GravyThief

GravyThief

Catching up on PS1 and PS2 games...

Comments 1,723

Re: Fatal Frame: Maiden Of Black Water's Latest Trailer Tells The Terrifying Truth Of Mt. Hikami

GravyThief

I started playing the Wii U version of this a few years ago but I must say I found it very boring and wasn’t impressed. The only other one I’ve played is the Wii one years before, which I didn’t complete either, but I remember it was definitely better than this one. Must say I definitely prefer the Silent Hill games over these ones, from what I’ve experienced.

Re: Gallery: Is The Panasonic Q The Most Goshdarn Beautiful Nintendo Console Of All Time?

GravyThief

I had one of these back in the day. Imported it from Lik-Sang (remember them?!) and it wasn’t cheap even then. It was nice to look at, but I used my normal GameCube more due to the GB Player and I was able to use an RGB cable with it. The Panasonic Q didn’t have the standard Nintendo AV socket at the back from memory. Kind of wish I’d kept it, but I can still play GameCube games so that’s the main thing.

Re: The 'Castlevania Advance Collection' Has Been Rated For Switch In Taiwan

GravyThief

I’ve only played Circle of the Moon from this collection (or just ‘Castlevania’ as it’s called here in Europe). I enjoyed it, except for the cards (I don’t think I ever like cards when in games) and I got to the final boss but couldn’t beat him. Really should get around to the other two at some point, I just find I can only play large Metroidvanias every so often, there are too many of them these days.

Re: Feature: Banjo And Final Fantasy On The Radio? VGM On Classic FM Was Only The Beginning

GravyThief

Classic FM is my radio station of choice. I do like it when I hear a Zelda, Final Fantasy or other video game music piece. They certainly don’t sound out of place with all the other classic or film music pieces they play.

I hear about these VGM radio shows on the likes of Classic FM, BBC and so on, but they’re so badly advertised I always hear about them after they’ve happened, sometimes months or years afterwards! I’d love to be able to replay them all now, but from what I can tell none are available any more. It’s a shame.

Re: Funky Video Game Music - Groovy Playlist

GravyThief

Much better picks from DKC Tropical Freeze in my opinion:

Staff Credits feat. David Wise (not Funky’s Staff Credits)

Busted Bayou

Busted Bayou always sticks out for me in particular because it’s such an awesome level in the game, it’s the one in silhouette where you can see Samus’ ship in the background, and make shapes with all the silhouettes of the foliage.

Re: Soapbox: Chiptune Is Great, But The Impact Of A Full Orchestra Is Unbeatable

GravyThief

Also just to add to my above comment, I think a soundtrack like the remake of Wonder Boy III Dragon’s Trap is again much more fitting than a full orchestra. I’m not sure if it was actually done by an orchestra, certainly it was a large group of musicians. But it uses instruments that fit the game, so didn’t have the typical ‘orchestral’ sound to it.

One of the best modern soundtracks in my opinion.

Re: Soapbox: Chiptune Is Great, But The Impact Of A Full Orchestra Is Unbeatable

GravyThief

I listen to orchestral renditions of video game music as my music of choice when working.

I don’t, however, think it always fits in a game. Especially older games or games in that style. Everyone seems to be adding orchestral music to SNES games with the SD2SNES and its MSU, and it just sounds wrong, and honestly, silly.

Something much more fitting for 8-bit/16-bit games would be like the VRC6 chip music on the Famicom version of Castlevania 3. It fits the game but has much more oomph.

Re: Soapbox: In Praise Of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Two Years On

GravyThief

I was a big fan of earlier FE games, up to and including Awakening. But Fates put me off, I really didn’t like much about it and the direction FE has taken. I haven’t played this but I don’t think I’ll like it.

I have Valentia still to play on 3DS, I think I’ll like that as it doesn’t seem to have a lot of the guff from Fates I hated.

I’m currently playing Vandal Hearts on the PS1 and I must say I like it very much, more so than FE. Shame that series never went anywhere.

