GravyThief

Has any technical info been released on this system yet? I’d be interested to see how it compares with Analogue’s take on the N64, hopefully someone does a comparison if/when they release.

Not a game I knew about before this article, but I enjoyed reading this none-the-less. Thanks. I’ll have to give the soundtrack a listen, everyone is mentioning how good it is.

That last paragraph in the article. Is this being planned to be released on retro consoles at some point?

Who is Al Bros? Is it short for Alan Brosnan? He gets mentioned quite a few times in the article but I’ve never heard of him.

So, erm…. I like the pink colour of the cartridge.

@RupeeClock also how do you find it to play games on? Does it feel responsive etc? I find the GBCs with the Funnyplaying screens, aftermarket shells and buttons feel horrible to play. They may have amazing looking screens, but the games feel unresponsive and it doesn’t always recognise button presses. I much prefer having everything original, with just a basic drop-in IPS screen so you can actually see it. Im just wondering which side of the camp the Chromatic falls into. (Sorry for the questions, it’s just nice to hear the experience from a real person rather than a YouTuber wanting those likes!).

@RupeeClock can you remember what it cost you total from Dragonbox shop in GBP? I see the 1st edition listed on their site for 200EUR (though out of stock obviously), but there would have been postage and (probably) duty to cover on top of that.

I would be interested, except here in the UK they convert the $200 price tag into £200. It would be £148 using Mastercard’s conversion rate today (that my card uses). They then add £10 postage, which sounds good, until you realise you’ve already paid £50+ extra. At least they say no additional tax or duty pay after that.

@OutRun22 each console has its own strengths and weaknesses. The colours on the SNES blow the MD out of the water, and tricks like Mode 7 meant games like Mario Kart and Pilotwings just weren’t possible on the MD. And talking of sound, it’s completely subjective. No one approach is objectively better than the other. The MD had a signature sound, which was used to great effect in many games, but then you have games like Street Fighter 2, which sounds significantly worse on the MD. And in my opinion, Secret of Mana blows anything the MD can do out of the water. It had relatively clean sampled audio that sounded like real instruments to my 1994 mind (the excellent compositions helped too of course).

At the end of the day both console are great with their own quirks, and the best games on each console are the ones that played to their respective console’s strengths.

While C64 games certainly had a look to them, I’d say it was their sound that is the most iconic. You can tell a C64 game just from how the music sounds. I didn’t hear anything C64 like in that trailer, although I don’t know if the music that was playing is from the game or not. If it doesn’t have that iconic C64 sound, then they’ve missed out on a big part of the C64 feel they seem to be going for.

@smoreon yeah I don’t mind the smokey transparent cases like we got for N64 and the original GBA (Glacier and Fuscia I think?). It’s when they’re completely transparent I don’t like it. It just makes it look messy and unfinished being able to clearly see all the insides!

And yes, I know the SNES port had cut content from the PC original, but at the time it had the most levels of Chapters 1-3 of the original Doom compared with all the other console ports, so back in the day I don’t ever recall thinking it had that much cut content.

@Damo do you know if that cartridge casing is representative of the final one or not? I really don’t like transparent cases, but I am very tempted to get this.

What cut content on the original SNES port of Doom are you referring to? The SNES versions had the most Doom 1 levels (chapters 1-3) of all the console ports at the time, even more than the PS1 port (although that had levels from chapter 4 and Doom II so had more levels overall). It certainly had a lot of cutbacks, like no textures on the floors and ceiling, reduced animations, enemies always faced you etc, but I wouldn’t call that cut content. It certainly wasn’t short of levels.

(I always defend SNES Doom because it was the only way I could play it back in the day and I absolutely loved it! 😀).

I was interested until you say they don’t improve the visuals to 16-bit, but instead add MSU audio and FMV cutscenes?! MSU stuff already looks and sounds out of place in SNES games, it will be even more out of place with NES games.

I’ll check them out just in case I’m missing the point.

How did I miss these little handhelds? And they play Evercade games? I’ve always liked the idea of the Evercade, but never wanted to invest in one. However, I like the idea of these Super Pocket consoles, and it means I can buy the odd Evercade games that take my fancy. I’ll have to check them out.

On a somewhat related topic, I’ve just started reading Bitmap Books’ “The Games of a Lifetime” written by Jaz Rignall, and so far I’m finding it a great read indeed.

I do love the C64’s signature sound.

I’ve never owned a Saturn, and likely never will, but I’ve always wanted to play this game. Shame it’s never had a re-release, and it sounds like if it ever does it will have to be remade from the ground up so wouldn’t be the same. Might have to watch a playthrough on YouTube. Even saying that makes me cringe! 🤣

@Fallingshadow yeah I thought a thousand copies seemed a bit unrealistic. It’s pricey, yes, but it isn’t what I’d call rare. I see it fairly regularly.

@Blofse when Time Extension and the other sites do pieces like this, the games will be from the individual’s personal collection. This will belong to @Damo.

I’ll be pre-ordering this. It is looking rather good from what they’ve shown I must say

I’d like more information if anyone can help please.

