The Coop   Members

Which brings me back to the notion of "They're stiffing you". Consumer demand for popular items is always high. The original GameBoy had nigh demand, as did the Genesis, the SNES, the NES, the PS1, the PS2, and other assorted systems. But somewhere along the way, game companies decided to stop including something for you to do. Instead, you're left having to shell out extra cash to actually be able to use your system as something beyond a paper weight. Remember the 8bit and 16bit eras? Remember how people had a choice of either a system with a pack-in game, or just a core system? Usually the choice with the pack-in cost about $20 or so more, but even that price difference was still less than what you'd pay to get a game off the shelf (and the pack in was usually a good game). You were actually saving money buying the pack-in version. But right about the time the Saturn and PS1 hit, this option vanished, and all you had was the "core" system. Your choices were cut in half, and these days, a system is out for quite a while before it gets a pack-in to try and ramp up sales (and that's assuming it ever gets a pack-in). All the financial models in the world can't hide the fact that this reads as simply a way for a given console manufacturer to get more cash out of consumer pockets. After all, why give someone a game for half the price that it would normally cost, when you can force them to pay full price? And why take a chance of loosing third party licensing income, when you could force people to buy a game that the console maker gets a sales percentage of? But to address the consumer demand part again, that's always been a factor in the gaming world. A system maker relied on not just giving you a new system, but also giving you "more for your money" to make their system look more attractive. That usually meant extras in the form of a game, or even several games (anyone remember the 6-in-1 cart for the Genesis?). This went on from the 2600 right up the Neo-Geo and the Sega CD. After that, this sales model vanished, and only seems to resurface when sales have gone stagnant (or at least seem stagnant compared to a couple months earlier). And once the sales are up again, that pack-in or "buy this and get a free game" promotion is discontinued. Call it whatever financial model you like, but at its core, it's still a cheap way to get more money from the consumer by giving them less, while still charging them a lot of cash. Console makers these days just come off as wanting to suck every last dime form you that they can, without giving you anything extra. Sure, they had the same outlook then too, but they hid it a lot better I mean, the Nintendo Wii is the first mainstream system in a long time to actually go back to that old pack-in model, and look how well that concept was received. That says something pretty important to me.

Hardware companies used to use killer aps as selling points, but they now have sufficient product differentiation to generally lean on their brand name. aka They're determined to suck more money from you right off the bat, and refuse to give you "something for nothing" as it were.

Neo-Geo - $649.99 Of course, that came with a game (Magician Lord), two controllers and a memory card. Which begs the question... what the hell is up with game companies no longer offering pack-in games with systems when they launch (save for the Wii)? $400-$600 is a lot to pay and not get a damn game (and no, demos don't count).

SHOOSH! Or we'll turn this project around and go home. I MEAN IT!

If I say "Happy Birthday" again, can I also say "In before lock"?

Phantasy Star Universe's Alcoholics Anonymous?

Better still, get utterly shit faced, and post while in that condition. It'll be fun... for us.

TF1- Sharp X1, Sharp MZ-1500, NEC PC-6001 mkII, and NEC PC-8801 mkII TF1 Construction- Fujitsu FM-7 and NEC PC-9801 TF2- X68000 Sharp, Genesis, Saturn TF3- Genesis, Saturn TF AC- Arcade, Saturn TF4- Genesis, Saturn TF5- Saturn, PS1

On another forum I go to, this was posted... So basically, the folks behind the music of Thunder Force V, Hyper Duel and other Technosoft games, may have very well been working on the spiritual successor to the long lived Thunder Force franchise for a while now. Those of us who have been following the series, know Technosoft was actually working on TF6 when they were swallowed up by a pachinko company in 2000 (thus ceasing to exist). At one point, a CGI movie, thought to be the opening for the game, was leaked onto the Internet. But unfortunately, that movie, and the soundtrack "Broken Thunder: Noise Image Soundtracks Vol. 3" (music that was to be for TF6) were all that came from the development (at least publicly). A lot of folks have been wanting a new entry in the series. The rumor that Technosoft was planning on making a comeback with an actual release of Thunder Force VI has been floating around on the Net for a good number of years, and this rumor has been fueling that sequel desire for shmup fans. Now here were are in 2007, and in a way, we may just get that very wish. If anyone who's reasonably fluent in Japanese could give us a better translation of that page, it would be appreciated. It'd be nice to get more clarity regarding what's up.

