Latest Haul: Sega Saturn Stunner
June 28, 2007 by Tim · Leave a Comment
This was a busy week for new retro game stuff. As I mentioned in one of my Sunday posts, I picked up a couple NES games and a Genesis game. On top of that, a recent eBay purchase arrived — a Sega Saturn Stunner ($9.99 plus shipping, brand new). That, in and of itself, does not make for a very interesting post. More importantly, it gives me a chance to tell a story and share some trivia. And that is what blog posts are all about…
What it comes down to is that I finally dropped the dough on an accessory that I should have bought about 10 years ago. I’m one of the many that adopted the Saturn when Sega was running its “Three Free Games” promotion. If you’re not familiar with it, Sega packed in three free games with each Saturn sold during the 1996 holiday season: Virtua Fighter 2, Daytona USA, and Virtua Cop. This was a fantastic deal and led to such good sales numbers that they ended up running the promotion for about six months when they originally planned six weeks!
Strangely, the box that the free games came in had a label promoting the deal which stated that the three games were a “$189” value. $189? Where the hell did that number come from? Regardless of how it was promoted, it was very difficult to pass up a Saturn and three of its best games for $199. So that’s how they hooked me.
But like I said, one of the free games was Virtua Cop. Unfortunately, the package did not include the light gun that really makes the game what it is. For one reason or another, I never decided to get one, so the few times that I did play Virtua Cop, I played it with the controller. I actually got surprisingly good at the game like that, but really, it’s not the way it was meant to be played.
With my decision to start The Retro Review Project, I had the perfect excuse to finally break down and get the Stunner. After all, how could I possibly give Virtua Cop a proper review without it? Of course, now that I have the Stunner, that gives me the perfect excuse to get Virtua Cop 2 and House of the Dead… Collecting is a vicious cycle.
RetroMacro (6/26/07)
June 26, 2007 by Tim · 2 Comments
Alright, I think last week’s RetroMacro has been up long enough, so it’s time for the answer and a new one. For the solution to last week’s, I’ve updated the post so check it out!
As for the new one, it’s right off to your left. I tried to make this one a little easier, but again, you can click it for a bigger version and a hint. Think you figured it out? Take a guess in the comments!
Update: Check after the break for the answer!
RetroTube: Rock Out with Lords of Thunder
June 26, 2007 by Tim · Leave a Comment
Back when I knew almost nothing about the TurboGrafx-16 and Turbo Duo, I did know one thing… That there was a game called Lords of Thunder and it had the best damn soundtrack of any game, ever. I knew this because I had a single, two-minute, low-quality .aiff audio clip that contained just a portion of one of the game’s songs. And that two-minutes absolutely rocked. In fact, I used to put that one clip on loop and listen to it for a half hour at a time! Unfortunately, I lost the file in a hard drive crash and never found it again. But never fear, the story has a happy ending. I just recently bought the actual game and now I can enjoy the music any time I want! (Along with a great game, to boot.)
But not all of you have a TurboGrafx-CD or Turbo Duo, so you can’t do the same. That’s a shame, but at least there’s another way. Now, thanks to YouTube user vertexguy, I can share with you the very same song that entranced me when I first heard it… Enjoy!
Latest Haul: R.C. Pro-Am, Nightshade, Landstalker
June 24, 2007 by Tim · Leave a Comment
I said it in The Snatcher Mission, and I’ll say it again. Even though I’ve given myself the task of reviewing each and every one of my old games, I’m going to buy more — I can’t help it! Do I have a problem, or do I have a hobby? I think of it as a hobby, since so much of the fun comes from learning about an old game I may have never heard of in its heyday. It’s enjoyable, satisfying, and now that I’m running this site, it’s also somewhat productive!
And so, with three games now covered in The Retro Review Project, I’ve added three more to the queue. (D’oh.) Here’s my latest haul:
- R.C. Pro-Am (NES): Add this to the list of “NES games I should have owned a long time ago.” I played this game with friends a lot and have very fond memories of it. I need to flesh out my NES collection, and this is a step in the right direction. $6.99, cart-only.
