ctophil

Yeah, everybody is downsizing these days. My local newspaper got smaller as well. I hope it's not a sign of Game Informer going digital-only as well due to losing money on the print edition. They are the only mainstream video game magazine left in the U.S. that has print. With rumors of the next Nintendo system (code name: Nintendo NX) going digital only (no disc drive), I wouldn't be surprised that Microsoft and Sony will follow suit with their next consoles.

The first Shenmue was for the Dreamcast only. Shenmue II came on Dreamcast in Japan and Europe, but never made it to the U.S. If you want to play the American Shenmue II, you can get the version on the original Xbox.

I play retro games on their respective consoles, which I own almost all of them by now. Retro compilations are cool if you don't own them like I do, or you're new to gaming and just want to try out the oldies. I will mostly be getting the new consoles like PS4 and Xbox One for the new Final Fantasy titles (i.e. Final Fantasy Type-0, Final Fantasy XV, and Final Fantasy VII HD Remake).

My first Final Fantasy was Final Fantasy II (SNES, or FF IV in Japan). That game really jump started my love for RPGs altogether. Because of that game, I went back and played Dragon Warrior and the original Final Fantasy for NES. Final Fantasy VII was like my 10th RPG I ever played. To me, FF VII was a good game, but not super awesome like Final Fantasy III (SNES, or FF VI in Japan). Either way, FF VII was still one of my favorite RPGs of all time. So, it's really cool that Square Enix listened to the crowd and will be releasing the HD remake. I will buy a Playstation 4 just for that game. It will be for PC and Xbox One eventually too, but I can't wait that long. LOL. Emerald and Ruby weapons were uber hard as far I can remember. But I did beat Ruby back in the day. Emerald gave me such a hard time, so I gave up. Raising Chocobos and racing them were the highlights of the game. Hehe. Oh yeah, the battle with Sephiroth was cool too.

Every year, I pay close attention to E3 for new video game and console announcements. Final Fantasy VII Remake just got announced. You guys may not be big FF VII fans, but it is a great announcement for Final Fantasy altogether. Below is the E3 2015 Trailer for the Final Fantasy VII HD Remake coming to the Playstation 4 first and other consoles and PCs to follow. I'm quite excited and will definitely get the game for nostalgic value and the HD changes made to the game. :-) Read the article: http://kotaku.com/final-fantasy-vii-remake-announced-for-ps4-1711559466 Watch the E3 Trailer:

Yeah boy, I own the first two Shemue games, and this will be an awesome addition. The only downfall is the Playstation 4 version will be digital-only at this point. The PC version will have a physical edition.

As far as Nintendo is concerned, there weren't any surprises. Just a couple of years ago when Nintendo still had physical press conferences, they always unveiled cool surprises that took my socks off. They made it a point of doing that. But with the introduction of digital conferences, their E3 has been bland for the past couple of years. I do own a Wii U, however. I do look forward to the new Zeldas (for Wii U and 3DS) and Star Fox Zero. Although, the Wii U Zelda was a no show at E3. I guess next year when Nintendo will unveil their new console or portable, Nintendo NX, we will once again be surprised. Sony and Microsoft though has had the "cool factor" and have focused on surprising the audiences. I know this is not related, but I'm really looking forward to Final Fantasy VII Remake and Shemue 3, which were both a long-time coming.

I copied and pasted the information below from another forum. It's my response to a thread that talked about how to properly clean and store your retro games and systems. The screws on the carts require special screwdrivers to open. You can get them easily on Ebay and other places online like here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Security-Screwdriver-Bit-Set-3-8-4-5-mm-Nintendo-NES-SNES-SEGA-N64-Cartridge-/161681393821?hash=item25a4f6489d And then my response:

Okay, I successfully scanned both magazine covers for ya. Check them out below.

I have one issue of GameCenter. It looks like a miniature version of the regular EGM. The layout and color scheme is very different though. It kinda gives you short, snappy articles of current gaming news, previews, and gossips, while EGM goes in depth. I guess they made it for Walmart folks who just want to flip through the magazine to get a glimpse of games without reading a whole lot. GameCenter, to me, is like a supplement to EGM rather than a substitute. It's free so seems pretty thin comparably. I kinda like it better than the regular EGM. Remember that back in the day, EGM itself had rather short articles as well because of the huge coverage of Japanese games. These days, EGM is too professional, which feels like reading the New York Times rather than a gaming magazine. So in that way, GameCenter is similar to the older EGM. E-day, I do have a scanner in the garage. I can get it out and try to scan my EGM cover. Do you want me to just post it on here, and you upload it to the gallery?

