S.C.G

I'm glad to hear that currently with all of the systems I've collected for, it can feel like a bit much at times but I just know that they are mostly game I want to play... one day. I can relate to that, the one bookshelf I have is now "The Sega Shelf" which has mostly Mega Drive, Master System and Mega CD games on the shelves, then on top of the shelf that's where I have most of the Saturn games, in their own wooden shelf frame type storage, then on top of that is where I made a bespoke storage system out of perspex pieces which is where most of the Dreamcast collection is, with the overspill in some of those stackable Game storage towers. When it comes to the SNES games though... I had to put most of those in strong storage boxes, along with videogame OST's etc and more niche stuff like Neo Geo Pocket. Then in the big boxes, I've got all the videogame books I backed on Kickstarter but want to get around to reading, the bookshelf would be the best place for them but... (Sega!) Controllers and peripherals are an entirely different issue... this is after getting rid of a load of stuff as well, it's mad really. I was sitting here last night, looking at what few anime and sci-fi dvd's I have on another small tower unit and thinking how many SNES games I could fit in their place. Gaming is still something I very much enjoy but now that I have the time to really look at everything critically, it has really made me think about what's worth keeping and what isn't.

Sega Lord X with a video on The Nintendo 64 - An Unexpected Journey which features some fantastic titles in there. Speaking of the N64, my collection has had a bit of a rejig recently, as I've been going through my collection I have decided to part with at least nine titles. There are other games which I could also sell if I really wanted to but I've now got it down to just under fifty titles which are either games I've grown up with or that mean something. Plus I do have an Everdrive 64 Version 3 so that I can play all the homebrews and titles we never got over here, so there's that to consider. I tried to do the same with my GameCube collection but I just couldn't do it, I have nearly double the amount of GC games as N64 games but It's another system I really like. I've got to have a good look at my Sega games next, starting with the Dreamcast collection which I'm mostly very pleased with but there are maybe a few titles I don't need. All of my Sega Saturn games feel pretty well curated overall, I just need more space for them, although I don't have that many overall, plenty of gems though. I might have gone a bit overkill with Sega Mega Drive games just before the Analogue Mega SG came out though but I did grow up with it and the Mega-CD so it's fine I think. Has anyone else been looking at their game collection and started pairing things down, or even building it up? I know @Happenstance you got your collection down to just 16-bit consoles mostly didn't you? Have you found that better in the long run rather than collecting for many platforms?

John Riggs with a video on the PSP Go - Celebrating 10 Years! I didn't really bother much with the PSP at the time but I did win a PSP Go via a promotion, so that's how I got mine and it is a nice little system. Digital only though and you can't access the store directly any more but you can connect it to a PS3 and grab some games for it that way. I'm thinking of doing that after I get my setup sorted out a bit more, as I got a PSP Go dock and a set of Component cables with the intention of maybe playing it on the big screen. Now that doesn't sound like the greatest idea overall but apparently you can get some decent results out of it, anyway just something for another time I guess. But ten years... it was quite ahead of its time in a way.