You got the bones part right, but the "ink" is actually the tears of rejected remixers.

Bump indeed.

I uh... I don't own an MP3 player. Unless you count my PC (big and bulky, but oh so stylish as I walk about town), then I've got about five.

Engage in Jabberwock Here's a funky little game that just went freeware by its author. Imagine "Zelda", a shmup, a little RPGing, and a large breasted character to use these traits in a series of battles, and you're getting an understanding of this little game. You work your way through various dungeons, battling various types of pumpkin-like enemies, and other assorted mechanical beasts, and you try and work your way to the boss. Along the way, you get health, some items to use, and different attacks as well. There are also very simple puzzles to be solved to get further into each area (basically, big spheres to shoot and flip over). There's not a lot of reading, so that's not an issue. The game's mostly action with its blasting and dodging, so there's little Japanese to worry about. It's gotten some good feedback over the years, so you just may have some fun with it.

Thanks for the welcome guys. Hopefully you'll enjoy what I come up with, even if it doesn't make the end cut Speaking of which, where'd your project go?

Broken Thunder: Project Thunder Force VI That's right, I own the soundtrack to a game NO ONE has played

The first reviews are in for Sonic and the Secret Rings... http://wii.ign.com/articles/766/766214p2.html http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/sonicrevolution/review.html?sid=6166173&tag=recent_updates;title;0

I figured I may as well update this. After going to that site, I downloaded SUPERAntiSpyware. Hopping into Safe Mode, I ran it. Besides the usual tracking cookies that set off every Spyware program, it detected a Trojan buried in some odd corner of my PC (sorry I can't remember the name... I think it might have been a Vundo variant or something). It got rid of the file, and a number of things have taken place... 1) Those fucking windows seem to have stopped. I haven't gotten one since I ran the scan back on 2-17-2007. 2) FireFox had been starting a lot slower for around two weeks at the time I DLed SUPERAntiSpyware. I'd done an uninstall twice before, but nothing seemed to correct the 6-7 second to start up time that the browser had suddenly began doing (where before it had only been a second or two). FireFox had also gotten into the habit of consuming 100% or my CPU resources, causing my CPU to got hot to the point of the cooling fan kicking into high gear (this always happened after I'd closed the browser, yet the program would keep running according to the task manager). Once that file was removed, FireFox went back to normal startup time and functions. So it seems the found trojan was behind all that as well. So it would seem (**knocks on wood**) that the problem's hopefully been solved. I don't know how that thing got in there, or where it came from, and that bothers me a little.

Well, I got a mysterious PM last night that pointed me in this direction. And of the tracks left, I think I'll grab "Merry-Go-Round".

True. Notice none of them ever talked about the small glitches in Capcom Classics Collection 2, or the weird issue with Joust 2's title screen on the XBox version of Midway Arcade Treasures 1. Or the huge, game ending bug in Primal Rage on MAT2 (XBox version). That bothered me quite a bit since they all said how perfect or great the emulation was. Oh, and I added a few more titles to my second list above. Remembered a few others while I was in the shower.

As dumb as it may sound, I only recommend games I've actually played all the way through (or at least well into them). I don't trust reviews all that much, as they're often all over the board when you go from site to site. So I just stick to listing games I have experience with. That's why titles like the Final Fantasies, Lunar 2 (Sega CD) and such aren't listed in my post. And speaking of which, a few more forgotten ones... -NES- Blaster Master LifeForce Gradius 1942 1943 Super C -SNES- Hagane Biometal -Sega CD- Ecco the Dolphin Ecco: The Tides of Time Heart of the Alien (Out of This World 1+2) Sol-Feace AH3 Thunderstrike -Genesis- Valis III Sagaia Insector-X The Immortal G-Loc Soldiers of Fortune Space Invaders '91 Toejam & Earl Toejam & Earl 2: Panic on Funkotron Vapor Trail Gauntlet IV Gain Ground Raiden Trad Fire Shark Skeleton Krew Blaster Master 2 Dune: The Battle For Arrakis Cyborg Justice -GBA- King of Fighters EX: Neo Blood King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood And if you're up for some import titles (which can be played using a Game Genie)... -MegaDrive- Thunder Force IV Undead Line Alien Soldier Pulseman Super Fantasy Zone Eliminate Down Gley Lancer Monster World IV Twin Hawk (Daisenpuu)

Oh, and I forgot the European version of Zero Wing. It plays just fine on a US system.

