Retro gaming

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MagicianArcana

Re: Retro gaming

Post by MagicianArcana »

I recently went to a retro gaming convention near where I live, and my word it felt like every retro gamer's dream. I could probably find any Saturn game I wanted there, even though they were pretty expensive. (So I didn't buy any of them :() Unfortunately I will probably have to resort to emulation for Saturn games in the future as well. This is part of why I feel video game preservation is important.
Joshihatsumitsu

Re: Retro gaming

Post by Joshihatsumitsu »

hazeredmist wrote: These days I do my retro gaming on a Raspberry Pi with bluetooth controllers (seriously convenient. I can't go back to wired) and I sold my JXD to get another Nvidia Shield Portable handheld. Also have a modded PSP.
MagicianArcana wrote:Unfortunately I will probably have to resort to emulation for Saturn games in the future as well. This is part of why I feel video game preservation is important.
Emulation is a great equaliser, and most of the time it's probably the only opportunity to access games you wouldn't have access to otherwise. In an ideal world I would happily pay for anything and everything, but in the real world I have a budget, licenced games have all sorts of legal issues (like how games like TMNT or some of the Marvel Arcade games aren't on XBLA or PSN anymore), and consumers are heavily at the mercy of what publishers think they can turn a profit on more than anything else.

Quite a few years ago I soft-modded my old Xbox (that beautiful, ugly black box) with XBMC, and there's a few emulators on there for MAME, Genesis/Megadrive, Nintendo, etc, and of course there are emulators on my Mac (perhaps the most affordable way to play the very rare Snatcher, Mega-CD version).

I try to get the real thing when I can, and yes, dear God, it can get very expensive! :roll: At the moment I'm building my second arcade cabinet this year, which will house some JAMMA PCB's I have in storage (Snow Bros and Aliens). Preservation is certainly important, and something that definitely has to be taken into account with designing the layout. It's balancing access to original games while making sure that little piece of history is preserved. Kind of my equivalent to owning a classic car, that only gets taken out on the weekend for a spin!

It's an expensive hobby, and it's great that emulation is there to fill the gap, especially for people from a low-socioeconomic background to get access to the history of the industry.
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Craig
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Craig »

Emulation is definetly preserving a lot that would otherwise go overlooked. There are games that people simply wouldn't care about (you want another baseball/mahjong/shogi game?) and those that have fallen into the abyss of licensing.

Who even owns the rights to a famicom game from a studio which was bought by another studio which is now defunct which was based on a middle of the road anime from a company which is also now defunct? And if the game was kind of crappy, who would even care to find out who owns the rights to sell it if no-one would buy it?
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Flabyo
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Flabyo »

The weird thing about rights is that someone always owns them. It can take a lot of legal digging to find where the ownership has ended up, but it never completely goes away.

For example, anything that Domark or Taito have ever done currently belongs to Square. And that's a relatively simple 'follow the money' example.
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Sinclair Gregstrum
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

Nice to see this thread being dug up again!

It's weird timely actually as I've spent much of the last week ravenously scouring eBay for some rarities to bolster my Saturn collection!

My son's unfortunately in hospital after a fairly major op which means I've spent a lot of time sat by a hospital bed with nothing to do other than worry and go quietly mad (can't concentrate on a book or playing Vita - tried both!). The thing that has managed to pass the time though is trawling eBay for Saturny goodness and reading scans of the official Sega Saturn Magazine! That was a great mag back in the day. Dated a bit now but fond memories....

So anyway, my Saturn collection has grown significantly since I originally posted this topic, and I'm always on the lookout for rare and exotic additions. Yesterday I managed to snare a copy of Shining The Holy Ark for a reasonable fee (reasonable for rare Saturn games anyway!), and a few months back I spent a bit more than I should have on the fantastic strategy RPG Dragon Force.

When we eventually get home I'll post a full list of what I've got in case anyone's interested (too much for exhausted brain to remember right now!).
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Suits
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Suits »

I love retro gaming just as much as modern I think.

Mostly Nintendo stuff, with the SNES being my number one love.

I do have a soft spot for 8 & 16-BIT Sega though, as that was my system Santa put under the tree for me.

I have a room with all my stuff in, on shelves, which I've just done a massive purge on, put loads into boxes and into storage.

Although I've left out all my Nintendo stuff.

