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[-KRS-]

Tengen Tetris is only superior if you need multiplayer. Otherwise, the piece random number generator is wacky and it doesn't feel the same. The Nintendo version is the gold standard.

Yeah I think Tengen Tetris is pretty overrated. It doesn't feel as good as Nintendo's version in my opinion. It's much stiffer and easier to make mistakes. And yeah the RNG is really shitty. It's not uncommon to get the same block 4-5 times in a row for example. And even if it has multiplayer, it's not a very good multiplayer in my opinion. You don't send rows to one another and when one player tops out, the other player doesn't win. He just keeps playing. And the player who "lost" can just jump in again. If I bought it I wouldn't buy it to play it very much to be honest, but for the history behind it which is definitely interesting.

The west got really screwed when it came to Tetris games on the NES though. We basically only officially got Nintendo's version. Japan on the other hand got the awesome Tetris 2 + Bombliss. It's not the same as the Tetris 2 we got here, which is not an actual Tetris game at all. Tetris 2 + Bombliss also has multiplayer but since none of my friends likes Tetris ( ) I haven't tried it and don't know if it's simultaneous or not. I think it is though. And it's way cheaper than Tengen Tetris, so if you want a multiplayer Tetris on the NES look no further. Feels pretty good to play as well, although you can move the piece around much faster than other NES Tetris games so it takes some getting used to. The feel of it actually reminds me a little bit of the TGM series from Arika, although not as polished of course.

 

[Delicious Waffles]

My newest pickup.

Funny thing is the box says there's a 90-day warranty on the game pak. I wonder if it's still active.

 

[IrishNinja]

^one of my favorites growing up! so cool seeing a mint box for it too

 

[elektrixx]

Where did the clear yellow plastic Nintendo cases originate?

I bought a boxed PAL NES and it had a copy of SMB3 inside one of these cases.

[edit] Pardon my zinger. I mean this:

 

[Rygar 8 Bit]

Where did the clear yellow plastic Nintendo cases originate?

I bought a boxed PAL NES and it had a copy of SMB3 inside one of these cases.

[edit] Pardon my zinger. I mean this:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BKhbvdoCcAA3IpO.jpg:large[img][/QUOTE]

clear plastic cases used to be from rental stores here in the states

 

[VARIA]

My newest pickup.

Funny thing is the box says there's a 90-day warranty on the game pak. I wonder if it's still active.

First game I can remember with a sex scene (well, heavily implied).

 

[blizzardjesus]

Where did the clear yellow plastic Nintendo cases originate?

I bought a boxed PAL NES and it had a copy of SMB3 inside one of these cases.

[edit] Pardon my zinger. I mean this:

Nintendo sold them as an accessory in stores, they also come in red, blue and clear.

 

[Delicious Waffles]

^one of my favorites growing up! so cool seeing a mint box for it too

I don't think anyone played it more than a couple of times. The manual looks like no one ever touched it. Super crisp pages. When I got it, I went to clean the game with alcohol before testing it. The top contacts were spotless and the bottom contacts were almost as clean (took off a little dirt). I'm pretty happy with it.

Definitely going to give it a try when I finish my season of Tecmo Super Bowl, haha.

 

[Teknoman]

I know sniping goes along with the territory on Ebay...but damn if you still dont get ticked off when it happens. I was this close to not needing anymore Megaman games (lot for Rockman 3,4,5) and I got shot with 2 seconds left.

 

[ChronoDK]

I always list Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers as one of my favorite NES games. Such an incredibly enjoyable platformer. Deserves a spot on the front page of the thread.

 

[womp]

I know sniping goes along with the territory on Ebay...but damn if you still dont get ticked off when it happens. I was this close to not needing anymore Megaman games (lot for Rockman 3,4,5) and I got shot with 2 seconds left.

I had a guy try to snipe me for a Super C and caught it. I won by five MILISECONDS.

The mobile app is better for the last minute bids than the PC.

 

[JulianImp]

I forgot to post my small NES collection yesterday, so here it is:

The Famicom-like games are all I could find locally, since Argentina never had the NES per se, but more like Famicom ripoffs. The Famicom fakes are Mario Bros, Ice Climber and Balloon Fight (the blue case is empty).

I should note that I bought a Metroid cartridge that turned out to be fake (the screws had been replaced, and the cartridge's insides were probably swapped with a broken game's or something). It was especially sad for me since I had spotted both Metroid and Super Metroid at a GameStop in Puerto Rico while on vacation, but my dad told me he only had money for one and that the SNES cartridge was slightly out of my budget (it was like $15), so I ended up missing out on Super Metroid and getting a cartridge that didn't even work...

