My History with Game Systems (and Game Collection)

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The “My History With…” series are my thoughts back when I was a kid to young adult, about when I got games of a series, my initial thoughts about them, and other thoughts about the games. I stick to games I have or had, not one I played for the first time when i discovered emulation or modern system remakes. 

Besides certain game series, I have a long history with various game systems growing up, my last system getting was my Dreamcast (not including buying a new slim PS2). So here I’ll talk about my memories receiving them as gifts or whatever else I can remember on my thoughts. I put PSX and PS2 together, along with the Commodore 64 and Atari XE computer systems. I don’t remember most of the years or my age when I received these systems either. A list of my Top 5 16bit era RPGS at the end of this post.

The Atari 2600 was my first system and next actual system was the NES aside from a Commodore 64 and Atari XE. Video games got me through a lot of tough times growing up, loneness with few friends, even making gaming friends back in the 1980’s through say 2000s. Video games also helped me learn problem solving skills, perseverance, improve my reading and more. Along with frustration and muscle memory from repeating parts of games over and over again with no to few mistakes, especially racing games. Outside of the few friends I had, they were always there for me to escape to, and learn and enjoy and thrive to this day, even when life throws too much at me.

I also wanted to share in this post my full game collection spreadsheet, recently revised and updated on 7/1/2026. All my games, rarities, and more. Ask me anything about them!

Note these are older pics of my game systems. Excuse the mess. Safe to say this list is my gaming console jurney.

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Mental Health Updates (May 2026)

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Mental health is an important thing to me, and inspired by my recent ADHD diagnosis, encouragement from friends and my own background, I wanted to do this post. I was always in special ed schools growing up, been having a lot of trouble with things over past few years, and thanks to finally getting moving with therapy and various doctor visits, I wanted to finally get a real ADHD diagnosis.  I am neurodivergent in a number of ways, and proud. Wish I got tested and everything a lot sooner. Most of this post is going to be what I typed out on my social medias recently, and then get into some other stuff.

So to start: I grew up in the 80s and 90s before ADHD was really a thing. was told lazy, unmotivated, need to apply more, etc. Behavior issues with that I went to a special ed school after elementary and stayed there from grades 7 to 12. I was always smart, but couldn’t get tasks started, behavior issues, and the like. Continue reading →

TMNT Recolored & Revised (OpenBOR)

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This TMNT Beats of Rage mod from GaBoTiCo is both a recoloring of TMNT 2: The Arcade Game for the NES and a complete reimagining of the game with additional levels, moves, enemies, and more surprises! GaBoTiCo took a long time doing the recoloring and revised version to fulfill his dream and it shows from the high quality of this mod! The recoloring his the Turtles different shades of green, new moves and special attacks from later games like TMNT 3, Turtles in Time and even Tournament Fighters were added to the team’s move list to assist in the fight against the Foot Clan! Splinter, April and Casey Jones are playable characters once they are unlocked and you even have levels based on episodes of the 1987 cartoon and more! The Recoloring base game is that of the NES Arcade game, while Extended builds on the Arcade Game with a lot more!

From GaBoTiCo:
​This is and old school Beat’em up based on the Ninja Turtles. I’m not gonna lie, I borrowed some ideas from TMNT: Rescue Palooza. This project started as a remake of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Arcade Game for the NES but then I added more playable characters, new levels and cutscenes based on the 1987 Animated Series. I also added moves from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: The Manhattan Project for the NES, TMNT4: Turtles in Time and some “hadoken-like” moves from the SNES version of TMNT: Tournament Fighters. I recolored ALL the sprites adding “some” shading and a black outline so that the visuals resemble the cartoon. I actually finished this game back in Dec 2020, way before I opened my account on Game Jolt.

You can download the game here.

Review is based on playing the Revised game.

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Hack Showcase: Contra 2in1 Hack (NES) by Corpse Grinder

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Hack Showcases and RPG Hack Showcases are a series where I show off various game and rpg hacks along with fan remakes. I try to stick with hacks that improve gameplay or add quality of life features, completely or partially change the plot and characters, along with additional content, dialogue, graphical and sound improvements. Non-rpgs I try to give a full run to, or at least enough for a solid review. Rpgs I will stick with titles that have enough changes in the beginning to show off, and when I can, show parts later in the games where more differences appear. There may be spoilers in the reviews and videos. Some of these I may stream fully in the future or play on my own. Reviews are open to later revisions due to bug and content updates or me playing them and finding anything new I wish to bring up.

Contra 2in1 is a NES hack by Corpse Grinder which combines both NES Contra and Super C games into one 16 level adrenaline action packed game! Some enemies and bosses hit harder and the level progression switches from Contra to Super C’s levels and the hack uses Super C as a base (So use Super C’s Konami Code).

