Classic Console Cheats #1

Back in the day, back before the Internet "enriched" people's lives, before we had instant access to limitless information for free at any time of the day or night, finding news about video games required some effort.

I used to discuss new games and stuff in the playground with my mates, and while that was an effective way of finding out about new games, it still wasn't as good as buying a good ol' magazine! Within the pages of those wonderful tomes, was a wealth of interesting stories, reviews, previews of upcoming games, news, hints and, the very hotly discussed subject of, cheats!

We were crazy for the cheat code. A combination or sequence of button presses often in-putted at a very specific part of the game that, when done correctly, rewarded you with all kinds of stuff like infinite lives or ammo, maybe a permanent power-up, some kind of sound test mode, and in a few instances, a more difficult game! All of us who gathered in the playground to talk gaming knew a serious amount of cheats and were all happy to share with anyone who might need a cheat or two.

So in honour of the days when I had to work a bit harder for my gaming news, I'm starting a regular post dedicated to cheats. There's no Game Genie or Action Replay cheat codes because that is a different kind of cheating which seemed to almost spoil a game in some cases. GG and PAR codes are very good for when you've completely mastered a game and just want to add a new challenge, or twat about with a game to see what random effect you can have. I'll do more on that type of cheat code in another post, as for now, I'm posting the other type of cheat code...

It's worth mentioning that these cheats I'm posting are from memory. I'm not trawling the net looking for cheats, then copying & pasting straight into my blog, not at all. These cheats here are the very ones debated regularly in my school playground! The ones I committed to memory 20 years ago to look cool and somehow still remember!

Now then, there's no order to this...

Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Megadrive), Level Select:

I'm sure everyone in the world knows this cheat, but here it is anyway. On the title screen, just as Sonic appears, press [UP],[DOWN], [LEFT], [RIGHT] on controller 1. If you nailed it, you should hear a familiar noise. To activate the cheat, press [A] and [START] at the same time and a list of all the levels should appear.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Megadrive), Debug Mode:

Again, at the title screen, wait for Sonic to appear and press [C], [UP], [C], [DOWN], [C], [LEFT], [C], [RIGHT] and you should hear the "ring" sound indicating correct input of the cheat. Use [A] and [START] simultaneously to activate the cheat, (if [A] & [START] brings up the level select, use [A] & [START] when choosing your level). Make sure to keep the [A] & [START] buttons held until the level begins.

Controls in Debug mode are as follows, the [C] button on the Magadrive pad is Sonic's normal jump button, the [B] button will cause Sonic to become an item, free to move anywhere using the D-Pad. Wile you're an item, pressing the [A] button will cycle through the other items available in whatever level you chose, and pressing [C] as your chosen item will actually place that item for you. You can place any of the items you find, but be warned... Certain items can only placed and used once. For example, if you place a ring, leave Debug mode to collect the ring you placed, then go back to Debug mode after collecting that ring, you'll find that you can no longer place any rings. That is alo true of boxes, like the ones that contain lives! You can leave Debug mode and play as Sonic by pressing [B].

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Megadrive), Level Select:

In the Options menu, choose the Sound Test and play the following sounds ONCE, and in this order: 19, 65, 09, 17. There should be a familiar "ring" sound, confirming you got it right. Once you hear that, you can leave the Options menu and go back to the main title screen. Highlight "1 Player" and press [A] and [START] together and hold them until the Level Select menu appears.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Megadrive), Debug Mode:

After managing to bring up the Level Select, you'll see there's a Sound Test menu item, and, like the previous cheat, playing a few sounds in the correct order is how to get it. So, play these sounds in this order: 01, 09, 09, 02, 01, 01, 02, 04. You'll hear the "ring" noise if you got it right, then when you want to start playing, hold [A] and [START] at the same time until your chosen level starts. Much like the first game in the series, Sonic 2 has an identical Debug mode. Controls are the same.

Rings of Power (Sega Megadrive), Woman with her Boobs out on the intro to this game cheat:

Yep, you read that right, Naughty Dog included some 16-bitties in this game as you can see by the screenshot. I also included it in my review of this title. To make the dream a reality, simply hold [DIAGONAL DOWN-RIGHT], [A], [C], and [START] on pad 2 when you load the game up. If done correctly, you'll see that vision of loveliness!

