Coalescence

'Hamaguchi explains that the one thing he didn't want to do was "overwrite the original game with my own fan perspective version of it and create a new version of the game which is essentially a fan fiction of it."'

George Bush Mission Accomplished vibes lol

Nothing to do with ownership over a notoriously valuable NES game, riiiiight. That's totally not why they picked this otherwise very average game over any number of NES gems.

Finally, a streamlined solution to the terribly inconvenient task of recharging the battery.

But that is pretty cool and I love the color coordination.

Big pass on that. There's a world of difference between a brute force machine translation and a proper translation & localization. Just as there's a world of difference between Mato's Mother 3 translation or Neill Corlett's Seiken Densetsu 3 translation, and the J2E Final Fantasy IV translation. If I'm going to sink time into a big text heavy game, I want some quality behind the translation.

I'm actually thinking about buying a copy now. That is comedy gold. And fitting jank for Mortal Kombat.

He's spot on about the unstable aspect of live music. That's also why I can't jive with music made by 100% virtual instruments most of the time (Celeste's soundtrack being one big exception). There's a roughness to music and other art that I crave. People who have been fine with ultra glossed processed & homogenized music will probably be able to slide right into AI stuff and not even know the difference, but for me there's no substitute. The tech isn't going away when there's money to be had, it'll just take artists like Nobuo to have the discipline to keep original art alive.

I backed this one and couldn't have been more pleased with the final product. The print quality is vibrant, top notch, with nice layouts. The regional differences are pretty fascinating, and his commentary is all worth reading. I've ended up checking out a whole pile of NES games based on how cool the endings looked or how he described some of the experience. I'm a bit exhausted of all the video game related books coming out lately but this one is absolutely solid.

I like these guys and what they're doing, but any NES or other retro aesthetic nowadays just feels like the same digested mush tossed over with a paint bucket onto any product for nostalgia association.

As an enjoyer of Internet misery it is absolutely hilarious that the two options for plug & play fpga N64 consoles are Analogue and Modretro - with people constantly crying about the former's lack of communication & closed sourcedness, and people constantly crying about the latter being a Palmer Luckey joint. Meanwhile the misterbros are doing their usual thing and Takibros are a rising force in smugness. It's going to be a new fandom war, with the extra spice of politics & business ethics as people buy their M64 or 3D or Superstation and the tribes start to really balkanize.

It's a deal, but definitely the lesser version of SOTN. The new dialogue lacks the theatrics of the original, the new voiceovers are flat, and it's a good deal buggier than the original while fixing helpful glitches like the money duplication. But the biggest issue is that the music volume is too low compared to the sound effects (which are also handled poorly) and there's no way to adjust. The closing credits song is also changed. One of the best OSTs ever recorded and they nerfed it. 4.99 is probably worth it for checking out Maria mode, but this is such a lousy port. At least Rondo wasn't manhandled so badly.

Gotta say, the system reminds you about breaks on startup and many titles prompt you in-game. If you didn't take breaks, that's on you. 2 hours isn't healthy to stare at any screen directly with no breaks. Even my stupid 12 year old self took the breaks and I never had any eye strain or headaches.

Neck discomfort and awkward positioning though, all day. The playing on your back with the VB on your face was the lie sold on that Nintendo Power letters section. There was that photo a kid sent in where he supposedly took his on a camping trip and enjoyed the bliss of nature by laying in the grass with the headset balanced on his eyes. I tried that immediately after getting the VB as I suspect many did and yeah there's no way. Going facedown into the unit presents its own challenges.

Worth it though. I got mine in 96 when it was already marked a failure, so my mom was able to get a gently used demo unit dirt cheap as a birthday present. It even came with a free Teleroboxer because it was left in the slot (along with the Mario Tennis pack-in). I grew up in a crowded small house. The TV was a fiercely defended resource. Portables were better but still invited unwanted over the shoulder attention. Sticking my head into the VB was the perfect escape.

Might as well just watch a let's play if you're going to completely remove a game's teeth. Nerfed enemy spawns was the only one really needed. 2x damage and removing a level altogether is just putting these in kiddie mode.

