The team at Time Extension hasn’t updated their article yet, and with the project nearing its final days, I thought it’d be worth noting that the demo for the SNES version of the game has been available for some time now. You can download it here:
Hopefully, the Time Extension team will soon provide a proper update about this SNES demo. They’d likely do so if a new demo for Cronela’s Mansion were released on platforms like Genesis, PC Engine, or Neo Geo. And I’m sure plenty of people are eager to check out—and play—the SNES version.
Soon a whole buttload of shovelware games created using "AI" tools will flood all digital markets, which means most of the art and whatever else will be some form of copying from other copyrighted works no doubt, and some people are up in arms about a few copy and pasted words in some indie games. Well, it's only gonna get worse, so buckle in.
There were actually some cool ideas in this product, especially the controller, and the business model around it. Shame it's become a farce at this point.
@avcrypt That makes sense—using prior case examples can help predict potential legal outcomes. But I do wonder if, in some cases, the outcome is influenced more by the quality of legal representation than by an indisputable precedent.
A good example is the Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd. 1983 case, which highlights how even experienced lawyers can make critical missteps. The concept of "inducement" can be broadly interpreted—you could argue it applies in many situations, sometimes to an unreasonable extent. Ultimately, people should have the right to use software for legal downloads, while responsibility for piracy should fall on those engaging in it.
Not that it matters now, but in Abernic’s case, it might be worth adjusting the app to better filter legal content from being listed next to pirated software in a way that raises concerns. Not sure if they’d consider that approach, but it could be a reasonable solution.
Also, I really like the phrase "mentally golfing"—great way to put it!
@avcrypt OK, I think I get it. Does the Anbernic app provide direct links, icons, or a store page for each game that can be downloaded? If a game isn't listed there, does that mean direct download isn't possible?
Edit: I should have watched the video first. That said, there’s still some gray area regarding Anbernic’s legal responsibility. The app seems to only provide a search function and organize the results (plus it can organize any downloaded games), I would assume, placing the responsibility on users to avoid downloading pirated games. However, could Anbernic be required to filter out illegal ROM results?
@avcrypt "Doesn’t that imply every copyright holder must grant permission for the 'store' to exist? If ninety-nine holders agree, making the 'store' legal, but one refuses, would the 'store' then need to shut down? Conversely, if just one holder grants permission, is that sufficient for the 'store' to operate legally?
@avcrypt So, they can legally operate as the 'store' as long as the software being downloaded has been authorized by the freeware developer and even potentially a developer of paid games, meaning no laws are being broken. If that’s the case, doesn’t it imply that the store itself is fine, regardless of whether someone later figures out a way to misuse it and download illegal games directly through it? I mean, you can’t ban a legal 'store' just because someone might find an illegal way to exploit it, right?
@avcrypt I’m not referring to the company pre-installing games on the device—I just want to make that clear to avoid any mix-up. My question is about directly downloading freeware ROM software onto any device, compared to the usual indirect methods, and whether that direct method is illegal. As I see it, a freeware developer on a platform like itch.io doesn’t typically restrict their game to a specific device. People don’t need to go through a formal legal process to get permission from those developers to download the game onto their PC, and Microsoft isn’t paying for any rights or anything like that either. So, if an Anbernic device can run the game, I’m curious if there’s a legal reason why a direct download wouldn’t be permitted. Perhaps there’s something I’m overlooking or that’s getting lost in our discussion.
@Lowdefal I’m definitely against providing actual pirated games. What I’m curious about is the legality of downloading freeware ROMs directly to a device. If that’s legal—regardless of whether someone could misuse it—I’ve got no problem with it. I’m all for any legal features that make a system more capable and open.
If directly downloading ROMs isn’t illegal—considering there are plenty of perfectly legal, royalty-free homebrew ROMs, demos, and freeware that don’t violate anyone’s intellectual property—I have no issue with it, and I don’t think anyone else should either. But if it is illegal to allow direct ROM downloads to a device like this, then that’s a different story. So, is it illegal or not? That’s what I’d like to know.
I noticed he clearly points people to the video descriptions in all his titles, where he provides more details about what’s happening in his demos for anyone who's interested.
Still, it boils down to whether you think he’s being honest about the SNES capabilities with his other examples, as I can’t find working versions of those running on SNES anywhere.
The article's title and opening are confusing. At first glance, they suggest that the SNES game is getting a new physical English-translated release for the SNES, which seems plausible until a few lines later when it’s clarified that it’s actually available on modern consoles and only digitally. Writing clear titles and openings isn’t that difficult.
@smoreon I bet you were a bit unsure about what was being released too. To clarify: it’s digital-only and definitely not for the SNES in any way.
@avcrypt And how close to the sun do you think the people who make fan translations of copyrighted work would be flying if they started asking for financial compensation from the company who used the typically freely distributed fan translations on the original games that they actually own the copyright to?