Mortal Kombat (Sega Megadrive), DULLARD cheat:

This cheat gets its name from how you enter it. At the title screen, the one with "Game Start" and "Options" on it, press, [DOWN], [UP], [LEFT], [LEFT], [A], [RIGHT], [DOWN] ON PAD 1. A new "Cheat Enabled" menu should appear with lots of new options. You can choose where you fight you next fight here as well as turning blood on or off.

And that's where I'm going to stop for now. I do know cheats for consoles that AREN'T the Sega Megadrive too, so I'll post a few of them in the next one of these. These cheats are a nice trip down memory lane. :)

Toejam & Earl Finally Completed!

Hallelujah!! I did it!! It has taken me a hela long time, but at last, I can say I have completed the absolutely fantastic, "Toejam & Earl" on Sega's Megadrive console.

If you don't know this game, look it up, as it is easily one of the best games for the Megadrive. It is also rather difficult in places and can be very frustrating too, which is partly the reason I've not completed it until now. I've come close to doing it a couple of times, but usually get thwarted before I'd had chance to get near my final rocket ship piece. This time, I had a mega run of good luck and managed to finish the game with five lives left! Even gaining the rank: "Funk Lord!" Groovy!

I'll maybe post a proper review of this game at a later date, but for now, if you can't be bothered to play all the way through the game but want to see the ending, there's a video around here somewhere with my Toejam & Earl ending all recorded and stuff.

If anyone's even remotely interested; Single Player, (Just Earl), Random World. Enjoy.

My Emulators of Choice.

As much as I'd like to own all the games consoles and games that have ever been made by any manufacturer ever, I don't have the money or space to accommodate such a desire. As a result, I turn to emulation to get my retro fix.

Naturally, I've agonized over which particular emulator to use in order to achieve satisfactory results. I dare not think about how much of my life I've invested in testing emulators over the years, but needless to say, I've amassed a collection that any self-respecting retro gamer would be proud of, so I'm going to share my list with both of you, readers!

As of 2015, I have many devices capable of emulating my favourite consoles. Firstly, there's my PCs, which I use for the more resource-hungry emulators like the PS2 and Gamecube. Then there's my PSP, which satisfies most of my handheld retro needs along with the PS1. And finally, there's my Android Smartphone, which I use when I haven't got my PSP with me.

Below is a list of the different emulators I frequently make use of. There's no links to files, as there are many different websites made just for hosting emulators. Emucr.com is a particularly good one, along with Emu-Russia.net. Both have more emulators than I've listed here and are purpose-built sites, housing a multitude of emulation-related gubbins. However, I may add links to the emulators made for the PSP at some point in the future, as that (amazing) handheld is a bit long in the tooth now and sites hosting the files are few and far between, (try Wololo.net for PSP stuff, it's a great site and well worth regular visits).

So, on with the lists. Both my PCs run Windows, one has Windows 10 64-bit, while the other has Windows XP 32-bit. I have my reasons for this, but they're irrelevant to this subject...

PC:

4DO. An emulator for the 3DO.

1964. This one handles Nintendo64 emulation on my PC. Plugin based.

AppleWin. For all my Apple II emulation needs.

Handy. That bad-boy deals with any Atari Lynx desires I may have.

mGBA. For when I just want to play Gameboy Advance games on a PC.

BGB. The BEST Gameboy/Colour emulator available for Windows.

Hatari. This supplies me with a wealth of Atari ST goodness.

MAMEUI64. M.A.M.E. Possibly the greatest emulator ever created. It is capable of playing games from a multitude of arcade machines.

DeSmuME. This is what I use for any Nintendo DS emulation I might need. However, as I own an actual DS, complete with a Flashcart, it seldom gets used.

NeoPop. This little beauty lets me play most of the games from my favourite handheld console, the NeoGeo Pocket on my PC.

NCDZ. For the NeoGeo CD system.

Nestopia. My favourite Nintendo Entertainment System emulator.

Ootake. My emulator of choice for PC Engine emulation, amongst others.

ePSXe. Lovely piece of software, this. Handles the emulation of Sony's Playstation very well indeed. Plugin based too, so can add some enhancements to the experience.

PCSX2. Now this one is for the PS2. I don't download games for this system, just play the ones I own as it can play PS2 DVDs from my PCs DVD draw.

PPSSPP. What a piece of software this is. One of my favourite emulators despite owning an actual PSP. Beautiful UI.

