@Thunderchi1d It's not unheard of for companies to download their own resources from third parties on the internet. As I recall, Rare couldn't use the original assets for Donkey Kong Country when porting to GBA, so they ripped the graphics from a ROM. Also, OSTs have used fanmade track titles (and possibly even downloaded audio rips, but that's harder to confirm). And countless classic re-releases have been advertised using clips and screenshots from gaming channels on YouTube. There are other cases, as well, but I can't think of them at the moment.
While it is within their rights to do all this, the way it's handled isn't always the most classy. Since Nintendo is so harsh towards anything they see as a threat to their bottom line, it seems especially distasteful and hypocritical for them to silently take advantage of the very service they hate.
@ParadoxFawkes It really does run on a real N64, as Kaze briefly demonstrates.
About textures, the N64 is notorious for its poor texture quality, so getting good results out of it isn't easy. Any one texture can only be 4 KB in size (as opposed to a typical photo from a phone or camera, which is at least 4 MB, or 1024 times as large)!
A few studios back in the day had some kind of workaround involving reading uncompressed textures straight off the cartridge, but putting high-res textures in that way would quickly balloon the ROM size beyond what a cartridge could hold, not to mention that it would slow the N64 to a crawl.
"But, if people resort to sourcing a game online without paying for it, what incentive is there for publishers to make that game available legitimately?"
Fortunately, we've seen time and time again that people are willing to pay to legitimately own their games, even if illegal downloads are readily available. Whether it's GOG, Virtual Console, mini consoles, compilation discs, etc., there have been (and still are) lots of ways to buy games that are also floating around on the internet for free- and most of these appear to be very financially successful.
It's encouraging to see (faith in humanity, and all that), and I hope game companies continue both re-releasing old games, as well as exploring pro-consumer approaches such as DRM-free stores.
@Gamecuber It's even worse than that. If I remember correctly, they bumped the difficulty levels up by two, and then doubled the enemies' health on top of that. Or something along those lines. Though the NA version has barely any penalty for spamming your special moves, so that makes up for it a little bit.
Rocket Knight Adventures by Konami was another one with a ridiculous difficulty upgrade, with NA Easy corresponding to JP Hard, as I recall. In that case, though, Easy still lets you play the whole game, and it feels like a well-balanced experience.
@lacquerware Yeah, her criticisms were not at all the first things I'd think of. Pacing is annoyingly sluggish in the NA version specifically, thanks to the enemies' health bars all being multiplied, but the gameplay itself is the fastest (and I'd even say best) in the series.
For me, it's largely the presentation. Graphics are still great, as is some of the music (most of the better tracks ironically coming from the new guy, Kawashima), but both of these aspects lack the style and flair that really made SoR2 stand out.
@-wc- I think Nintendo's Virtual Console/eShop was a great idea, and I'd love to see a Sega one- not just the usual collection of Genesis/MegaDrive titles, though, but also Dreamcast, Saturn, arcade systems like Model 3, etc.
Having to buy specific hardware would be a bit of a turn-off for me, though. Instead of paying for a pricey mini console that can handle Dreamcast games, I'd rather just buy them for PC/Xbox.
The idea sounds exciting at first, but when I think about it, a Dreamcast 2 wouldn't really bring anything interesting to the table. The whole appeal of it lies in the games, so Sega would need to step up and deliver a ton of Dreamcasty* titles on the new platform- but if they're able to do that, then why not just release them on PCs and existing consoles now?
*I'm mainly thinking sequels to dormant franchises like Jet Set Radio, but also some innovative new games, and of course, ports from Dreamcast, Atomiswave, and even more recent arcade games.
@carlos82 Fortunately, very few N64 games used battery-backed SRAM (apparently only a dozen or so), with the others all using non-volatile storage that will last a long time with light/reasonable usage. Unfortunately, the list of games with batteries includes some of the most popular ones, like Super Smash Bros. and Ocarina of Time.
No love for the OG Xbox Controller S? The black and white buttons are a poor substitute for shoulder bumpers, but the thing feels so good to hold- just the right amount of heft. (I guess the Xbone/Series do objectively edge it out in functionality.)
