Paprium reverse engineered, dumped and made playable on RetroArch! The scam is over

VGEsoterica

VGEsoterica

Member
I mean in the end Fonzie and Watermelon got away with a million dollars for barely delivering anything and this won't get anyone their products or their money back but now Paprium is liberated and made playable for everyone with a custom RetroArch core meaning the full fat Paprium game is now preserved and everyone who put their money down and got NOTHING can finally enjoy the game

Figured Gaf would be stoked

 
I'm glad that people who paid will get something out of this after all. It's pathetic that the game exists, but the team can decide not to release it, what the hell!
 
Mahnmut said:
Never understood the hype around that game. It looks like a very mid beat them all. That Fonzie guy seemed so full of himself in interviews.
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It's actually really good - especially when you consider the hardware limitations. BUT, fuck that guy and i'm happy it's been dumped. He's fucked so many backers (including me) out of money, and all we got in return was complete silence.

Some may not know - but this douche has more than a couple of unrealized projects that he hasn't made good on, despite taking the money. His recent Kickstarter shenanigans is just a taste of his complete failure as a competent game developer.

I hope he chokes on a watermelon.
 
I was one of the lucky ones to actually receive a copy. While I am technically impressed by the game, Paprium....still needed more time in the oven. For a belt scroller, it plays very janky.

Fonzie has fucked over so many people from this it's criminal. He said the game should work on official Genesis/MD systems. When people legitimately complained that they can't get it to work on them, Fonzie literally told them to buy another one. It was hell getting it to work on the Analogue MD but it worked flawlessly, finally.

I'm all for downloading the game since he's fucked over so many people over to nearly a million bucks here.
 
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TonberrysKnife said:
I was one of the lucky ones to actually get receive a copy. Fonzie has fucked over so many people from this it's criminal. He said the game should work on official Genesis/MD systems. When people legitimately complained that they can't get it to work on them, Fonzie literally told them to buy another one.

I'm all for downloading the game since he's fucked over so many people over the tune of a million bucks here.
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Yes nobody will shed a tear for his scam finally crumbling
 
Mahnmut said:
Never understood the hype around that game. It looks like a very mid beat them all. That Fonzie guy seemed so full of himself in interviews.
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It's one of the higher quality aftermarket games for Mega Drive alongside Xeno Crisis, Tanglewood and Astebros.
Gameplay wise (from the videos I've seen, never got the cart) it doesn't look that exciting gameplay-wise, though I'm not a huge fan of the beat 'em up genre.
 
Unlike most scams, he actually produced a final product and the game actually delivered on what was promised. I'm not sure how many he actually shipped or what actually happend behind the scenes. It's a shame because the overall package looked impressive and full of care and passion. At least it wasn't vapour ware. I just hope people stop supporting his kickstarter projects.
 
What was the scam? Simply he took people's money and never sent them the game?

As for the game itself, I never saw it as anything special. Looks like a standard beat em up, not up to snuff to the top tier tones like SOR2. It's got an ugly purple look to it too.
 
StreetsofBeige said:
What was the scam? Simply he took people's money and never sent them the game?

As for the game itself, I never saw it as anything special. Looks like a standard beat em up, not up to snuff to the top tier tones like SOR2. It's got an ugly purple look to it too.
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Small percentage (i was one of the lucky ones) got the game after almost years and years of silence. That's not to mention the 2 other projects he took money for and never delivered a thing.

The biggest problem is his inability to communicate and be honest. He just randomly sends out some bullshit every few years or so, then goes dark again.
 
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Ozzie666 said:
Unlike most scams, he actually produced a final product and the game actually delivered on what was promised. I'm not sure how many he actually shipped or what actually happend behind the scenes. It's a shame because the overall package looked impressive and full of care and passion. At least it wasn't vapour ware. I just hope people stop supporting his kickstarter projects.
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This particular project may not be vaporware, but he definitely has some. I backed "Project ??????", which he started shortly
after finally shipping Paprium - only to see him start a new Kickstarter for another run of Paprium a year or so later, and never heard a thing about the project I backed. That was 2020.
 
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gunstarhero said:
This particular project may not be vaporware, but he definitely has some. I backed "Project ??????", which he started shortly
after finally shipping Paprium - only to see him start a new Kickstarter for another run of Paprium a year or so later, and never heard a thing about the project I backed. That was 2020.
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Watermelon has more projects that took money and didn't ship than they do shipped
 
gunstarhero said:
Small percentage (i was one of the lucky ones) got the game after almost years and years of silence. That's not to mention the 2 other projects he took money for and never delivered a thing.

The biggest problem is his inability to communicate and be honest. He just randomly sends out some bullshit every few years or so, then goes dark again.
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I had to google this game and saw the kickstarter. Digital and physical add on.... which I assume is real cart?

Did the guy at least send out digital copies to pledgers? At least that should be the easy part. Maybe the guy ran into manufacturing issues.

Or were digital downloads even delayed or ignored? This would be odd since it makes no sense why any digital files would be scammed.
 
Celine said:
It's one of the higher quality aftermarket games for Mega Drive alongside Xeno Crisis, Tanglewood and Astebros.
Gameplay wise (from the videos I've seen, never got the cart) it doesn't look that exciting gameplay-wise, though I'm not a huge fan of the beat 'em up genre.
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Yeah, that's exactly how I feel watching the videos — it looks technically insane for a Mega Drive, but the game itself seems boring, and the overall feel seems a bit "off".
Definitely leagues below Capcom's CPS-1 and CPS-2 brawlers, in my opinion.
 
StreetsofBeige said:
I had to google this game and saw the kickstarter. Digital and physical add on.... which I assume is real cart?

Did the guy at least send out digital copies to pledgers? At least that should be the easy part. Maybe the guy ran into manufacturing issues.

Or were digital downloads even delayed or ignored? This would be odd since it makes no sense why any digital files would be scammed.
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No - no digital codes were ever sent out. He's been pulling this silence shit since his first game, Pier Solar. Before Kickstarter, he had his own website where you could fund his games - and then he just shut it down, leaving customers in the dark.

Someone should do a History of Watermelon Games video - there's probably more drama than the recent Amico/Tommy Talarico story.
 
Animated GIF
 
Never even heard of it, but watching that video for a few minutes it looks like they just used SoR2 engine and put some new sprites on it honestly.
 
Fonzie real name is Gwënael.
Any french dude could have told you guys never trust a gwënael, they are the scummiest of the scum.

Fonzie real last name is God(d)e.
Gode in french means dildo.

His name alone is a recipe for widespread disappointment.
 
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