SCUMMVM. For all my point-and-click adventure games. One of the first emulators I ever used.

Kega Fusion. I use this for a lot of my Sega needs, as it is capable of playing ROMs for the Master System, Game Gear, Megadrive, 32X and MegaCD. Unfortunately, it has 'issues' on Windows 10 but it's not unplayable.

SSF. This Japanese emulator runs any Sega Saturn game I would want to play.

SNES9x. My favourite Super Nintendo emulator.

Dolphin. Another console I don't download games for as I use actual, shop-bought discs. This fantastic emulator handles Nintendo's Gamecube and Wii with aplomb!

PSP:

Final Burn Alpha. Used for a few arcade games.

RIN GB. For playing Gameboy/colour ROMs on the go.

gpSP Mod. This can just about handle the Gameboy Advance on a PSP. There are many different forks of this emulator. The version I use has a horrible icon consisting of 2 cats playing a GBA.

Handy PSP. A PSP port of Handy for Windows. Good for Atari Lynx.

NCDZ PSP. For the rare occasion I desire some NeoGeo CD action on the move.

NesterJ. This baby fulfils my Nintendo Entertainment System needs while I'm on the bus.

RACE! PSP. NeoGeo Pocket/Colour emulator.

Picodrive. A very impressive emulator that boasts 100% compatibility for the Sega Megadrive. Some games slow down though. It also does MegaCD emulation pretty well too.

SMS+. Lovely little Master System emulator in the palm of my hands.

SNES9xTYLmecm. Quite a mouthful of an emulator, but can just about manage full-speed SNES emulation with a few speed-hacks.

POPSloader. Sony's own built-in PS1 emulator on the PSP. Games need to be copied from physical CDs, then converted correctly, (using PC software called PSX2PSP), in order to be functional. Not 100% compatible, but most games work nicely.

Android: (this list is subject to change at any time. I tend not to use my phone for emulation, but when I do, I use it with a 'Moga Pocket'. A Bluetooth control pad designed specifically for gaming on phones/tablets. All the emulators listed below are Moga-compatible in Gamepad mode).

My Boy! An excellent Gameboy Advance emulator for Android. Capable of emulating the link cable over Bluetooth or Wifi for multiplayer action/Pokemon trading.

My Old Boy! From the same Dev as My Boy! This plays Gameboy/Colour ROMs and also has a link capability.

N64oid. A very good Nintendo 64 emulator. The latest version has support for hi-resolution texture packs to enhance the experience.

ePSXe. Like its PC counterpart, this plays PS1 games. I very very rarely use this for obvious reasons, but it's mentioned here because it is extremely high quality.

SNES9x EX+. Brilliant port of the SNES9x emulator. Plays most SNES games very well and is also 100% free on the Play Store!

So there you have it. An extensive list of the software I use for my emulation requirements. I do hope you enjoy searching for these files. ;) It has taken me a long time to work out which of the many emulators available were my favourites. The software listed above might not be the best there is, but they are all my emulators of choice.

Happy emulating!

Retro Sunday #2.

Following on from last Sunday's one of these, Sunday-gone, I sat with my offspring and attempted to find an old-school game they could both agree on! Easier said then done, let me tell you! However, the library of games I'm choosing from is vast! There's plenty of games that both children will appreciate. 

As they both enjoyed Sonic 2, I used 2D platform games as a starting point. That didn't go very well, ALL the Super Mario games were met with an overwhelming, "Meh" from both parties, (don't judge them too harshly, they're only five and three). Alex Kidd couldn't hold their attention either and even a Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck combo in World of Illusion weren't interesting enough to intrigue these kids! Undeterred, I continued my quest, and a console-plus-genre-change later, we arrived at Gran Turismo 2 for Sony's Playstation.

I was pleasantly surprised with the reaction to this game. Maybe it was because up until now, we'd only been playing 8 and 16-bit, 2D games, and GT 2 is 3D, with considerably better graphics and sound, I like to think the "Woooo" noise that the kids produced was because they knew they were in for a real treat though!

