the piece. No one is defending Nintendo here (indeed, Sony hiked prices long before Nintendo did).

I'm sorry people have taken such offence at me merely pointing out that $70 video games aren't a new thing, and it would be a shame for that to be misconstrued as somehow being 'pro-publisher' - price rises of any kind aren't a welcome thing, but, as I try to articulate in the piece (perhaps not as well as I could have done), video games still represent amazing value for money when compared to other mediums, and have been relatively stable for years now (Xbox 360 games were selling for as much as $60 15 years ago, for example).

Whether or not you think a video game should cost $50, $60 or even $70 bucks, the fact is that the industry has grown up around that being the premium price point, with development / staffing costs being based on that RRP.

@-wc- We've covered Retro Fighters pads on the site, they're great:

https://www.timeextension.com/news/2022/09/review-retro-fighters-defender-a-wireless-wonder-for-ps1-ps2-and-ps3

https://www.timeextension.com/news/2020/07/review_retro_fighters_strikerdc_-_the_only_dreamcast_pad_you_need

@Moroboshi876 Glad you liked the review. We had to wait a bit for the copy to arrive from Japan, otherwise it would have been up sooner!

@SonOfDracula The Master System is the one before the Mega Drive, which was called the Genesis in North America 😀

@Serpenterror The console in the lead photo for this guide has a modded backlit screen

@845H His wealth obviously helps, but he clearly knows what's worth collecting - I doubt you'd pick all of that stuff up randomly.

@BulkSlash It does have an app, but it's not as slick as the Steam interface - although it does do a good job of pulling together all of the games you have installed from the various sources (Steam, Epic Game Store, etc).

You can just run Steam in big picture mode if you prefer, however.

@Bunkerneath I have no idea what you mean

@JJtheTexan Thanks for the feedback! Glad you liked it

@Maxz Yep, it was a fun ride and really interesting regardless

@KingMike Konami was buying stock in Hudson prior to that but it didn't become a wholly owned subsidiary of Konami until April 2011: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2011/01/konami_to_take_over_hudson_in_april

@RetroGames I think with the original game, they were probably up against a tight deadline to hit the Game Boy launch. And, with it being one of the first games, they probably didn't have much experience with the system. If you look at how much of an improvement Belmont's Revenge is, then Adventure clearly wasn't Konami's best work!

@boatie Were there any games that actually forced you to use the DualShock? Ape Escape is the only one I can think of.

Even titles like Gran Turismo allowed you to use the digital pad as well. In fact, I don't remember getting a DA controller until very late in the console's life, so it's less of an issue than you might think.

@saintpumpkin As much as I love Revenge of Death Adder, it's VERY repetitive (like a lot of arcade games were back then). Golden Axe Returns feels to me like it takes the best elements of Revenge and adds in more content, as well as giving the player a combat engine which has more depth. Each to their own, of course, but I feel that Returns is an excellent unofficial successor to the series - a series which Sega isn't doing anything with at the moment.

@Coalescence @SpeedRunRocks @TheWingedAvenger The list may well evolve over time, but like any list, it's our opinion - so it's not going to sync up with everyone's favourite list.

It's more a selection of games that, if you were new to the console, would be a solid group to begin with.

@DashKappei You're quite right, that has been amended.

@Wanderer64 We're working on a feature about the device, so who knows?

@N64-ROX Bitmap paid a licence for the SMS book, and Sega's stance on books has changed recently.

From a legal perspective, Sega's case against Bitmap Books is very flimsy - the book doesn't include artwork / box art, and is comprised of bespoke screenshots / photos / commissioned art.

However, like I said, a company like Bitmap can't go to court to argue this, as it would cost a fortune.

@MarioBrickLayer I don't think it would be worth it, as ultimately if Sega has an issue (valid or otherwise) then a company the size of Bitmap Books isn't going to have the funds required to fight it in court.

It is, at the end of the day, Sega's IP, so it can challenge any project which uses it.

@Wanderer64 You're not the first person to spot that - the piece was originally published on one of our sister sites in 2011, so I will update it now to avoid any confusion.

@farrgazer We might revisit this at a later date but I wanted to review the 'out of the box' experience as that is what the vast majority of people will be seeing.

@AstraeaV Yep! Just drop them on the SD card.

@Poodlestargenerica The original PS1 had two shoulder triggers and no analogue stick (until the optional controller arrived, at least) so I assume these have been included for that.

@KingMike The intention wasn't to 'credit' them with the 3DO, it was more to illustrate that they were one of many 'big' tech firms getting involved with home gaming hardware.

However, it's perhaps easy to ignore the fact that Panasonic's support got 3DO over the line in those early days - the company was one of 3DO's most high-profile partners (and Panasonic's parent company, Matsushita, bought the rights to M2 from 3DO, lest we forget) and produced the first 3DO system.

@DashKappei Thanks for the kind words, it means a lot, honestly!

@Zentradi And your username!

@BulkSlash Star Fleet / X-Bomber has never been bettered! What a show!

@sdelfin Could not agree more. Like Macek says, without Robotech, none of this stuff would have made it over at all.

@mrbogus No, this is the western release.

@LillianC14 http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9909/09/dreamcast/

@HotGoomba You win the internet today 😂