 

[riskVSreward]

Sniping on eBay is ridiculous now, the least amount of time I can list for is 7 days and I'll be damned if I get ANY activity until the final minutes of the auction.

They should just let me list for 24 hrs and get it over with.

 

[Zing]

I know sniping goes along with the territory on Ebay...but damn if you still dont get ticked off when it happens. I was this close to not needing anymore Megaman games (lot for Rockman 3,4,5) and I got shot with 2 seconds left.

How is the sniping responsible? If this guy would have bid five minutes before auction end, he still would have won. Are you suggesting that you would have bid higher if you had known someone else was planning to outbid you? If so, why didn't you simply bid the higher amount in the first place?

Sniping is preferred because it prevents the sort of emotional rebidding that you suggest. Snipers are simply bidding more than anyone else. It has nothing to do with the timing of the bid. If you get "sniped", you didn't bid enough, period.

I had a guy try to snipe me for a Super C and caught it. I won by five MILISECONDS.

Here we have a perfect example. Someone who had a bid, got outbid by a "sniper", and came back to bid higher anyway. If he were willing to bid the higher amount, why did he not bid that higher amount the first time? If no one else came along to "snipe", it would have ended at the lower amount regardless of the higher proxy bid, so there is no reason not to bid the higher amount initially.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Sniping on eBay is ridiculous now, the least amount of time I can list for is 7 days and I'll be damned if I get ANY activity until the final minutes of the auction.

They should just let me list for 24 hrs and get it over with.

But then no one will know about it

That 7 day lead-in is the reason you have people battling for it in the last moment. Fewer people would be aware of the listing if they only have a day to know about it.

How is the sniping responsible? If this guy would have bid five minutes before auction end, he still would have won. Are you suggesting that you would have bid higher if you had known someone else was planning to outbid you? If so, why didn't you simply bid the higher amount in the first place?

Sniping is preferred because it prevents the sort of emotional rebidding that you suggest. Snipers are simply bidding more than anyone else. It has nothing to do with the timing of the bid. If you get "sniped", you didn't bid enough, period.

I think it has more to do with people wanting to pay the least amount possible. Maybe the people who bid high and bid early typically rather spring for BIN and not deal with auctions.

 

[riskVSreward]

How is the sniping responsible? If this guy would have bid five minutes before auction end, he still would have won. Are you suggesting that you would have bid higher if you had known someone else was planning to outbid you? If so, why didn't you simply bid the higher amount in the first place?

This argument has never held any water with me. Just watch any episode of Storage Wars where that couple agrees to have say a $500 limit, but in the heat of a bidding war emotions take over and the guy ends up going all the way up to say $1000. People will routinely pay more than they originally thought they would when they see someone outbid them by *only* 50 cents or whatever. As a seller, I long for the days of ebay when they didn't have auto-max bids and sniping was a much smaller occurrence.

but then no one will know about it

that 7 day lead-in is the reason you have people battling for it in the last moment. Fewer people would be aware if they only have a day to know about it.

But I maybe get 4 or 5 views in the first 6 days, maybe a watcher or two, and then in the last few hours the view count multiplies exponentially.

 

[sixteen-bit]

But I maybe get 4 or 5 views in the first 6 days, maybe a watcher or two, and then in the last few hours the view count multiplies exponentially.

They might see your listing in search results, but not click on it; thus never generating the view until they're ready to bid.

 

[Zing]

As a seller, I long for the days of ebay when they didn't have auto-max bids and sniping was a much smaller occurrence.

Of course, as a seller, you would want to disallow sniping. Sniping eliminates emotional rebidding and more accurately reflects the amount someone is willing to pay when in a calm, rational state of mind. Buyers should never complain about sniping. They should just do it themselves. Sniping benefits buyers, not sellers.

 

[Canadian Psycho]

Sixteen-bit and Zing speaking the truth.

 

[riskVSreward]

So are you suggesting people are taking psychical notes to keep track of auctions rather than clicking on it and "watching" it? They see my auction exists but decide they'll just remember to check it out 5 or 6 days later, ignoring the watch functionality? I don't understand the logic... If I could list for a single day, maybe 2, I feel like I would get the same results.

 

[Zing]

So are you suggesting people are taking psychical notes to keep track of auctions rather than clicking on it and "watching" it? They see my auction exists but decide they'll just remember to check it out 5 or 6 days later, ignoring the watch functionality? I don't understand the logic... If I could list for a single day, maybe 2, I feel like I would get the same results.

