GravyThief

@Damo that picture of Super Famicom games is a sight to behold

The C64 is a strange beast for me. It was the first games computer/console I ever had and played, but I was very young and found most of the games extremely difficult and glitchy so I don’t really hold much nostalgia for it. I probably didn’t play the best games given I don’t recognise most games on this list!

The games I remember playing most (I’m not saying these are any good!) were:

Freak Factory (scared me as a child!)
The Last V8
Combat School
Turrican games
Game Over
Moon Shadow
Various Dizzy games
Blue Max
Dan Dare

This article has piqued my interest for playing these games again! I’m guessing it’s easy playing C64 games on PC via emulation? I’ll have to take a look.

Interesting read, thanks. I enjoy short games given my busy real life, so will play this at some point soon.

It would have been nice to include a picture of the logo you discussed in the article. I had to Google it to see what you were talking about.

I wouldn’t mind owning a physical copy of this game for the SNES. Oh it’s Limited Run Games. Guess not then.

Really interesting read. And thank you for adding the video at the end 🤣

Really interesting read, thank you. Really enjoying this new site so far.

I notice this phenomenon when I’m exercising and doing planks. When you you’re staring at the carpet really close up, the different shades of fibres and speckles make it really easy to see faces in the pattern!

I’m from Leeds too! I mean, so are a few hundred thousand other people too, but still, it’s the last thing you expect when reading an article about someone who featured in a set of French Sega adverts from the 90s!

I’ve never come across these adverts before. I’ll definitely be checking out that compilation video when I get chance.

An awesome read, thank you! I’m looking forward to more articles from this new site.

Great to hear from Pete from Genki Video Games in this article. I’ve ordered numerous Japanese games and hardware from him over the years. I recall putting an order in for Bomberman 64 (the Japanese exclusive one) with him and having to wait for the palett to arrive from Japan. It took a while and it felt a bit like the whole grey import scene from the 90s again…. Except I didn’t have to pay until it arrived and didn’t have to send a Postal Order 😀 I highly recommend his site for anyone interested in Japanese games.

I also blew a US SNES power brick when I plugged it straight into a UK socket with a shaver adapter (so no step down!). I remember the pop and acrid smell all too well. It was the first ever foreign console I’d imported, but thankfully it just blew the power brick and not the console itself.

@Rambler same here. Never had an Amiga but my friend did, and the few times I played on it I was enthralled by how different it is and the games are to your Nintendo and Sega consoles. It almost has this ‘mythical’ status in my mind!

Does anyone know, are most Amiga games available in this WHDLoad format? And are they easy to find on the internet?

I’m tempted to get one of these, but I’m not willing to pay the price for the included games alone.

The games I’d like to play off the top of my head are Hero Quest, Space Crusade, that Geoff Crammond F1 game. Probably loads more, but that’s what comes to mind right now.

Not really sure I get the point of going to all this effort if you’re just playing your carts via emulation on your PC. By that point you may as well just play the ROMs and cut out the faff. But what do I know?

Much closer to the original than I was expecting, going by this trailer, which is a good thing for me (i.e. someone who was alive in the 90s and watched the originals).

They should bring back Bad Influence too.

No idea if this will work and be any good if done now, but I’m certainly intrigued enough to watch it when it releases. I have no interest in watching celebrities (who I probably won’t recognise) playing FIFA, Fortnite or COD, but I’d certainly like to see how the retro sections play out.

Also I wonder if they’ll be aiming this towards man children like me who grew up with the original show, or kids/teenagers now who enjoy the above mentioned games? Or both?

I’m intrigued anyway. I’ll keep my eye on this!

@andykara2003 I’m with you there. I even love playing old consoles via RF on a CRT, it’s just so nostalgic for me! Obviously RGB is the best though.

