r/retrogaming

Hello everyone!

I've been trying to learn the style used in the NES Castlevania. I really like the three-color limitation and the 16×32 sprite size. I hope you like them, and any feedback is welcome!

Shaq-Fu? More like Crap-Poo!

Released in 1994 across multiple platforms from Electronic Arts. This game was an ambitious gamble that broke its hand on the concrete blocks it tried chopping through. I’ll never be upset at a developer that takes a big chance on a unique concept. However that concept needs to translate well into a video game and Shaq-Fu did not lol.

I think the fighting game market was saturated with plenty of stinkers during the 16 bit era and Shaq-Fu falls into that category. How could they have improved the game so it wasn’t such a hot pile of garbage? Idk. I mean they couldn’t go the Mortal Kombat route and have Shaq ripping off his opponent’s head then shooting (and missing) a free throw. They didn’t have the capabilities to make a Street Fighter or even Killer Instinct knockoff.

So this game was doomed from the second it was given the greenlight. This was a game you picked up at Blockbuster because all the other great fighting games were already rented. And if your elderly grandma bought you Shaq- Fu as a Christmas or birthday present. I hope you did the humane thing and put her in a nursing home because she clearly was losing her marbles.

Just picked this up for $2 at Half Price Books. I am instantly brought back to the days before the internet, scouring for codes. Can’t wait to dig and relive some of my youth.

After months of preparation, I finally successfully climbed Mt. Fuji—Japan’s highest peak and an active volcano! To add to the adventure, I decided to haul a complete Virtual Boy system and a copy of Mario Clash all the way to the top.

​Setting it up and playing a few rounds above the clouds was absolutely incredible. I’ve got to be the first person to ever do this, right?! Hopefully, this inspires some of you to take your Virtual Boy out to some unique locations!

I’d recommend listening to this music while reading. 

GAMEPLAY (9/10) 

• While storytelling was pretty basic, it did feature a nice ending with Jackie Chen (Chan) as a special guest, which was simply the main character with Jackie’s “appearance”. It told the Story of Lee Wong, a monk who went on a journey to save the children from the evil Warlord Ryuken! 
• The controls were pretty basic too, with a jump and attack button, while you could also duck with the joystick. The jumping was unique though, as the more you held the button, the farther you jumped. Same thing for the attack button, where your reflexes required precision instead of simple mashing. You had to time your attacks on some occasions, as the enemies were pretty jumpy! 
• The mechanics themselves were so to speak, GOATED. Starting with the upgrade mechanic, which at the end of every stage, required you to pass a test and gain it. The thrill when arriving at the end was simply marvellous! 
• The Tiger staff upgrade was a surprise, as you literary summoned flying tigers at will. 
• Then you had in-game power ups, with screen clearance, enemy freezes and even basic power ups for more damage or health replenishers. Bonus points as well, which counted towards your extra lives. 
• Enemy variety was fantastic, with many having different attack patterns, projectiles, jumping attacks and much more. Same applied to boss encounters, where everyone had unique combos and always put you on the spot. 
• Platforming was unique too, mainly because it required quick reflexes, even quicker than the combat itself. On some occasions, you could also fly with wings on your back, attack, defeat bosses and traverse obstacles with style! 
• Speaking of traversal. It was so unique for 1987, without any loading screens even on long stages. You also switched between ground, air and jumping sections many times, making each section refreshing! 
• The traps were cool too, with a skull inhaler which chewed you alive, falling platforms, rocks, daggers or even archers waiting for you while you fly! 
• The difficulty was maddening though, as most enemies would spawn from left and right without any room to breathe. The same applied to training grounds, where defeating 50 monks seemed like a test of your real life reflexes!

 

AUDIO (10/10) 

• Sound design shined in its complete mono glory, with fantastic audio effects all around. 
• The same could be said about music, which was simply outstanding for 1987!

 

VISUALS (10/10) 

• Fidelity seemed from the future, as the game looked better than many Arcade games from the 90s, not to speak of other home consoles! 
• The visual effects like fire, water, fog, shadows, overall backgrounds and gorgeous landscapes were simply marvellous! 
• Same for the character models, with cool animations, outfits, attack patterns and many more unique features you’d only discover in the 90s! 
• The art style shined like none other, with so many diverse locations between palaces, open grounds, indoors, training grounds, waterfalls and so many more cool locations with unique vibes!

 

WORLD DESIGN (10/10) 

• Level design had that unique progression which surprised you on many encounters. You could climb ladders, use the stairs to get up or down, jump on falling platforms or simply fly your way through. All that with beautiful landscapes and gorgeous designs. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, as the game was truly magnificent. 
• The atmosphere as well, which not only was amplified by the music, as the visuals, level designs and the gameplay itself contributed to these amazing vibes too! 
• World destruction while not extensive, did feature cool chest openings, spider webs and even bloated guards!