Is plugging the game into the system enough i.e. it updates the icon on the home screen because it must do some reading of the card to get that icon onto the home screen? Or do you need to launch the game fully? Because that’s a massive time difference if you have lots of these games to work through.

It doesn’t mention DS game cards. Are they ok i.e. they use different storage media or do they need the same treatment?

I already have to charge lots of handhelds and controllers every 6 months just to try to preserve the low quality, annoying and difficult to replace bespoke lithium batteries they keep insisting on using. So this would just be another chore I have to do periodically, thankfully less frequently it seems.

The rules that govern companies in the UK are awful (it may be similar in other countries too). For a negligible fee, you can set up a Limited Liability company and in the eyes of the law, it is separate and distinct from the individual(s). That’s fine to a degree, but when cr@p like this happens they can declare bankruptcy for that company, and set up yet another Limited Liability company with no penalty to themselves.

These individuals should be held to account more, and they certainly shouldn’t be allowed to just set up another company before the dust has even settled.

I have this on GameCube, but have never played it. I really need to, it looks like the type of game I’d like. There just always seems to be something else to play, and has been for 20 years 🤣

@WetBones @Deway thank you both for confirming VB can be played on 3DS. Looks like I need to get on with hacking one of them.

If you look on their app and filter on New 3DS XL consoles only, and sort by price, you can see the cheapest is £240 (Metallic Blue and Discounted, so no box, potentially aftermarket charger or stylus) and the most expensive is £550 (Hyrule Edition, boxed).

There are loads to choose from cheaper than a Switch 2 (especially if you’re not interested in a box) but yeah, I didn’t realise they’d got so expensive. Of course, checking eBay solds will give you a more realistic view of their worth.

Still, it’s good to know my boxed and complete Majora’s Mask New 3DS XL has increased in value. It even has an IPS top screen which adds to its value.

I really need to hack my 3DS. I don’t want to mess with my Zelda ones, so I’ll probably hack my plain black New 3DS (not XL). It’s really just to play import games, as I have a few US games I’ve never been able to play (stupid region locking), but I’m sure there’s other stuff I’d use too. I need to see if you can play Virtual Boy games on a hacked 3DS.

There clearly isn’t a technical reason as to why they can’t have a CRT filter on Switch 1. They could have released GameCube games on the original Switch NSO if they wanted to (Mario Sunshine and Mario Galaxy already exist). So they’re clearly using GameCube games as a differentiator for Switch 2, just seems odd they’d use a CRT filter for similar reasons.

As for those saying nobody cares about it, well yes I wouldn’t buy a Switch 2 just for this reason. But the lack of a CRT filter does stop me playing N64 games on NSO. They look awful as they currently are. They’re too clean and clear, they need to be blurred up dramatically. Although I don’t know yet if the CRT filter is any good or not.

I read the question wrong and voted yes instead of no

The outer box is sealed with brown parcel tape so you can’t see inside it? How do you even know that’s the original parcel tape? 🤣 So really, you’re buying a cardboard box to look at? I barely understand the sealed market, but at least with sealed games and consoles you get to ‘enjoy’ looking at them on a shelf or whatever.

I feel like I’m leaving this comment on numerous articles and YouTube videos. But it’s about time lithium batteries were standardised, in terms of size and dimensions. So we can easily buy high quality replacements as needed. Too many batteries end up like this. At present, when you can buy third party replacement batteries, their quality is horrendous. And that’s assuming they even fit in the device they’re supposed to be for.

Just checked this soundtrack out on YouTube (I think it’s the same one). I must say I’m not a fan. I do like a good Jazz rendition of videogame music, like from the One Ups. But this sounds way too much like it belongs in a waiting room, or a lift, for my liking.

I had a Master System growing up, but I seem to have missed all the best games for it. Had I had games like Phantasy Star, Wonder Boy III Dragon’s Trap, the Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse games, I probably would be a Sega kid now. But instead I had built in Alex Kidd, World Grand Prix and Global Defense! So unsurprisingly it wasn’t until I got a SNES some years later that I truly got into gaming and became the Nintendo kid I am today (well, adult I suppose).

Strange coincidence. I played Fortified Zone 1 for the first time ever yesterday on my GBC. I found it surprisingly playable. Will definitely check out the sequel (even if I just play the original Japanese release on my Everdrive).

I never had a Saturn back then, and I’ve still never played a Saturn either. Sega really isn’t my jam (although I do like the Master System and Mega Drive). And I was more than happy with my PS1 and N64, and still am. Some of the best games of all time released on those consoles, I can’t think of any Saturn game that would make me want to buy one.

@PKDuckman thanks for that link, some awesome pics. Although that Pat Sharp picture will now haunt my nightmares 🤣

I bought a ‘new’ SNES game from retrobit, those Jaleco fighting game re-releases I think they were. I’ve also had new N64 game from PIKO. I’ve since sold them. They look and feel so cheap I decided buying these new retro games was a waste of money and effort.

Will the rom for this game be available to buy (or ‘buy’ 🤣) so I can just play it on my Everdrive?

Super Mario World. I didn’t find all 96 exits because I wanted that star on my save file. I did it because it was fun to discover all of those exits, and play new levels.

