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

[Xarpho's Return]

For console games back then most developers operated on Japan first, then America and Europe if the game did well in the states. It always meant in addition to Europe's own retardation you also got the American censorship on top too and as you said the slower frame-rate that was a toss-up if the devs were bothered to at least speed up the music to try to hide that the game played slower.

When I was younger, I noticed that the intro music to The Lost Vikings II actually had a slower tempo for the PAL version to the NTSC version. As a kid I actually remember preferring the European version slightly. I couldn't find a comparison anywhere so I had to use Snes9x's recording tools, which use AVI.

JRPG's basically skipped all of Europe until the 2000s. The first Dragon quest game to get a console release here was DQ8, when at that point the series was a month from being 20 years old, and DQ8 itself was almost two years old from the Jap release. They didn't even put the 8 in title becuase they knew how stupid it would look.

I knew a few of the big JRPGs had skipped Europe, but scanning over, almost none of the JRPGs in America reached Europe. From the following: Final Fantasy II (IV), Final Fantasy III (VI), EarthBound, Secret of Mana, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Lufia & the Fortress of Doom, Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals, Chrono Trigger, Robotrek, Breath of Fire, and Breath of Fire II, only Lufia II, Secret of Mana, and Breath of Fire II made it over.

 

[Curry Teafag]

Europe missing out on the Arcade scene was dire.

We did have arcades, just not as many.

 

[Never Scored]

We did have arcades, just not as many.

The human zoo exhibit at the Crystal Palace doesn't count as an arcade.

 

[Samuel Fuller]

Europe missing out on the Arcade scene was dire. They will show you a ZX Spectrum game or C64 game and unironically call it amazing but in reality it is the worst thing ever made.

I will name names too, Creatures, Mayhem in Monsterland. Any Sonic clone they loved to make

Most hardcore Rare fanboys tend to be British or Eurofags, which explains their love of utter garbage games.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole 2]

Europe got it the worse. Our manuals were B&W, with no illustrations; with only a few screenshots. Text was kept to minimum because our manuals were made with 5-8 languages in mind to save on localization costs. If they were even cheaper they'd put every language on the same page. It's laughable how bad Europe got it back then.
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Ours were in color and the Zelda one even had a word list to translate key words from english to meatballistani, ice-spick and norwbug


We had a dutch rudder situation going on with Nintendo so we were pretty spoiled in certain ways.

Europe missing out on the Arcade scene was dire.

We had lots of arcades, at least in the places where I lived over the years. @Pissmaster, how many taiko no tatsujin machines did you see in the early 2000's? That game actually bored me because I had played so much drum mania(home version with the drum kit, never seen the arcade setup over here). Speaking of mania, there's Fighting Mania(or as I call it, "that fist of the north star punch game"). That game was cool. Except being a graphics whore I was disappointed by the use of sprites for everything.


Prop Cycle was also really cool.


Same with the Ridge Racer setup that had the clutch pedal. The video rental store near where I grew up had Top Skater, Sega Rally and various stand up cabinets(couple of years before that they had SF1, SF2, Mortal Kombat 1&2 etc), other places had Segas Manx TT with the bikes, their Trucker game, Daytona, Ferrari-911 or whatever it was called(it sucked).

I can't really think of anything that we missed out on. Even with pinball tables.

 

[Curry Teafag]

The human zoo exhibit at the Crystal Palace doesn't count as an arcade.

Tell me you have no idea without telling me you have no idea.

 

[Finder of Games]

Was listening to an old episode of GiantBomb, and they were making fun of a Call of Duty card game that was announced. They claimed it was real time, not turn based. I wonder if any prototypes exist of that.

That was actually a physical card game, it got hyped up by the creators at NYCC 08 and I think it had another couple appearances. It was supposed to launch fall of that same year, but then just never did. Funny thing, though it's hard to get good quality footage, it looks almost like a precursor to the modern clash royale style formula, at least to me, except instead of spells you had guns.

But yeah it got shit on really hard whenever it showed up cause it looked stupid and like a gigantic ripoff (had to buy a "squad" set to play the game, then had to buy boosters to get guns). And there was also low faith in it anyway from being a call of duty card game. Upper deck (the production company behind it) was also notoriously litigious and dealing with bullshit lawsuits all the time, as they were a primary producer of sports "goods" so athletes would regularly ream them, and they and Topps (sports cards company) were regularly duking it out. That said, most of Upper Deck's business was not necessarily cards (though they did some) but a lot of like, shitty little die-cast figurines and stuff in the early and mid 2000s. They probably fucked up budgeting somewhere and had to cull some lower hype product launches. "Call of duty, the card game, in real time" doesn't sound like a tough cut.

