Latest Gaming Purchase

[Kyng]

RimWorld

I have played this game before: over 10 years ago, a friend got several download codes for it. But today, I bought the game properly in the Steam Summer Sale: it was only 20% off, but I decided it was still worth it.

I haven't started a game yet, but I probably will soon!

[Maniakkid25]

Splatoon Raiders

Oh, and a Nintendo Switch 2. Yeah, I got FOMO'd into buying one. It was bad of me, but the price increase threat spooked me. So, in honor of buying it, I pre-ordered a copy of Splatoon Raiders in order to actually have something to play on it lol.

Oh, I also bought a modular memory card for the PSX/PS2. Yeah, its a memory card that has a micro SD card that can make virtual memory cards for both the PSX (128 KiB ) and the PS2 (8 MB ). It comes with an 8 GIG SD card, so you can imagine I can fit quite a few memory cards in it! It's cool!

[Moonface]

Got a big one here:

Nintendo Switch 2

My mother wanted to do something for me to repay me for everything over the last two years, and she knew how excited I was about the upcoming OoT Remake, so she gave me a chunk of money from her disability backpay as a thank you so that I could go out and buy a Switch 2 before the price increase in September and be ready for the remake when it releases.

I did not opt for any of the game bundles. I just got the Switch 2 itself. I'm not interested in any of the games that are bundled with the system, and even though you get the game at a slight "discount" if you buy a bundle, I just really don't like being stuck with a game that I will never have any interest in touching.

Ooh, I haven't been in this thread to have seen this yet, that's neat! And very sweet of your mother to repay you for something that I'm sure both her and you knew wasn't something you did with any expectation of getting something back for it.
And yeah, I don't know what other bundles there are besides the MKW one but I would tell anyone to pick MK8D over it if they didn't own either game.

Splatoon Raiders

Oh, and a Nintendo Switch 2. Yeah, I got FOMO'd into buying one. It was bad of me, but the price increase threat spooked me. So, in honor of buying it, I pre-ordered a copy of Splatoon Raiders in order to actually have something to play on it lol.

Oh, I also bought a modular memory card for the PSX/PS2. Yeah, its a memory card that has a micro SD card that can make virtual memory cards for both the PSX (128 KiB ) and the PS2 (8 MB ). It comes with an 8 GIG SD card, so you can imagine I can fit quite a few memory cards in it! It's cool!

Eh, if you were planning to get one eventually definitely better to do it now while the price is potentially going to be the lowest it'll ever be if AI doesn't stop sucking up all the hardware parts.
I'm a little curious about Splatoon Raiders myself since I did really enjoy Splatoon 3 when I played it, but the online stuff burnt me out really quickly on it and I never managed to get back into it even though it has a single player campaign. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it once you've played through enough of it to start forming an opinion on it.
Ooh, I didn't know those were a thing. Can you transfer saves into it from actual memory cards? Depending on how much one is I'd maybe consider it as a way of backing up my memory cards just in case any of them stop working from age.

[Maniakkid25]

Ooh, I didn't know those were a thing. Can you transfer saves into it from actual memory cards? Depending on how much one is I'd maybe consider it as a way of backing up my memory cards just in case any of them stop working from age.

Yeah, I didn't know they existed either until I was randomly browsing on Amazon and found them. They're only about 40 bucks, 8 Gig SD card included, and it appears to work just fine as a normal memory card; I could set it so that the PS2 recognized it as a PSX or PS2 memory card, and save files transferred with no problem. It even came with a program to hack the PS2 to doing other stuff (it apparently has a SNES emulator built into it? I didn't mess with it) It took a little bit to figure out how to navigate the menus on the actual device, though; the booklet didn't explain how that worked. On the one I bought (Kaico SD2psx), you have to hold the second button to confirm, and the first button to go back; pressing the buttons only flips through the options, and pressing both keys accesses the back end to actually mess with the settings.

...Wait a minute... *googles intensely for a few minutes while messing with settings* Nope, still doesn't work.

I have a PAL version of a game (because the game is only available in PAL and NTSC-J), and I was thinking "maybe this can finally run it?" Nope, still need to hard mod the PS2 to do it. Damn.

[Dragon Lord]

@Moonface Yeah, it was really sweet of her. Now I'm all set-up for the OoT Remake when it launches which has me very excited.

