S.C.G

I went with the wired version of one of those new Sega control pads that I think @Ike posted a link to. Mostly to see how they hold up, as I do have a few original Sega pads around here somewhere. For my Super NT I just picked up the first control pad I had lying around and it worked.

I will wait and see if this gets picked up by Limited Run Games or Super Rare Games in the next few months and if not... then I'll get the US version. I'm having to do this with a lot of games at the moment, but the wait is paying off... Celeste is finally getting a physical release thanks to Limited Run so I'm glad I waited. I really want this Monster Boy game as well, especially as I already have The Dragon's Trap... these two titles would look great next to each other on the shelf... ...and I want to play them as well of course, one day. In the meantime, I've come to the conclusion that my Switch Shelf is going to need at least another tier, if not two.

Yeah, I've decided that 2019 is definitely going to be the year when I save the most and spend the least... but for real this time. I have a load of Sega Mega Drive games already too, plus Mega-CD titles and I still have my original Mega CD II... I just hope it still works. Part of my expenditure these past few months did include one or two Mega Drive titles, mostly the two Turrican titles (both Super Turrican titles are on the Super NT) so I can play them. Also, I helped to kickstart Tanglewood so I have my boxed copy of that which I can't wait to play when the Mega SG comes out.

Same, it seems like April in 2019 is going to be one hell of a month. I used to watch stuff on eBay... then I started buying the stuff that I was "just watching" so I now don't allow myself to watch stuff any more unless I can definitely afford it.

Yeah, I just saw it happen, madness! Anyway, look at it this way... the same amount of money, gets you that lovely Analogue Mega SG.

It looks like it's going to go for around £180 probably (£156 currently with 12 mins to go) so I guess that's around market value now. Crazy to think that I got one unboxed with a boxed spare battery pack for £60 from a friend of my brothers a few years back. It is a great little system, but I will say that it's only really good for playing certain games on and it is a bit hit and miss at times. However, it is a portable MegaDrive and it has S-video out plus a second controller port... but yeah, prices have just gone crazy.

Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami Released: 1994 System: SNES Ah yes, who could forget good old Goemon? Well apparently a lot of people, as this series always seemed quite niche in its appeal to me but I've always loved it even when looking at reviews of the games in the series in Nintendo magazines back in the day, The Legend of the Mystical Ninja is an RPG adventure game featuring a brilliant cast of characters, some really bizarre moments and would go on to spawn not one but two N64 titles. But the charm of this 16-bit title is still very unique all of its own and although I've played it on the various Virtual Consoles I've always wanted to play it from the original cartridge; regardless of that though, it's a game I would say is worthwhile of anyone's time, regardless of how they choose to play it. Available on: SNES, Wii, WiiU, New 3DS Verdict: Only choose this one if you really want to play an excellent 16-bit RPG like no other and if you want me to blow some cash on an original copy. And here is that physical copy, as promised... Time to play this underrated gem in its original form.

Time to count up the votes then... Game #1 0 votes Game #2 2 votes Game #3 5 votes So that means, this months game is The Legend of the Mystical Ninja with more than double the amount of votes. I guess I've got a thread to make...

Sorry to hear that martinist. Wishing her all the best for a quick recovery.

@Ronnie welcome to the joys of being a multi-platform gamer. It can be hard to keep up, can't it? While it's nice to have so much available to play, it's definitely overwhelming at times. I've decided that I'm only going to be buying physical Switch games and the odd "essential" PS4 and Xbox One game on day one for 2019. What with a wealth of games being released this year, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate coming out and the N-E Game Club... I've got enough to keep me going.

*La la-la, lala la-la lala, la la la-la lalaaaaaa* Huh, did you say something?

Gotta love those fan translations of Shining Force III (all scenarios) and while I still need to play them myself, it's amazing to think that they exist in playable form.

The official Pro Controller is fantastic, I use it wired and there are no issues with it, however for Smash I feel like a wired GameCube controller via the adapter is the way to go. If you want wireless options then that new GC pad seems decent enough, nothing beats the feel of an original pad though. Also, if you want wireless and a GC pad then I think you can still get a Wavebird for around the same price, but you need the adapter. Pros and cons for all of them I suppose but it's good to have options.

Even good old Jim is enjoying Super Smash Bros.Ultimate... well, apart from the A.I. in it of course. Personally, I like that the A.I. is almost borderline taunting you at times, it can get a little grating in some World of Light stages but I've yet to encounter any annoying ones. I think I beat Giga Bowser on my second try, but then, that doesn't mean that I'm not going to have trouble with other spirits which others may have beaten easily. In case anyone was wondering, at the start, I just went for the "Right" path, because I liked the look of the spirit battle and I don't think I've really doubled-back yet. I'm just having a lot of fun and I've only been really playing in the evenings, so I've only put in 8 hours or so at the moment but I am playing every night. So even after eight hours at work, getting home late and not starting playing until midnight? Does not matter... play for three hours straight. I've caught up on sleep since but I just really enjoy this game, lack of sleep is worth it, at least in the very short term; I have a couple of days off so I'll play more later for sure.

