I've always enjoyed the Fire Emblem series. Like many, I was fascinated by Marth and Roy when they were introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee. I wanted very much to know who these mysterious characters were, and what Japanese exclusive series they came from. When Fire Emblem came to the West in the form of Fire Emblem (GBA) I was instantly hooked. And the series just kept … [Read more...]
Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the Necrodancer Featuring the Legend of Zelda – A Most Ridiculous Title for a Most Ridiculous Game
Let's get this right out of the way, first thing. I hate roguelike games. I just do. I absolutely despise everything about them. From the incredibly lazy level design of using procedurally and randomly generated levels, to the insta/perma-death conditions set in so many games of this genre. I absolutely and unequivocally hate roguelikes. I am also no fan of rhythm games. I … [Read more...]
Mega Man 11 – A Mega Good Time
I've been a Mega Man fan for longer than I can remember. Even though the series is often known for its punishing difficulty, I can't help but love the core gameplay of it all. It's pure video game goodness. Unfortunately, for a while there, I was wondering if we'd ever see another entry in this beloved series. Things had been quiet on the Mega Man front ever since the release … [Read more...]
Splatoon 2 – “Don’t Get Cooked… Stay Off the Hook!”
Splatoon 2 (S2), in fact, the Splatoon series on the whole, was never a Nintendo IP that I had the least bit of interest in. From the hideous design of the Inkling protagonists, to the idiotic Punk/Hip-Hop aesthetic, to the awful music, to the fact that it was (what I believed to be, until very recently) solely focused on PvP combat, this was not a game series for me. Or so I … [Read more...]
Octopath Traveler – 8 Characters, 8 Stories, 1 Fun Game
Long ago I became disenchanted by JRPG's. They were long. They were tedious. They were all the same. In a word: boring. News of a new Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest was as exciting to me as a lecture on ontological empiricism. In this genre of games, there seemed to be little in the way of innovation. So, why, you might ask, would I even bother to play Octopath Traveler (OT), a … [Read more...]