@Damo Damo, as a fellow human being who I can state unequivocally is not anywhere close to perfect, don't you think it's even remotely possible the people making those statements were just as ignorant about what the person they paid for the translation was doing as we all were until you posted this article on it, or at least to some degree?
What if said translator used some AI and wasn't fully aware the AI might be taking snippets from someone else's translation rather than doing it entirely from scratch using its patent vast digital genius and superior intelligence for example--I'm being sarcastic about AI here. And what if said person told the publisher they didn't directly copy anyone else's work, which they honestly believed, and the publisher believed them at their word.
Now, I'm not claiming everyone is entirely innocent here, or otherwise, but I truly am becoming sick and tired of all the people acting holier than thou online. What, no one has ever cut corners, cheated a little here or there, fubbed the results, imitated just a little too closely, used our modern AI tools to take the load off, etc.
Glass houses and throwing stones and all that stuff applies to probably most of the comments in here imo--the Internet truly has created a bunch of very virtuous outspoken "Saints".
So, they're paying someone to do it for them, and that person is cutting a few corners? Whatever. Just try and add any credits in the future if necessary, and job done, right. All these fan translations are typically being put out there for free anyway, so it just comes down to them getting some acknowledgement, which is obviously what they're after, and then everyone should be happy. Not everything is a master conspiracy or some heinous crime. And not all of it requires the "Saints" come marching in.
Hopefully you bring this list out again for the SNES' 35th birthday and add some of the games I listed above that you missed out previously, as they really do deserve a lot more respect on such lists. There are easily fifty plus games that could make a list like this for SNES.
@snk2d4life It's interesting that he's posting about flash carts for genesis/mega drive that came out years ago, despite them also being available for almost every other retro console at this point too.
I'll add some links for the SNES FXPAK PRO and TURBO EVERDRIVE PRO in here as well:
It's a solid enough run n' gun on SNES, and this should make it a bit more accessible for more people to enjoy.
And, seriously, some of the stuff going on in the intro has always impressed me, be it the high quality voice samples, the nice use of multi-coloured transparency and reflection effects, or the impressive use of Mode 7 to create the illusion of multiple scaling elements on a single screen, and support for Dolby Surround sound, etc:
It's really very cool. Just a shame the artists there weren't of quite the skill level of say the best Capcom or Konami artists of the time, as the visuals there could have been truly stellar with some lovely top-tier pixel art. Still, it managed a decent enough Saturday morning cartoon look I'd say, the intro that is. It even got proper lip-syncing in there to match the words the characters are saying, which is really very impressive.
The rest of the game is pretty good graphically too, with some nice use of all three background layers and transparency effects and such. But, again, with those Capcom or Konami artists it could have been truly peak. Still, it's all very solid visually. Also love some of the more ambient music used in the levels here too, which give it a very cinematic vibe. Really nice.
I actually feel a bit sorry for small developers having to deal with all this very nuinced crap that they probably didn't forsee when the decided to get into the business of selling these cool retro games. But it is what is, and they now need to make sure everything is legit and not going to cause any potential serious issues for consumers.
I don't really trust surveys and polls and such anymore, because they just never seem to give a full picture that's actually true for the majority of people who should be included in such surveys and polls. It's usually a tiny sample that can easily be and often is skewed in some way, sometimes even to fit a certain narrative and bias. But, sure, a bunch of people still play retro consoles. Not surprising really.
Looks like the Neo Geo is getting a lot of new games and ports in recent times, which is cool to see. It was always a powerhouse system, but just FAAAR too expensive for the vast majority of people to ever own back in the day, mainly because each game cost literally the price of buying a new games console, so it never really got the attention it warranted. It's good to see it getting its fair share of support now in modern times.
Will it let me simply load some save for one of the games I have on my ModRetro Chromatic and jump in at whatever stage I want or something like that?
Will it let me somehow save out the game to an external file, which I can then use to load the game from in the future even if the save on the Flashcart got corrupted or something?
And, in as few and as simple words as possible, how does it actually work?
@LP09 There is zero chance anything going up in price in the last couple of weeks has been caused by what's happened in literally the last couple of weeks of the new administration. Things simply do not work that fast in the world of money. And, similarly, no reasonable person should be expecting any meaningful positive changes to happen in such a short time either. So, honestly, I think people need to wait for at least say a year before they jump the gun here. And maybe even have a look in four years and compare where things are truly at, especially compared to where they were at. If we're all in a living hell and paying $100 for a can of beans and caught up in multiple wars and can't say anything without fear of being cancelled, the naysayers will have something to moan about. And if the world hasn't fallen apart and prices have largely come down and we are generally free to openly speak our minds without fear of being cancelled and the government waste has been massively cut and various other things have improved, I think it's safe to say a lot of people maybe need to check what narratives they're buying into, who's peddling them, and why. So, hey, let's all wait a year or so and see what the world is like then, shall we. And in the meantime, we should all at least have the self respect to even just question the stories we're all being fed by whomever is feeding them. That should be the bare minimum.
