SoleGoose

After years of no releases, I'm sorry to spam the forums with two releases in one day. The Spook-o'-tron regular release is now available! You can find it here: http://www.solegooseproductions.com/?page_id=434. If you have any questions please let me know. Everything from the KS campaign has shipped, save for the test cart tier and Sergio (sorry buddy!). IF you have not received your reward tier, please check your KS PMs. I have emailed each and every backer asking for more info, and I need you to verify that. Thanks all for your patience, and have a happy Halloween!

As a kid I was into platformers (NES). Around 4th grade I made the switch to RPGs and haven't looked back. I do miss the platformers now though.

Yeah, I wandered around for days, testing and trying everything. Such a good game, but that one was pretty obtuse. And then I learned about Famicom games like Makai Island... Not sure how I stumbled upon the hint for that last puzzle, but I'm sure glad that I did!

Not I, said the Goose. Smarter people may know.

Hey Doug, good to see you! Make more games .

In the days before the internets that riddle had me stumped for days!

I hear that man. Even that day of sitting on your doorstep for hours (HOURS!), waiting for you and Wiz to get back with those arcades, is something to treasure. Glad you joined.

I wanted to like this one, I was super excited to have finally tracked down a copy (thanks Corey!), but the controls are the absolute worst in my mind. Having to use the stylus to control a trackball versus easy d-pad navigation? Having to tap the screen for any basic menu command? Hard pass all around. Hopefully someone hacks it to be playable in a normal fashion down the line because it really looks great otherwise.

I just cannot seem to get into Lunar: Eternal Blue. Everyone commenting about how good it is makes me want to keep at it though.

Ok, so it looks like previous supporters and Bandcamp followers were given the early info. It was not much sooner, and the band genuinely did not believe that they would sell out so fast. There is a smaller, second wave that will go up for sale at some point, and if interested I would sign up for the Bandcamp page now. We're crossing streams with game and music collectors, so be fast with that F5 button !

Looking into it now. I don't have any control over sales but I have messaged the band to see what went on, or what can be done. Thanks for your patience, and sorry about any frustrations. Same one! They've been around for a long time.

Anybody play Wasteland 2? Thoughts?

I hear lots of love for the 3DS, but no one ever talks about it. I got the system very late, and missed the boat on what to get. So, from a player's perspective, what makes the system so great? What are the must haves? What is worth time?

It didn't seem like IX had much of a story, and when it did there was so much time between events that nothing really held it together. What was there was nothing new, and as a whole the game felt like an excuse to have a bunch of side quests. I put close to forty hours into it earlier this year and eventually just put it down out of boredom.

I've played DQ1 and DQ9, and was not impressed with either. Is XI more story based?

PS1 or 3DS?

Who let this guy in?

I still need to play the first and second entries in the series, these games look great.

I'm happy to be able to share the next effort of The 6502 Collective: Zao Reformat/Reboot. This is a music album, featuring the pioneering metal band Zao. Believe it or not, the cart plays CD/MP3 quality audio through the NES! This requires that the audio resistor mod be made to a toaster, or a simple PCB can be inserted into the unused expansion port on the bottom of a front loading NES (bundled with every cart).* That last piece of tech is what makes this all possible, since without it the instructions for use would be a whole lot more complicated to explain to people. The expansion board was designed by InfiniteNESLives (no @? where you at Paul!?) last year, and this might be the first project that truly puts it to use. A special version of the GTROM board was designed by @Memblers, which is the other half to this technological puzzle. The cart has also been tested on the AVS, no modifications needed. Besides music there are the standard stereo-like controls to control the album and accompanying lyrics. Just to note, the band is handling all sales and such, I do not have anything to do with that. If you have any questions reach out to them on social media. They've been great to work and their communication is superb. *The expansion chip can be inserted without any damage to your original NES, it only involves taking it apart, inserting the board, and putting it back together. Alternatively, if you don't feel like doing that, you can cut off that bottom piece under the removable cover and quickly insert the board.

Neurovoider arrived today! I was hesitant to order from Red Art Games. No one had spoken up as to whether or not they had ordered from them before, their communication/clarity of purchase was poor, and the tracking info they sent went straight to a 404. BUT it is here, so they're real! Might have to spring for Xeodrifter now, though I have it on the 3DS eShop and I'd probably prefer to play with the hinged screen, we'll see.

I'd say too that with Switch collecting I try to do my research beforehand and only pick up the games that I truly think that I'll enjoy. If I am picking something up it is usually a limited release type deal since the AAA stuff will come down eventually and I'm not that into it anyways (Octopath being the one first party game that I have out of ~20). I'm also avoiding all collector's editions (my brief step into 3DS buying burned me out on those pretty quick), which keeps the obsessive urge to have everything down and prices more reasonable. It keeps it more fun though.

Awesome to hear! I was super excited for the remake, bought it day one, but I did not enjoy it. They imported a lot of the conventions of modern games whereas the original adhered to earlier styles of gameplay. I played it for a few hours and then turned it off and popped the original in. The changes bugged me, but that could largely be due to the fact that they changed what I was used to. If you don't have that baggage I'm sure you'll have a great time (or if you don't mind modern conventions then it'll probably be a great time as well). There is just so much depth to the game; great narrative, engaging battles, you name it!

The DS was probably my favorite to collect for. I got the system new in college, and had a good collection of games, but once prices started to tank then it became really fun. Picking up games at GameStop for $4-10 a pop knowing that they would shoot up was rewarding. I'd drive all over the Portland area checking stores, and even years later it was still easy to find diamonds in the rough since stores seemed to not be as aggressive with handheld prices. The sheer amount of RPGs meant that there was always something else to find, and play for that matter. I only have seventy something games for the system, but outside of maybe five I would say that the rest are still of interest, meaning that they are playable. That is probably the last system that I will collect for like that, which is a sad passing. I mostly buy Switch these days, and not much of it at that, but they're all new and it isn't a hunt. NES homebrews too have fallen into the categories of either having to buy new, or with the old ones that I am missing they are well outside my budget. Both are still fun, but nothing like what collecting for the DS was like. I tried to reignite things with the 3DS, but stores never seem to have used games for the system in stock, and when they do the prices are much higher by comparison (still managed to grab Cave Story with the lenticular cover for $12 though!). All the more reason to play the games that I have on the shelf rather than spend time driving around town looking for stuff that is not there. If there is something that I really want to play or put on the shelf, buying it off of a member here or eBay is much easier, and nearly as rewarding.

Don't play Nostalgia then. It quickly becomes imbalanced if you do any of the side quests, which are a major feature of the game. The battles take far too long as well at times. Those were my only gripes with it, but the depth to it won me over in the end.

A personal preference, I don't like talkies, I just want to sit and read at my leisure. Besides putting the voices in my head (like movies do to books), they also rush you along. No stopping if someone comes into the room, no taking your time to figure out what they mean. The problem with the volume thing is that if main parts of the story are voice only, you miss things. I'm trying to get into them, really I am (starting with Eternal Blue a couple of weeks ago), but it's tough to sit through. There are too many other games I could find to enjoy if I'm not going to enjoy a central element of a game's design. That list gets somewhat harder with modern consoles, which is why I ask ahead of time before wasting the money. Even with the DS there is a large pile that I'm afraid I will never get to due to picking up any and every RPG I could find. Shoot, Ni No Kuni has been translated for the DS, forgot about that! Done.