S.C.G

Forget cartridge-blowing and its pseudo-effects or otherwise... what about certain Sega disc-based consoles? (just kidding, to an extent but mostly aside from the NES I've very rarely had cartridges fail) I swear some Dreamcast discs only need a few small scratches in the wrong places and they become near impossible for the console to read... I'm talking about even when you have a "good" machine as well with a stronger than usual laser. Already I'm a couple of rare(ish) titles down - merely doubles thankfully - as some games just stopped reading and seemingly no amount of cleaning would help... I think this can happen with Sega Saturn games as well but to a lesser extent thankfully as the machine is definitely of sturdier construction that the Dreamcast I think personally... though I might just be slightly biased or annoyed at my DC not readin certain discs currently. :p There was a moment where a copy of Cannon Spike just stopped working... thankfully after some very careful cleaning it is now working flawlessly again - as in I tested the game for the whole evening just to be sure - which is just as well; it's a tough road in trying to get several collectable Dreamcast - and Saturn - games to be complete, in decent condition and reliably working, but it's worth it. Does anyone have any other disc/cartridge cleaning techniques they wish to share? Let's keep the Retro dream alive! : peace:

No chance, I'm working today sadly! Another time though perhaps? - I have a week off next week - I hope you all have fun though. : peace:

Well I'd best get downloading then! Today is a good day, thank you NOE! I now retract all that was said earlier... ...until the next time. Anyway, yay! e-Reader levels get!

I'll make every effort to tone down the arbitrary alliteration. Starting... now!

I guess there is a certain amount of pre-empting going on here... I really hope it isn't the case, but when it isn't mentioned in the press release or even shown in the video, it's hard not to get that uncertain feeling. :p Ah well, I'm off to work soon but even if no one here is downloading it without knowing I'm sure you'll only have to wait until... 2:05PM until somebody, somewhere downloads it and checks the main menu; I'm assuming this is how it can be confirmed? Unless you need to get to a certain point in the game to unlock them. Either way I'll be downloading these later when I return - unless we get codes for them - as three for two is still too good a deal to pass up. In the meantime if anyone hasn't got anything to do, why not check out VCW 370 - above - which has a review of Drill Dozer by Dean and I - if you haven't already - it contains pictures of the original game as well.

Me obviously! If the European release of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 doesn't have the e-reader stages then it just goes to show how lazy NOE can be at times, this will be mentioned in VC Weekly... more than mentioned, there will be a significant section which will take up most of the review. I really hope it isn't the case though, that somehow all the stages are in there and it just hasn't been mentioned, either way it's buy two titles get one free so... I'm going to go for it, purely because I planned to download them because I need to and we never actually know whether or not NOE is going to bother even sending us codes for VC games on a weekly basis as always, they gave us codes for all the Pokémon VC releases seemingly as a goodwill gesture which is obviously appreciated but still they could do a lot better for VC releases by their fans and by the places which review their games in the first place... surely it doesn't take that much effort? Regardless these will be reviewed, I don't suppose the games are even up yet either... usually they seem to be in the afternoon on a Thursday I gather, so if anyone wants to find out and isn't going to buy the games then they will need to wait until this evening as I work until just gone 5PM... if the releases were already up on the eShop then I'd have already downloaded then but they aren't so nevermind. It often feels like one massive leap forward with NOE every now and then, followed by several stumbling steps back sometimes, I really hope we haven't been screwed over here but only time will tell.

I watched it earlier before going to work and I must admit that I did find it interesting... particularly as I'm an amiibo collector and yet like so many others on this forum it was never my original intention. Just three amiibo figures I said to myself, just Samus Link and Mario... oh but then I must have Kirby as well... Pikachu seems pretty well-made, also I can't leave out Donley Kong! Before I knew it, I had them all and I wanted more... Part of it was the unavailability of certain figures I'm sure but now that they are readily available I don't even have that excuse anymore! My name is Sam and I'm... an amiiboholic. I have been collecting things for many years though, especially game related merchandise so I see it as an extension of that, plus there are many amiibo figures of Nintendo characters which just haven't existed in physical form until now so I do enjoy owning them and playing with them in a game-enabled sense. Plus when I have the complete Super Smash Bros. set I will do a feature on them for the site as promised, because if I can't arrange ALL of them so that they fit in one large picture just like in the Photo Mode in the game then there simply is no point to me buying them all really, it has to be done! :awesome:

Nice, it's another fucking twin-stick shooter. In fairness this one does look different to other examples in the genre.