 

[Baraka Obama]

They will show you a ZX Spectrum game or C64 game and unironically call it amazing but in reality it is the worst thing ever made.

A lot of the 8bit & 16bit "pc as a keyboard" microcomputers have just terrible, terrible game libraries. I don't know how anyone puts up with them. The only exception is the MSX and the early MSX games are really rough with horrible scrolling issues.

 

[Xarpho's Return]

They will show you a ZX Spectrum game or C64 game and unironically call it amazing but in reality it is the worst thing ever made.

I did some Google searching, and I think this tells you more than what I could possibly write about.

Most hardcore Rare fanboys tend to be British or Eurofags, which explains their love of utter garbage games.

Rare is a British studio so it makes sense, but I think it's in a bit of an odd situation because they did have an era (the Nintendo 64 and a few years prior) where they put out good or at least memorable games, like Donkey Kong Country, Star Fox 64, Blast Corps, or Banjo-Kazooie but their back catalog isn't that impressive.

Anticipation, the hot new "video game board game" pushed by Nintendo Power for Christmas 1988 and then NEVER mentioned again (save for one comparison to how the NES Satellite worked)? That overly complicated Who Framed Roger Rabbit game for the NES? Super Glove Ball for the Power Glove? The European-exclusive Monster Max? Grabbed by the Ghoulies? Kinect Sports Rivals? Sea of Thieves? That Battletoads reboot? A vast majority of their library is full of average-at-best titles that came and went with no lasting impact. Not every game is going to be some memorable 8.5/10 classic, and as a result their overall output is mediocre.

 

[Samuel Fuller]

That was actually a physical card game, it got hyped up by the creators at NYCC 08 and I think it had another couple appearances. It was supposed to launch fall of that same year, but then just never did. Funny thing, though it's hard to get good quality footage, it looks almost like a precursor to the modern clash royale style formula, at least to me, except instead of spells you had guns.

But yeah it got shit on really hard whenever it showed up cause it looked stupid and like a gigantic ripoff (had to buy a "squad" set to play the game, then had to buy boosters to get guns). And there was also low faith in it anyway from being a call of duty card game. Upper deck (the production company behind it) was also notoriously litigious and dealing with bullshit lawsuits all the time, as they were a primary producer of sports "goods" so athletes would regularly ream them, and they and Topps (sports cards company) were regularly duking it out. That said, most of Upper Deck's business was not necessarily cards (though they did some) but a lot of like, shitty little die-cast figurines and stuff in the early and mid 2000s. They probably fucked up budgeting somewhere and had to cull some lower hype product launches. "Call of duty, the card game, in real time" doesn't sound like a tough cut.

Upper Deck has always been primarily a card company. The figures you are thinking of were Starting Lineup, by Kenner and later Hasbro.

 

[Never Scored]

Rare is a British studio so it makes sense, but I think it's in a bit of an odd situation because they did have an era (the Nintendo 64 and a few years prior) where they put out good or at least memorable games, like Donkey Kong Country, Star Fox 64, Blast Corps, or Banjo-Kazooie but their back catalog isn't that impressive.

Their output under Nintendo had Nintendo involved at a high level. Nintendo wasn't involved in the nuts and bolts(pun intended) of the games, but as part owners, Nintendo was putting the kibosh on things that weren't up to Nintendo standards, and coercing Rare to change things with their games. As a matter of fact, Nintendo's interference pissed the Stamper brothers off to the point that it was one of the reasons they decided to sell. That's why Rare fell off a cliff in the early 2000s.

 

[Samuel Fuller]

Their output under Nintendo had Nintendo involved at a high level. Nintendo wasn't involved in the nuts and bolts(pun intended) of the games, but as part owners, Nintendo was putting the kibosh on things that weren't up to Nintendo standards, and coercing Rare to change things with their games. As a matter of fact, Nintendo's interference pissed the Stamper brothers off to the point that it was one of the reasons they decided to sell. That's why Rare fell off a cliff in the early 2000s.

Anyone looking at Rare’s pre-Nintendo ownership, Nintendo era and post-Nintendo era product and not seeing a distinct difference between the Nintendo era and the rest of their history can’t possibly have played much of their work.

Anyone who thinks the Wizards and Warriors games were good should be under constant supervision.

 

[Samuel Fuller]

The home version of DrumMania was NOT the home version of Taiko no Tatsujin, it was the home version of DrumMania.

Taiko no Tatsujin was a separate series, DrumMania was part of the Beatmania family along with Guitar Freaks, and the arcade machines for Beatmania, Guitar Freaks and DrumMania could be networked to have players on guitar, drums and turntables play the same songs together. The music in those ones was primarily rock.

