His music will always be the only music I can play the original Doom to. It is as much a part of the game to me as the levels, enemies, and weapons. I know the PS1 port's creepier slow soundtrack has fans, but for me, there's only one true way to eviscerate the hoards of hell: rocking out hard.
Im/ Im/
(lol, the comments don't like backslashes; these are meant to be twin horns)
In an earlier draft of the review I actually had a long tangent on the history of survival horror, with the earliest Japanese example being Nostromo on PC-6001 from 1982. Which is, as you can guess, also based on Alien.
But it dragged the review off topic and was very sensibly trimmed.
But you're absolutely right, there is a long and rich heritage to the premise / genre, and one can clearly see an evolution of ideas with each new game.
Metal Slug would make for a great Metroidvania. You'd rescue different characters, granting new abilities. New weapons would be perma unlocks, but requiring ammo to be collected. Each of the Slug vehicles would be like Alucard's transformations in SOTN, able to be called upon in specific situations.
This though... I've never played whatever this is based on.
@firenze someone who wanted to use Everdrive save states for one of the systems where the corresponding OpenFPGA core doesn't offer save state functionality (i.e., Lynx, NGPC, or PCE)
Even with original NGPC carts save state support isn't available. I think it's to do with the fact NGPC writes to a blank section of the ROM itself.
As mentioned I got a NGPC cart because the guy doing the NGP core only had b&w games running at the time, not Color, and he seemed to be struggling. Did he ever finish the core? I got tired of waiting so just got the flashcart and then stopped looking.
The only one I don't have is the PCE one. But if what you say is true, that it lacks save states, then I should get one.
A core that does not provide saving is less than useless. Why would anyone even bother with such a thing? I find it utterly bizarre that everyone is advising "oh just put ROMs on the AP" when in fact they literally do not have full functionality. You can't even save! >_<
Also as @aquova points out: why faff about with core updates etc., when you can just stick a flash cart in and just know that it works, no fuss no problems.
I tried using the Lynx core, two of them, and it SUCKED!
No save states. And fiddly to set up. Had to use some weird program to build a database?
Screw that. Bought a Lynx flashcart. Just pop it in and go! Also! The screen filters seem to be better when running real carts versus the third party cores. More options, more versatile, just better.
So does this mean my earlier model Analogue Pocket is now rare and ultra valued, like the superior first run of PS3s which had PS2 support?
I love my AP, but it would be useless to me with flashcart support.
@Bod2019
@firenze Serious question, why even bother with an Everdrive or similar?
On my Analogue Pocket I use the following flashcarts:
GB/GBC
GBA
GG
SMS
Lynx
NGPC
And I get asked that question a lot by friends and colleagues. And it is beyond frustrating, because it seems plainly obvious why one would use them. But I will explain...
The Lynx core does not support quick saving with ROMs on the AP SD card. But quick saving is supported when you plug a physical cart in.
The NGPC doesn't run Color games last I checked so I just bought a NGPC flashcart. Everything is now playable.
GB / GBC - I also have a Super Game Boy and GC GB Player, so having a cart is handy to move between the three, especially for games with SGB special features. I couldn't get the SGB core working on AP. Also it allows me to keep my save data - so wether I play GB on my SNES in my bedroom, on my GC in my lounge, or my AP in my office, my save file is always on this cart.
GBA - same as above with GC GB Player. Though to be fair I had this since the NDS days.
GG - I just like having a GG cart, even though I only use it on the AP.
SMS - sometimes I use this on my MD via an adapter, on my CRT, and sometimes on my AP via an SMS to GG adapter, in the AP GG adapter. It allows me to keep my save data for games like Ultima, Phantasy Star etc. regardless of where I play.
More than anything, I don't like my save files being tied to the hardware. I want to grab whatever cart I need, pop it in my computer, update files, back up saves, etc. Especially since I will use that same cart on multiple systems around my house, or on rare occassions lend the cart itself to someone.
It's how I like to organise my data.
I suppose some might prefer all roms and everything on the AP, and they never bother with other systems. Good for them. But I prefer my way of doing things.
I could play SMS games on the GG flashcart, for example. But can I stick that GG cart in my MD? No. I could also play SMS games on my MD flash cart. But can I stick that in my AP? Again no. Ergo, SMS cart!
I like versatility and control over my gear.
I am genuinely shocked and a bit nauseaus at how flippantly some are dismissing this. This is HUGELY important for some people. For me it's a stone cold deal breaker. The AP would be worthless trash if it could not use flashcarts.
But I'm seeing people not only dismiss this out of hand, but make accusatory statements towards those who need this functionality, as if there's something wrong with them.
Analogue Pocket without flashcart support is useless and not fit for purpose. I need it to run them!
Thankfully mine works. But I feel sorry for others like me who arrive late to the party.
@badd1e I dunno, that snobbery to me seemed like a good foundation to be friends. I was going to suggest multiplayer Saturn Bomberman on a CRT with some fellow snobs? But if you need time to accept who you are, we can wait. Hard boiled egg and some prune juice?
Every time I see GenAI photos all I can think is: this person / business was too lazy and too cheap to snap a couple real photos, and thus I inherently can never trust them. It's like all these dodgy takeaways in the town where I live - none of the food shown on their pamphlets is actually served at the place.
What are these photos even conveying?
Not the place itself. Some imaginary "vibe" which exists in a machine's imagination?
Like seriously, just take your mobile phone, walk around your business, and snap a few authentic grainy photos. Poor lighting, Dutch angles, improper focus, and mild graininess is not going to put me off - it's going to show me this place is real, and genuine, and has heart.
That's me credited as the maker of the DVD, but if you scroll down:
Uploaded by longernohuman on February 28, 2026
I was not aware of this. Thanks for letting me know. Given the difficulty of monetizing a DVD, I'll leave it up until I can find an alternative solution.
Regarding your inquiry, it's Hiroshi Aso. He was originally a planner who worked on arcade games like "Dump Matsumoto" and "Alien Syndrome." After that, I believe he was also involved in the development of the Game Gear. He wasn't involved in the Mega Drive version of Sonic 2, so it might have been the Game Gear version.
So it turns out... She was not being shown Sonic 2 on the Mega Drive? Fascinating. Might be worth someone trying to overlay those maps with the MD version and GG version.
Or maybe they just roped him out to do it.
But I sent a photo of his face too, not just the video link, and he confirmed it: Hiroshi Aso.
"we could pump steam through and have it coming up through the floor – this tended to turn the set into a swamp"
Wouldn't dry ice or smoke machines have been easier and less humid? TV production isn't my field, so I'm genuinely curious to know the pros / cons and reasons behind the decision.
EDIT: couldn't wait, went googling and discovered this is a real decision they have to make, with various reasons for using each! Fascinating!
@Martin_H @Guru_Larry
I've just emailed one of my Sega contacts who would have definitely worked alongside him. If I hear back, I'll post here. If I don't hear back, I'll probably forget and never post back here, unless someone pings me to remind me.
EDIT:
I'm looking at photos of both Yasuhara and Kanari, and if I had to choose, with a gun to my head, I'd pick Yasuhara. But honestly, neither of them really look like the guy in the video to me. There's multiple little things which seem off. The glasses (or lack thereof), the shape - though I suppose gaining or losing weight could affect that. We shall see!