There's only one fari way to compare Star Fox Zero with previous entries... Play all the videos of each home console entry simultaneously! You might want to skip ahead some of the videos to the flying sections... In fairness, the original game makes everything else look slower. Each game has its plus points and weaknesses I'm sure Star Fox Zero will be no different in that respect. : peace:

N-Europe Presents VC Weekly #370 Drill Dozer Drill Dozer finally gets its long overdue European release thanks to the Wii U Virtual Console. Dean and I team up to tackle this title which is surely one of Game Freak's more original and underrated offerings. Check inside for the verdict. Enjoy! : peace:

Surely it's obvious that Playtonic are as close to having a new Rare as is ever likely? They have my full support - and my money - in any case. : peace: ------------------------------------------------------- As for Lionhead... I have respect for what the company has achieved over the years even if I don't agree with the overzealous praise the Fable franchise has received as the games after the first entry really weren't that revolutionary. It may be sad to see a studio go as suddenly as this but it all comes down to money so this is probably a good move for Microsoft who certainly aren't short of cash. Lionhead will be acquired by another bigger company, you can just see it happening... though serious reform would be required, perhaps some of the team will go their seperate ways though, who knows. But as far as the future of other studios owned by Microsoft... who can say what will happen now?

Ah fair enough, I'll still keep you in mind though, the Special Edition seems to be the only way to get the full game, so if you don't manage to secure one, I can still order the Special Edition and then sell you just the game for... £35 including postage if that sounds fair? (That seems to be the going rate for most brand new 3DS games) Seeing as it's just the game you really want, that might be a viable option, then I can just sell the box with all the extras, I'm sure I could make the money back easily so I wouldn't be losing out either way and you'd get the full game for a reasonable price without feeling forced to buy the extras you don't want. : peace: Anyway, keep it in mind for nearer the games release. Would buying it all digitally come to less than £35 though? --------------------------------------------------- I'll be pre-ordering this as soon as it's available as I love Fire Emblem games despite - rather embarrassingly - never finishing a single title in the series to completion... *hides* I still enjoy playing them though.

I tell you what, when Fire Emblem Fates Special Edition is announced as being available on the Nintendo Store, I'll pre-order two - assuming it's not one per customer, which shouldn't happen anyway with this - then if you want it I'll swap you it for your Amazon voucher - assuming it's for around the same amount as the game - then that way you get the game, I get the value of the game back which I'll then spend on Amazon and everyone's a winner. Anyway, let me know if you do manage to get it on Pre-order on Amazon but otherwise I'll go ahead with this unless there's a flaw in the plan I've overlooked, you and Flink have helped me out with game sales etc before so I'm always happy to return the favour. : peace:

A whole Year One of content planned out? That's both impressive and very presumptuous, this implies that Ubisoft expects people will be playing this for significantly longer than a year on a regular basis. While this may turn out to be the case, it could all still so easily flop could it not? Plus I think it all depends largely on how you spin in, is this just the latest case of a game being released ahead of schedule and then charging for some late content? Or is the Season Pass really to fund future content for the game? (Which just so happens to be already planned) Either way I hope that those who purchase it enjoy the experience enough to justify getting all this content but it just raises a lot of questions for me peronsally about the way games are being distributed these days. I'm not meaning to start any arguements, just making some observations from what I've seen of the game so far. : peace:

I'm still intruiged by this title, mostly for the visuals at this poiint though I must admit, I may go back and finish Sticker Star but the best thing about that for me was how that holographic sticker effect had been replicated on the 3DS screen. Though I must say, if a remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door was created in HD with the same level of detail seen here, I'd buy it in an instant.

