My Loser Phase - Reflections on Video Game Retail from 1992-1997

A recounting of the years I worked at an Electronics Boutique/Waldensoftware.

Closing Time: A Tribute to the Last Calls of Gaming

A look at the final games released for popular (and not so popular) video game systems.

Electronics Boutique Spring 1996 CD

Tons of images and inane commentary about a CD catalog given out at Electronics Boutique & Waldensoftware stores in early 1996.

History of Backwards Compatibility

As the name implies, a history of backwards compatibility in gaming consoles.

Console Timeline

A look at the lifespans of video game consoles, features really big pictures.

Video Games of the Monday Night War

Reliving professional wrestling's greatest era through video games.

American guide to Falcom games

Doing my best to sort out which Falcom games were released in the United States.

The Decade in Video Games (and Eventually the Top 10 Games of the Decade)

A year-by-year recap of the 00s and my favorite games from that decade.

The Decade in Video Games II: The 2010s (and Eventually the Top 10 Games of the Decade According to an Out of Touch Gamer)

An unconventional look back at video games in the 2010s from the perspective of someone clearly oblivious to popular trends.

Camping of the Wild

An unorganized half-article/half-gallery thing where we try to find interesting camping spots in Breath of the Wild.

If NES games were made today

A gallery of what some popular NES games would look like if the industry norms of 2013 were applied to them.

An incomplete history of video gaming according to random Google newspaper archive searches

In the mid-00s Google undertook a project to scan newspapers, later some papers asked for their content to be removed. I wasn't smart enough back then to capture articles about video games. So today I'm grabbing what I can from the eclectic assortment of papers still there.

Intellivision: Then and Now

This is half a ranking of Intellivision games and half reflecting on how my opinions on them have grown.

GameCube 10th Anniversary Tribute

Assorted memories and a slightly rambling top 10 list.

PlayStation Portable 20th Anniversary Tribute

Even after 20 years I'm impressed at what the PlayStation Portable is capable of. Here's a look back at my favorite things about the system.

Sega Saturn 30th Anniversary Tribute

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Sega Saturn through 30 arbitrary games.

My most played Wii U and 3DS games (sort of)

When Nintendo announced the end of the Wii U and 3DS eShops they launched a personalized tribute site. On it we could all see what our most played games were for these two systems. In this feature I question the accuracy of my lists and pay brief respects to the Wii U and 3DS.

Rumble Feature: Good Riddance

How I rediscovered that the rumble feature is lame.

Street Fighter The Movie Made My Afternoon

A short tale of how I ended-up as a background character in a semi-obscure video game.

2008 me talks to 1995 me about video games

A trip back in time to talk to myself about video games.

The plot of Final Fantasy VII according to Wikipedia articles not about Final Fantasy VII

My attempt to reconstruct the events of Final Fantasy VII based on articles that should have nothing to do with Final Fantasy VII.

The Return of Mario and Pac-Man

The finest collection of bootleg games the city of Chennai has to offer.

What if the Super Nintendo CD was Released in 1991?

Three scenarios that could have played out if the joint Super Nintendo/Sony CD attachment was released as originally planned.

Alternate history: Nine games that could have revived defeated consoles

Rampant speculation on how the fate of nine runner-up consoles would have been altered by just one single game.

Differences between Tombs and Treasure and Asteka II

Many years ago I wrote a walkthrough for Tombs and Treasure on the NES. I'm aware of at least one person who read it, making it one of the most popular things on this site. Tombs and Treasure is a port of Asteka II for the Famicom. For no particular reason I decided to see what was different in these two versions.

Revisiting Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes

In this aimless article I replay the first Legend of Heroes to see which elements are present in the modern series.

Let's track down those paintings that keep appearing in Falcom games

Despite having no background in art, I try to determine the paintings used in Falcom games from the Vita to PlayStation 4 era.

20th Anniversary Tribute to the Ys Series

A slightly sappy look back at my experiences with the Ys series.

Fan references in Tokyo Xanadu

Tokyo Xanadu is a Falcom fan game, one that happens to be made by Falcom. Here is a likely incomplete list comparing the fan references between the PlayStation 4 and Switch versions.

The password for Joe Montana Sports Talk Football '93 is too simple

I thought reverse engineering the password for Joe Montana Sports Talk Football '93 would be a fun challenge. Very quickly I figured out it's only a trivial pattern to decipher. Boring.

