Video games!

Here's some ultra-nerdy technical blabber from yours truly (who also enjoys doing homebrew for older consoles, mind you):

1. Turbografx-16 was called the PC Engine in japan. It's japanese equivlanet is in the guiness book of world records for being the smallest (non-portable) console in the world. If you look at videos of it on youtube, it is indeed very small, only about as wide as a single CD case and as thick as 3 CD cases. And while TG16 flopped in the US, it was a huge seller in japan as well as its CD add-on (also known as the TurboDuo or PC Engine CD, there were several models). It had a lifespan that lasted from 1987-1999, the last game for it being Dead of the Brain 1 & 2 for CD, and sold about 10 million units in japan, where it actually gained popularity over the Genesis (known as MegaDrive overseas). And while NEC published the console, the actual card format which the games used and the technical aspects of the system were designed by Hudson, who is most notable for the Bomberman series. On another note, it has an 8-bit CPU with 16-bit graphics, but has a faster processor than SNES, and nearly the same as the Genny's processor (7mhz)

2. As far as SNES vs. Sega Genesis goes, Genesis was actually faster and had a higher resolution than SNES, but SNES had more colors, and some other technical tricks up its sleeve that Genesis didn't have like Mode7 (example: the overworld graphics in the Final Fantasies and the courses in Mario Kart). However, the CPU was 3.5mhz as opposed to Genesis's 7.2mhz. Often times SNES needed extra chips to help it pull off more extensive technical feats, such as with Super Mario RPG and Starfox. Sometimes the Genesis versions of these games had faster performance because of this, with Thunder Force 3 on Genny vs Thunder Spirits (its equivalent) on SNES. However, the sound difference is more of a preference. Genesis had a sound chip based on the 80s yamaha FM synthesizers, which in my opinion had a fuller tone and sounded better when properly utilized than SNES' midi sounds which sound like presets from a Casio keyboard much of the time, but again sounded nice when properly arranged, though I prefer FM tones more.

Metal Misfit wrote:

Zork is great! I had the first one on C64. Never could figure it out though. I finally beat it a few years ago thanks to a walk through.

Baseballs Stars is great! I loved making my own teams. I'd name everyone after super heroes and super villains. I really hope that makes it to Wii's Virtual Console someday.

The only problem with Zork (ive beaten the first 2) is you have to do certain things in a certain order within certain time or youre unable to beat the game, the walk through IMO is the only way hehe I loved the first one best. Though Ive never beaten the 3rd one

Here's more neat trivia:

1. Jun Sunoue, a guitarist who has done alot of work for the Sonic the Hedgehog soundtracks (mostly the recent ones post-Sonic Adventure) says Warren DeMartini from Ratt is one of his influences.

2. Tommy Talarico, who is Steven Tyler's cousin, is another a guitarist who is a huge video game fanatic and has composed the soundtracks to numerous games.

so when I was 8 there was the NES and Super Mario 3, which was about the most amazing thing ever at the time (still is up there, really), and I remember going to Toys R Us and checking out the huge library of NES stuff behind the glass (the walls of Legos were just an aisle over, so I was good to go no matter what), and I got some real classics.... Bonk's Adventure...Solar Jetman..Baseball Stars..Metroid..Bubble Bobble 2..Captain Skyhawk....Chrysalis...Legend of Zelda (I actually liked the first one better)..then for another birthday I got the SNES that came with Super Mario World and my life was officially consumed by video games at that point. The SNES had so many exceptional games it was ridiculous, both Super Mario Worlds, the Donkey Kong Country trio, Super Bomberman 2, Uniracers..Super Mario RPG..Earthbound/Mother...the Mega Man X games which are incredible......a MOST EXCELLENT port of Mortal Kombat II....Mohawk and Headphone Jack if anyone remembers that..... oh, and what is probably my favorite game of all time, SUPER METROID. I should mention that I'm obsessed with the Metroid series...even done the speed runs. So it was disappointing that there was no Metroid for the N64....but then again there was Mario 64, Doom 64 which is actually one of the very best Doom games, Body Harvest, Killer Instinct Gold, Turok 2, WWF Attitude, lots of good stuff and probably the best controller ever IMO. Then the Gamecube...the library suffered a little bit on this system, but I still found plenty to like, for starters I got not one but TWO Metroid sequels (or prequels), in fully rendered 3D no less..Super Mario Sunshine which is a great game despite being a little bizarre...Turok: Evolution had the best gameplay on the GC and made it probably my favorite first-person-shooter ever. Unfortunately, I do not yet have a Wii...pretty late to the party here...

What I've been playing lately:

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/534416

It's a version of Super Mario Bros. this guy made that allows you to choose different NES characters before each level. Really well done. I seem to have the most success playing with the guy from Contra or the girl from Metroid, although Mega Man is kind of interesting. The water levels are only playable with Mario, though (you can play with the other characters but you're screwed if you start falling down a drain because they can't swim upward).

man, i feel like buying the Nintendo Wii just for the new Super Mario game..

It's on DS too, which also has alot of great stuff if you're into the oldschool games. I have one, but no Wii (my nephew has that).