My EGM Spring 2015 issue arrived today as well. Interesting to note that this a different cover than the one posted by E-day. It also reads, "Special Issue #04 and Display Until 7/15/2015" on the cover. I don't think we have gotten a regular EGM issue for a long time.

Yeah, even with only 3-4 issues a year, there are still delays with every issue. I agree with kartracer3. There should be better communication to subscribers if there is going to be a delay. I believe at least an apology via e-mail would suffice for me, and I'm sure with the majority of EGM subscribers out there. RETRO and NF Magazine have been wonderful at sending updates. They keep it personal with their fanbase, sending e-mails once or twice a week, sometimes more if there are something important. I realize that RETRO and NF Magazine are crowd funding-based magazines. But good customer service is not biased to any single company or industry--it's a universal concept. Let's hope our "Spring EGM Issue" will arrive before Summer.

Well, I'm sure there are games out there you guys want a sequel to all these years, but we are still tapping our fingers on the desk for one. Here is my list of games that need to have a sequel. It can be part of a series that they haven't continued for many years. 1. Wild Arms Series - This is just a fantastic JRPG series. But unfortunately, we haven't seen a new sequel since Wild Arms 5 for PS2. I'm still playing through the series, but at least a mention of a new sequel would be nice. This series fit in the same league as Final Fantasy, Lunar, and Suikoden. Sony, are you listening? 2. Actraiser - Sure, this game was in the remake thread. But it's such a good game that it needs a proper sequel. Actraiser 2 for SNES didn't really count because it was somewhat a different game. I guess since we already have an Actraiser 2, Actraiser 3 would be just as good. :-) 3. Altered Beast - I don't really care if people didn't like this game. It was just awesome when I played Altered Beast back in the day and even these days. There was a sequel called Project Altered Beast for PS2, but it was a sorry 3D game not even worth mentioning. Sega needs to make a sequel we would be proud of. 4. Lunar Series - I don't really need a remake per say, but a sequel in the mainline series (i.e. Lunar 3) would be incredible. Gamearts did talk about a Lunar 3 like 10 years ago, but it never came into fruition. I love that series just as much as Suikoden. They need to hurry up. lol. 5. Suikoden series - Similar to the Lunar series, I do want this series to continue its legacy into the new generation. Imagine a military vs military battle of millions of soldiers screaming on the screen in full 60 fps! Woohoo. That would be epic to the extreme. 6. Final Fantasy Tactics - Geez, it's been such a long time since this game came out. Yet, Square Enix hasn't even talked about a sequel. I think it would be a mega seller if they would release a sequel to this game. I guess they would rather port the mainline series to numerous cell phones and devices instead of focusing on their great heritage. 7. Vandal Hearts Series - They released a side story sequel for PS3 back in 2010 called Vandal Hearts: Flame of Judgement. It was a digital-only title. Yeah, the game was pretty good, but we need a true sequel. Guys, if you are a fan of Final Fantasy Tactics, this is the second best strategy series of all time. 8. Wizards & Warriors series - If you know me, you already know I like this series for the NES and Game Boy. But they really need to put this on a modern system with an upgraded game engine, but still in 2D. I don't care, release it as a digital-only title. That would still be sweet. 9. Lagoon - Alright, so hardly anybody knows about this game. But you know what? It was a nice little action RPG game. I still like it a lot and own a beautiful mint condition copy. It would be cool if they would ever release a sequel for this one. I would pre-order it in a heartbeat. 10. Double Dragon series - Yeah boy, I need an official Double Dragon IV right now. Hint: Double Dragon V fighting game didn't count. And make it with 32-bit 2D graphics similar to the NES games but with all new characters (but include the brothers), goofy girlfriend storyline, and crazy acrobatic moves. 11. Golden Axe series - Alright, enough with the goofy remakes and sequels, we need a real Golden Axe 4. Sega has such a rich history, but they keep doing Sonic 3D games and stuff people don't care about. Below are some more Sega games that need sequels real badly. 12. Phantasy Star series - Yep, another Sega JRPG classic series that they haven't gone back to the original formula for decades. Phantasy Star 4 was a big hit, but they stopped it since the Genesis days. We do need a sci-fi JRPG for our modern times. I'm starving for one, how about you? 13. Shining Force series - Another great strategy series they have ignored for so long. I enjoyed Shining Force 3 very much. I would say it stands at 3rd place after Vandal Hearts and Final Fantasy Tactics, as far as strategy games are concerned.