The Midlife Crisis of Normy's Beach Babe-o-Rama

Normy's Beach Babe-o-Rama is a somewhat obscure Sega Genesis game starring a character from a midlife crisis comic released when the system itself was experiencing a midlife crisis. It's also similar enough to the TurboGrafx-16 CD game Camp California that I can't help but speculate if there's a connection.

What did NHL '97 for Sega Genesis cost at launch? (or what did one specific person pay for it?)

This is a very narrow piece I wrote on a whim. I bought a boxed copy of NHL '97 for the Sega Genesis for $1.50 all the way back in 2008. While rearranging some game shelves I popped it open and found the original receipt tucked away in the manual. This lead me to explore what the original launch price was.

My favorite NPC in the Ys series

After 10 numbered games, a prequel, and numerous remakes I've found my favorite NPC in the Ys series.

Saving GameStop

Many analysts think GameStop is doomed once the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are released. Things definitely look grim for them but I think they have a real chance to survive with a few changes. Although being completely unqualified, here's my shot at creating a long-term plan for them.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2004

I paid a visit to the Midwest Gaming Classic 2004, this is a little write-up of what I found most interesting there.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2006

Same as above, only two years later.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2007

And a recap of the 2007 event.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2008

Spotting a trend yet?

Midwest Gaming Classic 2009

Has it been five Midwest Gaming Classics already?

Midwest Gaming Classic 2010

The economic downturn finally catches-up to the classic video game scene as the 2010 event was filled with bargains.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2011

A quick recap of the Midwest Gaming Classic's 10th anniversary.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2012

My annual Midwest Gaming Classic recap - come check out the pictures of everything you missed.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2013

An incredibly belated, yet somehow rushed, recap of the 2013 show.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2014

After 10 years I'm still excited about visiting the Midwest Gaming Classic and as usual it was a great event in 2014.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2015

Although not very wordy, my recap of the 2015 has more photos than all my previous recaps.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2016

A recap of the 2016 show posted in 2019 for reasons.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2019

After way too long of a hiatus, here's a recap of the snowy 2019 show.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2021

After an unplanned 18-month delay the Midwest Gaming Classic returned in early November 2021. This is a gallery of various things I found interesting this time.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2022

This is something like the 15th Midwest Gaming Classic gallery I've posted and maybe the 17th event I've attended. In that time the quality of pictures posted has not improved. Neither has my ability to describe things at the show.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2023

Here's 80 or so oddly cropped pictures and commentary on how the show has evolved over the years.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2024

Here's exactly 72 oddly cropped pictures of my favorite things this year.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2025

A short recap of my 20th trip to the Midwest Gaming Classic.

Midwest Gaming Classic 2026

This is the 25th anniversary of the show. It's probably technically only the 23rd show due to the 2020 one being cancelled and a 2005 one never happening. However they are counting, this is a great accomplishment.

Game Boy Advance Compilations

Reviewing some, but not quite all, compilations of retro games on the Game Boy Advance.

'does this have sonic and the hedgehog': A brief look at some Sega Genesis clones

Inspired by a random listing, I'm firing up some (mostly) cheap Sega Genesis clones to see which games they include and how the emulation quality is.

Skyward Sword and the Evolution of the Zelda Series

A review of Skyward Sword and some thoughts on where the Zelda series is headed.

Ys for DOS Review

Let's take a look at the somewhat obscure DOS version of Ys.

Dungeon Explorer II Review

Dungeon Explorer II was one of the final games available for the TurboGrafx-16 CD in North America. It's a shame because it's among the best titles on the system.

Those GTA remakes sure are, uh, interesting

In this article I look at the GTA Definitive Edition remakes and find some odd things. I also finally finish San Andreas nearly 20 years after it was released.

Killer Frequency - A short game that completely rules

A quick review of Killer Frequency, a game I thoroughly enjoyed.

Hyper Catalog Review

A quick review of a PC Engine CD sampler featuring oversized pictures.

Hyper Catalog 2 Review

The second Hyper Catalog CD has demos for Bonk 3, Dynastic Hero, and Winds of Thunder.

Hyper Catalog 3 Review

The third installment features a Bonk digital comic and some RPG demos.

Hyper Catalog 4 Review

With a festive holiday theme and several playable demos, this is my favorite Hyper Catalog sampler.

Hyper Catalog 5&6 Review

Let's say goodbye to the Hyper Catalog series with a look at the CDs released in 1994, the twilight of the PC Engine era.