I would help you there but... ...I'm about to start playing some World of Light.

I really hope this is being done properly but I get the feeling that it won't be, which is even worse than not doing it at all... ...however, I reserve judgement until I see screenshots and footage. Because I really want this to be good as this is a series which I love.

Another fascinating video from Jon over at Game Hut. It's crazy to think that this is just a brief overview of one aspect from the Saturn's DSP chip, it really is a small miracle that we got as many games as we did for the system. I mean, it's very capable for what it is but it must have been very difficult to program for indeed, I know this has been stated before but I'm only really starting to appreciate that now. I've got nothing but respect for anyone who can program for such a machine, let alone explain it all so that it's just about understandable to a point.

It's such a standout technically impressive title isn't it? I can't believe that I didn't even try the game cartridge until now but in a way I'm glad I waited as it's great on my current setup. Have you played the game much at all? I found it a bit tricky to get to grips with the controls but I could see how the game could be fun once you get used to how it plays. Yes, It certainly sounds like it helped to leave quite the lasting legacy, especially bridging the gap between SNES 3D and N64 3D graphics. I can say that the Analogue Super NT is one of the best purchases I've made this year and I don't regret putting down a pre-order for the Mega SG at the same time. Though largely thanks to that, those two consoles and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are my last purchases of the year and I'll be cutting back on the game purchases now. Heck, I only lucked into getting Resident Evil 2 when I did thanks to my brother getting the game cheap and then offering it to me for a trade which was more than fair. I can definitely say that I have most of the games that I want now, so it's about time that I put in the effort and played some of them while I can.

@Hero-of-Time and anyone else who loves Resident Evil 2, check out the latest DF Retro which goes through every single version. I'm definitely going to play that N64 version at some point soon.

I'm pretty sure I saw those controllers in my local Tesco store yesterday, worth a try if you local branch stocks Switch stuff.

That's pretty cool, I had no idea. I'm glad to hear that the game lives on at least in terms of what it achieved technically, I just did a quick search for the PCB and it's definitely impressive. It is pretty amazing to think that just on Nintendo platforms, we've gone from big cartridges (NES,SNES,N64) to various optical media (GC,Wii,WiiU) and now we're onto game cards really from DS, to 3DS and now the Switch being the natural evolution of that, the card size may be limited but I think the compression techniques used especially by Nintendo is the new feat of technical wizardry (even though it has been around for years and just refined) equivelant of all the special chips that we used to get inside these cartridges. I definitely think it's important to keep knowledge of all these things alive, so it's great to hear that you're showing some of the kids how games used to be. Often if I find the subject turning to games in conversation at work, I find myself saying "I miss the old days when you'd just get a game on a cartridge and it just worked" For all the advancements, at least in the retro scene, it feels like everything is coming almost full circle with the FPGA technology used in the Super NT and upcoming Mega SG. It's a great time to be a gamer.

I just wanted to say that, while clearing out stuff I found a boxed SNES which had a pack in game taped across the front of the box that I'd had for years and not played. That game is called Vortex... and it turns out that it's an Argonaut developed game in association with Electro Brain and Sony Electronic Publishing. It came out in 1994, inbetween Star Fox and Stunt Race FX... I wouldn't say it's the best game from a gameplay perspective, but on a technical level... wow. It uses the Super FX chip and it has Dolby Pro Logic on the cart... I mean, just the title music playing on my Super NT through my surround sound blew me away. Very ambitious for its time, you control a transforming robot mech effectively, so you can have an upright mech, rover type vehicle or a jet, all at the press of a button. It's just really impressive for what it is and I'm glad that I have it there for if I choose to play it some more at some point despite its fiddly controls and difficulty. Anyway, you can get it for around £10 - £15 boxed... at the moment, if you see it for that price or cheaper, I would advise picking it up if only for it being a technical marvel.

Ah OK thanks, I thought that was probably the case but I just wanted to be sure. I don't mind, I'm having fun unlocking the characters while playing the game at my own pace. But I'll absolutely be up for some Smash online if we have a tournament or maybe on Thursdays after Mario Kart if that's what others will be doing.

For the online, this might be an obvious question but... Regardless of who you've unlocked in single player... is everyone there? I'm guessing you're stuck with whoever you've unlocked so far, if so... I'll play online at a later date but I'm still interested.

Finally managed to play nearly three hours on this, it's glorious, I need to play it more. I won't get to play it more until tomorrow night but it will be worth the wait. I'm definitely designating Sunday as Smash day though. Playing this with a brand new GameCube controller via the GC controller adapter just makes playing the game even more satisfying.