What (re)started it all for you?

Trode

What, exactly, drew you to what would commonly be regarded as retro gaming?
Was there one game you just had to play again after many years, causing your first retro eBay hunt or emulator download? Or one you just never stopped playing? Did you see a magazine article about retro-gaming/emulation, or have a friend show you Sonic or Pacman running on his PC? Tell me your varied and danger-fraught stories.

For me, it was Final Fantasy 6. Having read Super Play for a few years, I was painfully aware that there were dozens of fantastic games I'd never get to play on my nowhere-near-an-importer PAL SNES. But surely the greatest of these, a game so deep it had a montly column in the magazine devoted to it, was Final Fantasy 3. Years later, upon finally gaining access to the internet, I decided to look it up, discovering emulation in the process. After a few false starts getting FF6(due to not knowing the numbering kink in the US/Jap series, I was half-way through FF4 before I realised Locke wasn't going to show up), the whole world of games I never had, and without emulation never would have, played was opened up to me.

So share, people.

trout

mature gentleman ... played games in my boyish youth, spectrum leading to commodore 64 leading to megadrive leading to atari-st leading to mac... leading to the arcades and a small fortune squandered ... lost interest in games ... then college, then work ...

no more games for the trout fella ... just work work work for 10 years or more ... one day i saw a saw a really smily happy dude in heathrow airport with a gp32 handheld, running MAME, playing moon patrol and humming along to the choons ... he saw me eyeball it, and gave me a go ... it played Black Tiger, in your hand! I had to have one. then he showed me the spectrum and commodore emulators, which knocked me out, then he finished me off with an atari-st emulator ... all in the palm of yer hand!

In the past I had seen MacMAME and was underwhelmed ... but when i saw the gp32, i just had to get one

then the gp2x came out, with pixel perfect emulation of the sega megadrive, and that just gave me the raging h()rn for all things retro ... haven't stopped since

seems like these games are more fun now than when i played them first time

that seems like a bit of an emotional gush ... don't it ?

Retr0gamer

Well I got into emulation when I first got the internet. Never had a SNES before so I was gagging to play games like Axelay, Castlevania V, Zelda etc. I was looking them up and discovered the beauty of ZSNES.

My first retro console was my japanese V-Saturn. I was tempted many times to buy a Saturn to play Radiant Silvergun, being a huge Treasure and shmup fan, but didn't have the time or money to bother my arse getting a japanese one. Years later I played the utterly stunning Panzer Dragoon Orta on the xbox. The game world was so rich and interesting and it really fascinated me. I got a huge urge to play the RPG prequel, Panzer Dragoon Saga. The trailer in the Orta for Saga and the gushing reviews all over the internet didn't help either. So when I got a job after I finished college before I started my PhD I decided to fork out. It was well worth it. Panzer Dragoon Saga didn't disappoint and totally blew my expectations. It's currently my favourite game ever. Radiant Silvergun wasn't bad either . But the best thing that came from it was discovering a huge Saturn owning community (sadly disbanded now) and discovering some excellent hidden gems for the Saturn because of it. You may not think it but The Sega Saturn had just as many excellent games as the PS1 it's just that 90% of them never made it outside japan.

I've bought a SNES and N64 since then and I'm now looking for a Dreamcast and have my heart set on getting a PC Engine and Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.

corblimey

The only retro console I own is the Dreamcast. I own 4 consoles, over a hundred games and various bits and bobs. I got into it because the DC basically completely passed me by. I was far too cool around the time and wouldn't be seen dead in a games shop. I bought an Xbox and a PS2 when they came out, but was fed up with waiting for good games to come out, so I thought I'd try some console that is 'finished' with and just pick a bunch of good games to buy. I'm still buying for it

Tom Dunne

Many moons ago while I was supposed to be studying for my Junior Cert, I created a game on my trusty Atari 800XL. I sent it off to a magazine on tape and a few months later, the printed the listing.

Fast forward to,erm, this century, and I decided I would try and convert this game to the PC. After some intial investigation, I stumbled across this whole emulation thing and I was hooked. There were the games I played in my mis-spent youth available to play on my PC. I can now even play these games on the train in the mornings on my PDA/smartphone. From the Atari emulator, I discovered a Sega Megadrive emulator and of course the granddaddy of them all, Mame. Seeing an Atari ST boot up on my laptop brought that warm fuzzy feeling I used to get when I used to attend the Atari User group on the first Sunday of every month in some hotel on Dawson Street. Yes, I know, nerd.

Ah, the memories.

