Just like Sophie’s Choice but with zombies.

First up in the tantalizing trio is none other than Resident Evil 4 which stands out as having a more active difficulty system than most games. Although “Professional” mode can be unlocked by beating the game once and PAL copies of the game did include an “Easy” mode, NTSC players who played the original game were suprised to see there was no initial option for difficult level. This led to everyone starting on “Normal” difficulty yet those who had more and less skill when it came to the game had comparable experiences in terms of difficulty (to an extent). This is due to the fact that Resident Evil 4 actively monitored the player’s progression through the game and if they were finding it to be too much of a challenge (getting hit and/or dying) the game would then make enemies weaker, spawn less of them, and also make them drop more ammo. Vice versa, if the player was finding it to be a cakewalk enemies would drop less ammo, spawn more frequently, and also take more damage. Though, this increased difficulty would only make the game harder by so much, as “Professional” difficulty was still the next bump up in challenge. Although this is not the only game to do so, Resident Evil 4 is unique in that the process in which the difficulty shifts is so complex and subtle it continues to be monitored to this day because of well it was implemented.

Do the floating eye monsters have any sense of depth perception?

Next up is Kid Icarus: Uprising, the return of Pit after a twenty year abscence and the arrival of a confusing control scheme that led to the game being packaged with a peripheral specifically made for playing the game. Control difficulty aside, Kid Icarus: Uprising had the unique feature of letting the player choose the level of difficulty they wanted to tackle before each individual stage. This selection is based on the level of hearts the player has, hearts being the game’s currency. The player can effectively bet on their own performance before each stage to see how well they will do against stronger enemies. If they prove to be successful and do not die in the stage, they will be rewarded with an exorbitant amount of hearts depending on how high they set the Intensity (the game’s term for difficulty). However, if the player dies the Intensity drops and the player then loses some of the hearts they bet at the beginning of the stage. The lower the intensity, the less return on investment the player receives; meaning that it would take them even longer to upgrade and unlock new in-game weapons if they consistently played on a lower Intensity level. If the player wanted a daunting challenge, they could set the game up to 9.0 difficulty before each stage. On the flip side, if the player was not confident in their skills whatsoever they could set the difficulty to a mere 0.0 where blowing on the enemies would seem to defeat them.

Adeki spent a long time trying to think of a joke for this picture.

Last up is the indie title Risk of Rain which has actually has two difficultly settings, one that the player directly chooses and the other being one the player indirectly chooses. At the start of the game the player can pick between “Drizzle,” “Rainstorm,” and “Monsoon,” which are no doubt tongue in cheek references to the game’s titular component and stand for “Easy,” “Normal,” and “Difficult,” respectively. These difficulty choices affect the player’s starting amount of currency, health, how frequently bosses spawn, how much items and upgrades cost, how much damage enemies do, and how fast the scaling difficulty ramps up. After this initial difficulty has been selected there is a scaling difficulty element once gameplay has begun. For every minute in an area (or less depending on how hard the player initially wanted the game to be), the game’s difficulty ramps up. This is shown through the game’s HUD on the right which has a thermometer-esque apperance that ranges from “Very Easy” to “HAHAHAHA.” If the player stays in the area for too long looking for treasures enemies will spawn more frequently and also do more damage to the player. This then leaves the player to have to make the call of whether or not to continue exploring an area, or leaving it for next time when they inevitably die and have to go through it again. Similar to the aforementioned Kid Icarus: Uprising, these is a risky system that can either heavily reward the player for skill or punish them leaving them unable to buy or upgrade items.

So that is that for this week’s editorial. Have you played any of these games? Do you have a favorite game when it comes to choosing/assigning difficulty that was not mentioned in this editorial? Maybe you even have a suggestion for a future editorial. Whatever the case may be make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

What is stacked macaroni and cheese and how does one harness its power?

SacAnime, originally known as the Sacramento Anime & Manga Show, is a three-day anime convention held in Sacramento, California semi-annually. Each year there is a Summer and Winter convention and despite the three digit temperatures in California I bravely attended SacAnime in the name of Lusipurr.com as well as in the name of Persona 5 merchandise. But this editorial is not just about my experience at SacAnime, but instead a condensed summary of the event as a whole examining all the activities and events offered each day.

SacAnime has consistently grown in attendance over time, proving itself to be popular not only in Sacramento but in the larger Northern California region as a whole. As such the convention has branched out to a different venue which is shared between the Sacramento Convention Center along with the Sheraton Grand Hotel across the street from the event. One improvement for SacAnime Summer 2017 in this regard is that the Sacramento Convention Center was not shared with another event. In the past, SacAnime was held concurrently with another event in the same venue, whether it was a homes and gardens show, or a cultural festival. The two events would often intermingle in humorous ways ending up with people in cosplay partaking in dances to live music. But the fact still remained that the convention center was becoming more and more cramped with each new event. Thankfully this time the convention center was fully SacAnime’s for the taking and the areas that were usually reserved for other events were instead used for panels and autographs in order to keep more of the main attractions on the ground floor.

Friday:

Bustin’ makes him feel good!

The very first event on Friday morning was the Cafe Hoshi breakfast show at 10:00AM. Cafe Hoshi being a maid cafe where guests are sat down in groups to be taken care of by delightful hosts who serve small pastries and refreshments for about an hour or two depending on the showing. Buying a ticket to attend Cafe Hoshi is separate from the convention however, as a ticket can range anywhere from $12 to $15 depending on the event (though a SacAnime badge is still required alongside this ticket). In total there were five Cafe Hoshi events on Friday, one breakfast show, three normal shows, and one special 18+ show that will be covered more in depth on Saturday.

The Main Events of SacAnime started at 12:00PM kicking off with a guest panel starring voice actors for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. These guests included Patricia Summersett (Zelda’s VA), Elizabeth Maxwell (Urbosa’s VA), and Bill Rogers (the King of Hyrule’s VA). After this there was a guest panel for Steven Universe fans starring Zach Callison (Steven’s VA) and Grace Rolek (Connie’s VA). Then there was an Overwatch panel starring Josh Petersdorf (Roadhog’s VA), Feodor Chin (Zenyatta’s VA), and Gaku Space (Genji’s VA) where everyone answered questions and voiced their characters talking to each other. Last but not least was a guest panel with Trina Nishimura, a Sacramento native who has since then branched out to voice act in many anime including “Attack on Titan,” “Sgt. Frog,” and “One Piece.” Each of these panels lasted for an hour and afterwards most of the guests were available for autograph sessions in a seperate area.

Running simultaneously as the Main Events were the Featured Events which also included a medley of guest panels. The first of which being a “Power Rangers Dino” panel which featured five members of the main cast including Brennan Mejia, Camille Hyde, Michael Taber, James Davies, and Claire Blackwelder. This was followed by a panel with Brina Palencia who has a wide variety of voice acting roles on her tool belt, some of the most famous being Ciel from “Black Butler,” Chopper from “One Piece,” and Mad Moxxi from the “Borderlands” franchise. Keeping up with the big name voice actors, J Michael Tatum hosted a panel after Palencia. Tatum of course being known for roles like Sebastian from “Black Butler,” Kyoya from “Ouran High School Host Club,” and France in “Hetalia: Axis Powers.” After this there was a Mass Effect Reunion panel which featured Ali Hillis (Dr. Liara T’Soni’s VA) and Courtenay Taylor (Jack’s VA).

No one can comment on if the owl in her possession was real or animatronic.

I was lucky enough to attend the “Jojo’s Bizarre Fan Panel” where fans talked about the anime, manga, and the series of video games as well as answered trivia questions about the franchise. There was also a section of the panel where the audience could strike poses for potential prizes. Unsurprisingly, this was a very entertaining panel to witness even though I am still dreadfully behind on “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” as a whole. Roger Craig Smith also hosted a panel so attendees could ask him questions about his array of work in the voice acting industry ranging from Sonic the Hedgehog himself all the way to Batman in a few video games and films. In SacAnime tradition the next panel was Sam and Liam After Hours where voice actors Sam Riegel and Liam O’Brien hold a no holds barred panel intended for mature audiences only where the duo can say pretty much whatever they want in terms of harsh language. No nudity was allowed though, sorry! Closing out the night was Toshio Maeda who comes to SacAnime quite frequently and is often credited as being a pioneer for Hentai. Maeda was joined by Japanese artist Makoushi and both talked about their respective stories in the industry and answered questions from the audience. Needless to say this panel was also restricted to mature audiences given its more adult subject matter.

One unfortunate symptom of the newly available halls is that autograph lines blocked most of the doors to Exhibit Hall D.

For those not interested in the guest panels, SacAnime also offered a variety of fan-led panels on Friday ranging from tips and tricks for new cosplayers to a panel about a California State Unversity, Sacramento graduate and his work in the manga industry. The first of these fan-led panels was a Homeworld Gems’ Q&A session where Steven Universe cosplayers donned the roles of some of the most powerful characters in the show and took questions from fellow fans. A similar cosplayer’s panel was hosted afterwards but for fans of “Love Live” who were not only treated to a Q&A session but also a performance from the cosplayers. Another exciting panel held on Friday was the Legends of Everwing panel where the creators of the Facebook game Everwing spoke about their success and also gave fans a sneak peek into the future of the company. After this, two passionate cosplayers hosted a panel known only as “Naruto vs. Sasuke! Long Time Coming!” where Naruto and Sasuke reminisced about their constant fighting throughout the series. The next panel was a Q&A session between fans about recent developments in the “Sword Art Online” franchise including the most recent film along with Season 3. A panel on tips on tricks for new cosplayers was then put on by a few veteran cosplayers which I was in attendance for. Unfortunately, while the idea of the panel was a positive one, the overall execution was sloppy at best as the hosts (of which there were more than five) consistently talked over each other, showed up late, and got off-topic. That is not to say that the panel was not educational, but it could have used a bit more planning out rather than being run as a sort of messy Q&A session with bits of helpful advice sprinkled on top. Another highlight of Friday was the panel titled “From Midtown To Tokyo: A CSUS Grad In Japan’s Manga Industry” where Glenn Kardy from the graduating class of 1987 talked about his launch of Manga University in Japan and its success. Homestuck fans also had their own panel known as “You Can’t Fight The Homestuck” where cosplayers not only hosted a Q&A panel but also invited attendees to play a game of truth or dare with them in addition to hosting a raffle. There was also a “Black Butler PJ Club” panel later in the evening where “Black Butler” cosplayers hosted a Q&A in their pajamas and encouraged those in attendance to wear their pajamas as well. The last fan-panel of the night was “Al’s Animation Station Festival 2017” where MediaArt Program students from the Art Institute of California, Sacramento screened the animations they had been working on this year along with some of the most popular animations of the previous years.

Adeki only likes this game because he does not have a Dad to call his own.

The night of Friday was when things at SacAnime really got wild with the SacAnime Late Night Electronic Dance with DJ Shawty, Liquid86, and DJ Jinrei (all real names) which lasted for over three hours. Meanwhile for those looking for a quieter place to hang out that night, there was also a swap meet going on in the new Cosplay Longue on the second floor of the convention center. In the Cosplay Longue cosplayers had the opportunity to take a break from the chaos and relax while admiring each other’s costumes and during the swap meet cosplayers were able to swap items with each other. Just as Gandhi once said, “A Keyblade for a Master Sword makes the world a better place.” An AMV contest also took place later in the day for fans of anime and video editing to show their skills and possibly even take home the title of winner. But if video editing was not a fan’s forte there was also a karaoke contest Friday night for those who love singing their hearts out in front of tens of other aspiring karaoke masters.

That just about wraps it up for Friday, not forgetting to mention the fact that during all three days there were a couple rooms that were almost always open including a room for playing video games and participating in tournaments, a room for board games and card games, and a kid zone sponsored by the Sacramento Public Library for children and younger siblings of convention-goers. In addition, a viewing room was open for a few hours each day so that attendees could watch different anime and possibly even catch up with what is popular at the time. I was also able to make it to a few Cosplay Meetups on Friday, the most important of them being the Dream Daddy Simulator meetup which made me remember why I play video games (not really). But now, to Saturday!

Saturday:

Even Space Paladins have to go to anime conventions.

Saturday was chock full of events including guest panels, fan panels, wrestling, wrestling in cosplay, video game tournaments, and dance battles! Starting off with the Special Events there was a panel dedicated to “Game of Thrones” where actors Kristian Nairn (Hodor) and Daniel Portman (Podrick Payne) answered questions about the show. I was lucky enough to attend the ANX J-Pop Battles on Saturday too and was treated to a handful of teams dancing to popular J-Pop songs with impressive choreography and costumes. That being said, the J-Pop Battles unfortunately do not hold a candle in terms of overall energy to the KPop Battles which occurred just a half an hour afterward. The other Saturday-exclusive Special Event was the Cosplay Masquerade where cosplayers competed against each other by performing skits, dances, and comedy routines to see who would reign supreme.

Now onto the Main Events of SacAnime on Saturday starting off with a guest panel starring Livvy Stubenrauch & Eva Bella about their portrayals of young Anna & young Elsa respectively titled “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” A Geek Fashion show also took place on Saturday where attendees interested in different aesthetics anywhere from steampunk to superheroes could show off their costumes to other passionate fans. Kira Buckland also had her own panel where she talked about her many roles in tv shows and video games including Bloody Marie in Skullgirls, and Lola Rembrite in Huniepop. After this a group of voice actors shared a panel, these voice actors being: Roger Craig, Liam O’Brien, and Sam Riegel all at the same panel answering fan questions.

The board/card game room was actually extremely pleasant in spite of an intense game of Uno.

There was definitely no shortage of Featured Events on Saturday with a whopping seven in total. The first being a panel hosted by Adrian Paul about his career as Duncan MacLeod in the long-running “Highlander: The Series.” Next was John Ratzenberger of “Cheers,” “Star Wars” and “Pixar” fame, who hosted a panel all about his extremely varied career. Hynden Walch also hosted a panel talking about her roles like Starfire on “Teen Titans” and “Princess Bubblegum” on Adventure Time. After this there was another star-studded group of guests including J. Michael Tatum, Brina Palencia, and Trina Nishimura who all hosted a Q&A panel. I do regret not being able to go to the Cosplay Wrestling Federation BLKOUT: Conquest because the very idea of seeing a bunch of people in cosplay suplexing each other onto the stage sounds like a good time for everyone involved (except maybe for whoever is being suplexed). Thankfully, if some attendees were unable to attend the Cosplay Wrestling Federation like myself, Supreme Pro Wrestling also took place at SacAnime later on in the evening! Yes, an actual Battle Royal happened at SacAnime where someone won the title of SPW Extreme Champion. Maybe next year Reetin can come down and see what it takes to become a professional wrestler, just like he wanted to be as a kid.

