|
After a brief hiatus from working on new content for my channel, I finally made my return with Dark King, the final boss theme from Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest! I know this game has its fair share of haters, but I quite enjoy the game for what it is, and everyone knows it has a rocking soundtrack! I hope you guys enjoy this one!
[img width=700 height=466]https://i.imgur.com/8sKlhGI.jpg[/img] Photo by MART PRODUCTION from Pexels
I replied to a tweet a few days ago from @gamesyouloved that went like this:
"if someone wants to start a retro game collection
what's the best way to do it?"
My reply:
"If I were starting now, I'd go for quality over quantity and buy like, one good game every paycheck or something."
I've been thinking about this tweet and its replies for a few days now, and I'd like to elaborate on it. Of course, to answer this question, there are so many variables to consider, and each person will have his or her own set of circumstances which will dictate what can be done. Note that the question is about collecting specifically, so while I'd naturally lean on emulation, this article will be about how I would build a physical collection from scratch today if I had to.
Continue reading How Would You Start Collecting Today?
[img width=553 height=550]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/J-060/bf/J-060-S-01775-A.jpg[/img]
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PC-8801, MSX2, PC Engine Super CD-Rom^2, Sega/Mega CD, Saturn, Playstation
Years of Release: 1988 (PC-88), 1988 (MSX2), 1992 (PC Engine CD), 1994 (Sega/Mega CD), 1996 (Saturn), 1996 (Playstation)
Snatcher is a legendary game in the modern era. Today it is considered a great opus of interactive fiction, and it largely stands above most of its contemporaries among those that have played the game. In its time, it was heavily overlooked by most of the international audience despite a wealth of rave reviews. Snatcher was originally developed and published by Konami for Japanese computers, releasing on the NEC PC-88 and MSX2 in 1988. Development was quite lengthy and expensive for Konami and shows many of the trademark behind the scenes issues with projects led by Hideo Kojima that would eventually lead to their fallout decades later. The project suffered from an unrealistic scope, as roughly half the story was condensed or axed altogether. Despite this, development still took far longer than most projects of the era. All of this would not pay off in Konami's eye, as the game's initial PC sales were underwhelming. A cult following developed around the game, and this likely led to Konami issuing later ports. The first one being 1992's port to NEC's PC Engine Super CD-ROM^2. What is interesting is that this PC Engine CD release was not just a straight over port, but it included the game's 3rd Act as a mostly cinematic experience. 1994 would see a strangely Western exclusive port released for Sega CD that allegedly only sold a few thousand copies. This Sega CD release further expanded on Act 3, adding some extra exploration and action. The final ports were released in 1996, exclusively in Japan, for the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn.
Continue reading Snatcher
On 2/18/2022, Nintendo announced that they would be shutting down the 3DS and Wii U eShops. As an aspiring game collector (wow wonder where that came from), I would like to delve into that.
Now, what they are actually doing is removing the ability to purchase games "as of late March 2023". However, they have set specific dates for specific things being removed; namely, the ability to add funds using credit cards will go away in May 2022, and with a Nintendo eShop Card in August 2022; the ability to use download codes and purchase free software will go away in March 2023.
I have loved the 3DS and Wii U since launch, and have dwelved several hundred (heck, maybe even thousand) hours into both systems. There are still several digital games which I intend to buy for them.
But what I want to go into is the apparent piracy issue. With the ability to add funds going away in just six months, people will start pirating games because of low stock. Piracy will increase rapidly among these systems.
I see this issue going in one of two ways. 1): Nintendo bans the Nintendo Network ID of pirates as they have been doing for the past decade. 2): Nintendo gives up and focuses on Switch anti-piracy.
If #2 happens, then there will be no reason to buy physical games for the average homebrewed 3DS / Wii U owner.
If #1 happens, then people will be upset because Nintendo is maintaining anti-piracy measures on a system that they discontinued the ability to buy most of the games for.
I think the only silver lining is if Nintendo follows in Sony's footsteps about the closure of the Vita and PS3 stores. I do not expect that to happen, but you can always hope for the better.
I've been koola, and I've had like 3 article ideas this month.
(They're all probably going to be pushed back by at least 4 years.)
Step right up and win a prize with this month's "A Brief Look At" with Neo!
This month, we check out The Coin Game for PC (early access)!
[img width=638 height=437]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-005/ss/U-005-S-05200-B.jpg[/img]
Formulating a digital avatar, a representation of a player's interaction within a video game, is a construct often taken for granted. Given the importance placed upon player agency in many modern games, from customization and features in Skyrim to vehicle selection and colors in the Forza Horizon series, great effort is often taken to connect the player to what is on the screen. Upon reflection, four games I've played recently paint a fascinating picture of the evolution of where we started and where we are now.
