white-zombie

Resident Evil 4 was fantastic!I would literally lose hours at a time playing it, and it's been ages since that had happened to me with a game. Resident Evil 2 had jumpy moments, and was quite involving. NOTHING, however, has scared my like Silent Hill, before or since! Doom, whilst not a Survival Horror game, still had a sense of urgency that unsettled me.

Part way through the following: Streets of Rage 2 (Mega Drive) Quackshot (Mega Drive) Also just started Super Mario 3 via Super Mario All-Stars on the SNES, again. I've been on the first Dungeon in the Dark World on Zelda III for AGES, but haven't persevered enough. I've played all these games in their original format, and completed all except SMB3, but now am playing them via emulators.

OMG, how come some of you guys have so many!? I have: Mega Drive Super Nintendo Playstation (2 of them actually) Nintendo 64 Playstation 2 (though I don't consider this retro) I've played the PSone in the last year, and the SNES in the past, err, 5! Aint played anything since they were actually part of the current gen. Aint played PS2 in a while, I play most retro stuff on PC!

I hope I don't come across as too pretentious, but I refer to the consoles released between the true 16 bit and 32 bit eras, that never really made it. The consoles that spring to mind are: CD-i Amiga CD 32 Jaguar 3DO Please feel free to add any other examples. These consoles were the cutting edge when I first started getting into gaming, and though they were out of my price range, gave me a taste of what was to come. When I first got into games, about '93, I was already looking forward to the next generation, to consoles like the Saturn and PSX, and started reaing Edge. At the time, these consoles were already out there, and whjilst I never entertained buying one, I was nevertheless impressed and intrigued by what they had to offer. As such, they were almost an introduction to the Playstation, which I bought upon it's UK release.

I don't about Nintendo developing Killer Instinct to challenge Eternal Champions, as I don't remember the latter being THAT popular. Also, I'm not entirely sure that many games were so much developed to challenge the dominanance of certain games, more that some games raise the bar/set the standard and others try to copy. Think: Bubsy, Cool Spot, Global Gladiators.

What he said!! I am almost exactly the same, I very rarely play modern videogames, and only sometimes play retro stuff, and then only via emulator on the PC. However, I still like to read about videogames, and still read old PSOne magazines on and off. About every couple of years I'll gett back into videogaming for about a few months.

I guess systems such as the CD-i, CD32, 3DO, Jaguar, and the Sega 32X for that matter just 'feel' like older systems, whereas I think the PSOne, Saturn and N64 were more responsible for changing the way games were perceived, and launching 3D to the mainstream. It may have something to do with the fact that even the Saturn sold more than those aforementioned consoles combined!?

I stand corrected, dunno where I got 1998 from!? Hmm, perhaps we should come up with our own definition of retro!? In our context, perhaps: "the continued use of videogames/systems that are now considered defuct". Am I just thinking about this too much!?

Hello Icarus. First up, may I ask, do you mean the US or UK edition of the Official Playstation Magazine? I THINK I have issue 47 somewhere, of the UK magazine. If it's not issue 47 of the UK edition, I'm fairly sure that I have the edition of the UK mag which does include the article on RPGs, I believe they also did similair articles on beat ups and racing games. The only problem is, how to get it to you, especially if you live anywhere other than the UK. I don't have a scanner, unfortunately. I guess if there are specific excerpts you want I could type them out, or potentially photocopy some of the pages in work and mail them to you, if you do live in the UK. Probably best to PM me if you want to get back in touch. Additionally, you may find some RPG links from this site which may be of use: www.gamespy.com/network

The only problem with the above is that as time moves forward, this date remains the same, so at what point in the future does the date change to December 31st 2000? I think the best way to do it would be to say that any games older than 10 years are retro. What do you think? Also, I think the PS2 was released in '98, so this is a bit of a grey area lol.

I'm just curious whether most of the people here play modern games as well as old ones. Personally, I've not bought a 'current gen' console since the N64 in say '97. I did get a PS2 last Christmas as there are so many good games for it, however. I think the main reason is, that with hindsight, you have a really good idea of what games are good for a system. Of course, the down side is that you generally don't play these games when they are cutting edge. Having siad that, I only have about 4 games for the PS2, and don't play it that much since completing Resident Evil 4!

