Featured Member August 2024: LeatherRebel5150

[Splain | 2,687]

Ayooooo @LeatherRebel5150

Where does your username come from?
I'm a fan of classic metal/hair metal bands so the name is a combination of Leather Rebel, a Judas Priest song from their album Painkiller and 5150 the first Van Halen album with Sammy Hagar as the singer.

Is your profile pic your pet squirrel?
Not my pet squirrel, but my favorite Squirrel. It's a shot of Conker from the final scene's of the game Conker's Bad Fur Day after he becomes the king.

What are some of the greatest classic hair/metal bands?
Judas Priest to me is a quintessential classic metal band and they basically invented "the look" with leather and spikes. A hair metal band that doesn't get enough credit is Cinderella. They have some great stuff and are hardly ever mentioned when the genre is mentioned (which may be a good thing because a lot of times when the genre or that time period is brought up it's in a derogatory nature.)

How did you come across NintendoAge for the first time back in the day?
Oooo that's a hard one to remember. It was back in 2011 and I had joined my first retro gaming forum, Digital Press. A couple months after that I signed up on Nintendoage. I can't remember if I saw someone on Digital Press mention it or if I was googling some random retro game stuff and stumbled across it. 

Do you remember starting that first "Beat Every N64 Game" thread in 2012?
I definitely remember the thought process behind it. I saw the NES and SNES threads and thought it was weird that there was none for the N64. It was just as worthy of a "Beat Every Game..." thread to me. I've always seen NES, SNES, and N64 as the "classic" era of Nintendo and those three consoles go together in my mind. So it seemed wrong to not have a thread for N64. It also stemmed from I was HEAVY into N64 collecting at the time. I went from no collection to a full North American set between 2011 and 2013.

I'll admit I was not the best with running the thread. The points system that was implemented later was much more interesting and added that extra flavor the thread needed. (note: this was a paid promotion.)

I am happy to see that it has survived so long. To think it's been 12yrs since then...man

What are some of your earliest video game memories?
My first memory is of playing with an NES at my grandmothers house that had originally belonged to my uncle. I specifically remember a handful of games. Top Gun, The Adventures of LOLO, Iron Sword, and Street Cop (couldn't play it as they didn't have a power pad). The quickshot joystick was how I played Top Gun. But I only remember playing with it 2 or 3 times before it got thrown away or sold. I think it was believed to be broken which seemed to be a common misconception when it was probably just a dirty game/pin connector. After that there is a pretty big gap in my gaming memory. Which is strange because we ALWAYS had the SNES in my house. My dad had bought it "for me" the year it came out...which is also the year I was born in 1991. So basically dad got himself a SNES. But I don't remember playing it until WAY later then the NES. Probably just faulty memories.

How does modern gaming compare to "retro" gaming?
For me modern gaming doesn't much compare to retro gaming. Specifically in HOW I play games. I don't play games on PC. I don't play online with people. The only modern console I have is the Switch and I play it like I would my N64 or Master System. Pop a cart in and spend some alone time gaming.

What non-video game hobbies do you have?
In the past I tried my hand at guitar and couldn't "get it" no matter how hard I tried. But I don't have any specific hobbies other then games/collecting games anymore. Most of my free time is eaten up with doing things for my not-very-mobile grandfather. So I guess my "other hobbies" are whatever project I have to do at his house any given week.

Where do you live?
Northwest NJ

Who do you live with?
My Finance with a new baby on the way slated for January

Congrats! Will you consider naming it "Splain?"
Depends, is Splain a boy or girl name? We don't know which one we're having yet.

Does your fiancee play games?
She will play games that either she played with her brothers as a kid or is related to a franchise she likes. One that she loves and is really good at is Turtles in Time

Favorite book/movie/album/outfit/beverage?
Don't really have a favorite book.

Same with movies because I can't really pick any given one, but I do really enjoy the big slasher franchises. Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween. Anytime they come out with a new one that's a guaranteed trip to the theater for me.

Can't pick a favorite album. I don't really view music whether it be bands, songs, albums etc as something that I can have a favorite in. It's entirely dependent on mood and the type of sound that needs to service that mood. So no favorite could really serve every mood. Strange response I know but for whatever reason music occupies a different and unique thought process in my mind vs other forms of media/entertainment. 
That being said I just started listen ting to an obscure band that completely blew my mind in a way that hasn't happened to me with a band in well over 15yrs. Anyone into classic rock should check out the band Night. Specifically search youtube for Night - Under the Moonlight Sky their generic name makes them hard to find.

For an outfit I generally look like I sell drugs behind a Burger King the way I look/dress. Long hair, usually a band t-shirt with a plaid/flannel over shirt, camo pants/shorts and hiking boots...and that's what I wear to work everyday as an engineer! Don't let you're parents you HAVE to look professional for work kids!...you just have to be REALLY good at what you do so they'll over look it.

