Gamecuber

Gamecuber

Gaming from the Spectrum ZX to now!

Comments 375

Re: Anniversary: Goodness Me, Is The GameCube Really 20 Years Old?

Gamecuber

I was really lucky to be old enough to be able to buy my Cube myself back in 2003. I already had the PS2 and being able to 2 current gen consoles simultaneously was brilliant. Though the PS2 got more use, the excellent exclusives I played and still own on the Cube left the most lasting impressions. The graphics wiped the floor with the PS2 (only Halo on my friend’s Xbox out did it) and the controller, though mocked at the time, is in hindsight almost perfect (I still use a wavebird as my go to controller for VC games on the Wii). Add the Gameboy Player and GBA connectivity and you have a unique little system that has stood the test of time. It’s first party games still look excellent today as well as a few second and third party ones.

Re: Nintendo Celebrates 20 Years Of GameCube In New Smash Bros. Event

Gamecuber

The cube was the first system I bought entirely with my own money (previous consoles were gifts from my parents). 2003 and I got it for £70 secondhand along with Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker, along with the Ocarina of Time and Master Quest bonus disc.

Truth be told, whilst the console was relevant until I got my Wii in 2009 I only actually owned about 10 games, but they were all great, especially for multiplayer.

These days I have close to 100 games and there are still one or two I’d love to get hold of (TTYD anyone?)

Re: Random: Check Out These Mock-Ups Of Game Boy For Nintendo Switch Online

Gamecuber

@Wavey84 I’ve been playing a few on the old Wii Virtual Console recently (Super Mario Bros.3, Paper Mario, Streets of Rage 2) on a crt through RGB SCART and it looks great, even set to widescreen. My son has started Paper Mario on Wii U (save states make it a bit easier for him) and the picture is so dark next to the Wii version!

Re: Random: Check Out These Mock-Ups Of Game Boy For Nintendo Switch Online

Gamecuber

I love Game Boy but I can’t see myself booting this up more than once for the novelty of playing some of these on the TV. Tbh I’ve got the original carts for most big games from back in the day, plus a Game Boy player on GameCube, PLUS. I bought a lot in 3DS (save states yay!).

It’s going to be great for youngsters to experience these games themselves without tracking down expensive carts, but not really much reason to keep my subscription to the online. With Wii Virtual Console, Wii U eshop ,NES and SNES minis I got a lot of that out of my system years ago.

Now add GBA and GameCube (Thousand Year Door anyone?) and I’d stick around…

Re: Community: What Was Your First Ever Nintendo Game?

Gamecuber

As I was born in the early 80s I must have played Super Mario Bros on NES at least once at a display stand in a shop. My friend had a Game Boy and I remember playing Tetris, Super Mario Land, Double Dragon and Fortress of Fear.

I’m terms of owning a Nintendo game, my little sister got a Game Boy (I already had a Game Gear) and her first games were Tetris and Super Mario Land, so naturally I got to play them too. However, my first Nintendo system of my own was a Game Boy in 1996 that came with Killer Instinct and Star Wars.

I didn’t actually get my first Nintendo console until 1998, which was an N64 with Star Wars Shadows of the Empire. Before that I was strictly a SEGA kid!

Re: Switch Online NES And SNES Controllers Are Back In Stock, NES Bundle 50% Off (Europe)

Gamecuber

I’ve got a couple of the bluetooth 8bitdo SN30+ controllers (both free with a magazine subscription) but they only work in tabletop mode. Am I missing a trick when the Switch is docked or does it totally disable the bluetooth? I mainly use a wired Power A controller (like the Pro controller but without all the bells and whistles and a tiny fraction of the price) but it would be great to use the Bluetooth controllers for extra players.

