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[Peltz]

Heading back to Tokyo next week (I go every few months). Any suggestions on places to go retro game shopping/hunting? Please don't suggest Akihabara or Nakano Broadway. Looking for new places

As a frequent visitor, you have any tips on how to fly/stay their on the somewhat cheap side?

P.S. Hope your new gig is treating you well. I own a few Mad Catz sticks, so thanks for the memories.

 

[televator]

Does anyone have a spare audiophile PS1 SCPH-1001 that they'd be willing to trade me? Functional or not, it doesn't matter too much. I can repair consoles to a good extent. I'm willing to trade for one of my consoles. I have spare Dreamcasts, Genesis 2, SNESs, and slim PS2s... I think I have some Gamecubes too.

 

[dubc35]

Does anyone have a spare audiophile PS1 SCPH-1001 that they'd be willing to trade me? Functional or not, it doesn't matter too much. I can repair consoles to a good extent. I'm willing to trade for one of my consoles. I have spare Dreamcasts, Genesis 2, SNESs, and slim PS2s... I think I have some Gamecubes too.

Is it that much better? This is the first I've heard about it. In a brief amount of searching around it looks like there was hype at one point but that eventually reduced and the consensus was it was an above average CD player but not as special as previously thought. Again, first I've heard of it so I juts may not be well enough informed.

Is this sound quality via the RCA plugs or the digital optical out mod?

 

[televator]

Is it that much better? This is the first I've heard about it. In a brief amount of searching around it looks like there was hype at one point but that eventually reduced and the consensus was it was an above average CD player but not as special as previously thought. Again, first I've heard of it so I juts may not be well enough informed.

Is this sound quality via the RCA plugs or the digital optical out mod?

Its prowes strictly as a music playback device is vastly over stated to be sure. Yet, in practice for games, it does have better audio than latter models. I'm not looking to make it the center piece for my audio setup. lol... I just want better sound for my games.

That being said... you just mentioned the optical mod... Which should bypass the internal DAC all together... I think that's a better way to go. Thanks for bringing that up.

 

[dubc35]

Ha, no problem. So much I don't know about the systems I grew up with. Curse you lack of internet at the time! (or better yet curse the 9600 bps modem I had at the time....and text based browser).

 

[davidwhangchoi]

re-posting from the shooter's thread =)

any huge R-Type fans of the original here?

i've been playing it the last few nights coming home late from work.

my challenge: for anyone who knows what i'm actually rambling about, has been to knock out the unreachable turret guns on top of the stage 3 battleship...

they're almost unreachable bc the screen and ship movements forces the R-9 under the battleship not allowing you to get above where the guns are located. by the time you get around to top, the screen has scrolled pass the guns making it too late to hit them.

i've been jamming my force unit up there to take out those guns and try using the force unit to try and kill the core engine early before the boss music starts.

 

[BTails]

Inspired by Irish Ninja, I finally got off my lazy butt and posted some picture in the Show us your RETRO Gaming Setup thread. I won't copy the whole post here, but here's my main setup (Complete with Famicom Contra running in the background):

 

[NormalFish]

So this eBay seller is driving me nuts. Dude lies about being in the US, as well as about his shipping price. He messages me right after I pay to let me know that he'll have to charge me for international shipping, but then waits a full week (and 2 pestering messages) before actually telling me the shipping is 17$ more than I paid (lol) but is charging me "only" an extra 10.

God I'm so annoyed, but at this point I just want the damn game.

 

[Mega]

Game Gear with McWill's LCD mod is a revelation. It's amazing how unappealing the original screen makes the game library and how unbelievably attractive they look with the new LCD. I didn't expect such a dramatic difference. It's a bigger leap than OG GBA to backlit SP.

I'm posting a few screenshots here and more in the Scanlines thread... the mod has seven scaling modes, three with VERTICAL lines that do a very convincing job of imitating the original screen (minus the crapiness).