Surely this image will haunt most of the staff and its readers for a few years to come.

Saturday also included a large number of fan-led panels throughout the day starting off with a panel all about Lolita fashion aptly named “Lolita Fashion 101” where panelists taught attendees about the history of Japanese street fashion, where to shop, and how to start their wardrobe. A similar panel to the tips and tricks for new cosplayers panel was also held all about stopping “con crunch,” where cosplayers begin to rush their costumes before the event, and teaches them how to better their time management skills and also how to expedite the cosplaying process. A-J Connections also hosted an extremely informative panel known as “Alternative Idol: A Look Into The J-Pop Underground” which was all about popular J-Pop bands and their history. Hetalia characters were also able to run their own panel titled “Chibis of Hetalia” in which they almost assuredly discussed peace among nations in the year 2017 and not anime or shipping. A “Gravity Falls Q&A” also took place where Dipper and Mabel cosplayers answered questions about their adventures in Gravity Falls. Another interesting panel that took place on Saturday was “Living Dystopia: Bioshock” where panelists examined political propaganda and theories and applied them to the city of Rapture from the “Bioshock” franchise. There was also a panel about the “Fire Emblem” franchise where cosplayers dressed up and competed for the affections of the audience by performing challenges and doing dares given to them by viewers. Believe it or not, but I was also inexplicably absent from “What’s Cooking At Manga University,” a panel about the award-winning “Manga Cookbook” and the recently released Volume 2, coupled with real-life demonstrations of recipes from the book. “Voltron: Legendary Defender” cosplayers also hosted a panel about the characters being back on earth and what being space was like for so long. A panel dedicated to Sacramento’s indie developer movement also occurred later in the day where aspiring video game developers, filmmakers, animators, etc., got together and reviewed the current state of the movement in Sacramento. Unfortunately, no one at the panel was interested in adapting Lusipurr’s Final Fantasy VI radio play to a multi-million dollar movie franchise, but do not lose all hope yet. A “Seraph of the End” panel was also open to those looking to play truth or dare, ask questions to characters from the anime like Yuu and Mika, or those wanting to answer trivia questions to win prizes. Fans of the FX show “Archer” were also given the gift of a panel where cosplayers not only answered questions but also acted out scenes from the show.. And to wrap things up for the fan panels was the “Ouran Fan Service Commoner Style” panel where “Ouran High School Host Club” cosplayers treated those in attendance to a miniature host club and Q&A session.

The Cosplay Lounge was also host to two fun events, the first of which was the “Maechalon Dagorhir Foam Fighting Demonstration” where fans of all ages could practice fighting each other with foam weapons to get all the fun of LARPing with all the safety of a psychiatric ward. Adrian Paul also hosted an event in the Cosplay Lounge where he taught attendees a little bit of what it is like to train on a Hollywood set after his many years of being in the business for a small ticket fee.

Just minutes after a physically exhausting dance party.

But if there was one thing that stood out to me on Saturday, it was my going to the 18+ Cafe Hoshi beach party. At 9:00PM on Saturday night those who bought tickets were grouped into tables of ten, each table equipped with an extremely rude but hilarious host. Those at the table competed for small prizes by playing games like coming up with the worst answer to a Cards Against Humanity prompt or “adult”-themed trivia questions. The event was also packed with a multitude of dance breaks where the hosts all got together to perform routines which were actually extremely impressive given the length and amount of people involved. A variety of gelato was also available for sale which was really tasty and helped numb the pain of my host calling me a virgin (true story). Cafe Hoshi’s beach party as whole was definitely an acquired taste as evident by the song choice including a remix of the song “Cooking by the Book” from the children’s show LazyTown mixed with the extremely explicit “Step Yo Game Up” by Lil Jon. For those who did enjoy attending however, they seemed to really enjoy it. The two hours flew by and it is more than likely I will be going again with a larger group of friends to experience chaos and self-humiliation tantamount to me working at Lusipurr.com for just $12. Or maybe next time I will try to keep my ego intact and just go to the breakfast show instead where I can cry into a pastry instead of gelato.

Sunday:

Now to close things up with Sunday, when everything dies down and there are less events to go to and more time to sleep-in after two hard days of…sitting at panels. Really, Sunday is the perfect day to do some shopping not only in the vendor’s hall but where food is sold too because prices are slashed and there is much less going on panel-wise too.

Friendly faces haunt the halls!

Starting off with the Main Events of Sunday, there were two unique panels for attendees while the rest were repeats from previous days in case anyone missed them. The first unique panel being Men of Voice while the second was, believe it or not, Women of Voice! Men of Voice featured J Michael Tatum, Liam O’Brien, Sam Riegel, and Roger Craig Smith and Women of Voice featured an even larger assortment of panelists with Trina Nishimura, Brina Palencia, Ali Hillis, Courtenay Taylor, and Kira Buckland.

Onto the panels of Sunday starting off with a screening of a documentary called “The Weeaboo” coupled with a Q&A with the director, Jacob Lacuesta. The documentary was a culmination of Lacuesta’s year-long adventure of attending multiple anime conventions, universities, and Japan itself as he attempts to analyze “weeaboo” culture. Afterwards was a PG-13 panel for the “Danganronpa” franchise with the cast of Season 1 and Season 2 as they participated in a Q&A along with asking a couple trivia questions to the audience. Another fun panel was “Kana De Manga: The ABC’s of Japanese” where attendees were taught how to write their own name in Japanese by attending a session of Manga University. There was also a “Mystery Shack Kick Back” which is more than anything a panel for people to just kind of hang out in at the end of SacAnime for a bit of well-deserved rest. Fan-fiction also got its time to shine at SacAnime with a panel named “Fic W(rec)k” that did an in-depth examination of fan-fiction as a movement and how it has influenced fandom culture. Closing out the fan panels was a live recording of the “Videogame Bang!” podcast which is known as Sacramento’s number one gaming podcast. Not only do fans get to see the podcast being recorded live, they also get to participate in the podcast as well either by bringing up their own topics, or asking questions directly to the hosts. The end of the day was marked by the closing ceremonies where fans can learn more about Winter SacAnime 2017, see the winners of the AMV contest, and also give feedback about SacAnime as a whole.

But before this write-up closes out it is time to get into the most important part of the write-up, learning about my misadventures. In reality, there were not many either because I actually stayed away from trouble or because I did not don my now iconic Geraldo Rivera garb. That being said, a major highlight of SacAnime for me this year aside from Cafe Hoshi was seeing a Sonic cosplayer run around the Vendor’s Hall telling other attendees they are “too slow!” Aside from that, sanity was maintained at SacAnime by both myself and others for the most part and I just wish I could have gone to more panels! There were so many interesting ones this year and while I am glad to have attended the ones I was able to, I still wish I had time for even more. SacAnime is constantly improving and this year was no exception. Once again I can not wait until the Winter show in January 2018 and I highly recommend the event to anyone in the nearby area. Until next year!

This pirate ship was a fully functioning vehicle and he steered it with finesse.

They were later escorted out for harvesting ADAM from attendees.

The most intergalactic Teen Titan there is!

Steven Universe is here to save the day!

Support your support class heroes.

Everyone knows how much Doomfist loves hanging out with the Teen Titans.

Go Quote! Destroy the innocent wildlife.

Since the 2000s indie gaming has taken a rise thanks in part to easier methods of distributing independently-made games online coupled with access to programs and software that makes game development much easier. This has led to games like Cave Story and La-Mulana, both of which were released from Japan in the mid-2000s. Not only this, but both games were made to look a certain way in that the developer behind Cave Story wanted the game to look like the games he played in his youth while La-Mulana was designed to look like games found on the MSX. Keeping in mind that both games have gone through many upgrades over time so these design choices are not as immediately recognizable in their current forms compared to when they were first released. While Cave Story’s largest visual change was seen in Cave Story 3D, other ports add content and upgrade the visuals while still maintaining the overall retro aesthetic of the game. Later on, La-Mulana was remade in the early 2010s with 16-bit style graphics for PC/Mac/Linux as well as the PlayStation Vita and Wii. Although Cave Story proved to be the more popular of the two games, both made it abundantly clear that independent developers could make games that people were more than happy to play.

It will probably make someone flip.

Moving forward a few years into the early 2010s, games like VVVVVV and FTL: Faster Than Light made their way onto the market. Both of which were moderately well-recieved, and like the games mentioned earlier they were made to emulate an older style of gaming both visually and gameplay wise. VVVVVV was designed to be reminiscent of Commodore 64 games visually while from a gameplay standpoint it was heavily influenced by a game named Jet Set Willy which was released for the ZX Spectrum in the ’80s. On the other side of the coin, FTL: Faster Than Light was influenced by older tabletop board games while visually the game does look much more modern. However, both games did prove that not only were people willing to play indie games but they were also willingly to pay the price in order to support the developers. Although now the price of VVVVVV is a mere $5, when it first launched the asking price for the game was a seemingly steep $15 which the developer later admitted put a lot of people off. This did not completely halt initial sales of the game though as it still spread throughout the metaphysical corners of the internet and gained popularity over time. Meanwhile, FTL: Faster Than Light was actually a Kickstarter campaign asking for $10,000 in 2012 and by the end of the funding period the developers had been granted over $200,000. Keeping in mind that this was the same year of Broken Age‘s Kickstarter (known as Double Fine Adventure at the time) which brought a slew of aspiring video game developers to the crowdfunding site. Kickstarter then rapidly became the place of dreams as everyone and their parents rushed to the site to show off their ideas for video games whether or not they had the capitabilites to make said games or not. These campaigns soon became very hit or miss with projects like Yooka-Laylee and the Ouya compared to more well-recieved titles like Hollow Knight and Thimbleweed Park.

The wine! The jams! Think of the money!

To close things out for this editorial it is time to bring it all the way up to the mid 2010s with games like Shovel Knight, Stardew Valley, and Axiom Verge. All of which were designed to bring back fond memories of an era of gaming now long past. Shovel Knight was made to recreate the feel of NES games, Stardew Valley was created in order to pick up where the “Harvest Moon” games dropped off, and Axiom Verge was just a passion project to bring another fantastic Metroidvania into existance. Notice how it is almost as if all the games were made to fill a void. At the time it did not really seem like there would be another game that recreated NES style gameplay and graphics that was not a quick cashgrab based soley on nostalgia. Meanwhile, games in the “Harvest Moon” franchise seemed to do worse and worse in terms of popularity and overall quality leading to Stardew Valley to not only improve on the formula but also to offer the style of gameplay at a much more reasonable price. Of course, as for the case of Axiom Verge it was not until this year that another 2D game in the “Metroid” franchise was announced after it felt like Nintendo had effectively abandoned it. When big developers like Nintendo leave fans clamoring for more without any word on the subject, it makes sense that they would look elsewhere to find a way to feed into their gaming habit, taking their money with them. If only more developers could be like Valve and learn from the success of these independent developers and reward them accordingly rather than shutting down fan projects like Nintendo.

So that is that when it comes to the rise of modern-retro indie games! Did you feel like you learned something new? Were you just glad to read about the success of indie games that do their best to capture the feel of past games? Did you want to learn more? Whatever the case may be make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

Look at him, standing there.

The first franchise to examine is “Ty the Tasmanian Tiger” with the first game aptly named Ty the Tasmanian Tiger which was released in 2002 for the Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and PlayStation 2. After the first game’s middling reviews with an overall C average, two more entries in the main franchise were made. Both these continuations to the franchise dipped in both quality and sales numbers which led the series to lay dormant for almost a decade. After this, a 2D side-scroller was released with the name Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 4 despite it being a large departure from the series’ standard gameplay. Then, in 2016 the original game was re-released on Windows through Steam as an enhanced port after a few months of being trapped in Early Access. As the core gameplay is largely the same, most of the improvements were made in terms of visuals and bug fixes but this proved to be enough for fans of the original game who left it many positive reviews. Does this instantly make Ty the Tasmanian Tiger a better game? Nope! But it is nice that fans of the original title can play it again on a modern system while still being able to support the original developers, and undoubtedly it has led to some avid PC gamers finding a new franchise to indulge in. Maybe after the three games are all ported to the PC Krome Studios will make a new collect-a-thon game that will hopefully do better than the ill-fated Yooka-Laylee.

Boxes! Crabs! Crash has it all!

Next up comes a series of remakes all wrapped up in one convenient package found on the PlayStation 4. The Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy brings back what players loved most about the franchise and leaves out some of the more adventurous genre expeditions that Crash made later in life compared to the original Crash Bandicoot for the PlayStation which released in 1996. These changes were made after the three main games along with Crash Team Racing all of which were developed by Naughty Dog. After this Naughty Dog moved their sights towards the “Jak and Daxter” franchise which left Crash up to the mercy of developers such as Vicarious Visions, Traveller’s Tales, and Radical Entertainment. None of these future entries seemed to live up to the title Crash had earned from his first four excursions into the gaming realm and Crash was not given another game for eight years. This changed with the announcement of the trilogy during E3 2016 which left fans excited for more information. The N. Sane trilogy features the first three games in the “Crash Bandicoot” franchise remade in HD along with brand new additions like a time trial mode in the first two games, auto-saving, and many other behind the scenes changes that better the gameplay without making the game unrecognizable to fans of the original titles. Although, many players did notice an increase in difficulty in terms of platforming which is due to the characters pill-shaped collision boxes and slightly faster jump arc. However, it is not very hard to get acclimated to these changes and it no way justified the negative reviews the collection recieved for its alleged Dark Souls-eqsue difficulty. Despite critical opinion of this difficulty, the N. Sane trilogy proved to be extremely popular with fans leading to high sales numbers for multiple weeks with over one million sales so far after just about two months.

A whole new world!

