It’s on now.
I’ve had this thing for a while now. Won it on eBay for $5. What it does is let you transfer your N64 memory card saves to your computer where you can then archive them, share them, etc.
Whoa... serial port. Do I have a serial port?
I had to do some checking. I know neither Andrea or I’s computer have a serial port. I’d hate to order an expansion card just for this thing. But I lucked out because the server which it a little more dated DOES have a COM port. So we’re in business. Now just to make sure it meets the system requirements.
I think we'll be fine.
So, got the device hooked up. Now to install the software!
Uhh... what do you do with these?
While I lucked out on the COM port… out of the 4 PCs in the house, none of them have a floppy drive. I mean when’s the last time you ever used one? What could you even store on a 1.44 MB drive these days? Again digging through our boneyard I found a ye olde USB floppy drive. And was able to hook that up to the server.
Nostalgia always seems to emphasize the best version of your memories. But installing this software really brought back some of the gritty truth that was 90’s computing. First off, it was slow. Waiting for the drive to read, then waiting for the program to load, and then waiting for it to install… it was a pretty lenghty process… especially considering how this program COULDN’T be larger than 2.88MB. And to make matters worse, by the time I finally got to disk two, either time or some other form of decay had wiped out the second disc. So all that searching for a floppy was for naught!
I was able to find a version of the software online luckily. And from there, installation took only a few seconds. As much as I jabber about “the good ole days” I have to remember they actually sucked just as much as “any other days” haha!
Ready to roll!
What this all means:
First off, I’ve gone from two memory cards, to basically an unlimited number of memory cards. There are a few games which take up a large chunk, if not ALL of the space on a Memory Card. So this will allow me to save more data.
I can Archive and organize my data. Before I was limited to saving at most four Mario Kart 64 ghosts. Now I have the opportunity not only to save ghosts for every track, but as many ghosts as I want! So I can save top 5 fastest for each track. With shortcuts, without. And I can label and catogorize my data.
My data is safer. Third party memory cards were notorious for corrupting data. And while Nintendo’s own cards are certainly of higher quality, they aren’t immune by any stretch. I remember one of my cards being corrupted as a kid, and just a few days ago, one of my cards was again corrupted. It’s what prompted me to finally install the DexDrive. Now I can transfer all my saves to the hard drive, and have them backed up regularly.
So I continue to be hopelessly obsessed with all things N64 right now. My new joystick should be here next week for one of my worn out controllers. I’m hoping it’s more comparable to the original controller than the knock-off I bought a while ago. Though I’m still considering buying a few more knock offs to torture on Mario Kart.
And I’m continuing with my next re-review playthough. It might be a while, because I’m really having a lot of fun with this game. I guarantee you won’t wait as long for the re-review as I waited for the game to actually come out!
Play on, my friends! And come on over for some multiplayer sometime!
A Look Back: Hydro Thunder
This re-review will be pretty brief. In large part due to the fact that Hydro Thunder is about as straight forward as games can get.
If I recall correctly, Hydro Thunder was a birthday or Christmas present in what would have had to have been the year 2000. I was familiar with the game from its arcade presence (which was basically every arcade in America) but it was not a game that I was particularly interested in adding to my N64 collection. After an obsession with Crusin’ World in the arcade, and then feeling underwhelmed when I finally got my own cartridge, getting Hydro Thunder never even crossed my mind. Luckily someone took care of that for me!
Things move pretty fast in the technology world. The N64 came out in 1996 and this game was released a little less than 4 years later. While the hardware packed in an N64 will never change, arcade cabinets were getting more powerful all the time. I want to say that the arcade version was running on a souped up version of the brand new Sega Dreamcast hardware. Even though I’m not a huge fan of this game, I do have to admit that the arcade version of this game has some pretty good eyecandy, even by today’s standards, and 10 years ago it was pretty fun to look at. Dialing all that down so that the N64 could handle it means there’s going to be quite a few sacrifices.
Hydro Thunder: Arcade
Hydro Thunder: N64
Biggest sacrifice was the framerate department. At times this game felt really choppy. Although this was par for the course with a lot of N64 games. Honestly cramming this game onto the N64 complete with high quality voice over audio was pretty damn impressive.
I think my biggest beef with this game is just that by this point I really wasn’t as interested in arcade racers as much anymore. This (for me) was just another Midway “Crusi’n” game on water. The levels were pretty cool, the boats were cool. But I’d played it all before. Don’t get me wrong! I still played quite a bit of this game. I couldn’t just set it in the box and never mess with it. I made it a point to beat all the levels, and unlock all the boats. Certainly didn’t set any records though.
I pulled it out today just for this review. And consistent with most of these games that pushed the graphical envelope on the N64, this one again hasn’t aged well. The world is very detailed, but the low resolution just leaves it all feeling jagged and blurry. Honestly, the framerate wasn’t as bad as I remember. And the courses are pretty well laid out. I found myself missing a lot of the boosts, but memorizing the few tracks there are would take care of that. If I wished to dedicate that much time to the game.
