Iconic

Came across an old Acer Iconia W700P, battery said it was healthy but wouldn't charge, SSD would handle clean OS installations and then fail to boot consistently, Acer's BIOS-update download links are dead, disassembly was brutal (so much adhesive, so many annoying cable runs), and I finally just gave-up on it figuring something's not working on the motherboard. Would've been a cool little tablet PC; ran Linux really well...

...But then someone gave me an (also old) HP Stream - 14-ax010ca (ENERGY STAR) and despite a dual-core/single-thread CPU and a 32GB eMMC for storage, that thing is not bad at all when running EndeavourOS (Windows 11 was a different story) and comes in a delightful blue shell :) I think I may just carry that around for meetings to freak people out.

I was given a box of old video games with along with Stream, and this is just what I'm choosing to keep from it:

GC:

• Baten Kaitos
• Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix
• Donkey Konga
• Pikmin
• Pikmin 2
• Star Wars Rogue Leader

PS2:

• Dirge of Cerberus
• Haunting Ground (!!!)
• Radiata Stories

XBOX 360:

• LEGO Rock Band
• Rock Band 3
  

...And the rest should net me $100~$300

Translated!

I've already talked about Sylvan Tale here, but now I'm going through Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (delightfully weird) and Makai Toushi SaGa (my childhood!) before finally getting around to Mother 3.

Makai Toushi SaGa is especially nice though; what a great remake to a cultural touchstone, warts and all. Criminal that it's stuck on the WonderSwan.

Finished Gargoyle's Quest, may have abused some save states along the way, and what a gem! Flawed like so many of its contemporaries - this one is just full of character and good ideas, and deserves a modern take.

Played around with Mega Man World 5 DX; impressive, though the Mega Man games still just don't really do it for me. I kinda liked IV on both platforms, I liked the Game Gear one, I liked Rockman & Forte... I'm not sure why, but the series just hasn't clicked with me.

Easy, but not too easy.

Switch demos:

• Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is not what I expected, and I like it.
• Contra: Operation Galuga was kinda boring.
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown feels better than I expected.
• Princess Peach™: Showtime! is pretty sweet.
• Swordship is really polished, but just didn't really do it for me.

3DS:

• Ever Oasis is great; a true hidden gem. Challenging in more ways than one, but never too difficult or overwhelming; Grezzo did a great job making sure there're all kinds of options to streamline the game's various systems.

GBA:

• Scurge was really fun, right up until the final boss; felt like such a chore that I figured I was missing something. Checked-out some walkthroughs and playthroughs and yup, it's just a chore.
• Lady Sia really is better than what I'd thought of it in the past. It's rough around the edges, but it plays well and looks great on a proper display.

GB:

• Fall of the Foot Clan was just as good as I'd rembered. Simple and fun.
• Kirby's Dream Land 2 was kind of a slog, and unlocking the secret ending felt like another chore.
• Gargoyle's Quest is brutal, but also really charming.

Also, my Pocket Adapter Set arrived, and they're almost perfect. Neo Turf Masters (NGPC) doesn't work, and PCE/TG-16 six-button support is a problem with the adapter blocking the shoulder buttons.

Thanks to those adapters, I finally played through my copies of Splatterhouse - which is still really solid - and Keith Courage, which... This was the pack-in, remember. Yikes.

Anyway, lucked-into free copies of Need for Speed Underground 2 (sweet!) and Most Wanted Black Edition (already had it) and they've aged pretty well.

Yeah, I'm spending too much money.

Yesterday's finds:

• Batman Returns (GG)
• Good game.
• Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter (PS2)
• Weird game.
• Children of Mana (DS)
• Shop was trying to sell a loose copy with a "printed cover" for $65; this game has never sold for more than $40, even new. Also, their "printed cover"s are just generic store templates with the game's title in all-caps. I worked-out a three-for-two deal that got it down to a more reasonable price.
• Coca Cola Kid (GG)
• Gray cart. Saw it in a weird small-town pawnshop for $30 CDN. Yup.
• Croc (PS1)
• Black label, but just the cover of the manual :/
• Orcs and Elves (DS)
• Always wanted to try it.
• Robocop vs The Terminator (GG)
• Good game.
• Thor: God of Thunder (DS)
• WayForward!
• Vampire Master of Darkness (GG)
• Found a guy a few towns over selling his kids' collection; got it for under $100.