Just backed this on kickstarter, specifically for the SNES version. And we should definitely support new SNES games if we want more of them going forward. Looking forward to giving the early SNES demo build a go when that releases in a few days. Wish the team all the best.
@betterman I personally haven't experienced a single price increase on any products recently outside of those resulting from Covid and global economic inflation rates, at least not that I noticed. But that's just my personal experience. And I certainly wasn't instantly fear mongering and speculating and attributing those price increases to some dude who hasn't been in a position to affect anything like that for years at this point. So prices go up for various reasons. But what we can all say for sure right now is that none of these products have actually had a price increase recently directly as a result of these brand new tarifs. Maybe they will, and maybe they won't. But the reality is no handheld is more expensive yet because of these new tarifs. But everyone is certainly being made to fear what might happen, that's for sure. And it's interesting that not a single article here was blaming any of the previous price increases in any way on say Biden or Kamala previously and the high inflation that occured in that administration due to all the government overspending, waste, corruption, and so on. That's just my observation mind you.
@betterman "Human beings have the mental ability to use today's facts to make informed predictions and decisions in the future"
If only that were true for everyone, but not based on a million things I've seen online in recent times showing how utterly easily it is it lie to and manipulate people into believing a totally false narrative and acting in all crazy ways based upon that.
And it's not a fact until it's a fact. Right now it's just a "what if" that comes across very much like fear mongering.
I might consider buying one again now after returning my previous one for this very reason.
But there's still two things that put me off:
1. I remember the red text on the darker keys on the NES-themed keyboard was basically impossible to see in low light because it doesn't contrast enough from the darker keys. More brightness in the red colour on the darker keys would really help there, and actually just match the original NES red text colour better too.
2. I'd have to get a wrist support for sure, as the height of the keyboard started causing me carpel tunnel syndrome after literally two days of use. And, because of that, I'd really only be able to use it as a desk keyboard rather than how I primarily like to use my current wireless keyboard, which is chilling on my couch.
So I'm still on the fence to be honest. But it's so close, and the keyboard was honestly just great outside of those issues. The build quality and feel were simply top notch. Pressing the keys was joyful. And, outside of not being able to see the red letters on the darker keys in low light, it was simply lovely looking.
@nilcam It's fear mongering unless it actually happens. So maybe these places should report on actual facts rather than speculation. If the price of consoles goes up next year, report on it. If the price of consoles doesn't go up next year, it's a case of utterly unprofessional fear mongering at its worst. And we all know exactly the place it's coming from. The less we have of that in our gaming sites, the better.
And, just a thought exercice, but what if some clone system or say the Switch 2 eventually cost $50 more than it might otherwise because of tariffs, but you didn't have to pay any income tax on your wages anymore because that was removed entirely. Would you consider that a loss or a gain overall. . . .
Now, neither of those things has happened thus far, and maybe neither ever will, but it's interesting to think about.
@Lanmanna Well, you certainly don't have to do it with a subheading and some of the particular text in the article that's clearly showing your bias towards one side of the political isle in the way it's worded. Maybe being a bit more professional would be ideal. I'm surprised it wasn't phrased "right-wing Republican extremist Trump's tariffs and how they're going to make all your gaming devices more expensive and ruin your life--because of Trump . . ."
@KingMike Let me explain to you how these algorithms work: You say something like this "The last time I signed into Twitter, the recommended/trending topics were all racists." and the algorithm picks up a keyword like "racists" and starts putting more stuff into your feed that aligns with the things you have specifically mentioned and/or viewed, especially if it's the kind of thing that tends to generate more views and clicks, which antagonistic and argumentative and combative posts always do. So, if you don't want to see a bunch of stuff about racism, stop bringing racism and especially random accusations of people being racists into the conversation, which I suspect you have done on occasion on Twitter by your very words in here. The Twitter/X algorithm is being influenced by people like you who keep talking about racism whether it was/is there or not, especially if they're doing so with posts that create conflict and increase views and click and likes, etc. So, like I said, be the thing you want to see more of. Get back to talking about games if that's what you're interested in rather than accusing everyone who doesn't agree with your ideology or whatever of being a "racist", which, even if you've never done directly on Twitter/X, you did just do in here about Twitter/X. And now if you see Time Extension suddenly post lots more articles about "racism" in gaming or whatever, you might have an idea of why. Do you understand?
All I can think of whenever someone mentions the GameCube was how good Eternal Darkness was and how much I want that game in VR in some official capacity. And, seriously, I would take basically just the original game output in HD and running on a virtual screen in some virtual room, with the one main improvement being it running in stereoscopic 3D on the virtual screen. I know it would be amazing as I've already played that unofficially via the Dolphin emulator and Bigscreen on the VR headset a few years back, and it truly felt new again. Also, imagine the insanity effects you could create in VR if it were done properly there. . . .
