General Retro Discussion

[Hero-of-Time]

Dunno if this will interest you, @Ike?

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/newcastle-gaming-market-saturday-17th-february-2024-tickets-758765838047?aff=ebpredboostfbandigads&td_campaign_id=609769

 

[Happenstance]

I've been to the Birmingham one from them, they're pretty good. Can get a bit cramped depending on the venue but the sellers always seem nice and chatty.

[Julius]

Wasn't really sure where to put this, but considering his videos have been dropped in here a few times, thought I'd share Happy Console Gamer's video on turning 50 and his thoughts on still gaming at that age:

I think it's awesome. I really do think insight and the sharing of experiences is so valuable for the growth and continuation of any medium (I mean, it also just is in general), so while it's sad that he highlights that he knows a lot of people who dropped gaming before reaching a certain age (for a number of reasons), I think it's great that he's still going strong experiencing his passion. I still remember when I started checking out HCG probably a little while before I started posting here on N-E and his excitement for games like Shenmue (well, his and Michael Huber's ) really just gripped me.

Ultimately that passing on of experiences is invaluable because I feel it really helps form a suitable lens for people my age and younger to go check out older games for the first time, which in its own way, I'd argue, is just as important for video game preservation as the release, documentation and availability of those older games. This is not even to mention the potential cognitive benefits I can imagine a healthy relationship with gaming could bring. 

Anyways, this all just reminds me I'll be keeping the idea of Final Fantasy XIV private servers in my back pocket until I make it to the retirement home 

Edited January 15 by Julius

[Hero-of-Time]

Yeah, dude seems like good people. Him and Kim are generally positive about gaming and if they don't like something they play, they just say their piece and move on. I like that he doesn't really follow the trends and just tends to speak about what he wants and likes. His videos started off as a passion project and that's what they continue to be. It's something I respect about him. 

I really love the videos that he does when Rob shows up. The way they talk about their youth and gaming together is really heartwarming. I'm lucky enough to also have a mate like that and it's always great to talk about past times that involved gaming nights/sessions. Gaming was a huge part of our lives as kids and that remains true for both of us at the old ages of 41 and 38.

[Sheikah]

Wasn't sure if this had already been posted or where to post it. Seems sort of appropriate to post it here?

https://www.eurogamer.net/uk-retailer-game-to-cease-video-game-trade-ins-staff-say

GAME no longer accepting preowned game trade ins from February. We move ever closer to the all-digital future.

[Happenstance]

I haven't bought a used game in years as for most of my gaming I am digital only now but I do have fond memories of rifling through the used games at shops like Game, Electronics Boutique before it and Gamestation looking for deals.

[Ike]

7 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Dunno if this will interest you, @Ike?

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/newcastle-gaming-market-saturday-17th-february-2024-tickets-758765838047?aff=ebpredboostfbandigads&td_campaign_id=609769

 

I actually thought it was this month, but I was thinking about it. Might decide nearer the time. Not really after anything at the moment, but might go for a browse or maybe some inspiration. Are you planning on going?

31 minutes ago, Sheikah said:

Wasn't sure if this had already been posted or where to post it. Seems sort of appropriate to post it here?

https://www.eurogamer.net/uk-retailer-game-to-cease-video-game-trade-ins-staff-say

GAME no longer accepting preowned game trade ins from February. We move ever closer to the all-digital future.

That's the only reason I go to a GAME store these days. That and Pokemon distributions.

Their stores all seem to be inside Sports Directs now which further drops their chances of me going setting foot in one.

[Hero-of-Time]

1 hour ago, Ike said:

I actually thought it was this month, but I was thinking about it. Might decide nearer the time. Not really after anything at the moment, but might go for a browse or maybe some inspiration. Are you planning on going?

Nah. Like you, I'm not really after anything at the moment.

In other news, looks like my TV has died. The back-light no longer works. The picture just went all dark/faded this evening. I bought this 6 years ago specifically so I could play my Wii and Gamecube via component connections. I doubt I'm gonna be able to find a model now that supports that connection type. If I can't, at least this will give me the kick up the butt I need to finally buy a Gamecube HD adapter. Shame.

Edited January 15 by Hero-of-Time

[S.C.G]

If GAME are no longer accepting trade-ins of used games, this will likely mean that people will just trade their games into places like CEX or their local retro gaming shop, if they have one in their area, so the second-hand gaming market will still continue, it'll just be more "underground" in a sense...

