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Offline ejamer

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Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« on: May 08, 2019, 10:30:32 PM »
Anyone else excited about the upcoming Genesis Mini console?

So I never grew up with a Genesis. Sure, a friend-of-a-friend owned one and I had been suitably impressed by how awesome the games looked on a couple of rare visits where we all played Strider or Golden Axe together... but most of the Genesis library of games were new to me when Wii Virtual Console finally gave me access to some of the hits I had missed. Later on my exposure to Genesys gaming was increased thanks to the PSP version of Sega Genesys Collection.

My favorite Genesis games so far include Monster World IV, Toejam & Earl, Gunstar Heroes, and some of the later Phantasy Star games. Normally, I wouldn't feel a need to buy more Genesis games as I've got a decent selection of classics from the system to play through... but the list of titles announced for Genesis Mini so far already looks awesome, and the emulation is being done by M2 (who have a great reputation for quality). With 40 games packed in, including some of the only Contra and Castlevania games I've never tried, and two controllers to support multiplayer games, I'm already sold on the console.

My fingers are crossed to see MUSHA, Mega Turrican, and Alien Soldier added to the console also... and with 20 games left to announce, those seem totally possible. After all, M2 has previously emulated theoe games for other consoles. (Pro tip: You can see some of the Genesis games they've emulated previously here: https://www.mtwo.co.jp/en/development/retrogame-2/)

Anyway, didn't see any conversation outside of the Talkback thread, and this is one of my most anticipated gaming-related releases coming out this year. My outlook went from skeptical when first announced, to mildly impressed when they reworked the mini console to emphasize quality and get a better development team on-board, to actively looking for more information after seeing the second wave of games (which absolutely kicked the ass of the PS Classic lineup).
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Offline Adrock

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2019, 12:21:50 AM »
My thoughts haven’t changed:
I preordered Sega Genesis Mini a couple weeks ago just in case. I’m still hoping to hear some impressions/reviews before fully committing. I’m cautiously impressed so far. Sega has been doing everything right.

I wonder how easy this will be to hack. Out of curiosity, of course. I didn’t hack my NES Classic or SNES Classic. I am also curious how quickly 8bitdo can release a six-button wireless controller.
I never had a Sega Genesis growing up. I played it every few months when visiting relatives who had one. I grew up a Super Nintendo kid. It’ll be nice to try out some of these games for the first time. I have to be realistic though. I barely played either of Nintendo’s Classic Edition consoles.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2019, 08:22:08 AM »
How much are they selling it for?

In Canada, preorders are $100 CAD. Not cheap, but for a system with 40 games and two controllers, doesn't seem crazy. And the game selection so far has been impressive - stuff like Contra Hard Corps and Castlevania Bloodlines aren't cheap/easy pickups elsewhere as far as I know, and there is a decent chance that some other rarities like MUSHA could appear in the back half of the lineup.

... I barely played either of Nintendo’s Classic Edition consoles.

So this is a bit of a concern for me too. Although I really like my Nintendo classic consoles, they only get limited playing time. Too much to do, not enough time... But, playing Bubble Bobble with my kids recently has really been fantastic and every time we do bring them out it's pure bliss.

Genesis Mini won't have the same nostalgia working for it.. but I still love 8- and 16-bit games so have high expectations.
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #3 on: May 09, 2019, 12:18:17 PM »
I have gotten some play out of my SNES Classic but not as much as I would expect.  But the real reason I got it was for Star Fox 2 and I feel it was worth it just for that.  I actually own a cartridge copy of all the other games except Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts so I wasn't getting much new from it.  Also I can say over the last while that I haven't played much for ANY videogames so the SNES Classic isn't unique there.  If I had to be temporarily relocated somewhere for a few weeks the SNES Classic is exactly what I would bring with me, presuming I would have access to a TV.

The Genesis Mini doesn't appear to have any exclusives... yet, but I don't have as prominent of a Genesis collection as I do a SNES one.  I don't have Castlevania Bloodlines and it's now at the point where that isn't really affordable so this will let me get a copy.  If they include something insanely expensive like MUSHA it would be worth it just for that.

