dvertov

Very slow and deliberate. I've found when people see it they expect a typical NES platformer, and the initial experience of understanding how restricted your movement is can be frustrating. Just my experience showing these games off to friends who aren't neck-deep in the retro gaming scene. (And again, I like that game.)

Lizard's demo is a really good representation of what it feels like to play the finished product, so I would definitely start there. It's one of my favorites, but it's a very unusual game that I've found isn't for everyone.

My collecting philosophy is that I only keep games I enjoy playing, and I can't justify owning a ~$60 physical copy of something I don't expect to dust off and get use out of from time to time. For that reason I play all of my homebrews and intend to eventually beat them unless they're too damn hard (looking at you, Nebs N' Debs). If I play a bit and realize it's not for me, I resell it. Incidentally, this is why I love when homebrewers make demos or even full ROMs of their games available -- I will almost always buy a ROM just to support the developer even if I'm not sure I'll like their game. But if the ROM is fun, I'll usually hunt down a cartridge as well.

Speaking specifically about newcomers to NES homebrew, I think Twin Dragons is a great place to start. The issue I tend to find when introducing friends to NES homebrew / aftermarket games is that they've got to get over the stereotype of a janky romack dumped onto a recycled cartridge. Twin Dragons might be the most polished homebrew I can think of, with a great presentation and attention to detail. The gameplay is simple for anyone who has ever played Mega Man, the graphics and music are top-quality, and it's just really fun to play. I'd also recommend Micro Mages for similar reasons, particularly if you've got a few friends you can bring over for couch co-op. Beyond those two it really depends on the genre. Alfonzo's Arctic Adventure is an excellent game for anyone who might be into puzzle platformers, and the humor works well. Quest Forge is a unique spin on old-school RPGs with added roguelike elements. The Incident is a great block-pusher with atmosphere. Black Box Challenge should speak to anyone who has ever collected retro games. The Haunted Halloween games are fun brawlers. On the other hand, there are a few titles I love but probably wouldn't recommend to someone who hasn't picked up a NES in a while: Lizard is one of my favorite NES games ever, but it has some quirks that I've found turn some folks off. Same with the Candelabra games (Mad Wizard, Amondus, Estocerro), all of which have unusual control schemes that take time to get used to (but again, all of which I enjoy quite a lot). And I realize this might be an unpopular opinion, but the Battle Kid games are just too damn difficult for a lot of folks -- in fact, the "NES hard" trend is what kept me from getting interested in the homebrew scene for years. Just not my cup of tea.

I remember making stupid action movies with high school friends where I'd use two VCRs to edit -- one playing back "raw" footage, the other recording it while I'd hit the pause button to stop and start the tape. Always a little bit of VCR fuzz and warped audio to soften the transition between each shot. Good times (not very good movies, though).

I'm also a fan of CRTs for gaming. I don't care if I ever see another VHS tape again, though. You can make the argument that games in the CRT era were meant to be played on those screens, but most movies weren't meant to be viewed in that pan-and-scan, perpetually degrading mag tape, looking like Vaseline was smeared on the camera lens format... The first time I ever watched a DVD was like putting on glasses for the first time. What a revelation.

I'm glad I'm not the only person who worries about this. It's why I generally don't collect boxed games -- I only keep games I like to play, but I feel like I'm damaging the product every time I want to pull the game out.

Oh, thanks! I can't find any on VGBP, but NES City has them for $1 each.

Somehow I ended up with a few CIB NES games that aren't quite "C" because they're missing those sweet, sweet foam blocks. Does anyone know where I can get a small number of these (say, a pack of 10) with good quality at a reasonable price? I'm aware of Uncle Tusk but they've been sold out for a while, and while I can find blocks on eBay it feels like they're usually packaged together in a much higher quantity than I want to buy, or sold as single blocks for like $5 each.

This would be great. I've been looking for help to repair a Mario Bros. cart but wasn't sure which section to post the photos in.

This is why I started collecting them. I didn't even have an adapter to play the games on my NES, but I needed that clear blue Salamander cart, man.