Not everyone checks eBay every single day. If they happen to not login for a couple days, your auction will have already ended. Ideally you would want your auction to be listed for as long as possible to garner as many views as you can.

 

[riskVSreward]

Not everyone checks eBay every single day. If they happen to not login for a couple days, your auction will have already ended. Ideally you would want your auction to be listed for as long as possible to garner as many views as you can.

My point is, the last few hours are the most valuable moments in an auction, they are so valuable in fact that it would be a worthwhile trade if I could eliminate the first 5 or 6 pointless days. People might not check ebay every day, but they also dont check ebay for shit they can have next week, they typically want it right away.

I listed Rainbow Islands 6 days ago, I have 1 watcher and 13 views right now with 14 hours to go. I bet when its over the viewcount will be closer to 100, and the bid count will be something like 5-15. It's a waste of time, the 6 days of exposure will have been absolutely meaningless.

 

[womp]

How is the sniping responsible? If this guy would have bid five minutes before auction end, he still would have won. Are you suggesting that you would have bid higher if you had known someone else was planning to outbid you? If so, why didn't you simply bid the higher amount in the first place?

Sniping is preferred because it prevents the sort of emotional rebidding that you suggest. Snipers are simply bidding more than anyone else. It has nothing to do with the timing of the bid. If you get "sniped", you didn't bid enough, period.


Here we have a perfect example. Someone who had a bid, got outbid by a "sniper", and came back to bid higher anyway. If he were willing to bid the higher amount, why did he not bid that higher amount the first time? If no one else came along to "snipe", it would have ended at the lower amount regardless of the higher proxy bid, so there is no reason not to bid the higher amount initially.

Because that finishing bid in the auction I mentioned was something like a mere 3 cents. I usually bid in odd amounts too. This wasn't like being sniped for $14 over my $11 bid, but in this case $12.59 over my $12.56.

Otherwise? I fully agree with you. I have been on and off eBay almost 15 years now, and I always tell people to just bid once the absolute maximum they are willing to pay plus some extra 'insurance' change on top of that.

 

[Cody_D165]

So this weekend I got to finally pick up a dogbone controller to match my top loader. Damn this thing is a comfy controller. As much as I love the ol' rectangles it's going to be hard to go back.

Also finally found a cheap copy of Ninja Gaiden. Haven't played it in years, and after popping the game in I'm pretty sure it's going to be one of my new goals to beat this game. It's so good but SO DIFFICULT. I love it.

 

[emb]

So guys, tell me more about how you all clean games...

I was referred a while back to a post showing the eraser and rubbing alcohol methods, but now that I've tried it out some, is anyone willing to catch me back up on some details?

Basically what I've done so far is use a white plastic eraser and some 91% isopropyl alocohol + cotton swabs. It's worked great on a few. However I've had some that still needed blowing, or some that were worse off and still gave me nothing. I'm curious to know if I'm doing things wrong, or if they're just too far gone.

Is 91% too low, will it cause harm? I went looking for 99, didn't find any, so I settled I guess. What motions do you do with the q-tips? Is hard scrubbing usually needed? Eraser hasn't shown much gunk so far, not sure how useful it is. Any other details or tips you guys have is appreciated.

I listed Rainbow Islands 6 days ago, I have 1 watcher and 13 views right now with 14 hours to go. I bet when its over the viewcount will be closer to 100, and the bid count will be something like 5-15. It's a waste of time, the 6 days of exposure will have been absolutely meaningless.

Mostly true. But at the same time, you did get a watcher and 13 viewers in those days. What would be the point of ending it sooner really? An auction that starts with 7 days left will eventually become an auction with 1 hour left. You would be sacrificing the extra few days and views for essentially no reason. I mean, does it really make a difference if you get the money from it now or a week from now? If it's urgent or something, ending now is probably fine, but if you're just taking in a little profit on the side, seems like no reason to cut it short.

So this weekend I got to finally pick up a dogbone controller to match my top loader. Damn this thing is a comfy controller. As much as I love the ol' rectangles it's going to be hard to go back.

Also finally found a cheap copy of Ninja Gaiden. Haven't played it in years, and after popping the game in I'm pretty sure it's going to be one of my new goals to beat this game. It's so good but SO DIFFICULT. I love it.

Nice. I'm jealous.

 

[womp]

So guys, tell me more about how you all clean games...