Better level design? Improved physics? There's a reason this game is still enjoyable today and really needs no updates other than a superfluous fresh coat of paint. Come on now.

I would guess Nintendo's legal team became aware of the situation and put the screws to Sega (or Sega was doing a CYA measure before that happened). They definitely don't want to lose their now-ally, and so they jostled up the police who in that region are all too eager to do some seizure and roughing up of the citizens. Sucks for the guy caught in that but it's quite a ripping yarn.

For sure some marketer saw the response last time as an easy way to rack up engagement, assuming the last one wasn't also intentional for the same reason. It's not like it's a big secret people can't help but engage when there's a glaring error and an opportunity to feel superior on the Internet.

Weird that I grew up with the Game boy and Tetris, and never once played the multiplayer mode. Mostly because I had no link cable and never knew anyone with a link cable until the Pokemon days.

Anyway, it's crazy cool that they are releasing updates that can be applied to the cart but it's also introducing the annoying release a game incomplete and patch it later that modern console gaming has never escaped ever since the units went online.

That is awesome. I don't get into much anime but I love Mushishi so much. It's like a full series of the little bits I enjoy in anime and Ghibli films. Can't wait to load this onto my 3DS.

Looks like a Game Boy and six button genesis controller had an unfortunate transporter accident. But it really nails that vibe of bootleg consoles that merge a bunch of designs together because the company doesn't know or doesn't care the aesthetics belong to competing companies, and you're the sad kid whose family didn't get the real deal.

Really bizarre choice for a company that just seems in it to make money. The Analogue Duo isn't perfect but it's only a bit more expensive with fpga power and a drive to play burned games since there's no copy protection. The alternate firmware allows loading roms though no save states yet.

The Pocket + Dock is an option as mentioned already. Mister options are getting cheaper and more accessible. Anyone who wants to dip their toe into the libraries without the more expensive fpga solutions has any number of cheaper software emulation devices with all the bells and whistles.

This thing is not even aesthetically pleasing.

If you're going to do anything on the Internet, you need to learn how to ignore the vocal whiners. Not excusing them but they're always going to be there and they'll never be satisfied with anything.

An okay idea with terribly slapdash execution and a weird contempt for fans of the original. Hell yeah, I knew who Vision was back then and loved playing as him in the arcade. Definitely not bothering with this.

Great review, glad to see this is finally out and seems to have cashed in on all its potential. I'd say Michiru Yamane edged out Koshiro with that Bloodlines OST but he's an absolute master of his craft and I can't think of a better type of game for him to helm.

@failaz1986 That's some astonishingly strong bad faith in that argument, well done. I don't know though, maybe if you had like ten more examples I would be turned.

And just look how happy he is.

Back in high school I had a summer job quality checking car sunvisors (part of an under the table paid crew slipped in to pick up union slack, but we won't get into that). For 10-14 hours a day we'd be sitting there going through crates of sunvisors, checking for any visible blemishes and more importantly, exercising the pivot and hinges from all angles. We were told they always did these checks by hand because a machine couldn't predict for the random ways a human would stress the parts. That was a while ago, but it looks like tech still isn't able to catch things like this. Maybe if these companies weren't pumping out new models every five minutes there could be more money invested in quality control.

@mjparker77 Same. Controller looks fine, cool even. But I buy Analogue consoles to get as close as possible to the original experience on a modern set. If I'm going to be using a totally new controller like this then I may as well just go the software emulation route.

Youtuber finds out running a business is a little more involved and complicated than gathering donations and playing videogames.

I wish retro games could go back to being next to worthless so that scumbag companies and grifting youtubers would just buzz off already.

"This is a five figure kind of thing too fyi"
lol. Never heard of this person and that sort dbag comment ensures I wouldn't bother getting familiar with them.

Lol "midretro" in the update text.

The price is right. If it has something over the 3D I might consider jumping ship. It'll also depend on the console design. Analogue is good about staying true to the original aesthetics. Hopefully modretro resists any garish designs on their unit.

Flat out titling it a property you don't have rights to use is always going to end poorly. As per usual it reeks of an attention getting ploy to make a game which 100% will get shut down, instead of making something that is heavily inspired by the property.

