General Arcade & Retro Chat' Special Championship Edition

sniper_samurai

Anyone looking to get the new release of the Taito Ray'z Arcade Chronology may want to get the limited physical release due to the inclusion of the previously unreleased R-Gear. This is also on the Japanese physical release.

https://twitter.com/RealStrictlyLTD/status/1554090090179313668?t=popGf9eOS7j5BSek63PRBA&s=19

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119415805#Comment_119415805

Can't really be sure of what engine it's on but I'd guess it's the older Dragon Engine, it came out after Yakuza 4. It came before Binary Domain which feels so much nicer than Dead souls. It's pretty stiff and relies on a lock on system. There's just something off about it and it's probably from trying to fit a TPS into an engine built for melee combat coupled with the team going for a japanese PS2 shooter feel rather than something way more contemporary like Binary Domain.

It's probably worth playing through if you are a big Yakuza fan especially with all the in jokes but be prepared to play it in short bursts.

CiDeRmAn

I nearly, so nearly, pulled the trigger on this... but then thought of the slate of shmups I have across all my owned formats... and stepped back from the brink

Mr.Saturn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119417446#Comment_119417446

The timeline actually places it in the transition form the V-engine to the Kiwami engine, possibly explains the jank in Souls if they’re still finding their feet with a new engine. If actually they’re using the V engine then good luck like.

I believe Yakuza 6 suffers a bit too from RGG getting to grips with the then new Dragon engine. I wouldn’t know because I’m stuck on Yakuza 5 for the last age.

Retr0gamer

I'd say you are safe to go into Dead Souls after Yakuza 4 (I'd even say after 2).

One bit of advice if you want to avoid the annoying repetition, don't do the hostess bar side quests. They require a lot of backtracking through the quarantine zone, none of them offer any decent rewards in terms of benefits and narrative.

I would however recommend using a faq to to get all the other side quests as the majority of them are fun and some are downright hilarious.

It's also one of those games that really starts off on the wrong foot with the first protagonist being the weakest in terms of his speciality weapon and the longest chapter. Majima is an absolute legend in it though. His chapter is definitely the highlight although Kiryu showing up is also a blast.

DaveyDave

Are there any Pi like devices or similar that can emulate PS2 and Dreamcast? Just wondering if there's a relatively affordable option to stick in the living room.

sniper_samurai

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119418584#Comment_119418584

I think most of the current android emulation boxes will play most Dreamcast games, I'm not sure about PS2 support though.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119418584#Comment_119418584

Considering how processor intensive PS2 emulation is and also the bugginess on most non-mainstream games I'd say Pi wouldn't be able to run it well.

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119418584#Comment_119418584

Dreamcast, possibly, with mixed results. PS2, unlikely. The best living room option for higher end emulation of more modern systems remains a small form factor (sff) PC. You can buy a NUC that'd do the job too, but price wise, you're prob around the same as an equal enough sff pc but with lesser expansion options.

CiDeRmAn

I wonder then, how difficult it would be to use a decent phone as the heart of a emulation set up.

I've a Fold 2 here, and I downloaded AetherSX2 for it, followed by BattleGear3, a cracking Japan only racing game.

That thing runs great!

While it is a simple matter in my noggin, I imagine there are many factors that stop some enterprising so and so bodging a Samsung Galaxy into a cab and connecting it up via HDMI and usb.

Retr0gamer

There's some insanely powerful ARM processors out there. It's a case of how well coded the emulators are for ARM really.

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119419628#Comment_119419628

By and large, Android is a poor platform for emulation. Further, for the price of a Fold 2, you'd put together a far more capable computer in context of emulation. With a phone, you're paying also for the screen, the GSM components, and all manner of hardware not needed for emulation. So pitting a phone against a small SBC like a Pi is never going to make economic sense, despite being more capable.

CiDeRmAn

I wonder what the lower limits are for performance, I mean I have a heap of decent phones around here somewhere.

Pixels are not great as they don't output HDMI from their usb port, but others...

Just speculating though, it was the PS2 emulation that impressed me most though, and I haven't fiddled with any of the settings yet!

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119420689#Comment_119420689

I have heard good things about Aether PS2, don't know much about it otherwise.

Inviere

A long shot this one, but has ANYONE got a floppy drive ide extension cable spare/to sell? 34 pin, male/female.