@KingMike Learn to manage and use your feed better if you want to see more content that suits your specific interests and tastes, as all the options for doing that are usually there. No matter what "social" media platform you're on, if you don't do that, you'll eventually get flooded with crap. And that crap will also be largely defined by your own tastes and views and ideologies and actions and so on, because the algorithms for all these "social" media platforms thrive on views and clicks and ultimately conflict breeds more view and clicks, which means you're more likely to see content that can be divisive if you don't manage your feeds and act accordingly yourself.
Also, you should make sure you're fully informed about the stuff you decide to speak out on too, as there's a very real possibility you're posting misinformation about something that you've been completely lied to and manipulated about for years at this point, so it's highly likely you're not actually seeing and reading what you think and believe you're seeing and reading at all. How many times have you posted with comments like the one above for example, where you blanket accuse everyone in the recommended section or the like on whatever "social" media platform or similar of being a racist?
All I see in my main feed is lots of fun interesting news on video games and movies and such. That's not a coincidence, but by deliberate action both in terms of how I manage my feed and the kinds of things I myself post, share, and perpetuate.
But you gotta put in the work on all those things, or your feed will just be largely junk either way, which you are possibly even contributing to by your very actions and posts. And, like I said, this is true of any "social" media platform either right now or in due time. Nothing is immune from these new algorithms, and only you can manage that as much or as little as you choose to. So manage your feed, and be the things you want to see more of, and not potentially part of the cause of the things you want to see less of.
Comments 1,085
Re: The Maniac Mansion-Esque Adventure Game 'Cronela's Mansion' Has Launched Its Kickstarter
The team at Time Extension hasn’t updated their article yet, and with the project nearing its final days, I thought it’d be worth noting that the demo for the SNES version of the game has been available for some time now. You can download it here:
https://straynus.itch.io/cronelasmansion
Hopefully, the Time Extension team will soon provide a proper update about this SNES demo. They’d likely do so if a new demo for Cronela’s Mansion were released on platforms like Genesis, PC Engine, or Neo Geo. And I’m sure plenty of people are eager to check out—and play—the SNES version.
Re: "These Short Games Mean Nothing To Me" - Retro-Bit Translator Denies Wrongdoing In "Baffling" Rant
@PZT You can't hit every pitch out of the park, but it would be interesting to calculate the relative number of home runs for all the players.
Re: "These Short Games Mean Nothing To Me" - Retro-Bit Translator Denies Wrongdoing In "Baffling" Rant
@Damo I'm absolutely sure they can.
Re: "These Short Games Mean Nothing To Me" - Retro-Bit Translator Denies Wrongdoing In "Baffling" Rant
Soon a whole buttload of shovelware games created using "AI" tools will flood all digital markets, which means most of the art and whatever else will be some form of copying from other copyrighted works no doubt, and some people are up in arms about a few copy and pasted words in some indie games. Well, it's only gonna get worse, so buckle in.
Re: What's The Most Influential Video Game of All Time? BAFTA Needs Your Help To Decide
Maybe Super Mario Bros. Possibly Minecraft.
Re: Random: Distributor Koch Appears To Think The Intellivision Amico Is Still Coming
There were actually some cool ideas in this product, especially the controller, and the business model around it. Shame it's become a farce at this point.
Re: Anbernic Pulls Controversial Firmware Update That Allowed ROM Downloads From The Internet
@avcrypt That makes sense—using prior case examples can help predict potential legal outcomes. But I do wonder if, in some cases, the outcome is influenced more by the quality of legal representation than by an indisputable precedent.
A good example is the Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd. 1983 case, which highlights how even experienced lawyers can make critical missteps. The concept of "inducement" can be broadly interpreted—you could argue it applies in many situations, sometimes to an unreasonable extent. Ultimately, people should have the right to use software for legal downloads, while responsibility for piracy should fall on those engaging in it.
Not that it matters now, but in Abernic’s case, it might be worth adjusting the app to better filter legal content from being listed next to pirated software in a way that raises concerns. Not sure if they’d consider that approach, but it could be a reasonable solution.
Also, I really like the phrase "mentally golfing"—great way to put it!
Re: Anbernic Pulls Controversial Firmware Update That Allowed ROM Downloads From The Internet
@sosrandom True
Re: Anbernic's New Firmware Has Opened A Can Of Worms That Could Damage The Handheld Emulation Market
@avcrypt OK, I think I get it. Does the Anbernic app provide direct links, icons, or a store page for each game that can be downloaded? If a game isn't listed there, does that mean direct download isn't possible?
Edit: I should have watched the video first. That said, there’s still some gray area regarding Anbernic’s legal responsibility. The app seems to only provide a search function and organize the results (plus it can organize any downloaded games), I would assume, placing the responsibility on users to avoid downloading pirated games. However, could Anbernic be required to filter out illegal ROM results?
Re: Anbernic's New Firmware Has Opened A Can Of Worms That Could Damage The Handheld Emulation Market
@avcrypt "Doesn’t that imply every copyright holder must grant permission for the 'store' to exist? If ninety-nine holders agree, making the 'store' legal, but one refuses, would the 'store' then need to shut down? Conversely, if just one holder grants permission, is that sufficient for the 'store' to operate legally?
