|
[img width=450 height=600]http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y359/necrom99/RFGen%20Blog/Ys_zpsyercm9nt.jpg[/img]
As playthrough hosts, we like to mix it up every once in a while. Some months we choose a hot title like Life is Strange, others we choose a "hidden gem" that we think others might enjoy (like Folklore), and most months, we to listen to the voice of the people by taking your suggestions into consideration. This month we do the latter. After carefully digging through the suggestion thread, we thought it was about time to go back to our roots and tackle a true, ole skool, classic RPG. This month, we have selected Ys: Books I & II as our playthrough. Unlike, typical, turn-based RPG's of the time, Ys employs a "bump" system in which the hero attacks enemies by running into them. The stats of your character and those of your enemy determine the damage dealt by each. However, bumping into enemies off-center deals more damage to the enemy than you take, whereas hitting an enemy head-on inflicts more damage to you.
Y's: Books I & II were originally released as two games: Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished (1987) & Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished - The Final Chapter. Over the years, both games have been re-released on various systems and even combined into a single cart/disc for a few consoles. The story follows Adol Christin, a young swordsman, who is called out by a fortuneteller and told that a great evil is spreading across the land. Legend states that the six Books of Ys hold the secret to defeating this evil and it is up to our hero to seek them out. This is where our young adventurer's (and your) quest begins!
Please join us for our playthrough of Y's: Books I & II in April by signing up for our discussion thread here: http://www.rfgeneration.c...m/index.php?topic=16469.0
[img width=424 height=351]https://i.imgflip.com/4r0w3.gif[/img]
**image from whak.com**
I know that everyone is excited to know the results of our RF Generation 2016 Fund Drive. I am very happy to announce that not only did we make our goal of $1000......... WE CRUSHED IT! Over the month of February, we raised a total of $1423.24!! The staff and I are extremely pleased with these results and are excited about another great upcoming year on the site. Our members truly drive this site and we can't thank all of you who donated enough for your generosity. Personally, I was overwhelmed by all of the awesome private messages from people telling me how much they enjoyed the site and how invaluable of a tool it was. There were several "lurkers" who donated generous amounts who I got to meet, and I heard from many of our old members who though they have been quiet for some time, made sure to come "home" to donate. Thank you, thank you, one and all!
At this time, the staff at RF Generation would like to take a moment to thank the rest of our members who donated since the last update and helped push us over the $1000 threshold:
Ze_ro
Sauza12
Crabmaster2000
senseiman
Razor Knuckles
ericeskapade
mightyqdawg
josulli3
Duke.Togo
Boshamp
BuriedOnMars
Tynstar
Deadman
ryanflucas
Prior to the release of this post, I will be sending out PMs to every donor who donated at least $10 to verify your donation amount and the number of tickets that will be placed into the raffle for you. PLEASE reply to this PM and let me know if your donation amount is correct (if you haven't already done so). If you donated to the fund drive this month and have not received, a PM from me, as of this post, PLEASE send me a PM so that we can confirm your donation amount and get you the appropriate number of tickets for the raffle. The quicker I can get donation amounts verified, the quicker I can conduct the raffle. If you have questions regarding the raffle, you can find more details here: http://www.rfgeneration.c...m/index.php?topic=16247.0.
GRAND TOTAL: $1423.24
__________________________________________________________________________________
February was another great month of submissions, with a total of 4,576! The submissions for last month included 4,502 game submissions and 74 hardware submissions. Thanks to all of the submitters you for putting forth another great effort and for making the site a more valuable tool for collectors. We truly couldn't do it without such great member support.
Our top submitters (those with a minimum of 50) for February were:
FatherJack 2,821
Kam1Kaz3 NL77 513
Schlibby 239
Shadow Kisuragi 179
sharp 121
Ack 81
OatBob 75
Raidou 53
raffa1985 52
Top approvers for the month included:
Shadow Kisuragi 859
Tynstar 161
Flee 38
ApolloBoy 33
Great work everyone, please keep those submissions coming!
Well, today is the the last day of our fund drive and we are very, very close to reaching our goal of $1000. I have not received the official numbers from our site director yet, but including the PMs I have received and the amounts members have told me that they donated, we have raised at least $908.00. If you haven't donated yet, PLEASE do so today so that you can get in on the prize raffle (you can donate here: http://www.rfgeneration.c...m/index.php?action=paypal). You can find more details regarding the rules of the raffle and how to enter here: http://www.rfgeneration.c...m/index.php?topic=16247.0. Remember, even if you have already donated, you can donate additional amounts and earn extra tickets in the raffle. Come on gang, this is the last day, let's do this!
