You aren't kidding there! Beside the topic which you're about to bring up, we've got DLC to buy, tons of quality releases, and downloadable games in addition to physical releases. At least it's easier to find games with online shopping.

Well, are you sure it can't be fixed? I understand what a downer this is, my  Xbox 360 was scratching game CDs and Microsoft charged me $100 to get it fixed (i.e. they sent me a new 360). At least they replaced the copy of Lost Oydssey it had destroyed. Anyway, give Sony's customer service a call if you haven't already. I did this when I dropped my PSP Go on a hardwood floor, and they fixed (replaced) it for $65. If you have already called them, then I hope you find a solution!

Well remember, there's no rush. Unless it's something like an Atlus game with a low print run, it shouldn't be hard to find whatever game you want to play later on. I understand the allure of new games (I usually can't resist) of course.

Well, there's a lot of different things at work here. For starters, modern processors are giving off a lot more heat than the ones back in the SNES days were. In addition, there's heat from disc drives and hard drives. Combine this with the desire for consoles to be small and sleek, and overheating becomes a real threat.  As we move towards solid state media, these problems should work themselves out. The consoles without these kinds of repair issues don't have as many complex components. Also the original Xbox 360 was rushed out. I think the newer ones are more solid.

This is true! There's times when I wish CD media hadn't become super cheap and we had stuck with cartridges. At the very least it seems portable games will stick to this route, with the Vita switching away from disc based media.

For the most part, though some people have had issues with the Wii and some hinge issues with the 3DS. On the whole, I believe they still have a better track record. However, let us not forget the disaster that was the original NES. Blowing in cartridges was not fun!

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm hoping you'll get that PS3 situation taken care of. In the mean time, you could always get a DS for not much (if you don't already have one) or play some classic games on the cheap. Perhaps some kind Q&A host will even give you a Steam code for Shining Force 2 or something (let me know if you haven't played it).

I would yell at Sony honestly. Other things aside, they should be able to make a system with ample cooling so it never overheats too much, even if the consumer has it in a confined space. Fans are cheap! Here's hoping the next generation of consoles don't suffer from these issues.

Perhaps it's time to get a job at a Sony store to get a discount on PS3s?

Well, there's good news! The version on the Wii virtual console is the Turbo Grafx-16 version! One of the best versions available, with high quality music and classic 8-bit graphics (the Turbo Grafx-16 wasn't really 16-bit). I've never really cared for any version of Ys 3, but the Turbo Grafx-16 version at least had the best version of the soundtrack. I absolutely adore the remake, it may be my favorite game in the series.

Not a bad idea! You can actually pop the CD into your computer and run it directly from an emulator on your computer, but playing it on the actual system with a controller is of course the best. Also, if I remember correctly you can just play the game disc like a musical CD to listen to the game's soundtrack.

Excellent, I may have to get that to celebrate the series 25th anniversary. I remember seeing it on Amazon for a decent price. Here's to 25 awesome years Ys!

Dang it, I thought I was done with these, and you brought them back! It's like the Pokémon games. Every time I think I can not care about them anymore, they come up with something new! Anyway, I'm going to "pass the buck" as they say. The first reader to successfully complete the challenge will get Penny Arcade Adventures 3 on Steam after its release.

To think that people complained about weapons degrading in the early SaGa games! See, that kind of idea worked in a turn based game where you weren't upgrading weapons. In an action game on the other hand? It just doesn't work that well. I had bigger issues, which we will dive into shortly.

Randomly generated dungeons can be very interesting when done right, but that is not the case in Dark Cloud. I think the game would have been far better with dungeons with creative layouts. The randomness just makes them boring. This game is far from the visual splendor Level-5 would be known for as well. I really hated the Soul Blazer type village-rebuilding. It was tedious and pointless and nothing like the game it clearly drew inspiration from. I know it has a lot of fans, but I just could not get into it. I may have to give it a second try, but I doubt I will find it to my liking, despite being quite some time since I last played it.

Well Rogue-likes are an interesting breed. I think the biggest hangup people get is from trying to play them like typical RPGs. Granted, since many present themselves this way I can understand this, but they're better played by considering them similar to challenging platformers.

Why, that's actually quite easy. Ingrid Bergman starred in a Joan of Arc film, so, for a console version of Jeanne D'arc they could use here likeness for the lead character! I think that qualifies as a slam dunk my good sir.

While I certainly abhor the awful SNES port of Ys III, I'm really not very fond of the other versions either. The Genesis version is certainly the best of the bunch, but on the whole I just find the gameplay to be tedious and not very entertaining. Of course, I'm biased as I mostly played it after playing the brilliant remake, Oath in Felghana. I highly recommend this over any of the various iterations of Ys III.

I did import the disc and have played it a bit, using the wonderful patch that translates the game on the fly (using an emulator obviously) so you don't even have to do any fancy patching. I haven't played much of it, but so far it is a nice return to form to Ys I&II's combat style. I've heard it's the better of the two versions, and makes interesting references to the first two games. Apparently it is not the official version of the story, so I guess the coming Vita remake of IV will follow the SNES version. That's a shame given its reputation as the inferior of the two.

I shall keep that in mind! I've been trying to dig into this, but there's just too many games to play at once. I'll try and play it a bit over this upcoming weekend!