Jonathan Chapman

Retro Gamer/Collector, Writer, Programmer, Pragmatist

[jonathanraychapman]

Comparing Witcher 3 to Zelda Breath of the Wild

Both of these games take hundreds of hours to go through (potentially 1000+ hours - depending on if it's your favorite game and what you’re trying to achieve).  The sheer entertainment value they provide to the gamer is immense.  However, despite their first appearance they are very different in how they operate.  I wanted to discuss my observations about that - not in minute detail, but at the high-level.  I just think it’s interesting that Witcher went in one direction and BOTW went in another.

Witcher 3 (2015) is sort of the current pinnacle of a sword and sorcery open-world adventure RPG and so it’s fair to compare others in the genre to it - no matter what year they came out.  I’d first compare Skyrim (2011) to it and point out the difference between “show.. don’t tell” between them.  And by that I mean the act of putting the story into writing on the one hand and enacting the story through voice-acting and videos on the other.  

Now I discuss Skyrim here because I really feel like it’s the root from which both of these games sprouted.  I love Skyrim as an open-world experience, but I have to discuss it critically for a bit.  While Skyrim had a lot of telling, it didn’t have a lot of showing (and that comes from the style of the previous Elder Scrolls games to be fair).   Sure.. the world is very fleshed out with its own mythology and if you’re a video-game scholar, you can dig out all the juicy details (from statues and books in the game.. not necessarily from NPCs or quests) and there’s a ton of lore videos all over YT doing just that.  But - again - to a player like myself, the world can feel a little lonesome and forlorn (maybe even a little boring).  I mean that’s sort of more realistic, but it’s also a hindrance to the experience.  By the time you finish side-questing, you may have already forgotten what it was you were trying to do in the first place.  I feel like later games built on top of this open world game (i.e. location teleportation systems) but added on additional layers of story and style.

Compare Skyrim to Witcher 3 - which came out just 4 years later.  Witcher 3 is happy to just show you the story continuously all the time with wonderful voice acting and cut-scenes (referencing the book source material but not requiring it).  It just feels a lot more alive (again to my personal experience).  And unlike most games full of that sort of content, it doesn’t feel like you’re playing a movie.  There’s enough freewill to vary the outcomes to let the illusion of living the story hold.  However, the game moves in acts and you will move to the next act in time - which will change the world and how you can interact with it.  That required a monumental amount of effort to achieve.  And it really helps the replay value (spoiler: Zelda has a different way to achieve that).  Want to see how something changes after the trigger point occurred some 20 hours of gameplay back?  Well, you’ll just have to play the game differently on the next run.

The reason I mention those two games is to compare them to Zelda BOTW and how it plays out.  Zelda sits between both of those on the spectrum between open world and staged/polished content.  The focus is on gameplay and mechanics.  The background on Zelda games is one of action/platformer and I feel like the developers really stepped out of their comfort zone to try a different genre (Zelda was an action-RPG, but not to this level).  And for the most part, it’s a very good game that balances open-world feeling with holding true to the roots of the franchise (conquer area boss and move on).  But it sort of puts the game in a weird place - coming to it strictly from an open-world RPG player myself.  Is it still an immersive experience (meaning if I walk into someone’s house, will I find the story there as well as out on the main plot trail)?  Sure, but only barely.  But is it immersive compared to Witcher 3?  In storytelling style, I believe Witcher 3 has the edge, but in gameplay, you can certainly be more immersed in Zelda.  They’re flip sides of the same coin.

Zelda is about the controls and snappy/accurate gameplay first and foremost - from the hacking/slashing/jumping/combat-combo system to the puzzles you’ll have to solve with a small set of predefined abilities that you’re given near the start.  It’s that sort of skill-heavy action game at heart, crammed into an open-world simulation to match the Western aesthetic.  They took the little booklet that came with The Legend of Zelda (NES) and they stretched out the story as far as they could (which took years over multiple series).  Then they gave it a quasi-cell-shaded/quasi-realistic world for the player to explore that I think looks gorgeous.  But it’s clear that the lore takes second stage to the action.  It’s sort of a nice reward for solving the level in Zelda (given through cut-scenes).  In Witcher 3, it’s given before, during, and after the level (by the characters in the scene - one who you are actively controlling the whole time).  I will defend Witcher 3’s gameplay here as well.  People gripe about the swordplay (and I think that comes mainly from Witcher 1), but remember that there’s all the sames alternate forms of combat in one game to the other (from bombs, ranged weapons, magic, etc).  Even the Witcher rune system feels kind of like Link’s from BOTW in some regards.

In some ways, Zelda’s difficulty curve seems to almost fit the Souls style of games (although I haven’t played enough of those games to really judge).  There seems to be the theme of meeting some monumental challenge (which comes down to practice and skill) to be given a little breadcrumb of a story that will make more sense as it goes along.  Maybe that game series had an influence here on Zelda BOTW’s developers more than Western RPGs.  I feel both Witcher 3 and Zelda were certainly influenced by Skyrim though.  

And the focus on gameplay vs story is really what changes the motivation to replay the games.  Zelda has entire DLC dedicated to more puzzles and more difficult challenges (supposedly to be completed before the final battle), but very light story additions (literally just a cutscene and some extra voice lines here and there).  Compare that to Witcher 3 - with two very large lavishly-voice-acted DLC packages that add a ton of story, whole new regions to explore, but no real additional challenge or mechanic additions.   Zelda is mainly about the challenge whereas Witcher is more about the story.  They’re both a good time, but go about the experience in different ways.

[jonathanraychapman]

Breath of Fire 3 Review (Spoiler Free)

Breath of Fire III is really a mixed bag for me.  The music and sprite-work is amazing, but the world-building feels very derivative to the JPRG genre.  And I can certainly love and enjoy a game regardless of that (see Lunar or Grandia games).  The story overall is nice, but it’s drug out fairly long for what it is and I don’t feel the character writing really justifies or endears the player to the characters enough.  One thing is that you as the main character never speaks (ala Link or Chrono).  So all the emotions are conveyed by the people you adventure with (at least I assume you’re to identify with the main character since the game won’t let you swap out).  And it just sort of removes me from the experience a little.

I also kept having to remind myself that this was a PS1 game and not a SNES game.  It really looks like it came from that time period (of course this was just 1997 I guess).  You know what other game came out earlier in the same year?  Final Fantasy VII.  Guess which game is the better game.  Hint: it’s probably not this one if you’re honest.  Breath of Fire 3 is part of that early move to 3D gaming, but it wasn’t that early. Fortunately the developers decided to use almost exclusive 2D here.  Most of the 3D aspects look like mode 7 on the SNES.  Heck.. this probably was a SNES game that was moved over.  Don’t get me wrong.  The music is great.  The sprite work is awesome.  But neither are better than Chrono Trigger on SNES was.  Chrono Trigger is a much more-polished game than this one.

First of all, combat is just okay.. nothing amazing.  There are various attacks, skills (spells), use-item, and then the auto-attack and auto-escape (hidden under the L/R buttons) that I didn’t understand existed until way too late.  Skills/spells/abilities may or may not require mana (or AP).  It’s a good thing it’s all fairly user-friendly because you’ll be seeing that combat a LOT.  Imagine walking in a room - a simple 8x8 foot small room) and trying to make it to the table.  You’ll be attacked 3 times before you can make it there.  Need to walk to the other side?  Expect more attacks.  The whole game is like that.  Later you can buy items that increase or decrease the attack chance.  Bad news is that they don’t seem to function.  Even Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest helped you with spells to alter the frequency.  Also, it’s often the battle end that feels like a punishment.  You’ll have to tap the okay button over and over to go through all the XP and item screens just to get back to trying to walk again.

Interestingly and frustratingly, not all players can use all equipment.  That’s understandable, but it doesn’t make much sense why.  It’s not a gender thing or a type of character thing or even a size of body thing.  It just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and requires trial and error.  While it’s fortunate the developers weren’t overly cruel and let you see who was eligible in the shops, you’ll only be able to see that for the characters you have in your party.  You’ll also see what I mean when you try and swap items between characters at an item shop.  It’s frustrating.  And you have to manage your in-combat speed against what you’re wearing (but that gets complicated when you start leveling up with masters that define your level-up stat bonuses).  It’s another almost-secret mechanic when certain characters get extra attacks that way.

I don’t feel the game does a great job in teaching you all the intricacies of its master system and how the item drops work at all.  You need to pick a master before too late (which become available as you progress in the game) and then train up and visit/revisit them (sometimes multiple times) to learn skills.  They all have special requirements before they’ll let you train with them.  For some it’s not clear what they require.. others it’s simple enough I guess.  I’m sure it’s on purpose, but it didn’t sit well with me.  

The whole game is cryptic - seemingly out of spite for the player.  They even hide the masters so that I guess you’ll have fun crawling around through every pixel of the game to find them.  That’s very old-fashioned of the developers and not very common for a game from the time period this game came from.  Your character is a dragon (that’s not a spoiler as the game begins with that hook) and the different ascensions come from finding stones that contain essences.  But it’s up to you as a player to discover what the combinations do.  I remember playing a battle, picking three essences that I thought would be okay, and then my character went berserk and stared killing my party instead of the enemy.  And we lost.  And I didn’t have a save that was nearby.  Boy that was fun.

Of course you’ll want to learn the battle skills (spells) from the masters for the late game or you might have a difficult time there with just the skills the game gives your characters naturally (and you don’t want to wait too long before starting to learn them because most masters require around 8 levels being dedicated to them to teach you what they know).  And you can learn additional extra skills from creatures as well, but those seem to be a little underwhelming.  Also, the higher-level you are the less chance you can learn them from lower-level encounters.  So at one point I just tried over and over to get a skill.  I’d observe the skill and it’d hit the character I was inspecting with, but nothing would happen.  It’s very frustrating.  

The game also lets you swap skills between party members, but only after acquiring skill ink (a rare one-use item).  This comes at the price of the existing mechanic that as soon as anyone learns a skill from a master that no-one else can also know it.  There’s also the limitation that you can’t transfer skills outside of those learned from masters or creatures.  And does the game explain any of this to you?  Nope.  I only know it after reading through various Internet FAQs.  I had to look up if Charm (a skill that increases drop chances) stacks.  Turns out that it doesn’t.  Before then, I had been casting it over and over.  There was never an acknowledgement that it worked or a warning that it was already applied.  The game just wanted to stay cryptic.  But why even have the skill if that’s the case?

