Hexapus

@mollipen Ah I should have gone to Youtube. Thanks for clearing it up! It's interesting that they sent the VHS tape to you during the trial.

I loved GameFan! I still have 4 issues that I managed to hold onto over the years. You guys had the best screenshots and paper quality in my opinion. It felt like you were getting something special with each issue.

Edit: It turns out I have 11 issues - 7 from 1993 and 4 from 1994.

The Vs screen and character art is pretty blatant. Other than that it looks like a lot of the other SF2 clones from back in the day.

What I really want to know is where she "found" this VHS tape. Why do people always post these amazing finds but never explain how they found the rare item?

I can't imagine how much money it would take to beat Magician Lord in an arcade. Even playing it at home involves continuing every few minutes. Good luck staying transformed for more than 5 seconds before you lose the power up.

Definitely one of the hardest games ever made. It's just so cool to me that I keep coming back to it. I remember seeing it in an arcade and being blown away by the art style and concept.

Edit: What happened to that SNES version? That looked like faithful port of the first stage.

@FurgelFrNurgle I agree but maybe not as insulted lol. Really over-hyped for sure but the bar is low for western animated shows.

I thought season one was okay(first 6 episodes?) but season 2 was a chore to get through with some really sloppy/rough animation in parts. Besides the Alucard scenes which were pretty good, there wasn't much that I enjoyed about the show.

I can overlook the choppy animation but the story and dialogue was also bad in my opinion. Dracula's motivation episode followed by an episode with Dracula's minions explaining Dracula's motivations. Never getting to Dracula's castle... Animation isn't cheap, make it count.

I know people really like it so I don't want to trash it too much but it was not my cup of tea.

@RetroGames Yeah the MD SCIV intro looks pretty rough at the moment but the gameplay seems to be largely intact.

I'm definitely more excited about a possible SNES Bloodlines. Hopefully they see it through to the end.

I thought the tap card was a cool idea. Almost like an alternate reality where games and programs were distributed that way. I could imagine it being used in a gritty sci-fi film set in the "future". Cramped apartment with a retro futuristic screen and a game console. "High tech, low life" Cool novelty to have on a shelf for sure.

Discs on the other hand, I'm not so sure about. Why not use real or burned discs at that point?

@archaicking You can assume that they are not the same but I have seen many a friend decry the death of Star Wars but watch every single episode/movie Disney releases. Often checking in on social media opening night.

You underestimate people's need to feel "in the know" or part of a group.

@JonathanChapman This is the only thing corporations respond to. Just boycott this temporary digital ownership BS and go about your day.

People who complain about all the garbage remakes/reboots/superhero movies from Hollywood are a prime example. They keep making them because all those same people complaining, they go see the movies or binge the awful shows on opening night. Stop giving them your money(because of FOMO) and they will have to change the way they do business.

Cancel your Disney+, Paramount+, and stop buying things from Nintendo, PSN, and Microsoft. You will survive.

The first LoK is so underrated. I've said it before on this site but that's the game in the series that deserves a remake with Diablo 4 style graphics.

Keep the voice acting from the original and update the graphics and the terrible 3D cut scenes. The voice acting in LoK was really almost too good for the game. They really did a phenomenal job with the story and acting.

I know everyone thinks of Soul Reaver when they hear "Legacy of Kain" but Soul Reaver was more like Tomb Raider and (in my opinion) not very appealing after playing Blood Omen.

This looks incredible. They're really nailing the '80s anime aesthetic.

@slider1983 No problem. I'm hoping we see more FPGA devices in this price range. Last time I looked into a Mister it was in Neo Geo territory with that high price tag.

@slider1983 If you watch Taki's first announcement video from a while back he explains the situation. IIRC he was able to source a chip that's a key component in FPGA devices for a lot less money. Don't remember if it's a clone chip or if the price has gone down significantly.

