Dcubed

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-05-18-ubisoft-has-reportedly-made-minimal-changes-following-abuse-allegations What a surprise! Ubisoft were just paying the world lip-service, nothing has changed, and they're still a bunch of rapists & sex abuser supporters. Stop supporting Ubisoft.

This is pretty mindblowing... I'm shocked that this actually works and that the Wii U accepts it as valid USB storage to load games from!! You can make physical versions of Wii U digital games! (albiet, very slow!)

Shame to hear that STEAM ran out of steam for you. Been meaning to play that game myself at some point... but I REALLY hate BS same-turn reinforcements; so maybe I should push that one further down the backlog

Well this is a surprising bump... it appears that news of WB Games’ non-demise were greatly exaggerated! I can already hear the sounds of Phil Spencer’s car revving up...

The great thing about the Retrotink 5x though is that it is a lot more readily available than the OSSC or Framemeister. It’s also a LOT more plug n’ play friendly (I have the Retrotink 2x myself); very little in the way of faffing about with it (unlike the OSSC or Framemeister). It just works. Yup, their editorials are usually shite; and this one is no exception. As far as the traditional “AAA” side of the industry goes? Gameplay quality has never been so low across the board as it is now (yes, there are some exceptions, of course, but truly good games, let alone great ones, are such a rarity now). Even Nintendo’s output leaves a LOT to be desired for those that have already played 99% of their output before on 3DS/Wii U/Wii/Gameboy (though Luigi’s Mansion 3 is absolutely 100% certified amazeballs; that I can’t deny). Thank goodness we’re still seeing some bangers from the indie side of things though.

Well Battle Golf looks sick now, doesn’t it! Hope you can knock fools into the drink in Speed Golf.

Just finished The Missing Heir last night. A more detailed write up will be coming later, but the short & sweet of it is that it is VERY good! Surprisingly gripping story, despite it (and the game’s) overall simplicity! Highly recommended!

Awesome! Looks like people here might actually get a chance at getting it after all! Do recommend a pickup. It's not flawless, but it's a very solid little machine and well worth the asking price

Well I got a fair way into RE7, I really wanted to give it a chance, but it was just so incredibly, mind-numbingly boring that I just couldn't go on (think I got up to the car "boss", or at least a little bit past that part?). You just... don't actually do much of anything in that game! It's pretty much just walking from one cutscene to the next and a very rare, occassional (but still very boring) shootout. It has about as much meaningful gameplay as Cookie Clicker. I've played through the entierty of every mainline RE game, except for RE6 (absolute trash) and RE7 (so boring); so I'm no stranger to the series. Of course, RE4 is one of my absolute favourite games of all time; that much should be obvious! Glad to hear that there seems to be a bit more going on in terms of gameplay in RE8 than in RE7 though

So for those that have finished it... For someone who found RE7 unbelievably boring as fuck (it's basically a glorified walking simulator), is there any real gameplay meat on RE8's bones this time around? From what I can gather, there's a much stronger focus on combat here than in RE7; but is the combat any good? Are there interesting enemy & boss encounters? Are there actual puzzles? (And are they any good?), is there any interesting level design this time around? If so, I might give it a go at some point (probably when it inevitably hits Game Pass in a few months). For what it's worth? I thought RE2: Remake was surprisingly well done. Far better than I was expecting! (Haven't played RE3:R though)

Wow... so surreal... Playstation Studios now have an official Creators Page on Steam

DKJB isn't really a rhythm game, or particularily rhythmic per-say. It's sort of like what would happen if Donkey Kong Country and Tony Hawks Pro Skater had a baby (Please don't picture that in your head). It's entierly about busting tricks and chaining massive combos to earn sick scores across whiteknuckle 2D sidescrolling platforming levels. And the sheer amount of milage & creativity they get out of what is essentially just three buttons (not even a d-pad!) is just incredible; it was absolutely, completely built around the DK Bongos, in the same way that Wii Sports was built around the Wii Remote . The Wii version is basically an entierly different game, which was completely re-designed from scratch (different level design, completely different gameplay focus) and isn't even remotely the same experience as the sublime GCN original. It's more of a standard 2D platformer on Wii, instead of the insane DKC & THPS hybrid that the GCN original was.

