Setting Up a Sega Saturn Emulator...

Ying/Yang/Ebb/Flow...

I aspire to be a good gamer. It is like an exclusive club, but like anything in my short life my interest in gaming waxes and wanes. A lot of the games seem like work like the Elder Scrolls series. Fetch this. Get that. Get 200 gold septims and a pat on the back.  That's not always fun to me and feels like a real job except you get no real-world gains.

Right now, I am playing Metroid Prime using the Dolphin emulator, a USB GameCube controller, and an ISO of the game. The GameCube's graphics are gorgeous, but the game is of the FPS variety or first-person shooter for the layman. I am having trouble keeping interest and it is supposed to be one of the greatest games made according to several gaming publications, websites, and numerous circles. I can't seem to get past the opening sequence of exploring a derelict spaceship.

Wicked Cold Weather on the Way...

I saw where the high temperature was 9° degrees in Chicago yesterday. The temperature is supposed to drop down to 16° degrees here Monday night. I wonder how cold it will be when I am on my grocery gathering trip? I bet it will already be down into the low twenties. Moans. We are just not well suited for that kind of cold. Hell, I don't even own a warm hat or gloves. I have no heavy coats. Just jackets. Man, I'd give my eye tooth for a sweater right now.

Say Thanks Anyway!

I am thankful for the gift of the internet. I've got a really fast 600 Mbps internet connection. Still, everything is like I am mired in molasses today. I think I may give the internet up and read a book my mother says is a really good page turner. It literally takes up to 20 seconds to load a page. I guess WOW! is still working on their internet infrastructure or could it be traffic like caught in traffic?

To cover my ass, I unplugged my modem to no joy. I also rebooted my wireless router. That didn't fix it and then I restarted my computer. The computer gremlins are now laughing.

"Matt (my father's computer guy) says you are playing online games," my father told me the other day.

"I actually rarely play online video games anymore," I told my father to his disbelief. "I am mainly a retro gamer to be precise."

Get Yer Game On...

http://www.freegameempire.com/

I've spent most of the day "ripping" games from their corresponding CDs and DVDs. According to digital copyright law, you are allowed one archival copy of each game you own.

I was a voracious video game consumer around the time the PlayStation came out in the 90's so I have tons of great games along with the Sega Saturn and Sega CD games I also own.

The devil is in the details and now I have to organize all these files and transfer them to my emulation and gaming computer.

A good source to find out about this is to check out the emuparadise website which is the best emulation website. You can get roms, bios, and emulators to get you off to a good start.

Calmness Pervades...

Mom called me at lunch. She wanted to go get a chocolate milkshake from Sonic. Since I am now her designated driver, I told her I would gladly pick her up under the portico in 10 minutes. We both ended up eating banana splits, though. I also got an order of those cheddar peppers which is like crack to a crack addict when it concerns me. Mom ate half of them before I could shoo her away.

"Go get your own Cheddar Peppers," I told mom looking exasperated, but interested at the same time. "Do you want me to order some more?"

Literally in moments another carhop walked out with another order of cheddar peppers.

Say Goodnight Gracie...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/

"Say goodnight Gracie," our dear Gracie (Martha) would repeat much as the real Gracie would. Yes, we are winding down here at Andrew's Casa. Maggie is already in the bed and waiting on me.

I got my usual 3 pc. chicken meal tonight. Charlie made sure to get two orders of those potato wedges I love so much and for which I much appreciated his effort.

"Do you want them again next week?" Charlie asked me and I told him I would really appreciate it.

My father's job tonight was administering my crazy meds as he lamented pitifully and painfully about Auburn's loss last night and a tough loss it was.

"It is not looking good for Auburn, son," he told me as if someone was languishing on an operating table at a hospital -- their vital signs growing weaker.

All the king's horses and all the king's men...

Hey, at least I knew who we played and what was the final score. That was major kudos for me.

Tomorrow I have nothing planned other than an all day emulator retro-gaming extravaganza. I will then have to tear myself away from the computer and go get groceries tomorrow night.

I have that blood work this upcoming week as well -- hanging over my head like a dark cloud as the new week approaches. It is still many days away and I am already worried about it (like mother like son).  I hope the nurse is quick and merciful.

The Trip Down Yonder Ways and Back...

http://www.diffen.com/

http://www.lukiegames.com/

I hate surprises unless it is my birthday or Christmas, of course. My father dropped a total bomb on me tonight when he told me we have a visit to the psychiatrist in the morning.

"You're going to hate me," my father said.

To Dr. Edwards.we must go. I was going to stay up way late tonight on a moonlit (full moon) computer game binge. Some new games came in via UPS today and I am itching to check them out. Someone seriously pissed in my Cheerios this morning.