The Mario64 Ai looks exactly what I would expect from a promptist. They have no idea that it's the most horrific looking Mario ever or why it looks terrible. They want everyone to pat them on the back saying "Look what I made." when it's just the computer spewing out it's own interpretation of something made by humans.

Reminds of Cronenberg's The Fly with the computer not understanding "the flesh".

@knight0fdragon I think perhaps you underestimate the cost of items and the cost of labor/time/overhead to make something like this. The proof you're looking for is the basics of capitalism. Amazon or Walmart are not selling you products for $3 that they paid $1.50 for, they paid maybe .10 cents and sell it for $3.

It would make little business sense to buy working Saturns at retail prices and then put all the time/energy into something like this(3d printing, sourcing chips, soldering, designing the console, testing, etc.). That's a lot of work for something that sells for less than $200. And they are selling so people want them.

The only way this Aliexpress seller makes a profit is if everything they get is dirt cheap in addition to the labor and overhead costs(employees, rent for work space, utilities, shipping supplies, what ever safety regulated requirements/supplies they may have, etc.) . The odds that they're get working consoles so they can permanently turn them into something else is slim to none. It's possible, sure, but I would bet they got a pallet of "junk" consoles for maybe $10 each.

Also the $28 Saturns on eBay(if that's what you're referring to with $20 Saturns) shipping is $40 so after taxes you're paying over $70 for console only. That's the catch on eBay, the seller can charge any amount for shipping, make a profit that way and keep the item price low.

Revenge of Shinobi is his best work in my opinion. This is good too but SoR and Actraiser would be higher on my own personal list of favs.

For those unaware, there's a site called Unseen64 that's devoted to unreleased/cancelled games. Not sure how often it gets updated but worth checking out.

I think this is a case of - if you look hard enough for something you will find it. I played SF2 in the arcades and never thought that it was east vs west. It was martial arts vs martial arts.

As someone else pointed out, once SSF2 came out, Ken's fire dragon punch, with it's ridiculous reach and 5 hit combo potential seems to contradict any kind of political rivalry theory.

The culture here, in the USA, was threatened by Japan's global manufacturing dominance(not by Pop-culture) in the 80s/90s and the perception/myth that Japan was buying up the US.

That didn't stop people from buying Sony or Honda products, like Marty McFly says in Back to the Future(1985) "What are you talking about, Doc? All the best stuff is made in Japan."

Not to mention the fact the Japan and the US were strong allies after WWII.

There's no way GS is going to sell these games and consoles at reasonable prices. It's hard enough for local retro stores to sell games. If GS is re-entering the market with this idea, it's almost a sure thing that games that go for $20 to $50 online will be $100 at GS. Just look at the random people trying to sell Sonic 2, in a beat up case, for $80+, or old band shirts for $400.

I'd love to see this in a positive light but GS has never been anything other than corporate.

On a side note their ESPN style advertising video/audio nightmare that's blasting in every store can burn in hell.

@AJB83 That makes sense. I thought maybe the pixel artist just really liked hairy arms.

I see they used Robin Williams as a reference for the pilot's arms.

I hope they update the graphics as well as adding extra layer effects.

SFX are cool and all but the flaws in Bloodlines, in my opinion, have always been the clashing color palettes, the almost unfinished look to some backgrounds, and the odd looking enemy sprites. Making new versions of these games that are worthy of each console is the real trick. Not really interested in 1:1 ports tbh.

@AJB83 I do have an adblocker but I disabled it and refreshed. I probably need to clear my cache. I'll try a different browser. Thanks!

Looks great but the "4shared" download link from Youtube is suspect. DL doesn't start, insists that you log in with social media. F that, I'll find it elsewhere.

There's an enemy in Super Adventure Island II that looks just like Tails. It's a flying fox with the same colors. I'm guessing Hudson Soft knew exactly what they were doing.

Wasn't there some issue between Sega and Hudson over Wonder Boy?

