Topic: RetroActive #6 Poll - NES

[Stratos]

I nabbed it at a rummage sale with a pile of other NES games but my system does not work. I've been thinking of buying one of those 'redesigned' NES systems made by a different company.

Exactly how does it not work? The best solution is to get a new 72-pin connector to put into your NES, they are a lot more reliable than the after-market knockoff systems.

I was going to fiddle around with it last night but all of that stuff was already packed and moved to my new place. I have half of my systems but all the games got moved already. Silly me.

i got frustrated with startropics and I deleted it and never looked back.

I understand this because I did pretty much the same thing, but I still felt that the game had some charm and humour. With the SD card channel, now does seem like a good time to go back and give it another try since there's no longer a pressing need to delete it for the purpose of freeing up harddrive space. Whaddaya say? Now's a better time than ever to 'look back' I'd say.

nope. I have other stuff not completed to play. I want to give Neutopia II another chance.
I liked that game allot, but I got lost on the map so didn't come back to it so I forgot where things where, but its a very good clone of zelda.

oh yeah I did enjoy River City Ransom co-op as well. The only problem is that the game is so huge and to my knowing it has NO MAP . My friend and I wandered around for hours and have no clue where to go next or what to do next. I like the game, the leveling up and store aspects are fantastic, but I need some direction and a map. This feels like sandbox game where you can go anywhere and do anything, but like 20 years ahead of its time.

The first sandbox game maybe? What was the first?

[Nick DiMola]

Gotta go StarTropics on this one. Subjecting the crew and listeners to Zelda II would just be awful, that game sucks.

[Jonnyboy117]

I don't think RCR is a sandbox game under the typical criteria.  It's a brawler with RPG elements.  Like many RPGs of its era, it doesn't give you a lot of direction.

A sandbox game has complex A.I. and rules that allow you to experiment in an open world and create unique situations based on your own choices and playing style.  In other words, the world and characters react to you.  That is not the case in River City Ransom.

[AV]

I don't think RCR is a sandbox game under the typical criteria.  It's a brawler with RPG elements.  Like many RPGs of its era, it doesn't give you a lot of direction.

A sandbox game has complex A.I. and rules that allow you to experiment in an open world and create unique situations based on your own choices and playing style.  In other words, the world and characters react to you.  That is not the case in River City Ransom.

poor choice of world. Open world game might have been better. I really had NO clue where to go next and it seemed like I could go anywhere on the map.

[NWR_DrewMG]

All these Zelda II haters are depressing.  There is nothing wrong with that game.  The sidescrolling swordplay is a lot of fun, and the world is really big.  Just because it's not a typical Zelda game doesn't mean it sucks.

[Sundoulos]

With the possible exception of Wrecking Crew, I'd be excited to see any of these games win.

I'd agree; Zelda II wasn't a bad game at all.  It's defintely not the best Zelda game, but it still ranks among my favorite games of the NES era.  At any rate, I suspect that the game would be fodder for a great discussion on the podcast.  That's one reason it got my vote. 

[Jonnyboy117]

It's a tie!  I'll confer with the other RFN guys to decide how we want to handle this.  I don't know if they have all voted yet.  It's possible we may cover both games over the period of a month or so (after E3).

[vudu]

I didn't vote.  Can I be the tie breaker? 

[Jonnyboy117]

Nope, that ship has sailed for you.  I know one or two of the RFN guys usually recuse themselves from the process.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Greg does not deserve to have his mind destroyed by the awful Zelda 2. Miyamotos self admitted trahslike failure of a mutant game should be buried with ET for all of eternity.

[Stratos]

I notice less people voted. I think it was because of the concealed voting. I propose opening up the polls to viewing again!

[Mop it up]

All these Zelda II haters are depressing.  There is nothing wrong with that game.

It's just proof that fans have always complained whenever Nintendo tries to do something different with a franchise, and it wasn't even a long-running series back then.

I notice less people voted. I think it was because of the concealed voting. I propose opening up the polls to viewing again!

Nah, it's probably because it's an NES-only poll and some people think the NES is really old and worthless.

[Stratos]

Shhh! Jonny will hear you and keep it hidden in the future!

Also, Boo to vudu not voting.

[vudu]

I notice less people voted. I think it was because of the concealed voting. I propose opening up the polls to viewing again!

While I'm not sure if that's necessary the reason, I still agree with your suggestion.