GameCube has probably the best analogue stick of any controller ever, and that button layout is brilliant, but it has too many flaws holding it back: not enough buttons, D-pad is too small, and the triggers feel a bit delicate and are sometimes prone to getting stuck.
@Poodlestargenerica Bit of a difference between those two games, haha! Nuts and Bolts is still worth playing, if you approach it as a sort of puzzle game that rewards experimentation and thinking outside the box. It does take a while to get good, admittedly, and it's not a real Banjo-Kazooie sequel, so it's important not to have false expectations.
A lot of Bad Fur Day fans hated Live and Reloaded... I can see why they dislike some of the changes, but I personally think some of the issues get blown out of proportion. It can't replace the original, but it's a visually gorgeous take on the original 1P game and its story.
@Serpenterror New throwback consoles like this are cool and nostalgic and all, but I agree that a focus on games makes more sense these days. There are so many major and mini consoles to choose from, and I'd rather just pick one or two platforms and buy games for it/them. The much-desired "Dreamcast 2" is a similar one, where the idea sounds exciting, but when I think about it, we don't really need one. (Nothing stopping Sega from making a new Jet Set Radio, Sonic Adventure, or Space Channel 5 as a third party now, is there?)
@sdelfin It's always more interesting when a retro-styled game is running on the original tech like this. If it's using a modern engine like Unity, then it's no longer technically impressive- it's just a modern game with outdated graphics. (Not saying those can't also be a lot of fun!)
@sdelfin But there was some 128-bit functionality somewhere in there, so that's naturally what marketing latched onto. Can't have the Dreamcast looking weaker than the 64-bit Nintendo 64!
Now that I think of it, wouldn't it be fun to see manufacturers still trying to use "bits" to advertise their modern consoles? I'd like to see what kind of math it'd take to come up with "1024-bit" branding.
@SpriteCell I thought of this when reading the article as well! As an example, I distinctly remember Castlevania (64) being criticized for looking like a "first-generation" N64 game.
About Wikipedia, it's both interesting and concerning how a simple edit (whether unsourced or backed by a weak or unrelated source) can propagate so widely and shape the way people think of and discuss things!
The generation system is flawed for sure, but it has its purpose. You could argue that more descriptive names would be better (e.g., "PS2 era"), but those are inevitably going to be flawed as well. (Is Perfect Dark from the PS2 era because of its release date, or is Sonic Adventure from the PS2 era because it's on Dreamcast? Or both, or neither?)
Like the article touches on, it's like human generations, where we try to group people into these different categories based on when they were born/raised, but it doesn't really hold up under scrutiny. What "generation" titles do, however, is offer a quick, simple way of referring to a general time in tech/culture/history.
Composite. Used a mix of RF and composite back in the day. RF is a little too muddy and noisy, but composite is crisp enough for me-especially when it comes to 240p content, in which case it preserves the detail while still looking smooth. From what I've seen of RGB at 240p, it tends to look too sharp, to the point of pixelation. (Not for me, thanks.) It'd be a better fit for newer 480p stuff.
Nice! This is not at all subtle about its inspiration, but hey, there aren't really that many games like this out there right now.
I, for one, am glad to see indie games starting to embrace 3D, after a decade of Gorgeous Pixel Art™, and even the N64 style has its charms, especially in the lighting department. (Though in that regard, Valkie 64 is a strange hybrid that looks more like those N64-era CG renders that mixed in-game assets with fancy rendering tech.)
Great article! Always fun to hear some stories and learn some new tidbits of info about N64-era Rare.
And I still consider DKR to be one of the best kart racers ever made. Though while it remains fun even on an old N64, a couple of Gameshark codes to get 60fps + widescreen + music in multiplayer can really make it shine today!
@AJB83 My mistake- I see it now. (Must've been too tired to see straight the first time.) I missed out on Rallisport, unfortunately, as I only recently heard how good it was. I've just started watching for it at the used game stores. And yeah, from what little I've seen (RS 1 or 2, I forget which), it was right up there with the best of the generation. It just goes to show that choosing 30fps doesn't really make the graphics better!
