“Real Gamers are Platform Agnostic”

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As much as I hate the idea of “hobby gatekeeping” the title above is something I have been known to band about (see “I’m with the Sega Boy“). Of course the statement is mostly how I justify buying more games and consoles than I could ever actually play, rather than a declaration about “real gamers”, whatever the hell they are…

A general rule for games consoles has always been the requirement of that “killer app” to sell the machine.  What I find interesting, is when they go beyond the obvious.  Everyone knows Sonic and Mario sold consoles, but it’s always refreshing to hear of other games that made people jump in.  Since the Dreamcast, the last machine I bought to play SEGA exclusives, there have been some key titles that stood out and made me buy each machine.  I largely skipped the PS2, but I think I’ve owned most other systems since the DC.

GameCube 
Main game here was Luigi’s Mansion, which I did really enjoy.  My console purchase was also helped by stumbling across a dirt cheap 2nd hand one only a month after launch…

Xbox
Admittedly I bought this for Halo, as it became apparent that as much as I prefer keyb & mouse for fps, I was going to have to get used to a controller.  The other factor though was the ease of modding, so I spent more time with emulators on my Xbox, and using xbconnect to play Rainbow 6 and Links golf online with friends, bypassing Xbox live…

Nintendo DS
Mario Kart and Animal Crossing were the big factors here, no surprises. Probably still my favourite versions of both franchises.

Wii
Yes, I bought this at launch to play Wii Sports, just like everyone else, I’m not a monster.  Later the purchase was justified with the addition of Mario Kart and Animal Crossing, apart from that I mostly played GameCube games on it.

Xbox 360
The promise of Space Giraffe from Jeff Minter put this on my radar, and I was happily waiting for the release to buy it.  However I played Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved and Assault Heroes on a friends machine, and I was convinced to jump in before SG came out.  SG was still day one though, rank 27 on the hardcore leaderboard is about the best I think I’ve ever done on any game…

PS3
As with the 360, my main reason for buying this wasn’t out yet when I bought the console.  I was sold on PS3 when I heard about the upcoming Wipeout HD, I was content waiting for that, until the same friend showed me Super Stardust HD and Everyday Shooter.  There should also be an honourable mention here for SingStar, was definitely a factor!

3DS
Techinically I didn’t buy this, as it was generously donated by a friend who was upgrading to an XL.  However my reasons for wanting it were the usual Mario Kart and Animal Crossing combo…

PS Vita
This was another launch purchase for me, only my second one ever. Wipeout 2048 and Super Stardust both being ready at launch were enough to convince me, and I never regretted the purchase.  Later FuturLab’s Velocity games and Jeff Minter’s TxK (which arrived replacing Tempest 2000 as my favourite game of all time) would secure the Vita’s place as my favourite handheld system.

PS4
I resisted this for a while, mostly because I was still mourning the demise of Wipeout, RESOGUN was a huge draw though.  I played it at a friends knowing that I’d eventually own one.  It wasn’t long after RESOGUN turned up on the Vita and I was playing that constantly that I was in GAME handing over my cash for a PS4.  PSPlus was a big draw too, having been subscribed to that prior to the PS4 launching, meant I’d already got a decent library of games for it by the time I picked one up.

Xbox One
My most recent purchase, only in the last few months.  Rare Replay was the key title here, without which I might have skipped it entirely.  While RR was the catalyst, Halo Master Chief collection and Forza exclusives sold it.  On the whole I still think the PS4 is the better choice if you’re only going to have one current system, but both Halo and Forza are “best in class” for me, and completely warrant owning an Xbox One as well.

I should also give a nod to my gaming PC, it is decent enough that I can still play latest releases, although I’m no longer getting away with setting all the graphics to max at 1080p… (4k is still some way in my future) The low cost of games on PC is a factor in my maintaining one, so I often pick up cross-platform titles on Steam.  The biggest draw in terms of exclusives for me though is Blizzard.  Even discounting the thousands of hours I originally spent on WoW, a significant amount of my gaming time is spent on StarCraft 2, Heroes of the Storm and Diablo 3 (yeah I know it has a console release, but I still prefer playing it on pc, click click click).  Having a persistent games library for PC is also a nice touch, compared to effectively starting from scratch each new console generation.  It’s pretty horrific for the backlog though…

So far as notable absences go, I think I just missed out the Wii U.  I have been largely uninspired by this, Mario Kart should have been enough, but I really don’t like that controller and the Animal Crossing titles have been disappointing.  I maintain that I would buy a budget Wii U that had a classic controller instead of the touchscreen one, ala the later Wii’s that dropped backwards compatibility, and just came with Mario Kart.