If you're not sold on the Series X; maybe it's worth looking at a Series S instead? It's a fantastic little (emphasis on little! It's around the same size as a SNES, which is amazing!) machine that plays all the same games as Series X anyway. If you don't really care about 4K? I can't recommend it enough, especially when you also bring backwards compatibility into the mix

Well that was fast! Here's another one to add to the tally... Metroid II: Return of Samus The Game Boy was Gunpei Yokoi & R&D1's baby. Despite being Nintendo's first development team (hence the name... duh!), their work on consoles had arguably been overshadowed by the plucky upstart R&D4 (who had been renamed to Nintendo EAD by 1989). It was here then, that a dichtomy would develop within Nintendo; as R&D1 (later renamed to Nintendo SPD) would find themselves primarily focusing on their handheld invention (and its subsequent successors), for pretty much the remainder of their entire existence... all the way up until the very recent 2015 merger of SPD & EAD into the current Nintendo EPD division. While R&D1/SPD did work on a small spattering of home console titles across the rest of their existence, (the full tally including Super Metroid, Sin & Punishment, Wario Ware: Mega Party Games, Wario World, Wario Ware Smooth Moves, Metroid Other M and Sin & Punishment 2); all of these titles would be made with outside developer assistance. Never again would they ever make a home console game on their own. And amongst their bevy of titles made throughout the Famicom & pre-Famicom eras? Their crown jewel was, of course, Metroid. While they had previously worked on the hugely successful Super Mario Land, and Mario Bros Arcade/NES? Metroid was assuredly their biggest, most important, most influential and most dearly held title. While Super Mario Land was assuredly a smaller scale & more bite sized title than its NES counterparts however? Metroid 2 would have no such asterisks attached. This was a true, full scale sequel to one of Nintendo's biggest & most important NES titles, and that spoke volumes about Nintendo's intentions with their fledgling handheld. The Game Boy was not just a toy that would play small games & a mean game of Tetris, no. The Game Boy would go on to host Nintendo's biggest & brightest; and Metroid 2 was really the first time that Nintendo would demonstrate this philosophy, as they threw their full weight behind the platform, and this game in particular. This wasn't "Metroid: Samus's Other Adventures"; no! It was "Metroid 2". And that meant a LOT back in 1991 And really? This game was a true evolution over the original NES Metroid in basically every sense. The graphics were much better, the level design much more distinctive (gone are the notorious copy/paste rooms of the original game!) and now much less confusing than before, and the story also far more nuanced than before. Make no mistake, Metroid 2 is a FAR better game than its NES predecessor in basically all respects. Samus' arsenal of moves was also expanded greatly, introducing things such as the Space Jump, Spider Ball, Spazar Beam & Spring Ball (That's a lot of S'! Think there's a theme going on here?) that would go on to become series staples moving forward. These additional moves & powers would greatly expand Samus' ability to explore her surroundings and would really cement the exploration gameplay that would go on to define the series, and the genre as a whole. The introduction of Save Stations (there's another couple of S'!) was also a revolutionary concept; I believe that Metroid 2 was actually the first ever game to have any form of save point! (As in, specific objects scattered within the game world for you to find that let you save; not a set location like a town or building like the churches in Dragon Quest/Final Fantasy). Another thing the Nintendo R&D1 really upped the ante with here is atmosphere. Metroid 2 is a much more foreboding and dread game than its predecessor and that is reflected not just with it presentation, but with its entire game structure. Metroid 2 is a decidedly more linear game than Metroid 1, with a simple path of progression. Kill the Metroids and you can then dive further down the grand chasm of SR388. The further you travel down the depths of the planet, the greater the danger; until you inevitably reach the Metroid Hive. It's simple, but enormously effective. Metroid 2 would also bring in many more elements of horror than ever seen before in Metroid 1... or indeed any Nintendo title at all outside of Famicom Detective Club (which... funnily enough, was also made by Nintendo R&D1!). One brilliant way in which this is done is in the landmarking of the Metroid locations themselves; as you see the dead husk of what was once a Metroid shell... acting as both a sign that your target is close, and as something to be feared... What horrible monstrosity lies beyond those rocks... The music also takes an experimental approach, with a focus on ambiance over melody. While this decision isn't to everyone's taste, I found myself appreciating the change up myself. Though some of the music comes across as sounding a bit silly with the limited Game Boy's attempts to create atmospheric sound, I do appreciate the ambiance it tries to create; and I do