Big thing would be the comfort and form factor. The Analogue Pocket can be a near perfect portable SNES with a gorgeous display but the form factor, dpad, and shoulder buttons are absolute crap for something like Super Metroid. Playing the game perfectly on the hardware is half the battle.

I mean he's among the most forgettable composers who worked on big games. Not super shocked he'd be in desperate times. Also that prosecution for a fraudulent loan five years ago is definitely working at the speed of government just like with all the other COVID loan criminals. If only there was some way to audit a request before handing someone a big check.

The preloaded cards are stupid anyway, and I can't believe people still buy them separately. Full libraries are all over archive dot org and elsewhere. The days where it took a modicum of effort to procure all the games for an emulator are long over.

Buy the game for the game. Just like buying Nokturnal Mortum and Arghoslent for the riffs.

So much noise for such an aggressively okay and ultimately forgettable game. Hopefully this being available elsewhere finally stems the salt flow and people get over their compulsion to performatively dunk on the guy. Best thing will be when this stops being a topic of discussion.

It's a funny mistake, but the absolute hilarity is the indignation people feel over something like this. I've loved gaming my whole life and I can't for the life of me imagine having anything more than the simple chuckle the article had over this.

@mattysaurus Good to know!

That's the first color scheme on the Chromatic that appeals to me. I was already considering one, but the ugly aesthetics of the previous models turned me off. I love my Analogue Pocket, but after playing with my friend's chromatic I definitely could see it becoming my GB/C cart player. Definitely won't be needing that crazy expensive Sapphire option though.

It's super neat thing he's doing here. Limited Run is mostly trash yet I'm not above buying something I want from them. But I'd be lying if I said I really actually wanted to play this rather than peep some playthrough footage. I've played Doom a billion times over and the Switch port is probably the most ideal way (outside of being able to mod in the killer SNES OST). No Super NT pretty much quashes any chance of an impulse buy.

I still use mine regularly. Even if I didn't though I'd never sell it, just like any old console. You never know when you'll get into it again or something will happen to open up a new way to enjoy it, like Red Viper coming out as the best Virtual Boy emulator around. Not surprised the value is going up. The unit is just about perfect, has an endless set of libraries, has a unique enjoyable gimmick, and the hardware is proving durable so far. And thanks to the ridiculous used game market, just about anyone who has one of these is going to be a 'I know what I got' seller.

The prices used to be next to nothing because a stock Nomad is not a fun handheld but like everything I guess it has to be extremely valuable now. I would definitely be into this mod if I had a childhood system (planning to get my childhood Virtual Boy fixed up as it finally lost its ribbon glue), but the prices being what they are I would be just as happy sticking with the Mega SG for TV and Analogue Pocket for portable.

Not my favorite at all, but still a good game and still the most hilarious robot masters of the whole series 😂 I'll definitely check it out.

Beautiful packaging, which is all I'd ever want that for. I will never understand the appeal of digital video game music pressed to vinyl, particularly for the exorbitant prices it commands and it being frequently lately the only option for some OST releases such as Battletoads (and they didn't even take advantage of the medium by putting the pause music in a locked groove track). But I get they are probably doing this to put down all the bootleg vinyl releases this soundtrack has gotten in recent years.

Gotta hand it to Polymega. The product looked questionable as all hell and the pivot from fpga seemed like it would sink the thing but they've held in there and kept the fire going with cool stuff like this. I'm actually wanting one lately.

I'll prefer to double dip digital copies than give anything to LRG. Even the mighty Yuzo Koshiro isn't going to make me order from them.

These chancers need to up and go already. Either they thought most of their whales wouldn't open the "investments", or they just didn't care about the potential blowback. They purport to preserve physical game media yet give people more reason to just go digital.

Emulationbros here really not understanding that homebrew can exist without piracy.

So glad I passed on one of these. That's not an easy piece of engineering to get right and I knew a company constantly pumping out new hardware was not going to slow down and take the time to do this right as Nintendo did.

@Santar yeah I was interested until watching the video. Making the supporting cast playable from original assets, or at least keeping it to characters actually in the original story would have been a cool take. This looks like a hot mess.