Recent gaming purchases for me have been:

DragonSword: Awakening (PC)
Palworld (PC)
Cuisineer (PC)
Elden Ring: Nightreign (PS4/PS5)

DragonSword: Awakening is an interesting game. It was intended to be an open-world gacha game, but after the developer got betrayed by their publisher and all of their funding taken, they changed course and made it a pay-to-own RPG instead. It feels very much like a gacha game, but there's no micro-transactions (just a bit of cosmetic DLC), every character is obtained through game progression, all of their upgrades and everything else the same. Everything else about it still very much feels like a gacha game though. You farm for character upgrade materials/exp materials/etc. like you would in a gacha game, you just don't have stamina limits restricting how much you can do it and you don't have to worry about rushing the game's content to get currency for limited banners and such like that. You can just take as much time as you want and still get everything in the game. No time restrictions, no FOMO -- it's pretty much paradise for anyone who enjoys the game play/game progression of games like Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves, but with none of the negatives. You just get to enjoy the good aspects of those games and none of the negatives. I haven't gotten too far into the game, but so far for just $30 the game has been a very worthwhile purchase.

Palworld is Palworld. Cuisineer was just $10 so I decided to pick it up on Steam (I've played it on PS5 and it's super fun).

You might see Nightreign there and go, "But wait, don't you already have Nightreign on PS5 and have the platinum for it?" Yes, yes I do. However, what I don't have, and what I needed to buy the digital version of the game for, is the PS4 platinum for the game (yes, the game is on PS4 too, as surprising at that is). So of course me being me, I can't let that version of the game escape me and not get the platinum for it, so I finally decided to dip on it for the third time just so I can get that PS4 platinum trophy (and having the digital version on PS5 will be nice since I do like to randomly play the game at times and now I won't have to swap discs to play it when I just get the urge randomly -- one of the few times I like having the digital version of a game).

[Dragon Lord]

Made a couple of purchases in my chase to shore up my PS3 collection:

Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice
Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten - Premium Edition
Beast of Reincarnation - Deluxe Edition (PS5)

Was happy to find a sealed Premium Edition for Digaea 4 that didn't break the bank. After shipping and tax, I paid $60 for it. I think the next cheapest one I saw on eBay was at least $90, so I was pretty happy with that find. Finding a sealed copy of Disgaea 3 for cheap was nice too. Seller had it listed for $19, though their higher shipping cost brought it up to around $30 when all was said and done, but $30 for a sealed copy of a niche RPG series that was released in 2008? I'll definitely take that. That's two off the list, many to go to try and obtain.

[Dragon Lord]

Alright, made a huge purchase...

AYN Thor MAX (16 GB RAM + 1TB Storage) in the Rainbow colorway

The MAX comes out at a eye watering $605 after shipping, but god damn I could not resist this baby any more. For those who aren't familiar with this thing, it's a DS/3DS-like clamshell Android device. It's basically a 3DS on steroids. Two amazing AMOLED screens, very sleek design and that amazing 3DS clamshell functionality.

A very expensive purchase and unfortunately a bit of a wait time since these things release in pre-order batches because the demand for them is so much higher than the rate they can make them, but to me it's going to be 100% worth the price in the end. I cannot wait to emulate DS and 3DS games on this baby, it's going to make them look so good. I didn't really need the MAX for that. The Base or Pro version would have sufficed and been quite a bit cheaper, but one thing made me go with the MAX in the end:

The price of Micro SD Cards.

The price difference between the Pro (12 GB RAM + 256 GB Storage) is $170. Crazy, right? Well, I checked the prices of Micro SD cards before making the purchase. I was like, "Surely I can just get the Pro model and then get a 1 TB SD card to make up the storage difference and it'd be cheaper." WRONG!!!! Even the Amazon Basics 1TB Micro SD card is currently priced at $199.99, and that's one of the cheapest ones I could find. So in the end, even though buying the MAX version of the Thor is a pricey plunge to take, it turns out that buying it for the 1TB storage is actually cheaper in the end than buying one of the cheaper Thor models and then going out and buying a Micro SD card. Crazy world we're living in. I remember just a handful of years ago buying a 1TB Micro SD for my Switch for like $60-$80.

