fcgamer

9 hours ago, Code Monkey said:

How much interest is there for something made by a guy with no connection to the source material?

6 hours ago, Nes Freak said:

To be honest, that one of the reason i never got one when they came out.  but its gotten some value to them over the years.  The art work is cool and looks legit so maybe thats why?  I dont know.

I used to feel along the same lines as you guys, but something happened about a week or so back, where I ended up getting some reproduction cartridges of games I already own the originals of. It was a slightly different situation, as they were made by someone who had worked on the games, but he had no rights to make these reproductions, etc etc etc. That said I found these were really neat pieces that I will treasure in my collection. I similarly own a few modern game hacks from people in the community, and again I treasure those cartridges despite them being modern game hacks, not homebrew, not 90s stuff.

Such items sort of made me change my attitude towards collecting a bit, especially considering I have more games than I'll ever need, paired with the fact that finding items I don't have for the machines I truly collect (i.e. not just opportunistic collecting fodder) is quite a rarity by now. Some of this fan-made stuff is great, even if it isn't official, especially if it's tied somehow to the community in which you've spent countless hours of time. If it was just random Joe Blow on feebay I'd likely feel different.

55 minutes ago, Dr. Morbis said:

Its price rose above all other homebrews/after market NES games because it hasn't been dumped; the story ends there.

I remember when folks said it was undumpable   

24 minutes ago, DarkKobold said:

OK, gotcha. It's not early. Just earlier. Great clarification. A++. And that constitutes many reasons. 

 

I.... was there. 

 

 

Right, but you need to look at it in the bigger context of homebrew from late nineties until now, something very few were following back then aside from NES dev members. So I suspect you weren't...there. if you were following everything at the time, you wouldn't be asking the question as to the significance of this game 

1 hour ago, DarkKobold said:

Also, Star Keeper is far, far, far, from being an "early" homebrew. I'm pretty certain Battle Kid 1 & 2 were out by that point, and the field of homebrew was already pretty flooded. It wasn't particularly impressive as far as design goes. It's an OK game, but it's only a strangely unique game for being released in limited quantities, from China, and is currently undumped. It really isn't as historically special as you're making it out to be. 

You insulting the Super A'can left and right is pretty hilarious. A 16 bit system with fun games is 100% the exact same level as a handheld with absolutely awful screen lag. 

To address your points:

1. I never said Star Keeper was an early homebrew game. You should go back and reread exactly what I wrote. 1998 or 1999 is around the time when we first started getting actual homebrew games, then around 2007 or 2008 is around the time we started getting homebrew games that we could purchase on cartridges. Yes, two years later we had Battle Kid and two years after that, Battle Kid 2, and then in 2014 Star Keeper. Now in 2024, look at the quality and wide array of homebrew games, a lot more progress has been made in the past five or six years than in the previous twenty. 

If we divide homebrew into two periods, Star Keeper falls into the earlier period. That's something that made it significant, this was the point where people started realizing, "Hey, there are some fun homebrew games that amount to something coming out". We had that with the Battle Kid games a few years earlier, but that was it more or less, as well as some simple clones of games.

2. Tiger Game.com had the online stuff, seems like that was sort of a big deal at the time.

3. I find it even more hilarious how you keep saying about how the Super A'can has such fun games, when the bulk doesn't amount to much. 

tl;dr Star Keeper has historical significance for homebrew for many reasons, it's sort of a situation where one had to be there and been following it to understand it.

59 minutes ago, Brickman said:

From what I’ve read, big box games are still being released to this day in Taiwan aren’t they?

How big and what year are you talking? I've seen a few around 2010 or so with a ton of extra crap packed in hence the box size.

I have some local PC games developed in Taiwan, they're always fun to collect in big box form. I've also got a few official localized games, as well as some extra PC stuff I'm looking to dump!

On 1/27/2024 at 5:01 AM, DarkKobold said:

Full hypocrite disclosure: I own this from the original NA sales thread, and I would not sell it at the price it's currently going for. 