Trode

trout wrote:

mature gentleman ... played games in my boyish youth, spectrum leading to commodore 64 leading to megadrive leading to atari-st leading to mac... leading to the arcades and a small fortune squandered ... lost interest in games ... then college, then work ...

no more games for the trout fella ... just work work work for 10 years or more ... one day i saw a saw a really smily happy dude in heathrow airport with a gp32 handheld, running MAME, playing moon patrol and humming along to the choons ... he saw me eyeball it, and gave me a go ... it played Black Tiger, in your hand! I had to have one. then he showed me the spectrum and commodore emulators, which knocked me out, then he finished me off with an atari-st emulator ... all in the palm of yer hand!

In the past I had seen MacMAME and was underwhelmed ... but when i saw the gp32, i just had to get one

then the gp2x came out, with pixel perfect emulation of the sega megadrive, and that just gave me the raging h()rn for all things retro ... haven't stopped since

seems like these games are more fun now than when i played them first time

that seems like a bit of an emotional gush ... don't it ?

I was seriously considering getting a GP2X a while back, but I just forgot about it. Sounds cool though, would you say it's worth the price? Does it run Windows emulators?

trout

can honestly say the gp2x is worth every penny ... if you have any kind of nostalgia/retro vibe ... just get one.

it's a linux variant, so there is a huge range of emu's and apps ... link here will give you an idea of the current activity, especially for the emulators...http://www.gp2x.de/cgi-bin/cfiles.cgi

i bought mine here ... check out the reviews/info ... http://www.gp2x.co.uk/

Trode

trout wrote:

can honestly say the gp2x is worth every penny ... if you have any kind of nostalgia/retro vibe ... just get one.

it's a linux variant, so there is a huge range of emu's and apps ... link here will give you an idea of the current activity, especially for the emulators...http://www.gp2x.de/cgi-bin/cfiles.cgi

i bought mine here ... check out the reviews/info ... http://www.gp2x.co.uk/

Damn it, now I want one again. Looks like the Christmas hint-dropping is starting early this year.

CiDeRmAn

I was doing the done thing playing my console of choice til a bigger and better one turned up, at which point i'd sell and move on.
I had a jap DC for a while and at one point wanted a N64 again, there was a guy selling his and would trade for the DC.
I went to his place where he didn't have the cash to supplement N64s value so I got his Saturn as well, plus a bunch of games.
From there I couldn't help t, picking up every game that mattered for the N64, ton of Saturn titles, then bought a Megadrive again, a Snes and so on to the 30 odd consoles I have today, and counting!

Right now I need a Colecovision, and Intellivision and a working Nes, an Atari pomg machine would be nice too!

trout

I'm pretty sure I have a NES in the Attic back home, along with several Spectrums, two Commode 64's, a Mac SE and the makings of an Enterprise 64 - remember them ?

What I'd really like to get is a Megadrive ... wonder if they are still knocking about ? any examples I've seen recently are in rag order now.:(

GAAman

Retr0gamer wrote:

Never had a SNES before

Same here so i bought one on ebay but couldnt get the game i wanted badly with it (wanted two games starfox and mario kart) anyway got fox with the snes but alas no mario kart.....................until i was cleanin out a flat on campus where i work and what did mine eyes behold

But i have tried some of the emulators and while they are good there is somethin about those old 8 and 16 bit'ers that i just prefer much more. Or is this just me???

CiDeRmAn

Yup, its so much better playing on the original hardware, nice feel to the controllers, the chunk of the carts into the slots, lovely.
Snes, Megadrive, TurboGrafx, Atari, all consoles commonly emulated but all better when I take the time to play them.
Thunderforce IV just seems better on the real thing.
It also holds for the reissues of the Mario games on the GBA, its much nicer to stick on SuperMarioAllstars, SuperMario World or Yoshis Island than playing the newly packaged ones.
Nice to finally pick up Super Metroid and the Donkey Kong Country series also, pure bliss.

Trode

There's definitely a sort of tactile thrill from playing on the original hardware. I think the convenience and user-friendliness of emulation edges it for me though. I'd love the feel of a SNES pad in my hands when playing SMW, but the prospect of digging out the old cart, hooking the console back up to the TV and power supply, finding a pad, plugging in the cart, pulling it out and blowing on it a few times, and finally getting it to work, versus picking up my wireless USB pad and clicking four or five times for a closely comparable gaming experience, I'll usually take the latter.
Also, emulation tends to separate the game from it's nostalgic impact on you, which is something of a double-edged sword. On one hand nostalgia is fun and often just what you're looking for, on the other, it's interesting to see how good that game actually was, when your opinion is less coloured by the fact that it reminds you of when you were ten and thought whatever games you had were the most brilliant thing ever.

trout

see ... the thing about nostaligia is ... it just ain't what it used ta be!


check this thing out ... treat yourself while you're waiting for a GP2X!:D

three flavours ... I want Pong, Breakout, and Warlords!