Last but certainly not least is Sonic Mania which stands in a category of its own as being a mix between retro stages and brand new ones with new gameplay, sprites, and music in order to reward longtime fans and attract new ones. Not only this, but Sonic Mania is also a type of revival in the sense that it had been years since a two-dimensional “Sonic the Hedgehog” game was made with the original game’s aesthetics and physics. Keeping in mind that Sonic the Hedgehog was released for the Sega Genesis all the way back in 1991. The franchise as a whole has had its ups and downs over the years with positive reception for most of the titles released before the mid-2000s (although many of these games have aged very poorly throughout this time) but with games like Sonic ’06 and Shadow the Hedgehog things started to get rocky. At no point did Sega really stop making games for the Blue Blur but instead they just kept experimenting with different gimmicks to get players to come back to the franchise when in reality most fans just wanted well-built games that did not have to rely on gimmicks to masquerade for poor level design and a lack of polish. Sega has dabbled in keeping affairs strictly 2D with poorly recieved titles like Sonic the Hedgehog 4 although some titles like Sonic Generations fared better with fans along with certain portable titles. Even after this Sega continued to make overall middling titles while effectively putting in earplugs everytime anyone offered geniune criticism or suggestions. But lo and behold, after a series of repeated failures Sega finally caved and let fans make a game and Sonic Mania is all the better for it. As explained in our very own Lusipurr.com review, Sonic Mania takes the best parts about the franchise and lovingly pairs them with new concepts and zones in order to modernize a retro formula for the better. The numbers do not lie, Sonic Mania is one of the most critically acclaimed entries in the franchise and fans love it too! Finally a win-win for Sonic, and in turn, a win-win for America.

So what do you think, loyal readership? Does the idea a high-definition PC port or a remake of a game from the 90’s sit well in your stomach? Or would you rather the franchises recieve new modernized entries instead? Whatever your opinion may be make sure to leave a comment below, or just remake a past comment from an earlier article or editorial you commented on!

Sonic Mania Box Art

Sonic Mania was revealed at a 25th anniversary party as a surprise to a crowd of passionate Sonic fans who were eagerly awaiting news about a new entry in the “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise. While the announcement of a game like Sonic Forces seemed more in line with people’s expectations, Sonic Mania took many by surprise as being a new two-dimensional Sonic title that maintained the Genesis art-style and approach as opposed to the ill-recieved and modernized Sonic the Hedgehog 4. One of the biggest surprises about the announcement though came with the information that the game was not being developed by Sega internally but instead by indie developer PagodaWest Games alongside Headcannon, a business run by Simon Thomley who had previously worked on re-releases of classic Sonic games. Based on the announcement, there was one thing fans knew for certain: Sonic Mania was going to be a game made by fans and for fans.

However, this fan affiliation did not guarantee that the game would be good by any means. Sonic fans make their own fan-games all the time and while some are warmly received the majority of them do not do a great job of recapturing or improving upon the formula used in classic Sonic games. Naturally, the expectations were high for a new Sonic game made by fans who had experience with different parts of the franchise before. But this excitement was also met with hesitancy as the last couple games in the “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise were met with a very lukewarm response. Now that Sonic Mania has officially been released it is evident to critics and fans alike that the team behind it did a fantastic job.

Sonic Mania includes eight reimagined zones from classic games alongside four new areas.

Upon launch Sonic Mania begins with a wonderfully vibrant animation reminiscent of Sonic CD‘s opening. While this animation does not set up the full plot of the game, it does introduce the player to the characters and their respective personalities in a fun way without being exposition heavy in any sense. After this, the game starts with Tails piloting the Tornado while Sonic coasts on top as both then land in front of a group of Eggman’s robots who unearth a new gemstone unrelated to the Chaos Emeralds. This gemstone then teleports Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles (who happened to be nearby) back in time which forces them to relive previous stages in order to reach Eggman and stop whatever nefarious plan he has in mind. The story is then told through very brief animations between stages that explain Sonic’s next move without feeling like fully-blown cutscenes that interrupt the flow of the game. While the storytelling in Sonic Mania is brief, it does also appear to set up why Classic Sonic makes an appearance in the upcoming title Sonic Forces. While the game would normally end with Sonic and his friends leaving Eggman’s giant ship known as the Titanic Monarch after defeating him yet again, if the player chooses to go the extra mile and collect all seven Chaos Emeralds they are rewarded with an animation that shows the mysterious gemstone creating a wormhole that seemingly transports Sonic through time and space, explaining Classic Sonic’s presence in Sonic Forces.

Just one of the unique and exciting boss battles found after every act.

Onto arguably the most important part of any Sonic game: the gameplay. In Sonic Mania the running from beginning to end is as fun and fast as before while also making great improvements to the overall structure. While some fans would argue that the main Genesis titles were the only good games in the “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise others make the cases that the original games were not that good to begin with. After playing through Sonic Mania it becomes evident that not only is the game on par with classic Sonic titles, in some respects it is even better. The game takes improvements made by titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and not only revitalizes them, but also adds its own sense of style with small but rewarding features. A good example of this can actually be found in Green Hill Zone which is famous for its spiked, rotating bridges that often damage players coming in from above. If the player is to find a Flame Shield in the stage, walking on one of these wooden bridges results in the bridge burning which reveals a new area underneath. This is just one of the innovative ways in which Sonic Mania takes features from previous games and makes them brand new again to diversify gameplay without having to rely on gimmicks like the Wisps in Sonic Colors.

Better than Sonic 1’s approach, but just as challenging!

However, while the gameplay in Sonic Mania is improved it still has a few shortcomings which appear later in the game and take the form of boss battles and special stages. While the majority of the boss battles in Sonic Mania are unique and engaging a few still seem to fall victim to frustrating design that impedes gameplay. Not only this, but while special stages necessary to collect Chaos Emeralds are different from before, the race to reach the UFO can still be a bit troublesome, but not a huge issue in the grand scheme of things. Another welcome addition to the formula that Sonic Mania introduces is the drop dash. When in the air, the player can hold the jump button for a few seconds in order to immediately land on the ground and spin dash forward. The game never makes the player perform this move throughout their adventure, but when used correctly the move keeps the player moving quickly throughout the stage without having to slow down from a jump. Overall, the gameplay in Sonic Mania is an improvement over previous titles and while game still has its challenge it is also more accessible to newcomers thanks to its clever design.

Studiopolis Zone is easily one of the most visually impressive stages in the game.

Finally, Sonic Mania has vibrant and amazing artwork which is paired perfectly with a great soundtrack done by remixer Tee Lopes. Rather than re-using sprites and tracks players can easily see that almost every aspect of the game has been remastered in some sense in order to modernize the game while also maintaining the same classic style. Just as the zones change gameplay-wise from Act 1 to Act 2, the music and items in the zones also change in order to keep things just as exciting as before. However, these changes never feel out of place and always stay in line with the overall theme of the zone and only add to the experience rather than distract players.

Sonic Mania is not a perfect game, nor is it “Sonic the Hedgehog 5” or the beginning of a new line of Sonic games. At some points it feels like a romhack in the best sense of the term, with fun experiences like a fight against Dr. Robotnik himself in a rousing match of Puyo Puyo. Other times, it feels like a classic Sonic game with a balance between speed and platforming in classic zones like Green Hill Zone. Even if Sonic Mania is a standalone game that is set apart from the original 1-3, it feels right at home with the franchise while also making a name for itself. As said before, it is undoubtedly a game made by fans and for fans and it is better off because of it. Anyone who fondly remembers playing Sonic games in their youth should pick up Sonic Mania, and anyone who has never even played a classic Sonic game before should play it too. Sonic Mania is that good.

His name is, what?

First, this editorial examines the ways in which games reward in activity in a very literal sense in that the game either directly or indirectly tells the player to just stop playing. The first and most direct example of this would be found in the game The Stanley Parable. While the game at its core is a satire on the numerous “choices” many modern games boast about, it also pokes fun at other aspects of gaming today including achievements. Some of which are easy to get such as the achievement of “Click On Door 430 Five Times” which as the name would imply, involves knocking on doors (albeit not as simple as the achievement’s name might seem due to an unimpressed narrator). When it comes to rewarding players for not playing the game though, The Stanley Parable also has an achievement named “Go Outside” which is only given to the player after they return to the game after five years of not playing it. Although this is done in jest other games take it more seriously such as the case with Final Fantasy V in the fight against Famed Mimic Gogo. In order to obtain the crystal shard for the Mime job class, the party must face off against a boss that tells them he will do everything they do. So, the way the player is supposed to “defeat” Gogo is by not doing anything for several minutes until he praises them and gives them the crystal shard (though it is possible yet difficult and tedious to beat him the standard way). The last example for this specific method of rewarding inactivity is the secret ending of Far Cry 4. In the beginning of the game, the antagonist, Pagan Min takes the protagonist prisoner and then places him and the end of a dinner table joined by some other guests. Pagan Min stabs one of the guests and then tells you to wait at the table while he takes a call, and while most rational people would immediately run away having witnessed a murder, if the player chooses to stay for a few minutes Pagan Min returns, lets the protagonist spread his mothers ashes, and the game ends.

The pinnacle of gaming.

Next up, games that reward the player’s inactivity through profit with the first being AdVenture Capitalist. Of course, in this case the word game is used loosely as it should with this genre of clicker games that really just play themselves. Still, the example lies with the purchasing of managers within the game, which run the factories that the player can buy in order to generate profits. In its entirety, the game is supposed to be making fun of the economic system of capitalism and how little owners have to do when they have employees to do the work for them. Nonetheless, the player can then buy a bunch of factories, buy managers for each of these factories, and then stop playing the game for weeks to months to even years only to return and get more money to repeat the cycle because that is what fun is. Good ol’ video games, always supplying lots of entertainment when the entire game is based off of not playing it. Not even a section of the game, just the entire game is based off of not having the game open in any way, and it also has no actual ending and multiple locations for this level of “fun.” A more sane approach to this can be found in Fable II, a game that Lusipurr loves with all his heart, where the player can buy homes and then rent them out in order to get more money to spend on actually playing the game. Of course, this can be exploited by just falsely advancing the in-game date from within the console but it still a funny addition to the game as a means of making more money without trying too hard.

What a looker.

Last, but certainly not least, a game that rewards the player for not playing it by exploiting the system similar to the way one can game the system in Fable II. This can be found in none other than Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia with the item known as the Fortune Ring. For every hour of playtime up until the timer maxes out at 99:59, the item gives the player another +2 to their luck stat, which helps a lot when it comes to finding specific loot in-game. Rather than having a system that rewards actually playing the game, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia lays victim to a very easy exploit that just involves a charger and some patience. Of course, other games with automatic day/night systems could also theoretically be exploited if the player just leaves the controller alone until they get to the day they want, but that probably just signals to the fact that the game does not have enough entertaining content. Of course, as shown by many games already, a game does not have to necessarily have content to sell well thanks to on-disc DLC and generally low expectations for video games as a whole. Maybe this is just part of a bigger problem, people should just stop playing games that do not actually have content in them. Or, they should just admit that they are using software instead of playing games. Who knows?

So that is that for this week’s editorial all about not playing games. Did you learn something new? Do you want to now buy all of these games so you too can not play them? Do you have a suggestion for future editorials? Whatever the case may be, make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

Canned soda in dazzling 1080p.

The first two factors that this editorial will be examining are story and visual style, both of which are of high quality in the recently released Persona 5. Games in the “Persona” franchise are often known for their story, but Persona 5 was also commended for its unique visual style when it came to the UI of the game, along with the anime art style it chose to employ. That being said, the story of Persona 5 is linear, and there are only a small handful of endings ranging from good to bad that can be obtained by the player. Although, the player also has the option of deepening their bond with other characters in the game, but this does not make a noticeable difference in how the game ends aside from some small end-game cutscenes. So, would it be possible that someone’s favorite game could be based entirely on the story it has to offer and the way its characters are conveyed? If someone’s favorite video game was Telltale’s The Walking Dead because of how much they loved the story, does that mean they are not taking into consideration other aspects such as the game’s soundtrack or gameplay (or lack thereof in this instance), or are they holding them to less of a standard? Even visually, if someone was to say they absolutely adore the visuals of Persona 5 because the game either looks good now or will continue to look good in the future similar to titles such as The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, would they be wrong to do so? This is not to say that when someone selects their favorite game it is solely based on one of these two factors, but instead heavily influenced by as a result of their time with the title.

Long legs save…kegs?

Next up in the battle are the two factors of soundtrack and gameplay, and in this case the example of doing both well lies with Bayonetta 2 (a game that Adeki does not talk enough about, apparently). Both games in the “Bayonetta” franchise are known for their intense and over-the-top fights, which are paired nicely with upbeat tracks with a lot of energy. It does a great job of complimenting the amount of energy that is also being demonstrated on screen by both players and large enemies alike. Not every game has a battle system as active and engaging as Bayonetta 2, and when coupled with easy access to stages after the game’s completion, it is no surprise that many would want to play the game again and again in order to perfect their scores or even complete the entire stage without taking damage. So when this comes down to what makes a game someone’s favorite, does this include the idea of easy access to specific portions of the game? Or does it just mean that they really enjoyed a specific segment of the game and therefore the game is not actually their favorite because they do not wish to replay the game as a whole? Or, maybe they just enjoy the specific tracks that play in certain stages and do not really care which stage they play in particular.

Mario on his way to destroy ISIS.

Last but not least is the factor of a game holding sentimental value along with the culmination of the factors themselves thus elevating a game from doing one or two things very well to the game itself being very good in most if not all aspects. The game Super Mario Bros. 3 works well for this example because it not only does a very good job with everything it sets out to do, but it also holds a special part in the hearts of those who grew up playing it. When it comes to the gameplay, the visuals, and the soundtrack, Super Mario Bros. 3 stood out from many other NES titles at the time, and although the story was not as grandiose as others might have been, the addition of the Koopalings did keep things interesting. So what is to become of the gamers who return to one of their favorite games years after the fact and find that they do not enjoy the game nearly as much as before? Do they still cherish the game and mark it as being one of their favorites because of how much they liked it at the time, or do they adapt and change out their favorite games as time passes? Ultimately what dictates someone’s favorite game is up to them and their personal opinions, and while it may not be an objective measure in terms of review scores, it can be interesting delving into personal views that determine what elevates a game from being a good game to being one’s favorite.