I was initially interested in the mini Neo Geo and PlayStation at first until details revealed that they were seriously flawed products.  So the mini console concept appeals to me a lot, it's just that the game selection has to be good and the emulation has to be tight and accurate.  I'm very interested in the Genesis Mini but I'll need to wait for the reviews.  M2 has a great rep so it will probably be fine and the game selection is already top notch.  But Nintendo is really the only company that has done these right thus so I have to wait for the reviews.

Offline Mop it up

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #4 on: May 09, 2019, 12:32:09 PM »
I think I've already got what I want from the Genesis with the Classics collection on Switch, plus other scattered releases. It will probably be a fine product, just not for me. I may still end up with one if they happen to over-produce it and it gets heavily discounted.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #5 on: May 09, 2019, 12:55:27 PM »
... the Genesis with the Classics collection on Switch, ...

If I owned a Switch, that approach would make me think twice also - although some of the games included here (again, Castlevania and Contra being the big names so far) seem to be unique enough to draw me in.

Plus, the mini console approach is so cute and appealing!
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Offline Adrock

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #6 on: May 09, 2019, 01:32:21 PM »
I’m pretty sure I’m not going to like either Castlevania: Bloodlines or Contra: Hard Corps. The former takes place in my least favorite century of the series and the latter is supposed to be hella difficult.

There are some Zelda-like action-RPGs I’ve read about so I hope they make it on the Genesis Mini, and if not, I’m sure there will be other ways to procure said games. ðŸ˜

Offline Luigi Dude

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #7 on: May 09, 2019, 01:51:47 PM »
My fingers are crossed to see MUSHA, Mega Turrican, and Alien Soldier added to the console also... and with 20 games left to announce, those seem totally possible.

If they include something insanely expensive like MUSHA it would be worth it just for that.

MUSHA has already been confirmed for the Japanese version of the mini.  So I'd say it has a good chance of appearing in the US version as well.  Sonic 2 was originally announced with Sonic 1 for the Japanese version right away but they waited for the 2nd wave of games to announce it for the Western one so it can still announced in the 3rd or 4th wave.

I’m pretty sure I’m not going to like either Castlevania: Bloodlines or Contra: Hard Corps. The former takes place in my least favorite century of the series and the latter is supposed to be hella difficult.

Well with M2 involved, they usually put the ability to switch between all the different versions in their work.  The Japanese version of Contra: Hard Corps is much easier since it allows players to take 3 hits before they die and has unlimited continues, unlike its western counterpart that kills you in 1 hit and has five continues before restarting the whole game.  So if the Genesis Mini allows the ability to switch between the Japanese and American versions of the games on it, I'd heavily recommend everyone switching that game to it's Japanese counterpart.  It's still a hard game but no where near as legendary frustrating hard as its western counterpart.
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #8 on: May 09, 2019, 02:43:50 PM »
... MUSHA has already been confirmed for the Japanese version of the mini.  So I'd say it has a good chance of appearing in the US version as well.  ...

Fingers crossed, but it seems very possible as you point out.

What games would others like to see (even if they aren't necessarily realistic wishes)?
I'd love to see TMNT: Hyperstone Heist, Shadowrun, and Flashback.  I don't expect any of them to be there, and honestly I'm not even sure if there would be much audience for the last two...
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #9 on: May 09, 2019, 04:33:33 PM »
Well with M2 involved, they usually put the ability to switch between all the different versions in their work.  The Japanese version of Contra: Hard Corps is much easier since it allows players to take 3 hits before they die and has unlimited continues, unlike its western counterpart that kills you in 1 hit and has five continues before restarting the whole game.  So if the Genesis Mini allows the ability to switch between the Japanese and American versions of the games on it, I'd heavily recommend everyone switching that game to it's Japanese counterpart.  It's still a hard game but no where near as legendary frustrating hard as its western counterpart.

