Hero-of-Time

I played through it last year and loved it. Do you not have the English version?

Indeed. Many said the pandemic bump in prices for retro gaming would eventually go down but if anything it has continued to go up for a lot of stuff. I also thought that with the cost of living continuing to go up every year, things like retro gaming prices would go down due to people needing to funnel their money into more important things. Nope.

Thanks to this bump I ended up firing up the game over the weekend. I forgot just how long it takes for the game to actually load up! I had to spend a while picking up the weeds and tidying the place up as it had been a while since I was last on it. It was nice revisiting the place, doing a spot of fishing and just generally chilling out with the villagers. I was looking through the in game achievement list to see if I would ever be able to grind through and complete them all. I doubt that will ever happen. It certainly highlights just how impressive it is that @BowserBasher got them all. Despite the game having many QoL issues, it has easily been my most played Animal Crossing game and I wonder just how long it will be before the next one gets released on the Switch 2.

I was browsing retro stuff on eBay yesterday (as you do) and came across a complete set of N64 magazines. I remember a mint set of these being sold during the pandemic and they went for around £200. This set was in pretty great shape and was standing at £155 with only a few mins to go. I was half tempted to slam in a bid but at the last second it shot up to £400! It's yet another example how crazy the retro market has become, even for magazines. It doesn't surprise me when you see people saying they are being priced out of their hobby.

This pleases me, @Julius.

I picked this up in a recent sale and it wasn't half as good as I remember it being. Part of the problem with games like this is that if you do remember how things play out then they lose a lot of their charm. I also preffered the look of the DS game more than this one. Things looked too sharp and clean and I found myself missing the pixilated look of the original version. Missile still rules though.

Again, same for me. I remember thinking it all turned a bit goofy once Elvis the alien showed up. Feels like it was a few years too late with all that stuff anyway. Things like Independance Day, X-Files, Men in Black, Starship Troopers, Outer Limits and Mars Attacks had all been and gone by the time the game released. Had it stuck with the more futuristic Bond setting then I may have enjoyed it more.

I'm the same. I remember the hype around the game at the time of release. Both Official Nintendo and N64 magazines were constantly raving about it, especially the face capture feature that was ultimately canned. I picked it up on launch day from Woolworths and played it all weekend. After the credits rolled I boxed it up and never played it again and it was never in the multiplayer rotation when my friends and I had gaming sessions. I've never completed the game since. I'm one of the sickos who actually prefers Perfect Dark Zero. It's a shame the GBC version isn't on NSO. I would have liked to have given it a go.

Nah. I don't like using stuff like that. The whole thing still feels iffy to me.

I've still not had the courage to pull the trigger on my retro stuff. I'd make a killing on it as well as everything is mint in box with protectors. A part of me thinks I would regret getting rid of them and, given how expensive the retro scene now is, I doubt I would be able to even afford to aquire it all again later down the road. I just wish retro stuff was available more freely and I mean this in the official sense because I don't dabble with PC emulation. If favourites were available to own on modern platforms I would be more inclined sell some of it.

For me, some of it comes down to nostalgia and some of it comes down to a lot of games were crafted a lot better back then. There's so much bloat in modern releases and games are now created to suck the time and money out of people, rather than just making a fun experience. I kinda miss the days of owning just a few games and playing through them over and over again to the point where I knew them off by heart. I sometimes still get this when going for platinums but if I haven't got a carrot dangling at the end of a stick, then the game is usually shelved once it's done. It's why I sold a lot of my PS4 collection at the start of the year as I just can't see me ever going back to most of the games I've completed. In a nutshell, I'm old and I miss my youth/earlier gaming days.

So sorry for your loss, Nolan. Losing a loved one is never easy.

I'm getting a bit like that these days. Reading Nick's thoughts on OOT has me wanting to fire it up again, despite having many games on the backlog. I had the same feeling earlier when someone on Era was praising ALTTP. The one thing I want from Switch 2 is Gamecube games on there. I will happily pay for them outside of the NSO. We've had NES, SNES, and N64 stuff since the Wii days. It's time for an upgrade.

I'm another who loved the original Yooka-Laylee. It was a fantastic follow up to the Banjo games and I much preferred to over Tooie. The second YL game is still my fav out of the two of them but the original is still a top tier game. @Nicktendo glad you enjoyed your playthroughs of OOT and MGS. Both are very special games and ones which I can replay endlessly. It's crazy just how well they both hold up and the impact each of them had on the industry can still be felt 25+ years on.

Xenoblade X art cards are available for 500 platinum coins. https://my.nintendo.com/news/216e455339d15037

A sun powered controller? That's gonna be useless in the UK, especially up here in the North East.

Good. The game desperately needs some new content.

I'm not so sure.

Yeah, it's crazy that it has very little yellowing on it, especially when you compare it to the one that sold.

I'm not usually keen on slow paced, walking simulators but this hit all the right notes. It has an incredible atmosphere to it and you really get the feeling of isolation, as you wander around space on your own. There are plenty of tense moments as well, with many times you being against the clock as your oxygen depletes and you scramble to open a door or get back to the space station. The narrative doesn't get in the way of the gameplay. You piece together what has gone on with various holograms that are scattered around the place. As each of these play out you start getting an idea of what exactly has happened before your arrival. Great game. Here's hoping the sequel manages to recapture what made this so special. I've heard it's a little more action orientated, which is a little concerning.

£23 + P&P at Game/Sports Direct. Both Switch and PS5 versions are that price. https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/suikoden-hd-i-ii-remaster-day-one-edition-nintendo-switcy-4556548

The game was announced last month and some new details have been released today thanks to the Digimon event that has just happened. Game is looking and sounding great. Certainly looks better than whatever Game Freak are putting out with the next Pokemon game. None of this is surprising though. I found Cybersleuth to be better than any of the Switch Pokemon games and this looks to carry on that trend. They also released an animated short which was a massive shot of nostalgia for those who grew up watching the first couple of series of Digimon.

I think they are screwed either way.