I think it depends on the console. Some may consider the Xbox to be retro, as it's no longer being produced, but it's the same generation as PS2. Woukd you guys who don't consider the PSOne/Saturn/N64 to be retro, consider teh CD-i, Amiga CD32, Jaguar and 3DO to be retro, as they are technically the same generation?! I consider anything in the 32-bit era and prior to be retro, say two generations ago.

I played Starwing on the SNES, and could never get passed the last boss, and gave up. I completed Lylat Wars (N64 UK naming off Starfox 64) without too much trouble, then a few years ago played Starwing on the SNES again, and beat it without that much trouble, albeit taking the easiest course. I know that the end boss was the same regardless of the route, but the levels were harder. Was the boss harder as well though? I honestly think that is the only one I've played and then replayed and completed.

Are we talking traditional 2D platform games, or including 3D as well? I guess from the titles listed you mean 2D games? When the DS becomes obsolete, where will platform games find a home next? Do you think Nintendo will ever abandon 2D completely when it comes to Mario games? I think that with each generation of consoles, that generation finds its feet with certain genres, and genres that were flagships for the previous generations just become less popular. It may be a shame, but it's been a long time since the platform game had it's heyday on the 16-bits. Having said that, do you think that as a result of fewer being released, that the ones that are released, are of a higher quality?

Sorry Areala, I just couldn't read all of that post, just too long. I feel somewhat hypocritical, as my posts go on and on!! As for bad guys, dunno if I can list 10, but here goes. Also, is it limited to "living entities" or can it be general enemies? Also, given those named, I take it you mean Final Bosses?: 1) Metal Gear Rex 2) The Dragon (Tomb Raider 2) 3) Final Boss in Resident Evil 4 4) Final Boss in Resident Evil 2 5) Dracula (Super Castlevania IV) 6) Mother Brain (Super Metroid) 7) Final Boss in Actraiser 8) Devil (Tekken 2) 9) Mumblers - Not a game boss, but a special mention as these things scare the crap outta me (Silent Hill) 10) Iron Maiden - see number 9, above (Resident Evil 4) Does my list qualify?

I never liked the Sonic cartoons. I did enjoy the Zelda cartoons, and also Captain N I enjoyed. I watched Mario, but don't think it was that good tbh. I didn't even know Pac Man had a cartoon lol. As for Pokemon, eeuurrgghh, can't stand that Anime poo, I just missed the point completely with all that stuff.

The thing that amazed me about the SNES, is how much they managed to squeeze out of it in terms of graphics, thanks to the Super FX chips, which increased it's shelflife a lot. Having said that, I honestly don't know what to expect next from Nintendo. Something else to consider is that Sony and Microsoft will surely have learned from what Nintendo did, and may try and build the same kind of Ningenuity (remember those adverts, anyone lol!?) into their next console. Therefore, it may not be enough for Nintendo to try to recreate what they did with the Wii. Having said that, no-one does what Nintendo do as well as Nintedo do it! Does anyone think that Nintendo will try to get there before Sony and Microsoft, to get a head start?

My memories don't go back nearly as far as some of yours in terms of videogames. My first memories are probably from when I was about 8, playing the Commodore 64 at a friend's house. There were about 3-4 of us there. Games included: Midnight Resistance, Predator, and a Kung Fu scrolling beat em up where when you karate chopped people, they kinda got squished into things that looked like the shape of spinning tops. I would really like to know what that game was called, cuz at one point, I got to what I thought was the last room, and somehow managed to "warp" through the wall, and came out in what seemed like a darker level, at this point my mate said "it's my turn", which it was. At this point, I was still playing, but these dudes were hard, and I got killed, and never found my way to this level again! Any guesses what this game is?

