What the Wednesday: Chill

The bags are packed, the dog's at the sitter, but What the Wednesday lives on!

To commemorate my upcoming vacation (by the way, I'll be away for the next two weeks), here's a picture I snapped from the time I wandered into Tijuana:

If you've never been (and by all means, you should never, ever find out for yourself), Tijuana is famous for three things: painted donkeys, funny smells, and cheap drugs. And if you're there for the drugs, I can't recommend Dr. House Pharmacy enough.

There's no better place to be if you're stricken with a nasty case of red, yellow, or *gasp!* blue.

Contest Compatible: Results Episode!

Welcome back!

After a week of spamming your Facebook and Twitter feeds with my "CONTEST: blah blah blah I'm really important blah blah blah video games!" posts, I'm very excited to say that we have a winner of the very first Backward Compatible giveaway!

Before I announce the winner, let's go over the rules one more time:

Those of you who "liked" or retweeted my contest post would be assigned a randomly generated three-digit number. Then after a week, I'd race on Mario Circuit 3. The person with the assigned number closest to the last three digits of my total race time would win the prize.

This was a nail-biter, kids. Seriously. The winner was decided by two hundredths of a second. That's bananas (and a Mario Kart joke). It was also a really great race. As Toad, I was crushing it the first two laps, then the computer reeled me back in with a laser-guided poison mushroom toss. Once I grew back regular size, I spent the rest of the race running off the course and smashing into walls trying to catch up. I squeeked out a 4th place finish just ahead of Yoshi.

And here's the result:

With a time of 2:01:67 Derek Manke from Facebook wins Quasimodo, my janky (albeit fully functional) SNES! His assigned number was 196. Two hundredths of a second separated his number from the next closest. Sorry, Adam.

Congratulations, Derek!



Thanks to everyone for participating! I hope that you had as much fun as I did with this stupid contest. Let's do it again soon!

Community Spotlight: Racketboy.com

Please allow me to jump to a conclusion. You're here for one of two reasons:

1) You like video games old and new

-or-

2) You've been linked here as part an elaborate pyramid scheme

Either way, I really appreciate you stopping by, especially if you're here as part of my pyramid scheme. (that's another cool $0.13.) However, if you're here because you appreciate video games, you should also know that this isn't the only place on the web for news, reviews, culture, fart jokes, and the like.

One of my favorite gaming websites, Racketboy.com, is a place I discovered a couple years ago as the result of an uber-generic search for "retro gaming" on the Google. Go ahead and try it now. I'll wait. It'll be the third link down.

Racketboy is the sort of website that my little Duckhunt dog-and-pony show aspires to be. Way more than the obligatory discussion forum (which is great, but more on that later), it's also full of incredibly entertaining and informative articles, including game and console buyers' guides, store and arcade reviews, news features, and whatever else is going on in the world of retro gaming.

For a collector like myself, my favorites are from the Best Games Under $10 and Hidden Gems series. I'm not ashamed to admit that I've been known to run off to the local game store whenever a new one of these are published. (Note to self: find a copy of Panzer Dragoon Orta.)

If you're like me and so behind on games that really old ones are still new, don't fret! Racketboy's Together Retro feature has you covered. Every month, they pick a new (old) game and you get the chance to play through it with your friends like it's 1989 all over again.

 

Before you start, they'll give you some nice background information on the game of the month, plus several options on where to find it. After that, it's up to you to give it a shot, posting your thoughts on the game as you progress.Think of it like the Oprah's Book Club of retro gaming.

YOU get a copy of Shining Force! And YOU get a copy of Shining Force!

Finally, I can't get enough of the Racketboy discussion forums. I'm usually guilty of just lurking in the shadows, without much desire to share (weird for a guy with a blog, right?), but it's easy to find something to talk about here. Whatever game platform or genre you're into, there's someone talking about it on Racketboy, and best of all: no trolls!

Naturally, one of my favorite areas is the Marketplace. I've gotten some great deals on some incredible games over the years. My copies of Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Secret of Mana, and several Neo Geo games all came from the Racketboy marketplace. Beats the heck out of ebay!

And if that wasn't enough, Racketboy also has a podcast! The in-depth, informative interviews with game developers and industry insiders make for a great listen!

So what are you waiting for? Go sign up over at Racketboy! And while you're there, say hello--I'm Diesel_Dan on the forums.

Contest Compatible Update!

Hey guys!

I don't know about you, but I've been having a blast with the SNES giveaway contest. We're about half way there (all entries must be in by 11/8), but there's still plenty of time to enter!

Out of curiosity, I took a spin around Mario Circuit 3 and finished with a time of 1:58:50. Granted, I went off the track a few times, so there's plenty of room for improvement. Also, I plan on doing the actual run with other racers on the track, so there's no telling what the winning time will be.

Check out the picture of little Quasimodo in action! He could be yours, if the time is right.

Recent Pickups Episode 3

It's a shocking crisis of vertical proportions! The ultimate clash of MAGestic dragons and two armies, settled on the battlefield. All will be vanquished! (I think that's all of them.)

Mario Clash

Console: Virtual Boy

Release Date: October 1995

Developer: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

Acquired From: Stoner kid that lives behind a steel yard 

Condition: Torn label (seems like a common problem, as the Virtual Boy completely envelops its games

Notes: It's just like the original Mario Brothers, in 3D...and red...and not very good. Comprises 7% of the Virtual boy library, so there's that.



