Retro Scan: Retro Gamer - Issue Three

What is this? A retro scan of a retro scan? Part of me wants to say retroception, but that joke would just be lame.
Let's just call it as it is; madness.
This retro scan is out of the 1985 Advertising Gallery section of the magazine, which it basically their retro scan section. Ack, my cortex.

This page of course comes from the third ever issue of probably the only magazine out there still worth reading, Retro Gamer. This was released way back in 2004, nearly 10 years ago now. I guess it nearly makes it retro in its self. What a mindfizz.



Believe it or not, I actually remember purchasing this magazine. Well, I remember it being purchased for me anyway.
You see, I use to be a Scout. Hard to believe now considering I bet I don't come off as the biggest outdoorsy-type person (besides from my love of camping, which I guess stems from being a Scout all those years ago). Each group of Scouts (Pack? I dunno) had to do fundraising for their group so they could pay for tents, gas lamps, bit of string for sessions of endless knot tying; all the important things to keep on going. One way of doing this was selling raffle tickets at shopping centres.
This, I absolutely hated. I feel very sorry for my father, he literally had to bribe me into selling those bastard pieces of paper, or I would be a whiny little shit about it.

We always did this in-between a Coles and a newsagent. If I didn't complain too much, I received a magazine for my efforts. Since I was only 10 or 11 at the time, this was an excellent deal and one time he bought me this magazine. Suffice to say, I read and reread it a million times over and played the emulated games that came with the disk for hours. I still have that disk to this day, and attribute it a lot for my interest in this hobby today.

Flu Induced Gumtree Pickup #2

Honestly, I shouldn't be let anywhere near that website when I'm sick. Usual I'm fairly cool headed and in control of where I spend my money. But as soon as I get a runny nose, sore throat, and a stuffy head, I loose all control and start splashing around money to make me feel better. I also eat lots of junk food too, but lets not talk about that.

I started negotiations for these Sega Game Gear games last Friday, when I was in full swing of the illness. These nine game set me back $70, which isn't all that bad when you think about it. That's $7.77 per game, which is quite fantastic when you consider this is Australia (land of the rip-off when it comes to retro games).
The original price for these select titles would of been around $90, and you could tell that the seller had been comparing eBay prices; most were a couple of dollars under the medium. So, considering I haggled him down another $20 after the prices were already ahead of decent, I feel like this was a worthwhile purchase.

The games are Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, Mappy, Outrun, Sonic the Hedgehog, Chase HQ, Space Harrier, Pac-Man and The Simpsons: Bart VS. the World.

But Brendan! (you exclaim) You have no working Game Gear! That maybe true, but I have a cunning plan. I was quite sick of the fact that I have no working Game Gear, so I started looking at refurbished consoles on eBay. They're not cheap though, most are over $100.
It was there that I decided that I was going to try and fix one myself, again. Last time my shortcoming was my terrible soldering skills, mixed in with me ruining a solder point by cleaning it too roughly (which was honestly the last thing I expected to brick the console). That was over two years ago though, and my soldering skills have (hopefully) improved and now that I know if there is any muck to clean up, I'll be using q-tips with rubbing alcohol as opposed to a toothbrush.

I still have all the capacitors that I bought for the project the first time around (plus various tools) and I have an untested GG coming in the mail. It's not actually posted as broken, but as we all know, all Game Gears were manufactured with shitty capacitors meaning that if it isn't already broken, it will be soon.

If I do manage to screw this up again, I'll just suck it in and buy a pricey refurbished model. I now own too many Game Gear games to ignore.

Flu Induced Gumtree Pickup #1

Gumtree, for those not in the know, is an online classified website that is much like Craigslist. Unlike Craigslist though, Gumtree is quite popular in Australia. I bought the Retromobile through Gumtree, and I always like to browse through it to see if there is anything worth picking up. Up until today though I've never come across anything worthy of my retro appetite, but since I'm home sick (and to be honest, a bit delirious) I thought I would give it a solid chance. 

