Retro Scan: Sony PlayStation Catalogue

Hey, hey! It’s my favourite thing to post when I can’t think of anything else: the retro scan! All posts can’t be of my videos now, can they?
Today we're checking out the most ambitious thing I've posted so far; a catalogue for the original PlayStation. This will be the complete booklet too. There will be no part two nonsense here; Retro Game On is completely style over substance. Just check out that wood-grain background!

I obtained this little gem of that plastic paper stuff while in Kalgoorlie on a recent trip. I mentioned it in that post, but I feel I should also add here that there was no demo disk with this booklet... but instead the PSone version of Duke Nukem 3D. Bet you're weren't expecting that now, were you?

Clickly the images to view them larger

The catalogue starts off like all good catalogues should: chock-a-block full of explosions and bragging. I wish K-Mart would adopt this strategy. I wouldn't feel so cheap buying all my clothes there otherwise.
No doubt it was the best selling console at this booklets release though, which I guess was sometime during '95 or '96 going off the touted release dates for the games within. It's from here onwards you're greeted to information on two games per opened page, mostly sorted by genre. 

First off is one of Retro Game On's favourite genres: racing!
Everything is sorted by developer, category, the number of players, supported peripherals and when/if its available. They also include a small blurb about the game written by someone obviously very enthusiastic. Remember kids, "F1 is way cool."

Flip the page and it's all about the fighting genre; advertising two games I'm super keen to play but have never oddly come across in the wild since I assume (?) they sold well. Although I guess if gamers are going to keep anything it's going to be something they can still competitively play against their mates. People seem to get attached to these titles too; probably to do with dozens of committed hours learning all moves for a certain character. We've all been there.

The fighting genre spills over into the next page with Tekken 2, mixed in with Resident Evil classified as a "3D Adventure". Personally, I would have classed it into the horror genre but I guess it is an adventure game too so what can ya do?
I like how Tekken 2 running at 50fps is mentioned. A lot of games in the present will always show off their frame rate as a selling point, but it's easy to forget that it was exactly the same nearly 20 years ago.

This spread is shared by Namco Museum Volume 1 and the best fucking game ever: Crash Badicoot* (*may or may not be a biased statement.)
I love any PSone Crash game to death, so I think I'll stop talking about that now in favour of mentioning my interest in Namco Museum. I'm always on the look out for it as I'm sure it would result in a cool video.

We're up to the midway mark for this catalogue now, where a table representing games already available is shown. It shows all the same information as the other pages, but adds the recommend retail price. Frankly, it's a relief to see that game prices in Australia were always bad, and not a recent drama. $89.95 for Krazy Ivan? Sure, why not.

Onto another spread of mixed genres, Aquanauts Holiday is featured which is a game I've admittedly never heard of but I'm incredibly intrigued by. How many games let you be a fish? I don't mean a dolphin with powers either; an actual fish. Luckily for me and my Japanese PlayStation, it's quite a cheap import online so I may have to check it out one day. It can support a mouse interestingly enough, as well.

Onto the next page and another '3D Adventure' is featured: Chronicles of the Sword. Why they didn't just lump this in with Resident Evil I have no idea, but who am I judge design choices from years ago? Also featured is Raging Skies, which sounds a lot more intense than it looks.

Now for a page with sports games, which I really don't care for unless it (oddly) involves tennis as a standalone game or skateboarding. Moving on...

We're all out of games but fear not, next up is a page not just full of peripherals, but power peripherals.
Cool things to note is that the dualshock controller is nowhere to be found because it didn't exist yet, along with a RFU cable so you can "hook up your PlayStation to your fossil of a TV." I find it funny that TV's without composite ports were considered old even in the mid 1990's.

And that's it, nothing on the back of this booklet expect techoblabber that only Sony can understand.
Did you know that the data engine has a clearing capacity of 80 MIPS!? Neither did I!
I was going to call that PowerLine number for laughs, but I'm afraid I'll still get charged 80c/minute.

Video: Harry Potter & the Philosophers/Sorcerers Stone for PSone Review

You've read the book, you watched the movie; but have you played the PlayStation game?

Video: Space Harrier II for Genesis/Mega Drive Review

Everyone knows about the original Space Harrier (well, all the cool kids anyway) but the sequel is never talked about! Today I check out this Mega Drive/Genesis launch title, and I dissect what I do and don't like about it.

Let's Go Op-Shopping!