@metaphysician Oh, absolutely! I was just thinking of companies that were on the verge but never actually did it. I already knew about Konami and namco, but Tecmo was new to me.
So it turns out Tecmo, Namco, and Konami all wanted to develop a console / handheld at various points. Fascinating revelations! This is pure gold in terms of historical value.
@sdelfin
I owned both as well BITD, and as you allude to, he was in fact a SNES owner BITD, so it did feel like nostalgia clouding his judgement. And when I rattled off examples, he literally did the "well those were just rare exceptions". LOL. The SNES music chip made it easy to add almost CD quality music - it feels almost like cheating. The MD though, the musicians had to work harder when composing, but when they did, it was great. I love synth and chiptunes anyway, hence the preference. I like SID music, despite never owning a C64.
EDIT: Bot_Bot beat me to the answer by a few seconds, lol
@Tibob
The unreleased but leaked on Xbox 360 is incredible.
I bought a JTAG modded system just to play it, and it was honestly worth it (I also unlocked some rare XBLIG that were delisted).
You can swap between N64 graphics and remaster graphics, like youcould on Perfect Dark on 360.
It's still technically a beta. So some things are a bit off. Trevelyan's grenade won't bounce off walls to kill him. Also small glass windows don't shatter, but big glass does.
But it's 95% there, smooth frame rate, great draw distance. Exactly what you want.
If you don't want to buy a modded X360 it can also be emulated on a powerful enough PC.
@h3s - sorry, I'm unsure regarding the fps. Good Q though.
@Martin_H - as a happy pre-orderer of the AES+ ULTIMATE EDITION, I have to say... I actually agree with you. I personally found the NGPC to have a more interesting and diverse library. And while I yearned for a NG throughout my teen years, drooling over the screenshots of £300 games in import mags, the truth is... I could have bought a SNES / MD plus several games, or maybe even just 10x games for one of them (used games were like £20 in my local indie store). And when I finally played the entire library via emulation on my Xbox, it hit me... I'd actually had the better experience having owning both a SNES and MD, and buying games for them over the years. More RPGs, more 2D shooters, more weird puzzle and platform games. Some cool film licenses. Etc.
Still, as an adult who has explored all the consoles of the era, the NG is the last frontier I've yet to experience authentically on real hardware. The 13 year old inside needs to be satiated.
@KingMike I first noticed it with one of the Tomb Raider games on X360. At first I thought the eBay seller had lost it - looked online, and nope, it didn't come with one. As you say, the beginning of the end and now today you're lucky even to have a physical game in the box. I don't understand why manuals were abandoned.
Cost? Paper and monochrome are cheap (I know, I work in print media). The pennies a company saves isn't going to offset the loss of goodwill felt from owning a nice product with lush manual.
Environment? I actually saw this as a "feature" on something. Not games, but some other product, an appliance or something. "No paper instructions is good for the environment!" Absolute nonsense. Paper can be recycled, and even if disposed of, paper will biodegrade, unlike the plastics of everything else. Paper is the most environmentally product we can make.
I miss physical products.
A few mentioned Evercade. A good shout. I have the Intellivision cart (but no Evercade unit, yet), and it's a lovely little package.
Manuals. Real paper manuals. Made from actual real paper. I am weeping metaphorical tears of joy. 😭
I haven't seen one of those with a new game release for... Gosh, 10, maybe 15 years? Has it been that long?
Can we please just take a moment to reflect on the fact that this bundle is bringing back so much of what was once normal, but is now missing from games?
No patches, no installs, no download codes in a box to get a digital only version, no lack of manual because there's a 20 hour tutorial to replace it. Just a beautiful box, printed instructions, and the entire game in the box. A beautiful, intuitive, fun game.
In the era of "you will own nothing and be happy", the fact we'll get to actually own something once again, for a change, makes me jubilant! That Ultimate edition was worth every penny. 😭
"I mean do people even re-read/read magazines from the past"
I have an enormous library of several hundred physical magazines, dating from 1982 (maybe earlier?) to the present day, and I read one or more of them almost every day, and I find them immensely valuable for research.
Release dates, rumours, cancelled games, the evolution of certain events. For example yesterday was reading a March 1994 magazine which claimed In The Hunt would have a SNES port (it did not), and also explored the censorship crackdown at the time, with regards to the US senate hearing, British classification system, etc. It also noted Doom being ported to SNES (quite an early announcement).
Old magazines can provide hard data, and also are a reflection of the cultural zeitgeist.
I'm probably the anomaly here, but I will read and make copious notes quite regularly.
Ernie Katz's thinly veiled racist attacks on Japan and Europe, in his monthly VG&CE columns, have proved a fascinating rabbit hole, for example, and reflect the phobia America felt during the 1980s.
And in case anyone is wondering: old issues of Famitsu would regularly feature sexy gravure models on the cover, with photoshoots inside. Not even game related. They just wanted a cute woman on the cover and inside. I love it!
@-wc-
I've enjoyed our discussions, we've been respectful and I enjoy the ritual of human communication while needing to think and recall events.
So I'd like to respectfully disagree with this statement and offer, not a strawman argument, but a real example which had a wider impact:
"we can safely dismiss secondhand accounts of anonymous random social media accounts of dubious intent as straw men, in this or any other context, frankly"
I am a fan of George Kamitani of Vanillaware. He used to paint, annually, a beautiful year end painting. Gorgeous artwork. Often with light nudity. Not sexual, but artistic. True art.
Your discussion has reminded me of the witch hunt Kamitani underwent. Jason Schrier, and others, repeatedly attacked him and his art. This resulted in him making a joking rebuttal, which got lost in translation, and caused more chaos.
For the longest time it was my desktop wallpaper. It does not arouse sexually, but rather it awakens my heart, stirs my soul, and I am filled with a desire to write and create, to create even a fraction of the artistry Kamitani achieves. I bend my knee to Kamitani's skill.
So now you have your example, not a strawman argument, and not an anonymous second hand source. A known journalist criticising traditional painted art to the point of destroying the artist.
Schrier's unhinged criticisms, and those of other journalists at the time, eventually resulted in Kamitani no longer painting. Criticisms not of sexual material, but pure beautiful art. The world lost something the day he stopped painting.
#justiceforkamitani
I'd like to thank you for questioning me. It encouraged me to strengthen my argument with solid examples, and I am better because of it. Well played.
@-wc- "obviously this isnt true if you take it to logical extremes"
When I said that line to a friend once, they brought up the infamous German news story of the cannibal and the victim who answered an advert, asking me if I thought their mutually consented scenario was acceptable.
This feels like a logically extreme example.
And my conclusion was: I feel like both of them were likely mentally ill and thus the consent was not informed or genuine. They had taken leave of their senses and legally were not capable of making such choices.
So yes, there are going to be extreme edge cases where the belief needs debating and consideration, and provides an interesting thought experiment.
As for consenting to advertising, I dislike ads in general, unless they're especially entertaining. But I suppose the answer is, we could simply not watch TV, or browse the internet, thus not exposing us to ads. When I turn on my TV, load up my web browser, or flick through a magazine, I am consenting to the ads since I know they will exist. And logically, ads of a salacious nature, are best placed within media that appeals to such people. ie: a salacious games advert with babes is best shown during an action movie, not during Golden Girls reruns.
With TE, I pay for the premium of choice not having ads. But if that option were not available, I would accept that I am forced to see them.