Vertical Force

Console: Virtual Boy

Release Date:  December 1995

Developer: Hudson

Publisher: Nintendo

Acquired From: Stoner kid that lives behind a steel yard 

Condition: Good! Probably not played much...for several reason

Notes: Are those ships in the foreground or background? Oh shit, I'm dead.




Dragon Quest VIII

Console: PS2

Release Date: November 15, 2005

Developer: Level-5

Publisher: Square Enix

Acquired From: Gamestop (I know, I know.)

Condition: Great!

Notes: Impulse buy while I was at Gamestop for something else. Last DQ game I played was Dragon Warrior for the NES. (Nintendo Power giveaway, son!)

Flipnic: Ultimate Pinball

Console: PS2

Release Date:  July 13, 2005

Developer: Capcom

Publisher: Sony

Acquired From: The Exchange

Condition: Excellent, until I forgot to remove the insert while cleaning the case. Now the insert is sporting a nice Goo Gone smudge.

Notes: Both All Gen Gamers and Retronauts have been talking about this Pinball game. I had to give it a whirl.




Army of Two

Console: PS3

Release Date: March 4, 2008

Developer: EA Montreal

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Acquired From: Bieber clone desperate for cash to buy Battlefield 3

Condition: !Bueno!

Notes: Planning on getting repeatedly shot in the face? Don't forget your spooky metal hockey mask!





Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Console: PS3

Release Date: March 2, 2010

Developer: Electronic Arts

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Acquired From: Bieber clone desperate for cash to buy Battlefield 3

Condition: Passes inspection

Notes: In typical fashion, I got this just in time for the sequel!





Crysis 2

Console: PS3

Release Date: March 22, 2011

Developer: Crytek

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Acquired From: Bieber clone desperate for cash to buy Battlefield 3

Condition: It's grrrrrrreat!

Notes: The console version of the game that crushed your super computer's video card. Let's hope it doesn't set alight my aging PS3.

MAG

Console: PS3

Release Date: January 26, 2010

Developer: Zipper Interactive

Publisher: SCEA

Acquired From: Bieber clone desperate for cash to buy Battlefield 3

Condition: 256 problems, but condition ain't one.

Notes: With 256 players on the same same battlefield, I'm taking my FPS deficiency to a whole new level.





Vanquish
Console: PS3

Release Date: October 19, 2010

Developer: Platinum Games

Publisher: Sega

Acquired From: The Exchange

Condition: Super duper!

Notes: Cover-based shooter set against rocket-powered douchbaggery. Plus, this game has a scoreboard--remember when games had scores? That's everything I could ever want in a game.

Bioshock 2

Console: PS3

Release Date: February 9, 2010

Developer: 2K

Publisher: 2K

Acquired From: Gamestop (Again, I know.) 

Condition: New! (Sort of.)

Notes: Gamestop was selling this NEW for $10 a couple weeks ago. You'd already know that if you followed me on Twitter. Inevitably, it was the "gutted" copy.





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While you're here, don't forget to sign up for the Backward Compatible SNES giveaway contest! 

Contest Compatible: SNES Giveaway!

**BONUS ROUND**

(edit: If you're using Facebook, you must "Like" the CONTEST post, not share--I can't track shares.)

For the past six weeks, I've had an awesome time sharing my adventures in video gaming with you. As a way to say thanks to those reading along (and a shameless way to plug my blog), I've cooked up a little contest.

Up for grabs is Quasimodo, my freshly rehabbed and ever-so-janky spare Super Nintendo, complete with a set of A/V cables, AC adapter, and a controller, shipped to your house (anywhere in the continental US)!

"Are you my new daddy?"

Not familiar with the story of Quasimodo? Check out his inspiring story of redemption right here: Console Cleanup!

So here's how the contest works:

Step 1) Visit my Facebook or Twitter page (or both if you're nasty).

Step 2) Like/Follow Backward Compatible Video Game Blog (@BCVideoGameBlog on Twittter) and like/retweet the contest post. You'll know it when you see it--it'll be the one that starts with "CONTEST." I'll make a fresh contest post every day this week, so you won't have to go hunting for it. 

Step 3) Do me a solid and leave a comment at the bottom of this post to help me keep track of who's entered. Post something fun--tell me your favorite video game sidekick.

Step 4) Keep being awesome

I liked/retweeted your stupid post--now what?

Once you've liked/retweeted, I'll assign you a random number between 000-999. You'll know your entry has been received when I get back to you with your number. Please only like/retweet once per account. If you have multiple accounts or use both Facebook and Twitter, feel free to participate once on each account.

On November 8th, I'll fire up Quasimodo, pop in a copy of Super Mario Kart, and make five laps around Mario Circuit 3. The last three numerals of my time will decide the winner.

For example, if my total time is 2:09:53, then 953 is the lucky number. The person with the assigned number closest to those three numerals (above or below--this isn't The Price is Right) wins the prize. Simple, right? Right.

So go ahead and visit me on Facebook or Twitter, then like or retweet the "CONTEST " post.

If you enjoy what you're reading, follow along with me on Twitter (@BCVideoGameBlog) or give Backward Compatible Video Game Blog a like on Facebook. It'll give my Internet ego a healty boost, plus you'll be among the first to know next time I decided to give something away.

Thanks and good luck!