It's kind of ironic: the Xbox was the "cool" console back in the day, and the GameCube was dismissed by many. These days, everyone's realizing how great the GameCube and its games were, and it's the Xbox that doesn't get much attention. I feel like the Xbox is underappreciated by game enthusiasts now, with its games forgotten and its tech specs no longer relevant.
@AJB83 PGR2 and Forza ran at only 30fps (as did many of the games in this article, actually), but the original PGR was 60.
The Xbox still had quite a lot of good-looking 60fps games, including Ninja Gaiden, DoA3, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Gunvalkyrie, the entire Burnout series, etc. etc.
It's ridiculous how well some 20-year-old games hold up now, as long as you play them on a CRT or an emulator!
Forgotten Sands is pretty impressive, as it runs at 60fps on Wii while the HD version only does 30fps. IIRC, quite a few people preferred the Wii version at the time, between its extra fluidity and the gameplay being more like Sands of Time.
I didn't get to play it back in the day, but it's on my short(ish) list for games to play in the near future.
CoD: World at War (for Wii) didn't make a good impression when I tried it, though. The graphics and performance were weak, and it kept crashing. (Defective copy, possibly?)
@belmont Agreed! I'd like to see this kind of thing become common in the near future. There's clearly a demand, seeing as people have been paying for the likes of Sega Genesis Classics (despite the ease of finding these games via... other means).
There are a few other cases out there, however unusual: I just picked up the PC versions of Street Racer and Super 3D Noah's Ark, and both came with a SNES version ROM included in the folder. And I hear that many of Piko Interactive's games come with an accessible ROM as well.
I was excited for the Bleem! store when it was announced a year or two ago, but it went silent and seemingly vanished before getting off the ground. I hope it's still in the works, or at least that someone else will step up. There are tons of old games that we all missed, which deserve another chance.
These look really nice, but after factoring in shipping and taxes, it'd cost hundreds of dollars to cover my N64 collection alone. (Those outside Canada may find that this is a better value proposition for them!)
Seems like a niche product: it's great for those who care about having their collections look nice, and don't mind paying extra. But wouldn't many of those same people insist on having all their games complete in box already?
Regardless, I hope it does well, and I'm curious to see if it results in new products covering additional consoles.
@Gamecuber It gets even weirder than that: while the obvious Batman, Godzilla, and Rambo lookalikes were altered to avoid copyright infringement, the Spider-Man wannabe was instead turned into Spider-Man himself, licensed from Marvel! (The Terminator just slipped under the radar, apparently.)
Correct answer: all of the above! But seriously, there are so many great games in Sega's back catalogue that a lot of us missed out on. Even if mini consoles aren't practical, re-releases on PC and modern consoles would be welcome. They could do a Saturn collection, a Dreamcast collection, maybe even a 32X collection...
@Damo I liked Gain Ground, but to be fair, it's probably not why most people are buying this console!
I fully agree with you and @Serpenterror about the Sega CD selection. There's some great and surprising stuff here already, for sure, but buying this mini console would be a no-brainer if it also had the likes of Lunar, Snatcher, and Keio. Oh, and Popful Mail, for good measure. As-is, it's a tougher sell, speaking as someone who already owns most of the previous classic Sega collections on PS2 and PC.
PD doesn't need a PC port nearly as badly as Ocarina of Time or Super Mario 64 did, seeing as it already got that Xbox 360 remaster. (Also, 4K60 is achievable even on the original N64 version, thanks to emulation.)
Even so, this could eventually lead to some really interesting things. New campaigns, perhaps?
Yeah, Kynan has been digging up a lot of cool stuff lately! And also this.
RIP Acclaim, the world wasn't ready for all your edge. ...and probably never will be.
Seriously, though, I doubt that this stunt would've done Vexx any favours, had Acclaim gone through with it. The oh-so-edgy marketing was, in my opinion, at odds with what was really a Mario 64 clone. A well crafted and criminally underrated Mario 64 clone, I'd add.
