"Don't mess or you'll get burned!"

Looks like a 4070 Ti SUPER or a 9070 XT are the sweetspot until prices and stock levels calm down, and that's... $950~$1100 CAD!? Yikes. So the realistic entrypoint with any kind of futureproofing is a 7600 XT at $450, or splurging for a 4060 Ti at $600; everything in between or newer kind of feels like it's in a holding-pattern right now.

Anyway, Concrete Genie was a pleasant surprise. Really pretty, pretty charming, fun to explore, and doesn't overstay its welcome. Would like to see it running at a higher framerate on newer hardware, but not upset about it either way.

The Order: 1886 - I feel bad for Ready at Dawn; fantastic production values (especially for what is effectively a launch title) that hold-up today, great performances, intriguing world and story, solid gameplay... You'll notice some rough edges if you look close enough, but nothing I'd dock points for; I recall reading complaints about campaign length and shallow gameplay when it was first released, but it was the abrupt ending that seemed to stick with most... I disagree with all of that, though I do understand it in context as a full-priced retail product with limited replay value. For me, I wonder if the moment-to-moment scope is a result of the developer's PSP roots, but otherwise this feels like a complete package should've been an easy sell as a showpiece followed by a discount relatively soon after launch. Sad we're not getting any more.

Crusader of Centy - Absolutely not worth $400~$600 for a loose copy, especially when games like Beyond Oasis and even Landstalker exist. It's not bad, but it is a weird beast; seriously impressive graphics and genuinely catchy music, plus all the elements of a good 2D Zelda game and a unique animal-pairing powerup system... But none of it really works all that well as a whole. The animation and level design is kind of janky, and it often feels like the way forward is a fluke or an afterthought rather than a natural progression; the floaty controls only accentuate those issues, and the music sounds like it's from a different game. Still fun and still worth playing, but this one ranks below Landstalker and Beyond Oasis in the genre.

Burned through PC-Genjin; it gets pretty tough... Started the sequel, and it feels way more refined so far.

Did some more shopping:

• Power Strike (SMS)
• Found it loose for a decent price; seminal game, was mail-order-only in this part of the world.
• Operation C (GB)
• Loved it as a kid; never owned it.
• Defenders of Oasis (GG)
• Found it a few towns over for way under the going rate.
• Aladdin (Genesis)
• Never owned it; fixed that.
• The Jungle Book (Genesis)
• Incredible graphics, right up there with Aladdin and Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure... Terrible music.
• Doom (PSX)
• Unique port, never played it, went Greatest Hits because the longbox and black label versions are ridiculously expensive.
• Donkey Kong 64 (N64)
• Never owned it; thought I should.
• Haven Call of the King (PS2)
• Traveler's Tales curiosity; was cheap.
• Jak and Daxter The Precursor Legacy (PS2)
• Never should've sold my copy when I got the Jak and Daxter Collection for PS3; remaster isn't quite perfect.
• Jak X Combat Racing (PS2)
• Kept hearing how good it was and found it cheap.
• Froggers Adventures Temple of Frog (GBA)
• Got it for free.
• Sonic Battle (GBA)
• Found it cheap.
• Fighters Uncaged (360)
• Ridiculous; had to have it.
• Fighter Within (XBO)
• They made another one!
• Eternal Sonata (PS3)
• Always meant to get this after enjoying the demo; finally pulled the trigger.
• Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (Wii)
• Heard this version is unique and the motion controls are actually good.
• Pitfall The Big Adventure (Wii)
• Just adding to the collection.
• Zelda Majora's Mask 3D (3DS)
• Never quite sussed-out enough heart pieces when I played it on N64 years ago, and kinda hit a wall. Much like the remasters of Wind Waker and Skyward Sword, this version feels so much better because it wastes so much less time. Still one of my favourite entries in the series from an aesthetic standpoint, too.

I hope you like text...

DOOM CD32X Fusion v2.0 adds a bunch of good stuff like episode-specific intermission backgrounds for DOOM, and it brings back the low detail rendering mode which looks really good on a period-correct TV over video connections like S-Video and composite. I like that the IDKFA soundtrack can be disabled from the in-game menu, though I couldn't get that ISO to work on my SEGA CD so... Almost there, but still just wow; what an incredible project, and what a monumental achievement.

