@sportymariosonicmixx
I'm going to say... Every single battery, chargeable or not, is going to succumb to degredation at some point. Used regularly or ignored in a drawer. The same with the capacitors in your consoles.
They are not inert substances / objects.
But also, don't worry too much. Just keep an eye on stuff.
In the same way you change the tires on your car, you can change the caps and batteries in your games machines.
It's all part of the natural order.
I'm having the battery and caps in my 3DO replaced as you read this!
POST 2 due to comment size limitations: @SUDDENDESU @PowerPandaMods @PopetheRev28 @Eocene84 @gingerbeardman @gojiguy
@Raku This reply is specifically for you - please do not spread disinformation.
Games can only be donated to the NDL if they're brand new, they don't accept second hand. So they've no interest in what the GPS has. Which leads on to another point you raised:
"in recent years they've gone back and started archiving games which released before that law was implemented" - I was not aware that the NDL had the funds to acquire these. Could you please share your source for this information, so that I may educate myself on this?
The NDL do not have the technical knowledge to migrate games into a digital format. So even if they accepted old donated games, nothing would be preserved.
Currently the GPS is providing technology to them so they can preserve floppy disks that were distributed with books and magazines.
I haven't heard of any attempt to preserve games (floppy disks, tapes, ROM carts, etc.) so it won't happen soon, or the games might biodegrade / rot long before it's ever done.
Another silly rule is that after a book, or a game is added to the collection, the cover and all detachable parts (the spine card / supplements of the game itself) is discarded / disposed of / thrown away! They literally bin related materials.
The "no second hand rule" is a total deal breaker. The GPS has many books they could donate to the NDL, but they are waiting until the NDL change their policies - the GPS believe the cover, illustrations, posters, etc., are part of the essence of the product.
Regarding politicians. Are you talking about Akamatsu Ken? The famous mangaka? If he doesn't manage to change things at the NDL, who will? This is why the GPS is important, to continue lobbying.
Regarding nothing being publicly available, the problem here is communication. The job the GPS does with the NDL and also Cultural Affairs is public. The physical archive is publicly accessible in-person for researchers - it is NOT a private archive. Statements of this nature need to stop - this is not some private collection, every single item can be viewed or accessed, but due to the Japanese law this can only happen on site. They are trying to remedy via the aforementioned sister organisation.
If you've carefully read the article, the main problem is that the GPS is not authorised to publish within Japan, and therefore is starting a digital library in the US for this very reason!
I encourage you to check out their study on game related books not available at the NDL:
The creation of a digital library hosted in the US will provide access to everyone globally, and is intended specifically to address the misconceptions regarding access to the material.
Everything at the GPS is currently publicly available, but only in person, as dictated by Japanese law.
This is a separate reply, from myself the author, based on my knowledge of how the NDL operates. To be clear: the GPS already works with the NDL and Cultural Affairs. The following points are my opinion, and not those of the GPS.
@Raku This reply is specifically for you - please do not spread disinformation.
The Japanese Game Preservation Society is NOT a scam. As stated many times, all the money in, and all the money out, is publicly visible and 100% transparent. If you or anyone else feels that there is in any way any sort of scam or fraud taking place, I strongly encourage you to personally audit all the numbers. The transparency of the funding exists to silence any accusations of misuse.
As the author, speaking personally: I am not even going to acknowledge future accusations of impropriety. As a registered NPO all activities and spending are publicly accessible.
Regarding comments about the National Diet Library, this is also factually inaccurate.
It is an extremely complicated topic, and to detail every point to the level required of it would entail an essay in itself. This is not an attempt to avoid answering - it is an honest statement conveyed briefly. My desire is to give a URL for further reading, but there are none in English. Given your belief in the NDL, this is a matter which needs addressing with a full article, which we will work on. But for the moment, briefly, here are some replies to your various points. To save space I've not quoted you, so you'll have to connect them.
The legal deposit is not enforced in Japan and there's no big penalty, unlike France. So you would be surprised how many books and in particular magazines are NOT available at the NDL. Regarding games, the amount of games in their storage is more a sample than a collection.
It's true that the NDL will send you a photocopy if requested. Except you won't find a list of available games and the NDL won't provide any service for games which are not preserved / digitised.
Regarding releasing binaries (already dumped ROMs), this is illegal in Japan and Joseph would be put in prison. I'm not even kidding. They were punished by the government just for sharing thumbnails on their website.
I've spoken with Joseph for two hours and have his approval for this response. It's brief, even though a detailed comment on every point would warrant an article in itself.
His comments for the choice of location are as follows:
His choice for America is not political - none of this is politically motivated. He firmly believes that one should not make short-term decisions based on current political climates; preservation is a long-term process and this will continue many years down the line.
The NYC law firm is assisting pro bono - without a fee. (My fault for not explicitly stating this in the article - my apologies.)
The USA also has the best set of rules / laws that permit game preservation. More so than Europe. Much of this relates to the "fair use doctrine" which Europe does not have. Joseph is himself a native Frenchman, so he already has an acute understanding and appreciation for Europe. And after examination the legal framework of the US was deemed most optimal.
To be clear: the legislation in the US offers the best framework to benefit every member globally.
As the author I also want to draw everyone's attention to the quoted statements about not requiring an office in America, and not requiring storage in America. The purpose of the American sister organisation is the creation of a publicly accessible digital library protected by the US legal framework and the laws for the state of New York.
@sportymariosonicmixx
I cannot even begin to comprehend the thought process behind people who put a gane in a sarcophagus so it cannot be touched. I especially dislike it because, let's assume it's ultra rare and the manual has never been scanned. A museum piece, in a proper museum, could be opened carefully, safely, and the manual preserved. A graded game is trapped in that plastic box and you can only see the box - when in fact the beauty of it includes the manual and the game itself.
There's a YT channel that made some joke videos where they bought graded games, cut the slab open, removed the game, then used the plastic shell to drink cocktails.
I hate grading stuff if it means the object loses its original intended function.
As for your battery question:
It depends on the type of battery
It's too long to explain, but every single chemical battery on Earth, the way they function, means they will eventually corrode or break down chemically. Or if you're lucky they'll just dry out.
The number of times I've found AA and AAA batteries leaking, and 9V twin heads too. Coin batteries are a bit better - they tend to die and dry out. I had a 30 year old one in a 3DO which was still functioning. PSP batteries meanwhile have been found to swell up with age.
The reason is because wether it's the old alkaline batteries, or rechargeable lith-ion batteries, or another type, they're all dependant on reactive chemicals. They're not inert, like a ROM chip.
I spent ages reading up on the process of electron discharge etc., and honestly I can't recall enough to describe it here accurately. It's worth reading a couple Wikipedia pages.
Short dumb answer:
Batteries function via a chemical process reliant on non-inert substances which by their very nature break down over time.
@PZT Thanks for the reminder. I usually catch these, but failed in this instance. Excellent advice for everyone! Curate your URL pasting!
@sportymariosonicmixx The plastic is completely sealed so you would need a hacksaw or drill to physically cut through and break the plastic to get inside.
