Julius

Alright, I'll try to keep it fast and loose. We'll see how that goes not so much predictions, but more just me speaking out loud about expectations and wishes, and trying to figure out what I think is likely. Final Fantasy I - VI Collection. I'm just going to say it until it happens, even if it's more likely now that they just wait until next year for the 35th Anniversary. Some decent pixel art too, none of this sickening smoothed over mobile business you've got going on. In terms of Zelda, I do think we're getting something, because of the 35th Anniversary being this Sunday, but I'm just really not sure what that is exactly. I think they could spend a good 5 - 10 minutes on it, to be honest, because there's so much that they could potentially have in the works. I think a Zelda 35th Anniversary Collection like 3D All-Stars makes a lot of sense, and focusing on the 3D games makes a lot of sense too...but I'm not even sure what form that could take, if I'm being honest. Ocarina of Time / Wind Waker / Twilight Princess, leaving Majora's Mask to be like Galaxy 2? Or do we see Ocarina of Time / Majora's Mask in a collection which releases shortly in say March or April, and then another collection (which they may or may not announce here) for Wind Waker / Twilight Princess which releases later on in the year (I'm thinking summer)? I mean, Nintendo has to feed the kids somehow Beyond that, though, I still think there's the potential for more Zelda stuff. I'm always optimistic when it comes to events like these anyways (unless it comes to Square Enix porting over legendary games to make them accessible), and so I do think that the Breath of the Wild sequel turns up here, and I think what they say - and what the end of the trailer says - will be very indicative of where they're at with it. Personally, I think we get a title reveal and the trailer ends saying "2021. More info this summer." because they don't quite want to nail down a release date, just because of COVID and the potential for delays, which brings me onto a Skyward Sword remaster...I think it's their fail-safe for if they can't get BotW2 out this year, a nice ace to have up their sleeve. I'm in for a remake of a 2D Zelda game too, so I'll throw my two cents at a remake of the Oracle games (like others have suggested, in a similar style to the Link's Awakening remake), as they're a great and logical shout (Minish Cap somewhere down the line I imagine); I know some have said A Link to the Past elsewhere online, but with that already being on SNES Online, I just can't see Nintendo wanting to touch it, in the same way I can't see a modern remake of Super Mario 64 or Ocarina of Time (unless decades from now things go down the drain, then that's their big red button idea). Only other 2D game I think could see a remake would be Zelda II, just because from what I've heard, it could probably benefit from a modern update the most. Zelda 35, some battle royale thing set in the original Zelda, probably seems like an easy enough idea for them to implement it. Commemorative amiibo are more likely than us seeing the sun rise tomorrow, so count on that. Screw it, I'll go all in: the announcement of a LEGO Legend of Zelda set. Why not? And if not here, I imagine we get all this bold stuff at some point in the future anyway. Outside of Zelda for half a second to talk about Smash...where I will go back to Zelda and suggest we get CD-i Link okay, but in all seriousness, obviously a trailer for the next Season Pass character. It'll be Captain Toad, he unfortunately will not be wielding a sword, but he will announce a Captain Toad sequel. I'm thinking Temple of Goom...ba. I haven't even played the first (for some reason, seems like it'd be up my alley) but it looks charming enough where I'd want it during these dark times. Do the right thing Nintendo. In terms of Pokémon, maybe a new trailer for New Pokémon Snap? But in all likelihood I'm expecting minimal Pokémon news here and for them to just give us confirmation of a Pokémon Direct on 26th February for the 25th Anniversary, which will include a better look at New Pokémon Snap and plenty of other reveals. A new Mario game would be cool, as would a new Mario sports game, but you know what I think could be even cooler? They mention giving an update on some of their already released games like Smash Ultimate, so how about we finally see some DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe? They have some 33 million units out there in the wild, and I think it would be a waste to not tap into an audience of that size, but even more so because of COVID, I just think it'd be a great thing to put some DLC out for something they clearly don't plan on replacing anytime soon and doesn't require buying a totally new game to experience it. On a similar train of thought: Ring Fit Training DLC expansion. Honestly, it's a little tough to not turn around and just say everything with an anniversary this year is getting a collection and/or sequel, because that's kind of what I would want them to do. Heck, if it were up to me, they'd have the logos of each franchise with an anniversary this year and straight up say "We know we have a lot to celebrate this year. We're focusing on a handful of them today, we have the Pokémon Direct next week, but rest assured that there is still plenty of time left in the year for more surprises", but that makes too much sense. So, instead, we'll get bits and bobs: a remake of Metroid: Zero Mission and not hear anything about a Metroid Prime Collection, which they'll save to announce in August or September. They'll announce a new Fire Emblem, which will be a remake of Genealogy of the Holy War, but there will immediately be outrage just because of some of the questionable content I've read about in passing about the original game. Imagine Intelligent Systems have probably modernised the tale a little bit. The Switch Pro doesn't turn up here. I don't doubt it's coming towards the end of this year, but considering that the Switch Lite had a little over two months from announcement to launch, and that the original Switch as a new platform had what turned out to be six months from reveal to launch (and once again, two months from release date announcement to launch), I think the safer move with COVID in mind is to hold off for now. Save the announcement of it for shortly before a Nintendo Treehouse in the summer, where they can show live gameplay footage from BotW2 off on it. Think the last thing I'll mention will be what's going on with Switch Online, and that's that while Game Boy and N64 games are coming to the Switch, it's not at all going to be what you expect: Game Boy and N64 games will be released separately a la Virtual Console, with Switch Online membership providing you with discounts when new games launch as part of their legacy catalogue (20% for handheld titles and 10% for home console titles). Though they'll skip ahead a little bit to Game Boy Advance next week when FireRed and LeafGreen get dropped for the 25th Anniversary, those won't be counted towards this, as there's too much money to make. They've seen the green from 3D All-Stars and are about to get greedy with it. But, actually, speaking of Mario, that will be the thing I end on instead: Super Mario Galaxy 2 is coming, and 3D All-Stars is here to stay, just digital only and sold separately. They will give us the whole "we heard you" spiel.