Speaking of period-correct TVs and video connections like S-Video and composite, filters like ntsc-256px/320px-svideo-scanline really are the best way to experience a lot of old games as intended. So many comparisons out there, even from respected creators, ignore the displays of the time and then old games end-up being unfairly maligned. Genesis and early Game Boy Advance games are particularly done dirty by modern documentarians on account of how those platforms compensate for their colour and brightness limitations, respectively. SEGA's colour-dithering often looks pretty rough on modern displays, and a lot of Nintendo's colour palettes do not translate well from the the unlit original GBA. I keep seeing comparisons that include titles like Mortal Kombat II on the 32X and make the backgrounds look embarrassing next to the Super Nintendo and newer; those backgrounds look so much closer to each other on their contemporary displays though, and the Genesis' higher resolution is the dealbreaker in many cases. Something like the SNES version of Aero the Acrobat may look better on a modern emulator, but capture that over S-Video and then compare it to the Genesis version... Now consider the gameplay issues introduced by the Nintendo version's limited playfield, and all of a sudden those transparency effects and Mode 7 bonus levels don't really matter. Maui Mallard is another frustrating example of prevalent, wrong-minded discourse; the SNES port is painfully broken, but people keep giving it underserved points over the Genesis version because it's being viewed through too-modern a lens. All versions of that game have their issues but the Genesis release is by far the most complete and playable, plus it looks comparable to the SNES port on a proper display. As for a prime GBA example, the alleged travesty of Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure actually looks and plays really well on original hardware, and even better on something like an Analogue Pocket with the proper filter. It's akin to those comparisons of the audio output of different Genesis models - they're nowhere near as varied in reality as some of the videos make them out to be, but ignorance and clickbait tend to muddy the waters :(

Anyway, here're some modern Commodore 64 games that really impressed:

• Battle Kingdom - Venture!
• C64anabalt - Incredible port.
• Empire Strikes Back - Pretty.
• L'Abbaye des Morts - Stunning, artistic, and epic... But pretty difficult.
• Lester - MegatroidVania?
• Nixy The Glade Sprite - Looks great, but crashes a lot for me; not sure why yet.
• Ooze: The Escape - MetalStorm...troidVania?
• Powerglove - Fun!
• Puzzle Bobble - Incredible port.
• Runn 'n' Gunn - Slick!

Finished Landstalker, and I'm torn - so much potential to be an all-time, genre-defining, system showpiece... But the combat sucks (especially the trivial bosses), the menu interactions are annoying (shopkeepers repeats themselve ad nauseam), and the puzzles are asinine; that last one is made worse by the fact that so many of the game's most frustrating points could be solved with minor programming logic and visual design changes. The game otherwise boasts incredible graphics, a unique charm and aesthetic, a big world to truly explore, and some really good music. It's all worthy of a remaster à la Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap; but in the meantime it isn't helped by the Analogue Pocket's D-pad, and the idea of a dead battery erasing your progress on an original cartridge would be absolutely infuriating. For now, an emulator or an FPGA core with a good CRT filter and support for something like a Genesis 6 Button Arcade Pad or an 8BitDo M30 is the way to go.

Up next for Genesis is a toss-up between Crusader of Centy, Shadowrun, or Wonder Boy in Monster World...

Finished The Last of Us Part II; phenomenal experience. Even when things get frustrating along the way, the pay-offs are always worth it.

Can't bring myself to finish Suicide Squad... Maybe one day, but it's just so boring.

Atari 50 + DLC is a solid collection; weird pricing though - it was cheaper to buy the game and the DLC bundle on-sale than buying all of it in one bundle on-sale.

Also grabbed Space Beast Terror Fright; was really excited for a fresh take on Space Hulk, but this is brutally hard; should try with friends, 'cause I'm not making much progress on my own.

West End

Borrowed a T8 security screwdriver from a friend and got the PS3 open - four discs crammed in there! Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Don Bradman Cricket 14 (ANZ), Grand Theft Auto IV, and Midnight Club: Los Angeles Complete Edition; not bad! Drive doesn't take discs without holding the eject button first, and doesn't seem to read anything. Saw some damage to the bottom of the drive as well as one of the corners of the case, so I'm gonna leave the repair at that and call it a fun project.

Went back to the shop where I bought Pinball Fantasies the other week, and picked-up a few more things:

• Fantasy Life (3DS)
• Been meaning to pick this one up for a while; looks reminiscent of Ever Oasis and Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale.
• Industrial Spy: Operation Espionage (DC)
• Cheap exclusive curiosity.
• International Sensible Soccer (Jaguar)
• Unique port of a fun game, don't often see it in the wild.
• Kenseiden (SMS)
• Honestly missed this one entirely; real showpiece for the platform.
• NHL Slapshot (Wii)
• They threw this one in for free; silly exclusive curiosity.
• Pitfall: Beyond the Jungle (GBC)
• Just completing the set; awful game.
• Undercover AD2025 Kei (DC)
• Cheap exclusive curiosity.
• Wizards & Warriors X: The Fortress of Fear (GB)
• Childhood memories; badass cover art and cool intro that is entirely incongruous with the in-game graphics and music. Decent platformer.

Going back to Pitfall, I now have:

• Pitfall! (2600)
• Pitfall II: Lost Caverns (2600)
• Super Pitfall (NES)
• Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure (SEGA CD, 32X, Jaguar, PC)
• Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle (PS)
• Pitfall: Beyond the Jungle (GBC)
• Pitfall: The Lost Expedition (Xbox)

...Which means I guess I need:

• Pitfall (Atari 400)
• Don't think I need the 5200, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, or Intellivision releases
• Pitfall II: Arcade (SG-1000)
• Even though I can't play it; not shelling-out for a Dina 2-in-1... But maybe the Team Pixelboy ColecoVision port?
• Pitfall: The Lost Expedition (GBA)
• Pitfall: The Big Adventure (Wii)
• Pitfall! (iOS)

Otherwise, found a clean LT2323pwA in the trash, so that got wiped-down and replaced my main workshop monitor.