***Pssssst! hey buddy, wanna buy some USED games?***

Definitely still keep trading your games in though if you do, show that there's still a demand for used games, which there definitely is.

I've been buying a fair few used games over the past few months, mainly by offering a rate which is somewhere inbetween reasonable, and the general resale price so that a profit can still be made, while also making sure that I offer more than CEX... which isn't difficult in some cases when they only offer pennies for some titles, but for example, if a game will sell for around £5 then... I'll generally offer £2 if I'm confident that I can sell it again, maybe less on titles I'm unsure of, or shovelware, as they are more of a risk.

I'll definitely be doing what I can to keep pre-owned games going at my local business, though I have bought quite a few in the past few weeks, so I may need to be a little bit more selective, but it's not often that I'll actually turn games down.

If anyone is interested, I'll share more when the shop is looking a bit more organised, I;m just doing what I can every day at the moment.

[Hero-of-Time]

Been looking at TV's this morning and as expected it looks like it's pretty much impossible to get one with component connections. I've started looking at Gamecube HDMI adapters as well. I'd prefer to get the Rad2X but they aren't in stock until March. Kaico make one so I may go with them for now, especially as I had no issues with their PS2 HDMI adapter. I could go with the EON model but they are a little more expensive.

[Dcubed]

15 hours ago, Sheikah said:

Wasn't sure if this had already been posted or where to post it. Seems sort of appropriate to post it here?

https://www.eurogamer.net/uk-retailer-game-to-cease-video-game-trade-ins-staff-say

GAME no longer accepting preowned game trade ins from February. We move ever closer to the all-digital future.

Yeah, saw this the other day.  Considering that this was always Game's one big lifeline? Yeah, the end is very near now.

13 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Nah. Like you, I'm not really after anything at the moment.

In other news, looks like my TV has died. The back-light no longer works. The picture just went all dark/faded this evening. I bought this 6 years ago specifically so I could play my Wii and Gamecube via component connections. I doubt I'm gonna be able to find a model now that supports that connection type. If I can't, at least this will give me the kick up the butt I need to finally buy a Gamecube HD adapter. Shame.

Damn, that sucks.  Same thing happened with my ancient bedroom TV last year (which I was keeping around for that exact same reason). And yes...

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Been looking at TV's this morning and as expected it looks like it's pretty much impossible to get one with component connections. I've started looking at Gamecube HDMI adapters as well.

... you're right.  All currently produced TVs are now HDMI only, with no analogue inputs whatsoever.  It really sucks, but at least most systems have some sort of HDMI mod option now (or failing that, an FPGA alternative with HDMI like the Super NT or the MiSTer).  Unless you're willing to buy an older second hand TV? You're SOL if you want to hook up retro consoles to a modern display without resorting to some sort of HDMI solution.

The cheapest true HDMI option for the GCN is the Carby.  Literally plug n' play, It-Just-Works.  Gives you a true all-digital 480p HDMI signal as if it were a modern console, no fuss.  The Eon GCHD Mark 2 (which I have the earlier Mark 1 version of) is very similar and a bit more expensive, but also allows for the use of Wii component & RGB scart cables and it also adds an optical audio out (useful if you have an older AV Receiver that lacks HDMI audio support).  Either will give you the absolute best possible image you can get out of a Gamecube and are identical as far as their HDMI output is concerned.

Quote

I'd prefer to get the Rad2X but they aren't in stock until March. Kaico make one so I may go with them for now, especially as I had no issues with their PS2 HDMI adapter. I could go with the EON model but they are a little more expensive.

Rather than get the Rad 2x cables, I would recommend just getting the Retrotink 2x SCART instead...

https://stoneagegamer.com/retrotink-2x-scart-480p-upscaler-for-rgb-scart-digital-video.html

... it's the same thing as the Rad 2x cable (literally the same thing, running the same upscaling software made by the same guy; Mike Chi), except you can just plug in any RGB SCART source; so it's not limited to the one device (and you don't need multiple Rad 2x cables for each console).

