Comments 237

Re: Super Mario Sunshine On N64 Looks Better Than You Might Expect

Zenszulu

Really doesn't surprise me that the level would be able to run on his refined engine after seeing all the work he has been doing over the past few years

@Poodlestargenerica his new engine isn't something that would be considered a minimum of what the system can do. Although it is based off of the original game code it is far more advanced it's not like it is a simple rom hack where he has just swapped out assets as that original engine probably would run this at a much lower frame rate. So it's not a fair statement.

Re: I Almost Got Sega, Philips And Panasonic To Take On Sony, Says EA Founder Trip Hawkins

Zenszulu

Having the Sega name on it would have actually made things worse for Sega since it would have caused a lot of market confusion and annoyance from what Saturn owners there already were so even if they agreed with a potential partnership I can't imagine it was anything more than early talks and they would have been reluctant to release anything before they did with the Dreamcast. By the time the M2 was nearing launch before the plug was pulled the hardware was also pretty much outdated anyway it wouldn't have been much more powerful than the stuff that was on the market and as much as Trip likes to think it had an influence on consoles going forward it really didn't since it was the way the industry and technology was heading regardless and no doubt the likes of Sony and Nintendo already knew that themselves.

Re: Best Resident Evil Games, Ranked By You

Zenszulu

The first Revelations game for me actually got me back into the series since it actually went back to the series roots as apposed to the all out action that the series direction seemed to be going in and actually feels more like the true RE6 than the actual sixth game does.

Re: "Holy Grail" NES Zelda Worth $700,000 Was Almost Sold For $17,000

Zenszulu

All I got from this is he agreed a price and someone agreed to buy at that price. Then he cancelled it because suddenly he realised he could get more money? He doesn't come across as a good person in this. He is also under the assumption because the last cop sold for so much he will get anything close to that now he has had it graded. What's worse is he brags about it on the news like he is some kind of hero for cancelling the sale.

Re: Flashback: How Saturn's Memory Expansion Carts Made It The King Of 2D Fighters

Zenszulu

One thing to take into account is it probably wouldn't have helped in the West is Sega already lost the publics confidence with releasing extra hardware in order to be able to play new games. Doing the same on the Saturn probably would have had the same effect. Also by the time the 4MB cartridge was released in Japan the Saturn was already dead in the West so unless it was used to make better looking 3D games it never would have changed anything.

@RadioHedgeFund the expansion in ram was originally intended for use with the 64DD only even from the point when they first shown the system off they already planned to release the add-on and the ram expansion. If I recall it was acclaim that convinced Nintendo to release it earlier after showing off Turok 2 running with it. The port is literally a ram expansion one and as far as I am aware can't me used to do anything else.

Re: "Feels Like 2000 Again!" - Father Of Xbox Wades In On Microsoft's Multiplatform Hoo-Ha

Zenszulu

I don't see people thinking Microsoft has sold out if anything they expected more people to buy an Xbox for the Bethesda games they have kept exclusive and if anything it has had the reverse effect and people just haven't bothered. Taking a large third party publisher that's games sold well because they were available on multiple systems and not because they were system sellers is a huge gamble and if anything decreases their value that you originally paid for them. It can also come across like you are attempting to force people who played their games before to now have to buy your system.

That coupled with gamepass not helping to sell systems and it would seem that this generation hasn't panned out as well as they expected and while they may be making money none of it has really improved their market share. So it's definitely more of them now having to keep the value of their new assets high because keeping them exclusive long term will not be good long term currently.

Re: How Modders Are Overcoming N64's Hardware Limitations

Zenszulu

I have been following Kaze for some time now and he really is doing some impressive things. It really does show that at the time there was very little understanding in development of games for the hardware of the time and developers were learning as they went. One of the reasons why the PS1 were so much better optimised at the time was Sony also had excellent tool to check the performance of everything, something now that is standard but back then was a game changer.

I often see people say that the developers back then must not have been that good and things like that but when you take into account they had to work to strict deadlines and now there is over 30 years of experience to look back on and learn from it's definitely not a fair comparison to judge their level of skill compared to someone who has unlimited time and no pressure.

Re: Building The Ultimate Nintendo 64

Zenszulu

@Bearzilla823 it sound like your expectations were way too high if you were expecting stuff equalling the movies on hardware released in 1996. Just because it used similar hardware doesn't mean it was going to rival the top end specs. Technology was developing at a fast rate then but producing low powered 3D accelerated hardware was still expensive and many developers were also very new to working on that kind of hardware so the knowledge wasn't there. So very much they didn't know how to use the tech as it was a learning process for everyone at that time. You have a pretty bad take there.

Re: Talking Point: As GAME Brings Trade-Ins To An End, What Was Your Greatest Exchange?

Zenszulu

I stopped using my local Game last year when it moved into the new Sports Direct store and was crammed into the very back corner upstairs. Having worked for Sports Direct for several years and knowing the owner Mike Ashley's methods of cram loads in to maximise the profits then I can't say I am shocked that they are stopping trade-ins as their is probably little profit in the majority of what gets traded in and they don't have the space they used to in order to store the excess stock now they are integrated into other stores.