So that is it for another Pulitzer-unrecognized editorial by the one and only Adeki. What did you think of this editorial? What are the factors behind your decisions in order to rank your favorite games? Did you see through Adeki’s thinly veiled attempt at thinking about his own favorite games and deciding to write an editorial about it? Do you have any suggestions for future editorials you’d like to see? Whatever the case may be, make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think.

Pictured is Wario offering his love to a grunt.

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 marked the start of Wario’s playability in Nintendo video games as his previous appearance in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins saw him as an antagonist. Instead of merely jumping on enemies like his right-side up rival, Wario crashes into them with all his might and throws them around like projectiles when he it fits his need. Like Mario, Wario also has power-ups he can access in order to aid his quest to reclaim his lost treasures such by becoming Bull Wario, Dragon Wario, or even Jet Wario. After suffering a crushing defeat and loss of home in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins at the hands of Mario, Wario takes it upon himself to steal a golden statue of Princess Peach from Captain Syrup and her Brown Sugar Pirates (also known as the Black Sugar Gang in the EU translation) in order to sell it so he can buy himself a castle. This involves the exploration of Kitchen Island and the seven main areas inside of it starting at Rice Beach and ending in none other than Syrup Castle. After defeating Captain Syrup, Wario is rewarded at the end of the game with a home that ranges from a literal planetoid to a birdhouse depending on how many coins and treasures the player collected throughout their adventure. Unfortunately though, once the game is completed Mario does end up stealing the statue. Yikes!

Even Wario has to take a break sometimes.

Wario Land II starts off in Wario Castle (the canon ending of its predecessor) after his treasures are stolen by members Pirate Syrup’s Black Sugar Gang. To make matters worse, the Pirate Gooms also start chaos in Wario Castle by installing a comically large alarm clock, leaving a insanely large faucet running to flood the castle, and they also leave a giant snake in his cellar. Seeing as this is no match for the yellow monstrosity that is Wario, he ventures forth and breaks into Syrup Castle after exploring the SS Tea Cup, finding his way out of the Maze Woods, and by making sure the boys are back in In Town (that’s the name of the chapter, Adeki just won a Pulitzer for that joke). As a departure from the previous game, Wario Land II gives players the ability to replay certain stages after completing the game for the first time and also has the inclusion of branching storylines through secret exit which also alter the stage’s goals and the chapters being played. Although most endings involve Wario getting his treasures back and coming home safely, there is only one true ending to the game that involves Wario finding a secret cave used by the Brown Sugar Pirates. After Captain Syrup is successful defeated by the color-clashing clod, he returns home with vast riches in hand. Although he is mysteriously followed by a Giant Spear Man for a reason that is still unbeknownst to all gaming culture. To exact revenge? To romance Wario as a ways of indirectly taking back Captain Syrup’s riches? The world may never know.

Wario chomps, for he is not a chump.

Wario Land 3 sees the return of Wario and his hijinks as he is accidentally sucked into a music box and tasked by a mysterious being to return the five music boxes of that world to him in order to restore his future power to thwart the plans of an evil being. Of course, Wario is selfish by nature and does not immediately take the job, but once the figure tells Wario he can keep and treasures that he finds in the music box world Wario is gung-ho to help. Wario Land 3 also further establishes the puzzle platforming aspect of the “Wario Land” franchise as the game amount of exploration coupled with a day/night cycle that opens and closes certain areas in specific stages. There are also four color coded treasure chests in each stage that each have a corresponding key, one the key is found and used on the treasure chest Wario is able to keep the treasure inside whether it be riches or a new ability to use. This means that to 100% the game each stage must be completed at least four times in order to open each treasure chest. In the end, Wario finds all five music boxes and returns them to the hidden figure only to find out that it was Rudy the Clown all along! Yes, the final boss of the game is in fact an evil clown literally named Rudy the Clown and it turns out that the five music boxes hidden in the world were used to seal away his powers, but before his powers were diminished he turned all the townspeople into monsters. Once Rudy is defeated at the hands of the terrible treasure hunter, all the townspeople are reverted to normal and thank Wario for his service. They allow Wario to keep his riches and let him return to the world from whence he came.

Just a mean yellow mother from outer space.

Wario Land 4 finds Wario on the mysterious new platform known as the Game Boy Advance as he searches for a Legendary Treasure located in the Golden Pyramid. This Legendary Treasure is actually compromised of four pieces being a crown, a pair of earrings, a necklace, and a bracelet. Of course, nothing is ever easy for Wario and once he finds himself in the Golden Pyramid he ends up on a quest to help Princess Shokora who was transformed into a black cat that follows Wario during his quest by the evil Golden Diva. After landing in the Golden Pyramid, Wario is forced to clear his way through multiple passages, each one ending with a boss battle that is equipped with one quarter of the Legendary Treasure. Once all of these bosses are defeated, the path to the Inner Pyramid is revealed and Wario is forced to fight the Golden Diva who swallows Princess Shokora in her cat form, and is equipped with all four pieces of the Legendary Treasure at once. Once the Golden Diva is defeated Wario and the cat leave the Golden Pyramid only for the cat to magically transform into Princess Shokora in front of Wario’s eyes. As she leaves with the Legendary Treasure, whisked away by four angels, Wario is dumbfounded and turns back home in order to prepare for his next adventure.

Wario in hot pursuit of OJ Simpson in 1994.

After a seven year absence from the “Wario Land” franchise, Wario returns on the Nintendo Wii in Wario Land: Shake It where he shakes his way to enormous riches. Wario Land: Shake It also sees the return of Captain Syrup who finds a world inside an Ancient Globe which is home to the Shake King who is armed with a Bottomless Coin Sack and has kidnapped all but one of the members of the Merfle tribe. Seeing the world as being too much of a challenge, Captain Syrup brings the Ancient Globe to Wario who gladly takes part in the adventure after the promise of unlimited riches. Wario then has to fight his way through the Shake Dimension by going from continent to continent in order to save the kidnapped members of the Merfle tribe. Each continent is compromised of stages, each one containing three treasures, although getting to 100% completion does not lead to a different ending as Wario defeats the Shake King no matter what. However, once Wario is back in his own dimension Captain Syrup double crosses Wario and steals the Bottomless Coin Sack for her own gain, leaving Wario humiliated and defeated. But what will Wario do now that he has been stolen from by Captain Syrup yet again? Only time will tell.

So that is it for an editorial chock-full of facts about the “Wario Land” franchise. Did you know all of this already? Do you enjoy watching Adeki be terrible at these games? Do you have suggestions for future editorials? Whatever the case may be, make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

Not to be confused with the less popular predecessor, Space Channel 4.

To start things off it is time to get into the hottest games released in the year 2000, and not just by temperature but also by popularity. Although, when it comes to temperature games like Diablo II which was released in 2000 for Windows and MacOS take the cake thanks to the inclusion of Hell, a place often known for its heat. 2000 also saw the release of many Dreamcast titles such as the port of the arcade title Crazy Taxi, the swashbuckling RPG Skies of Arcadia, and the out of this world Space Channel 5. Although these titles were not enough to keep SEGA in the console market, they did still help cement the Dreamcast as being a great console that unfortunately did not do as well as it should have. The Dreamcast had Jet Set Radio for Pete’s sake, what more is there to want? What exclusives did the PlayStation 2 have in the year 2000 aside from TimeSplitters (in America at least)? Keeping in mind that the Dreamcast also had Resident Evil – Code: Veronica, one of the most critically acclaimed games in the “Resident Evil” franchise. Meanwhile, the PlayStation saw the release of Final Fantasy IX, Mega Man Legends 2 and The Misadventures of Tron Bonne. The Nintendo 64 was also still kicking in the year 2000 with the release of titles such as Perfect Dark, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. and Pokemon Stadium. But who could forget the always growing PC market with games including American McGee’s Alice, Hitman: Codename 47, Deus Ex and The Sims? All in all, 2000 was another great year for video games, especially since none of them had to deal with the punishment that is DLC.

Twice the power!

Now it is time to get into the biggest hardware releases of the year 2000 starting off with none other than the Sony PlayStation 2. Launched in the year 2000, the PlayStation 2 went on to be sold up until it was discontinued in 2013 with over 155 million units sold worldwide in that thirteen year period. The PlayStation 2 had it all, processing power, a CD drive, backwards compatibility with the original PlayStation, and later in its life even internet play. Although it launched at the price of $299, the Sony PlayStation 2 flew off of store shelves when it was first released and then just two years later with a price drop of $100 the PS2 continued to be extremely popular. To be fair, it wasn’t purchased in troves for government architecture the same way the PlayStation 3 was but it was still pretty dang powerful for the time. Also released in the year 2000 was the WonderSwan Color which was nowhere near as popular or fun as the PlayStation 2 but it was also released in the year 2000 so it is only fair that it gets a single sentence of recognition. SEGA also released the NAOMI 2 arcade board in 2000 which was a great improvement over the original NAOMI thanks to increased RAM and the fact that SEGA brought back the GD-ROM drive.

To Looking Glass, with love.

To close out this editorial, companies will be discussed as per the standard of what readers have come to expect (and love) over time. For one company to succeed, it means another must fall as stated in the laws of Economics as taught by Adeki. This is unfortunately what happened when it comes to the companies PopCap Games and Looking Glass Studios. Although PopCap Games was originally founded in the year 2000 to be later be known for games such as Bejeweled, and Plants vs Zombies (along with an unfortunate purchase by Electronic Arts), this meant that a company had to then shut down. Originally known as Looking Glass Technology in 1990, the studio now known as Looking Glass Studios shut down in the year 2000 due to a lack of game sales in spite of critical acclaim for games such as System Shock, Thief: The Dark Dark Project, and the famous title System Shock 2. However, critical acclaim was not enough to keep Looking Glass Studios afloat any many of the employees had to move on to greener pastures, some of these pastures being companies like Harmonix, Irrational Games, and even Valve. Now, fans of games like System Shock can turn to Night Dive Studios which recently announced a remake of the title soon to come along with plans to create a third installment in the franchise.

So there it is, the true ending of an era in regards to editorials made about gaming in the 90’s (and also the year 2000). Do you feel cheated? Bamboozled? Did you learn something interesting or did you know it all already? Are you upset that one obscure game was left out? Whatever the case maybe, make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

Ponyta, the flaming hot Pokemon.

Final Fantasy VIII was released in February of 1999 just two years after Final Fantasy VII and sold even faster than its predecessor. However, although Final Fantasy VIII was received well, some at the time saw it as a step down from Final Fantasy VII which seems to be a growing sentiment as the “Final Fantasy” franchise moves on. Also released for the PlayStation in 1999 was Silent Hill the start of a psychological survival horror series known for its peaks and valleys as time has progressed. The PlayStation also saw the release of Lunar: Silver Star Story in the West as the Saturn version was exclusive to Japan, although the original title Lunar: The Silver Star was released in Western regions when it was first released on the Sega CD. The Nintendo 64 was also host to some hit exclusives in the 1999 including Super Smash Bros., Mario Party and Pokemon Snap, only one of which was later involved in a lawsuit for rubbing children’s palms raw. Rayman 2: The Great Escape also released onto the Nintendo 64 in 1999, but was later ported to other systems including the PlayStation to mild disappointment as most other ports at the time had less content. 1999 also marked the release Sonic Adventure and Soulcalibur for the Sega Dreamcast, both remembered well for much different reasons in terms of gameplay and overall playability. Not to be left out, the PC also had some hit games in 1999 including System Shock 2, Team Fortress Classic, and RollerCoaster Tycoon.

A console MADE of dreams.

Next up is the coverage of the hot new video game hardware released in 1999 starting off with the Sega Dreamcast which launched in North America on September 9th of 1999. Launch titles included the previously mentioned Sonic Adventure and Soulcalibur along with Power Stone and Mortal Kombat Gold, an enhanced port of Mortal Kombat 4. Over the two years the Dreamcast was on the market it sold over 9 million units but ultimately stood no match to the PlayStation 2 which was released in 2000 in spite of its shortages at release or the numerous advancements the Dreamcast made in terms of console gaming. Also released in 1999 hardware-wise was the Neo Geo Pocket Color which was backwards compatible with its predecessor but also fared a short lifetime on the market of only about two years as the company went bankrupt in October of 2001. No matter the system’s 40-hour battery life or the updated version a year later named the New Neo Geo Pocket Color, the power of the “Pokemon” franchise proved too great and Nintendo continued to dominate the handheld market. This did not stop the brave team at Tiger Electronics from releasing the Game.com Pocket Pro in 1999 with an updated version of the screen that proved to make no difference in the handheld’s poor sales numbers. And, the PlayStation 2 was announced in 1999 and was then planned to be released in 2000!

A day in the life of Bohemia Interactive.

Last up are the new and emerging companies that made their start in 1999 starting off with 3d6 Games who mainly ported games to the Game Boy Color and the Game Boy Advance, and has been inactive since 2013 after their focus towards iOS titles. BAM! Entertainment also made their foray into the video games market in 1999 and partnered with Cartoon Network to develop games based on their shows such as “The Powerpuff Girls” and “Dexter’s Laboratory.” Unsurprisingly, the company had its stock delisted five years later in 2004 and the current status of the company is seemingly unknown. To end on a fun note, Bohemia Interactive began in 1999 and is known for the games in the “ARMA” franchise, along with Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis and DayZ. The fun part, which admittedly is not as fun as it is interesting, is that in 2012 two employees of Bomhemia Interactive were arrested in Lemnos (an island of Greece) for espionage. The reason being is that the employees took pictures of military installations while their official business was supposedly to just take pictures of the island’s surroundings. Thankfully, the two employees were released less than a year later but they still await further legal action for their actions as of 2013. Fun…in a way!

So that is it, the last of the award-winning series about video games that were released in the 1990s. Did you learn something knew throughout these past weeks? Were you entertained? Do you have suggestions for future editorials? Whatever the case may be, make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

Two partners enter, about seventeen thousand zombies also enter. Some bullets enter the zombies, some zombies enter the people, a lot of entering happens.