A good selection, surely NOE aren't going to screw us over by not including the e-Reader stages though? The three for two deal better not be just something to soften the blow because we're getting an inferior version. I also find it amusing that the New 3DS now has the original Super Mario World so now the Wii U VC gets the enhanced GBA port... though it does have both versions now, I must admit though there's something special about the original SNES version which I love.

I'm glad to see you're mostly enjoying the game again but, about this bit... I thought that you could get something called a Poe Lantern in this version of Twilight Princess which allows you to search for them during the day? Though I have no idea where you get it from, I still haven't really properly started the game as I was playing Drill Dozer yesterday but it has definitely been documented that this item is in the game. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-02-04-everything-thats-changed-in-zelda-twilight-princess-hd Someone else who has it in-game can confirm this perhaps?

If I can purchase the game outright for £10 - £15 then it's an instant purchase. If it's anything like Pokémon Picross where it's free but I have to buy Tears of Light - instead of Picrites - to continue playing then it's a no.

Still, it only dips slightly in what seems to be certain areas which use specific graphical effects and we are only talking about a momentary dip down to around 25fps at its worst, barely noticeable. If anything, seeing all the versions side by side just further justifies purchase of the game - for me anyway - and I'm glad to be experiencing the game again in HD with various other enhancements. For it has been around ten years since I last played it afterall.

N-Europe Review Quite possibly the s-l-o-w-e-s-t review of FAST Racing NEO ever but... ...here it is anyway, for what it's worth. Enjoy! : peace:

A lot of artificial sweeteners can be even worse for you than sugar. I'm no expert on them, all I know is that I try to avoid anything artificial in food where possible. ---------------------------------------- On the topic of weight, I haven't lost any weight recently to my knowledge - which in my case is a good thing as there isn't much to me - but then I don't think I've put any on either, then again I should get back on Wii Fit or something and actually check I suppose. I feel OK though, generally better recently for eating well, keeping hydrated and although I don't go to the gym I do try and keep active throughout the day where possible but I always feel as if I could improve things further in my life a bit, ultimately though I don't feel too bad these days.

Gamecube VC games? :wink: Calling it now! : peace: I'm ever hopeful anyway... But in any case... Get Hyped! :awesome: If it does happen and we get NX details I expect Nintendo will outline just how we'll be able to play all VC games including GC on NX in enhanced form.

Go on then, sign me up for some insanity please.

Presumably you've gone long periods of time between playing it? I did and I had the same issue with the clock, apparently it's due to the internal battery and the more you use it, the longer the time will stay set. I've been playing mine every other day or so for the past few weeks and date/time settings have been retained. Also did you know that the Sega Dreamcast internal clock only goes up to 2085? And you can even set it as far back as 1950 if you so desire, there have been a lot of theories on why this is, the earlier date could relate to a time in Sega's early history when the company was moved to Japan in 1951 following the U.S Government starting to outlaw slot machines... this was news to me as well. :p But as for the 2085 date? Who knows... I'd like to be around to find out but I'm not entirely sure it would be either worth it or even viable to stick around until being a hundred just to find out, but it's an interesting thought at least... my betting is on the fact that it's a date set so far into the future that who knows if there will be any working Dreamcasts, Videogames, Technology or even much of this planet left by then. Yeah... I'm going to not dwell on it and go back to writing some reviews, but in any case that's your Sega trivia for the day!

I purchased my Sega Dreamcast brand new about fifteen years or so ago, it was fine but sadly mine has recently yellowed. It's a shame because I look after my consoles as well, it was out into storage with some of my other beloved consoles for a few years, in a clean plastic box, it has never been mistreated... I just got it out a few weeks ago and discovered that it wasn't quite the same colour as I remember. I'm going to have a go at cleaning it, just superficially - I'm not taking the case off and risking breaking a perfectly good working console - to see if I can make it look a bit better, I still love it though as it's a fantastic machine.