HEN

Had $6 that was about to expire on the Google Play store, so I bought Balatro and was immediately like, yeah, I see why people love this; but then I'd found most of the stuff, and started winning, and then started losing interest in the challenges, and then I was like well, that was a really fun week ...Kinda like Vampire Survivors.

Found a 120GB PS3 Slim mixed-in with the kitchen appliances at thrift store for $30 CDN; hooked it up to a TV off the shelf with an HDMI cable from a nearby rack, and it seemed to work so I bought it. The drive passed a surface test but the optical drive is jammed with what feels like a disc; none of the manual or forced eject options have worked, so I'm thinking multiple discs are in there. I don't have the T8 security bit to get into the drive (smallest I have is 10) so I started reading-up on the PS3 homebrew scene and wow - hybrid firmwares up to the latest release, homebrew enablers, save tools, etc... Kids have it good these days. Still gonna try to clear-out that disc drive though, and either give it away or keep it as a backup for my CECHA model.

Got a chance to do some video game shopping in the suburbs and picked-up:

• Anarchy Reigns (360)
• I don't know if I've ever finished a single PlatinumGames title, but this was $10.
• Kinect: Disneyland Adventures (360)
• Wanted the Xbox One version, but this was free.
• Midtown Madness 3 (Xbox)
• $3, no cover; no-brainer.
• Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (Xbox)
• No manual, but surprisingly uncommon in these parts; plus I got to support a local shop.
• Pinball Fantasies (Jaguar)
• Didn't buy it back in the day because it's been ported to everything, but this was complete and not exorbitantly-priced; might go back for Sensible Soccer International Edition.
• Road Avenger (SEGA CD)
• Fantastic; even better than expected.
• Spawn (SNES)
• Honestly thought I already had this.

Still

Caved and bought a Gotek SFR1M44-U100 for the Amiga 500, programmed it with a USB Type C-to-A cable (I don't seem to have any A-to-A; didn't expect to have to jump unpopulated through-holes either), got it working on the Amiga, and then three blinks on the Caps Lock key... Argh. Cleaning the keyboard a little helped reduce the watchdog errors, but it's still not all that responsive; when things are working though, the whole computer works well! So I still need to disassemble and clean the keyboard, properly mount the Gotek, and convert the RGB signal to HDMI.

Found a Pictek PC244A w/Jixian Blue switches for $6 at a thrift store, and it wasn't grody; decent keyboard.

Wondering if a 5070 Ti, 5700X3D, and 16 more GB of RAM might be a sound upgrade for my main computer this year...

Burned through Wolfenstein: Youngblood solo - not as bad as I'd heard, but not great.

Pacific Drive is very good, albeit not really my kind of thing in the end.

Space Marine 2 is glorious.

The Last of Us Part II  (on PS5, not Remastered) is incredible.

Got a PlayStation Portal as a gift, and it's really cool... Kinda worried about stick drift and what happens when the service is no longer supported, but still really cool.

Getting around to finishing Landstalker here and there -  the Lake Shrine sorta sucked; onto King Nole's Labyrinth. Still curious about Lady Stalker, Alundra, and Time Stalkers though; still need to play through Shining in the Darkness and Dark Savior.

Finished SEGA AGES: Phantasy Star - still obtuse, but so much better than the original.

Makin' my way downtown...

Crackdown 3 was on-sale for $9.99 - I loved the first one as a big, silly, superhero playground; and while I just couldn't get into the second one, I very much enjoyed 3 - the new map is great, the addition of Terry Crews is genius, and I happily finished it in about a week. I couldn't help but feel like I was playing a better version of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League though - just with less story and worse graphics.

Halo Infinite was good. I felt way more invested than I had with the last few entries, even if I still thought there were some storytelling issues to work-out here. Lots of cheap deaths, and it felt more like Far Cry than Zelda; but the good far outweighed the bad, and I'm looking forward to more.

Mortal Kombat II 32X Arcade Edition was already great, but I finally tried the MSU-MD option (in an emulator; hoping for SEGA CD support) and it just makes the whole thing kind of incredible; I did not expect the SEGA CD 32X to be the best way to play DOOM and Mortal Kombat II (single-player) outside of PCs and arcades in 2024... And no, the 3DO port of MKII is not a contender with its zoomed-in sprites, Shang-Tsung-breaking CD format, and approximated gameplay.

Speaking of games that were arguably unfair upon initial release, I finished Batman and Vice: Project Doom on NES... Absolutely relied on savestates, and Batman kinda falls-off after the first few levels; Vice keeps things interesting.