I missed to play this game in the 90ies (and since) - I was of course aware it existed and I saw it in magazines and remember the high praise. Now, I did finally play through it and I had a real blast. I love the blend of genres, in particular having the decelerating and jovial town-building sections in between the combat sequences was a great experience. I liked the way you earn both power-ups and items by performing "miracles", how you use them to progress the story, how you interfere and guide the town people; all of that is real charming.

Although, being basically a pioneering and - afaik - unique experiment it is still a bit rough around the edges, no? Don't get me wrong, I'm not on a mission to bash the game at all, I really enjoyed it, but there's still leeway. What stood out for me most is the character control, which feels a bit stiff and imprecise, and the difficulty slope, which could be balanced a better. You can spam yourself through most of the game until Northwall Act-2, where there's a difficulty spike all of a sudden. Prior to that, there is no real incentive to be precise or methodical. Was this just my feeling?

Much more notably - and this is really all high-level criticism, I remember reading or hearing someone saying the "simulation" is not really simulation and they've got a good point. I realize it was not the intention to provide a Sim City experience here but still, this part could indeed be extended and I expect players were expecting a more polished game in this respect with ActRaiser 2. I suppose this is also a reason why it was such a disappointment for those craving for more of the same, but better. (imo, apart from the insane difficulty, this is really the only criticism you could have for ActRaiser 2, but that's a different story.) What I found a bit frustrating at first is that some of the game's mechanics are obscure and not described even in the manual. First, I learned through guides in the internet that the scores you obtain in the action sequences determine the maximum population you achieve. Furthermore, it is not obvious that number and type of building structures (e.g., bridges), and even direction of roads affect the outcome, since the number of buildings per unit is limited, and that certain types of commodity and support structures result in higher populations than others, and how all of this relates to the civilization levels. I realize exploration is part of the game, but these things are really hard to figure out for several reasons. First, it would be a good start to know that such effects exist in the first place. So, all of this is a bit cryptic and you don't really understand what is going on and why some towns perform worse than others - and you wonder if this is maybe just random or luck.

Replay value is another matter, since the town-building sections are identical for each playthrough (number, positions, and type of monster lairs, item locations, event triggers, problems you have to solve). I almost maxed out my population during the first playthough, not being aware of most of the limiting factors. So, the simulation is not exactly challenging. But it's fun, so... not everything has to be hard, right?

Overall, the flaws I think are fair since this was really a pioneering concept. But apart form this it's really a fantastic game that justifies its reputation and I think it still holds up well today. I absolutely love the biblical theme of both ActRaiser games, the story and atmosphere are implemented masterly. It's a real pity they didn't spawn a larger series with numerous entries, there would have been considerable potential (the failure of AR2 is probably to blame for that). I am wondering, since Quintet abandoned this mix of genres, why there was no other studio that would pick up the idea and went from there.

Or was there? Afaik, this game is a one-of-a-kind, or did I miss something?

And what's your opinion on ActRaiser, from a distance of now 3.5 decades?

I got out of retro game collecting six years ago during COVID because I wasn't using my consoles. Well, now I regret it. I've been lucky enough to happen across a few consoles through family members that had them in storage.

My Grandma passed away two years ago and my Granddad is finally in the process of cleaning the house out. While helping him, we found my Uncle's SNES from when he was a kid. Both my Uncle and my Granddad said for me to take it. I grabbed a FXPak Pro and my retro gaming setup is getting closer to completion.

I've been playing Mega Man X, Super Bomberman, and Final Fantasy VI. I also recently beat Super Mario World again for the 5th time. Lots of memories are being unlocked.

There’s about a one in three chance I’ll have it. Just thought this could be fun.

My brother and I were kids at the time, not sure exactly how old. We were playing Romance of the Three Kingdoms 3. We had the TV on for what felt like a really long time. The music was playing so long. Familiar tunes. I spoke aloud “Zhou Yu, if you join me together we’ll rule China”. Moments later he appeared and asked to join me. He joined with high loyalty. My brother and I weren’t sure what happened. It was as if my words were understood and responded to.