Continue reading A Brief Tour of Avatars Through The Gaming Ages, From The Last Four Games I Played
[img width=251 height=377]https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/4/4a/FFTSWPoster.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130405010722[/img]
Summer 2001 was an interesting time for me. I had moved out of my home state to the East Coast and was trying something new in the work arena. Previous jobs had come and gone, and nothing really stuck, so rather than continue to flounder, I thought I would change my course. I quickly found out that my newly chosen path was a huge mistake, and within just a few short months, I would move back to my home state and get back on the career path I started on, albeit in a different direction. But for a few months in the middle of 2001, I lived about 45 minutes from the ocean, and had a fairly eye-opening experience learning about the differences between small town midwestern life and what life was like in the south.
During my stint on the coast, I spent a fair amount of time on my off days looking for entertainment. Whether it was browsing music shops, used video game stores, pawn shops, etc., I found ways to occupy my time when I wasn't working. And of course, there were also movie theaters. One of the more highly anticipated releases the summer of 2001 was Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, which was to be the debut film from Square Pictures. Having played and enjoyed Final Fantasy VII just a year or so prior, I was looking forward to the movie. I thought the idea of using full computer animation for everything was novel at the time and assumed the storytellers at Square had a good chance of coming up with a good story.
Continue reading In Defense Of...Final Fantasy - The Spirits Within
Well, it's been a while since I've done one of these! I was replaying Final Fantasy VII recently, and this track really stood out to me when it played in the game. I've heard it plenty of times while listening to the soundtrack on its own, but something about hearing it in the context of the game really made it hit that much harder. On the Other Side of the Mountain is already a pretty straightforward acoustic piece, so my cover is just a 1:1 recreation. Nothing fancy, no frills, just a quick playthrough of a nice tune. A little bit different from my usual metal covers, but I hope you all enjoy this one just the same!
So I'm finally doing it. I'm writing an article about one of my favorite games ever so far, an article I've put on the backburner of my writing for forever, a game that I have loved ever since I heard about its creation, DELTARUNE.
Now that's pretty high praise, and (I think,) deserving praise. Now, why do I love DELTARUNE so much? It has a really good sense of humor, has amazing music, and is a turn-based RPG. Those are all aspects of games I enjoy. Oh yeah, and it's made by Toby Fox. That too.
So let me elaborate on them all.
The sense of humor is mostly slapstick, and is really well timed for the moment. Everything is checkable, and either leads to a punchline or IS the punchline. Take this beginning segment of DELTARUNE Chapter 2. You just fell into a garbage filled area. There is a trashbag with an eggplant shape. When you see it, you think, "Oh, that's weird". Eventually you walk around and find "an eggplant shaped like a trashbag". I find these little gags funny, and can help relieve the "constant feeling" that most RPGs give.
The music is my next point. DELTARUNE and UNDERTALE's creator, Toby Fox, has an amazing musical talent. So much that I have listened to the soundtracks so much that my own music bears significant resemblance to it.
(Here, try comparing it.)
The music is so good it even earned a spot on Nintendo's list of games with the best soundtracks.
Turn-based RPGs have always been one of my favorite genres. Something about them is so relaxing, but it doesn't have the complete and total "lack of game" that a visual novel does. DELTARUNE follows in UNDERTALE's footstep for the most part (I mean, it WAS made by the same creator) in the battle system. It is a mix of turn-based RPG and bullet hell.
DELTARUNE is one of my favorite games ever, and I can't wait to see what comes of it in the next few chapters.
I've been koola, and one of my New Years' resolutions this year was writing more. Can you tell?
(I composed a whole song for an RFGeneration article.
It will be on Spotify sometime soon. Like, 2 days soon.)
I don't really have an intro this time.
Anyway, what I want to talk about is a fairly unknown game called Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics. This game is a first party Nintendo title, so of course it got a lot of marketing.
But, here's the weird part to me: after release, it just kind of stopped. I think what happened was a direct response to the public's reaction to the game, which was very lukewarm. Nobody seemed to have any strong opinions one way or the other.
Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics is a collection of.. well, 51 games that have survived for centuries.
There are also a few sports thrown in there.
My favorite games from this collection are Bowling, Mancala and Air Hockey.
Bowling plays in a very similar function to Wii Sports's Bowling game, with the exception of Miis 2 player slots, and the inclusion of more realistic bowling physics.
Mancala is a very simple recreation of the classic game.
Air Hockey is another simple recreation.