The Most Dangerous Game

Ventured-out to some other cities, following-up on some old game shops I hadn't been to in over a decade. Came back with:

• Battle Ace (SuperGrafx)
• Don't own a SuperGrafx, but the Pocket can play it so I treated myself. Also realised that I own Darius Plus, which is enhanced for the SuperGrafx to reduce sprite flicker!
• Blinx: The Time Sweeper (XBOX)
• $10 complete. No-brainer.
• Croc 2 (PS)
• Better than the PC version. Saw the GBC version, which is more akin to a top-down action RPG; should've picked it up.
• Duck Tales (GB)
• Shouldn't've sold it when I was a kid.
• Escape from Monster Manor (3DO)
• Silly game, but really fun. Overpaid a little, but I don't care.
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order (Switch)
• Just wanted it.
• Mortal Kombat Unchained (PSP)
• Never played it or Deception; unique characters.
• Nightmare Creatures II (DC)
• I think I might've thought there was a PC version.
• Shatterhand (NES)
• Been looking for it, but hadn't seen it in the wild in years; paid a decent price, and totally worth it. Badass.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Radical Rescue (GB)
• This one got expensive! Found a beat-up copy for relatively cheap though; decent Metroidvania.

Breezed though Final Fantasy Legend III, and what a downgrade from the first two. I especially remember being so excited about the screenshot with the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk on the back of the box, but when I finally got to that point of the game it was just kinda... Meh; just like everything else. The mechanics are solid, but none of it was anywhere near as memorable as the first two.

Almost done Adventures of Mana, spent some time with Final Fantasy Adventure, and thinking maybe I should've gone with Sword of Mana instead.

Also, finally sat down with DOOM 32X: Resurrection, and with a quality CRT shader... Oh my. Makes me wonder just what a 32X CD was truly capable of.

Jewellery?

Ordered a Master System Player for Game Gear from RetroSix in England, works like a charm on the Analogue Pocket, feels really well-constructed, and WAS OPENED AT THE BORDER DESPITE PROPER CUSTOMS LABELS, RE-ASSESSED AS ~$150 WORTH OF JEWELLERY, AND TAXED ACCORDINGLY. Argh. I can fight it, but I'll only get 60% of the fees back (at best) if I win... Seriously though, jewellery!?

Anyway, bought a Game Gear lot that included:

• Aladdin
• Ariel the Little Mermaid
• Deep Duck Trouble
• Jurassic Park
• The Lion King
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• World Series Baseball

...Really just wanted Deep Duck Trouble, already had Sonic 2, and the rest are all pretty good except for The Little Mermaid.

WTF, Nintendo!?

So immediately after my last post, I purchased and downloaded Adventures of Mana on my Vita... I had to add the funds elsewhere, but the whole process made me wonder why I can't still purchase 3D Streets of Rage 2, the BotW DLC for Sonic: Lost World, or even download the Data Packs for Xenoblade Chronicles X 😠

Anyway, I went to a thrift store afterward and found an AC1900 MU-MIMO TP-Link Archer A8 for $6! Not much of an upgrade over the AC1750 MU-MIMO D-Link DIR-867 I got from the same shop for $3.50 in June, but I'll take it!

Big fan of Donna Beneviento's house.

So about the Pocket...

Cartridges I never finished:

