Random Thoughts.....What Are You Thinking?

Sonic 3 + Sonic & Knuckles is amazeballs. I played the crap out of those games, and I do imagine those still hold up.

As I think about it more, I'd say the majority of games that don't hold up for me are obscure NES titles that I rented as a kid. I see game footage on YouTube for them and not only do I not completely recognize the visuals but the gameplay is just garbage. I had some serious rose-colored glasses for all video games as a kid. (Blaster Master is still awesome, though.)

I still think Zelda's I, II and Mario 3 are still wonderful to play nowaday (obviously Mario 3 from SNES would provide a better experience).

Though, probably because those 3 games were way ahead of their time.

Talking about bad old game, heres what popped up on my Youtube recomendations.

After watching a couple of videos telling the most laughable cards in YuGiOh, I suddenly felt the urge of replaying the franchise old games. On the list, the RPG-ish games from GBA (Sacred Cards, Reshef) and the classic PS1 game Forbidden Memories.

I really had lots of good time playing all of them. Even Forbidden Memories, despite being a massive ***grinding game with near to no strategy, its still enjoyable just for the gamblers addiction effect, of seeing that strong card as a reward.

Though, to replay Forbidden Memories, playing at 2+ times the original FPS is a must.

i played a lot of the sonic games on genesis cause that was the console we had, but i don't remember really caring about them. the mortal kombat games up to ultimate mk3 and sports games are what my family played. it wasn't until fft on ps1 that i played an "rpg". then i played vii by renting it over and over from the local video shop. after that bof 3 and sotn were my gateways to rpgs.

I was lucky enough to grow up with a Genesis. Actually a lot of surprisingly good games on there that still hold up today.

Nothing beats Ranger-X, though. The developers who made it went under shortly after making it, but boy did they use and abuse every iota of the hardware available to them.

Yoshinobu Hiraiwa knew how to make that sound card sing.

An often-overlooked Yu-Gi-Oh game that I super loved was Duelist of the Roses. Very different rules compared to the main card game, as it's got a grid map like a tactical RPG, plus it's got 3D models that duke it out whenever they interact.

i think i was just too young and didn't get the choice of picking games for our genesis. my favorite game was the simpsons one where you pick up bart's homework to play mini games and ren and stimpy.

ps1 was awesome though.

It wasn't even really my console in the first place. My parents, especially mom, used it quite a bit too. She played a lot of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine and Sonic Spinball.

Surprisingly good licensed games on that console, too. Castle of Illusion (Disney, stars Mickey Mouse) and Treasureland Adventure (McDonald's, stars Ronald). Like, they still hold up today.

yeah, thats another great game

I never played that game but reminded about the SNES Mickey games I used to love.

That series of games where the protagonists after completing certain stages would receive new "gears", a concept that would considerably extend the games mechanics, making it quite interesting.

I dont remember the names, but I remember at least 3 chapters of that serie. The first one with just Mickey, the second one with Mickey and Minnie and the last I remember starring Donald Duck.

Disney's Magical Quest 1, 2 and 3

Dang, epic games.

I feel as though the first-generation 3D platforms in the era of the N64 and PS1 are the ones that hold up the least. Don't get me wrong, you can't have a nostalgia trip without visiting Super Mario 64. But back then, the groundbreaking feel of it being 3D doesn't hold up with the often crappy controls and camera.

The 8- and 16-bit consoles usually hold up because they usually weren't trying to blow your mind with their new technology.

My favourite era was the second generation of 3D consoles, especially the PS2. By then, developers were figuring out what was and wasn't working with controls, and it hit that perfect sweet spot of graphics where they looked like what they wanted but your brain could fill in the gaps. Just the right amount of sensory input to really draw you into the game you were playing. One of my biggest factors to determine if I like a game or not are how immersive it is. And, subjectively, the PS2 did that the most for me.

Then the PS3 generation came along and made everything look uncanny and weird, and was stuck in the rut of existing just before HD started becoming a thing. And then the generation after that where everything took 40 hours to download before you could play anything. The PS3 will be my last console ever, because damn I'm sick of that crap now.

Winning nanowrimo today. Easy peasy.

hmm, I have at least 1 of these, I'll have to check the shelf tonight.

If this doesn't have Reboot it isn't even worth mentioning.

actually a legit banger

I beat the game (Final Fantasy II Advance) legit on GBA back in the day. Once I've beaten a game that I don't enjoy the mechanics of, I don't mind Gamesharking (Game Genie, Cheat Engine, etc) the grindy things I hated. FFII's system was a chore to skill up everything on. Final Fantasy 8's draw system was a chore to sit and draw magic to full on. Also, Secret of Mana's magic system was a chore like FFII's in that you had to chain cast things over and over for points. Good games, but why re-do what I have already done. I know I did it, at least, the first time I played any of them (more times naturally on Secret of Mana) so I'm not out to impress myself again.