Act 5 is over and credits have rolled, so that's a wrap on Metal Gear Solid 4. Look, I do think Metal Gear Solid 4 has some issues, quite possibly more than any of the previous Metal Gear Solid games. Act 1 is a bit of a mess until Rat Patrol turns up, there are a looooooot of cutscenes (if that's not your thing, well, you'll probably have issues with it), a lot of loading screens, frame rate issues galore, and so on. The latter two could be fixed in a remaster, though, and it's not something I really hold against the game, it's just a product of its time. Because for all of its issues, they wouldn't be there without a ton of ambition and clear love for this franchise, not just from Kojima, but clearly from the whole team that worked on it. The sheer abundance of nods, flashbacks, tie-ins, returning characters, and very direct moments of fan service allowing us to fulfill some wishes I could have only dreamed of fulfilling after the earlier games, makes this one hell of a great time, and I had a huge smile on my face throughout a lot of it. The music is great as ever. I need to listen to the soundtrack some more, for sure, and it sucks that they couldn't use the Main Theme from previous games in all of its glory, but I did find it funny that it still turned up being whistled in Act 3 and is the tune Sunny sings to when cooking eggs. Transitioning from that to focus on the secondary melody from the Main Theme to make Metal Gear Saga was about as good an alternative as we could get, and I was happy with it. Definitely a couple of times where they start hinting at it only to subvert into this more melancholy tune, does make me wonder if anyone's gone back through the cutscenes on YouTube and added it back in, because it did feel on a few occasions like there was a little something missing musically, and I think this was it. So, Metal Gear Solid 4. Flawed? No doubt about it, in my personal opinion. And yet, it still manages to be the home of some of the greatest and most hype moments in the series, tells an engrossing story, has a wonderful cast, and pays homage to what came before in a way I don't think I've ever experienced before in a video game. I ended up absolutely loving it, flaws and all.

Zelda 3D All-Stars 2D Zelda Remake Skyward Sword HD Zelda 35 Metroid Prime Collection 2D Metroid Remake Final Fantasy Collection (pleaseeee) Confirmation of 25th Anniversary Pokémon Direct next week

Xbox Wireless Headset announced: More details:

Yeah, it does seem a little on the later side for a change, but it's been so long since we've had a Direct proper that I genuinely can't remember, I feel like they're generally some time between 16:00 and 19:00 for us over here (other Direct types are all over the place though). I do seem to remember the Smash reveal Direct in 2018 being around this time in the year and quite late into the evening for us (21:00 or 22:00?), and similar timing even in 2019 for the one where they revealed Link's Awakening if I'm remembering right?

Yeah, in terms of surprises, I am curious to see what they do with BOTW2, which is the biggest one I think. If it is coming this year (or they're at least planning for it to), do you announce that now, or wait? This would be a similar time frame that we had for Smash Ultimate's reveal to release (Feb 2018 Direct > November 2018 release), and while I know this has already been revealed, I do think it would get similar treatment from them in terms of needing 6+ months to really market it well. As for Zelda, the actual date of the 35th anniversary is this coming Sunday, so I'd be very surprised if they didn't at least mention it, or release some commemorative amiibo, in lieu of some game reveal. Mario I think was a bit different, because they didn't have too much left to announce I feel back in August, as they had already announced Pikmin and made the wise choice to hold off on Age of Calamity, and its anniversary was the following month. They've clearly been saving up some surprises for this Direct. Yeah, I think Bravely Default and New Pokémon Snap probably get new trailers just to remind everyone they still exist and are coming. I'd still say that we're pretty likely to get a Pokémon Direct next week for the 25th Anniversary (that's just how they've done things before, and like clockwork too), so I think the bigger question is if Snap gets a trailer here or they save it until then? Either way, super excited. I'll probably post some further thoughts later, but back to work for now

Oh wow, 50 minutes. Updates on existing titles...Smash is a given, but others? Maybe some Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC? First traditional Nintendo Direct since September 2019, right? How am I meant to keep my expectations in check Nintendo?! Especially with Zelda's 35th Anniversary this coming weekend?

