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Messages - n64forever

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1
Video Game Chat / Re: CRT to LCD...is there a learning curve?
« on: July 02, 2018, 07:43:35 PM »
I did find a game mode on the TV, which seems to fine-tune the picture settings more than anything.

Last night, I played about 2 hours of MK64--which has to be the most I've done in a single sitting in ages. Since the TV setting didn't seem to do a ton right off the bat, I worked my way up...going all the way down to 50cc Mushroom Cup. After getting some timing back (or rather re-timing myself), I moved to 150cc and got a perfect 36 on the cup. I then moved on to Flower Cup at 150cc and even had a nice worst to first comeback after spinning out on Frappe Snowland at the start.

Part of the issue there was that I've played other Mario Kart games since and had forgotten the rocket boost is on the GREEN light, not the yellow, on MK64...

After that, I did some time trials. Most of my times were fairly close to my records after a while, and I'm sure if I started playing on an everyday basis I'd be able to match or even beat those.

It seems to me part of it was just retiming myself, and thankfully that happened with a little practice. Perhaps playing other MarioKarts was to blame too? It's unlikely I'll go back to a CRT at this point, so I might as well just get used to it.

The picture, by the way, looks great. I'm honestly not sure if it did much for timing, but it does make the N64 look good on a newer set. Tetrisphere also looked great (and sounded great; we all know a major part of that game's appeal is its amazing techno soundtrack).

Now I just have to get the rhythm back on other games. Now that I'm not dating anyone at the moment I have a ton of free time for video games again, so why not? Besides, my 11 year old niece is huge into vintage Nintendo games right now and wants to take me on in Smash next time she visits, so I have to be ready to try to win there--and maybe lose one on purpose like any cool uncle would do ;)

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Video Game Chat / Re: CRT to LCD...is there a learning curve?
« on: July 01, 2018, 11:47:40 PM »
OK...is there any fix for this or should I take one of my old CRTs out of the mothballs? I did keep them.

I'm going to guess muscle memory plays a part here too. I've had MK64 since 1997 when I got the N64 and had it pretty much mastered in a weekend.

Glad to know it's the TV and not me...last time I played MK64 on the CRT I was consistently getting 1st place on 150cc.

3
Video Game Chat / CRT to LCD...is there a learning curve?
« on: July 01, 2018, 12:35:54 AM »
At long last, I replaced my CRT television with an LCD. Long story short, the tuner was finally going on the old one so it was time for an upgrade. (It could still play a video game or a DVD fine, but watching actual TV was the problem--same thing that killed my previous CRT).

Yes, I connected my old N64 and GameCube to the new set. Why not keep playing the games I've enjoyed for years?

Here's the problem: everything seems harder on the new set.

MarioKart 64 seems way more finicky with controls. On a baseball game I have for GCN, my timing seems to be way off with my swing.

Granted, I don't play games as often as I used to...I used to play pretty much every day when I was in school and then college, but now I'm way busier with work...and also am not getting any younger, now being on the wrong side of 30...although I know that's no excuse because my dad is still a decent gamer and is 66.

Is there some sort of difference with the signal, especially being analog on a digital set, that is causing my timing to be off? Or...am I simply out of practice?

4
Video Game Chat / Re: Wii U Won't Connect to Wi-Fi, 103-160x
« on: June 18, 2017, 08:56:28 PM »
UPDATE: I actually got it working, but had to call Nintendo tech support. I didn't even know they had this line open on a Sunday, but they offered something you won't find in most internet forums...

I had to use something called WPS on the modem. It's more or less a direct connection (although I'd wager most of y'all probably know that; I had no idea it existed until tonight). Somehow it works on this goofy console.

Now if I could get any semblance of Mario Kart 8 skills...

5
Video Game Chat / Wii U Won't Connect to Wi-Fi, 103-160x
« on: June 18, 2017, 02:12:07 PM »
I know this is apparently a common issue with the Wii U, but mine hasn't been able to connect no matter what.

First, please do not tell me to input the IP address manually or to restart my router. I have done both MULTIPLE times. Neither has worked.

Every other wireless device on my network is absolutely fine, including a regular Wii.

I'm ready to just chuck this console, it has had problems since I got it.

What is the trick here?

