Damo

@themightyant That site was how myself and Darren met each other! Sadly we took it down a few years back because the traffic couldn't justify the hosting costs, but it will always be an important stepping stone for me; without it, I wouldn't have met Darren, we wouldn't have done VC Reviews and we wouldn't have joined up with Ant (the founder of Nintendo Life)... my life would have been totally different without the MM Archive!

@-wc- My point is that the 'Nintendo problem' could, depending on the age of the person, be a 'PlayStation' or 'Xbox' problem. Basically, what is popular at any given time (or with a certain generation) tends to be what people remember years down the line (this could be applied to literally any medium, as well).

This piece isn't trying to frame an argument, either; it's presenting a topic of discussion.

@-wc- Ahem.

"Of course, this theory could equally apply to the PlayStation or Xbox generation; both Sony and Microsoft have enjoyed periods of extraordinary commercial and critical success, creating legions of fans who will only ever view history through a blue or green lens"

It's right there, my dude

@romanista The point is that there were more PS1 owners than N64 owners, so selling 3 million is easier on a platform where there are more potential players. Of course, that also means the competition is higher, but the point still stands, I feel.

@Hikingguy I might need to add The Horde, what a game!

@KingMike I have owned both the NA and Japanese versions of Populous, I always wondered why Sega published it in Japan! And you're quite right on the hardware register, I've updated the text

@Yarrdave Well, would you look at that. I've updated the review and included a credit to your good self!

@Viewtifu1 Really? I couldn't get it working on my Switch (or the PS5 / Xbox One) but I will try that later on and update this review if it works!

@-wc- The first wave of Bluetooth pads it did were literally exactly the same as the NES / SNES pads, the only thing missing was the Nintendo logo. With its more recent pads, 8BitDo has shifted to simply mimicking designs rather than using them wholesale.

@Hydra_Spectre They also make Shadowrun on the SNES, so it's not all bad!

@smoreon Monster Lair and Dragon's Trap are on the Anniversary Collection, though? Annoyingly, they released two collections...

https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/wonder-boy-anniversary-collection

@Blofse Yes it does, I mention that in the review

@Diogmites That's actually @AntDickens in the photos, I was behind the camera

@Serpenterror You can turn the lights off.

@AllieKitsune This is the first time it has been made available in physical form, we've updated the post to make this more clear.

@Andee Agree 100%. I know it lacks the animal transformations, but I think it's a superior game in every other way; beautiful visuals, great music and a really solid sense of progression. One of my personal favourites!

@-wc- You're welcome man!

@Turismo4GT You're very welcome, thanks for the kind comment!

@Diogmites Oooooh, Unreal Tournament. That's a good shout! Maybe we need to expand this list to 21 games...

@Diogmites We didn't want to double-up on franchises, and it was deemed that Quake III was the better pick. I certainly put a lot more time into the third game than the first.

@-wc- The version on Namco Museum Vol 2 is the NES port, I think? This is the original arcade version.

@misterdeshay That's a fair comment - I've swapped out the sub-head for a quote instead.

@misterdeshay Where's the false info in this piece, out of interest? We never claimed the footage was from the core itself, and embedded Robert's tweet which makes it clear this is just the first step towards creating the core.

@Poodlestargenerica This made me laugh, I won't deny it

@RubyCarbuncle I know, right? The way the cars control is especially good, and I adore the radio music for each location.

@-wc- I was talking with the author this feature (Lewis) at an event yesterday and we said exactly the same thing; I find noble failures much more interesting than assured successes!

@BulkSlash Was it at Ilfracombe amusements by any chance? That's the one and only place I've ever seen this, and that was at least 30 years ago!

@LillianC14 My complaint wasn't related to resolution, by the way, just that OLED panels are so much nicer to look at.

@Zenszulu The Master System wasn't last, that's the SG-1000

@Bunkerneath There's a history of Japanese companies working together when they're local.