Yeah, anecdotally I've helped some friends get their hands on one, and zero of those were through Amazon. Probably got the highest customer:stock ratio, so would have to imagine that's why. Sure, not really saying that, I probably should've been clearer. I'm just saying that (at least from what I'm seeing) stock is being released more consistently/on an increasingly regular basis than at launch in November; I see a lot more frequent updates on stock being made available now than what we saw the week of, and weeks following, launch. I'm sure that's largely down to it being sold out prior to launch for the most part, but that's at least what I've been seeing since probably mid-January. We'll just have to wait and see, but I remember the general consensus - even before launch, after everything sold out - being that things probably wouldn't calm down in terms of stock until March/April because of how little they'd be able to produce in time for launch, and I do think that things should calm down a bit in the coming months (assuming no issues with production, at least). I do agree that the bots don't help, and like you and @Dcubed, I'm pretty baffled that it seems like no-one has pushed for extra security to ensure that these aren't being purchased as part of scalping efforts. I don't mean to suggest that it's going to be easy and you'll be able to stroll into a shop by June and pick one up without any hassle, but just that I think that it'll get a bit easier in the coming months. At least, I hope

Am I the only one pretty optimistic about @Hero-of-Time getting one by June? Given that supply is already becoming increasingly consistent when compared with how it was at launch and leading up to Christmas, I think he's got a great chance of having one by then. Yes, it's still in high demand, but it's not anywhere near as bad as it has been. If he wanted to find one by next month then maybe I'd be a bit more pessimistic just because it's basically down to spotting one before others rather than anything else; it's just a numbers game, and the more months he's willing to wait, the higher his odds are of landing one at some point. The only real obstacle I think would be the timing of it all, which leads into my only real tip for getting one (which you might have already done): follow some accounts on a throwaway Twitter account like @IGNUKDeals, @jelly_deals and @DealsFoundry, and turn the notifications on for all of their tweets. Can get a little annoying, but odds are, that covers pretty much all of the bases, and then it's just down to timing Registering interest with SimplyGames or others could be worth doing, because I know SimplyGames in particular sends links hidden behind logging in to their members that go up a little before they do publicly (I just had an email regarding this now, actually), but of course they're all thrown in with bundles of less popular items to ramp the price up a bit, like third party headsets and charging stations. Anyways, good luck in your hunt, but I'm confident you'll be able to get one by the time this releases!

Yeah, completely. Definitely didn't do a good enough job of really getting people hooked in those first two, but, I suppose the security of knowing that this story still be told from start to finish regardless, and that the majority of existing MCU fans who have Disney+ will see it through to the end, doesn't make that a priority for them.

Got through to the end of Act 4 this evening, so, all being well, I imagine I'll probably see credits roll tomorrow based on how the story has progressed (and me guessing that there are 5 Acts). So, yeah, I'm having a great time going into what I assume to be the final Act. Act 1 aside (for me easily the weakest opening in the series that I've experienced so far, and maybe one of the worst "levels" too?), and some of my issues with the game from a technical perspective like the constant loading screens and how cutscenes are sometimes treated (again: things which could really, REALLY be fixed in a remaster), I don't know, I'm struggling to see why this is as divisive as it is. Maybe it's something to do with the final Act, but so far none of the cutscenes themselves have felt too long for my liking yet, and while it is over the top at times, it's been in keeping with the previous games tonally I'm really loving it now, either way. Yeah, just one of those things. This was easily 3 or 4 years back listening to some gaming podcast or something, where they either did that thing where someone says "spoiler alert" and give you zero time to react, or just dived right in. Maybe it's just me, but if the only thing you've got to talk about with Metal Gear Solid 4 is something which happens in Act 4? Maybe you shouldn't be talking about it at all. It's very surprising to me how many journalists completely bungle things like this: if you want me to experience something you loved, maybe don't spoil it. Totally think there's a place for spoiler discussion when it comes to just about anything, but your selling point for watching Star Wars should not be "Vader is Luke's father and then Luke helps redeem him!", it should be that "it's a tale about family and what it means to be a family", "it's a story about how even when a dark shadow is cast, there is a light", etc. Be generic but descriptive, I don't know... Anyways, rant over, that's just a rant from me about spoilers in general. In this particular instance, while unfortunate, I didn't get any context or see anything about the spoiler, so while it would have been cool to know it wasn't here going into this, it got me more excited in a way because I didn't know why, or how, or when, and so on. And I definitely didn't know what went down, and I had no idea about many of the events in the rest of the game. Very much looking forward to seeing how it all plays out tomorrow

Alright, so I'm not done for the evening, but I'm on Act 4 now, and I imagine everyone who has played the game knows what that means... Alright, back to it

Spent Saturday afternoon catching up on WandaVision, and ended up really liking it. Really picked up with Episode 4, and took off from there. Excited to see how it all wraps up over the next few weeks

The second season of Demon Slayer has been announced. No surprise that there's a second season, or that it's going to be a returning ufotable staff and voice cast, but I think it's a (very welcome) surprise that it's scheduled to be arriving in 2021, considering that we're still waiting on Mugen Train (the film) to release in many places internationally. It's going to be adapting the Entertainment District arc, which I've seen online (and asked my little brother about), and the general consensus seems to be that it's an arc which will probably be good for adapting in one cour, which is also pretty exciting. Oh, and it's on Funimation and Netflix (where it has been crushing it the last few weeks) in the UK now (and I imagine in other places too), so there's zero excuse to miss out