It would be fantastic if they allowed this.  I have Hard Corps but it is insanely hard even by Contra standards.  I just wonder if they would bother with such a feature when it's not the sort of thing that mainstream users would care about.  Already we do know that the North American version has the three button Genesis pads instead of the six button ones the Japanese version is getting.  My assumption is that they're going with the three button one because it's more recognizable to casual consumers.  There is a common belief that casual users are confused by options.  So not only will those users not care about regional differences, Sega might assume that including such a feature would make the interface more confusing.  I mean such a feature would expose the user to unreadable Japanese text! :)

Offline Order.RSS

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #10 on: May 10, 2019, 12:33:30 PM »
There's a few games I'd be curious to try on one, but I don't think I'll buy one to be honest.

Thunder Force III, Super Fantasy Zone, the Mickey Mouse games and Ecco the Dolphin are the main curiosities for me. Never played Gunstar Heroes either, and I agree MUSHA would be a cool addition too.

That said, I kinda question if I would actually use the device, like several of you have mentioned. Same reason I didn't get the SNES mini, they look cute, but will I actually use one? And that one has stuff like Star Fox 2 and Final Fantasy 6 on there which I've never played, both of which are more interesting than the stuff I'd wanna try on a Genesis mini.
Genesis is a fun system though, and the inclusion of third party games is promising.

Offline Phil

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #11 on: May 10, 2019, 01:13:28 PM »
Another batch o' games will be revealed for this puppy on May 16th:

https://dengekionline.com/articles/430/

(Link originally found in a topic on ResetERA)
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #12 on: May 10, 2019, 01:41:17 PM »
Another batch o' games will be revealed for this puppy on May 16th:

https://dengekionline.com/articles/430/

(Link originally found in a topic on ResetERA)

Next week? Awesome!

Looking forward to the announcement, although with mixed feelings. The last set of games included a few surprises... will this batch of games end up being a disappointment in comparison? Fingers crossed for another 1 or 2 big name titles!
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Offline Mop it up

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #13 on: May 10, 2019, 02:34:34 PM »
Blaster Master 2 is one game we had that I don't think has ever been re-released, it would be nice to see that game again.

There is a decent amount of diversity between this and the Classics collection on Switch; right now this console has 8 games not present in the collection and that's just with half the games revealed. I also do like the Genesis controllers, I wonder if there will be some way to make them work on Switch. That said, the Castlevania game is included in that upcoming collection on Switch, so that's an easy option if I want that. Contra Hard Corps. may also be in the upcoming Contra collection.

I'm curious if this thing will have the fast-forward and rewind of the collection, that's been a very nifty feature!

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #14 on: May 16, 2019, 08:40:53 AM »
New games were announced! Pretty close to what I expected; not as strong as the last set of games released (for my tastes) but still a solid selection. So far it looks like there are only 3 games I'd categorize as "stinkers" and would rather have replaced outright.

Getting Wily Wars as the surprise game wasn't really on my radar. Apparently the remakes of Mega Man 1-3 included aren't awesome (someone mentioned slowdown?) but the bonus content where you select which weapons you want from all three games to take on Wily in his tower at the end is pretty awesome. I'm keen to try the game at least.

Others that kind of surprised me were:
* Alex Kidd is a series I had hoped they would skip - I've never heard anyone talk positively about the series, despite it being kind of iconic. Honestly, gameplay videos look like garbage.
* Sonic Spinball is a game I had forgotten about entirely, but a novel addition.
* Street Fighter is a great game... but one that I hoped they would leave off as playing with a three-button controller kind of defeats the purpose. (Frankly, anything less than an arcade stick makes this less enjoyable for me. I understand it's there as a nod to being a classic series, but it's really not the most playable game considering how things are set up.)

Still hoping to see MUSHA make an appearance, and with only 10 games left a little worried it might not happen. In fact, there aren't many spaces left for big name surprises at all, if you assume that some other classic Genesis titles (still no Strider?!) will take up remaining slots. Fingers crossed.
« Last Edit: May 16, 2019, 03:17:11 PM by ejamer »
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #15 on: May 16, 2019, 12:45:43 PM »
Damn, Wily Wars?!  Yeah, this is a must-own once I get confirmation that the emulation is good.  I was not expecting a game like that to be included at all.