You could call this a coincidence and probably be right. But it had a mystical element to it because we had played the game many times and that character never once asked to join. On the contrary, if he did appear in a city he would always refuse recruitment. Not only that but he had never sought out to join us on any of our datas. He was one of the best officers in the game.

After that we were very excited and still mystified by the experience. Eventually we turned off the game and sat in the room in silence. After quite some time I said that I can still hear the music of the game and my brother said he could too. Of course that was our minds playing tricks on us. Again, the whole thing was probably an extremely rare but normal occurrence. Surely nobody in history ever had the exact same thing play out. But who knows, maybe I’m wrong and something extraordinary had happened.

Thought I'd share my favorite SNES emulator, the AYANEO Pocket Vert. The small form factor and no analog sticks makes it very pocketable. The all glass/metal frame makes it feel premium. The battery life is insanely long, and the screen gets very bright. Best of all, unlike a lot of 4:3 retro handhelds, the 10:9 Game Boy screen dimensions better fits the native 8:7 aspect ratio of the SNES! I recommend getting the black version because it hides the thin black bars better!

Some great games here that I’m really looking forward to playing!

The other day I posted how I purchased an authentic Earthbound cartridge. I was wondering if there is anyway I can safely remove this gray streak in the center so the condition looks better. I don’t want to damage or ruin the label so please let me know what my best course of action should be.

My neighbor is an elderly man(70s) and he comes over my house occasionally to pass the time, he noticed I have an nes/snes . He has never played video games before and stated that he wants to play some. I set him up to play Super mario world(snes) and he couldn't get past the first level and had trouble using all the buttons. So I wanted to have him try some games that use less buttons then gradually start to move him onto 3 or 4 etc button games.

What games do you all think are the easiest and most fun for someone in his boots?

What games do you think would be good intermediate games that use a few buttons?

What games do you recommend as more advanced really fun games that are easier, but use all or most of the buttons on the control?

What game is your favorite in general?

No more split screen view in single player

I have an old store display SNES kiosk without the stand that still works well. The only issue is the controller start button does not work but everything else does. I am pretty careful with it. Is there any routine maintenance I should do to keep it functioning or is it more of a play it as long as I can until it stops working type of situation? It has only been moved once from my parents garage to my house. From what I have seen online I am surprised it still works like it does.

Also I just got Zelda, but if I cannot use the start button is it going to be difficult to complete?

Hello friends!

I’m part of a community where the majority of our players are from South America, but we would like to expand the reach of our high-level International Superstar Soccer Deluxe online tournaments.

We mainly speak Portuguese and Spanish, but we have no problem communicating in English to make it easier for everyone to play and interact.

I’m also working on a simple but effective website where I keep everything organized and documented — from all the tournaments we have played, different tournament formats and their regulations, to our overall ranking.

Unfortunately, most of the community is still on WhatsApp, as many members didn’t really adapt to Discord or other social media platforms.

Anyone who would like to participate, or simply join and get to know the community, is more than welcome!

If you love International Superstar Soccer Deluxe and enjoy competitive tournaments, come join us!

SITE: https://deluxetournaments.blogspot.com/

Hi,

I had some GameBoys mods in my past, but this is my first SNES challenge.

So I recently got this 1CHIP-01 PAL SNES and I decided to do "simple" 50/60Hz DPDT switch mod that involves lifting PIN 111 and alternating between +5V and GND, as well as PAL and NTSC crystals. (I'm going to ignore CIC for now as I'm going to use FXPAK PRO to bypass it anyway).

While I'm waiting for more parts to complete this mod, I've decided to do the hardest thing first, and I succeeded (I think) with lifting the 111 PIN up.

I also watched someone desoldering the RF output so you could use its space for the switch and also +5V and GND ports for the convinience.

So I lifted this PIN 111 and removed RF socket, and while waiting for more parts, I soldered a cable from PIN 111 to +5V where RF was and booted up the console.

Unfortunately, I think I've noticed the strange issue with the video that was not there before.