Good thing I did too, because I picked this up for $10:

That is an Atari 520ST FM, something I've wanted since I was a child. I always use to play the Atari ST emulators, I remember downloading the ROM's on a dial-up connection; good times. It isn't something I thought I would ever come across in the wild though and bids are hard to find locally on eBay. When I do come across them, the postage prices always kills the temptation for me.

The ad for this was pretty blunt, it said something along the lines of "give me a price for this today or it's going down to the tip, sold as is." I sent a text explaining I would give the man $10 to take it off his hands, and we had a deal. It didn't come with any leads, but the power cable is the same sort you'd plug into your computers PSU and it can be tuned into any TV with an RCA to COAX cable. The kicker to it all, is that it actually works. This surprised me quite a bit considering it looks like it's been in a shed for a couple of decades (as well as there being a few missing keys), but who am I to complain?
It probably cost me $10 in fuel to drive to where it was, and I found out today that driving while sick is as fun as stubbing your toe on an Atari 7800. Having said that though, it's totally worth it knowing that I saved it from certain death. The fact that it works almost seems like a bonus.
I have a cheap game and a joystick coming in the mail.

Blog Update: 12/09/13

Retro Game On is growing up; it's somewhat broken free of some Blogspot shackles, the URL is now mine!
Before you may have noticed that the URL was www.retrogameon.blogspot.com, but after finding out that retrogameon.com was free I decided to see how much it costs to rent.
Turns out, it costs peanuts. Using the widely recommended Dreamhost (which sounds a lot like Dreamcast, which is humbling) I now have ownership of this URL for 12 months, for the meager sum of something like $12.
I'm quite impressed with that price, and having my own URL makes me feel quite important.

Star Fox for the Super Famicom Video Review

This would have been up earlier, but this was my second attempt at uploading after my computer crashed the first time around (and it NEVER crashes).
Today we look at the classic, Star Fox, for the Super Famicom. So sit back, relax, and just pretend you're in 1993 Japan for 10 minutes.

The Adventures of the Retromobile and I, Stalking out Thrift Stores

Having a day off these days means one of several things. Either I'm at home all day playing video games, or I'm at home all day reviewing video games. It's a hectic life, and sometimes I need to shake it up a bit. Yesterday for the first time since I've gotten my licence, I fulfilled my dream of going out for a drive just to check out thrift stores. Probably doesn't sound all that exciting to some readers, but before I only went to retro stores of interest when I was already in a place for another reason. Yesterday was a milestone in my books, and I thought I would share it here today.

1# Cash City

It was rainy and just terribly sad looking when I started, but that was no deterrent. I started at Cash City. Usually Cash City is kinda shit; it has a lot but the prices are usually ridiculous. I have had some luck there in the past though, I bought a whole heap of Atari 2600 games there for $5 not too long ago. Sadly they didn't have any actual 2600 consoles though, so I still can't play those games. Maybe that's a good thing though, as it might cost $130.

Sadly, the signed Batman and Robin poster wasn't for sale.  

The prices weren't that bad this time though (besides from the above photo), but most were a bit more than I wanted to spend. I did however, pick up Golf for the Game Boy for $10. Not too bad, for a golf game. Hell, I don't even know why I bought a golf game, but there you have it; now I own one.



#2 Cash Converters



One thing about Perth, as soon as it rains, all the crazy drivers come out of the woodwork. Most of them are old people too. On the way from Cash City to Cash Converters I had two driving incidents. Firstly, I was cut off by some old bloke in a van, who wasn't even nice enough to indicate as he was cutting me off. After nearly ramming into the back of him, I had to slow down on the highway as an old lady was driving down the wrong side of the highway. Good times.
Finally I did make it to Cash Converters alive, and to celebrate Perth's bad driving, I bought this for $4:



After all that, I decided I was hungry and had a pit-stop at McDonalds. I tried that new burger, Son of Mac, and was quite impressed. Try it out while you can!