I have looked into things like the Franemeister and OSSC in the past, as I know one day my CRTs will die. But I always end up down the rabbit hole of all the hassle that comes with it, like OSSC settings for different consoles, even different games on the same console, issues with resolution switching on PS1/N64 games, will my TV be compatible with all the modes the OSSC has, lag on the Framemeister etc. And I just can’t be bothered and stick to playing on my CRT. I do have a RAD2X cable for my Nintendo consoles, as whilst not the best picture it’s just easy plug and play. Will get a RAD2X for the PS1/PS2 too, then I should be done!

I wonder if the emulation will end up being as smooth as its development

I missed this earlier in the year, so thanks for publishing it again. I’ve never read this story before so glad I have now

My dream is an Analogue console for every retro console I have and play, along with one of their DACs so I can play on a CRT or HD TV as I see fit.

Considering an N64, PS1, PS2 and Gamecube are on that list, I’m not sure it will happen before I’m too old to play.

Here’s to wishful thinking.

I did know this at the time as it was one of the control options and even showed two controllers on the screen. This was 1997 though, and using two analogue sticks at the same time just didn’t feel right. I think I gave it a go but quickly stuck with the one controller option. I managed to compete the game on all difficulties with one controller so obviously it was fine. I’d like to give the dual control scheme a go now.

Can the dual control method be used in 2 player?

As someone from the UK, I’d never heard of these magazines before, but it was still a very interesting read. Thanks!

It certainly appears more positive than it did a year or two ago, and from what I’m reading and seeing on YouTube the emulation seems impressive. Especially for the Saturn.

I’d love to see PS1 games from this compared to the new PS1 digital mod recently released, to see how impressive it is.

I’m not normally a fan of software emulation, but I do see the appeal of an all in one system like this if the emulation is of good quality. I look forward to seeing MLiG’s and Digital Foundry’s analysis.

If they ever manage to get a module for N64 released with good quality emulation, I’d be very interested.

Who is bank rolling all this by the way? Given how long it’s been in development, it must have some serious money spent on it already. I’m surprised they didn’t go bankrupt ages ago.

@ThanosReXXX it would be nice to be able to run the gameS without having to load up SWISS, but of course it’s no hardship if not.

Another nitpick question I have is whether the Gamecube still has its normal start up sequence with this installed? It’s my favourite start up of any console so it would be a shame if it loses it with this installed.

But ultimately this device looks awesome, and the fact no soldering is required makes it so much more desirable. I’ll have to get one.

@Damo does this circumvent the region locking of the Gamecube, so I’d be able to make backups of my USA games, load them onto the SD card and play them on my PAL Gamecube without needing to use a Freeloader (or an ISO of the Freeloader)?

Will something like this ever be available for the PS1/PSone and PS2? I think something exists for the PS1, but it requires soldering if I recall correctly. Those consoles would definitely benefit from this, as from my experience their drives are much more prone to failure than a Gamecube’s

@samuelvictor thanks for all of that info. I never realised the Dizzy games and their names were so confusing! The only way it could be more confusing is if there was a Gryzor Probotector Dizzy.

I only recall the Commodore 64 Dizzy games (with their big boxes) from my childhood, so I’ll have to check out the NES versions.

I would love for the Nintendo and Sega mini consoles to take this approach. Have their games in a mini replica cartridge that plugs into the console. It means they could sell future collections easily (say 10 or 20 games per cart) rather than release a new console each time they want to release a fresh set of games (assuming they even do that at all, nobody has yet).

I really like the idea of this, but not with the current selection of games. If that ever improves, I’d consider getting one.

Oh goodness. I can’t believe he’s died, so young too.

I downloaded most, if not all, copies of Super Play in pdf format from various places on the internet a couple of years ago, and read them all. Despite completely missing this magazine back in the day, I got completely sucked into the ‘club’ like I was there at the time. You really felt their enthusiasm for the SNES and Super Famicom, especially the JRPGs that either only made it to the US, or never left Japan.

I’m gutted to hear about his death 😞

Excellent read, many thanks. Now, when will you be interviewing the Stamper Brothers?

Nice to read a Rare story that isn’t DKC or Goldeneye, so thanks for the read!

