Comments 300

Re: Poll: What's The Best Sega System Of All Time?

JJtheTexan

There are really only two possible correct answers here, and the poll results accurately reflect this.

I gave the Genesis / Mega Drive my vote, strictly based on the strength and variety of its library, but the Dreamcast is a really fantastic piece of hardware.

A shame that the controllers for both are pretty sub-par compared to most of their contemporaries.

Re: Best Mini Classic Consoles

JJtheTexan

I own several of these and I'm very happy with the lot of them. They look great and they're mostly a lot of fun to break out and play every so often. It's too bad the mini console era is apparently over; I'd love to see more obscure systems lovingly recreated in this manner.

Re: Poll: Should Japanese-Made Role-Playing Games Still Be Called JRPGs?

JJtheTexan

I find the term "JRPG" to be convenient yet somewhat overused, not unlike "metroidvania". Even though it is somewhat loaded and comes with the baggage of history attached to it, when a reviewer or publisher refers to a game as a JRPG, I instantly know what kind of experience I can expect.

Personally I love JRPGs and action / "Western" RPGs alike!

Re: Review: Taito Egret II Mini Arcade Memories Vol. 1

JJtheTexan

I have an Egret Mini II and I am very happy with it. Like others here, I balked at the price of the expansion, as I don't feel like it has any "must-have" titles on it that would even begin to justify the asking price.

You do have me intrigued about Riding Fight, though. I'd never heard of it, either, and now I want to try it! (Not for $60, though.)

Re: Best Neo Geo Pocket Color Games

JJtheTexan

It's pretty cool that the Nintendo Switch has become the best way to enjoy Neo Geo and Neo Geo Pocket games today. I have pretty much all of the NGPC games available for Switch, and the emulation is very nice. And, it's portable, too!

Re: Interview: Industry Icons Roberta And Ken Williams On How Colossal Cave Led To A Life Of Adventure

JJtheTexan

I absolutely adore Ken and Roberta! They are legends, give great interviews, and they are by all accounts very nice people. They made some fantastic games, too!

@JackGYarwood if I may point out a minor yet significant typo: I believe the computer Ken is referring to when he talked about going to Japan was the NEC 9801, sometimes called the PC-98, not the "NES 9801." Lest someone confuse it with the Famicom xD

Re: Poll: So, What's Your Favourite Controller Of All Time?

JJtheTexan

Among "classic" retro controllers, I'd have to say the SNES controller is my favorite. My most-used of the last five years is definitely the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, which is excellent. But once I got a PS5 last year, I was blown away by the DualSense. I dislike all prior PlayStation controllers, but this one is just so darn great. It feels like what Nintendo should have done years ago.

Re: Best Neo Geo Games

JJtheTexan

Great list. Thanks to Hamster, I own most of these digitally, or else on one of my Neo Geo Mini cabinets. My absolute favorite is probably Neo Turf Masters, a.k.a. Big Tournament Golf (Augusta National Cease and Desist Order Edition).

Re: How A Plagiarised Review Turned 'Rule Of Rose' Into A PS2 "Video Game Nasty"

JJtheTexan

Great story! I already knew Rule of Rose is a "holy grail" among PS2 collectors, but I wasn't familiar with the backstory of its rarity.

It's hard to imagine something like this happening today. Not only is plagiarism exposed far more quickly and widely, making these kinds of false statements about a game and triggering political threats would probably result in a devastating lawsuit.

Re: John Carmack Has Resigned From Facebook Parent Meta

JJtheTexan

VR has a lot of great possibilities for entertainment, industry, medicine, and commerce. Meta's vision for VR - shoehorning in everyday activities that are easily done on a flat screen - is dead on arrival.

I wish Carmack all the success in the world, and I eagerly await Meta's demise.

Re: Interview: How Gamebox Systems Is Breathing New Life Into Old Hardware

JJtheTexan

I have mixed feelings about these products. I think it's great giving folks an option to play original handheld carts on modern TVs... but I am not comfortable with permanently destroying older handhelds in order to do it.

It's not worth "upcycling" irreplaceable vintage hardware for the sake of convenience. I realize they say they are using "old and broken" consoles, but I suspect most or all of them could be repaired and made usable again. If a Game Gear can't be repaired by replacing the capacitors, it probably can't be used in a consolizer, either.

As an aside, I deeply dislike how 3D printed things look. I understand they aren't operating at a scale to afford "real" plastic shells, but 3D printing has those awful seams and rough surfaces. It always appears sloppy to me.

Re: The Worst SNES Games Of All Time

JJtheTexan

No complaints with your list, though I'd add Jaleco pushed out a fair amount of D-tier dreck for the platform. Tuff E Nuff and Brawl Brothers come to mind.

The worst SNES game I can recall playing is The Ignition Factor, an unenjoyable and baffling attempt at a firefighting game from a top-down perspective.

Re: Ever Wondered Why Japan's Die Hard And Predator Video Games Were So Unusual?

JJtheTexan

Even as a kid in the late 1980s / early 1990s, I managed to steer clear of most movie-licensed games. The only ones I can recall actually owning were Rambo, The Karate Kid, and The Hunt for Red October, all for the NES. None is particularly good.

I can recall renting and playing Back to the Future, Part II & III for the NES, and finding it incomprehensible and bizarre.

Again, I absolutely love stories like John's reporting here, and they keep me coming back to Time Extension. Thank you for the great writing!