Ristar24

Very nice to hear, was such a great game even though I played through a fairly rough version originally as a late PS3 release. Switch port is outstanding.

I have this disc, nice find! Whenever anyone says bad official emulation though, my mind immediately replies SEGA Smash Pack Vol.1 on Dreamcast. Thankfully, there was no Vol.2.

Been playing some arcade racing games on my PS3 Super Slim, from the days when Sony actually sold budget hardware. MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, Ridge Racer 7, Need for Speed: the Run, Daytona, it's been interesting going through my old purchases back over 10 years ago and the games still look quite good to me.

As it's October I think time for some Castlevania staring with the NES / Famicom game on Switch. Great that the Switch has so many of the classic Castlevania games now available in collections.

I played Link's Awakening and couldn't get used to the inconsistency. I am fine with 60fps or 30fps. Some standard frame drops or frame pacing in games bother me less. A game with vsync enabled which halves the frame rate to 30fps and then jumps back up 60fps does become distracting for me to play, as I can not adjust to one or the other.

I mentioned in a previous comment, but SEGA Rally 2 on Dreamcast was one of the first games I played that did this, and I noticed it immediately. Saturn SEGA Rally was a mostly consistent 30fps and I much preferred how that game played.

I was playing the original game episodes as they were released, back on PS3. I remember watching YouTube videos speculating about what would happen next. I didn't play the subsequent games, I did try True Colours on Switch but it just didn't hold my interest as the first game did.

I might get my PS3 out as feel like some classic arcade racing, maybe Daytona and Ridge Racer 7 (would have made a great Switch port). Aside from that I feel in a retro mood so perhaps some Castle of Illusion on the Mega Drive or Streets of Rage. If I have time, might also play some more Witcher 3 on Switch.

I think back in the 80s and 90s, from the 8-bit micro computers to SEGA and Nintendo, the 'war' aspect was mostly that if you were a child, you could only really ask your parents for one system. Then, look at games you might like to play on another system but didn't own and decide to downplay them instead! The marketing really fed into that I think.

The technological differences in computers from the ZX Spectrum to the C64 offered different strengths, as did the Master System and NES, Mega Drive and SNES, the Saturn, PS1 and N64. They all had great unique games though.

With the persuit of the latest tech, I've really lost interest in 'current gen' after the PS4. I really like the convenience of the Switch and it won me over after drifting over to a PS3 and PS4 during the WiiU era. I like what Nintendo did with the system and I also really liked the DS and 3DS (though also owned a PSP and Vita).

I find the 60-30 fps V-sync type frame drops really distracting. I remember first time I played SEGA Rally 2 on Dreamcast and the game immediately felt really bad to play after the original's stable 30fps on Saturn. It's the worst type of framerate inconsistency for me, as I can't become accustomed to either as it abruptly jumps between the two.

@BANJO Just went back and edited my comment as realise PS4 version does not have the gyro aim. Must have got confused, but I still think seems the better demo overall!

Desert Falcon, I thought that was in there already somehow! Maybe I played it in a previous collection. Was one of my actual Atari carts at the time so I have a real nostalgia for that one.

@BANJO Yes, I really noticed it on the floor, the Switch version seems to use that kind of texture filtering where you can see an obvious line ahead when you move. Used to see that a lot in Dreamcast games and I find it quite distracting. That issue is eliminated on PS4, the distant detail looks nicer, resolution and framerate are better.

I like these games having played the original on Wii and the Sequel on PS3 and Vita. I really like the visual style of this new version, but I feel the Switch version is a little too cut back.

Great they have the demos out really so you can compare.

@BANJO Yep, if you download the demo on PS4 you can really see the difference when you get to the larger open areas. It looks and runs much nicer than the Switch docked. While I usually go for portable play, with this game it's a bit too rough for me going on the demo comparison at least.

I liked the orginal and played the demo on Switch and PS4, I might need to go at least PS4 with this one. Switch just looked and ran a bit rough.

After very belatedly getting into the game on Switch, I've been finally playing the Witcher 3. I picked up the PS4 version too as it's so cheap and looks better, but found myself mostly playing on Switch portable.

Also bought the Mavel vs. Capcom collection on Switch. X-Men vs. Street Fighter was one of my favourite Saturn imports way back (I still own it). I'd not played The Punisher game before and it's a really nice extra. Might also contine some DS Castlevania in the Dominus Collection, those games are still really enjoyable to play.

@NeonMullet I played a lot of UK specific software probably, and cassette was the most popular format here. Back then I pretty much bought what was in my local WH Smith! You can always add software to the mini (or the larger version) with a USB. I miss those old tape loaders that way though. Platoon is way better than it has any right to be (at least the first two stages), I have the NES cart too, but it's poor next to the C64. Stunt Car racer is almost as good as the Amiga. I'll certainly be looking out for this in Switch too.