 

[blast processed]

Game Gear with McWill's LCD mod is a revelation. It's amazing how unappealing the original screen makes the game library and how unbelievably attractive they look with the new LCD. I didn't expect such a dramatic difference. It's a bigger leap than OG GBA to backlit SP.

I'm posting a few screenshots here and more in the Scanlines thread... the mod has seven scaling modes, three with VERTICAL lines that do a very convincing job of imitating the original screen (minus the crapiness).

That's looks great. I plan on modding my GG as well, I just haven't gotten around to it. Also, you should post this in the Game Gear Appreciation Thread. We need more GG love. http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1138898

 

[Mega]

I didn't mod it myself, I'm terrible at this stuff!

Thanks for the suggestion. I had no idea there was a dedicated GG thread.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

I should probably ask this in the "show us your setup" thread, too, but RetroGAF always has good advice.

I need some shelving for games and BDs. Like, something that isn't crappy. All I seem to find online is Prepac and Atlantic stuff which seems kinda iffy. I've got some of the Billy bookcases from Ikea, which are alright, but I don't like that they're so deep -- makes it kind of a pain to keep DVD-size cases where you want 'em. Are there any decent options you guys would suggest? I need something that'll let me store an assload of games of all shapes and sizes, and that'll look good.

 

[7DollarHagane]

Game Gear with McWill's LCD mod is a revelation. It's amazing how unappealing the original screen makes the game library and how unbelievably attractive they look with the new LCD. I didn't expect such a dramatic difference. It's a bigger leap than OG GBA to backlit SP.

I'm posting a few screenshots here and more in the Scanlines thread... the mod has seven scaling modes, three with VERTICAL lines that do a very convincing job of imitating the original screen (minus the crapiness).

I need this in my life. I loved the game gear as a kid.

 

[Shadowman16]

I need this in my life. I loved the game gear as a kid.

Likewise, I need to get one of these as well. I love playing my Game Gear but having one with better screen quality would be ace.

 

[IrishNinja]

damn, that really is the only way to play GG, it's night & day with my dying screen...and even at launch, i recall it having poor lighting & blurring. props!

 

[Mega]

Yeah I've seen the stories that the original screen was considered poor by the standards of its time. I have a recapped GG, thanks to Bapho. It's now in a restored, usable state but I was seriously not ready for the screen's unredeemably awful quality. It's hard to endure more than a few minutes. Literally makes the games worse to play and makes you itch to hit the off switch.

With all the recent renewed interests in retro games of all kind, GG is still pretty obscure and given little attention. I fully blame the screen, followed by the high rate of dead systems with bad caps. So in most cases you can't play the handheld, or you can and it all looks like shit. On the flip side, just about any intact Gameboy is still decent looking and playable.

With the bad screen out of the way you can enjoy the games without a major hindrance and really appreciate that this is a stunning 8-bit platform.

 

[wazoo]

[edit] wow. That's a long text.

tl; dr: games are mostly shit, but you can learn to love them. A very different kind of challenge than Japanese games.
The hardware is great to play with, to learn computing and tinker with addon boards.

I found your post a bit late. The only way to agree that those 80s computer were bad is to look at it from a console gamer point of view. Of course, those computers had console/arcade ports and they were quite bad for some reasons (a major one is that the guy porting the game had most of the time no access to the original game and was even force to pay to play the arcade version in a cafe to get it). But, those computers had a much diverse library, much more experimental and sometime more mature that started what became the PC library of the 90s. Anyone could develop on these machines, whereas NES was a kid-oriented closed system.

 

[D.Lo]

Super tempted by that GG mod. Especially the Master System mode too. Add Tim's FM mod in too for some kind of super mutant GG!

Yeah I've seen the stories that the original screen was considered poor by the standards of its time. I have a recapped GG, thanks to Bapho. It's now in a restored, usable state but I was seriously not ready for the screen's unredeemably awful quality. It's hard to endure more than a few minutes. Literally makes the games worse to play and makes you itch to hit the off switch.