If you're not a square, then hopefully you recognise that somewhat Australian-ised reference in the title. If you are a somewhat of a square and have no idea what I'm blabbering about however, then do not fear; this is a safe place, away from judgement and name calling. I'm of course referencing the fantastic show, LGR Thrifts, which is on the even more fantastic YouTube channel, Lazy Game Reviews. LGR Thrifts just wrapped up for the season, so now is the best time to binge watch all the episodes.
It's based around the YouTube channels creator, Clint as he hunts out mostly op-shops (or thrifts stores depending on your areas street slang) and finds whatever awesome game related crap he can. It's all created by him, and he uses either his phone or special glasses than have a camera built-in to record his adventures while he narrates what he's doing (with plenty of Duke Nukem impressions being compulsory). This may sound somewhat mundane on paper, but I assure you, it's awesome. Clint is just so damn light hearted as he goes about it, almost bringing a solemn tear to my eye. They're incredibly great to watch if you do the same thing, and quite honestly I'm bummed I didn't think of it for a video series first. It's kind of like The Game Chasers, but with no influence from Discovery Channel like reality shows and less hicks. So basically... more good (there, I said it!).

No worry though, as I do run a blog. This blog, actually. Oddly enough most of what was scored above wasn't from op-shops, but we'll let that slide for today. I know I'm suppose to be saving up for a new car and all, but I'd thought I'd been a good boy recently in regards to spending money so I went on a bit of a trip.

First pick was actually the PS3 game, Dirt 3, which feels a bit odd since the PS3 has only just been knocked from the grand podium of 'current gen'. Either way, games that a few years old now (Dirt 3 was released 2011 for example) are getting quite cheap so this only set me back $10. I've been playing through it the last couple of days, and while I think it's great there is a newer game with rally levels in it, I just wish that was all it was. The rally levels are awesome, but there is so much other crap you have to wade through if I want to unlock further rally stages. Oh well.
Next up was a pawn store I've bitched about constantly on this blog the last couple of years, but I always check every couple of months out of pure curiosity regardless. The stock is still great, but the prices are just as ridiculous as they've always been. What bums me the most is that the retro gaming stock there never moves; it's always there months later but they never budge on their prices. It feels stubborn if anything.
This time around they did have a whole heap of Mega Drive games that just came in, however so for once the prices not moving made a little bit of sense. Hold on to your nuts though, as I paid 15 whole dollars for Road Rash II. Yes, wow; I know right. I basically cried as I handed over the money, but I really wanted that game. What made me feel a little bit better was that it's actually cheaper than what's on eBay, so the blow was softened somewhat. On an even better note too, at the same time I bought Paper Boy (also on the Mega Drive) for a meagre five bucks. I can't leave without being at least a little bit cheap after all. Both came with their original instruction manuals, too.

From there, it was pure PlayStation country. I actually went to an op-shop believe it or not, and picked up Cool Boarders for a cool $2. It took me a while to figure out if I already owned the sequel or not, as I haven't played it and don't want to own the original Cool Boarders twice, but luckily that was the case so now I own both. Now it will be great to review them in order, but not like $2 was ever going to be a huge risk, anyway.
After that, I went to my favourite pawn store in the immediate area where I picked up two PSone games I'd never heard of before for both seven and eight dollars each. I just love buying games like that if they're cheap; they create fun reviews. The first, Steel Reign  has you controlling prototype tanks in war fields that shoot lasers and what not and seems quite a lot of fun. Hybrid on the other hand though, seems quite cheap. It is a Midas game after all, which was a budget publisher but the game seems incredibly basic. For one, the graphics seem right out of an early 3D Realms game, but the copyright message on the back states 2001. Over that, there is no dualshock support, which is a huge mistake since it's a first person shooter and all. Sigh. All I can hope is that no one paid too much for it back in the day.

Video: Five Favourite PS1 Games From My Childhood

There was suppose to be a review here today, but I got a bit too over ambitious so instead here is a video about my favourite PSone games! What are your favourite games from the PSone era?

