darkmage479

thanks guys, i was hoping my first review would go well I just wish more people would reply....

Supposedly No$GBA has link support, but I haven't tried it. As far as i know the latest version of VisualBoy Advance (i'm still using 1.51) doesn't support the game link. Check out the No$GBA thread here.

Thraxen is right. In fact, the hardcore fanboys should quit whining because Tekken was never considered the pinnacle of twitch-skill fighters. Tekken is more of a casual fighting game (if such a thing is possible). I could understand the complaints if Street Fighter 3: Quadruple Damage came with a pad, but with Tekken anything that's good for arcades is good in my book.

i have both the ROM on Project64 1.5 and the original Hybrid Heaven cartridge. The ROM works fine for me... maybe your computer has issues? Try updating DirectX or checking your graphics drivers. It may be that your machine is just too slow.

GAME: F-Zero Grand Prix Legend SYSTEM: Nintendo Game Boy Advance EMULATORS: VisualBoy Advance, vGBA, etc. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Review made from the European version Marked shots from Gamespy; Screenshots taken using VisualBoy Advance 1.51 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When the Super Nintendo launched in 1991, the most spectacular of the launch titles was easily the original F-Zero. This futuristic racer made use of Nintendo's Mode 7 programming to give the game a semi-3d feel and an incredible sense of speed. Although it lacked the depth of other launch titles like Super Mario World and Pilotwings, F-Zero was defintely more than the "Mode 7 tech demo" detractors made it out to be. What made F-Zero so revolutionary was that through Mode 7 and a number of interesting gameplay features (boosts, mines, jumps, etc.) F-Zero managed to stay exciting and escape monotony unlike many racers before it. Nintendo turned F-Zero into a franchise in 1995 with the release (online, no less) of several Japan-only Super NES expansion packs. F-Zero X (1998, N64) followed, and with the launch of the Game Boy Advance in 2001 came the release of the dissapointing F-Zero: Maximum Velocity. While not a bad game in and of itself, Maximum Velocity was only an upgraded port of the original F-Zero. It contained many outdated gameplay elements and made little use of the GBA's power. And now we reach 2004. With the (relative?) success of F-Zero GX on the Gamecube and the F-Zero: Falcon Densetsu anime airing in Japan, we have a new GBA F-Zero game. Luckily, it's everything both GX fans and old-schoolers could have hoped for. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overview: F-Zero GP Legend is once again a Mode 7 racer with essentially flat tracks and hand-drawn vehicles. You still race 5 laps around futuristic tracks in your floating hovercraft, and you still have a power meter that goes down as you hit barriers, cars, or obstacles. Anyone nostalgic for the Super NES days will be instanly pleased. However, the game includes numerous features not found in the original (and Maximum Velocity) including but not limited to: 1. 30 cars per race 2. ability to damage other cars 3. game link multiplayer (also in Maximum Velocity) 4. Story mode 5. more modern power-for-speed boost system. Just like F-Zero X, you now race against 30 other cars. Although you will rarely find yourself below 8th or 10th, this also means that the Grand Prix Mode now has a points-tally system that determines the champion over a series of races. Also taken from F-Zero X is the boost system, which lets you sacrifice power (which also goes down as you are damaged) for as much of a boost as you want. Maximum Velocity alloted you one lousy boost per lap. Graphics and Sound: F-Zero GP Legend fundamentally still uses the graphics engine from the Super Nintendo F-Zero. The tracks are still flat (imparting some old-school charm, but it might turn off anyone who thinks Final Fantasy VII is 'old school') and the mines, jump plates, etc. still look the same, but cleaner and with more detail (backgrounds especially) thanks to the GBA's power. GP Legend runs at 60fps nonstop and gives a great sense of speed, especially compared to Maximum Velocity. The biggest change is to the racing vehicles themselves. With new sprites and artwork, the hovercrafts come across as retro-futuristic, as if they were designed by someone from the 1950's imagining the 2200's. The Blue Falcon looks like an angular Cold War-era fighter jet (now with one engine instead of four) while there is a hint of '59 Cadillac in the tail fins of the new Dragon Bird. Each machine is detalied with moving rudders, vents, etc. even more so than on the n64. The machines' exhausts take cues from F-Zero GX, with changing colors, flames ,and lightning bolt effects accompanying boosts and starts. The sound is standard quality GBA music and effects but works well. The original F-Zero engine howl is preserved intact and sounds terrific. The background music is mostly remixed N64 tracks (which themselves were remixed from the Super