Disclosures aside, this game isn't that great, I can't understand why it's going for so much money. Can anyone explain why this particular homebrew has captured so much attention? There's so many other great homebrew games. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad game, but it's no Battle Kid. I don't understand why this particular game is so insanely sought after. 

 

I don't think it's necessary to do some sort of full hypocrite disclosure when posting one's opinions on a gaming forum.

I also own one of these, and have also been saying for years that the game is not great. Then again, neither are the Super A'can games, they are not great either, when compared to the price point.

You ask why the game has captured so much attention? It goes back to the history of the game and its release, as well as the history of NES homebrew as well, imo, ranging from the early years (i.e. Chris Covell and the early impressive tech demos before then) up until now.

A game such as this is quite significant to the history of NES homebrew scene; other titles I'd also value up there would be the early Christmas carts, Garage cart, etc. To compare it to the Super A'can, for example, that's a machine on an equal footing to the Tiger Game.com, i.e. a mediocre machine without much oompf to back it. Yeah, some people tried to artificially inflate the prices and popularity, but at the end of the day there's 12 mediocre 16-bit seen-it-all-before games, with the historical significance resting on an ethnicity, i.e. that Taiwanese people made it for a Taiwan market. On the other hand, with something like Star Keeper, it falls into a much broader historical area, of general NES homebrew, so it should be quite obvious why this would be a significant piece from the early years....

Meatloaf or shepherds (well cottage) are the two I'm good for, for Febs, as my dad will be visiting. He's not gonna wanna make or eat a ramen hahaha

35 minutes ago, PII said:

That's a Rice-bun Burger, correct?

Yes!

On 1/13/2024 at 7:28 AM, IBtiM said:

Developed by CollectorVision/Acclaim, 

The game looks interesting, but I'm not sure how exactly it was developed by Acclaim since they've been defunct since 2004. Acclaim is by now just the brand that was acquired, right? Or is this some long lost prototype release?

On 1/25/2024 at 3:20 PM, scaryice said:

This week's result:

Question #27 (1/18-1/24) - When it comes to Western-style, what game comes to mind?

1	Castlevania	13.1
2	Wizardry	10.0
3	Ide Yousuke Meijin no Jissen Mahjong	5.8
4	Goonies	4.3
5	Uncharted Waters	3.7
6	Mississippi Satsujin Jiken	3.4
7	Mother	2.9
8	Dragon's Lair	2.9
9	Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA)	2.3
10	Ultima: Exodus	1.6
11	Final Fantasy	1.4
12	Raid on Bungeling Bay	1.4
13	Castlevania III	1.3
14	Ghosts 'n Goblins	1.2
15	Spy vs Spy	1.2
16	Karateka	1.1
17	Hydlide	1.0
18	Shadowgate	1.0
18	Dragon Quest	1.0
20	Spelunker	0.9
20	Popeye	0.9

 

Nice mix of various games represented. The mahjong game is there because the guy's name has the same kanji as in the question (洋). I wouldn't have guessed Castlevania at number one, but I get it. Although, I don't think it's as western as Goemon is Japanese. I think Mother would've been a better choice.

Next week's question: When it comes to "middle" (China), what game comes to mind?

This is kind of a hard one to translate. It asks about the kanji 中 which means middle or inside, but it's also the first kanji of the word for China. So we might see something like Super Chinese (Kung Fu Heroes) on there. Many Twitter comments were suggesting Spartan X (Kung Fu) or Yie Ar Kung Fu.

 

Chuka Taisen would be the natural response, if I'm understanding the question correctly.

2 minutes ago, Dr. Morbis said:

Do it now.

I'll do it if you get a matching one, only with Luigi. Then when we meet up for our once every ten years hangouts, people can think we're reincarnated versions of the Mario Bros.

8 hours ago, Gloves said:

I like the little parody of putting a quote from yourself reviewing your own game on the front of the box. It'd be incredibly cringe if it weren't presented as a parody, but I think you nailed it. The juxtaposition of putting out a really amateur game in January and then quoting literally yourself as saying that it's 2024's best Famicom Maze game (so specific it can't be untrue!) is really *chef's kiss*. I appreciate that you marry the horror genre with humor like that - never taking yourself seriously in the slightest; it's the true indie way.

