PixlBit

For me other than perhaps Missile Command's cursor, the control issue isn't as huge. I played a lot of these games at home using standard Atari sticks as well as third party sticks like the Slik Stik. Since I got acclimated to these games with joysticks, I don't notice it as much with controllers - I got this collection on PS4 and am using Dualshock 4 -, but I can definitely see how trackball controls might be useful. My two favorite arcade games on this collection are Centipede and Millipede, which both used then. I tried the Save Mary game, too. Still wish these collections would feature Solaris more regularly.

I voted early, on last Tuesday. In the 2014 election, Oklahoma and Texas both had about 30% voter turnout, which is pretty sorry. OK and TX are regularly featured on the list of states with the worst voter turnout. Then the people in those states complain loudly and bitterly about the governor, President, and everybody in between. Get off your butts and viote!

Sadly, I never got to play LotW. I did know of it through Nintendo Power's RPG section where I would read about games I did play, like Dragon Warrior, Ultima: Exodus, and FaXanadu; even on the NES I was big into RPGs. I always wanted to play it, liking the multi-character approach. The NES wasn't mine, though, it belonged to my friend, and while we would rent games like the above for his NES on the precious little money available to 10- and 11-year-olds, we never rented LotW.

I am sure I probably read about Sorcerian in computer catalogs of the time, and if I'd gotten to see that one I would have probably found some way to buy it..

On that note, there is one other Falcom game upcoming that I definitely plan to support: Tokyo Xanadu. Aksys (best known as the US licensee for Guilty Gear and BlazBlue, but they also occupy the same under-the-radar Japanese niche as Xseed, Atlus, and Natsume) picked up the US rights to that game on the Vita. There is an enhanced version of Tokyo Xanadu in the works for the PS4, but so far that version has not been announced for a US release. If Aksys picks up the PS4 version, I'll go with that,but if not, I'll get the Vita version anyway, as it looks quite good. Falcom more than any other company has justified the PS TV my wife paid $60 for with titles like Ys: Memories of Celceta and Trails of Cold Steel I and II.

That actually is something I'd like to see in VR, the ability for the player to transform themselves in-game rather than just be a set of disembodied eyes. The technology isn't there yet, whether it's in the form of wearable sensors, or whether recognition and tracking software improves to that point.

Yes, even if it is Kirby.

Metroid VR would be great, but I don't want Prime mechanics. I want real Metroid power-ups like the Screw Attack, the Ice Beam that allows you to stand on enemies, and a Space Jump that really lets you fly like the one in Super Metroid. I also wouldn't mind Zelda VR.

As far as VR goes, though, to me, it won't be true VR until I can look at myself and see myself looking like the character I'm supposed to be playing in the game. Otherwise it's just a stock FPS (or whatever) with a screen stuck to your face.

Next year I want to see about participating. This year, not feasible due to me working.

I still want DQVII, a LOT, but I want to see if my wife wants to get it for me as a gift. She sometimes gets disappointed if I buy a game when she wants to get it for me.

Awesome that you're getting along with your new dog. I know you miss Bandit.

Given that this game started out as a game for a badly designed and poorly marketed cell phone (the N-Gage), I was kind of skeptical of this one even though I generally dig Nihon Falcom. I was wondering if this game was worth the money.

Oh, and I also want Ys VIII and hope to see an English localization announced soon.

If you look at the Dragon Slayer series as a whole, it's turned into many, many series nested together like those Russian dolls, that started as Dragon Slayer-branded games.

Xanadu (DS II) had a lot of spinoffs in the 1980s, including Faxanadu, then Xanadu Next, and upcoming is Tokyo Xanadu on Vita, which is being localized by Aksys. There's also an enhanced PS4 version of Tokyo Xanadu with expanded content, but so far Aksys has only gotten the US rights to the Vita game. Tokyo Xanadu looks awesome and I'm defiinitely getting that one.

Legacy of the Wizard (DSIV: Drasle Family in Japan) is one of the few that never got spinoffs.

Sorcerian (Dragon Slayer V) had a lot of expansion packs in its day, I don't know how many made it to the US. Sierra localized that one.

Dragon Slayer VI: The Legend of Heroes has not only spawned its own series, but even the individual LoH entries are getting multiple sequels (I love Trails of Cold Steel I and II, and hope III also makes it over). They made a Dragon Slayer VII (Lord Monarch), but Legend of Heroes has largely taken over the Dragon Slayer series.

I got both volumes for PS4, mostly for Yars' Revenge, Centipede, and Millipede. Bummer that Doug Neubauer is so picky about allowing Atari to include Solaris on the collection, but it is what it is.