The current Magical Vacation fan trans is completely dry and devoid of any tone and character, so it is a very confusing experience. I have sunk over 10 hours into it and have no idea whaty is going on or what anyone is trying to say. It‘s frustrating because I want to enjoy this game and it seems like there’s a lot going on.
However there‘s good news, a new team is working on a new fan translation, and they’re aware of these issues.
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@“BIGHEADMODE”#p127695 I’m pretty sure Yggdra Union was localized by someone who wrote some posts for the original Insert Credit, but I’m blanking on who it was. I think it was a guy who also wrote at 1UP sometimes? God this is killing me.
That's interesting to know! I'm curious who this is (and if I remember them from the original IC)! Yggdra isn't a direct IC game for me, but there's only one degree of separation, since I'm certain I know about Riviera because of original IC.
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@“BIGHEADMODE”#p127696 There’s a digital rerelease of 1+2 for about $60 on Switch right now.
I can't imagine you'd be disappointed by the rerelease, given you loved the originals. I do too, and I was stunned by how well it all held up. These are small, generally short games where it feels like absolutely everything was trimmed to the ideal size, and it's a tribute to how well designed the battle system is that it feels fresh while also feeling not completely open ended like a lot of similar systems in other games. Literally the only complaint I have is that they didn't revisit the script or the localization at all, so while you might find it charming, you also might find it to feel antique and a little confusing. But yeah, these are all great games that are kindof a master class in making small games and keeping them exactly as tight as they need to be.
@“BIGHEADMODE”#p127696
I love that you mentioned you played exclusively JRPGs when you found that game, cause I played pretty much exclusively action games and I love the battle system in that game. It's like an action board/card game. Just RPG enough to be able to strategize but still reliant on skill and reflexes.
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@“BIGHEADMODE”#p127695 Karasu I’m pretty sure Yggdra Union was localized by someone who wrote some posts for the original Insert Credit, but I’m blanking on who it was. I think it was a guy who also wrote at 1UP sometimes? God this is killing me.
Nich Maragos, maybe? I don't remember whether he was an IC contributor/member or just in the general '00s somewhere-down-the-iceberg games media sphere, but he definitely helped out on it. He's been at NOA for a while now.
@“gsk”#p127826 Yeah, it was Maragos! Thanks, I wouldn't have gotten that one. And yeah, maybe he never wrote for IC but was just in that sphere.
@“milo”#p127731 Exactly. I think if Capcom debuted something with that battle system now on mobile with the MM branding it could be in the niche of, like, a Marvel Snap or something. I can‘t remember if the upgrades, etc. had enough depth that it could actually be a competitive game, but if I worked at Capcom, I’d seriously consider pitching it.
I have been thinking about re-acquiring my childhood gameboy advance SP for quite some time.
I was in 6th grade when the hype for SP was building. It had been a long time coming, we deserved a frontlit device.
Some kids were getting them right at launch. Their birthdays lined up perfectly. But I remember seeing the advertisements and magazines and those little official NOA books they gave out for free at Electronics Boutique, which I collected all of.
It said only Platinum colorway was available until later that year, when they'd release blue, or indigo or whatever they called it. That's my color of choice so I chose to wait until then and get the blue one!
I beat that thing up pretty bad. So I decided I'd be fine with a used blue SP that's beat up a bit. I haven't even seen any of them in anything better than beat up condition anyways.
But they have become stupid expensive. for broken ones, or ones in even worse condition than I'd want, they're like $70-$100...
and now that the blue SP has been immortalized as an item in Pikmin 4 (which is interesting that they chose exactly that color), I suspect there's a lot of people who want specifically THAT blue SP.
Well, I found someone selling one in compton, we agreed on $40. I showed up and it turns out he had the box, also beat up, but with *all the inserts* still too. So I gave him $50.
It's gonna need a little TLC, some cleaning, bending a connector back into place, but it works, and it's what I wanted.
woop woop
@“treefroggy”#p129944 Man, heck yes. Love this kind of story. I‘m older than you, so I was in the last year of high school when the SP came out, and I worked at Electronics Boutique at the time, so I got that thing on launch day, and played it at school under the desk, during class. The GBA SP just felt like a piece of luxury, the absolute height of technological achievement at the time. I don’t know if I‘ve ever felt that kind of wonder about a piece of gaming tech since. That’s the specific dragon I've been chasing.
@“whatsarobot”#p129963 that's awesome dude. were you the cool guy at the register when I didn't preorder Pokemon Colosseum, who gave me the Jirachi Bonus Disc anyways so I could go home and connect my gba to my gcn and acquire jirachi in my copy of pokemon sapphire?
and yeah, I agree, the SP felt like a peak. I think it was, for many reasons.
the rechargeable battery was huge.
@“treefroggy”#p129965 I was 100% that dude in spirit.
Nice find @treefroggy!!!
While I do prefer the original GBA's form factor, I have a soft spot for the SP.
My platinum GBA got a busted screen so for Christmas that year my mom got twin game bundles of the Platinum SP with Mario 3 for my brother and I.
I dug the clamshell design and an added benefit was it had better protection from the screen getting busted haha.
the thing the SP has over the original GBA is those clicky buttons. wall jumping in metroid ZM feels effortless on that dpad
The fact that there are THREE F-Zero games on the GBA still blows my minds. The later two are quite awesome, btw.
There are a few GBA games with vocal songs and Mr. Driller A has the best one. Love it!
https://youtu.be/TXs1lGzdWMA
GBA reflective screen has such drastic different look.
https://youtu.be/lbeJY5-xo-M?si=w5kuR9MhQf02nqog
this is how mfs reply when I say I use stock hardware to play classic portable games
https://twitter.com/taizou_hori/status/1705377794648313900?s=20
@“treefroggy”#p134422 Woww works as power bank. “Anti-explosion core”!! Chinese keeps innovating (no joke!) Looks pretty sweet
@“exodus”#3 posted on Twitter that GBA games are getting thin on the ground in JP shops. And since it is a system I collect for (almost entirely loose) this is my call for people to shout out DEEP cut GBA games I should snag. Within the 15 minutes after he posted I discovered
Guru Logic Champ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny_kTCvscRw
and
Nonono Puzzle Chalien
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErLTpJQTbew
And snagged Nonono Puzzle Chalien. So like, if now is the time, hit me with those back of the crate recommends.