What's the correct site to use when trying to identify a video game from memory?

Question

I just posted this on Arqade:

I had some time ago a PS1 or PS2 with a fighting game. There was the character Yulaw. Also Nina was there. I checked several websites and Wikipedia lists. I would think the game I had was Street Fighter or Tekken. I remember the phrase "Yulaw wins". (Yes, and it has nothing to do with "The One")"

And I was told this:

Only ask if you have a screenshot, video, or audio clip from the game you want to identify. The only game identification questions allowed on this site are those asking to identify games in movies, pictures, videos, advertisements or otherwise where an unknown game appears - not from a description of what you can recall from memory, or from a picture you drew yourself.

What would be the right site to ask my question?

Answer 1

The only site on the network that would potentially accept this kind of question is Arqade, which you've already tried asking on. However, as you discovered, Arqade has a staunch rule about game identification questions. Their requirements are as follows:

If you include a screenshot, audio file, or other tangible media from the game itself then we make an exception and your question is on topic.

These requirements were worked up a long time ago and after a seemingly exhausting series of discussions on the subject, some of which were understandably from a point of frustration with the flood of these kinds of questions and how difficult they can be to answer given how varied and lacking on details they can be. This policy is incredibly unlikely to change barring extremely compelling arguments for its adjustment.

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My advice to you is to try and discover a screenshot, an audio file, anything that you can possibly find about the game you're trying to identify, and edit your question on Arqade. If you deleted it, self-undelete it. If it was deleted by the Community bot or otherwise, use the "Flag" button and ask for it to be undeleted by choosing the "in need of moderator intervention" option, and use the textbox to explain that it now has enough detail to be reopened.

Without enough information for an answerer on Arqade to reliably answer your question, this question has no other home on the network. That said, I wish you the best of luck!

Answer 2

Unless the game you want to have identified contains fantastical elements (including science fictional ones) - in which case you can post it on Science Fiction & Fantasy - there is no site on the network you can ask such a question.

Note, for clarity, that the game having fictional characters is not enough: it has to be fantasy or science fiction. See this page for more information.

Answer 3

There is no site on this network where you can ask that question.

Trying to guess what you're thinking of, with no guarantee that anything you remember is correct, does not make for a good, objective, answerable question.

Answer 4

As far as I know no site on the network will generally accept a "from memory" request for every game genre. As you said, Arqade has some minimum requirement that you wont able to fulfill in this scenario. That said, for specific games sometime you may be able to stretch the rules a little and manage to fit your questions somewhere else (for example, SciFi may accept an identification question for games that fit the site) but that is not a general rule.

Therefore, instead of trying to change your requirements and suggest you to find some media or a screenshot (which is exactly what you probably won't be able to do) I instead suggest that if you can't really find more info or a fitting site... then it is time to go somewhere else.

For example, Reddit r/tipofmyjoystick is a board dedicated to game identification and they seems to accept "from memory" requests.

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For full disclosure, Arqade's Meta site has a thread dedicated to list other alternatives: My game identification question was closed as off-topic. Where can I ask for help instead?

Some users use a standard "close comment" template that mention this - you were just unlucky.

Welcome to Arqade! Unfortunately, ID of games from memory & without media from the game itself is considered off-topic here. We have a list of alternative resources for such questions. If you recall any Speculative Fiction elements in the game (Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Magic/Supernatural, etc.), your question may fall within the scope of our sister site Science Fiction & Fantasy SE, which allows SF game ID questions. Consider posting there, but check their ID guidelines first. – galacticninja Commented Mar 18 at 4:12

Answer 5

You could try Retrocomputing using the [identify-this-game] tag.

There are a few questions there about old games people just remember. Of course, the site will only accept questions about old stuff, the clue is in the name.

Good luck.