The staff at RF Generation would like to take a moment to thank those who have donated since the last update:
bickman2k
Crockett
Guile
h1ghw1nd
mookraker_fats
nupoile
Raidou
RetroRage
slimedog
vcsobsessed
Thanks to all of you and to everyone who has already donated this month! Please remember to PM me the email address you donated with, so that we can properly thank you during our weekly updates and provide you with the proper number of raffle tickets. If you donated recently and do not see your name, you may have donated after we pulled numbers. If you don't see it, just send me a PM and I will check on your donation status.
Grand total raised so far: $908.00
Well, we are now 2/3 of the way through the month, and are getting even closer to reaching our goal of $1000. We still need one BIG push to make goal, so if you are planning on donating this year, now is the time! As of today, we are about 75% of our goal with a total donation amount of $747.66. We will continue taking donations for the fund drive through the month of February, so you still have a few days (you can donate here: http://www.rfgeneration.c...m/index.php?action=paypal). Make sure to donate during this time to get in on the raffle of great prizes donated by our staff. You can find more details regarding the rules of the raffle and how to enter here: http://www.rfgeneration.c...m/index.php?topic=16247.0. Remember, even if you have already donated, you can donate additional amounts and earn extra tickets in the raffle. Come on gang, let's blow the doors off of this goal!
But.....you don't have to take my word for it.....
The staff at RF Generation would like to take a moment to thank those who have donated since the last update:
douglie007
EngineerMike
FatherJack
Gamereviewgod
Ghost Soldier
Izret101
jansolee66
monkees19
NakedBob
Wempster
Thanks to you all and to everyone who has already donated this month! Please remember to PM me the email address you donated with, so that we can properly thank you during our weekly updates and provide you with the proper number of raffle tickets. If you donated recently and do not see your name, you may have donated after we pulled numbers. If you don't see it, just send me a PM and I will check on your donation status.
Grand total raised so far: $747.66
We are over halfway through the month, and are getting closer to reaching out goal of $1000. As of today, we are a little behind schedule and are almost up to 50% of our goal with a total donation amount of $493.70. Remember, we will be taking donations for the fund drive through the month of February (you can donate here: http://www.rfgeneration.c...m/index.php?action=paypal), so be sure to donate during this time to get in on the raffle of great prizes donated by our staff. You can find more details regarding the rules of the raffle and how to enter here: http://www.rfgeneration.c...m/index.php?topic=16247.0
Some of you might be wondering, "Why should you donate to RF Generation?" Our kind and hard working Technical Director, bickman2k dug up this classic, New Year's post from our Site Director, NES_Rules, detailing some site goals he wanted to hit back in 2010: http://www.rfgeneration.c...ts-2009-1258.php#comments. These goals included:
50,000 total games;
4,000 total hardware entries;
60,000 scans; and
30,000 screenshots.
Compare these goals to our current site numbers after 2015. Just look at how we've grown in 5 years since those goals were set! Today our database houses:
Over 103,000 total games;
Over 7,500 total hardware entries;
Over 130,000 scans; and
Over 67,000 screenshots.
These numbers speak volumes about our site members and the hard work and dedication they put into our database (not to mention our staff who looks over and approves each submission). And don't forget, our site is and has always been ad-free and is run solely on the donations from our members. Also, if you haven't checked out our mobile app for Andriod, get on that! There is no better way to track your collection while searching for games out in the wild or while at a convention. I've heard great reports on Twitter from people at MagFest who are using it.
The staff at RF Generation would like to take a moment to thank those who have donated so far:
Cobra
erikeskapade
Fleach
kam1kaz3nl77
Techie413
Voodoo Monkey
and a donor whose user name has yet to be determined
Thank you all! Please remember to PM me the email address you donated with, so that we can properly thank you during our weekly updates and provide you with the proper number of raffle tickets. If you donated recently and do not see your name, you may have donated after we pulled numbers. If you don't see it, just send me a PM and I will check on your donation status.
[img width=700 height=392]http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y359/necrom99/RFGen%20Blog/LoS_zpsdpqelayu.jpg[/img]
Next month, we hope that some of you will join us in playing in the first episodic, adventure game of the RF Generation Community Playthrough. In March, we will tackle Life is Strange, a game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix. Life is Strange features five episodes that chronicle the turbulent teenage years of Max Caulfield who has the mysterious ability to rewind time after witnessing an unexpected tornado. Guide Max through this modern, coming of age story and help her learn how to use her time-shifting powers to prevent this natural disaster from demolishing her town.
