Fantastic review and great analyses. The NEC branding-removal is particularly interesting since the "PC" branding is clearly theirs rather than Hudson's. Does Konami own the rights to the hardware, too?
This would be a must-buy if Snatcher had been translated, or perhaps if Tokimeki Memorial, Far East of Eden II, or possibly even if Bomberman '94 had been, but M2's addition of a new Caravan mode in Soldier Blade is still really cool, at least.
Also, Kato-chan & Ken-chan (and even J.J. & Jeff) is a surprisingly deep platforming game if its difficulty isn't too offputting.
Sad to hear I was wrong about this one. Hopefully the ambitiousness behind its release will inspire future plug-n-play products to do it right, next time, and to still remain unique and of strong value.
That was incredible! Very impressive that they used a late '80s anime style, too. Some of the one-liners sounded pretty forced, though, but overall not a bad effort in that respect. Nice to see new R-Type fan creations at all in a time where I've recently exposed someone to its existence through their PlayStation Now account.
The strangest part of the whole video was that the characters automatically understood how to pilot a space fighter after only playing a video game simulation.
A fun read about a great game, which deserves distinction from Goldeneye's lineage, because it's rather different. Its controls are severely worse than Goldeneye's, but you can't jump or swim in Bond's tale, can you?! Also, being platform-heavy (that it should almost be considered in an "FPS/Platformer" genre), along with its tons of (world-destroying) weapons and giant bosses made it feel not much like a predecessor to Goldeneye but rather one to METROID PRIME! Still a fantastic play, once you get used to the experimental controls.
@Yorumi great point. What have they done so far that makes anyone believe they'll actually have more games produced than what they've shown? Even their 10-15 games estimate sounds like quite a farfetched quota for something so prototypey as this. Also, $300 for this? Okay. Hopefully this is all only conceptual for now, but there should have been a lot more R&D done before they began a campaign that requests $2 million.
At the very least, this system makes indie games seem a lot more valuable than they usually do. It's another plus that games released on this system will very likely be better remembered than most digitally-released indie games will be, I feel, and perhaps the games on this system will be (relatively, at least) exclusive to it. I think we can all agree that this is a cool idea.
But without even considering high production and marketing costs and the VERY lofty funding goal, its aethestically non-pleasing cartridge design, uncreative hardware design, a very generic and boring name (even for a "retro throwback" console), and an incredibly niche potential audience, this pitch instills almost no confidence in me.
How exactly do these developers expect the Retro VGS to sell, much less stand out among any sort of retro-themed gaming merchandise? Are they going to produce just like 300 units after shipping the backers' units? They're going to need much more than shout-outs from Matt Bozon and John Carlson if they plan on making this a big deal among retro enthusiasts. This all seems like a fantasy in the minds of American veteran developers who want to return to their beloved industry, yet refuse to learn how forms of game content and the distribution thereof have massively changed in the past two decades. And reality is indeed a real pity, because this is such a fun idea!
Comments 8
Re: Hardware Review: PC Engine Mini - Still An Acquired Taste, Even After 30 Years
Fantastic review and great analyses. The NEC branding-removal is particularly interesting since the "PC" branding is clearly theirs rather than Hudson's. Does Konami own the rights to the hardware, too?
This would be a must-buy if Snatcher had been translated, or perhaps if Tokimeki Memorial, Far East of Eden II, or possibly even if Bomberman '94 had been, but M2's addition of a new Caravan mode in Soldier Blade is still really cool, at least.
Also, Kato-chan & Ken-chan (and even J.J. & Jeff) is a surprisingly deep platforming game if its difficulty isn't too offputting.
Re: This New Handheld Wants To Heal The Scars Of Gaming's Most Infamous Console War
"(we'll conveniently ignore the fact that other consoles, like the Retron 5 and Retro Freak achieved this goal some time ago)"
Then why did you "waste your time" writing an article about this?
Re: Feature: A Look Back At the SG-1000, Sega's First Ever Home Console
So cool that gems like Knightmare and Rally-X got ported to this! Taiwan is too underrated.
Re: Hardware Review: Retro-Bit Generations
Sad to hear I was wrong about this one. Hopefully the ambitiousness behind its release will inspire future plug-n-play products to do it right, next time, and to still remain unique and of strong value.
Re: Video: This Animated Homage To R-Type Makes Us Sad The Series Is Dead
That was incredible! Very impressive that they used a late '80s anime style, too. Some of the one-liners sounded pretty forced, though, but overall not a bad effort in that respect. Nice to see new R-Type fan creations at all in a time where I've recently exposed someone to its existence through their PlayStation Now account.
The strangest part of the whole video was that the characters automatically understood how to pilot a space fighter after only playing a video game simulation.
Re: Feature: The Making Of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
A fun read about a great game, which deserves distinction from Goldeneye's lineage, because it's rather different. Its controls are severely worse than Goldeneye's, but you can't jump or swim in Bond's tale, can you?! Also, being platform-heavy (that it should almost be considered in an "FPS/Platformer" genre), along with its tons of (world-destroying) weapons and giant bosses made it feel not much like a predecessor to Goldeneye but rather one to METROID PRIME! Still a fantastic play, once you get used to the experimental controls.
Re: The Retro VGS Wants To Revive The Glory Days Of Cartridge-Based Home Consoles
@Yorumi great point. What have they done so far that makes anyone believe they'll actually have more games produced than what they've shown? Even their 10-15 games estimate sounds like quite a farfetched quota for something so prototypey as this. Also, $300 for this? Okay. Hopefully this is all only conceptual for now, but there should have been a lot more R&D done before they began a campaign that requests $2 million.
Re: The Retro VGS Wants To Revive The Glory Days Of Cartridge-Based Home Consoles
At the very least, this system makes indie games seem a lot more valuable than they usually do. It's another plus that games released on this system will very likely be better remembered than most digitally-released indie games will be, I feel, and perhaps the games on this system will be (relatively, at least) exclusive to it. I think we can all agree that this is a cool idea.
But without even considering high production and marketing costs and the VERY lofty funding goal, its aethestically non-pleasing cartridge design, uncreative hardware design, a very generic and boring name (even for a "retro throwback" console), and an incredibly niche potential audience, this pitch instills almost no confidence in me.
How exactly do these developers expect the Retro VGS to sell, much less stand out among any sort of retro-themed gaming merchandise? Are they going to produce just like 300 units after shipping the backers' units? They're going to need much more than shout-outs from Matt Bozon and John Carlson if they plan on making this a big deal among retro enthusiasts. This all seems like a fantasy in the minds of American veteran developers who want to return to their beloved industry, yet refuse to learn how forms of game content and the distribution thereof have massively changed in the past two decades. And reality is indeed a real pity, because this is such a fun idea!