All in all, this was a good game for what I used it for back in the day. Then I had so much time to play. I mean a lot of time. And this was a great game to play and work on a little bit when I was sick of playing everything else. Today with less time and more to play, it’s hard to find a spot for this game.
06.7.11Oh, it’s E3!
Man have I ever been out of the loop. Didn’t even know it was E3 week until one of the people I follow on Twitter posted that they were heading out there. I haven’t even been paying attention.
Apparently there’s rumors that there’s going to be a big Nintendo annoucement. Which sounds about right. I remember as a kid scheduling out time to watch the live stream of the E3 conference feed. Of course back then on the internet, a live stream meant a tiny 240×180 postage stamped size video feed with blurry video and telephone like audio. But it was still a thrill to see it all unfold live.
I’m gonna have to find an E3 2011 for Dummies guide or something. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be excited for yet!
It’s such a good feeling
What an outstanding day it’s been! Started off by not having to wake up to an alarm. It doesn’t take me long to wake up once I’m out of bed, but that initial roll off the mattress is always a killer when you have to do it. I used to be able to sleep until well past noon back in my slacker days. Now I sleep until 8am and I feel like a king or something. Helps I guess that I don’t go to bed at 3:30am anymore.
So up and around easing into the day with a cup of coffee. Thinking about how its nice not having all sorts of “floaties” in my beverage since the water softener has been working. After a cup or two I figure might as well go mow the yard before a hot day takes over.
Too late. The temperature wasn’t bad but it was a crystal clear day and even at 9:30 in the morning the sun was beating down and making some hot work of pushing the little mower around. I should get me a riding mower some day, but this works and I get some much needed exercise. One of the most rewarding feelings is looking back at a freshly cut lawn, I think. Just so nice and neat. Like a green carpet.
Anywho, after that and hosing off the outdoors Andrea and I played a little Guild Wars. She’s working on getting one of her characters through all three chapters and I’m taking a character through the first game for the first time. So were helping each other. Knocked out a couple missions today. Got the bonus on one but not the other. Oh well, something to come back for.
Andrea is more tired these days. Don’t blame her. Growing a baby is a lot of work! So while she was napping, I tried to think of something to do. Decided I would take one of the extra florescent lights above the garage and relocate it above my work bench. Good news is I think I wired it up safer than before! And now I have some much better light to work with. I still need to find a place for everything in the garage though!
By now its late afternoon, Andrea ie up again do so we go shoot some hoops in the driveway for a while and head back in for supper. One of the things I’m trying to do is cook more stuff that will have leftovers. We don’t get to come home for lunch anymore so if we don’t take something, its either go hungry or spend crazy money eating out. So I cooked up some shrimp and rice stir fry. Made lots so there should be a couple days worth of leftovers.
So productive, satisfying, and relaxing. Those are the words of the day. Actually ready to face a busy work week after a weekend like this!
01.21.11A New N64 Controller: A Review
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwL5gwaQKuE]
A new unofficial N64 controller has come out in the last couple years that shares the same form factor of the original. Now ripping off the exact design of the N64 controller probably isn’t completely legit, but Nintendo is probably busy defending more profitable markets than the extinct hardware market so they get away with it. Whoever “they” is. There is no name of any manufacturer given on the packaging or on the controller.
All in all it was pretty much worth what I paid. $10 plus shipping. While new controllers are hard to find, turns out a good used one might be better than this knockoff.
My original un-used N64 controller to use as a benchmark for comparison.
Our knockoff contender. Is it good enough to stand as a replacement for future worn out N64 controllers?
Original black controller. All controllers shared the same button coloring despite the controller chassis color. Notice all buttons are bright and vivid in color.
On the new controller, button colors are slightly "dirty" compared to the original. The joystick slightly different, being flat on top instead of rounded, and is much stiffer than the original. This makes fine movement a challenge at times.
The underside of an N64 controller is fairly uneventful. Just the Z button and the Controller Pak slot. But what is there is solid and comfortable.
The seams don't line up perfectly, but they're close enough for the price. However there's no excuse for the completely crappy Controller Pak release button. It is by FAR the cheapest feeling part of the controller. Feels like it will break just by touching it! Z Button however, which is used far more often feels almost identical to the original.
All in all, I’d put this on par with the quality of most other third party controllers, however this one does have the benifit of being the same shape and practically the same feel of the original controller. It doesn’t carry the same sensitivity, but perhaps it would after breaking in the joystick a little bit. There’s no excuse for the piece of crap controller pak eject button. But all in all it’s probably worth the $10 asking price. I certianly wouldn’t pay more unless it was a good condition used official Nintendo 64 Controller. This one however, I’m content to go to town on in Mario Kart 64 and tear the heck out of it. Which is one thing I try to avoid with my good controllers. With these… who cares?
Nintendo Thumb
Man, this hasn’t happened for quite some time. I set my N64 up in the bedroom instead of the basement because its just too damn cold down there right now. I braved the coldness with my little space heater for about an hour before I just said “screw it” moved my basement tv and the N64 up where it was actually above 60.
I played for about another hour on Super Mario N64 until it’s time for bed. I didn’t realize while I was playing… but once I got done I felt it. Just that tenderness and almost a feeling like when you just start getting a blister.