Oh yeah, I agree with that. I left out The Legend of Zelda on purpose because it's actually a fantastic game by itself without a remake. But you know, if they re-released it with some enhancements, I'll still buy the original Zelda. That is true. However, I believe that a portable remake can't do it justice. I would rather have a full blown remake on the big screen on a more modern hardware like PS3, Xbox 360, or even Wii U (the original Wii is dead). The GBA is also outdated too and can't deliver the graphics & sound, extra enemies/bosses, more powerups, and extended size of the maps. My philosophy is don't do a remake unless it's truly worth my time to play it. Here are a few more titles to add to my remake list. 9. Battletoads - This game was super hard! Especially on the bike-riding level, it was just impossible to me. I was able to recently get past that bike level with a friend, but we still couldn't make it past the following level. But you know, it was such a fun game! It also had some great graphics on the NES. In a remake of Battletoads, developers need to focus on the controls a bit more. It felt loose and sort of floaty when trying to do combos on enemies. Also, the hit detection on cliff edges were off. I can't tell you how many times I fell off the cliff when I was no where near a cliff. All this made the game more difficult than it supposed to be. Other than that, it's like Double Dragon with toads. :-) The music was really cool and catchy as well. There were other games in the series, such as Battletoads & Double Dragon and Super Battletoads. Those were really good games and perhaps don't need a remake. But the original Battletoads would be fantastic with an updated fighting system, graphics & sound, and additional characters to choose from. 10. Double Dragon II - The first Double Dragon on NES was a single player game and was not as polished. But wow, the 2nd game in the series really was the best one. It got extremely hard later on in the game. But I have to congratulate myself for beating it several years ago with a friend. I might like this game more than Streets of Rage just due to the sheer number of moves you can perform if you practiced enough. I was able to do numerous combos, not with button mashing, but with true mastery of the moves. Plus, those power uppercuts and cyclone kicks were very exhilarating when done right. The game was so fun that I can play it over and over with any coop buddy. I believe a remake would be in order with even more crazy moves and coop combos. Sure, they did a remake called Double Dragon Neon a couple of years ago. But that one just didn't feel the same. Plus, it was almost an entirely different game with fan service. A true remake would be awesome. 11. Albert Odyssey - Most people never even heard of this title, much less give it a chance. This came out on Sega Saturn, and I am so glad I gave it a shot. It's got everything a good RPG has--great graphics, lovely characters, an exciting storyline, crazy villains, cool battle system, and the superb soundtrack! It was so underrated. It would be amazing to see it running on a modern console with increased difficulty, since it was a pretty easy game. This is quite the traditional JRPG. So, a remake would be nice to have some more side quests, mini games, and anime cut scenes to add to the drama. The game can be pretty lighthearted at times until the drama kicks in. Reminds me a lot of the Lunar series. If you haven't played this game yet, I suggest you give it a try. You won't be disappointed.

Hey everyone, You know, I believe that if more companies focus on remakes of retro games, they would make a lot of money. The recent success of the DuckTales remake is proof that retro games can make quite the splash. However, just like any game, a remake has to be well developed with the proper care in all departments, i.e. graphics, sound, characters, gameplay, story, and so forth. Don't be like the Golden Axe remake (Golden Axe: Beast Rider) that barely got out of the market. Of course, you also got ten thousand versions of Tetris and Pac-Man. Those aren't really remakes, but are just different variations of the same game. I guess you can count a few Pac-Man titles that are remakes with enhanced graphics, gameplay, and sound. Resident Evil HD and Killer Instinct were also recent remakes that really hit the bar. Here is a more complete list of games I want to be remade for current gen consoles. 1. Final Fantasy VI - I would buy this one in a heartbeat. lol. My favorite RPG needs a facelift, but not in 3D. It should stay in 2D but with modern graphics, music, and perhaps some vocals for the songs. They should also add some storyline elements to enhance the characters' development even more. Sure, they have released the game on various platforms over the years. However, it never received a full remake. 2. Golden Axe - I want to see a real remake of this game. I even formed a development team back in the day to make this happen. But of course, I ran out of steam, since the team was not as dedicated and money was an issue. It should be upgraded to 2.5D graphics similar to the arcade sequel, Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder. I would like to also see a bigger selection of characters and even hidden characters like in the Mortal Kombat series. I know it's not a fighting game, but it should have similar attributes. Which reminds me, though Golden Axe was a fun game, it should also have more moves and magic. With modern machines, 4-player coop via local and online would be great. 3. Streets of Rage - Another Sega classic that needs a huge facelift. Although there is a homebrew game in development right now called Project Y that is very similar to Streets of Rage, I would rather Sega do it correctly and call it Streets of Rage HD or something. Similar to Golden Axe, more characters, moves, and items you can pick up to bash your enemies would all be a plus for this remake. The music could use a modern remix of sorts, but keep the MIDI sounds if possible. 4. Actraiser - Oh yeah, this game was one of my very favorite SNES titles. It was a fantastic side-scroller with a very fun town-building simulator. It would be so awesome to play this in HD on say the Xbox 360 or PS3. And then, what better than a fully orchestrated upgraded soundtrack? I love that game and deserves a remake more than any other game in my opinion. 5. Metroid - Well, Super Metroid is a lot better game, but perhaps it shouldn't be remade. I think that it's a perfect game that can't be any better other than graphics. But the original Metroid should be remade with some tweaks in all departments. Don't get me wrong, Metroid was a good game in itself. But it would be an even better game if done right. 6. Soul Blazer - This game is on par with the fantastic Actraiser in every way. Everything from the cool bosses to the great top-down RPG action, the game is a masterpiece. Don't change anything, just enhance every aspect of it. 7. Super Mario Bros - This was the game that started the revolution of Nintendo and dawn of a new era of video games after the game industry crash in the 1980s. Sure, it was sort of remade in Super Mario All-Stars. But, it was just graphics & sound enhancements. Nintendo needs to bring back Super Mario Bros. with new enemies, levels, bosses, and modern 64-bit 2D graphics for its 30 year anniversary since the game's release date in Japan of September 13, 1985, which would mark 30 years if Nintendo releases it this year as a remake for the Wii U. I bet if I was on Nintendo's Board of Directors, it would be released. 8. Bonk's Adventure - The only other game mascot that deserves great fan recognition other than Mario. Did I forget Sonic? No, but I didn't like the Sonic games as much. And I'm sure Sonic fans would throw a fit at me. But I digress. Bonk's Adventure was a very a fun game, right up there with the original Super Mario Bros. So, it deserves every bit of a facelift for the modern generation. People need a taste of what classic gaming is all about with their next-gen fanciness, such as bigger levels, awesome new enemies/bosses, and souped up graphics & sound. That's all I can think of right now.