With all the recent renewed interests in retro games of all kind, GG is still pretty obscure and given little attention. I fully blame the screen, followed by the high rate of dead systems with bad caps. So in most cases you can't play the handheld, or you can and it all looks like shit. On the flip side, just about any intact Gameboy is still decent looking and playable.

With the bad screen out of the way you can enjoy the games without a major hindrance and really appreciate that this is a stunning 8-bit platform.

I had one as a kid and my original DMG Game Boy was just more pleasant to play. You were stuck next to a wall with the GG (because batteries were expensive) and it was washed out and blurry as crap.

 

[Mega]

^That's true. Few kids growing up had the GG, even fewer were spotted out in the wild. Everyone joked about needing a pile of batteries and only lasting a few hours.

I know it's all the same hardware family or something along those lines, but I'm still pleasantly surprised at how it plays all games from GG, SMS, and SG-1000 (edit: nvm, SG-1000 games have really buggy graphics). I only have a handful of GG games and none of the other two so I picked up the GG Everdrive and everything runs really well and looks fantastic. This spares me from dealing with the added bulk of the converter and bigger cartridges but I'd still like to pick up some SMS games and that converter. I like having a small library of "must play" titles for each system and not just a boring flash cart.

I remember you're a big SMS fan so I think this is a must-own for someone in your position. I did not grow up with these systems and therefore have less appreciation for them, and still I think it's one of the best purchases made. And if you can get the VGA Out and maybe a Genesis controller port installed you add more utility to an incredible little package. It's pricey but worth it in my opinion. Look up jasherg on ebay, a modder in Spain. He has a unit up now and lists a new one every couple of weeks.

I'm interested in that FM compatibility. A quick search shows it can be added to the GG. I wonder if it fits with the LCD mod parts already in there.

 

[dubc35]

My GG has a cracked screen from the parental unit jamming it in with other gaming stuff for shipment. I need to check it out to see if it even works. Same for my OG ps1.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

those pics of Mega's GG screens look so good!


i picked up some retro compilations for ps2 on the way home today:

i'm going to goof off with some Operation Wolf and Thunderbolt
then play some 1941 =)

 

[Shadowman16]

those pics of Mega's GG screens look so good!


i picked up some retro compilations for ps2 on the way home today:


i'm going to goof off with some Operation Wolf and Thunderbolt
then play some 1941 =)

I've got that second Capcom Collection, its great for the most part - I think it has audio issues with a couple of the games though (audio for Tiger Road seems a bit iffy at times).
Its a great collection though, adding stuff like Eco Warriors, Captain Commando, Strider etc. along with a nice mix of lesser known and well known arcade games. Pity that Battle Circuit or Armoured Warriors weren't included (both are excellent CPS2 arcade games that never saw the light of day on consoles).

 

[IrishNinja]

i picked up some retro compilations for ps2 on the way home today:


i'm going to goof off with some Operation Wolf and Thunderbolt
then play some 1941 =)

oh man, so much goodness (and some stuff i'd never played before too) - you're in for a treat, enjoy!

 

[Rich!]

On the topic of the Game Boy vs Game Gear (those modded shots are incredible), here's a shot I took of my backlit DMG:

amazing how much of a difference these mods make to these old consoles

 

[Shin Johnpv]

I really need to do the backlit and bivert mod to my OG Gameboy that looks amazing.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

I've got that second Capcom Collection, its great for the most part - I think it has audio issues with a couple of the games though (audio for Tiger Road seems a bit iffy at times).
Its a great collection though, adding stuff like Eco Warriors, Captain Commando, Strider etc. along with a nice mix of lesser known and well known arcade games. Pity that Battle Circuit or Armoured Warriors weren't included (both are excellent CPS2 arcade games that never saw the light of day on consoles).

hey thanks for the backdrop of the collection. it's good to know the flaws and be aware of it.

oh man, so much goodness (and some stuff i'd never played before too) - you're in for a treat, enjoy!

thanks IrishNinja... now if i can only have as big a collection you have of SEGA stuff...