@Blast16 Back in the day this was a known tactic to get funding and interest. I think it was Friday the 13th that had a full page ad in a major publication before a script/story was even done. IIRC it got them the funding they needed to make the film. That's the only reason I can think of to announce a new SF movie, 2 years in advance, that nobody is waiting for. There's no guarantee that this movie even gets made at this point.

I pretty much feel the same way. I'll be more interested when and if it's actually filming and we know who's playing the characters.

@RetroGames You're right, it is a pretty tame insult. You have always had well thought out arguments, whether I agree with them or not, I appreciate that kind of discourse. It's the repeated drive-by middle finger from some people that triggered me. That's on me though, I shouldn't read the comment section first thing.

I would like to see more cross platform ports and this is kind of a "what could have been" project. For example, the remake of Ghouls 'n Ghosts on the MD, it looks incredible so far.

I'm guessing Konami had their reasons like budget restraints, but SNES versions of their MD games would have been really great, not only for Nintendo but for the consumer as well. I'd love to see Castlevania Bloodlines on the SNES.

Capcom kind of went down that road with Strider, SF2, and Mega Man but I can understand why it might not have been in the company's best interest to make a version for every platform.

I'm not sure what the "waiting" is all about. Is he just waiting for payment? Waiting for other programmers?

It's not really clear why he would put everything on hold for someone else when he's the one in charge. Not saying he shouldn't be disappointed/angry with the situation but it's just kind of confusing.

People wait for permission to create something all too often it seems. Dude has come this far, just keep moving forward.

This looks really impressive. Hopefully the dev working on it sees it through to the end.

Can we get a ban on users calling people names like "Sega fanboys" on every Mega Drive post? Does this not violate this site's own rules?

That kind of immature behavior really lowers the rest of the retro gaming community who know they can play on multiple platforms without devolving into petty tribalism. All of the games are here for all to enjoy, no one is attacking Nintendo or saying the MD is better.

We get enough of that kind of name calling on Reddit and Youtube. It should be left on a '90s playground.

@PopetheRev28 That's interesting, Saturn is usually said to be better for Capcom games. I have the PS1 version and it was pretty sluggish. Not just long loading times but the game itself is slower. At least that's how I remember it. I haven't played it on disc in years tbh.

I usually go for MAME/FBA or back in the day Winkawaks, if anyone remembers that emulator.

My opinion on aesthetic preferences is not up for debate and neither are yours. What we find attractive or beautiful or unappealing are largely decided for us when we were born based on our environment.

These straw man arguments about beauty are ludicrous. "You don't like it because it's not your fantasy" BS.

Of the three images at the top, I find zero appealing. I've never cared for western character designs when it comes to video games. I almost always feel like they missed the mark or didn't have an artist that was skilled enough for the task(Mortal Kombat 1&2 for example).

On the left - her head is too big and her eyes, nose, and mouth are out of proportion to her big head.

Center- She looks like she had a cold and has been blowing her nose for days, probably needs some sleep.

On the right- Probably the most solid of the three, is just kind of meh to me. It's okay but it screams forgettable bargain bin title to me.

I've always had a bias in favor of Asian character art(they just have better sensibilities when it comes to blending realism and "cartoon" features imo) and no one is going to shame me into changing my tastes, which is kind of impossible to do anyway.

Power Metal does not improve old games. The original chiptunes are infinitely better. I say this as a metal head of 35 years and with all sincerity, please stop replacing beautiful chiptunes with forgettable power metal covers.

@honuk Anbernic tends to try this layout every couple of handhelds. The old RG350 had the same layout back when there were only a few of these emulator devices out there. I don't know why they keep trying it. It always looks wrong to me but I guess some people like it.

@Psykomatik If you go on reddit or youtube or this site even and look into FPGA, you'll find that the console wars never ended, the names just changed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qbCPBdRI_I

@delt75 Yeah N64 and Saturn are notorious when it comes to emulation. They're fine on a PC but if you want a stand alone console or handheld, they need a lot of power to run properly.

