My main project for the day was hooking my Nintendo 64 up to my TV.
This was a bit of a pain. For as long as I've had my Nintendo 64 I
have connected it to TVs using the RF cable. So my first attempts
were to screw that into my TV, and then when that didn't work,
screwing it into my DVR, which also didn't work. This lead to a
basement adventure in search of an AV cable. My hopes were not high
because I had never used the AV cable and I couldn't even remember if
that was a thing that came with the Nintendo 64 or if it was
something that had to be purchased separately. And if the latter was
the case, I was SOL.
I started my search in and around the area where I had my old racing
wheel and pedals of the N64 and some original Xbox controllers and
other random bits. I found a couple AV cables but none for the N64.
Then I moved to another area with old DVD players and random stuff.
Again, several AV cables but not one for the N64. I did manage to
find my old knife sharpener which I had looked for last week. It
ended up being almost right where I thought it was but I hadn't
turned on a light so completely missed it. Anyway, my last hope was
in the other room where a bunch of other crap is located. I looked
in the box with a couple old laptops with low expectations, which
were proven to be exaggerated. I briefly looked under the stairs.
And then I looked in a box that looked like it had cables from the
SEGA Genesis I bought off eBay so many years ago (a horrible purchase
because it came from a smokers home and only a couple of the games
actually worked). And jackpot. I found the cable.
First off I tried plugging it into my DVR out of convenience but it
didn't work. So I plugged it straight into my TV and I was in
business. I started off with a little Road Rash
and it was pretty much exactly what I remembered. I got it on the
N64 because it was one of my favorite games on the Game Gear but it
was way better on the Game Gear.
Then I moved onto Forsaken,
which is one of my favorite games on the N64. You're in a 3D space
on a futuristic bike thing that can go in any direction and you shoot
bad guys. The ability to move in any direction was so novel to me at
the time and I absolutely love the game. I always wished they would
remake it on another console or come out with a sequel. No dice.
And now I suck at the game. I think part of it was an inversion
issue but mostly because I'm so used to having two joysticks to move,
not just one. But it is still pretty fun.
Lastly, I played The
Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time,
the main impetus for me setting up my N64 again. Looking at the save
files, the last time I played the game was in 2006 (I named the save
file '2006') but I didn't make it much further than the starting
forest area. This time I did a bit better, before getting caught up
at the target range at the first town. It is hard enough hitting
targets with a controller you are used to. It is much harder with a
controller you have just picked up after a seven year break. I did
eventually get all the targets though. My initial impression of the
game on my 32” flat screen TV was “wow, this game looks awful.”
There is still the nostalgia there and I love the look of the game,
but time did it no favors. And the weird thing is I can still
remember way back in the day when I thought the graphics were
amazing. Actually amazing. Completely blown away by them. And now
they all look awful. It is incredibly strange to have both of those
thoughts floating around my head simultaneously. I would like to
keep playing the game, however, despite the graphics and the
weirdness of the controller. Although it really made me want to get
a 3DS XL so I can play the game on that. From the videos I've seen
the game looks really good on the 3DS, helped greatly by the fact
that the screen is small, not a big TV.
I am going to hold off on the
purchase of a 3DS XL until at least after Thanksgiving though, just
to see if I can get a deal on it. It is supposed to drop down to
$150 at Target on Black Friday but I have never wanted anything bad
enough to wake up early and go shopping in giant, frenzied crowd. So
if it drops on Amazon or Game Stop or Target or some other website,
I'll pick it up. Looking at the price history on Amazon, it was down
to $170 at the beginning of November but that was long before I had
the desire to get one. If the price doesn't drop for Black Friday or
Cyber Monday I will probably try and get it from Target because I
have almost $60 in gift cards. Or if somewhere else has a better
price, get it there, and use the gift cards for games at Target.
Because I have been sitting on these gift cards for a really long
time and I'm looking for an excuse. Regardless, I may soon have a
3DS XL.
Keeping with the gaming theme,
tonight I played a game on the Cool Math website. At school it is
the kids' favorite website, because none of them play any of the
math-related games. That's a whole other section but I don't mention
that to the teachers and most of them don't seem to care. There is
one game recently where you try to shoot Santa into chimneys that a
lot of kids are playing and all off them get stuck on the same level
before moving onto a different game. I couldn't figure it out so
tonight I wanted to. And thanks to the help of a YouTube video I
did. I was eventually able to beat the game and only needed help on
one or two other levels. Not bad.
I also continued the Spanish thing
and redid the first three sections that I have already done. Just to
keep things fresh in my mind. It actually felt like I knew what I
was doing, shocking. It obviously didn't hurt that I had already
done those sections but there was some different stuff thrown in so I
am thinking it is a good idea to do stuff more than once because I
won't necessarily being seeing the same stuff each time.
And to throw everything in the mix,
I also exercised, made chips, and did laundry today. Now I'm
listening to Papa Roach on Spotify. Most of it is edited which is
annoying. But it does make me want to get my guitar out and relearn
some of the songs I used to know back in high school and college.
Once again I have succeeded in
staying up well past my bedtime. I want some sleep.
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