jamess

Not clicked the vids - but hurrah for some NSFW!

@RetroGames Totally agree with all of that. To me - what you’re describing should be the role of a journalist.

1. Establish the facts
2. Separately show varying interpretations of the facts (different viewpoints).
3. Reach a conclusion based on an analysis of the facts with supporting reasoning and the author’s own views.

I’m finding that this has become increasingly rare in all forms of journalism (i.e. not just games). A lot of journalism nowadays is pushing an agenda or a set of beliefs and twisting the facts to support it. At best it’s just biased, at worst it’s intentionally dishonest.

@UK_Kev Totally agree. I’m not going to spend 30 minutes checking every single word they said was accurately translated, better things to do. But the intent and meaning of their message was very clear - frustration and disdain about the environment we’re in where perfectly innocent artistic representations are needlessly censored. The main stream gaming press (Nintendo Life included) will jump on the “mistranslation” stance to protect Square Enix and their sales, and pursue their usual course of historical revisionism in an attempt to cover up what was actually said. It’s very transparent. And easy to counter - just don’t spend money on any of it.

I thought I’d give this project a chance and tried watching the PCN interview with an open mind. I didn’t make it past the first 10 minutes. There’s absolutely no chance this project comes to fruition.

I think anything that’s not commercially available falls into the realm of game preservation. There’s enough out there in terms of preservation that anyone interested can play pretty much anything they want. Nintendo, or any other company, aren’t going to be able to meaningfully impact that. In the grand scheme of things, going after a YT account isn’t important. The status quo, whilst not ideal both for companies trying to protect their IP and games enthusiasts trying to preserve and play “old” games, is probably the best we’re going to get.

@LadyCharlie And that’s fine. Hopefully there are games you can enjoy, there are after all lots of games available old and new. I think the problem is that the current approach of censoring and suppressing certain types of content goes against what a lot of people actually want. It restricts choice. I believe ultimately the approach will fail for purely commercial reasons - what actually sells will prevail. But it will take the industry some time to get there.

@LadyCharlie Yes that’s an element of it. And, to be clear, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s perfectly normal. But it is more than that. It’s about supporting the the creation and realisation of artistic visions. Often those visions will be shocking and, at times, offensive to some. But all good. it’s what helps make art and entertainment interesting.

@KingMike The art style is an important part of the games and a significant part of why they became popular. It appeals to the target demographic. Why is that a problem?

@LadyCharlie This is the classic argument used to support censorship. Perfectly reasonable, right? After all, it’s only a little skin.

It gets us to where we are today. Bland games that supposedly appeal to everyone. Watered down content.

In reality - it results in games that don’t really appeal to anyone (well, at least not anyone who wants to spend money on them).

We should go out of our way to protect and support freedom of expression in all forms of art and entertainment.

Watering down game content to suit the lowest common denominator can often make games bland. The same applies to any form of entertainment. A lot of the best art / entertainment I’ve experienced has pushed boundaries. It’s part of the immersion - taking you out of the real world. The current focus on making games for “modern” or “global” audiences is, in many cases, stripping games of their identity and making them bland. Playing “old” games reinforces this.

I think the comments should be welcomed to be honest.

The key ones for me:

“Double Dragon is a game with a strong punch and a unique, distinctive feel, but this game has none of that.“

“The fact is that not a single person in the Technos team recognises this as a Double Dragon game.”

So he’s making comments based on the core gameplay of the original games, and believes this new game is not faithful to those.

This is a problem for me. If a new release is supposed to be a new entry in the series it should, IMO, make an effort to focus on this. There’s plenty of opportunity to take the original core gameplay mechanics and expand on them, or take them in new directions. But to bin that off entirely - the game becomes something else in a Double Dragon skin.

Also - I feel we need to move past criticising people for giving an honest opinion. It’s highlighted here in particular as the opinion is from someone who was deeply involved in the history of the series. You may not agree with what he’s saying - and that’s fine - but people should be encouraged to speak out with their opinions.

This new “Double Dragon” game may prove to be a great game in the genre. And that’s great. But, based on the comments above, would it really be a great Double Dragon game?

Had a look on Patreon. Jotego currently has 4,352 paid members and Coin Op Collection has 304. So a big difference.

I personally subscribe to both. I joined Coin Op recently so I could play Twin Cobra on the MiSTer.

I’ve been subscribed to Jotego’s for years.

The good thing about Jotego is relatively regular releases of new cores for MiSTer and the weekly updates are informative.

I’m sure if Coin Op took a similar approach their numbers would increase. I think they’ve distanced themselves from MiSTer though - to focus on cores that are beyond its capabilities. So hopefully something more for the future.