Sonic Adventure 3 is one of my dream games, and considering that the Adventure (and Adventure-like) series just got worse with each entry, a major comeback and redemption is welcome- or even needed! I've always felt that of all the 3D games, it was Adventure 1 that came the closest to capturing the essence of 2D Sonic, and that the Adventure format in general has far more potential than the boost gameplay that's come to define Sonic over the past decade or so.
Comments 383
Re: Talking Point: Where Do You Stand On "Ethical Emulation"?
@Thunderchi1d It's not unheard of for companies to download their own resources from third parties on the internet. As I recall, Rare couldn't use the original assets for Donkey Kong Country when porting to GBA, so they ripped the graphics from a ROM. Also, OSTs have used fanmade track titles (and possibly even downloaded audio rips, but that's harder to confirm). And countless classic re-releases have been advertised using clips and screenshots from gaming channels on YouTube. There are other cases, as well, but I can't think of them at the moment.
While it is within their rights to do all this, the way it's handled isn't always the most classy. Since Nintendo is so harsh towards anything they see as a threat to their bottom line, it seems especially distasteful and hypocritical for them to silently take advantage of the very service they hate.
Re: New Mario 64 Project Pushes N64 Hardware With Stunning Results
@ParadoxFawkes It really does run on a real N64, as Kaze briefly demonstrates.
About textures, the N64 is notorious for its poor texture quality, so getting good results out of it isn't easy. Any one texture can only be 4 KB in size (as opposed to a typical photo from a phone or camera, which is at least 4 MB, or 1024 times as large)!
A few studios back in the day had some kind of workaround involving reading uncompressed textures straight off the cartridge, but putting high-res textures in that way would quickly balloon the ROM size beyond what a cartridge could hold, not to mention that it would slow the N64 to a crawl.
Re: Talking Point: Where Do You Stand On "Ethical Emulation"?
"But, if people resort to sourcing a game online without paying for it, what incentive is there for publishers to make that game available legitimately?"
Fortunately, we've seen time and time again that people are willing to pay to legitimately own their games, even if illegal downloads are readily available.
Whether it's GOG, Virtual Console, mini consoles, compilation discs, etc., there have been (and still are) lots of ways to buy games that are also floating around on the internet for free- and most of these appear to be very financially successful.
It's encouraging to see (faith in humanity, and all that), and I hope game companies continue both re-releasing old games, as well as exploring pro-consumer approaches such as DRM-free stores.
Re: "They Just Didn't Offer Us The Project" - Why Streets Of Rage 3 Is The Black Sheep Of The Family
@Gamecuber It's even worse than that. If I remember correctly, they bumped the difficulty levels up by two, and then doubled the enemies' health on top of that. Or something along those lines.
Though the NA version has barely any penalty for spamming your special moves, so that makes up for it a little bit.
Rocket Knight Adventures by Konami was another one with a ridiculous difficulty upgrade, with NA Easy corresponding to JP Hard, as I recall. In that case, though, Easy still lets you play the whole game, and it feels like a well-balanced experience.
Re: "They Just Didn't Offer Us The Project" - Why Streets Of Rage 3 Is The Black Sheep Of The Family
@lacquerware Yeah, her criticisms were not at all the first things I'd think of. Pacing is annoyingly sluggish in the NA version specifically, thanks to the enemies' health bars all being multiplied, but the gameplay itself is the fastest (and I'd even say best) in the series.
For me, it's largely the presentation. Graphics are still great, as is some of the music (most of the better tracks ironically coming from the new guy, Kawashima), but both of these aspects lack the style and flair that really made SoR2 stand out.
Re: Random: Hyperkin Wants To Make The Sega Dreamcast 2
@-wc- I think Nintendo's Virtual Console/eShop was a great idea, and I'd love to see a Sega one- not just the usual collection of Genesis/MegaDrive titles, though, but also Dreamcast, Saturn, arcade systems like Model 3, etc.
Having to buy specific hardware would be a bit of a turn-off for me, though. Instead of paying for a pricey mini console that can handle Dreamcast games, I'd rather just buy them for PC/Xbox.