6
Video Game Chat / Re: Nintendo Switch
« on: April 06, 2017, 01:01:44 AM »
A good buddy of mine got a Switch. Actually, it was his wife who got it for him...she stopped by a Wal Mart that had a few, waited in line, got the fourth one out of five, and said she'd keep it for a special day. Wellll....he had a really bad day at work that day so he got it that same night.

He had me over the next day to get my take on it.

I was blown away by the controls. Nintendo's controllers have usually felt natural, but sometimes they feel better than others in terms of how they're laid out. (I can't stand playing MarioKart on anything but a classic type controller, for example). This felt *perfect*.

All of the playing modes just worked. Of course, the Wii U is the same way...but this finally makes it a true portable.

The Zelda game was good too. I'm usually not a huge Zelda guy, but the launch title was truly epic. For the first time, I found myself immersed in a Zelda game.

My only complaint is that the little kickstand on the back of the Switch is sort of flimsy. It felt like something from HP as of late.

We talked a bit about the console as we played the game. He has since used it as a true portable (he likes to take a real game system with him when he's got a long wait somewhere rather than game on his phone). Reviews were positive. He does believe the designated portable line will eventually be phased out now that portables and consoles are equal here. However, there will still be a low-end line: phone apps. We see the Wii U sticking around for a year or so, sort of like the other systems did as low-end alternatives (back to the NES).

Both of us are veterans of Nintendo platforms, and let's just say our combined age is over AARP eligibility. My buddy believes Nintendo is actually targeting this system, at the time being, to an older generation--namely, the people in their later 20s and 30s. His theory also goes around the fact that we miss the simplicity of certain things--hence why we know so many guys in that age group that love to play Mario Kart (we have friends, husband and wife, who play Mario Kart when they get home from work...and they're in their mid-30s).

I do wonder about durability as a portable for this system, but I guess if kids are hauling around iPhones at age 4, they did their research.

I'm not sure if I'll get one personally, at least not yet. It's a great system, but I just don't have as much time as I used to for games. (I know, I have no excuse since all my married friends play more often than me...but none of them are business owners). Still, my business usually gets a little lighter in the summer...

7
Game Help / Re: MarioKart 8 Learning Curve
« on: August 24, 2016, 11:28:50 PM »
OK--an update on this.

I recently have been playing the game a little more, but still can't crack 1st or even 2nd on the worldwide mode online.

My problem seems to be running into corners or other difficult parts of the track. I am currently playing as Koopa Troopa so I have a cart with more agility. I know he doesn't have the best top speed, but I'm trying to power slide and get mini turbos more often.

Any way to better pace myself with this? It seems as though this is more a timing issue. What should I do to get better at it? Repetition isn't helping.

Another problem seems to be items. When I got really good at MarioKart 64, one of the things I did was buy the official strategy guide. They don't seem to make this anymore, although Prima does have an unofficial one out (which I'm tempted to pick up if I find one for the right price since I hate searching for this stuff online). The old book had a probability chart in it for items. What are the probabilities in this game?

The reason I ask--every time I'm in the lower half of the pack, it seems more often than not, I wind up with a stupid triple mushroom. They aren't really helpful. In the old days, you'd get good stuff like stars or red shells if you were far behind, maybe the orange mushroom, a Spiny, a Bullet Bill (in newer games), etc. Mushrooms aren't going to help me gain an advantage here unless they are used at exactly the right time and place (another thing the old book did right: it had maps marked with where to use mushrooms).

If anyone has the Prima book, can you recommend it/recommend something else if it's not good? I consider myself more a reader than an online researcher and like to have everything in one place instead of five billion websites...

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Mario Chat / Re: Expect a "new kind of Mario": Miyamoto
« on: July 14, 2016, 03:20:26 PM »
I think it's the style of the game that makes it unappealing to me more than anything.

Some of you may not remember these, but does anyone on here recall Colorforms? Paper Mario reminds me of that a bit, but with really simplified versions of the drawings. It was as though Mario took a step forward in design with every iteration up to that point, then stepped back to where he looked to be drawn by your friendly neighborhood third grader.

The style just turned me off. Perhaps I'll give it another shot at some point for the game play, but the style is just visually unappealing to me.

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Mario Chat / Re: Is Shigeru Miyamoto Good for Nintendo?
« on: July 14, 2016, 03:16:44 PM »
Super Mario 64 wasn't a reboot in terms of gameplay. The only thing that it brought back were some classic tunes and enemies (plus the basic plot).