-NES- Castlevania II: Simon's Quest Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse Gargoyle's Quest II Galaga Batman: Return of the Joker Heavy Barrel Dragon Warrior Dragon Warrior II Dragon Warrior III Dragon Warrior IV Metal Storm Ghosts 'N Goblins Burai Fighter Zanac Gun Nac Guardian Legend Ninja Gaiden Ninja Gaiden II Ninja Gaiden III Tetris (Tengen version) -SNES- Demon's Crest Castlevania IV Castlevania: Dracula X R-Type III: The Third Lightning Super R-Type Metal Warriors Cybernator Sky Blazer ActRaiser Actraiser II Super Turrican Super Turrican II Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts Ninja Warriors Space Megaforce Super Metroid Sunset Riders UN Squadron The King of Dragons TMNT IV Phalanx -Genesis- Thunder Force II Thunder Force III Lightening Force (aka Thunder Force IV) Contra Hard Corps Castlevania: Bloodlines Rocket Knight Adventures Sparkster Phantasy Star II Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom Phantasy Star IV: End of the Millenium Gaiares Whip Rush Outrun After Burner II Ghouls 'N Ghosts Tinhead Ristar Gods El Viento Sol Deace Streets of Rage Streets of Rage 2 Streets of Rage 3 Red Zone Revenge of Shinobi Shinobi III Shadow Dancer Sub Terrenia Ranger X Elemental Master Shining Force Shining Force II Shining in the Darkness Golden Axe Golden Axe II Granada Strider Forgotten Worlds Flashback: The Quest for Identity Dragon's Fury Earthworm Jim Earthworm Jim 2 Beyond Oasis Battletech The Adventures of Batman and Robin Batman Alisia Dragoon Bio Hazard Battle Robocop vs Terminator Rolling Thunder 2 Rolling Thunder 3 Splatterhouse 2 Splatterhouse 3 Star Control Steel Empire Mega Turrican Turrican Phelios Midnight Resistance Vectorman Vectorman 2 M.U.S.H.A. Mystic Defender Super Baseball 2020 Lion King Aladdin Mercs Herzog Zwei Hellfire Landstalker Master of Monsters Desert Strike Jungle Strike Urban Strike Traysia Wings of Wor TMNT: Hyperstone Heist Sword of Vermillion Viewpoint -Sega CD- Sonic CD Flink Shining Force CD Earthworm Jim: Special Edition Dungeon Explorer II Lords of Thunder Android Assault Final Fight CD Dark Wizard Lunar: The Silver Star Popful Mail Eternal Champions: Challenge From the Dark Side Robo Aleste Soul Star The Terminator -GB & GBC- MegaMan Xtreme MegaMan Xtreme 2 Shantae R-Type DX Gradius: Interstellar Assault Castlevania Adventure Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge Castlevania III: Legends Metroid II Blaster Master: Enemy Below Gargoyle's Quest -GBA- Sonic Advance 3 Gradius Galaxies Iridion Iridion II Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon Shining Soul Shining Soul II Sigma Star Saga Astro Boy Gunstar Super Heroes Metal Slug Advance Metroid: Zero Mission MegaMan Zero MegaMan Zero 2 MegaMan Zero 3 MegaMan Zero 4 MegaMan & Bass Pinball of the Dead Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts (it's a bit different from the SNES version)

Putting a song of yours there is pretty simple. First, you need someplace to upload the song to. There are quite a few places that are free, like Geocities, yousendit, and others. Just type "Free file hosting" into Google, sign up for one of the sites you find, and you'll be all set for uploading. Once you have your song uploaded, you can make a thread in the WIP forum (the "New Thread" button along the top or bottom), and post a link to that song for others to listen to (you'll get a link to the file you uploaded from the file hosting site you put it on). As for listening to the WIPs already in that forum, just go into a thread there, click on the link to a given song, and save it to your PC (right-click with your mouse, and select "Save target as" or "Save link as" or whatever your option may say).

Just thought I'd point out that the first few links to the soundtrack are dead. So on the off hand chance a fresh link hasn't been posted in a while... http://megatwerp.com/akumusnsf/S/Super%20Dodge%20Ball.nsf ... there's the soundtrack.

It opens up as a FireFox window. It also opens up in IE as an IE window (it did that last night). Regarding my uninstall, I deleted every folder and file that came up in a search for "FireFox" and "Mozilla" on my PC. That damned s02 page came up again after I went to that spyware page