@delt75 It sounds like you need to do some tinkering on your Pi 4. Saying "games don't run well on it" is kind of like saying "My car doesn't run well but my neighbor's car runs fine." There's a thousand variables that could be the problem. If you just want something that's "set it and forget it" then you probably made the right choice with the Pocket.

Some of us have had to tinker with settings since '80s pc gaming, where you were lucky if a game ran perfectly out of the box. Most of the time it took a bit of time to get a game working properly.

I wouldn't say modern software emulation is that difficult but there are some settings that need to be addressed depending on the game/system you're trying to play.

@DanijoEX-the-Pierrot Unless I'm mistaken these recent ranked lists are all done by how users on this site rank the games they own/want. So if no one puts Saturn versions in their list and gives it a score, it won't show up. Maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

It's also a safe bet that the Saturn had some great SNK ports. Capcom games are always said to be better on Saturn than PS1, at least from what I've heard/read online.

@Avol I use to have it as well and I can say that it does not do a good job of representing KoF or SNK/Neo Geo games. It's okay but nothing compared the arcade games. The pixel art on the Neo Geo is worth checking out even if you're not into the series.

@Sketcz I think you're probably in the majority. I only knew the PC versions of Doom 1 & 2 and was a bit surprised when I found out they changed the music. As a metal head I appreciate the original soundtrack but I also kinda like the ambient stuff. The title screen music is pretty badass imo...

https://youtu.be/atdyHvLhJXo?si=jZ7tfSmy3tA-Mv-W

...but not nearly as memorable as the Metallica and Slayer riffs that were in the PC version.

A Golden Axe anime series similar to 80s OVAs would be amazing but this is the USA, where all animation is "kid stuff" or adult comedy or comedy for kids. I'll be shocked if this doesn't have talking animals in some form or another.

It's a good episode for sure but "the plot heavily revolved around Virtua Fighter 2" is a bit of a stretch. It's about a rebellious young man that can somehow control electricity/lightning.

Also Sonic the Hedgehog music and ring sounds are really prominent in the opening scene.
I love the X-Files but I always found it odd that Sonic sounds were mixed in to the arcade noises.

I wasn't expecting this demo hit me with nostalgia but it did. Obviously playing with a keyboard is not ideal but damn they really got a lot right with this prequel so far. It's like a Saturn remake of Sonic 1. Really nice pixel art even if it doesn't really reach 32bit standards. I hope they finish the game.

@Daggot Revenge of Shinobi is head and shoulders above the rest in my opinion as well. While I do like Shadow Dancer and Shinobi 3, all the elements line up with Revenge. The intro, the music(!), the pixel art, the level design, the sound fx. The Ninja Master laughing at you when you have to continue.

As weird as it may sound I was disappointed when I rented Shinobi 3 and it didn't have the same look and feel as Revenge. Shinobi 3 is a great game though, the huge bosses are really something else.

Some of the best music on the Genesis/MD. The only thing that I don't like about this game is that some of the graphics are bland or use odd colors. The minotaurs look especially janky to me.

The gameplay is classic Castlevania style though and I would love to see someone make a sequel for the MD.

needs more randomly placed stickers

@OldManHermit Martin Landau was such a great actor. I especially liked his performances on The Outer Limits.

If you have the ability to recreate all the sprites, backgrounds, sounds, music, etc. and make it all playable, it might be time to just come up with your own designs and make your own IP.

I don't even really like this dev's sprite/pixel art style but they clearly have some skills. This could be the sign that they should take the leap from fan-game developer to original indie-game creators.

Master illustrator. Strider and ESWAT are so much better than what we got in the US. His rendering ability is insane. I always thought the Ex-Ranza cover was a 3D model.

@-wc- SSFIITurbo introduced the super combo and Akuma/Gouki.
My friends and I had to drive an hour outside of our relatively small midwestern town to play it. Not that we went looking for it, we just wanted to go to some different arcades. We walked into a pretty small place and there it was. I don't think it ever came to our local mall's "Tilt" arcade.

This looks really great.