@N64-ROX Maybe not a fireball, but I have had multiple examples of batteries leaking out corrosive chemicals, destroying both the object and surrounding objects. Even something like AA batteries which were maybe 5 years old have leaked, irreparably destroying remote controls and other gadgets. My PS2 currently has a dead timekeeper battery, buried deep inside it, difficult to remove, and I have constant anxiety that it's going to leak and destroy the motherboard. This year I plan to open and remove it.
Also, look up the PSP battery that caused a fire, news story on this site, and the old OG Xbox capacitor story, where a specific cap has reached the age where it leaks fluid all over the motherboards and destroys them. I opened both of mine and snipped the damn thing out.
Your house might not burn down. But whatever holds them is likely to get ruined.
WATA games, which grades the games, and Heritage Auctions, which sell high priced graded games (graded by WATA), share the same owners.
WATA charges money to grade games, so people can sell them on Heritage Auctions, who take a cut of sales, and the prices are inflated so the same people behind both groups can take a massive cut.
The value of games is thus inflated. According to the head of WATA, he feels that for a long time games have been "undervalued".
@damo Does Aldynes for the SuperGrafx work when using this (and its ROM obvs) on the Analogue Pocket (via adapter) or the Analogue Duo? I realise it would never work on an actual PCE, but unsure about alternate hardware. My guess would be no.
I have the Terraonion for PCE, but the older model that lacks SGFX support.
Keeping wonder if I should upgeade for it somehow...
Mainly finish a bunch of mods and repairs which were started but never finished:
finish installing my SNES pixel enhancer chip
mod my Super Scope for mains power
finish my 3DO recap and repairs
install my GC ODE
finalise the tweaks, mods, and repairs for each of my three Saturns (one needs the video out fixing; another needs a Hz switch installing; one doesn't work at all for reasons unknown)
@warglewargle
Hello! Thank you for the polite response to my rant.
As stated, this is optional, unlike the PS3 system, so I accept that perhaps I should not comment. No one is making me use RA.
But, the reasons for my statements are, broadly speaking, despair at a particular kind of mindset. I'll try to describe this briefly.
I love old games. Not for nostalgia but for their own merits. I love discovering new stuff and I want to encourage others to explore unknown retro games.
And I find it agonising to read comments from people who describe older games as pointless because they lack achievements or trophies. As mentioned by @Andee and @GravyThief
I went searching online and found a guy saying he felt ill that Valkyria Chronicles had no trophies and so he had to ragequit the game. Because it didn't have trophies! (Search Reddit for this.)
I have spent my whole adult life documenting games and interviewing developers because I regard games as the zenith of human creation. They can incorporate architecture, physics, literature, paintings, music, acting, economics, sports, competition, and literally anything and everything conceivable.
So when I see people dismissing these beautiful creations, because they don't have cheevos, I feel actual nauseau.
And I also feel the solution is not RA, which artificially injects something I regard as toxic into the medium. The answer is better education and upbringing, so kids can enjoy the merits of the games themselves, not the key jangling that is cheevos / trophies.
I am sorry you felt personally attacked by my statement. My intention is not to upset people.
But the growing obsession over cheevos / trophies, and the need to have them everywhere, feels like a sort of cognitive virus that is spreading. Developers now design games around cheevos. People refuse to play old games because they don't have cheevos. RA aims to inject cheevos into everything.
Sure, I can ignore RA personally when gaming.
But the core of my soul screams out in horror that something which I loathe so intensely is not only loved by increasing numbers, but regarded as essential and obligatory in order to even appreciate or play games today.
When I picked up the pen to safeguard gaming history two decades ago, I also took on the role of protecting it from things I regard as bad. Mainstream media using it as a scapegoat; censors wishing to cancel creator freedoms; governments trying to meddle; and also the misguided belief that a game without cheevos is a game without value.
I love games for the games. My mind is incapable of comprehending those who say a game is pointless without cheevos. These poor lost souls need help; they need guidance; they need re-education.
That guy who ragequit Valkyria Chronicles needs a new perspective.
I hope the above goes some way to explaining my feelings. It is a deep ideological belief.
Was super excited, given how much I love the Saturn (my favourite of all the 32-bit gen), but reading the comments makes me inclined to wait before buying.
Going through the comments reveals a lot of bugs.
Crashes, control bugs, enemies shooting through walls, the sniper rifle bugging out making levels impossible to complete.
It reads like a game still in beta testing, and not yet gold or ready for manufacturing.
@VITIMan
Thanks for the post. You know, I've been looking at these cards on my shelf every time I walk past, and wondering what to do with them.
I also have @Bakamoichigei email
I'm debating just releasing the design files publicly.
My printed deck had trouble scanning, and I worked out it was due to the colour printing, not a problem with the barcodes themselves. So I printed a b&w deck which worked fine.
I think the barcodes, which are just scans from the Zelda deck, exist as colourised files in the PDF document, meaning if printed in full colour, other coloured inks besides black are mixed in, messing up the scan process. Because a pure duo-tone b&w printing resolves the problem.
Ironically when I actually got around to "playing" the game, which is literally just the Zelda game, it is HARD. Like stupidly difficult. Even when cheating.
Was tempted to try revising the rules or numbers, to make it much easier, but I lack the time and motivation.
I'm going to think about it more, but I suspect at some point I'll just email the raw files and you can both do with them as you please. (Though if you can, mention my name and plug my books which are Amazon maybe? More publicity is always a good thing.)
Mainly I am acutely aware of Nintendo being litigious, even if a derivative product is not making profit - they closely guard their IP.
At last this is out! Kate sent me a preview link ages ago, more than a year(?), of a very rough cut version. At least I think it was this - or at least part of this series. And I've been wanting to tell people.
There are lots of games that fit this genre, which predate Metroid itself. It's a fascinating subject to dig into.
@Fallingshadow
There are actually quite a few games before 1984 that sort of fit the proto definition of an exploratory platformer. Notably Aztec!
I have never played a decent escort mission, I hate them all, and I am astounded that devs will often insist on putting them in even if they know they suck and they know everyone hates them.
Case in point.
Electronic Gaming Monthly issue 148 (page 98 maybe?), Factor 5 president Julian Eggebrecht states, regarding Star Wars Rogue Squadron II on GameCube:
"This is the only protection mission in the game. We wanted to do it right away, because everyone severely hates these kinds of missions."
Julian, if "everyone" hates them, why included even one? How about just not including a protection / escort missions? Just don't do it!
I have been obsessed with this interview for over 20 years, because we have a cognisant admission that the type of mission design is hated, but they still felt they HAD to include it, and so they put it in really early to get it out of the way.
Just imagine that scenario with any number of other things people hate. "We know everyone hates rotten food, so we made sure to put all the rotten food in the entre, to get it out of the way before the main meal."
I once heard someone say that Ellie in Last of Us is how to do an escort mission right, but I don't regard that as an escort mission. I've seen videos of her literally clipping through the 3D models of enemies, because they don't see or interact with her.
I missed this news story last time, and only stumbled on RA today as a side note to something I was watching on YT. Did a google to see if TE covered it. No one will read this comment, so I'll have a little rant.