StarFox 64, I'll give you that one, total reboot albeit with better graphics and sound. (I like 64 better though personally).

10
Video Game Chat / Re: Game to Play Before You Die
« on: July 14, 2016, 03:14:22 PM »
Life, and I don't mean the board game.

Video game wise, I'm going to have to go with the classic Super Mario 64, maybe Galaxy.

Board game wise, Ticket to Ride.

11
Mario Chat / Re: Expect a "new kind of Mario": Miyamoto
« on: July 11, 2016, 04:39:57 PM »
I actually haven't played that one...the original and some of the recent stuff sort of made it look unappealing to me...

12
Mario Chat / Re: Is Shigeru Miyamoto Good for Nintendo?
« on: July 11, 2016, 04:33:13 PM »
Splatoon is pretty solid. I've played it and it's definitely a good one.

I am aware of the Mother sequels, but wasn't counting them since none of them had a USA release--yet their characters continue to appear in USA games like Smash Brothers.

As for the other games...they may not be totally bad Disney sequel quality, but they're getting to be worn out and old. Wooly World is the one I haven't played yet of that list, but a friend told me it was good, even though it did remind him of a slightly updated Yoshi's Story.

Mario Kart 8 may be a decent game, but it just seems on par with a local news broadcast. They are trying to cram too much in and are killing the quality as a result. Seriously, there are like 30 racers in that game, and it's like the Christmas Card list where I don't even know half of them anymore. The number of carts is also ridiculous. The original appeal of Mario Kart was its simplicity, up through the GBA game. The same can be said for Smash.

Mario Maker and Splatoon are the new Nintendo to me. Everything else is in dire need of a makeover. Even the music is getting stale...I used to love Nintendo soundtracks, but I haven't heard a good one since Galaxy.

I am aware there is some new Pokemon game out there, but I could care less about Pokemon and have ignored it since day one. Not my kind of thing. Still, it's nice to see Nintendo in the spotlight as a result of that.

13
Mario Chat / Re: Is Shigeru Miyamoto Good for Nintendo?
« on: July 07, 2016, 12:31:18 AM »
Any company can go through down times and make a comeback.

Everyone said the same thing about Disney in the 70s and 80s. They made some good films in that timespan, but it's not like they were innovating and turning out a Snow White or creating films on the same level as Cinderella or Bambi. Everyone knows Cinderella and Bambi today, but who can name at least four of the Disney animated features released between 1968-1988?

In fact, Disney was profiting a lot from re-releases of earlier movies. People still came out to see Snow White forty years after it came out (people would still come to see it eighty years later). Everyone appreciates a classic like Snow White, just like people appreciate well-done new stuff. Trouble is, the new stuff just wasn't living up to the Snow White standards set by some. That's not to say Disney wasn't releasing new stuff, but it wasn't as well-received as the old. This also extended into TV, where the New Mickey Mouse Club, despite being a good show, never gained the traction of the original 1950s show.

Nintendo is likely in the same position right now. They had their big hit with characters in the 80s, just like Disney did with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the other cartoon characters. They made it big with particular games in the 90s, with or without those characters, sort of like Disney did with Snow White and subsequent features.

Then, things got stale. Disney kept coming out with random films about talking animals. Nintendo kept coming out with new ways to rehash old games.

Disney had the "renaissance" starting in with Little Mermaid, then Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Lion King. Those four films were huge winners in every respect and still are, becoming to Gen Xers and Millenials what Snow White was to the Greatest Generation. After another period of dud films, they hit it big with Tangled and Frozen this decade.

As you can see, things go in cycles. Nintendo will do the same as long as they keep up with the times. The humor, music style, and animation style of Little Mermaid is different from that of Snow White since it needs to be kept current and appeal to a new generation of viewers. The same is true if you compare those films with Frozen. Nintendo will have to do the same with games. You can't have Mario Party 18 where it plays just like Mario Party 1. You can't have New Super Mario Bros games that all look and feel the same. You can't have stupid and overused storylines.