Re: Anbernic's New Firmware Has Opened A Can Of Worms That Could Damage The Handheld Emulation Market
@avcrypt So, they can legally operate as the 'store' as long as the software being downloaded has been authorized by the freeware developer and even potentially a developer of paid games, meaning no laws are being broken. If that’s the case, doesn’t it imply that the store itself is fine, regardless of whether someone later figures out a way to misuse it and download illegal games directly through it? I mean, you can’t ban a legal 'store' just because someone might find an illegal way to exploit it, right?
Re: Anbernic's New Firmware Has Opened A Can Of Worms That Could Damage The Handheld Emulation Market
@avcrypt I’m not referring to the company pre-installing games on the device—I just want to make that clear to avoid any mix-up. My question is about directly downloading freeware ROM software onto any device, compared to the usual indirect methods, and whether that direct method is illegal. As I see it, a freeware developer on a platform like itch.io doesn’t typically restrict their game to a specific device. People don’t need to go through a formal legal process to get permission from those developers to download the game onto their PC, and Microsoft isn’t paying for any rights or anything like that either. So, if an Anbernic device can run the game, I’m curious if there’s a legal reason why a direct download wouldn’t be permitted. Perhaps there’s something I’m overlooking or that’s getting lost in our discussion.
Re: Anbernic's New Firmware Has Opened A Can Of Worms That Could Damage The Handheld Emulation Market
@Lowdefal I’m definitely against providing actual pirated games. What I’m curious about is the legality of downloading freeware ROMs directly to a device. If that’s legal—regardless of whether someone could misuse it—I’ve got no problem with it. I’m all for any legal features that make a system more capable and open.
Re: Anbernic's New Firmware Has Opened A Can Of Worms That Could Damage The Handheld Emulation Market
If directly downloading ROMs isn’t illegal—considering there are plenty of perfectly legal, royalty-free homebrew ROMs, demos, and freeware that don’t violate anyone’s intellectual property—I have no issue with it, and I don’t think anyone else should either. But if it is illegal to allow direct ROM downloads to a device like this, then that’s a different story. So, is it illegal or not? That’s what I’d like to know.
Re: SNES Title 'Shounen Ninja Sasuke' Is Getting Its First Ever Western Release Later This Week
@RetroMasters True. When it can achieve effects like this, I'd love to see more:
https://x.com/CommodoreKulor/status/1890908926939381790
@Honkshot I know who you mean, and it turns out those examples do work on the SNES pretty much as shown.
For instance, here’s his latest GameMaker shmup test:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EfMoB8q5eI
And here’s essentially the same running on SNES (programmed by Maxwel Olinda):
https://x.com/MaxwelOlinda1/status/1821338448462045590
There’s also another older different example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCiSEChgjC4
With basically a matching version running in a SNES emulator:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mHYdLGtjBM
I noticed he clearly points people to the video descriptions in all his titles, where he provides more details about what’s happening in his demos for anyone who's interested.
Still, it boils down to whether you think he’s being honest about the SNES capabilities with his other examples, as I can’t find working versions of those running on SNES anywhere.
Re: SNES Title 'Shounen Ninja Sasuke' Is Getting Its First Ever Western Release Later This Week
The article's title and opening are confusing. At first glance, they suggest that the SNES game is getting a new physical English-translated release for the SNES, which seems plausible until a few lines later when it’s clarified that it’s actually available on modern consoles and only digitally. Writing clear titles and openings isn’t that difficult.
@smoreon I bet you were a bit unsure about what was being released too. To clarify: it’s digital-only and definitely not for the SNES in any way.
Re: The Commodore 64 Is Getting A New Ultima-Style RPG
There's something rather appealing about this.
Re: Retro-Bit Apologises For Using Fan-Translations Without Permission
And now teh Internet can go back to waiting for the next thing to get on the high horse over.
Re: Retro-Bit Accused Of Plagiarising Existing Fan-Translations
@avcrypt And how close to the sun do you think the people who make fan translations of copyrighted work would be flying if they started asking for financial compensation from the company who used the typically freely distributed fan translations on the original games that they actually own the copyright to?
Re: Retro-Bit Accused Of Plagiarising Existing Fan-Translations
@Damo Damo, as a fellow human being who I can state unequivocally is not anywhere close to perfect, don't you think it's even remotely possible the people making those statements were just as ignorant about what the person they paid for the translation was doing as we all were until you posted this article on it, or at least to some degree?
What if said translator used some AI and wasn't fully aware the AI might be taking snippets from someone else's translation rather than doing it entirely from scratch using its patent vast digital genius and superior intelligence for example--I'm being sarcastic about AI here. And what if said person told the publisher they didn't directly copy anyone else's work, which they honestly believed, and the publisher believed them at their word.
Now, I'm not claiming everyone is entirely innocent here, or otherwise, but I truly am becoming sick and tired of all the people acting holier than thou online. What, no one has ever cut corners, cheated a little here or there, fubbed the results, imitated just a little too closely, used our modern AI tools to take the load off, etc.