I absolutely despised cheevos when they came out on 360 and PS3. And I hated that I could not disable them on PS3 for ages - I was trying to relax with Flower and would constantly get these klaxon alerts "YOU GOT TROPHY!!" Ruined the game. RUINED IT!
Yeah, hard pass on that crap.
This is optional, and requires work to set up, so I guess I'm fine with a bunch of people enjoying something so inherently awful. Like, you're an adult, you do you. But I feel like I just stumbled across an underground community of ttongsul enthusiasts.
I play retro games to GET AWAY from all the modern crap like cheevos, loot crates, NFTs, season passes, day one patches, and all the rest of that rot.
@Maulbert Well said. I have read so many interviews regarding Sega over the last 20 years (conducted a few myself), and every single one of them feeds into what you've just said. I am amazed they survived as a hardware manufacturer as long as they did. I am amazed they had the successes they did. Because the self-sabotage is off the scales.
As far back as 1983 they were self-sabotaging. Instead of focusing on marketing and development for the 8-bit Mark console, they kept releasing new versions of the hardware and squandered whatever market lead they had against the Famicom (Sega's console had scrolling whereas Nintendo's did not, for like... 8 months?)
I often think: if one went back in time, with a suitcase filled with $10 million, and all the foresight and foreknowledge, could one have changed Sega? Could one have steamrolled through the self-sabotage?
Why can't we just keep using legacy systems, even if we are knowingly putting ourselves at a security risk? I'm assuming Google had some kind of major code shift that killed legacy support?
Is there a page that explains the technical side of why legacy support can't just be left in the back to run and run?
I love this game so much. Revolutionary. Also so difficult to really enjoy properly. You need a large screen, and you need to be close to it, especially for when it zooms out.
Personally I'd really like to see the Xbox 360 version translated. Or another large console instalment. Playing on a cramped handheld - whose batteries are all dead and prone to exploding - isn't my idea of a good time.
The Xbox 360 version of Idolmaster is in fact fan-translated! You can find videos online. Someone did the work, but then never uploaded the files anywhere.
If you have a modded X360 it's pretty easy to patch stuff too. Just install, and then in a folder overwrite any files containing text.
I'm wondering how easy it is to open up the X360 files. Are they encoded and compressed? Or just raw text files that get loaded? That's how Drihoo got fan-translated.
I suppose if this is the only option, it's better than no option.
@KingMike Yeah, looks pink to me, and I assumed the three colours are a riff on RGB?
I noticed the different colour lasers since I played lots of Konami games, but assumed it was just semi-random based on the game. Like, this game has this colour, and another just has another colour for arbitrary selection. I never realised it was for specific hardware!
@N-MCMXCIX @Martin_H I can understand replacing capacitors for functionality. Old caps die. So restoration so that something can retain its original function makes sense. But all of my white plastic consoles and peripherals are yellow, and it's purely cosmetic. They still work. From what I watched of this, it looks like the plastic is starting to disintegrate. Which is itself a whole other topic - since some game systems are made from plastic which is prone to brittling over time. I'm fine with 3D printed replacement shells - but dousing something in hydrogen peroxide feels inherently problem causing.
I've never, ever understood this practice. Book collectors don't try to unyellow ancient manuscripts. Coin collectors and gun collectors don't polish off the natural occurring patina on the metal - doing so is a big no-no and will severely devalue an item.
And yet...
Game collectors: let's put hair bleach on everything!!
There was a convention some few years back, in London. I think 2019? I can't recall the year. Some Japan pop culture thing. And there was a cab like this on free play - I distinctly remember the three spaces for up to three players.
Everyone ignored it. So I sat and credit fed to the end, hoping someone might join me. Nobody did. Was kind of surprised because to me, this was a legendary cab, and amazing to see in the wild, and it was completely overlooked in favour of stands selling overpriced tat.
I'm sure it was in English. Could it have been this unit?
I would love to own one of these. You really need the roller to play it properly.
EDIT:
It was HYPER JAPAN at the Olympia in London. Did anyone else attend that specific year that had this cabinet? I didn't take any photos, and I wish I had now.
Welcome to 2025, when a Zelda style game is not popular. WT actual F?
Whatever this new rubbish is has zero appeal to me. Less than zero. But I have an obsession with any game that models itself on old-school 2D top-down Zelda.
How is it possible we exist in a reality where this is not popular?
I feel like I fell through a portal into the wrong dimension. I want to go back to my own world! Where Zelda is popular!
In the above interview I did he says 40% from the JP edition. Meaning yes, the JP cartridge should contain what was lost due to ROM limits during localisation.
But there were other interviews, with Woolsey and other members of the team, talking about content being cut during the shift from SNES CD to cart. I think I probably read a lot of the same materials Jygsaw refers to. It's pretty well established, rather than just rumour.
I conflated these two distinct separate losses of content.
There's evidence for the CD cut content - others have documented some of the missing holes in the gameplay; the one I remember most is a cave entrance which leads nowhere (I think near the water temple), and doors which you'd think lead somewhere important but simply don't open.
Sadly given that Square said they have few of the design documents from FF7, I suspect they have even less from SoM.
Every time I see Secret of Mana I think about how Ted Woolsey described 40% of the game content getting nuked due to cartridge limitations and abandonment of the SNES CD add-on, and how Square remade the game in 3D and promptly never added back in any of the lost content, despite this being the PERFECT opportunity, and how that content is now probably lost forever, leaving us with only half a masterpiece.
I'd like to see a hundred such fan projects, each adding in their own best guess at this lost content, and then in the end the fan community comes together selecting the best examples, to create a new vision for SoM.
Or something.
I'm obsessed with the lost 40%.
Hope this grows beyond a demo - I would guess lots of people have multiplayer adapters for use with Bomberman, so they're good to go with 3 players.
I love cross-media such as this. There have been surprisingly few examples of this sort of thing over the decades, despite it being such a rich idea. I don't just mean a separate adaptation, like manga to anime to game, where each is disconnected. I mean something where two different types of media are created concurrently to generate synergy and something fun to explore at the same time.
There's a few examples, but not enough. I keep thinking of The Matrix, where segments of the film's story existed only in the videogame, expecting you to play it alongside. Japan had some good simultaneous tie-ins.
@KingMike True. And the old Resi games are also on GOG now. But that actual interview which I'm satirising continues to blow my mind. The execs were approached by GOG and had to be pursuaded people cared about old games. The fact such an attitude exists makes me think every old game release is someone desperately trying to convince one of the higher ups. It gives me constant anxiety.
@SlangWon @Magrane
Capcom is the same company, that when GOG suggested putting older Resident Evil games up for sale, they replied, and I quote:
"Nah, why would you want to sell old games? People buy old games? No one is interested in old games, there's remakes of the Resi games which is obviously the best versions now because it's new, so we deleted the archives of all that old *****, because ***** old ***** man, we only care about the bestest and latestest versions, man, stop being silly and talking about old stuff, it's so old, we're all about the NEW games! Now, if you'll excuse me GOG, I appear to have fouled myself and need to change again."
~ an actual Capcom Executive
I miss the old days. Lavish colour manuals. Obi strips / spine cards. Paper maps. Cloth maps. Sealed tips leaflets. Art books. Bonus music CDs. Flexible vinyl records. Company catalogues. Making of discs. Weird and wonderful omake and "feelies" as they were called.