After seeing how well 1997 did in terms of new video game releases, the sentient being known as the year 1998 took this as a challenge and really cranked out some hit titles all in the space of 365 days. One of the first big releases of the year being Resident Evil 2 for the PlayStation (although it was later ported to other systems at the time such as the Nintendo 64 and the Dreamcast) which released to critical acclaim and extremely high sales figures even when compared to last year’s hit titles. Just a week later, Final Fantasy Tactics was also released in North America and although the title did not have as an eventful of a launch, it has continued to remain popular in niche groups many years after its release. Also released in 1998 was the original StarCraft which is set to be remastered this year after Blizzard released the original game along with its expansion for free in April of 2017. 1998 also saw the release of one of the most popular RPGs of its time along with one of the most popular Saturn titles of all time, this mysterious game being none other than Panzer Dragoon Saga which marked the series departure from its previous standard of being an on-rails shooter into the magical world of role-playing games. The PlayStation was undoubtedly proving its worth in the late 90’s with releases such as Gran Turismo, Mega Man Legends, Spyro the Dragon and the always popular Metal Gear Solid. Though, 1998 also marked some notable releases for the PlayStation’s competitor, the Nintendo 64 with games such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Banjo-Kazooie, both of which were seen extremely favorably at the time but have since been put through the tests of time to find that they may not have aged as well as others might have thought. Not to forget that the always important PC also had some popular exclusives, one of the most popular being Half-Life which took players into sunny New Mexico and eventually the terrifying planet Xen. Fallout 2, Baldur’s Gate and Grim Fandango also made their way onto the PC in 1998, each game being welcomed at the time by reviewers but the sales numbers for the latter told a different story. Of course, 1998 would not have been the magical year many know it to be without the long awaited gift of Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue in the United States, giving millions of kids Pokemon catching fever!

May you sleep well, tiny prince.

Next up comes the hardware of 1998 starting off with the untimely demise of the Sega Saturn. It feels like just last year that the Sega Saturn was released, when it reality it was closer to four and a half years depending on the region one was in at the time of the Saturn’s death. Though, North America had yet to have the Saturn’s successor bestowed upon it as not until 1999 that the Dreamcast made its way onto the scene for everyone outside of Japan. So, for a couple painful months gamers in America had a dearth of new Sega gaming goodness. But, North American regions were lucky enough to receive the Game Boy Color which was backwards compatible unlike most handhelds released at the time, thus giving the Game Boy Color an obvious advantage to other available handheld consoles on the market with an increased games catalogue. The Game Boy Color was also backed up by the Game Boy Camera which released in North America in June of 1998 and went on to be awarded with a world record for being the smallest digital camera at the time. Unfortunately, the other handheld console released in 1998 did not come over to the states, and instead the Neo Geo Pocket stayed in Japan where it was created and went on to be discontinued in 1999 with only about 2 million units sold by the end of its lifetime.

Aero did his best, in a way.

Last up is none other than new businesses that made their way onto the market in 1998 along with some notable events as well. One of these new businesses being BreakAway Games which was first known for their strategy games but is now known for developing video games for the U.S. military and the U.S. Department of Justice along with other organizations. Also new to the scene in 1998 was Metro3D, Inc which was known for games such as Aero the Acro-Bat and Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel, both attempting to join in on the mascots with attitude trend that Sonic the Hedgehog was so famous for. Rockstar Games also made their way into the market in December of 1998 after the 1997 release of Grand Theft Auto by DMA Design Limited which is now known as Rockstar North Limited and has since then made millions upon millions of dollars. The developer of the cult classic, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines Troika Games also started business in 1998 only to unfortunately close down a year after the game’s release in 2005. Crystal Dynamics, Inc was acquired by Eidos Interactive in 1998 and has since then worked on games in the “Tomb Raider” franchise including the most recent title, Rise of the Tomb Raider. All in all, a pretty eventful year for video game enthusiasts who like to pay attention to acquisitions and blossoming businesses.

Only one week left, what could possibly happen for the grand finale? Did you know all of this information or was all of it brand new? Did you own a Neo Geo Pocket instead of a Game Boy Color? Whatever the case may be, make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

Did anyone actually play this game? It is as if every known part of this game is just the dog dancing with the onion man who teaches him karate. Is that the entire game? Many may never know.

Yes, the rappin’ fool came to the PlayStation in the year 1997 to positive reception only for the remaster 20 years later to fall flatter than he already is. Jokes aside, 1997 was a magnificent time for gamers as it seemed like another amazing game was coming out every month. The PlayStation also had the gift of titles such as the very first game in the “Grand Theft Auto” franchise aptly named the same, along with Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee which was also the first in the “Oddworld” series of games the most recent one being a remake of the very first. Of course, it would not be 1997 for the PlayStation without the two most memorable releases for the console, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and Final Fantasy VII. Interestingly enough, while both games were very well-recieved at the time and continue to be, there was a stark contrast as to how both games were marketed in the United States. While Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was given what some might consider bare-bones advertising in the West, Final Fantasy VII‘s release was an event to say the least. The marketing budget for the franchise’s push into the third-dimension was practically unheard of at the time, and the budget for development was no small matter either. Both games ended up doing extremely well for themselves in terms of both reception and sales, although Castlevania: Symphony of the Night had a slower start in the west due to less advertising, but quickly picked up steam over time once all the exceptional reviews began to pour in. Meanwhile, on the Nintendo side of the world, the Nintendo 64 was host to games such as Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64, and also Bomberman 64. There was certainly a theme to these releases, as many well-known franchises were making their first foray into 3D gaming, but only time can tell if that was for the best. Away from the hub-ub of console gaming, Fallout was also released in 1997 for the PC along with The Curse of Monkey Island, both of which known for their dialogue though in vastly different ways.

It exists.

Now it is time for the hardware of 1997 which is ultimately pretty lackluster compared to previous years as the biggest thing to note is Tiger’s Game.com which was definitely a piece of video game hardware that at least one person bought at some point in time. It sold under 300,000 units throughout its short lifetime and was the first portable game console to connect to the internet. Believe it or not, but Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was at one point even planned to come out for this ill-fated handheld. Other than that the SNES got a redesign which was applauded by everyone, the President of the United States even made a statement to show how much he cared about Nintendo’s thoughtful approach to the redesign and wished them great luck in the future. On a less upbeat note though, 1997 also marked the year that the Mega Drive and the Game Gear were discontinued as Sega sent them off with a viking funeral. Besides, who would dare to release a new console when the PlayStation was doing so well for itself? It would be like trying to start from the beginning 30 minutes into a marathon, or attempting to make similes in a paragraph about video game hardware released in the year 1997.

The future of gaming.

So here comes the time in which death does this editorial part as it goes down the new companies that were born unto the video gaming populace in 1997. First up is Crave Entertainment which developed hit games like Baby Pals for the Nintendo DS and Napoleon Dynamite: The Game for the PS2 along with a medley of other shovelware games that no one with common sense probably purchased. The company dissolved in 2012 due to bankruptcy which proved to be a huge shock to someone at some point possibly. Next is Human Head Studios which is known for developing Prey, just not the recent Prey but instead the Prey that released in 2006 which was not received nearly as positively as the Prey released in 2017. Now known as 2K Czech, Illusion Softworks also saw their origins in 1997 and is known for developing games in the “Mafia” franchise the most recent one being Mafia III which was set in New Orleans and received pretty middling reception over all. Last but not least is Irrational Games known for creating the first Bioshock along with Bioshock Infinite, although now they are known as Ghost Story Games due to rebranding and only time will tell where that leads them. Good luck out there Ken Levine, may your relation to Adam bring you no ill will.

So that is that for this week’s editorial all about 1997! Was there enough information or do you still crave more knowledge regarding the wonderful year it was? Make sure to leave a comment below to let us know what you think!

This is what dreams of made of.

Starting off for the year of 1996 in notable video game releases is Duke Nukem 3D which released in January and proved to be a success after selling over 3 million copies despite the fact that it was much harder in some regions to buy than the average game due to restrictions placed upon more adult games at the time. Duke Nukem 3D was not the only major first-person shooter released at the time though as Quake was also released in June of 1996 and only got bigger and bigger as time went on with more additions and new games in the franchise. 1996 was also a big year for new franchises with games such as Tomb Raider, Diablo, and Resident Evil, all of which sold millions of copies and were critically-acclaimed at the time. Meanwhile, there were some other newcomers that were positively-recieved, but did not go on to sell as many copies like Nights Into Dreams for the Sega Saturn and Revelations: Persona for the PlayStation. Mario also had a very good year in 1996 as Super Mario RPG and Super Mario 64 were released in North America within a six-month period both doing extremely well in their own right. Nintendo really thought they had taken the gaming realm by storm with the latter, until an intrepid hero found his way into the third-dimension of gaming with Bubsy 3D, a classic title that ages like a fine wine each year.

It should have cost $64.

But how does one play video games without a console to play them on? Are gamers expected to make the console around the video game the same way one arranges a room around the couch? No, Nintendo answered the cries of gamers with the release of the Nintendo 64 so that players could then plug their games into a pre-made console in a work of sheer brilliance. With a price of only $200 at the time coupled with some major Nintendo franchises going 3D, the Nintendo 64 did well with over 30 million units sold but was ultimately unable to defeat the PlayStation which sold 100 million units in its lifetime. Nintendo also released a redesign of the original Game Boy called the Game Boy Pocket which was faster and lighter than its previous iteration, however it was not until 1998 that a Game Boy with a built-in backlight was released which was a common complaint for the original Game Boy and the Pocket model. Consoles were not the only interesting pieces of hardware released in 1996 though as Sega released the Sega Model 3 which was the most powerful arcade system board at the time and had games such as Virtua Fighter 3 and Daytona USA 2. N

Remember when Valve wanted $50 for these?

Now it is time to close this editorial out with the new companies of 1996 and where they are today starting off with Valve, famous for games like Half-Life 2 and Portal who has since then moved on to the cultivation of the Steam marketplace along with multiple pieces of software and hardware such as Source Filmmaker and the Steam Link. The popular gaming website GameSpot also saw its creation in 1996 and at its peak had over 60 million annual visitors. In 1996 the late Tom Clancy co-founded Red Storm Entertainment which is in turn known for franchises such as “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six” and “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon.” Although, Red Storm is also responsible for co-developing some of the games in the “Far Cry” franchise as it is owned by Ubisoft as well. Last up is Firaxis games which was founded by Sid Meier along with partners Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds and is famous for the “Civilization” franchise of video games along with the “XCOM” franchise. Please note that they are not responsible, however, for the upcoming Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.

So that is all that and bag of chips for the year of 1996, the only thing left is for you to leave a comment below to let us know what you think. Did you play any of these fantastic games, or do you think they were less than fantastic? What was your stake in the competition between the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn? Whatever the case may be, make your voice heard!

As Rayman danced, he had no way of knowing what the future had stored for him. The peaks, the valleys, the Rabbids.

When it comes to video games released in 1995, it is only fair to make the starting point the earliest released and boy was the protagonist of this game a star…literally. Ristar released in February of 1995 and went on to be re-released countless numbers of times only to never get a sequel despite the positive reception to the game. Just a month later, Panzer Dragoon was released on the Sega Saturn and while it also garnered positive reviews the success of the PlayStation made it hard for any Sega-exclusive games to receive high sales numbers even though Panzer Dragoon did lead to future installments in the franchise. After a mere twenty four hours, Chrono Trigger was released for the SNES and quickly became one of the most critically-acclaimed RPGS of its time. Contrasting the SNES’ more light-hearted games that came to America like Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, the Super Famicom had the terrifying title Clock Tower which followed the tales of Jennifer Simpson as she the supernatural Scissorman. The game was never officially released outside of Japan but it did prove to be very influential when it came to future horror games, especially those in the survival horror genre. Last on the list is the release of Rayman which was originally released on the Atari Jaguar and was quickly ported to the PlayStation along with every console imaginable over time. This led to a successful franchise of platformer games including Rayman 2: The Great Escape, Rayman Legends, and…Rayman Raving Rabbids. Yikes!

To think that this console was not a huge success.

Now onto the hardware of 1995 starting off with arguably the most popular console of the time, the Virtual Boy! Nintendo’s hallmark of innovation was released in mid-1995 in both Japan and America and was discontinued in both regions within a year due to the fact that people were unable to see its brilliance coupled with the fact that the few that did were unimpressed by the system’s games, high price, and the small hiccup that the system was effectively a headache machine. All jokes aside, the Sony PlayStation saw its meteoric rise in 1995 when it was finally released outside of Japan into the big blue orb known as the globe. After ten years of being on the market the PlayStation was eventually discontinued with over 100 million units sold and a successor that sold even better. On a less successful note, the Sega Saturn also released outside of Japan in 1995 only to sell a little over 9 million units in its lifetime. On the flip side, the NES ended its run in North America in 1995 with 34 million units sold in that region alone. It took another eight years for it to finally be discontinued in Japan where it sold another 19 million. At least the Sega Saturn did not stop Sega from releasing the Dreamcast, even if it did not end up doing well.

Look at all the screens!.

Time for the newly born companies of 1995 to close out this editorial, along with one very special event that has been annually recurring for years, including this one! Just 22 years ago BioWare first came into action and went on to release games like Baldur’s Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Mass Effect. Nowadays, BioWare is more known for the catastrophe known as Mass Effect: Andromeda but hopefully the newly revealed Anthem can turn things around. 1995 also saw the formation of Remedy Entertainment in Finland, most commonly known for the first “Max Payne” games (before the franchise was taken over by Rockstar), and Alan Wake. On May 11th, 1995, the very first E3 conference was held in the Los Angeles Convention Center. Unsure of how well it would do at first, organizers were skeptical. But by the end of the convention it was evident that people were intrigued and the audience grew and grew over time. Today, E3 is seen as an annual event in which new games and consoles are debuted to the general public as it becomes more and more accessible each year.

So are you impressed by the way in which this series of editorials totally started on a specific week only for this editorial to come out in the midst of E3 while talking about the very first E3? Did you learn something new? Are you skeptical of the first question’s integrity and believe it to be more coincidence than careful thinking? Whatever the case may be make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

There Samus stands, confronted with the knowledge of Federation Force.