Personally never traded anything in with them but they used to do great used bundle deals in the early days of the PS4 so I picked my first one up through them.

Re: Hyperkin's Portable Genesis / Mega Drive Docks Like A Nintendo Switch

Zenszulu

"As for what kind of tech is inside, it is rumoured that the MegaRetroN HD doesn't use software emulation, and instead employs a system which is closer to FPGA – although it is not believed that it's a full FPGA solution, so don't expect the same level of accuracy."

So it is essentially system on a chip with parts that are a close approximation of the originals but not quite and will probably have something else to boost performance or sound or something.

Re: The Making Of: Witchwood, Team17's Abandoned Zelda Rival

Zenszulu

It's a shame that it seemed to have such a troubled development because the artwork alone makes it look very promising. Although saying that Team 17 had a record of making console like games for the Amiga that looked good but were never quite right in terms of how they played.

Re: Teen Who "Beat" Tetris Told To "Go Outside And Get Some Fresh Air"

Zenszulu

He is 13 I doubt he knows what his life goals are. She is also making the assumption that all he does is stay in his room playing video games. Plus she is employed to read the news not give her opinion on stuff. She is just showing her preconceptions about people who play video games and happen to be good at them.

Re: Review: Anbernic RG35XX Plus - A Welcome Upgrade

Zenszulu

Been using the original RG35XX and it is great for most systems up to the PS1 since I only paid £40 for it I would definitely say it fits my needs perfectly. I am not too disappointed that I didn't wait for this model.

@-wc- As others have said there is an alternative OS for the device that comes as a dual boot for the original model and it is far superior and has a large community behind it. Unfortunately the version for this model is still currently in development and the build that is available is actually worse than the stock one that is on it. Give it time though and it will be available in full so it will be more than worth investing in one.

Re: 'Mobile FC Creation Kit' Turns The Nintendo Famicom Into A Handheld

Zenszulu

Not sure about the cartridge sticking out in the front like that. Couldn't they have done some kind of pass through connector to have it around the back? Because I can imagine it sticking out how it is will make both the cartridge and connector much more prone to damage if it is dropped. Having a pass through connector so you could have the back of the cartridge flush with the back of the system would make it much more secure.

Re: Review: Retro-Bit Sega Saturn 2.4GHz Wireless Pro Controller

Zenszulu

I have seen some videos already on this pad and it seems it's main selling point was supposed to be a modern day replacement for the Saturn analog controller and from all accounts they haven't managed to get that functionality right. Personally I would have thought if they were aiming for that it should have been their priority to get that right above anything else. It almost seems to me like it wasn't actually tested on real hardware when it was being developed. Because as of right now it is more of a PC controller with analog sticks that no one will get much use from because of their size and placement.

Re: The True Story Behind Doom 3DO's 'Missing' FMV Scenes

Zenszulu

It is quite funny how the guy who wanted to scenes made on a green screen had no clue that they also had to have someone create something to go on that green screen and it didn't just involve putting scenes from the game behind it as it would look oddly out of place. It would have been better being filmed in a specific location and just decorating it to look like a Doom location. Can't really say I am surprised the guy had no clue as he expected one person to port the whole game on her own in 10 weeks. You can tell Randy Scott had never actually produced a game before as he seemed clueless as to what things had to be done because as far as I am aware up until that point he had only funded the original studios to port their own games to systems so didn't have to organise anything himself.

Re: Did You Know The NES Had A Much Cooler Name In India?

Zenszulu

I did know this because I came across one on ebay more than a decade ago that was listed at quite a high price but didn't have much information so I did some searching and was actually surprised it wasn't a mere clone. I imagine finding them outside of India is rare though hence why it was listed at a high price at the time witch was around £400+ if I recall.

Re: "I Didn't Want Mario Lemieux Hockey, I Wanted Super Mario Hockey"

Zenszulu

@Damo I'm not disagreeing that it could and did annoy people. It just seems that most people at the time seemed to try and be petty as a response rather than try and get people's attention with something that would make you want to buy their hardware. In a way it shows how the industry has changed that most are happy to coexist rather trying to end their competition or scree tem over by any means necessary.

Re: Iconic Issues: Sega Magazine #1, January 1994

Zenszulu

@Andee @UK_Kev He has been doing it since 18 if I recall starting on Computer and video games magazine and working on so much he really did work his way up pretty quickly. It wasn't until last year I realised he was the same guy.

Re: Iconic Issues: Sega Magazine #1, January 1994

Zenszulu

Had several issues of this and I always remember how high quality it felt next to other magazines of the time. Not just in the way it was layed out but the better quality paper that was used. I kind of prefered Sega Power at the time because they tended to have the better game guides but it seem no one has ever preserved them online to this point.

Always interesting to go back through some of these magazines and see Richard Leadbetter keep cropping up who went onto create Digital Foundry.

Re: Did You Know SNES Street Fighter II Is Missing A Key Feature Of The Arcade Original?