@PKDuckman I see! Honestly, don't worry about the reports. Hunting them down is tedious. If all enemies die the mission ends, so you need to keep one alive until you've found it. If you're unlucky the lone survivor will be holding it, forcing a restart. And your reward at the end is just some challenge missions in a generic square room - not very interesting. Just play the main campaign and savour it. The last few missions are difficult, but not insurmountable. Make sure you've attached the skill which auto-uses healing items when knocked out. That's going to be doing a lot of heavy lifting. Good hunting!
@PKDuckman
Exactly! I remember watching YT videos, and thinking: this looks really fun. Good music, nice art style, cool vamps vs werewolf story, complex systems, large battlefields, funny things like werewolves punching tanks to death. And then the YT commentary was all "this totally suuuuucks!!"
And there was this weird disconnect for me. Like, it can't be THAT bad based on what I'm seeing. So I had to import a US system immediately with copy of the game.
A lot of complaints about the camera, but I found it was mitigated by using L&R to quickly swap between targets, which is such a great QOL feature.
I can understand if its average score was in the low 70% range, given that tactics games are an acquired taste. But the overwhelming hatred it got... I wonder if it's because the X360 target demographic at that time just wasn't into that kind of game, and maybe it would have done better on PS3?
I did an exhaustive write up on HG101, including an interview taken from the strategy guide, and then years later had a surprise interview of my own with its creator in Japan. It really didn't sell well, and he was kinda surprised at my interest. I have no shame in geeking out about how much I liked it. He needed to know!
The only complaint I personally have, is that the special reports you can find on random enemies is tedious. You need them all to unlock the Eagle Has Landed dungeon campaign. The string of battles are themselves quite dull, being devoid of story, and it's so easy to miss the special report during the story campaign. There's a bunch of them, and you need to search every corpse, hoping it's not being held by the last surviving enemy.
But I really enjoyed the guerilla warfare aspect of sending your team in without gear, so they were light and had earlier turns, then scavenging weapons from the enemy.
Did you finish it? Did you collect all the special reports?
@Babybahamut I literally bought a X360 to play Operation Darkness. Loved that game so much. Unavailable anywhere else. Lost Odyssey is another good exclusive. Import Tuner Challenge. Naruto: RoaN (I think?). The Outfit. Project Sylpheed is incredible - INCREDIBLE. WarTech, or was that ported? Culdcept Saga - it was released all over, but X360 is the best in English.
There's also a bunch of good games which were on PC and the only console port was X360. Depending on your criteria for exclusivity.
Op Darkness and Sylpheed are my two recommendations.
I finished this last month - the original. Fantastic FPS. Still feels inventive even in 2025. But yeah, those water gates were tough. I only discovered by accident the switches because I was shooting my gun off in anger. A lot of quick saves later and I beat it.
Using a guide didn't help because it's a maze with variable heights - not specific levels like in a house, but water tunnels that go slightly up and down, meaning it's not easy to see a 2D map of.
Was well worth getting past though. The game has some exquisite set pieces beyond this. Feels like proper 90s PC gaming.
@Xerox1919
Exactly this. I know some players prefer the cryptic nature of the original, but after playing Redaction, I thought to myself: it should have always been like this. I realise it's not "realistic" to have some peasant villagers know detailed arcane knowledge, but it made searching for them, and talking to them worthwhile, and it meant you could play and finish the entire mystery solely by using the game itself, rather than looking up a FAQ or opening Nintendo Power and having it win the game for you.
I'm not a kid any more, and none of my friends are going to play this, so the old style of sharing playground knowledge is gone. If the game itself doesn't explain stuff, I'm just going to visit GameFAQs on my phone and cheat my way through, which neuters the experience.
In the year 2025, I think we should be allowed to just have the game explain itself to us.
I'd really like to see other fan hack improvements added.
The NES version has hacks which remove invisible holes, and increase hearts collected. Since it gets very grindy.
I also dislike Bisqwit's retranslation. It keeps all the nonsense from the JP original.
Simon's Redaction by The Almight Guru is much, MUCH better. He took the time to rewrite all the clues so each of them was a real clue, and made real sense.
People complain about the original localisation, but the JP original's script was also garbage, with lying NPCs, false clues, and just gibberish. A retranslation fixes nothing. You need a full rewrite, as done by TAG and his Redaction patch.
This is the best retranslation, since dialogue is now actually no longer useless *****:
Comments 759
Re: "Beyond Incredibly Dumb" - The Internet Doesn't Like People Sealing Up Graded 3DS Consoles
@sportymariosonicmixx
I'm going to say... Every single battery, chargeable or not, is going to succumb to degredation at some point. Used regularly or ignored in a drawer. The same with the capacitors in your consoles.
They are not inert substances / objects.
But also, don't worry too much. Just keep an eye on stuff.
In the same way you change the tires on your car, you can change the caps and batteries in your games machines.
It's all part of the natural order.
I'm having the battery and caps in my 3DO replaced as you read this!
Re: "It Has To Happen Outside Of Japan" - Game Preservation Society Launches Patreon And Opens US Office Following Government Fund Freeze
POST 2 due to comment size limitations:
@SUDDENDESU @PowerPandaMods @PopetheRev28 @Eocene84 @gingerbeardman @gojiguy
@Raku
This reply is specifically for you - please do not spread disinformation.
https://www.gamepres.org/media/hojokin/
The creation of a digital library hosted in the US will provide access to everyone globally, and is intended specifically to address the misconceptions regarding access to the material.
Everything at the GPS is currently publicly available, but only in person, as dictated by Japanese law.
Re: "It Has To Happen Outside Of Japan" - Game Preservation Society Launches Patreon And Opens US Office Following Government Fund Freeze
@SUDDENDESU @PowerPandaMods @PopetheRev28 @Eocene84 @gingerbeardman @gojiguy
POST 1 due to comment size limitations:
This is a separate reply, from myself the author, based on my knowledge of how the NDL operates. To be clear: the GPS already works with the NDL and Cultural Affairs. The following points are my opinion, and not those of the GPS.
@Raku
This reply is specifically for you - please do not spread disinformation.
The Japanese Game Preservation Society is NOT a scam. As stated many times, all the money in, and all the money out, is publicly visible and 100% transparent. If you or anyone else feels that there is in any way any sort of scam or fraud taking place, I strongly encourage you to personally audit all the numbers. The transparency of the funding exists to silence any accusations of misuse.
As the author, speaking personally: I am not even going to acknowledge future accusations of impropriety. As a registered NPO all activities and spending are publicly accessible.
Regarding comments about the National Diet Library, this is also factually inaccurate.
It is an extremely complicated topic, and to detail every point to the level required of it would entail an essay in itself. This is not an attempt to avoid answering - it is an honest statement conveyed briefly. My desire is to give a URL for further reading, but there are none in English. Given your belief in the NDL, this is a matter which needs addressing with a full article, which we will work on. But for the moment, briefly, here are some replies to your various points. To save space I've not quoted you, so you'll have to connect them.