There are some great games in this new list though aside from Mega Man they're not surprising inclusions.  Phantasy Star IV for example is a mandatory inclusion for a Genesis best-of but I would be more surprised if they didn't have it.

Street Fighter II with the three button controller is just plain dumb.  They either should have gone with the six button controller or left this on the JP version.  As an owner of the SNES Classic it doesn't matter to me because SF2 is on that with the full six buttons but it just makes no sense to go with such a compromised version of the game.  Probably Capcom insisting on including it and running into the roadblock of Sega US wanting the three button controller.

Sonic Spinball is trash but it always gets dusted off for these compilations so I'm not surprised to see it.  One thing that is nice about Nintendo is that their really meh retro games tended to be early NES titles so with the SNES Classic there really wasn't much risk of obvious first party clunkers eating up spots.

For the last ten I assume we're going to see Phantasy Star II and maybe III.  Sonic 3 & Knuckles would be an obvious choice to include but rumour has it that Michael Jackson's estate is mucking that up due to music rights.  Revenge of Shinobi is on the Japanese version and I don't see a reason not to include it on the American one.  But why would they announce a game specifically for the Japanese version and not announce it for the American one at the same time?  Maybe there are rights issues with the bosses that resemble Spider-Man and Batman, though they altered those for the VC release.

For clunkers I'm calling the following titles: Flicky, Bonanza Bros, Sonic 3D Blast.  No one likes these games but they get included every time.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #16 on: May 16, 2019, 03:15:57 PM »
It's weird - in Japan they include only a single controller with six buttons, in North America they include two controllers with three buttons each. Neither choice is well-suited to Street Fighter, although at least in Japan they'd only have to buy one extra controller to fix things.

I understand the choice from a "historically important" viewpoint, but still feel like that's a lame game to include due of those issues.  Oh well, still better than playing Alex Kidd...
 ;)

...  But why would they announce a game specifically for the Japanese version and not announce it for the American one at the same time?  ...

You might be right. Unfortunate if true, as MUSHA would be a fantastic value addition!
« Last Edit: May 16, 2019, 03:24:00 PM by ejamer »
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #17 on: May 16, 2019, 04:47:29 PM »
Just thought of something interesting.  Revenge of Shinobi had a couple variations due to trademark infringement issues.  One thing they did was change a Batman lookalike character into a bat creature.  But the Spider-Man lookalike was initially kept as is.  The reason why is because Sega had released a Spider-Man game and since they at the time had the Genesis game rights to the character they put a Marvel Comics copyright notice on the title screen and made it an officially licensed Spider-Man cameo.  They wouldn't have the rights to Spider-Man now except that Spider-Man now belongs to Disney and we're already getting Mickey Mouse games on this thing.  So in theory Disney might be able to approve of Spider-Man as well.

But then someone else might have exclusive video game rights to Spider-Man and that blocks it.

Offline Luigi Dude

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #18 on: May 16, 2019, 05:08:44 PM »
...  But why would they announce a game specifically for the Japanese version and not announce it for the American one at the same time?  ...

You might be right. Unfortunate if true, as MUSHA would be a fantastic value addition!

Well in the 1st wave Sonic 2 was announced for Japan but we had to wait until Wave 2 for that.  But the really weird thing is Sonic 1 has not been announced for Japan.  I guess since Sonic isn't as popular in Japan they can get away with just putting 2 since that's the one most fans prefer, where 1 is kind of a requirement for the West since it's the game that allowed them to even be competitive, something they never got a chance in Japan. 