And with that, I manage not to go a whole year without updating the blog. I’m off to play Forza.

Christmas Songs

All-time Top 5 Christmas Songs

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Determined to at least get one more post on here before the end of the year, and inspired by both the season and a recent re-watching of the excellent High-Fidelity, I felt compelled to assemble my own Christmas Songs Top 5.  In reverse order, for extra drama. Since this was written, I’ve also assembled a line up of Top 5 Christmas Movies too.

5. Glee – Deck the Rooftop

The only entry from Glee’s selection of Christmas Songs, I promise.  I love this, it’s just a shameless fun mash-up, and makes me happy. 🙂

4. Tim Minchin – White Wine in the Sun

This is beautiful.  Amusing and sentimental, and really hits home how I feel about Christmas, despite Christmas in Stoke not featuring much in the way of sun.

As always Tim is donating the proceeds of all sales of this song during November to January to an Australian autism charity, so well worth buying if you like it. More info on his White Wine in the Sun blog post.

3. The Pogues Featuring Kirsty MacColl – Fairytale Of New York

Pretty sure there is a law that this has to be on every list of great Christmas songs, (it should probably be number one, but what the hell…)   It is great though, and the first time I hear it on the radio is a much better start to the season than celebrating a bloody red truck…

2. Puff Daddy ft RUN DMC, Mase, Salt & Pepa, Onyx and Keith Murray – Santa Baby Remix

Merry Hip Hop Christmas!  This is so great, easily my favourite version of Santa Baby, with so many great rappers.  It’s very 90s, but if we didn’t listen to dated songs at Christmas, we wouldn’t have much left…

1. Mighty Mighty BossTones – This Time of Year

My all-time favourite Christmas song is coincidentally also by my all-time favourite band.  It’s joyous and I love it.  “This time of year gets me and it never lets me act like I don’t care.  This time of year’s my favourite time of year ’cause all of us are here together.”

Sorry about all that, I’ll get back to the games soon…

Mega Drive Modding Success

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Off work with heinous dental issues I decided to use the time today productively.  It turns a bit of Mega Drive modding was just the thing to distract from the pain.

My wire, switches etc that I mentioned in my last blog post arrived earlier this week, and deciding I could only afford one game before I next get paid, I plumped for the classic collection* pictured below.  Flicky is one of my favourite “I’ll just have a bash” games, and Gunstar Heroes was on my list as something I absolutely need to put some time into.  The other two games aren’t bad, but I’m not so fussed. (update: was clearly delirious when I originally wrote this, the other two games are awful. Altered beast especially)

I feckin love Flicky!

I got myself sorted, cleared some space, and loaded up the guide I’d chosen to work from.  It can be found here if you’re interested.  On we go!

  • This won’t hurt. I hope.
  • Topless!
  • Wired.

Minor dilemma.  Once I exposed the mainboard and found the jumpers referenced by the guide, I discovered the layout was different than expected.  Basically the jumpers were in order JP 1 – 4, where as the models referenced in this guide and most of the others I’d see go, 1 2 4 3. I wasn’t sure I could then rely on the pin diagram (and don’t own a multimeter). Fortunately I googled the version number of the board “bd m5 pal” and found this page. It’s for the two switch mod, and the guide isn’t so clear, but it did give me enough information to proceed with the first guide. (Look at me, adapting and everything).

Making the hole to fit the switch was the bit I was most worried about, but it went pretty smoothly.  Some cautious drilling, followed by a bit of time filing.  This is my first time doing any kind of mod with an externally visible part, so was relieved that it looked okay.

  • Camera refused to focus properly on the switch
  • Could probably have used less wire…

I couldn’t get my phone to focus on the switch to show the pins, but connecting to it was pretty straight forward.  Simply a matter of pushing the cable through a hole, and holding it in place with a blob of solder.  You’ll notice I haven’t included any close ups of my soldered joints.  This is because my soldering is horrific, and will give you nightmares.  From the second pic, you can see the main mistake that I made in the whole process.  Vastly over-estimated the length of wire required.  I went with it anyway, I play by my own rules.