Re: "It Has To Happen Outside Of Japan" - Game Preservation Society Launches Patreon And Opens US Office Following Government Fund Freeze
@SUDDENDESU @PowerPandaMods @Ruka @PopetheRev28 @Eocene84 @gingerbeardman @gojiguy
I've spoken with Joseph for two hours and have his approval for this response. It's brief, even though a detailed comment on every point would warrant an article in itself.
His comments for the choice of location are as follows:
His choice for America is not political - none of this is politically motivated. He firmly believes that one should not make short-term decisions based on current political climates; preservation is a long-term process and this will continue many years down the line.
The NYC law firm is assisting pro bono - without a fee. (My fault for not explicitly stating this in the article - my apologies.)
The USA also has the best set of rules / laws that permit game preservation. More so than Europe. Much of this relates to the "fair use doctrine" which Europe does not have. Joseph is himself a native Frenchman, so he already has an acute understanding and appreciation for Europe. And after examination the legal framework of the US was deemed most optimal.
To be clear: the legislation in the US offers the best framework to benefit every member globally.
As the author I also want to draw everyone's attention to the quoted statements about not requiring an office in America, and not requiring storage in America. The purpose of the American sister organisation is the creation of a publicly accessible digital library protected by the US legal framework and the laws for the state of New York.
Re: "Beyond Incredibly Dumb" - The Internet Doesn't Like People Sealing Up Graded 3DS Consoles
@sportymariosonicmixx
I cannot even begin to comprehend the thought process behind people who put a gane in a sarcophagus so it cannot be touched. I especially dislike it because, let's assume it's ultra rare and the manual has never been scanned. A museum piece, in a proper museum, could be opened carefully, safely, and the manual preserved. A graded game is trapped in that plastic box and you can only see the box - when in fact the beauty of it includes the manual and the game itself.
There's a YT channel that made some joke videos where they bought graded games, cut the slab open, removed the game, then used the plastic shell to drink cocktails.
I hate grading stuff if it means the object loses its original intended function.
As for your battery question:
It depends on the type of battery
It's too long to explain, but every single chemical battery on Earth, the way they function, means they will eventually corrode or break down chemically. Or if you're lucky they'll just dry out.
The number of times I've found AA and AAA batteries leaking, and 9V twin heads too. Coin batteries are a bit better - they tend to die and dry out. I had a 30 year old one in a 3DO which was still functioning. PSP batteries meanwhile have been found to swell up with age.
The reason is because wether it's the old alkaline batteries, or rechargeable lith-ion batteries, or another type, they're all dependant on reactive chemicals. They're not inert, like a ROM chip.
I spent ages reading up on the process of electron discharge etc., and honestly I can't recall enough to describe it here accurately. It's worth reading a couple Wikipedia pages.
Short dumb answer:
Batteries function via a chemical process reliant on non-inert substances which by their very nature break down over time.
Re: This "Bad" Italian Movie From 1998 Gives Us A Fascinating Look At London's Defunct SegaWorld
@KingMike
It's also Italian slang for jerking off. (I mean, context is everything, obviously. So YMMV)
Re: A Decompilation Project Is Currently In The Works For Jet Set Radio Future
I've tried in vain to get widescreen hacks of this working in emulation, but they are huggy as hell. 4:3 emulates well, but I decided to wait.
I can wait longer for the fruits of this project.
Re: This "Bad" Italian Movie From 1998 Gives Us A Fascinating Look At London's Defunct SegaWorld
"SEGA WORLD! SEGA WORLD! SEGA WORLD!"
This is even funnier when you realise what the word sega means in Italian.
Re: "Beyond Incredibly Dumb" - The Internet Doesn't Like People Sealing Up Graded 3DS Consoles
@PZT
Thanks for the reminder. I usually catch these, but failed in this instance. Excellent advice for everyone! Curate your URL pasting!
@sportymariosonicmixx
The plastic is completely sealed so you would need a hacksaw or drill to physically cut through and break the plastic to get inside.
@N64-ROX
Maybe not a fireball, but I have had multiple examples of batteries leaking out corrosive chemicals, destroying both the object and surrounding objects. Even something like AA batteries which were maybe 5 years old have leaked, irreparably destroying remote controls and other gadgets. My PS2 currently has a dead timekeeper battery, buried deep inside it, difficult to remove, and I have constant anxiety that it's going to leak and destroy the motherboard. This year I plan to open and remove it.
Also, look up the PSP battery that caused a fire, news story on this site, and the old OG Xbox capacitor story, where a specific cap has reached the age where it leaks fluid all over the motherboards and destroys them. I opened both of mine and snipped the damn thing out.
Your house might not burn down. But whatever holds them is likely to get ruined.
Re: "Beyond Incredibly Dumb" - The Internet Doesn't Like People Sealing Up Graded 3DS Consoles
@charliecarrot
Not true. The owners of WATA games and Heritage Auctions are considerably better off!
I feel it's important everyone knows who put us in this scenario.
Re: "Beyond Incredibly Dumb" - The Internet Doesn't Like People Sealing Up Graded 3DS Consoles
@NintendoWife
Every article mentioning WATA should include this video:
https://youtu.be/rvLFEh7V18A
WATA games, which grades the games, and Heritage Auctions, which sell high priced graded games (graded by WATA), share the same owners.
WATA charges money to grade games, so people can sell them on Heritage Auctions, who take a cut of sales, and the prices are inflated so the same people behind both groups can take a massive cut.
The value of games is thus inflated. According to the head of WATA, he feels that for a long time games have been "undervalued".
Please watch the video.
Re: Review: Turbo EverDrive Core And Pro - An Excellent PC Engine Flash Cart With Some Caveats
@damo
Does Aldynes for the SuperGrafx work when using this (and its ROM obvs) on the Analogue Pocket (via adapter) or the Analogue Duo? I realise it would never work on an actual PCE, but unsure about alternate hardware. My guess would be no.
I have the Terraonion for PCE, but the older model that lacks SGFX support.
Keeping wonder if I should upgeade for it somehow...
Re: Talking Point: What Are Your Retro Gaming Resolutions For The New Year?
Mainly finish a bunch of mods and repairs which were started but never finished:
I'm probably forgetting a few...
Re: Nintendo Wii Games Are Finally Getting RetroAchievement Support Next Year
@warglewargle
Hello! Thank you for the polite response to my rant.
As stated, this is optional, unlike the PS3 system, so I accept that perhaps I should not comment. No one is making me use RA.
But, the reasons for my statements are, broadly speaking, despair at a particular kind of mindset. I'll try to describe this briefly.
I love old games. Not for nostalgia but for their own merits. I love discovering new stuff and I want to encourage others to explore unknown retro games.
And I find it agonising to read comments from people who describe older games as pointless because they lack achievements or trophies. As mentioned by @Andee and @GravyThief
I went searching online and found a guy saying he felt ill that Valkyria Chronicles had no trophies and so he had to ragequit the game. Because it didn't have trophies! (Search Reddit for this.)
I have spent my whole adult life documenting games and interviewing developers because I regard games as the zenith of human creation. They can incorporate architecture, physics, literature, paintings, music, acting, economics, sports, competition, and literally anything and everything conceivable.
So when I see people dismissing these beautiful creations, because they don't have cheevos, I feel actual nauseau.