Likewise, there’s the idea or mechanic of items that drop when you kill enemies and items you have to steal (and they’re different items entirely).  And Rei (the rogue/fighter) seems to be the only character that lets you steal in the first place so if you don’t have him on your team, you can’t even try.  It’s odd because when you use Momo’s (the engineer’s) skill to identify the enemies, it’ll show you items they often don’t even have on them - some of which can only be stolen.. not dropped (of course it doesn’t tell you which is which).  And there’s no way of knowing how common the items are either.  Sometimes you have to kill an enemy dozens of times for a single drop (that’s assuming you know if it’s an item that comes from combat or just from stealing).  The later enemies even try to run so you can’t get their items.  You have to do tricks to get them to say and fight you (Goo King for example requires you to steal his apple to keep him in combat).

Speaking of that, there are times where you can only progress by adding a certain character to your party and doing a certain action.  Sometimes the game will give you a hint.  Sometimes it won’t.  It’s a puzzle for you, but it’s not a fun one since the clues just aren’t there.  There are mini-games you have to complete to proceed like that as well (and of course the mini-games are 99% of the time mandatory so too bad if you don’t like them).  I didn’t care for most of them (things like hitting a switch and running back before something happened).  There’s a section where you have to play a timing game and only have three chances or walk back to town and buy more of a certain material.  It took me more than three tries to figure out what was going on.  What was happening was that I had to hit the button before the visual indicator on the screen went to the “right” point.  That’s just a miserable experience.

Of course now we have the Internet but I wonder what people did back then.  I guess they bought game guides or gave up or just bumbled their way around until they finally got what the developer was thinking.  Sometimes you have to have a character not only in the party but as the leader and talk to a certain NPC.  And if you have to walk back and endure 10 mins of constant battles to get out to the map or to a point where you can swap characters?  Well too bad.

This game is always hiding things from you too (I guess to get some replay value).  It’s got this wonky isometric view and the developers try and use that against you by putting items where you won’t expect them.   Of course you’ll just move on and not get that item.  Sure must have been fun to hide the items everywhere.  It’s not as much fun finding them.  And then often they’ll turn out to be something mundane, like a healing potion.

Another fun thing is how the developers don’t put save points anywhere near boss battles or risky parts of the game.  That way when you die, you get to go back and play 10 or maybe 30 mins again.  And you may be tempted to keep playing without turning back because the combat has been easy.  Then you’ll run into that one enemy encounter where they get to attack first, someone casts sleep or hypnosis or whatever on your whole party, and then starts casting high damage spells while you can’t respond.  One time I fought through a dungeon, killed a mid-boss, was trying to go back and save, and then got killed right before that room.  Oh boy did I have to put down the controller and walk away for a while.

Is the game charming?  Somehow yes.  Even among all the flaws (all the despicable tricks and lazy mean-spirited game-extending misery) it contains, it somehow can be charming.  (Hey.. just FYI.. there’s a fishing mini-game that might be charming too.  I didn’t talk about it because I didn’t like it.  But if you like it, then that’s great.  One more point in favor of the playthrough.)  

Is it worth a playthrough with a guide?  Sure.  It won’t take away much being able to ask for help.  You’ll still be grinding through the battles and it’ll save you all the frustration of getting lost mid-dungeon and having to go back and forth for no reason other than you can’t remember where you were going because of the constant interruptions.  

Is it okay to play without a guide?  I just don’t think so unless you just really want to figure out those puzzles (some of which will take a whole other playthrough to utilize).  Sorry and I really wanted to love this game.  It’s just.. well.. okay.

Score: 6.8/10

[jonathanraychapman]

Thinking about the Hobbit Trilogy (Films)

I’m sort of in a weird place on the Hobbit films from 2013.  They’re decent and yet they’re despised by some purists.  But I can rewatch them and I’ve been enjoying them more than The Lord of the Rings to be honest.  Also, these came out in 2012 and 2013?  Wow.. time moves very quickly.

So listen.. I watched the Hobbit cartoon a billion times as a kid (I still do every year).  My grandmother recorded it off TV with The Last Unicorn for me before she passed and I basically wore that VHS tape out.  And yes I’ve read the book.  Heck.. my mom was a 6th grade teacher and taught ‘Riddles in the Dark’ to her class.  That’s how much we’re all into it.  And my mom actually dislikes most fantasy and she still loves The Hobbit.  It’s kind of our film (the 1977 cartoon) to watch together (along with The Maltese Falcon and a few others).

So yes.. I know my Hobbit lore.  And I know that when I watch these films, they’re padded to heck (and back) and involve references to stuff that maybe only existed in the appendix - which they turned into fully-fleshed-out theatrical sequences.  But I can’t hate them for it.  It’s like that meme where there are two cakes and the creator of one is worried about one being liked over the other and the hungry person is just like ‘wow!.. two cakes!’.  That’s the way I was with the three films.  I’m just happy that one was created.. much more three of them.  That’s amazing.  And - while not perfect - they’re not absolutely screwed up.  We’re not talking 2003 Daredevil or that Elektra movie here.  No.. these aren’t Spider-Man 3.  They’re more like Spider-Man 2.

I know it’s kind of a thing for Internet reviewers of movies to pick on The Hobbit movies.  But it’s kind of a disservice to the potential viewers.  They’re pretty fun to see.  Got cool visuals? Check.  Got action sequences?  Check.  Romance?  Check.  Humor?  Check.  Ghosts, Wizards, Dragons, Shapeshifters, Giants, Hammer-slinging Dwarves on Battle-Hogs?  Check.

Sure.. it’s not like the book.  It’s not true to the author.  But they’re not bad and I don’t think Tolkien is turning in his grave.  This is just a decent fantasy series of movies.  I don’t see how you can be mad at Tauriel the Elf showing up in what is pretty much an only-male ensemble.  And yes.. it’s a romance and it drags out.  And to be fair to today’s audience, there might should have been more women (besides Galadriel) that aren’t involved in romance.  But, again.  This is an old tale told in a different time and - let’s be fair to the writers - this is a romance like Tolken’s most-famous between Beren and Luthien.  It’s a nice call-back and a peace offering to the modern viewers (that of course the nerds slapped away in response).

Could I do without the rock giants or the bunny-sleds?  Sure.  Those are pretty silly.  Was the Goblin king a little too goofy?  Yep.  But movies are allowed to do their own thing sometimes.  It’s their interpretation and sometimes it’s about catering to their audience instead of to the most-hardcore fans.  The council attacking Sauron and his flunkies?  Yep.. that was kind of dumb.  But it was also kind of awesome.

Tolkien started writing The Hobbit as a bedtime sort of story for his children.  And then it grew and he turned it into a book.  And then he wrote some more books with a much more-grandiose backstory.  And then he modified The Hobbit a little here and there in revisions to kind of / sort of have it tie in to that backstory.  

But honestly, The Hobbit (book) remained sort of its own thing versus the Lord of the Rings (book) for decades.  And that’s why I think the Hobbit films can sort of be their own thing too.  If anything, they pull in too much of the Lord the Rings (movie trilogy) and it bloats the films a little.  But what I’m saying is that this is great for fantasy fans.

So.. yeah..  have fun and let other people enjoy things too.

[jonathanraychapman]

RetroTink 5X - My Findings

The RetroTink 5X is really an awesome product.  However, I just wanted to jot down some experiences I found while using it in my setup and what I’m going as a workaround or general use case.  It really takes a lot of fiddling around to get a look I can live with.  I’m honestly not that picky (say about color depth), but I also don’t like the image stretched or with obvious distortion when applying scanlines or filters.

My TV is an older LG TV that I’ve always used with 1080p - though it apparently will take 1200p input as well.  With the Retrotink 5X included, there’s a big difference between the way 240p looks, 480i, and 480p - so I’m going to describe those here.  I’d love to upgrade to a 4K TV at some point, but this TV does very well for me and I can’t find a real reason to replace it yet.  Maybe in another year or two.

Inputs

240p input - This looks great but based on what I want, I’ve found the following.  Scanlines only look good at 720p output to my TV (the other resolutions show line patterns).  However the CRT filters (i.e. Grille) don’t look good unless they’re at 1080p output (they show line patterns at 1200p output and they look wrong at 720p output).  If I’m just going for the straight pixel look, 1200p looks the best for 240p input.

480i input - I haven’t played with this too much (because PS2 is really my only input and I’ve been waiting on a gComp to come in before playing a lot of that).  So I’ll come back when I get more experience with it.  So far, I’ve found that I stick to 1080p over for the most part with this signal.

480p input - I mostly use this with my N64 and GameCube.  I have both HDMI-modded and I’m converting that to component to run through the 5X.  For this input, I find that 720p output looks weird and I avoid this unless I really need scanlines.  After the latest firmware I can play most games in 1080p output (over) and I won’t notice the line patterns for the most part.  On GameCube, I avoid 1200p because it seems to make the aspect ratio look off at that resolution for some reason.  However, I’ve been using 1200p with N64 for the CRT patterns (i.e. Grille) and that looks decent for the most part.

720p input (and I supposed 1080i - which I don’t really have a use for) is sort of just passed through the 5X and that’s fine, but I kind of wanted to use the output filters with it.  After installing the latest firmware, I can get some of the CRT filters to work (like Grille).  But I still can’t get scanlines to work at these resolutions.

Outputs

720p output - Looks great with scanlines on my TV.  The problem is the the scanline can seem too big unless they’re blending with 25% polyphase.  However, the scanlines are being processed without any patterns in them so I tend to use this with 240p 3D games like on Sega Saturn.  I otherwise avoid this and stick with 1200p for sharpness.

480p output - My TV makes this look horrible and it seems to be widescreen only when I try it.

1080p under - Looks tiny on my TV (sometimes only filling the middle half of the TV) so I just avoid using this.

1080p fill - Occasionally this looks OK, but I haven’t found it really that useful with this TV unless there’s something going on where under and over won’t work.

1080p over - This usually is a good pick - based on the game (especially higher resolution input).  My TV works well with the signal too.  However, it makes the filters show patterns.

1200p - This looks the sharpest and I love it for 240p content where I don’t want to turn on scanlines.  This also seems to look the best with the CRT effects (like Grille).  However, it’s always a mixed bag based on the game and system.  So it’s not like I can just leave everything set to 1200p (or any of the other resoultions really).