Well, it got better. A whole lot better. Didn't quite put as much time into the game as I might have wanted to this weekend, but still managed to make some steady progress. Currently in Act 3 with Big Mama, though I don't think she quite finished her speech, it was getting late, so I saved at the first opportunity. Just going to dump hype moments in the spoiler tag for now: Anyways, I think Act 1 was almost deceiving in how poorly executed I felt it was. Loading screens, frame rate, etc., aside, I don't feel it actually got enjoyable until meeting up with Meryl and Rat Patrol. The level design wasn't bad, by any stretch, but it just felt very tightly packed, and it made it a bit of a nightmare - as the first act - to get back to grips with things. Might have been the point from an artistic sense - war is suffocating - but from a gameplay sense, it seemed a poor way to return to the franchise. But Act 2, hell yeah, it's been so much better. Basically just MGS3 in many ways, from the encounter music, to the chase sequence (also, are those Irvings mooing? Or is it just me? Because for some reason it really ramps up how creepy that are), to just the overall flow and design of the level. Tracking down Naomi with night vision definitely felt like a throwback to The End. This level was exactly what I needed to get myself back to grips with the mechanics, and though there are still occasions where I'll accidentally slip from being hardcore into Tactical Espionage Action, and just go berserk with the tranquilliser or a machine gun when found out. But hey, it's still fun in those moments, so as a wise Reggie once said: Something I've found weird so far in the game though is that the AI definitely feels a little...at odds with itself. I imagine it's improved in some ways objectively compared with MGS3, but in terms of what I've experienced, it's way easier to take advantage of. One time I turned a corner and three guys were there, one staring right at me from a couple of yards away, but none of them really reacted, so I just started popping them in the head with the tranquilliser. And there have definitely been some moments where the MGS / MGS2 method of just sprinting by, in that weird, arcade-like sense, seems to work, much more so than I felt was the case in 3. Not really a complaint, so much an observation I've found a little confusing trying to figure out. Also took on the first boss fight, Laughing Octopus, and I really enjoyed it. It was cool when she turned invisible, but infinitely cooler when she started becoming props in the rooms. Died the first two times, because I just got super unlucky running myself into a corner when she was doing her rolling attack, but other than that single attack, not too much of an issue. Felt like I cheated her second phase, if you could call it that (when she doesn't have the Doctor Octopus arms), because I was carrying a machine gun, and so mowed her down in a couple of seconds. Noticed a lot of petals at the end there, reminding me of the end of MGS3...something I've definitely been pondering. Oh, and the OctoCamo is awesome. Great natural and modern evolution of what we got in MGS3, I love it. And other than that, have to mention the resistance member whistling - and Sunny singing to - the main theme's melody. I know not to expect the full thing blasting at some point (unfortunately) after reading into that a bit more after playing through MGS3, but at least it seems to be here in some form. Also, got to mention cutscenes just having the option to view flashbacks with X, which I mentioned last time, or having more control over them in the mission briefings just adds that layer of interactivity which I think - so far - has justified the longer cutscene sequences. It keeps you interested with the controller by your side, and what they do in the mission briefings I found particularly cool on a technical level. Unfortunately I missed the flashbacks which showed up when Drebin was talking at the end of Act 2, purely because I was so drawn into the cutscene and popped the controller aside for a second But yeah, it's definitely picked up, both in terms of story and in terms of gameplay. By the way, the start of Act 3, with the trailing mission? Easily the best trailing mission I've played, if only for the Eastern European setting and matching detective noir vibe alone (probably one of the better uses of a lot of bloom from a visual perspective, too). Really looking forward to continuing with Act 3. In my opinion, Act 1's latter half was a marked improvement on the first half, Act 2 was great, and, so far, Act 3 has been too. Got high hopes for the rest of the game again now Honestly, stick Bluepoint's MGS2 and MGS3 remasters on the store, let them remaster MGS4 a similar way (I seriously think getting rid of the number of load screens would elevate this game somewhat, just from a pacing perspective), and I'd be happy. And obviously the icing on the cake would be a remake of the original Metal Gear Solid, like you mentioned. I know loads of people say to just make it just straight up third person, but honestly, I think a hybrid of the third person and top down perspectives would be much better (and freely swapping between them, perhaps), because I think back to some of those boss fights in the first game, and you would have to completely redesign them to be a third person experience, which would be a little weird; the fights with Vulcan Raven and Revolver Ocelot, in particular, come to mind. Never mind that Bluepoint doesn't have experience with retooling a top down design to a third person design, at least as far as I'm aware, but maybe I'm forgetting something? Was also funny thinking about a potential MGS remake earlier and thinking about how Konami would have 1000% pushed the Fox Engine on them a couple of years ago (which, to be fair, I would've been cool with), but likely wouldn't now, considering that PES is going over to Unreal Engine.