Re: Rumour: Nintendo To End Submissions For New Wii U And 3DS eShop Games

Gamecuber

@Kilamanjaro my bad, I didn’t read your comment thoroughly enough 😁. Yeah, 3DS prices are nuts at the moment (I watched the NintendoLife video last night). In the UK Argos is selling off a few titles cheap right now (Pokemon sun and moon, Layton’s mysteries, Animal Crossing happy home designer and develish brain training are all under £12). I made sure I took advantage of their selling off of old 3DS games in that last few years and as a result still have about 5 sealed games that I got all for under £10 (only sealed as I haven’t got around to playing them yet).

I do wonder if 3DS will end up like GameCube with very few games available in the future (unlike GameCube there isn’t a next gen system like the Wii to play 3DS games on). Plus the actual 3D is not likely to be repeated so it will become quite a niche system I think in the future.

Re: Rumour: Nintendo To End Submissions For New Wii U And 3DS eShop Games

Gamecuber

The window to submit physical games for the Wii U was some time in 2020. As such the last releases were Finding Teddy 2, Shut’em up collection and I think Hotline Miami (which wasn’t released physically in Europe . The Wii shop lasted 12 years (2006-2018) so I’d hope Wii U/3DS would get a similar length but that would only be 2023 for 3DS (2011-2023) and 2024 for Wii U.

Re: Nine Resident Evil Games Are Currently Discounted Across Switch And 3DS

Gamecuber

@moodycat I’ve played through Revelations 1 on 3DS and Wii U and it’s a really good game. It has more in common with the games from 4 onwards rather than classic Resi, but with the release of the remakes of 2 and 3 it fits I very nicely with the style of these games. Only played the first (free) chapter of revelations 2, but what I played was fun but not on the same level as the first (backgrounds are really muddy looking).

I played through 5 on the Xbox 360 solo and I found it perfectly playable (silly but playable). 6 was terrible on 360 but I got the Xbox one version for pennies and the upgrade was worth it. Again, a daft game but fun for what it was!

Re: After Months Of 'Switch Pro' Rumours, Nintendo Officially Unveils The Nintendo Switch OLED Model

Gamecuber

@technotreegrass I bought a regular switch about 3 days before the whole world was convinced that Nintendo was going to announce a pro model this year. So I kept it in the box (much to my son’s disappointment) just so I could return it for a refund to put toward the pro. Surprise, surprise no announcement! Glad I didn’t bother waiting; £227 for the regular model, not worth the extra £83 for these upgrades tbh (though if you play mainly handheld I guess it might be worth it).

Re: After Months Of 'Switch Pro' Rumours, Nintendo Officially Unveils The Nintendo Switch OLED Model

Gamecuber

@sanderev good for you (and there is no sarcasm intended in that). It’s good that people who play handheld get a boost (especially if you have a 2017 model as you get the better battery as well) but it’s a pity they couldn’t push for 1080p handheld as well plus Bluetooth connectivity. Then it would arguably be the perfect handheld device. Not much in this for those of us who enjoy docked mode more though (and I have a lite too which is even better as a portable).

Re: After Months Of 'Switch Pro' Rumours, Nintendo Officially Unveils The Nintendo Switch OLED Model

Gamecuber

Whilst this is great if you predominantly play in tabletop or handheld mode (the bigger brighter screen, a better kickstand) I don’t see much in this for someone who use it on a TV:

64gb of internal storage- nice, but irrelevant if you have a micro sd card, which I’m guessing most of us do.

LAN port on the dock - nice, but usb adaptors like the Wii model cost next to nothing and can be used with the existing dock.

Not any faster or more powerful than the last version of the regular switch - not really a ‘pro’ model then.

Plus apart from the bigger screen and OLED (again, nice) the kickstand can easily be replicated by buying any of the third party or licences stands for very little. In fact, aside from the tabletop mode (which was present on the regular switch) and the screen, I can’t see how this is better suited than a switch lite if you mainly play handheld. I’m lucky enough to have a lite and only recently got a regular model as my son is really into the Switch, but I can’t see this replacing either.