I tested my switch while the machine was still in pieces, and happy it was working as required, I put the machine back together.  Gotta say I am pleased with how it has turned out!

Full Screen Flicky makes me happy! Even if I continued to commit aspect ratio sins.

It’s not so present in Flicky, but Altered Beast and Gunstar Heroes have an odd border down the left when in 60hz.  I suspect this is down to my TV.  The games running at full speed is much more important though, and I’m very happy with the results.

Just in case you were curious, here’s Altered Beast running with the switch at Euro 50hz. Yikes.

Now to pick up some games!  Must get a Japanese one soon, as the previous owner of the console had done some Mega Drive modding of their own and filed down the cartridge slot so they should fit in and I’m keen to test it. Also on the lookout for Bio-Hazard Battle, one of my favourite Mega Drive Shmups that may earn a blog post of its own.

*affiliate links, I’ll get a cut if you buy something.

Another Console Project Beckons

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Been ages since I updated, again!

I did maintain the sitting on the beach plan, but my productivity was limited to a few things I needed to write for work, and progressing with my reading list.

However, I have finally got around to acquiring a Mega Drive, and as such there is a need to mod it! (What could go wrong?)

A thing of beauty, isn’t it?  I also grabbed one of the recommended SCART leads from here so it can draw stereo audio from the headphone socket.

The games that came with it were all terrible, but it is working and has a couple of controllers. I’ve now ordered the bits I need to attempt the Region and PAL/NTSC switch mod, so expect an update detailing how it went wrong in the coming weeks.

I’m with the SEGA boy…

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I’m sure Zelda, Mario, Pokemon and the rest are all great if you like that kind of thing, but on the whole, they’re not for me.  Many of my friends are aware of my stance on Nintendo, although it is mostly tongue-in-cheek.  In an era of micro-transactions, voice commands, draconian DRM policies and ‘essential’ second screens, I find myself wishing for a simpler time.  When the only console rivalry that mattered was which was cooler, a blue super-fast hedgehog or an odd plumber with a pornstar tache.  (It’s the hedgehog, hence SEGA boy.)

In updating this post this is a great place to plug Blake J Harris excellent book Console Wars*, which gives a great insight into that rivalry from inside the companies.

At least with SEGA vs Nintendo it always felt like it was about the games.  I know this is all perception, but I find it much harder to care about SONY vs Microsoft as it feels more like Stereos and Televisions vs Windows and Office, all a bit abstract.  My console gaming route growing up was Master System, Mega Drive, Saturn, PSX, Dreamcast.  After the Dreamcast I was old enough to just waste my money buying all the consoles.  (Real gamers are platform agnostic of course…)  For each generation where it was a choice, I felt I completely made the right one, and that list contains 4 of my top 5 consoles of all time.  The PSX is obviously the odd one out, and if it wasn’t for NAMCO, I would have probably skipped that too.

I’m not entirely anti-Nintendo either, Mario Kart and Animal Crossing are amongst my favourite games series.  I am likely to cave and buy a Wii U once Mario Kart 8 drops, although I’d really appreciate them releasing one without the heinous gamepad at a price that reflects the fact that I only really want to play one game…

A significant amount of my preference is simply down to the sorts of games available.  I prefer arcade style console games.  Shmups are pretty much my fave genre, followed by beat ’em ups and arcadey racers.  There are games in pretty much every genre that I do like, but not to this extent.  While I am aware that all  the big Nintendo games I dismiss out of hand are technically very good, and I understand their appeal, they just don’t grab me, no matter how many times I try to play Zelda.  Oh this doesn’t apply to the Smash Bros. games, they simply are dross. Floaty physics nonsense. 😉

Given the above, it’s easy to see how my favourite N64 games are an unusual selection.  My current collection is below, loosely ranked top-to-bottom in order of preference, and I own almost all of the games I actually want for the system.  Even of these I don’t really like Goldeneye or F-Zero, and I haven’t played France 98 although I’m assured it’s good for a football game.  (I’m suspicious, it doesn’t even look like sensible soccer…)

N64

At least it is obviously about the games.  Team SEGA because I wanted to play Sonic and awesome arcade titles like Golden Axe, Fantasy Zone, Streets of Rage etc.  The Saturn and Dreamcast libraries of shmups and beat ’em ups ensure that they’re still my most played systems today.