NES) and the original tracks are available as well. Most are nothing special and often repetitive (especially in Story Mode), but you might find one or two stuck in your head hours later, especially if you're in the mood for old-school techno. Control: F-Zero GP Legend preserves the basic control scheme from Maximum Velocity but adjusts it to compensate for new features. The control pad steers your hovercraft while A is the throttle and B acts as the brake. Unlike in past F-Zero games you will find yourself actually using that B button to handle sharp turns. Just like driving for real, you will find yourself having to find the outside line, turn in early, plan ahead, and accelerate out of the apex. Pulsing the throttle by rapidly the A button also helps, but is no longer a key technique (as it was in Maximum Velocity). Pressing L or R during a turn leans the vehicle to help it steer tighter, and two rapid taps on a shoulder button triggers the side side attack in the button's respective direction. Finally, ram in both L and R at the same time to boost. Various obstacles on the track, such as repair pits, jump plates, rough, land mines, and magnetic traps will all affect your machine's control, as well as the vehicle itself. In a triumph of gameplay design, each vehicle handles differently and is rated in three categories: Body, Boost, and Grip. A lightweight racer like the Twin Noritta really feels different from the heavyweight Iron Tiger. (As a general principle, lightweight machines will accelerate faster but have lower top speeds. They will also change direction faster but by the same token be more likely to skid or slip. By contrast, heavyweights will have higher top speeds and be more forgiving, even if they are not as useful in the hands of an expert.) You can also adjust each individual machine's balance for acceleration or top speed before each race. All told, the control is intuitive but remarkably complex for a GBA game, leading to my one gripe. With so many functions to worry about while the player is dodging mines at 900kph, the developers had to get around the fact that the GBA really only has 4 buttons. Cramming three separate movements onto the shoulder triggers means that sometimes you'll end up having situations where you do the wrong motion or have to choose between two equally useful actions (such as boosting just out of the apex of a sharp turn). This only gets frustrating late in the game, and even so it doesn't destroy the experience. But you'll end up having a few obscenity-worthy moments, especially in Zero Test (see below). Gameplay: This is where GP Legend really stands out. It has tons of features that will keep you engaged for at least 10-15 hours of play. In addition to the traditional F-Zero grand prix points race, training, and time attack modes, GP Legend also has two new modes: Story and Zero Test. F-Zero GP Legend's story mode is based on the Japanese Falcon Densetsu anime but works well as a standalone story. In it, you take control of one of eight pilots and his or her machine and play though five or six missions, each with respective cinema cutscenes. Finishing a story mode might unlock a story for another character, a new track, or a hidden vehicle. Although the actual writing of the story is cliched at times and the soundtrack repetitive, the artwork is cool and the racing experience is still second to none. Zero Test is rewarding but for the hardcore only. Remeber those obscenities I warned you about? They show up here in great quantities. Zero Test is a Gran-Turismo like liscense mode where you time attack certain sections of a selected track in a preselected machine. Winning unlocks new vehicles, but the gold medal times are often near impossible. Earning them requires repetition and maneuvers sometimes made difficult by the control scheme. Finally making the gold is rewarding, but may not be worth the pain and suffering for casual players. The most rewarding aspect of GP Legend, though, is the process of earning new vehicles. 34 unique hovercraft can be played in total, and each one feels different and is beautifully animated. Stuffing 34 machines into the GBA cart is an accomplishment and a racing fan such as myself will be in heaven for days, trying to find that perfect car and its perfect balance setup. Each vehicle also has a driver whose anime-style portrait gives the hovercraft personality. This makes the game all the more exciting and stylized. Overall, F-Zero GP Legend is great. The few minor points are barely noticeable when admiring your 34-car garage or racing through Port Town at the speed of sound. This is by far the best racing game on the GBA. It's a worthy companion to F-Zero GX and a worthier offspring of the original F-Zero. Years from now both GP Legend and the SNES original will be remembered as classics. Control: 8.5 out of 10 Graphics: 9.5 out of 10 Gameplay: 10 out of 10 Sound: 8.5 out of 10 Overall, F-Zero GP Legend earns an 9.25 out of 10 and a grade of A, or, if you like it, a Review by DarkMage479, August 13, 2004