I thought it was pretty funny as I was putting the box together, I'm glad the humor wasn't lost. 

5 hours ago, DarkKobold said:

Yup! And there's nothing wrong with either side, imo. 

Also, I guess it's important to say what it means for something to be "part of your personality." For me, it's because one of my friends group is all retro game collectors, it's what we enjoy talking about. One of the last two girls I seriously dated was a retro collector. When I host get-togethers, it's centered around retro games and retro gamers. When we plan friend vacations, we go to conventions like PRGE or Game On Expo. When we got out on the town, it's either to an arcade bar or to go game hunting at local game stores. 

In reality, a personality is more about introvert/extrovert kind of measures, game collecting isn't part of the myers brigg test, lol. But I feel that definition helps explain why I call it part of my personality. 

I don't think I'd call that a personality, tbh, everything you mentioned there are all things I do with my friends when we get together, lol.

Just saying that just because I don't have a Super Mario tattoo on my face doesn't mean that I've got an issue with others knowing about my collection

Desolate Love is now up for grabs. Kept this one under wraps for a long time.

FC Desolate Love (Homebrew) | Mali S Cash Bar

New game added!

12 hours ago, DarkKobold said:

I almost see my collection as different - I can't imagine someone "knowing me" but also trying to hide what I consider a huge part of my life.

So in short, I do care what people think, because it's a good judge of whether or not I want them in my life. 

 

I don't think anyone is trying to hide their collections from the lives of their friends, colleagues, lovers, etc. - that would be incredibly dishonest imo, especially at the age that most of us are, where we should be secure enough about ourselves not to care what others think of such idiosyncrasies as these; however, my point is that I personally don't want to be defined by my gaming collection, no more than a stripper wants to be defined by his or her job, swingers by their hobby, etc. The people who should know about it know about it, those who wouldn't care about it have no need to know about it, and those that are on a more intimate level yet don't care about it in particular, know about it, but don't need it thrust in their face anymore than is necessary. Then again, although I do consider these old games to be a large part of my life, it's definitely not the essence of me as a person.

1 hour ago, Daniel_Doyce said:

Don't you live in Taiwan? Is no bones even an option at anything except the most upscale places?

One of my favorite dishes in Hong Kong was roast duck or goose, chopped up by an expert with a massive cleaver that could take your hand off in one slice.

Yeah no bones generally isn't the option here, but it's cultural as people prefer bones here.

My favorite "find" of the year wasn't a find itself, rather it was an acquisition, though it's an odd situation as I had made the game. I am talking about Mr Lee's Alishan Tea Collector for the Famicom.

By the time one gets into having a large enough collection, it gets to a point where the focus almost feels like one is just trying to tick off a box to complete a set or what not. It's enjoyable for what it is, but there's only so much you can do with owning shelf piece that you can't properly play as you don't understand the language (the downside of collecting imports). Then there's another side of the matter, it all begins to feel a bit opulent when you're spending tons of money on old games, dropping four or five figures whilst you see people around you struggle, whether your peers or strangers on the news in war-torn countries, etc. 

Mr Lee's Alishan Tea Collector is different though. It's a game based on a trip I took with gaming friend I knew online, forging a lifelong friendship and countless memories. It's the embodiment of memories and experiences being greater than material items, and the game has even begun to develop a cult following here, which has led to even more fun times and memories.

So while not a find, it was a game that was added to my collection last year, and it is one that will stay in my collection even if I do someday unload other items.

Here's my attempt at Mos Burger. Actually usually when I go to Mos I'll get nugs instead of fries, should have done the same here.

16 hours ago, Ankos said:

Not sure about the price, but this is kinda neat. It's a vintage multicart for PCE, which are pretty uncommon

https://www.ebay.com/itm/116047016479

That's pretty neat, price seems fair as well if it's in working condition.

1 hour ago, twiztor said:

100% boneless. definitely not trying to put in more work than i have to.

i am having a hard time imagining a soup that has meat with bones in it. sounds awful.