And yes, I'm the type of person who will go through a drive-thru just to eat it in my car, in the fast food joints carpark. I don't really have a particular reason why I do it, but it always feels weird to go into a McDonlads (or whatever) and just sit there by myself eating. Even more so when I demolish my meal in about 5 minutes flat, it's just not the same as going to a restaurant or a cafe.

3# Cash Generators


Last but not least, I stopped off at Cash Generators (starting to see a theme with thrift store naming?).
Sadly, I didn't buy anything there that day but usually I come out with something, thus making it my favourite thrift store in the area. Most noticeably recently, was a cheap copy of Banjo-Kazooie.

So all in all, not a bad run for a first time. Sometime in the future I'll probably do the same thing but with Op Shops instead.

A Friendly, Warm and Enlightening Tour of My "Film Set"

Hello! Welcome! Sit down, make yourself comfortable. Please no, I insist, drink the last beer in my fridge.
Feeling all dinky-dory now? Great. Last post in my reveal of the video review for Top Gear Rally, I promised I'd do a tour of my filming setup. I briefly talked about it in a Facebook post, but since this is my blog and it's where I apparently sometimes write things, I thought I would do some more extensive coverage.

The Tripod
I thought I would start with my tripod, since it's really the most important thing; holding stuff up and all. Important business. Currently I'm using a Manfrotto MKC3-H01, which is nicely priced and sits in the mid-range of quality. I've actually been using it since my first DSLR, so it isn't actually that new. However, I felt no need to upgrade it along with everything else since its purpose doesn't become outdated.
It goes nearly as high as me when fully extended (I'm over 6 feet tall), and is quite the sturdy servant. Thanks tripod, you're the best.

The CameraOriginally I was using a Canon EOS 1100D, which was great for learning the core concepts of manual photography, but was really quite sucky when it came to video. For a start its top quality was only 720p, but the real kicker was the fact that you couldn't control the settings for video; it was all automatic. In my opinion, the 1100D sucked at metering. This was all well and fine when it came to photos, but having no control of the video really pissed me off.
Luckily tax returns are a thing, so this year I was able to afford a new camera: the god-like Canon EOS 7D. As well as improvements all over the board, what really matters for this blog is the fact I can shoot video manually, and in full HD. Not only do I get to learn a new skill, but the video quality is vastly improved.

The LensSince I was buying a new DSLR that was going to be used for video quite a bit, I decided to buy a new lens as well. My primary lens is a 15-55mm, which is great, but the aperture only goes as high as f/3.5. That isn't too bad, but for video you really want it as high as possible. This means more light naturally, as opposed to cranking the ISO which will make the video more grainy.
I decided to go for a fixed 50mm lens which has an aperture of f/1.8. It wasn't too pricey either, being under $150. Not only is the lens great for the lighting, but since it is fixed at 50mm, it does a great job of focusing on me and blurring out the background, which gives the videos a nice professional touch.

The Microphone
The number one complaint in the reviews for the 7D was the inbuilt mic. Now my standard of sound isn't that high, so I didn't think it was too terrible. In fact, I used it for my last review, and all my other reviews have used the inbuilt mic of the camera (although my old, old videos using a point and shoot were pretty piss-poor). Since I was going the full nine for everything else though, I thought I mind as well invest in a mic. Why not? This one didn't cost that much. I bought it from a Chinese Ebay store for $25.
I bet there were a few audiophiles who shuddered as they read that, but keep in mind that when you compare it to the inbuilt mic, it's miles better. One day I might buy an awesome microphone, but considering my viewer base and the amount I release videos, I think this one will do me fine for now.

The Lighting
Obviously I've put a lot of money and learning into technical equipment, but what about the basics? The number one thing I hated about the quality of my videos was the lighting. My bedroom isn't that big, so there is really only one place I can sit and talk to my camera comfortable. Unfortunately, this is right under the rooms light. This meant that an ugly shadow was cast over my face as I was talking, so it was time for an upgrade.
Well, kinda. I haven't actually spent any money on this, just now when I film I have a 3 point lighting setup. I use a floor lamp on my right which usually goes in my gym, and an old desk lamp sits at about the same hight to my left on a bookcase. These evenly light up my face while the normal room light acts as an ambient light source. Watch this video compared to this one to see the major difference. Although next time I'm closing my curtains, as the clouds moving outside kept making the window go dark, and then light over and over.

