|
Post by gliptitude on Jun 25, 2013 19:21:55 GMT -5
Wyldephang, you might also try disabling the lockout chip on the NES. It is a major cause of 'blinking screen'.
I have never done it, but there are tutorials out there and I have read that it is actually very simple to do. ... The top loader doesn't have a lockout chip, so now that I have one of those it's not a big concern of mine.
|
|
|
Post by wyldephang on Jun 26, 2013 3:44:21 GMT -5
I had considered it, but only as a last resort as I'd like to leave the NES in as close to original condition as possible. Incidentally, I found that most of my blinking screen woes were a result of dirty or corroded game contacts. Having found that rubbing alcohol by itself was not sufficient to remove the buildup, I bought a bottle of Brasso today and carefully polished the contacts of every game in our collection. I could provide my own written testimony to the efficiency of this cleaning method, but I'll let the pictures tell the story. Keep in mind that the contacts in the first set of pictures had already been cleaned with rubbing alcohol! Before: After: Now, minor scratches on the surface of the contacts are my greatest worry, and even then, it's a negligible problem; almost every game cartridge loads on the first try. Brasso worked marvelously. My discovery couldn't have come at a better time, too, as I just won my first NES console on eBay earlier this afternoon! Knowing that my brother will eventually take the family NES back to his apartment--it's only fair, as I unofficially adopted the family Super Nintendo--I wanted to have an NES in my own personal collection. As you know, I prefer the design and profile of the NES-101, but I didn't want to sacrifice the picture quality of the RCA-compatible NES-001. So, I went with the front-loader, having become more confident in my ability to take apart the machine and repair or replace a faulty connector. I'm looking forward to building an NES collection one cartridge at a time.
|
|
|
Post by TrekMD on Jun 26, 2013 5:59:53 GMT -5
Congratulations on your eBay win!
|
|
|
Post by gamezone on Jun 26, 2013 7:38:16 GMT -5
Enjoy your new NES!
I have disabled the lock-out chip on several NES systems. It does away with the blinking and is only moderately successful at loading games better. Your right Gliptitude, it is very simple.
As Wlydephang noted, the 72-pin and spring release can be bigger problems. Replacing the springs has been known to help.
|
|
|
Post by wyldephang on Jun 29, 2013 17:05:16 GMT -5
(Click to enlarge.) Well, my Nintendo console arrived today and it wasted no time getting acquainted to and making friends with the other systems in my collection. Right now, he's sitting next to the Sega Genesis Model 1.
|
|
|
Post by TrekMD on Jun 29, 2013 17:37:16 GMT -5
Excellent! Did you get any new games for it?
|
|
|
Post by VectorX on Jun 29, 2013 18:48:38 GMT -5
Nice to see several generations all together I've been going through The Depths of Doom Trilogy for the last few weeks; barf. The majority of it is 3000 homebrewed levels (I've been going through it on and off [mostly off] for over 15 years now), most of which don't capture the Doom spirit much at all. Case in point, I've gotten several levels in a row where the moment you start out, you're in the midst of a heap of trouble, i. e. among a bunch of very powerful monsters and all you have is the "crappy pistol"...gets old.
|
|
|
Post by wyldephang on Jun 29, 2013 23:23:00 GMT -5
I remember that a lot of fan-made Doom episode packs were conceived with expert players in mind. But you're right: if the maps don't capture the spirit of the game, the entire experience falls flat. Did you ever play Final Doom? It was an expansion pack featuring fan-made episodes. To this day, it receives a lot of critical praise. I did buy a bundle of games to build my NES collection, but I'm still trying to acquire the essentials. I'll update the forum when they arrive.
|
|
|
Post by VectorX on Jun 29, 2013 23:42:07 GMT -5
Did you ever play Final Doom? Nope, nor Doom 3.
|
|
|
Post by gamezone on Jul 1, 2013 14:25:39 GMT -5
Nice collection of systems.
|
|
jammajup
Vector Runner
multi-format retro gamer
Posts: 47
|
Post by jammajup on Jul 9, 2013 7:13:40 GMT -5
Some recent ZX Spectrum homebrew releases also Ghouls`n Ghosts (C64) and Kyukyoku Tiger (Twin Cobra) Pc Engine. I have also just started playing Silent Hill 2 for the first time,i was so disappointed with gaming back then i got rid of my Game Cube and missed the X-box and PS2 era completely so i never played it back in the day.
|
|
|
Post by gliptitude on Jul 9, 2013 11:52:14 GMT -5
,i was so disappointed with gaming back then i got rid of my Game Cube and missed the X-box and PS2 era completely so i never played it back in the day. If you decide to get back into PS2 you MUST try ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, if you haven't already. (Both games are also available for PS3, and easier to access that way). I'm mostly a retro gamer, but these two games are among my very favorites ever. They are not your run of the mill action adventures and a lot of thought and contemplation was put into the design and gameplay, with the intent to make fun and intuitive games, and the belief that contemporary games of this type were otherwise completely bloated and over-done. ... The era that I skipped was dominated by N64, which I still haven't managed the interest to revisit yet. Gamecube/X-box/PS2 games that I am aware of and are worthwhile: Super Mario Strikers Bioshock Marvel v Capcom 2 Ico Shadow of the Colossus X-Men Marvel Ultimate Alliance (also some collections of retro games) ... PS2 is a mandatory experience for any gamer, in my opinion, because the controllers are among the best game controllers ever, and also because of Shadow of the Colossus.