Trust me, it's amazing 

15 minutes ago, RpgCollector said:

Funny this topic came up. As I get closer to death my wife is getting more insistent I sell it all ( just hate to sell things; especially to collectors). I decided to put together an excel sheet of it all. I only collect CIB and 99% of my collection is CIB. I also collect box variants so I have multiple copies of the same game with different boxes (Gameboy GBC GBA and DS mainly for variants).

Homebrew/hacks/translation repo’s (all systems) - 1,152
PC Big Box - 7
SuperCharger 2600 - 12
Atari 2600 - 425
Atari 5200 - 50
Atari 7800 - 52
Atari Jaguar - 2
Atari Lynx - 58
Nes Licensed - 680
Nes Unlicensed - 83
Nes Aladdin Enhancer - 7
Snes - 505
N64 - 196
Gamecube - 88
Wii - 138
Wii U - 6
Switch - 51
GB - 511
GB Variants - 231
GB Europe Exclusives - 43
GBC - 446
GBC Variants - 28
GBC Europe Exclusives - 48
GBA - 978
GBA Variants - 78
GBA Europe Exclusives - 12
GBA Video - 34
GBA E-reader - 16
DS - 702
DSI - 3
DS Variants - 98
3ds - 106
VB - 14
Master System - 96
Master System Europe Exclusives - 8
Genesis - 289
Sega CD - 138
Sega 32X - 30
Sega Game Gear - 234
Sega Gmae Gear Variants - 26
Sega Saturn - 132
Sega Dreamcast - 88
Laseractive - 14
PS1 - 639
PS1 Europe - 5
PS2 - 768
PS3 - 234
PS4 - 145
PS5 - 2
PSP - 219
PS Vita - 65
NeoGeo MVS - 35
NeoGeo CD - 15
NeoGeo Pocket - 30
NeoGeo Pocket Europe - 3
TG16 - 90
TGCD - 40
Microvision - 12
Supervision - 60
Cougar Boy - 14
MegaDuck - 12
GameKing - 17
Gamate - 14
N-Gage - 10
Game.Com - 18
Gizmondo - 8
Wonderswan - 8
Zodiac - 4
Game Wizard - 10
Xbox - 55
Xbox 360 - 57
3DO - 38
CD-I - 35
Amiga CD32 - 13
Telstar Arcade - 4
Fairchild Channel F - 20
APF MP1000 - 12
Arcaida 2001 - 19
Odyssey - 10
Odyssey 2 - 48
Bally Astrocade - 29
Colecovision - 16
Intellivision - 64
RCA Studio II - 10
Vectrex - 27
Ti99-4A - 7
Action Max - 5
FlashBack Systems - 12

Total Count = 10,873
Various CIB Game Systems - 238
Arcade Games - 44
PCB Boards - 32

Maybe I can take some of those Game King and Gamate games off your hands

I don't think you will find any Electronic Arts games with that sticker. EA handled the fabrication of their own games, and it's my understanding they also handled the distribution of their games. For example, EA distributed their games in Taiwan (where they were all fabricated), so there's a huge disproportionate amount of EA games here compared to other NA games. 

19 minutes ago, a3quit4s said:

@fcgamer bro do you store famicom games in like your walls and shit? I though apartments/housing in Taiwan is like very small and minimal?

My apartment is quite big for the area, luckily, and the price is also quite a steal for the area. That being said, I'm in the same boat as @MegaMan52 as I have games and machines stashed away in cabinets in basically all rooms of the apartment, aside from the bathroom, though in the living room, aside from the television set up, there are not many games or anything on display. 

I do have some really nice glass cabinets built into the walls in the living room, and I've often considered just using them exclusively to display the prime gaming stuff, boxing the rest up, and then turning the current game room (which is quite small) into an office area. The only problem with that is I really hate the idea of people possibly defining me by my games, whenever I host parties or invite friends / dates / family over. It's certainly a part of my life, and it's certainly not something I am ashamed of, but at the same time feeling like I have to "explain" it or "justify" it anytime a non-game collector is over doesn't sound very fun, especially when my actual time playing games and the like is quite limited.