To start off the rundown of the games released in 1994 it is important to note that this was the year that Nintendo aptly named “The Year of the Cartridge.” This title rang true as it was not until 1995 that the newly released Sony PlayStation or Sega Saturn truly started to gain momentum in the gaming world. As for the popular cartridges released in 1994, the very first on the sacrificial altar is none other than Super Metroid, a fantastic game that reminds gamers of when the SNES reigned supreme and Nintendo actually made games in the “Metroid” franchise. In addition, the SNES was also given the blessing of Final Fantasy VI (known as Final Fantasy III at the time), an RPG to be remembered for its entertaining cast of characters and a world worth exploring. Not to be outdone by Nintendo though, Sega decided to release Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in 1994, which went on to be one of the best-selling games on the Sega Genesis along with Sonic & Knuckles, the infamous add-on game that could either be played standalone or as an add-on to include the character Knuckles in previous installments. Also released on the Sega Genesis in 1994 was Earthworm Jim, a run and gun platformer that can only really be described with the words “zany” and “wacky.” Last up is the game Wario’s Woods which marked the last official NES title to be released and is one of the only official NES titles to have a rating from the ESRB due to its 1994 release.

The beginning of an era.

Next up are the hit new consoles from 1994 starting off with the Sega 32X which was an add-on to make the second-generation Sega Genesis more powerful in order to take those who might not have been able to afford it, into the 32-bit generation. The problem being that the 32X launched about a month before the Sega Saturn did in Japan, and only about six months before the Saturn in North America and Europe. This lead to a bizarre scenario in which developers were choosing between the 32X and the Saturn, the latter being more preferable as it was advancing with the times through CD-ROM technology, while the former seemed like a poorly-timed expansion that really only took attention (and sales) away from the Sega Saturn. The 32X was cancelled after about two years of being on the market, and unfortunately the Saturn did not fare much better due to its surprise release four months before schedule, the Nintendo 64’s launch, and the lack of a title in the “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise. On the flip side of the coin, the Sony PlayStation was released in Japan in December of 1994 and went on to be one of the best-selling video game consoles of all time. Further details of the PlayStation’s success will be discussed in next week’s editorial about 1995 when it was finally out worldwide and the fun could really begin. But no hardware released in 1994 could really hold a candle to the success story that was the Neo Geo CD, which sold a little over half a million by the time it was discontinued three years later in 1997.

Two men enter, at least one will die.

To close things off this editorial will cover some notable events from 1994 that were either memorable in their own right, revolutionary for the time, or a neat little tidbit that most people do not know and do not really need to know. The first event is actually a video game release but the circumstances in which it was released made it notable as Mortal Kombat II was released onto the SNES with all of the gore intact, a stark contrast to the previous game’s release on the NES and the first major game on a home Nintendo console to have violence to that degree. Unsurprisingly, Mortal Kombat II did very well on the video game market and went on to be one of the best-selling games of all time at that point. In the year 1994, Neversoft also came into the picture and began creating games in the “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” franchise along with some “Guitar Hero” games until it was merged into Infinity Ward, the company known for making a large amount of games in the “Call of Duty” franchise. On a less happy note (depending on one’s views on either franchise), 1994 marked the year that Commodore International, famously known for the Commodore 64 and Amiga line of computers, no longer operated as a business. Now for the ending tidbit: Silicon & Synapse officially became Blizzard Entertainment in 1994, and they have been cool ever since (pun intended thought not welcomed).

So how was that for a year’s recap, did you learn anything new or find out something about yourself? Maybe you already knew all of this information and are starting to regret clicking on this editorials. Whatever the case may be, make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

The dot, the myth, the legend.

When it comes to hot new video game releases look no further than 1993, because it was filled with star-studded debuts including that of America’s favorite space marine: Doomguy! Doom launched in 1993 through shareware and mail order, and went on to be played by over 15 million people within two years of its release, thus paving the way for even more first-person shooters to be developed. Not to be outdone as the only cool game released in 1993 starting with a “d,” Day of the Tentacle was also released as a sequel to the hit game Maniac Mansion. DotD was received very well by critics and gamers alike due to its more linear approach to the point n’ click genre where gamers would not have to restart if they accidentally mis-clicked or made some sort of mistake with a puzzle. Although, this was not the only adventure game that LucasArts released in 1993, as Sam & Max Hit the Road…hit the road. The comic book duo made their way onto the medium-sized screen, and were loved ever since thanks to their quick wit and unique puzzle solutions. To close out the games released in 1993, one of the most iconic, primary-colored, platforming heroes also has to be mentioned. A hero who was not human, but still touched players hearts as if he was one. The hero in question is none other than the titular Cool Spot, who starred in the criminally-underrated game, Cool Spot. Mega Man X was also released in 1993.

The system did not sell at Jaguar-fast speeds.

Next up are the consoles that were released in 1993 starting with the Atari Jaguar, the last console under the Atari name. Competing against 16-bit consoles such as the Sega Genesis and the SNES, the Jaguar marketed itself as being the only 64-bit console on the market. However, this increased performance came with the cost of a multi-chip architecture that made the Jaguar difficult to develop for, ultimately leading to a severe lack of third-party titles. At the end of its three year life cycle, the Atari Jaguar had failed to sell even a quarter of a million units, and has only lived on through homebrew titles for the console which continue to be developed thanks to the patents for the Jaguar being released to the public domain after Hasbro purchased Atari. On the flip side of the console coin, the 3DO consoles also made their mark in 1993, albeit a very confusing one as the 3DO was not a specific console but rather a set of guidelines for how many manufacturers made the console. All in all, seven different variants of the 3DO were made and none of them were particularly successful due to an overcrowding of the console market and the high price associated with the 3DO line. After this, the company 3DO decided to exit the home console industry and make games instead, and they subsequently went bankrupt in 2003 due to the quality of many of these games.

Time for the Croteam group shot!

Last are the new companies that emerged in the year 1993 and what they have offered the video game world since then. Croatian developer, Croteam first opened its doors in 1993 and is most commonly known for the games in the “Serious Sam” franchise, along with the critically-acclaimed puzzle game The Talos Principle, both of which are planned to have new entries in the near future. Take-Two also made their start as a video game publishing company in 1993 with their first published game being Rats! for the Game Boy Color, developed by Tarantula Studios, who later became Rockstar Lincoln and developed Grand Theft Auto 2. Though, nowadays Rockstar Lincoln is only responsible for quality assurance and localization, not much in the ways of making games. Take-Two on the other hand is only getting bigger and bigger with the very recent acquisition of Kerbal Space Program. Nvidia also emerged in April of 1993 with three co-founders and has now become a multi-billion dollar company with over 10,000 employees and a thirst for producing powerful gaming products. Shiny Entertainment, the now late and great studio, was known for creating the “Earthworm Jim” games and was later merged into Double Helix Studios which has for the most part laid dormant since being acquired by Amazon in 2014.

Did you learn something? Did you laugh, or cry? Are you filled with a sense of purpose knowing how amazing Cool Spot, the character for the game Cool Spot is? Whatever the case may be, make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

One of the greatest FMV games ever created.

The games in 1992 were as fun as they are old because this faithful year blessed us with not one but two games in the “Mega Man” franchise. That is correct, Mega Man 4 was released in North America in early January while Mega Man 5 was released on December 31st in North America. Back then, the action platformers starting blue androids were wholesome and entertaining, now all gamers have is Mighty No. 9 which is underwhelming at best. However, the Blue Bomber was not alone in notable releases from 1992 as it also gave gamers the gift of the one and only Night Trap! Yes, the very same game that helped shape the ESRB and is being re-released this year for a modern audience with retro tastes. In addition to Night Trap, Mortal Kombat was also released this year which had parents in a tizzy thanks to gruesome gameplay. Along with gruesome, id Software took a sharp turn in content when compared to Commander Keen as Wolfenstein 3D was also released in 1992 drawing inspiration from the original Castle Wolfenstein created by the then defunct Muse Software. On the other side of the violence spectrum, Kirby’s Dream Land came out in 1992, the very first game to star the pink puff ball and his journey through Dream Land to stop King Dedede. To close out the games in 1992 is none other than the first game in a long and lauded series known as Super Mario Kart. The start of a cartoon racing series that captured the hearts of gamers worldwide then, and has continued to do so with future entries such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Just look at that volume slider!

Onto hardware, as mentioned in last week’s post the Mega-CD released in Japan in 1991 but it was not until 1992 that it released in North America as the Sega-CD. The add-on to the Sega Genesis was able to play CD-based games which allowed for much larger games to be released onto the Genesis including controversial titles like Night Trap and critically acclaimed titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog CD, and Lunar: Eternal Blue. The Sega CD also greatly helped the FMV genre take shape in the home console market thanks to this disc-based advancement. These titles helped sell the Sega CD, but ultimately the add-on lost steam due to its price and the fact that it quickly became outdated in comparison to other consoles through its lifetime. Also released in North America in 1992 was the TurboDuo, (aka the PC Engine Duo in other regions), which supported both CD-Roms and the proprietary TurboChip. Although the system was powerful, the marketing campaign for it was less than stellar with the mean-spirited character of Johnny Turbo who has to be seen to be believed. This system was also short-lived however as it was discontinued in 1995 and followed up by the PC-FX which failed to find a market as well (more on that in 1994!).

Just be glad Disney did not try to copyright genies.

Last up for this editorial is not a grouping of new businesses for the time, but instead an event which occurred in 1992 that is equally educational. Back in 1990, the Game Genie came out to the delight of video game players, and the horror of Nintendo who subsequently took the device’s creator, Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc, to court claiming that the device was infringing on their copyright by creating a derivative work each time the device was used. After a little over a year of battling it out in court, Galoob ended up victorious and was allowed to continue selling Game Genies. However, as they were not able to sell them during the trial, Nintendo had to recuperate the company’s losses which totaled to $15 million and on top of this Nintendo also had to pay the legal fees of the toy company as well (something Nintendo failed to appeal in court afterwards). The case was officially decided on May 21, 1992, as judges felt that the device was the same thing as fast-forwarding through a movie or speed-reading a book, which does affect how the consumer enjoys the product but does not create a derivative work, which was Nintendo’s position on the matter.

Just like that, the wrap-up on gaming in 1992 is over with a victory for cheaters everywhere. Did you learn something new? Or were you already knowledgeable in all the court cases Nintendo has been part of? Whatever the case may be, make sure to let us know by leaving a comment below!

How many times has Green Hill Zone been remade?

Time to delve straight into the games of the year the first of which being Street Fighter II, one of the most updated fighting games that has ever existed including the upcoming release of Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers for the Nintendo Switch which in itself is an updated version of Super Street Fighter II Turbo. Ultimately it is all a mess that no one actually understands, but a much easier franchise to follow lies with “Sonic the Hedgehog,” whose first game titled, Sonic the Hedgehog which released for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. This game launched SEGA’s mascot into one of the most entertaining series of peaks and valleys that gamers have ever witnessed as for every Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, there is a Sonic Adventure. Speaking of peaks and valleys, Final Fantasy IV also released for the Super Famicom in 1991, a series peak that will continue to be loved by “Final Fantasy” fans. Another loved game that released in 1991 was also The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past often heralded as one of if not the best game in “The Legend of Zelda” franchise. While games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time age every second, the former stands tall.

A king among men, a parfait among normal yogurts.

Now to get into the hardware from 1991 including one of the greatest video game consoles to ever bless the planet known as Earth. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System launched in North America on August 23rd, and ever since the world has never been the same. Harder, better, faster, stronger, these are all words included in a song by the dubstep duo known as Daft Punk, but they also describe the SNES when compared to the original NES. Especially the harder part, if someone was to drop a SNES off of the Empire State Building it would assuredly kill whoever was unlucky enough to be under it. Not to be outdone by the SNES though, SEGA decided to release the Mega-CD in December in Japan which was add-on to the Sega Mega Drive. This accessory had a slow start given its relatively mediocre launch with Heavy Nova, and Sol-Feace but eventually the add-on picked up steam (literally…but not that steam) in North America, more on that next week.

In the arms of an angel…

To close things off this editorial will now touch upon some new companies that popped up around 1991 and whether or not they are still will us (or should be). The first being Blizzard (originally known as Silicon & Synapse) whose first game was RPM Racing (Radical Psycho Machine Racing) for the SNES and the latest game being a small-scope indie game known as Overwatch with Starcraft Remastered just around the corner. Afterwards came Bungie in May of 1991, starting off with just one man releasing Operation: Desert Storm for the Macintosh, and now Bungie is a company with over 700 employees raking in hundreds of millions of dollars from Destiny. Last, and in a way least, the 3DO Company also started up in 1991 and quickly went under in 2003 after releasing over 20 games in the “Army Men” franchise alone. Not to forget that they also released their own console called the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer which did not do well given its lack of hit titles and $700 asking price.

So there it is for this week’s blast from the past, tune in next week to learn about 1992! Did you learn something new after reading this editorial? Did you think that these were all basic facts that should come standard in an elementary school curriculum? Whatever the case may be, make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

Mario adorned in his fursuit, is ready to save Princess Peach.

First up, it is time to go over the biggest video game releases of 1990. In February, Nintendo released the critically acclaimed Super Mario Bros. 3 in North America, which went on to sell over 17 million copies. After this, Nintendo published the very first game in the series, Final Fantasy in North America, which went on to have a…mixed series of games in its future like the most recently released Final Fantasy XV. Then, in October, The Secret of Monkey Island was released by LucasArts, yet to this day fans still do not know the true secret of Monkey Island. Last but not least, on December 14th of 1990, Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons was released on the PC, making it one of the first big-name platformers to grace the platform, given that platformers were often placed on home consoles instead. The game was developed by id Software, famous for making games such as Wolfenstein and Doom, but back then they were actually known as Ideas from the Deep. Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons did quite well for the development team, leading to their resignation from their current jobs in order to form the studio gamers know today as id Software, in order to make the games that many know of today as id Software continued to make their mark in video game history.

Galoob, not be confused with Tony Shalhoub.

Next to the party are the systems that were released in the year 1990, of which there were quite a bit. The most notable of these new consoles being the Super Famicom, which launched with titles such as Super Mario World and F-Zero, marking a new age in video game technology with increased power and mind-blowing visual effects thanks to the specialty chips placed in select Super Famicom games. After this, the Sega Game Gear was released in Japan to compete with the Game Boy, touting itself as being more technically advanced. However, due to a short battery life of only 3 – 5 hours and a less than stellar library, the Game Gear ultimately did not do as well as Sega had hoped. But, the Game Gear did have an exceptionally nifty TV Tuner that could be plugged into the device to allow to it to broadcast television through the added antenna, not only this, but owners could also plug in their own RCA cables, leading to the amusing discovery that an XBox 360 can actually be displayed on a Sega Game Gear. Not a system per say, but a popular attachment nonetheless, the Game Genie was released in 1990 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, ushering in a new generation of filthy cheaters who could not complete video games on their own damn time.