Look what I found, the banner is gone (so here's some colourful logo style text) and there are no images (yoink!) but the review's still there from an early edition of VC Weekly... ***Sonic The Hedgehog Spinball*** Points: 800 Publisher: Sega Developer: Sonic Team Released: 1993 System: Sega Megadrive From the team of all things Sonic comes a pinball game starring the blue blur with a twist as this is probably the only game of it's kind to feature brief interlinked platform sections. For it's time it was an original concept, albeit a slightly obvious one perhaps, Sonic rolls into a ball, therefore lets put him in a pinball game, nevertheless though, it works and maintains its novelty value even today. Skimming over the storyline briefly, sees the return of Dr Robotnik (aka Dr Eggman if you've only played since the DC days) who has built a monstrous contraption known as the "Veg-O-Fortress" on Mt Mobius for the purpose of turning happy creatures into mindless slaves. Enter Sonic! Who after plummeting into the water below the Fortress following an air strike gone wrong (in a Bi-plane flown by Tails no less!) he resurfaces in the Toxic caves where the game begins. This first table sets the tone for the rest of the game which basically goes a little something like this... Yep, that's Robotnik as a robotic Scorpion... enough nightmare fuel for anyone growing up playing this game. Using the Flippers you make Sonic hit a pair of targets to drain a container of Toxic green liquid revealing a chaos emerald which you then collect, you then locate the other two emeralds on the level and make your way across 2 or 3 pinball tables linked by short platform sections. Once the emerald collection is complete you move onto the levels boss. Each of the game's levels follows this pattern, only as you progress the amount of items to collect gets progressively greater, the tables become somewhat testing and the boss encounters more random. In addition to this there are lots of ways to boost your score and earn extra credits such as multipliers, bonuses for destroying badniks and a handful of mini pinball bonus stages in between, so theres enough to add variation to the proceedings. Sonic Spinball is a well-rounded and enjoyable pinball game as well as a break from standard Sonic titles, as enjoyable now as it was when it was originally released back in the day, no more, no less. Verdict: A solid Sonic spin-off So I can't have thought it was that bad, though I erm... notice that I didn't really mention the music and this was in the days when around three to six games were released each week, just on the Virtual Console alone so the reviews were mostly quite short being that I didn't know how many I'd be writing from one week to the next and for reference this was written over twelve years ago for the site... Yep, I'm definitely feeling old again now anyway, hopefully reading through my old review will provide someone with some amusement at the very least.

Super Mario Ball for certain, Sonic Spinball at least has some redeeming features, I mean... the soundtrack is certainly memorable for better or worse. I have legitimately completed it back in the day as well, was it worth the effort? Not really but I did like seeing what insane boss battles the game would come up with next. When it comes to Super Mario Ball, I'd musch rather just forget it completely. Metroid Prime Pinball on the other hand is genuinely brilliant and one of the best crossovers I never knew I wanted until I played it.

Copy get! Will probably play later on, I also wanted to finish Link's Awakening but a new Yooka-Laylee game? It's definitely calling to me.

I'll take ten! Or at least two anyway.

Let's hope that Limited Run Games or Super Rare Games get the publishing rights then because if it's destined to be digital only then it might as well at the very least have a small print run for those who really want to own a boxed copy and it looks like that's what I'll be holding out for in this case and besides, it's not as if the Panzer Dragoon series isn't a stranger to having low print runs, especially when it comes to Panzer Dragoon Saga which I still hope will one day be remade somehow. House of the Dead would be a good one to have boxed as well, just like the double pack on the Wii though it needs a light gun shell, maybe Nintendo will make a Labo one? I didn't know you got rid of your original Xbox and all of your games, that's a shame but I guess you did what you needed to do at the time to get more games? I'd been buying up original Xbox games cheap as and when I'd see them so I'm planning on playing my original Xbox again soon once I get it out of storage, I might as well seeing as Microsoft have given up on backwards comapability yet again, this time for the Xbox One. In addition to all the modern game systems listed, there are many retro games I'm planning on playing, it will all take time though and I doubt if it will be before the end of this year but next year is when I'll probably ramp things up a gear with all of that, I need to reorganise and reprioritise a lot of things first. Out of interest and to take the thread in a slightly different direction (without the intention of de-railing it) I'd like to ask the following question... Which retro games will you be planning on playing by the end of the year? These could be on old consoles or even re-releases, remakes etc... as I'm curious. If it gets out of hand, then we can just take the conversation to the Retro thread but it's just nice to get a good bit of game talk going on the forum.

Welcome to the joy of Monster Hunter. Dual Blades for Life I need to get back to playing this in the evenings.

Yes but is it really? I had the impression that it's not locked in yet for some reason and it could be delayed. I only didn't list it because I really didn't think it was definitely coming out this year, plus I looked for a place to pre-order it and couldn't find anywhere. Don't tell me that there's no physical version planned for the remake of Panzer Dragoon? It can't just be digital only, that'd be terrible, it deserves a boxed release. You really should play Orta if it's on Game Pass if you don't own it already, I thought you did though? If not then it's worth picking up a physical copy.