- Nightshade (NES): GameSetWatch had an absolutely wonderful write-up of this game yesterday, and after reading through it, I really wanted to try it out. It’s from the same people that made the excellent Shadowrun for the SNES, so it’s part of a good lineage. I decided I didn’t want to mess with the hassle of eBay, though. So imagine my surprise when I saw it today at a brick and mortar! I couldn’t pass it up. $2.99, cart-only.
- Landstalker (Genesis): The thing I love about the game store I shop at is that they have a whole bin of Genesis games at two bucks a pop. It’s mostly a bunch of outdated sports games, but each time I go in, there are one or two gems in the pile. This time, it was Landstalker. I’m a big fan of its spiritual sequel for the Saturn, Dark Savior, so I’ve been meaning to play this one for some time. Now’s my chance! $1.99, cart-only.
Sitegeist (6/23/07)
June 23, 2007 by Tim · 3 Comments
Well, it’s been a week since I bought a domain for this site and officially launched it. Traffic has been slow, but that will come in time. (If anyone wants to exchange links, leave a comment and let me know.) More importantly, I feel like the pieces are falling into place, and that I’m building the foundation for a nice site that I’ll enjoy working on for a long time to come. I’ve managed to post a couple reviews and kicked off a few recurring features I had in mind, but I have lots more ideas, so rest assured there’s even more to come!
Beyond the regular posts you see, I tend to do a lot of smaller updates that you might not notice. On occasion, I plan to make a sort of “meta-post” to talk about the site itself, where I’ll bring attention to small details I’ve changed or just talk about general ideas and trends. The name, “sitegeist,” is a play on the German word “zeitgeist,” which literally translates to “time spirit,” or “spirit of the times.” “Sitegeist,” then, is “spirit of the site.”
So let’s get down to business… Firstly, I’ve decided to award outstanding games with a “Retro Star Award” when I review them. Since I don’t give numeric grades to the games I review, this is a quick way to pick out my favorites if you don’t have time to read everything. You’ll see a small star icon next to titles on the Reviews page, and the larger icon next to the “Final Thoughts” section of a review.
And secondly, I’ve updated both the Bonk’s Adventure and Marble Madness reviews. When I post an article, it’s not necessarily complete. I may tweak it for several days (or weeks) before I feel it’s just what I want. So, you’ll find some edits on both. Additionally, I’m still working out the template I’ll use for each review. The big change is that I’ve added a YouTube video to the very end. I plan on personally picking a YouTube clip of each game I review and embedding it. I’m still debating this feature, though. Does it make the page look too busy?
Anyway, that’s all for now. Look out for my next review later this weekend!
The Snatcher Mission
June 21, 2007 by Tim · 4 Comments
While the main purpose of this site is to give me a forum to review the games I’ve already collected and played over the years, I can’t quite stop myself there. I can’t avoid the fact that I’m going to buy more games. That’s just the way it is for me! But sometimes a game deserves a little more attention than “Oh hey, I picked this game up cheap, it’s pretty cool, give it a look.” If that’s the case, then I want to properly document my experience with it. So every once in a while, I will embark on a mission… The first one begins now.
The Snatcher Mission:
I know, virtually for a fact, that I will like Snatcher. First of all, it’s an adventure game. Second of all, it has a gorgeous 2D graphical style. Third of all, it’s not only for a retro system, but a failed retro system. What can I say? I have a serious soft spot for failed retro systems. Oh yeah, and it has cyber-punk themes. And it’s created by Hideo Kojima! (I think I need a longer list…)
So if I know I’d love the game, why haven’t I played it? It’s been a matter of access, really. Sure, I could download the game and play it on an emulator, but that wouldn’t be doing it justice. I want to play the real thing. And therein lies the problem.
You see, back in the 16-bit days, I was an SNES fan. All my friends had the Genesis, but I decided to buck the trend and go the Nintendo route. That means I got to play fantastic games like a plethora of wonderful Mario games (World, Kart, RPG), Chrono Trigger, Zelda, StarFox, Tetris Attack, and plenty more. But it also means I picked up on the Genesis extremely late in the game. So the only Genesis I have is a Genesis 3. Which is incompatible with the Sega CD. And Snatcher is a Sega CD game. And on top of that, it’s best played with the Justifier light gun. Beginning to understand where I’m coming from?
