te72

Heh, I kinda live in isolation anyhow, even without this pandemic going on. Small town life, I'm sure some of you can relate. To me, I figure entertaining the brain, no matter how one goes about it, is a worthwhile pursuit. So long as your actions don't adversely affect anyone, of course. If you can better yourself in the process, all the better. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go play some more Breath of the Wild with a friend. Really, this one... I think it fulfills Miyamoto's vision of "exploring as a child" that he created the first game from.

Loved the original, GBC, and the latest remake. One of my favorite games of all time. Headed toward endgame on this one with a friend. 900 koroks, you say? Sheesh... no wonder it has seemed like we've been tripping all over them lately! Hey now, let's not start on how much anime I've watched over the years... Just top of my head, I've seen the DBZ dub (over 300 episodes, if I recall correctly), DB Kai (well, up to about 60 episodes anyway), most of Naruto, much of it twice since I watched it with my wife later on, and this one is 700 episodes... Initial D and Cowboy Bebop with numerous friends that I've introduced those to as well. I bet I've spent more time watching anime in the last 20 years than gaming. I haven't started yet, but what I've seen a friend stream so far... wow. They had the world to risk in remaking that one, and it seems they've done well. I especially love the weight and gravity the atmosphere and characters have. The voice acting too, I refuse to spoil anything, but there's a part where Barrett hits rock bottom that nearly brought me to tears. That'd be the second time that game (including the original) that this has happened.

Not at all odd to me. I prefer when an RPG respects your time. Suikoden has always been a series that was good about this, there are random encounters, but, if you're of a sufficient level of experience that you won't really benefit from the battle, you can simply run away, and back to the exploring. There are also Champion Runes that can be equipped that eliminate the encounter entirely unless they are going to be a challenge. As a result, you fight a few battles, end up leveled up enough, and from there you can pretty much breeze through the rest of the area. No grinding truly necessary, which is nice. I had fun with Mystic Quest, enough so that I replayed it as an adult to see if it was actually a decent game, or if it was just nostalgia. Happy to say, I still had fun with it. Another RPG that I rather enjoyed the mechanics of? Valkyria Chronicles. Mix an RTS with a shooter with an RPG, and you kinda get the gist of it. The artwork is beautiful as well.

I'll agree that the Midgar part was the best part, it was one of the first cohesive "worlds" in a game that actually felt like a place to me. The reveal of the world map though, accompanied by the main theme of the game when you first see that the world is much larger than just Midgar... that part was so memorable to me. Given the similarities between modern consoles and PC architecture, I could see a PC release someday, so there's that hope for ya... Also, my first FF was Mystic Quest. I got stuck at one point later in the game where you use the sword on a tree, basically as a key to continue. I had forgotten that you could do that, but in my defense, I was about 10 at the time.

That's right, I forgot Origins was a thing! Well, not the games contained, but that V and VI were on a collection as well. Wait... now I had to check what Chronicles contained. It was Chrono Trigger and FFIV. So, let's talk what else was being hyped in 1996... FF7. I'm excited for the remake to the point that I finally have a current gen console, simply to play FF7R. Anyone else looking forward to it?

What aspect of it for you that made you buy that one? I was thinking of Final Fantasy Chronicles, which had Chrono Trigger and FF6 on it. Having never had an SNES, that one was appealing... Anthology was the one with FF1 and FF2, right? Japanese FF2, or American FF2 (FF4)?

I remember buying SSX and Tekken Tag Tournament the week prior to PS2 release. Do you have any idea what it's like to be a teenager with a new video game... that is impossible to play??? Agony! Haha Funny enough, the PS2 got me more into movies, the DVD thing was a neat feature for me. First DVD I rented at the Blockbuster I ended up working for the following year? X-Men.

Memories can be a funny thing I suppose. While I seem to remember my siblings and I getting the N64 for Christmas in 1999 (Was that the year Donkey Kong 64 came out? That was the bundle we got.), it wasn't a "gotta have it NOW" sorta system for me. I just seem to remember being excited by all the arcade cross-promotion and hype going on surrounding the system. That said... I did go to Target at 4am (perhaps earlier?) on October 26, 2000. I waited in line (man, that was cold!) in order to get a PS2 of my own on launch day. I even skipped the first couple hours of school that day, waiting for the store to open. I think in 12 years of public schooling, I only missed maybe 5 days total, skipping school just wasn't something I did. So... yeah, perhaps the PS2 was even more of a big deal. Funny you mention Toy Story Melki, as that's what came to my mind when watching the first trailer I saw of Kingdom Hearts 3. "Wow, they've finally done it, the goal of making a game that looks as good as Toy Story did."

Hard to believe they were still calling it the "Ultra 64" that late into 1996, I thought they had already officially named it the Nintendo 64 by then. On that note, I can't honestly say I recall a console being more heavily pushed than the U64 / N64 was. I mean, the Dreamcast... I knew a few fans. PS2? It was met with high expectations, and it delivered, but it was following in the footsteps of the PS1. Xbox, at the time was a complete unknown. Gamecube seemed to be the start of Nintendo going off on a slightly strange direction. After that generation though, things were established, it was clear that gaming was gonna be pretty awesome all around. The Ultra 64 though? Man, that thing was MARKETED between 1994 until 1996. A friend of mine back then went to the trouble of importing the Japanese release so he could have it a few months early! Seems silly now, but that summer of 1996 was pretty eye opening, to be able to play Mario 64 before any of my other friends, that... was... awesome. Plus, Killer Instinct and Cruisin' USA were noted to be running on Ultra 64 hardware in the arcades, on the machine's attract screens. Those two games in particular made quite the impression on me as a kid. Maybe it's just me, but this system was a BIG deal before it came out. It was cool after it came out, but... I dunno. Kinda didn't live up to all the hype, but then again, what does?