I remember getting KI for the SNES back in Xmas 1995 along with SNES Doom. Most of my time was spent with Doom (I was obsessed with original Doom back then) so KI didn’t get much of a look in. I’m not the biggest beat em fan, and I don’t think I ever managed to pull off an Ultra combo, so I didn’t get to enjoy it to its full potential. Still, I have great memories of its graphics and style and that awesome music CD!

Never heard or read these stories before, so this was a great read, thank you.

I was an avid video game fan back in 1993 but I don’t remember any of these SEGA Pirate TV adverts. I’ll check them all out on YouTube when I get chance.

I have their NES and SNES compendiums, and their SFC Box Art book which is probably my favourite. I’ll definitely get this, but I have a bit of a backlog of gaming books to get through at the moment. I do love a good gaming book.

These articles make me want to buy an original DMG-01 and loads of loose Game Boy carts so I can lay them all out on a table and take pictures.

I am being serious 😀

Hopefully Analogue keep on releasing new versions of these old consoles, so my original games will still have a use. Not sure if they’ll ever get into CD based systems, and I imagine the PS2 generation is out of their reach, for now at least.

I have the Super Nt, and whilst I’m a die hard original hardware and CRT retro gaming fan, it’s an amazing piece of kit, and provides me with more flexibility to play SNES games, whilst being able to go between both my retro and modern set ups with the same games, with no compromises.

I’m not as into Sega as Nintendo, so don’t collect any of their systems or games, but this Mega Sg would be ideal. I’ll pair it alongside the Mega Everdrive, and will basically have access to the entire Master System, Game Gear and Mega Drive library in just two pieces of kit. Sounds good to me!

@Raphi7 coax probably wasn’t a good word for me to use! Of course I won’t push her in any way, she will like what she likes and that’s fine by me. If it happens to be games, I’ll be very happy.

Given how she already tries to grab controllers from me when I’m playing in front of her, I think she may already be a gamer. The best was when I handed her an unplugged SNES controller when I was playing for real, she was bashing it alongside me. It was so adorable, I can’t wait to play games with her for real.

Man, I miss gaming from the 90’s, the lack of internet, the wonder. I’m such an old codge.

I can’t wait to relive those magical gaming moments with my daughter, I just have to make sure I carefully ‘coax’ her into liking video games 😀

@roadrunner343 thanks, I did think it would work but normally I see this mentioned so wasn’t sure.

I would love to get their NES/Famicom Analogue console, but I can’t justify its cost, especially as I don’t hold much nostalgia for the console (I was more Master System / Mega Drive until the SNES). I’m happy with my little AV Famicom at the moment, but I’m always keeping an eye out for the original Analogue ones, if they ever re-release them at a cheaper price.

@sdelfin yeah, I must say it’s much harder to argue the original/RGB/CRT route is the best when the Super NT looks and plays as good as it does. Especially if you didn’t grow up with the consoles back in the day.

I’ll always keep my consoles and CRTs for as long as they function, but I’m glad there’s an acceptable alternative for me now. The only downside is that I don’t see the FGPA route going past the PS1 and N64 era anytime soon, but that’s still plenty to be getting on with!

I have commented on here many times about how I prefer original hardware, RGB, and a CRT (I have a PVM but even my ‘portable’ 14” no brand CRT looks great). And I still think this is the best way to play these consoles.

However, my set up is relegated to our second lounge, and because I want to spend most of my time with my wife and daughter in our main lounge with the HD TV, I wasn’t getting to play my retro consoles as often as I’d like. So I went against all my preaching and bought the Analogue Super NT.

I’m so glad I did. It truly is an amazing clone console, and I never realised how good SNES games can look on a 40” HD TV. I still say original hardware and CRT is the best way to play. But being able to spend more time playing these games is just as important too.

I’ll definitely buy this at some point. Hopefully second hand after someone has already imported it. The postage + import duty to the UK is quite a hit.

I presume this will work with the Mega Everdrive X7?