Re: Random: Hyperkin Wants To Make The Sega Dreamcast 2
The idea sounds exciting at first, but when I think about it, a Dreamcast 2 wouldn't really bring anything interesting to the table.
The whole appeal of it lies in the games, so Sega would need to step up and deliver a ton of Dreamcasty* titles on the new platform- but if they're able to do that, then why not just release them on PCs and existing consoles now?
*I'm mainly thinking sequels to dormant franchises like Jet Set Radio, but also some innovative new games, and of course, ports from Dreamcast, Atomiswave, and even more recent arcade games.
Re: Review: Forever Pak 64 - Fixing Your N64's Ticking Time Bomb
@carlos82 Fortunately, very few N64 games used battery-backed SRAM (apparently only a dozen or so), with the others all using non-volatile storage that will last a long time with light/reasonable usage. Unfortunately, the list of games with batteries includes some of the most popular ones, like Super Smash Bros. and Ocarina of Time.
Re: Poll: So, What's Your Favourite Controller Of All Time?
No love for the OG Xbox Controller S?
The black and white buttons are a poor substitute for shoulder bumpers, but the thing feels so good to hold- just the right amount of heft. (I guess the Xbone/Series do objectively edge it out in functionality.)
GameCube has probably the best analogue stick of any controller ever, and that button layout is brilliant, but it has too many flaws holding it back: not enough buttons, D-pad is too small, and the triggers feel a bit delicate and are sometimes prone to getting stuck.
Re: The Tragic Tale Of The 'PlayStation Phone' That Should Have Changed Everything
@NatiaAdamo Nor is a patient the same as a patent.
Re: Flashback: The Origin Of Rare's Iconic "Golden Toilet Roll" Logo
@Poodlestargenerica Bit of a difference between those two games, haha!
Nuts and Bolts is still worth playing, if you approach it as a sort of puzzle game that rewards experimentation and thinking outside the box. It does take a while to get good, admittedly, and it's not a real Banjo-Kazooie sequel, so it's important not to have false expectations.
A lot of Bad Fur Day fans hated Live and Reloaded... I can see why they dislike some of the changes, but I personally think some of the issues get blown out of proportion. It can't replace the original, but it's a visually gorgeous take on the original 1P game and its story.
Re: Atari's Revived VCS Has Flopped, And Now It Needs More Cash
@Serpenterror New throwback consoles like this are cool and nostalgic and all, but I agree that a focus on games makes more sense these days. There are so many major and mini consoles to choose from, and I'd rather just pick one or two platforms and buy games for it/them.
The much-desired "Dreamcast 2" is a similar one, where the idea sounds exciting, but when I think about it, we don't really need one. (Nothing stopping Sega from making a new Jet Set Radio, Sonic Adventure, or Space Channel 5 as a third party now, is there?)
Re: Flashback: The Origin Of Rare's Iconic "Golden Toilet Roll" Logo
@Poodlestargenerica It already happened!
The Conker remake (Live and Reloaded for Xbox) starts with the Rare logo turning into a toilet paper roll.
Re: Firefighting Game Blazing Rangers Now Available As NES ROM
@sdelfin It's always more interesting when a retro-styled game is running on the original tech like this. If it's using a modern engine like Unity, then it's no longer technically impressive- it's just a modern game with outdated graphics. (Not saying those can't also be a lot of fun!)
Re: Light Gun Fans Rejoice! Hacker Gets Wii Remote Working With Sega Dreamcast
@sdelfin But there was some 128-bit functionality somewhere in there, so that's naturally what marketing latched onto. Can't have the Dreamcast looking weaker than the 64-bit Nintendo 64!
Now that I think of it, wouldn't it be fun to see manufacturers still trying to use "bits" to advertise their modern consoles? I'd like to see what kind of math it'd take to come up with "1024-bit" branding.
Re: Is Wikipedia Really To Blame For Video Game Console Generations?
@SpriteCell I thought of this when reading the article as well! As an example, I distinctly remember Castlevania (64) being criticized for looking like a "first-generation" N64 game.
