I felt my N64 needed another shooter, so I picked up a brand new copy of Quake. I'm still playing through this one, but it's tough:
I've been meaning to complete my Wario Land collection (with the main entries anyway), so I finally picked up a brand new copy of Wario Land 4.
I also added a couple new NES games to my collection. Super Glove Ball was picked up brand new for only around $40, and Gotcha! was picked up used, but in excellent condition, for about $25.
But Super Glove Ball isn't much fun without its trademark controller: The Power Glove, so I bought one of those as well.
I have to say, the glove works great with Super Glove Ball! In fact, I've already uploaded a complete playthrough of the game on my Youtube channel (www.youtube.com/watchmeplaynintendo). I couldn't believe that I found a brand new Power Glove for only $85. That's a steal if you ask me. I'll be having fun with this thing for sure. Mike Tyson's Punch Out is fun with the glove, but it doesn't dodge left and right very well. The other movements work fine though. I'll be trying other games for sure.
In other controller-related news, I purchased a brand new Sharkpad Pro 64:
This one is unusual because the packaging is different. My prior two Sharkpads came in a fully enclosed box, unlike this one. You can see the difference by scrolling down and looking at my N64 collection.
I'm not sure why Interact had two different types of packaging for this thing, but I love this controller! I picked up my first one back in 1997 or so, and it broke after only a few years. So for a while there I had to switch to the sucky, bat-shaped Sharkpad Pro 64 2 (the revised version that I always hated), but then I found a used, original-model Sharkpad on eBay around 2010 or so. So I sold the bat-shaped one. However, my used replacement controller was cracked inside, so that bothered me. I saved an eBay search to notify me if a new one of these appeared, and lo and behold, this thing appeared. I love new old stock. Shopping for old games is more fun than shopping for new ones.
Continuing on to accessories, I decided to finally pick up a new Four Player Adapter for the Game Boy:
I've had a used one without the box for several years now (I bought it from FuncoLand back in 1999 or so), but I felt I needed a box to add to my collection. These things are dirt cheap anyway, so it's not hard to justify the purchase.
Now here's the real kicker. The Four Player Adapter features the large, old-style connector that only works with an original model Game Boy. So to use this thing, you need to have at least one original Game Boy, because every Game Boy model after this (Pocket, Light, Color, Advance) only featured the smaller connector... right? Wrong.
While it's true that the later Game Boy models only supported the smaller link cable made for the Game Boy Pocket, I did some research, and it turns out there was this adapter released only in Japan called a Henkan Connector. I ordered one brand new from a website called Arcade-Gear.com, and they had to ship it to me all the way from Japan:
What does a Henkan Connector do? It shrinks the old, large-style link cable down to the smaller, Game Boy Pocket/Color link cable size, like so:
So what does all of this mean? This means that I can now connect a Game Boy Four Player Adapter straight to my GameCube's Game Boy Player and capture four player footage with the Hauppauge HD PVR... in progressive scan mode (because I have GameCube component cables). I'm excited about that. Hopefully I can get my friends to help me with that and I'll get some footage posted on Youtube. I'll need to buy additional copies of some four player games though.
Awesome finds.
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice Sharkpad. That is my favorite third-party controller as well. Like you said, the newer, bat-shaped design looks ugly by comparison. By chance, do you remember what color the PCB was on the backside of your controllers? I have two Sharkpads: one has a brown PCB and the other is green. The brown one seems to have sensitivity issues, i.e. the cursor in Goldeneye is shaky and does not stay smooth. I was curious if the PCB change (color and some wiring differences) could be to blame for this. Odd question, I know, but thought I would inquire, as I'd like to pickup one more good Sharkpad.
ReplyDeleteThe new Sharkpad I bought has a green PCB. I don't know that the color actually affects the control stick. I just remember IGN reporting years ago that the second version came out due to analog stick issues on the first version (I personally encountered that problem with my first one I bought in 1997). Last I checked, eBay still had some original Sharkpad controllers for sale. You might be able to grab one there.
DeleteHey, thanks for the response. So, when you say "second version" are you talking about a second version of the normal Sharkpad, or are you referencing the bat-shaped one being the corrected version?
DeleteThe bat-shaped one is the second version (it has a 2 in its name). From what I've seen, there was no official revision of the original three-prong design (outside of the bat-shape one).
DeleteI went ahead and ordered two more Sharkpads: one that is the original, three-pronged design and one that is the redesigned, 64^2 model brand new in box. The former controller (with green PCB) still had joystick issues. Although it did not bounce around and shake in Goldeneye while aiming, it has other sensitivity issues. A thorough cleaning of the potentiometers seems to have temporarily fixed things, but it's disappointing that these Sharkpads all seem to have minor joystick issues of some derivation. The latter controller was new in box, but the joystick was not seated well. I had to take that apart too and re-align the stick. After doing so, I must say that the 64^2 joystick, though it looks identical, feels and plays better than the original Sharkpad. It seems to move much smoother and is less harsh on the thumb. Sadly, the design of the controller is not ergonomic at all and I, like you, still prefer the three-pronged design. Still, it's a viable controller, and the one I got does not suffer from the sensitivity issues I've seen in the other Sharkpad controllers I've used.
DeleteI also have a couple two-pronged Super Pad branded controllers and they, too, seem to suffer from sensitivity issues like the Sharkpad. It's a shame third-party controller makers could not produce better products that replicated the OEM feel.
That sucks that a new controller isn't functioning correctly. I had a similar problem with my pedals for the V3 Racing Wheel. They didn't work and the seller had to send me replacements.
DeleteInteract's products weren't as reliable as Asciiware's on the SNES. I think the N64 analog stick introduced some problems for third party manufacturers.
My new Sharkpad has been working fine for me. I guess it's just the luck of the draw.