I've noticed this as well. I went from collecting NES games to mostly importing Famicom titles over the last few years, and oddly as NES prices have dropped Famicom has only gone up. I could have picked up a CIB Rolling Thunder for $20 two years ago but now I'm seeing them go for $40 or higher.

I won an eBay auction once for a small lot (5-6) Famicom games. They came in a squished, flimsy dress shirt box held together with a single piece of tape, with a single plastic bag inside for padding. Thankfully only two of them were cracked, and they were very common titles so not much $ was lost... After that I never mind if buyers contact me to ask about packaging.

Hardcore Gaming 101 released an outstanding book about the Famicom Disk System. Not much on variants, but it does have at least a blurb write-up on literally every game released for the console, its relative rarity in the wild, and level of Japanese proficiency required to play it. You can get a PDF copy for only $5 here: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/books/hg101-presents-the-complete-guide-to-the-famicom-disk-system/

Just ordered my copy this weekend!

Not a sale, but my worst collecting regret: Somehow I ended up with a TurboGrafx-16 as a child. I was the only person I knew who had one, but I was a weird kid with few friends and completely fell in love with its unique orange-and-black weirdness. I was also a spoiled kid, so I managed to compile a decent little collection of games, some nice peripherals, and even that first clunky iteration of the CD drive (the one that doubled as a terrible but extremely rad portable CD player). At some point, though, I moved on to Super Nintendo like everyone else, and the TG16 stuff ended up tucked away in a big plastic box in my mom's attic. Fast forward a couple of decades, and I come across the box while going through old stuff. Everything was in pristine condition, but I didn't have room for it all in my tiny apartment, so I left the box where it was. (I should also mention that I wasn't much of a collector by that point and didn't realize how much the stuff was worth.) I checked in on it every few months with the intention of taking it home as soon as I moved somewhere with some extra space. Another couple of years pass and my wife and I finally get our first house, so I go at long last to get the box. It is, of course, gone. Frantic, I practically turn the attic inside out, but still no box. After asking around the fam I discover that a relative with serious substance abuse issues had been going through places like my mom's attic looking for things to sell, and my childhood TurboGrafx collection apparently looked just valuable enough to haul off down to the pawn shop. So, yeah, that's a regret of mine. I hope the maybe $100 they got out of it bought some good sh*t.

Awesome!

Thanks @SoleGoose! I got my copy in the mail a few days ago and I’ve really been enjoying it. I’d like to try this out with a SNES controller... Do you have a SNES to NES adaptor you’d recommend?

I'd read about those Blaster Master games but had forgotten about them. That's always been a game I've wanted to like, so I will definitely try this out. I played through Cave Story+ a few years ago and loved it! This is great advice, thanks. I do occasionally get hand cramps from smaller controllers, so this is something I've been wondering about.

Thanks all for the suggestions! I'll probably start with Celeste and Bloodstained since those look right up my alley, and Axiom Verge has been on my must-play list for years. Ninja Saviors looks fun -- kind of reminds me of a TurboGrafx beat 'em up game. Coincidentally, just about a week ago I played Wii Sports Tennis for the first time in 10 years. My elbow still hurts.

I'm turning 40 next month and instead of a zippy sports car my wife has agreed to let me get a Switch. What are some must-own games for a near-geriatric man just starting out with the console? One qualifier: These days I tend to like games that are easy to jump into, mainly because I don't have a dozen hours to put into learning a game with complex mechanics. Metroidvanias, shmups, and arcade-style games are my go-tos, but my favorites tend to be quirky, one-of-a-kind indie titles that don't really fit into a single category. I love and respect RPGs but no longer have time for them. Any advice helps. Thanks, all!

Hi, I'm a longtime lurker at the NA forums who finally got around to making an account there about three weeks ago. So I guess the first thing I can say about myself is that I have terrible timing? Anyway, as someone who's been part of an online community getting nuked before, you all have my condolences, but this place looks it's off to a great start at least and I'm glad to jump on board.

STL area here checking in to say you've got a great store!