Yeah, so no updates from the concert regarding a PS5 upgrade/version, PC release, or anything like that. Seems likely now that the next time we'll get an update is on or around the end of the game's year of PlayStation exclusivity on 10th April.

Digital Foundry's analysis on the PS5 patch: Locked 60fps apart from one cutscene where a single frame is dropped is pretty insane, and as drahkon shared above, it looks great. Really looking forward to giving it a spin at some point this year

Obligatory: Was really stuck choosing what to play next, but rather than stress myself out I figured, hey, I haven't gone back to the Metal Gear Solid games since I beat Snake Eater some 9 months ago now, it's finally time. So here we are. Only a couple of hours in, and I imagine barely scratched the surface, so these are super rough first impressions. I've just split up with Rat Patrol after the Advent Palace. I've got a bit to say, and most of it might come off as mixed/negative, but I think that's largely down to being so early in the game, and it being so in my face as I get into it. Technically, the frame rate is...not so great at times, including in cutscenes. Takes me out of it a little bit, but it's an ambitious PS3 game (that shot at the helicopter taking off at the start looked really great), so it's just one of those things that comes with the territory. Definitely not something I'll hold against it, just thought it was worth mentioning, because it's definitely the most that I've noticed it in an MGS game so far (the only other time where it was noticeable to me in a way which was memorable, was with the shotgun in MGS3). I know I've heard people talk about how cutscenes are handled and, hoooooooo boy, do I not think so much of it would be handled this way today, at least in its most annoying and frequent utilisation; some of it is clearly a choice, whereas there are other parts where it seems to be limited by the hardware. The opening scene to the game as credits started up felt really choppy jumping from cutscene, to moving 10m and picking up an item, to another cutscene, to moving 10m...you catch my drift. Those opening credits felt unnecessarily long (I swear Kojima was credited like ten times, and I also swear for the same thing twice at one point?), the most hilarious part of it all to me was the title card (in the Eastern-inspired font; curious to see if credits roll on each act with a different front inspired by the location, but that would seem a very Kojima thing to do) popping up, followed by 'Directed by Hideo Kojima', then 'Kojima Production Presents'...(slow pan up) - me: wait, are they going to show the title again? - 'Konami' and yeah, unfortunately the cutscenes jumping to gameplay for just a second and then jumping back after moving a few metres has already happened so frequently I've lost count. Also, kind of cutscene related: have no idea what was up with swapping between TV channels at the start, it seemed cool enough and I was half expecting something to happen, but when nothing did, I pressed Start, then got moved to another screen which said Press Start to Continue. A screen I've since seen, again, countless times. It being the early hours of the game, even with nothing much of consequence really happening yet, I think it's making it feel choppy and leading to some poor pacing in scenes. Which...sucks, compared with how these things were handled so well in previous games. A fair bit of exposition, thankfully no super long cutscenes yet (but I know they're coming), and the best thing has probably been seeing returning faces, learning about what's happened to them since and what they're up to now, and slowly easing myself back into the series' mechanics and gameplay loop, admittedly after running around like a headless chicken in action film for the first little bit. In terms of overall gameplay, it feels like a natural progression from Snake Eater in a lot of ways: larger interconnected areas, certain ideas returning and perhaps being refined (like carry capacity). Still trying to figure out what's up with the stress level, don't think the game's explained it yet (?) unless it's just generally to do with what's going on around Snake? Like I said before, I'm still easing myself back in, so it hasn't quite clicked yet in terms of moment-to-moment gameplay, though I felt it started to up against those Frog Soldiers while helping Rat Patrol; speaking of whom, loved the transition from cutscene to gameplay, with the camera swooping from the side to the back of Snake, there were so many chances in the earlier scenes that I knew it was coming, so I was glad to see it! Shout out to being able to pause cutscenes, though, and just how many cool ideas they're trying to pack in. Oh, and I hate those Irving, mini-Gear-looking things having human-like legs. So yeah, super early on I'm not as hot on it as I was the earlier games after just the first couple of hours, but it is starting to click in terms of gameplay, so I'm optimistic, and will of course be sticking with it until the end to see how everything transpires. Looking forward to seeing how I feel about it after putting more time into it tomorrow EDIT: I forgot to mention the flashbacks to the other games which you can tap X to see at certain moments. Love them.

New gameplay video:

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes (which @Sméagol mentioned above, by members of the original Suikoden team and being helmed by series creator Yoshitaka Murayama) now has a publisher attached, and it's 505 Games. It's been great as a backer watching how transparent they've been about the development of the game (there's an entire section related to the realities of development), including not wanting to commit to too many platforms from the outset. It seems like Murayama getting the advice of IGA on how things went with the Bloodstained Kickstarter is paying off!

