S.C.G

Comm Error, GP 2, Race 2... Just after I'd placed 3rd in the previous race, of course.

Absolutely... it's at the top of the pile on what I am now calling my Sealed Switch Shelf of Shame because I just haven't had the time to replay either of the Bayonetta titles. I'll play them again closer to the release date of Bayonetta 3 most likely.

It's almost certainly a port of the more recent PC release. I think for the Switch, it will be pretty amazing to see Ikargua running on it, especially in portable mode. This will also open up the floodgates for PS4 and Xbox One versions most likely, as it has already been trademarked for PS4 which is pretty huge as that would make it the Playstation debut, because it has already appeared on Xbox Live Arcade which featured online co-op (unfortunately too lag-ridden to be useful) and of course as you mentioned, we've had Ikargua on a Nintendo platform once before on the GameCube, which was a huge deal at the time and it even featured an exclusive training mode. Of course there was also the Dreamcast version which released in Japan only because the original arcade Ikaruga was developed on Naomi hardware, I have played it... this was my first original exposure to Ikaruga, I loved it at the time but didn't fully appreciate it until that all-important GC release which was life-changing in terms of shaping my taste in videogames.

Ah so that's the white PS4 with the same coloured controller presumably... OK then that's maybe not launch, but apparently that shouldn't matter. I found this... http://community.eu.playstation.com/t5/PS4-Support/You-can-now-exchange-your-PlayStation-4-and-DS4-controller/m-p/22270313 ...which seems to suggest that you can send the controller in quite easily for repair, I think... there's also instructions on how to try a reset if needed but it might not help. Anyway, keep me updated either way, if you have any joy or not because I upgraded to a newer wired PS4 controller last year which I seem to use exclusively, so I have a newer PS4 controller from when they originally released the aqua blue and magma red controllers - it's the blue one - that I could spare... it has had... maybe a hundred hours use? if that... it's in good condition, (though obviously I'll clean and test it if it turns out you need it) and has a pair of those thumb stick covers (optional) which preserve the control stick rubber pretty well and make the pad better to use I think.

#Split

Is it a launch model controller which came with the system? If so then apparently Sony will replace them, might take a month though. If it's one of the newer coloured controllers (red, blue etc) then I don't know, you might have just been unlucky or it has just happened over time. I might be able to help you out if Sony can't or won't.

On a dedicated vertical monitor of course like everyone else. Nah, I know I've perhaps gone the extreme route recently with my setup but I think that playing the Switch in tabletop mode, on a stand, vertically will be enough for most. But if you do have a monitor which is designed with verticality in mind with a rotating stand then, you're really in for a treat with this game. I'm not saying that everyone should suddenly rush out and buy a vertical display just for Ikaruga but, if you like vertically scrolling shmups and you intend to play more in the future, then in that instance I think it's worth it personally. There are already more than a handful of vertical shmups available just for the Switch, let alone the load that are on Steam etc. Just for this game though, if you only intend to buy it on the Switch then I would say that Tabletop mode will be fine and that vertical with borders on a standard horizontal screen is fine for most gamers, especially if you're not that into the genre to begin with or are just unsure.

*sips a mouthful of tea while refreshing the forum* *sees thread* "Ikaruga Heads to Switch" *almost chokes on tea* I aint even mad.

Thank you! I've just finished reading the entire interview after starting it over an hour ago just after regaining power after an outage, it made the perfect afternoon read on my day off. More importantly though, it has only further enhanced my love for Panzer Dragoon Saga and the series in general while bolstering my knowledge on the game. Truly fascinating, I still can't believe that it has been 20 years since it came out and that I was lucky enough to play it 16 years or so ago... a mere half a life-time for me. Even though I can remember going for the 100% run back then, I reckon I will replay Panzer Dragoon Saga again once I hook up my Sega Saturn via RGB. I really do feel that I owe the game at least another playthrough, or ten.

Awww yeah! Nice one Goafer, I only just recently acquired a copy of Saturn Bomberman myself, I lucked out and got a copy of the second generation version (plastic sleeve) but that one you have there looks to be in very nice condition and for a good price as well. I think I'm mostly done collecting Saturn games, aside from hopefully one day getting a copy of Keio Flying Squadron 2... It's an excellent system to collect for.