About Wikipedia, it's both interesting and concerning how a simple edit (whether unsourced or backed by a weak or unrelated source) can propagate so widely and shape the way people think of and discuss things!
Re: Is Wikipedia Really To Blame For Video Game Console Generations?
The generation system is flawed for sure, but it has its purpose. You could argue that more descriptive names would be better (e.g., "PS2 era"), but those are inevitably going to be flawed as well. (Is Perfect Dark from the PS2 era because of its release date, or is Sonic Adventure from the PS2 era because it's on Dreamcast? Or both, or neither?)
Like the article touches on, it's like human generations, where we try to group people into these different categories based on when they were born/raised, but it doesn't really hold up under scrutiny. What "generation" titles do, however, is offer a quick, simple way of referring to a general time in tech/culture/history.
Re: Poll: Which Old-School AV Connection Is Your Favourite?
Composite.
Used a mix of RF and composite back in the day. RF is a little too muddy and noisy, but composite is crisp enough for me-especially when it comes to 240p content, in which case it preserves the detail while still looking smooth.
From what I've seen of RGB at 240p, it tends to look too sharp, to the point of pixelation. (Not for me, thanks.) It'd be a better fit for newer 480p stuff.
Re: Valkie 64 Is A Promising, New Zelda-Like Adventure, Available Now On Steam
Nice! This is not at all subtle about its inspiration, but hey, there aren't really that many games like this out there right now.
I, for one, am glad to see indie games starting to embrace 3D, after a decade of Gorgeous Pixel Art™, and even the N64 style has its charms, especially in the lighting department. (Though in that regard, Valkie 64 is a strange hybrid that looks more like those N64-era CG renders that mixed in-game assets with fancy rendering tech.)
Re: Making Diddy Kong Racing Changed My Life
Great article! Always fun to hear some stories and learn some new tidbits of info about N64-era Rare.
And I still consider DKR to be one of the best kart racers ever made. Though while it remains fun even on an old N64, a couple of Gameshark codes to get 60fps + widescreen + music in multiplayer can really make it shine today!
Re: Making Diddy Kong Racing Changed My Life
@MeloMan Imagine the fatalities Timber could pull off in Mortal Kombat 9!
Oh, Mario Kart? I guess that'd be cool, too.
Re: Best Original Xbox Games - Celebrate The Console's 21st Birthday With These Classics
@AJB83 My mistake- I see it now. (Must've been too tired to see straight the first time.)
I missed out on Rallisport, unfortunately, as I only recently heard how good it was. I've just started watching for it at the used game stores.
And yeah, from what little I've seen (RS 1 or 2, I forget which), it was right up there with the best of the generation. It just goes to show that choosing 30fps doesn't really make the graphics better!
Re: Best Original Xbox Games - Celebrate The Console's 21st Birthday With These Classics
It's kind of ironic: the Xbox was the "cool" console back in the day, and the GameCube was dismissed by many.
These days, everyone's realizing how great the GameCube and its games were, and it's the Xbox that doesn't get much attention.
I feel like the Xbox is underappreciated by game enthusiasts now, with its games forgotten and its tech specs no longer relevant.
Re: Best Original Xbox Games - Celebrate The Console's 21st Birthday With These Classics
@AJB83 PGR2 and Forza ran at only 30fps (as did many of the games in this article, actually), but the original PGR was 60.
The Xbox still had quite a lot of good-looking 60fps games, including Ninja Gaiden, DoA3, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Gunvalkyrie, the entire Burnout series, etc. etc.
It's ridiculous how well some 20-year-old games hold up now, as long as you play them on a CRT or an emulator!
Re: Flashback: Remembering The Glory Days Of Wii-Exclusive Ports
Forgotten Sands is pretty impressive, as it runs at 60fps on Wii while the HD version only does 30fps. IIRC, quite a few people preferred the Wii version at the time, between its extra fluidity and the gameplay being more like Sands of Time.
I didn't get to play it back in the day, but it's on my short(ish) list for games to play in the near future.