E.T Cartridge from Alamogordo Dig Turns Up on eBay (Oh, and this is the 200th post for Retro Game On)

Remember when that pile of urban myth was dug out of the ground in April? Retro Game On remembers. I even made a video about it, as it's a subject that intrigued me (and many other enthusiasts) for years.
I won't get too deep into the nitty gritty about the legend though, as I've already extensively covered the subject and I'm getting a bit sick of writing about it to be honest; but basically, Atari buried plenty of unsold stock in Alamogordo, New Mexico many moons ago. This came somewhat of an urban myth since they primarily buried E.T the Extra Terrestrial, which was famously bad and what many attribute to the massive video game crash of the early 1980's.
The story continues to develop however, since mankind is now doing what mankind does best; make money out of things. One of the dug-up E.T cartridges, complete in box, has just surfaced on ebay. As of writing it has eight days left, and is currently sitting on a cool price of $405. Since it only started at $100 though, and has been running only two days, this humble blogger from the bottom of the world predicts that the price is going to be incomprehensible by the end of the auction.
Just think about what you're paying for here: a crumpled piece of box and a (probably) none-working, dirt encrusted cartridge, all of which likely smells of 1980's garbage (like Vanilla Ices career). I payed something like $10 for my working, yet incredibly broken copy and even that felt like too much.
Sure, there is a lot of history, but it just doesn't appeal to me. You can't subtract from the fact that it's been sitting amongst thrown away crap for the better part of 30 years.

[ebay] via [DailyDot]

In other, unrelated E.T news; this is Retro Game On's 200th post! Woo! Party!

Actually that was a photo from my 100th post celebrations last year, but this milestone post totally came out of nowhere. I didn't have enough time to organise a party, so maybe we'll hit the clubs later; although it all depends on if the oldguns like the 2600 and Famicom can handle it. I guess we'll just have to see.
Once again though, thanks for the all support from the readers and watchers this blog has had over the years! This blog would be pointless if no one read it, and I look forward to many more years to come!

Retro Game On & ContentID

Aghhh, I've been hit! 
Ouch, ouch. Right in the YouTube channel. Ohh. That stings.
Unfortunately (for me, not you) my review of Metal Gear Solid which I happily reviewed not too long ago, has been deemed by ContentID as infringing copyright law.
Wait, what's ContentID again? ContentID is a database of files that checks all uploaded videos to see if there is anything in them owned by someone else. In theory, this is a good idea so that nobody can upload the latest Transformers lamefest and earn money off it using AdSense. However, it doesn't work 100%. When certain types of videos (like game reviews) get flagged, it's simply not fair. These videos fall under something called Fair Use, because how the hell are you going to create a good video review without showing game footage? Fair Use is a legal term, and is completely legit. I'm obviously no lawyer though (I'm a retro game reviewer, damn it) but there is a great website explaining it all which can be found here.
ContentID does not discern between that and someone trying to make an illegal buck off someone else's legal property though, and it picked up my Metal Gear Solid video since I showed too much of a cutscene (while in the video I was ironically explaining how awesome they are).

So then, what can the average YouTuber do about this?
If you do get picked up then usually your video is not deleted, which is why you can still enjoy my review today. Having said that though, the right owner can then decide to do a number a things with the video, like taking all ad revenue earned on the video in question. This doesn't affect me so much as my channel is quite small, but I can imagine this being quite the pain in the bum for a YouTuber who makes their living creating videos. After putting hours into a video which falls under something like Fair Use, you don't want all the potential money going to someone else over a bogus claim.
From there you can file a dispute, which looks like the obvious route, but it's there where things get dicey.
The thing is, it's totally up to the copyright holder if you're doing the right thing or not. They ultimately hold the power to let you have the ad revenue, or they take down your video forever. Doesn't that seem one sided to you? What's to stop (in my case) Konami from just taking down my video anyway? What sort of defence does a small-time YouTuber like me have?  

If they do that, your channel then receives a copyright strike. If that happens, then your channel goes into something called bad standing. If that happens, you lose the ability to do all sorts of cool stuff with your channel. This includes the ability to have videos longer than 15 minutes, custom thumbnails and ironically being able to dispute ContentID claims.
I don't want to lose those things, so I have decided to not dispute this claim. In my mind I know its being wrongly singled out, but since it's such a one-sided fight I've been painted into a corner. Ultimately, I'll just have to be careful when uploading videos from now on. The system doesn't seem to pick up on cutscenes if you only show a little bit of them, and gameplay is fine since there would be no such clip in the library that ContentID checks that will be exactly like mine.
Honestly though, I don't like my creative freedom being threatened like this. What can I do though?
This is the current state of the internet.

Video: Cruis'n USA for N64 Review

Today we're back to the N64 to play a port of an arcade machine that's very dear to my heart (which is a very weird thing since I'm in my early 20's).