find that it does a good job of creating suspense, especially when you come close to the Metroid Hive itself. Of course, despite all of these improvements, there are a number of issues that do drag down the experience. For starters, the game takes place entierly underground within a series of fairly similar looking locations. This means that, though the environments are still much more varied & better landmarked than in Metroid 1, it's still very easy to lose your orientation and find yourself losing where you are. The lack of an in-game map (something that had yet to be invented... and wouldn't be introduced into the genre itself until Super Metroid) is also a major issue; as it's just far too easy to not know where the hell you are in relation to the map. While I would argue that the game is still very much playable & enjoyable without an external map? This is something that absolutely justified the creation of 2017's 3DS Metroid 2 Remake, Samus Returns; this game really did need a map to truly make the most of its concept, and it is a shame that it isn't here. Oh sweet aeon from the Chozo. How I wish you were here... Another significant issue is the lack of enemy & boss variety. Metroid 2 has a very simply premise, commit genocide against the Metroid species; LEAVE NONE STANDING!!! Naturally, this means that you are gonna be spending most of the game killing Metroids... which all play out fairly similarily. While the game does introduce Metroid sub-species to counteract this monotony, it sadly isn't enough. There just isn't enough enemy variety in this game. On top of that? Combat in general can feel a bit clunky, given the cramped screen real-estate, and worse still? For some bizzare reason, the designers thought it would be a fantastic idea to give Samus basically no i-frames whatsoever when she gets hit. This means that you can very easily be wombo-combo'd to death in no time flat; and given how tough the Omega Metroids are? You're likely gonna be seeing the Game Over screen frustratingly often... The introduction of the Save Point was a revelatory concept, no doubt fuelled by the need to balance the game with the needs of handheld play. After all, handheld games are often played in short bursts; you need a way to save your progress in short notice, but having a Save Anywhere system in Metroid would completely break the game balance. The concept would go on to be hugely influential, not just for the Metroid series, not just for Nintendo; but for the entire industry as a whole for decades to come. Its implementation here though? It leaves something to be desired, as save points are uncomfortably infrequent and are combined with environments that are confusing to navigate & keep your bearings about; not the greatest combo for a handheld title. This is rendered worse by the fact that this game is ridiculously stingy with health pickups and health recharge stations, making it a real chore to build back up your energy & missile reserves (and those missiles are absolutely 100% required to kill those Metroids too!). Though still much better than the absolute nightmare that Metroid 1 was in this regard? It is, again, not exactly ideal for a handheld game. I can forgive them here, considering that this was their first go around at the Save Point concept, but it's implementation here is not ideal. Game Over incoming! Still, taking aside its (significant) issues, Metroid 2 has a lot going for it. It is one of the most atmospheric & foreboding 8-bit titles you will ever play, it greatly expands upon the concepts laid down by its NES forebearer, it introduces some absolutely revolutionary concepts that would go on to be industry defining in their own right, and it demonstrated that handheld consoles could absolutely deliver games that stood toe to toe with the biggest & best console titles on their own merits; no asterisks attached. Even within the Metroid series itself, Metroid 2 has a uniquely lonely & dread atmosphere that no other title in the series quite emulates; not even its own 3DS remake, which I would argue loses something by remoulding the title into the now series-standard Super Metroid formula). The game's ending perhaps best exemplifies this quality of mystery, when Samus is introduced to The Baby. You spend the entire game heartlessly slaughtering this race of creatures, rampaging through the depths of SR388; and then... The Baby hatches. You don't know why, but it grows attached to you, and you to it. It leads you back out and to your ship... the music has this strange, hopeful, yet meloncholic quality; there's no big bombastic ending. You leave the planet with The Baby in tow... and that's the end. It leaves you to wonder why you just did what you did. Why did you slaughter this race, only to spare The Baby? Did you do the right thing? Is your mission truly complete? I love the ambiguity that Metroid 2's ending leaves and how contemplatative it is... (of course, this would end up being completely destroyed in its 3DS remake; in favour of that big, ridiculous & bombastic ending). The difference between the original version of Metroid 2 and its 3DS remake perhaps best exemplifies, more than anything else, how unique Metroid 2 really is within its own series. See you next mission. And with that?