I'm not sure if you searched for it on YouTube, and I respect you if you choose not to view it, but if you did view it - what did you think of the German butter advert? (Note: it contains frontal nudity.) How would you react if you were watching TV in the afternoon, say 13:30, and it came on?
You can hate it if you want - I'm not wanting to pass judgement. I'm just curious, given you dislike game ads like that, and I'm assuming this TV ad falls into that same sphere? Or do you feel the TV advert is different, for whatever reasons? It's less provocative, and attempts to be more artistic, I feel.
@-wc-
Valid question. I'm not conflating the two. But I have seen both being criticised, sometimes by the same random social media users. Hence my Q. It's one of several reasons I stopped using socmed (not on twitter, BS, Insta, or active on FB, or even LinkedIn). Because apart from the aggression from people who disagree, I've seen weird hypocritical stances dismissing all nudity. As in, blanket statements stating all of it is bad. I've read tirades on socmed arguing paintings and sculptures "reinforce patriarchal stereotypes about bla bla bla". I zoned out pretty quickly, but sufficed to say, I disagree that old art and antiquity are somehow inherently bad and I disregard such opinions immediately.
To be precise:
I am fine with artistic nudes
I am fine with hypersexual adverts
I am fine with live models in sexy clothing walking around to promote products
I am fine with films / comics / games / etc., containing sexual content, whether it's to support that media product, or simply to arouse its audience via gratuitous inclusion
I can tell and describe the difference between all of the above, and I am cool with all of the above.
I have only one rule which governs my views: between consenting adults there are no rules
@-wc- "If it was still a good strategy for selling games, it would still be happening, because that's how the world works. That's my take."
Exactly! An excellent point you make, and Stellar Blade's massive success I feel proves you correct! There is a lot of rightfully deserved praise given for the very attractive lead character - and its sales reflected the fact there is an audience for such content. The gameplay is solid too, but there's a lot of good 3D action games out there (ie: Vanquish), so the character designs really helped it stand out.
I don't have a PC rig that can play it well enough, but I pushed through the demo despite a low frame rate, and I think the main character is lovely. I would absolutely buy Stellar Blade if I had a powerful PC or PS5.
@Ruka We don't always agree, but I feel like we've got a non-partisan sharing of views here. Solidarity, fellow user.
You make a good point - it's not only sexual nudity, but from what I've seen any sort of nudity, regardless of context, even artistic.
I'm reminded of the interview with the Maniac Mansion dev team and the nude statue on the NES - Nintendo said if they could find a real artistic statue, the could keep it. They found one. But then Nintendo asked them to fix the groin area - not know what they meant the team just removed for less headache.
But that was the late 80s / early 90s. The revolt against anything mildly titillating seems to be a new thing, a new type of social movement.
I have no idea of the sociological causes. I might walk back the puritan speculation slightly. I have a few speculative ideas, but dare not share them. Even admitting to liking the female form is to place a target on one's back!
Yes, I own multiple DOAX and Rumble Roses titles. These games are excellent. Genuinely no shame, only confusion at the controversy these legal products garner.
Hentai, eroge, ecchi, erotica, cheesecake, whatever names you want to apply to the wide umbrella of content that once existed, I am fine with seeing it and owning it. And I am OK with people knowing this.
I dislike these because I hate AI and worry it will make documenting games history more difficult going forward.
But I have also enjoyed "cheesecake" and nudity in my media, and I genuinely do not understand comments saying it's gross, or the intense negative reaction images of women seem to generate.
Putting aside these AI examples, there are plenty of real world examples, especially from Japan. I have old Japanese games magazines which feature full nudity in adverts.
I said something similar in my Hideo Kojima feature: we live in a world where what was once considered healthy and normal (ie: men being attracted to beautiful women) has now been pathologised and deemed bad, or sick, or somehow wrong.
I don't understand - it seems to be an offshoot of puritanism, which deems sex as evil?
It's not wrong to like seeing beautiful women.
If you don't enjoy it, fair enough. You don't have to look at it. Someone mentioned Sega Saturn magazine running a spread on page 3 girls in Sega cosplay. I own that issue. It's cool. If you don't like it, you could just not own that magazine. Or not buy products that use these ads. I agree with @Ruka that I'd like to see a return of sexiness in media. Bring back Gravure models!
As an aside: regarding the ban on booth babe models and F1 models, I went and read comments from these models.
I chose to listen to those directly affected by the bans. And you know what? These women were furious. They were angry that their livelihoods had been taken from them. And honestly, I cannot even reprint what some of them said about the people who demanded the ban. Let's just say that all these very attractive models had some very unpleasant things to say about the people who made them lose their jobs. Very unpleasant things.
I enjoyed and miss gravure models, booth babes, etc. - and I would like to see more beauty in media. I am not ashamed to say I have always enjoyed it.
EDIT: I'm editing my message to state these are just my views, I know many disagree; my views do not represent those the site.Can we all agree that having different perspectives is acceptable?
/END EDIT
Here's a real example of a TV advert I saw on daytime TV in Poland (we had German channels). I won't give the URL link, just in case. But search YouTube for:
Lätta Werbung Bergsee 1998
It's just an every day normal German advert for butter, from 1998, and it was shown in the afternoon alongside the rest of the day time programming.
And it depicts a beautiful woman, naked, fully nude, upper body frontal nudity, nipples and all, walking out of a lake.
And as an advert it's very effective, because nearly 30 years later I'm still thinking about this advert and that butter. I have an eternal crush on the model, whoever she may be.
I am fine with ads like this. I am fine with daytime media showing this. I firmly believe in my heart and soul there is nothing wrong with this, because it's natural for men to be attracted to this woman. It's written into our DNA.
Again, I'm very confused why previously healthy things are now deemed bad.
For anyone offended by images of nude women, do you feel the same about the various art galleries around the world, featuring nude paintings and sculpture? A sincere good faith question.
The female form is not a crime.
Broadly agree with diff comments made by the following:
@Fallingshadow @Exerion76 @slider1983
@themacjesus Hello! Thank you for the interest! I've sort of moved on from this project, and am juggling several other things at the moment. I'm pretty sure every card has fixed results under the silver - based on the one card I bought and scratched, and other cards which I found online prescratched. The symbols are not randomised, I'm pretty sure.
@MegaJ It is? I did not even realise. I'm not kidding - I don't have any special access privileges, nor can I edit my work. I have to email. And I always regarded myself as an independant contractor. And I've put about 30 people on ignore. My apologies - and I say that to you sincerely - I've been operating under the belief anyone can just put me on ignore. If that's not possible I will ask the admins about being ignorable.
Back around 1993, a friend of a friend had one. We visited his house one evening. I played it briefly. For over 30 years I've wanted one, but as my income increased over the years, so did pricing.
This was the easiest £800 that I've ever dropped.
I only hope the team see these pre-orders and realise they're not just producing a product, they have also elected to become historical custodians.
I'm more excited about this than I have been for any hardware in the last 15 years.
It's time to draw a line under this - while I stand by what I've said in the piece, I have removed my comments. Gaming, like any business, is full of contradictions, and I think the more we discuss our perspectives like adults, the better. Peace!
General fiddlyness and a list of things that bug me - chargeable batteries with finite life, or using disposable that need replacing. USB cables that wear out the ports over time. Lag. Problems syncing.
