The retro thread

[Madmya]

Haha, I feel targeted by that character assessment. But I think that's pretty bang on!

I think the only game that I'll one day pay too much for is Shining Force 3 (PAL). Have you still got that? Also Shining Wisdom? All this saturn stuff makes me happy, they were simpler times.

P.S. Although I'm asking if you've got those games, I'm not necessarily looking to purchase those any time soon! Just wondering if you still had them for when the day comes I can hit you up first.

[unfnknblvbl]

I've pre-ordered an Ayn Odin 2. I hope it actually does before it becomes obsolete, because... holy shit, those are some bonkers specs.

$700 got me the top end model with 16GB RAM and half a terabyte of storage. This thing should be good for full speed GameCube and maybe PS2 and Switch.

[Deef]

I either didn't know or forgot there was a Shining Force III. Damn, I want it.

Phantasy Star II was my introduction and very nearly my end to the whole RPG genre. Couldn't stand it. Then I hired this game called Shining Force II. Damn, so good.

[Madmya]

It's a good game, I remember enjoying it. I'm keen to play it again some day.

[unfnknblvbl]

it's a pity Saturn emulation is so freaking difficult to emulate - there are no actually good emulators, despite the Yaba Sanshiro dev's best efforts.

I either didn't know or forgot there was a Shining Force III. Damn, I want it.

Phantasy Star II was my introduction and very nearly my end to the whole RPG genre. Couldn't stand it. Then I hired this game called Shining Force II. Damn, so good.

Oh man... I was in pretty much the same boat. I never understood Phantasy Star II, but then got Shining Force II on a whim and was blown away! And then I played Phantasy Star IV a few years later, and... wow. I could not believe this was in the same series as Phantasy Star II was.

I'd give just about anything for a Phantasy Star V, and a re-release of Shining Force III.

[Deef]

Ha I was exactly like that with PSIV also.
I love the art and music style of PSII though. And years later I managed to get... maybe halfway... through it. Ufff. It was a trip though to hear the origins of PSO's battle music retroactively.

Only tried PSIII for about 30 seconds. It was a drag, and reviews only made it sound draggier. I've actually spent more time on the first Phantasy Star.

[Froggy]

So got my Sinden and have been playing with that. Actually quite easy to set up, it felt to me anyway. My biggest problem is the TV closest to my PC is 54inches and you've got to get as close to the opposite wall to be just far enough to keep accuracy as moving towards the sides of the screen the aim doesn't track well if you are too close. Seems best practice is to be about 2x the screen away at least, so I'll have to have a try out in the lounge room but it means shifting my PC in there.

Went through a bit of a confused period for the first 2 days at the start where I didn't realise it can't cope dual monitor, so I had the TV hooked up and shooting and it was trying to relate it back to my desktop screen even though the border and everything was running on the TV and the gun would accept that one OK up until you tried to play a game.. some windows update that apparently screwed dual screen support. Once I worked that out and just had the TV it was pretty straight forward. I might need to build a little gaming PC for the lounge room for it but to get the specs to play Time Crisis 5 etc stuff it'll be another couple of hundred so that kind sucks. Definitely get the recoil version if you are going to get one though, it's well worth it for the extra $, you'd be sad without it.

Then I have seen this has been announced, so you can see I got my Saturn up and going if you read back some pages but getting back to wired controllers been a bit of a pain in the ass. These look great:


Retro-Bit has launched its 2.4 GHz Wireless Pro Controller, merging the iconic SEGA Saturn design with today’s gaming features. Set to release in Q4 2023, this controller offers enhanced gameplay on the SEGA Saturn and compatibility with USB-enabled devices. Drawing inspiration from the SEGA Saturn Control Pad (MK-80116), Retro-Bit’s new offering is a nod to nostalgia while catering to modern gaming needs.""

https://www.heypoorplayer.com/2023/10/1 ... ontroller/

I'll probably grab one when they come out unless there's something I'm missing about wireless input on old consoles? Possible issues due to slower input speeds than the wired so timings are off or something?

[unfnknblvbl]

Those analogue sticks look cursed. I think a better way would be to riff on the Nights pad, tbh.

Interesting about the Sinden light gun. I'm curious, but... all my screens are midlife-crisis-sized. I'd have to rearrange my lounge room and office to be able to get that far away from the screen hahaha

[Froggy]

Yep I'm the same, in the lounge room its 65 but I can get much farther away so would be fine, in my study it's about 3x3 in here so once you are on the couch there's more space lost and the TVs not right against the other wall. Besides the dual monitor issue this one took the longest to solve, a lot of fiddling with settings and just being perplexed until it hit me, maybe it's the distance. It's much easier with the 4:3 games as they don't use the width but as soon as you put a game on from TechnoParrot and it's full screen like HOTD4 or 5 you gotta get the distance.

