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The UKFF Retro Gaming Thread


patiirc

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Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

used to buy a budget game from The Likely Lads on Stockport Road with my £5 pocket money every Saturday afternoon.

I wondered whatever happened to them. 

Buggy Boy was a belter of a game.

Edited by Jazzy G
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5 minutes ago, Jazzy G said:

I wondered whatever happened to them. 

They sold games until about 2000, then they just became a newsagent until relatively recently. Went past there the other week and I think it's a Pakistani sweet shop now.

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Just now, Devon Malcolm said:

They sold games until about 2000, then they just became a newsagent until relatively recently. Went past there the other week and I think it's a Pakistani sweet shop now.

Most of Stockport Road is now, but it's a beautiful reflection of Manchester's vibrant multicultural society. 

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Get out your McNuggets, it's the McDonald's Demo Disc 1 featuring Alfred Chicken and friends.

First on the menu is Vib Ribbon. By this point I've made my thoughts clear on Vib Ribbon with my review quoted from the PS1 thread a couple of pages back. It's inventive, creative, fun to play and looks fantastic. It deserved to be more than a PAL/JPN only release. A full worldwide NTSC inclusion could see it named more often in the Playstation Hall of Fame. The whole presentation, even in the demo, is a winner.

The demo on the Maccie's disc is an exlusive DJ Cam one, he's a French DJ apparently, maybe one of you will know more. His song isn't that good and doesn't give as fun a representation of the game as it could. Still a bunch of fun though and the demo makes sure you know that on full release you can use any CD you have on the game. This game would have eaten up all my time as a kid, but alas I had to wait until Guitar Hero 2 to get addicted to rhythm games. A definite buy.

Gran Turismo 2 comes racing up behind with a playable demo of the Arcade Mode featuring two A Class cars and one B class. The demo is very transparent in that it lets you see all the cars that will be featured in the full game and even access the Simulation mode to go in all the North/East/South/West garages and look at the cars there too.
The Arcade demo is decent. It's the best controlling racer on the console outside of maybe Ridge Racer, and some of the attention to detail is impressive even now. If you race underneath the trees to the side of the road they cast a shadow over your car. Little things like that in this era really impress me, the same way the dirt and water physics in World Rally Championship did.
I've always been more of a kart/arcade racing fan, so Crash Team Racing was my driver for this console. That being said if I was looking for something more realistic, this is way better than V-Rally 2 that I had so it would have been in for a shout for sure. The only thing lacking in the demo is the soundtrack, both the licensed stuff in the races and the lovely jazz stuff in the simulation mode.

Wip3out is next and is also a great demo for showcasing the game with a few unique tricks up it's sleeve. If you like the previous Wipeouts or F-Zero then this is for you. Smooth racing, though the weapons are uninspired. I think the game would be better without them to be honest. The Health/Boost management of F-Zero is a much better system.
Has one of the more creative demos as when you finish the first race it thanks you for playing, gives you a cheat code for the full release and unlocks a new faster vehicle for you. I don't know if the second vehicle is a joke or if I'm just bad at the game but it moved at the speed of light and after three attempts I couldn't finish the race without blowing up bouncing off the walls.
A fantastic game and it's a treat to have this and Gran Turismo on the same disc to really show the options racing fans had on the console, It's what I love about the PS1, there's something for everyone. I know people who swore by the likes of Speed Freaks and London Racer too.

Last and very much least is Alfred Chicken. I have no idea why but it's the second remake of the original Alfred Chicken, the first being on the Gameboy Colour. The original was junk and this one isn't any better. Looks and feels cheap, poor gameplay, poor sound.
It's a one-hit death and the camera angles mean you miss hazards just off screen and they catch you off guard.
It's very much a Euro-platformer. Random powerups and collectables that aren't explained, gems everywhere that mean very little and you can't progress without collecting all the balloons, which I found out when I reached what was clearly the final balloon but missed one early in the level so couldn't end it. Thankfully I think the demo is timed and it kicked me off before I had to slog back for it. Real low budget stuff I wouldn't have touched even for £3 for a chipped copy. Rubbish name too, who does it appeal to?

On the whole though a very satisfying demo disc. 3/4 are really good, with two of them what I would consider some of the best the PS1 has to offer.

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Posted (edited)

I'm one of the very few weirdos that actually kinda liked Alfred Chicken, although I only ever had the Amiga version (swipe typing tried to say Anus version there...). For a Euro platformer it's solid enough and better than a good portion of the absolute shite we had on the computers while Sega & Nintendo had the classics from Japan.

Also, you can still buy officially licensed Alfred shirts in 2024!

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Edited by Merzbow
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Posted (edited)

 

 

 

So last Sunday I ventured to my first ever Comic Con. 

 

Local to me so I was planning on going but what a bit of luck, I won a family ticket on the events Facebook page. 

I'd been to venue a few times over the years, watching boxing and also NXT UK so knew what to expect size wise and it's a good size for such an event. 

 

The day itself was busy but comfortable when doing laps as anyone that's been to gaming markets can atest to, when such an event is too busy it becomes an unenjoyable experience. 

Outside were the advertised movie/TV show vehicles and I had to get a few photo opportunities 

My personal favourite was the ECO-1 and loved the attention to detail

The car seemed to be owned by a crew called the Southend Ghostbusters who also had a cool stall with replica devices from the franchise, all quite true to the movie props. 

Plenty of Funko pops and Pokemon which I have no interest in at all but obviously at an event like this they are essential 

Cool little retro gaming area to try out but definitely needs expending on moving forward 

 

Overall I had a great day and will be going again in November 

 

Plus always nice to catch up with my local retro shop owners "The Retro Giant" who were selling there amongst only 2 or 3 stalls selling video game related items

Edited by Big Bully Busick
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Double post, but now emulators have been allowed on the App Store, I’ve been having fun with the Backbone controller my wife got me for Christmas.

It means I can play PSP Ridge Racer (aka the best game ever made) using PPSSPP on the train in 1080p and it’s made a 90 minute journey flash by.  Wonderful stuff.

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29 minutes ago, Scratch said:

Double post, but now emulators have been allowed on the App Store, I’ve been having fun with the Backbone controller my wife got me for Christmas.

It means I can play PSP Ridge Racer (aka the best game ever made) using PPSSPP on the train in 1080p and it’s made a 90 minute journey flash by.  Wonderful stuff.

Ridge Racer really is a fantastic pick up and play racer isn't it?
When the 3DS launched with fuck all on it and everyone hated it so much it made Nintendo apologise and give out free games, I was happy as you like with my copies of Ridge Racer and Nintendogs.

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36 minutes ago, Scratch said:

Double post, but now emulators have been allowed on the App Store, I’ve been having fun with the Backbone controller my wife got me for Christmas.

It means I can play PSP Ridge Racer (aka the best game ever made) using PPSSPP on the train in 1080p and it’s made a 90 minute journey flash by.  Wonderful stuff.

Are there any system requirements or special set up required?

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