Only thing that you need to keep in mind is that the Retrotink 2x will only accept an RGB SCART signal, nothing else will work.  So if you wanted to use it with an N64 for instance? You'd need to get it RGB modded and use an appropriate RGB SCART cable for it to work.  This is the device that I personally use with my RGB modded N64 and my SEGA Saturn, and it works a treat.

Edited January 16 by Dcubed

[Hero-of-Time]

Thanks for the info, @Dcubed. 

I've looked at the Retrotink before but I don't like importing stuff. If there was a retailer selling it in the UK then I would certainly look into it. I think I've said this before but all of these mods and add-ons seem to be made in the US and in limited numbers. It's why more inclined to get the Rad2X or the others I mentioned. 

[Dcubed]

23 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Thanks for the info, @Dcubed. 

I've looked at the Retrotink before but I don't like importing stuff. If there was a retailer selling it in the UK then I would certainly look into it. I think I've said this before but all of these mods and add-ons seem to be made in the US and in limited numbers. It's why more inclined to get the Rad2X or the others I mentioned. 

If you want to strictly stick to no imports... would you accept buying from Republic of Ireland?

https://videogameperfection.com/products/open-source-scan-converter/

They've got the OSSC going for a pretty good price right now.  Would require a bit more tinkering on your end, as it's not a plug n' play device, but the quality you can get out of it would actually be quite a bit better than what the Rad 2x/Retrotink 2x can offer!

MLIG have covered the OSSC extensively before, but here's one particular video that goes over it in detail if you're interested...

And there's a more recent video covering the OSSC from Game Sack here, timestamped for your viewing pleasure...

IIRC, @Ike actually has an OSSC himself, so I'm sure he'd be able to offer you some advice if you were interested in picking it up

Edited January 16 by Dcubed

[Hero-of-Time]

Yeah, I looked at those back when they were based in the UK. The problem is that it's not plug in and play. as you said, it requires tinkering with settings to get the best out of it and it's something I don't really want to faff on with. 

[Dcubed]

4 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Yeah, I looked at those back when they were based in the UK. The problem is that it's not plug in and play. as you said, it requires tinkering with settings to get the best out of it and it's something I don't really want to faff on with. 

Fair.  That's something I really like about the Rad 2x/Retrotink 2x and the Carby/EON GCHD.  Literally just plug n' play.

[S.C.G]

I have a Framemeister, and decent as it is... my advice would be to go for one of the other scalers, due to the price and ease of use.

But I would definitely say that a scaler is a worthwhile investement for anyone wanting to play more than one retro console with older video connections on a newer TV.

[martinist]

Bought an SD2SP2 pro and one of those Action Replay SD card loaders a few days ago. Had a few problems with SD card formats but i eventually ended up installing swiss and cleanrip onto them. Currently ripping my Gamecube collection onto an SD card. Also installed the Gameboy interface so i can run the Gameboy Player without the disc. Looks alot clearer than what it did with the disc in too.

Edited January 21 by martinist

[Julius]

Finally received my replacement KHS-400C laser on Friday, tried to see if I could get by removing the anti-static solder without a soldering iron as I had read that a heated up flathead would do the trick – last night I found out it did not, best I could do was flatten it a bit, but not get the solder to its melting point 

Ordered a cheaper soldering iron which arrived this morning, instantly got rid of the blob with little faff, put my PS2 back together after cleaning as much as I reasonably could of the inside and...it worked! 

I've just booted up Dino Crisis which was able to get past that screen it was getting stuck on before (win), and skipped some cutscenes to open up the menu which opens and closes pretty much instantaneously without any attempts by my TV to adjust the resolution – so @Hero-of-Time I can confirm it works well for those pesky changing menu resolutions on PS1 games  the "dialogue box" text in the menu looked a little squashed to me, but the sub-menus looked fine, so I've checked and turns out that that's just the way the menu looked 

Also, man those tank controls are certainly going to take a minute to get used to when I get around to some of these PS1 games  wouldn't be surprised if I find myself needing to lower the difficulty on some of those just to get by. 