The only benefit is less clutter due to no wires? This hasn't been useful to me.
Also, and this is just a weird psychological thing, I enjoy knowing there is a "physical hardline" that be can be suddenly removed
by physically pulling it. There have been the odd rare instance where this was useful.
I know you can go in a menu and disconnect stuff. But I've liked the immediacy of cables. But I accept this is more a weird personal thing.
I wanted to avoid commenting, but I also want to say something on record - given a lot of comments here and on socmed are saying TE has an agenda.
As a freelance contributor I have never once been instructed to adopt a specific stance, nor censored, despite the fact I hold views contrary to some online (absolute freedom of artistic expression without consequence). This is why I was asked to comment here. I am openly pro AES+ and TE wanted to cover all voices. (I bought the £800 Ultimate edition and look forward to fun discussions with fellow buyers in the other news article.)
I can't comment on editorial decisions for other contributors, but I have never once felt pressured to adjust my POV. Indeed, TE has always offered more freedom to express my views than other places.
It would be a shame for anyone to stop reading TE due to certain articles, when it's a website publishing a diverse range of writers, each with differing (and sometimes conflicting) views. It's a website which respects its contributors.
My personal beliefs mirror @Martin_H
I dislike puritanical moralising - and I've never been told to inject it into my work.
@X68000 I recently met an old arcade operator who had a ton of old MVS carts in storage. Didn't realise the value. I explained the rise in retro prices. Want to put him in touch with someone who could advise, without taking advantage of him. I already suggested joining the NG forum.
@MoriyaMug
Glad you stopped by. I couldn't recall your new username.
I'm tempted to email Plaion and suggest they contact you. Or you could email them.
I don't know the feasibility - a CD to AES conversion? Utilising an unofficial translation? Correcting the elemental bugs? Would you even want to license it?
I have no idea.
And yet... I find the idea amusing.
I finished it already so it's not even for me. But if they can revive the NG hardware like this, anything is possible.
Comments 896
Re: "A Loss To The World" - Legendary Doom & Wolfenstein 3D Composer Bobby Prince Has Passed Away
His music will always be the only music I can play the original Doom to. It is as much a part of the game to me as the levels, enemies, and weapons. I know the PS1 port's creepier slow soundtrack has fans, but for me, there's only one true way to eviscerate the hoards of hell: rocking out hard.
Im/ Im/
(lol, the comments don't like backslashes; these are meant to be twin horns)
Here's a playlist of his music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GePFhiifBlI
At Doom's Gate, Kitchen Ace, Donna, Deep in the Code, I sawed the demons, lots of great head bopping tracks.
Re: Review: Dark Alien In Deep Space (Vectrex) - Survival Horror Straight Outta 1982
@notreallyhere
Brilliant comment, thank you!
In an earlier draft of the review I actually had a long tangent on the history of survival horror, with the earliest Japanese example being Nostromo on PC-6001 from 1982. Which is, as you can guess, also based on Alien.
But it dragged the review off topic and was very sensibly trimmed.
But you're absolutely right, there is a long and rich heritage to the premise / genre, and one can clearly see an evolution of ideas with each new game.
Perhaps a feature is in order...? @damo ?
Re: "Not Touched For Nearly 40 Years" - Rare Copy Of Super Mario Bros. Sells For $3 Million
@Kushan
Came to say the same thing. There was a documentary showing what a scam these two companies are:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvLFEh7V18A
They have artificially inflated the price of used games deliberately to scalp and profit. It's disgusting.
Re: "Like Seeing Your Dead Granny's Corpse Refurbished Into A Chair" - Metal Slug's Latest Entry Hasn't Gone Down Well With Fans
@AxioMaxiM @Westone32bit @Przemyslaw
How did I miss the existence of Guns of Fury?!
Thank you all for the rec - this is fabulous to discover!
Re: Review: Dark Alien In Deep Space (Vectrex) - Survival Horror Straight Outta 1982
@KGRAMR
Thank you! I'll suggest it to @damo
@xzacutor
Their previous game, Zombie Apocalypse, is already part of the Vectrex Mini games list. So it is possible.
Re: "Like Seeing Your Dead Granny's Corpse Refurbished Into A Chair" - Metal Slug's Latest Entry Hasn't Gone Down Well With Fans
Metal Slug would make for a great Metroidvania. You'd rescue different characters, granting new abilities. New weapons would be perma unlocks, but requiring ammo to be collected. Each of the Slug vehicles would be like Alucard's transformations in SOTN, able to be called upon in specific situations.
This though... I've never played whatever this is based on.
Re: Latest Hardware Run Of The Analogue Pocket Isn't Playing Nice With Everdrive Carts
Sorry for the triple post
@firenze
someone who wanted to use Everdrive save states for one of the systems where the corresponding OpenFPGA core doesn't offer save state functionality (i.e., Lynx, NGPC, or PCE)
Even with original NGPC carts save state support isn't available. I think it's to do with the fact NGPC writes to a blank section of the ROM itself.
As mentioned I got a NGPC cart because the guy doing the NGP core only had b&w games running at the time, not Color, and he seemed to be struggling. Did he ever finish the core? I got tired of waiting so just got the flashcart and then stopped looking.
The only one I don't have is the PCE one. But if what you say is true, that it lacks save states, then I should get one.
A core that does not provide saving is less than useless. Why would anyone even bother with such a thing? I find it utterly bizarre that everyone is advising "oh just put ROMs on the AP" when in fact they literally do not have full functionality. You can't even save! >_<
Re: Latest Hardware Run Of The Analogue Pocket Isn't Playing Nice With Everdrive Carts
Also as @aquova points out: why faff about with core updates etc., when you can just stick a flash cart in and just know that it works, no fuss no problems.
I tried using the Lynx core, two of them, and it SUCKED!
No save states. And fiddly to set up. Had to use some weird program to build a database?
Screw that. Bought a Lynx flashcart. Just pop it in and go! Also! The screen filters seem to be better when running real carts versus the third party cores. More options, more versatile, just better.
Re: Latest Hardware Run Of The Analogue Pocket Isn't Playing Nice With Everdrive Carts
So does this mean my earlier model Analogue Pocket is now rare and ultra valued, like the superior first run of PS3s which had PS2 support?
I love my AP, but it would be useless to me with flashcart support.
@Bod2019
@firenze
Serious question, why even bother with an Everdrive or similar?
On my Analogue Pocket I use the following flashcarts:
GB/GBC
GBA
GG
SMS
Lynx
NGPC
And I get asked that question a lot by friends and colleagues. And it is beyond frustrating, because it seems plainly obvious why one would use them. But I will explain...
The Lynx core does not support quick saving with ROMs on the AP SD card. But quick saving is supported when you plug a physical cart in.
The NGPC doesn't run Color games last I checked so I just bought a NGPC flashcart. Everything is now playable.
GB / GBC - I also have a Super Game Boy and GC GB Player, so having a cart is handy to move between the three, especially for games with SGB special features. I couldn't get the SGB core working on AP. Also it allows me to keep my save data - so wether I play GB on my SNES in my bedroom, on my GC in my lounge, or my AP in my office, my save file is always on this cart.
GBA - same as above with GC GB Player. Though to be fair I had this since the NDS days.
GG - I just like having a GG cart, even though I only use it on the AP.