 

[IrishNinja]

thanks IrishNinja... now if i can only have as big a collection you have of SEGA stuff...

keep an eye on garage sales, man! i got a lotta genesis stuff there, people still don't think that system is worth much in recent years, haha....craigslist is trickier, totally lucked out with 2 big saturn hauls but most of the rest are ebay prices, sadly

 

[Mega]

Had a lot of fun with the Game Gear this weekend.

 

[Teknoman]

Reposting from the Saturn thread.

Like Panzer Dragoon soundtrack style?
Grab Terra Magica. Stuff is awesome.

http://store.bravewave.net/album/terra-magica

Terra Magica is a love letter from Saori Kobayashi to her fans. Featuring the same rich, melodic tones that defined the iconic soundtracks of Panzer Dragoon Saga and Panzer Dragoon Orta, Kobayashi invites listeners to enter the world she has created, while encouraging them to create their very own story to match the progression of the music.

Really does sound like a missing Panzer universe OST. Also she really needs to compose for another game. Lady is a musical genius.

 

[Rich!]

I havent got any photos but I bought an official SNES pad and a DS Lite and charger from the market yesterday for £20.

Controller is fine, just needed cleaning. The DS Lite has been half eaten or survived a war or something. The LCD and hardware internals are fine, so I've ordered a new shell and digitiser from eBay for not much more. Should be good as new once done!

 

[blast processed]

Had a lot of fun with the Game Gear this weekend.

These look beautiful! Keep 'Em coming.

 

[spookyfish]

So, I finally took the plunge and bought a modded Terranigma to play on my SNES (I'm in the States).

The whole Mode 7 travel sequences are really messed up, but I still somehow managed to find four of the five towers. Through some miracle, I was able to find the town and save. So, I put in some of my other old games.

It's a launch unit. So, Yoshi's Island: Plays okay, but the rotating "island" on the title screen is all fuzzy and garbled.

Final Fantasy III: black lines and other items obscuring text and the like.

ActRaiser: Seems to be fine, actually.

ActRaiser 2: Oh wow. Numbers, letters and other characters are what it shows for "fog" in Industen.

tl;dr: So, yeah. My SNES is borked.

What's the best advice, NeoGAF? Try to find an SNES that works, or just get one of the retro machines/clones off of Amazon?

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: I'm so bummed my SNES is effed up. : (

 

[Khaz]

What's the best advice, NeoGAF? Try to find an SNES that works, or just get one of the retro machines/clones off of Amazon?

But maybe it can be repaired? It's much more likely there is a problem with the board itself dead capacitor, broken trace or solder joint) than a dead chip.

If your own console is in good condition, you could try to get one that is in a terrible state, but working. Like yellowed to its core, sharpie writings or stickers all over it, smashed plastics, etc. And swap the internals.

 

[spookyfish]

But maybe it can be repaired? It's much more likely there is a problem with the board itself dead capacitor, broken trace or solder joint) than a dead chip.

If your own console is in good condition, you could try to get one that is in a terrible state, but working. Like yellowed to its core, sharpie writings or stickers all over it, smashed plastics, etc. And swap the internals.

Thanks! That's really what I want to do, since I'm a bit of a collector (hoarder) and want to keep my "launch SNES". And mine is pretty yellowed.

I'm afraid I don't know enough about the internals to even attempt to fix it.

 

[dubc35]

Thanks! That's really what I want to do, since I'm a bit of a collector (hoarder) and want to keep my "launch SNES". And mine is pretty yellowed.

I'm afraid I don't know enough about the internals to even attempt to fix it.

Knowing what's wrong and fixing it are two different things. Maybe open it and look around to see if it's something obvious? It's better than speculating and it may be something simple.

 

[spookyfish]

Knowing what's wrong and fixing it are two different things. Maybe open it and look around to see if it's something obvious? It's better than speculating and it may be something simple.

Truth. I'll give it a look.

 

[BearChair]

Can you guys recommend any console restoration services?

I have a Dreamcast that could use some refurbishing and at the same time, I might have my Gamegear checked and an LCD screen added.