Unrelated to my PS2, went back to Vintage Gamer yesterday, this time with some friends – easily the busiest I've seen it in the three times I've gone this month. My friends loved it and both picked up ~10 games (and were pleasantly surprised by the prices), and the manager even pulled out a box of some of the rarer items he had hidden away to see if we were interested – my friends hadn't heard of any of these, which was funny to see  some great stuff in there like Legend of Dragoon, that DS game with Tingle, Suikoden IV (I'm holding out to pick up V physically myself, as I already have IV digitally on my PS3), Puppeteer, Ducktales Remastered...but the only game which tempted me a bit in any serious way was 3D Dot Game Heroes; it's one of those games I had on my long spreadsheet of games in the PS3 tab I made way back in 2017 when doing a full head-first dive into researching systems and games I'd one day be interested in checking out. I looked up how much it goes for on eBay (where I've found it shows up fairly infrequently, at least the PAL release) and it's ~£60 at the moment, but considering that I have enough games in my backlog, likely won't prioritise it any time soon and because it slipped my mind when starting to write a list recently of retro games I wanted to pick up in anticipation of the Birmingham Gaming Market in April, made the probably sensible decision to just let it lie. Maybe some other time! 

In fact, that's generally how the trip went for me: saw a couple of games which piqued my interest, but nothing really pulled me in. I'll probably give it a few months to let stock refresh, but I did pick up one game: Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

I love Brawl, and it's easily one of my most-played games of all-time, getting a copy back when we got our family Wii back in 2010 for Christmas. Fun fact no-one asked for: we only had the Wiimotes and Nunchuks for our Wii, meaning I ended up playing Brawl exclusively with a horizontal Wiimote, and while I get by fine in Ultimate playing against my brother every now and then with the Pro Controller, my muscle memory for the horizontal Wiimote far exceeds that of the Pro Controller, and in fact has probably been my main obstacle in playing Ultimate more – I can't transition from using directional input to jump to using a dedicated button! Anyways, the family copy remains at my parents' house, so figured I'd pick this up for nostalgia's sake, and also because we're thinking of doing a day at some point of playing Wii games, so this just seems essential  if I don't end up just bringing my Switch and Ultimate along, that is, but then we have a potential controller issue on our hands, and I'd feel bad playing with a Pro Controller while my friends had Joy-Cons...maybe

[Glen-i]

3 minutes ago, Julius said:

I can't transition from using directional input to jump to using a dedicated button!

You can still do this in Ultimate, granted it's a stick flick upwards to jump. That's on by default.

[Dcubed]

Great job fixing that PS2 @Julius.  Soldering isn't nearly as scary as it looks and once you've done it for the first time, you realise that it's actually pretty easy and simple for the most part

[Julius]

20 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

You can still do this in Ultimate, granted it's a stick flick upwards to jump. That's on by default.

Oh yeah, that's how I typically get by in Ultimate, to clarify: my issue is that the stick feels waaaaaaaaaay worse (to me, just based on so much with the Wiimote) to jump with than the D-pad, as a little nudge in the wrong direction just messes up what I'm trying to do (diagonal jumps I find can be especially hit and miss). I guess it just feels like my odds of messing up are much greater with the stick flicks. 

It's got me thinking that maybe I should just future proof my Smash experience by committing to the GameCube controller, to be honest 

14 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Great job fixing that PS2 @Julius.  Soldering isn't nearly as scary as it looks and once you've done it for the first time, you realise that it's actually pretty easy and simple for the most part

Oh yeah, I've soldered plenty before (thankfully, otherwise I'm not sure I would've been as keen) as I took Product Design as an option back in high school – but it was my first time in a while! I think I was more worried about my apartment not being quite as well set up to deal with a potential fire somehow breaking out as a dedicated crafting classroom 

I hated feeling the rush of soldering again, as it kind of makes me want to find more excuses to do it in a more regular basis and put this kit to task  

[Glen-i]

5 minutes ago, Julius said:

Oh yeah, that's how I typically get by in Ultimate, to clarify: my issue is that the stick feels waaaaaaaaaay worse (to me, just based on so much with the Wiimote)

For what it's worth, I think it (Tap Jump) sucks too. I turn it off immediately. Messes with me whenever I want to just attack upwards without jumping.

I do recommend a GameCube style controller for Smash though. It is an analogue game, after all. The most important button, A, is the easiest to hit, and the second most important, Y, is just above it for jumping needs. It's weird to think that it works so well, despite it being originally designed for an N64 controller, but it just does!

Helps that the control stick is immensely high quality on the GC controller. Makes modern sticks look flimsy in comparison.

[Hero-of-Time]

Thanks for checking, @Julius.