Not that worried about the analogs on that as I reckon I'd still use the dpad but it's going to be at a price point it's not the end of the world if it's shit to give it a go. I'll er on the side that these guys generally seem to make decent products so even if it's not great it shouldn't be unusable.

[unfnknblvbl]

I've pre-ordered an Ayn Odin 2. I hope it actually does before it becomes obsolete, because... holy shit, those are some bonkers specs.

$700 got me the top end model with 16GB RAM and half a terabyte of storage. This thing should be good for full speed GameCube and maybe PS2 and Switch.

Got this last week. I am in awe of just how powerful this thing is. I'm blown away by Breath of the Wild at 1080p and full speed on an Android handheld. Tears of the Kingdom isn't quite full speed yet, but Switch emulation on Android is still new, so I'm sure it won't take long.

It would have been significantly cheaper to just buy a Switch, but this thing also does PS2 at 1080p (not that I've tried it yet). Same with GameCube. Apparently work is happening on Citra (WiiU) and Xenia (X360) for Android as well, and this thing might actually be good enough to run those, from what I've heard.

What a time to be alive.

Do I recommend it? Good god no. Only if you have $750 to throw at a mobile gaming device that plays just about everything other than PC games. Just a bit more will get you a Steamdeck, which is a much more sensible (but far uglier) purchase.

[Froggy]

Had the Sinden out during the end of January. Once I had it working it was a pretty good experience just it's a pain in the ass to find the roms and then find out which ones actually work or are somewhat working etc. I did want to absolutely destroy everything for most of the first day as it inexplicably stopped working. Ended up that I ran one of their older programs that was meant to set config for me but it bricked the initial install so I just had to reinstall it again somewhere else and I was back. It was hard to work out though because the gun did what it was meant to until the game started then did nothing, so I also had to reinstall all the emulators and then set all the configs up again.. joy.

Anyway once it was working was a dead eye dick with VC 1 and 2, I really enjoyed it. I'd say it was as accuarate as any guncon or other light gun I'd had in the past, probably more accurate than my Madcatz Dreamcast gun which was always slightly off which used to shit me. Worked well with HOTD4 and 5 and original, you definitely need to have a fair bit of space between yourself and the screen if you are playing on a decent sized LED these days though, that was the real key getting it into a space I could get further back and then I could get complete accuracy to the edges of the screens.

[F for Fake]

Does it have recoil? And does it work on older games that didn't support it?

[Froggy]

Does it have recoil? And does it work on older games that didn't support it?

Yeah you have to get the recoil version. Recoil is interesting as it works great single shot, it's usually great when machine gunning but if you hold the trigger down it can tail off as it's only got the usb power right and every now and then when it gets a new jolt of power it can cause a glitch like you'll suddenly be reloading or throwing a grenade out of nowhere. You can do a heap of tuning and settings with the recoil though but yeah recoil is a massive +, my kids loved it.

Older games.. I didn't go older than like model 2 so not sure, any in particular? Seems pretty hard to find a game that didn't support it.

[Rorschach]

I've pre-ordered an Ayn Odin 2. I hope it actually does before it becomes obsolete, because... holy shit, those are some bonkers specs.

$700 got me the top end model with 16GB RAM and half a terabyte of storage. This thing should be good for full speed GameCube and maybe PS2 and Switch.

Got this last week. I am in awe of just how powerful this thing is. I'm blown away by Breath of the Wild at 1080p and full speed on an Android handheld. Tears of the Kingdom isn't quite full speed yet, but Switch emulation on Android is still new, so I'm sure it won't take long.

It would have been significantly cheaper to just buy a Switch, but this thing also does PS2 at 1080p (not that I've tried it yet). Same with GameCube. Apparently work is happening on Citra (WiiU) and Xenia (X360) for Android as well, and this thing might actually be good enough to run those, from what I've heard.

What a time to be alive.

Do I recommend it? Good god no. Only if you have $750 to throw at a mobile gaming device that plays just about everything other than PC games. Just a bit more will get you a Steamdeck, which is a much more sensible (but far uglier) purchase.

I am supremely interested in the Odin 2 but I am also thinking the Steam Deck is a better option given the access to my Steam library plus emulation. To the extent I might just get the normal LCD version of the Steam Deck and save some money.

