Retro games and emulation - Discuss retro shit in case you're stuck in the past or a hipster

rareblacklobster said:
Bought F-Zero GX for my Gamecube and beat the entire story mode on very hard. This is the first time I have felt actual physical pain on my hands from playing a video game. Not even Mario Party's analogue rotation bullshit hurt my hands this much.
Click to expand...
That's really impressive. I liked the game but could barely scrape by the first few tracks even on lower difficulties.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Haftag and Lone MacReady II
rareblacklobster said:
Bought F-Zero GX for my Gamecube and beat the entire story mode on very hard. This is the first time I have felt actual physical pain on my hands from playing a video game. Not even Mario Party's analogue rotation bullshit hurt my hands this much.
Click to expand...
I have a suspicion that it was designed to be intentionally difficult to encourage people to trade info with the F-Zero AX arcade machines.

It was an interesting idea but F-Zero AX arcade machines weren't terribly common (less than a hundred exist in the wild today, and less than two dozen are in America), and even if you did come across one of those machines, it's unlikely you had your GameCube memory card in your pocket.
 
  • Thunk-Provoking
Reactions: Haftag
Xarpho's Return said:
I have a suspicion that it was designed to be intentionally difficult to encourage people to trade info with the F-Zero AX arcade machines.

It was an interesting idea but F-Zero AX arcade machines weren't terribly common (less than a hundred exist in the wild today, and less than two dozen are in America), and even if you did come across one of those machines, it's unlikely you had your GameCube memory card in your pocket.
Click to expand...
What did bringing your card do between the games?
 
  • Agree
Reactions: Judge Dredd
SSj_Ness said:
What did bringing your card do between the games?
Click to expand...
It let you add the AX Cup and the exclusive stuff to GX. Based on Fandom's page, it implies you could also use the racers from GX on AX as well.

This was also during the height of the e-Reader, which was another interesting idea but with horrible execution since you had to use two GBAs to actually add anything.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Haftag and Judge Dredd
The Dreamcast had a lot of issues and ultimately those issues were a result of Sega being broke. Shenmue was a big bet that failed but at the time, Yu Suzuki was considered the final hope of Sega because Virtua Fighter was probably their most profitable arcade franchise but that also spoke to how markets were rapidly shifting away from arcades. Letting your key arcade guy develop a console game was not a very smart idea, even if it was a very crude predecessor to open world games.

I was there on 9/9/99 and was a Segafag to the bitter end but in hindsight, there were a lot of mistakes made but the biggest problem is that Sega didn’t have the cash flow to compete with Sony or Nintendo and that mattered more and more as the video game industry grew and budgets were growing to where Virtua Fighter was not going to be enough to keep the doors open.
 
  • Like
  • Agree
Reactions: Haftag, Bisdejl, Smaug's Smokey Hole 2 and 2 others
rareblacklobster said:
Bought F-Zero GX for my Gamecube and beat the entire story mode on very hard. This is the first time I have felt actual physical pain on my hands from playing a video game. Not even Mario Party's analogue rotation bullshit hurt my hands this much.
Click to expand...
An F-Zero game so good it killed the franchise because Nintendo can't realize anything to add to the formula.
 
  • Feels
  • Disagree
Reactions: fartsnstuf, anustart76 and Vyse Inglebard
Oldfag here.

I'm a complete normie and I've never actually owned a system. I'm looking for something relativly affordable and that plugs into a tv to zone out and pass the time an hour or two at a time. I've seen a few systems here and there but it's hard to differenciate between all the paid for sites. I guess multiple games before and upto the N64 eara.

Any recomendations?
 
Plum Smuggler said:
Oldfag here.

I'm a complete normie and I've never actually owned a system. I'm looking for something relativly affordable and that plugs into a tv to zone out and pass the time an hour or two at a time. I've seen a few systems here and there but it's hard to differenciate between all the paid for sites. I guess multiple games before and upto the N64 eara.

Any recomendations?
Click to expand...

Depends on what you want. For real consoles, unless you really know a good source, you'd be feeding into a vicious scalping industry. A non-branded emulation box is going to cheaper but the reality is you'd probably be better off just getting RetroArch and plugging a controller in.
 
  • Informative
  • Agree
  • Like
Reactions: Haftag, Judge Dredd and Plum Smuggler
Plum Smuggler said:
Oldfag here.

I'm a complete normie and I've never actually owned a system. I'm looking for something relativly affordable and that plugs into a tv to zone out and pass the time an hour or two at a time. I've seen a few systems here and there but it's hard to differenciate between all the paid for sites. I guess multiple games before and upto the N64 eara.

Any recomendations?
Click to expand...
Steam Deck. You can play the games you’ve already bought on Steam, and you can turn it into an emulation machine with very little effort.
 