Prompted by the topic about whether we were happy with the era that we grew up in, I thought I'd ask, which era, in your opinion, produced the best games, and what were they? Given that my favourite games is Zelda III, I guess I should say the 16-bit era, but it's not that simple, as I love Doom, Silent Hill, the Tomb Raiders, Resident Evil 4, Gran Turismo, etc. I guess my short list of games would be something like: 16-bit Quackshot Zelda III Super Castlevania IV Starwing Final Fantasy series 32/64-bit Tomb Raider series Resident Evil series Gran Turismo series Tekken series Virtua Fighter series Mario 64 Ocarina of Time Final Fantasy series 128-bit Resident Evil 4 Guitar Hero series Grand Theft Auto series Halo series Final Fantasy series I've left out the 8-bit era, and current era, as I don't have enough first hand experience with either.

I was born in the early 80's, and grew up playing my friend's Commodore 64's (Midnight Resistance, anyone?), before eventually getting a Mega Drive in '93, and a SNES for Christmas '94, then a PSOne when it launched in November '95 in the UK. As such, I consider myself to been a part of the 16-bit era as a child, then later on a part of the 32-bit era. I consider the 16-bit era to be one of the best thus far in terms of quality games and consoles. Super Mario All-stars, Zelda III, Starwing, Super Castlevania IV, Quackshot, Gunstar Heroes, Sonic 2... I guess there's another topic in there somewhere...Which era produced the best games!?

Hmm, probably the SNES, though the Mega Drive was quite comfortable, though limited by the number of buttons, and I think the D-Pad was a bit sharp for SFII. I think the Playstation pad was good overall, but the R1 and L1 buttons were just too high. I could never hold it in the configuration shown in the early promos, with index fingers on the L1/R1, and middle fingers on L2/R2. My index fingers naturally went to L2/R2.

I am guessing that many of the guys on here are from the US, and being from the UK the magazines we will have read will differ, however, I a number of issues of the following magazines: Nintendo Magazine System (NMS) Sega Pro Edge (issue 5, then 7-36, plus the odd one since) Official UK Playstation Magazine (PSone, have most of the issues up to about 80, missing about 15)

Hmm, good question! I don't think that many games are made that much worse, and to be honest, for games I've played in the past and loved, I don't feel like it's cheating too much, by using saves. Overall, i think it's just more convenient. I do however think that it is a shame to play a classic game for the first time via an emulator. Take for example Super Metroid. I never owned it, but downloaded it and played it on the PC, and whilst I enjoyed it, I wonder how much more of an achievement it would have been to play it on the SNES, without the luxury of save states, and complete the game. There are however some right bastards of games that are made "completable" via Emulators. I played Actraiser for the first time on the PC, and whilst most of the bosses were fair to middling, the last one was a right 2@, and I would never have beaten him but for using saves. Same goes for pretty much all of Castlevania on the NES. On the flipside, I don't think my PC is up to emulating PSOne games very well, and so I've buying them on e-bay. In the last 2-3 years I played and completed the following games on the PSOne, albeit with the help of guides in some cases, though I can't really decide whether playing them in their native state brought anything more to the experience: Resident Evil 2 Silent Hill Metal Gear Solid I also played a lot of Gran Turismo 1 & 2. God, I talk lots! EDIT: Tell me, has anyone figured out how to perform a Dragon Punch with the arrow keys ona keyboard?

With regard to the ones available on Xbox Live Arcade, do you happen to know if they are conversions of the original arcade games, or conversions of the console ports? Also, there is a compilation available for the PS2, which has a version of Virtua Racing on it. I've considered purchasing it purely for this. Can anyone vouch for the quality of the VR conversion?

I touched upon this in a reply a made to the New Sega console thread in Current Gen, and just thought I'd expand on it. Would anyone else be interested in playing arcade perfect home ports of arcade games from the last 10-15 years? Though I don't own a current gen console (PS2 is the latest), I'd still relish the opportunity to be able to own a Sega game package that inlcuded arcade perfect ports of Daytona USA, Virtua Racing, Sega Rally, Virtua Fighter 1-4, etc. The same goes for a Namco collection with arcade perfect ports of Ridge Racer, Rave Racer... Something that's just occurred to me, given the online capabilities of today's consoles, is the ability, within something like Playstation Home to enter virtual arcades and pay a small amount to play these games. Or has this been tried?