I, myself first enjoyed this game in my late teens and it is still one of my favourite racing games to this day. It's absolutely wonderful and both youngsters agreed. They were glued to the screen, I mean, (figuratively) GLUED! No comments, questions or attention loss, which was a massive shock to me, as them kids of mine can't do anything for more than 5 minutes without getting distracted in some way or other. During the half-hour or so of Gran Turismo 2 gameplay, I barely heard a peep out of either of them. Bliss! :o)

Sadly though, this one isn't such an easy game for the chronologically-challenged player due to the controls. It requires a good deal of hand-eye coordination to drive effectively, something that most small children lack. However, there are a couple of very simple oval-shaped tracks to play which the halflings found much easier to deal with. Buying/upgrading cars was difficult to explain to young children too, and even when I did, it went in one ear and out the other. That aspect was too complicated for my very young kids, but that didn't stop them going, "Woooo" while Daddy was drifting round Laguna Seca in a TVR Speed 12!

As it is a racing title, it isn't hard to understand why my little boy found the game so captivating, my Daughter was sat nodding her head and tapping her foot to the soundtrack. When I asked her if she liked the music, she replied with an overly-enthusiastic nod of the head. Of course, I was very pleased indeed.

It is worth mentioning that I was playing the European release of GT 2 and, aside from the usual difference between Euro and US releases, (different refresh rates, not even noticeable), the tracklisting is better in the Euro version of GT 2. Well, in my humble opinion anyway.

This was certainly a spectator sport today, but when both children are older, the multiplayer mode, (on Disc 1), will keep us entertained for hours. 

So get Gran Turismo 2 fired up right now! It comes highly recommended by a 5 year old boy who bites his toenails and a 3 year old girl who drinks bathwater!!

Lewis, (5), and Miya, (3).

The Incredible Crash Dummies Gameplay Video.

Right oh, I'm going to try and keep the spoilers to a minimum here, wouldn't want to ruin this for potential players now, would I?.. /sarcasm

This is a silly little game available for both the Master System and the Gameboy, consisting of five levels, (endlessly looped, from what I can gather), where you have to make a load of money for some reason. There's a jumping off buildings level, (featured in the video), a driving/crashing a car level, a skiing level, a hitting bombs with a hammer level and a space-ship landing level. All of which are infuriating until you master them, which I didn't! Apart from the first level, as you can see.

Truth be told, the driving level is actually pretty fun the first few times you play it. You have to collect enough air for your airbags to survive the final crash at the end of the level. Once you know where all the power ups are in the level though, it starts to get a tad boring, and as it isn't any more difficult the second, (or third) time round, you will get sick of it quickly.

Now then, watch this video so you never actually have to suffer this title first-hand!! I did it so you don't have to! :-)

Incidentally, both Master System and Gameboy versions of this game has a cheat mode, where if you press [up], [down], [left], [right] at the title screen, you got an option to enter a code. No code I've ever found online works on the Gameboy version. Master System ones do, but not the Gameboy. If anyone has any info on this please contact me as it has bugged me since I was a child.

Super Mario Land Gameplay Video.

Another random #RetroGaming vid, this time it's the game that launched along side the Gameboy all those years ago... Super Mario Land!
This is level 1-2.

This game is brilliant! You'll not be rescuing Princess Peach here! Nope, you're rescuing some bird names Daisy! Oooerr!

Silliness aside, this game is highly addictive. I suggest you play it!
After you've watched my video, that is! :-)

By the way, please leave comments on this, and other videos. I'm open to suggestions too, especially about the random gameplay videos! :-)

Sonic - The Pocket Adventure Gamplay Video.

I did it! As mentioned in my last post, I recorded some gameplay videos to showcase some of my favourite retro games. The first proper one is of, Sonic - The Pocket Adventure, on SNK's, NeoGeo Pocket Colour handheld.

Bear in mind that this isn't a demonstration of my skills on the game, just a random bit of gameplay from a random level, as I just want to give a feel of the game for anyone who was thinking of playing it for the first time.

I do like this game, it's based on 16-bit games, (Sonic 2 & 3), but done on an 8-bit handheld console very well indeed! But hey! This in no review. Just watch the footage, I play all the games myself with the help of Windows 10 and various emulators. In this case, NeoPop...

More random gameplay videos to come...

Gameplay Videos.

While trying to imagine new content for this here Blog, I played a lot of video games. I played platformers, RPGs, Shoot-em-Ups, FPSs, Puzzle games, Strategy games, Hidden Objects games and even games about making games. The playing of the games took a long time and during that time, an upgrade appeared for my PC's Operating System. I  then upgraded my PC to Windows 10...

