Topic: Your latest retro purchase

@Tasuki

Man, I can't even get into most of the older traditional Castlevania games anymore. Curse of the Moon makes Castlevania 1 & 3 feel dated. As much as I enjoyed both of those back on the Wii's VC. But these days, the Staircase walkiing just feels abnormally slow and really kills the pace, sprite flicker is horrendous(etc). Curse of the Moon fixes all of this and then some.

I think Bloodlines holds up the best, because it's just a speedier, more arcadey in and out experience. Even it's art direction holds up better than SCIV(Minus the backgrounds). Rondo is an amazing one and done, but it's just as slow as 1, 3 & 4. And don't even get me started on the two gameboy games. It's like you're walking through mud or quick sand. lol I've beaten all of the above, but I've got no desire to ever go back to them anymore. In their prime, or even on the Wii's VC, Rondo, SCIV, I, III, maybe Bloodlines and even ReBirth The Advanture were all awesome experiences.

But if i ever wanted to get my traditional Castlevania fix these days, i'd go for COTM(And probably COTM2, but i haven't played it yet) on Switch 1/2, or Bloodlines through the Castlevania 30th Anniversary Collection(Even though it's CRT filter is dim is hell). Still need to play Lord of Exile, yet Carpathian of the Night Starring Bella Degosi was such a disappointment.

And yup, Dawn of Sorrow was Fanfrikkintastic! I enjoyed it even more than SOTN. Yet at this point, I can hardly remember anything about it, other than the final boss, that weird section that forces you to use the stylus, maybe a couple of the bosses(The one that appears from a mirror) and a couple of the lead characters. Zelda: Phantom Hour Glass(Eat your heart out WindWaker), Dawn of Sorrow, Contra 4, WarioWare Touched!, Kirby Canvas, Nintendog's, even NSMB DS and so on were some of the greatest experiences i remember having during the DS days. Oh, and I must of messed with POR on DS for maybe 15 minutes at a friends house, but never got around to trying out OOE. I have them all on Switch, but i doubt I'll play any of them since I'm mostly allergic to Metroidvania's these days.

Ahyways, have you played COTM 1&2 yet? And ya man, that new Metroidvania coming out looks soulless as heck. Mediocre Art direction, with it's cookie cuttern modern anime aesthetic that looks nowhere as cool as even SOTN's. We recently got Haunted Castle Revisted from the Dominus Collection, but it was just ok.

A couple of game setting tweaks would of made it a gem, but as is, it was just average. Unlimited continues combined with later stage check points ruined the challenge, suspense, intensity and exliliration. While hard mode just triples the amount of enemies on screen and makes the game overly crowded. Might retry playing it with continues turned off or limited(Whatever it was). Surprised they didn't allow you to map your sub weapon to like R1 or X, vs holding or pressing UP + Y too. It's charming though. Great remixed OST, nice updated visuals and has a similar tone & art style to ReBirth Adventure.

Third consecutive Sonic game for the collection. This time it's Sonic Heroes (GC version)

I had forgotten how much I like this game as a 3D version of the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis Sonic formula (relatively done right compared to Sonic 3D Blast) in the sense that you have an Act 1->Act 2->Boss progression.

Despite how slippery it feels at times compared to Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, I still believe Sonic Heroes also controls better than any of the 2010s and 2020s Sonics.

Outrun 2006 Coast 2 Coast (PlayStation 2)
Finished the easiest route today. It was even better than the YouTube videos made it seem. I think this will be a game, which I will replay again and again.

Harvest Moon (Super Nintendo) (CIB)
This is a game, which I wanted since I was a young boy. I will play it as soon as I am in a retro mood again.

@Jhena If you dont mind me asking, how much did that cost you?

@Tasuki
97 €. It was one of the cheapest I found.

Edit: The price is usually around 150€. I think I got it cheaper because the front cover is a little damaged.

@Jhena Thats not bad at all. I remember at one time loose cartridges were going for that amount. I was lucky and got my boxed copy from Gamestop for $40 before the price started to go up. Still one of my favorite of the series.

@Tasuki
40$ is indeed a very good price. I am glad, that you got so lucky.

I watched YouTube videos of this game and I think, that this is a great start for a new series.

Pre-ordered the Neo Geo+ AVS. What can I say 12 year old me cant be more excited. Neo Geo has always been one of the systems I always wanted to get but for obvious reasons never did. So when I heard of this I had to get it. Now I just hope they release Baseball Stars 2 for it.