SMS - sometimes I use this on my MD via an adapter, on my CRT, and sometimes on my AP via an SMS to GG adapter, in the AP GG adapter. It allows me to keep my save data for games like Ultima, Phantasy Star etc. regardless of where I play.
More than anything, I don't like my save files being tied to the hardware. I want to grab whatever cart I need, pop it in my computer, update files, back up saves, etc. Especially since I will use that same cart on multiple systems around my house, or on rare occassions lend the cart itself to someone.
It's how I like to organise my data.
I suppose some might prefer all roms and everything on the AP, and they never bother with other systems. Good for them. But I prefer my way of doing things.
I could play SMS games on the GG flashcart, for example. But can I stick that GG cart in my MD? No. I could also play SMS games on my MD flash cart. But can I stick that in my AP? Again no. Ergo, SMS cart!
I like versatility and control over my gear.
I am genuinely shocked and a bit nauseaus at how flippantly some are dismissing this. This is HUGELY important for some people. For me it's a stone cold deal breaker. The AP would be worthless trash if it could not use flashcarts.
But I'm seeing people not only dismiss this out of hand, but make accusatory statements towards those who need this functionality, as if there's something wrong with them.
Analogue Pocket without flashcart support is useless and not fit for purpose. I need it to run them!
Thankfully mine works. But I feel sorry for others like me who arrive late to the party.
Re: "Ever Since I Was Around Nine Years Old, I Dreamed Of Having My Own Arcade" - Arcade Operator Resorts To GenAI To Realise Lifelong Goal
@badd1e
I dunno, that snobbery to me seemed like a good foundation to be friends. I was going to suggest multiplayer Saturn Bomberman on a CRT with some fellow snobs? But if you need time to accept who you are, we can wait. Hard boiled egg and some prune juice?
Re: "Ever Since I Was Around Nine Years Old, I Dreamed Of Having My Own Arcade" - Arcade Operator Resorts To GenAI To Realise Lifelong Goal
Every time I see GenAI photos all I can think is: this person / business was too lazy and too cheap to snap a couple real photos, and thus I inherently can never trust them. It's like all these dodgy takeaways in the town where I live - none of the food shown on their pamphlets is actually served at the place.
What are these photos even conveying?
Not the place itself. Some imaginary "vibe" which exists in a machine's imagination?
Like seriously, just take your mobile phone, walk around your business, and snap a few authentic grainy photos. Poor lighting, Dutch angles, improper focus, and mild graininess is not going to put me off - it's going to show me this place is real, and genuine, and has heart.
It's really not that difficult.
Re: 'Land Of The Free' Is A New GTA-Esque Experience For Nintendo Game Boy, Bridging The World Of Comics & Games
@Gonzalo_fz
Just emailed. Hopefully it doesn't get filtered or end up in spam. That happens a lot.
Re: 'Land Of The Free' Is A New GTA-Esque Experience For Nintendo Game Boy, Bridging The World Of Comics & Games
@JackGYarwood
Ah, thank you!
Re: 'Land Of The Free' Is A New GTA-Esque Experience For Nintendo Game Boy, Bridging The World Of Comics & Games
Getting serious Metal Gear vibes. And I love MG. Urge to purchase rising...
Clicks shop.
"Error 404. Shop coming March 2026."
Looks at today's date...
Is this, time travel?
Re: Random: I Was Pranked By These Metroid Barcode Battler Cards, And Now I Wish They Were Legit
Did a little YouTube video on them too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3RfGXIMHh8
Re: Review: Pixel FX Morph 2K - For $200, This Is Amazing Value For Money
You know what's even cheaper than this? The free CRTs I've been collecting from people throwing them out. I now own six of them. I regret nothing.
Re: Random: I Was Pranked By These Metroid Barcode Battler Cards, And Now I Wish They Were Legit
@slider1983
That's me credited as the maker of the DVD, but if you scroll down:
Uploaded by
longernohuman
on February 28, 2026
I was not aware of this. Thanks for letting me know. Given the difficulty of monetizing a DVD, I'll leave it up until I can find an alternative solution.
Hopefully encourages people to buy the books.
Re: Random: I Was Pranked By These Metroid Barcode Battler Cards, And Now I Wish They Were Legit
@slider1983
What I uploaded to my account? Which account? I've not uploaded it anywhere.
But I keep thinking I should put it on YouTube for free.
Some guy put a pirate copy up on YT.
It's not available to buy anywhere so I've not demanded it be pulled yet.
Re: Random: I Was Pranked By These Metroid Barcode Battler Cards, And Now I Wish They Were Legit
@KingMike @romanista @Chapu @slider1983 @MegaManFan @PressAToServe @VITIMan @Deuteros @Bakamoichigei
@damo
There's a copy on the Internet Archive now for anyone who wants:
https://archive.org/details/super-metroid-barcode-battler-cards
Re: "I Am Not Making Up This Story" - You Won't Believe What Yuji Naka Wanted To Call Billy Hatcher And The Giant Egg
@Martin_H @Guru_Larry @damo
We solved an interesting mystery!
Regarding your inquiry, it's Hiroshi Aso. He was originally a planner who worked on arcade games like "Dump Matsumoto" and "Alien Syndrome." After that, I believe he was also involved in the development of the Game Gear. He wasn't involved in the Mega Drive version of Sonic 2, so it might have been the Game Gear version.
So it turns out... She was not being shown Sonic 2 on the Mega Drive? Fascinating. Might be worth someone trying to overlay those maps with the MD version and GG version.
Or maybe they just roped him out to do it.
But I sent a photo of his face too, not just the video link, and he confirmed it: Hiroshi Aso.
And now that we know the name, it's true! Here are more photos of him:
https://segaretro.org/Hiroshi_Aso
Re: The Making Of: Sega's Cyber Razor Cut - "I Spent The Entire Shoot Expecting It To Explode"
"we could pump steam through and have it coming up through the floor – this tended to turn the set into a swamp"
Wouldn't dry ice or smoke machines have been easier and less humid? TV production isn't my field, so I'm genuinely curious to know the pros / cons and reasons behind the decision.
EDIT: couldn't wait, went googling and discovered this is a real decision they have to make, with various reasons for using each! Fascinating!
https://nofilmschool.com/in-air-diffusion-haze-fog-steam
Re: "I Am Not Making Up This Story" - You Won't Believe What Yuji Naka Wanted To Call Billy Hatcher And The Giant Egg
@Martin_H @Guru_Larry
I've just emailed one of my Sega contacts who would have definitely worked alongside him. If I hear back, I'll post here. If I don't hear back, I'll probably forget and never post back here, unless someone pings me to remind me.
EDIT:
I'm looking at photos of both Yasuhara and Kanari, and if I had to choose, with a gun to my head, I'd pick Yasuhara. But honestly, neither of them really look like the guy in the video to me. There's multiple little things which seem off. The glasses (or lack thereof), the shape - though I suppose gaining or losing weight could affect that. We shall see!
Re: Before The Game Boy, Ninja Gaiden & Klonoa's Director Had His Own Vision For The Future Of Handheld Gaming
@metaphysician
Oh, absolutely! I was just thinking of companies that were on the verge but never actually did it. I already knew about Konami and namco, but Tecmo was new to me.
We have plenty of examples of handhelds:
SNK = NG Pocket
Hudson = PC Engine Express / GT
Sega = Game Gear etc.