Life is Strange has been praised for its fantastic character development and effort to tackle certain subjects considered taboo for video games. It has won several awards including Develop Industry Excellence Awards (New Games IP - PC/console & Use of Narrative), Golden Joystick Award (Performance of the Year [Ashly Burch]), Global Game Awards (Best Adventure & Best Original Game), The Game Awards (Games for Change), Playstation Official Magazine (Best Episodic Adventure & Best Moment), New Statesman's (Best Game of 2015), and received countless other nominations and runner-ups awards. Life is Strange is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Steam/PC, and PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (both via download). We hope that this pick interests you and that you'll take the time to join us in March!
Join the Life is Strange discussion thread here: http://www.rfgeneration.c...m/index.php?topic=16286.0
As you may of you know, our site is currently conducting its annual fund drive to help with the server costs for 2016. So far, we have had a good turnout and I am happy to report that with our donors' generous pledges, we are almost at 40% of our goal! We will be taking donations for the fund drive through the month of February (you can donate here: http://www.rfgeneration.c...m/index.php?action=paypal), so be sure to donate during this time to get in on the raffle of great prizes donated by our staff. You can find more details regarding the rules of the raffle and how to enter here:
The staff at RF Generation would like to take a moment to thank those who have donated so far:
AprilandShaun
FatherJack
Gamer4Lyfe
Marriot_Guy
NMErikson
Pam
russlyman
shaggy
singlebanana
St0rmTK421
Thank you all! Please remember to PM me the email address you donated with, so that we can properly thank you during our weekly updates and provide you with the proper number of raffle tickets. If you donated recently and do not see your name, you may have donated after we pulled numbers. If you don't see it, just send me a PM and I will check on your donation status.
Grand total raised so far: $379.94
[img width=479 height=319]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/60/3d/2e/603d2eb464ff9f1aa5ea6f84b3b4f68b.jpg[/img]
In January, we rang in the new year with a bang with a total of 4,593 submissions! The submissions for last month included 4,192 game submissions and 401 hardware submissions. Once again, we had another outstanding effort from our international members and it's nice to see the database not only growing in the number of items it houses, but also in its diversity. Thanks to all of you for putting forth such a wonderful effort to make the site an even more valuable tool for collectors.
Before I announce the top submitters and approvers for January, I'd like to take a minute to thank the Cartridge Club for participating in a banner swap with our site. If you are unfamiliar with their site, please give them a visit and enjoy the multitude of fantastic vlogs, reviews, podcasts, forums, and blogs that their members have created. Hopefully, this swap will help in directing members to our site and I'd like to welcome several of their site members who have recently joined and are enjoying our database tools and phone app. Thank you!
Continue reading RF Generation Thanks: January 2016
Tomorrow, we kick off our annual RF Generation Community Donation Drive. Our goal this year is to once again raise at least $1000 by February 29, 2016. This money will be used to pay server costs and site improvements, and any additional funds will also be put toward future hosting expenses. We hope that you will consider contributing to keep RF Generation a free, fun, and useful site for yourself, other members, and those who haven't been fortunate enough to find us yet. We only ask that you donate what you can and even a small amount, like a few bucks, goes a long way and is very appreciated. Donations are accepted via PayPal and you can donate by following this link: http://www.rfgeneration.c...m/index.php?action=paypal. PLEASE be sure to PM me your RF Generation handle and the email address you used to donate so that we can thank you on the front page and determine your number of raffle tickets; only your handle will be used and all donation amounts are private.
For those of you who donate at least $10, you will be entered into a raffle for some fantastic prize lots donated by our generous staff. Rules for this raffle and prize listings are listed below and can also be found on this thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...m/index.php?topic=16247.0. And don't worry, even through the fund drive officially starts tomorrow, if you donate today, your contribution will still go toward the fundraiser and the raffle.
Thank you for your donations and we hope that RF Generation will remain your #1 choice for tracking your collection for years to come!
Continue reading RF Generation Site Fundraiser 2016 Starts Tomorrow!