I recently picked myself up a Sony PVM 20M4E and a a few set of RGB, BNC's. I have a Super Famicom and a SNES hooked up to it, it really does look fantastic.
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Sinclair Gregstrum
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

Suits wrote:I do have a soft spot for 8 & 16-BIT Sega though, as that was my system Santa put under the tree for me.
I still have my childhood Game Gear and Mega Drive, and will do forever!

I said I'd post my full Saturn collection in case anyone was interested, so here goes:

Athlete Kings
Astal (NTSC-J)
Baku Baku
Burning Rangers
Clockwork Knight
Clockwork Knight 2 (NTSC-J)
Daytona USA: Circuit Edition (NTSC-J)
Dragon Force
Dynamite Deka (Die Hard Arcade) (NTSC-J)
Fighters Megamix
Last Bronx (NTSC-J)
Manx TT Superbike
Marvel Super Heroes
NiGHTS Into Dreams (w/ 3D Control Pad)
Panzer Dragoon
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Panzer Dragoon Zwei
Sega Ages Vol.1 (Outrun, Space Harrier, Afterburner 2)
Sega Rally Championship
Shining The Holy Ark
Sonic Jam
Sonic R
Street Fighter Collection (Super Street Fighter 2, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold) (NTSC -J)
Tomb Raider
Virtua Fighter 2
Virtual On: Cyber Troopers
Waku Waku 7 (NTSC-J)
X-Men vs Street Fighter (NTSC-J)

I'm quite selective about what I purchase and don't just buy things to boost the numbers, so I can genuinely say I really like and in many cases love all of those games!
Joshihatsumitsu

Re: Retro gaming

Post by Joshihatsumitsu »

Sinclair Gregstrum wrote:
Suits wrote:I do have a soft spot for 8 & 16-BIT Sega though, as that was my system Santa put under the tree for me.
I still have my childhood Game Gear and Mega Drive, and will do forever!

I said I'd post my full Saturn collection in case anyone was interested, so here goes:

Athlete Kings
Astal (NTSC-J)
Baku Baku
Burning Rangers
Clockwork Knight
Clockwork Knight 2 (NTSC-J)
Daytona USA: Circuit Edition (NTSC-J)
Dragon Force
Dynamite Deka (Die Hard Arcade) (NTSC-J)
Fighters Megamix
Last Bronx (NTSC-J)
Manx TT Superbike
Marvel Super Heroes
NiGHTS Into Dreams (w/ 3D Control Pad)
Panzer Dragoon
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Panzer Dragoon Zwei
Sega Ages Vol.1 (Outrun, Space Harrier, Afterburner 2)
Sega Rally Championship
Shining The Holy Ark
Sonic Jam
Sonic R
Street Fighter Collection (Super Street Fighter 2, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold) (NTSC -J)
Tomb Raider
Virtua Fighter 2
Virtual On: Cyber Troopers
Waku Waku 7 (NTSC-J)
X-Men vs Street Fighter (NTSC-J)

I'm quite selective about what I purchase and don't just buy things to boost the numbers, so I can genuinely say I really like and in many cases love all of those games!
I'm curious: how does Waku Waku 7 play on the Saturn? The only version I have is from the PS2 Sunsoft collection (Japanese, of course), and even though I own a Neo Geo, there's no way on this planet I could afford an official AES or MVS version on the game!

Waku Waku 7 has been on my eBay watch list for a while, just wondering if it's worth diving into that version.
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Sinclair Gregstrum
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

Joshihatsumitsu wrote:I'm curious: how does Waku Waku 7 play on the Saturn?
Really well actually. The Saturn is obviously very strong when it comes to 2D anyway, plus Waku Waku 7 takes advantage of the 1mb RAM expansion cart to deliver a really solid conversion.

Forgive me if I'm teaching you to suck eggs as you probably know the following already, so I'll keep it brief just in case - in Japan the Saturn's cartridge expansion port on top of the console was utilised to boost the system's memory with RAM carts. There was a 1mb and a 4mb cart, and any game that required them can be found either bundled with a cart or on their own. Waku Waku 7 requires the 1mb cart to run so it's not a question of getting a better version if you have the cart - it literally won't work without it.

Here's a list of all the games that require a cart: http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega-sat ... 1mb4mb-ram

The easiest solution these days is to get hold of an Action Replay 4-in-1 that'll do the job of both cart sizes as well as make your Saturn region free: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003CZBUHM/ ... lybMZ1TKP7
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Alex79
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Alex79 »

I still love old games for sure, love you play the games I grew up with. I have a hacked PSP which is perfect for Megadrive games (and anything older) but not so great for SNES. My dream would be a handheld that played everything up to the PS2/Dreamcast/Xbox era, all legit with trophies/achievement support. Maybe one day!
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KissMammal
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by KissMammal »

Alex79uk wrote:My dream would be a handheld that played everything up to the PS2/Dreamcast/Xbox era, all legit with trophies/achievement support. Maybe one day!
Me too.