|
|
|
Post by wyldephang on Jul 10, 2013 3:53:36 GMT -5
Some recent ZX Spectrum homebrew releases also Ghouls`n Ghosts (C64) and Kyukyoku Tiger (Twin Cobra) Pc Engine. I have also just started playing Silent Hill 2 for the first time,i was so disappointed with gaming back then i got rid of my Game Cube and missed the X-box and PS2 era completely so i never played it back in the day. I consider the sixth generation of gaming--with the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube--the last worthwhile generation for game collectors. Many incredible games were released during this period, and while we had a breakthrough in online gaming, companies were still conscious and respectful of the single-player gamer. Also, developers hadn't lost sight of the goal to consistently improve their product. As with any other generation of gaming, there were some disappointments, but it's my opinion that the magic of gaming wasn't to be extinguished until the next cycle. Some of my favorites from the sixth generation include: Super Mario Sunshine (GCN), Eternal Darkness (GCN), Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN), Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4 (GCN), The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker and Twilight Princess (GCN), Shadow of the Colossus (PS2), Final Fantasy X (PS2), Psychonauts (PS2), Okami (PS2), Jade Empire (Xbox), Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox), Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (Xbox), Fable (Xbox), and Halo 2 (Xbox). Overall, it was an enjoyable period of gaming for me. There are some masterpieces in our current generation, but there's little variation in game design. Once in a while, a game stands out from its contemporaries, but everything else appears and feels formulaic. It's no secret that publishers will attempt to squeeze every dollar out of our wallets by offering mundane downloadable content packs. But the real problem is that a developer will release a half-finished game and tack on the content packs at a later date to collect more revenue! For the most part, this has been the generation to stay away from.
|
|
|
Post by gliptitude on Jul 10, 2013 15:32:05 GMT -5
In my view there is another factor with contemporary console games, which I have discussed before in the forums. Wydephang refers to subpar product being pushed to market to squeeze bucks, (certainly not unique to the present generation, but perhaps they are better at the money making part these days). ... For me the indictment also includes some of the most successful games, such as Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty and others, even God of War (going back to PS2 era). ... Many of these games are massive productions with huge budgets and hundreds of people involved. The end product is quality. But there is just not a lot of creativity or imagination in most of these games, in my opinion. I think that there is a debilitating self-consciousness that goes along with making games on this scale, a much bigger scale than in the distant past. The obligations of a commercial game designer are sprawling. In the past "cleverness" and "ingenuity" were fundamental skills of a game designer, whereas today the consumer expects SUPERFICIAL perfection. The game must be "realistic". The consumers generally accept this, and base their consumption on what appears to them to be "the best". Thus violence and "realism" and massiveness and ridiculously large arrays of weapons and powers are what the games are congratulated for and make money on. All of these qualities are explicitly material and the product is explicitly material.
It's a lot like commercial cinema post-1980. The business is progressively more built around big budget blockbusters, with a small and targeted window to make a massive amount of money. Franchises and sequels win out over new ideas and new material, and the "new ideas" that do prevail are generally pornography of one form or another.
Basically video games lost their innocence, just like everything else. ... Honestly I don't think people will play video games in the future, and at that point the eccentric and sentimental endeavors of the "retro gamers" will be all that remains.
... RE this thread topic: Currently playing Vectrex Sundance, which I just got. Fun and addicting and stylish! ... Also just got "repro" cart of Bio Force Ape (NES) - what a strange artifact!
|
|
|
Post by wyldephang on Jul 12, 2013 2:49:57 GMT -5
Below is a picture of my growing NES collection as of July 12. Some of these have been with me since the 1990s, and others were purchased in the last few weeks. I've got a few more games on the way, and I've been looking through storage in hopes of finding the games I've misplaced. Left to right, starting from the top: Bionic Commando, Darkwing Duck, Double Dragon II, Dr. Mario, Final Fantasy, The Goonies II Gremlins 2, Kirby's Adventure, The Legend of Zelda, Legendary Wings, Life Force Mega Man 1 through 6 Metal Gear, Ninja Gaiden, Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt, Super Mario Bros. 3, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project Of these games, I've been giving Kirby's Adventure the most attention. I absolutely love the concept of the game: it's a platformer where your character swallows enemies to steal their abilities. The idea is evocative of Mega Man, but unlike the Blue Bomber, Kirby may carry only one power-up with him at a time, adding an element of strategy to the levels. The controls are tight and the graphics and audio are top-notch, as expected for an NES game that came out toward the end of the 8-bit generation. On eBay, the game costs about $10-12 on average. I think it's an essential part of the NES library, so I recommend it highly.
|
|