I was referred a while back to a post showing the eraser and rubbing alcohol methods, but now that I've tried it out some, is anyone willing to catch me back up on some details?

Basically what I've done so far is use a white plastic eraser and some 91% isopropyl alocohol + cotton swabs. It's worked great on a few. However I've had some that still needed blowing, or some that were worse off and still gave me nothing. I'm curious to know if I'm doing things wrong, or if they're just too far gone.

Is 91% too low, will it cause harm? I went looking for 99, didn't find any, so I settled I guess. What motions do you do with the q-tips? Is hard scrubbing usually needed? Eraser hasn't shown much gunk so far, not sure how useful it is. Any other details or tips you guys have is appreciated.

Dunno if it was my post or not you are referring to (since I posted my method a few pages back) but I use the 70% alcohol that I just happened to have laying around. The higher percentage is actually better because it contains less water and will dry even quicker.

However, you *did* open up and clean the pins in your NES as well, correct? If those are still dirty, that can also cause problems and just dirty your carts up again. I still get a couple here and there that will bomb out once in a blue moon and require a re-insert or two but otherwise my NES works 90% better than it did when I dug it out of the attic and was blinking more than working.

Blowing on your carts achieves nothing good. Don't do it.

 

[emb]

Dunno if it was my post or not you are referring to (since I posted my method a few pages back) but I use the 70% alcohol that I just happened to have laying around. The higher percentage is actually better because it contains less water and will dry even quicker.

However, you *did* open up and clean the pins in your NES as well, correct? If those are still dirty, that can also cause problems and just dirty your carts up again. I still get a couple here and there that will bomb out once in a blue moon and require a re-insert or two but otherwise my NES works 90% better than it did when I dug it out of the attic and was blinking more than working.

Blowing on your carts achieves nothing good. Don't do it.

I replaced the connector years ago, I did insert a few probably dirty carts back them just to test it out. And I think it was your post I was referring too (thanks, btw). Anyway, I have not cleaned the system's contact's directly. Is that a fairly simple procedure akin to cleaning carts, or will I need to buy new parts?

 

[womp]

I replaced the connector years ago, I did insert a few probably dirty carts back them just to test it out. And I think it was your post I was referring too (thanks, btw). Anyway, I have not cleaned the system's contact's directly. Is that a fairly simple procedure akin to cleaning carts, or will I need to buy new parts?

I cleaned my original connector by dipping a toothbrush in the alcohol and giving the pins a brisk rub down. Let it dry, then reattached and put it all back together again.

Seems to be good as new. Tightening the pins helped as well

I've heard good/bad things about those aftermarket connectors...

 

[riskVSreward]

That eraser tech is years old, you should use Brasso to clean your games and 95% alcohol (no added water) to rinse away any residue.

The connectors from nintendo repair shop are great, I can attest to this first hand.

 

[Teknoman]

How is the sniping responsible? If this guy would have bid five minutes before auction end, he still would have won. Are you suggesting that you would have bid higher if you had known someone else was planning to outbid you? If so, why didn't you simply bid the higher amount in the first place?

If he outbid me 5 minutes before, I wouldnt complain since I wouldnt have the "I got this" feeling lol. Seriously, who expects to be outbid on something within the last 2 seconds of an auction?

Because that finishing bid in the auction I mentioned was something like a mere 3 cents. I usually bid in odd amounts too. This wasn't like being sniped for $14 over my $11 bid, but in this case $12.59 over my $12.56.

Otherwise? I fully agree with you. I have been on and off eBay almost 15 years now, and I always tell people to just bid once the absolute maximum they are willing to pay plus some extra 'insurance' change on top of that.

Yeah thats basically what I do. I was at the max i'm willing to pay, but also you have some people that just bid ridiculous amounts of money at the very last minute just in case.

 

[womp]

That eraser tech is years old, you should use Brasso to clean your games and 95% alcohol (no added water) to rinse away any residue.

The connectors from nintendo repair shop are great, I can attest to this first hand.

Old tech or not, it works. My brother uses Brasso on his...I tried it as well, results are similar enough to the point where I would say either method is acceptable.

It is great to have options in either case.

 

[Like the hat?]

If I ever shop on eBay, I bid what I am willing to pay. If I get outbid, I am done, and will just wait for a different deal.

 

[emb]

I cleaned my original connector by dipping a toothbrush in the alcohol and giving the pins a brisk rub down. Let it dry, then reattached and put it all back together again.