Bandai = Digi Casse and also WonderSwan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5P5yu-MAJA&vl=en-GB
And then of course plenty of consoles (Hudson, Sega, SNK, Casio, Fujitsu, etc.). Even Capcom sort of did one, with the CPS Changer.
And you're right - the Famicom made everyone want a slice of that cake.
Re: Before The Game Boy, Ninja Gaiden & Klonoa's Director Had His Own Vision For The Future Of Handheld Gaming
So it turns out Tecmo, Namco, and Konami all wanted to develop a console / handheld at various points. Fascinating revelations! This is pure gold in terms of historical value.
Re: Alan Wake And Max Payne Dev Mikko Huovinen Is Creating A Space Harrier-Style Shooter For Vectrex
Demo is out:
https://vectorgaming.proboards.com/thread/2720/neon-hawk?page=2&scrollTo=38502
Re: "I Am Not Making Up This Story" - You Won't Believe What Yuji Naka Wanted To Call Billy Hatcher And The Giant Egg
@Martin_H
Sadly no. The only photo I saw of Yasuhara he had glasses.
Hmmm... Tempted to email some contacts and ask.
Away from home - but will put a reminder in calender.
Re: Check Out Castlevania: Rondo Of Blood Running On The Sega Genesis / Mega Drive
@sdelfin
I owned both as well BITD, and as you allude to, he was in fact a SNES owner BITD, so it did feel like nostalgia clouding his judgement. And when I rattled off examples, he literally did the "well those were just rare exceptions". LOL. The SNES music chip made it easy to add almost CD quality music - it feels almost like cheating. The MD though, the musicians had to work harder when composing, but when they did, it was great. I love synth and chiptunes anyway, hence the preference. I like SID music, despite never owning a C64.
Re: "That's The Magic Sauce" - GoldenEye Designer Explains Why It Feels So Good To Shoot Baddies In The N64 Classic
EDIT: Bot_Bot beat me to the answer by a few seconds, lol
@Tibob
The unreleased but leaked on Xbox 360 is incredible.
I bought a JTAG modded system just to play it, and it was honestly worth it (I also unlocked some rare XBLIG that were delisted).
You can swap between N64 graphics and remaster graphics, like youcould on Perfect Dark on 360.
It's still technically a beta. So some things are a bit off. Trevelyan's grenade won't bounce off walls to kill him. Also small glass windows don't shatter, but big glass does.
But it's 95% there, smooth frame rate, great draw distance. Exactly what you want.
If you don't want to buy a modded X360 it can also be emulated on a powerful enough PC.
Re: The Making Of: Metal Slug - "I Never Thought That It Would Have Sequels"
@h3s - sorry, I'm unsure regarding the fps. Good Q though.
@Martin_H - as a happy pre-orderer of the AES+ ULTIMATE EDITION, I have to say... I actually agree with you. I personally found the NGPC to have a more interesting and diverse library. And while I yearned for a NG throughout my teen years, drooling over the screenshots of £300 games in import mags, the truth is... I could have bought a SNES / MD plus several games, or maybe even just 10x games for one of them (used games were like £20 in my local indie store). And when I finally played the entire library via emulation on my Xbox, it hit me... I'd actually had the better experience having owning both a SNES and MD, and buying games for them over the years. More RPGs, more 2D shooters, more weird puzzle and platform games. Some cool film licenses. Etc.
Still, as an adult who has explored all the consoles of the era, the NG is the last frontier I've yet to experience authentically on real hardware. The 13 year old inside needs to be satiated.
Re: Plaion Answers Ten Of Your Burning Questions About The Neo Geo AES+
@KingMike
I first noticed it with one of the Tomb Raider games on X360. At first I thought the eBay seller had lost it - looked online, and nope, it didn't come with one. As you say, the beginning of the end and now today you're lucky even to have a physical game in the box. I don't understand why manuals were abandoned.
Cost? Paper and monochrome are cheap (I know, I work in print media). The pennies a company saves isn't going to offset the loss of goodwill felt from owning a nice product with lush manual.
Environment? I actually saw this as a "feature" on something. Not games, but some other product, an appliance or something. "No paper instructions is good for the environment!" Absolute nonsense. Paper can be recycled, and even if disposed of, paper will biodegrade, unlike the plastics of everything else. Paper is the most environmentally product we can make.
I miss physical products.
A few mentioned Evercade. A good shout. I have the Intellivision cart (but no Evercade unit, yet), and it's a lovely little package.
Re: Plaion Answers Ten Of Your Burning Questions About The Neo Geo AES+
Manuals. Real paper manuals. Made from actual real paper. I am weeping metaphorical tears of joy. 😭
I haven't seen one of those with a new game release for... Gosh, 10, maybe 15 years? Has it been that long?
Can we please just take a moment to reflect on the fact that this bundle is bringing back so much of what was once normal, but is now missing from games?
No patches, no installs, no download codes in a box to get a digital only version, no lack of manual because there's a 20 hour tutorial to replace it. Just a beautiful box, printed instructions, and the entire game in the box. A beautiful, intuitive, fun game.
In the era of "you will own nothing and be happy", the fact we'll get to actually own something once again, for a change, makes me jubilant! That Ultimate edition was worth every penny. 😭
Re: Random: "This Isn't Real, Is It?" - These Annoying Gen AI Adverts For Retro Consoles Are Fooling A Lot Of People
@SuntannedDuck2
"I mean do people even re-read/read magazines from the past"
I have an enormous library of several hundred physical magazines, dating from 1982 (maybe earlier?) to the present day, and I read one or more of them almost every day, and I find them immensely valuable for research.
Release dates, rumours, cancelled games, the evolution of certain events. For example yesterday was reading a March 1994 magazine which claimed In The Hunt would have a SNES port (it did not), and also explored the censorship crackdown at the time, with regards to the US senate hearing, British classification system, etc. It also noted Doom being ported to SNES (quite an early announcement).
Old magazines can provide hard data, and also are a reflection of the cultural zeitgeist.
I'm probably the anomaly here, but I will read and make copious notes quite regularly.
Ernie Katz's thinly veiled racist attacks on Japan and Europe, in his monthly VG&CE columns, have proved a fascinating rabbit hole, for example, and reflect the phobia America felt during the 1980s.
And in case anyone is wondering: old issues of Famitsu would regularly feature sexy gravure models on the cover, with photoshoots inside. Not even game related. They just wanted a cute woman on the cover and inside. I love it!
Re: Random: "This Isn't Real, Is It?" - These Annoying Gen AI Adverts For Retro Consoles Are Fooling A Lot Of People
@-wc-
I've enjoyed our discussions, we've been respectful and I enjoy the ritual of human communication while needing to think and recall events.
So I'd like to respectfully disagree with this statement and offer, not a strawman argument, but a real example which had a wider impact:
"we can safely dismiss secondhand accounts of anonymous random social media accounts of dubious intent as straw men, in this or any other context, frankly"
I am a fan of George Kamitani of Vanillaware. He used to paint, annually, a beautiful year end painting. Gorgeous artwork. Often with light nudity. Not sexual, but artistic. True art.
Your discussion has reminded me of the witch hunt Kamitani underwent. Jason Schrier, and others, repeatedly attacked him and his art. This resulted in him making a joking rebuttal, which got lost in translation, and caused more chaos.
