#gameboyadvance — Public Fediverse posts

Avui es compleixen 20 anys que arribava "LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy" per "Game Boy Advance" de #Nintendo 🕹🎮. #LegoStarWarsIiTheOriginalTrilogy #Lego #StarWars #GameBoyAdvance #HackAndSlashBeatEmUp #Aventura #Videojocs #Gaming #VideoGames

Naruto Path of the Ninja with Merrilee O’neil (Fear Coded)

By the mid-2000s, Naruto had pulled off something most manga-to-anime properties never manage: it wasn’t just popular, it was everywhere, spinning off a small army of video games across nearly every system with a screen, like Naruto himself used Shadow Clone Jutsu on the entire games industry and nobody thought to stop him. Somewhere in that flood of Ninja Councils and Clash of Ninjas sits Naruto: Path of the Ninja, the entry that decided the best way to honor Kishimoto’s story wasn’t just punching (though there’s plenty of that too) but actually letting you live through the Land of Waves and the Chūnin Exams one turn-based battle at a time.

Path of the Ninja debuted on the Game Boy Advance in Japan back in 2004, then took a leisurely three years to reach American shelves in 2007, arriving on the Nintendo DS instead, because by the time they got around to localizing it, the GBA already felt like last decade’s news. You pick from six familiar faces, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Shikamaru, Neji, and Rock Lee, pair them into formations for bonus combo attacks, and work through more than 90 jutsu, some of which you cast on the DS touchscreen by frantically scribbling a shape with the stylus, which is either a clever nod to hand seals or just a fun way to give yourself a cramp. The story runs all the way to the Chunin Exam invasion and a face-off with Shukaku, and if you’re wondering whether you can also fight Itachi as a secret bonus boss, the answer is: only if you own the Japanese version. The English release quietly deleted that fight but somehow forgot to scrub his name from the end credits, which is the video game equivalent of hiding a body and leaving the shovel leaning against the wall.

Making another through the Play Comics dojo is Merrilee O’Neil of Fear Coded, last seen on the show trying to keep pace with the Flash. This time she’s trading super speed for shadow clones, hand seals, and a Konoha headband, so at least the running is a little more sustainable.

So form your hand seals, grab your kunai pouch, and let’s find out if Path of the Ninja earned its headband as a worthy trip through early Naruto, or if it should’ve stayed back at the Academy with the rest of the genin.

Learn such things as:

• Isn’t the world today better, with games coming out worldwide at basically the same time?
• How can you use a console’s gimmick to really lean into the gameplay?
• Can a game stick to the established story a bit too well?
• And so much more!

You can find Merrilee being the main driver of the Fear Coded account on BlueSky @fearcodedpod.bsky.social on her podcast Fear Coded.

If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.

If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store.

Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.

Play Comics is also part of Art Comedy Pop-Culture Network, which is a long-standing creative organization spawning from a love of Adult Swim. Be sure to check them out for all sorts of entertainment news, commentary, and just plain fun stuff.

You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicspodcast on Threads, @playcomics on YouTube, or the Play Comics website.

If you want to hear Chris talk with Karrington Martin about the lessons we learned from children’s media and how crazy it is that we’re supposed to just forget about that now that we’re adults, then Sugar, Spite, and Everything is Fine is probably something you should check out.

A big thanks to Kaiju Comicast and Anime Field Guide for the promos today.

Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who probably has a pretty sick collection of headbands.

Superman Returns with Adam Williamson

Superman Returns came out in 2006 and asked audiences a very sincere question: what if Superman, but sad? Brandon Routh brooded his way across the big screen, lifting improbable objects and pining for Lois Lane, and somewhere in a boardroom, someone decided this emotionally complex theatrical event needed to be a video game on four different platforms. Five if you count the Game Boy Advance version, which is technically a different game but we’re counting it anyway because we paid good money decided that we just needed to talk about it.