Favorite Beverage? Coke. I don't drink alcohol or coffee so soda is my vice drink...which I really have to cut back on again.

You didn't even ask about my favorite games! on a gaming forum!

DKC Series. Specifically DKC 3. People rave about 2 but 3 takes the cake for me in everything except for music.

I'm getting there! ...uh, what are your top 10 favorite video games?

• Majora's Mask
• Super Mario World
• Pirate's The Legend of Black Kat
• Breath of the Wild
• Xenoblade Chronicles 2
• 1st and/or 2nd Gen Pokemon
• Donkey Kong Country 1
• Donkey Kong Country 2
• Donkey Kong Country 3
• Monster Party

How does Tears of the Kingdom compare to Breath of the Wild?
Not as good in my opinion. I’m not big on a lot of crafting in games. Even in BOTW where the only crafting was food I rarely ever made any dishes. With Tears dialing up the crafting…I just wasn’t a fan. 

Also feels like they really padded out the game with the underworld. It’s just not an interesting area. Other than a few areas of lava it’s all the same.  

BOTW really captured my imagination that a game hadn’t done since I was a kid. The “I wonder what’s over there? It could be anything!” feeling. That was really cemented when I was playing one day and saw one of the Dragons flying through the air. I had absolutely no idea they were in the game and they were so different than anything else in the game it caught my off guard. Pretty sure I did an audible “Holy S***!” to myself.

Being that Tears reused the map of BOTW and added a very sparse sky, pretty bland underground, and all that crafting, it just doesn’t compare to BOTW’s magic. I never even finished Tears I think I finished 50ish% and just got kinda bored with it.

Do you still follow modern Pokemon games?
Yes, I had just recently played through Scarlet as I found the Game+DLC in the overflow section of Target a fee months back and snagged it because I haven’t seen a copy of those in a while. 

Being Im a “complete set” collector I always end up playing pokemon to keep my caught pokemon up to date. The Switch mainline games (not the remakes) haven’t been great. I honestly think they’re the worst of the franchise. I just don’t understand the excitement people have with the “wild” pokemon. They all just literally pace back and forth and poof in/out of existence in random fields. After a few minutes of that it is incredibly boring. I’ll be more interested/impressed if/when they give each species of pokemon unique scripts. Such as you can watch a Bidoof go over to a tree and cut it down and drag it over to a dam, or a Spinark making a web in a tree. At least give them big unique set pieces for a location again. A big haunted house for ghost pokemon, an industrial center for poison/steel pokemon, a power plant for electric pokemon again or a hydro electric dam. You know something that’s big, unique, explorable, makes sense in the context of the pokemon contained within…anything other than a open field.

Did you ever get into Donkey Kong Country Returns?
Ive played them and enjoy them kinda. Tropical Freeze is definitely better than Returns. I can’t stand motion controls so Returns was always held back by that. Hopefully the re-make will make it play better.

That being said they both have a “feel” to them thats different than the original trilogy which makes it feel like I’m not able to be as precise. The New SMB games has the same issue vs SMW to me.

What are your least favorite games?
One on One fighting games is definitely near the bottom of genres to me. I just can't do them. Specifically the ones where every character seemingly has a unique button combos for their various moves. I'm just not good at them.  But something like Wrestlemania 2000 where the button combos are simple and universal for every character, that I can get into.

Besides that I don't have a particular game I hate. Like mentioned in a previous answer it's more the "how" a game is played (on pc, online with people) that I'm not a fan of.

What consoles get the most playtime in your house?
At this point the Switch just because of the move and it's convenience factors

What are your top Switch games?
Definitely BOTW is a top one. See my previous rant on BOTW/Tears as for why. 

Xenoblade 2 is another. The Switch was the first console I experienced a Xenoblade game on and I played them in order 1,2,Torna,3. I find 2 to be hands down the best. 

Xeno 1 was a lot of “wtf is going on” with the premise of living on giant creatures and being in essentially a simulator, so I was getting my bearings for almost the entire game lore wise and just having some basic comprehension on what the hell was going on. 

Xeno 2 I got the gist down, the story seemed more of a straight forward and I really enjoy games that have collectibles/unlockables that can be used rather than just adding to a counter. Like pokemon, the masks in Majora, the blades in this game. I would rather them be mission unlockables rather than RNG but I still unlocked them all.

Xeno 3 I found the characters to be a bunch of whiny B****** to be honest. Wasn’t as good as 2.