[jonathanraychapman]

Coteries of New York Review

So I finally got around to playing this PC game (with an Xbox controller) and here’s my non-spoiler review of it.  First of all, this is a visual novel game - similar to the Telltale in some aspects, but without quick-time events (that’s a positive).  Unfortunately, the in-game decisions you make don’t quite seem to be as complex or as intertwined with the whole narrative as those Telltale games, but we’ll get to that.  Think of this as a comic book where you can change the panels but not really the story.

The Good

The artwork is fantastic in this game.  From the motion in the backgrounds to just the little touches, I really felt like I lived in this world.  That’s huge for a visual novel style of game.  Some of the characters seem to be based on real-world people as models.  

The music is really solid too and reminds me of Bloodlines minus the rock tracks.  In fact, I might have to buy the soundtrack at some point just to listen to.  It’s just good generic music for adventuring and might be great if you were going to run your own V:TES campaign at home.

The characters are well-written in some regards.  They feel well-crafted at face value.  You do feel emotions for them and are curious about their backstory.  In my book that’s a win.  I liked the overall writing as well - although it’s got typos and maybe some inaccuracies with the setting (which I’ve learned listening to other players).  

The story seems to fit the V:TES universe pretty well.  I don’t feel like it betrays the general universe in any regards.  Given the plot that covers all the basic clans and lore of the franchise, that’s doing a great deal all in all.  But maybe that’s also why the structure of the game is so pre-determined (as I’ll discuss below).

The Bad

The story seems somewhat shallow in most regards.  This game is supposed to be completed in a few hours and the design reflects that.  Instead of letting you go down a path to learn way more about a set of characters, the game kind of hamstrings itself by sticking to a scheduled narrative with a limited number of nights.  

I get that this was a choice, but was it the right one?  I just don’t feel it was really since it just leaves you only having a handful of interactions with a wide cast of characters.  Again, it’s a design decision, but it just feel shallow in the end.  Replaying the game is like a time travel movie where the events are set in stone and it doesn’t seem to matter what you do - only maybe what happens around those events.

Sometimes I had problems with the static decisions I was offered.  They just didn’t fit the story with what a typical person would want to do or say.  Sometimes you feel pigeon-holed into making a decision you don’t feel fits the narrative just so the game can stick to a pre-determined progression.  

A small nitpick I have is having to click the button the controller to make all the text appear.  I am a very fast reader and just couldn’t wait for the text to appear slowly, but I quickly figured out that clicking the controller button would sometimes have the first decision be selected by accident (like the input was buffered).  That’s just poor design.

Not that I’m going to spoil it, but the ending (I received and that I’ve seen others also get even with different decisions) leaves much to be desired in how abrupt it is and how little your decisions seem to affect it.  The game is presumably about building your coterie (a party in AD&D terms), but in the end that really doesn’t matter aside from who shows up on a panel or two.  This game treats them just like any of the other characters you meet.  They’re really just there for more side-quests to do more world-building.  If your goal is to impact the ending, then you might be disappointed.  As such, the game loses a lot of replay value to me.  This is like a comic book that you’ve already read.  Maybe in a few years you’d like to come back to it, but not right after reading it.

The Verdict: Final Death (60%)

 If you’re a hardcore V:TES nerd (which I feel like I borderline am, but not as much as others), then you will stomach the bad here and will probably enjoy this game overall.  But if you’re just getting into the World of Darkness universe or just wanted a visual novel game with vampires, I’m not sure this is for you.  

Maybe it is acceptable given that there aren’t a lot of those sorts of games out there.  I mean Bloodlines on PC was a rough game no doubt (although current game patches have mostly fixed that), but it always had enough charm to keep you coming back and could appeal to casual players as a GTA style of game.  

I’m not sure this one appeals to the casual crowd and - at the original $20 price tag - the value just wasn’t there at full price (it’s not too far off though so maybe pick it up on sale).  When the game is cheaper (like $4.99) then I could recommend it then (especially with the soundtrack).  I mean I feel like I should really want to play it again and I just don’t.  If it had more replayability, I’d feel like it was a better purchase at full price.  I also really feel like this could have been a mobile game and maybe was created to be ported over but it never happened.

[jonathanraychapman]

Using Qin Shi Huang Effectively

This is just a quick discussion about how to use Qin Shi Huang in battles and what I think of him.  I’ve played through about 50 battles with him using various combinations of servants and I wanted to show my notes on using him.  I’m waiting on the Fous next month to give him another +1000 ATK/HP so please excuse that.  I am also working to 10/10/10 his skills as events come out.  Still, I’ve been able to experience the best team comps even with the emperor not as his best.

First of all, I see a lot of people talking about solo’ing with him.  I don’t think this is really the best idea since he’s just not speedy in achieving victory alone (i.e. with full support, I’ve seen him crit for 150-200K damage with just one buster card).  When you’re just fighting normal quests you’re not on any real clock and so the fact he’s a ruler (i.e. half-damage) with healing skills really helps in those cases and it seems like he’s almost overpowered.  And I’m sure that yes you can take certain challenge quests with him alone on the field (baring berserkers with break bars or something).  But I don’t really think that’s the right use for the emperor and the battles will take forever.  FGO is a team battle system and you should use your team.  And when you’re doing real challenge quests with servants firing off NP’s every other turn due to charge skills that invincibility every other turn might not be the greatest thing.

I’ve tried treating the emperor as a stall servant and just wasn’t satisfied.  It’s not different than soloing.  The battles take forever and it’s not feasible to win real challenge quests where you’re put on a clock.  I’ve also tried using him as an arts servant (using MLB Azure Magical Girl for the 30% NP generation and MLB Prisma Cosmos for 10% charge every turn) - focusing on NP charge and firing his NP as often as possible - and that wasn’t the greatest idea either.  The problem with that plan is that you want all three front-line servants hitting their arts cards in these teams.  And this dilutes the emperor’s own effectiveness.  You want to use those two buster cards and even the quick and if you’re playing arts then you’re not doing that.  You’re using two cards out of 5 so it really slows down the DPS and sort of dilutes the whole plan with his NP (and in the end I’m not looking for chip damage).  The arts strategy really works where your DP has an arts NP that deals the real damage.  That’s just not the emperor.

His kit isn’t greedy (like Jeanne Alter), but it also doesn’t really make sense to treat him as a semi-support when he’s capable of being a boss-killer.  Focus on Qin and he’ll win the day quite easily.  Like Jeanne Alter, he really wants to crit and naturally he wants stars to do so.  His NP really focuses this fact by giving him attack and star absorb.  He’s a ruler and gets a natural 1.1x damage multiplier as well as a base 100 star absorb.  He may seem weak due to the massive amount of HP on him over ATK but it works out to make him more balanced in combat (although I believe a 2000 ATK CE is a must).  He’s really a power-house and you don’t need to worry about protecting him.  Feed him attack buffs and stars and follow the ebb and flow of the battle (basically when his cards come up).  That’s the true nature of using Qin effectively.

Stars are the first thing to discuss, so let’s talk about 2030 (a CE that gives 10 stars every turn and 2000 HP).  Qin doesn’t need 50 stars every turn with his star weight and he doesn’t need additional HP (really at all).  So a three MLB 2030 CE setup is really consistent (trading 2000 attack on the CE for 10 more stars), but isn’t really optimal.  With the emperor, if you don’t hit at least 30 stars then you drop the chances of crits on turns when his NP effect isn’t up.  You really need to crit every time with the attacks to either maximize his NP charge, damage, or stars.  So for this reason, Talk of the Hot Sands is just a really good fit with Qin’s kit.  MLB’ed, it gives 600% star absorb (extremely useful with his 100 base star weight),  2000 attack (which remember gets boosted over and over through NP and skills so it’s really good to get that base higher), and a 25% critical damage boost.

And you can further make sure the stars go to the emperor by pairing him with casters (who already have half his star weight at 50).  Just to show an optimal team, I added Waver and Merlin here and let me tell you why.  Merlin’s kit really fits well with the emperor (I mean really really well).  His first skills gives NP and attack and the third skill gives a massive buster and critical boost (and the HP boost - which is sort of wasted).  So you can charge Qin into a NP on the turns where you don’t get the buster cards (often getting two of his NP effect’s durations to overlap) and then on the next turn or two be attacking for NP-level damage on each of those cards.  Waver is similar (and in fact can be switched out for many other casters - like Helena).  But - like Merlin - he offers Qin critical damage and attack boost as well as NP charge.  The reason I like Waver here is that he can keep Merlin’s NP level boosted as well so that he can fire his NP - which further helps Qin by creating more stars and NP generation (almost all of which go to the emperor).

This team works very well and gives you the strategy of knowing when to build up and when to let loose and be able to pick targets by card order and the first target.  Of course, there’s another option here - using Summer BB’s Moon skill to lock the cards for three turns (which seems amazing on paper assuming you have three of Qin’s cards up).  While I love that this skill also provides stars (to ensure the emperor’s attacks crit), it seems a little less effective than the Merlin/Waver setup because BB here is really a semi-support with an amazing third skill and so you’re either ignoring her cards to favor the emperor’s or using that skill to make sure her cards don’t come up.  Summer BB can really be a DPS all on her own and that’s where she shines.  By replacing Waver or some other caster, you’re leaving too many good boosts and NP charge skills behind.  It’s good and fun to play with, but just not optimal as far as damage output.  Also she has some star weight of her own for what that might matter.

Some more-budget-minded ideas here (not that it’s really my focus) are using Hans Christian Andersen and Helena.  Hans has skills to generate stars, his own NP charge and boost critical damage.  Also his NP boosts attack when it goes off (as well as boosting Qin’s NP in a chain).  It’s a pretty good fit and he’s cheap to field as a one-star servant.  Helena also has a skill to generate stars and a party-wide NP gain skill.  Both work well holding 2030′s (which help them survive) and both won’t pull stars away from the emperor.  But both are less effective than Waver/Merlin (of course since these are the best of the best supports).  If you’re at the point that you’ve got the 2030′s then you might not care about the budget options as much.  

Tamamo also seems solid, but Qin isn’t a loop servant and so - while the Arts up skill is great - it’s not super effective (although she can definitely work if you just want to use her).  At least her quick attack card has great stars and of course her NP is amazing with Qin’s skillset.  Sherlock seems like a good fit on paper too since his NP gives ignore defense and critical boost, but it also isn’t effective and it’s hard to keep NP’ing with him in this setup since you’re not going full arts or using the detective as the DPS (same problem with Summer BB really).