Right you are... Wave Race: Blue Storm - After failing to find my original save file, I think (it's hard to tell with so many memory cards) I found a save file, claimed it as my own, changed the settings with the obvious being surround sound, altered the announcer to the sarcastic version and took to the waves! This game still has the most amazing water effects, even though they have since been bettered in some ways, in others the physics used in this game are still nothing short of spectacular. Obviously no alternative resolutions for this game but it's still as good as I remember it being. 1080° Avalanche - Well I couldn't not play this after playing Wave Race now could I? My original save file for this game was easy to find but that didn't matter, because I just input the code and went straight for the final avalanche! Oh my... with surround sound and the crisp level of fidelity you really can't beat this as the ultimate Snowboarding game in my opinion and yes, I wiped out several times, also yes, the intro to the game is still the best ever. Pro Tip - "If you ever try to scream underwater... you'll choke!" - Cauterize Super Smash Bros. Melee - Everything about this game still shows off its high level of presentation, from the infamous intro which set the standard going forward, to the title screen, menus and every on-screen element. It was nice to see some of those trophies again and the immense collection of them all grouped together. The audio-visual options may be sparse in this early landmark title but it still looks pretty damn good over HDMI in 2018 even though it has been bettered by subsequent entries. I've still got plenty more GC games I can test so just give me a shout if there's any more you're curious about.

Not if it's that week, what about E3 week? So that would be the weekend after the Press Conferences... Friday 15th - Sunday 17th June. Yes I have that week off. Regarding the release week of Mario Tennis, I figure that's a game which will just get played regularly anyway but you have a point.

Some more impressions after testing out three more GC titles with the HDMI adapter... F-Zero GX - This is a game which I always remember looking pretty amazing, I'd always had the ability to play the game in 60Hz mode back in the day thanks to the quite modern small portable CRT I owned at the time but I certainly don't recall the game looking as good as it does over HDMI. Everything just seems a lot clearer than I remember it or at least, as good as I remember it being back then without degradation of that memory, I played a few rounds with my customised Blue Falcon and then remembered why i gave up playing on Expert difficulty, still maybe I'll go back to it now. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance - How can this game have been released in 2003? The production values for this Fire Emblem title are really at the zenith for just how good a game in the series can look, let alone as a GameCube game in general. From the intro, to the static and animated cutscenes, right through to the battles... the attention to detail is staggering. Of course the general environments can look quite standard but it all still has a certain look to it. Also as a sidenote, I actually progressed a whole chapter! Not bad considering I haven't played the game in fifteen years. Soul Calibur II - On a 14" portable CRT over an RF lead, back on release weekend, played at my late Grandparents house on a Sunday, my brother and I will never forget seeing that intro which really set the standard for just how good a game could look. Now in 2018, watching that same intro on a 32" HDTV running in the highest resolution I've ever witnessed this game in... it's still impressive. The character models hold up very well indeed, there is full widescreen support plus the surround sound is as perfect as it can be, still the best game in the series for me personally. Let me know what other games you'd like me to test out and I'll do my best to oblige. I'm just having fun playing GC games again, so it's all good.

Well... I... you see... it's just that... I was going to... and then... ...No. But the intention is most definitely there to play the entire Yakuza series, once all of them are commited to appearing in physical form on the PS4.

Having the whole series available to play on the PS4 is all I've ever wanted for Yakuza so that I can properly get into it. I've even purposely left spaces in my PS4 Tower™ for the rest of the entries ready for when they get released. Now all I need to know is whether or not I'll be needing to make an extra space for Yakuza Ishin or not, which I would definitely buy in a heartbeat. Yakuza + Samurai = instant purchase, I can't believe that I didn't even know about this spin-off until now as well, seems like it performed really well when it came out in 2014 in Japan. I feel that the understanding of Samurai is most likely at an all-time high in the rest right now, especially with the increased availability of films by such acclaimed directors as Akira Kurosawa. Yeah, OK... our understanding is most likely a little lacking in comparison to how much Japan knows about the history but... all the more reason to release it over here. I'm more than happy to learn through the medium of expertly produced games.