CoD: World at War (for Wii) didn't make a good impression when I tried it, though. The graphics and performance were weak, and it kept crashing. (Defective copy, possibly?)
Re: Fan-Made Streets Of Rage 2 Update Adds Online Co-Op, Widescreen Support And More
@belmont Agreed! I'd like to see this kind of thing become common in the near future. There's clearly a demand, seeing as people have been paying for the likes of Sega Genesis Classics (despite the ease of finding these games via... other means).
There are a few other cases out there, however unusual: I just picked up the PC versions of Street Racer and Super 3D Noah's Ark, and both came with a SNES version ROM included in the folder. And I hear that many of Piko Interactive's games come with an accessible ROM as well.
I was excited for the Bleem! store when it was announced a year or two ago, but it went silent and seemingly vanished before getting off the ground. I hope it's still in the works, or at least that someone else will step up. There are tons of old games that we all missed, which deserve another chance.
Re: 'Precision Game Storage' Boxes Are A Fancier Way Of Storing Your Loose Game Cartridges
These look really nice, but after factoring in shipping and taxes, it'd cost hundreds of dollars to cover my N64 collection alone. (Those outside Canada may find that this is a better value proposition for them!)
Seems like a niche product: it's great for those who care about having their collections look nice, and don't mind paying extra. But wouldn't many of those same people insist on having all their games complete in box already?
Regardless, I hope it does well, and I'm curious to see if it results in new products covering additional consoles.
Re: Best Genesis / Mega Drive Games
@Gamecuber It gets even weirder than that: while the obvious Batman, Godzilla, and Rambo lookalikes were altered to avoid copyright infringement, the Spider-Man wannabe was instead turned into Spider-Man himself, licensed from Marvel!
(The Terminator just slipped under the radar, apparently.)
Re: Sega Wants To Know What Mini Console You Want Next
Correct answer: all of the above!
But seriously, there are so many great games in Sega's back catalogue that a lot of us missed out on.
Even if mini consoles aren't practical, re-releases on PC and modern consoles would be welcome. They could do a Saturn collection, a Dreamcast collection, maybe even a 32X collection...
Re: Review: Mega Drive / Genesis Mini 2 - Sega's Sequel Scores CD Support
@Damo I liked Gain Ground, but to be fair, it's probably not why most people are buying this console!
I fully agree with you and @Serpenterror about the Sega CD selection. There's some great and surprising stuff here already, for sure, but buying this mini console would be a no-brainer if it also had the likes of Lunar, Snatcher, and Keio. Oh, and Popful Mail, for good measure.
As-is, it's a tougher sell, speaking as someone who already owns most of the previous classic Sega collections on PS2 and PC.
Re: N64 Classic Perfect Dark Decompiled, Making PC Ports And New Mods A Possibility
PD doesn't need a PC port nearly as badly as Ocarina of Time or Super Mario 64 did, seeing as it already got that Xbox 360 remaster. (Also, 4K60 is achievable even on the original N64 version, thanks to emulation.)
Even so, this could eventually lead to some really interesting things. New campaigns, perhaps?
Re: Random: Remembering The Time Acclaim Almost Gave Away Vexx-Branded Condoms
Yeah, Kynan has been digging up a lot of cool stuff lately! And also this.
RIP Acclaim, the world wasn't ready for all your edge.
...and probably never will be.
Seriously, though, I doubt that this stunt would've done Vexx any favours, had Acclaim gone through with it. The oh-so-edgy marketing was, in my opinion, at odds with what was really a Mario 64 clone. A well crafted and criminally underrated Mario 64 clone, I'd add.
Re: Sonic Producer Still Wants To Make Sonic Adventure 3, But Thinks It's Unlikely
Sonic Adventure 3 is one of my dream games, and considering that the Adventure (and Adventure-like) series just got worse with each entry, a major comeback and redemption is welcome- or even needed!
I've always felt that of all the 3D games, it was Adventure 1 that came the closest to capturing the essence of 2D Sonic, and that the Adventure format in general has far more potential than the boost gameplay that's come to define Sonic over the past decade or so.