Re: Talking Point: Can Metroid Dread Be The Franchise's 'Awakening'?

GravyThief

If it plays anything like Samus Returns on 3DS, then not a chance. At least this looks better from trailers (it runs much smoother), but it still seems to have that clumsy counter mechanic. I bet it uses the analogue stick to control too. 2D platform games should always use the D pad. Not that the Switch has a proper D pad.

I wouldn’t get your hopes up.

Re: Netflix No Longer Works On Wii U Or 3DS, So Where's The Switch Version?

GravyThief

I used it on the Wii U all the time until I got my PS4. Now I use it on that

Netflix is on my Smart TV but I never use it, it’s so clunky to use so I don’t see Smart TVs as a suitable replacement, not my one anyway. I’d be really annoyed if I only had a Switch, it really should be on there.

That said I have a Roku stick for the bedroom and that is by far the best device I’ve had for streaming. It includes more apps too, like ITV Hub which isn’t present on PS4 for some reason. It’s much faster than the Fire Stick which was horrible. Only cost me £16 too on offer!

Re: Dragon Quest Creator Teases Possible HD-2D Remakes Of The First Two Games

GravyThief

I’ll only be interested if they re-make them into open world metroidvanias with branching paths based on random dialogue choices, crafting and skill trees. And I want every dungeon to be procedurally generated rogue-likes. With DLC.

Oh, and I want to be able to make the main character myself because I’m definitely better at it than a team of seasoned artists.

Re: Feature: Every Mega Man Game Ranked

GravyThief

I’m really not into Mega Man. I’ve tried both MM2 and MMX (the best two according to this list) and just couldn’t get into them. I really don’t like not being able to shoot up and diagonal.

I prefer my platformers slower paced with a focus on exploration, so that’s another reason. I do like the looks of Legends 1 & 2 and Tron Bonne, but they’re about as far removed from a traditional Mega Man game as you can get.

Re: The Spirit Of The Game Boy Printer Lives On Thanks To Fujifilm And Your Nintendo Switch

GravyThief

I wish I could find new thermal paper that fits the Game Boy printer these days (ideally as stickers like the originals). My daughters would love it. I’ve found rolls for tills but they need cutting to fit and never seem to work. I’m sure I could find Bluetooth printers for my iPhone that could print photos and stuff, but it doesn’t have the same novelty and appeal to me.

Re: Anniversary: Nintendo Switch Launched Four Years Ago Today

GravyThief

Still don’t have one. Waiting for the price to drop first. To be honest there aren’t many Switch exclusive games I’m that bothered about. Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Odyssey are the main ones I want to play off the top of my head, but not much else. I’m quite content with my PS4 and numerous retro games and systems. I’m sure I’ll get 1 or more when my daughters get a bit older, hopefully by then they’ll have dropped the price! Not that they need to of course.

Re: Anniversary: Can You Believe It? The Nintendo 3DS Is Now 10 Years Old

GravyThief

I still recall getting my first 3DS, the OoT 3D edition which I still have today. I now have many more models including the New 3DS variants which are easily the best ones with their head tracking stable 3D.

Getting the 3DS also opened up the DS library to me as I’d been away from games since the GC/GBA so missed out on that generation.

My only real gripe is the fact it’s not region free. Such a disappointing move by Nintendo. I still have US exclusive 3DS games I can’t play as waiting to get a US model. I’ve looked into hacking one of my 3DSes but I’m put off by the fact it’s not really reversible. I wish it was as simple and elegant to hack as the PSP was!

Re: Feature: 8 NES Games That Were Better On Famicom Disk System

GravyThief

@Krisi yeah there is a small handful of genuine GBA games that use battery saves. Metroid Fusion and Metroid Zero Mission spring to mind. Not all copies have them though (unfortunately mine do), and they’re not counterfeit either. But you’re right, most do use flash memory for saving thankfully, and obviously by the DS era they were a thing of the past.

I just remembered, even consoles have batteries too! PS2 and Gamecubes use them for their internal clocks, and they’re a pig to change.