Zenszulu

It's not a key feature though it was a bug caused by the original arcade hardware something that they chose to correct themselves in the SNES version but not in the Mega Drive version. If it was a key feature it would have been advertised by Capcom and not removed on the CPS2 games. It maybe more arcade accurate but it's not how Capcom envisioned the game to play so no key features are missing from the SNES version.

Re: Sega's Cancelled Neptune Console Comes To Life Thanks To Fans

Zenszulu

@smoreon With Sega I would actually like them to do a store front of their own through a separate app with individual games at this point that can be used on any compatible system. Since they tend to also release the same compilation of games at least once a generation with one or two extras to tempt people who purchased the previous ones. I am sure that way they could also get many third parties to also sign up and probably charge a little more for the licence fee of each game over their own games. Pretty much any system on the market can emulate all Sega consoles at the point even Saturn so they would have a huge library of software to start with even if it was just their own. But I have given up hope on that and will expect a fourth collection of Mega Drive/Genesis games at some point.

Re: Sega's Cancelled Neptune Console Comes To Life Thanks To Fans

Zenszulu

@-wc- you are taking this a little personally and yes I think as far as retro systems that is all Sega is capable of as far as retro systems go and definitely what is the single thought when it comes to anyone releasing one on the market.

There is a difference between making a new product and seeing if it sells on the market and making a product that is designed by it's vert nature to invoke nostalgia. Since it wouldn't be a retro console if that console didn't technically get released in the first place it would just be a box with 32X games on that doesn't look like a 32X.

Loving your passion though.

Re: Sega's Cancelled Neptune Console Comes To Life Thanks To Fans

Zenszulu

@-wc- it's not simply about me it's the fact that why release a product that is a mini retro game system that will have next to no mass market appeal the reason why Sega to this day still rely on the Mega Drive/Genesis name is because they know the name sells. That is thinking about it from business perspective and how Sega would look at it.

Re: Gunstar Heroes Developer Treasure On Why Mega Drive Is Better Than SNES

Zenszulu

Well this definitely has fuelled people after 30 years. From owning both and learning more about them over the years while the Mega Drive could simply brute force a lot of things because of it's faster processor many of those things often took up way more rom space because of how much extra coding was needed. Many SNES games were also made to look like they couldn't run faster because publishers often chose slower rom speeds to save production costs. His sole reason for saying it is better is all down to the CPU without taking into account other pros and cons.

Re: We're Getting A Full-Size Amiga 'Console' In 2024

Zenszulu

@michaelf I would imagine it will simply be based on the design of the A500 seeing as it is the most recognisable model but still have all the ability to emulate those more powerful systems like the mini does.

I am definitely more interested in picking one up as having the keyboard makes it so much more of an authentic experience much like the C64 version.

Re: Analogue 3D Is An FPGA-Based N64 With 4K Output

Zenszulu

While I am a big fan of the N64 I can imagine this will be really expensive and in all honesty even though I have a large collection I can't say I go back too often to playing the games since I have played through all of the ones I wanted to years back and the library is so small it's not like I missed any hidden gems.

Re: Hobbyist Developer Claims To Have Got Metal Gear Solid Running On A Sega Saturn

Zenszulu

While I can see this being real I would imagine it would never get completed due to the huge undertaking it would be for a single person. Also using this tech demo to settle a debate that the Saturn couldn't handle 3D games as well as the PS1 isn't exactly proving much as again it is simply a tech demo of one small enclosed area with no enemies or anything else to tax the system. let's also take into account people have had nearly 30 years of coding knowledge and better tools to work with since then so I would imagine if people tried to make a new 3D game on the PS1 now they could achieve even better results that developers from back then.

Re: Second-Hand Nintendo 64DD Offers Up Some Welcome Surprises For New Owner

Zenszulu

@-wc- it's fine I can be pretty blunt at times and to the point at times. I was hyped when it was announced looking back but they did announce it pretty much with the N64 when Zelda was shown off and it's something I think back on as if they had the storage medium all the way back then why not just launch with that over cartridges as they were apparently cheaper to produce too but let's not think too logically about this.

Re: Second-Hand Nintendo 64DD Offers Up Some Welcome Surprises For New Owner

Zenszulu

@-wc- I wasn't arguing with anyone just simply pointing something out that people wanting something doesn't change something being a flop. All I am doing is putting my point across and you have mistaken that as starting an argument. To be fair it stood no hope of succeeding anyway as it released after the Dreamcast did and just months before the PS2. It was smart to cancel the worldwide release at that point.

Re: Second-Hand Nintendo 64DD Offers Up Some Welcome Surprises For New Owner

Zenszulu

@-wc- because simply knowing people who want something doesn't mean it wouldn't have been a flop especially when you only possibly know a small section of people who would potentially be interested in one and not the wider audience. Many people over the years have wanted things that have went on to fail so the same could be applied to every failed game console that some one some where wanted it.

Re: Best Sega CD Games Of All Time

Zenszulu

I never had much interest in getting a Mega CD at the time since there were so few games that I wanted and the vast majority were simply Mega Drive games with and intro tacked on and better music or FMV games. We also seemed to get robbed again here in the UK with not getting any of the RPGs. I have one now but even then I only really played a small handful of games on it that ever interested me like Snatcher and Dune.