He apologised publicly:
https://www.reddit.com/r/vita/comments/1e23h0/dragons_crown_lead_designer_george_kamitani/
As someone else said there: no artist should ever apologise for their art style.
I also strongly disagree with Schrier, who argued Kamitani's paintings were sexual in nature.
This is not a strawman argument. My interpretation is that Schrier does not like viewing beautiful images.
My favourite painting of Kamitani's was... The Three Graces. I can't find it online. Three beautiful nymphs, asleep. Not sexual, but pure art.
Here's a different painting:
https://www.siliconera.com/vanillaware-rings-in-the-new-year-with-a-goddess/
After some searching I found this article, depicting the painting. NOT SAFE FOR WORK:
https://tinycartridge.com/post/320992166/nsfw-vanillawares-three-graces
For the longest time it was my desktop wallpaper. It does not arouse sexually, but rather it awakens my heart, stirs my soul, and I am filled with a desire to write and create, to create even a fraction of the artistry Kamitani achieves. I bend my knee to Kamitani's skill.
So now you have your example, not a strawman argument, and not an anonymous second hand source. A known journalist criticising traditional painted art to the point of destroying the artist.
Schrier's unhinged criticisms, and those of other journalists at the time, eventually resulted in Kamitani no longer painting. Criticisms not of sexual material, but pure beautiful art. The world lost something the day he stopped painting.
#justiceforkamitani
I'd like to thank you for questioning me. It encouraged me to strengthen my argument with solid examples, and I am better because of it. Well played.
Re: Random: "This Isn't Real, Is It?" - These Annoying Gen AI Adverts For Retro Consoles Are Fooling A Lot Of People
@-wc-
"obviously this isnt true if you take it to logical extremes"
When I said that line to a friend once, they brought up the infamous German news story of the cannibal and the victim who answered an advert, asking me if I thought their mutually consented scenario was acceptable.
This feels like a logically extreme example.
And my conclusion was: I feel like both of them were likely mentally ill and thus the consent was not informed or genuine. They had taken leave of their senses and legally were not capable of making such choices.
So yes, there are going to be extreme edge cases where the belief needs debating and consideration, and provides an interesting thought experiment.
As for consenting to advertising, I dislike ads in general, unless they're especially entertaining. But I suppose the answer is, we could simply not watch TV, or browse the internet, thus not exposing us to ads. When I turn on my TV, load up my web browser, or flick through a magazine, I am consenting to the ads since I know they will exist. And logically, ads of a salacious nature, are best placed within media that appeals to such people. ie: a salacious games advert with babes is best shown during an action movie, not during Golden Girls reruns.
With TE, I pay for the premium of choice not having ads. But if that option were not available, I would accept that I am forced to see them.
I'm not sure if you searched for it on YouTube, and I respect you if you choose not to view it, but if you did view it - what did you think of the German butter advert? (Note: it contains frontal nudity.) How would you react if you were watching TV in the afternoon, say 13:30, and it came on?
You can hate it if you want - I'm not wanting to pass judgement. I'm just curious, given you dislike game ads like that, and I'm assuming this TV ad falls into that same sphere? Or do you feel the TV advert is different, for whatever reasons? It's less provocative, and attempts to be more artistic, I feel.
Re: Random: "This Isn't Real, Is It?" - These Annoying Gen AI Adverts For Retro Consoles Are Fooling A Lot Of People
@-wc-
Valid question. I'm not conflating the two. But I have seen both being criticised, sometimes by the same random social media users. Hence my Q. It's one of several reasons I stopped using socmed (not on twitter, BS, Insta, or active on FB, or even LinkedIn). Because apart from the aggression from people who disagree, I've seen weird hypocritical stances dismissing all nudity. As in, blanket statements stating all of it is bad. I've read tirades on socmed arguing paintings and sculptures "reinforce patriarchal stereotypes about bla bla bla". I zoned out pretty quickly, but sufficed to say, I disagree that old art and antiquity are somehow inherently bad and I disregard such opinions immediately.
To be precise:
I can tell and describe the difference between all of the above, and I am cool with all of the above.
I have only one rule which governs my views: between consenting adults there are no rules
Re: Random: "This Isn't Real, Is It?" - These Annoying Gen AI Adverts For Retro Consoles Are Fooling A Lot Of People
@-wc-
"If it was still a good strategy for selling games, it would still be happening, because that's how the world works. That's my take."
Exactly! An excellent point you make, and Stellar Blade's massive success I feel proves you correct! There is a lot of rightfully deserved praise given for the very attractive lead character - and its sales reflected the fact there is an audience for such content. The gameplay is solid too, but there's a lot of good 3D action games out there (ie: Vanquish), so the character designs really helped it stand out.
I don't have a PC rig that can play it well enough, but I pushed through the demo despite a low frame rate, and I think the main character is lovely. I would absolutely buy Stellar Blade if I had a powerful PC or PS5.
They've earned my money (when the time comes).
Re: Random: "This Isn't Real, Is It?" - These Annoying Gen AI Adverts For Retro Consoles Are Fooling A Lot Of People
@Ruka
We don't always agree, but I feel like we've got a non-partisan sharing of views here. Solidarity, fellow user.
You make a good point - it's not only sexual nudity, but from what I've seen any sort of nudity, regardless of context, even artistic.
I'm reminded of the interview with the Maniac Mansion dev team and the nude statue on the NES - Nintendo said if they could find a real artistic statue, the could keep it. They found one. But then Nintendo asked them to fix the groin area - not know what they meant the team just removed for less headache.
But that was the late 80s / early 90s. The revolt against anything mildly titillating seems to be a new thing, a new type of social movement.
I have no idea of the sociological causes. I might walk back the puritan speculation slightly. I have a few speculative ideas, but dare not share them. Even admitting to liking the female form is to place a target on one's back!
Yes, I own multiple DOAX and Rumble Roses titles. These games are excellent. Genuinely no shame, only confusion at the controversy these legal products garner.
Hentai, eroge, ecchi, erotica, cheesecake, whatever names you want to apply to the wide umbrella of content that once existed, I am fine with seeing it and owning it. And I am OK with people knowing this.
Re: Random: "This Isn't Real, Is It?" - These Annoying Gen AI Adverts For Retro Consoles Are Fooling A Lot Of People
I dislike these because I hate AI and worry it will make documenting games history more difficult going forward.
But I have also enjoyed "cheesecake" and nudity in my media, and I genuinely do not understand comments saying it's gross, or the intense negative reaction images of women seem to generate.
Putting aside these AI examples, there are plenty of real world examples, especially from Japan. I have old Japanese games magazines which feature full nudity in adverts.
I said something similar in my Hideo Kojima feature: we live in a world where what was once considered healthy and normal (ie: men being attracted to beautiful women) has now been pathologised and deemed bad, or sick, or somehow wrong.
I don't understand - it seems to be an offshoot of puritanism, which deems sex as evil?
It's not wrong to like seeing beautiful women.
If you don't enjoy it, fair enough. You don't have to look at it. Someone mentioned Sega Saturn magazine running a spread on page 3 girls in Sega cosplay. I own that issue. It's cool. If you don't like it, you could just not own that magazine. Or not buy products that use these ads. I agree with @Ruka that I'd like to see a return of sexiness in media. Bring back Gravure models!
As an aside: regarding the ban on booth babe models and F1 models, I went and read comments from these models.