[img width=640 height=360]http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/dk-quarter.jpg[/img]
As we do every year, it's once again time to support a good cause and give back to RF Generation. RF Generation is a free, no advertising or pop-ups, non-profit site in which all database contributions come from member submissions. Our unpaid staff works hard to update and improve database content, keep front page articles fresh and informative, and work tirelessly on podcasts for your listening pleasure. However, the costs associated with running this site are not free (...or cheap) and we need YOUR help to keep our servers running into 2017. All donations will go directly to our server account and our goal is to raise at least $1000 by the end of February 29, 2016, which combined with donations from the previous year, will keep us going through 2017. I will provide updates on the front page throughout February to help monitor how close we are to obtaining our goal and thank all donors by name for their contributions.
Starting February 1st, we ask that you donate any amount you can, if you are able. As an added incentive, our generous staff has once again donated some very nice items to raffle off to donors who contribute at least $10. An explanation of the raffle rules are below. Raffle prize lots will be announced a few days prior to the beginning of the fund drive, since we are still getting those together. However, I can say without a doubt that the donations this year are fantastic and include systems, video games, board games, and video game memorabilia, among other things!
Continue reading RF Generation Site Fundraiser 2016
[img width=700 height=392]http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y359/necrom99/Playthroughs/Folkart1%201_zpsanlhls6w.jpg[/img]
This February, we are taking a step away from classic platforming to bring you a beautiful and haunting action role-playing game. Folklore, which was developed by the now defunct, independent Game Republic, Inc. and released in 2007, is an RPG that is deeply rooted in the Celtic Otherworld of Irish Mythology. The game centers on two characters, a young lady named Ellen and a journalist named Keats, which are both playable in the game and have different intertwining plots. These two characters also differ in play style; Ellen uses a variety of powers for strategy and favors a defensive stance, while Keats attacks with more brute force and can release built up energy to perform stronger attacks for a period of time. Together, the two of you work to unravel the mystery that the quaint village of Doolin hides. To do this, you must seek out the memories of the dead in the dangerous, Folk-ridden Netherworld. Participants will not only battle the inhabitants of the Netherworld, but also go back and forth between there and Doolin village to solve puzzle-esque quests and advance the story.
While in the Netherwold, participants will utilize attacks called "folk," which are powers absorbed by defeating the various creatures there. You absorb these powers by locking onto the creatures spirit and performing shaking and yanking motions with the Sixaxis motion control, rather than using a conventional button interface. While you can absorb the powers of nearly all of the inhabitants of the Neatherworld that you encounter, you can only map four at a time to the controller's action buttons. This adds an interesting dynamic to the game, since different kinds of "folk" are better suited to certain situations.
Continue reading Community Playthrough Announcement: February 2016
[img width=700 height=393]http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums/y359/necrom99/Playthroughs/Mario.png_zpswsknjbwx.jpeg[/img]
It's hard to believe that another year of awesome retro and modern playthroughs are in the books. Myself, Grayghost81, Fleach, and Disposed Hero would like to thank all of you who participated in the playthroughs this year for your time, effort, and wonderful comments in the threads. In 2016, we hope to increase participation for our playthroughs and offer the community many more exciting games to play along with us. If you have listened to the newest episode of the RF Generation Playcast, you already know about the upcoming changes to the playthroughs. However, for those of you who have not, we'd like to take this time to let you know about the new direction in which we are headed.
This upcoming year, we plan to do away with the retro and modern playthroughs and instead focus on one playthrough a month. This decision was made because (1) we felt like members were having to choose between the two games each month and it was spreading participation very thin, and (2) the four of us really missed playing games together and talking about them on the podcast. We think that this change will bring a better product to the community by increasing dialogue about these games in our thread, and make for a more enjoyable, in-depth, and shorter listen for our podcast followers. Going forward, we will also only announce one game at a time at the beginning of each prior month, instead of three games in advance. This should give members plenty of time to locate games if needed, prevent them from forgetting about upcoming playthroughs over time, and provide something for participants to look forward to each month. We are looking forward to these changes and we hope that all of you will continue to be a big part of it.
Now............what you're all here to read about, the January game announcement!
In January, we want to start things off BIG by playing two "blockbuster" games from a very familiar series. Next months playthrough includes what many consider the best and most iconic game on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Mario Bros. 3. We will also be playing the follow-up game in the series, Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System; this title is hands down, one of the Top 10 games released on the SNES and at the time, was successful in transitioning the series onto the modern system. Which game do you like better? Which one will we like better? Will time and nostalgia prevail, or will this playthrough open our minds to other possibilities? Join us as we foil the plans of and take down the sinister King Bowser, and rescue the beloved Princess Peach in these Super Mario classics!!
Super Mario Discussion Thread: http://www.rfgeneration.c...m/index.php?topic=16136.0
|