As far as Mystic code suits, I really prefer Mage's Association Uniform because of the 20% charge boost and the reshuffle ability.  The healing is sort of wasted I admit. Chaldea Combat Uniform would be good if you need to swap characters for some challenge quest.  Anniversary Blonde seems pretty solid with the buster boost and star skills, but since Qin isn’t necessarily going to go all in on a one-turn kill, those might not matter as much.  Arctic Region Chaldea Uniform is similar, but offers evasion like with Mystic Code: Chaldea.  Atlas Academy Uniform offers some good utility for challenges as well with the Invulnerability.

Well that’s it.  Emperor Qin is an amazing servant, but he needs a little help.  He’s really is a team player and - if you set him up right - you’ll get back amazing results.  This isn’t just the typical case of making a flawed servant useful. Qin isn’t flawed and by what you’re doing here is focusing or channeling your support skills into someone that will add their own magnification as well.  There’s a lot of synergy here and sustained DPS damage that’s hard to find outside of NP loop teams.

[jonathanraychapman]

Retrogame Collecting is Getting Tough

The problem with collecting games like Chronotrigger (Chrono Trigger) is that the prices have really jumped up in the last few years.  So if you missed the boat on these games, your wallet is going to be hurting.  I just wanted to address some of the thoughts and comments I’ve come across regarding me talking about this specific game.

The picture above was just what I found at a Goodwill.  This is supposed to be a thrift store, but clearly they’re going by pricecharting or some other mechanism (completed ebay maybe?).  If you found this in a boutique game shop, they’d tack on even more money.

Why is Chronotrigger such an important game?

To some of us, this is the definitive JRPG.  I wrote a whole review of the game that goes in depth if you want to check that out.

Why don’t you just emulate the game then?

If you’re simply a gamer, want a good time, and don’t want to pay money for this game, then you should.  Please!  Go experience this game however you want, but please play it.  It’s amazing.  But there are those of us that want the original cart in our collection.  We want the original physical game and that’s all there is to it.  What part of “being a collector of things” don’t you get, exactly?  Yes it’s irrational I agree.  Most hobbies are.

What about collecting the DS version then?

Yes the DS version has some enhancements and is portable.  But it’s not the original experience.  There’s something about playing the game on original hardware that is very important to those that are into retrogaming.

Well what about the PS1 version then?

The PS1 version is cool because it adds cut-scenes.  But that comes at a cost.  Often the PS1 must load data and those times add up (such as with battles).  It’s a nice thing to own, but I’d prefer the DS version of the SNES one over this.

What about the PS3/Vita/Mobile digital version then?

At this point, you’re emulating the game and I’ve already given that green-light for the experience, but a red-light (no-go) for the collecting.  Same goes for the mobile version (although I’ve heard negative things about it).

Well the game is rare, so you’re going to have to pay a premium.

It’s true that the SNES game didn’t have a greatest hits version and so the number of copies out there is more limited than other games.  But it sold 289,000 copies in NA alone and I’m sorry but that’s just not rare (maybe not even uncommon).  Castlevania IV sold around 500,000 copies.  Both are A+, must-own games, but Castlevania IV is still $35-50 for a cart while Chronotrigger is pushing $140.  

If you already own the game, why are you hung-up on the price?

I think it’s just indicative of a current retrogaming bubble (which doesn’t seem deserved right now) and a barrier to entry on the hobby for those people that want to go beyond owning just a handful of games.  It’s not just Chronotrigger that’s the indicator.  It’s all over the hobby.  In the last five years, it seems like prices have shot up two or three times the old values. 

 And - while I understand this being more of a popular hobby - I think it had grown into popularity for the most part by 2010-2015.  Game stores (aside from Zelda/Mario games) aren’t hurting on game stock.  Now working systems - on the other hand - I do see a shortage on.  This all - of course - may vary by area. As far as common/uncommon SNES carts, I don’t see a shortage that would justify the price increases.  And Chronotrigger isn’t a rare game even though it is desirable.  To be honest, it’s not even a game that everyone is going to want.  People collect different types of games and so the JRPG collector is really niche anyways.  

Basically the economy is in a weakened state these days and I don’t expect these prices to stay constant.  My advice would be to withhold big-money purchases until we see a price fall on these.  

[jonathanraychapman]

Experience with Scaling Devices using PlayStation 1 (PS1)

I’ve been playing around with PS1 games on my old LG 1080p TV using different devices and wanted to do a little write up (keeping it brief but also describing what I saw).  Apologies for no screenshots, but I’m not really set up for it and any pictures I took wouldn’t really convey much.

The reason the PS1 is so interesting to me is because it’s still that early time in 3D graphics as far as hardware, but it lasted long enough to where the developers got really good at attempting realism.  So while simple polygonal games like Spyro the Dragon look good no matter how you scale or filter them, games like Gran Turismo 2 or Need for Speed III either need to be left original or with subtle scanlines.  You can’t just anti-alias or blur your way through these games.  Every little pixel (from the trees to the dirt) has been placed there to resemble reality in a very “crunchy” graphics sort of way.  That’s part of the art and the fun of PS1.  The little system is trying to do the most with what little it has and I want that carried through to me while playing the games.

First of all; here’s my setup:  I use an original PS1 1001 console (the one with the audio jacks in the back).   I use Retro Gaming Cables RGB Scart cables going through a GScartSW (which is an expensive switching device that offers sync regeneration) going out to a scaler.  Here are the setups I tried.

Framemeister - Though I’ve sold my Framemeister recently, I had tried it extensively with the PS1 and used the custom configurations from FirebrandX.  The scaling was right, but didn’t look great on my TV at 5x due to positioning.  And 4X looked really sharp and centered, but it was leaving a lot of unused screen space and I ended up having to use the zoom feature on my TV.  Not ideal for many reasons.  Also, I wanted scanlines and those only looked good at 4X as well.  Plus it’s annoying switching back and forth and having to use the remote to load different profiles (more on my solution for that later on).  Back when this is all we had to use, it was more than acceptable.  But with so many awesome choices these days, it just seems like an over-priced way to go these days (I bought it for $300 and sold it at around $800).

Scart2X - Whenever Mike Chi (RetroTink Store) came out with the Scart2X I jumped at the chance to try it.  The $95-ish device takes RGB Scart input and outputs straight to HDMI.  It doubles 240p input and deinterlaces 480i, so you get a crisp 480p output.  There’s also a button to add either scanlines or smoothing to the image.  I used this setup for a couple of months and I really appreciated the simplicity.  All my 240p consoles look fantastic through this (Genesis, SNES, Sega Saturn, etc).  There were a couple of downsides, however.   The first was that the device doesn’t pass through 480p or anything higher.  It really only accepts 480i and 240p.  Secondly, the scanlines are 100% black lines and this made the image really dark on my TV.  So I ended up not using the device’s scanlines and - instead - using a separate HDMI scanline generator.  This actually helped a lot but not being able to input other sources with higher resolutions kind of bothered me.  As far as being simple to use, this is the ultimate device.  But I just wanted a little more than this had to offer in the end, but I’d have no problems recommending this - especially to those that want an unaltered original experience.

GBS-8200/GBSControl - At this point, I learned about the developments around the GBS-8200 from watching one of RetroRGB’s videos on the subject.  Turned out that I had bought this really cheap ($25-ish) VGA scaler device years back and it sat in a bin in my basement without use (because it didn’t really do what I wanted from it on a VGA monitor).  A developer (ramapcsx2) came up code so that you can use an Arduino to control the GBS-8200 board.  The neat thing is that - once installed - you can control resolution and features through your phone using WiFi.  You can also add a clock generator module to the board to prevent screen tearing (for PS2 games like Dead or Alive 2).  So - after spending maybe $25 in additional parts and conducting a mod that took me an hour and a half to figure out - I had a really nice scaling device that rivaled the Framemeister in features, but also had most of the simplicity of the Scart2X.  Well one extra addition I need was a SCART to VGA converter (which I luckily had).  I can leave it on 1900x1080 output and it automatically adds scanlines (letting you pick the intensity - which I leave on 50%) if the input is 240p (so that higher resolutions just look normal).  Turns out that this is exactly what I wanted all along.  The board also provides adaptive motion deinterlacing (which you can turn off or change to BOB deinterlacing at will).  This ends up looking great on my TV - it’s nice and centered and sharp.  

mCable Classic - I’ve also tried using the mCable Classic (I’ll just refer to it as mCable) with the GBS-8200 to add smoothing since it essentially adds no lag. Since this article is focused on PS1, I’ll just mention what I’ve found it useful for and what I haven’t.  First of all, the mCable doesn’t really do anything at 1080i, so you need to feed it 480p or 720p from the scaler output to see a difference.  And that’s not really convenient (as I’d just prefer to leave thing set as they are), but you could leave the cable hooked up and turned on and just disable the smoothing it offers by upping the resolution from the scaler to it.  Second of all, using scanlines really only works well with 1080p output on the GBS-8200 and the mCable doesn’t really do much with scanlined output going into it.

mCable/GBS-8200 - So here are some games that are use-cases (combining mCable and the GBS-8200):

Tekken 3 - Using smoothing has mixed results here.  Menus look great but the characters in-game looks pretty rough at 480p.  Upping to 720p results in the characters looking decent smoothed (especially when paused), but I’m 50/50 on whether to go this route or just to use the 240p scanlines to be honest.  For simplicity, the mCable isn’t really worth since this isn’t a game you’d play for a long time.

Crash Bandicoot (and Ridge Racer) - This at 480p going into the mCable is probably the best-case scenario.  Game looks smoothed and great.  Simple polygonal 3D games is kind of what smoothing is best used with.  The mCable is especially great because of how it treats defined solid lines.  Scanlines looks great, but if you were going to sit down and beat this game, setting up the mCable would absolutely be worth doing.

Need for Speed III (and other realistic-looking racers) - This is a case where you want to preserve the pixels that were trying to make the streets and scenery look realistic.  In this case, scanlines really beat out the mCable’s smoothing.  With the smoothing (even at 720p), the barely-visible pixelated leaves on the ground just look like a brown smear.  There wasn’t a lot of resolution to go on here and it’s only detrimental to remove it with smoothing.

Parasite Eve (and FF7) - This is another case where smoothing really isn’t useful due to the way the very pixelated/blocky characters look.  Sure, you’d see some nice smoothing on the backgrounds, but they’ve used every pixel to carefully represent the characters on the game field in a way that smoothing just doesn’t work with them.  In this case, scanlines works at 50% intensity because at this point your eyes will blend things for you and also you won’t be missing the information your eyes need to do this.