Got through two games last weekend, and started a third on Sunday which I saw the end of a few nights ago. MEGA MAN 2 | 1988 Last summer, when I asked for some platformer recommendations after realising that I didn't play nearly enough of them, @Jonnas recommended that if I'm to start anywhere in the Mega Man franchise, to skip the first and go straight to Mega Man 2. And so I did. It definitely took a bit of time to adjust going back to an older game, especially when gauging the height or distance of Mega Man's jumps and how long I needed to hold the button down, but a few deaths out of the way early on and I managed to get used to it by around the midway point. There are some weird things I attribute to the game being on the older side too which resulted in me feeling a bit lost as a series newcomer, like not explaining anything about the Transport Items leading to me just running around at the start of Stage 1 of Wily's Castle (because it's the first time it's required in the game) or not really getting what the deal was with Energy Tanks until a few levels in, and some game design decisions which I'm not sure we'd see if the game were to be made today (namely the beams on Quick Man's stage and the spiked walls on Wily's Castle Stage 3, which are very difficult to navigate as you drop from one screen to another and have little time to adapt), but by far the most outdated - and by far the absolute worst - part of this game from a game design perspective is the boss from Wily's Castle Stage 4. Going through for the first time and realising that the domes could only be damaged by one weapon type, and not really getting much of an opportunity to adapt to dodging their lasers (something the game doesn't really prepare you for throughout that level, as far as I can remember) made it a really tedious experience, one where I found myself having to go back and grind for energy for that one particular weapon. So, Mega Man 2 certainly shows its age at times, and honestly, that's probably it's biggest flaw, something the designers simply couldn't have predicted at the time (you know, besides that boss I mentioned) and is only so noticeable in hindsight. Because, all of this being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed playing through Mega Man 2. I had a blast with it! I cracked out my NES Online controller for the first time in a while, and though my hands were cramping up a little by the end, it was a really great way to go back and experience the game with the original controller. It was very funny trying to figure out why I couldn't shoot for the first 5 minutes though (it was because the controller didn't have a preset, so my button for firing my blaster simply wasn't an option on the controller, which resulted in me questioning if maybe Mega Man couldn't use his blaster at the start and I just needed to try jumping over everything. Yeah, if you know the first level at all, that's not a feasible option, and you will die at the very beginning every time I found the enemy and character designs really endearing, the stages are full of variety and are so vibrant that it just pops off the screen, and I found myself relishing the challenges I faced along the way. Beating bosses to add their weapons to your collection and trying out different weapons on different enemy types to check for weaknesses was a lot of fun to do; I'd have to say that my personal favourite weapon was Quick Man's Quick Boomerang, mostly just because it made such light work of some of the bosses. Some of the sprite work in this game, by the way, I thought was absolutely phenomenal for an NES game (in particular, the shot of Wily's Castle, Mecha Dragon, and Nuts-Dozer), and could easily pass for being an SNES game at those times. The thing which ties Mega Man 2 up so sweetly for me - and will make it so memorable an experience - is it's phenomenal treasure trove of a soundtrack, which is clearly now in hindsight such ridiculously complex music to have on the NES. Seriously, Takashi Tateishi's back must be fixed into a bowing position at this point, because I thought it was just that brilliant. There's just so much energy and charm to the soundtrack that I found it impossible to not smile even at the toughest of points in the game, and there were several times where I would start a new stage and either let the music play through a few times because it was obvious the track was going to be great, or be not too hot on it and start playing the level, before it really got a chance to kick in some 20 seconds later, and I had to kill everything around me just to listen to it over and over. Metal Man, Wood Man, Air Man, Crash Man (my personal favourite of the stage themes, there's a weird jazziness to it and I love it), and Flash Man are the 'normal' stage themes that I'd highlight, there's a lot of variety and depth to them. I'm just listening to the soundtrack again as I type this, and find myself smiling and humming along. The Boss Battle theme is also great; Dr. Wily's Castle is obviously an exceptional piece of music with that high octane epic melody and beat. Epilogue is strangely melancholic when it starts out, seeing as the journey is over - it's probably the most serious track in the game? - but also kind of warm and hopeful by its end, and Credits feels like a great celebration. But the highlight to me is that opening of the game with the Introduction and Title Screen tracks, the soft peacefulness of the introduction music just being obliterated by the high tempo of the title screen music is awesome. Despite showing its age at times, Mega Man 2 is still a great platformer to play through today some 30+ years after its initial release, and combined with some superb sprites and a top shelf soundtrack, is filled with charm and this childlike innocence which makes it a classic well worth returning to. PAPERS, PLEASE | 2013 Papers, Please sees you play the role of a border checkpoint immigration inspector after winning October's labour lottery, set in the fictional, totalitarian country of Arstotzka in the winter of 1982, in what is effectively an alternate Eastern Europe. The main gameplay loop is simple enough: one-by-one, you are checking the documents of those entering the country by using the tools at your disposal, and your own investigative skills, to process their documents/person and ultimately stamp their passport or visa with denial or approval of entry to Arstotzka, checking above all else for any discrepancies which might suggest something suspect is at hand. For instance, a difference between their weight as detailed in their documents, and the reading from the scales which they stand on as they speak with you, might suggest that they are smuggling weapons or contraband; discrepancies in height, facial appearance, spelling of their names or locations in their papers, or document stamps, might suggest forgery; and