So my mission is clear. I want to play Snatcher, but in order to do so, I must first obtain the necessary setup. These are the objectives:
- Purchase a model 1 or model 2 Sega Genesis
- Purchase a model 1 or model 2 Sega CD
- Purchase a Justifier light gun
- Purchase a copy of Snatcher
- Play and review the above
Objectives #1 and #2 may be combined in the form of a JVC X’Eye or CDX. I’m tempted to go with a Japanese X’Eye (a Wondermega) because it has S-video and stereo output, but then I would have to region mod it. Then again, I could get S-video and stereo mods on a domestic X’Eye and be in similar shape. Obviously, I have some research to do and decisions to make.
Maybe I’m a geek, but I’m already finding the process of researching these parts fun and interesting. Hopefully, by documenting and sharing what I learn, you will, too. Stick around!
RetroTube: Commodore 64 and Famicom montages
June 18, 2007 by Tim · Leave a Comment
A couple of cool retro-gaming-themed YouTube videos have been making the rounds this week, so I thought they’d make a good introduction to another regular mini-feature I had in mind. YouTube is a veritable treasure trove of obscure video game minutiae, and I love almost every minute of it! So, I plan to share some of my favorites in the future. In the meantime, let’s get started with these two:
100 Commodore 64 games in 10 minutes
I found this video especially interesting, having never played a Commodore 64 before. (I know, I know, some retro gamer I am, right?) In fact, I’m pretty tempted to get one now! I recommend watching the video and then checking this link, where the fine folks at the DigitPress forums have managed to identify the majority of the games.
Every Famicom title screen, ever!
After you’ve exhausted yourself watching 100 Commodore 64 games, you can move on to every Famicom title screen. Ever. The coolest part is that I think they’re even in chronological order! I think it’s interesting to see how the title screens generally started out with similar templates, but became more complex and more interesting to look at as time went on. Oh, and notice the duplicates? I’m thinking that’s because of games that got released on both cartridge and the disk system. Ooh, and notice the “Namcot” logos? Too cool… Man, I love this stuff.
RetroMacro (6/18/07)
June 18, 2007 by Tim · 2 Comments
I’m going to try out a little feature I’m calling the RetroMacro. Consider it a quiz — a test of whether you’re a truly hardcore retro gamer! The way it works is simple. I post a picture and you figure out what it is. The catch is that they’re super close-up macro shots, showing familiar objects in not-so-familiar ways. Think you’ve got what it takes? Have a look at the picture to the left and give it your best shot. (Feel free to post a comment, if you think you got it!) The answer, and the next picture, will be posted in the near future…
Update: Click the picture for a hint!
Update 2: Check after the break and scroll down for the solution…
New “classic” games for 3DO, C64, Saturn, and more
June 14, 2007 by Tim · Leave a Comment
Nothing warms my heart quite like seeing old game consoles get new releases. There’s just something uplifting about knowing there are other people out there that remember and are recapturing the same good times I had with my old games. Plus, it’s just plain fun to finally see “what almost was” back in the day.
With all that said, I’m happy to say that OlderGames.com has blown away the (admittedly small) 3DO community with the announcement that they’re not releasing just one, but four new games! And not only that, but they’re releasing new Saturn content, a new Commodore 64 game, a new classic PC game, and a DVD of classic game commercials, too! Here’s the list:
3DO: Icebreaker 2, Decathlon, Onside Soccer, Powerslide
Commodore 64: Silo 64
Saturn: Lost & Found 2
PC: Pathquest
DVD: Video Game Archives
They’re now accepting pre-orders and will officially release the games at the Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas on July 28-29. Check out their announcement for more details.
It looks like Icebreaker 2 will really be the gem of the bunch. It’s essentially a complete game that has sat, unpublished, for about 13 years! The game’s creator gives a great demonstration of it in the video below:
Update: OlderGames has now posted trailers for Powerslide, Decathlon, and Onside Soccer.
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