The PS2 and Xbox versions let you fly around Metropolis, absorbing explosions with your face in service of a health bar that belonged to the city rather than Superman himself, which is either a genuinely clever design idea or the most passive-aggressive mechanic in superhero gaming history. The Xbox 360 version turned the whole thing into an open-world showcase for what next-gen hardware could do, which in 2006 meant “look at those buildings.” The DS version was a side-scrolling beat-em-up. The GBA version was something else entirely. Superman Returns contained multitudes, is what we’re saying.

Joining me to dig through the whole sprawling, melancholy, city-defending mess is Adam Williamson, real-life friend, frequent Play Comics guest, and owner of a podcast idea that has been marinating for what I can only describe as a concerning length of time. Adam, I say this with love: at some point you’re going to have to actually make the thing. In the meantime, he’s here, the knowledge is flowing, and we’ve got a Superman game across half a console generation to get through.

So settle in, try not to let the city’s health bar drop to zero, and let’s find out whether Superman Returns deserved better — from Hollywood, from the games industry, and honestly, maybe from all of us.

Learn such things as:

• Did we finally crack the secret on how to make a good Superman game buried somewhere deep inside this one?
• Are real estate moguls the true evil in today’s society?
• Are you a deadbeat dad if nobody besides you knows that you’re the father?
• And so much more!

You can find Adam on BlueSky @effectnotaffect and absolutely nowhere else except for on Play Comics where he writes comic reviews and appears on other episodes. Of particular interest to listeners of this episode are The Gimmick #1 and The Job #1.

If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.

The next episode is going to be Garfield’s Nightmare and Scary Scavenger Hunt, so get your thoughts ready and over to me if you want to hear them in the show.

If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store.

Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.

You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicspodcast on Threads, @playcomics on YouTube, or the Play Comics website.

If you want to hear Chris talk with Karrington Martin about the lessons we learned from children’s media and how crazy it is that we’re supposed to just forget about that now that we’re adults, then Sugar, Spite, and Everything is Fine is probably something you should check out.

A big thanks to Big Game Saga Issue 2 and DC Specialcast for the promos today.

Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who just wants the Supergirl movie to be good.

Justice League Heroes The Flash with Merrilee O’Neil (Fear Coded)

The year was 2006. The Game Boy Advance was winding down, the Justice League animated series had wrapped up, and someone at WayForward Technologies looked at a tiny handheld screen and said, “You know what this needs? The Flash. Running very fast. On a cartridge the size of a business card.” And honestly? Bold decision.

Justice League Heroes: The Flash took the Game Boy Advance, the beloved animated series, and a Justice League comic run and asked the eternal question: how many Rogues can you stuff into a handheld beat-em-up before the whole thing starts wobbling? This episode, we’re finding out. We’re covering the comics, the game, the cartoon connections, and whether Barry Allen or Wally West gets more respect in a world that keeps giving them both the speed force and zero chill.

Joining us to run this whole thing down is Marrilee O’Neil from Fear Coded, who brings exactly the right energy for a conversation about a game that moves fast and expects you to keep up.

So strap in, try not to blink, and let’s do this before the Flash gets impatient and reruns the episode himself.

Learn such things as:

• Why couldn’t this have just been part of Justice League Heroes?
• What is the best way to experience time manipulation?
• Does it really matter if you get to play as Wally or Barry here?
• And so much more!

You can find Merrilee being the main driver of the Fear Coded account on BlueSky @fearcodedpod.bsky.social on her podcast Fear Coded.

If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.

The next episode is going to be Justice League Chronicles, so get your thoughts ready and over to me if you want to hear them in the show.

If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store.

Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.

You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicspodcast on Threads, @playcomics on YouTube, or the Play Comics website.

If you want to hear Chris talk with Karrington Martin about the lessons we learned from children’s media and how crazy it is that we’re supposed to just forget about that now that we’re adults, then Sugar, Spite, and Everything is Fine is probably something you should check out.

A big thanks to Saints of Storm and Sorrow by Gabriella Buba and The Monitor Tapes for the promos today.

Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who already did that thing you wanted to get done and you didn’t even see it getting done because it got done too fast.

Catwoman (2004) With Billy (CommanderCast)

This time on Play Comics, we’re sneaking into the glittery, CGI-filled vault of early-2000s tie-in games and asking the question nobody demanded an answer to: “What if Catwoman, but make it even more 2004?” Between the leather, the eyeliner, and the wall-running, we’re checking out the Catwoman movie game that clawed its way onto GameCube, Xbox, PS2, and Game Boy Advance. It’s the kind of experience that feels like someone motion-captured an energy drink and then gave it a whip.

To help make sense of this pixelated fever dream, Chris is joined by frequent guest Billy from his real life friend group, because if you’re going to suffer through mid-2000s licensed game nonsense, you should at least do it with someone who can confirm you’re not hallucinating. Together they dive into the bizarre elegance of magically convenient scaffolding, combat that thinks “pressing one button a lot” is a personality trait, and a story that remembers it’s based on a movie just often enough to be legally distinct from fun. Expect more cat puns per minute than the ESRB ever intended.

So dust off your flip phone, crank up your nu-metal playlist, and prepare to swing through a world where glass windows are just suggestions and gravity is more of a guideline. Is this game an underrated gem, a misunderstood experiment, or the digital equivalent of stepping on a LEGO in high heels? Tune in to find out how this cinematic catastrophe translated to four different systems, and whether any of them managed to land on their feet.

Learn such things as:

• Can we really hold the story of this game against it (for the purposes of this podcast anyway) when it was just following the movie plot lines?
• Since when is the handheld version allowed to be the best one?
• Did we miss all of those jumps and grabs because some cat in the greater universe was pushing our character off the ledge?
• And so much more!

You can find Billy’s writing nowhere because Commandercast seems to be dead. But if it’s not then someone tell me and I’ll switch this up.

If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.

If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store.

Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.

You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicspodcast on Threads, @playcomics on YouTube, or the Play Comics website.

If you want to hear Chris talk with Karrington Martin about the lessons we learned from children’s media and how crazy it is that we’re supposed to just forget about that now that we’re adults, then Sugar, Spite, and Everything is Fine is probably something you should check out.

A big thanks to Pop Culture Basement and The Last Comic Shop for the promos today.

Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who thinks that the best catwoman is Felicia from Darkstalkers.

It’s 2005. You were supposed to be studying for your computer class on your #imacg4, but got distracted by #thesims instead! #2000s #2000snostalgia #discman #gameboy #gameboyadvance #tamagotchi #cornergas #nostalgic #nostalgia #oldcomputer #imac #gameboyadvancesp #flipphone #sonyericsson #lavalamp

Ultimate Muscle The Kinnikuman Legacy The Path of the Superhero & Legends vs New Generation with SerpyMatt

Strap on your meat-based wrestling tights and oil up those biceps because Play Comics is about to suplex you straight into the absurdly wonderful world of Kinnikuman! This week we’re tag-teaming not one, but TWO Ultimate Muscle games—The Path of the Superhero for GameCube and Legends vs New Generation for Game Boy Advance. That’s right, we’re going double or nothing like a Choujin who forgot leg day exists and decided to compensate with twice the spandex.

These games, spawned from the legendary Kinnikuman manga and anime, brought us a universe where wrestling isn’t just a sport—it’s the entire basis of intergalactic civilization, which honestly makes about as much sense as any other comic book logic we’ve tackled on this show. Whether you’re commanding Kid Muscle through his heroic quest to not embarrass his legendary father or settling the age-old debate of who would win between old-school wrestlers and the new generation (spoiler: everyone’s finishing move is magnificently ridiculous), we’ve got you covered.

Joining us for this muscle-bound mayhem is none other than SerpyMatt, who hasn’t quite gotten around to launching his own podcast yet—but he’s told me the concept and folks, when it finally drops, you’re going to absolutely love it. Assuming he ever stops procrastinating long enough to record episode one, that is.