That was on a Pepsi box? Very cool, can't say I ever saw that at the store in my area. I used to have a bunch of the Star Wars Pepsi cans, until I moved back up to Wyoming, and had some of my stuff stored in the garage. Wanna know what happens to unopened pop cans when temps reach -25F? Heh, they open themselves. What a gross mess we discovered months later!

Bradygames did get pretty big there for a while, but... while I can't speak about other countries, in America you can't forbid someone from printing such a book, that's part of free enterprise and freedom of the press. You, as a game developer or publisher, CAN authorize a specific book or publisher as the "official" guide, and have it be marketed as such. I have this book, and I used to have the Versus guide as well. The Bradygames guide was "official" and I seem to recall the Versus guide being advertised as "unauthorized" on the cover. Didn't stop either book from being published, and both had their merits. I actually preferred the Versus version myself, was informative without spoiling the game.

Best news I've seen all day. Heh, almost feels like time travel, given how long it's been since Future Perfect...

@QuietKitten Good to know about Bleemsync, I'm always a fan of being able to tinker with games, been doing that (well, got into pretty heavily for a while) back in the early 2000's. Front Mission is actually a series I could really get into, love me some SRPG's. The game I was thinking of is Carnage Heart, what an overwhelming experience for a kid to try and figure out back then... Edit: Kitsunebi beat me to it haha, thanks bud!

I had picked up one of those PS emulator systems. Haven't had time to play with it yet, but am glad to know it's easy to modify. Though... I do feel sorry for those that had to narrow down the selection of included games, SO many good ones were left out. Armored Core is definitely not the one I remember playing. The game I played, you had to basically program your mech, then start the game. Once the game started, you weren't really in control anymore. Whatever the game was called, it likely had a demo on a PS Underground issue. Or, perhaps it was Armored Core all along, and I just had a bad understanding of how to play it back then. This many years later, who knows! If you're a big AC fan, OC Remix has an album called THE ANSWER that was pretty good.

When you say Playstation classic, do you mean a "stick discs in it" Playstation classic, or do you mean the Playstation Classic emulator system that came out last year? Either way, I never did really figure out the Armored Core games. They were cool in concept, but above my head. That is the one where you program in the moves your mech makes, before starting the match, correct? I might be thinking another game...

Just looked them both up, doesn't bring back any memories, so I'm thinking I never found those levels. I forgot just how good looking that game was though, it holds up pretty darned well, I must say.

I don't recall the pachinko / leaf levels you speak of mvangord? I mean, it's been 15 or 16 years since I played Sunshine, but I do remember it being a LOT of fun, and a beautiful game to boot. Fairly certain I beat it, but I never went back to play through it like I did with 3 or World.

I thought the Versus version of the guide was better overall. No spoilers, and some really unique materia combinations. Funny to see that people have dissected that game to the point that Emerald Weapon can be defeated by a level 7 Tifa, no joke.

Heh, this one brings back some fond memories. Anyone else's friends read ahead and spoil parts of the game?

A remaster would be nice. Remember the map creator? Zombie survival mode? Some of the silly weapons and humor? Man... getting all nostalgic here. Good call on Timesplitters.

That's a good idea, but I think Free Radical is no more, or was absorbed by another company. Not sure what happened with the rights to the IP, but that was a fantastic shooter in an era that was sort of between surges in popularity for the genre. I mean, it followed the Doom and Goldeneye era, but predates the Call of Duty and Battlefield era. Not sure why Timesplitters wasn't more popular, it felt really good, and the premise was fun.

Kinda the same story here. Got the SNES classic last year, and we played quite a bit of Yoshi's Island. Turns out, it's a pretty big game... Beat Legend of Zelda Link to the Past, forgot just how good that one was. Tried numerous other games on it, and picked up an NES classic earlier this year, played a handful of things on there too. Spent a lot of my free time in the last year dedicated to my racing hobby. That... can take up a lot of time, but is certainly rewarding on a personal level and a lot of fun to share with passengers.

Agreed. Lost Sphear looked pretty neat as well. I remember Mike Matei (of AVGN) playing some other RPG a while back, if I recall, that was also developed by Square. I believe it was just a beta, but it definitely looked promising.

Agree with you on both points. Square seems so hesitant to touch the Chrono series again. Perhaps that is what happens when the bar is set as high as it has been? Although, have you seen I Am Setsuna? It gives me hope that they haven't forgotten the Chrono roots...

Interesting counter point. In the US, you get a few warnings for violations of the DMCA, but after that, your service is canceled. I don't think one would want to be caught further pushing that envelope, lest one run afoul of FBI anti-piracy enforcement. Few, if any sites of such a nature are likely to be based in the US due to the nature of our laws here. That may be part of why our country has such an interest in monitoring any and all traffic going between any and all countries, to satisfy copyright holder's rights. I fear we may be going off on a tangent, even if it is related to the main discussion at hand. Not that I mind, discourse like this is informative, and we'd all do well to learn new things on occasion. CRTC being the arbiter of legality on the use of the internet seems like a slipper slope though. The FCC is mainly a watchdog organization, or at least that is its intended purpose as I understand. The courts are who decides the cases based on existing laws, where the FCC recommends and enforces regulation of the various communication industries. At its core, the FCC *should* be looking out for us, the consumers. Currently, I see it as looking out for the distributors. That is the root of the problem.