What I like about Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics is being able to to play these games online. It is quite fun to be able to play these games online, because it gives me something to work my brain with while still being fun to me.
I've been koola, and this article was a last minute January article to stay on my nonexistant but very annoying schedule that my brain keeps me on for no reason.
(There will be another article today.)
[img width=700 height=617]https://i.imgur.com/enMg4RY.jpg[/img]
Title: Phantasy Star
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Platforms: Sega Mark III/Master System
Release Years: 1987 JP, 1988 NA/EU
In the now rather long history of role playing games there have been a surprisingly small number of examples of science fiction settings. It has become more common in recent years, and there are examples from every era, but it would not surprise me to see the difference between traditional fantasy settings skewed in a near ten to one favor against the smaller sample pool of science fiction. The late 1980s saw a huge growth in Japanese role playing games. They had existed for years, even before Dragon Quest became the consensus Grandfather of Japanese RPGs. However, only small developers really played around with them until Chunsoft struck sales gold with Dragon Quest III, coupled with Squaresoft's Final Fantasy series. Larger developers began looking at this design formula as an emerging market and began developing their own projects. Sega was rather quick to fill this growing niche on its own hardware, developing Phantasy Star for the Sega Mark III or Master System as it was also known as.
Continue reading Phantasy Star
Giddyap Partner!, you'll be late for this month's "A Brief Look At" with Neo!
This month, we check out West of Dead for Switch (shown), and all the other usual suspects!
[img width=700 height=466]https://i.imgur.com/8zoanL6.jpg[/img] Photo by cottonbro from Pexels
Tetris Effect - Like many before me I wondered "how can they make Tetris worth playing in VR?" before firing this up. I tried it out last year when I acquired my physical copy from Limited Run, but it didn't get its hooks in me at the time. In my search for VR titles to play, I discovered that the main game mode for this game (which is all I have played), is rather short, so I dove back in. The pull of Tetris Effect is that yes, it's the Tetris that we all know and love but set against some beautiful and fantastic backdrops and integrated with an amazing soundtrack by Hydelic.
Continue reading VR Season Part III
 |
Posted on Jan 17th 2022 at 01:00:00 PM by ( slackur) Posted under coop |
[img width=539 height=452]https://images.biglots.com/Mesa+Brown+Reclining+Sofa?set=imageURL%5B%2Fimages%2Fproduct%2F58%2F810349152-1.jpg%5D,env%5Bprod%5D,nocache%5Btrue%5D,ver%5B1%5D,profile%5Bpdp_main_med%5D&call=url%5Bfile:biglots/product.chain%5D[/img]
Now that we are a couple of weeks into '22, and since co-op is kinda my jam, I figured I'd do a quick recap on some co-op games you may have missed last year. This quick list excludes some better known titles such as It Takes Two, The Ascent, and Back 4 Blood, and instead focuses on some that may have slipped through the cracks. Oh, and I won't mention how much I enjoyed Aliens: Fireteam Elite because I've already mentioned it in a few articles, so I won't bring up how much fun I had with Aliens: Fireteam Elite again in this article and how you should find two friends and play through Aliens: Fireteam Elite. Also, I didn't get around to KeyWe or Very Very Valet, both of which I intend to pick up but have yet to do so.
Continue reading Some of 2021's Lesser Known Co-Op Games Worth Playing Into 2022
Truth be told, I've only dabbled in Final Fantasy XIV a bit, and I'm not sure if I actually heard this theme in the game or not. But when Torn From the Heavens came up as an 8BBG track, I was really intrigued and was looking forward to working on it. I was working on my recently posted Those Who Fight cover at the same time as this one, so that's where most of my creative energy went during that time, so this ended up being pretty much a simple recreation of the original track. Nonetheless, I still think this cover turned out pretty decent, and I hope you all enjoy it!
|
|
|
|
Blog Navigation
Browse Bloggers | My Blog
|
We are a community of collectors, gamers and the likes, and some of us enjoy to let the world know what is on our mind. For those members, we have the community blogs, a place where they can publish their thoughts and feelings regarding life, universe, and everything. Some of those members might even choose to write about gaming and collecting! Whatever they write about, you can find it on their blog. You can either see the latest community blog entries in the feed you see to the left, or you can browse for your favorite blog using the menu above. Interested in having your own blog hosted on RF Generation? It's rather simple, first be a registered member, and then click the "My Blog" link that you see in the navigation above. Following those two steps will certainly get you on your way to blogging.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy our entries, rantings, and completely unrelated series of thoughts. We write for you to read, so we certainly hope that you enjoy our material.
|
|
Hot Community Entries
|
|
Hot RFG Blog Entries
| |
|