other potential tells, such as their reasoning for entry or how long they will be spending in the country, might be a sign further questioning is required or of genuine forgetfulness. All of this can be cross-examined by hitting the red button on the bottom right of the screen, allowing you to enter an investigation mode, where highlighting two potential discrepancies, such as their face and the face in their passport, a rule in the rulebook about requiring a certain type of document and highlighting the desk as it isn't there, or even a transcript of your conversation and their documents if they don't correspond, and will lead to further opportunities for questioning to explore any suspicions you might have. Playing this on my Vita and using the touch screen, this could be a bit tedious and even a bit frustrating at times, due to the sensitivity of the screen and the default size of the text frequently resulting in the game thinking I wanted to highlight something else. Oftentimes, further exploration and questioning will leading to invasive actions (scanning their thumbprint to make sure it matches the one on their documents, and that they are who they say they are. or in some cases an X-ray scan to confirm their gender or possession of weapons/contraband) or even more direct punishment, such as calling security over to detain them. This might seem mundane, and, well, it is. You're pushing paper to get through to the end of the work day (each of the 31 days you can play through often takes about 5-10 minutes in real-time), when you'll receive your pay. The most common action you'll take in this game is shuffling papers around your desk - which in itself offers a satisfying crinkling sound effect - as you try to cross-examine everything for mistakes, which you'll need to do as any errors will result in you receiving citations - these come with the sound of the citation be printed, which becomes increasingly grating as you go on. After the first two citations you receive on a particular day, which won't incur a penalty, the more of those you get, the more of your pay will be docked, which plays into managing the expenses of your home life, such as heating, rent, food, medicine, and the odd one-off expense, such as a gift for your son on his birthday. You might also be able to receive bonus amounts, such as by helping a security guard get their own bonus by maximising the number of people you choose to detain, or through helping an engineer get word out about his business and giving his business cards to incoming engineers. On occasion, you might even receive a straight-up bribe to allow someone through. If you have enough money on hand, at certain points throughout your term, you can take up the opportunity to move into better accommodation with your family. This all is tied together by a distinct and interesting political and national security landscape, which will see changes to the rules in your rulebook on who you can and can't let in, and what documents they need, with a lot of this narrative will coming through reading the newspaper at the start of each day. For instance, heightened political tension between Arstotzka and Kolechia at the start of the game, shortly after the end of a six-year war between the nations, will see you denying all access to Kolechians for a day; a list of wanted criminals, and even some mentioned in the paper itself in serious cases, will have you keeping a keen eye out for them; and later on in the game, an outbreak of Polio will see you asking for medical documents confirming that potential entrants have received the vaccine within the last three years. All of this adds a bit of variety to the mundane day-to-day, adding texture and depth to this fictional world, all while giving rise to a front row seat to smaller arcs with recurring characters, which for me personally was the highlight of the game, as these provide the most distinct of the game's twenty potential different endings. An example of this is coming into contact with a resistance group who claim to have guided Arstotzka's history, and wish to do so again, using you as a pawn to allow certain people in and out of the country, such as important diplomats or their own spies, and on occasion, even doing their dirty work for them. On the other hand, terrorist attacks frequently take place at the border wall, and after a few of those, you'll be handed a key by security, which can be used to open a drawer with a tranquilliser gun that you can attempt to use to sedate the threat (which comes with its own rewards). Papers, Please is mechanically sound, if a bit repetitive and mundane at times, though this is part of the point. It was interesting to feel myself, as days went on, getting bullied with citations for making the slightest of mistakes, pay less and less attention to the monotony of the day-to-day, and to the people, and find myself focusing almost solely on the stone cold facts, only to find myself shaken up by some major event, which in its way felt like a commentary on the day-to-day of office work and, further yet, a totalitarian regime and the tensions in Eastern Europe of the 70's and 80's. Almost in spite of how mundane this game is at times, there is something ever so slightly appealing about just pushing papers around for a few hours, and wanting to see how the different endings played out - especially the major ones - by making different choices had me coming back for two more playthroughs after my first. I think, ultimately, you'll know if this game is one for you, but it was one which kept me hooked throughout and coming back for me. It might not quite be a Platinum, but I 100%'d this game, and I'm glad I took the time to do so; I think it's one which will stick with me for a long while, thanks to its simple pixel art style, its overarching narrative, and just how unique an experience I found it to be. Papers, please. SOUND SHAPES | 2012 In Sound Shapes, you play as what is probably best described as an eye ball covered in goo, sticking to walls and platforms as you slide around them before leaping elsewhere, as you try to avoid touching anything red, as this will result in your immediate death. It's a simple enough game on a control level, with the only inputs being the ability to jump (which in some cases might be used for something else in its place), control your direction, and 'de-stick' yourself, shedding your goo to allow you to move around faster and stop sticking to objects, and I thought the platforming through the Campaign Mode was really solid, as it was just a lot of fun to gain some level of mastery over this ball's jump and the goo mechanic, even if I thought that checkpoints were overall on the generous side. The main draw, though, is in just in the sheer variety of this game's creativity and level design, as every level manages to introduce something new and fresh for