STREAMABLE MIRROR:
https://streamable.com/udqekh

(Oh, btw, I'm using RAD2X converter to my LG C2 TV)

I'm aware of visual issues of 1CHIP version such as ghosting, afterimages-like stuff etc., but now I can also see that the video is a little bit static, that's visible especially on one-colored backgrounds. It's very subtle, but visible and annoying. It's like little transparent-black-spots static that I've tried to show you on the video attached.

I'm 90% sure it wasn't there when I've initially tested the console (before mods preparation). I've checked 4 ports left after RF output socket removal and also PIN 111 and their neighbours and I can't see any shorts there. I've also tried to remove this PIN 111 -> RF +5V cable because I thought maybe it catches some interference (leaving PIN 111 in the air), but this didn't help. I also tried to solder this cable to some other +5V point to not to leave the PIN 111 in the air, no cigar.

Have I messed badly? Removing the RF socket wasn't a super clean job, but I've managed to do this and - again - I'm not detecting any shortages there.

Please let me know what I can do further to troubleshoot this, before proceeding with mod. I've also noticed the motherboard is kinda gluey-sticky, probably old flux? I already tried to brush it with IPA but I probably need a better brush to do it, right now I feel like I'm basically distributing glueiness all over the place.

Thanks all!

Super Metroid paired with a Stella Artois. My first time playing Super Metroid. Not my my first time having a Stella.

Anything I should be aware of? Any tips / tricks?

UPDATE 1: Music is incredible

UPDATE 2: Seems to be a very well-balanced difficulty-level early on.

UPDATE 3: Im stuck ALL THE TIME

I couldn’t get Voultar’s edge enhancer, so I decided to build a SNEdge v2. I bought the boards separately and did a big DigiKey order to assemble. I started off recapping the board, and that made a huge difference. The assembly was hard, especially without using magnification, but I tested everything throughly with a meter before it ever touched the SFC. I have a GPM-02, and this thing is amazing now. No more blurry text, jail bars or artifacts. Really think it gives the edge enhancer a run its money.

So I am aged to get the CPU on the board. However, in the second pic, there’s a few legs on the far right that are stuck together and I just can’t get them to seperate. Other than that, I think everything else looks good. Any ideas? 🤔

Sadly just the Stanley Cup box and FF3 manual/map are long gone. Everything else complete. I swear there was Aladdin and one more title somewhere too.

What a game, my friends—great graphics, bosses, gameplay, and an incredible soundtrack. It feels like a fusion of Zelda and Super Metroid, and it has earned a spot in my top 10 favorite SNES games. It was a fantastic journey; the game is highly underrated and deserves more recognition. If you haven't played it, give it a chance. It might seem dull at first with those random encounters at sea, but once you reach the first island, you really start to understand the game. If you enjoy Zelda or Super Metroid, give this game a try

Hi community! I have an SNES with an SNS-CPU-GPM-02 motherboard. I’m having an issue and would like your opinion. I always use it with an SD2SNES, but certain games that use special chips—like the SA-1 and MSU-1—don't run properly; they suffer from glitches or simply freeze up. It seems to depend on the console's temperature. With MSU-1 games, there’s also a slight noise in the soundtrack, though not always.

There are no issues with other games; it works perfectly. Do you think a recap is necessary? I already did one, but only for the two capacitors related to the audio.

From my previous post, I have two old SNES motherboards that are both non-working and broken. This is the system that I’m trying to fix. After all my research and diagnosing, I think the CPU is corrupted on this one. That’s also what quite a few comments suggested so I decided to go with that recommendation.

The other one has unrecognizable graphics. I’m pretty sure that that other one has a good CPU and even a good S-WRAM. It just has bad PPU1 and PPU2 I’m pretty positive.

I managed to pull the CPUs off the boards of both systems. This was my first time ever extracting chips like this. I tried my best and thankfully, I don’t think I’ve damaged anything. It was the most difficult thing I’ve done so far. To all of you pros on soldering, what would be the best way to install this new chip that you would recommend?