Nazi symbolism, check! Mustache, check! Game launch date on my birthday, check! That's a guaranteed sale for me then, it's like it was meant to be. Besides, I've been playing Wolfenstein since the MS-Dos days, which has symbolism galore, Hitler in a mech-suit and much more... it just wouldn't be Wolfenstein without it.

Thanks yeah, Burnout certainly stole the show for me last night, even though I was just going for the main games I immediately wanted to play regardless of video mode. I will try out plenty of games which support Progressive Scan Mode though, including F-Zero and Fire Emblem *adds them to the list* so it will be interesting to see what it can do. From watching that video you posted, I can see that the GCHD makes a clear difference and seems to be getting plenty of coverage on YouTube at the moment. In comparision I found it difficult to find many videos for the GC Video Plug and Play 3.0 as most of the highlighted ones seemed to be for the earlier flawed model, which is a shame. I did find one though which has some useful footage in... It gives a good idea anyway, just skip to the footage you're interested in, both F-Zero and Soul Calibur II were looking particularly sharp there. This is why I keep wanting to try capturing footage of my own, I have multiple GameCube consoles, access to a capture device which supports at least HDMI, plus I have the Component cable for comparison too... if I can find a way, especially with the Framemeister to add into the mix, then I will, but for now I'll just keep trying games out and will update you all on how the games look to me, in written form as it's at least something to go on in the meantime. I fully expect there to be more videos on the GC Video Plug and Play 3.0 in the coming weeks though, as they are still being shipped out on a regular basis, plus there is still a significant waiting list I would think, which will probably only grow as time goes on... maybe the production might ramp up a bit after that, who knows? But at least currently with the smaller production runs, every unit seems to have been tested well whereas I have heard some complaints that some peoples GCHD units have been DOA even after checking the obvious stuff, like it's plugged in properly etc. Interesting times indeed in any case.

Decided to fill out that Microsoft survey about all things Xbox that I've had in my inbox for a while, they wanted to specifically know about why I scored Sea of Thieves so low, well... Not enough meaningful content, Rare founded a lot of its previous titles on there being a decent amount of single-player content, I realise that this is an online focused game but I feel that it would benefit from having a dedicated single-player campaign as either extra dlc or preferably a free update. I realise that more things will be added or tweaked to Sea of Thieves over time, but at the moment, it is far from a desirable experience, which is a shame because the art direction is spectacular and there is surely still a lot of talent at Rare. I also feel that if possible external forces had not effectively forced Rare to release the game early to be part of the Game Pass then this could have released later in the year as a more fleshed out title to greater critical acclaim, rather than releasing now for relatively short-term gains. They then asked me What is the primary reason you purchased Sea of Thieves? To play as a Pirate! Arrrrg! That'll do I think. I can only hope that we get a surprise update during E3 which somehow transforms the game into something closer to what everyone expected it to be.