you to overcome. You play through five albums (or worlds), each with 3 - 5 levels and 20 in total, and each has their own overarching theme, with music and graphics design for each album handled by different artists, all allowing for very different experiences, despite the platforming fundamentally staying the same, and how each level interacts with the music is interesting to see. Hello, World has an easygoing soundtrack by I Am Robot and Proud and a soft, round art style provided by Vic Nguyen (Capy); CORPOREAL has a much more serious soundtrack, by contrast, by Jim Guthrie, in a muted, matte office setting with graphics by Superbrothers; Beyonder is an exploration of a variety of natural and mechanical environment types, with music again by I Am Robot and Proud, though this time a bit heavier and synth driven, and graphics by Colin Mancer; D-Cade is also heavy on synth, though a bit more modern in ways, with music by deadmau5 and a retro pixel art style by PixelJam; and, probably my favourite album, Cities, with almost layered paper-like art style by Pyramid Attack, and a great variety of music by Beck (the only album with lyrics). I figure the easiest way to show you what I mean about level design, music, and graphics variety is to just you my favourite levels from each album, so without further ado: My favourite tracks in the game were probably Cities and Purgatory, though I absolutely loved the flute which turned up at the end of Event Horizon too. After completing the Campaign Mode, two new modes unlocked, the first of which I checked out was Beat School. In short, it's a mode where you're basically arranging notes on an blocked out screen to recreate the beat or melody that you hear. I spent an hour on the mode figuring out the first few, but I'm not really sure why it was included. It's neat enough, but doesn't really add anything to the experience in my opinion. An easy way to get a bunch of trophies, though, so once I eventually had my fill of it, it meant looking up guides for the rest of the levels I had left, and unfortunately, I imagine that was the case for the majority of players. The other mode unlocked after beating the Campaign Mode is Death Mode, where there is room based on each level in the game, with a core mechanic from that level, where you have to go around collecting a certain number of discs within a time limit. This was simultaneously the most triumphant and most frustrating mode in the game for me. On the one hand, it provided an opportunity to master a particular room and how to overcome a particular obstacle, which could take anywhere from 10 - 20 minutes to really adapt to if you're paying attention, but on the other, and what made this mode so damn frustrating, is that the discs are randomly generated to turn up in one of a number of locations in the room, with only one on screen at a time, and dying once means you need to restart; in every case, there is a ridiculous element of pure luck involved with the disc placement. On one run you could be doing great, and have plenty of time left, only for the level to completely screw you over and decide it wants to set one disc down on one side of the room, then send you all the way over to the other side; at the same time, on another run, you might end up with as many as 5 discs in a row showing up right next to each other. It's this RNG element which tears this down, and I think slightly tweaking the mode could have made it so much less frustrating an experience, either by removing the RNG element and having players learn a predetermined order in which the discs will turn up, which would enough of a challenge in itself, or keeping the RNG element but rewarding players with additional time for each disc collected (even just 1 second per disk would seriously make that much of a difference). In the end, there were several times where I had to zone everything out in some way, because after learning the level through, it's just a matter of trying your best until the RNG plays into your favour (and, at that point, not becoming distracted and overthinking things), and I had to come up with some specific strategies for some. I spent hours on some levels in Death Mode, some leaving my hands cramped, whilst others provided so much concentration I had to do that thing you have to do in some games heavy on reaction times, where you don't even focus on the screen to allow yourself to see the screen in its entirety, just to heighten your reflexes to give you that super slight edge. The implementation of the music across the Death Mode levels was something I found to be really inconsistent, with some clueing you in on when to react, but on others it was a hinderance more than anything, so I found myself muting my TV to help me concentrate. Figured it would be worth sharing some of my triumphs and frustrations of the mode here, just so you can see what I'm talking about when it comes to the RNG nature of it all: The Campaign Mode of Sound Shapes is great in its simplicity and sheer variety, whether it be its music, level design, mechanics, or art style, and you can get through it in an afternoon, so I would say it's definitely worth checking out if you're looking for something a bit shorter, or a shake-up from a more traditional platformer. Beat School is a mode which genuinely feels misplaced in this game, even with the overall focus on music, and I would only recommend Death Mode if you're willing to drive yourself a little bit mad. I stuck with it in the end, nearly tripling my total time with the game, and while it's something I'm glad I put in the effort and time to get through, it's a mode which I genuinely never want to play through again. First Platinum get of 2021! Looking through my others, this was probably the most challenging one I've got my virtual hands on so far. To be honest, it's been nice changing things up a bit and getting through some shorter games at a decent enough clip for a change. Still trying to figure out what I want to play next, but February has been a pretty solid month for me so far in my gaming endeavours!

I think the key art translates really well to the box: Got to say, those PS5 game boxes have quickly grown on me. On the female Lombax... So...Rose? Rosie? Roze with a 'z', because it's the future? Maybe Rhose, with a silent 'h'?

Well, there we have it: June 11th! My above post aged really well and going to edit the title of the thread, I realise this will be a year to the day since it was originally announced. That's pretty cool. Key art looks great too: Guess I've got a few months to go back and play the PS4 game then!

Once all this is over, that's going to make one hell of a band name Back on topic though... Something Will Happen™

At least it seems to be trying to be an edgy and weird sequel to 2020 rather than a dark one. Though I think this pretty much confirms we're in the worst timeline...