Do you have extra game PCBs lying around? I assume those aren’t needed once you use the cart shell?? Maybe I should think of a way to repurpose them…

I r

Baptist wrote:
PM’ed (i’m in the dog house, now is the time to buy)

PM’d back, might as well make the dog house more fun to stay in

Those replacement things on ebay are pretty nice, I may pick some up since I have more VBs than stands. I recently found a mini microphone stand that has a pretty heavy base and 14″ boom arm or so…might try using that for a smaller tabletop stand.

You no likey the NES Max?? In theory I think they’re amazing but honestly that little red sliding piece for the D-pad doesn’t work that well. I was better off just pushing on the black ring around the edge and not even using it O_o

Virtual_Link wrote:

HP Lovethrash wrote:
About those dogbone controllers, they are nice! Better than the horrible original ones, but not as nice as my VB NES controller :-). Tomee makes a replacement one that I hear is fine, it just lacks the Nintendo logo of course.

I actually prefer the original NES controllers, but those NES Max controllers [Shakes fist in anger].

Ahhh! I noticed the Earthbound when I saw that episode but not the VB :-O

I always loved this show, now it’s even better. Wasn’t that the episode where Frasier paid $1000 to that guy for the last toy robot or whatever for Freddy? Dude should’ve gotten a Virtual Boy!

RunnerPack wrote:

HP Lovethrash wrote:
Well my first X’Eye came without anything, just a 5v power adapter (to quote Dana Carvey on SNL, “WROOONG!!”). So I tracked down a proper adapter and the turbo 6-button official controller. I have to say, Sega made a killer D-pad.

My experience is limited to the Genesis 3-button, the Game Gear, and the Dreamcast, plus a few minutes of “Nights” on the Saturn “3D Controller” in Toys’r’us many moons ago, but I’ve never truly enjoyed using a Sega controller. The d-pads are always stiff and imprecise. The buttons are mushy and poorly laid out. I just don’t care for the lot. The only things I like (about the Genesis ones, anyway) are the use of standard d-sub connectors, and their devotion to proper backward-compatibility.

—The Dreamcast controllers looks bad, and feels odd to hold, but it plays smoothly. My Genesis 6 button has a great D-pad, I wonder if someone just broke it in really well? My Saturn (version 1?) controller has the softest feeling D-pad ever! You could blow on it and the pad would activate. Sometimes it’s annoying to have such a hair trigger feel, but it saves on thumb fatigue (or it would if I ever played Saturn haha).

Did they make TLV on Sega CD?

AFAIK, no. If anything, they would have released LV2 (specifically “Norse by Norsewest: The Vikings Return”) on SegaCD, since it was much larger for reasons I’ve mentioned, but they seem to have skipped straight to the Saturn for that one.

Another Blizzard game I would recommend based on the SNES version is “Blackthorne” (mechanics similar to the original “Prince of Persia” and “Oddworld” games, and great graphics), but it seems to be 32X-only in the Sega world.

—Ahh yes, I didn’t realize they made a sequel but the Saturn one does look really fun too. I just saw that Blackthorne game in my friend’s collection the other day, it looks fun but seems to be rather pricey…it may have to wait until I buy Fishbone first.

I’ll look up reviews of each version and get whichever seems better. Haven’t played my SNES in months, since my VB controller mod failed to work right heh. But I will definitely play it, I regret not buying it at my last game store trip. Wasn’t TLV the last game made for the SNES?

The consensus online seems to be that it was 1998’s “Frogger” (in the U.S.).

I actually found a better deal on a 2nd X’eye that was modded for S-video output via a newly installed CXA1645 chip (or whatever the better chip on Genesis boards was). I plan to open it up and give my first one the full treatment once I see exactly how they did the mod.

The chips (or at least Chinese clones thereof) are only $3 shipped on eBay, and it seems like a pretty straightforward mod. Here’s some info about using one on a Genesis III that should help, if you can’t find anything x’eye-specific (I found reference to a detailed build thread on nfggames.com, but not the thread itself).

—funny, I think I know what reference you’re talking about. I was annoyed when that person didn’t post a link -.- …either way, I think that GamesSX one is what I used. I think my problem is that the S video cable I repurposed from some old VGA to S adapter has only 3 wires inside- I multimeter’d all of them and see that 2 are for luma/chroma, and the last one goes to the grounding around the S video plug. However, it doesn’t seem that the bottom 2 pins (which I thought were Y/C grounds) have a wire inside the cable O_o. Maybe that explains it.