I'm still not sure why exactly Jonny thinks we'll get "more productive" results by locking results visibility.  (I thought this administration promised transparency?)  Apparently he just doesn't want us to be able to pick our favorite games out of the ones that might have a chance at winning.

I'm not trying to turn this into a political thread, but people don't vote for third-party candidates because they know they don't have a shot at winning an election (Lieberman doesn't count).  Unfortunately, the games with the best chance of winning aren't as obvious as political parties.  Those poor fools who voted for Mega Man III might have all rather played River City Ransom (which is closer in design) than Star Tropics or Zelda II.

[vudu]

Also, Boo to vudu not voting.

If I had voted it would have been for Wrecking Crew (the only game that hasn't already been discussed ad nauseam) so it wouldn't have made a difference.

[Caliban]

Oh darn, I'm late. I would have voted for Zelda II because I love that game.

[Jonnyboy117]

I'm still not sure why exactly Jonny thinks we'll get "more productive" results by locking results visibility.  (I thought this administration promised transparency?)  Apparently he just doesn't want us to be able to pick our favorite games out of the ones that might have a chance at winning.

Every game in the poll has a chance of winning.  I don't have a problem with campaigning, and in fact I have encouraged it.  What I dislike, intensely, is voter manipulation at the polling station.  In a real election, no one knows the results until polling stations have closed.  I think there are very good reasons for doing it that way, and so I have used that format.

Early in the voting, StarTropics had a slow start, and it looked like the race would be between Zelda II and River City Ransom, with a possible challenge from Mega Man 3.  If you guys were watching the results in real-time, you'd be nagging people to lump towards one you thought had the best chance of surging ahead.  In effect, votes early in the process have a different influence than those at the end of the process.  I just don't believe that is fair to anyone.

Those poor fools who voted for Mega Man III might have all rather played River City Ransom (which is closer in design) than Star Tropics or Zelda II.

In what universe are MM3 and River City Ransom close in design?

[TJ Spyke]

River City Ransom lost.

I am pretty disappointed at that.

32 isn't a bad amount of voters. The last poll just had way more voters than normal.

[vudu]

In a real election, no one knows the results until polling stations have closed.  I think there are very good reasons for doing it that way, and so I have used that format.

Two words:  Exit polling

In what universe are MM3 and River City Ransom close in design?

MM3 more closely resembles RCR than Star Tropics or Zelda II.  Can you deny this?

[Jonnyboy117]

I know what exit polling is, and I'm not stopping you from doing that.  I am the election commission; exit polling is done by independent organizations.  You'd need to get the (voluntary!) participation of nearly all voters with such a small sample size in these polls, but you're welcome to try.  However, I would ask that you keep it out of the thread.

MM3 has nothing in common with RCR, StarTropics, or Zelda II.  It's a nonsense comparison.

[vudu]

MM3 has nothing in common with RCR, StarTropics, or Zelda II.  It's a nonsense comparison.

They're all on the NES.  They have that in common. 

MM3 is a side-scroller.  So is RCR.  Star Tropics is not.  Zelda II is at times  (Wrecking Crew is a puzzle game).

Can you honestly say these games have nothing in common?

[Stratos]

So what your saying, Jonny, is that Vudu should start a FunHouse thread where he posts exit poll data? Would that be OK or do you think that people would abuse that like before?

[Crimm]

To respond to what Jonny said earlier, I do not vote in this because I want to give you guys the choice.

[Jonnyboy117]

I won't stop him from doing that.  But again, he's responsible for surveying people, he should do it outside the actual poll threads, and some people may not want to participate in that.  Statistically, it won't be effective unless he has near-perfect rate of participation, but he's welcome to try.

Obviously, I believe in maintaining parity and anonymity in voting, as a matter of principle.  I would discourage fans of RetroActive from doing vudu's exit polling.  Sorry if I sound like a prude, but if I didn't believe in a fair voting process, we wouldn't be having elections for this feature at all.  If we're going to have a wishy-washy system with concurrent manipulation of results, I'd rather the RFN crew just choose games ourselves.  It's because I value the listener input in this process that I am defending the voting standards.  It was a mess at first, and I think this way is better.

By the way, James broke the tie -- as we recorded the next episode.  We didn't know what he would choose until that moment, so I think I'll let you all be surprised too when you listen to it.

[Stratos]

Quick! Check all their twitter accounts to see if they leak the winning title!

Considering it was James which title would be more conducive to one of his patented rants?