I suppose the XBOX vs PS debate has some games related rivalry too.  Which generic FPS would I prefer to play?  Actually I’ll stick to my PC thanks, and play them properly…

Now I’m just off to pick up a Mega Drive, to sit next to my Saturn and Dreamcast.

*as I’m refreshing old posts for layout etc, I’ve also taken the liberty of shoehorning in the occasional affiliate link. As usual, if you use these I’ll get a bit of commission, and be grateful.

Forgive me WordPress, for I have sinned…

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… it’s been three months since my last blog post.

Who knew it was actually the difficult sixth post that was so challenging?

As it happens I have 4 or 5 different posts half-written now, not quite happy with any of them and keep drifting onto something else.  Amusingly one of them is about my gaming backlog, and my tendency to only play a bit of a game and then move on.  Always intending to return but rarely ever doing it.  Perhaps I have a wider problem than just with gaming…

There have been some legitimate distractions however, along with busy times at work and the ongoing studying referred to in a previous post, I have even found time to play some games!

I do find it difficult (read impossible) to focus on writing for fun when there are college and workplace deadlines demanding my attention.  Today though I have finished my most recent assignment whilst sitting on the beach, and as I’m here I feel like writing more.

It’s amazing the difference the right setting makes to inspiration.  I should probably do all my writing for college sat on the beach.  Figures I’ll realise that 9 months into a 10 month course…  If I’ve learned anything from my brief blogging experience, it’s that I’m much more able to string words together with a pen and paper, than I am when staring at a word processor.

Anyway, an experiment.  While I have the weather for it, I shall endeavour to finish off my ‘in progress’ posts over the next few weeks, alongside drafting my final college assignment of the year, from my spot on the beach.  The only issue is finding an alternative venue with a similar inspirational level, for when it’s raining!

Console modding for beginners…

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Slight delay getting this up, but I blame Super Bowl weekend for that.

Last week saw a couple of arrivals I’d been waiting for, my first USA N64 games, and a replacement Dreamcast shell very generously donated by Danny (@dog_retro from twitter). Friday night I sat down after dinner, got the tools out and got on with a bit of (mostly) straightforward console modding.

Firstly, swapping the Dreamcast over:

The replacement shell Danny sent to me, even including the modem and a bonus game. 😀

I watched a couple of youtube videos of Dreamcasts being taken apart to aid the process, but if anything they managed to make it look much harder than it actually was!

Looked much worse in life, and had a lot of scratching etc

Whole thing took about half an hour of console modding, really easy, and very pleased with the results.

Secondly, modding my Japanese N64 to play USA carts:

This is fairly straight-forward following the guide here.  I did have a slight misadventure where I misread the instructions and didn’t pay enough attention to the pictures.

  • The physical differences between the two carts, in order to get USA games working on a Japanese system, (and vice-versa) you just have to get them to fit in!
  • the consoles have blocks that align with the cut out bits in the bottom corners of the cart

On my first reading of the instructions, I believed the intention was to just cut out those two blocks.  This would work, but they are very solid, and would require a stronger tool.  I did attempt this first anyway, as you can see:

I then realised (after stopping the bleeding) that in fact the guide just suggests removing a whole chunk of the plastic.  Like so:

Easy with my hacksaw!  Also very satisfying for the little die-hard SEGA fan in me to take a hacksaw to a Nintendo console.  I then reassembled and tested it with my USA copy of Wipeout 64.  Much rejoicing and a successful Friday evening.

  • Ta-da!
  • Yes I know about the aspect ratio, I fixed that before I played. ^^

  Enough console modding for now, on with the gaming!

The continuing saga of my Nintendo 64

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Since my previous post where I ordered myself a Japanese N64, things haven’t quite gone to plan.  The original intention was to mod the console for RGB output.  I had been reading the directions here and growing in confidence that performing this mod was well within my ability.  The required components can all be found very cheaply on eBay.  Being a Japanese console it is also a simple matter to cut the casing so it will also play American games, following the instructions here.

The console arrived quickly enough, and came with Japanese copies of Wave Race and Pilot Wings.  I hooked it all up for testing, and was pleased to discover that people were not exaggerating the speed difference between NTSC and PAL.  The fact that all the Japanese text meant I had no idea what was going on, only emphasised the need to play American games.  The next step I ordered myself a gamebit 4.5mm to open the machine, and a Japanese copy of Mario Kart 64 so I had something to play.  This was mostly in case there was a delay to the modding, and because I was sure I could follow Mario Kart even if it wasn’t in English…

Fortunately, I held off ordering the components of the RGB mod until after the gamebit had arrived and I opened the machine.  When I got the tool I sat down to have a look inside and discovered signs that the console had been opened before.  Pushing forward with a growing sense of unease, I found the board contained the dreaded MAV-NUS video chip.  I had successfully purchased a console that couldn’t be modded for RGB output, making the whole exercise pretty pointless.