Sorry to be so negative and I will admit that if this was my first switch these enhancements would be a welcome edition but it’s more ‘New 3DS’ over ‘old 3DS’ rather than ‘Xbox One to Xbox One X’; nice upgrade but not really worth it unless you really, really need it (and I say that as someone who went 2DS - 3DSXL - New 3DS; it’s a lovely bit of kit but I kind of wish I’d stuck with the 2DS tbh).

Re: "King Pokémon" Attracts The Ire Of Fans Over Comments Regarding Famous Artist's Signature

Gamecuber

Once again demonstrating the confusion between ‘monetary value’ and ‘personal value’. Something can have enormous personal value (you wouldn’t part with it for any amount of money) but is worth very little at resale and something else can have great financial value (where you could sell something for a princely sum) but have absolutely no personal connection to it whatsoever. It might be hard to grasp, but not everyone values your possessions the same way you do.

I know that to most people here this blatantly obvious but some people don’t seem to be able to grasp such a simple difference…

Re: Soapbox: Super Metroid Showed Me I Had The Right To Exist

Gamecuber

@Ganner way ahead of you 😀 those just happen to be some of my favourite films. She’s watched them, but isn’t too keen on horror films. I’m not convinced that she’s really watched the Terminator films (she says she ‘watched them on vhs when she was a kid’) but they have a strong female lead in Sarah Connor too.

Ripley is a brilliant heroine, but part of why she works is that (in the original at least) she wasn’t written to be specifically female (all roles were stipulated to be either in the script, it’s only in casting that Ripley was a woman). So the script misses out on a lot of typical stereotypical behaviour (though Lambert, the female navigator, is supposed to be the audience surrogate and falls into the screaming woman role). The brilliance of the film, that is lost now, is that Sigourney Weaver was an unknown; Tom Skeritt was probably the most famous star in the US, with John Hurt famous in the UK. No one expected Ripley to live, so when the Captain dies halfway through it was shock. Again, it wasn’t unusual for there to be a line female survivor, but they were usually saved or left traumatised. Ripley instead, despite her fear (which is entirely realistic) defeats the Alien herself. She is (IMO) one of the best, if not the best, female hero in film. Ultimate badass!

Re: Soapbox: Super Metroid Showed Me I Had The Right To Exist

Gamecuber

@Moistnado they’re not my favourite either, but I see the impact they have had on both my wife and daughter. Seeing them so excited to have someone on screen that they can identify with makes me reflect on how lucky that there are so many characters I can relate to as a man. I’d like more people to get to have that feeling too, in any form of media (after all, there’s enough to go round for everyone to have their own heroes).

I love Metroid too, though I have to confess that I have the nasty habit of getting to the last boss and quitting! Finally rectified that during lockdown by going back and finishing Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime.

Re: Soapbox: Super Metroid Showed Me I Had The Right To Exist

Gamecuber

I’m all for inclusion and representation in video games; not for any particular political reason (in general I’d like to live in a world where we can all be happy) but more so because anything that helps a player immerse themselves fully in a game, enjoy it more or allow it to attract the widest audience possible is a good thing. As someone who was a similar age to the author, I remember my younger sister enjoying playing as Blaze in the Streets of Rage games and Chun Li in Street Fighter but as I’m getting older I realise that more female characters (say an equal balance between male and female) would have been even better for her. In fact, now that I think about it, the original SOR was actually quite diverse for a game from 1991, it was very rare to have a black player character like Adam in any game from that time.

As a father of a boy and a girl I’d love for my younger daughter to have more options if she chooses to play more games as she gets older. I still can’t see why we cannot have Peach as a playable character in a mainline Mario title (I’m aware of 3D World and Super Princess Peach). How hard would it be to include a campaign where choosing Mario would have Peach kidnapped but choosing Peach would have Mario captured? Surely it would not be a huge stretch to program and as you would not be forced to make either decision, no knuckle draggers could complain ‘wHy Do I hAvE tO pLaY aS A gIrL?!’

