Now get brutal

Castlevania 64 US 09

Castlevania LoD US 19

I recently stumbled upon a write up about Viewpoint 2064. (Yes, I know, I'm a few years late)

I'd love to play it, but I don't really care to shell out the $70 for an Etsy physical copy. If it were closer to $30 I'd go that route.

I have downloaded a few ROMs, but I haven't had any luck with getting a quality ROM that doesn't crash immediately. (I'm using an ED64 in case that matters)

Any one have some input?

DM sent

I don't have exact measurements at the moment, but it's just under 8' tall. I have 8' ceilings in my basement and it fits nicely (picture attached)

I'll try to remember to pull a tape and get you some hard numbers this evening.

9 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

My son is 5 and absolutely loves creative mode in Minecraft. He will spend an hour exploring the world and couldn't care less about accomplishing anything. There is no reading required for this mode since there are no goals to accomplish. You can fly and turn on invincibility if you want, so it's pretty chill.

Ah! I forgot about invincibility, that will be quite helpful!

Time to dump him into Minecraft then

2 hours ago, captmorgandrinker said:

Definitely Minecraft.  

 

I can toss him into creative mode - I'm just worried it will be frustrating without his ability to read. Then again, if he treats it like Legos

@TDIRunner Thanks for the suggestions! I have BOTW, but never thought he'd be ready for it yet.

I'm thinking he'd be into Captain Toad, as there are similar style levels within 3D World

Hey guys,

I’m looking for game recommendations for my son’s 5th birthday. Being almost 5 years old, he has pretty good platforming skills, but very little patience for unforgiving deaths and restarts. I’m mainly after Switch titles, as that system is the easiest for our family to play together, and easiest for my wife to operate if I’m not around.

A year or so ago, I began by starting him with Mario Kart 8, toggled on the auto drive and bumper rails and allowed him to become familiar with using a joystick. Before long he was driving on his own and navigating the menus from memory as he cannot read.

For Christmas 2021 I bought him a PJ Masks game for Switch, that has basic platforming and he quickly completed this, stating it was too easy and not that much fun. 

Next up was Lego Jurassic World. This took him a little while to understand, but the co-op in the Lego games is excellent and allows for me to help him through levels and free play if/when he is stuck. As of last night he is at about 97% completion, leaving only a few “collectables” left and he will have 100%’d his first game.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury was released in February of 2021. He has completed the minimum 50 cat bells to fight the final Bowser and just loves completing the final battle again and again and again. As for Super Mario 3D World; we have completed this as a family and have unlocked both bonus levels. He has been replaying each level and getting all the collectables (green stars and stamps) and is at about 75% completion.

So, what’s next?

He really badly wants to play Minecraft, but I’m afraid it will be terribly difficult, since he cannot read yet. The new Kirby game just launched, and I’ve heard good things, but I have not played it for myself yet.

Ideas?

28 minutes ago, docile tapeworm said:

There is a Facebook group (it sucks because people) with some good info sometimes. “The crt collective” if you can handle fb you can find some info. Search your model number.

I searched the model and seems it’s generally considered a really nice set for ps2 and newer. Perhaps not ideal for 240p but reading that it can display it and adjusting for minimal lag. 

I appreciate the lead, thank you! Time to join that Facebook group

3 hours ago, docile tapeworm said:

Is that an hd set?

I do not believe so as there is no HD stamp or indication on the front bezel.

The top left of my screen is drooping. I've been doing a little reading, but don't fully understand what causes this. I've read it could possibly be adjusted via a geometry settings or adjusting tubes and add magnets. There's no adjustment in the main menu that I've found that would allow for me to edit geometry.

Anyone have some layman's terms on this and is there hope for my TV? 

I completed my loose N64 set in 2017; my last cart was Olympic Hockey 98. I believe it cost me under $10 as a BIN on eBay. I was attempting to find it locally and eventually gave up.

7 hours ago, austin532 said:

I was going to suggest using a fiberglass pen as well. Just because the pins looks clean and no dirt is coming off them doesn't mean they are.