@Tasuki
I'm torn between the White bundled' anniversary edition, or the original Black. I'd go for the white, IF it's wireless Arcade Stick when using it's detachable 15-pin cable wired in to the console produces the same low latency(Or none, whatever it is) as their wired Black arcade stick. If that's the case, it's the white bundle all the way.

Want to get it with Metal Slug, Shock Troopers & Magician Lord. Too bad they're not selling King of Monsters, or the first Samurai Showdown, along with both Fatal Furty 1&2. But if i were to be perfectly honest with myself, those games just don't hold up. They're truly a product of their time, especially FF1.

Metal Slug 3 running at 60fps - (Must be a PC mod)

Fatal Fury 3 definitely holds up mind you. it's quicker, more responsive and falls more in line with the likes of SFII Turbo. Metal Slug 1, X & 3 are still a good time, but they seriously need an update that bumps them up to 60fps with zero slow down, instead of 30 with occasional slowdown. Magician Lord and Shock Troopers are really good too. I still think it's whack that they're selling each game a pop for $89 though. But ya, this is THE legit way to experience Neogeo games.

Zero emulation game lag, connects to a CRT over composite or HDMI with modern displays, has an overclock mode and it's an exact brand new replica of the original console, Arcade stick and controller etc. Only the rich kids had a Neogeo console back then. But owning one for myself never actually interested me at the time ignoring the wildly high sticker price. I was perfectly content playing NG back in the arcades myself, and going home or popping over to my friends & cousins houses playing NES, Genesis, SNES, Commodor 64 & Super GameBoy, until the Saturn & PS1 creeped in 95. That's when the 8-16 bit generations dried up for me personally.

@NeonPizza Yeah, I knew one kid in my school who had a Neo Geo. Has parents were technology nerds so they had all the latest systems. I remember seeing the Neo Geo at his house and even holding the controller but playing it forget about it no way his parents were going to let us lol.

I remember playing games like Metal Slug and Samurai Shodown in the Arcades when I was a teenager but really didnt dabble into the Neo Geo till the Wii VC with the Neo Geo games. Thats where I discovered the odd ones like Baseball Stars 2, Top Hunter and others. So natural when I heard about the Neo Geo+ I jumped on it.

@Tasuki
lol. That reminds me when Zack(Mark Paul Gosslier) told a story during a podcast, where he was hanging out with Screech and his parents during a lunch break while shooting an episode of Saved By the Bell. Screech had bought the NeoGeo right when it came out, Mark was taken by surprise at how impressive it was, probably because he didn't expect to get the arcade experience right at home.

@0:33 - 0:55

When i think back to my early to mid 90's Neogeo Arcade memories, I probably played about 10 different titles. World Heroes 1&2, Metal Slug 1&2(Never 3), Samurai Showdown, Bust-A-Move 2, Fatal Fury 1&2, King of Monsters and probably a few others I've forgotten thanks to my nostalgia goggles breaking with the passage of time. Most of my NG Arcade memories stem from my local corner store which was right across from my elementry school. They'd routinely get in different cabinets. Stocking up on junk food with friends with change that I'd get from my parents, the sticky slurpy resedoo-gunk on the top of the arcade stick decks(lol), hearing that distinct corner store door bell ring the moment we'd walk in, accompanied by Street Fighter II hyper fighting(SF was always the mainstay arcade series that would last the longest before being replaced with other cabinets) playing in the background etc.

Playing those arcades with friends was almost like a before and sometimes after school ritual. lol In terms of NG, i think King of Monsters and maybe Samurai Showdown left the strongest impression on me.

Never messed with Negeo or TGFX on the Wii's VC though, just NES, SNES & Genesis. It wasn't until Switch 1 when i started to get into NG. I have about 50 games so far, with about 20 more on my Wish list. $9.99 a pop is a hell of a lot more enticing than spending $123.99(Cad) for a brand new NG+ copy. The game prices are absurd, but at least there's no emulation lag and you can play it on a CRT, aside from physically owning it. It's a pretty penny, but it's the best way to experience Neogeo right at home, no doubt! And Man, I would of loved Magician Lord, Shock Troopers, Metal Slug 3 and many of the other odd ball fighters if i got my hands on them back in the day.