I was going to post in here earlier but my initial reaction to the amount of games coming out was something like this... "I feel like I have barely enough time to play the games I have as it is, let alone even think about all of the games coming out in between now and the end of the year" Now we're at the start of October, I'm starting to get back into actually playing games more and finding time for them so I'm thinking... "It might not be a bad idea to at least have some kind of battle plan, even if it all goes wrong only a week end and I somehow get to the end of the year thinking, what happened?" So let's give this a try... Games I'm currently playing Monster Hunter World - Every now and then, need to get back to it, working through quests. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Playing a few hours each night, will hopefully finish it soon. Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst - Some nights I just play a few quests online and it's great fun. Backlog titles I want to play (Nintendo Switch) Astral Chain - I was playing this and enjoying it, then more games came out, I'll go back to it. Daemon X Machina - Yep... this will be played at some point but not right now. Doom - Yes, the game originally from 2016, need to play it before the sequel. Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition - The long title takes up too much writing space, I want to play this very soon. Horizon Chase Turbo - I got the physical version but I also got the soundtrack, I've listened to the soundtrack loads, just need time for the game. The Messenger - Got a physical release for it, need to play it and the free dlc. /PS4/ Devil May Cry 3 - Must finish this before getting back to DMCV, loving what I've played so far. Devil May Cry V - I want to get back to this, but I'm playing this third game before I do. Judgment - I bought this when it came out, I want to play it but... Yakuza series. Kingdom Hearts Series - One day, I'll play these and defeat the darkness for good. Metro series - Looks great, bought the games to support the developer and I want to play them. Nier Automata - I need to play this but I need to play the first game before. Shenmue I & II - Shenmue III is coming out in November, I want to play these again, will I? Who knows... Yakuza Series - Started the prequel, I enjoy it, I'll surely love the series but I need more time. [Xbox One] Forza - Gotta get my fix of cars. Gears - Gotta get my fix of chainsaws. Halo - Gotta get my fix of Master Chief. Panzer Dragoon Orta - Just because I love the series and need to replay it. Rare Replay - Because there's games in there which I've never played before, the collection has been out four years already. Upcoming Games (Nintendo Switch) October 8th - Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair - I owe it to myself to play this when it comes out, my copy has already shipped, heck I might review it! October 8th - Aldred Knight of Honor - It's a new eShop title, I reported on it the other day, it's 89p currently, I've bought it, look out for a review. October 18th - A Hat in Time - I need to pre-order the physcial version, I need to play this. October 29th - Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD - I should maybe buy this for the mini-games? October 29th - Wargroove Deluxe Edition - I want to play this, I'll pre-order it probably. October 31st - Luigi's Mansion 3 - It's the third game in the series, it looks amazing, I can't miss this. November 15th - Pokémon Sword & Shield - Sword version for me, Shield version for my brother who will soon own a Switch. November 22nd - Deadly Premonition Origins - I've heard nothing but good things about this game, the Switch is getting the sequel so I need to play this. November 22nd - Doom Eternal - It's Doom, it looks amazing, I need to play Doom 2016 though... 2020 - Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha & Beta - I mistakenly bought the JP versions then I found out these are coming out, so I'll sell those and get these versions. /PS4/ October 25th - Medievil - I never properly played the original, I should get this. November 8th - Death Stranding - Do I really want this? I really don't know at this point. November 19th - Shenmue III - I mean... I backed it, so I'm getting it and I'm playing it, it's that simple. 2020 - Yakuza Remastered Collection / The Last of Us Part II - I should pre-order these. [Xbox One] 2019 - 2020 - Nothing... except for one title. Phantasy Star Online 2 - This is all I need to justify owning my Xbox One, it's finally coming out over here and I couldn't be happier. That's what the rest of the year is currently looking like for me, that took a while to type out but at least I feel like I have an idea of what's coming now, roughly. This is without even listing loads of Limited Run Games and things like that, plus there's the added challenge of now being unemployed so I need to make some cash. It's all in hand though, as I've been going through my game collection and I think I'll be selling a few things this weekend for a start. One thing is for certain though, I'll be buying less games in 2020 but at least then maybe I'll find the time to play a lot of the games I have hopefully.