Is that a last resort option; are they super abrasive? I'm unfamiliar with fiberglass pens.

13 hours ago, Tanooki said:

Lucky SOB, good job.  It took me TWO copies of the game to get it to work.  I had an original one I came across which thankfully was a throw in basically because the shell was cracked and jacked up.  The game just wouldn't boot, it went into reflow territory so I tried everything short of that, because I can't do that.  The stuff I mentioned before I have done and in desperation got games working before so that's the only reason why.  The second copy indirectly cost me, nothing near retail at least, was something I got cheap a period before it, then a uniquely weird trade netted it in working order (along with LeafGreen and 2 mario adv games too.)  Can't complain either, excellent condition compared to the beater.   Emerald is like peak pokemon for that system seeing my old favorite was(fire red) a remaster.

I have yet to play Emerald, so I was pretty disappointed when it wouldn't boot. I'm very thankful it's now working! Time to go throw some balls

Thanks for the advice guys! I'm sitting down now with some 91% IPA now

Updates to come

Edit: Polished up the pins and it boots! 

5 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

The battery on that is only for those 2 pin cylinder you see in the top left, the real time clock.  The battery is a time keeper, the game saves to a chip.

Something worse has gone wrong if obsessive cleaning isn't cutting it.

 

Depending on your level of depth you can get into this with it you can either get abusively abrasive with the pins and really polish the hell out of it with something more abusive to downright resurfacing scratchy.  Or if you have a steady hand and good tools, heat up an iron and reflow each lead on each chip because maybe something is just cold so it's making it seem dead.

I'll spend a little more time polishing the pins and see if that helps. I have some nice soldering equipment at work I could borrow to reflow the solder points.

Thanks for the input!

4 minutes ago, Driftwood said:

A dead battery shouldn’t effect it in any way other than...

of course not being able to save.

Yup, I was 99% certain this was the case, but figured I'd ask anyway.

Just picked up this copy of Emerald, but I cannot get it to boot up. Does Emerald require a working battery just to boot? I have cleaned the pins and I've tried 2 different GBAs; both giving me the same results.

The board looks fine by my eye, but any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

Bump. 

Oh yeah, I'm a variant collector for sure! I unfortunately don't have tons of space for a massive collection, so down the obscure rabbit holes travel.

Well you see… my brain is broken.

Me: *2017* Finished the full loose NTSC N64 set!

My brain: That's cool. 

Me: Yup, all 296 games. I still have my childhood copy of Ocarina of Time.

My brain: Didn't that come in gold tho too? The gold one is pretty cool.

Me: Yeah, I've always wanted the gold cart, I should go buy one.

My brain: You know, Majora's mask has a lenticular label, you don't have that.

Me: it's just a label, it's the same game.

My brain: Speaking of labels, isn't there a Million Seller subset of games?

Me: Yes; most have minor game updates as well.

My brain: You need all of those.

Me: About tha-

My brain: And I see there's a gray variant subset

Me: Half those games are the same as the colored counterparts, it's just a different shell color

My brain: Well, better find those.

Me: …

My brain: oOoOO! Look NFR games!

Me: Again, only a handful are actually different than the retail release. It's the same gam-

My brain: Yep, buy those. Buy, buy, buy. Labels are different so, they're different.

Me: How are we defining "different" vs "variant" vs "same game with a new label code"?

My brain: Mmmm, label codes. Yes. These. All of them. You need all of them. USA-1 is different that USA.

Me: Even if the game itself has had no change, except for external text on the label? Like due to the change in an ESRB logo or rating,

My brain: Yup. Find them. 

Me: Alright, well at least I'm only chasing carts and NOT boxes and manuals.

My brain: Did you just say boxes?! 

Me: HALP!

TLDR: My brain is broken.

.

Bump. Updated want list.

0xDEAFC0DE is correct. Mexico South America

Does anyone have any insight regarding the size difference in manufacture stamp codes on Nintendo 64 carts?

Link with pictures below, as I cannot attach them all.

https://imgur.com/a/oDHIIc1