Do You Have Any Unpopular Gaming Opinions?

[AppleQueso]

Not to interrupt the educational aspect of this thread but I can't believe that the unpopular part of my last post was lumping the GB and GBC together rather than calling their library vastly superior to the oft-praised GBA....

/boggle.

GBA would've had a nicer library if half the good games weren't ports of SNES titles. GB/GBC has far more quality unique content.

Plus, Game Boy launched in 1989 and wasn't replaced by the Color until 1998, and the Advance in 2001. DS replaced the Advance in 2004.

We're basically comparing the library of a console that lasted 9-12 years to a console that lasted maybe 4-5. GB had better have a better library with that much of an advantage!

[Krejlooc]

Not to interrupt the educational aspect of this thread but I can't believe that the unpopular part of my last post was lumping the GB and GBC together rather than calling their library vastly superior to the oft-praised GBA....

/boggle.

GBA would've had a nicer library if half the good games weren't ports of SNES titles. GB/GBC has far more quality unique content.

Plus, Game Boy launched in 1989 and wasn't replaced by the Color until 1998, and the Advance in 2001. DS replaced the Advance in 2004.

We're basically comparing the library of a console that lasted 9-12 years to a console that lasted maybe 4-5. GB had better have a better library with that much of an advantage!

That said, for the very same reason, I think the Game Gear is a better system when you have a Master Gear converter

[fastbilly1]

Problem with collecting for a system like the ZX Spectrum last is that a bunch of its better titles I own elsewhere. I've held off on picking up any of the Dizzy games specifically so I can get them on the Spectrum, but there's not a whole lot else that I'm really looking forward to playing personally.

You just nailed the issue with collecting most older pcs. The games were ported back and forth all the time. But like you said, Dizzy and Ultimate games are best on Speccy. Also look up Fairlight II, The Great Escape, Saboteur, The Sentinel, Paris-Dakar, and Jet Set Willy. While a couple of those are on the C64 or the Amstrad, many consider the Speccy version the best. Personally, I had a Speccy for Sabrewulf and Dizzy and that is all I needed it for. But Great Escape is super complex for when it came out, and Paris-Dakar is the original sandbox game...

As for the GBA/GB lumping, GBA had plenty of excellent non SNES ports. To build on the educational part, it has the sequel to Sabrewulf on it...

[AppleQueso]

As for the GBA/GB lumping, GBA had plenty of excellent non SNES ports. To build on the educational part, it has the sequel to Sabrewulf on it...

Oh no, absolutely. GBA's got plenty of quality non-ports. I feel like we would've had a lot more though if devs (especially Nintendo themselves) had focused a bit more on making original titles for the system as opposed to all those ports they did.

[Krejlooc]

Problem with collecting for a system like the ZX Spectrum last is that a bunch of its better titles I own elsewhere. I've held off on picking up any of the Dizzy games specifically so I can get them on the Spectrum, but there's not a whole lot else that I'm really looking forward to playing personally.

You just nailed the issue with collecting most older pcs. The games were ported back and forth all the time. But like you said, Dizzy and Ultimate games are best on Speccy. Also look up Fairlight II, The Great Escape, Saboteur, The Sentinel, Paris-Dakar, and Jet Set Willy. While a couple of those are on the C64 or the Amstrad, many consider the Speccy version the best. Personally, I had a Speccy for Sabrewulf and Dizzy and that is all I needed it for. But Great Escape is super complex for when it came out, and Paris-Dakar is the original sandbox game...

As for the GBA/GB lumping, GBA had plenty of excellent non SNES ports. To build on the educational part, it has the sequel to Sabrewulf on it...

I generally have a strategy when it comes to collecting where I get multiplatform games on the formats where they'll stand out the most prominently. Pitfall the Mayan Adventure, for example, was a pretty good game, worth owning, but on the Sega Genesis or SNES it definitely isn't a standout, not compared to the contra and castlevania games available on those libraries. I try to keep my collections lean - I don't pick up games on the Genesis just to pad out the library but rather try to get the best of the best - so picking up the genesis pitfall feels like fluff to me. It takes away focus from better games. But, like I said, it's still a game worth owning in my eyes.