"Well, I'll be damned," I profaned among other words of brazen profanity.

It would have made an old sailor or an old salty dog proud.

"I thought you would revolt if I told you too early," my father said. "Get ready to leave at 9:30am."

Dad started to coach me on what to say so we won't have to come back until 6 months.

"Say your medications are working fine," dad told me. "Especially say you are feeling fine."

"We're still getting steak biscuits, aren't we?" a tradition when going to my psychiatrist and my father said yes. "I want two steak biscuits, packs of mustard, and an ex-large Coke."

It kind of softened the blow for all intents and purposes.

"Just don't get the homeless look or look crazy by your attire," my father said rather surreptitiously. "Do some laundry tonight and I am going to burn that baseball cap that you insist on wearing everywhere."

Pacific Theater Of Operations...

I've been looking everywhere online for this old and obscure PlayStation 2 game. I played the original P.T.O. II for the Sega Saturn for hours and hours with great satisfaction. The original Pacific Theater of Operations was released for the Super Nintendo.

I finally found the European version of the game and it works on my North American PlayStation 2 emulator.

I used to couldn't wait until my day off of work at the pet store so I could play this game to my heart's content for the afternoon. There might have some beer involved as well.

I Hope Old Age is Not Afflicting Maggie...

Maggie is about 8 years old now. I awoke around midnight to Maggie whining and putting up one hell of a fuss. She's become gun shy of jumping up on the bed. She will hurt herself if she is not careful.  I finally had to pick up Maggie and put her in the bed with me and she was snoring within 10 minutes. I soon followed her.

Retro Game of the Week. Think Green...

Look and ye shall find was never more true about this game and the mods made for it. I am just getting around to playing Fallout 3 and everything had this horrid green tint and hue to it. I looked on the Mod Nexus for Fallout 3 and found that I wasn't the only one wanting to remedy this. I downloaded the mod to remove the green tint and I've been a happy camper ever since. Isn't the difference so stark? I guess the programmers and designers wanted it to have an irradiated look since the game is set in Washington D.C. 200 years after nuclear armageddon.

Night Owls Unite...

I don't know why I am up so early. I went to sleep on the computer room bed around 11pm and woke up about 3am and couldn't go back to sleep. Maggie's keeping the bed warm for the both of us, though.

Review of Phantasy Star...

Phantasy Star
Genre: RPG
Year Released: 1988

Why You Need It: Is there any Master System game more revered than Phantasy Star? This epic role-playing game pre-dated Final Fantasy's North American arrival by two years and Dragon Warrior by one, making it the first big exposure to a hardcore Japanese RPG for audiences here. Compared to many RPGs of the era, defined by games like King's Quest and Ultima, Phantasy Star was revelation. The Master System, consistently proving itself to be technologically superior to the NES when in the hands of a capable developer, provided fertile ground for an adventure spanning three planets and dozens of hours. As you gathered up a party to avenge the death of tour brother, you engaged in hundreds of turn-based battles against large, colorful enemies. The overworld maps were lavishly detailed. The game is easy to play and understand, definitely more so than some of the esoteric RPGs that flooded in its wake on the NES.

Japanese commercial for Phantasy Star.

Phantasy Star was not a cheap game for the Master System. Toys R Us sold it for almost $80 when it debuted since the cart had more memory as well as battery back-up. It was almost a dare to gamers. If you were fortunate enough to score Phantasy Star in 1988, though, you were gifted with the doorway to an incredible escape. The game is not exactly cheap to find now, either. But if you want to have any sort of respectable Master System collection, you absolutely must start here. Otherwise, you're just painting over rust.

Article Credit: http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/04/18/the-7-master-system-games-you-need

An 8-Bit Game of Drama...

http://fantasyanime.com/

So I beat the original 8-bit Phantasy Star for the Sega Master System. Now, I will be moving on to the 16-bit Phantasy Star II for the Sega Genesis gaming system. I am trying to play the games in the order of when they were published. There were four games in the series. The original Phantasy Star was a really fun game to have been published in 1988 with such rudimentary graphics and sound. I would have been a junior in high school when it was published. At the time, I was too busy and interested in my Chevelle and girls to play video games.

An Eye for an Eye...

I have just got home from getting my sodas. My father and mother soon left for Auburn to my mother's appointment with an ophthalmologist to get ready for cataract removal from her eyes. It is no coincidence that Charlie had cataracts removed last month and now my mother now needs the same treatment. I hate to say it, but my mother is a little bit of a hypochondriac. She constantly has doctors appointments. I told my father the other day that my mother is a health insurance company's worst nightmare come true.