Anyways, yeah, this thing is an emulation best and the MAX model can run everything up to PS3 and a good chunk of Steam games if I so choose. My main use case is going to be DS and 3DS emulation though, because this thing, again, is like a 3DS on steroids. I cannot wait to get this thing in my hands, spend a couple of hours setting it up (this is the one "negative" about it, you have to fully set it up since it's an Android device that just comes empty, so you need to spend time to put a front end on it if you want, then get all the emulators and shit, can take a few hours to go through the process) and then playing some DS Pokemon games with resolution upgrade packs on them. Soul Silver/Heart Gold with like x3 or x4 resolution will probably by my first adventure on this thing, haha.

[Moonface]

Ooh, I didn't know those were a thing. Can you transfer saves into it from actual memory cards? Depending on how much one is I'd maybe consider it as a way of backing up my memory cards just in case any of them stop working from age.

Yeah, I didn't know they existed either until I was randomly browsing on Amazon and found them. They're only about 40 bucks, 8 Gig SD card included, and it appears to work just fine as a normal memory card; I could set it so that the PS2 recognized it as a PSX or PS2 memory card, and save files transferred with no problem.

Wouldn't it be best to just always set them as PS2 cards because I swear those could hold PS1 saves alongside PS2 saves?

Beast of Reincarnation - Deluxe Edition (PS5)

I'll be interested to see how you find this one to be, because from watching it it seemed to start off promisingly but doesn't hit the potential it could have as the game goes on.

The Base or Pro version would have sufficed and been quite a bit cheaper, but one thing made me go with the MAX in the end:

The price of Micro SD Cards.

The price difference between the Pro (12 GB RAM + 256 GB Storage) is $170. Crazy, right? Well, I checked the prices of Micro SD cards before making the purchase. I was like, "Surely I can just get the Pro model and then get a 1 TB SD card to make up the storage difference and it'd be cheaper." WRONG!!!! Even the Amazon Basics 1TB Micro SD card is currently priced at $199.99, and that's one of the cheapest ones I could find. So in the end, even though buying the MAX version of the Thor is a pricey plunge to take, it turns out that buying it for the 1TB storage is actually cheaper in the end than buying one of the cheaper Thor models and then going out and buying a Micro SD card. Crazy world we're living in. I remember just a handful of years ago buying a 1TB Micro SD for my Switch for like $60-$80.

Holy shit, that is such a disgustingly high price it doesn't even compete against just getting the Pro. What was the price for that type of Micro SD beforehand?

• Pathogenic (PC)
  
• Figgyz x Tomb Raider - The Scion Collector's Box Set
  

Grabbed Pathogenic yesterday after seeing it on Twitch a few times and liking the look of it. Haven't played much but it's really fun so far!
The second thing was something I learned about recently, and decided to place the pre-order today before I forget again. I'd never heard of Figgyz before but they're a side company of First 4 Figures.

[Dragon Lord]

I don't remember the exact pricing on the one I bought for my Switch, but I do have an example that shows how bad prices have gotten since even just two years ago.

In 2024 I bought a 2TB SSD for my PC to expand my storage for $131. That same SSD is now listed on Amazon for $259.99. Back in 2021 I bought a Samsung EVO 256GB Micro SD Card for $11, which is now priced at $59.99.

It's insane how much the price of these things has increased, which makes the idea of a digital-only future for gaming even worse.

[Maniakkid25]

Ooh, I didn't know those were a thing. Can you transfer saves into it from actual memory cards? Depending on how much one is I'd maybe consider it as a way of backing up my memory cards just in case any of them stop working from age.

Yeah, I didn't know they existed either until I was randomly browsing on Amazon and found them. They're only about 40 bucks, 8 Gig SD card included, and it appears to work just fine as a normal memory card; I could set it so that the PS2 recognized it as a PSX or PS2 memory card, and save files transferred with no problem.

Wouldn't it be best to just always set them as PS2 cards because I swear those could hold PS1 saves alongside PS2 saves?

No, they do not. You have to make PSX memory cards to save PSX save games. Even if they could hold PSX saves, a PSX will get DAMAGED if you try to insert a PS2 memory card into it. This is why they warn in big letters on the instruction booklet to not insert the memory card into a PSX while on PS2 mode.