It’s the dreaded Nintendo thumb! An injury known to sideline some of the all time greatest players. Even in my own prime I was set back a few times by the injury. Right in the middle of working on world record Mario Kart 64 times. I would try to play through the pain, but when you realize that you can’t make the same cuts and you just aren’t as fast injured… that’s when you realize you’re better served to sit out and get healed up. Then you can be close to 100% when you get back into the game. Happens to everybody, right?
After last night I’m up to 40 stars. These are the easy ones though. Some of these later are just going to be nuts.
12.21.10Final Fantasy XIII accomplished
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI3lqWhuQlA]
Well it took me forever, but I finally beat Final Fantasy XIII. Very worth it. Several folks on the IGN boards were pretty critical of it, but I thought it was great. Different than the few I’ve played, but not necessarily in a bad way.
Since FFX is the first game in the series I’ve played I always seem to use that as my benchmark. I’m a sucker for the cinematics and the new game didn’t leave me disappointed. While several of the scenes are pre-rendered at some high dollar CGI studio, a majority of them are real time and running on the PS3 hardware. They blend surprisingly well, and in the video I posted above, if you aren’t paying attention, you probably can’t tell which is which. I have to glance down at my original NES and just appreciate how far video games have come.
The story is another good ole’ “save the world”, “will we ever see each other again” tale. The thing about these games and the stories (for me at least) is that they are so damn long, and at times so frustrating, you can’t help but become emotionally invested in the characters. Even if the story isn’t a literary masterpiece. When you finally just beat some hard ass boss and you feel that sense of relief and victory, you also see those same emotions coming through the characters in the game. And when you fight that enemy and win, still only to have someone they love ripped away from them, it makes you want to know why. I’m a geek like that I guess.
So I’ll admit, against the grain of the Final Fantasy purists that spin ye olde tails of classic turn by turn, overworld exploring, 8-bit times, I play the game, for the scenes and stories in between the battles. I still enjoy PLAYING the game, don’t get me wrong. I love customizing the weapons, and filling the screen with huge numbers with the best of them. But if it weren’t for the dessert, I probably would skip the meal. There I said it!
In FFXIII The battles are pretty automated in that you aren’t picking every single attack, but you do get the ability to issue specific orders to the character you are controlling, and focus your party’s attacks on a single target. The real meat of the battle system is setting up paradigms. Basically mixing and matching combinations of specialties which you can readily switch in the middle of battle. You don’t have the luxury of having enough experience to just make everybody specialize in everything, so it’s best to diversify the disciplines of your characters so you have the flexibility to adjust to whatever the battle calls for.
All in all, I’ll probably find myself playing this game again sometime soon. The end wasn’t quite what I expected (in a good way) but I wish sometimes the endings weren’t quite so perfect. But then again, there’s my FFX bias shining through again.
A few more Guild Wars locales.
I haven’t posted one of these in a while. Gotten back into Guild Wars again recently. Lately as I’m going around I’m taking the time to appreciate some of the scenery. The artists and designers really created some breathtaking stuff. Well breath taking for a 3-5 year old video game anyway.
The original Guild Wars: Prophecies is over 5 years old. In the video game world, that is ancient. Still... the original has some of the most beautiful and detailed scenes. Sometimes in places you walk by all the time. Here is Old Ascalon City.
Autumn in Ascalon.
The second chapter: Factions is most people's least favorite out of the three games. However I find the world to be absolutely beautiful. Most of my favorite scenes come from Guild Wars: Factions.
Plauge or not, living in Kaineng City would have to be just people living on top of people. Some of the towing structures are towing shacks that look like they'll topple if you look at it too long. Others are quite a bit nicer... like this one.
Heck, this is just the login screen.
Waterfalls are always cool. And there's no shortage of them in Guild Wars.
I don't want to go in there... do you? I have a feeling that's not a fluffy rabbit hole.
Gateway to Istan from Guild Wars Nightfall. How do they even imagine awesome architecture like this?
I’m Kind Of A Big Deal
You’ve gotta love some of the “titles” you can earn in Guild Wars. Amongst being “Not Too Smelly”, “Slayer of All”, and a “Drunkard”. I’m also now, “Kind Of A Big Deal” (Anchorman inspired). So I’ve maxed 5 different titles. Of course there’s 40 possible titles… so there’s a lot of folks that have done a lot more than I have.
Supposedly things like this are supposed to contribute somewhat if you decide to link your Guild Wars account to the upcoming Guild Wars 2 game. The more stuff you have in your “Hall of Monuments” the better goodies you’ll get upon the launch of Guild Wars 2. To what extent it is worthwhile, remains to be seen.
For now it’s just been kinda nice to have time to play Guild Wars again. But to be honest, now that I’ve achieved KOABD… I think I’m going to get back to Final Fantasy XIII. Haha!
08.24.10Concerning the Norn:
They were straight-faced vikings who felt superior to humans and who took honor to the extreme in Eye of the North. Now they’re the goofball drunkards who take honor to the extreme in Guild Wars 2? …So they’re dwarves, basically, but 9 ft tall.
-user izari (GW2 Guru)