Don't sleep on Goof Troop. It's a fantastic game by Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil). It basically plays like a series of Zelda-lite dungeons, with added co-op play. It's short and easy, but so much fun with two players.
I'm a bit surprised you haven't mentioned the GPD Win 4, which has the same form factor (6" screen, slide out keyboard) but also has a small track pad. It comes with the same processor for less money.
Taki Udon has looked at both on YouTube - sounds like he preferred the picture quality, grips and tilt screen of the Ayaneo but the controls, heat management and 40Hz option of the GPD.
The GPD also comes with an Oculink port, which would make lossless eGPU connectivity an option (albeit one that's largely DIY at this point) - connecting an eGPU over Thunderbolt 3 or USB 4 incurs up to a 35% performance hit, so Oculink could be a big deal with more mainstream support. If I were in the market I'd be looking hard at the GPD.
Also - the springs that control the screen sliding action on the Ayaneo are a beautiful bit of design - have a look from the back with the screen extended.
@N64-ROX Yeah, Secret of Mana was one of the first games to release after prices got reduced. I remember buying Super Street Fighter II for $100 and SoM for $80, after a couple of years of paying $120-130 for SNES games. Makes me wonder how any of us could afford new games at 1993 prices!
For some reason I didn't click with Ocarina until the 3DS re-release, but FF7 floored me. I bought a Playstation just on the strength of that game. Still love the Midgar sequence.
@N64-ROX I think the only good SNES RPG we got in Australia was Secret of Mana, although we also got Arcana (decent) and Mystic Quest (urgh). Equinox was an okay RPG-adjacent. Zelda was incredible, of course. I was really lucky to get FF2(4), Soulblazer and Shadowrun as US imports.
Whereas the Mega Drive actually had a great roster of RPGs, especially if you stretch the definition a bit. Warriors of the Eternal Sun, Rings of Power, Starflight, Landstalker, Shining Force, Phantasy Star, Beyond Oasis, King's Bounty, Warsong, Pirates, Shadowrun, the best version of Ys III. Probably others. Many of them Western, often less polished than what was on SNES but more varied and in some cases more interesting.
A shame I missed so many of the best MD games back in the day - I had a knack for buying atrocious games when I owned one - but I'm making up for lost time now and am finding that the MD library is much deeper than it's given credit for.
To be fair though, if I really had to pick one 16 bit machine it would be the SNES.
Comments 5
Re: Best SNES Games Of All Time - Super Nintendo Games You Must Own
Don't sleep on Goof Troop. It's a fantastic game by Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil). It basically plays like a series of Zelda-lite dungeons, with added co-op play. It's short and easy, but so much fun with two players.
Re: AYANEO Slide - A Formidable Steam Deck Rival With A Physical Keyboard
I'm a bit surprised you haven't mentioned the GPD Win 4, which has the same form factor (6" screen, slide out keyboard) but also has a small track pad. It comes with the same processor for less money.
Taki Udon has looked at both on YouTube - sounds like he preferred the picture quality, grips and tilt screen of the Ayaneo but the controls, heat management and 40Hz option of the GPD.
The GPD also comes with an Oculink port, which would make lossless eGPU connectivity an option (albeit one that's largely DIY at this point) - connecting an eGPU over Thunderbolt 3 or USB 4 incurs up to a 35% performance hit, so Oculink could be a big deal with more mainstream support. If I were in the market I'd be looking hard at the GPD.
Also - the springs that control the screen sliding action on the Ayaneo are a beautiful bit of design - have a look from the back with the screen extended.
Re: Review: Renovation Collection 1 - A 'Double-A' Selection Of Sega For Evercade
Shame it doesn't include Earnest Evans - as bad as it is, that game is comedy gold and worth experiencing just once.
Re: Gunstar Heroes Developer Treasure On Why Mega Drive Is Better Than SNES
@N64-ROX
Yeah, Secret of Mana was one of the first games to release after prices got reduced. I remember buying Super Street Fighter II for $100 and SoM for $80, after a couple of years of paying $120-130 for SNES games. Makes me wonder how any of us could afford new games at 1993 prices!
For some reason I didn't click with Ocarina until the 3DS re-release, but FF7 floored me. I bought a Playstation just on the strength of that game. Still love the Midgar sequence.
Re: Gunstar Heroes Developer Treasure On Why Mega Drive Is Better Than SNES
@N64-ROX
I think the only good SNES RPG we got in Australia was Secret of Mana, although we also got Arcana (decent) and Mystic Quest (urgh). Equinox was an okay RPG-adjacent. Zelda was incredible, of course. I was really lucky to get FF2(4), Soulblazer and Shadowrun as US imports.
Whereas the Mega Drive actually had a great roster of RPGs, especially if you stretch the definition a bit. Warriors of the Eternal Sun, Rings of Power, Starflight, Landstalker, Shining Force, Phantasy Star, Beyond Oasis, King's Bounty, Warsong, Pirates, Shadowrun, the best version of Ys III. Probably others. Many of them Western, often less polished than what was on SNES but more varied and in some cases more interesting.
A shame I missed so many of the best MD games back in the day - I had a knack for buying atrocious games when I owned one - but I'm making up for lost time now and am finding that the MD library is much deeper than it's given credit for.
To be fair though, if I really had to pick one 16 bit machine it would be the SNES.