• Final Fantasy Adventure (GB)
• Never took the time; may just go with the GBA or Vita remakes instead for now.
• Final Fantasy Legend III (GB)
• I'm ~1/3rd through it now. I remember buying this new and returning it because it felt like such a weird departure from the first two. It's not bad, but I just don't think the time-traveling spaceship works very well within the limitations of the Game Boy - or at least not how they tried to pull it off here. Also the music is worse, the enemy designs are worse, and the story just feels kinda phoned-in. Got me looking at SaGa Frontier 2 and SaGa: Scarlet Grace - Ambitions though.
• Gargoyle's Quest (GB)
• Never got very far with it back in the day, but the Pocket absolutely breathes new life into this one.
• Jet Grind Radio (GBA)
• Bought it, never spent any quality time with it... Isometric games on a cross d-pad aren't ideal.
• Kirby & the Amazing Mirror (GBA)
• False-started this one so many times; tweaks my exploration neuroses in a way that I'm not sure I like.
• Kirby's Dream Land 2 (GB)
• I just like the first one better.
• Klonoa Empire of Dreams, Klonoa 2 Dream Champ Tournament (GBA)
• Bought them forever ago, always meant to get around to them.
• Tails' Adventure (GG)
• I picked this one up well after the platform was abandoned, and it was so slow to get going on the dismal Game Gear LCD that I never got into it. Playing it on the Pocket is infinitely better in terms of both the screen and the save states; passwords can rot and die for all I care. Basic Metroidvania, solid execution, lovely graphics, and only occasionally obtuse.

Homebrew/Romhacks:

• Coria (GBC)
• Neat.
• Super Mario Land DX 1&2 (GBC)
• A childhood dream-come-true, especially the sequel!
• Sylvan Tale (GG)
• Always wanted to play this, wasn't interested in an emulator, and wasn't ready to pay anyone $75 for a fan-translated repro cart. Another example of how good the Game Gear actually was; not quite on-par with Link's Awakening, but a really good portable action-RPG nonetheless. I'm grateful that I got to play this one the way it was meant to be played.
• Zelda's Adventure (GB)
• Just awful, and I dig it.

...And then there's the really expensive stuff. Even if I were to try them on the openFPGA cores, a lot of these're just overrated:

• Avenging Spirit (GB)
  
• Great concept and presentation, but is this the best version? Might go for the Switch remake.
• The Aleste GG trilogy (GG)
• I'll own these some day; 3 is especially impressive, and works on original hardware!
• Bomberman Quest (GBC)
• A Bomberman action-RPG is a great idea, but lackluster execution here.
• Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA)
• A classic for sure, but kinda short and the story is pretty cringey even by Castlevania standards. Prime Castlevania to me is still Belmont's Revenge, Super IV, Rondo of Blood, and Bloodlines.
• Castlevania: Legends (GB)
• No thanks.
• Defenders of Oasis (GG)
• Still trying to track this one down for under $100 CDN - another solid genre showing on an underappreciated handheld made significantly better by the Analogue Pocket.
• Trip World (GB)
• Looking at DX on Switch instead.
• Vampire: Master of Darkness
• Neat Castlevania clone; I'd also like to find this for under $100.
• Wendy: Every Witch Way (GBC/GBA)
• Really great curiosity, but I'm just not spending $200 on it.
• X (GB)
• Might actually import this just to have it.

The Pocket also got me hunting again; and while most of the options in my area have been picked dry for a decade now, I did uncover a few interesting things outside of eBay and online buy-and-sells:

• Advance Guardian Heroes (GBA)
• Not a great game, but might as well.
• Ever Oasis (3DS)
• This one did not show-up on my radar when it was new. Seen lots of comparisons to Zelda, Animal Crossing, etc... But I'm getting some overall ActRaiser vibes from it, myself.
• Land of Illusion (GG)
• Never really liked the series, but there's something about this entry.
• Lilo & Stitch, Lilo & Stitch 2: Hämsterviel Havoc (GBA)
• Cheap and reminiscent of Metal Slug.
• Psychic Force 2012 (DC)
• Don't recall why I didn't pick this one up earlier.
• Quartet (SMS)
• Classic.
• Scurge: Hive (GBA)
• Honestly saw this everywhere for decades and had no idea that it was a delightfully hand-drawn isometric Metroid clone - the cover art does not convey that.
• Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon (GBA)
• Found it for a fair price at a suburban mall kiosk.
• TMNT: Fall of the Foot Clan (GB)
• Had this as a kid and sold it. Holds-up to this day, especially on the Pocket.

Put Alan Wake II on hold before getting too deep into it so I could do everything I just listed above, and also because my partner wanted to start Resident Evil: Village. Re: RE: Village, it's another lovely but flawed entry in the series; almost done.

Finally, finished Mad Max and had a great time with it. I'd say it's an underrated game, but a lot of people seem to be saying that so I'm not sure that it's true anymore.