The bizarre, thirsty world of Ultra Box magazine

After going through all the Hyper Catalog CDs I decided to try the Ultra Box series. About halfway through I questioned why I thought this was a good idea for a review/gallery type thing. This series is just so... well, bizarre and thirsty.

I try The X-Files DVD games so you don't have to

The first 8 collector's edition X-Files DVD sets included a bonus game playable on PC & Mac. These appear to have been lost to time. I can't find any pages about them but maybe I'm bad at searching for stuff. So I'm restoring an old virtual machine and trying them. Not all of them worked but the ones that did offer some interesting ways to recreate fan favorite episodes.

Coleco (Sega) Handheld

A review of a handheld system produced by Coleco containing 20 classic Sega games.

The Mario Scale

A nifty ranking/scoring system for video game reviews.

Virtua Fighter 32X Promotional Tape (featuring vaporware)

A promo tape given to Virtua Fighter 32X pre-orders with previews of upcoming games.

Atari Jaguar: Do the Math Demo Tape 11/14/1994 (or 10 reasons why the Jaguar failed)

45-minute Atari Jaguar demo tape with clips from more than 30 games.

Random Promo Tapes

An assortment of brief promo tapes.

Mortal Kombat Home Version Rankings

Ranking the home versions of Mortal Kombat from best to worst.

Mortal Kombat II Home Version Rankings

Ranking the home versions of Mortal Kombat II from best to worst.

TurboGrafx-16 on the Nintendo Wii

5 TG-16 games that should be the Wii virtual console, 5 that shouldn't, and 5 that should but won't.

TurboGrafx-16 CD on the Nintendo Wii

5 TG-16 CD games that should be the Wii virtual console, 5 that shouldn't, and 5 that should but won't.

Video Game Backlog

I don't know if anyone will find this interesting. Since I'm a giant dork I keep a spreadsheet of my video game backlog. I periodically extract that to csv and convert it to this little page.

Top 10 Worst Genesis Sequels

A countdown of the worst sequels to grace the Sega Genesis.

Top 3 Overrated NES Games

Three NES games that get way more credit than they deserve.

10 Video game ports that should exist

A look at some video game ports that should have been made and rampant speculation on why they never happened.

10 Reasons Why Chrono Cross is a Great RPG (3 Reasons Why it's Not)

A breakdown of the things that make Chrono Cross a great RPG, and a couple of annoyances.

Nintendo Entertainment System vs. Sega Master System

Nintendo flattened Sega in the 80s, but did they really have the superior console?

Atari 7800 vs NES

It's a battle of arcade ports between two 1980s rivals.

Joe Montana Sportstalk Football Picks the Winner of Super Bowl XXXVI

Can Joe Montana Sportstalk Football predict the outcome of the Patriots-Rams Super Bowl?

Bill Walsh College Football '95 Picks the College Champion of 2003

2003 saw a college football controversy, let's see if Bill Walsh College Football '95 can settle the score.

Loser Phase Exodus - 18 Month Sentence at Super Crown 1996-1997

A brief follow-up to the semi-popular Loser Phase article.

Text from the English version of Ys II in Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes II

Remember when I said that from now on I'd only post oddball things that interest me? Well, here you go. This is a brief exploration of random text from Ys II that, for reasons unknown, is buried in the ISO data for Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes II.

Arcade Age Exhibit

Gallery of a few things at the free touring Arcade Age exhibit that was visiting a nearby library.

Galloping Ghost Review (March 2026)

Here are some things I found interesting while visiting the Galloping Ghost arcade in March 2026.

Belated Recap of the 2014 Classic Gaming Expo (which I guess was the last one)

Seven years after the 2014 Classic Gaming Expo I finally got around to posting a downer recap. There are some OK photos of rare gaming items so it's not a total waste.

My Video Game Setup

An occasionally updated page documenting my current video game setup, along with some commentary about which systems I'm trying to play more.

How to run games off multiple USB drives in RetroPie

Here's a little tutorial on how to use multiple USB drives with RetroPie.

Ripping 16-bit CD games on Ubuntu and playing them on the Ouya

A tutorial on how to play Sega CD and TurboGrafx-16 CD games you already own on the Android microconsole.

MD.emu Sega CD Compatibility

A quick guide to which Sega CD games work with MD.emu based on my collection.

Falcom Stationery

A gallery of stationery posted on Falcom's site in 1997-1998. I am probably the only person interested in this.

What else did I expect from the Amico?

Inspired by my inability to unsubscribe from their mailing list, I try to figure out the business plan for the Amico.

Cakes

A little gallery of video game themed birthday cakes.