OFFICIAL ISSUE 53 FEEDBACK THREAD

GarryG · Post by **GarryG** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 6:55 am

vic26 wrote: I've still got the first 3 years of PC Format tucked away on the shelf should you guys need any ideas

I think I've still got all the issues of PC-Leisure, I got letter of the month in one of these

madhair60 · Post by **madhair60** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 4:05 pm

Really disappointed with the Alex Kidd article. I know it's only 2 pages (and it's otherwise a good issue, besides "Retro Shamer" which really needs to go) but it's full of errors which make me consider it very poorly researched.

List of errors/annoyances:

- Claiming the game was free with every SMS. It was the SMS 2. Now, I know this is a minor thing as are most of my grievances, but they add up. What if someone purchases an SMS 1 expecting Miracle World?

- Where does "Radactian" come from? I'm sure it's "Radaxian".

- "You can easily kill (the henchmen) by hopping over their bodies and punching them in the (head) when it makes the trip back to its shoulders".

No, you can't.

- "Purchase yourself a handy Crystal Ball from the shop" - you can't. There are no instances in which the Telepathy Ball is available to buy. You can get it from the volcano stage or one of the castles (which one escapes me).

I really don't want to seem too negative - I do like the magazine but it's little things like this that grate with me. I'd like to see all the Alex games covered at some point, though.

Stuart@retrogamer · Post by **Stuart@retrogamer** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:31 am

Sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy the article, but just to answer a few of those points you raised.

- Claiming the game was free with every SMS. It was the SMS 2. Now, I know this is a minor thing as are most of my grievances, but they add up. What if someone purchases an SMS 1 expecting Miracle World?

That's funny, I don't think the article gives that impression at all. In the opening intro I mention the Master System 2 - the 'Free-Ish' boxout I was putting the point across that it's an iconic game for the machine. To say the game came free with the SMS 2 would be misleading too...as it was later replaced with Sonic. Also, I'm pretty sure Alex Kidd did come packed with some of the later versions of the SMS.

- Where does "Radactian" come from? I'm sure it's "Radaxian".

From the manual http://uk.media.cheats.ign.com/media/00 ... mgs_1.html

- "You can easily kill (the henchmen) by hopping over their bodies and punching them in the (head) when it makes the trip back to its shoulders".

I played the game to completion, and killed all the bosses (on the second fight) bar Janken this way.

- "Purchase yourself a handy Crystal Ball from the shop" - you can't. There are no instances in which the Telepathy Ball is available to buy. You can get it from the volcano stage or one of the castles (which one escapes me).

I'll have to play it again but I'm pretty sure you can buy these in the shops - if I'm wrong, then I'm clearly an idiot

hydr0x · Post by **hydr0x** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 3:30 am

finally read it (except the Boulder Dash feature, going to though) and to me it wasn't as good as 54 :/

Overall it seemed to have less content (haven't checked the number of pages though) and no uberfeature in there

I also probably liked 54 better because it has no Desert Island Disks, which is my least favourite RG feature. I guess the cover kinda reflects the "missing content" as it features a game only mentioned in the Developer Lookback...

Two small things though, probably already mentioned:

Where's the NES conversion of Marble Madness?

Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing did not come out for the Dreamcast, PS2 only.

Post by **CraigGrannell** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 8:45 am

hydr0x wrote:Overall it seemed to have less content (haven't checked the number of pages though)

Page count hasn't changed in RG since Imagine took over.

Where's the NES conversion of Marble Madness?

I only had room to feature six conversions, so I covered the most notable ones. Covering them all would have required a page in itself and wouldn't have been terribly interesting.

hydr0x · Post by **hydr0x** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 3:14 pm

CraigGrannell wrote:
hydr0x wrote:Overall it seemed to have less content (haven't checked the number of pages though)
Page count hasn't changed in RG since Imagine took over.

yeah, I didn't really expect the number to be lower, it's just that for some reason it felt like less content and I can't imagine why!?