I was disappointed, and put the whole thing aside for a few days.  On reflection, I decided that I’d resume the hunt for a decent Nintendo 64 picture in a few months giving my finances a chance to recover.  In the meantime I would get hold of an S-Video lead to make the best of a bad situation.  This is now in place, and the quality is much improved over the RF cable, and quite playable.  Just like my childhood though, the Sega Saturn picture makes the N64 look silly.  I’m hoping I can pick up a pre-modded RGB N64 at Play Blackpool.

I’ve ordered myself a few American games anyway, to start the collection and make the most of the machine.  When they arrive I will be butchering the case as mentioned above.  Amongst the games I ordered is an NTSC copy of Robotron 64, so I can go ahead with my original plan of blogging about that.

Such an effort.  Anyway…

This is my current setup, I added the Daytona and Raiden prints this week, to cheer myself up about the whole chain of events.  The 360 and PS3 are connected via HDMI, the Wii is component, Dreamcast via VGA and then the Saturn and N64 go into a SCART switch box.  I change my mind pretty often, but my current intention is to replace the 360 with an Atari Jaguar and to swap out the Wii for a Wii U once Mario Kart 8 appears.  I’m resisting the Xbone and PS4 at present as my PC is more than good enough for current/next gen gaming, and Steam means I save a fortune on games that way too.  The PS3 justifies itself as a Bluray/Singstar/Lightgun Shooter device.

The difficult second blog post…*

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*I am aware that this could well be the most common title for a second post in blogging history…

I’ve been thinking about this post for a while.  Well, I’ve been thinking broadly about the kinds of things I would like to write about on the blog, and where I might start.  So far the only enlightenment I’ve reached is that I excel at procrastination.  The following occurred when I finally settled on something I definitely wish to write about:

I decided that I would like to write about Robotron 64, and why it holds the position of #1 game on the Nintendo 64 for me.  I managed to convince myself that in order to do that I would need to add an N64 to my humble console collection.  Not just any N64 mind… I already own a PAL copy of Robotron, (presently my only N64 cart) and my flatmate has a PAL console that he would happily let me use.  However it seemed of paramount importance that I don’t settle for heinous composite output, I absolutely must be playing in RGB…

So now I await the arrival of a recently purchased Japanese N64.  When it arrives I shall be modding to also play US games (this is easy) and attempting to mod for RGB output (this is harder, and incredibly likely to end in tears).  Supposing I actually manage to get this to work, I will then need to acquire either an import adapter to play PAL games on the machine, or buy an NTSC copy of Robotron.  All of which needs to happen before I expect to actually write about it.

Maybe I should have found something else to write about.  Maybe.  I am more concerned that this is about me, and that this kind of thing is likely to happen more.  I’m already thinking that I’d be much more motivated to blog if only I had a bluetooth keyboard for my tablet…

This could get expensive quickly.  Oh well, at least I’ll have something clear to write about if I do kill the N64 with my soldering iron.

It’s alive! For now anyway.

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Imagine that, I’ve actually created the blog.  8 months or so since I first said I was going to.  I have at least managed some high quality procrastination in that time though, so there’s that.

Hopefully this is the first of many posts, but it’s perfectly plausible that this will be the one and only entry, in which case hello lost wanderer.  I apologise for contributing to the vast dead internets.

In the unlikely event I do manage to write something else, I have no idea what it’ll be about.  At this point I suspect posts concerning games and books may be forthcoming.  Should I suddenly decide I’m smart enough to be commenting on my weightier interests, then maybe feminism and atheism too.

You have @feelgoodnev to blame for my inspiration to blog at all, and it was he who came up with the title Liberal Joon.  I’ve also joined a few million other people who have started as part of a New Year idea, I did resolve that I would actually do SOME writing this year.  Ultimately though it was the delightful Nintendude Martin Watts who prompted me into action today as he launched his own personal blog.  He also promised to follow mine, so I shall at least have 1 reader.