  • Agree
  • Thunk-Provoking
  • Informative
Reactions: Haftag, Anon88 and Plum Smuggler
Plum Smuggler said:
Oldfag here.

I'm a complete normie and I've never actually owned a system. I'm looking for something relativly affordable and that plugs into a tv to zone out and pass the time an hour or two at a time. I've seen a few systems here and there but it's hard to differenciate between all the paid for sites. I guess multiple games before and upto the N64 eara.

Any recomendations?
Click to expand...
If you want to keep it simple and have some retro fun, N64 is a good place to start.

Here's a few game recommendations that are varied and should be easy to get into:

Single player: Mario 64, Resident Evil 2, Zelda Ocarina of Time

Multiplayer: Pokemon Stadium 2, Diddy Kong Racing, Dr. Mario 64

If you later find yourself wanting something more versatile but also more involved, get Valve's Steam Deck. It's a computer but shouldn't be daunting to use and will be cheaper in the long run than collecting actual systems and cartridges because you can emulate stuff.
 
  • Feels
  • Like
Reactions: Plum Smuggler, Granada Granola and Vyse Inglebard
Plum Smuggler said:
Oldfag here.

I'm a complete normie and I've never actually owned a system. I'm looking for something relativly affordable and that plugs into a tv to zone out and pass the time an hour or two at a time. I've seen a few systems here and there but it's hard to differenciate between all the paid for sites. I guess multiple games before and upto the N64 eara.

Any recomendations?
Click to expand...
Addendum: you’d be surprised at what the Steam Deck can run. I havent tested the PS3 or PC-98 yet, but aside from that, it can run a lot. I’ve run Rumble Roses XX (360), Panzer Dragoon Orta (OG Xbox), and Super Mario Galaxy (Wii). I have trouble with the higher end Switch games, like 3D All Stars, but the Sega Ages port of Phantasy Star and the Valis collection both run perfectly fine. The only three I’ve consistently had trouble with are the DS and 3DS (touch screens are a nightmare on Steam Deck), and the Wii U (good luck with the fucking gamepad).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Haftag and Plum Smuggler
Plum Smuggler said:
Oldfag here.

I'm a complete normie and I've never actually owned a system. I'm looking for something relativly affordable and that plugs into a tv to zone out and pass the time an hour or two at a time. I've seen a few systems here and there but it's hard to differenciate between all the paid for sites. I guess multiple games before and upto the N64 eara.

Any recomendations?
Click to expand...
Echoing what @Xarpho's Return said. Need more information of budget and systems you want to emulate.


Two blanket suggestions I have I'll get shit on for. Raspberry Pi, and various chinkshit handhelds. And two I don't think people will object to. PC and cheap PC.


Raspberry Pi is a tinkerers toy, and not a plug and play solution. It's also pricey for what you get. However, once configured it fits the "plug into TV and forget about it" standard you want.

Chinkshit handhelds are kind of the same as the Pi and Steamdeck. These are handheld systems, but they work well enough as an all in one solution, and are cheap for what you get. I don't own one myself, so I can't speak from personal experience. People I know who have them enjoy them though.

These systems generally run up to PS1 and earlier reliably, with things being hit and miss beyond that.


PC is fairly straight forward. Put something on your home PC, link it to your TV and bingo, you have yourself an emulation machine.

Cheap PC. Basically like the Pi. Buying a decade old used office PC like an EliteDesk or ThinkCentre. Prices and specs vary, and you might have to do some tinkering such as adding a hard drive. I've wanted to do this, but had trouble doing so (likely due to being in the UK).



As for games to play. On the PS1, you can't go wrong with Gran Turismo 1 and 2. Misadventures of Tron Bonne is a childrens game, and therefor very easy to zone out to. Klanoa is a little more demanding, but it's hardly Ninja Giaden.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Haftag
Pissmaster said:
I've seen The World is Not Enough mentioned favorably. I've never played it. Here's a longplay, see for yourself:
Click to expand...
I am Jack's dead arm said:
The World is not Enough,
Click to expand...
I gave this a few tries after seeing it mentioned here. It's fucking horrible. The controls are sluggish and stiff, the levels are tiny 3 room boxes broken up with loading screens. Hit reactions feel broken. The framerate struggles to stay above 15fps. It's difficult to aim.

Compare it to the N64 game, which is considered merely okay. It's better in every way.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Pissmaster
Plum Smuggler said:
Oldfag here.

I'm a complete normie and I've never actually owned a system. I'm looking for something relativly affordable and that plugs into a tv to zone out and pass the time an hour or two at a time. I've seen a few systems here and there but it's hard to differenciate between all the paid for sites. I guess multiple games before and upto the N64 eara.

Any recomendations?
Click to expand...
The Wii.
With some softmods it can run N64, GameCube, and earlier games.
Otherwise a PlayStation 3 or a Xbox 360, still, with softmods, are still good imo.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Telephone
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back