THE BIG DELETE

I just deleted all of the files that I'd kept for making the videos off my computer.

Kinda felt like a big deal. That "Retro 2011" folder had been there since late 2010.

I did save it all on to an external hard drive. You never know when you might want a backup. But yeah, it's all gone now. It feels freeing and a little bit sad at the same time. It had to be done.

 

Meanwhile, I went ahead and bought Donkey Kong Country 5. Holy Mother of Cranky Kong, is this game hard! Retro Studios didn't shy away from the old-school challenge. I thought that the previous game was a bit too cruel, and I was expecting them to backpedal a bit, but I think they've gone in the opposite direction and made it even harder!

 

I haven't quite decided what I think about that yet. I don't like games to be too EASY, but when you have to spend 15+ lives just to get past a single boss by learning all of its patterns, I begin to wonder when "fun" becomes a "chore."

 

Speaking of challenge, I haven't yet got all of the stars / stamps / flagpoles in Mario 3D World yet. I'm a bit scared, since I've heard what the final level is like... I still have nightmares about that Grand Master Galaxy in Mario Galaxy 2. By the sounds of it, this is similar. And I don't think I WANT to go through that pain again... We'll see...

 

What are you playing at the moment?

 

EPISODE 67.5

These are the final games in the series, peeps. Hope you enjoy them! ^_^

I don't think there's much to say that I didn't say in the video. I feel like I've achieved something fairly monumental, over 10 hours of video-blogging. But I'm very happy to put it to bed now. Here's this week's results... (Like there was any doubt...)

So I'm done. Ahhhhhh. (big sigh) That's not to say that the blog is shutting down though. I'll likely still post from time to time, and I've got an idea for another video or two that might make their way here, but they won't be in the format of the series. Keep an eye out! ^_^

Happy gaming everyone!

OH NOES!

Timewalk Games has come to a close.

:-( Sad face. :-(

I have been stoked with my copies of Mario & Wario, Mega Man & Bass, Starfox 2 and Tales of Phantasia that I bought from Timewalk. They did a fantastic service to the retro-loving community and it will be sad to see them go.

With a bit of luck, some other up-and-coming wunderkinds will take over the reins.

RETRO PRICES STINGING?

Just read this article over at Retro Gaming Australia and thought I'd repost it here.

THE FOUR MAIN CAUSES OF RETRO GAMING PRICE SURGE

It's definitely a costly endeavour to have a retro games collection! This article gives some hints on why that is, and why the price of retro games has spiked in just the last few years. Interesting stuff!

EPISODE 65.5

First one for 2014!

Can you believe I started this blog over 3 years ago...? I can't...

So had you played either of these before? They're fairly obscure. Here are the ratings...

In the video I mentioned an interview with a couple of guys who worked on Maui Mallard. It was on 1up.com, which sadly has closed down, but the interview is still online.

You can read it here.

I hope you had a happy new year. I've been finishing unfinished games left-right-and-centre lately. Rayman Legends (fantastic), Mario 3D World (brilliant), Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (very good, but a smidge too long, and I wasn't happy with the almost-game-breaking bugs with the 3DS's accelorometer), Ratchet & Clank: Nexus (quite good, but it's short, and certainly not top-form for the series) and Batman: Arkham Origins. (decent, but nowhere near as good or original as the first two games)

I'm just about to go away on holiday for a week, so I'll likely have time to catch up on a few more handheld games that have fallen by the wayside. My pile of shame is pretty... well, shameful.

Stay cool everyone. See you soon. ^_^

EPISODE 61.5

This video was supposed to be finished aaaages ago, but... well, y'know, December happened.

So the end of the series is looming ever and ever closer! I had every intention of being completely done by the end of the year so I could concentrate on my new blog in 2014, but... (sigh) Looks like I'll be running two blogs concurrently. >_<

Only 2 or 3 more videos left now. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas, whether it's boiling hot like it is here, or if you're snowed in the freezing cold. Happy new year and I suppose I'll see you in 2014!

OHMEHGERD!

So who's got this yet?

I was very nervous about a direct sequel to one of my all-time favourite games (see Episode 19) but it's stunningly good. Best use of 3D I've seen on the system, pity help the poor sods who just shelled out for a 2DS...

Sure, it kinda feels like an expansion pak (as does Batman Arkham Origins, another game I'm playing through at the moment) but gee, it's sucked me right in as only a Zelda game can. So, so good.

A-hem... Where were we? Retro gaming? Yes. That's right. I've just finished redesigning "The List" page (thanks Eric Marguns for the reminder) to make it a bit neater and include all of the "catch-up" games I've been doing.

Clever clogs who have a look at the list will be able to see a couple of little nuggets I've slipped in there as well. They might notice that I've already written in the next 2 games to feature in the upcoming video (probably a week or two away, I'd say) as well as empty placeholders for the remaining games after that. What will they be...? Can you guess...? ;-)

The new consoles are out... Hooray... (sarcasm) Personally I couldn't care less. All the games are bleugh. I've got more than enough gaming with Zelda this week, Mario 3D World next week, as well as the thousand other games I'm currently playing.

Happy gaming all!