[jonathanraychapman]

Retrogaming Video Trends

I just wanted to jot down my thoughts about retrogaming trends at the moment.  When I say “retrogaming” I’m really referring to PS2/Xbox and back at this point.  I’m talking mainly about Twitch/YT here.

Current Trends

As far as Retrogaming content I see these genres of videos:

PC/Console Modding/Repair - videos like MLIG, RetroRGB, Voultar, etc

Product Reviews - like madlittlepixel, LonTV, 8bitguy

Let’s Plays - videos from Cinemassacre, MJR

Game Reviews - videos from SNESDrunk, DariaPlaysRPGs, LGR

Game Pickups - videos from MJR/Reggie, Kinsey Burke 

Speed Runs - videos from Arcus, AGDQ/SGDQ

Series Overviews - like Gamesack.. mainly Gamesack

History - like GamingHistorian, Kelsey Lewin, and LGR

I’m not going to comment on all of these.. just a few.

PC/Console Modding/Repair

This seems to be a lot of the content I see these days - mostly coming out of Europe at the moment.  The amount of content kind of dwarfs the other videos (mostly because each video can be an hour or more in length).  A lot of the more-technical people (like 8bitguy, Retro Recipes) have moved over to this category as time goes on.

I don’t know if I like this yet.  I’m into learning new things, but a lot of these videos are just about dusting off the boxes, scrubbing boards with alcohol, and maybe retrobrighting the plastic.  It gets old really quickly.  People like BanjoGuyOllie actually show troubleshooting on old arcade boards and - to me - that’s far more interesting.  There’s also a big difference between actually restoring a broken old pinball table or arcade cab and just cleaning up an old PC.  I’d also like to differentiate what LGR does - which is more akin to showing off the old hardware rather than proclaiming to be doing a repair or mod).

This area has a lot of good possibilities, but it’s about half filled with guys “restoring” Atari 2600′s by basically dusting them off.  There’s a lot of ground to cover.  While I’m actually happy to see Amiga repair videos, I’d like to see more videos like what GameTechUS used to put out.  I feel there’s an audience for this.

Let’s Plays

This is another really big genre right now. Cinemassacre (James Rolfe and crew) has broadened out to really cover pop culture in general (i.e. film, music).  They tend to fill in the weekly content gap for viewers with off-the-cuff Let’s Plays.  Some of the creators (such as Erin Plays and Mike Matei) actually do a full playthrough (filming originally on Twitch and cutting the video for YT).  This makes sense - as Twitch is probably a better format for this content.

I think the quality of this really depends on the creator.  If someone actually studies the game, comments on the history or gives interesting facts, and generally knows their way around the game; then it can be really fun.  The whole “let’s get this guy who has never seen Contra to play Contra” thing is kind of gross to me, however.  I’m also kind of annoyed by people that get very excited when they get killed in a game and decide to whine or throw a trantrum (I’ll bet you know who I’m talking about).

Game Reviews 

I’m not saying this format is dead, but it’s not nearly as prevalent as it once was.  Instead of weekly videos, we see monthly now.  Instead of having 20+ videos, we get a handful.  The people doing this are awesome and still passionate - don’t get me wrong.  It’s just that there has been a real decline with this sort of video.  Then again, how many Alisia Dragoon reviews did the world need?

I say that jokingly, but that’s kind of a problem as time goes on.  Newcomers (i.e. people turning 20 this year) might not know about these non-Sonic/non-Mario games (since it’s just assumed everyone does at this point by the video creators) and the old-school crowd (people turning 40) probably won’t be interested in such videos at this point (yes we know how good Golden Axe is).  It definitely an odd time to be alive.  This leads to people finding certain niches and exploring those (such as ImportGamingFTW covering Suikoden series or DariaPlaysRPGs covering 16-bit era RPGs).  And the problem with that is that if you’re not really into that content, the whole channel won’t appeal to you.

And I realize there’s a plethora of content out there from 10 years ago that’s still mostly relevant.  I just don’t think people are going to find it - what with YT algorithms and all.  I will say that if we want to keep this hobby going for more generations, we need to keep this content coming out.  

Product Reviews

This is really an interesting area to study.

There’s been a lot of drama here (and rightfully so) - with some reviewers getting Hyperkin/MyArcade/etc devices meant to be cheap and at every game store -instead of great products spread by word of mouth.  A lot of people (including myself) think these products are meant to fleece the enthusiast that don’t know better (creating hype, dumping a bunch on the market, and then moving on).  

And having YT reviewers say they’re decent (when they really aren’t) is a real problem and we need to hold those people accountable (either personally skipping future reviews or outright asking them why they said what they said).  To be fair, the laws now have these creators tell the public if they are doing a paid review and if they got the device for free to review.  Fortunately, I think these videos have fallen out of favor.

On the flip side, you’ve got RetroRGB and MLIG creating content that goes in depth about more-high-end video topics for classic gaming consoles (or maybe obscure products with limited production runs).  They go way in depth about the differences in resolution and quality and they definitely have a core and fanatical audience.  This is really gear that’s more for the enthusiast crowd (and belongs half in the modding area really).  I appreciate this content though.

Another topic I’m concerned about in this area is products involving piracy.  It’s one thing to cover the development of emulators on the Rpi4 (emulators are legal).  It’s quite another to recommend and review an illegal compilation of games put out by a group or individual.  I kind of also have this problem with Chinese arcade boxes and handhelds that come packaged with games.  Yes, covering the product (i.e. promoting it) can be a grey area, but what these people and companies are doing is actually just illegal.  I also think they ill-legitimatize the scene and make companies like Sega and Nintendo have strained or hostile relationships with fan projects.

[jonathanraychapman]

Sorcerer Boardgame Review

My friend and I recently tried out the Sorcerer boardgame that I had picked up recently.  We certainly didn’t get everything right with the rules (like knowing you started with a six-card hand.. not sure how we missed that) and definitely do need to explore it further, but here are my initial thoughts.  And yes I did like it.

First, the atmosphere and the art is amazing.  They really capture that Victorian horror vibe.  And plenty of variety in the way you construct your decks (picking a character deck, lineage deck, and domain deck), but it’s also just shuffling three deck parts together and playing (so you don’t need to worry about each card).

Unlike most card games, combat is done with dice rolls.  So this really is more of a board game than a card game (especially with the three battlefield areas and the standee you put there to signify that it’s where you can use your three skill cards).  There are also ways to manipulate dice rolls, so - even though it’s certainly luck-based - the game can be skill-based to a certain degree.

I did end up investing further into the extra add-on packs.  I really think all of these should have been included from the start - since variety is really what this game needs.  I usually wouldn’t even purchase a game that requires you to pick up add-ons like this (because it feels like you’re being nickel-and-dimed - or in this case $10-15 - to death, but the art really is that appealing).  You’re paying $15 for what amounts to 10 pieces of pretty cardboard (for two of the three types.. the other is 20 cards) and that’s just a little gross for a boardgame.

Besides the total price (especially if you missed the kickstarter), I have a couple more complaints.  The first is that the provided battleground tiles are cool (I also bought the Egyptian tiles), but they essentially do nothing.  I think that’s a missed opportunity.  There could have been some little cool gimmick to the tiles - something to add to the gameplay or add some more flavor and/or make things meaningful (like maybe certain minion bonuses or doing something for the player that conquered it).

Another problem is the turn tracking system.  I get why this might be necessary for multiple players, but I was constantly forgetting to move the token and my friend would always notice it the next turn.  This aspect really really annoyed me and we ended up just both going and moving a single die instead (to keep the peace).

Lastly, this is primarily a 2-player game - though it supports up to 6 players.  After trying it out, I can’t envision 4 players playing this game.  I’m willing to give it a go, but I really think this is a heads-up situation.  That’s a real shame - since most of the time, I’m going to want at least three players for games that have this much time investment.

[jonathanraychapman]

Comparing and Contrasting Blade II and Blade Runner

When I watch Blade II, I see a lot of the same ideas and plot twists from Blade Runner.  I’ve spent way too much time watching both of these movies.  They’re both favorites of mine.  This is an essay comparing the two films.  If you haven’t seen either, I recommend you quit reading and do so before continuing as I’m spoiling the heck out of these films’ plots.  

First of all, Blade Runner is absolutely a classic and well-made movie - one of the top movies ever made.  Meanwhile Blade II is simply not a classic (well maybe a cult classic).  Blade II won’t be showing up on a top 100 movies list anytime soon.  It’s just not going to happen.  That’s not to speak unkindly of Blade II’s creators.  Both writer David S. Goyer and director Guillermo del Toro do their best in playing to the strengths of the comic character (who has a fairly weak background to begin with) while utilizing Wesley Snipes as best they can.  While Blade Runner (based on stories by famous writer Philip K. Dick) is a masterclass in both noir and science fiction, Blade II is more of an introduction into pulp fiction from yesteryear (one-part Kung Fu, one-part Film-Noir, and one-part Vampire/horror).  That’s absolutely fine.  And I think it’s fair to compare the films - just to explore how each dealt with similar plot points.

Even the lowest pulp-fiction story can have some really great ideas in it (riding on the shoulders of giants if you will).  Blade II is (for myself personally) simply more entertaining than Blade Runner.  Blade Runner can often feel heavy in its story-telling - offset by amazing visuals and intrigue.  Meanwhile Blade II can feel light on its feet and is quite rewatchable (though sometimes in a so-bad-it’s-good way).  I’d also like to point out that while both films are set in a futuristic noir world that seems to always be dark (I mean.. Vampires.. right?), there’s a lot of the American western that creeps in.  We’ll get into that more with the protagonists though.

One utterly superficial thing to point out here at the beginning is the word “Blade” in both movie titles.  Obviously this is a coincidence, but I thought I’d point it out.  Blade is the name of the vampire slayer being famous for using blades while - in the other universe - a Blade Runner is a replicant running from death.  I guess in both cases a “Blade” is symbolic of the death coming to supernatural creatures.  I find it interesting that this similarity worked out so well.

The first element with Blade II worth pointing out (and sorry if I dwell on this too long) is the irony that it’s an ancient vampire (someone that doesn’t  really have a lifespan) that creates a new breed of vampire that dies in a paltry 12 hours.  This was supposedly an accident - as Eli Damaskinos (note the Biblical name) was trying to create a day-walker (supposedly Blade’s main advantage though he always seems to fight at night) to defeat the titular character since he defeated Deacon Frost in the last movie.  The twist is that the vampires are converted from normal vampires with a bite of the single mutant progenitor (Damaskinos creation - who has a longer lifespan somehow).  This is seemingly extremely limited compared with the replicants - who got 4 years to live.  Of course - on the other hand - the vampires had their human years and whatever years they had had unlife before being cursed with the 12-hour-lifespan mutation.  