So crack your knuckles, practice your most intimidating wrestler growl, and prepare for an episode that’s guaranteed to have more body slams than a physics textbook thrown at a trampoline factory. It’s time to find out if these games captured the magnificent weirdness of their source material or if they just left us feeling like we got hit with the Kinniku Buster of disappointment.

Learn such things as:

• What happens when you give character designers unlimited freedom and a fever dream?
• What’s the exchange rate between friendship power and actual wrestling skill?
• Should we be concerned that intergalactic peace depends entirely on entertainment wrestling?
• And so much more!

You can find SerpyMatt on BlueSky @serpymatt.bsky.social.

If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you’re interested in.

If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store.

Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix.

You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky, @playcomicscaston Twitter and in the Play Comics Podcast Fan Groupon Facebook.

A big thanks to the Byrds Eye View Comics and The Last Comic Shop for the promos today.

Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, whose wrestling gimmick here would probably be something based around weaponizing VHS tapes.

I totally lost track with #OnionOS on my #MiyooMini and just found out that my version 4.3.0 is outdated. Installing the currently latest beta version 4.4.0-beta2 worked flawlessly. 😊 Now I can play #TetrisDX again AND get my achievements registered with #RetroAchievements because of the latest #RetroArch version! Yayyy! 🤩 #RetroGaming #HandheldGaming #HandheldConsole #GameBoy #GameBoyAdvance #GameBoyColor #Tetris

Swapped out the SSD (from #SiliconPower to #ADATA's XPG line) and it works fine now but my god this laptop I used to think was magic (for a really short while) has not aged well.

Its screen, if it could even be called that, is horrendous. Reminds me of an OG #GameBoyAdvance screen with an overhead light attachment shone on it. Its keyboard is fine but nothing to write home about, it's definitely aged noticeably based on the (wobbly) typing experience. Not having a fingerprint sensor is painful considering #macOS is too dumb to not ask you to authenticate (redundantly) for doing absolutely anything. Updating an app? Sign in. Launch the app afterwards? Please allow the app to launch first, oh and ofc, please do sign in again.

Its trackpad is small, and requires physical primary and secondary clicks, unlike #MacBook (haptic) trackpads of today that does not rely on physical buttons and allows you to click anywhere on the surface of the trackpad - that thing REALLY spoiled me and made me hate any trackpads without such "feature".

Its speaker is meh, my old, and far, far cheaper #Dell notebook had significantly superior speakers but I personally don't care about that. Its camera is decent, but I've never really thought of it that way until I got the M1 MacBook Air - literally everyone around me have noted about how this 2013-2017 MacBook Air's webcam is somehow more decent than the one on the M1.

Its charger has not aged well either. I personally have always hated #MagSafe (as much as I hate any other proprietary/non-standard chargers) and curse at the fact that I've to lose 1 socket for its charger that only it alone uses instead of just using USB-C from my multi-port GaN charger. If there's one thing the M1> MacBooks got right is the battery life. This thing, even with its battery replaced very recently and sits at about ~343 charge cycles, lasts for jack shit lol - you will definitely need to carry its bulky charger along with you everywhere.

Speaking of bulk, this thing is heavy af esp with a case on, which you will definitely want to have since its shell dents and scratches extremely easily (even with a hard case on). Last but not least, its performance is definitely insanely poor even for the most basic of things. I don't remember it being THIS slow back in the day, but maybe macOS Monterey (the latest OS supported on it) is just too much for it. From my exp with Macs and (especially) #iPhone's, #Apple seems to love overpromising/extending OS support for hardwares that could barely even run the thing, when it ran perfectly fine (and much faster/smoother) 1-2 OSes prior.

All in all, I don't know if I'd even recommend this to a kid lol - maybe if it ran faster on Mojave, or Catalina, I would. As things stand, I'll prolly only use this for #iTunes/iPhone backups and nothing more since there's no such alternative for these on #Linux. For anyone needing a MacBook, please just go get a MacBook Air M1 - nothing newer, and defo nothing older.