I haven’t really played any romhacks besides one. A while ago I played through the Gold Quest for Ocarina of Time. It’s like an upgraded version of Master Quest: remixed dungeons, enemies added in different locations, items have been moved to different locations, and some changes to the world outside of dungeons. Great for anyone that wants a more challenging version of OOT.

I’ve also been watching a friend play through a Pikmin romhack called Bikmin 269. This game is straddling the line between a shitpost and a fever dream. You collect NFTs and Bitcoins, the ground texture is layered images of Shaggy from Scooby Doo, the space ship is a T-posing Luigi, and one type of Pikmin is a “mushroom” that looks suspiciously penis-like… It’s a nightmare in the best possible way

On GameCube, I can see that Legend of Zelda Wind Waker, Mario Party 6, Smash Bros Melee are all unavailable. On N64, Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Pokemon Stadium are also unavailable

Definitely Vimm’s Lair for me. I still play a lot of GameCube and N64 games and Vimm’s was always my go-to place for finding roms. They got hit with a lot of DMCAs and take down notices, and had to remove the vast majority of their Nintendo library along with anything related to Sega and Lego. The site is still up, but it’s like visiting a graveyard now

That whole thing looks shady as hell. To me it seems like the whole interview process is meant to collect all the data they can about you, whether it is to sell the info or to hold on to it for… reasons. Also a private, invite/interview entry only community that strictly prohibits the use of a VPN or TOR and is based around sharing media? Bruh. Either they are sharing something a lil more illicit than your standard rips of Hollywood movies, or this is a honeypot to catch the kinds of people who share that kind of stuff. Everything about this is all red flags and alarm bells

I think so. After some quick googling, it looks like some people get it to work on white, grey, and blue bricks, but leaving it in too long causes white “chalky” spots to form. Try at your own risk I guess

You can get rid of the yellowing by soaking the shell of the NES is dilute hydrogen peroxide and shining UV lights on the shell. There’s a bunch of tutorials all around.

https://amaiorano.io/2022/09/13/nes-restoration.html#retrobriting

Yeah, pretty much lmao!

Edit: They show it off at the Game Done Quick charities every year or so. Here is one that is Ocarina of Time and Kingdom Hearts II

https://youtu.be/ptRrEt5XIbE?si=OlvB2Bpj6Rif9yWX

So it is a program running in the program from Archipelago that can connect multiple randomizers together. You can have a friend playing a different randomizer somewhere else and you can send them item for their game and vise versa. Or you can run an a-synch on your own by doing everything you can in one game, and then swapping to another.

They have a list of compatible randos on their website, and I’d be willing to answer any other questions you have

I know it’s not the “official” game, but I’ve been playing some Ocarina of Time (1998) multi-world randomizers every now and then over the last couple years.

Richard the Lost Dog. Love that lil rascal

Spiderman 64 starts off exactly how you describe the game you remember. There is a tutorial, you stop a bank robbery, and then you have to save J Jonah Jameson by fighting Scorpion. Looked up some videos of the Scorpion fight, but it doesn’t look like he has a grab attack.

It was released on the Nintendo 64 in 2000. Not sure how different the ports are, but the game was ported to the PC in 2001, and to Mac in 2002.

Uhh… Depends on what is wrong with it. Is nothing happening when you try to turn it on, is it having trouble reading games, or does a controller port not work?

Some things can be pretty tricky, like if it needs a new laser in the disc reader. Whatever the case is, you should definitely start by popping the case open and to see if any capacitors are bulging/leaking/burst

I have been working on putting a stellar hd+ in an xbox, but there is so many things wrong with that console I had to shelve it for my own sanity. I also recently got pixelfx’s retro gem for a PS2, but I haven’t had a chance to actually install it yet and it’s an internal mod like the hd+. It looks like pixelfx also has a seperate upscaler called the morph4k though, that might be worth checking out.

Honestly, I didn’t know that upscalers like that existed but now I’ll have to check them out for myself too

You will definitely need a PC for PS3 and 360 emulation. The website for RPCS3 and Xenia should have the system requirements for the emulators that will be a good place to start.

Going with a full retro setup with a CRT was the original plan, but I did not have room for a separate entertainment system. And now that I have already converted a couple consoles to have HDMI, I dunno if I’ll ever get a CRT. ¯\(ツ)/¯ Things may change in the future tho

Currently the PS2 is using a generic composite video to HDMI that is powered by one of the PS2’s usb ports, and the Gamecube is using an EON GCHD Mk-II. The EON is made specifically for the Gamecube as it plugs directly into 2 ports on the back of the console, the video out and an auxiliary port for power. The Xbox will have a Stellar XboxHD+ kit, it is a bundle of the OS modchip and an HDMI converter. The mod that I am waiting for with the PS2 to replace the janky generic converter is a PixelFX Retro Gem.

PixelFX is trying to make the Retro Gem to be one “size fits all.” Supposedly the board “will” work with any console, and they sell different wiring kits for PS1, PS2, and N64. Other consoles are in the works, and I think they almost have a kit for the Dreamcast ready? So I am really excited to try this out, even though it looks like one hell of a motherfucker to install.

Edit: I should add that the Stellar and Retro Gem are internal and replace the original video out port on the console

Being stuck inside gave me the opportunity to go back and replay some of the video games that I grew up with, and the chance to try the games that I saw in stores but wasn’t able to get at the time. I have a PC that is plenty powerful enough to emulate games from the Gamecube, PS2, and original Xbox, but it just doesn’t feel that same when the game aren’t being played on the original hardware. Hardware that is rapidly aging and degrading, and games on discs that are also getting worn down, scratched, thrown out, or just lost somewhere. I also always kinda wanted a collection of consoles.

So far, I have a Gamecube and PS2 that were in a non working condition when I bought them from ebay. The GC reads games from a SD card, and the PS2 read games from a harddrive installed in the expansion port. Both are using external devices to convert the analog video to HDMI, but I recently ordered an internal converter that I can install in the PS2.

I have a half assembled Xbox on my desk that I have been working on for… way too fucking long at this point, but it is really show why “Murphy’s Law” is called a law. It has a mod chip for a custom OS, and an internal HDMI converter. However, I fucked up some solder joints installing the HDMI converter and it fried the card. Had to wait a couple months to get a replacement. There is also a Wii I got from a family member that is next in line when I get the Xbox functional.