The Japanese Connection: Part 2, PS1

Previously, on Retro Game On: Super Famicom awesominess, mixed in with cheapiness. Overall: greatness.

Today, we travel over to the 64bit era; the original Sony PlayStation.
Now, I already own three PlayStations. Mindbendingly, this is the fourth PS1 I now own. Owning that many is a bit ridiculous, but at least this one plays Japanese games. I was considering chipping my existing daily driver so it would play all regions, but while the process of soldering the chip to the motherboard seems quite easy, obtaining the actual chip is not. After half an hour of Googling around, I ultimately decided it would be a lot easier and not that much more expensive just to outright buy a NTSC-J model. The closest thing to a quote for a chip I could find was something like $20, while the above bundle (including the console, memory card, a thumbstickless controller and Tomb Raider III) cost $26. While that's quite a reasonable price for that sort of thing even here, the real reason I bought it was because of the cheap games, much like with the Super Famicom in the last post.

Parappa the Rapper, complete in box with a poster and various other pamphlets cost ten flipping dollars. The equivalent PAL version ranges from $50-$80, so I feel I'm definitely onto something here. The text is in Japanese mind you though, but all the voice acting is in English so I can get down and funky fresh in my own language.
I've been wanting this game for a very long time. It was always on demo disks that I had growing up, so finally owning the full version after all these years feels really great indeed. Next on the list is Vib Ribbon; another demo I grew up with that's a lot cheaper in Japan. Unfortunately I did get a rego bill for the Retromobile yesterday though, so this will have to be put on hold along with me generally saving money for a new Retromobile, but I think Parappa the Rapper will keep me entertained for a while.

Now, for part 2 of weird shit in my packages from Japan.

Japanese people just seem so nice. I want to go to Japan and huge every single one of them (except for that famous cannibal guy). Bundled in with the PlayStation was this: a plastic zip-lock bag that reads (grammar added) "Hi, small present, Power Stone to bring happiness" with a nice big smiley face on the back. Honestly, this sort of thing is entirely not necessary, but it put a smile on my face that day regardless. Thank you, anonymous Japanese person.  

The Japanese Connection: Part 1, Super Famicom

I really hate saving money. Like, a lot. Probably more than you.
The thing is, I use to be super good with money. That though, was when I had no job. I've been constantly employed for nigh on three years now, which is actually less time than this blog has been running. Since I use to squirrel away my nuts away like the brulatest of brutal winters was coming, suddenly having a constant stream of income threw me out of whack. I was by no means hauling in huge stacks of nuts either. Let's not beat around the bush here, I was and still am on minimum wage, but it beat the hell out of having no money whatsoever.
Years later, and an incredibly increased retro game collection later, saving money is so, so hard. I won't complain too much longer (there is a blog post here somewhere, promise) but eBay is just so damn shit for this type of thing. I'm suppose to be saving for a new car, damn it, but the temptation of the Japanese market has been too much for me lately.
You see, for some reason games are so much cheaper there. Take the loot in the above photo for instance; That complete copy of F-Zero cost me $11. Those cartridges of all three Donkey Kong Countries cost me $25 for the lot. Sound cheap? Holding your heading and screaming? Well yeah, it is, and the head screaming is warranted.
As of writing a boxed and complete copy of F-Zero on the Australian market costs $90 (and apparently it's rare!) while those Donkey Kong carts seem to go for anywhere from $30-$50 each. What the hell Australia? Where are these prices even coming from?

Some may see the fact that they come from Japan as a problem, because well, you know... they speak Japanese there. But this is less of a problem that you'd expect. There is absolutely no Japanese text in F-Zero at all, even only half the instruction manual is in Japanese (while the English version can be easily found online). There is a bit more Japanese text in the Donkey Kong games, but not so much that its unplayable. A surprising amount is in English. It's a bit weird to be honest, but it's great for me and the amount of money I save. Of course you need a Super Famicom to play these, but maybe you'll strike it lucky and get one for free like I did.

And do you know what the best part of buying from Japan is? The presents. No, I kid you not. I received more than games in my package from Japan:

In part 1 of weird shit in my packages from Japan (yes, there is more in part 2!) I received two Dragon Ball Z cards. Why? I have no idea. Am I chucking them out though? Hell no.  Dragon Ball Z for life.

My review of F-Zero can be watched here.