Glass houses and throwing stones and all that stuff applies to probably most of the comments in here imo--the Internet truly has created a bunch of very virtuous outspoken "Saints".
Re: Retro-Bit Accused Of Plagiarising Existing Fan-Translations
So, they're paying someone to do it for them, and that person is cutting a few corners? Whatever. Just try and add any credits in the future if necessary, and job done, right. All these fan translations are typically being put out there for free anyway, so it just comes down to them getting some acknowledgement, which is obviously what they're after, and then everyone should be happy. Not everything is a master conspiracy or some heinous crime. And not all of it requires the "Saints" come marching in.
Re: Best SNES Games Of All Time - Super Nintendo Games You Must Own
Hopefully you bring this list out again for the SNES' 35th birthday and add some of the games I listed above that you missed out previously, as they really do deserve a lot more respect on such lists. There are easily fifty plus games that could make a list like this for SNES.
Re: Review: Mega Everdrive Pro - The Best Flash Cart For Your Genesis / Mega Drive
@snk2d4life It's interesting that he's posting about flash carts for genesis/mega drive that came out years ago, despite them also being available for almost every other retro console at this point too.
I'll add some links for the SNES FXPAK PRO and TURBO EVERDRIVE PRO in here as well:
https://krikzz.com/our-products/cartridges/fxpak-pro.html
https://krikzz.com/our-products/cartridges/turbo-everdrive-pro.html
Re: 24 Percent Of Gen Z Brits Own A Classic Gaming System, While 74 Percent Say Retro Is "More Relaxing"
Yeah, I can get down with that.
Re: Over 30 Years Later, Someone Has Given Ocean's 'Jurassic Park 2' A Much-Needed Overhaul
It's a solid enough run n' gun on SNES, and this should make it a bit more accessible for more people to enjoy.
And, seriously, some of the stuff going on in the intro has always impressed me, be it the high quality voice samples, the nice use of multi-coloured transparency and reflection effects, or the impressive use of Mode 7 to create the illusion of multiple scaling elements on a single screen, and support for Dolby Surround sound, etc:
https://youtu.be/HRJ3VqeC3hs?t=25
It's really very cool. Just a shame the artists there weren't of quite the skill level of say the best Capcom or Konami artists of the time, as the visuals there could have been truly stellar with some lovely top-tier pixel art. Still, it managed a decent enough Saturday morning cartoon look I'd say, the intro that is. It even got proper lip-syncing in there to match the words the characters are saying, which is really very impressive.
The rest of the game is pretty good graphically too, with some nice use of all three background layers and transparency effects and such. But, again, with those Capcom or Konami artists it could have been truly peak. Still, it's all very solid visually. Also love some of the more ambient music used in the levels here too, which give it a very cinematic vibe. Really nice.
Re: "This Cartridge Is A Tiny Time Bomb" - Limited Run Accused Of Selling Carts Which Can Damage Your NES
I actually feel a bit sorry for small developers having to deal with all this very nuinced crap that they probably didn't forsee when the decided to get into the business of selling these cool retro games. But it is what is, and they now need to make sure everything is legit and not going to cause any potential serious issues for consumers.
Re: This New Famicom Disk System Game Could Be A World's First
Well, the game itself doesn't look like it will set the world on fire, but this is very cool.
Re: Trump's Tariffs Have "Changed Everything" For Makers Of Essential Retro Gaming Gear
@Lup Tell me about it.
Re: Your Next Retro Emulation Handheld Could Cost You 35% More Than Usual
@slider1983 So they say. So they keep saying.
Re: Trump's Tariffs Have "Changed Everything" For Makers Of Essential Retro Gaming Gear
Removed; user is banned
Re: Save Me Cows Is A New Game Boy Action Puzzler Inspired by Sega's ChuChu Rocket Series
This looks pretty cool.
Re: Review: The Games Of A Lifetime - Jaz Rignall Charts The Evolution Of An Industry
Might just be the next book on my list to get.
Re: 14 Percent Of North Americans Still Play Gaming Systems Released Before 2000
I don't really trust surveys and polls and such anymore, because they just never seem to give a full picture that's actually true for the majority of people who should be included in such surveys and polls. It's usually a tiny sample that can easily be and often is skewed in some way, sometimes even to fit a certain narrative and bias. But, sure, a bunch of people still play retro consoles. Not surprising really.
Re: Capcom's 'Midnight Wanderers' Is Being Ported To The Neo Geo
Looks like the Neo Geo is getting a lot of new games and ports in recent times, which is cool to see. It was always a powerhouse system, but just FAAAR too expensive for the vast majority of people to ever own back in the day, mainly because each game cost literally the price of buying a new games console, so it never really got the attention it warranted. It's good to see it getting its fair share of support now in modern times.
Re: Meet The Man Who's Taking The Pain Out Of Managing Retro Game Save Data
So, long story short, what does this actually do?
