farrgazer

@-wc- Actually the leftmost and rightmost. USB C is reversible (or flippable?)

The “ridiculous fiddling” link seems to be broken.

@jbrodack I'm not sure about the revolutionized part myself. But speaking as an owner of an Analogue Pocket, I do think it's very cool that I can play my cartridges on a system with more modern conveniences.

@Blast16 No effing kidding. You are right - back then you got a whole home arcade for each disc.

@Blast16 There were only two Soldner games to begin with.

Direct your ire at the Irem collection; only three games per cartridge or CD, and there will be five volumes.

@-wc- The cheapest would be to get a long HDMI cable. Unwieldy and you’ll need to wrap it up again but it’s definitely the cheapest.

@-wc- There is one more thing to add to your list you last created, though I wonder if it’s mostly because I’m just older now: graphic sizes.

My library of games is almost exclusively portable, almost because I also have a Switch alongside my older Nintendo handhelds, PSP and Analogue Pocket. I have never bothered with portable emulation, even on the 3DS, so it took me until cores were ported to the AP and for Arcade Archive entries to catch my interest to realize that a good chunk of arcade and home console games do not play visually great on the smaller screens.

Vertical shmups like Battle Garegga look like ants on the Pocket’s screen. Contrast this with shmup entries that cater to the smaller screen like GG Aleste (Sega GG) or Gradius Generations (GBA). On the mobile side, Cave actually created a DoDonPachi with mobile in mind, and I find it plays and looks a lot better than their ports of Blissful Death or Resurrection.

@-wc- I'm not a developer, but I feel that there was a "doctrine" for handheld gaming back in ye olden days. Games were designed for handheld in mind, not just in terms of specs, but also in terms of playtime (pick up and put down) and in terms of gameplay (bursts of gameplay, shorter stages)

Now, it's all about bringing the home experience with you, or using part of what you said, AAA on the go. I feel like this is thanks to the quick save/temp save/etc mechanism (create a save anywhere in the game, and it disappears upon reloading), and the console-wide sleep function.

@-wc- I have a Pocket, but I still play mostly GB, GBC and GBA carts on it today like how I did the first time I got it. I do dabble with the cores every now and then, but dabble.

It was either a Pocket or commissioning someone to make a souped-up GBA (IPS screen, audio mod, etc), and that more or less came to the same price.

@ShannonBirt Thank you for responding, though!

Admittedly a good chunk of that flew over my head as I'm no dev, but I do get the impression that both time and tech are important factors.

Besides, especially with time, not being pressured means you're less likely to burn out or compromise, and this applies to a lot of other fields, too.

Possibly a stupid question, and this is not meant to lessen the efforts of these devs:

Could a game like this been made right at the end of the Genesis's/MD's lifespan? Or are limitations being found only with the help of modern hardware?

I am wowed more by the music than the visuals. The visuals are great, but my jaw dropped when the music started playing.

@-wc- Not the person you replied to, but I can provide at least part of an answer.

ININ is tied to Strictly Limited Games in that they’re the same company. A chunk of titles get released under both labels, with the former going to general retail and the latter being limited collector’s editions.

There are two scummy episodes I can recall. One has to do with Cotton Reboot, and the other has to do with Wonder Boy.

With Cotton Reboot, they got exclusive rights to the English translation, and the Japanese versions had the English **patched out**. Once again, let me repeat that. The Japanese version had English to begin with, but it was patched out. Unfortunately I don’t have a source showing ININ’s stance, but I have experienced this firsthand. Reddit thread about it: https://www.reddit.com/r/NSCollectors/comments/mzin9p/psa_cotton_reboot_jpn_will_permanently_remove/

The second: maybe not as bad as the first, but still anti-consumer: https://www.reddit.com/r/LimitedPrintGames/comments/tddlta/strictly_limited_games_approach_to_retro/

I looked up some gameplay footage of this, and those formation modes are really tactical! Not to mention you can sacrifice one of your options as a shield.

