socrates63

Cool! I found a Revenge of the Gator cart at a pawn shop during a trip to Idaho last month. Addictive little game. I love the intro screen. I posted my high score a few days ago on the forum scoreboard. (Using an SP, yes I admit. 🙂) Maybe one of you can beat my score!

The intro screen on that game is FANTASTIC! It seems that Revenge of the Gator has become a bit of an Atari I/O trend. I'd love to get my hands on the physical cartridge someday, as it's pretty cheap and I'd definitely get my money's worth.
I have been getting back into Game Boy stuff recently. So far, I only have the Advance and Super Game Boys, not the "brick". I like my standard GBA better than the SP for a few reasons. For one, I can use AA batteries. I bought a few rechargable ones last year with a gift card and have been using those. I always have one pair in the system and one pair charged/charging and ready to go. With the AA batteries, I never have to wait for the the thing to charge and if I don't have my rechargable batteries laying around, I can use any kind of AA battery in a pinch. The second reason I like it more is that it has a headphone jack. I love listening to my games with headphones and getting that sweet stereo sound. I imagine it'd be decently hard to find the GBASP headphone adapter these days. Thirdly, the GBA is more compatible with games. The SP,. when using a gyroscope game like Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble, will have the controls reversed.
Sure, the lack of a backlight is a problem, especially these days when it gets dark outside so soon. But I have found ways to work around it. When using Game Boy or Game Boy Color carts on the GBA, the games stick out about an inch from the slot. This makes the thing harder to fit in your pocket, but it also makes it so I can clamp a reading light to the cartridge and be able to play my games easily. GBA exclusive games are a bit harder to light, so I mostly avoid them. This works, but it is inconvenient and mostly falls off. I'm hoping that I get a Worm Light for Christmas that will make my life a lot easier.
For those of you who don't know what that is, here's a picture from the web. It plugs in to the Link Cable port.

Over the months, I have been experimenting with lots of different methods of lighting the screen. This is the best one I have come up with so far.
I have several different reading lights in all different shapes and sizes. The owl one is the only one that will clamp the entirety of the GBA. This is currently the only way I can play GBA games in the dark. It’s not great as it flies and falls off a bunch, but it works alright.


With original Game Boy and GB Color games, it works a little easier. 

I see you already branded the NES Golf cart there 😇
The next retro junk box ❤️

I see you already branded the NES Golf cart there 😇
The next retro junk box ❤️

Oh the contraptions I tried out with my OG GameBoy... the light and screen magnifier. And then there's that umbilical cord attached to the battery pack.

I can't argue. But at least I won't need a miner's helmet to see. 

The Finals are delayed for the moment due to a power outage...in Indonesia! You read that right! The only non-US player remaining, Nenu, is en route to a friend's house as I type this post. Arda Öcal, one of the hosts of the CTWC, just informed the Twitch viewers of this development.
 
Oh, and Nenu's opponent in the Semifinals is PixelAndy. Why is this signifcant? The winner of this Semifinal will move on to the Final Match against...PixelAndy's brother, DogPlayingTetris!
 
Sometimes these stories really do write themselves...

I've really enjoyed the Evercade. The collections so far have been pretty good, the screen is nice and HDMI out is a great touch. Also, having the collections on carts is fun and unique for an emulation system. I'm hoping they do a console version that takes the same software. 

Good to know! I'd like a McWill Lynx but the price is 😮 Maybe I'll dabble in Evercade and its Lynx games instead.