Will it let me simply load some save for one of the games I have on my ModRetro Chromatic and jump in at whatever stage I want or something like that?
Will it let me somehow save out the game to an external file, which I can then use to load the game from in the future even if the save on the Flashcart got corrupted or something?
And, in as few and as simple words as possible, how does it actually work?
Re: Trump's Tariffs Have "Changed Everything" For Makers Of Essential Retro Gaming Gear
@LP09 There is zero chance anything going up in price in the last couple of weeks has been caused by what's happened in literally the last couple of weeks of the new administration. Things simply do not work that fast in the world of money. And, similarly, no reasonable person should be expecting any meaningful positive changes to happen in such a short time either. So, honestly, I think people need to wait for at least say a year before they jump the gun here. And maybe even have a look in four years and compare where things are truly at, especially compared to where they were at. If we're all in a living hell and paying $100 for a can of beans and caught up in multiple wars and can't say anything without fear of being cancelled, the naysayers will have something to moan about. And if the world hasn't fallen apart and prices have largely come down and we are generally free to openly speak our minds without fear of being cancelled and the government waste has been massively cut and various other things have improved, I think it's safe to say a lot of people maybe need to check what narratives they're buying into, who's peddling them, and why. So, hey, let's all wait a year or so and see what the world is like then, shall we. And in the meantime, we should all at least have the self respect to even just question the stories we're all being fed by whomever is feeding them. That should be the bare minimum.
Re: The Maniac Mansion-Esque Adventure Game 'Cronela's Mansion' Has Launched Its Kickstarter
Just backed this on kickstarter, specifically for the SNES version. And we should definitely support new SNES games if we want more of them going forward. Looking forward to giving the early SNES demo build a go when that releases in a few days. Wish the team all the best.
Re: Trump's Tariffs Have "Changed Everything" For Makers Of Essential Retro Gaming Gear
@betterman I personally haven't experienced a single price increase on any products recently outside of those resulting from Covid and global economic inflation rates, at least not that I noticed. But that's just my personal experience. And I certainly wasn't instantly fear mongering and speculating and attributing those price increases to some dude who hasn't been in a position to affect anything like that for years at this point. So prices go up for various reasons. But what we can all say for sure right now is that none of these products have actually had a price increase recently directly as a result of these brand new tarifs. Maybe they will, and maybe they won't. But the reality is no handheld is more expensive yet because of these new tarifs. But everyone is certainly being made to fear what might happen, that's for sure. And it's interesting that not a single article here was blaming any of the previous price increases in any way on say Biden or Kamala previously and the high inflation that occured in that administration due to all the government overspending, waste, corruption, and so on. That's just my observation mind you.
Re: Your Next Retro Emulation Handheld Could Cost You 35% More Than Usual
@betterman "Human beings have the mental ability to use today's facts to make informed predictions and decisions in the future"
If only that were true for everyone, but not based on a million things I've seen online in recent times showing how utterly easily it is it lie to and manipulate people into believing a totally false narrative and acting in all crazy ways based upon that.
And it's not a fact until it's a fact. Right now it's just a "what if" that comes across very much like fear mongering.
Re: 8BitDo's C64 & NES-Style Retro Mechanical Keyboards Are Getting European Layouts
Happy to hear they finally addressed this.
I might consider buying one again now after returning my previous one for this very reason.
But there's still two things that put me off:
1. I remember the red text on the darker keys on the NES-themed keyboard was basically impossible to see in low light because it doesn't contrast enough from the darker keys. More brightness in the red colour on the darker keys would really help there, and actually just match the original NES red text colour better too.
See how it's actually quite a bit brighter on the real NES controller:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/NES_controller.JPG
2. I'd have to get a wrist support for sure, as the height of the keyboard started causing me carpel tunnel syndrome after literally two days of use. And, because of that, I'd really only be able to use it as a desk keyboard rather than how I primarily like to use my current wireless keyboard, which is chilling on my couch.
So I'm still on the fence to be honest. But it's so close, and the keyboard was honestly just great outside of those issues. The build quality and feel were simply top notch. Pressing the keys was joyful. And, outside of not being able to see the red letters on the darker keys in low light, it was simply lovely looking.
Re: Your Next Retro Emulation Handheld Could Cost You 35% More Than Usual
@nilcam It's fear mongering unless it actually happens. So maybe these places should report on actual facts rather than speculation. If the price of consoles goes up next year, report on it. If the price of consoles doesn't go up next year, it's a case of utterly unprofessional fear mongering at its worst. And we all know exactly the place it's coming from. The less we have of that in our gaming sites, the better.
Re: Trump's Tariffs Have "Changed Everything" For Makers Of Essential Retro Gaming Gear
More fear mongering.
"We MAY . . ."
And, just a thought exercice, but what if some clone system or say the Switch 2 eventually cost $50 more than it might otherwise because of tariffs, but you didn't have to pay any income tax on your wages anymore because that was removed entirely. Would you consider that a loss or a gain overall. . . .