I really like Windows 10! but this post isn't about my feelings toward Microsoft's latest OS offering, it is aimed more specifically at one of its features. Namely, the "Gamebar".

Windows 10, as you may or may not know, supports (wired) Xbox360 controllers straight out-the-box. No poncing about with 3rd-party applications, just plug the pad in and away you go. A lot of new PC games support the use of Xbox360 pads natively too and it is undoubtedly one of the better features of Windows 10. I've been using an X360 pad ever since I upgraded my PC, but only recently discovered something else cool about this particular feature.

During gameplay, pressing the Xbox button on the controller (for the 1st time) will bring up a question, ("Is this a game?"). If you check the checkbox to confirm that the software you're running is a game, you'll be taken to the Gamebar. The Gamebar is a small filmstrip-style menu where you can take screenshots and record videos of your virtual adventures! Once you've opened the Gamebar, choose the appropriate icon and Windows will do its thing, either saving the screenshot or starting to record.

I always assumed that recording videos of gameplay on a PC would consume a lot of the PC's resources. I used a couple of PC applications in the past that have been made to record things like gameplay videos and they've always had a negative impact on the performance of the game/emulator I was trying to record. This little feature of Windows 10 seems to have no effect whatsoever on performance and it made me want to record small gameplay videos for no reason at all! And that's exactly what I did :-)

So, I am going to start a regular post about gameplay videos. Pretty much completely random game selection, but the vids will be used to demonstrate how a game looks or plays. I can also record sound, so there could even be some kind of commentary added to a few of the videos.

In the mean time, why don't you check out just how awesome I am at Cave Story!!

Retro Sunday #1.

Ahh, Sunday. Even God himself had a day off on Sunday! (according to the Bible...). So what better way to spend the most restful of days than by breaking out the retro video games!

I've always liked to play video games from older consoles ever since I discovered emulation around 15 years ago. Back then, it was only really the Gameboy Colour, Sega Megadrive and the NES that got any attention from me as my PC wasn't very powerful at that time and my knowledge of the history of games console was very limited too. Anyway, long story short, I've learned a lot about retro games and consoles over the years and I think I'd like to share...

In my world, Sunday is 'Retro Gaming Day', and ideally, I sit and play video games from days-of-yore. It is a lovely way to spend a Sunday that I've enjoyed for a number of years. In recent times though, a couple of spectators to my weekly retro-fest, namely, my kids, have taken an interest in what I'm playing. So with that in mind, I decided to show them some of the games I was enjoying when I was a young-un. 

Thinking of what game to introduce the kids to first wouldn't be a problem, sifting through endless titles, trying to find one they both liked was where I had the most trouble! After many arguments, tonnes of shouting and more crying than necessary, the dispute was eventually resolved by Sonic the Hedgehog! Sonic the Hedgehog 2 to be exact.

Both sprogs liked this game, the bright colours and funky music are probably enough to attract the attention of a 5 year old and 3 year old, but the speed of the game and the 'destroying things' bit appealed to my 5 year old Son. The animals that pop out of defeated Badniks plus, "Cute little Tails" makes my 3 year old daughter laugh and ask questions about Sonic. The level design is brilliant and the simple control system makes it really easy for even the smallest of people to play. There's a nice, simple multiplayer mode too.

We all had a jolly good giggle while playing the game, then after we'd finished, we talked about the game and what we enjoyed about it. That is pretty much the inspiration for this weekly post. Every Sunday I'll play a game with the kids then write it up and eventually post it, (by Wednesday!?). I'll be waxing lyrical about a particular video game from a bygone era, but I'll only be talking about games that BOTH my kids like... They're tough critics when it comes to games. 

So there we go, the first "Retro Sunday" recommendation is Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Sega Megadrive, (or Genesis depending on where you live). If you get a chance, play this game.

mGBA Has a .gif Making Feature.

I recently went on a mission to improve my Gameboy Advance emulation experience by finding a new GBA emulator, as Visualboy Advance is getting a bit long-in-the-tooth these days and for some reason, doesn't perform very well on my PC. So after a bit of trial and error, I landed on a recently developed piece of software called mGBA, which is a pretty good emulator of Nintendo's legendary Gameboy Advance.

To be honest, there's nothing really wrong with Visualboy Advance, I just fancied a change as I'd been using VBA for a good few years. I happened upon mGBA while I was browsing Emucr.com, (a very good site to find the absolute latest versions of emulators), so I tried it and enjoyed it. It's got all the features you'd expect from a modern emulator like save-states, frame-skipping and joypad support, but it also has another feature that I found particularly fun and useful. A .gif maker.

