HammerGalladeBro

HammerGalladeBro

A goon that's gaming since 1996

Comments 129

Re: Ratalaika Games Is Bringing Two More SNES Games To The West For The First Time

HammerGalladeBro

About the Sasuke issue, is that because of the Naruto character or the Japanese TV show adapted to the west as Ninja Warrior?

Darn you, Ratalaika. You keep getting my money on classic games. First with Avenging Spirit/Phantasm, then with Shockman 2 and 3 (missing 1 and Zero), and recently with Aero the Acro-Bat 2 and Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel (missing Aero 1 and the upcoming Rascal Rival Revenge).

Re: Talking Point: Is There Such A Thing As "Bad" Nostalgia?

HammerGalladeBro

Maybe I'm not understanding well, but I have 2 ideas of "Bad Nostalgia".

1. When I played something I didn't like or outright hated back on its day, played very recently and I still hated it, if not even more than back then.
Something like Sonic Spinball on the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis falls on this category.

2. When I enjoyed something as a kid and played recently and I realized it probably wasn't as good as I remembered.
Donkey Kong 64 comes to mind, it was one of my favorite games on the N64 back in the day, but when I did my triple playthrough in 2021 (Wii U Virtual Console version on January, American N64 version on June, Japanese N64 version on October), I realized how tedious it can get. Maybe the fact that I also played other Rare collectathons on the same months didn't help matters either: N64 Banjo-Tooie on January, American N64 Banjo-Kazooie on June and Japanese N64 Banjo-Kazooie on October.
And yes, I 100% all of them except the Japanese Banjo-Kazooie due to the language barrier in Grunty's Furnace Fun.

Then there are games I didn't quite like as a kid but as an adult I really enjoy. Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures and Yoshi's Story are examples of this.

Re: This Is Why You Should Never Store Your Retro Game Collection In A Shed

HammerGalladeBro

The most damage my collection has suffered due to their environment/natural causes are the batteries of my DS phat and New 3DS XL getting swollen.

The DS one is a goner, that's why I don't use it these days, while the New 3DS XL one happened this year during the heat wave that hit Mexico. Thankfully the latter recovered and it's still usable, but I should consider the idea of a replacement.

Strangely didn't happen to the battery of my DSi XL despite being in the same place and conditions.

Re: The Truth About Retro Game Hunting In A Post-Pandemic Japan

HammerGalladeBro

@jojobar One the one hand, I understand what you mean and where you're coming from.

On the other hand, I'd say it depends on the game.
Sure, text heavy games such as RPGs, VNs or Life Sims will most likely be avoided, but trust me a non-RPG/Party Mario game will never be a problem if it's in Japanese.

Most of my Japanese N64 games I can play without understanding what it says due to my little knowledge of Japanese and my previous experience with the western versions.

In the case of the Pokémon Stadiums, I cannot understand what it is being said/displayed, but with my previous experience with the western version, I can understand the Pokémon moves since I remember the animations, sounds, lightning, effects and types of the moves to know what is effective against who.

If I ever play any of the Pokémon versions in Japanese, I believe I won't have any issues, either.

One intance where language did put a stop on my playthrough was in the Japanese version of Banjo-Kazooie. I could play the game no problem, but once I arrived to Grunty's Furnace Fun (the last challenge before the final boss), I couldn't progress anymore.

Then, there's the Ouendan games on the DS, where I have no idea what the characters are saying on their stories, but the gameplay itself is not bound by language.

Re: The Truth About Retro Game Hunting In A Post-Pandemic Japan

HammerGalladeBro

I personally hope you’ll actually play what you buy.

The only ones I haven't played from my Japanese bunch are Shiren the Wanderer 2, Doubutsu no Mori and Doraemon due to the language barrier; ergo, I don't undertand the context of the dialogues, but I'm starting to learn Japanese slowly but surely.

I haven't played Hey You, Pikachu due to a lack of VMU, and when I do get one, I still probably won't be able to play it.

Re: The Truth About Retro Game Hunting In A Post-Pandemic Japan

HammerGalladeBro

Man, I miss the year 2021. That's the year my N64 collection grew from just Conker's Bad Fur Day and a busted Japanese Pokémon Stadium 2 (Pokémon Stadium 1 for the west) to almost 30 games in the span of less than 365 days.

Around February, someone was selling loose Japanese N64 games in my area, I got about 18 games for about 5000 Mexican Pesos (about $250 back then) in three different bunches.