Retro-Gaming Goodness...

Phantasy Star (ファンタシースター Fantashī Sutā^?) is the first installment in Sega's renowned series of the same title. It was released for the Sega Master System, in Japan on December 20, 1987, and then in North America and Europe in 1988. It is considered one of the pioneers amongst role-playing video games, both for its advanced graphics technology, and for being one of the first story-driven games released in the West. It is also notable for being one of the first games featuring a female protagonist.

This week I am playing the original Phantasy Star that was released to the U.S. public in 1988. Yeah the sounds and graphics are a little rudimentary but I am having fun.  The game is much more difficult that I imagined it being. There were four games in the series and I am going to play them all in the correct order. The other three were released for the Sega Genesis video game console.

Setting Up the Sega Saturn Emulator SSF

Saturday, Oh Saturday. Dons't Thou Forsake Me Saturday...

I will probably be crawling out of the bed hours after most "normal" people have been enjoying their Saturdays and the weekend off from work.

It is almost 2:30 am and in about an hour and a half I will be asleep for another day as well. I will say this. It has been a very satisfying routine lately. I've been sleeping very well, for long periods, and I go to bed when it is still very dark so that helps with my circadian rhythms somewhat. I don't feel tired all the time. In fact, right now I feel pretty darn good (I better touch wood). I do so love my music and the internet which keeps me comforted in these early hours of the morning.

I Just Had to Buy a Big Mama...

I had a massive snack attack just after midnight. I drove down to the Circle K on the corner and bought a 32oz Sobe Citrus drink, a Big Mama pickled sausage, and a king sized Reese's peanut butter cups. I would make a nutritionist cringe with horror. The clerk was busy and very animatedly talking on her cell phone the whole time I was in the store.

"Girl, I told him don't yo ass ever speak to me dat way again or yo ass be out the door," I heard her say as I stepped up to the counter choking back a grin and a chuckle.

I then stepped out the door to brave the subfreezing cold and the gusty winds to drive back to mi casa.

image credit: http://www.samsclub.com/sams/penrose-big-mama-pickled-sausage-57-oz/157815.ip

Retro Gaming Goodness...

Shining Wisdom is the current retro Saturn game I am into at the moment.  It can best be described as Sega's interpretation of Nintendo's Legend of Zelda series. All the "Shining" series of games have been great and satisfying to play. I am playing Shining the Holy Ark next.

Look For the Simplest Things First...

I was just in my computer room about to turn on my retro-gaming computer to play some old school Homeworld.  I pushed the on button and the computer whirred to life, but nothing would show on the screen. I took the side panel off and checked the video card and it was working correctly, or at least, the fan was spinning and the card was firmly in its socket. Stumped, I sat there for a few moments. Guess what it was? The cable to the monitor from the video card had come unplugged.  I plugging that cable back in, screwed it secured tight, and we were back to business.  Big sigh of relief on my part.

Where the Strong Can Become Weak...

Mom called me this morning and asked if I wanted to go grab a Reuben sandwich at Arby's with her for lunch. I told her that sounded great and that I needed to run by Wal-Mart to get some speaker wire. The Wal-Mart resides in the same shopping center.

"I'll sit out in the car while you go into Wal-Mart," mom told me saying she couldn't walk that far.

Well, lunch was great.  I love a Reuben sandwich and it hit the spot on this cold day. The curly fries were superb eaten with Arby's sauce.

I then had to tackle Wal-Mart for a spool of large gauge speaker wire next.   Sensory overload hit me as I gulped and headed back to the electronics department.  A moment of vertigo overcame me as I walked. Everything always seems so in motion in these big box stores. I almost impulse bought Star Wars Battlefront, but I knew I would never play it.  I enjoy games from decades past more these days.  I grabbed my spool of speaker wire, paid, and quickly headed back to my mother's car.

"I had a panic attack while you were in Wal-Mart!" mom exclaimed as I got back in the car. "I took three Xanax and am already feeling better."

"Me and you both are going home for a quiet afternoon," I told my mother. "I had a moment of vertigo in Wal-Mart as well."

image credit:  http://www.myevansvillemommy.com/2012/02/arbys-free-curly-fries-drink-w-reuben.html

Expunging Food Data...

I've got beef lo mein simmering on the stove at the moment.  It smells delicious in here and my recipe will feed me for 2 or 3 days.  I learned that cabbage is much easier to quarter and cut if it is at room temperature.  I also learned from the last time I cooked beef lo mein is that you shouldn't skimp on the soy sauce.  The Kroger soy sauce is horrible and the Kikkoman's is much tastier. The word premium comes to mind.