 

TL;DR -> An amazing showcase on each bloody category. I was left stunned at the level of detail, visuals, world design and even punchy music. The game has earned the Nr.1 place in my collection, simply because for 1987 that was truly mind blowing. A (9.8) game, GOATED in my book. Would absolutely replay the game again, just so I can skip the beginning stages and beat those fake sages! 

The little card-slot adapter that drives Sega's active-shutter 3D glasses on the Master System / Mark III was due for some preventative maintenance, so I pulled it apart and recapped it.

Five purple electrolytics came off the board (you can see them lined up on the paper towel next to it), a clean, then fresh caps back in. The adapter PCB is the Sega 837-6395 board that lives inside the white "3-D ADAPTOR" cartridge that goes in the card slot.

To test it I ran Space Harrier 3D on a Mark III with the white adapter card in the slot, output on a Sony PVM-14L2, and the black shutter glasses doing their thing. There is something great about seeing that checkerboard ground pop into depth.

One fun aside: the Japanese first-revision MK-2000 Master System has a built-in 3D glasses port right on the front, so it does not need this adapter at all. I ran the glasses off that one too for comparison. So two ways to get stereoscopic Space Harrier depending on which machine you have.

Anyone else still playing the Sega 3D games on real hardware?

Hey everyone! This is a solo passion project I made during summer break. I designed the hardware, PCB, and it's 100% open-source.

It is based on ESP32S3N16R8 and runs RETRO GO. It supports retro games for multiple platforms. What's most important is that it perfectly integrates with the original GAME BOY COLOR casing. So I called it RETRO BOY COLOR.

It also features a high-brightness 2.8-inch ST7789 IPS display and a 1000mAh battery, with a modular design that facilitates easy repair and replacement, while keeping hardware costs low.

It's fully working now! I'm planning to launch this project (including open-source files) on Kickstarter. If you have any suggestions, feel free to ask me directly. Thanks for the support!

Here’s Ubisoft video if you’re interested
https://youtu.be/uklRmZKVCaY?si=F9D3sv1Uo-0NZNq7

Guru Larry is the reason I know about this game.
Here’s his video (I recommend it)
https://youtu.be/paU0nhOJUz0?si=ycwSluMH3ZcAhPap

Akumajou Dracula (FDS) level 2-4: the NES Castlevania, when I had first contact with this great Konami game, I usually got crushed by these chandeliers.

Splatterhouse (PCE) level 6: I could pass every level without losing a Rick in this great Namco game, except for this very hard level 6 as it needs not only skill but also luck.

City Connection (ARC) level 1: I admit that I am bad at this great Jaleco game, I just couldn't even pass level 1...

Truxton (GEN) level 1: I usually got killed by the mini boss in level 1 in the great Toaplan game, while I had little problems with other levels' mini bosses.

Street Fighter 2010 (NES) planet 3: I spent more extra practice time in this hard sand level than other levels in this great Capcom game.

This old pc game here have you play Dr. Jekyll as he attempts to recue his kidnapped daughter by bringing back Mr Hyde through his infamous serum. In the game you can freely switch between Jekyll and Hyde, while Jekyll fights using his cane; Hyde on the other hand uses his bare hands along with brute strength, besides the action style gameplay; it also has puzzle elements mixed into it as well.

Picked these up this weekend. I got all NES games for $40. FFiii for $55, FFii for $50, Secret of Evermore for $25, B.O.B and DK for $15, and Paper Mario for $60 from GameStop.

I classify this as a remake as the game was remade from the ground up-ish, it's like a hybrid of the Snes port while adding new features.

All the DKC remakes feel like they were made just to cash on the games of the series one more time. We already had DKC 1 on GBC and the semi demake Land games on GB. I really don't like the weird bright colors that plagued most GBA remakes, the added dialogue/ cutscenes which feels so poorly made/ filler yap sessions (reused a lot of animations so it looks like a fan hack), the new bosses in DKC 2&3 just look ugly and misplaced compared to the rest of the game. Then the new mini games oh man the new mini games look horrible. The music is also GBA style so it sounds screechy.

Now a days there's no really point to play these besides nostalgia or curiosity. You can't really admire these games either as they didn't really push the hardware of the GBA unlike DKC 1 on GBC.

Maybe they were good for the time being but playing these on hardware isn't fun for me.

I honestly wished they just used a different art style for the remakes like FF1&2 or just made 1 good spinoff.