The themes going on in these films here are nothing new.  Both works really have a lot in similar with Frankenstein (maybe the common ancestor).  Both involve a single male creator (the yin without the yang), trying to create artificial life using science (defying nature and God all the while).  Both men have their creations (who are in constant pain or hunger) turn on them after abandoning them to find their own way in the universe.  And even Mary Shelley was echoing elements of folklore (the golem for example) and Biblical themes (a parody or reversal of the Prodigal son).  We’ve had many years of iterations on these themes to get to the time periods these films were made in.  Original films can’t help but be products of the times they were created in.  So as we wrestle with the concepts of genetically-modified life in science, these are bound to show up in science fiction.

Despite both films having single progenitors, there are differences in the two fatherly characters: the vampire Damaskinos and Dr. Eldon Tyrell.  Damaskinos is basically a petty villain - completely selfish in his desire to have a son (merely as a weapon to defeat his enemies).  I suppose there’s sort of a byline of benevolent shared protection of his people (though in reality he’s simply experimenting to be able to cure himself of the disadvantages of being a vampire).   Also, remember that Damaskinos doesn’t really create anything himself.  It’s human scientists that work for him that do the heavy-lifting (sort of implying that humans are the real monsters.. A theme set up with a human lawyer in the film).  Though indeed Damaskinos does give his genetic material to the offspring - implying he takes personal interest.

Meanwhile, Dr Tyrell (who really is a genius creator  - not just some corporate type that oversees things) thinks of himself as some sort of God (and to some extent he really is - though he is an aged man that has accepted his mortality).  Tyrell is working out of the responsibility to lift up mankind - though the means are a slave race that he’s created.  There are a lot of undercurrents of Prometheus  - bringing fire to the human race - and also American slavery going on here.  Tyrell thinks of his creations as his children (though it’s unclear if he’s given them any of his genes like with Damaskinos). 

It’s at-first-glance hard to think of Dr Tyrell as being evil, while it’s very easy with the more-shady Damaskinos.  Tyrell doesn’t really lie or present anything that isn’t true in his eyes.  Meanwhile Damaskinos survives by lying and manipulating both his children and others.  There’s sort of the question about the 4-year (due to the engineered Methuselah Syndrome) lifespan - about maybe Tyrell being afraid of his creations and petty in their creation.  At a first glance, this limited lifespan is a safety precaution - to prevent the replicants from gaining the personality and empathy to pass the fictional Voight-Kampff test.  And by the film’s lore, (to the corporation) this is justified - as there was a rebellion with previous models that had no such limit. It’s the Tyrell corporation that employs these creations as slaves (leading up the the rebellion).  

It’s pointed out that a population of replicants are needed as mankind goes out to the stars - reminiscent of slaves and the exploration of the New World (America).  So in the end, Tyrell wants to see humans lifted up on the backs of slaves while Damaskinos wants to see his people (vampires) fattened by humans that are literally turned into blood bags (mindless cattle).  Both - in fact - are sort of villains (though maybe not in their own mind).  It’s hard for me to understand Tyrell’s dualistic vision of creating children and then cursing those children with limited years while sending them out as a slave workforce.  Yet he’s played off as an altruistic character in the films.  I have a far easier time understanding Damaskinos’ motivations than Tyrell’s.

The second aspect of the film is involving the protagonist characters - Deckard and Blade for starters.  Deckard (in a plot-twist that’s not completely accepted by the community) is supposedly a replicant himself while it’s canon that Blade is born a vampire. So both hunters hunt the very things they are.  Both male characters are given female counterparts (the yang to their yin) to guide them - Rachael (a replicant) for Deckard, and Nyssa (a very snake-like name.. as a sort of Eve character) for Blade.  Though Rachael (again with the Biblical undertones in the name) doesn’t really assist Deckard with tracking down the rogue replicants, Blade does get some help from Nyssa (though let’s face it.. she’s kind of a seductress turned honest - a common theme of the Western).  Based on her looks in the film, I would have cast Rachael as a femme fetale.  But in fact she’s a very shallow character and it’s not really clear that she does anything nefarious or helpful.  Both Rachael and Nyssa are more of objectified goals for the protagonists - representing a love or a wholesome life they’ve never known (again the Western creeping in with turning nefarious women honest through a one-night stand).  

This is in juxtaposition to all the destruction that both protagonists bring - both being essentially death-dealers (blades).  In both cases, the other characters (and maybe the protagonists themselves) are somewhat appalled at the violence they’ve dealt on their journey.  Both heroes have weapons that are given heavy emphasis visually - Blade’s sword and Deckard’s blaster.  As they hunt their prey, there’s a lot of collateral damage done to the locations.  These are sci-fi movies with a heavy focus on action and - as mentioned - sort of based on the Western to an extent.  I will point out that while Blade is quite competent with weapons, Deckard sort of isn’t.  Because the replicants are so strong (they’re enhanced humans after all), he’s always getting beat up before drawing or using his weapon.  This always sort of made me question that he’s supposed to be a replicant himself.  

This also raises another contrast.  Blade has that Western-movie concept of always being aware of enemies approaching while in Blade Runner there’s not a lot of that going on (it’s more based on the detective genre where the hero is good at finding clues but bad at perceiving danger).  So Deckard kind of bumbles his way through the plot.  I suppose he’s really more of a successful detective (though Blade did figure out that he was being betrayed well in advance; sort of calling back to a Sherlock Holmes plot device).  To be honest, I was never really sure how Deckard had his job in the first place - since he’s seemingly kind of not very good at it (outside of finding replicants).  I mean in this huge futuristic world, I guess Deckard really is great in being able to find the next piece of the puzzle (though the clues are pretty obvious).  In Blade II, the plot is kind of on autopilot most of the time.  Blade is more of a warrior than a detective yet ironically better at understanding his circumstances.

The last aspect both films have in common that I’d like to go over are the antagonists.  These are broken up into two categories: a main villain (Nomak and Roy) and side-villains (the Bloodpack and the other replicants).  First the side-villains.  Blade II has this very heavy-handed “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” theme (seriously.. they say this every five minutes).  That’s who the Bloodpack are (that name is also quite ridiculous); they’re mercenary vampires that have temporarily sided with Blade in the effort to survive the plague of mutant vampires.  This very much plays into the Western motif with the protagonist knowing when he’s about to get betrayed.  Meanwhile, the replicants in Blade Runner are pretty straight-forward obstacles to overcome (each leading to another clue to help Deckard along).  There’s not much else to say here except that these side-villains offer a lot of the action in both movies.  I guess in Blade II, Reinhardt is more of an aware villain than the rest are because of how much he talks, but he’s of little consequence really.

So really it’s Nomak and Roy that are the main characters - abandoned artificial creations that want revenge on their creator (ala Frankenstein).  Both are very strong and very resilient (sort of one-upping the protagonist physically).  Both are also highly intelligent and both question their creators and find the answers lacking - leaving them angry over the unfair burden placed on them.  And yet - in the end - both also go willingly into death at the end of their lifespan (sort of conceding their fate and letting the hero win).  In this way, they go against the Frankenstein mold (he would end up living in spite of himself or intentions).

There’s not really much else to say about Nomak or Roy - since both show up late in the last quarter of their respective movie and kind of steal the show with an extended soliloquy.  Maybe there’s more screen time and more character development for Nomak from some of the early fighting and horror scenes.  But Roy also sort of makes Blade Runner great with his “tears in the rain” speech - so much that the mind makes you think he was there more than he actually was in the movie.  So in a way (as a goofy twist), Roy is kind of the unicorn for Blade Runner’s viewers (making them think he was present in the plot more).  

While both movies are obviously different from each other, I have to wonder how much of the similarities in both films are subconscious (or sort of a common ancestry in story-telling) and how much was actually conscious.  

[jonathanraychapman]

Raspberry Pi TV-Out Adventures - Pi2Scart

I’ve been working on getting several Raspberry Pi 3′s hooked up to TVs I use down in the basement for retrogaming.  The advantage in using a CRT is that there’s less lag (button press latency) and you get a more authentic experience.  I grew up playing these games on CRTs and they just feel more natural on there.  The difficulty is that a) the RPI3 only displays HDMI (and not really at a resolution the games were meant to be played at) and b) these TVs only accept composite (gross) or Component (acceptable).

The RPI3 has a series of pins on the side meant for general input/output (GPIO).  I bought several TV output solutions that plug into these (called Pi hats).  This one in particular is a Pi2Scart - which is a project that has a sister project called Pi2Jamma (which is meant for setting up an arcade machine with a RPI driving things).  The difficulty in using these TV output solutions is that you must a) have the resolution set so that you can navigate the game selection menu (I’m using RetroPie) and b) have the emulator set the resolution correctly based on the system you’re playing (otherwise Mario looks really weird for example).  

After trying a stock RetroPie distribution image and researching how to set the config.txt in the boot partition, I ended up using an image out there that already has these resolutions set up.  Needless to say, it’s a godsend here - saving so much time with setting up each emulator.  I’ll get to the other RPI TV out solutions I purchased lately but this one is definitely looking promising now with that image.  I have another linux distribution to try with this as well so there might be an update for that.

Other things worth mentioning in the setup here.  I ended up using a RPI enclosure that’s basically a giant heatsink that is attached the the hottest chips on the board with some thermal pads.  And I overclocked my RPI about 15-25% to get the most I could out of it.  Because of the way the enclosure works with the GPIO pins, I soldered the wires on the little fans (which sit under the PI2Scart with an air gap) to the board directly.  With the heatsink, things get warm but are quite manageable without any freezing or lockups.

I also have this SCART to Component box I bought years back that I’ve pulled out and have used here.  I had to open it up and tweak the pots inside to get the desired color (which admittedly is a little on the cool side).  I also decided to add a small copper heat sink to the voltage regulator with a volt (after drilling a hole through the piece of copper).  I don’t know if that’s really going to help, but that voltage regulator is super hot (it was hot with a 1-amp power brick and still hot with a 300ma one).  I’d love to move to one of Mike Chi’s (RetroTink) RGB2COMP units when I can.