Alright song, but it does kinda feel like Pikachu & Pichu are basically just there to photobomb the video.

Mania is absolutely amazing; but yeah. The fact that it’s not wholly original means that I can’t in all good consciousness say that it’s better than Sonic 3&K. Still, there’s no shame in being the second best Sonic game...

https://www.resetera.com/threads/dragon-quest-35th-anniversary-special-livestream-on-may-26-at-8-30-pm-pt-for-the-first-time-in-dragon-quest-history-the-show-will-be-in-english.424931/ Dragon Quest 9 Remake & Dragon Quest 12; let’s go!!

Oh man... you have NO idea... DKJB is OUTSTANDING!! One of the best arcade score-attack games you'll ever play! It's almost like as if Yu Suzuki got high on drugs and made a platform game! Absolutely bonkers fun! I have a GCN EON HDMI adapter and can vouch for it. It's every bit as good as the official component cables (which I used to have) and goes a LONG way towards making the GCN look good on a modern display! Alternatively though, if you have a Wii, you can always use the component cables on that for 480p output if your TV still supports anything other than HDMI (something that is sadly becoming uncommon these days). Either way though? I would strongly recommend picking up the US NTSC version of most GCN games instead of the PAL version, because most US versions of GCN games support 480p output (something sadly removed from the PAL versions of these games in favour of a 60hz toggle). You CAN actually get 480p out of a PAL GCN though, so long as it has the Digital Out port (which the EON HD Adapter also uses), if you use a Freeloader/Action Replay to play the US GCN game on it. 480p makes a huge difference on a HDTV over 480i and makes GCN games genuinely look good if your TV does a decent job with scaling 480p content

Oh? https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/05/rumour_the_next_donkey_kong_is_being_developed_by_the_super_mario_odyssey_team?fbclid=IwAR29FCyU05LogyUYV-1TNsyIkvgkHSPZ2ExRNLCW4Ez4xbE329Eo5tBk9HQ EPD Tokyo (same people who made DKJB) returning to DK for his 40th Anniversary!? HELL YEAH!!! PLEASE BE TRUE!!

Nothing yet. I wouldn’t expect it before May 27th though.

