Archive for August 2016
Podcast: Kingdom Hearts, Part 2
This week we wrap up Squaresoft’s collaboration with Disney in the original Kingdom Hearts. Fred and Jam wrap up the campaign and then bring in guest Fortengard to discuss the secrets, bosses, and lesser known differences between versions.
Podcast: Super Power
This week Fred and Jam celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in North America. The duo delve into the design, hardware, regional differences, and of course the games that defined a major portion of the 16-bit generation. As the show wraps the new game club title is chosen, what will it be?
Podcast: Kingdom Hearts, Part 1
Despite not being able to do a live show, Jam and Fred get together and record a massive introduction to the original Kingdom Hearts. In this first part the two go over the development, gameplay, and presumably first half of the game (they are just past Agrabah by the end of the show). Sorry for the lack of music, there was something off in the audio file that didn’t make it easy to do, so in the interest of time the show was pushed out sans music.
Comprehensive Playstation 2 Guide (Purchase and Soft Mod)
Here’s a batch of guides Fred created to tell you what to look for when buying a game, how to rip discs to your computer, and how to soft mod a PS2 Phat (hard drive) and PS2 slim (USB).
Podcast: Psychic World
This week Jam’s pick was Psychic World. An action platformer originally released on the MSX as Psycho World (it was Japan only), this title received wider regard in the West as a Game Gear title and those in Europe may have also played the Sega Master System version. Fred and Jam dissect the development, gameplay, and version differences between this largely forgotten title by an almost unknown developer.
Disney 16-Bit Platformers Hit Good Old Games
Today Good Old Games, a web site dedicated to making older PC titles playable on modern platforms, released a triple pack of Disney platformers from the 16-bit era. The three titles are Aladdin, The Lion King, and Jungle Book. For savvy and knowledgeable gamers, you may be wondering if these are based on the Genesis/Mega Drive port or the SNES ports. These are all based on the Genesis/Mega Drive versions, which are slightly different from the SNES on Lion King and Jungle Book, but drastically different with Aladdin. While few debate the quality overall of the SNES is higher than the Genesis, Aladdin was one of the few titles that is largely regarded as looking and playing better on Sega’s console. Each game is currently $8.99 as an introduction sale, $9.99 normally, and you can get all 3 in a bundle for $19.99.
UPDATED: Now You Can’t… ORIGINAL:You Can Now Read and Download the First 145 Issues of Nintendo Power
UPDATE 8/8/16: And now you can’t read them anymore. Game Informer was the first to post about the removal today and the archivist who posted has yet to respond as to why. If you go back to Fred’s take below, perhaps Nintendo wasn’t as open to sharing as we originally thought. It’s a terrible shame. Some of us managed to download the whopping 12 GB library before it got pulled, but for legal reasons there’s no way we can post them here. Stay tuned, there may still be a way to share the great Nintendo Power content.
Original Story: Nintendo Power is one of those magazines that has forever resided in the underground of the Internet. Since Nintendo published the magazine and thus owns the rights to this copyrighted material, it is illegal to post and distribute it without Nintendo’s permission. Often times items like these are simply posted online, the reputable parties involved will go to places like archive.org to display the interest of preservation, and it’s up to the content holder to file a claim. This did happen with archive.org and Nintendo did file a claim, thus rendering the magazines unreadable without hunting down the tangible items in the wild. This all changed yesterday and it seems Nintendo is now allowing these relics of our gaming past to be read by all. You can find the archive of the first 145 issues spanning 13 years of content here.
Fred’s take: It was frustrating to know that there were quality scans of these magazines I grew up reading and had long disposed of floating around on the web and I had to visit torrent or piracy sites just to see them. Nintendo has every right, both legally and ethically, to preserve its content and I take no issue with that. If you are going to exercise those rights, however, I do think a company should make these items available to its customers. Nintendo could have charged for these magazines and distributed them in an encrypted app on your phone, Nintendo device, or simply through a web site. You may groan, but that is the way these items come back from the dead. Content often has never and will never be free without a setback. On the other hand, to ban anyone from making these items available and also to do nothing yourself is to let content die on the vine and it saddens me to think that Nintendo was willing to do this. The fact that it allowed the distribution on archive.org further back the reality that Nintendo had no plans and probably didn’t even know how it would go about getting the content to customers. It’s documented that even virtual console roms have been taken from hacked roms on emulation sites, so I’m betting that if Nintendo had decided to sell these items we would discover that they would be the scans that exist on this now live archive. If you’re going to seek financial gains for your content, you have to do the leg work, all of it. This decision instead makes these Nintendo-centric magazines that a majority of the 80s and 90s kids grew up reading readily available to all for free. I don’t like the process, but I love the outcome.