Yep, Cool Spot was a really good platformer for Sega Genesis and SNES. As a kid, I rented the SNES version and had lots of fun with it. The music were just plain awesome. Another good platformer based on the McDonald's license was M.C. Kids for NES. What's interesting is that it was ported to the Game Boy but Spot was used instead. It was called Spot: The Cool Adventure.

Oh yeah, how could I forget Goldeneye? lol. It was one of those games that defined the N64. I remember Yo! Noid. I think I read about it in an issue of EGM or Gamepro? Not sure, but it's one of those trivia that true gamers know about (the mascot thing). Thanks for the ideas, I'll add those games to my collection asap. Thanks for the "Revenge of the License" link. I'm one of those retro game collectors who I just want to read, collect, and play everything out there. LOL. If I can't own it, I gotta at least know about it. Yeah, I've watched every single episode of AVGN. You know, I've never played Friday the 13th, but I'll definitely get it into my collection, even if it is "bad" according to The Nerd from AVGN.

So spoonman, did you ever get your EGM Buyer's Guide? I guess it's pretty quiet as we wait for the next EGM issue. It'll probably won't be until March 2015 until we hear anything, either it be at the store or in our mailboxes.

Hey guys, I've recently found a new interest in collecting and playing licensed games. You're probably like, "Blasphemy!" lol. Movies and TV shows made into games have mostly been really bad over the years. But regardless of how bad they were, I still want to own a part of history. So far, the only games I own that came from movies are Rambo and Batman for the NES. It's odd that when I was a kid, Rambo was actually a good game. I almost beat it and had fun playing it. As for Batman, it plays a lot like Ninja Gaiden, really hard game but very cool. As for TV show-based games, I haven't played the Flintstones games, but looking to acquire them some day. I recently bought Hook and True Lies from a flea market in Florida. They aren't great games. But like I said, I want to own a part of gaming history. Have you played any licensed games that are good? Do you own any? I believe some of the best licensed games were the Star Wars games on SNES. You know, Super Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. They really surprised me. Awesome games in their own right.

Hm, I would say Actraiser for SNES. Phew, that game was awesome. What's better than a superb side-scrolling game with a God-simulation built-in and with fantastic graphics, music, and gameplay? It would play amazingly well on a modern console like PS3 or Xbox 360. They did it for DuckTales. So, I say why not?

I play retro games like it was 1988 all over again. lol. Seriously though, I have an entire room dedicated to just retro games and another room with modern games and systems. What I do is rotate between retro and modern throughout the month. For example, right now I'm playing Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for NES. But after beating that, I'll journey to a modern game like Resident Evil: Revelations for Wii U. But in between I also game with my online coop buddies with shooters and RPGs.

I finally got my copy of EGM Buyer's Guide today. It, indeed, is presented by EGM[Now], which is EGM's daily updated web site (http://www.egmnow.com). I guess because the web site is successful, it is now the real sponsor of the print publication. Well, I hope we don't have to wait another 3-4 months to get the next EGM issue.