TV is a cool Sansui brand TV that my grandmother had in her house before she passed.  It’s a nice TV and I mostly use it for component in solutions.

[jonathanraychapman]

Woozle’s GBA Consolizer Review (4.5/5)

This is my review and brief experiences putting together the Woozle GBA Consolizer and using it.

Delivery:  I was part of an initial pre-order by www.game-tech.us.  I realized that this was part of a fund-raising process to get this project off the ground (which meant it was going to be a while).  That being said, it took a long time to get this kit and the the communication was sparse during that time (my only real complaint was just not knowing what was going on).  Hopefully if you pre-order now, your wait won’t be so long (especially because I believe they have a lot of it in-hand).  The kit came in a pretty bare-bones box, but that’s really all that was needed.

Installation Experience:  The experience was interesting.  I read and watched Jason’s video on installing this and that did help (mostly just with the board install).  There was some confusion at the time about the power switch for me and I ended up bodging that up pretty good (because the traces there were garbage).  I think later Jason’s videos show that process better.  His audio installation notes were quite good (basically disabling the volume pot to get cleaner line out).  After I finished the install, I watched Voultar’s video and was pretty mad that i hadn’t see that beforehand.  It was that good of an install video.  

If you’re not reasonably good with soldering, then please get someone else to install this for you.  It’s very easy to screw this install up (most likely pulling up a trace) - especially with a GBA that has battery or leaky-cap acid damage.  If you are going to replace the caps on your GBA, be extremely careful (those traces are also often delicate).  Watch the Voultar video a few times before trying.  I practiced cap removal on a junk GBA board and ended up pulling up a trace.  After looking at the caps on my candidate board, I decided just to leave them (they looked to be a high quality brand vs the parts board - which had non-name caps).  I think the cap replacement is the most dangerous part of this install.

Positives:  

This thing works and looks great (nice sharp pixels).

I happen to really like the mechanical power switch (the new push-button switch is nifty too, but I really like the metal toggle).

The controller port is high quality

The case is really sturdy (see below)

There is a menu you can access with a controller press with scanlines and grid lines, but I find that the default view looks the best.

Negatives:   

 I wasn’t quite as happy with the enclosure as I thought I’d be (because the version I got was just convoluted with all the layers and the plexi and the screws going through it all).  I will say that this thing is rock solid in construction though.  I believe the version you get now is much much simpler to construct.

I ended up having to use the audio out into my TV because the device doesn’t seem to follow the HDMI standard and it’s hit or miss which devices can use the audio coming from HDMI.

Conclusion:

I would recommend this to anyone that’s really into collecting for GB/GBC/GBA and wants the most authentic experience.  It’s very neat to use the real hardware.  That being said, there’s the Analogue FPGA offering that’s coming out next year (supposedly with a TV dock) and there’s the new GBA Mister core that’s also coming out.  This thing isn’t cheap.  If you’re an enthusiast and don’t have an authentic solution to play your handheld library on your TV, then yeah.. go ahead and get one.  Otherwise, wait for those other alternatives or just use a GameCube with Gameboy Interface software (requiring no mods) - especially with the HDMI and component out solutions that are available now.

[jonathanraychapman]

Current Video Setup for Retrogaming Consoles

After rearranging some consoles this weekend, I just wanted to quickly go over my setup right now and how I’ve chosen to connect each console for a balance between quality and efficiency of use (starting from the top left, going down the tower there, and then going left-to-right and top-to-bottom under the TV).  Keep in mind for the M-Cable, I have the systems I don’t always want the smoothing turned on hooked up to a MClassic so I can switch it off.  The RGB setup uses a GSCARTW Lite switch (so basically when I turn on the console, it auto-switches to the correct input).

Abbreviations: MC (MCable), FM (Framemeister), I assume the rest are ubiquitous enough.

PC Engine - RGB (from Super SD System 3) -> FM -> MC

SNES - RGB (mod) -> FM -> MC

N64 - HDMI (UltraHDMI) -> MC

Dreamcast - HDMI (Akura) -> MC

PS1 - RGB (Native) -> FM -> MC

3DO - S-video (Native) -> FM -> MC

Gamecube - HDMI (Carby) -> MC

Ouya - HDMI -> MC

GEN - RGB (Native) -> FM -> MC

WII - HDMI (Generic Adapter) -> MC

WIIU - HDMI -> MC

Saturn - RGB (Native) -> FM -> MC

PS2 - RGB (Native) -> FM -> MC

NTMINI (NES/SMS/2600/etc) - HDMI -> MC

Nvidia Shield - HDMI -> MC

XBONE - HDMI -> MC

PSTV - HDMI -> MC

PS3 - HDMI -> MC

XB360 - HDMI -> MC

XBOX - HDMI (Pound) -> MC

WinXP PC - HDMI -> MC

For Dreamcast, I have an alternate RGB -> FM -> MC setup ready (just swapping cables on the back of the console).

I did want to discuss a little about the MCable and my testing with the Pound cables (such as with PS2).  

First, the MCable takes multiple signals and upscales them (on my TV) to 1080p at 60fps with some anti-aliasing and color correction.  This is sometimes more and sometimes less successful.  Any console 16-bit or lower, I would bypass the MC and just have the image be as sharp as possible.  Anything 32-bit and higher I try and stick with 720p going into the MC and I don’t use the Retro mode (since my TV can set aspect ratio).  If I want the MC to do some filtering but not much, I set the output of the console or system to 1080p and the MC seems to leave those alone for the most part.  

So the Pound cables are really hit or miss (based on what they’re doing).  I hate the way it makes PS2 look (really blurry and darker signal), but I actually don’t mind the way it treats Xbox (comparing to Component) and I have a Dreamcast cable coming that I’m going to replace the Akura box with if it works out.  The problem with the Akura (VGA to HDMI box) is that somehow it cuts signal in and out with my setup - which is really jarring in the middle of a game.  I’m really hoping the Pound cable looks decent since it has VGA input from the console to work with.  If it doesn’t I may use another VGA solution there through the FM.

[jonathanraychapman]

Hellboy 2019 Movie Review - 3.5/5.0

So I really have mixed feelings - but mainly positive - on the 2019 Hellboy reboot.  I’m glad I finally bought and watched it.  I’m also sad that it didn’t get the critical praise that would have let them keep making movies based on Mike Mignola’s amazing work (although maybe they actually will make a sequel.. Who knows?).  I’m well-past pining for a continuance of the older movie series, so I’m not going to dwell on that.  Let’s talk about the movie we got here.  

First of all, I have no problems with the cast.  Everyone was up to the task and I actually kind of liked David Harbour as the titular character.  Milla Jovovich (and yes I’m absolutely partial to her) was actually pretty decent as the main villainess (The Blood Queen).  And I was pleasantly surprised at the rest of the crew.  No complaints there.  While the only real story arc going on is Hellboy’s I really did grow to love the other characters by the end (the new BPRD recruits).  I credit this mainly to the excellent casting and acting (the Osiris club members, Baba Yaga, Merlin.. all excellent).  

So the elephant in the room is really just the screenplay itself and how it compresses so much story material into a short movie.  It’s absolutely full of nods and winks to fans of the series - a tour de force (or greatest hits, if you will) of all the Mike Mignola / Hellboy main stories.  The problem with this is that it doesn’t really develop any of the plot points so that we - the audience - care, and it just comes off as a real mess in the end.  Sure, it’s visually amazing and full of action, but it’s also kind of shallow.  That’s not to say a non-veteran of Hellboy wouldn’t be able to get what’s going on.  But it might take reading some backstory (to see how stories were blended together) or maybe just multiple watchings to really appreciate what’s going on.

So this movie isn’t nearly as heavy as some of the Del Toro films and it does gain some rewatchability there.  It’s kind of like other pulp horror-action movies such as Hansel and Gretel (which my friends and I really appreciate for short gatherings).  I don’t think Hellboy was ever going to be a masterpiece film just by the nature of what it is, but I do think it would have been a much greater movie if they had simplified the plot, focused on some characters, and slowed things down.  Sure, we wouldn’t have gotten as much gore or action, but we’d have a more-solid movie.  But you know.. I’m actually completely OK with what we got here.  

[jonathanraychapman]

Why I Play The Older 8-Bit Consoles

I was born in 1980 so really the Atari 2600 age of consoles is a little before my time.  By the time I was gaming in 1985-86, we were well into the NES golden era.  But I have went back and collected the older consoles and I enjoy playing them.  I’d like to discuss my thoughts on why I dwell on this older generation - and some of the struggles and positives of my hobby here.  When I say older here, I really mean systems that pre-date the NES or are older technology.  So even though the SMS is pictured there, it’s not really what I’m talking about.

Simple Fun Games Continue Being Fun

The first thing to realize is that these older systems (by that I mean Atari 8-bit machines, Intellivision, and Colecovision) are very limited in the scope of what they have to offer.  They are very sparse in processing power, ram, and - subsequently - pixels (let alone sprites) on the screen.  This makes newcomers initially scoff at the thought of playing the games.  In truth, the good games that came out of this generation overcame those limitations by really having solid concepts and those concepts became the basis for future games that could expand the visual appeal.  The notion of fun transcends technical specs and experiencing these early games is one part history and one part simple fun.  I’m not nostalgic for these systems (as they are before my time).  I came to them the same way any newcomer would and I still fell in love with the simple charm they have to offer.  

Overcoming Controller Difficulties

A lot of complaints about the early consoles involve the controllers.  While the designs might seem novel interesting at first, someone that actually wants to play these games is quickly going to get over that and not want to continue.  I’m not particularly a fan of the Atari Joystick (despite its iconic look).  The Intellivision and the Colecovision have very non-ergonomic controllers that incorporate a digital number pad.  The good news here is that there are options to bypass these controllers and use NES-pad style or Sega Genesis style controllers.  The Genesis controllers generally work just fine with Atari 2600 (with C being the only button).  That’s easy.  To use a NES pad with the Atari 2600 or 7800 (which has two buttons), you’ll need to do a little modding or buy a pre-made controller.  For the Colecovision, I bought a box that converts the controller and also has a digital pad built-in to the box.  For Intellivision, I built a custom arcade stick with the numbers built in (I believe the PCBs and even pre-built controllers are available for sale).