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/80fc/?cpg=36T

CiDeRmAn

Nifty, but nothing like as much fun as slotting Joust into my 7800 and having a blast, much more fun I reckon!

TCamen

I bought a megadrive + 20 games on eBay last week. Missed the postman today, so hopefully I'll have it tomorrow/Wednesday. Twas only £10, so even if it's not in the best nick, as long as it works I'll be happy

Between me & my brothers, at home there's a NES, SNES, N64, Saturn, Dreamcast, 3DO, Atari Lynx, Game Gear + the current crop (360, PS2 & GC)...I'm in London so Megadrive will be the only one I have here apart from my DS

My brother traded in his Megadrive for the PS when it originally came out in '95 so I've always planned on getting one again. I'd been playing emulators for a while, but I really wasn't getting the same enjoyment from the keyboard. Didn't actually *intend* on winning the auction but nobody outbid me, so I was pleasantly surprised when I got the email. I promptly picked up a couple more games that I wanted - Alien Storm was chief among them. Still have to get Alicia Dragoon, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, Gunstar Heroes, Altered Beast & Alex Kidd

Ruu_Old

I started with a Sega Master System II, my friends had the first one so I was well chuffed with it. It had a horrible, rectangle controller and the directional pad was terrible and very awkward to use (sore thumbs in no time). I had Asteriks and Obelix for that and not much else. Then I went to a Megadrive not that long after and spent my time with the different Sonics on that and a few others. I wasn't really a Nintendo person but I got a SNES with one of the Mario games and 2 controllers from eBay for $50 a few months ago for my wife. Have to root through the attic when I get home and see what I have left.

Trode

trout wrote:

see ... the thing about nostaligia is ... it just ain't what it used ta be!


check this thing out ... treat yourself while you're waiting for a GP2X!:D

three flavours ... I want Pong, Breakout, and Warlords!

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/80fc/?cpg=36T

Tempting, but I'd prefer something a bit bigger

trout

Trode wrote:

Tempting, but I'd prefer something a bit bigger

that's what I call a joystick ! :rolleyes:

trout

CiDeRmAn wrote:

... N64, ton of Saturn titles, then bought a Megadrive again, a Snes and so on to the 30 odd consoles I have today, and counting!

wow ... 30 consoles ... any chance of a listing ? I would guess 30 boxes also, but I have several repeats (4 or 5 spectrums, and 6 Dreamcasts), and several non-console devices like the Apple kit, Atari kit, and Amiga's.

oldest working device I have is an Apple ][
most obscure is probably the Compaq Portable PC ...http://oldcomputers.net/compaqi.html

most treasured box is probably the Mac Classic ... still runs sweet as a nut, followed closely by the Dreamcast used almost exclusively for Soul Calibur

big problem is hooking them up ... space constraints limit me to one or two devices running at a time ... my wife won't give up the spare room, so I'm confined to the attic.:cool:

CiDeRmAn

Ok, a listing, lets see,

Sinclair Spectrum 48k
Sinclair Spectrum 16k
Commodore Amiga 600
Dragon 32
Nes
Snes
N64
Nintendo Virtual Boy
Pokemon Mini
Gameboy Pocket
Gameboy Color
Gameboy Micro
Nintendo DS
Nintedo Gamecube
Sega GameGear
Sega Megadrive II
Sega 32X
Sega MultiMega (combined SegaCD and Megadrive)
Sega Saturn
Sega Dreamcast
Atari 2600 6 Switch Woody
Atari 2600 4 Switch Vader
Atari 7800
Atari Jaguar
Atari Lynx
Xbox
Xbox 360
Sony Playstation One plus Screen
Sony PS2
Sony PSP
NEC TurboGrafx
NeoGeo Pocket
MB Vectrex
An Old Laptop that runs little but old Dos code

I do have a gamesroom in my converted attic, we are hopefully putting a proper stairs into the area this autumn as the folding stairs is a pain in the ass.
As I said before I am quite happy as things stand, always watching out for a couple of odder titles for the PS2 and others, also a Colecovision and an Intellivision, but running out of space, must get a better TV too, a 25"" no name set at the mo, hopefully a HD 25'' next year.