At some point, you may even need to introduce a new character. Disney did this with the princesses. Everyone thought the sorority roster was complete until three new ones came for initiation in the past six years. This came, of course, after a decade of crappy sequels to the original movies. Look at the current Smash Brothers roster. Most of those characters fall into these categories: Nintendo icon, clone of Nintendo icon, supporting character unfamiliar to someone who hasn't played that franchise, or character from a long time ago that nobody really cares about because they haven't had a game in years. (No Earthbound games since 1995 and we still get their characters? That would be like Disney having Ratigan as a meet-and-greet character).

Trouble is, Nintendo is in the process of making crappy sequels. Everything feels like it's already been done before. To get to the original question, Miyamoto is still good for Nintendo if and only if he can get his creative genius back. Otherwise, you need to draft a new team, and you need to make it one on par with the one Disney used from 1989-1994 and from 2010-2013.

One final note: on the subject of Smash Bros and the other games with many characters, let's cut the rosters down. The Wii U Smash Bros has more characters than anyone would know what to do with, and Mario Kart 8 is the same way. 12 is a good number, 16 is a bit high but could work. Anything more than that is just chaos--it's like a Christmas card list where you have to remind yourself how you know those people.

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Mario Chat / Re: Expect a "new kind of Mario": Miyamoto
« on: July 07, 2016, 12:11:28 AM »
Let the Old-timer handle this one...

I remember playing the NES and SNES Mario games a long time ago, back before they needed re-releases on a bunch of consoles. The four core Mario games all had a different feel to them, but aside from the rehashed Doki Doki Panic of Mario 2, they were all pretty much the same.

They did have the Mario Kart spinoff for SNES, but everyone knew the formula for a Mario game until 1996.

Suddenly, you had a "new kind of Mario" to use the term we're using in this thread. Actually, you had two: you had Mario RPG and Mario 64. Both introduced a radically new gameplay engine (different for each) and even different feels for the games. Suddenly, Mario was much less arcade-ish and more of a story-based adventure. In fact, storylines started to really develop, particularly in Mario RPG.

The next step seems to be Paper Mario, which I never played in its entirety. We've had something in the ballpark of ten of these games and while they all seem to be a little different, they all have the same style of character and are all kiddy-type versions of Mario RPG (my opinion at least).

Mario Sunshine basically built upon Mario 64 but used the second stick effectively. Galaxy was really just the next evolution.

Everything else was something that had been done before. New Super Mario Bros wound up being, well, an updated version of the original games. They added 3D to it, but to me, Mario 3D World is really just a hybrid of what's been done before. Great game, but not one I'd call a complete innovator.

I'd expect this announcement to signal one of the following:

--A storyline that hasn't been done before (it's been nice to see something other than Peach get captured in some titles)
--Some new perspective or control system unlike anything that's been done before
--Redesigns of the characters (not complete redesigns, mind you, but enough to make them interesting again, sort of like Mickey was redesigned for Fantasia)

It could be all three, maybe a combination of things. It may not even be any of those. Still, if you look at history, the only "new kind of Mario" truly happened in 1996--on two occasions--and in 1999 with the Paper version.

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Mario Chat / Super Mario RPG Released for Wii U
« on: July 03, 2016, 12:17:01 AM »
Since it hasn't been mentioned on here yet, who else is excited about Super Mario RPG being released on the Wii U's Virtual Console?

I know it's not the most exciting piece of news for some of you, as I'm certain there are quite a few who own it on either the SNES or standard Wii, and I'm positive not all of you will rush out and buy it for a second or third time if you already own those, but I actually am planning on it for the sole reason of being able to play it on a portable gamepad (albeit one which must be within striking distance of the Wii U).

It will also be nice to introduce this game to some people who are either too young to remember it for the SNES or weren't into Nintendo gaming at the time.

Of course, for me, part of it is just the game itself. It has a good storyline, excellent music, a lot of quirky enemies, memorable settings, did I mention the best soundtrack of all Mario games? Oh wait, I did, but it wouldn't be a bad thing to say it twice here.

I played through this game for the first time during the summer between 8th and 9th grade. That was when the SNES was the only option for playing it. I have friends who were gamers at the time but still haven't given this one a go. I also happen to have a good buddy whose wife is going to a makeup party or something like that on Friday, another good buddy who recently broke up with his girlfriend, and yet another good buddy who recently got back from vacation and wants to catch up with everyone. All of these guys happen to like video games. You know what this means, right?? BRO NIGHT WITH MARIO RPG!!!

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