Basically, play a game, turn on the .gif maker and let it do its thing, then when you're done, deactivate the .gif maker and mGBA will dump all the frames it has recorded into one .gif file perfect for sharing on the various social networking sites. It's a very useful feature for people like me, because making an animated .gif manually is an annoying process, this feature of mGBA speeds it up a great deal, taking only minutes to do what could've taken more minutes before! The quality is very high too, just check out my GBA BIOS animation below. That was done in seconds!

Anyway, aside from this cool feature, mGBA is a highly compatible GBA emulator that is under constant development and is highly recommended to anyone who loves the Gameboy Advance. Visit the mGBA website and also check out Emucr.com for more bleeding-edge emulation stuff.

Rings of Power Sega Megadrive Review!

So the first Megadrive review I'm going to post is for a lesser-known, turn-based RPG by Naughty Dog. It has issues, but it's a fairly solid game with a gigantic world to explore, a non-linear story and seems to be kinda based on the exploits of a certain Hobbit.

Okay, so it's called, "Rings of Power", so the interest of any fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's scrawlings is probably going to be piqued by the title alone. The influences are seemingly taken from The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings in equal measure, but masked well enough to stop the game feeling like a rip-off. 

Basically, you're a young Sorcerer named "Buc", and you live in a world where sounds make you want to lobotomise yourself, Dragons roam free and magic is used to solve disputes. It is a simple land with simple folk, and, right up to the point you took control, all is well.

Then, horribly coincidentally, bad things start to go down. Your master, with whom you have trained with your whole life, is murdered right before your eyes! By a fellow student, no less! Of course, being the diligent apprentice, you swear to avenge said master. However, right before your master's execution, he was prattling on about a mythical object known the "Rod of Creation", and how it actually existed in the real world. This item was a thing of great power, divided up into 11 "Rings of Power", (y'see what they did, there?), by the Gods and dispersed all over the land in order to protect the various races of the world from its power. Obviously, you must find these rings, that's the point. You will meet young prodigies of varying professions along the way who will aid you on your quest too. Your party will eventually consist of 6 members; a Sorcerer, a Necromancer, an Enchanter, a Knight, a Conjurer and an Archer. All have their merits and different-looking magic, but fundamentally, they're all the same.

Gameplay wise, everything is taken care of in 16-bit RPG style with an isometric view. On-screen is an HUD of sorts, displaying the money you've collected, your food and water levels and a compass. Your food and water levels decrease over time and you must buy replacements at the multiple stores in the game, lest starvation and/or dehydration kick in and eventually kill your party.

As this is an RPG, there's the standard Experience Points system. You have a fight and win, you gain experience. Gain enough experience and you'll gain a level. Higher levels mean more Health Points and stronger magic. Simple. However, there's a slight twist to this one. There's only 9 levels of experience, so once you hit level 9, there's no more grinding to be done. You gain XP from completing certain tasks as well as battles and once you've hit maximum level you'll be able to use all the magic in the game. There's no physical attack battle command like in other RPGs, so you'll be happy to have all the magic. With the lack of a physical attack option, There's no weapons or armour to equip , so you'll want to become familiar with the various types of magic quite quickly. Some cause damage to enemies, while some cause status changes like freezing. There are also some which cause your enemy to lose "Max. Points", which is confusing and pointless. Another obstacle to overcome while trying to enjoy this game.

Now, this game has its quirks. On one hand, it is completely awful! The music is jingly-jangly ear-pollution! The graphics will make you want to change the contrast setting of your TV/Monitor! The controls are more than a bit sluggish! A lot of the story is misleading and vague and the characters in the game have no back-story whatsoever! But on the other hand, this thing is a masterpiece! It is non-linear! For the most part completable in any order you like! the world is massive! Many, many numerous cities and towns, polar regions, drinking and gambling establishments and even a nut-house! There's tonnes of different magic spells to learn! There's Pirates, Dragons and even BOOBS! If you can, please try to get past this game's negatives as you will be rewarded!

I'd suggest this title to the more hardened retro RPG gamer out there. It is a huge game with a tonne of secrets to uncover, a full day/night cycle, (not Real Time) and the overall feel of the game is familiar, but with enough differences from the standard RPG template to still feel unique. The bad sound, dodgy graphics and clunky control system are likely to put off new players though. 