I appreciate all the work these guys are doing and have found their output for the MiSTer and Anolog Pocket amazing. And I am more than happy that there’s money to be made for them on this. 4k+ subscribers throwing in $5ish a month is excellent for everyone involved if you ask me.

Thanks Damien, this looks interesting.

@Damo Thanks for clarifying.

FYI I used the following link, which is IGN’s own reporting of the acquisition. It gives “IGN Entertainment” as the acquiring division and gives the impression that IGN is now in control of the Hookshot media brands.

https://www.ign.com/articles/ign-entertainment-acquires-eurogamer-gi-vg247-rock-paper-shotgun-and-more

It’s good to hear you’ve retained your editorial independence though. I’ve enjoyed your work for the Hookshot Media sites for a number of years and really like what you’ve been doing with Time Extension. Long may it continue.

@Ganner I don’t think it’s a coincidence that IGN acquired Hookshot Media (Nintendo Life, Push Square, Pure Xbox and Time Extension) in May.

Quotes from the article above.

“That's right – the knucklehead brigade appears to be out in full force because this version of Jo Dark (a character who, lest we forget, looks almost entirely different in each game she's starred in) doesn't meet their own personal fantasy of what the video game heroine should look like.”

“We'll refrain from posting some of the more eyebrow-raising takes”

Clearly there’s not going to be an open discussion on this if you’re going to refer to people who prefer the more “sexualised” look to Jo as the “knucklehead brigade” and then moderate it by removing replies that argue this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RSrzM7dM-Y

Update on the new $99 MiSTer FPGA clone board.

@BLAZINOAH Totally agree. Particularly on the arcade side where software emulation is essential to cover the current gaps in the FPGA catalogue. I’m finding a good spec PC running MAME gives a very good experience in most cases. I’d still rather play the FPGA equivalent where a game’s available there - there’s a noticeable difference in accuracy IMO.

I know MiSTer FPGA isn’t cheap but it gives you pretty much all consoles up to N64, all handhelds up to GBA, a bunch of retro computers and a wide range of arcade machines.

I appreciate that’s all available cheaper elsewhere but the accuracy of the emulation it provides for such a wide range of machines is truly impressive.

Money well spent in my book.

Good article, thanks Damien.

Having spent many hours getting my MiSTer FPGA working well I can say that anyone willing to put the time and effort in the results are worth it.

The main difference for me with FPGA is with latency. Low (or no) latency (controller and display) can make such a difference when playing old arcade games as they’re usually really difficult and ultra-responsiveness is kind of essential to actually enjoy them.

All of the effort required to get my MiSTer set up working reliably is very frustrating though - it’s a right pain in the backside at times TBH. All I want to do is play the games... But I still think it’s worth the effort as the results can be spectacular. It’s really like having the original arcade machines in my living room.

I could play the game everyday for the next 10 years and she’d still wipe the floor with me. It’s like watching a super-fast AI playing it.

Played this recently on MAME along with Mach Breakers. Both fun games.

So in conclusion.

• Polymega is the best way to play a range of original physical media for retro console games on a modern TV.
• MiSTer FPGA is the best way to play (potentially) cycle-accurate games (arcade, console and home computer) with minimal lag on a modern TV.
• Other software emulation (e.g. via Raspberry Pi) offers a good solution for playing games (arcade, console and home computer) at a significantly lower cost than the Polymega or the MiSTer.

There’s no right or wrong approach, just select what you feel is best for you and - most importantly - enjoy playing the games.

NB: this holds true up to about the N64, beyond that is software emulation or original hardware (potentially modded).

What a fantastic trailer. More like that please.

I think people need to be wary with crowdfunding in general. I’ve almost had my fingers burnt a few times with retro games related stuff. Massive delays are common and there’s no real recourse if someone decides to sit on the money they’ve received from backers. I don’t doubt the funding is well intentioned in most cases but people often run into problems with delivering against their promises.

Thanks, perfectly timed article. Planning a trip to Tokyo and want to go to the non-tourist-y areas for games. Hopefully the travel restrictions lift soon!

Glad it’s decent! Hoping my order is dispatched this week.

The other day I played Darius Twin for SNES via emulation on my PC. It was good, enjoyed it. I then switched to my Super Nt, same game. The difference was immediately noticeable: significantly less input lag on the Super Nt. A much more enjoyable game as a result. It really improved the feel and responsiveness of the game. I would never have realised the difference unless I was able to compare directly.

On the back of Damien’s review of the Mister above, I ordered a preconfigured unit a couple of days ago. I’ve been dabbling in arcade emulation via MAME on my PC these last few weeks. Pain in the arse to set up, but got it working last weekend and have been enjoying a whole bunch of arcade games. But I’m really looking forward to the Mister. I think it will make a noticeable difference.