cool uguenn. Maybe if i knew about this 3 or 4 years ago today i would be free from the grip of the Evil Empire (Micro$oft). As it is, i'll stick with kawaks but this shows that good people out there believe in Linux's future. edit: makes more sense

Mega Man X3 - duh. Even if it's just a rehash of Mega Man X, it's a wonderful, beautifully realized rehash. Also as a combo platform/shooter - Gunstar Heroes.

The 1.48DEV set uses 6 C roms and 1 V rom and the mysterious 271-bios.bin. It was discussed in this thread and a link for a patch to convert the 8C MAME romset to the kawaks dev romset is included.

The emulator itself is called Chankast and it displays that name when you run it. However, the development team calls itself Chanka and their website is www.chanka.org. Say either chanka or chankast and people will know what you're talking about...

i dunno... the greatest part of Shenmue besides the 'living world' aspect was the story. making it an MMORPG consciously pushes the story to the side - maybe as a side-story it might work, or else they could just call it something else? other than that it looks awesome, but not my cup of tea. I'm still waiting for a new Zone of the Enders with something like online 4 on 4 deathmatch... edit - stupid smilies

the maturity level of this thread continues to amaze me... seriously though, they tasted horrible

Ikaruga plays arcade-style, i don't think there's a way to skip to a level right off. If you are referring to emulator save states, chankast doesn't have any. Be glad it doesn't - if a project64 save state is 5-6mb each a chankast save state would be huge. Besides, what do you want save states for? be a man and play for real... However, you can store scores and the like by formatting the virtual VMU chankast creates. Do this by running the program with no ISO loaded. Select VMU from the main menu and it will allow you to format it - like formatting a PC hard drive.

i've said this before, but it's no use guessing about the release of the ROM when we all know the flexibility of the emulation scene - remember KOF 2003? All we can do is wait, and you all are starting to sound like crack addicts pestering their dealer for a new deal. Show some patience and good things will come to those who wait.

i'm not going to bump the last thread, but for the first half of this story, check my thread (i'm getting script errors so i won't link) that's on the Current Affairs Forum, page 2. It's wednesday morning here at the Democratic National Convention in Boston and after being unable to go and actually see the speeches by Bill and Hillary Clinton (Monday) or Illinois Senate candidate Barack Obama (Tuesday) today i'm heading out to the Boston waterfront to hear John Kerry himself as he arrives in the city. My conference got us all backstage passes to the speech and we may get to meet the man himself...ill try and upload pics later. I SAW THE BACK OF BILL CLINTON'S HEAD YESTERDAY! He was doing a book signing and people were so psyched that the line to see him stretched around an entire courtyard. Of the Boston Prudential Center. Twice. Wait to see Bill was estimated at 6-7 hours, but i did get a look at his head. On Sunday night a swank party was held featuring such political heavyweights as Ben Affleck (barf) which i couldn't attend but in an act of randomness i couldn't fathom several WWE wrestlers (WWE is the American professional wrestling "league") showed up at a conference given by Democratic strategist James Carville. The mind boggles. Several protests too - the Falun Gong, right-wing fundamentalists, and plain nutcases all turned out for the DNC. Most disturbing were three trucks covered with pictures of aborted fetuses that drove through the city center on Tuesday. others used their religious faith as a way to knock kerry, saying gay marraige would cause America to become a huge pit of fire and brimstone...(yeah right). i managed to steer clear of these idiots, but one of my fellow conference-goers was removed from a q&a with campaign manager Donna Brazille for arguing with her, and a fight nearly broke out between normal Democrats and psychotic Lyndon LaRouche supporters at the aforementioned Carville conference. And that's all for now... i hope people are still reading this. more stories and pics as they become available.