Achievements miss the point. Achievements are all about getting that star, and not about the fun journey of getting that star. They’ve formalised that fun to the point it isn’t fun. Achievements are cr@p.

I’ve had to google ‘virtue signalling’ as I’ve never come across the term before until this very comments section. As I presumed, it’s a term I’ll likely never come across in real life, only on the good ol’ information superhighway. We have so much to thank for it.

Anyway, all I want to know is, can I still hack my Wii with that letter bomb thing? I haven’t got around to doing it yet, I hope I haven’t missed the boat.

“the arrival of the internet and meme culture has propelled Johnston's throwaway line into realms of global superstardom”.

And here I am, hearing about it for the first time ever. Doesn’t surprise me though, I still don’t really understand what a “Kardashian” is.

@gingerbeardman I actually hope this is true. I’d love to get a copy of Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse for Switch without paying scalper prices (which I’ll never do).

I’m not a Mega Man fan. I don’t like the platform games at all. Not sure what it is, probably a mixture of no nostalgia, not being able to shoot diagonally or upwards (even though I know the game is designed to accommodate this), and it not really being an exploratory platformer, which I much prefer.

That being said, I very much enjoyed playing Mega Man Legends a few years ago. So I’m probably one of the few people who much prefers the Legend games over the original platformers 🤣

Never heard of this game before. I would have loved it back then, seen as gaming and Games Workshop were my two main hobbies.

@MysticWangForce coz they go fasta!

I don’t know what it is, but I find a Super Famicom on top of a Satellaview aesthetically pleasing 🤣

I’m actually glad I was never exposed to import hardware in the UK back in the day (I did have US SNES games, but never NTSC hardware). I was blissfully unaware how terrible PAL games were in the 8 and 16 bit era.

If I’d have known I don’t think I could have enjoyed PAL games again. I certainly couldn’t have afforded to go the import route for all of my gaming.

@MegaManFan yes I get that, but if it goes China > US > Customer, then every customer will get the price hike regardless of whether they’re in the US or elsewhere. So what I don’t understand is why is he stopping sales to US customers only? That’s what I’m trying to understand. I’m obviously missing something.

@MegaManFan thanks for the reply, but that still doesn’t explain it for me.

If it goes China to San Diego to End Customer, then they’ll have the tariffs on the ‘China to San Diego’ leg of the journey, regardless of whether the end customer is in the US or elsewhere. That’s the part I don’t understand.

If it went China to End Customer (and so never touched the US for customer outside the US), I would understand it. Is that what happens?

Why does this not impact orders being made from outside the US? I thought the issue with the tariffs meant the cost of the components for the RetroTINKs (from China I presume) will increase dramatically, in which the cost of their products would need to increase to compensate. I don’t understand how this impacts where their customers are based?

I never knew anything about this guy when the whole Chromatic stories started. I didn’t even know he created the Oculus. I don’t mind a mention of these things in reviews of software/hardware, but I don’t want people’s opinions on the matter shoved down my throat either. I can do my own research (if I’m bothered) and can make up my own mind on the subject thank you. If I’m honest, it wouldn’t change my view of the product (I’d still like to have a Chromatic for example). Although at the same time I won’t say I like this guy or agree with any of his opinions - he sounds like a tool (to put it mildly).

One of the worst examples of someone’s opinion being shoved down my throat in the guise of a review was Eurogamer’s ‘review’ of the first Kingdom Come Deliverance game. They didn’t really cover much of the game, they just ranted on about whatever the controversy was (I can’t even remember what it was). If they’d have tagged the article as an opinion piece or whatever, fine, but no, apparently it was a review of the game.

Anyway, I suppose what I’m saying is I’ve lived long enough on this Earth to be completely apathetic to most ‘controversies’ these days. I’d rather they weren’t forced upon me when trying to gather information about my hobby, but I’m also equally capable in ignoring such pieces and gathering the information elsewhere. I’m not going dictate what people should and shouldn’t talk about.

But people paying those prices aren’t buying them to play. They’re buying them to put on a shelf and make numerous posts on Facebook about them.

The rest of us simply burn a copy of the game on to a blank disc. Or in my case, I bought a US copy for £80 (I’m in the UK so US copies are cheaper, although this was a few years ago admittedly) so I can play it and still have a genuine copy.

I do hope the second hand value drops, but not sure being part of the NSO will make much difference.

I found this really interesting. Thanks!

I must say the beat em up genre (2D or 3D) holds no appeal to me these days. Back in the 90s I loved them, and spent so many hours with the likes of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct and Tekken. I don’t know why I don’t enjoy them.

I prefer scrolling beat em ups, but even then I get bored very quickly. I played Shredder’s Revenge and got a fair amount of the way through it, but I realised I was just playing it because it was a present and I felt I had to.

I’ll definitely keep my eyes on this. I’ll be intrigued to see their approach for an FPGA N64. I really liked their take on the Game Boy Color, using a like for like screen in terms of resolution and also allowing the use of AA batteries. But obviously none of that applies with an N64 so it may be a more standard approach.