Retro gaming

This is where you can deliberate anything relating to videogames - past, present and future
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Alex79
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Alex79 »

I've still got my disc copy, but I think it's available on PSN too if you're after it.
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Sinclair Gregstrum
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

Yeah it's £4.99 on PSN actually and plays on Vita, so I might at the very least buy that and give it a go, and if I really like it stump up £30-ish it seems to fetch on Ebay.

Now if I could only remember where my Vita is...
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Mr Ixolite
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Mr Ixolite »

Michiel K wrote: January 3rd, 2020, 3:26 pm Some quick shouts of cool PS1 games that won't break the bank are WipEout 2097, the Oddworld games, Heart of Darkness and Skullmonkeys. See if you can get Alundra as well, for not too much money.
I've always low-key regretted trading in Skullmonkeys. It might not be groundbreaking as a platformer, but the presentation is unforgettable, and it has the best Bonus Stage music ever.

@Sinclair, if you're up for a few more suggestions, I'd like to shout out to
- Grandia (great JRPG)
- Kula World (great puzzler)
- Mega Man X4 or Mega Man 8 (if you dig those games)
- Rayman 2 (surprisingly atmospheric and engrossing)
- T'ai Fu: Wrath of the tiger (Violent kung-fu animal action game)
- Tomba/Tombi (quirky "metroidvania"/platformer/rpg)

And yeah, Klonoa: Door to phantomile, which is relatively rare, but also my favourite game, for whatever thats' worth


I'm also in the club that absolutely could not get on with Vagrant Story. I was looking for a new JRPG in the vein of the PSX Final Fantasy trilogy, and Vagrant Story is...decidedly not that. I remember being endlessly frustrated by the very first enemies ("Why is it so hard to kill this bat?!?!"). But if you like Final Fantasy XII you might get on with it - in my experience, the two games share a good overlap of fanbases.
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Simonsloth
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Simonsloth »

I’d second tombi 1/2 but a physical copy would set you back 70-100 pounds for some reason. Available on psn for 3.99 or less digitally so a case of try before you buy.
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Magical_Isopod
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Magical_Isopod »

Honestly, I have a ton of nostalgia for Tomba, but it's def not $120 good. That's what I sold my complete copy for. Better just to have the PSN version IMHO.
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Caligulas Horse
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Caligulas Horse »

Ooooo Kula World was a banger, I might have to revisit that one now.
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Simonsloth
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Simonsloth »

Sinclair Gregstrum wrote: January 2nd, 2020, 9:04 am Original PlayStation advise wanted!

After tracking the project for years, and following much deliberation, I’ve pre-ordered a Polymega.

Quick bit of context - for those unfamiliar, Polymega is basically a high-end, region-free, modular retro console that plays the original physical games of a variety of disc-based systems out of the box, and cart-based systems using plug & play add-ons. There’s no firm release date yet although based on recent updates it’s not far away and probably looking like late Q1 2020.

They have missed projected dates already of course, and I had previously been pretty sceptical about the whole thing. However, at E3 this year John Linneman of this parish got his hands on pre-release hardware and came away very impressed (https://youtu.be/6p5UXKLniRQ). I’ve been hovering over the pre-order button ever since!

My primary motivation is to have my 50-strong Saturn collection easily accessible, all in one place, and guard against the eventual demise of my native hardware.

The secondary motivation however is to start small and sensible collections (initially at least!) for the other systems the Polymega supports out of the box, including PS1, Mega/Sega CD, TurboGrafx CD, and Neo Geo CD.

As a devoted Saturn kid there was so much that I missed on the PS1 that this is where I’m going to start, and I’d love some advise on reasonably priced (£50 max!) titles that are worth picking up.

I’ve crawled lots of ‘best ever’ and ‘hidden gems’ lists of course, but recommendations from the ever-knowledgeable forum crew would be greatly appreciated!
Just wondering what the polymega store is like? Apparently they allow you to buy and download titles from their storefront.
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Sinclair Gregstrum
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

Mr Ixolite wrote: January 8th, 2020, 2:13 pm @Sinclair, if you're up for a few more suggestions, I'd like to shout out to
- Grandia (great JRPG)
- Kula World (great puzzler)
- Mega Man X4 or Mega Man 8 (if you dig those games)
- Rayman 2 (surprisingly atmospheric and engrossing)
- T'ai Fu: Wrath of the tiger (Violent kung-fu animal action game)
- Tomba/Tombi (quirky "metroidvania"/platformer/rpg)

And yeah, Klonoa: Door to phantomile, which is relatively rare, but also my favourite game, for whatever thats' worth
Thanks so much for the recommendations sir! Tomba looks really interesting so definitely going to check that out, although likely a PSN/Vita purchase due to prices. Same goes for Klonoa, which so many people love but is £100+ on ebay vs £3.99 on PSN!

I remember T'ai Fu from when it released and have always wanted to give it a go! Weirdly it has a Michael Giacchino score (composer of many a huge Hollywood movie score!).