Overcoming Graphic Output

If you have an older CRT TV that you can use RF with (you will need a basic s-plug adapter to coaxial), you can experience these older systems the way the originally were (setting your box to channel 3 or 4).  But I refuse to use RF because it’s very clunky, they have a lot of static noise (especially after all these years), and I want to use switch boxes to easily go between consoles during a play session.  Luckily there are plenty of composite-out solutions if you’re handy with a soldering iron.  And the audio is basically going to be mono for these systems - so you can just duplicate or hook up the output to both sides of the TV speakers.  There are hacks to add a little separation, but I don’t really think it’s worth it.

I really do recommend sticking to older style CRT TVs for the really old 8-bit consoles by the way.  For one, they look fantastic with the scanlines and the natural blurring effect of the TV.  For another, this is authentic to the intended experience (if that matters to you).   It’s just part of the experience and I love playing this way.  It’s just not the same when you play on a LCD TV - not for the older games.

Should You Play These Systems?

If you are someone young that maybe started out with PlayStation or even Nintendo Wii as your first console, this esoteric older stuff might or might not be for you - depending on your personal taste.  If you’re into the history of gaming, you might want to experience these systems at least once, but it’s a lot of time and money for what you might just want to check out with a Raspberry Pi or a computer emulator.  If you were born - like I was - in that middle time where the 8-bit consoles were transitioning into the 16-bit era, then this might be hit or miss.  I personally love playing games like Joust on original Atari hardware.  However, I realize it’s not for everyone.  However, if you’re at the point where you want to get into something new or expand your collecting to these games (which admittedly are harder to find out in the wild these days), maybe check them out.  If you own a Mister setup, then you can at least get your feet wet to see if it might be something you’re going to like.

[jonathanraychapman]

Why I Don't Think NES Games Will Be Cheap in 10 Years

There seems to be a consensus right now that the retrogaming market is in a bubble.  I don't necessarily think this is true because that implies things are artificially inflated (instead of just growing over time the way other hobbies do).  Though I do concede that prices have certainly shot up more quickly than expected, I think we have years to go before they drop (and that drop will just be a correction if anything).  

I'm a collector of several things - comics, toys, collectible card games, etc.  There are items that have shot up in value and that manage to hold value over time (i.e. comics) and items that had their time but then fell in popularity (i.e. beanie-babies and possibly Pop figures).  

I want to go into reasons that NES games will continue to hold value (from what I can see are the following (and how the relate to NES collecting).  I realize that some games are very common and had a very large distribution run and so I'm going to address that at the end.

1) Merit. There's some innate merit to the collectible as an artistic and/or craftsmanship aspect.  It's either got great visuals, innate craftsmanship, or tells a narrative.  For example: People collect old VHS tapes because of the artwork - not because of the contents or the functionality of the tape.  For visual items, they keep their value because of the merit of what they are (i.e. a comic cover can be appreciated visually while the story can still be read for narrative appeal).  Sure, there are other ways to get the same effect without the original (i.e. a scan of a cover or a cheaper bound collection of comics).  But the original item keeps its value because it’s the first time this came into being.

A lot of NES boxes and labels include fantastic artwork (sometimes fantasy cover art borrowed from novels) - despite the game not having much merit on its own.  An example is Gauntlet on NES.  Moving on to craftsmanship, sometimes games have amazing pixel artwork or music (such as games from Sunsoft like Batman).  And sometimes a game is just really well-made (like Super Mario Bros. 3 or Metroid).  People want to own the game - the original vision.

On the flipside, Atari 2600 artwork is also great, but that's a system that has fallen by the wayside (outside of rare carts).  People often bring that system up when they predict the future for the NES.  But I don't think this is a proper parallel, because the 2600 didn't have the cultural reach that the NES did and the games weren’t the original vision.  Let me explain.

The home ports (i.e. Space Invaders) were there on Atari 2600 first and foremost because of the popularity of the arcade cabs.  While the artwork is great on the Atari boxes, the cart labels didn’t reflect that art and the games themselves were lackluster as well.  So when you factor in the game crash, the lackluster ports, the cultural reach being really that of the arcade instead, you get this situation where the demand just isn't there.  That a high value is still there for original Atari 2600 games and rarer landmark games for the system just backs up this hypothesis of why the common bulk of the library is not reflective of the NES.

Basically, being resigned to the dollar bin won’t be so much of a problem with the NES - of course depending on the game.  Sure, there's not going to be much of a demand for Blackjack (it will drop from $50 to probably $10) or the sports games as time goes on, but the heavy-hitters are going to keep their price (though it might settle over time).  And much like the better Atari 2600 games, the better NES games will also maintain value.  There are so many more original (non-port) NES games in the library that the bulk of the set will see a continuing value.

2) Nostalgia.  Sometimes we want things that remind us of our childhood (usually between the ages of 7 and 14).  This is why people collect Castle Grayskull playsets, old tin toys, or old refrigerator magnets.  The previous generations would have wanted western memorabilia (like Roy Rogers toys).  This is also why we buy a 1st appearance comic we had as a kid - only now graded and slabbed in plastic enclosement.  At this point, it's a useless item from an everyday perspective, but when we gaze on it, it gives us a certain emotional resonance.  I know it’s hard for some people to understand, but NES games have this same sentimentality.  When you flip through a Zelda instruction booklet, you get that same tingle that reminds you of when you were a kid.  It feels great and it’s a reason people collect.

So - besides the gameplay obviously - this is the reason that games like Zelda and Castlevania are still so popular and have snowballed in popularity over the years (as multiple generations have experienced them at different times).  The NES Zelda has that cool gold cartridge we remember from our youth.  Castlevania has that amazing cover and label artwork that brings us back to when we first played or rented it.  These are the highlights for a retrogame collector - even though we may - in practice - play them with flash carts.  

Despite these games being best-sellers, so many people will hold on to them and will continue soaking up the games from the market.  It’s not that the best-selling games are unobtainable at the distribution rates.  So of course there’s going to be a ceiling on the value (Zelda may stay at $20-50 for decades).  But I’m arguing that there will continue to be a floor and you may even see these games slowly rise in value over time (especially since the games checks several boxes as far as a collectible and is only held back in value by the number of carts out there).  Also keep in mind that collectors want better copies of these games - so they may upgrade the gold cart with damage to a pristine one (same with the box).

3) Popularity/Prestige.  We tend to hold on to prestige items in our collection.  As a collector we might collect rare items just because they're rare.  Partially this is to show off and impress people, but most of the time it's because we cherish a thing because other people cherish it (we all start to think a thing is cool and so it becomes cool).  Human emotions are pretty complicated and this reason might not seem valid.  But it's real.  This might also be seen as speculation (assuming you’re going to trade or sell the item later), but I’d argue that emotion plays a part and the majority of people that acquire a rare game once it’s show up in value somewhat aren’t playing the long-game for profit.  They’re just hooked themselves.

As far as the NES goes, games like Little Samson and items like the NES World Championship carts certainly fit this line of value.  People want them because other people want them.  They’re cool.  

Little Samson is also really fun and has the other aspects of collecting (which was the catalyst for it shooting up in price), but it's hyped up because of its late-release low print run (and also because it has some historical merit).  And because it's a holy grail type of item, people really want it in their collection - even if they're not going for a full NES run.

The NES World Championship cart (involving both the gold and gray carts that are out there) has been an interesting item to see go up in value.  If the entire NES library was of common items, there might not be as much of a collector crowd for it.  When there’s only a few of a thing, this drives up interest.  This is no different than Air Raid for the Atari 2600 - which drew in news reporters just like it did collectors.  The championship carts are the equivalent to the first Superman comic for game collectors.  It’s both a prestige item and it’s of historical significance to a certain degree.  While you see carts going for upwards of $100K at auction in news stories, and it’s hard to imagine that item keeping its value, you’ve also got Action Comics #1 (first Superman) selling for over $3 million.  I just don’t see this item going for less than the auction amount.

4) History.  A sought-after or expensive comic might be a key issue - meaning that it has significance for the development of a character.  And this will probably be the reason it’s went up in price over the years.  It might not matter much to consider on its own artwork and story, but as part of a collection, it's a critical find.  People tend to hold on to these and they are the linchpin to a collection - filling a gap in a franchise’s story.  This is where items like The World Championship Carts and the much-cheaper Tengen games come into play (i.e. the gray Namco Pac-Man vs the black Tengen Pac-Man).  There's a story to tell with these items and people want them to feel like they're a part of the history of games.  

It’s not enough just to be relevant for the story to preserve or increase the market value of a game.  The item must also have a rarity to keep a value (as they usually don’t have the same popularity, nostalgia, or merit to keep a value (outside of the history-seekers).  In the case of the Pac-Man cart, the grey one (that’s licensed) goes for $15 while the more-common (unlicensed) black one goes for $10.  That’s not really a big difference.

Maybe a better example is the Tengen Tetris (which was pulled when Nintendo did their own deal with the USSR to acquire the rights).  The Tengen version looks worse than Nintendo’s, but it has a label referencing the “Soviet Mind Game” and also has 2-player co-op.  It was also pulled from store shelves following a lawsuit - so it’s also rare.  The Tengen version of Tetris goes for upwards of $60 while the Nintendo version goes for less than $5.  I don’t see the value on either version dropping either.

I know for a lot of people it’s hard to imagine that these games will retain value and even go up over time.  In the 80’s and 90’s NES cartridges were ubiquitous; they were everywhere.  In the early 2000’s - as gamers dropped them to move on to other gaming systems - you couldn’t give them away.  Even rare games went for less than $2.  Now the games are harder and harder to find at yard sales and they’re commanding a decent price.  We live in the digital age.  People have access to price guides and auction sites no matter where they are.  

To many the increase in game prices appears to be a bubble.  And yes, maybe there’s some pricing corrections coming (especially on some of the hotter items that may be overvalued).  But the trend for these games will continue to rise and the prices that games go for now will seem like bargains later on.  It doesn’t matter that we’re moving to a digital age where the physical media isn’t required.  This has happened with comics (they were put into graphic novels or cheaper bound drug store copies) and the prices have only continued to rise (though maybe that’s due to the movies in recent times).   

Video games undoubtedly are a collectible now - just like coins, toys, comics, and even old advertising.  For example, even the video game advertisements ripped from magazines have value these days.  This is also true of strategy guides, instruction booklets, and store demo items.  And when you look at collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering, the pricing of comics and games seems very modest by comparison.  There will certainly be ups and downs, but I don’t believe there will be a pricing crash.  You will have people move on with their lives and sell off their collection.  But you won’t see the flood of games back into the market that some people think is coming and you will see a steady rise in price over the years and decades that follow.