And I also feel the solution is not RA, which artificially injects something I regard as toxic into the medium. The answer is better education and upbringing, so kids can enjoy the merits of the games themselves, not the key jangling that is cheevos / trophies.
I am sorry you felt personally attacked by my statement. My intention is not to upset people.
But the growing obsession over cheevos / trophies, and the need to have them everywhere, feels like a sort of cognitive virus that is spreading. Developers now design games around cheevos. People refuse to play old games because they don't have cheevos. RA aims to inject cheevos into everything.
Sure, I can ignore RA personally when gaming.
But the core of my soul screams out in horror that something which I loathe so intensely is not only loved by increasing numbers, but regarded as essential and obligatory in order to even appreciate or play games today.
When I picked up the pen to safeguard gaming history two decades ago, I also took on the role of protecting it from things I regard as bad. Mainstream media using it as a scapegoat; censors wishing to cancel creator freedoms; governments trying to meddle; and also the misguided belief that a game without cheevos is a game without value.
I love games for the games. My mind is incapable of comprehending those who say a game is pointless without cheevos. These poor lost souls need help; they need guidance; they need re-education.
That guy who ragequit Valkyria Chronicles needs a new perspective.
I hope the above goes some way to explaining my feelings. It is a deep ideological belief.
Re: Sega Saturn Just Got A New Miami Vice-Inspired FPS, Vigilant Paradise
Was super excited, given how much I love the Saturn (my favourite of all the 32-bit gen), but reading the comments makes me inclined to wait before buying.
Going through the comments reveals a lot of bugs.
Crashes, control bugs, enemies shooting through walls, the sniper rifle bugging out making levels impossible to complete.
It reads like a game still in beta testing, and not yet gold or ready for manufacturing.
Re: Random: I Was Pranked By These Metroid Barcode Battler Cards, And Now I Wish They Were Legit
@VITIMan
Thanks for the post. You know, I've been looking at these cards on my shelf every time I walk past, and wondering what to do with them.
I also have @Bakamoichigei email
I'm debating just releasing the design files publicly.
My printed deck had trouble scanning, and I worked out it was due to the colour printing, not a problem with the barcodes themselves. So I printed a b&w deck which worked fine.
I think the barcodes, which are just scans from the Zelda deck, exist as colourised files in the PDF document, meaning if printed in full colour, other coloured inks besides black are mixed in, messing up the scan process. Because a pure duo-tone b&w printing resolves the problem.
Ironically when I actually got around to "playing" the game, which is literally just the Zelda game, it is HARD. Like stupidly difficult. Even when cheating.
Was tempted to try revising the rules or numbers, to make it much easier, but I lack the time and motivation.
I'm going to think about it more, but I suspect at some point I'll just email the raw files and you can both do with them as you please. (Though if you can, mention my name and plug my books which are Amazon maybe? More publicity is always a good thing.)
Mainly I am acutely aware of Nintendo being litigious, even if a derivative product is not making profit - they closely guard their IP.
Re: Guide: Best Tactical RPGs
 - 20 Turn-Based Strategy Classics You Should Play
Does Jagged Alliance 2 count...?
I'll get my coat.
Re: Who Created The Term "Metroidvania"? Gaming Historian Critical Kate Tries To Find Out
At last this is out! Kate sent me a preview link ages ago, more than a year(?), of a very rough cut version. At least I think it was this - or at least part of this series. And I've been wanting to tell people.
There are lots of games that fit this genre, which predate Metroid itself. It's a fascinating subject to dig into.
@Fallingshadow
There are actually quite a few games before 1984 that sort of fit the proto definition of an exploratory platformer. Notably Aztec!
https://www.timeextension.com/features/flashback-did-this-1982-apple-ii-adventure-influence-metroid
Re: AI's Insatiable Hunger For RAM Is Going To Play Havoc With The Emulation Handheld Industry In 2026
This-is-fine-meme.jpg
Re: Saturn RPG 'Airs Adventure' Is Finally Playable In English
Hoping someone someday looks at Cyber Doll on the Saturn. It's really good!
Re: "I've Never Seen A Review Asking For More Escort Quests" - Fallout's Creator Comments On Why Escort Missions Are Rarely Done Well
I have never played a decent escort mission, I hate them all, and I am astounded that devs will often insist on putting them in even if they know they suck and they know everyone hates them.
Case in point.
Electronic Gaming Monthly issue 148 (page 98 maybe?), Factor 5 president Julian Eggebrecht states, regarding Star Wars Rogue Squadron II on GameCube:
"This is the only protection mission in the game. We wanted to do it right away, because everyone severely hates these kinds of missions."
Julian, if "everyone" hates them, why included even one? How about just not including a protection / escort missions? Just don't do it!
I have been obsessed with this interview for over 20 years, because we have a cognisant admission that the type of mission design is hated, but they still felt they HAD to include it, and so they put it in really early to get it out of the way.
Just imagine that scenario with any number of other things people hate. "We know everyone hates rotten food, so we made sure to put all the rotten food in the entre, to get it out of the way before the main meal."
I once heard someone say that Ellie in Last of Us is how to do an escort mission right, but I don't regard that as an escort mission. I've seen videos of her literally clipping through the 3D models of enemies, because they don't see or interact with her.
Re: Romhack.ing's BlueSky Account Gets Suspended Over Cookie's Bustle English Patch
@cyxceven
The secret ending contains GPS coordinates to an ancient buried artefact not meant for human hands.
(I've already said too much...)
Re: Nintendo Wii Games Are Finally Getting RetroAchievement Support Next Year
I missed this news story last time, and only stumbled on RA today as a side note to something I was watching on YT. Did a google to see if TE covered it. No one will read this comment, so I'll have a little rant.
I absolutely despised cheevos when they came out on 360 and PS3. And I hated that I could not disable them on PS3 for ages - I was trying to relax with Flower and would constantly get these klaxon alerts "YOU GOT TROPHY!!" Ruined the game. RUINED IT!
Yeah, hard pass on that crap.
This is optional, and requires work to set up, so I guess I'm fine with a bunch of people enjoying something so inherently awful. Like, you're an adult, you do you. But I feel like I just stumbled across an underground community of ttongsul enthusiasts.
I play retro games to GET AWAY from all the modern crap like cheevos, loot crates, NFTs, season passes, day one patches, and all the rest of that rot.
Re: "They Lied" - New Research Casts Doubt On Analogue 3D Accuracy Claims
The video says most peripherals work. Has anyone tested the bio sensor for Tetris 64?
https://www.timeextension.com/features/fancy-playing-tetris-with-your-pulse-say-hello-to-the-nintendo-64-bio-sensor
I don't own an Analogue 3D, but I am curious if this obscure AF accessory works.
@BionicDodo I agree - but sadly they're all forced to do this to get the algorithm to recommend them.
Re: "He Was Literally Frothing At The Mouth" - Yuji Naka Really Didn't Want Sega To Make Mature Games
@Maulbert
Well said. I have read so many interviews regarding Sega over the last 20 years (conducted a few myself), and every single one of them feeds into what you've just said. I am amazed they survived as a hardware manufacturer as long as they did. I am amazed they had the successes they did. Because the self-sabotage is off the scales.