I lusted after Grandia back in the day as it was originally a Saturn exclusive (that later got ported to the Playstation), and it was covered in a lot in mags over here but ended up never getting a release outside of Japan. The Saturn version is supposed to be superior in terms of frame rate and visuals I believe, and you can get an English language patch I think that should work with the Polymega, so I might try and give that version ago. You can also get a bundle of the first and second games on the Switch now (although I do have the second on Dreamcast already).
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Sinclair Gregstrum
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

Simonsloth wrote: January 9th, 2020, 4:58 pm Just wondering what the polymega store is like? Apparently they allow you to buy and download titles from their storefront.
I think the store is supposed to be up and running on day one but I wouldn't be surprised if it gets delayed a little. And yes the plan is that you'll be able to purchase and download games straight to the console. They've not made any huge promises about what's going to be on there, but have apparently been trying to do deals with publishers for a while and have teased that they're finalising a deal with a major one to get their library on there. Hopefully that comes off!

If it's Sega with their Saturn library that would a HUGE deal and I would quite frankly lose my shit. The Saturn is so hard to emulate and has seen so little of its library re-released in any form, that if they got an online Saturn store up with some of the more expensive and rare games available, the community would go nuts for it.

I'm probably just teasing myself with something that will never happen of course, but the system does support Saturn, so it's not entirely bonkers...
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Michiel K
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Michiel K »

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Two Mega Drive games I got in the mail in the last 2 weeks that share some similarities:
  • Both games are developed by a team with 'Bitmap' in their name
  • Both games are top down shooters
  • Both games have similar mini mushroom cloud explosion animations
Xeno Crisis, however, apart from being an arena shooter vs. Chaos Engine's more exploration based setup, was developed in recent years and released in 2019, where The Chaos Engine for MD came out in 1993. Xeno Crisis also came out for Neo-Geo, Dreamcast, PC, PS4 and Nintendo Switch, but it was developed first and foremost as a new Mega Drive game and this is one aftermarket release that's firing on all cylinders! With a 512 meg cart, sprite work by the master Henk Nieborg and an unbelievable OST by Savaged Regime, it's a real trip seeing my model 1 MD run this game.

I'll be streaming it in coop with my kids on Sunday.

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hazeredmist
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by hazeredmist »

That's so fucking cool. Is the game any good Michiel? Heard about it on the Retro Game Squad podcast and they said it's comparable to Smash TV.

My uncle is talking about giving me his old Megadrive that's sat in his loft for god knows how many years... Very excited about that prospect.
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Alex79
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Alex79 »

I used to love Chaos Engine on the Amiga, but never heard of the other one (or maybe I have..? Certainly not played it). Looks great, though.
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Michiel K
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Michiel K »

Yeah, The Chaos Engine was ported to a variety of systems. Since I don't have an Amiga and not particularly keen on getting one and having to deal with multiple floppy disks, etc. I find games for the system translate adequately enough to the Mega Drive. The music sounds very different, of course, but in the case of this particular game it has a charm of its own.

Haze, the game is pretty great. The basic setup is indeed strongly reminiscent of Smash TV, running from room to room and clearing them out, but on the standard 3-button controller, it controls very much like the fantastic Shock Troopers for Neo-Geo by Saurus/SNK, with a button to dodge roll, a button to throw grenades and the ability to strafe and run backwards while firing, by holding the shot button down. Melee attacks are automatic, when you're not firing and are standing close enough to an enemy.

Takes only a bit getting used to and character choice and upgrades in between levels do make a big difference. The controls are smooth and the game is readable, though pretty hectic from stage 3 on out.
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Flabyo
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Re: Retro gaming

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There was a Chaos Engine 2 on the amiga, a very complex split screen versus game that pretty much no one bought.
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by ratsoalbion »

There’s a fine version of the original TCE on Steam, Michiel.
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Michiel K
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Michiel K »

Someone, I think it was Kim Justice, was quite down on that version! But that's maybe only because it was advertised as a modern remake and they only added some optional pixel smoothing and some luminiscent effects on projectiles and explosions.

In any case, I do find the MD version quite collectable. :P
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Flabyo »

The MD and Snes version also changed Preacher to Scientist.
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by ratsoalbion »

True, and didn’t it get a name change to ‘Soldier of Fortune’ in the US as well?
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Sinclair Gregstrum
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

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Took delivery before Christmas of Read-Only Memory's latest tome - Sega Dreamcast: Collected Works.

I backed the project on Kickstarter, as I did for the Mega Drive/Genesis book a while back. As with that one, this book is fantastic and incredibly high quality both in terms of content and materials.

I've been dipping in and out of it in recent weeks and there are some wonderfully insightful interviews from those involved in the machine and the games, and some beautiful scans of assets and blueprints that really bring it all to life.

If you count yourself as a fan of Sega's final console, then this really is a must-own!
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Re: Retro gaming

Post by Suits »

I've been enjoying the Playstation 1 again lately after recently refurbishing a console and series of controllers that I found in the loft.

As well as playing some of my original games all over again, I've been on the look out for games that I have missed.

Welcome along, Ridge Racer.

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I've most definitely played Ridge Racer before but never really sat down with the Palystation launch game with any serious intent.

I picked this up from my mates Retro shop in Essex for £10 and had planned to spend some time with it that evening, I had hooked up the Playstaion and quickly booted it up.

I had intended to calibrate my TV for the Playstation before playing, but quickly found that I had been playing for a while already and was invested in the circuit and daft handling mechanics.

It's fairly short and lacks any serious depth but I certainly enjoyed my two and a half hours with it.

I've beaten all the races and trumped the final Time Trail race to set a time on the leader board that knocked the CPU off first.

Hard to recommend perhaps, but I certainly enjoyed my evening with it and will remember it fondly.

I'm going to keep an eye out for Ridge Racer Evolution and give that a go too.

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