That really is the power of TWO.

Last up for this week’s editorial is a little snippet about the companies that were started in 1990, and where they are now. Famed developer, Blitz Games, got their start in 1990 and went on to develop such classic titles as Glover, Barbie Horse Adventures: Wild Horse Rescue, and one of the most critically celebrated games of all time, Sneak King. Yes, the very same game that was included in select value meals at Burger King. Needless to say that Blitz Games is no longer an operating company after officially shutting down in 2013, one of the final games they worked on being Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two which also killed Junction Point Studios (that really is the power of two, huh?). Originally called 17-Bit Software, Team17 was born in December of 1990 after a developer known as Team7 wanted to publish a game with 17-Bit Software. The rest is history, as Team17 is now known for the games in the “Worms” franchise as well as their published titles including the well-recieved Overcooked and the less than beloved Yooka-Laylee.

That is just about it for this week’s editorial all about 1990, tune in next week to learn about the year after that (whatever that may be)! Did you learn something new after reading this editorial? Did you know all of these facts and feel relatively underwhelmed? Whatever the case may be, make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

Yooka-Laylee Box Art

On May 1st, 2015, the Kickstarter campaign for Yooka-Laylee was launched by Playtonic Games, which was founded by a group of ex-Rare employees. With a goal of a little under a quarter of a million dollars the campaign was funded within a week of its launch, and by the time the campaign was over they had received over 2 million dollars in pledges. Flash forward to almost two years later and Yooka-Laylee was released on April 11th, 2017 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC (with a Nintendo Switch port soon to come). Since its release the game has received very middling reviews from fans and reviewers alike, for reasons that will be talked about in detail throughout this review.

Once the game starts players are greeted with an overly-long cutscene starring the game’s central antagonist, Capital B, along with his cohort Dr. Quack. After their introductions are made, the cutscene then moves along to center on the protagonist’s Yooka and Laylee relaxing as a book is taken from their possession. This book is said to have the power to rewrite the universe given the right circumstances, which is why Capital B wants it for the corporation he works for named V.I.L.E. While an introductory cutscene to set up the story for a type of game that does not usually contain a lot of cutscenes is fine, the opening to Yooka-Laylee only sets the standard for the slow and uninteresting dialogue to follow; filled with far too many jokes that “break the 4th wall”. This gets to the point where nearly every character that players interact with has to talk for what feels like ages before they can advance in their goal, not to mention that many of these voices lack the charm found in games that have a similar style.

Capital B talks a LOT during the game, along with Dr. Quack.

After this cutscene has been completed, players and given control of Yooka and Laylee, and admittedly the controls in Yooka-Laylee are very good. While the duo did feel slightly heavy at first, by the time players are an hour or so in Yooka and Laylee control magnificently. After players are given control, they can explore their introductory area of Shipwreck Creek a bit, but there is very little to do until later abilities are unlocked and instead players are directed to speak with a snake named Trowzer who gives players the ability to do a basic attack. Although his name is humorous, that is really the only entertaining aspect of Trowzer because as the game progresses he only shows up to sell Yooka and Laylee new moves, which is an extremely slow process that takes far too long to be enjoyable. After speaking with Trowzer, players are welcomed into Hivory Towers, the building owned by Capital B that serves as the hub world for the five main areas featured in Yooka-Laylee.

The player is then introduced to ‘Pagies’, which unlock new areas of the game by jumping to the top of a large, golden statue of Capital B. The only world available at this point is Tribalstack Tropics, a jungle-themed level that contains 25 Pagies and 200 quills, making it a very large area to explore. This comes with a catch though, not all of these collectibles can be found in the world at its current state and they only will be available once the world is expanded with more Pagies. While the concept of expanding a world is not an inherent negative on the game’s part, the way in which this expansion is handled is meaningless. There is ultimately no reason that this expansion mechanic is featured within the game, other than to encourage players to fully explore the worlds they do have, in order to be able to be afforded the ability to explore more. The bigger problem, however, is that while these worlds are very large, they are designed poorly and contain too many collectibles for their own good. A simple omission of 5 Pagies and 50 quills would make each world more inviting, as the ways in which the player receives Pagies is too repetitive. If Yooka-Laylee had much better world design, and 20 or so unique ways in which the player can recieve a Pagie for each world, this would not be a problem. This is not the case though, and it is evident that the developers just wanted to pad the game with more collectibles when in reality the game would have been a much better product if it had a much smaller scope. This is not to say that five worlds is too many, but each of them could have been smaller (and with less collectibles included), and with this smaller scope the developers could have devoted time and resources to modernizing the game and working on the design.

The humanoid eyes are terrifying.

One of the nice things about Yooka-Laylee is that it does look very nice, given the cartoony art style that it employs. On the other side of the coin though, these visuals are quickly marred by severe performance issues including rendering issues with the terrain, and an extremely low frame rate during some of the mini-games. Speaking of which, each world also includes a mini-game hosted by a polygonal dinosaur known as Rextro that the player can play in order to collect up to two Pagies. Every single one of these mini-games is bottom of the barrel mediocrity and more entertaining versions of these games could most likely be found on websites that host flash games from the mid-2000s like Newgrounds. Not only do these mini-games show a general lack of effort, but they do not even run properly as the frame rate can drip drastically when too much is going on. And on the subject of unstable gameplay, Yooka-Laylee crashed twice during the review process, once in the middle of a jump in the first world, and again when returning to Hivory Towers through the menu. These are not the only technical issues that Yooka-Laylee faces, as there are a multitude of other bugs and glitches that are prevalent, especially so in the PS4 version of the game.

This is not what good game design looks like.

There is a reason that collect-a-thon games are not found in the modern-day gaming landscape, as they have not aged very well. Instead, platformers have moved on to a mission-based structure like the one found in Super Mario Galaxy 2. That is not to say that a decent collect-a-thon game can not be found in 2017, but developers like Playtonic Games need to realize that the genre has to evolve; which is something that Yooka-Laylee does not do. Even when compared to Banjo-Kazooie, a game that definitely has gameplay issues, Yooka-Laylee seems very mediocre. This is largely due to a what appears to be a lack of effort on the part of Playtonic games, who seemed to care about little more than checking off the of stretch goal boxes from the Kickstarter campaign, without actually putting much work into them.

Just a few days ago, Playtonic Games announced that a patch is in the works for Yooka-Laylee, and although it would potentially solve a great deal of issues found within the game (including adjustments to the camera, the speed of dialogue, and overall polish to get rid of glitches), what matters is that on April 11th they delivered an unfinished product. While in the year of 2017 it is not uncommon by any means to have a ‘day one’ patch that fixes some known issues with a game after it has already gone gold, players should not have to wait a month or two for a gameplay experience that is not riddled with bugs and severe performance issues. Without these issues, it is more than likely that Yooka-Laylee would have been pushed up a full letter grade, if not two, because at its core it is a mediocre game; not a travesty. However, Playtonic Games dug their own grave by releasing their game too early.

A Pepsiman, on a Pepsi Quest.

The man, the myth, the legend, Pepsiman was released in March of 1999 for the PlayStation as a low-budget title meant to advertise the glory that is Pepsi. This low-budget makes itself prominent through the inclusion of bizarre live action cutscenes of someone drinking Pepsi included in order to pad the game’s length. Often compared to games like Crash Bandicoot, or Temple Run, the titular hero is constantly running forward through the streets of San Francisco (and in some instances living rooms) in his quest to give someone a refreshing can of Pepsi. Cans of Pepsi are also scattered throughout each of the four stages so the player can score even more points so that they can brag to their friends that they have the high score on the critically acclaimed Pepsiman. Ridiculousness aside, Pepsiman is also the very first game that visual novel writer Kotaro Uchikoshi ever worked on. Although he was hired to work on video game versions of board games, he instead got stuck with creating the 3D models of Pepsiman and later went on to direct the cult hit, Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors along with other games in the “Zero Escape” series. Unfortunately, Pepsiman never saw a western release and did not sell well at all. But hope always finds a way, and maybe one day Pepsiman will return from his caffeinated slumber.

Crabs, the natural enemy of Cool Spot.

Next up is the game Cool Spot which released on any console it could be on back in August of 1994, which starred the 7-Up mascot known as Cool Spot. In this platformer, Cool Spot must venture around several locations in order to free other cool spots from the cages that they were inexplicably put inside of. This can only be done by collecting enough spots around the stages which are both scattered and guarded by enemies with various and horrific designs. Not only this, but each stage contains a secret letter which can be found and then used to continue in the event of a game over. When joined together these letters either spell out the word “UNCOLA,” the slogan of 7-Up, or VIRGIN, as a way to be cruel. Not really, Cool Spot was just developed by the now defunct studio Virgin Games, who made the lesser-known Cool Spot predecessors, Spot: The Video Game and Spot: The Cool Adventure. Although, Cool Spot is assuredly the best game out of all the games featuring him as the protagonist, it is even fun at some points! Just like Pepsiman, it has been a long time since the one and only Cool Spot saw the light of day, although the red dot is still prominent on each can of 7-Up.

This is hard to look at.

Last but certainly not least is the game Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool which was released for the SNES and the Sega Genesis in December of 1992, and the year of 1993, respectively. As standard with many branded video games, this title is a basic platformer highlighting the brand’s mascot, but interestingly enough there is no actual mention of Cheetos during the game. No matter how few copies the game sold though, a sequel was made entitled Chester Cheetah: Wild Wild Quest as Chester Cheetah embarks on a quest to explore the United States to find the ten pieces of the map to find Hip City, USA. Also a platformer, the game involves Chester searching through stages while also having to defeat bosses sent by Mean Eugene, Chester’s rival known by fans of the Cheetos commercials. In a shocking turn of events though, Cheetos are prominent in this title instead and must be consumed in order to stay alive similar to the way mushrooms work in Mario games. Overall, both games are just generic platformers that nobody really needs to play and Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool will only be remembered for the bad translation the manual suffered from. Thankfully, Chester Cheetah lives on through each bag of Cheetos sold in spite of the terrible games he was placed in.

That is it for this week’s editorial, tune in next time and by then Adeki will have hopefully completed Yooka-Laylee so he can review it for the site. Do you like Cheetos, Pepsi, or 7-Up? Maybe you just like the idea of selling your soul to corporations in exchange for money like Adeki is. Whatever the case may be, make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

Persona 5 Box Art

Persona 5 was released in Japan on September 15th, 2016 as a way to celebrate the “Shin Megami Tensei: Persona” franchise’s 20 year anniversary. Since the release of the first game on September 20th, 1996, the Persona series has improved with each new entry and Persona 5 is no exception. As Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 was a critically acclaimed title, fans had high hopes for Persona 5 before its release and thankfully it does not let these fans down. Persona 5 is proof that turn-based JRPGs can still hold their own against other genres and that reliving high school as a Japanese schoolboy is much more entertaining than it may sound.

After a brief animated sequence depicting the game’s characters, the player is dropped straight into control of the main character (who from this point on will be referred to as Akira Kurusu, which is the name the manga authors gave this character; although he can be named by the player and is commonly referred to in-game as ‘Joker’). The introductory scene involving an escape from a casino’s security officers provides context for a quick battle to establish the game’s combat system, and a moment to showcase the stealth elements the game has to offer as well. No matter the player’s actions, Akira ends up being captured by the police, who inform him that he was ratted out by one of his teammates, and is then incarcerated. From this point on, the majority of the game is played in the past before Akira’s arrest, starting in the month of April of the year 20XX.

Unfortunately, in spite of Persona 5’s many successes, the most notable problem with the game actually appears very early on in the form of an overly long hand-holding session into the primary gameplay and how the player spends their free time during the day. This takes between three to five hours depending on the player’s speed, and freedom to make decisions should have been given to the player sooner. Ironically enough, the game’s central theme is that of freedom and rebellion as it centers around a group of high school students who see the adults in their lives as being corrupt and abusive. This starts with an Olympic medal winning volleyball coach who is physically abusing his students and goes all the way up to Masayoshi Shido, a powerful politician who will stop at nothing to become the Prime Minister of Japan.

Every step of the way, the player is introduced to new and interesting characters who each have their own personal issues which can be explored in detail, depending on how invested the player becomes over time. Interacting with a majority of these characters results in the creation of a ‘confidant’ system which can be leveled up with future interactions, and these confidants greatly aid the player in and outside of battle. Leveling up a confidant relationship with a teammate will allow them to take mortal blows for Akira, along with other benefits including the ability to heal each other of status ailments. Leveling up a confidant relationship with those outside of battle also yields useful benefits, which range from the ability to buy items at lower prices to receiving a larger amount of experience from each battle. Each confidant relationship also corresponds to specific Arcana, which are classes of Tarot Cards (Fool, Magician, Hierophant, etc). The higher the level of a confidant, the more experience a Persona is given upon creation, which then ties into the titular Persona mechanic which is vital to understanding and succeeding at playing Persona 5.

Shockingly enough, this monster is not even a boss!

Persona are summoned entities that are representative of their user’s personality and desires, and while most characters are limited to only being able to use the one Persona they sign a contract with, Akira has the unique ability to be able to use multiple Persona. New Persona can either be granted to the player through the process of negotiating with an enemy through verbal prompts when they have low health, or when they are fused together in the Velvet Room. The Velvet Room being a recurring element in games in the “Persona” franchise, which is home to Igor, a strange older man with bloodshot eyes and a long pointy nose. In Persona 5 Igor is accompanied by Caroline and Justine, who assist Akira with the Velvet Room’s functionalities. As the game progresses and the confidant relationship between Akira and Igor is upgraded, the ways in which to create and train Persona grow tremendously. These processes range from placing two Persona into individual guillotines to create one, or placing one into an electric chair to turn the Persona into a helpful item.