Finally completed one that I've been burning away at for some time; this one's a bit special though. Strap yourselves in; it's time to talk about how our world was created, destroyed, and then reborn again... Terranigma Quintet's final game, and the final game in the loosely connected "Soul Blazer Trilogy"; Terranigma is the last RPG released for the Super Nintendo outside of Japan (at least until 2019's surprise release of Trials of Mana anyway!). This game's European release is really a miracle; and you can't really talk about this game without discussing the unique nature of its western release. It's the rare example of a high profile 16-bit era game that ended up being released in PAL territories only, with no US release, even to this day; and it is the crown jewel of many a PAL collector's collection (with a second-hand price to match!). Nintendo took over publishing duties of its predecessor, Illusion of Gaia/Time back in 1994, and released it to moderate success; making the prospects of localising its sequel, Terranigma, an enticing prospect. This time, Nintendo wouldn't just be taking over publishing duties after Enix America had already done most of the heavy lifting; oh no, this time, none other than NOA Treehouse themselves would be doing the duty of localising the in-game text themselves! (And yes, Dan Owsen, Nob Ogasawara and Hiro Nakamura's names are indeed in the credits!). However, somewhere between the bankruptcy of Enix America in late 1995 and the launch of the N64 in 1996, Terranigma's English planned localisation was cancelled in early-mid 1996... until, out of the crystal blue, NOE stepped up to the plate and not only took NOA's English localised script, but even produced French, German & Spanish localisations for it too! A feat reserved for only a literal handful of games throughout the entirety of the 16-bit era! (Pretty sure that the entire tally of pre-PS1/N64 games to actually get FIGS localisations consist of DKC 1-3, ALTTP, Secret of Mana, Mystic Quest, Illusion of Time, Terranigma and that's it!); clearly someone high up in NOE had a real soft spot for this game... that and I'm sure that the 6-month N64 launch delay into 1997 played a fairly significant role too... as Terranigma was squeaked out juuuuuuussssttt in time for Xmas 1996 (December 19th! 1996 Yes, really!) Sadly though, this miracle didn't translate into big sales; with its unfortunate release timing (releasing a week after DKC3 and after the N64 had already launched everywhere else in the world), Terranigma would only see a small shipment, and would become one of the rarest & most valuable high-profile SNES titles to ever see release in the west. Complete copies frequently go for between £300-400 on eBay now, and it is one of the most frequently bootlegged & pirated SNES games out there now, so I never had the chance to play this game... UNTIL NOW!!! (Managed to snag a legitimate English PAL copy for the actually reasonable price of around £70 from a seller in Scandinavia! Go me!) And I am very glad to finally have been blessed with the chance to finally play the lost game that was nearly lost forever... You tell em'! Quintet's games are all known for exploring themes surrounding creationism, death, birth & rebirth and evolution. If Actraiser was a Judeo-Christian exploration of these themes however? Terranigma is decidedly Buddhist in nature. In many ways, Terranigma is the grand culmination of every game Quintet has made; taking the game structure of Soul Blazer, the action gameplay of Illusion of Gaia, the civilisation building aspects of Actraiser and a dash of comedic relief from Robotrek, and combining them into a fully rounded & complete Action RPG. But unlike previous Quintet games, this game explicitly weaves its themes into its core gameplay premise; as you are tasked with rebuilding Earth as we know it today (or at least back in 1996), after it had been destroyed for unknown reasons. You play as Ark, and you are an arsehole. The first thing you will do is run around and start throwing pots around because you are an arsehole... but unbelievably, ALL of the NPCs will react to you! They will react to getting hit, they will get pissed off at you and they will not want to talk with you afterwards! Amazingly enough, there are consequences for all of your actions! Immediately, you learn to understand that this is not your typical RPG... and the decisions you choose to make will have far reaching aftereffects throughout the entirety of the game. I don't think I've ever seen a Japanese RPG that is really THIS interactive before, and I found myself constantly amazed & impressed with just how many little touches, meaningful dialogue choices & "fun bits" are sprinkled throughout the entire experience! It's almost like a Zelda or Metal Gear game, but in RPG form! And herein lies the crux of what makes Terranigma truly unique, beyond the dungeon crawling and action RPG combat, lies a game about rebuilding nature, animals & human civilisation; and that means steering humanity down its intended course of history. Thomas Eddison isn't going to invent the lightbulb without your help, planes won't get invented unless you help Will out with reducing the price of steel so that he can make his prototype, and