Comments 289

Re: Developer Of SNES DOOM Defends The Tech Behind Limited Run's 2025 Update

no_donatello

On the one hand, I mean, sure, what's the point? On the other hand, it's fine if people want this. There is obviously no such thing as Super FX 3. Whether it was a Raspberry PI or something different, it was going to be a chip not of the SNES era. I don't need another way to play Doom. I already have too many. But it's good for people that do. Also that is a very cool looking PCB.

Re: "The Xbox Project Has Failed" - Picking Up The Pieces After Microsoft's Darkest Day In Gaming

no_donatello

The 360 is the last Xbox I had any interest in. While I'm not big on the core offerings of FPS and online multiplayer, Microsoft worked really hard to cover all bases and create a really interesting library of exclusives. Since 360, they mostly abandoned trying to appeal to the Japanese market, and any exclusive I may be interested in (not many) are available on other platforms. I was kind of surprised they would be making new hardware at all. I thought they'd go all in on streaming.

I used to wonder about the rumored Sega buyout back in the OG Xbox days and the possibility that Sega could have continued their hardware ambitions with the backing of Microsoft. Seeing how these studio purchases have gone... I am forever thankful that deal (if it was legit to begin with) did not go through.

Re: CIBSunday: Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn)

no_donatello

@Fallingshadow I suspect you're right. I don't know where I read it, but I recall reading that the initial print in the US was indeed 5,000, but due to demand, they ended up doing another print, so it was about 20,000 in the end. Not sure the veracity, but indeed, there are always copies on eBay, so 5,000 seems unlikely.

Re: CIBSunday: Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn)

no_donatello

It's a game that definitely matches the hype that it receives. In an alternate universe, this game would be spoken about among the greatest RPGs of all time, but unfortunately so few have played it. The game pushes the Saturn hardware graphically, and the battle system is probably its best feature, actually doing a great job adapting the rail shooter gameplay to a turn-based system. And of course the soundtrack is amazing, like all Panzer Dragoon games.

I was looking at an old Game Informer magazine, and I found their "review" of Panzer Dragoon Saga. It was a paragraph. A sad but not surprising state for a game that they admitted was one of the best games that year.

Re: You Can Use Your Steam Deck, Smartphone Or Nintendo Switch As A Wii U GamePad Replacement

no_donatello

I have a fondness for the Wii U, despite its many, many flaws. It's probably the last console that will try to do something really radically different. Obviously, a big, expensive controller that only one player could use and was never sold separately (and your console was mostly useless without) was not the best idea. But I appreciate it for trying! My gamepad is still doing okay, but it's nice to know there are options.

Re: Review: Lunar Remastered Collection (Switch) - Two Must-Play JRPG Classics Get A Second Chance

no_donatello

I already have too many ways to play these games, but it's great new people will get a chance. They are classic RPGs in both vintage and gameplay. In my opinion, they stand tall against the 16 bit Final Fantasy games, especially since they leveraged the CD medium so well on Sega CD. From watching the trailer, the new voice acting seems pretty consistent. And honestly, taking off the nostalgia goggles, it's not like the old VO was a masterpiece, though it is a shame that the OG intro or boat song won't be in this.

Re: "Saturn Is A Lot More Fun" - 1995 Trade Ad Shows Just How Rattled Sega Was About PlayStation

no_donatello

I don't think this is embarrassing. I think it's fairly normal, and video game companies were pretty aggressive in their marketing against each other back then, so it makes sense that it would carry over to marketing to retailers. But no question Sega was rattled by Sony. Imagine if Sony had not entered the game console market and it was only Saturn and N64. Being then the only significant CD-based console, the Saturn would have unquestionably won that fight. But Sony came out of the gate with a great product, cheaper and easier to developer for.

Re: 30 Years Ago, Sega Took Its Biggest Gamble With Saturn And Failed

no_donatello

I'm not saying it helped, but I think the launch thing is a little overplayed. The PS3 had a terrible launch and then went on to be successful. The 3DS as well. Both of those consoles got very quick price cuts. The Saturn had a lot of problems. I think the price difference between PSX was probably its biggest. And then it was compounded by Sony getting some big releases while Sega made some poor localization choices. It's been said many times, but you get a very different experience playing Saturn's Japanese library versus only playing the Western releases. Saturn is still my second favorite console after Dreamcast.

Re: Trump's Tariffs Are Also Impacting Evercade Stock In The US

no_donatello

@XiaoShao This. I find it very annoying that cartridges are consistently over the retail price on Amazon. It has stopped me from purchasing in the past because I think the price might drop back down to retail price in a couple days (because that does happen sometimes on Amazon), but it often means I don't want the cartridge that badly, so I just forget it. Hopefully the new distributor will be a positive outcome from this.

Re: Polymega's New System Update Adds Support For "Future Hardware"

no_donatello

@KainXavier There is apparently a Gameboy emulator, and I have heard the transfer pak may be used to transfer games. But I don't believe it's fully implemented yet. Also that won't help with GBA.

I will add to this that I would like to see a Master System/Game Gear module. That's the main thing keeping my Retron5 relevant.

Re: Polymega's New System Update Adds Support For "Future Hardware"

no_donatello

It could also be talking about the announced Atari module. I will just be happy if I get my light gun, but if I'm going to be greedy, I would like to see some additional CD console support, like 3DO and maybe CD-I. They have mentioned Dreamcast in the past, but that seems difficult given the GD-ROM format that games used.

Re: New Book Pays Tribute To The Designer Of Some Of The Coolest Video Game Boxes Ever Seen

no_donatello

There was undeniable beauty to the old big box PC games. Some were truly inventive in their design. However, they were mostly made of cardboard, which is worse from a durability angle than the plastic cases of, for example, Genesis games on the way up through Switch. There's a reason most people threw them away instead of hold on to them like they do a Switch case, for example. Plus they were huge. I kick myself to this day for throwing away so many N64 and Gameboy game boxes. I was apparently too stupid to figure out I could have just collapsed them and they would not take up that much room. Didn't work that out until GBA came along. -_-

Re: BAFTA Crowns Shenmue "The Most Influential Video Game Of All Time" In Surprise Result

no_donatello

Shenmue! It's of course a surprise given the relative popularity of some of the other games (my guess is there was a big voting campaign by Shenmue fan sites), but shenmue was influential in a number of ways. It was essentially the first game with a triple-A budget. Calling it the first open world game is probably incorrect, but it used its open world in ways no other game had to that point. Definitely the most detailed and fleshed out open world to that point. Plus QTEs, and everyone loves QTEs... right?