Evidently the X’eye’s PCB is set up to do S-video, it just has empty pads that you need to solder the jack to. Then you cut a hole in the case for the plug to rest in (which is already scored, so you know exactly where to do it)

If I have trouble, I’m gonna email this guy who I bother with my tech problems sometimes

I’m sure that guy isn’t bothered at all by your emails

Do you mean do essentially what I did but make it smaller and more mangeable by removing most of the game’s circuitry and casing? Definitely a good idea for my second draft- at first I did it my way because I thought it was nice to have the original game’s label still. But it doesn’t matter I guess, it probably IS better to have a smaller adapter that isn’t so top heavy 0:-)

Dreammary wrote:
Buy a non functional gamegenie, desolder the top adapter piece, take a NES donee and chop it off at the top (all except a little bit above where the pins are) where it could have the adapter top soldered on. It would be amazing!

Well my first X’Eye came without anything, just a 5v power adapter (to quote Dana Carvey on SNL, “WROOONG!!”). So I tracked down a proper adapter and the turbo 6-button official controller. I have to say, Sega made a killer D-pad.

Did they make TLV on Sega CD? I’ll look up reviews of each version and get whichever seems better. Haven’t played my SNES in months, since my VB controller mod failed to work right heh. But I will definitely play it, I regret not buying it at my last game store trip. Wasn’t TLV the last game made for the SNES?

I actually found a better deal on a 2nd X’eye that was modded for S-video output via a newly installed CXA1645 chip (or whatever the better chip on Genesis boards was). I plan to open it up and give my first one the full treatment once I see exactly how they did the mod. If I have trouble, I’m gonna email this guy who I bother with my tech problems sometimes

]
RunnerPack wrote:
The only thing The Lost Vikings has too much of is fun!

Okay, that was pretty cheesy… but trust me: if you like puzzle-platformers, it’s hard to do better than TLV (and especially its sequel). The challenge is definitely there in the later levels, but it has a very nice difficulty curve to get you there.

I hope your X’Eye came with a pad, though (or that you have some kind of 6-button pad). It’s pretty much necessary for the Genesis version (but even then, the controls aren’t nearly as intuitive as the SNES ones).

Actually, the controller is the main reason I never liked the Genesis (although the crappy video and sound didn’t help any :-P). I do own a Mk. III, but it’s not hooked up, and I have no games to speak of.[/quote]

Good call Morintari! VirtualFest shall define 2015

Does that mean you will be designing the official banner in full red + black?

Great guys, thanks! I’ll try all those games out. I actually got a PS2 Genesis collection with the Vectorman games and I’m looking forward to trying them.

I never had a Genesis either, I got a good deal on a JVC X’eye recently and was surprised by how fun these Sega games were :-p. Sometimes I’ll raid a local store for their $4 carts and try to find some forgotten game that’s actually really good. If I wasn’t bamboozled by Nintendo Power propaganda back in the 90s, I might have given all these games a shot earlier.

Also, Runnerpack-that’s funny about Lost Vikings, I was going to ask if it was a good one haha. It seems cool, but I read a review saying one thing about it (maybe challenge?) Was too much…

It’s like when I get an automated text from Visa or something, and they say “STD carrier charges apply”… O_o

Anyway haha…I like this adapter, I actually found one on ebay with a complete if not beat-up box too. Something about it feels less unwieldy compared to the Nintendo one. Sad that they had discounted it to $1 and then had to mark down to $.95.

I love the last picture especially! Good to see both the link cable and controller cable side-by-side as they should be. If you have 2 VBs, I’d love to see a pic of them linked together

There “has to” be more of these waiting to surface, who’s to say it won’t pop up on ebay listed as a Nintendo AV cable or something? Given how obscure/unique this cord is, someone may find no information when looking to sell theirs. That translates into a lawn sale buy of a lifetime for one of us!

I call dibs on the next one to surface btw.

That all sounds great! Maybe the whole year can be open for submissions, or at least the year until July/August. Keeping things fun and without a prize takes the pressure off for sure. Still, I do like having maybe one or two things with a tangible reward…just because that’s fun too :). I think Benjamin Stevens suggested another high score bout- that’s good because all you need to compete is a Virtual Boy! Members without specialized skills like filmmaking, music, drawing, techy aspirations, coding experience, etc. don’t have to feel left out.

I like the idea of a separate channel too. It would be a “virtual” gallery where we can wander around and look at the various creative projects people are working on. Perhaps a different channel with forum posts representing each category?