towns won't develop unless you get their economies developed sufficiently. And YOU get to make the choices that will define the future of humanity, through making those decisions, finding all those hidden interactions & events and nudging the NPCs of the world down the right path. But Terranigma also asks bigger questions about the nature of humanity, about its impact on nature, and what it means for people to live & die in a cycle of rebirth. It weaves a decidedly contemplative tale that you just don't really see in any other RPG. Who would've thought that a goat could have one of the most impactful & emotional scenes in RPG history!? Now, that's not to say that everything is flawless, certainly not. While the game gets off to a profound & striking start, with a solid motivation in place, this motivation actually kinda fizzles off around 1/3 of the way through. As you start to focus on rebuilding humanity, the game starts moving away from having a big overarching tale in favour of more compartmentalised vignettes that don't really tie together into the main plot in an obvious way. As such, it can feel like the game sort of meanders in terms of pacing and plot development; and even arguably in terms of character development, as it reduces its focus on individual characterisation for a good while. This does return in the latter parts of the game, but it can feel like the pacing drags towards the middle as you find yourself wondering exactly what you're really doing with yourself. That being said though? The sheer amount of ways you can have a genuine impact on the world and its inhabitants within is just astounding; and this is something that NEVER gets old. The iconic beginning will stay with you long into the experience Despite everything that happens though, Ark is a lovable arsehole all throughout. While each individual character you encounter isn't perhaps the most well developed in RPG history, and the story beats aren't always the most engaging or exciting? The overarching mystery is enough to keep you motivated throughout the game's running time; with some genuinely great twists towards the end. The ending is also particularly profound, and a very worthy payoff for all of your hard work... However... and this is unfortunately a big however... The game is let down by one very unfortunate thing... The localisation is bad, Capital b Bad. Now, it's certainly not Breath of Fire 2 level, nothing even close to that (I mean, it's legible for starters!), but for a 1996 release from NOA Treehouse of all places!? It is shockingly poor! And a marked step down from the likes of Actraiser (which had an amazingly good localisation for 1991! If I were to liken it to any game in particular? I'd put it around the same level as Secret of Mana, perhaps a bit lower. It's not great; and NOA Treehouse were already putting out absolute belters like Link's Awakening & Super Mario 64 by this point... So what the hell happened!? My theory? My theory is that what we currently see in Terranigma's English localisation was never intended to be the final script, but rather it is actually a rough first draft pass that never got the editing passes that it would normally have received if NOA didn't abandon their plans for a US release. NOE took NOA's unfinished English script, left it as-is and rushed out a release in PAL territories to get it out for the 1996 Xmas shopping season as quickly as possible, before the N64 came rolling on in and SNES game production ground to a halt. That's my head canon and I'm sticking to it. And it's a real shame that the game was released with its English script in such a poor state, because not only does it impact on much of its characterisation and scene setting, but it also makes a lot of its in-game hints rough & unintuitive. It feels like a LOT was lost in translation, and there are many game progress critical things that you basically absolutely need a guide for, as there is no way you are completing this game without one (in particular, the penultimate quest at the end of the game is 100% Guide Dammit fodder; and that's really not acceptable for something that is non-optional). It's quite remarkable that the game still resonates so strongly with its themes & storytelling, despite the rough English localisation; a true testament to the quality of what was here originally. Technically correct. The best kind of correct. Oh, on top of that? Its action gameplay is rock solid. Ark is fun to move around with, and its top-down action RPG combat is absolutely best in class. Imagine Secret of Mana, but it isn't a janky & buggy mess and you're on the right lines! Ark has a variety of different attacks & moves that are all very fun to use, using a combination of the jump, dash & attack buttons and it all feels very good! However, I do have to admit that I was disappointed that Ark never really picks up any different kinds of weaponry... as such, the combat gameplay doesn't really evolve throughout the game at all. What you have at the start is what you'll have by the end, and the lack of weapon variety can start to drag as you come to the end of the game some 20 hours later. And while the game does have a magic system of sorts in an attempt to introduce some sort of variety? the magic system