Nintendo has sponsored the football side Kyoto Sanga for years (both are located in the same city), and Capcom had a similar sponsorship deal with the Osaka-based Cerzeo Osaka (and recently signed a new deal with the team, in fact: https://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/news/html/e220801.html#:~:text=In%20entering%20into%20this%20deal,of%20video%20games%20and%20soccer)

Japanese companies do seem to have some degree of civic pride and will often support other companies in the local area. It's not exclusive to Japan, either - this kind of thing happens in the UK as well.

@RetroGames The Nomad is literally a portable Mega Drive, it even uses the same cartridges. I think it's fair to lump it in with the MD is this case.

@stevep You can toggle it to full screen

@Monkeido It launched at the start of March, we had to wait for the unit to arrive. More stock will be available soon, this is only the first batch.

@-wc- I do agree that the term has largely lost a lot of its meaning these days, but that's the era we live in. Remember when we just used to play 'brand new' games in the 1990s?

@-wc- Cool it, tiger. It literally says 'remastered' in the press release:

"Updated music: Thanks to the amazing work of composer Philippe Vachey, the original soundtrack of the game became an instant classic. 30 years later, it was more than time to re-enchant the game with remastered versions of the soundtracks for both games."

@-wc- "A spiritual successor is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous work, but does not explicitly continue the product line or media franchise of its predecessor, and is thus only a successor "in spirit""

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_successor

@MarioBrickLayer I'm amazed they haven't done one already, as even with N64 games on NSO, people would still buy an N64 Mini. It would be easy money for them!

@MarioBrickLayer I can't help but feel that the Master System would be a big ask. I just don't think there's a big enough market for it... but I'm happy to be proven wrong.

Machines like the Saturn might be tricky mainly down to the fact that the current SoCs which run many of these systems won't be powerful enough.

@farrgazer I've used multiple power bricks and USB sources and haven't had a single issue.

@Diogmites That's a fair point! Herzog Zwei was one of the first games I ever played on my Japanese Mega Drive back in 1990... I adore that game. Doesn't get enough credit!

@LillianC14 That's pretty much the only one we haven't tested as yet. We'll look into sourcing a unit and getting it added to the list.

@sdelfin You're quite right, and I've added that into in, thanks!

@KingMike I don't think even those companies got the same terms as Namco.

@mus422 Nope. This will be an alternative for those who don't want to shell out for the hardware.

@-wc- "You're Giving Me The 'It's Not You, It's Me' Routine? I Invented 'It's Not You, It's Me.'"

No harm, no foul. Just glad to see the engagement! It's all good!

@-wc- @antdickens has already said it better than I could - this was a feature which sprang from a conversation in the office which we found interesting - but I do find it slightly amusing that you're offended that a website would talk about a topical game/series in order to generate interest, like that's some kind of dark art!

(Oh, and in reply to your first post, F-Zero on the SNES wasn't technically a 2D game, so it doesn't count.)

@Pillowpants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_Fighter_II

"Street Fighter II: The World Warrior is a fighting game developed by Capcom and originally released for arcades in 1991"

1v1 titles like this have always been referred to as 'fighting games', at least as far as I know, but I realise the term can loosely be applied to any game where your goal is to 'beat up' someone else

@Pillowpants They're technically 'fighting games'.

@Herna Any list that is trying to cover a genre with this much history is likely to feel all over the place, I'd argue. It's a hard job trying to factor in all of the best titles in a genre, especially one which has undergone a resurgence of late. You could argue that a best beat 'em up list should be 50 titles long, or more!

As for compilations, the D&D entry is a two-pack and is the only way those two D&D games have EVER been retailed, which is why we included it. Just listing Capcom's Beat 'em Up Bundle as a single entry would have been unfair, I feel. The two D&D games are very much the same thing; SoM is an expansion of ToD in my eyes, so it felt fair in this case.

As for the other 'omissions', a list is someone's opinion, so your list will be different to our list. Expecting them to match 100% is impossible.

The aim of these lists is ultimately to present a newcomer with 25 games that are a good introduction to the genre, and this list does that, even if your personal favourites are missing.

@Herna We haven't sidelined anything - as we say in the opening, we've included one entry from each series. SoR4 is utterly fantastic, and improves on SoR2 in every meaningful way (although the visuals are still a point of contention for many, I realise). We picked that over SoR2, but we mentioned the second game in the entry.