G2D Swapmeet Scavenge September-Now (11/13/13)

It took me nine days to finish this. And I almost certainly forgot multiple things of interest. I'll probably just start a second list if it turns out I neglected a bunch of stuff. You can call it lazy, I'll call it conveniently productive.

It's been too long since we did one of these, for better or worse. Based on the following, you'll probably be driven to conclude that it's for a bit of both.

We didn't buy a whole lot of gaming stuff, and not all of this was purchased this last weekend or in my presence, so I don't have all of the specifics that I would usually detail, but I wanted to cover some of the cool stuff we've obtained in the last few months, and so I will.

1.

Purchase:    Sega Dreamcast Console, Controller
Purchased by:     Stevie Jay
Year Released:     1999

Date Purchased:     Some time in the last two months. I think.

Other Significance:    The Dreamcast may not have the most significant library as far as quantity is concerned, and the same can probably be said regarding quality. Even still, there are a handful of exclusive games for this console that made this purchase a favorable option. Actually as far as Stevie Jay is concerned, all it needed was a version of Rush. As of this moment, I don't think he actually has any games for it, but apparently he was able to play music CDs with it, so more than likely it functions as would be desired for all of our purposes. Play-through suggestions anyone?

2.

Game:    The Legend of Zelda
Purchased by:     Anglerte
Platform:     NES

Year Released:     1986

Date Purchased:     September, at the Ventura Comic Con event. For more information, and if you're really adventurous, watch our video concerning it, which includes the purchasing of this game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo7V9T8YyHU

Price:     10$ or something in that general vicinity 

Other Significance:     We have access to an NES, but until this Saturday, it was tucked away, smothered with dust and fairly useless. We did get around to cleaning it off and hooking it up however, and after a little difficulty with cleaning the cartridge, we confirmed that this game does indeed function properly. 

3. 

Game:     Rampage: World Tour
Purchased by:     Jburitto (for Anglerbe/Anglerte)
Price:     13$
Platform:     Nintendo 64
Year Released:     1998
Other Significance:     The box is thrashed. But hey, if you didn't already hear, it came with a box.

4.

Game:     Donkey Kong 64
Purchased by:    Anglerte
Price:     10$
Platform:     Nintendo 64
Year Released:  
Other Significance:    D.K. Kong. Donkey- I can't remember the rest. But Stevie Jay put over one-hundred hours into this game, so I can probably spare a few myself.

5.
Game: Turok 2: Seed of evil (Black)
Purchased by: Porpoisemonkey
Price: 3$
Platform: Nintendo 64
Year Released: Too long ago
Other significance: This game is super rare.

Because this is a collection of various purchases that we have made over the last few months, and because I don't have the same information that I usually would before making one of these posts, and additionally because on Sunday we made very few video-game purchases as a group, we don't have a video update to accompany this post. We will, however, be putting these things to use as soon as possible in regard to recording and the G2D YouTube channel.

Anglerbe's Soundtrack of the Week

The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time
Final Battle With Ganon
***POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT***
If ever there were a perfect track in a video game, this would be the one. Hands down, the most epic (and I don't like to throw that word around a lot) final boss theme in any ever known to mankind. And maybe even a few extraterrestrial species. In fact, I would argue that its the best final boss period, if not for the incredible decrease in difficulty once you discover the tactic. The atmosphere is perfect, if a little cliche; stormy and thundering, dark, surrounded by a wall of flames. Rather than extremely face-paced and (for lack of a better term coming to mind) hardcore, this track chooses the route of slow and yet indescribably, goose-bump inducingly intense. If this battle is lost, it means the end of the world. Ganondorf is one of the few villains in the Zelda series that doesn't overestimate himself, and that makes it all the more intense. In case you haven't noticed, I love this boss, music and (almost) all.

Anglerbe's Soundtrack of the Week

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword

Ballad of the Goddess
Being the theme of the game, I can well imagine that this one is overused on top track lists around the net...maybe. In any case, I argue that it well earns such a title. Sure, a chunk of it is Zelda's Lullaby backwards (major spoiler at this point, I know), but that's only for the better. The fact that a classic Nintendo theme could be manipulated and restructured into an (almost) completely new track, and yet be equally as pleasant to the ears, really says something about the musical talent over at Nintendo HQ. This creative take on a main theme reflects the entirety of Skyward Sword; not only does it have a creative art direction, it also handles both the overworld and underworld in a different manner than past entries in the series, and characters are arguably at their best. Of course, as exemplified here in the Ballad of the Goddess, the orchestrated music adds a certain level of "epic" (I don't like to throw that word around a lot, but there's no better substitute I can think of here) to the audio, and, by extension, the game itself. Not to mention, it's incredibly catchy.

Anglerbe's Soundtrack of the Week

Yeah I've been a bit busy lately with vacation and editing. Haven't forgotten completely about these though.

The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask
Deku Palace

Another Majora's Mask track. Come to think of it, MM might just have my all time favorite video game soundtrack. Maybe. Anyway, Jburitto has started an LP of this game, and getting to this part really brought back memories of the difficulty I had sneaking around (even though this time we got past a good chunk of it really quickly, kind of insulting). Anyhow, the Deku Scrubs are some of the most interesting and humorous creatures in the Zelda universe. Many of them will spit seeds at you, only to surrender if you send there attacks back to them. Others even want to do business. This music really personifies their characteristics, with a sort of jungle/tribal wild, festive theme. Also, it's quite an addictive tune.

Anglerbe's Soundtrack of the Week

The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask

 Astral Observatory

Extended version just for you people. As mentioned by Anglerte, Jburitto recently played a bit of Majora's Mask, during which we encountered the old man in the Astral Observatory. Majora's Mask has one of my all time favorite soundtracks, and this stands out as one of my favorite from it. And that's saying something. MM is just an incredibly atmospheric and surprisingly dark game. To see everyone slowly decay into doom and despair, only at the last second to teleport to 3 days prior, where (almost) everyone is again oblivious to their impending doom, gives you a great sense of loneliness, but also of a glimmer of hope that, bit by bit, maybe the world can be saved. The Astral Observatory, with this track playing, feels like a safe haven in a dying world, despite that the moon continues to descend toward Termina.

Anglerte's Soundtrack of the Week

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Because we recently recorded Jburitto playing Majora's Mask (at his request), I decided that this track would be fairly appropriate. Although this is one of the minority of tracks displayed by the game that is not in some way a remix of "Song of Healing" (at least not to my knowledge), that ultimately only serves to make it more significant and memorable in its own right. Although obviously this specific track was meant for the first day, it's still a bit refreshing to find an entirely optimistic and uplifting track in this sea of suspense, misery and,  as Jburitto was hoping to find, disquietude. Just as the music achieves in many of the villages throughout "The Legend of Zelda" series, this track produces emotion and peace that establish thorough nostalgic value. Although it certainly fits right in with the series and would very believable stand as an entity of "Ocarina of Time", it possess a sort of immediate uniqueness that it desperately needed to uphold that "Majora's Mask" is indeed a different experience, and one worthy of high regard in its own right.