[unfnknblvbl]

Honestly for the price, the Steamdeck is probably the better option if you can stretch the extra couple hundred.
Having said that, the Odin 2 has a much much better better battery life.
Switch emulation has come along by leaps and bounds, and it now executes code natively. Only the GPU has to be emulated, which is the main bottleneck now. Red Dead Redemption is about 80% speed (I always wanted pooraka Red Dead...), but who cares, when Animal Crossing is full speed?

But yeah, the Steamdeck OLED would be a much better option.

[Froggy]

Hitting up Super Potato in Tokyo next week, if I get a chance I'll see what else is around. Be interesting to see the state of the market here, I'm gonna guess expensive.

[Rorschach]

Honestly for the price, the Steamdeck is probably the better option if you can stretch the extra couple hundred.
Having said that, the Odin 2 has a much much better better battery life.
Switch emulation has come along by leaps and bounds, and it now executes code natively. Only the GPU has to be emulated, which is the main bottleneck now. Red Dead Redemption is about 80% speed (I always wanted pooraka Red Dead...), but who cares, when Animal Crossing is full speed?

But yeah, the Steamdeck OLED would be a much better option.

Nice. I'm thinking now just waiting and saving up for an OLED Deck - I priced an Odin 2 and the USD hurts the AUD badly in conversion. No particular rush, more just for being away from home to play games in hotels at night after work. I ordered a Genki Covert Deck 2 for charging and display for the Switch on the road but read it also support the Deck as well.

[flipswitch]

I just love holding the Deck. Feels so good in the hand and it’s very comfortable. The button layout/placemat is perfect for my hands and the buttons are clicky!

I have the el-cheapo LCD model, it’s still great and I have no intention in upgrading .

Don’t forget to buy a dock where it can be placed and charged. I have a cheap one from eBay , so shop around .

[Rorschach]

My only is with the Deck is lack of local warranty. I have little doubt it is well built but thinking of going the ROG or Legion. Both have their issues, I'd immediately go for the ROG if it didn't have the overheating SD card issue. The Ayaneo Slide is interesting but the keyboard looks cheap. I really wish Valve didn't hate Australia so much for releasing hardware.

[Froggy]

Slim pickings in retro stuff in Aikhibara and surrounds these days, didn't get too far out to non tourist areas this trip so that sucks. Prices have gone up slightly but still can get some stuff relatively cheap if you wanted to collect. If anything consoles now seem much cheaper to get, maybe the age etc and them crapping out more is having an impact.

[Rorschach]

With the rise in streamers going to this areas the stores have caught on. Generally the best places to find real "finds" is to go to a suburban Hard Off - few I've been to have had a pretty good breadth of arcane electronica and gaming. Osaka Den Den Town isn't what it was, most of the older stuff is over inflated in price.

[Froggy]

With the rise in streamers going to this areas the stores have caught on. Generally the best places to find real "finds" is to go to a suburban Hard Off - few I've been to have had a pretty good breadth of arcane electronica and gaming. Osaka Den Den Town isn't what it was, most of the older stuff is over inflated in price.

Yeah last trip I got a chance to just wander off and I came across a shop or two on the other side of Tokyo with a bunch of stuff but with the kids stuck to me I couldn't get away to catch a train and have a proper wander. The prices in Super Potato were absolutely diabolically high but I guess that's a well known tourist one, I did pick up some games from Retro Game Camp but only because the exchange rate is so strong right now, they were still inflated but not insane but I would doubt many Japanese people are going in there to get some old games. LIke I got Sega Rally on Saturn which I was expecting to pay around 500 yen but it was 1450.

On the flip side with the dollar so good got a couple of rc car kits for 150 total, that stuff is a steal there at the moment.

[Froggy]

So my Hyperkin is crapping out so I've gone and ordered what I believe is a retrotink 2x knock off and some new videos/rca cables for my Saturn.

Not sure what I'm doing here but none of the official stuff seemed to ever have any stock so had to go the knock off which from all accounts works just as well as the retrotink2x. I was watching some videos the last few days and I didn't realise how shit my output to the TV has been, this should give me a much better picture quality.

The other way I thought I could try is getting some component cables and going direct into the TV with that but it seemed like I would still need some sort of scaler in between to get any decent picture?

[Rorschach]

I placed an order for the Odin 2 Pro. Was a hard decision but just being able to relive the best of the SNES, PS1, Dreamcast and Gamecube eras was enough to bite. Looking to play more of PS2 games I never got a chance to play whilst in Japan.

Steam Deck is a better modern platform but in the end, I wanted something more portable and with a longer battery life. Plus a mate locally has one and showed it to me, phenomenal build quality. I got the PAL SNES inspired colour-way.

[Madmya]

Some people might be interested in this, but Data Discs have been taking preorders for NiGHTS vinyls for a few months now:

https://data-discs.com/products/nights