I have no soldering skills, so I'd rather pay someone to do it right.

What's a ballpark these services might cost?

 

[blurrygil]

Had a lot of fun with the Game Gear this weekend.

I love this. ^^

Finally got my NES collection organized a little better now. Streaming has kinda forced my hand to do so, lol...

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Do PS3 games count as retro?

Is it worth buying the Kingdom Hearts HD collections on PS3 as someone who really likes RPG but has no affinity for Disney?

They're physical only and it seems like stores are dropping PS3 games like last week's veggies. Amazon has both for $25 CAD which is a bit much for a maybe game IMO but I'm trying to build up my physical exclusive PS3 library before it gets hard to get games new.

 

[IrishNinja]

Do PS3 games count as retro?

technically, they will be next gen! and yeah, i hope gamestop dumps their PS3 stock sometime soon too, so many gems

 

[blast processed]

Do PS3 games count as retro?

I was just wondering when we should make an appreciation thread for PS3 and 360.

 

[NormalFish]

Friend of mine is off to Japan in a couple weeks and offered to pick me up something. Any interesting retro stores in Kyoto? She'll be in Tokyo as well but not around the stores I know of there.

 

[Teknoman]

I still need Folklore. And probably Last/Lost Dimension (whatever that sci-fi Valkyria style game was).

 

[PumpkinSpice]

I was just wondering when we should make an appreciation thread for PS3 and 360.

I brought up a joint PS3/360 Collecting & Appreciation thread before since so much of their libraries are the same. I'd almost be willing to make an OT but I'm really not much for cinematic blockbuster AAAAAAA games that so characterized the mainstream image of those platforms so I'm not sure I'd be the best person for that.

Friend of mine is off to Japan in a couple weeks and offered to pick me up something. Any interesting retro stores in Kyoto? She'll be in Tokyo as well but not around the stores I know of there.

Can I mention HardOff again? If not that, BookOffs are everywhere and very YMMV. The one in Shinjuku next to Yodobashi Camera is very accessible and pretty good for retro games in my experience.

Edit: if she's buying for you it's kinda different since bookoff might not even have what you're looking for. In that case if you really are just looking to use her as a mule to smuggle retro games home, buying on Amazon and having it delivered to a convenience store is an OK way to do retro JP games, but would require some experience with spoken Japanese and hoping the seller doesn't screw up and put the wrong name (your name instead of her's) on the package.

 

[NormalFish]

Where is hardoff? I'm gonna ask her to look but can't bring myself to ask her to go out of her way for such a thing.

Oh wait you discussed it on this ssame page. I'm an idiot. I'll look in to it, thanks.

 

[televator]

Do PS3 games count as retro?

Is it worth buying the Kingdom Hearts HD collections on PS3 as someone who really likes RPG but has no affinity for Disney?

They're physical only and it seems like stores are dropping PS3 games like last week's veggies. Amazon has both for $25 CAD which is a bit much for a maybe game IMO but I'm trying to build up my physical exclusive PS3 library before it gets hard to get games new.

We had PS2 and Xbox collecting/appreciation threads while PS3 and 360 were current gen... But I think they'll be "retro" once Sony halts printing/shipping new copies of games for the machine.

The way I see it though, it's best to buy games for a system before people catch on with the "retro" craze and the games are cheap even while you can get new games.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

finally got my shooter back

first retro game i paid alot. paid 64 shipped for raycrisis ps1.
only problem it's sealed and now i don't want to open it =)

and flashback for 10 bucks.

 

[D.Lo]

Where is hardoff? I'm gonna ask her to look but can't bring myself to ask her to go out of her way for such a thing.

Oh wait you discussed it on this ssame page. I'm an idiot. I'll look in to it, thanks.

There are basically no Hard-offs in any of the major city centres. They're suburban and rural, usually 'drive in' places.

 

[Teknoman]

Is Ray Crisis actually Layer Section 3? or 2? I know theres a game called Ray Storm?

 

[sixteen-bit]

Happy 40th anniversary, Data East