Can't seem to source one this side of the planet, not without dropping €20 shipping anyway 😕

Inviere

I seen this mentioned by John Linneman - a fan remake of Sonic Triple Trouble (GameGear) for Windows. I haven't played it yet, but it looks incredibly polished, & you would easily think this was an official release.

https://gamejolt.com/games/sonictripletrouble16bit/322794

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6U6Qp3jRHg

Tom Mann Centuria

No doubt they're well know in these parts but I saw (and heard) Electronicos Fantasticos for the first time on Reddit and fell down a youtube rabbit hole watching their vids. Some unique use of CRTs.

https://youtu.be/omZrNs2H6MI

Spent WAY too long listening to the fans, the barcodes, skateboards and CRTs :pac:

Inviere

I finished the Book of Boba Fett yesterday, very late to the party I know. Honestly, I really enjoyed it. I don't tend to bother reading critic/audience options these days so I went in more or less blind (though I do remember hearing some negatives about it in passing.) Like everything Favreau has done with TV Star Wars to date, I've found it really great....it's obviously heavily inspired by the Western genre (as is the Mandolorian), but the original Star Wars was heavily inspired by Kurosawa with some strong western-like elements too. The world building in Fett & the Mandalorian makes a mockery of what we seen in the sequel trilogy of films (and I say that as someone who isn't overly harsh on them either.) That's two shows I really had zero to no interest in being made, have really genuinely surprised me with how good they are.

Conversely, I started Kenobi then last night....and admittedly I'm only one episode in, but the pacing seemed a bit drab. It has some nice touches, McGregor as always is great to watch, but for me, I felt the absence of Favreau almost immediately. Hopefully it picks up, because this IS the one show I did want to see happen (I really wanted to see McGregor as Kenobi sans Lucas, and I always felt Hayden Christensen got a savagely raw deal with the dialogue and direction he had...I'd no doubt at all he's better than what he was able to show in the prequels.)

Anyway, yeah, gamez n stuff!

Tom Mann Centuria

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119436137#Comment_119436137

I thought it was fine, not as good as Mandalorian, but enjoyable enough. But full disclosure, I watched Solo and enjoyed it( for what it was, a bit of nonsense) so I don't think my opinion counts in the world of Star Wars.

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119436343#Comment_119436343

When I seen Solo in the Cinema, it felt kinda flat and I wasn't overly impressed with it. I felt going in that it was a movie that nobody asked for, and didn't need to be made. Years later, I watched a fanedit of it and had a much more enjoyable time with it (edit by Digimodification called "The Coaxium Heist"). It didn't change or alter much, removed the teal filter, cut some extraneous bits & pieces, and just tightened things up a fair bit overall. Page for it is here (no download link obviously) - https://digmodification.wordpress.com/edit-gallery/star-wars-the-coaxium-heist/

To date, that I've seen anyway, the worst of Star Wars is Episode II, and Episode VII (with IX just wasting a lot of potential.) I enjoyed VIII with Johnson at the helm, but Abrams needs to stay very far away from the franchise imo. The TV stuff (particularly the Mandalorian) has been a very very welcome return to Star Wars being fun again.

Retr0gamer

For a back water where absolutely nothing happens the whole of star wars lore seems to revolve around tatooine.

Doge

..

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437289#Comment_119437289

While that's true, at the very least, both the Mandalorian and the BoBF haven't really just settled for that...they've contributed to growing Tatooine into a more diverse & 'real world' place than we'd ever seen it. While SW certainly needs to expand its horizons, these two shows didn't tire me by being primarily set on Tatooine...they're relatively small scale scale stories in the overall franchise, and as I say, they brought a new understanding and richness to Tatooine that we hadn't seen to date.

Steve X2

The guys on stupid slow scooter things were a joke in Boba Fett. Totally took me out of it.

And then this madness.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1491419912346411010

Andrew76

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119436137#Comment_119436137

I lasted one episode each of Fett and Kenobi, thought they were awful. Mandalorian was great though. Is there any sign of a second season of that coming out?

Spotted this at Dublin Comic Con today - I know practically nothing about comics but it looks suspiciously like that grading of video games scam.

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437957#Comment_119437957

Mando has two seasons (three if you count BoBF 😁) Feb 2023 for season 3 I think.

CGC Universal Grade, looks like it yeah.

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437903#Comment_119437903

100%. Tonally, they just didn't fit the environment whatsoever. Not sure what they were going for there, but those lads did NOT belong on a harsh, frontier desert planet.

Colonel Panic

Planets in Star Wars are all a bit “Hammock District”. One whole planet is a casino. Another is where the laundry is done etc etc.

This huge galaxy wasted by having pointless planets.

sniper_samurai

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437957#Comment_119437957

No, they aren't over inflating the prices like what was happening with games. Don't expect that to increase in value though as it's value is entirely in the cost of the grading.

Andrew76

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437983#Comment_119437983

Ah I forgot it's been that long, the second season ended with you know who turning up?