Seems to be good as new. Tightening the pins helped as well

I've heard good/bad things about those aftermarket connectors...

Hmm... I do still have my original (along with extra systems) kicking around. I suppose I can give that a shot. The one in there now is aftermarket, so there's a pretty good chance it's just weak anyway. I don't understand why some games work the first/second time, while others don't at all though. Seems like I'm just not getting some clean.

That eraser tech is years old, you should use Brasso to clean your games and 95% alcohol (no added water) to rinse away any residue.

The connectors from nintendo repair shop are great, I can attest to this first hand.

I always hear mixed things about brasso. I guess because of the residue you mentioned.

 

[mattiewheels]

Sniping is cheap, period. If I bid what I'm willing to spend right off the bat, and some clever guy snipes it in the last .5 seconds, you're damn right I'd like a chance to bid a few cents more than him. I just want the opportunity to reasonably react to bids like that.

 

[riskVSreward]

I always hear mixed things about brasso. I guess because of the residue you mentioned.

Feel free to enlighten me on the negative side of those mixed reviews because I have never heard/experienced any drawbacks. I've cleaned my entire collection now with Brasso, and when I pop them in a clean system, they start up the first time every time. A tiny dab on a qtip will lift up basically all of the dirt with minimal scrubbing.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Sniping is cheap, period. If I bid what I'm willing to spend right off the bat, and some clever guy snipes it in the last .5 seconds, you're damn right I'd like a chance to bid a few cents more than him. I just want the opportunity to reasonably react to bids like that.

Hmm, Yahoo Japan Auctions works that way (each bid automatically extends the auction another 5 minutes). I wonder if any other sites do that.

 

[riskVSreward]

It would really be great if ebay went back to the days when it actually emulated an auction and wasn't overrun by third-party bots that jam in all the bids in the last second.

 

[RoryDropkick]

It sucks, I have a copy of Batman for Famicom that I have been unable to get working whatsoever. I've cleaned it with brasso, alcohol, even tried taking an eraser to it, and no matter what I get a single color screen and a little bit of buzzing. I'm fearing that it's just dead. Anyone have any ideas?

Also, I got my copy of Uchuu Keibitai SDF in recently.. great looking vert shooter, just damn hard

 

[riskVSreward]

It sucks, I have a copy of Batman for Famicom that I have been unable to get working whatsoever. I've cleaned it with brasso, alcohol, even tried taking an eraser to it, and no matter what I get a single color screen and a little bit of buzzing. I'm fearing that it's just dead. Anyone have any ideas?

Also, I got my copy of Uchuu Keibitai SDF in recently.. great looking vert shooter, just damn hard

You gotta take the board out of the shell which is a pain in the ass with Famicom games. That's the only way to tell if you've got all the dirt off the pins. Examine them for dirt and corrosion. If corrosion has completely severed one of the pins you'll have to wire a jumper. Anything more complicated than that is probably not worth the effort fixing.

Did the game ever work for you at all? It's possible someone ruined it before you ever owned it. NES games aren't really going to die on their own, I've rescued some from flood damage and they work just fine now.

 

[georgetheplushie]

Hmm, Yahoo Japan Auctions works that way (each bid automatically extends the auction another 5 minutes). I wonder if any other sites do that.

Do they only extend if there are already bids? I recently won a couple auctions on Yahoo Japan that had no bids with typical scumbag ebay sniping strats, and the auctions ended immediately after I put my bids in.

I have never had success on ebay without sniping, but most of the time I end up spending a little bit more than I would prefer anyway. I use the watch function to let sellers know I'm interested and usually wait until that 2 hour mark to actually start paying attention.

ebay is dumb. Everyone use GameGavel. So few people on it, no need to snipe!

 

[RoryDropkick]

You gotta take the board out of the shell which is a pain in the ass with Famicom games. That's the only way to tell if you've got all the dirt off the pins. Examine them for dirt and corrosion. If corrosion has completely severed one of the pins you'll have to wire a jumper. Anything more complicated than that is probably not worth the effort fixing.

Did the game ever work for you at all? It's possible someone ruined it before you ever owned it. NES games aren't really going to die on their own, I've rescued some from flood damage and they work just fine now.

I've popped the cart open and it doesn't look like there's any severed pins, so I don't know what the heck is going on. I'll try an eraser again and see what's what.

 

[emb]

Feel free to enlighten me on the negative side of those mixed reviews because I have never heard/experienced any drawbacks. I've cleaned my entire collection now with Brasso, and when I pop them in a clean system, they start up the first time every time. A tiny dab on a qtip will lift up basically all of the dirt with minimal scrubbing.