I really realised this when I took my wife to see Captain Marvel. She’s a fan of the MCU but for her this was the film that she felt really spoke to her. She’s not blind to some of the criticism aimed at the film (much of which I feel is misaimed anyway)but she felt that she had finally seen a film where a female hero kicks butt and offers no compromise, which to me is very similar to Metroid. Seeing her nerding out they way that I have done to some if the other male heroes made me realise that there does need to be more characters for women and girls to look up to. Even the new Star Wars films, which are not a patch on the originals, get a big thumbs up from me for giving my little girl a hero to look up to in Rey. What does a 5 year old care about story or character development; I never did when I watched Arnold taking out rooms full of baddies as a a kid, my daughter just sees a badass female Jedi swing a lightsaber!

Re: Yep, The Wii U Gets A New Game In July

Gamecuber

@Splodge the interface is slow (but still faster than my Xbox 360). Tbh, my only complaint with the Wii U is that you can’t change the system settings on the screen but only on the gamepad. Why they didn’t change that so that you can do it with the pro controller is beyond me, though I suppose it would mean that a lot of gamepads would be banished to a box forever. Though thinking about it, it wouldn’t be the first peripheral/ Trojan gimmick they’ve abandoned after a while (Rob the Robot anyone?)

Re: Best Sonic Games Of All Time

Gamecuber

Sonic 1, 2, 3, S&K on the MD and Sonic 1 on the Master System/Game Gear are gaming gold. These are all great games in their own right and culturally were massively impactful in the early 90s. The fierce competition between Nintendo and SEGA was great for fans as they constantly pushed each other to out do the other. I was (like many people in the UK) firmly in the SEGA camp and I love revisiting these games 30 years later. So do my young children and if that doesn’t make them timeless I don’t know what does.

Re: Anniversary: The Nintendo 64 Launched 25 Years Ago Today

Gamecuber

This was the first console where for me games went from arcade driven distractions on the Mega Drive to full stories that made me feel invested in the world. Mario 64 and Goldeneye were terrific but for me Ocarina of Time took storytelling in video games to a whole new level.

Re: Review: Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX - Vintage Sega Hero In Mediocre Remake

Gamecuber

I remember reading an interview with the guys remaking this before SEGA gave them the go ahead (pretty sure it was in Retro Gamer magazine) and it very much sounded like a labour of love.

I remember playing Alex Kidd on Master Systems that were demo models in shops like Children’s World in Leeds in the late 80s/early 90s. I could never get past the first screen! Loved what I played though, but as soon as Sonic hit the scene it was bye bye monkey boy!

Apparently, the model 2 Master System with Miracle World installed is far more common than the one with Sonic (which is the one I picked up years later).

Re: Poll: What's The Best 2D Sonic Game?

Gamecuber

Sonic 1 (Mega Drive and Master System versions), Sonic 2 (Mega Drive), Sonic 3 & Knuckles are all classics. Sonic Mania is very good, but some of those second acts are very weak compared to the first acts. I find that the levels are very similar to Sonic CD in that they are quite complex and don’t really give the same satisfaction as the classic 4 games for just blasting through.

Re: Talking Point: Do You Replay Games?

Gamecuber

Yes. Back when I was a kid and money was tight you had a certain number of games and that was it, so you’d get used to playing the same games over and over. I still play through those old games every now and again, it’s like re-reading a great book or re-watching an old film. Furthermore, it’s great to play through some with my own kids now, along with introducing them to new game experiences as well. There are also a number of more ‘modern’ games that I enjoy revisiting, trying to appreciate all the detail. Dishonoured is the latest game I’m replaying. I find something new every time I do a run through. I will admit that I could possibly be missing out on some new experiences by spending time revisiting old games. I can find it quite overwhelming with the huge number of games I have access to these days with services like Gamepass or simply having more disposable income to choose where to devote my time and sometimes returning to something I know I will definitely love rather than starting something I may not like and giving up on seems like a better use of my limited time. Silly, I know.