dvertov

If you took that one off the list I suspect #5 might be Trophy, which raised $40,096.

Updated my score with a 1201 lb catch that was pure luck. I still can't quite figure out how to keep the hook from coming loose but the big guy got tired early and I was able to reel him in. I'm probably not going to beat that score so I guess I'll just beat the game now?

Has anybody figured out how to keep the hook from coming out? I keep losing sharks that way but I'm not sure what to do about it.

544 lbs 1201 lbs

6,718,170 - I feel like I could top that but its the best I’m going to manage in a busy week. I really wanted to get on the board with this one, though. I realize it’s not the best port, but I’ll always have a soft spot for this game because it taught my four-year-old how to use a d-pad. I took the movement controller and let him have guns. It took ten minutes of running circles in the first room but eventually he figured it out, and making it all the way though Mutoid Man like that was one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had with a video game.

FYI, a few of us bugged Jeremy Parish on Twitter and found out these versions of the ROMs do not work on an AVS, although hopefully that can be addressed with a future AVS firmware update. Columbus Circle's Famicom releases had me wondering about the quality of the cartridges, but Parish says the issue is with these updated version of the actual game files here and is not a hardware concern.

Edit: Sold.

There is a LOT more emphasis on using the correct weapons and special attacks (like countering) this time around, and I found the game got more enjoyable once I learned that system. This Reddit post has some useful tips I wish I would have known earlier.

It is definitely more difficult than the first game, and I was initially turned off by it for the same reason. Once I started thinking of it as a direct continuation of "part 1" (with scaled difficulty to match) I had an easier time getting into it. It feels more open ended than the first, although I'm not sure it actually is -- that might be due to the outer space setting. The last chapter of the game is really interesting and particularly good at playing with the "in tank" vs. "on foot" dynamic.

Blaster Master Zero 2. (True ending.) Another good one. Like Zero these are both a bit short, but together they make a pretty satisfying, epic adventure.

I just realized I leveled up sometime over the last few weeks. Can I get a 25+ Homebrews badge, please?

I've heard that. I'd like to try that one out sometime.

That's a great way to put it.

Xexyz is done. I love this one but what a weird game. Decent platforming, terrible shmup-ing, and even some primitive FPS action during the final sequence...

Working on Xexyz. I thought I would have time to wrap it up last night but it's a longer game than I remembered.

Kid Niki is done. Did not get a good pic, unfortunately.

Space Shuttle Project

Katamari Damacy Reroll - still great, but more challenging than I remembered.

It’d have to be 1986, when I had my heart set on an NES. My parents had encouraged me to get a Sega Master System, probably because it was cheaper, but I had been completely drawn in by magazine photos of Super Mario Bros and wouldn’t hear of it. I mean, look, there’s a guy here walking on a giant mushroom. Even as a six year old I had superior taste in video games.

At long last I have decided to pick up an Everdrive for my NES, and I am now in the market for a good ROM dumper. What are some of the best out there? I know INL has the INLretro Dumper-Programmer, but I've been hesitant to pick up one of those since it's been in "beta" status since August 2018 and I haven't seen any updates on it lately. What devices do VGS-ers use to take a dump copy ROMs of their legitimately owned and definitely not pirated game cartridges?

Thanks for posting that. I actually have the Bomberman Collection tin, but I didn't know the rest of these even existed. I picked it up on eBay one day because it was cheap and looked unusual. It's basically a Band-Aid tin with a standard Game Boy cartridge inside. Can confirm it looks great on the shelf.

Ok, so the NA version came out first, but the Retro-Bit re-release was a new translation of the Japanese ROM. Plus the palette in the JP version was improved, so the player is now white like a mech, instead of red like a... walking meatball.

Is there something special about this Shadow of the Ninja release? Like with Metal Storm, where there was a new English translation of the old Famicom version? Normally I enjoy these official repros but this one doesn't seem that interesting, especially when the original licensed release isn't that rare.

Finally got around to playing Transistor on Switch. The soundtrack is as great as advertised, and the visuals are incredible -- I can’t remember another game where I stopped so often just to take screenshots. But it was also never exactly… fun? The combat system is work to learn. How much work? I’ve been told this game takes five hours for a normal playthrough. It took me fifteen, and I’m sure at least ten of those were spent trying out various weapon builds to keep my ass from getting handed to me. So while the combat system is extremely deep, having to learn it ruins the pacing, which is why it feels like this is a game meant to be enjoyed “for real” on a second playthrough. I’ll have to see if that’s actually the case later, because I need a break from Transistor for a while. This game is exhausting.

Transistor