No wonder it looked like those red options were being given out like candy.

@Serpenterror "Not sure why those same companies couldn't also make a landscape version so adult gamers like myself could also enjoy it."

Implying that everyone who bought a DMG-sized handheld in the last few years are all kids?

I mean, personal preference is one thing, but to imply that one is lesser for having different preferences is something totally different.

@gingerbeardman LRG's only saving grace compared to SLG is that they do time-limited runs. SLG really tickles your FOMO with "LOW STOCK!" stickers.

That said, that alone may not mean much in the end. I haven't bought anything off of them for about a year now.

The modern day visuals remind me of that one Space Harrier-like game that’s exclusive to Apple Arcade.

The Pocket’s screen isn’t a “perfectly square” 1:1. It’s 1600×1440, or 1.11:1.

Maybe “almost perfectly square”?

Also, do you find the extra 0.5” compared to the Pocket to significantly enhance Tate content? I tried the Tate cores on the Pocket but it felt way cramped, and 0.5 feels like a minuscule number to me.

It looks like a 21st century version of the Tomy Turnin’ Turbo. Too bad it isn’t as big.

There’s no mention of this in the steam page, and I don’t know how feasible the coding would be since I’m no developer, but I think this title can stand out if you can import your own music. Beats Hazard did this before.

@sdelfin My first thought when I saw “MARS” was “Cyber Trooper Virtual On Marz,” funnily enough!

That aside, another flimsy coincidence: there’s a Dreamcast shmup called “Mars Matrix.”

@calbeau I'm guessing that was the scene in the States?

I was in Asia when the game first launched, so it was naturally all Asians.

@The-Chosen-one I don’t own the 2, and used to own the Pro+.

From what I know, the biggest differences are:

• two extra buttons - each behind the grip, around where you’d rest your middle or ring fingers depending on grip style. You can map this to whatever you want - whether it’s a macro or another button
• different mode switching mechanism. With the P+, you need to hold one of the BAYX buttons while turning it on to enable a pairing mode. With the P2, you have a switch you can snap to a mode.
• Ultimate Software support. The P+ needs to be mapped on Windows or MacOS, but the P2 can be paired via Bluetooth with the corresponding phone app.

I wonder if the Pro+ is being discontinued, since there's the Pro 2, which is the same form factor, but with a more convenient mode switching mechanism (no need to hold a face button while powering on to select a mode) and two back buttons.

Is that what the C in CRPG stands for? I always thought it meant “Classic”!

@Daggot I’m with you here. Books aren’t like music which you can consume while doing something else at the same time. Same with videos - consume once and maybe some other time later…maybe.

@XiaoShao I'd bet on the latter. Just visual fluff. 8bitdo's keyboard promo pics are along a similar vein.

I'm getting Axelay vibes from the short gameplay video just shown. Three weapons that are seemingly mapped to ABC.

@JayJ Not always. They're just another publisher now, with the only difference being they like to throw in more random stuff besides the games.

They've published games that have been published by others in other regions, or in some cases like Streets of Rage 4, the same region.

Briefly ignoring piracy, I think there is at least one use for custom firmware the majority can back : bypassing arbitrary region locks.

I’m a resident in Korea. Very few people outside Korea will know that Korea was its own 3DS region. This bucked the previous trend of lumping Korea with Japan. And out of the 1000+ titles released, a Korean 3DS can play only 92, as that 92 were the only games to be officially released.

You bet your behinds that I hacked that bypass the day I bought my 3DS!

Great feature.

I’ve noticed that you didn’t mention DDP Maximum, given that it released in 2012, the same year SaiDaiOuJou was released. Was it because Max is a mobile game? Or is Max just too different from the rest of the DDP lineup?

@BulkSlash "2) it looks so difficult there’s no chance I could even get past the first level! 😅"

To be fair, arcade games have never been very fair to begin with, and the point to most arcade-style games of that era is basically memorization.