I currently have a Nvidia Shield Portable that I bought specifically for emulation. It runs everything 16bit and earlier pretty well. PSX runs pretty well, but less reliably. Anything else - N64, PSP etc requires more tinkering and compromises than I can be bothered with though. I'd happily upgrade to an 'official' dedicated retro handheld if such a thing existed.
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hazeredmist
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by hazeredmist »

KissMammal wrote:
Alex79uk wrote:My dream would be a handheld that played everything up to the PS2/Dreamcast/Xbox era, all legit with trophies/achievement support. Maybe one day!
Me too.

I currently have a Nvidia Shield Portable that I bought specifically for emulation. It runs everything 16bit and earlier pretty well. PSX runs pretty well, but less reliably. Anything else - N64, PSP etc requires more tinkering and compromises than I can be bothered with though. I'd happily upgrade to an 'official' dedicated retro handheld if such a thing existed.
A fellow Shield Portable owner! 8-)

As an owner of a few devices for emulation (Dingoo, JXD and now Shield Portable) the Shield Portable is pretty much the best thing on (or off lol) the market for this, PS1 runs perfectly for me - ePSXe is the emulator to go for FYI. I've not found anything I can't play yet that I want to. It's a lot better than FPse if that's what you've been using, or any other emulator. PSP tbh I just use my modded PSP for that but I used to use PPSSPP which is good, just game compatibility can be sketchy, it's not a power thing. I think it's the best we'll get until another company comes up with something more powerful that can run Dolphin, pretty much the only emulator I wish it could run but it can't.

I could give you a lot of tips to get it right but there is some tinkering needed, I spent a while with mine gathering all the best emulators and it does do it's job better than anything else I've used in the handheld arena.
Joshihatsumitsu

Re: Retro gaming

Post by Joshihatsumitsu »

Sinclair Gregstrum wrote:
Joshihatsumitsu wrote:I'm curious: how does Waku Waku 7 play on the Saturn?
Really well actually. The Saturn is obviously very strong when it comes to 2D anyway, plus Waku Waku 7 takes advantage of the 1mb RAM expansion cart to deliver a really solid conversion.

Forgive me if I'm teaching you to suck eggs as you probably know the following already, so I'll keep it brief just in case - in Japan the Saturn's cartridge expansion port on top of the console was utilised to boost the system's memory with RAM carts. There was a 1mb and a 4mb cart, and any game that required them can be found either bundled with a cart or on their own. Waku Waku 7 requires the 1mb cart to run so it's not a question of getting a better version if you have the cart - it literally won't work without it.
It great that some games come packaged with the 1mb or 4mb memory: I managed to get the 4mb with Vampire Saviour, and that Japanese packaging... love it!

Thanks for the feedback: I can save a little money now going game only on eBay.
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stvnorman
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by stvnorman »

Being an old timer, I'm not sure I'd consider the GameCube or Gameboy retro yet, but they are the only old consoles I've got access to at the moment. Both get an airing from time to time. I've been playing a fair bit of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on the GameCube recently, and have even tried it out on the Wii that's still connected to a TV. Also Elevator Acion, Donkey Kong and V-Rally on the Gamboy.

I keep meaning to see if my ST is still in my Dad's loft, where my Spectrum +2 might also have been laid to rest; there's definitely an ancient Interstate console in there, just to prove my retro credentials!

I've also set up RetroPie on a Raspberry PI, which is mainly used for playing Feud (my favourite game of all time) on the Spectrum! Spectrum's Olli & Lisa and Shaolin Road get regular airings too, along with C64 Ghostbusters. At some point I want to set it up as a C64 jukebox using SID chip emulation.

What's pleased me more than any retro gaming recently is digging out most of the 1980's worth of C&VG magazines though. They've been read and re-read a hundred times over the years, but the more time that passes, the more special they are to me!
eastmcduck

Re: Retro gaming

Post by eastmcduck »

Raspberry Pi computers are awesome all around. A buddy of mine introduced me to them a couple years ago and I've done a few projects with them now. Picked up one of Adafruit's Pocket PiGRRL kits a while back and it was a fun little project. It was quite the learning experience actually. You pick up soldering, electrical, and coding skills all in one go. It's not quite as fancy looking as a Game Boy pocket but it's about the same size and has hundreds of games ready to play. As much as I enjoyed building it, though, I almost never use it. The Pi model A that came with the kit is kind of weak and emulation is hit or miss. It does fine with most NES, GB, GBC, GBA, Master System, and Game Gear stuff, but it doesn't seem to like SNES and that was my main reason for wanting to build it. I have yet to test most of the other emulators.