What upcoming releases are you looking forward to?
I don't get super excited for games to come out. I usually wait so long to actually get a game (barring limited releases) so it will be on sale or cheaper second hand that any hype has long past. That being said I just saw there was a Halloween and Ash vs Evil Dead dual game release coming in October that I will be keeping my eye on.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/retrorealms-halloween-ash-vs-evil-dead-retro-game-preorder-guide/1100-6525752/

Do you consider yourself more of a collector or a gamer?
Collector. I know some people like to distance themselves from that concept and wouldn't want to be called a collector over a gamer, but it is what it is. I think people associate collector with investor or someone that's in it for money, which couldn't really be further from the truth in my case. I'm definitely not making money in this venture. I've acquired A LOT of stuff. Am I ever going to play it all? No. I play what I can when I can and other than contributing the the N64 thread, don't repeat games very often, I'm always trying to grab a different game to play. 

I'm still of the fullset collecting mindset (obviously) that used to be prevalent way back in the day. That methodology of collecting has seemed to pass but I can bring myself to do it any other way. I've said this before somewhere on Videogamesgae I think but I'll re-state it:

A consoles LIBRARY is the story of a console. Every good game, every bad game, and every game in between is a piece of a long story. To not have and/or play a particular game because it is generally consider a "bad game" means you're missing part of the story. You wouldn't skip chapter 3 of book 5 in the Harry Potter series because that particular chapter is boring or sucks would you? Of course not because it adds context to the overall narrative. I enjoy fullsets and want to acquire them because I want the full story of a console.

The argument could be made that I can just play them through emulation. I could but I won't. I have no attachments to digital games in any way and have no desire to play games that way. The whole ritual of the game, console, old tv is something I personally need to make a connection with a game.

What's your collection like? Pics?
My collection consists of Fullsets for the N64, Jaguar, NA Master System, and the 32X cart releases. I also had a set of NES sans Stadium Events at one time, but sold about 50ish games off to fund something else in 2017. Still mad at myself for that.  About 350 SNES games, 400ish Switch games, 150ish Atari 2600, and a smattering of 5200, 7800, Colecovision, Intellivision and Genesis.

Console wise I have all the above and usually the "jr." or second models of each like the SNES jr, SMS 2, N64 Pikachu, the 4 models of 2600, etc.

Some other miscellaneous stuff I have are the first 150 issues of Nintendo Power. 150 is the official start of the Gamecube and that's where my interest in Nintendo consoles ends until the Switch.  There's also a ton of random peripherals and controllers. I think I have every unique peripheral/controller for the N64, (note I don't mean just 3rd party controllers like the Mad Catz, there has to be some unique gimmick or form factor). I'm still missing some that I would like to get like the Power Glove and the Sega Menacer. I have at least one guidebook for every N64 game that had one, meaning something like Conker's Bad Fur Day had a guidebook made by Nintenod, Brady, and Prima, I have at least one of them.  Those can get interesting to track down, let me tell you!

The only pics I have are a few years old now and we recently moved so it's not something I can even get a picture of at the moment. Here are the old photos, I think they were taken in 2017 as theres no Switch stuff there: https://imgur.com/a/ZW2FDrs

Is your collection "complete" or are you still hunting things down?
It’s not complete until I complete all the sets for the consoles I own. So it will probably never really be done.

What piece of your collection are you the most proud of?
That’s a tough one. But I think I would say the Reproduction games I made years ago. Those that were on Nintendoage back in the day may remember I use to make and sell hacks and translations on the forums back in 2012-2014ish. I have a bunch I made for myself still. Getting into that was what got me fascinated with circuit boards and I eventually got into their design and my current career.

[Splain | 2,687]

I also prefer DKC3 over DKC2. For a long time I chalked it up to 3 being the one I had as a kid, so it's good to hear someone else also thinks so. That means we're absolutely correct and everyone else is wrong!

[JamesRobot | 6,022]

Nice.  Congrats on the new baby!

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,089]

5 hours ago, Splain said:

I also prefer DKC3 over DKC2. For a long time I chalked it up to 3 being the one I had as a kid, so it's good to hear someone else also thinks so. That means we're absolutely correct and everyone else is wrong!

I didn’t even know DKC 3 existed until I started collecting in that 2011-2012 window. That’s when I first played it. So it became my favorite without any nostalgia. 

Clearly that means it’s the superior game!

[a3quit4s | 4,329]

Yooo Monster Party is such a good game!

[T-Pac | 7,855]

@LeatherRebel5150 - you will always look like this in my head now...

[T-Pac]

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,089]

13 hours ago, T-Pac said:

@LeatherRebel5150 - you will always look like this in my head now...

[T-Pac]

 

Yea, that’s pretty much exactly right

[Andy_Bogomil | 861]

Very cool. I like your outlook on full set collecting! Congrats on the new baby

[fox | 1,759]