The Controller
One thing about making these videos, is that it's always a one man show. No one else helps out, so I have to come up with ways to make the process efficient. When I was using my 1100D, I would plug it in via video-out into one of my computer monitors. This way I could see if it was focused properly, while using my remote release to actually control the focus points. It kinda worked, but was a bit of a mess around with cables and I had to actually get up to hit the record button.
With my 7D though, I can actually hook it up to my laptop via USB, and completely control it from there. It came with a program called EOS Utility which includes all the manual controls, plus Live View. I can just have my laptop facing me on my bed, as I control it with a wireless mouse on my lap. I don't even have to get up!

The full shibang (except the mic)

If you've reached this far, thank you for reading. At the moment I'm quite happy with the setup, and I'm having a ball creating the videos. Stay tuned for more of those soon!

Video: Top Gear Rally Review for the N64

Another dollar, another video review? Wait? What?
Last video review, I commented on my goal of reaching two videos a month which was slightly hampered by the fact that my Nintendo AV cable died. I say slightly hampered, because I've actually reached that goal!
For one thing, the videos are getting easier to create as my process of going about them is getting way more streamlined. Secondly, I recently upgraded my camera and bought a new lens, which I was just itching to use for video. I talked about this new set-up in a recent Facebook post, so check that out if you're interested (I'll be doing a post on that here soon as well).

I Bought This For No Real Reason

For the hobby? To play? For the collection? These are questions I ask myself every time I buy an item that relates to retro gaming. I am spending my hard earned dollars (and sometimes Euros) you know.
But for this? This is the first time I've bought something and double-take'd the purchase as I was buying it, driving home, cleaning the dirty-ass contacts, testing it and as I type these words right now.
GoldenEye 007 is a great game, don't get me wrong. That isn't what I'm debating about with myself right now though. I should probably give a bit of back-story.

Even though I never owned a N64 during my childhood, the first time I ever played this game was when I was about seven or eight years old. My Dad and I use to rent out a Nintendo 64 from the local Civic Video as well as this game, and since I didn't even have a PSone at that stage, I played it to death in the weekend or week that I had it.
It wasn't the only time we rented out the console either, so I got to play GoldenEye multiple times as well as a few other N64 games. I can't remember which ones exactly that well, except for a distinctly horrifying memory of Superman 64.

From there you would think; "You played it in your childhood, so it's worth it to play again, right?"
Well yeah, except I've played it since. Long before this blog and my collection, I was really into emulators. I would play emulators of all the old consoles I could find. In fact, the reason I bought a Dreamcast (the start of my collection) was because I couldn't find a DC emulator that worked properly.
I was especially into the N64 emulator though, so much so that I bought a cheap Chinese N64 controller knock-off, and an adapter so I could plug it into a USB port on my computer.

It was during this time that I played through the whole of GoldenEye. Considering this was only a few years ago, and I rarely come back to play games so soon, I essentially just bought this game to put on my shelf. I'm not going to play it, not for years anyway. This is exactly the kind of thing I don't want to be doing; buying games just for the sake of it.

Ah well, it's done now. Maybe one day I'll create a video review for it.

Video: Banjo Kazooie for the N64 Review

I know that last time, when just under a month ago I posted my video review for Virtua Tennis, I said I wanted to up the game and release two videos a month. Sadly, just as I was in the full swing of capturing footage for this review, my Nintendo AV cable topped its self.
Not wanting to start again on something else while I was still working on this, I waited for the replacement to come. I know that if I got into the full swing of another video, this one just wouldn't get done.

Last night I did finally finish it though, and now it's here for your viewing pleasure. I know it's the best video I've ever made, because I'm wearing a Retro Game On branded shirt.