I had much better luck with the Raspberry Pi 3. I picked up one of those when they came out and set up a mini gaming system for my TV. For a while I had my PS3 controllers synced to it, but I picked up two 8bitdo NES30 Pro controllers off of Massdrop a few months ago and I really like those. I will say, though, they were a tremendous pain in the ass to get working with the integrated bluetooth on the Pi3. I spent a couple days trying to figure it out and felt very triumphant when I finally got them working. Emulation is much better on the Pi3. I was even able to run PSX games pretty much flawlessly. Some of the N64 stuff did alright too. I might fire up the Pi3 when I get home from work today. I still have a bunch of MAME and Dreamcast stuff I need to try out. I accidentally damaged the case I have it in and haven't booted it since. Btw, if any of you are ever shopping for Pi cases and come across ones by C4 Labs, avoid the INVASION case or any that are similar, because it is quite brittle. I've bought other cases from them and was very happy with them, but the INVASION case is trash.
Joshihatsumitsu

Re: Retro gaming

Post by Joshihatsumitsu »

I remember years ago, I soft-modded my PSP and installed all these emulators, and I found after a while that despite having a ton of games on it I never ended up really playing anything. Maybe it was the hardware, maybe it was because it was all digital, and because it's not a physical, tangible thing I forgot I had it. I think that's part of the appeal of collecting older systems and games: it's more expensive, but you can't miss it either, and subsequently I would be more likely to engage with it.

That being said, what emulators do people recommend, especially with Raspberry Pi setups?
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hazeredmist
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by hazeredmist »

With the Pi your best bet is Recalbox, it's got all the emulators included up to PS1/N64, but Dreamcast is pretty much a write-off. I've got a separate card with an old Retropi for Dreamcast but the D-Pad won't work at the same time as the analogue which obviously kills games. The Pi is fantastic, aside from Dreamcast I've got most things I want running perfectly, and with wireless pads. Android you pretty much need everything Robert Broglia puts out as he covers a LOT of systems, also Mupen64, Reicast, Scummvm, Mame, it's an embarrassment of riches on the Google Play store for this.

Focus is a huge thing when you've got thousands of games to choose from. I strongly recommend listening to the Retro Game Squad podcast which has now finished but is still online to download from iTunes, Soundcloud etc, they choose a selection of retro games per episode and go through them, follow that and you will see a good range of classics across many systems.

I also have a Whatsapp group with fellow retro emulator owners (Pi/Android) to set each other challenges on a specific game. The last one was your highest score on Dragon's Fury, the current one is setting up a specific match on Sensible Soccer and submitting your best score. Past ones have simply been how far can you get on Megaman 2 with no save states, stuff like that. This way you're channelling your efforts rather than looking at a vast collection of games and playing nothing.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to win the Sensible Soccer challenge, it's Milan vs Inter Milan with the best score, I've got 4-0 final score screenshotted so far. The others sound like they're struggling but they may be hustling me...
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Alex79
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Alex79 »

stvnorman wrote:Being an old timer, I'm not sure I'd consider the GameCube or Gameboy retro yet!

The Nintendo Gameboy (released in 1989) most definitely could be classed as retro!
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ThirdDrawing
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by ThirdDrawing »

Does anyone know a good Commodore 64 emulator? I've tried a couple of them, but not had much success.
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KissMammal
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by KissMammal »

Joshihatsumitsu wrote:I remember years ago, I soft-modded my PSP and installed all these emulators, and I found after a while that despite having a ton of games on it I never ended up really playing anything.
It's the paradox of choice. It's the same reason why, when your phone is loaded up with thousands of songs, you find yourself endlessly skipping to the next track. We're so overloaded with media now, and free time is relatively scarce it can be hard to pay attention. I often find that when I get a (rare) evening to myself, I end up getting this nagging unease and flitting between watching the first twenty minutes of a movie, turning it off, then playing a videogame for twenty minutes, turning it off and so on.

I almost miss the old days, when every piece of media was scarce and precious. Almost, but not really. I used to watch and play some right old crap because it's all that was available...
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