'The Spectrum' is the next device from Retro Games which I'll also be picking up.

Looks good but digitally I think it's a bit expensive at £35. One for a sale for me I think, or will keep a look out for the physical version.

@-wc- So true, imagine if Street Fighter 2 on the SNES or Mega Drive had big arcade sprites, but with an awful framerate. Or, I think how well some arcade ports played even on 8-bit micro computers, as they were pretty much their own version.

I guess it's this whole 'scalability' that's the problem, what potential is there technically, and what skills, time and resources do developers have to make their game a pleasant experience on lesser powerful hardware. Arkham Knight is an example of a Switch port which is a total disaster, but I'm finally playing The Witcher 3 on Switch at the moment and I really appreciate the achievement in getting the game running as well as it does.

I always like to see a retro racing game. Not familiar with Big Run but the arcade version looks pretty good. This SNES version looks very cut down visually, but is really reminding me of the home computer ports of Buggy Bug.

It didn't seem 720p portable in the demo on Switch, or maybe was just some muddy textures, the framerate also dropped a fair bit. I also downloaded the PS4 demo version which certainly looked and performed better than the Switch docked.

I liked this game on Wii but on the demo impression, the Switch version didn't sèem too great so not one I'll buy at release.

I bought the The Witcher 3 on Switch in the recent sale. I did try the game on PS4 years ago and put it down, but as usual, portable play has seen me spend more time with the game at last.

Also still playing the Castlevania Dominus collection.

@Toastmaster Great list, Tim Follin also really impresses me on C64, the Ghouls 'n Ghosts intro and soundtrack was so atmospheric. The various Ocean loaders were also great, sometimes better than the games themselves!

£700, plus another £100 for a disc drive, then the expensive subsciption for online play, and they have increased the price of the controller. My launch PS4 broke during the pandemic, I replaced it with a new slim and to be honest, it's good enough for me for most cross gen games at this point.

I bought a Switch Lite around the same time and it impressed me enough to get an OLED. I mostly moved to gaming on Switch and I'm certainly waiting to see how the follow up is priced, that pro is out of my range for a games console, for sure. I really hope Nintendo can balance decent performance and price, they usually do. Put it together with backwards compatibility and good support, and Switch 2 will be my go to console for quite a while I think.

@NeonMullet Some games really do hold up for me, Stunt Car Racer, Buggy Boy, last Ninja 2 and International Karate I still play now and again. I also have a great deal of Nostalgia for Platoon, as I had the 'Hollywood' pack much better than the NES version.

International Karate was one of my first C64 games, and Last Ninja and Last Ninja 2, two of my favourites. That isometric jumping on the first stage of the first game was really frustrating though.

I still play these games sometimes, and I do remember all the effort of having to get my Wii points back for LN3 (and Nintendo Life changing the VC review score as you couldn't progress past the first stage).

I have a lot of nostalgia for these titles, hopefully they handle the 50Hz well in the emulation (the Turrican collections did OK) but certainly interested in them on Switch.

@Toastmaster such great music in the Last Ninja. Rob Hubbard's IK soundtrack is great too, and seems to take some inspiration from Sylvian and Sakamoto's Forbidden Colours (which I only learned years later).

@Ryu_Niiyama Yep, the cheaper late gen PS3 got me gaming back on PlayStation and I bought the original PS4 around launch, but going on for £800 if you want the to add a disc drive, throw in the PS Plus sub...for a games console, wow.

I'm sure be a lot of discussion over on Push square about it. Still, glad Astro Bot is doing well, it looks great honestly.

@Ryu_Niiyama just saw that PS5 Pro price too, £700 with no disc drive... good grief that's expensive.

Astro Bot looks really good, but not enough for me to buy an expensive PS5 console for an exclusive. I'm still in the position where PS4 generally looks 'good enough' for me with a lot of cross gen games, and keeping my money until I see the Switch 2 at this point.

Of the list I'd go for Elden Ring. The other RE remakes also would be good.

@Andee My immediate thought too!

Still playing Portrait of Ruin on the Dominus Collection on Switch, forgot how enjoyable these DS games were, and the rewind and save states do give you the option to avoid some more frustrating moments. This is a great collection.

On PS4 I started to properly play the System Shock remake last weekend and its a really good game, shame it didn't make it to Switch for the moment. Also almost completed TimeSplitters: Future Perfect on PS4, which I've found fun to play for the first time, I should have bought it back on GameCube.

Not having nostalgia for the original, the framerate seemingly dropping to 30fps in Link's Awakening did bother me. It felt like it dropped straight to half then back up, maybe due to Vsync. I think I notice those type of drops the most, so disappointing to hear looks like this game may have the same issue. Will wait for DF analysis.

It looks really clean on Switch these days, so much improvement since launch. I actually also bought the game at it's original launch back on PS4, so its strange to look back.