This is still one of my favourite games for the Sega Megadrive and if you're an RPG fan, give it a go! There's only a small collection of RPGs for the Megadrive anyway so what have you got to lose? :-)

2 Pieces of Essential PSP Homebrew.

Continuing the PSP vibe, I'm posting a couple of essentials. These two Homebrew applications have a permanent place on any Memory Stick that gets inserted into my PSP.

The first is a small file manager called 'PSP Filer'. It allows access to the file system of the Memory Stick in the PSP and very useful when you just need to move files around on-the-fly.

This is version 6.6, as far as I know, the final version.

Next up is FuSa Gamepad, a very clever app that mimics a USB gamepad device when the PSP is plugged into a PC.

Basically, run the app, then plug the PSP into your PC via USB. After the drivers have been installed, your PSP will be available as a gamepad device for use with games/emulators for Windows.

This is version 0.3. Probably the final version.

Cave Story PSP.

Well, this game truly is a gem. It's a testament to what independent developers can do, in fact, this game was made by one Japanese fella for the grand total of... Nothing! This wonderful game is Homebrew!

I'm not going to get into the story surrounding this game, there's tonnes of information about it online and it makes for a good read actually. What I will talk about, however, is the quality.

To start with, the graphics are beautifully 8-bit. Yes, it started life as a PC game and that does mean that technically, it could've had much 'better' visuals. But after you've played a little bit, you'll realize that the graphics suit the game very well indeed.

Then there's the music, again, delivered in an 8-bit style-ee, complimenting the visuals very well. Every track is spot-on, adding a lovely atmosphere to the adventure. The music is easily good enough to listen to without playing the game, I may upload some of it, it's really that good.

Another aspect I like in a video game is the story, I do enjoy being spun a good yarn and Cave Story has a lovely one. It isn't the most compelling of anecdotes, but it has everything you could want. The protagonist, (Quote), is a loveable machine of death, there's plot twists, a love story, lots of bosses and an evil Doctor calling the shots. Plus, there's 3 different endings!

Playing this game is hugely pleasurable too, not just because of graphics, music and story, but the overall design is just right. Everything from the level layout, to how high you can jump is flawless. The difficulty curve is nice, starting out at, 'quite difficult', and finishing up at 'so frustrating you'll nearly be pulling your hair out'. All the while keeping a 'just one-more-go' level of addictiveness.

There's so much to this game, It's a real genre-blurrer of the highest order. Part Platformer, part Shoot-em-up, part RPG. Playing this masterpiece is the only way to fully understand what I'm talking about. It is available for PC, under the original Japanese title, Doukutsu Monogatari, for which there is a translation available at Romhacking.net, but that is easy to find. Here I'm going to focus on the PSP port and also include a couple of mods that have been done.

I will add more information about these mods as soon as I find the website I initially got them from. I'd like to credit the original author, y'see. But in the mean time, enjoy them. All of these are in PSP EBOOT format so Place them in the /PSP/GAME/ folder of your modified PSP's Memory Stick.

Cave Story PSP RC1. - The original game, translated for Japanese to English. 

Cave Story - 4 Endings Mod. - Identical to the original Cave Story, just with an extra ending. Very strict criteria must be met in order to find the 4th ending.

Cave Story - Boss Rush. - Boss Rush mode. A mod which takes out all the levels so you get to fight all the bosses in the game, one after another. More fun than it sounds.

Cave Story - Julian's King. - A full overhaul of the levels and story. It's slightly more difficult than the original, but is still a lot of fun to play.

Cave Story - A Lost Land. - Another full overhaul of the story and levels which adds another side to the story.

I have some more too, so this post will be updated to include them at some point. However, there's a lot of fun to be had from the stuff I've already posted. :-)

Wallpapers for the PSP.

Happy Saturday and happy Hallowe'en, everyone.

I just thought I'd pop in and share some of my wallpapers from my beloved PSP, (yes, I still play mine). They're mostly jut resized image I've found on the internets, but they all look great as background images on the XMB.

I've put them all into a .zip file f you want the whole lot, (38 images, 5.80Mb). But I've also posted them individually in case you just want a couple.You can find them below. 

Awesomesauce!

Nice. I hope you enjoy this lot. I will post more when I've made them.