I chose to listen to those directly affected by the bans. And you know what? These women were furious. They were angry that their livelihoods had been taken from them. And honestly, I cannot even reprint what some of them said about the people who demanded the ban. Let's just say that all these very attractive models had some very unpleasant things to say about the people who made them lose their jobs. Very unpleasant things.
I enjoyed and miss gravure models, booth babes, etc. - and I would like to see more beauty in media. I am not ashamed to say I have always enjoyed it.
EDIT: I'm editing my message to state these are just my views, I know many disagree; my views do not represent those the site.Can we all agree that having different perspectives is acceptable?
/END EDIT
Here's a real example of a TV advert I saw on daytime TV in Poland (we had German channels). I won't give the URL link, just in case. But search YouTube for:
Lätta Werbung Bergsee 1998
It's just an every day normal German advert for butter, from 1998, and it was shown in the afternoon alongside the rest of the day time programming.
And it depicts a beautiful woman, naked, fully nude, upper body frontal nudity, nipples and all, walking out of a lake.
And as an advert it's very effective, because nearly 30 years later I'm still thinking about this advert and that butter. I have an eternal crush on the model, whoever she may be.
I am fine with ads like this. I am fine with daytime media showing this. I firmly believe in my heart and soul there is nothing wrong with this, because it's natural for men to be attracted to this woman. It's written into our DNA.
Again, I'm very confused why previously healthy things are now deemed bad.
For anyone offended by images of nude women, do you feel the same about the various art galleries around the world, featuring nude paintings and sculpture? A sincere good faith question.
The female form is not a crime.
Broadly agree with diff comments made by the following:
@Fallingshadow @Exerion76 @slider1983
Re: I've Just Resurrected This Zelda Scratch Card Game From 1989
@themacjesus
Hello! Thank you for the interest! I've sort of moved on from this project, and am juggling several other things at the moment. I'm pretty sure every card has fixed results under the silver - based on the one card I bought and scratched, and other cards which I found online prescratched. The symbols are not randomised, I'm pretty sure.
But that is one heck of a cool find!
@Mases and @Asaki might be interested though?
Re: Talking Point: "We, The Consumers, Need To Vote With Our Wallets" - The Moral Dilemma Of Supporting SNK In 2026
@MegaJ
It is? I did not even realise. I'm not kidding - I don't have any special access privileges, nor can I edit my work. I have to email. And I always regarded myself as an independant contractor. And I've put about 30 people on ignore. My apologies - and I say that to you sincerely - I've been operating under the belief anyone can just put me on ignore. If that's not possible I will ask the admins about being ignorable.
Re: "Humbling And Deeply Inspiring" - Neo Geo+ Production Forecasts Increased After "Overwhelming" Response
Back around 1993, a friend of a friend had one. We visited his house one evening. I played it briefly. For over 30 years I've wanted one, but as my income increased over the years, so did pricing.
This was the easiest £800 that I've ever dropped.
I only hope the team see these pre-orders and realise they're not just producing a product, they have also elected to become historical custodians.
I'm more excited about this than I have been for any hardware in the last 15 years.
Re: Talking Point: "We, The Consumers, Need To Vote With Our Wallets" - The Moral Dilemma Of Supporting SNK In 2026
@81632bit
It's time to draw a line under this - while I stand by what I've said in the piece, I have removed my comments. Gaming, like any business, is full of contradictions, and I think the more we discuss our perspectives like adults, the better. Peace!
Re: Guide: "No Emulation, No Compromise, No Comparison" - Everything You Need To Know About The $250 Neo Geo+ AES
@-wc-
Fair.
General fiddlyness and a list of things that bug me - chargeable batteries with finite life, or using disposable that need replacing. USB cables that wear out the ports over time. Lag. Problems syncing.
The only benefit is less clutter due to no wires? This hasn't been useful to me.
Also, and this is just a weird psychological thing, I enjoy knowing there is a "physical hardline" that be can be suddenly removed
by physically pulling it. There have been the odd rare instance where this was useful.
I know you can go in a menu and disconnect stuff. But I've liked the immediacy of cables. But I accept this is more a weird personal thing.
Re: Talking Point: "We, The Consumers, Need To Vote With Our Wallets" - The Moral Dilemma Of Supporting SNK In 2026
I wanted to avoid commenting, but I also want to say something on record - given a lot of comments here and on socmed are saying TE has an agenda.
As a freelance contributor I have never once been instructed to adopt a specific stance, nor censored, despite the fact I hold views contrary to some online (absolute freedom of artistic expression without consequence). This is why I was asked to comment here. I am openly pro AES+ and TE wanted to cover all voices. (I bought the £800 Ultimate edition and look forward to fun discussions with fellow buyers in the other news article.)
I can't comment on editorial decisions for other contributors, but I have never once felt pressured to adjust my POV. Indeed, TE has always offered more freedom to express my views than other places.
It would be a shame for anyone to stop reading TE due to certain articles, when it's a website publishing a diverse range of writers, each with differing (and sometimes conflicting) views. It's a website which respects its contributors.
My personal beliefs mirror @Martin_H
I dislike puritanical moralising - and I've never been told to inject it into my work.
Engage with the articles that resonate with you.
Re: "Super Sidekicks 3 Or Ultimate 11?" - Plaion Wants To Know Which Neo Geo Games You'd Like To See Re-Released
@X68000
Cool cool. Do you have a website? If not I'll just ping you on here if the time comes.
Re: "Super Sidekicks 3 Or Ultimate 11?" - Plaion Wants To Know Which Neo Geo Games You'd Like To See Re-Released
@X68000
I recently met an old arcade operator who had a ton of old MVS carts in storage. Didn't realise the value. I explained the rise in retro prices. Want to put him in touch with someone who could advise, without taking advantage of him. I already suggested joining the NG forum.
Re: "Super Sidekicks 3 Or Ultimate 11?" - Plaion Wants To Know Which Neo Geo Games You'd Like To See Re-Released
@X68000
Hmm... I might give it a pass then.
Why the hostility to MVS owners?
Do you collect MVS? I have a (private) question about it, and am not sure who to ask.
Re: "Super Sidekicks 3 Or Ultimate 11?" - Plaion Wants To Know Which Neo Geo Games You'd Like To See Re-Released
@X68000
I was genuinely thinking of signing up yesterday.
Is there a divide, between the old money AES owners, and the neauvou AES+ peasantry?
(I kid - I bought the AES+ myself, but I do wonder if some view it like that.)
Re: "Super Sidekicks 3 Or Ultimate 11?" - Plaion Wants To Know Which Neo Geo Games You'd Like To See Re-Released
@damo
So, dedicated Neo•Geo sister site when? Looks like we might be seeing a lot of games for this new hardware platform.
Re: "Super Sidekicks 3 Or Ultimate 11?" - Plaion Wants To Know Which Neo Geo Games You'd Like To See Re-Released
@MoriyaMug
Glad you stopped by. I couldn't recall your new username.
I'm tempted to email Plaion and suggest they contact you. Or you could email them.
I don't know the feasibility - a CD to AES conversion? Utilising an unofficial translation? Correcting the elemental bugs? Would you even want to license it?
I have no idea.
And yet... I find the idea amusing.
I finished it already so it's not even for me. But if they can revive the NG hardware like this, anything is possible.