I got Smash Bros., Mario Kart 64, Diddy Kong Racing, Kirby 64, Yoshi's Story, Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Stadium (the Japanese one that has only 41 of the original 151 Pokémon), Pokémon Stadium Kin Gin (Pokémon Stadium 2 for the west), Hey You, Pikachu! (no VMU), Mario Tennis 64, Doubutsu no Mori (Animal Crossing), Bomberman Hero, Shiren the Wanderer 2, Donkey Kong 64, Banjo-Kazooie and 1080° Snowboarding.

That same year I also found cheap American copies of GoldenEye 007 with some issues, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, Blast Corps, Ridge Racer 64, an expensive copy of Banjo-Tooie and a Japanese copy of the first Doraemon game on N64.

Oh, and the guy who sold me the Japanese games was also a technician and fixed my Pokémon Stadium 2 and GoldenEye 007.

Coincidence or not, my N64 collection started to grow on January 2021 when I finally decided to get a working controller and give the system the attention I had neglected it all these years. That year I also got an Expansion Pak, a Rumble Pak with the battery cover and one of the rarities of my collection: the official N64 Game Drawer for 24 games. That's where I have my Japanese games.

Some Japanese games I regret not getting are the 2 versions of Super Mario 64 (the 1996 launch version and the 1997 Shindou Pak Taio version, which was the version used for Super Mario 3D All-Stars on the Switch), Mario Golf 64, the Mario Party trilogy, the Shindou Pak Taio version of Wave Race 64, Star Fox 64, F-Zero X, Star Wars Episode I Racer and Ocarina of Time.

But I suppose I'll get my chance another day.

Other retro gaming highlights of that year include getting the screws to open Nintendo games and systems from the same guy to fix my Gamecube on my own that was pending since 2006, finding copies of WarioWare: Twisted!, Banjo-Pilot, Eternal Darkness, Metroid Prime 1 and 2, Smash Bros. Melee, Sonic Gems Collection and Sonic Riders GC.

Re: This Essential GameCube Upgrade Is Now Available "For Free"

HammerGalladeBro

I need to check, my GC is from Christmas 2001, so it has the Digital AV Out. Along my belongings there's also the black GC my cousin got in Christmas 2004-2005 (cannot remember the exact year, but I'm sure it was brand new as the box was sealed and had its manuals and pamphlets), and I'm pretty sure it also has the Digital AV Out.

Re: Arcade Archives' Nintendo eShop World Record Might Be Unbeatable

HammerGalladeBro

My collection only has the 20 Nintendo ones, the 2 Tetris: The Grand Master games, VS. Castlevania by Konami, City Connection by Jaleco, Qix by Taito, King & Balloon by Namco plus on the NEOGEO side I have Real Bout Fatal Fury 1 and 2 as well as The King of Fighters '97, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Not a bad collection and it will only continue to grow until that goal of 800 games is hit and new releases stop (hopefully not as there are a couple of games I'd like to see such as SNK vs. CAPCOM: Chaos or Sheriff)

Re: In Memory Of Memory Cards

HammerGalladeBro

How can I miss something I still use everyday? At the end of the day, SD cards and microSD cards are memory cards at face value. We just had to use proprietary ones back then, but not anymore.

Good thing my Gamecube Memory Cards are still operational after 22 years.

I had a Controller Pak for my N64, but never really used it, the only game I ever owned that needed one was Mario Kart 64 and even then, I couldn't care less about Time Trials.

Every other game in my collection saved to the cartridge itself.

Re: Poll: What Was Your Favourite Game Of Christmas 2013?

HammerGalladeBro

On Christmas 2013, it was my Wii U Mario & Luigi Deluxe Set (which means I was playing New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U), which I got funded by my savings and my dad's help.

And then a few days later I found Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition for about $25 and the Wii Remote Plus bundle of Mario & Sonic Soxhi 2014, which if I recall correctly, was actually cheaper than the standalone game or Wiimote for some reason, not that I'm complaining. Of course I also got funds for the eShop and got NES Remix and Kirby Super Star on the Virtual Console.

I was also playing some Wii games I got but couldn't play due to busted hardware, like Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Metroid Prime: Trilogy.

From there, I built my Wii U collection over the following months with Sonic Lost World, LEGO City Undercover, Game & Wario, Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros. for Wii U (GC Controller and adapter bundle).

No 3DS for me until mid-2017, though.

On an off-topic question, does this mean we can finally call the 3DS and Wii U retro?