@NeonPizza Yeah I downloaded a bunch of the Neo Geo games on the Wii VC mainly out of curiosity. I did download a fair share of NES and Genesis games as well and of course SNES. Sadly the Wii was the last console I really was into and that was mainly for the VC. I loved it so much the Wii pretty much became my VC machine. Yeah I had of course the staple Wii games like Mario Kart Wii and NSMBW but my VC library vastly outnumbered my Wii game collection. I wish Nintendo would go back to the VC but I know its not going to happen. Honestly if it wasnt for the VC I probably wouldn't have paid much attention to the Wii.

Btw R.I.P. Screech. Still shocked about his passing.

@NeonPizza Yeah I just cant bring myself to watch the late 80s early 90s sitcoms on streaming services. Wash out visuals and not to mention the sound on modern tvs just ruin it for me. Even like the cartoons on streaming services like Ducktales I cant watch.

Yeah the Switch has a good library too especially the ones you mention. You did remind me though that I need to play Curse of the Moon 1. Started it awhile ago and go distracted but from what I played it was pretty solid. I also at some point want to get Link's Awakening maybe once I finish Echoes of Wisdom.

That time during the Wii/Ds era was such a great time to be an Nintendo fan.

@Tasuki
It's strange why they'd cut the original shows frame rate down, especially in a time where plenty of the newer generation actually prefer watching movies at a whopping 48-60fps(Not my thing personally).

And I actually beat Curse of the Moon 1 last November. It really does feel like a spiritual sequel or take on Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, but optimized and modernized with QOL's up the ying yang. With WideScreen, HD Rumble, faster staircase walking(Thank god, one thing I'll never miss from most of the traditional Castlevania series. Bloodlines being the exception.), the soundtrack is every bit as good if not better imo, when stacked up against Castlevania 1, 2 & 3.

Wasn't too crazy over most of the boss designs though. Some of them were veering into Mega Man Zero territory(This is Intecreates, so go figure.) and felt slightly out of place and boarderline forgettable at times. And once you aquire all 4 characters, it can get a bit messy, confusing and overwhelming since each character has multiple sub-weapon attacks. Towards the later few stages, when you've aquired all 4 characters, character management based on their weapons, streangths & weaknessnes can be a bit of an 'in the moment' mind bender, and almost breaks the flow of the game. If this were a turn based RPG? Sure, fine, bring it on. But it's a 2D action platformer where you're constantly on your toes with much less time to think. Sometimes less is more.

Overall, it was about an 8/10 I'd say. If anything, I liked it more than CII: Simon's Quest(if that even counts), Chronicles(PS1), Haunted Castle, the two GameBoy games, and the latest Haunted Castle Revisted from the Donimus Collection. It's on par or maybe slightly better than Bloodlines. But my experiences back in the later 2000's on Wii's VC with Rondo of Blood(the Castlevania grand daddy, and one of my favourite games of all time.), SCIV, C1, C3 and dare i say Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth(Wii) i remember having a stronger impact on me. But i was also in my 20's, so.

There's actually a brand new 'NES to SNES' version of Castlevania 1 now for PC. They removed all of the slowdown & sprite flicker, mapped your sub-weapon to the R button(On an SNES controller) instead of having to press 'Up + Attack' and there's an optional remixed OST. They still should of sped up the Staircase walking. Bummer! yet if I were to ever replay CI again that's how I'd do it. Just wish it were available on NS1/NS2.

Yesterday, March April 30th, 2016 2026 (Children's Day in Mexico), I got this

Not the best way to pamper my inner child, but he was always curious about it. Now he can finally check it out, Find the Computer Room and that damn FOURTH Chaos Emerald.

@HammerGalladeBro Yesterday was April 30th. Unless Mexico goes by a different calendar.

It was also 2026 unless I've entered my time machine by mistake again

(why are we such pedants)

Gee, sorry. Got a little confused because I was thinking that my last game before Shadow was also around the end of March.

About the 2016, my fingers are bigger than the keys on the digital keyboard of my cellphone, so I usually end up pressing the wrong buttons whether I want or not. And this instance I thought I had entered 2026.
If you have the chance to check some of my raw comments, you can see a lot of typos due to that. Some I catch up at first, others I don't.

As an aside, did the topic disappear for a brief moment or something? I swear I wanted to post my retro purchase yesterday, but I couldn't find it. Not even in my comment history.