As far back as 1983 they were self-sabotaging. Instead of focusing on marketing and development for the 8-bit Mark console, they kept releasing new versions of the hardware and squandered whatever market lead they had against the Famicom (Sega's console had scrolling whereas Nintendo's did not, for like... 8 months?)
I often think: if one went back in time, with a suitcase filled with $10 million, and all the foresight and foreknowledge, could one have changed Sega? Could one have steamrolled through the self-sabotage?
Re: After 25 Years, Google Has Finally Killed Dreamcast Web Browser Support
I'm still mad Steam killed support for Windows 7.
Why can't we just keep using legacy systems, even if we are knowingly putting ourselves at a security risk? I'm assuming Google had some kind of major code shift that killed legacy support?
Is there a page that explains the technical side of why legacy support can't just be left in the back to run and run?
Re: 30 Years On, Namco's Smash Bros Precursor 'The Outfoxies' Is Finally Coming To Consoles
I love this game so much. Revolutionary. Also so difficult to really enjoy properly. You need a large screen, and you need to be close to it, especially for when it zooms out.
Re: You Can Now Play The PSP Idol Raising Sim 'Idolmaster SP' In English, Thanks To A New Fan Patch
Personally I'd really like to see the Xbox 360 version translated. Or another large console instalment. Playing on a cramped handheld - whose batteries are all dead and prone to exploding - isn't my idea of a good time.
The Xbox 360 version of Idolmaster is in fact fan-translated! You can find videos online. Someone did the work, but then never uploaded the files anywhere.
If you have a modded X360 it's pretty easy to patch stuff too. Just install, and then in a folder overwrite any files containing text.
I'm wondering how easy it is to open up the X360 files. Are they encoded and compressed? Or just raw text files that get loaded? That's how Drihoo got fan-translated.
I suppose if this is the only option, it's better than no option.
Re: Random: I'm Kicking Myself That I Didn't Know This Fact About The Classic Konami Logo Screen
@KingMike
Yeah, looks pink to me, and I assumed the three colours are a riff on RGB?
I noticed the different colour lasers since I played lots of Konami games, but assumed it was just semi-random based on the game. Like, this game has this colour, and another just has another colour for arbitrary selection. I never realised it was for specific hardware!
Re: An Early Arcade Title From The Creator of Ghosts 'n Goblins & Bionic Commando Is Heading To Consoles
Konami's Arumana no Kiseki also took heavy influence. It's an Indiana Jones platformer on FDS with the exact same rope mechanic.
Re: "Retrobrighting" Might Actually Cause More Harm Than Good To Your Yellowing Consoles
@N-MCMXCIX @Martin_H
I can understand replacing capacitors for functionality. Old caps die. So restoration so that something can retain its original function makes sense. But all of my white plastic consoles and peripherals are yellow, and it's purely cosmetic. They still work. From what I watched of this, it looks like the plastic is starting to disintegrate. Which is itself a whole other topic - since some game systems are made from plastic which is prone to brittling over time. I'm fine with 3D printed replacement shells - but dousing something in hydrogen peroxide feels inherently problem causing.
Re: "Retrobrighting" Might Actually Cause More Harm Than Good To Your Yellowing Consoles
I've never, ever understood this practice. Book collectors don't try to unyellow ancient manuscripts. Coin collectors and gun collectors don't polish off the natural occurring patina on the metal - doing so is a big no-no and will severely devalue an item.
And yet...
Game collectors: let's put hair bleach on everything!!
Re: Sorry Shenmue Fans, But That "Leaked" 'Shenmue 4' Trailer Isn't Real After All
ROFLMFAO feels an apt response
Re: This One-Of-A-Kind Sonic Arcade Machine Could Fetch Over $50,000 At Auction
There was a convention some few years back, in London. I think 2019? I can't recall the year. Some Japan pop culture thing. And there was a cab like this on free play - I distinctly remember the three spaces for up to three players.
Everyone ignored it. So I sat and credit fed to the end, hoping someone might join me. Nobody did. Was kind of surprised because to me, this was a legendary cab, and amazing to see in the wild, and it was completely overlooked in favour of stands selling overpriced tat.
I'm sure it was in English. Could it have been this unit?
I would love to own one of these. You really need the roller to play it properly.
EDIT:
It was HYPER JAPAN at the Olympia in London. Did anyone else attend that specific year that had this cabinet? I didn't take any photos, and I wish I had now.
Re: Monkey Island Creator Ron Gilbert Cancelled His Pixelated Zelda-Esque RPG Because Old-School Zelda "Isn't The Big, Hot Item"
Welcome to 2025, when a Zelda style game is not popular. WT actual F?
Whatever this new rubbish is has zero appeal to me. Less than zero. But I have an obsession with any game that models itself on old-school 2D top-down Zelda.
How is it possible we exist in a reality where this is not popular?
I feel like I fell through a portal into the wrong dimension. I want to go back to my own world! Where Zelda is popular!
Re: Secret Of Mana On PC Engine? It's Early Days, But Someone Is Trying To Make It Happen
@jygsaw @Deuteros @Daniel36
I think I recalled this wrong, or at least conflated two interview answers. My apologies.
https://hg101.kontek.net/localization/localization2.htm
In the above interview I did he says 40% from the JP edition. Meaning yes, the JP cartridge should contain what was lost due to ROM limits during localisation.
But there were other interviews, with Woolsey and other members of the team, talking about content being cut during the shift from SNES CD to cart. I think I probably read a lot of the same materials Jygsaw refers to. It's pretty well established, rather than just rumour.
I conflated these two distinct separate losses of content.
There's evidence for the CD cut content - others have documented some of the missing holes in the gameplay; the one I remember most is a cave entrance which leads nowhere (I think near the water temple), and doors which you'd think lead somewhere important but simply don't open.
Sadly given that Square said they have few of the design documents from FF7, I suspect they have even less from SoM.
Re: Secret Of Mana On PC Engine? It's Early Days, But Someone Is Trying To Make It Happen
Every time I see Secret of Mana I think about how Ted Woolsey described 40% of the game content getting nuked due to cartridge limitations and abandonment of the SNES CD add-on, and how Square remade the game in 3D and promptly never added back in any of the lost content, despite this being the PERFECT opportunity, and how that content is now probably lost forever, leaving us with only half a masterpiece.
I'd like to see a hundred such fan projects, each adding in their own best guess at this lost content, and then in the end the fan community comes together selecting the best examples, to create a new vision for SoM.
Or something.
I'm obsessed with the lost 40%.
Hope this grows beyond a demo - I would guess lots of people have multiplayer adapters for use with Bomberman, so they're good to go with 3 players.
Re: Triple Threat Terror Is A Fusion Of Graphic Novel And Game Boy Grappler
On his website:
"Available soon through the shop"
<click the shop>
"404 The Shop is Unavailable"
I love cross-media such as this. There have been surprisingly few examples of this sort of thing over the decades, despite it being such a rich idea. I don't just mean a separate adaptation, like manga to anime to game, where each is disconnected. I mean something where two different types of media are created concurrently to generate synergy and something fun to explore at the same time.