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Thoughts on Boss Fight Books Final Fantasy 5, Mega Man 3, Chrono Trigger

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Over time I’ve acquired 3 of the books from Boss Fight Books. Each book is about a different game which involves interviews with the developers, musicians, game testers, and more. Authors of each book played a big role in the development or the history of said game. You can find the series of them here: https://bossfightbooks.com/ and buy them from the website, Amazon, etc.

The 3 that I own are Final Fantasy 5 by Chris Kohler, Mega Man 3 by Salvatore Pane, and Chrono Trigger by Michael P. Williams. I’ll discuss my thoughts on these 3 books as follows.

FINAL FANTASY 5 BY CHRIS KOHLER: Chris Kohler spins a tale of discovering FF5 for the SNES while living in Japan in his youth, and then deciding to work on the first English translation of the game and first walkthrough. Interjected are stories of how he translated it and the choices he made in the dialogue along with notes from other books. Like most Boss Fight books, there’s a story of someone playing the game along with the feelings and discovery as the plot progresses and learning how the Job System works. Later in the book are discussions about how the game became a hit when translated and the mechanics and complexity of the Job System, along with the Four Job Fiesta- a game where the player is given 1 Job per Crystal and need to use only those 4 Jobs to the end of the game. There’s also mentions of how players over the years found ways to break the game using different Jobs and equipping certain items and gear on the heroes to do things even the developers probably didn’t think of! Highly recommended for anyone who loves FF5 for the SNES, GBA, or the Pixel Remaster!

MEGA MAN 3 BY SALATORE PANE: Another great Boss Fight book about the history and music of this much praised and rushed-to-stores Mega Man game that closed out the first NES trilogy! Like the other books there’s stories about the development of MM3, the introduction of Rush and Proto Man, and stories of the game’s narrative (who fights Needle man first anyway?!). Other interviews with Keiji Inafune and developers are here, along with how the game was rushed out the door and feels great but yet unfinished. I still love MM3, but reading this gives me more insight into its development after the surprise success of MM2. Pane also tells stories of retrogaming and discovering AVGN, Nintendoage and more throughout the book. To me I always found the glitches like the 2nd player high jump, early Rush Jet and others fun!

CHRONO TRIGGER BY MICHEAL P. WILLIAMS: One the early Boss Fight books, this one is another great book involving the history of this beautiful SNES rpg that always gets top marks on top 10 lists! In depth discussions about the game, morals, life choices and more are here along with playing through the game’s narrative like other Boss Fight books. Interviews with developers and translator Ted Woosley are in this book discussing the how and why’s of the Japan to English translation and adding other humor and translating Japanese phrases and puns. Other mentions in the book are the original SNES title of course but also the DS version with the added bells and whistles and story leading into Chrono Cross. There’s a lot of insight in this book regarding the game’s story and William’s own life along with Japanese culture. Anyone who loves Chrono Trigger from the amazing story, the time travel plot and more will really enjoy this and you’ll know why this game always is near or at the top of SNES rpg lists!

Lemme know if any of you out there pick these up, or other books from Boss Fight!

If you enjoy reading any of my content and hearing of my nerdy adventures, feel free to share my posts on social media or leave me a comment. I would be forever grateful if you supported me via my Cash App or buy me a coffee via Ko-Fi. All donations are very welcomed and appreciated. I earn no income from this blog and this will help me continue in providing content and fulfilling my dreams. Thanks!

My History with the Dragon Quest Series

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The “My History With…” series are my thoughts back when I was a kid to young adult, about when I got games of a series, my initial thoughts about them, and other thoughts about the games. I stick to games I have or had, not one I played for the first time when i discovered emulation or modern system remakes. 

I think the Dragon Quest/Warrior series was my first dip into playing RPGs as a kid and what got me hooked. I always enjoyed the longform story of having a main objective (or objectives) and your heroes solve problems in other locations along the way, figuring out how to utilize gear, and more. Even as a kid I didn’t mind grinding that much (though now with emulators you got that magic fast forward button). Sure the DQ/W series progressed slower than the FF series, but I loved it all the same. I started playing the games a bit out of order, but the stories being told in each games still fascinated me seeing how even as a kid I was into sci-fi and fantasy genres. I had a wide range of emotions playing all of these: joy, anger and sadness at plot points. I should really start replaying some of the remakes of these and rediscover my childhood joy.

I’m sticking with 1-4 and 8 since those are the ones I own or have owned. I have played the original and remakes of 5-7 but never owned them now or growing up.