So what I do is instead pick up the Atari Jaguar version. Where pitfall was an average game on the Genesis, it's one of the best titles on the jaguar, due mainly to it's longer than normal development time (by jaguar standards) and higher budget (again by jaguar standards). Such a game has an opportunity to shine on sub a console, and it gives me a reason to actually sit down and enjoy these obscure, generally overlooked systems. I like to play everything I own.

This strategy works well most of the time, and had I picked up a Speccy early on it probably would have served me well. but I've employed the strategy so many times on so many PCs, that the bones have already been picked on the speccy before I got there. I have a feeling most of my speccy collecting will probably consist of games I already own, that I'm picking up mainly to note the differences.

[BoneSnapDeez]

The selection of JRPGs on the GB, GBC, and GBA is totally amazing.

The DS is even better.

Actually, DS has the second best JRPG library of all time after the SNES.

Oh and I don't know anything about the ZX Spectrum, but I've seen many screenshots... THOSE COLORS.

[fastbilly1]

So what I do is instead pick up the Atari Jaguar version. Where pitfall was an average game on the Genesis, it's one of the best titles on the jaguar, due mainly to it's longer than normal development time (by jaguar standards) and higher budget (again by jaguar standards). Such a game has an opportunity to shine on sub a console, and it gives me a reason to actually sit down and enjoy these obscure, generally overlooked systems. I like to play everything I own.

I did not know that about the Jaguar version, that explains alot (and why I didnt like the other versions), and now it is on my to buy list. Thanks

If you like Pitfall though, have you tried 3d? Its an underrated PSX game where Harry is voiced by Bruce Campbell. It is a fun ride.

[Krejlooc]

The selection of JRPGs on the GB, GBC, and GBA is totally amazing.

The DS is even better.

Actually, DS has the second best JRPG library of all time after the SNES.

Oh and I don't know anything about the ZX Spectrum, but I've seen many screenshots... THOSE COLORS.

More like that color clash. The Speccy has character-width color limitations, where each 8x8 tile consists of two colors - a foreground and a background color. The color abilities of the speccy was designed with text in mind, so you have to do some odd things if you want to employ color correctly on a Speccy. It mainly revolves around designing your game intelligently enough where you don't need mixed colors save for an 8x8 space, like so:



When you try to have fine color detail, you wind up with stuff like this:



Another alternative was to simply make the play area monochrome. The MSX (as in, not the MSX2) had a similar limitation, but color information wasn't constrained to a rigid grid like it is on the ZX Spectrum. Also, it seems like japanese developers were better at tackling the problem in general. Check out the clever solutions they employed in Maze of Galious, for example:



All the sprites in the game are made of one single color, with a transparent color making up the details. The MSX2 removed this limitation.

I did not know that about the Jaguar version, that explains alot (and why I didnt like the other versions), and now it is on my to buy list. Thanks

If you like Pitfall though, have you tried 3d? Its an underrated PSX game where Harry is voiced by Bruce Campbell. It is a fun ride.

It's not leaps and bounds better by any means, mind you. It's basically the same game as the SNES or Genesis games, it's just that the average genesis or SNES game is better than the average jaguar game. It's all about perception - why have a jaguar collection filled with garbage like Katsumi Ninja when there are games actually worth playing out there? They get dismissed as mere ports, but they're ports of games still worth playing.

I do in fact have the PSX Pitfall. Wonderfully underrated game. I enjoy the entire pitfall lineup.

[aaron]

Well we are all here to gain new knowledge after all.

indeed.

i have been thinking for a long time about trying to get an x68000. it seems like the library is right up my alley. how much do those things usually go for?

[Krejlooc]

Well we are all here to gain new knowledge after all.

indeed.

i have been thinking for a long time about trying to get an x68000. it seems like the library is right up my alley. how much do those things usually go for?

quite a bit. The actual hardware itself isn't that expensive, but given that the games themselves come on 5 1/4" floppies, finding working copies is tough and very pricey. As in, pricier than the average Neo Geo AES game. Of all the systems I own, from what I've seen, the Marty and the x68k have the most expensive average games. Which is partially why my library for those two system is lacking.

There exists CF kit solutions, though. But my personal feelings on CF kits is that I'll only install games if I actually own the real deal. My CF Kit in my Amiga, for example, only contains back ups of the games I own.