Of course I'd like to imagine Shinobi 3 is coming to the Japanese version since that would be very weird to just release Revenge in Japan when you'd think the Japanese Sega fans would love both games.  Unless Sega did a poll and found Revenge more popular in Japan and Shinobi 3 more popular in the West and did the split so they'd have more room in both versions for other games they feel might be a better fit for each region, like Sonic Spinball and Alex Kid  :(

So it'll be interesting if the last Wave for both versions involves games that have already been announced for other regions or will it increase the amount of exclusives each region has. 
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Offline broodwars

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #19 on: May 16, 2019, 06:59:07 PM »
Considering they have 2 Disney games in there already, I have to figure the killer app would be Aladdin. If they somehow acquired that, I'd probably give this thing a shot.
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #20 on: May 16, 2019, 07:05:00 PM »
Aladdin might have rights issues.  It was published by Sega but developed by Virgin Games and they might have some rights to it.  Might be like Goldeneye where the publisher, IP holder and developer are all unconnected.

Offline Adrock

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #21 on: May 16, 2019, 11:15:36 PM »
Street Fighter II has to be there even if it’s handcuffed by the included controller. I just hope the games are still compatible with the six button layout because 8bitdo to the rescue.

Offline Luigi Dude

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #22 on: May 16, 2019, 11:18:07 PM »
Aladdin might have rights issues.  It was published by Sega but developed by Virgin Games and they might have some rights to it.  Might be like Goldeneye where the publisher, IP holder and developer are all unconnected.

There's also the music rights.  When Capcom ported the SNES version of Aladdin to the GBA they had to replace some of the music because the songs were separate copyrights.  Most of the time when Disney gets a musician to make songs for their movies the musician owns the copyright to the songs they create.  And when many of these songs are about to be remixed for the upcoming live action movie, that could make them popular again, I don't think Sega wants to pay the price these songs will probably cost.
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #23 on: June 03, 2019, 11:29:13 PM »
Final 10 games to be announced for the Japanese system in just a few hours.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWrju-vgZMw

Surely the North American release list will follow before long - although whether that means hours or days is hard to say. I haven't heard any official announcement about when they'll confirm the remaining games for other regions.

I'm still really excited about this. There have been a few stinkers announced so far, but far more games that I'm keen to try. Keeping my fingers crossed for a big announcement in the final 10. Rumors have been circulating about TMNT: Hyperstone Heist after Sega twitter used "Cowabunga!" in a recent tweet. Still seems unlikely to me, but what a score that would be!
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #24 on: June 04, 2019, 07:36:33 AM »
My own (meaningless) livestream impressions for the final set of Japanese releases:

Is Columns a garbage game, or is that just me? I've played it a bunch of times but never found the gameplay compelling or particularly well designed. Am I missing something?

Next up: Monster World IV - a fantastic game that was first released in a translated version on Wii Virtual Console. Totally worth playing, and would be a huge win for the North American console if it makes the cut here.

Dynamite Headdy is a game I know nothing about, but has a good reputation. Langrisser 2, Target Earth, and Alisia Dragoon (this one looked really cool) are the next few, and I know less about them than Headdy...

Road Rash 2.  Hmm... I've heard people asking for this game, and excited about it.  Gotta be honest, looks like trash, and my vague recollections of playing Road Rage games back in the day aren't good.  Better than Columns, I guess? Definitely not a game I would have asked for though.

Slap Fight. Great name for a vertical scrolling shmup that looks reminiscent of Xevious (a game I've always considered overrated) but with a Gradius-style power up system and some upgraded effects? I was really skeptical when they started showing it... but now kind of interested.

Ahhh!  Snow Bros!  I love this game.  If you haven't played it, the game is very reminiscent of Bubble Bobble; two players progress through a series of single-screen stages by covering their enemies in snow and rolling them to their doom. It's fun and silly. Really hope this comes to North America.

Last game announced in Japan is Lord Monarch. Total mystery to me, make your own assessment.


APPARENTLY... there are more games still being announced, even though they already hit 40?  My actual work has started, so I'm not on the live steam anymore... Darius (maybe a fan-made version) and Tetris are what I've heard rumors of so far, and apparently the live stream didn't end yet?  Pretty cool if true!

---

Would any of these games excite you guys if announced for release in other regions?
Hard to say how many will be carried over into other versions of the console; guess we'll have to wait and see!
« Last Edit: June 04, 2019, 08:20:45 AM by ejamer »
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