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Happy New Year 2025 (in April 2025)

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Another year of streaming and gaming in the books! It was a year of ups and downs in streaming and life, and fighting off my ADHD to actually pull the trigger to start streaming that night. We finished a decent amount of titles and hacks, more than I expected during Kainetober too! Here’s our 2024 finished list:

GB/A:
Batman
Gargoyle’s Quest

NES:
Gunsmoke
Spartan X2/KungFu 2
Guerilla War
Jaws
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (hack)
Monster in my Pocket
Die hard (hack)

SNES:
SD The Great Battle
Super Ghouls n Ghosts (both loops)
TMNT Turtles in Time -easy

SEGA GENESIS/SEGA CD/SMS/GAME GEAR:
Batman
Task Force harrier EX
Mega Man Wily Wars (with hacks)
TMNT Hyperstone heist -easy

PSP/PS1:
Castlevania SOTN Alucard- 200.6%; Richter 186.8%

TG-16/PC-ENGINE:
Batman

DREAMCAST:
Zombie Revenge jp arcade mode

STEAM/OTHER/ARCADE/MOBILE/CONSOLE:
Beats of rage
mega man wily tower
streets of rage 2 zombies -beats of rage mod

HACKS:
jp castlevania 3 linear + partner swapping hack
donkey kong country 4 nes bootleg
rock man 2: basic master hack
legend of super mario nes
castlevania aria of sorrow persphone hack
castlemania (smb + cv hack)
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Hack Showcase Christmas 2024: Die Hard Special Edition (NES) & Home Alone Improvement (NES)

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Hack Showcases and RPG Hack Showcases are a series where I show off various game and rpg hacks. I try to stick with hacks that improve gameplay or add quality of life features, completely or partially change the plot and characters, along with additional content, dialogue, graphical and sound improvements. Non-rpgs I try to give a full run to, or at least enough for a solid review. Rpgs I will stick with titles that have enough changes in the beginning to show off, and when I can, show parts later in the games where more differences appear. There may be spoilers in the reviews and videos. Some of these I may stream fully in the future or play on my own. Reviews are open to later revisions due to bug and content updates or me playing them and finding anything new I wish to bring up.

For Christmas 2024 I did a special Chef Kaine Christmas Special with the Die Hard Special Edition and Home Alone Improvement Hacks for the NES. Reviews will be for the hacks themselves on how they fix the games, and I’ll add my thoughts on both games as well.

Die Hard Special Edition by Magnus Nilsson aims to fix a number of cosmetic and gameplay elements to this underrated game along with lowering the difficulty a little bit.

  • Changes:
    Almost all graphics including sprites, UI and hundreds of background tiles
  • Text now have a new font and a couple of script edits
  • Time limit per lock is now 5 minutes instead of 4
  • Health powerups now gives 5 points instead of 1
  • Line of sight tweaked in a few areas

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Hack Showcase: Castlemania (SNES)

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Hack Showcases and RPG Hack Showcases are a series where I show off various game and rpg hacks. I try to stick with hacks that improve gameplay or add quality of life features, completely or partially change the plot and characters, along with additional content, dialogue, graphical and sound improvements. Non-rpgs I try to give a full run to, or at least enough for a solid review. Rpgs I will stick with titles that have enough changes in the beginning to show off, and when I can, show parts later in the games where more differences appear. There may be spoilers in the reviews and videos. Some of these I may stream fully in the future or play on my own. Reviews are open to later revisions due to bug and content updates or me playing them and finding anything new I wish to bring up.

Created by LetsTalkGames, this hack combines gameplay and other elements of the Super Mario series with Castlevania into one fun package. 6 levels of platforming among Mario and Castlevania element await with enemies, tight jumps, bosses inspired by Mario and more. The hack has 2 versions: the main one and an “EASY VERSION”. The main version doesn’t save progress after levels until you finish it, the easy version does save after levels.

For the purpose of this review and streaming my first gameplay, I did do EASY Mode in case I ran into difficulty and save me from major setbacks or pc issues (all of which happened, lol).

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Hack Showcase: Castlevania Aria of Sorrow Persephone Hack (GBA)

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Hack Showcases and RPG Hack Showcases are a series where I show off various game and rpg hacks. I try to stick with hacks that improve gameplay or add quality of life features, completely or partially change the plot and characters, along with additional content, dialogue, graphical and sound improvements. Non-rpgs I try to give a full run to, or at least enough for a solid review. Rpgs I will stick with titles that have enough changes in the beginning to show off, and when I can, show parts later in the games where more differences appear. There may be spoilers in the reviews and videos. Some of these I may stream fully in the future or play on my own. Reviews are open to later revisions due to bug and content updates or me playing them and finding anything new I wish to bring up.

Created by Caminopreacher as a spoof hack of Aria of Sorrow, this hack presents Persephone (the ninja maids) as the playable hero, in a plot building off of the bad ending of Aria of Sorrow. She finds herself with her willpower along with familiar faces in Castlevania Olrox and Carmilla and others, and has to explore the castle to find answers. Plays just like Aria of Sorrow but with Persephone’s melee attacks (like Soma using Knuckles) you’ll be changing up how you play fast. Soul collecting is still a thing but all the Souls don’t correspond with the enemies you get them from normally! Souls needed to trigger the Good Ending have also been changed! Players will have a blast with this for a different story, some great laughs and gameplay experience.

Seeing how this was a longplay over multiple streams, there’s 2 gameplay videos for this, combined from their respective streams.

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