Persona are able to carry out special attacks (elemental and more severe physical attacks) and are a large part of the game’s turn-based battle system. Aside from using their Persona, characters also have the option of attacking enemies either with a melee weapon or a gun, each weapon inflicting a different type of physical damage. While the SP (skill points) used in combat can be regenerated using items from vending machines and other locations, gun ammo is limited and is refilled when leaving the Palace for the day and coming back the next. All of these elements culminate in an extremely well done battle system that will punish the player for mindlessly selecting moves or mashing buttons without thought. Players are not given the luxury to only perform skills with their Persona due to the limited amount of SP each character has, and not all Shadows (untrained Persona) encountered in the game are susceptible to physical damage. That being said, as the player does progress through the game they can press the Options button on their controller, which fast-forwards through the battle (as well as conversations) to make quick work of lower-level enemies through a series of melee-only attacks.

Winning a gold medal really went to Kamoshida’s head.

Palaces (the equivalent of dungeons in other games) exist within the Metaverse, a universe similar to that of everyday citizens but with the inclusion of Shadows and other supernatural characters. These Palaces are larger-than-life manifestations of someone’s twisted desires, leading to the creation of a fully-formed castle which is home to volleyball coach Kamoshida, who sees himself as being the King of the school. This Palace is equipped with jail cells filled with high school students at the bottom, while the top of Kamoshida’s Palace has a special room dedicated to his treasure. Once this treasure is stolen from the Palace and brought into the real world, the owner of the Palace suffers a change of heart and confesses to all of their crimes. In his Palace, Kamoshida also takes on a different appearance, changing from his workout gear into nothing more than pink underwear and a regal robe. Akira and his friends also change their outfits once they are recognized as threats within the Palace and adorn sleek and stylish costumes.

Akira can hide behind walls and furniture to ambush Shadows for the strategic advantage.

As Akira and company traverse through the Palace, they must hide in the darkness behind furniture and other large objects in order to get an advantage on Shadows that monitor the halls. If executed correctly, pressing the X button will allow the player to ambush the enemy, giving them the first turn, and in some instances if the party is of a much higher level than the enemy, it will be an insta-kill and the Persona will automatically be bestowed upon Akira. However, if the player is unsuccessful in their attempts to hide the enemy will be able to attack the player in the Palace which translates to the team of Shadows having the first turn instead. In addition, when a Shadow sees Akira not in cover they will begin to chase after him and the security level in the Palace will rise. If the security level in the Palace raises to 100%, everyone is instructed by their cat-friend Morgana to leave the Palace as more Shadows will soon be approaching otherwise. Thankfully, the stealth mechanic in the game is very generous in how close Akira can be to the enemies while covered in darkness. Also, when the player is done with school for the day, they can also choose to craft items which let them escape from battles, Palaces, and lower the overall security level so they are not forcibly removed from the Palace.

Crafting items is just one option for players finished with their school-work, as they can also hang out with friends to raise their confidant rank, train at the local gym to raise their HP and SP, go to the batting cages in hopes of hitting a home run, or players can pursue a pastime like studying in the library, playing video games, or watching rental DVDS as each of these tasks will raise one of Akira’s five social stats. These stats are: Guts, Proficiency, Charm, Knowledge, and Kindness. Each of these social stats help Akira forge new confidant relationships as some characters are inaccessible without a certain level in an individual social stat (ex. Makoto is a very smart student so Akira has to have a high level of Knowledge to interact with her). Depending on the player’s level of planning before the playing the game, they may be able to max out every single one of these social stats on their first run through the game, but it is very unlikely if not impossible that they could do this and also max out every single confidant relationship as well. This is why social stats are carried over to the game’s New Game Plus mode after beating it the first time, which makes it much easier to max out every single confidant relationship on their second try.

Mementos takes the form of a demonic subway system deep underground.

Another after-school activity available to the player is the ability to explore the area known as Mementos. As the game progresses, Akira and his friends decide to name themselves the Phantom Thieves and find out about a much larger area in the Metaverse that is not quite a Palace but something entirely new to the team. Certain areas of Mementos will be blocked off only to be unlocked as the story progresses and other Palaces are destroyed, letting the characters delve deeper in order to hopefully find the truth as to what Mementos truly is and why Morgana is so eager to find what is at the bottom. As the Phantom Thieves soar in popularity, a fan-site (nicknamed in the game as being a Phan-site) is created and hosted by one of Akira’s classmates at Shujin Academy. Eventually, requests for the Phantom Thieves help are then sent into the website which are received by Akira and enacted by the Phantom Thieves in Mementos. These requests can range from someone as small as a high-school bully to the “Head Honcho in Showbiz,” and Mementos is always open up until the end of the game if the player feels as if the Phantom Thieves are too under-leveled.

Overall, Persona 5 is an excellent game. The gameplay proves that turn-based JRPGS are not a dying breed and can be revitalized if the right amount of care is put into them. The story is much darker than the previous Persona titles, and appropriate as the game takes on heavy subject matters such as sexual abuse, suicide, the true nature of mankind, and (a whole lot of) death. The areas and characters look beautiful when paired with the PlayStation 4’s graphical power, and the game’s user interface oozes with charm thanks to the spectacular font used, along with other creative choices made to spice up what would in many games be rather bland. The music heard in and outside of battle ranges from welcoming to blood-pumping, and makes the game that much better as a result. Despite an overly long introduction, Persona 5 is one of the best games available on the PlayStation 4, and due to its timeless nature it will continue to be so.

All high schools should include an auto-shop.

Primero (that means first in a different language, probably), is the lesser-known game Ghoul School for the NES released in 1992. Ghoul School pits high school student Spike O’Hara against an army of the undead after he finds a mysterious glowing skull in his local cemetery and decides to keep it for some reason. This skull thievery then turns the students attending Cool School into various monsters, thus transforming the once prestigious academy known as Cool School (not a joke) into the titular Ghoul School. Spike O’Hara is then given the responsibility of having to search through his newly-demonized school in search of new weapons and upgrades to unlock new areas in order to rescue the head cheerleader of the school, Samantha Pompom. The game itself is categorized as being a Metroidvania with survival horror elements which is interesting given the fact that the genre had yet to skyrocket in popularity, and the game itself did not prove to be especially popular at the time nor today given its relative obscurity. Still, some people see it as being worth checking out, keeping in mind that it has no relation to the Oscar-deserving cinematic classic, “Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School.”

The child with the painted face slings his last shot as a teacher watches expectantly.

Johnny Lawrence, Biff Tannen, Chet Donnelly, Biff Tannen, what do all these men have in common? None of them are in the video game, Bully released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2. Created by the now defunct Rockstar Vancouver, Bully is an open-world game starring Jimmy Hopkins who is sent to a private boarding school after being expelled from seven other schools so that his parents have some time to themselves. Although the game is at its core an open-world action game, it does include a hefty amount of missions that are either story-related or optional that require Jimmy to travel around the academy as well as the surrounding town so that he can dispense his brand of vigilante justice in the form of punches and kicks. However, players must also be wary not to miss class in order to avoid being marked truant, and attending class enough also equips the player with new abilities which can be used to further terrorize students like being able to create firecrackers after taking enough Chemistry classes. Fun fact: All around sane man, Jack Thompson, once described the game as being a “Columbine simulator” and asked that the game be banned from sale in the state of Florida. This did not happen as the judge presiding over the case saw that the game contained no content not already found on late night television and the game went on to do very well, go figure.

Just eight days off from Bup’s favorite day.

Last but not least is Persona 5, a game completely unrelated to the initial creation of this editorial, which was released for the PlayStation 4 on April 4th, 2017. Persona 5 gives players the task of taking on the identity of a Japanese high school student who must forge relationships with those around him including other students as well as journalists, doctors and weapon salesmen, along with also having to explore Palaces located in another realm known as the Metaverse. These Palaces hold special treasures pertaining to one’s identity, and once they are stolen from the Metaverse and brought into the real world, the owner of the Palace goes through a mental shift that leads them to admitting to all their previous crimes against society. Of course, the player also has to balance this all out with attending class from Monday to Saturday and staying out of trouble in order to steer clear from expulsion. Just like every high schooler has to do at one point or another!

So that is it for this week’s editorial, are you looking forward to next week’s review of Persona 5? Maybe you played any of the games mentioned in this editorial and want to talk about them positively or negatively? Maybe you just need someone to talk to and need an open ear and open heart to divulge information towards, whatever the case may be make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

There is too much on the screen right now, too damn much.

The honor of being the first game this editorial mentions goes to Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for the Game Boy Advance alongside its remake Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories. Rather than implementing the previous title’s action RPG battle system which gives access to attacking, casting magic, defending, and other features, this game instead offers a real time card-based battle system which involves creating a deck of usable moves. This then leads to theoretically running out of moves including a simple keyblade attack as that also counts as being a card at different power levels. Speaking of which, each move has a power level that can either overtake an enemy’s move and cancel it out which stuns the enemy, or the move can be overtaken by an enemy’s attack and get cancelled out which stuns the player. Overall though, the game received positive feedback and did well with critics, although it is one of the least successful games in the series sales-wise (so far as Kingdom Hearts 2.8 was just released).

Strike a pose.

Second on the chopping block is Grandia II for the Sega Dreamcast released eons ago in the middle of the year 2000. What sets Grandia II apart from the rest of other RPGs released around the same time is its mixture of a real time turn based battle system that also includes movement around the battlefield. This means that the player can control a hero and have them move closer to attack an enemy in short-ranged combat, and then move away from the enemy afterwards. Another helpful bonus in the combat is the ability to execute combo attacks which can go as far as to include four attacks in a row when paired with certain accessories. Not only this, but if a combo kills an enemy prematurely, the character will finish the combo attack on the nearest enemy instead of just wasting it. Grandia II did exceptionally with critics who praised the battle system, but it did not do amazingly well in terms of sales unfortunately. However, as time goes on and Grandia II is re-released for modern consoles, it continues to be appreciated by old fans and newcomers alike.

This…thing looks friendly.

Last in the selection is Resonance of Fate, a lesser known title when compared to the rest of the bunch that released on the Xbox 360 as well as the PlayStation 3. Resonance of Fate also mixes a real time battle system with turn-based controls similar to Grandia II. Each action that the player also uses an action point, action points are the main drive of the game’s battle system and are responsible from actions ranging from movement to attacking. Action points can also be charged during a battle, and attacks can also be charged over a certain amount of turns in order to create an even more powerful attack. Resonance of Fate also has a unique feature that sets it apart from other RPGs in that all damage inflicted by the player is through guns, submachine guns afflicting “scratch damage” which damages an enemy but can not kill them, and pistols which do “direct damage” which can kill an enemy. To say that the battle system in Resonance of Fate is deep is an understatement, and it only gets more complex from that point on. The game went on to receive middling but positive reviews that complimenting the game’s battle system but instead found flaws in the plot and graphics. But truly, the most elusive praise that Resonance of Fate received, is that it won runner-up in RPGamer’s best battle system award back in 2010.

Well, that is just about it for this week’s editorial. Have you played any of these games and want to talk about what you thought of their battle systems? Maybe you would just like to voice your disdain for the fact that this editorial is the thirtieth post in a row to talk about the “Kingdom Hearts” franchise in any given context (a problem that will be alleviated by next week). Whatever your reason may be, make sure to leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

Just look at him.

First off, Jimmy Fallon should have been shot off into the sun a long long time ago. The host to end all hosts, Jimmy Fallon has continuously been annoying on tv for over a decade, torturing those in retirement homes who are unable to choose which channel to watch late at night. But some may ask, “how is Jimmy Fallon a gaming related celebrity?” The answer being that Jimmy Fallon tries to make his enjoyment of video games a loveable “quirk” to separate himself from other television stars. Oh no, a celebrity on tv who enjoys playing video games? What a weird but charming man! This has led to appearances by Nintendo on his show, even displaying the (at the time) coveted Nintendo Switch before its release. During this visit, Fallon physically could not shut his mouth and kept talking hours after the episode had finished taping. This is not an uncommmon occurence either, Jimmy Fallon is often forcibly placed into the “talking room” where he continues to talk to a non-existant live studio audience for hours and hours in order to tire him out. Needless to say, it is nothing short of a travesty that Jimmy Fallon is still not on a rocket set directly for the center of our solar system.

Get ready for Space Jam 2!

Next up is none other than Kobe Bryant, a famed basketball player who shares his talent with the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant enjoys games in the “Call of Duty” franchise and has even appeared in a commercial for one of the games, however this is not why he should be shot into the sun. No, instead, NASA should shoot Kobe Bryant into the Sun in order to see if it is possible for the Sun to be slam dunked. While nerds like Elon Musk continue to test rockets and see if they can fly to Mars, they fail to realize the simple beauties in life like being able to slam dunk a celestial body. For decades humans have been trying to find life on other planets but they do not understand that to create communication with between aliens and humans, humankind must do something to capture the alien’s attention. What else would capture an extra-terrestial’s gaze that to see the Sun being slam dunked by one man? A mere spec of dust when compared to the grand cosmos in its entirety moving a slightly larger object when compared to the grand comsos…around the size of a dust bunny perhaps. Kobe Bryant is a perfect candidate to slam dunk the Sun deeper into the ever-growing hoop that is the Universe because of his tremendous skill, and the fact that Shaq demanded way too much money.

His eyes convey power that is not of this plane.

Last but certainly not least is Wilford Brimley, a man not often recognized for being involved in the video game industry. Unbeknownst to most avid gamers, Brimley did in fact star in a rom hack of River City Ransom entitled Wilford Brimley Battle. In this hack, Brimley runs around the neighborhood beating the shit out of local youths like a hero. So why should he be shot into the Sun? Just to see what happens. Wilford Brimley is super old and has looked like he was about to die for years, so it is more than likely that he could survive being shot into the flaming hot core of the Sun. No really, that was the only reason. No need to continue reading this editorial because it is officially over. Hopefully everyone had a safe April Fool’s Day and did not have a heart attack from some sort of surprise. Wilford Brimley sure has not had a heart attack any time recently, if anything he just gets stronger with time. Like some sort of diabetic vampire that feasts on the youth of others. Maybe Wilford Brimley is a vampire? That may have to be investigated in next year’s post. Just look at that mustache, normal people do not grow mustaches like that without murdering some innocents. Technically it is possible that Wilfrod Brimley is a completely normal person who just so happens to have aged in a certain way, but it would be much more interesting to analyze his life as if he was a blood-slurping fiend.