Alright, here's my calendar too, @Justin!
In the early months of the year, I get pretty nostalgic for Animal Crossing: New Leaf. I got it for my 10th birthday in January 2015, and played it constantly. I lost my original copy in Chicago, but have since got another copy. I also get pretty nostalgic for some early NES games, like Donkey Kong and its sequels. That one's recent, but I still look back on it fondly. I remember hearing the story of a mysterious illness in China that had already killed 21 people. And Kobe's passing was the big story!
Later, in March, I get nostalgic for the Atari 2600. This is another recent one. It's funny how I find myself reminiscing so fondly on things that didn't happen that long ago.
I had recently got my new system, one I had wanted to get for years and years. I remember waking up each morning before everyone else, going downstairs in the darkness, and the only source of light was 2600 Donkey Kong's glow from my little CRT, temporarily (now moved and permanently) in our game room. Everything was going so well for me back then. My grades were up, my friends and I were goofing off all the time and having fun, and everything was going alright. And then, in the middle of the month, it all came crashing down. I also think of Super Mario Brothers 1, 2, and 3 during this time, all during different time periods.
During March, I also get nostalgic for Super Metroid, and play it a lot. I remember the first time playing this game so fondly. Not sure if that was in March 2010 or not, but I always get nostalgic for the thing around that time.
April is a fun one. Pokemon Trading Card Game for the Game Boy Color! I remember when I was in 4th grade, and everyone in the class was big into Pokemon. This was the first Pokemon game I ever got, on the 3DS eShop. I later got Red and Gold, and young, pre-middle school me saved up for months to get Pokemon Moon at launch, first time I ever got a game on the day of release. I don't really care for the mainseries Pokemon RPG's anymore, but I can still enjoy the TCG on GBC.
May is all about the album Beatles for Sale. I remember going on vacation for a few days once in May, and I listened to this one constantly. I still think Beatles for Sale is probably the best album that the Beatles released in their first couple years.
I also get nostalgic for Vs. Super Mario Brothers (first video game I ever played) and Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters.
June reminds me of Game and Watch and other LCD games. July is all about Super Mario 64 DS.
August reminds me of one of our annual vacations, Blue Harbor. Near this place was the only retro video game store I knew of until late last year. There, I got a few of my games. Buying a retro game was an event back then, as it only happened once a year. I had to pick very wisely. During this time, I get nostalgic for Startropics and Kirby's Pinball Land.
September reminds me of Super Mario Land and Link's Awakening. 
October, shocker, Luigi's Mansion. November, Tunnel Runner, 2600 Pac-Man, and more Luigi's Mansion.
And December... Metroid. However, strangely not so much my beloved Super Metroid. More like Fusion, Zero Mission, Metroid, Metroid II, and Samus Returns. I sadly could never get in to Prime. It's just not my thing. Other M is just trash.

Most high-score challenges take place here. 

When not in use, the doors are closed and no one is the wiser.

Plus, it saves wear and tear on the original cartridges. It's a neat idea, actually.

$60 for this vs. $160 for the real Everrdrive.  The only downside is that longevity is unknown. 

I have several everdrives (NES, SNES, Genesis, TG16, GBC), and they all work most excellently.  I agree they make good sense.  Not just in overall cost-savings, but in convenience. 
 

Nice! Is it much cheaper than an actual N64 Everdrive? Any downsides compared to an actual Everdrive?
During Black Friday, I ordered Everdrives for SNES and Genesis. Even if you're a collector, playing games using these types of cartridges makes a lot of sense. I use the Harmony Encore cartridge to play 2600 games even though I have the actual game cartridges.

Nice! Is it much cheaper than an actual N64 Everdrive? Any downsides compared to an actual Everdrive?
During Black Friday, I ordered Everdrives for SNES and Genesis. Even if you're a collector, playing games using these types of cartridges makes a lot of sense. I use the Harmony Encore cartridge to play 2600 games even though I have the actual game cartridges.

It's interesting how you can store multiple ROMs on an SD card and plug them into the cartridge that way. Cool stuff. Thanks for showing it. :O)

I think I'll give it a shot. Rick PM'ed me a few hours back and has a spare. I think I'll buy myself that along with a few others come next year. Thanks, Rick!
In the meantime, my paddles will be used for regular Breakout! I'm glad I have the picture label of this game. While I typically prefer the text labels, this one will perfectly match Super Breakout. 

I'm still playing and still enjoying it.  It's more than just "mindless".  Some of the puzzles are kind of clever. 

I saw this game sitting on the shelf at the local retro game store yesterday, and I thought of you, Rick 😁

I saw this game sitting on the shelf at the local retro game store yesterday, and I thought of you, Rick 😁

It's worth it for the multi-ball/cavity variations alone. 
 

Just for you, Harry, I spent a few minutes with Breakout for the first time 😄 To answer your question, yes, Super Breakout is totally worth picking up. Both in graphics and sound, it's a noticeable improvement over Breakout. The ball physics seem a bit more natural as well. It's a cheap common game and totally deserves to be added to your library.

Just for you, Harry, I spent a few minutes with Breakout for the first time 😄 To answer your question, yes, Super Breakout is totally worth picking up. Both in graphics and sound, it's a noticeable improvement over Breakout. The ball physics seem a bit more natural as well. It's a cheap common game and totally deserves to be added to your library.

I haven't played ET but from what I've heard, reading the manual is critical for success. Unfortunately, reading and following directions is a lost art(? skill?) for many people. That thing about everything you need to know you learned in kindergarten?