Oh I get it, from the perspective of "If you like Football then it's the only Football game" but EA have had a monoploy for too long and the only way that I can see that's going to change is if people actually vote with their wallets, but if Fifa is one of the few games that people buy a year then I get that it's just not going to happen, still it seems like a lot of people who really like Fifa are being vocal about this one and at least complaining so... it's something I suppose. It's just really rubbish how EA gets away with shipping games like this with stuff broken in them, in the case of the Switch version it's barely a new game at all, putting in all the microtransactions they can get away with and then laughing all the way to the bank. At least a while back they had some competition I suppose in the form of Pro-Evo (if that was even competition really? I don't know) but it's just a total monopoly these days. I guess it doesn't really concern me, seeing as I'm not the target audience for these games, I just find it sad is all as surely gamers who buy these titles should get a bit more for their money and not expect to have to shell out more on top? I know all the extra stuff is optional but I'd bet that a high percentate end up buying into the loot boxes etc.

FIFA 20 then... looks like EA messed up their yearly cookie-cutter, cut 'n paste, change a few things, slap in some microtransactions and wait for the money to roll in cash cow. I'm really surprised that people still buy these games.

Well if battle mode is always GP 3 I can see my score going up for a change! On Bob-omb Blast at least.

Wow... that's one Monster Hunter crossover I didn't think we'd see happen. Obviously doesn't work as well as Geralt from The Witcher but... I'll take it!

Nice teardown video here of the Switch SNES controller, also... at 53 seconds is that icon showing the pad connected in wired mode? Nice if so.

Sega Lord X with a video featuring Games I really wanted for the Sega Saturn Part 2: The Cancelled Projects which shows some interesting games. I would have definitely tried out that Raiden port if it had happened, Viewpoint looks pretty interesting for an isometric shooter as well.

Hmm... "Put 'em in the stocks" "Stocks and spares" "Stock and Awe" "Stockémon Gotta Smash 'em All!"

in

While I wasn't surprised to see a Warner company or Rockstar in a Tax-Dodging video, I was somewhat surprised to find Sega and Sony in there... I don't know why but I was. I already don't buy games from the former companies for other reasons, I still buy Sony and Sega published games but it does make me think how much do I really need them? Although I will say that this UK Tax relief scheme should be a bit more strict about who they let claim for it, certainly above a certain amount of net earninings there should be a limit.

A couple of videos about the whole situation... It's hard to say what's going to happen now, I really think Nintendo would be foolish to just let Alpha Dream fall by the wayside as there's still so much potential from the studio. Of course HD development would not be easy for such a small studio but I think that if they were absorbed by Nintendo and were given some staff to assist them then who knows? A brand new Mario & Luigi RPG on the Switch in HD? I'd buy it... or even a spin-off, Wario & Waluigi: Partners in Crime or Peach & Daisy: Sassiness in Sarasaland Anything except letting nearly two decades of game development expertise go down the drain.

Aldred - Knight of Honor is a Platformer brought to us by QUByte Interactive and is coming to the Switch eShop on October 8th For the price of £1.79 (89p pre-order price/launch discount until 15/09/19) Check the article for all the details and a trailer. (tempted by this one myself, especially for 99p so something which actually looks half-decent)

AlphaDream Files For Bankruptcy Terrible news indeed not an article I thought I'd be writing, especially the day after reporting on Monolithsoft's 20th anniversary. Here's hoping that Nintendo can step in and do something decent to save the staff who have been effectively working for them for a long time now. I know I haven't completed many of their games, but I still hoped to one day and I still bought the titles as well. Heck, there are plenty of other projects Nintendo could give them to work on, I'd take a Paper Mario remake if Intelligent Systems aren't working on one.

Super Mario Maker 2 version 1.1.0 is live Full patch notes now up on the main page.

AlphaDream Files For Bankruptcy Terrible news indeed not an article I thought I'd be writing, especially the day after reporting on Monolithsoft's 20th anniversary. Here's hoping that Nintendo can step in and do something decent to save the staff who have been effectively working for them for a long time now. I know I haven't completed many of their games, but I still hoped to one day and I still bought the titles as well. Heck, there are plenty of other projects Nintendo could give them to work on, I'd take a Paper Mario remake if Intelligent Systems aren't working on one.