I still have a few of the original Japanese release versions of these games on Saturn and Dreamcast, be good to have them all on Switch.

If Epic Mickey turns out OK on Switch with decent resolution and a stable frame rate I'd like to play it again.

Castlevania Portrait of Ruin and Haunted Castle Revisited on the Dominus Collection...I've played the DS games before but this is a great collection. Still playing Kingdoms of Amalur on Switch too.

Also bought Timesplitters 2 and Future Perfect on PS4, as they have a new PS2 PSN release. I enjoyed 2 on the GameCube but never played Future Perfect in back in 2005, seems a good time to finally get to the game. Picked up the System Shock remake in a sale too as I've never played it, but may not get to that yet.

That you can digitally buy games on PlayStation Classics is good as I dont subscibe to PS Plus anymore.

@Rhum17 No worries, it's a fairly common one here!

@Rhum17 It is! Just means something is a bit rubbish.

Having owned the games on DS and seeing the gameplay of Haunted Castle Revisited, I purchased this straight away. The DS games are great and the new version of Haunted Castle is really enjoyable if a bit short. The only thing that might have boosted the collection further for me would be be the inclusion of The Adventure ReBirth, which is locked to my aging Wii console at this point.

In theory it's just my type of game and I think the style is great, but the demo was difficult for me and seemed to offer a single life before a level restart (I think also true to the original which I've only played on NSO). I feel as I've got older my patience for classic tough games has worn off a bit, unless it's one I already have the muscle memory for, like The G.G. Shinobi.

I did really enjoy the Haunted Castle Revisited game on the new DS Castlevania collection, but it seemed a lot easier than I expected even on normal difficulty.

Wow what a pleasant suprise of a release. I do wonder if the Wii 'Adventure ReBirth' will appear at some point, but these games are very nostalgic for me. I owned all the DS Castlevania games at one point as they were released.

Continuing with my discovery of Kingdoms of Amalur on Switch... no idea how I completely missed this since 2012 and only found it a recent Switch sale, but I really enjoy this game. It looks great on the OLED and still impressive to me to have such a massive world on a portable console.

Also probably play some retro games, I am part way through a PS1 RE2 playthrough and recently picked Llamasoft The Jeff Minter Story. Fun to try the Spectrum, VIC-20, Atari 8-bit and Atari ST games as I only had a C64 at the time. Also nice to see a the official inclusion of the unfinished Konix Multi-System version of Mutant Camels. Makes me wonder what that system could have been if ever release, for 1989 and it has some impressive graphics similar to the ST and Amiga.

I remember waiting for the game on Wii, it intrigued me and while it wasn't quite up to the concept art I believe I enjoyed the game. It was unusual in an interesting way. I think I recall the ending was quite abrupt though. Played the sequel on PS3 and Vita and the 2D spin off 3DS game, which looked great, but I found it lacking gameplay-wise compared to something like Castle of Illusion. Be interested to see how this turns out on Switch.

Only discovered Kingdoms of Alamar in the recent Switch sale and I really like the game, I completely missed it the first time around. Also the new Doom ports... I found myself looking up Saturn Doom (which is where I first played the games), to remind myself of how far console ports have come!

I liked it, but found some of the later zones a bit overly long. I would have also chosen some different zones to remix, but that's just personal preference. Overall though I really appreciate what Christian Whitehead and the Mania team were able to create for long time fans of the Series.

The first game on the Megadrive and the Master System are probably still my favourites. Superstars was pretty good in my opinion, especially compared to Sonic 4, but again suffered from some frustrating boss fights for me.

@cra1g0s Ha, well I always say watch some videos see what you think. I played the first one back on N64, Switch port is good but has some slow down to my eyes. I've not completed either game but they are generally fun to play for me as retro shooters. I would say they are difficult though, and very much a product of their time in terms of gameplay.

@EVIL-C @canaryfarmer thanks, I may give it a try!

I first played this as a similar game, Icicle Works on the Commodore plus/4.

I might get Turok 2 for that price, Ive never played it, though I have the other two games on Switch.

Not throwing my Saturn out just yet... Street Fighter 4 on Switch would actually be pretty nice. I really enjoy playing SFII The Final Challengers, it's much better that the HD Remix version it was based on which was frustratingly difficult.

Still mainly playing Lies of P on PS4 when I have some time. On Switch I have been playing some Doom with the new versions, nice to have the remixed music option.

May also play some New Star GP and possibly some classic retro games, Street Fighter 2, Streets of Rage and OutRun are always good.

Nice, I only owned Doom but now I get both as a double pack, so Doom 2 for 'free' plus more. Just tried them out and it's a great version, certainly better than the Saturn where I first played Doom at sub 15fps. Actually I also owned both the PS4 versions, so will check if can download there too (edit, I could).