Inspired by a number of conversations I've had with Geoff now... Retro gaming! What'd you grow up on? Fond memories? Do you still play anything now? Do you collect old games?
I was never allowed to have any consoles growing up - I had a computer and my parents said that was enough to play games on. I never had a dedicated gaming system until I got my Game Boy Color in 1999, and I picked up an N64 on my own in...2002-03ish. Lately I've been wanting to go back and go through what I missed. I want to get a Retron 5 if that turns out well when it finally comes out - if not, I'll just buy a used SNES - and build a retro library. I feel like I missed the golden age of gaming - before every game had to be a "cinematic experience", 90% of games were shootbang gorefests, companies started nickel-and-diming you for DLC and microtransactions every time you turn around, and games were just about pure fun. I've been giving my N64 some love lately too. I dug it out of storage and picked up a few games for it a couple weeks ago since I only had 3 games for it. There are still a number of games I want to pick up for that system and play, so hopefully I'll be able to build a collection for it over time.
Though I grew up with video games up from the NES and onwards, there's still a lot a games I missed out on because I was simply not aware of them. There was no Internet. And oddly, growing up I was like the only kid big on video games. I knew a couple people with a NES, or a Genesis, and a larger handful with N64s, but I had the largest library even though I lacked so much. That I somehow skipped Mega Man and Castlevania among other things is just baffling to me. I'd like to try out more, just finding the time is tough because of a backlog of current gen games. Not sure if I'd want a physical collection, that takes up a lot of space. I'd like a really nice digital solution.
Emulation is really tempting me now, especially since I have a Mac now and can use OpenEmu. The Retron 5 is turning out to be one fiasco after another - several delays, apparently going to have stock shortages, and to top it all off it's getting a $20-40 price increase. Using the actual old systems will look like garbage on a modern HDTV though, so emulation might be the best way to go.
Wii Classic Controller (Pro) works really good for pretty much anything. Not just Nintendo, but Sega Genesis too. Was once a SNES-style controller, so easy to map it. Good bet to have some Sony bluetooth controller handy though. And if you really want to get into it, some adapter for N64 controllers Actual SNES hardware (and I'd imagine NES) looked okay on a 720p when I played it last
My dad and I would spend hours playing Mike Tyson's PunchOut!! and the original NES Mario Bros. My dad could beat Tyson, but I never got far into the matches. Mario, we could get really far, but never beat. I was only around five then. My fondest memories are with the old NES/SNES consoles. I'm a big Nintendo fanboy cause of them probably.
I played Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World with my father when I was younger. He always gave up at water levels. I don't know why he stopped playing after that :(
I kind of want to play through Yoshi's Island. I have it as an Ambassador game on my 3DS, but GBA games on 3DS kinda sorta suck, so I'll probably wind up running the SNES version through OpenEmu. I've never played it though, and I think I want to before Wooly World comes out next year.