There's a few examples, but not enough. I keep thinking of The Matrix, where segments of the film's story existed only in the videogame, expecting you to play it alongside. Japan had some good simultaneous tie-ins.
Re: Mighty Final Fight Forever Will Launch Just In Time For Christmas
@KingMike
True. And the old Resi games are also on GOG now. But that actual interview which I'm satirising continues to blow my mind. The execs were approached by GOG and had to be pursuaded people cared about old games. The fact such an attitude exists makes me think every old game release is someone desperately trying to convince one of the higher ups. It gives me constant anxiety.
https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/10/capcom-almost-didnt-reissue-resident-evil-1-3-on-gog-because-we-already-have-their-hd-remakes
Re: Mighty Final Fight Forever Will Launch Just In Time For Christmas
@SlangWon @Magrane
Capcom is the same company, that when GOG suggested putting older Resident Evil games up for sale, they replied, and I quote:
"Nah, why would you want to sell old games? People buy old games? No one is interested in old games, there's remakes of the Resi games which is obviously the best versions now because it's new, so we deleted the archives of all that old *****, because ***** old ***** man, we only care about the bestest and latestest versions, man, stop being silly and talking about old stuff, it's so old, we're all about the NEW games! Now, if you'll excuse me GOG, I appear to have fouled myself and need to change again."
~ an actual Capcom Executive
EDIT: I might be paraphrasing just a little
Re: Random: Remember When Games Came With Instructions? This Guy Does, And He Wants To Find The Heaviest PS1 Manual
I miss the old days. Lavish colour manuals. Obi strips / spine cards. Paper maps. Cloth maps. Sealed tips leaflets. Art books. Bonus music CDs. Flexible vinyl records. Company catalogues. Making of discs. Weird and wonderful omake and "feelies" as they were called.
We have lost so much.
Re: Best Xbox 360 Games Of All Time
@PKDuckman
I see! Honestly, don't worry about the reports. Hunting them down is tedious. If all enemies die the mission ends, so you need to keep one alive until you've found it. If you're unlucky the lone survivor will be holding it, forcing a restart. And your reward at the end is just some challenge missions in a generic square room - not very interesting. Just play the main campaign and savour it. The last few missions are difficult, but not insurmountable. Make sure you've attached the skill which auto-uses healing items when knocked out. That's going to be doing a lot of heavy lifting. Good hunting!
Re: Best Xbox 360 Games Of All Time
@PKDuckman
Exactly! I remember watching YT videos, and thinking: this looks really fun. Good music, nice art style, cool vamps vs werewolf story, complex systems, large battlefields, funny things like werewolves punching tanks to death. And then the YT commentary was all "this totally suuuuucks!!"
And there was this weird disconnect for me. Like, it can't be THAT bad based on what I'm seeing. So I had to import a US system immediately with copy of the game.
A lot of complaints about the camera, but I found it was mitigated by using L&R to quickly swap between targets, which is such a great QOL feature.
I can understand if its average score was in the low 70% range, given that tactics games are an acquired taste. But the overwhelming hatred it got... I wonder if it's because the X360 target demographic at that time just wasn't into that kind of game, and maybe it would have done better on PS3?
I did an exhaustive write up on HG101, including an interview taken from the strategy guide, and then years later had a surprise interview of my own with its creator in Japan. It really didn't sell well, and he was kinda surprised at my interest. I have no shame in geeking out about how much I liked it. He needed to know!
The only complaint I personally have, is that the special reports you can find on random enemies is tedious. You need them all to unlock the Eagle Has Landed dungeon campaign. The string of battles are themselves quite dull, being devoid of story, and it's so easy to miss the special report during the story campaign. There's a bunch of them, and you need to search every corpse, hoping it's not being held by the last surviving enemy.
But I really enjoyed the guerilla warfare aspect of sending your team in without gear, so they were light and had earlier turns, then scavenging weapons from the enemy.
Did you finish it? Did you collect all the special reports?
Re: Best Xbox 360 Games Of All Time
@Babybahamut
I literally bought a X360 to play Operation Darkness. Loved that game so much. Unavailable anywhere else. Lost Odyssey is another good exclusive. Import Tuner Challenge. Naruto: RoaN (I think?). The Outfit. Project Sylpheed is incredible - INCREDIBLE. WarTech, or was that ported? Culdcept Saga - it was released all over, but X360 is the best in English.
There's also a bunch of good games which were on PC and the only console port was X360. Depending on your criteria for exclusivity.
Op Darkness and Sylpheed are my two recommendations.
Re: Review: Analogue 3D - The Ultimate Way To Play Nintendo 64?
@gingerbeardman
LGR does a lot of heavy comparisons. I think... He compares several alternative options with side by side footage.
Re: Review: Analogue 3D - The Ultimate Way To Play Nintendo 64?
Were you able to test any weird controllers or peripherals?
Tetris Bio Sensor
Pikachu voice unit
Densha train controller?
Re: "I Probably Wouldn't Do That Again" - Outlaws Level Designer Shares The Story Behind Its Most Infamous Level
@MysticWangForce Civvie reference?
Re: "I Probably Wouldn't Do That Again" - Outlaws Level Designer Shares The Story Behind Its Most Infamous Level
I finished this last month - the original. Fantastic FPS. Still feels inventive even in 2025. But yeah, those water gates were tough. I only discovered by accident the switches because I was shooting my gun off in anger. A lot of quick saves later and I beat it.
Using a guide didn't help because it's a maze with variable heights - not specific levels like in a house, but water tunnels that go slightly up and down, meaning it's not easy to see a 2D map of.
Was well worth getting past though. The game has some exquisite set pieces beyond this. Feels like proper 90s PC gaming.
Re: The Best Version Of Castlevania II Is Being Ported To The SNES
@Xerox1919
Exactly this. I know some players prefer the cryptic nature of the original, but after playing Redaction, I thought to myself: it should have always been like this. I realise it's not "realistic" to have some peasant villagers know detailed arcane knowledge, but it made searching for them, and talking to them worthwhile, and it meant you could play and finish the entire mystery solely by using the game itself, rather than looking up a FAQ or opening Nintendo Power and having it win the game for you.
I'm not a kid any more, and none of my friends are going to play this, so the old style of sharing playground knowledge is gone. If the game itself doesn't explain stuff, I'm just going to visit GameFAQs on my phone and cheat my way through, which neuters the experience.
In the year 2025, I think we should be allowed to just have the game explain itself to us.
Re: The Best Version Of Castlevania II Is Being Ported To The SNES
I'd really like to see other fan hack improvements added.
The NES version has hacks which remove invisible holes, and increase hearts collected. Since it gets very grindy.
I also dislike Bisqwit's retranslation. It keeps all the nonsense from the JP original.
Simon's Redaction by The Almight Guru is much, MUCH better. He took the time to rewrite all the clues so each of them was a real clue, and made real sense.
People complain about the original localisation, but the JP original's script was also garbage, with lying NPCs, false clues, and just gibberish. A retranslation fixes nothing. You need a full rewrite, as done by TAG and his Redaction patch.
This is the best retranslation, since dialogue is now actually no longer useless *****:
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/868/