is basically totally useless. Aside from one single boss that basically requires the use of magic to defeat it? (BTW, this isn't telegraphed at all! Good luck working out that this just so happens to be the one boss that magic works on!) You will basically not be using magic at all throughout the entire game; meaning that you'll be sticking with the same basic moveset from start to finish. Thankfully there is a good spattering of light puzzles to solve and fun minigames to play that add some much needed gameplay variety. The dungeon design is also generally pretty solid, with good pacing, decent puzzles and a very good variety of enemies to fight throughout. However, I do have to say that I don't think that this game does a great job with its landmarking; with some dungeons ending up being confusing to navigate as areas all generally look pretty similar throughout. This is a late SNES game, meaning that it comes on a 32mbit cartridge, so lack of space is not an issue here. I feel that they could've done a better job in this regard, as some places start to feel a bit repetitive after a while... ... it's fairly likely that a lot of that cartridge space went towards the large size of the game's world, the absolutely ridiculously huge number of events and the VERY fancy Mode 7 effects throughout the game! This game is, without a doubt, THE SNES RPG that makes the best use of Mode 7, by far! It is used absolutely everywhere, and it all looks fantastic! The crazy & iconic underworld Mode 7 map, the world resurrection scenes and the copious amounts of special event scenes will have Mode 7 fans left wanting for nothing! A genuinely chilling scene that still looks fantastic today! Not to be outdone though, is the soundtrack. This is, undoubtedly, amongst the finest soundtracks that the SNES has to offer; and it deserves its place in any SNES music lover's top 10. Equal parts melancholic, hopeful, beautiful, bizzare, frightening, lively, and even funny; Terranigma's soundtrack is wonderful, covering a broad range of life. Here are some of my favourites... Oh and as an added bonus... This music makes me howl with laughter every time I hear it! It never fails to absolutely kill any semblance of mood in any given area! There's certainly a range to Terranigma's soundtrack that you just don't see in most RPGs; which I suppose makes sense, given its globetrotting nature. Speaking of which, it's actually pretty bizarre to play a 16-bit fantasy JRPG which takes place in our real world! What also took me by surprise is that this game actually has black NPCs! I mean... with it taking place on Earth, that shouldn't be surprising I suppose, but how many 16-bit or even 32-bit RPGs had black NPCs!? Pretty much none of them! Terranigma has them though! How's that for being ahead of its time!? Speaking of ahead of its time... A diegetic menu! IN A SNES GAME!?! Wow! So that's Terranigma, the game that almost never got released outside of Japan. Do I think it deserves to be held up there with the very best of the SNES RPG greats? Yeah, actually I do! It's certainly not perfect, not by any means. The action combat gets repetitive after a while, the pacing is somewhat haphazard, the dungeons can be somewhat confusing & samey, the characters aren't the most well developed, the English localisation leaves a LOT to be desired and the game basically requires a guide at certain points if you want any hope of finishing it (let alone restoring every town & civilisation to its full potential glory); but there is absolutely nothing else quite like Terranigma. It is one of the most interactive RPGs I've ever played, and it is filled with love from top to bottom. It left a profound impression that won't be leaving me; and I feel more fulfilled as a person for having played it. It certainly isn't for everyone, in the way that pretty much anyone can enjoy Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG or Final Fantasy 6, but for those who are open to a different kind of RPG? This is what you are looking for. It's so so sad that this was the final release from Quintet before they left this mortal coil; but man did they save their best for last. If anything? The death of Quintet only serves to make this game (and especially its ending) all the more profound. It strikes a chord that no RPG before or since has ever really struck; and I am very glad to have finally played the final great RPG of the 16-bit era. Through all of the melancholy and pain between the creation of Heaven & Earth? Everything has its place amongst the mystery of the Earth, even if reborn in another form. And with that?

Really quite remarkable to see PS5 bring in the lion's share of the RE8 opening week. I suspect that the coming weeks will see the balance shift back in the PS4's favour, but still, it's crazy to see how fast the active userbase is transitioning over!

This is pretty funny too...

Here's something a bit different... ... here's what we're NOT getting leaked out! Nintendo's pricing with Epic may harm Sony you say? Oooh...

It’s really weird... normally it’s the US that gets screwed over! In fact... I think this might well be the first time that we’ve actually missed out on a physical release compared to the US! (Aside from NES Remix Pack on Wii U)