I’d personally love a Saturn Classic Mini in the same vein as NES/SNES/PS1. This Polymega certainly looks intriguing, but isn’t something I’ll ever buy given its price. I would love a convenient way to enjoy some of the best Saturn games, as it’s a console I’ll never purchase or collect for (I missed that boat!), but I’d love to play some of the games.

Doesn’t look promising though, given what I hear about the difficulty in emulation. Can’t imagine SEGA or ATgames are up to the task going from their recent efforts.

I love articles and stories like this, from what I see as the heyday of gaming. More please!

@ThanosReXXX @frogopus Wow, thanks for all the info guys. It’s a rare treat to find a retro gaming subject I don’t know anything about, I’ll enjoy reading all the links you sent. Cheers!

What’s a microswitched joystick? Tried Googling it but I just seem to find shops selling micro switches!

I always struggled with joysticks in the arcades back in the day, I was so used to playing with a d-pad. I’d be able to reel off countless shoryukens and tiger knees on SFII Turbo back at home on the SNES, but then could hardly pull any off in the arcade.

@Damo I do enjoy the photos you do of your games and systems on these types of articles. Glad to see it’s not just Nintendo games and systems getting the love!

I only just bought a PSP end of last year, and I’m gutted I didn’t get one much sooner. Since then I’ve amassed over 50 games, most good or great, because they’re so cheap. And I must say I do love those little UMDs. Totally impractical of course, but for someone who plays only at home they’re a great little novelty. They remind of the mini discs from Sony in the late 90’s, just before MP3 players hit the big time. Sony do have a bit of a track record when it comes to failed media!

@Cobalt I’ve just checked their site and it’s HDMI output only, which is a shame but understandable.

Just done a quick google search. Unless I’m mistaken, it seems that copy of Yellow Box PAL Super Mario World sealed with red strip could be worth £8,000+ alone! A copy of it appeared to have sold on eBay back in 2013 at that price anyway. I might have misunderstood, but if not that’s insane!

I regret selling my SNES collection back in 2005. It wasn’t huge, but going from prices today it would probably be worth close to £10k. Think I sold it for around the £1k mark. If only I could go back in the DeLorean and tell myself this! I recall importing Earthbound from the US for about £80, which I thought was loads back then. Now it sells for about £500+, I should have stocked up!

I’m happy with my collection now though. I have a CRT, many everdrives and modded disc based systems, so I have access to pretty much any game I could want to play (just missing the Mega Drive and PC Engine). And I play and enjoy them, rather than look at them in a box or a shelf. Mind you, I still have quite a lot of games, you can never lose that collector’s urge completely.

Back when F1 was good in my opinion. 80’s and early 90’s F1 was great. More dangerous mind, so there is that, but man watching old races from the 80’s when it was more experimental was great. Cars going 200mph+ around corners with the ground effect is awesome. They should make an F1 game today based on the 80’s, it would be so much more fun!

@samuelvictor thanks for the heads up. How much of a pain is it to unplug the 32X to then pop the Mega Everdrive into the Mega Drive slot? I was expecting to have to do that to play even MD games anyway. Does it involve changing RGB/Video cables?

Great read, thanks. I plan to get a Mega Drive and Everdrive at some point for Master System and Mega Drive Games. Might get a 32X too if my curiosity is high enough when the time comes.

Luckily I already have a small collection of Mega Drive power supplies, thanks to them seemingly being able to power pretty much every Japanese retro console I have! Shame you can’t plug them in next to each other in the same power strip though as they’re so big!

@Damo thanks Damo. Gotta love the trusty Mega Drive Mk1 power brick. I think it powers all of my Japanese retro consoles!

Like the sound of this. I was contemplating the Everdrive for the PCE but that didn’t cover the CD games.

I’ll admit to not having a clue about all the different iterations of PCE consoles, so if I was looking to get one console that can play ALL games via this device, which one should it be? Is that even possible?

Also, in terms of PAL consoles is the hardware locked down to 50hz like a PAL SNES, or can it output 60hz if ntsc software is used via this device?