Now, neither of those things has happened thus far, and maybe neither ever will, but it's interesting to think about.
Re: Your Next Retro Emulation Handheld Could Cost You 35% More Than Usual
@Lanmanna Well, you certainly don't have to do it with a subheading and some of the particular text in the article that's clearly showing your bias towards one side of the political isle in the way it's worded. Maybe being a bit more professional would be ideal. I'm surprised it wasn't phrased "right-wing Republican extremist Trump's tariffs and how they're going to make all your gaming devices more expensive and ruin your life--because of Trump . . ."
Re: Your Next Retro Emulation Handheld Could Cost You 35% More Than Usual
@GlamorousAlpaca Tell me about it, right.
I mean, two things that I think are quite obviously true of Damien in my time visiting this site:
1. He's not a fan of one political side of the isle and is happy to let politics infect and bias some of the things he posts.
2. He's partial towards the genesis and is happy to let that infect and bias some of the things he posts.
But, hey, I guess he's the one calling the shots.
Re: Your Next Retro Emulation Handheld Could Cost You 35% More Than Usual
Let's wait and see how it all pans out before we fearmonger. I think we all should have learned better by now.
Re: The Video Game History Foundation Digital Library Is Now Available In Early Access
Removed; user is banned
Re: Random: This Fun New Video Shows What A Game Boy Color Port Of Shadow Of The Beast Could Look Like
Yeah, this section of the game looks very close to what they've pulled off on Game Boy Color:
https://youtu.be/-Qy0yrvWMPI?t=761
And, obviously, with the correct scroll timings and faster animation on the player character, it could look even closer too.
Re: The Long-Awaited Video Game History Foundation Digital Library Launches This Month
@KingMike Let me explain to you how these algorithms work: You say something like this "The last time I signed into Twitter, the recommended/trending topics were all racists." and the algorithm picks up a keyword like "racists" and starts putting more stuff into your feed that aligns with the things you have specifically mentioned and/or viewed, especially if it's the kind of thing that tends to generate more views and clicks, which antagonistic and argumentative and combative posts always do. So, if you don't want to see a bunch of stuff about racism, stop bringing racism and especially random accusations of people being racists into the conversation, which I suspect you have done on occasion on Twitter by your very words in here. The Twitter/X algorithm is being influenced by people like you who keep talking about racism whether it was/is there or not, especially if they're doing so with posts that create conflict and increase views and click and likes, etc. So, like I said, be the thing you want to see more of. Get back to talking about games if that's what you're interested in rather than accusing everyone who doesn't agree with your ideology or whatever of being a "racist", which, even if you've never done directly on Twitter/X, you did just do in here about Twitter/X. And now if you see Time Extension suddenly post lots more articles about "racism" in gaming or whatever, you might have an idea of why. Do you understand?
Re: Update For GameCube ODE 'FlippyDrive' Slashes Boot Times And Adds MemCard Pro Support
All I can think of whenever someone mentions the GameCube was how good Eternal Darkness was and how much I want that game in VR in some official capacity. And, seriously, I would take basically just the original game output in HD and running on a virtual screen in some virtual room, with the one main improvement being it running in stereoscopic 3D on the virtual screen. I know it would be amazing as I've already played that unofficially via the Dolphin emulator and Bigscreen on the VR headset a few years back, and it truly felt new again. Also, imagine the insanity effects you could create in VR if it were done properly there. . . .
Re: The Long-Awaited Video Game History Foundation Digital Library Launches This Month
@KingMike Learn to manage and use your feed better if you want to see more content that suits your specific interests and tastes, as all the options for doing that are usually there. No matter what "social" media platform you're on, if you don't do that, you'll eventually get flooded with crap. And that crap will also be largely defined by your own tastes and views and ideologies and actions and so on, because the algorithms for all these "social" media platforms thrive on views and clicks and ultimately conflict breeds more view and clicks, which means you're more likely to see content that can be divisive if you don't manage your feeds and act accordingly yourself.
Also, you should make sure you're fully informed about the stuff you decide to speak out on too, as there's a very real possibility you're posting misinformation about something that you've been completely lied to and manipulated about for years at this point, so it's highly likely you're not actually seeing and reading what you think and believe you're seeing and reading at all. How many times have you posted with comments like the one above for example, where you blanket accuse everyone in the recommended section or the like on whatever "social" media platform or similar of being a racist?
All I see in my main feed is lots of fun interesting news on video games and movies and such. That's not a coincidence, but by deliberate action both in terms of how I manage my feed and the kinds of things I myself post, share, and perpetuate.
But you gotta put in the work on all those things, or your feed will just be largely junk either way, which you are possibly even contributing to by your very actions and posts. And, like I said, this is true of any "social" media platform either right now or in due time. Nothing is immune from these new algorithms, and only you can manage that as much or as little as you choose to. So manage your feed, and be the things you want to see more of, and not potentially part of the cause of the things you want to see less of.