LIVE UPDATE FROM THE DNC WITH DARKMAGE479!!! busy right now so ill be brief. Can't post pics yet but i'll fill you guys in... the major events don't start until tomorrow (Monday) but over the weekend i had lectures with the Young Democrats of America on 1. Grass-roots organization 2. Campaign finance reform 3. media politics. Gov. Bill Richardson (D-New Mexico) kicked off the conference with a brief speech and later we got to hear Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe. the man has charisma and i got a good seat for that one, i'll see when i can get my pics up (pics taken w/cell phone so quality really poor). Today we heard a joint discussion with Arianna Huffington, a political writer, and Joe Trippi, former Democratic candidate Howard Dean's campaign manager. Trippi's speech was very interesting and he discussed the 'internet revolution' which he hoped would bring young people back into participatory american politics. apparently Trippi is a gamer (xbox, no less) and he got the idea for Dean's internet based campaign (meetup.org, etc) while a poster on the THQ game publisher's message board. After holding an online eulogy for a fellow poster who had passed away, Trippi decided to apply the same technique to politics. Note to europeans: Howard Dean is no longer a candidate for the nomination, but he left his mark on the election with his campaign's innovative techniques. Last but not least was a chance to hear the great Rev. Al Sharpton. Also a former Democratic candidate, he is one of the best American political speakers of the new millenium. He spoke eloquently about African-American issues and the need for a coherent education policy that Bush lacks. He also attacked Bush's iraq policy thusly: "Bush first claimed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Now we can't find them, so he changed his story. Now he says that Saddam Hussein was a bad man and needed to be removed. Unfortunately, the world is full of bad men. The mere fact that Bush changed his story should be worrying. It's like me saying 'Fire'! evacuate the convention hall and once everyone's outside saying 'Rev. Al, where's the fire!', i say' there was no fire, i just wanted you all to get some fresh air.'" I tell you, the Rev. Al Sharpton r0x0rs. That's it for my solitary post today. I hope i'm not to boring/highbrow for you all, but as Gryph said, i'm just trying to share the Democratic love.

Will do gryph. For at least today, this is darkmage479signing off, but i'll be sure to be back - with pictures!!! edit: btw 100th post!!! skeetness!

don't worry k'dash, maybe ill actually stop some terrorists for you.

you read that right, i will be chilling in Boston for the next week as part of a series of "young-people" (gottal love that demographic) conferences at the DNC. I'll try to post whenever i can but i may be gone for a couple days. In the meantime i leave my legacy to thee: this can be the ongoing 1emulation political discussion thread! Go, my children! Flame! Kill! when i get back maybe i'll upload a picture of a kerry-edwards bumper sticker or something.

hucking filarious. GryphonKlaw, remember every now and then good stuff....

wait... is tag tournament based off the old (psx based) Namco System 12 board or the (PS2 based) System 246 board? Last time i heard nobody had emulated system 246... - that might explain the problem. edit: makes sense now.

cool advice phantom.... so what chara do you play as in SSIV/V?

then it's settled. We should get a ss4 tournament going on kalliera.... the machine i'm posting from is not my gaming PC, which currently lacks an internet connection, so not yet tho. I'd be willing to take u on agozer.

it's best to use the qcb+s attack as a rush counter or anti-air and stick to qcb+k (push away) into jumping s into combo slash or another qcb+k. Also the hcf+s in the air is an old favorite but gets real predictable. Ukyo's better all around as bust than slash but has no fakes so you have to keep changing patterns....

wow.....randomness.....

i just hope they still have the 'delta option' ( i forget the real name) mode as a selection: ...(--) ......(--) ...............\----___........................+ energy charge laser....= death .......(--) ....(--) ah those were the days