Where's the NES conversion of Marble Madness?
I only had room to feature six conversions, so I covered the most notable ones. Covering them all would have required a page in itself and wouldn't have been terribly interesting.

[/quote]

Ah, I see. I guess it's subjective which one is more notable. To me the NES conversion was more important than some of those on the list but maybe that's just me

Post by **CraigGrannell** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 3:49 pm

Ah, I see. I guess it's subjective which one is more notable. To me the NES conversion was more important than some of those on the list but maybe that's just me

Any reason why you'd say the NES version should have been included? Just curious.

FWIW, my thinking was:

ZX Spectrumâ€”level kit, but a very different game.
Amigaâ€”best computer conversion, plus analogue control options (like the arcade).
PCâ€”notable due to its awfulness.
Game Boyâ€”first handheld version, plus it's in mono.
Mega Driveâ€”best version.
Game Boy Advanceâ€”misses out just over half the game, despite being made in 2005!

The C64 version was also notable for the extra level, although I used that in a grab instead.

hydr0x · Post by **hydr0x** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 5:02 pm

Well, it is probably the best-selling version of them all (no numbers, just a feeling) and it's the first console port. I'll admit there's nothing technically relevant about this conversion so maybe it's just my nostalgia!

You have good reasons for your choices though. I would have gone with NES instead of GB but I can see where you're coming from. The GBA warning is certainly a good thing but maybe you could have put it somewhere else into the feature? No idea where though

btw, have you played this conversion?
http://www.lucaelia.com/games.php

And how does the GBC port hold up? With the horrible GBA version this might be the best portable one (except emulated ones).

Post by **CraigGrannell** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 8:46 pm

Unless you're listing every platform, there has to be a hook for each version included, and the NES version didn't have anything interesting to offer for me. It's a competent port, but nothing special, and I found more interesting stuff to say about the ones I used. I think the point with the GBA one was that in 2005 we really shouldn't have to put up with such garbage 'ports' of 1980s arcade games.

I did download Rolling Madness, but it didn't work on my PC, and I couldn't afford to waste any time with it, figuring out what was wrong.

As for the GBC port, it's not too shabby. I think you're probably right that it could be the best portable version out there, bar emulated versions.

1500graham · Post by **1500graham** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 12:53 pm

Great mag, took ages to read through, therefore great value for money.
Now onto issue 54! Hurray!

Ant · Post by **Ant** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 6:25 am

Finally saw this issue here in Oz ... so apologies for another thread resurrection. Overall I'd have to say this has been a real corker of an issue. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading almost every article and ... what's that, you say? My name gets mentioned in the Spectrum Games Bible spread? Really? No. No, I'm sure that hasn't put any bias on my opinion of this issue at all.

psj3809 · Post by **psj3809** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 9:43 am

Ant wrote:Finally saw this issue here in Oz ... so apologies for another thread resurrection. Overall I'd have to say this has been a real corker of an issue. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading almost every article and ... what's that, you say? My name gets mentioned in the Spectrum Games Bible spread? Really? No. No, I'm sure that hasn't put any bias on my opinion of this issue at all.

Yeah i'm glad they mentioned your name ! We gave the info to Stu who did the article a while back so its great that they put that there also. Thanks again for the great pics !

Ant · Post by **Ant** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 6:45 am

psj3809 wrote:Yeah i'm glad they mentioned your name ! We gave the info to Stu who did the article a while back so its great that they put that there also. Thanks again for the great pics !

My pleasure. The pics look better than I expected in print (and in Retrogamer no less!) so I'm well chuffed. And I'll be placing an order on Lulu asap.

psj3809 · Post by **psj3809** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 8:19 am

Ant wrote:
psj3809 wrote:Yeah i'm glad they mentioned your name ! We gave the info to Stu who did the article a while back so its great that they put that there also. Thanks again for the great pics !
My pleasure. The pics look better than I expected in print (and in Retrogamer no less!) so I'm well chuffed. And I'll be placing an order on Lulu asap.

Good lad, there are 3 of them now though so get your wallet ready

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OFFICIAL ISSUE 53 FEEDBACK THREAD

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