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Zelda Games on the Philips CD-i

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Re: Zelda Games on the Philips CD-i

#31

Post by testplzignore »

tombert wrote: post #23
murph-almighty wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't even need a romhack for Link to the Past now, it's available on the SNES virtual console for Switch. It's free aside from the cost of the Switch.

I think I didn't explain myself very well, so I apologize; I meant that if you've already exhausted one of the mainline Zelda games (which you probably have if you're looking at the Zelda CD-i games), then I would recommend one of the many many many fan romhacks out there that add new levels and characters. Emulating a CD-i is kind of a pain in the ass...installing romhack patches is too, but at least if you choose o…

I've spent many hours playing Zelda Classic (zeldaclassic.com) quests. I wish Nintendo would release an official version of something like this like they did with Super Mario Maker.

Re: Zelda Games on the Philips CD-i

#32

Post by magashna »

tombert wrote: post #18
magashna wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're better off watching the cutscenes on youtube, the game is truly terrible. Also the CD-i focused on "interactive media" rather than what most would consider a good game. Hulk Hogan's "Thunder in Paradise" was a companion game to go along with his TV show. Youtuber SuperGreatFriend has a good playthrough of it. It looks awful.

The FMV-era is something that's more fun now than it was in the 90's I think; there seems to be a near-endless supply of these low-budget movie games, and the combination of terrible acting, cheap special effects, and over the top writing actually makes them incredibly fun to play on a so-bad-its-good level. Honestly, even Thunder in Paradise has its moments if you play it with a group of friends to laugh at. As some…

Fun to watch, frustrating to play. That's why I'd recommend the youtube versions of these. There are parts in Thunder in Paradise that look nearly impossible with the Phillips CD-i controller, and I think you'd need the rarer Phillips CD-i keyboard and mouse, or a PS/2 compatible set (but not sure on that)

Despite that, yes the FMV stuff is hilarious, though I think there are better options for DOS/PC rather than trying to bother with the CD-i which seems to be difficult to find in working order.

Re: Zelda Games on the Philips CD-i

#34

Post by magashna »

Tepix wrote: post #24

I'm surprised that Nintendo has not yet re-released The Legend of Zelda (Zelda 1 from 1986) with updated graphics. It seems as if all the re-releases for the various platforms including Nintendo Switch are just emulators for the NES version.

I feel like Zelda 1 & 2 have some dead ends that would be really frustrating. Maybe if it was a true remake, not just a reskin or something.

Re: Zelda Games on the Philips CD-i

#35

Post by Fej »

murph-almighty wrote: post #19
tombert wrote: post #15

Years and years ago (~2006-2007), after one of my many Wikipedia rabbit-hole nights, I stumbled upon the CD-i, and consequently the Zelda CD-i games. I immediately had to find an emulator, and play Faces of Evil, and I couldn't stop laughing once cut-scenes started playing. I took my video camera, pointed it at my monitor (my computer was too slow for desktop capture), and sent the video to my friends, and it became…

You don't even need a romhack for Link to the Past now, it's available on the SNES virtual console for Switch. It's free aside from the cost of the Switch.

It's not free; you have to pay for Switch Online monthly or yearly.

If you have Twitch Prime, you can get up to a year for free but only through Tuesday.

Re: Zelda Games on the Philips CD-i

#36

Post by tim58 »

swsieber wrote: post #29
murph-almighty wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't even need a romhack for Link to the Past now, it's available on the SNES virtual console for Switch. It's free aside from the cost of the Switch.

My favorite romhack is https://alttpr.com/en (A Link to the Past Randomizer). It basically takes your rom and swaps the location of all items in chests, pendants / crystals, and can even swap enemies, keys in dungeons (for cross dungeon shenanigans) and entrances. So I much prefer the romhack to the original now, given my familiarity. Now if only I could play it on the switch... Edit: a recent playthrough had me with…

A Link to the Past randomizer is easily the most popular randomizer, but there are now many more randomized games. There are other Zelda games like Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker, and there are non zelda games like Final Fantasy and Castlevania Symphony of the Night.

This is becoming a bit of a trend in classic gaming speed runs. Multiple people will play the same "seed" or arrangement of items/characters and you can watch them race on Twitch or even at live gaming events. In some games the top non-hack gamers have crossed over and spend significant effort playing the randomized version of their favorite game. While there is an element of luck in this game format, the best players tend to consistently rank high in tournaments so skill is a large factor.

Of course, the legality of this is highly questionable. Most people that play A Link To The Past Randomizer do not have a legal copy of the v1.0 Japanese game the hack operates on. For those that do their license would allow them to make a rom, but would it allow them to make modifications to that rom and upload gameplay videos online for profit?

Some game developers have noticed this trend. For example, Cadence of Hyrule (2019) plays similarly to A Link to the Past Randomizer in that key items are distributed randomly across the game. They even call a specific item distribution a "seed" which is terminology borrowed from the randomizer community.

It's easy to ignore this trend in gaming because it's not very large like loot boxes or two tier currencies and it doesn't have a marketing budget. It is however a fun grassroots movement branching out from people's love of classic games.

Re: Zelda Games on the Philips CD-i

#38

Post by atjamielittle »

I have a strange memory about these games. Whenever I was a kid I was looking through some boxes and found a bunch of my older video game magazines. I saw an ad in GamePro for these games and Philips CD-i. I was shocked! How could I have missed multiple Zelda games being released on a console that used CDs? Why had I never heard of this? I am pretty sure that this would have been in 1998/1999 or so, but the magazine was much older.

It had a 1-800 number, which I called immediately to see if they were still selling the games and the system. Someone answered and they were still selling them, but I seem to remember the price being pretty high despite the age of the games and the system. Soon after I must have searched on the internet and discovered that it was mainly a system for edutainment games and lost interest.

Now I have to go look to see if there are any GamePro scans in the Internet Archive that have that ad.

Re: Zelda Games on the Philips CD-i

#39

Post by matty22 »

We still own a CD-i and Faces of Evil. I never could beat it just due to how awful the controls were. There were a few other games we had for the CD-i that were legitimately enjoyable. The Wacky World of Miniature Golf and Mystic Midway: Rest in Pieces were both fun games.

Every once in a while when I'm visiting home, we'll break it out for a round of mini golf!

Re: Zelda Games on the Philips CD-i

#40

Post by jerf »

tim58 wrote: post #36
swsieber wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My favorite romhack is https://alttpr.com/en (A Link to the Past Randomizer). It basically takes your rom and swaps the location of all items in chests, pendants / crystals, and can even swap enemies, keys in dungeons (for cross dungeon shenanigans) and entrances. So I much prefer the romhack to the original now, given my familiarity. Now if only I could play it on the switch... Edit: a recent playthrough had me with…

A Link to the Past randomizer is easily the most popular randomizer, but there are now many more randomized games. There are other Zelda games like Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker, and there are non zelda games like Final Fantasy and Castlevania Symphony of the Night. This is becoming a bit of a trend in classic gaming speed runs. Multiple people will play the same "seed" or arrangement of items/characters and you can…

"They even call a specific item distribution a "seed" which is terminology borrowed from the randomizer community."

Random number generators have been getting "seeded" for decades now; that terminology may well predate video games entirely, though I can't prove that either way with an HN comment's worth of effort. Probably originates from a "seed crystal" in chemistry, which goes back even farther.

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