Basically the idea that brasso leaves some kind of protective residue behind for the purpose of keeping it clean. It seems to be a popular suggestion though, so I think that's the next thing I'm going to try. I'm sure the above probably isn't actually a big deal, given how many seem to attest that it works.

 

[IrishNinja]

If I ever shop on eBay, I bid what I am willing to pay. If I get outbid, I am done, and will just wait for a different deal.

this is the sensible thing; put it in as late as you can & only as much as you'd comfortably pay...if it's super rare, be honest with yourself so you don't lose by a dollar & get pissed

Spoiler

also, snipe or using a sniping service so as to not drive up the price unnecessarily, but you aint heard that from me

 

[mattiewheels]

Hmm, Yahoo Japan Auctions works that way (each bid automatically extends the auction another 5 minutes). I wonder if any other sites do that.

That sounds reasonable, what would eBay have to lose by adopting something like that? I guess they'd lose a lot of snipers...

 

[Shining]

Yahoo Japan Auctions. A few years back i went through the hassle of creating an account there as i was desperate for the JAP version of Journey to Silus, RAF World. I used Google Translate to contact a memeber and actually got a reply which i then could translate back to understandable english. Sadly he wouldn't ship overseas, but it was a fun experience.

 

[RoryDropkick]

I've popped the cart open and it doesn't look like there's any severed pins, so I don't know what the heck is going on. I'll try an eraser again and see what's what.

Not to quote myself, but I went through again and cleaned the cart thoroughly... Batman is dead

 

[Canadian Psycho]

That's a shame. Only cart that ever died on me is Rescue: The Embassy Mission on NES (not a big loss...). I think I hurled that one into the forest thinking how cool it would be for someone to stumble upon an NES cart in the woods.

 

[Zing]

That sounds reasonable, what would eBay have to lose by adopting something like that? I guess they'd lose a lot of snipers...

No. Snipers bid to win, not to get a deal. Sniping just helps to get the item for less. If sniping were not possible, then snipers would just make their higher bids normally.

Sniping is cheap, period. If I bid what I'm willing to spend right off the bat, and some clever guy snipes it in the last .5 seconds, you're damn right I'd like a chance to bid a few cents more than him. I just want the opportunity to reasonably react to bids like that.

You misunderstand how sniping works. The sniper didn't just bid a few cents more than you. Also, if you bid appropriately the first time, then sniping has zero effect on you.

 

[djtiesto]

Woo, so yesterday I managed to find a copy of Journey To Silius at one of the few remaining Play N Trades on the island... and so was playing that game. The music is fantastic but the game's enemy layout just feels a bit "cheap", lots of places where you will get hit for no reason at all. Made it to the final boss of stage 2 but I'll have to play some more.

Also, FINALLY after all these years, beat Rygar! I didn't even realize there was an exp system in the game (kinda like Kid Icarus)... so that made things much easier, since exp increases both your strength and life bar. The game itself wasn't as long as I was expecting, but there's one level that really challenged me (the mountain area where these birds drop rocks on you, followed by the long cave area with lots of precise jumps where purple balls jump up from the pits). I still hate that when you die, you go back to 3 health... this is a serious problem a lot of old NES games have

 

[-KRS-]

Yeah there are a couple of places in JTS that are pretty much impossible to not take damage at. I know in stage 2 at the place where you drop down some floors, there's one place there where there is one of those spinning gun turrets that I always take damage from no matter how prepared I go into it. And in stage 3 there's, again, a place you drop down and when you do there's this ceiling turret that shoots just before you land and hits you every time.

But other than that, yes there are some unfair enemy placements somewhat remeniscent of Ninja Gaiden in that the enemies show up just as your jumping over a pit etc, but once you know about them you can avoid them. On stage 3 for example there are pits with these blocks over them that drop when you step on them. These are hard enough as it is because they behave a bit weird, but then at one of those pits there's a flying enemy that shows up just as you're jumping onto the falling blocks, making you fall back into the pit UNLESS you step right up to the edge of the pit before jumping. If you do that the enemy will show up before you jump.

So yeah, typical cheap NES game enemy placements are abound in that game.
It's one of the reasons it took me years to beat it. Now that I know that game inside-out though I can beat it almost every time without using continues.


In other unrelated game collecting news, I just received a Philips CD-i from a friend with a bunch of games, including one of the Zelda games. It's totally cheesy and awesome.