@Bunkerneath He dedicated the role to his children.

https://screenrant.com/street-fighter-raul-julia-m-bison-play-agree-why/

@Damo Would you know anything about the power adapter issue surrounding the TurboGrafx Mini?

https://seafoamgaming.com/2021/05/11/the-turbografx-mini-has-a-fatal-flaw-yet-nobody-is-talking-about-it/

I noticed that the Game Gear Mini is actually powered by conventional AA batteries. Made me think that those batteries may weigh more than the mini handheld itself.

It might be worth mentioning what years the Showa era corresponds to: the reign of Emperor Shōwa (commonly known in English as Emperor Hirohito) from December 25, 1926, until his death on January 7, 1989.

@Wheatly The same could be said about older visual media.

Now, I realize that comparing something interactive like video games to something more passive like movies and music is like comparing apples to oranges. But old movies are a product and/or a reflection of their times, just as much as video games are, and this also covers control mechanisms.

Have you thought about adding some thoughts after installing Garlic OS?

https://www.patreon.com/posts/76561333

And this is why we cannot have nice things.

@Notime Capcom is generally more lenient with fan projects - they officially endorsed Mega Man vs Street Fighter a few years back. But donations are bad news.

@Tasuki A lorry is what a UK English speaker would call a truck.

On a more general note, as @sdelfin said, the Evercade doesn't have as wide a general appeal as the usual names do. The suspected targeting must seem to imply otherwise now.

Admittedly I have a passing interest in these emulator handhelds.

But 4-6 hours feels a bit short. It's like going back to the PSP days.

@Zuljaras Unfortunately the reality is that those thumbsticks are now practically a given. I looked at Anbernic's other offerings, and the ones that don't have thumbsticks are just too small for extended gaming.

@nilcam Gotcha. So Evercade is seemingly going on a two-prong approach of prioritizing on re-releasing older arcade titles, while also looking out for unique content.

While I'm a sucker for retro games, this handheld does raise some questions for me.

1. The screen is plenty wide for the nature of the games available. Even the renders do not hide that (and I can appreciate that kind of honesty). This was also the case for the first Evercade. Is there any content that makes use of the full screen? Or could it be because it's easier to source 800x480 screens than sourcing something that has a closer aspect ratio?

2. Just how comfortable will TATE mode be? The spacing between the D-pad and the buttons is narrower than even that of the GBA SP, and on top of that, when you hold it in TATE mode, it's going to be really top-heavy.

3. Any word on how that battery life was determined? The first Evercade has a claimed battery life of 4-5 hours as well, but that one doesn't have Wi-Fi.

All that said, I'm definitely interested. I've liked the niche these guys have carved out for themselves, but the retro games they've brought over so far didn't tickle my fancy...until they announced IREM and Topalan.

@CharlieGirl I was under the impression that KoF was always big in Latin America - at least, the 90s SNK entries.

And if it means any, KoF was bigger than SF in Korea…until the Tekken wave hit.

@Rosalinho For whatever reason, the emulation camp forgets that there is a group of people who have a library of cartridges.

I’m in both camps myself. I probably will never have a home console library other than the Switch, but I maintain a handful of GB, GBC and GBA carts.

@NintendoKnight You said "To me, it seems like a fun time waster to play while on trains or on the bus." That's the point of gaming in general, no? To entertain yourself.

I think it's more accurate to call 5Ghz wi-fi instead of 5G. 5G implies cellular connections.

Great aesthetics, but my hands hurt just looking at it. The GBA SP can be difficult to hold depending on what game you play as it stands.

@Gamer_Zeus And to add to your comment, it was a group of Americans who founded the company that would become Sega.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sega

Although, I'd argue that Sega USA didn't help matters with shoddy marketing for the Saturn, what with the surprise release announcement catching retailers off-guard.

@BrandonGiesing Yes, and my point still stands. And drop your rudeness.

There are Everdrive users and there are collector gamers, and sometimes that group overlaps. It’s my view that Polymega caters to the latter.