Intensive Gaming Diary

The blog about videogames.

Category: Retro

The Enemy of My Dear Hobby

Posted on by Viljami

Where should I begin. Firstly I must admit that I am frustrated with this issue. GameCube seems to be very popular retro gaming system right now. It has been maybe six moths that I bought this console. GameCube was released in 2002 in Europe. So this console might be 20 years old. Who knows, exactly?

Of course the hardware has its limitations. It would be much nicer if I could just rip the games that I have to a rom file and install for example Batocera or some other Linux OS to any computer that meets the system requirements to play these GameCube games. Currently there is no solution like this. There is nobody selling any kind of hardware to ripping your roms to be used by you only…and you already own these games!

Small gaming stores have a responsibility. But that responsibility for me is very limited. I understand that they can only give you a guarantee of one or maybe three months. But where are the experts that are able to repair these old gaming consoles?

What is my issue here? The answer is that my GameCube refuses to handle game discs properly. I have already cleaned the disc reader very carefully. I did that once. After that the console worked just fine…for maybe an hour! I have also unplugged the power and AV cables and plugged them in again. This also makes GameCube do something but it clearly isn’t the right solution.

This is the same problem I had also with my original Xbox and my older PS2. Both of these machines are out of use and I am keeping them in a storage right now. These consoles are definitely of a low quality. If you compare these devices to for example my Xbox 360 or my PSOne you definitely get the picture.

These problems make me think once again if its really comfortable to spend so much effort to getting an old physical device to run your retro games on. It makes me, and maybe even you, consider buying some newer hardware. But why, oh why, aren’t there a solution here for us retro heads? Why can’t you make a new GameCube mini console? Or maybe a device that we could rip our games to another device or computer?

GameCube is right now a popular device. For a while ago I also bought a HDMI adapterto my GameCube. There are plenty of games available right now. Prices of these games are also high. There seems to be a certain appeal to this system. And I defionitely would like to play these types of games.

We are desperately waiting for Nintendo or maybe some other party to release a better console for playing the games of this system. I can guarantee that it would make you some money. And please…make it available also in where I live and that is of course, Finland.

The State of Final Fantasy Series in 2002

Posted on by Viljami

Only some days ago I got a copy of Final Fantasy VI. I do have all other FF games that were released for the first PlayStation. These games are VII, VIII and IX. And also one game that I don’t actually own is Final Fantasy Tactics.

There has always been a sense of strategy in FF games. They also offer you a nice and long story and the ability to develop your character or even characters. I have this habit of not giving a name for a new character and to go with the name that is as default. That way you can have a discussion on a certain character if you have a friend that also plays these role playing games. I love also chocobos…if you don’t know what they are you propably haven’t played FF as much as some of us have.

I first got into FF as I got Final Fantasy VII for PlayStation back in the end of 90s. I really liked the game. It was maybe two years old when I got the game but it still had a lot to offer. This makes me, again, to think how stupid for me it was to sell my PS1 and all the games I had. It was actually the summer of 2000 that I finished FF VII. I had a long vacation in that summer. I was just about to start in high school and I did actually in the fall of year 2000.

Final Fantasy has its roots in NES and also SNES. The first FF game was released for NES. There were some games released for SNES. Back in 2002 when FF VI was brought to PS1 there was already a new PlayStation console available for gamers. It features graphics that make you think very strongly that this is actually a SNES game ported to PS1 that can also be played with PS2. My edition actually holds a  playable demo disc for PS2 that has Final Fantasy X in it.

What was going on with this title back in 2002? We had already seen many FF games for PS1. FF X was to be soon released. It was the first FF game that had an audio dialogue. All of the earlier games of this series’s dialogues were only in text format. It seems that releasing also FF VI brought something more for the fans of this series. It also brought some money for the developers of this game.

I have only started playing this game. It seems to be very good RPG. I don’t mind if the graphics are simple. I haven’t played so much FF games on SNES. So, graphics are just fine. You do need a PS1 memory card, if you are playing this with PS2. The game actually fits on only one CD. I know that FF VIII was delivered in a package of 3 or 4 discs.

Not Enough Time For Every Good Game

Posted on by Viljami

Some months ago I bought Silent Hill 4 The Room for original Xbox. I haven’t had time to play it and really get into it. There are also some other good games in this featured image. On the top is Dungeon Siege for PC. This is a good Diablo clone that was developed by Microsoft. I have played it but I haven’t completed it. It’s a shame since it is definitely a nice role playing game.

There is also a game called Black. This is a first person shooter for Xbox. I played it for some hours last year. It is very good but also a difficult game. I just got stuck because and found myself going through the same situation over and over again. It was a struggle and I couldn’t beat the game or even proceed from the point I was stuck in.

Not all these games in this picture have received marvelous reviews. I know that Goldeneye – Rogue Agent and Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer aren’t so appreciated by game reviewers or even by common gamer people. I wanted to pick these games up. One reason was that they were so cheaply available. The other reason was that they are compatible with Xbox 360. I currently don’t have an original Xbox. I do have Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2. M;aybe some day I decide to move one of the other gaming consoles to side and add once again original Xbox to my forever evolving game console setup.

I remove, sometimes, a gaming console from my setup. Many times I also find some gaming device that can bring me multiple systems for one HDMI connection. I use mainly HDMI. PlayStation 2 is currently the only SCART connected device I have in my setup. Recently I bought a HDMI adapter for my GameCube. It cost me almost 80 euros but it enables connecting my console to a regular HDMI channel. I have thought about getting also a similar adapter for PS2. I found one for only 15 euros. I don’t know if its a one with good quality.

I also received some bonus credits from one game dealer. It was nice. I received 25 euros for buying ten times a purchase of 35 euros or over. I have been ordering already for years from this dealer. I used this sum of euros to buy six games. Four of them were for Xbox and the two other were for Xbox 360. It did cost me 50 euros after I used the 25 euros of bonus credits.

So I got these games for original Xbox: Batman Begins, Dead to Rights, Oddworld – Munch Oddysee and The Thing and these two games for Xbox 360: Devil May Cry 4 and Supreme Commander 2. I really enjoyed playing the first Devil May Cry although I didn’t complete it. I also played the fifth Devil May Cry but found it to be not so interesting. I think it has too many cut scenes in the beginning of the game and it seems to be too easy when it comes to playing the actual game. So I didn’t like it. I hope that the fourth game in the series would be better. I actually didn’t read a lot of reviews about this game.

You can figure that I buy a lot of games and usually I buy them for a cheap price. I have noticed that the price of some games is rising. You can take some GameCube games for example. I think that there’s always these high priced games that I won’t even look when I am skimming through gaming web stores.

I am going to have a holiday this year. It is yet too soon to talk about when it’s going to be and exactly how long will my vacation going to be. I might go to a trip. I will definitely play some games that I currently own. I hope I can spend some good times with games and writing this blog also. I do have the book project. I just haven’t once again had time to get deeply into writing more of it. Today I also designed a game with my pal that is currently doing some heavy programming with the second and even the first game that are under updating and also under development right now.