KR155E wrote:
I like the idea of us celebrating all together. How does the following sound?

Let’s make the entire next year the year of the Virtual Boy! The year in which we celebrate PVB turning 15 in January and of course the Virtual Boy’s 20th birthday the entire rest of the year.

It’s up to the community to do whatever they like to celebrate. Homebrew projects, highscore competitions, artwork competitions, remixes of VB game music, video productions, ROM hacks… anything.

We probably should have a special “channel” for this kind of stuff, maybe a separate forum or special forum tag?

Yes, happy birthday VB! Glad to see so many people keeping the scene alive

Sadly the expensive Galoob adapter is what prompted me to make this…I figured there was no advanced circuitry, just a downsizing adapter so it fits. I refuse to pay $100+ for such a thing.

About those dogbone controllers, they are nice! Better than the horrible original ones, but not as nice as my VB NES controller :-). Tomee makes a replacement one that I hear is fine, it just lacks the Nintendo logo of course.

RunnerPack wrote:
It’s actually just an adapter they (Galoob) made, but your point is valid. I like the “DIY” solution better, though

BTW, there’s one in this (super-expensive!) NES-101 bundle: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nes-Top-Loader-Bundle-With-Game-Genie-nes-101-Game-Genie-adapter-/251610637248?pt=Video_Games&hash=item3a9529a3c0

I’m not a big enough NES fanboy to want the console itself, but those NES-039 “dog-bone” pads (not included in the above auction, BTW) are sweet… Somebody send one to Hedgetrimmer so he can make a printable 3D model out of it!

Okay, that’s enough thread derailment out of me

Hmm…maybe it was more than that?? I remember 349 but maybe it was more like 849 and I didn’t read properly :p. It looked to be in ok shape, but I think some flap on the front panel was missing. Maybe I’ll have to investigate the next time I’m up there. Good thing I didn’t mention the name of the store

retronintendonerd wrote:

HP Lovethrash wrote:
Funny, I had never heard of this either until like 2 weeks ago! There is a new retro game shop where I grew up in VT (it appeared like 20 years too late heh) that has one. The guy wants like $350 or so I think. It looks really cool, I was tempted to go for it but wouldn’t want my top loader to get jealous :).

So how would you rate the video quality? I’m dreading the day I finally get to working on my top loader to attempt jailbar-free AV output. Maybe a hard-wired NES TV is already good to go…

$350 is a steal for one of these. They go for close to a grand or more on ebay and thats in crappy shape. I can always take your top loader and give it some attention while you play with the SHARP lol

Funny, I had never heard of this either until like 2 weeks ago! There is a new retro game shop where I grew up in VT (it appeared like 20 years too late heh) that has one. The guy wants like $350 or so I think. It looks really cool, I was tempted to go for it but wouldn’t want my top loader to get jealous :).

So how would you rate the video quality? I’m dreading the day I finally get to working on my top loader to attempt jailbar-free AV output. Maybe a hard-wired NES TV is already good to go…

Wow haha, thanks for the bump guys :p. I would like to start selling them. They’re really easy to make if you have a power drill. I got sidetracked with so many projects that I never found a more color coordinated option for the bracket, but I guess it doesn’t matter

Well if anyone is interested, I’d be happy to make more…just PM me. Working on one that doesn’t require taking apart an original VB stand too.

I just remembered that I emailed the seller and mentioned that it probably wasn’t a VB bag. I read on PVB that they rebranded the actual Performance bag to use with PSX or something but this one is definitely not VB-friendly. Either way, he never responded…

Welcome to the site! So were you able to find a VB eventually? I only see overpriced ones at my local shops, so far the record is $250 for a bare bones console…

What’s the most prized item in your game collection?

[HP Lovethrash]

I think it’s certainly possible that a manager had this one. The case’s label is very nice except for the sticker residue, which I wouldn’t expect from a rented-out unt. Most labels seem to be peeling off now, as if affixed with the same glue used on the display LEDs :). I bet that sticker was just a barcode they put on every item to scan if it was rented out, and this one never got the chance.

HoMenace wrote:
I would take the story of it not being a rental unit with a grain of salt. I can look past the booklets having stickers on them because they might have been rentals, but why did the case which im assuming was original to this unit have residue from a blockbuster sale sticker? If it was the managers personal unit and he just got rid of it, then why the sticker? Not that any of this really effects the value. It was just an observation that I had made.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 11 months ago by HP Lovethrash.