Taiko no Tatsujin came later and used similar hardware, but simulating a traditional taiko drum instead of a modern drum kit and had a broader selection of music, from Japanese folk songs together anime theme songs.

Donkey Conga was based on Taiko no Tatsujin and the bongo drums even used the same sensors as the home TnT drums did.

 

[Xarpho's Return]

Their output under Nintendo had Nintendo involved at a high level. Nintendo wasn't involved in the nuts and bolts(pun intended) of the games, but as part owners, Nintendo was putting the kibosh on things that weren't up to Nintendo standards, and coercing Rare to change things with their games. As a matter of fact, Nintendo's interference pissed the Stamper brothers off to the point that it was one of the reasons they decided to sell. That's why Rare fell off a cliff in the early 2000s.

I know they had issues with DMA and Body Harvest (to the point where the game was delayed and eventually published by Midway) but what are some of the stories with Nintendo's "interference"?

The only examples I can possibly think of is Conker's Bad Fur Day which in that case it was Rare's decision to change Twelve Tales: Conker 64 to that form, Nintendo did ask for an unflattering Pikachu cameo be taken out, and did sabotage the release.

There was also Dinosaur Planet though I'm not sure whose idea it was to turn it into a Star Fox title.

 

[Never Scored]

I know they had issues with DMA and Body Harvest (to the point where the game was delayed and eventually published by Midway) but what are some of the stories with Nintendo's "interference"?

The only examples I can possibly think of is Conker's Bad Fur Day which in that case it was Rare's decision to change Twelve Tales: Conker 64 to that form, Nintendo did ask for an unflattering Pikachu cameo be taken out, and did sabotage the release.

There was also Dinosaur Planet though I'm not sure whose idea it was to turn it into a Star Fox title.

This was the most egregeous one and was apparently the straw that broke the camel's back. Nintendo also were the ones who suggested putting Donkey Kong characters in Diddy Kong Racing as opposed to allowing Rare to run with their own original IP.

You have to remember, besides owning 49% of Rare, Nintendo funded and published most of their projects. So Nintendo would send people to see what Rare was doing and hand down directives about projects. Apparently the stuff they self published close to the end of the N64's life like Jet Force Gemini and Conker's Bad Fur Day was the kind of stuff Rare actually wanted to make. Nintendo wanted them making cutsey mascot platformers.

 

[Baraka Obama]

Apparently the stuff they self published close to the end of the N64's life like Jet Force Gemini and Conker's Bad Fur Day was the kind of stuff Rare actually wanted to make.

Didn't these do really poorly compared to their other 64 games? I'm sure there's a creative aspect to it but ultimately $$$ runs the business.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole 2]

The home version of DrumMania was NOT the home version of Taiko no Tatsujin, it was the home version of DrumMania.

Taiko no Tatsujin was a separate series, DrumMania was part of the Beatmania family along with Guitar Freaks, and the arcade machines for Beatmania, Guitar Freaks and DrumMania could be networked to have players on guitar, drums and turntables play the same songs together. The music in those ones was primarily rock.

Taiko no Tatsujin came later and used similar hardware, but simulating a traditional taiko drum instead of a modern drum kit and had a broader selection of music, from Japanese folk songs together anime theme songs.

Donkey Conga was based on Taiko no Tatsujin and the bongo drums even used the same sensors as the home TnT drums did.

What? Are you replying to my post? I never said they were the same thing, I just found taiko no tatsujin dull because I had played so much drummania.
To give you a similar example: Quest for Fame might feel boring if you have played a lot of guitar hero. This does not mean that they are the same game or released at the same time. Guitar Hero came out years after Quest for Fame but both were released after Dig-Dug.

Dig-Dug is a game where the music only plays if you are moving. This does not make it one of the earliest rhythm games despite being developed by Namco who also made TnT. I hope this clears things up and our marriage can proceed as planned.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole 2]

Yes, genius, I was replying to something stupid you said.

If you knew what you posted was wrong, why did you post it?

What was I wrong about? And why didn't you quote that part, or any part, of my post?

 

[Friendly Primarina]

what are some of the stories with Nintendo's "interference"?

Apparently they wanted 007 to shake hands with soldiers at the end of Goldeneye to make the shooting seem like it was in jest, and this is why the game has the "credits" sequence during the attract mode. I've heard the suggestion came from Miyamoto himself, but that could be an urban legend.

 

[DavidS877]

Because the Reply link was inactive on that post.

If only there were some way to reply to long posts that involved highlighting just the section you wanted to reply to and then clicking the reply button that pops up. Oh well, would be a nice feature.