Brawl is probably my least played Smash game. I remember being super hyped for it and even imported a copy and bought the Freeloader disc to play it. Me and my friends bounced off it pretty hard though. It wasn't a patch on Melee and once we had unlocked all the characters we were pretty much done with it. I wouldn't mind revisiting it some day to see how I fare with it now.

[Julius]

1 hour ago, Glen-i said:

For what it's worth, I think it (Tap Jump) sucks too. I turn it off immediately. Messes with me whenever I want to just attack upwards without jumping.

Right?! 

1 hour ago, Glen-i said:

I do recommend a GameCube style controller for Smash though. It is an analogue game, after all. The most important button, A, is the easiest to hit, and the second most important, Y, is just above it for jumping needs. It's weird to think that it works so well, despite it being originally designed for an N64 controller, but it just does!

Helps that the control stick is immensely high quality on the GC controller. Makes modern sticks look flimsy in comparison.

I've tried to read up reasons for/against using certain controllers when playing Smash for a while now, but this is certainly the most succinct and persuasive reasoning I've seen for using a GameCube controller, so I'm convinced – thanks Glen! 

It's also one of those where I guess while things like feel and the specifics of frames and animations will be tweaked between games, being able to hop in with a GC controller anywhere from Melee onwards sounds super helpful, rather than needing to re-learn things on certain controllers, and saves needing to learn things on newly released controllers with their potential tweaks, even if only minor (like if the Switch 2 Pro Controller ends up with a proper D-pad). 

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Thanks for checking, @Julius.

No worries! 

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Brawl is probably my least played Smash game. I remember being super hyped for it and even imported a copy and bought the Freeloader disc to play it. Me and my friends bounced off it pretty hard though. It wasn't a patch on Melee and once we had unlocked all the characters we were pretty much done with it. I wouldn't mind revisiting it some day to see how I fare with it now.

Well, this hurts to read 

I totally get it, though, and I imagine I'd probably not have been too keen on certain new mechanics had I played older Smash games prior to Brawl, which in hindsight gives me a good chuckle (like, tripping? Really? Was Sakurai entering his masochist arc or something?). Love Subspace Emissary (some strange decisions like number of players) and that Main Theme, though! 

I skipped Smash 4 not having a Wii U and not really getting much use out of my 3DS during its lifetime, but coming back to Smash with Ultimate missing trophies still hurts me deeply. I know the focus was elsewhere (what they did with the size of the roster, number of stages, and sheer absurdity of the soundtrack was insane), and that it would've taken a lot of time, but having anyone return and then add dream characters and awesome assist trophies who don't get a chance to have their own Smash trophies feels so strange. Even more so with how some of the game's trailers placed an emphasis on the roster being trophies! 

It's bad to say this, but I'd gladly pay full price for a Smash Ultimate DX on Switch 2 with trophies added and just a couple of new characters. I loved those things, and for an entire generation of kids with their respective first Smash game, it can be such a great introduction into the scope, variety and history of gaming, especially for someone young or new to the Nintendo ecosystem; so, so, so many of the games I want to play on older Nintendo systems are games Brawl put in my head, like with Ike and the Path of Radiance trophies, or the awesome Metroid trophies, and of course the Zelda ones (Wind Walker ones I was especially big on). I spent countless hours looking through and reading every description of those things 

Edited January 21 by Julius

[Glen-i]

4 hours ago, Julius said:

Well, this hurts to read 

It's cool, man. I like Brawl better then Melee. Hell, Melee is my least favourite Smash. The single player offerings are lame compared to more modern Smash, and it doesn't have the benefit of being weird and different like 64.

That's not to say it's bad, Melee is still a great game, but the character balance is really dreadful. There's a vast gap between the top 7 or so characters and everyone else. So it gets a bit homogeneous in multiplayer. Yes, Brawl does have Meta Knight, who is insanely OP, but remove him from the equation and you can play most of the Brawl roster and still have a decent chance of winning. A gentleman's agreement to not use MK, and you'll have fun with Brawl.

Brawl is a bit floaty, but it does have the greatest single player mode in Subspace Emissary. We'll likely not get the scope of that mode in Smash for a long time. For good reason, yes. But Ultimate has a decent chunk to do with World of Light, spirit battles, and character specific Classic Routes. It's a good compromise considering the miracle roster it has.