Well... it is a valid option and it is quite good on the general availibility it seems but being that I didn't mind waiting, I put my name down for an alternative a while ago. In fact I posted this only two weeks ago... And it actually arrived yesterday! I was thinking about writing a feature about it when I've tested it fully and compared it with the official Component lead which I also own which I managed to get for a reasonable price. So if this is something you'd all be interested in then let me know but in the meantime I have tested it with three games last night... Phantasy Star Online Episode I&II - Works fine, looks about as good as component, maybe some more detail and better colour in some areas, episode II definitely looked better than episode I but then that is to be expected generally. Tried out episode I with my high-level HUmar and episode II with my moderate-level HUcast, which was a blast as I'd been meaning to start playing PSO again, even if it is offline only. Ikaruga - Full disclosure, I just wanted to see how it displayed on my vertical display, even though I've since got better versions with more options... it does work but being that my monitor only rotates one way - not the way the game has coded in - it worked but it was the other way up, so I played a full run of upside-down Ikaruga just for the sake of it. Burnout 2: Point of Impact - Oh my... this title looked simply glorious and the sound was a bit punchier as well, ended up playing this for longer than I did on the Burnout Paradise remaster recently, managed to get some more golds I had given up on years ago and got some more high scores in Crash mode too. Being able to see the cars coming at you in the oncoming traffic lane in with improved visibility really made a difference. Some general points to note about the GC Video Plug and Play 3.0... There is a waiting list... so get in early if you're seriously considering one Casing is 3D printed... basic finish to it, nothing like the Eon adapter but it does what you expect Plugs into the Digital port only... you don't have to sacrifice the standard port in case you need it for sound Works with Framemeister remote... because out of all the remotes I had, this was the only one that worked It can be updated... apparently the firmware can be updated, so that's nice That's all I can think of right now, normally I wouldn't link other Nintendo fan sites but I did see this review on some obscure site, so that'll have to do until I write one of my own. In the meantime, let me know what other games you'd like me to test - I have about 100 GC games so chances are I have the main ones - or anything else you'd like to know about it and I'll do my best to oblige. And yes, my unit was purchased completely off my own back, I did think about seeing if ZeldaXPro would supply us one seeing as we are a Nintendo fan site but due to the way in which you had to register your interest and the huge demand, it was easier this was as I did pay for this months ago as it is before getting the item but he has been very good at keeping in contact with his customers, updating every Sunday - a bit like a Kickstarter - and keeping everyone in the loop. This device has come a long way since the original version 1.0 with the circuitry issues. (R.I.P. MetalJesusRocks'GameCube which got shorted out) HDMI enabled GameCube consoles in 2018... who would have thought it?

OK, so it isn't standard... I just thought that it might be but I have nothing to base this on as I just use my desktop PC to browse the forum. This is useful feedback, so it seems that there is an issue with the formatting, or rather... this is how it functions regardless of device being used, be it PC, mobile or other device. I can see it from both sides but hopefully overall, using the forum has become easier since we've switched over, I hope so anyway.

I noticed this change in spacing instantly, yes I get that it's annoying, I don't like it personally but I have adapted to it. If I really want something to look right and take out spaces etc then I'll just edit it in notedpad and then it's fine, yes I'm using a desktop PC, so I'm aware that this might not be an option if you're posting on mobile but... isn't this paragraph on return standard partly because of the popularity of browsing on phones? I could be wrong but I'm sure it was never this way about a decade ago. Most of the changes which have happened on the forum have been made for the benefit of mobile browsing, haven't they? I'd say that the plus points still outweight the negatives. Anyway, my concensus on it is that it is fine most of the time but sometimes I have had to reformat things in another text editor, especially when making certain kinds of lists - but there are ways on the forum to make list formats as well - on the whole though, it has made posting articles a lot easier for a lot of the staff, so there's that too.

Yep, I completely agree with this. I do quite like Tom Hardy... when he's not appearing in adverts... (though hearing him say "Phone" in one of them I found perhaps unintentionally comical) he seems pretty good. Definitely played the role well in Bronson, liked him in the TV series Taboo, he seems a good fit in other films and TV programmes as well, but this? Nope. I suppose you can't really blame him for wanting to make as much money now as he can but it is a shame in other ways... just looking at all the stuff he's been in, I suppose it's the law of averages or something but yeah, he'll sell tickets by being in it for certain regardless of whether or not the film is good, If you'd told me that there would be a Venom film in the Nineties, I probably would have jumped at the chance to see it as I always quite liked the character when I was younger but now in 2018... I question it just as I do every other superhero/anti-hero/villain film which comes out and I don't bother watching that many of them any more so I suppose this just isn't for me, which is fine... and I'll likely just stick to buying the odd super-hero videogame every now and then, that's enough for me. At least within the current market of these kinds of films, Venom is sure to stand out but I wonder if it will be for the right reasons or not.

Thanks, I just checked Base.com though, did a search, no sign of it, checked all through the Switch category, nothing... plus, do Base.com only sell Pal games all the time or sometimes imports? I'm just a bit wary of them until I see it appearing elsewhere on other online retailers as well. It's a really silly situation, this release for a UK Pal version in physical form should be a no-brainer, though I think it was the case with the PS4 version that it was US only for physical. I know both consoles are region-free, it's the principle though.