Oh, and to your point about weapons in FF2, I had learned that bare fists skill up best for some reason in that game. I forget why, but I ended up making everyone monks until the end if I recall correctly.

Thanks for the tips though. Just the tip.©

Edit: I remember why fists were good weapons in FF2. Because they were not limited by the weapons you could get in shops.

Don't mind me, I'm just making happy noises on the side (though I imagine very few forums goers will actually understand the significance of this xD)

Much the same in Tactics. Monk with Dual Wield is one of the most broken things in the game. 999+999 damage on every Atk action.

If you knew the right combinations, FFT was broken on so many levels. I remember my cousin and I both loved that game. When it finally came time for the PSP to have the ability for local co-op, we would both bring our PSPs to holiday events and play a battle or two. He had loaned me his PSP once and I plowed through all of the 2 player content solo and unlocked everything.

Lord help him when we went PVP though and I demolished him by using my team that I made overpowered through the level up / level down degenerator trap trick. Basically I made it so I needed no armor at all for HP (HP in Tactics is based a lot off of the armor you wear) so all of my defensive slots could be used for stat buffs and resists. We battled.

It was an absolute slaughter.

One of these days I'm going to get into 'Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together' for PSP as I've heard it is even better than Tactics in a lot of ways. Pity that I've heard it is broken too though if you use multiple (all) archers.

That's part of the fun, though. The game is hard, but winnable under normal circumstances. But the more you play it, the more you learn what works and what doesn't work. Eventually, you learn all sorts of tricks to completely dominate the battlefield. It's as much an RPG for the player as it is for the characters.

It's no different from XI. The game is fine normally, but there's this weird meta-game where you're always looking for ways to optimize the speed at which you can kill enemies. Your brain is always theorycrafting new ideas. "I bet if I cast my spells in this order instead of that order, I could shave 5% of my time doing this event!"

"Upon entry of Zozo, the image you had of it quickly abandons you. You expected poor people; you encounter pure madness. Staggering through the buildings are madmen mumbling about minutes, hours, and seconds. The exotic dancers wield arcane spells no human is to possess. Bulking giants attack you, shaking the ground with every 20-ton step. Corpses rot on the street. Towering constructions reach into the sky. And somewhere in this chaos, Terra is waiting for you." ~ The Final Fantasy VI Advance Walkthrough and Battle Tactics Guide
Version 2.5
Djibriel, August 2007





Been playing a low-level game of 'Final Fantasy VI Advance' on emulator. About to give up this run (have done a complete LLG before though) after Zozo and Veldt grinding to play the 'Final Fantasy VI' for PC. Never done a low-level game w/o savestates. I figure if I'm doing it, I may as well do it in HD. I know the UI is a mess, but I can handle it.

Gonna see if one of my favorite scenes is still in it. One of the best parts of the GBA FF6 is when the soiled dove from Nikeah bar solicits Cyan for "a good time" puff-puff, whips her girls out, and they have names:


I'll let you know. (^_^)

From SMBC Comics. It's not really funny, but given the context, I feel it belongs here.

@Valefor.Prothescar: Fake. There aren't even 212 people on Valefor. (jk jk I'm from there... well, Kujata, originally). Congrats.

@Ragnarok.Jessikah: I would expect her to use a "I feel attacked" meme there, but maybe I'm the only one that replies to things w/ memes.

Anyhoo, as far as the classic FF bender I've been engaged with, I just found out FF1-5 Pixel Remasters are (have been) out. Sadly, it sounds like none of the "Advance" dungeons or endgame content were added which is a total F.U. from S.E. so I'm off to check with Google about scoring me a free version to find out for myself before I put any $$$ on it. It seems FitGirl has a cracked repack of FF1,2,3 Pixel Remaster out so SHIVER ME TIMBERS! SE won't be seeing any money from me from an inferior product on PC before I try it first. I've already been burnt by their PC remasters of V and VI which were just mobile touchscreen device ports that worked... terribad.

Xmen animated series continuation, wow

I never watched the 90's X-Men cartoon, but I've been on the internet in the last 20 years so I've heard the theme song many times. I've seen every 'X-Men: Evolution' episode though and was hoping that's what this was going to be when I looked it up.

Probably took them 20+ years to figure out how to keep calling it "X-Men" and avoid cancel culture on Twitter.



Oh wait. They made Wolverine bi and Jean/Scott/Logan a throuple. That marks off the required number of check-boxes.

Easiest front-page-worthy meme I ever made: