Tag: Zelda

Magic Fingers

Speaking of covers that might not be as good as the original but can still be plenty of fun: Magic Fingers as performed by Katie Jacoby, Eric Slick, Eric Svalgard, CJ Tywoniak, and Matt Rothstein, posted by Eric Slick.

I'll be honest: it's a lot better than Ancient Stone Tablets.

Hyrule: Just Visiting

As I've said before, the upcoming Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds has me torn between excitement and cynicism. I see stuff like this

and there's a part of me that's giddy in spite of myself -- I feel excitement at how good this game could be, and trepidation at how mediocre it will probably be.

Jeremy Parish, who played the demo at E3, wrote a piece called Yoshi and Zelda Demonstrate the Trouble With Playing It Safe which articulates my concerns about the game perfectly: so far it seems to be running on nostalgia, a glitzy cover tune lacking in the genius of the original.

Could be it's just a professionally-created fangame.

So what happens when you do get a professionally-created fangame based on A Link to the Past?

As it happens, there is one: The Legend of Zelda: Ancient Stone Tablets, a game for the Japanese Satellaview add-on.

It's about what you'd expect from a modestly-talented developer playing with the LttP engine: the pieces are there but they just don't fit together as well.

First of all, there's the exploration. Good big chunks of the world are covered by Fog of War as the game begins, and it doesn't feel like the world opens up naturally to you as you go so much as that you're ushered through it region by region. Part of this is simply the nature of its design -- it was designed to be played across four days, with each day revealing a different portion of the world map -- but, well, just because there's a design constraint giving it a good reason to feel confined doesn't make it feel any less confined.

Indeed, from pretty early on you're encouraged to make use of instantaneous travel rather than encouraged to hoof it across Hyrule before being given the keys to the ocarina.

But if the overworld doesn't seem to offer much that's new, the dungeons just seem perfunctory.

They're shorter, they're smaller, and they're a lot more straightforward. The puzzles are simple (though in at least one case the "push a block down a hole" bit is implemented much better than its original use in LttP's Ice Palace, one of the weakest, most convoluted puzzles in the game -- though it at least rewarded players for taking the levels out of sequence), and the thematic elements of the dungeons are gone, replaced with a weird sort of mishmash of different tilesets and bosses. Why the fuck does the Water Temple look like the East Palace inside, and have the sandworms from the desert level as its boss? Who the fuck knows?

It's not that I haven't had a bit of fun playing Ancient Stone Tablets. It's like a cover tune on open mic night -- it's fun to hear somebody new try out your favorite song, even if they're not as good as the original band.

But I haven't had any great urge to finish it, either.

Guess we'll see how the new game goes. Maybe it'll be a lot more ambitious than it looks.

Or maybe it'll be pretty much a remake with less-inspired level design. That would be a shame -- but it'd still probably be worth playing through once or twice.

Zeldas

It's kinda funny how Parish's Anatomy of Zelda 2 series got me interested in replaying the game, and now it's halfway to convincing me not to finish it.

And talking of Zelda, Nintendo's gone and announced A Link to the Past 2. Don't go writing checks you can't cash, now, Nintendo; you wanna use that title you'd better be damn sure.

I've spent the past twenty years trying to find another game like LttP. I've only really found one: Link's Awakening.

My gripes about the 3D Zeldas are well-worn and don't need repeating. But even the top-down ones haven't managed to capture my interest. I played a bit of the Oracles games and Minish Cap but they just didn't quite do it for me. Four Swords was great, but it was a bitch getting four Game Boys together to actually play the thing. I expect we'll hear about a Wii U sequel any time now given that the console seems to be made for exactly that sort of thing.

I've tried other games in the genre, from the new -- I'm enjoying Bastion quite a bit but it's about as far from open-world exploration as it gets -- to games closer to LttP's own vintage -- I dig Soul Blazer all right but the sudden difficulty spikes at the bosses are pretty discouraging.

So, what the hell, Nintendo, show me what you've got. Show me a big open world with a bunch of off-the-path secrets for me to stumble on, and don't waste my time with a bunch of goddamn mandatory fishing minigames, and I just might save up and get myself a 3DS.

There's more to LttP than the enemies and mechanics. I hope the crew on this game understands that and doesn't deliver us yet another rote Zelda sequel.

Still, even if it is a rote sequel, it's nice to be looking down at it from overhead for a change.

Messiah Controllers

So what am I playing Zelda 2 with?

I'm using a Messiah wireless NES controller.

Remember Messiah? They put out the Generation NEX NES clone a few years back. It was a much-hyped, slick-looking system back in 2005, and promised built-in wireless, dual-mono audio output, and full compatibility with both NES and Famicom games and accessories.

And then it came out and turned out to be running the same damn crummy third-rate NES-on-a-chip as every other Chinese clone.

And so Messiah faded into obscurity.

Which is a pity, because despite the disappointing guts of the NEX, Messiah made some damn solid controllers. And while the NEX had a built-in wireless receiver, you can also use them on a legit NES with a dongle. (The gamepads, anyway; from what I understand the joystick doesn't work with a real NES. Don't know, never got one.)

The controller works well. It's solid and has a good weight to it; the buttons have a good response even if they're a little clicky.

The disc-shaped D-pad is a little weird but I haven't had any real trouble using it to play Zelda 2 -- I have a bitch of a time fighting Ironknuckles, but I don't think that's the controller's fault. I can see it being a problem on something that requires more four-direction precision, though.

It really is a pretty neat device and well worth the $50 Amazon's charging for a pair. (I got the Limited Edition set, which I see is now going for $175 used. I'm tempted to snatch up that $50 set and sell my limited set, but I do like the metal lunchbox.)

I'm kinda disappointed I never got the SNES set, because you can't get those anymore, but I'm seeing good reviews on the SuperRetro wireless SNES controllers. And they have good old-fashioned plus-sign D-pads, too, not discs.

Kind of a moot point, really; the state of SNES emulation and the now-standard design of its controller have meant I haven't hooked mine up in years.

Zelda 2: The One That Fucks Up Alphabetized Lists

Yep, got the bug from Jeremy Parish's excellent Anatomy of Zelda 2 series. I've started replaying Zelda 2.

Jeremy commented on the general unfairness of the game and said that he's using savestates. I'm using authentic NES hardware, but I do have a Game Genie.

When I played through the game as a kid, I only used one Game Genie cheat code: infinite lives. It's amazing how much it does for the game's balance to eliminate the outmoded concept of a limited number of lives (a holdover from the arcade age, of course). Frankly it's odd, in hindsight, that Zelda 2 played the old "3 lives and then Game Over" meme, given that the original game didn't. I mean, sure, 2's a side-scrolling platformer, but Metroid was too, and it didn't bother with giving you a limited number of lives either.

So I resolved to take a crack at Zelda 2 on my NES, once again cheating a bit against its unfair difficulty with the use of the infinite lives code.

And when I went to look it up, I found, via Game Winners, two more codes that weren't in the official Game Genie book and which serve to mitigate the game's lopsided leveling system. So here are the three codes I'm using:

Link has unlimited lives SZKGKXVK
Do not lose all experience when leveling SZVOUNSE
Do not lose experience when hit by enemies SXESIKSE

I think that, on the whole, those three codes go a long way to balancing out the difficulty of Zelda 2 and allowing its strengths to shine. It is a solid game.

To-Do

Games I've Bought Individually and Haven't Played Yet

  • Shenmue 3
  • Littlewood
  • Slime Rancher
  • God of War (2018)
  • Hades
  • Shadow of the Tomb Raider
  • Metroid: Samus Returns
  • Castlevania Anniversary Collection
  • Castlevania Requiem
  • Divinity: Original Sin
  • Steamworld Dig
  • Xenoblade Chronicles X
  • Pyre
  • Overcooked
  • Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
  • Cities: Skylines
  • Ys 7
  • Grandia 2
  • Trails in the Sky 2
  • Fallout
  • System Shock 2
  • FarCry
  • Eversion
  • Zissi's Island
  • Paper Mario

Games I've Bought in Bundles and Haven't Played Yet

  • Ittle Dew
  • Ittle Dew 2+
  • Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
  • Command & Conquer Remastered Collection
  • Planet Zoo
  • Control
  • Graveyard Keeper
  • Evoland
  • Shining Resonance Refrain
  • Zwei: The Arges Adventure
  • Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection
  • Children of Morta
  • Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair
  • Catherine
  • Wargroove
  • Okami
  • Fae Tactics
  • Supraland
  • Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
  • Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
  • Phoenix Point: Year One Edition
  • Superhot: Mind Control Delete
  • If Found...
  • Genesis Noir
  • Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos
  • Chicken Police
  • Ghostrunner
  • Suzerain
  • Street Fighter 5
  • 1700 or so games in the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality, including but not limited to
    • Celeste
    • Night in the Woods
    • Night of the Consumers
    • Nuclear Throne
    • Quadrilateral Cowboy
    • Super Hexagon
    • A Normal Lost Phone
    • Starseed Pilgrim
    • Octodad: Dadliest Catch
    • A Short Hike
    • Loot Rascals
    • MewnBase
    • Wheels of Aurelia
  • Bundle for Ukraine, including but not limited to
    • Superhot
    • Wandersong
    • Sundered
    • Omeganaut
    • TowerFall Ascension
    • Underhero
    • Eldritch
    • Particle Mace
    • Nebs 'n Debs
    • Clash Force
  • Stand with Ukraine Bundle, including but not limited to
    • Metro Exodus
    • Fable Anniversary
    • Quantum Break
    • Slay the Spire
    • Skullgirls 2nd Encore
    • Sunset Overdrive
    • Tooth and Tail
    • Toejam & Earl: Back in the Groove
    • Yoku's Island Express
  • Baba Is You
  • Football Manager 2000
  • Hyper Light Drifter
  • <observer_
  • NBA 2K20
  • Kerbal Space Program
  • Eastside Hockey Manager
  • Jackbox Party Pack 4
  • The Ball
  • Super Time Force Ultra
  • Surviving Mars
  • Armello
  • Age of Wonders III
  • Overlord II
  • Kingdom Classic
  • Gonner
  • Overgrowth
  • System Shock: Enhanced Edition
  • Broken Age
  • Newt One
  • All You Can Eat
  • New Beginning
  • No Time to Explain Remastered
  • Knights of Pen and Paper 2
  • StarCrossed
  • Vertiginous Golf
  • EarthNight
  • Plunge
  • Pesterquest
  • Realpolitiks
  • Elite Dangerous
  • My Memory of Us
  • MirrorMoon EP
  • In Between
  • Gunscape
  • Neo Cab
  • Regular Human Basketball
  • Planet of the Eyes
  • Crowntakers
  • FRAMED Collection
  • Strider (2014)
  • Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster
  • Resident Evil HD Remaster
  • Resident Evil Revelations
  • Resident Evil Revelations 2
  • Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
  • Dead Rising 4
  • DmC 4
  • Blasphemous
  • Ancestors Legacy
  • Phantom Doctrine
  • Dead in Vinland
  • Horizon Chase Turbo
  • Dark Future
  • Xmorph Defense
  • Aegis Defenders
  • Deser Child
  • SoulCalibur 6
  • Yakuza Kiwami 2
  • Yakuza 3
  • Yakuza 4
  • Yakuza 5
  • My Time At Portia
  • 11-11: Memories Retold
  • Synthetik
  • Evergarden
  • Operator
  • Call of Duty: WWII
  • Crash Bandicoot: N Sane Trilogy
  • Spyro Reignited Trilogy
  • Distraint 2
  • Unexplored
  • Rusty Lake Paradise
  • Bendy and the Ink Machine
  • Prison Architect
  • Nex Machina
  • Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
  • Disgaea
  • Disgaea 2
  • Sonic Forces
  • Sonic Lost World
  • Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
  • Metro Last Light Redux
  • Crayon Physics
  • Broken Sword
  • Broken Sword 5
  • Tesla Effect
  • Shadowrun: Hong Kong
  • Shadowrun: Dragonfall
  • Xenonauts
  • Torment: Tides of Numenera
  • Dreamfall Chapters
  • Affordable Space Adventures
  • Gauntlet '15
  • Civilization 3
  • Civilization 4: Colonization
  • X-COM: UFO Defense
  • X-COM: Terror From the Deep
  • X-COM: Apocalypse
  • X-COM: Interceptor
  • X-COM: Enforcer
  • Pirates
  • Starships
  • Ace Patrol
  • Ace Patrol: Pacific Skies
  • Chameleon Run
  • Hitman Go
  • Dropsy
  • The Banner Saga
  • Punch Club
  • Super Stickman Golf 3
  • Ys: The Oath in Felghana
  • Ys 6
  • Ys Origin
  • This War of Mine
  • Nuclear Throne
  • Renowned Explorers
  • Nova-111
  • The Magic Circle
  • Super Avalanche
  • Tailwind Prologue
  • Strikbold
  • Shantae and the Pirate's Curse
  • A Boy and His Blob
  • Human Resource Machine
  • Retro City Rampage
  • Morrowind
  • Oblivion
  • Bioshock 2
  • Bioshock Infinite
  • Orange Box
    • Half-Life 2
    • Episode 1
    • Episode 2
    • Portal
    • Team Fortress 2
  • Dungeons & Dragons Anthology
    • Baldur's Gate
    • Baldur's Gate 2
    • Icewind Dale
    • Icewind Dale 2
    • Planescape: Torment
    • Temple of Elemental Evil
  • Aquaria
  • Gish
  • Penumbra: Overture
  • Lugaru
  • Trine 2
  • Mark of the Ninja
  • Eets Munchies
  • FTL
  • Rocketbirds
  • LIMBO
  • Shadowman
  • Penny Arcade Episode 2
  • Shank
  • Shank 2
  • The Baconing
  • Plants vs. Zombies: GOTY
  • Fist of Awesome
  • Reaper
  • Super Comboman
  • Ascendant
  • Fist of Jesus
  • Windward
  • Ziggurat
  • Kentucky Route Zero
  • Beholder
  • A Story About My Uncle
  • Neon Drive
  • Double Dragon: Neon

Games I've Bought and Haven't Finished Yet

  • Blizzard Arcade Collection
  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • Immortals: Fenyx Rising
  • Pentiment
  • Yakuza 0 -- Finished 2023-03-01
  • Yakuza Kiwami
  • Lenna's Inception
  • Minit
  • Cult of the Lamb
  • Stray
  • Vampire Survivors
  • Anodyne -- Finished 2022-11-19
  • Destroy All Humans
  • Triangle Strategy
  • Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
  • Castlevania Advance Collection
  • Trials of Mana -- Finished 2023-05-04
  • Mega Man 11
  • Untitled Goose Game
  • SolSeraph
  • Guardians of the Galaxy -- Finished 2022-02-19
  • Spider-Man: Miles Morales -- Finished 2022-12-04
  • FF7 Remake -- Finished 2022-02-07
  • Death Stranding
  • Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate
  • Shiren the Wanderer (SNES cartridge)
  • Persona 5 Royal -- Finished 2021-06-21
  • RimWorld
  • Cadence of Hyrule
  • Mario/Rabbids
  • Ring Fit Adventure
  • Octopath Traveler
  • GRIP
  • Disco Elysium -- Finished 2020-07-04
  • Azure Dreams
  • Metro 2033 Redux
  • Indivisible
  • CrossCode
  • The Messenger
  • NieR: Automata
  • Iconoclasts
  • Tanglewood
  • Hollow Knight
  • Tetris Effect
  • 20XX
  • Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark
  • Final Fantasy 15 -- Finished 2019-06-28
  • Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
  • SteamWorld Heist
  • Pillars of Eternity
  • Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
  • Sonic Mania -- Finished 2019-11-17
  • Spider-Man -- Finished 2019-04-16
  • Borderlands 2
  • Rise of the Tomb Raider
  • Wasteland 2
  • Shadowrun Returns -- Finished 2018-03-16
  • Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap
  • Dragon Quest Builders
  • Breath of the Wild
  • Super Mario Maker
  • Mad Max -- Finished 2018-02-11
  • Shadow of Mordor
  • Tomb Raider '13 -- Finished 2017-06-13
  • Owlboy
  • Rayman Origins
  • Freedom Planet
  • Civilization 6
  • A Link Between Worlds -- Finished 2014-08-28
  • Majora's Mask
  • Fire Emblem: Awakening -- Finished 2015-03-14
  • Shin Megami Tensei 4
  • Devil Survivor Overclocked
  • Mario Kart 7 -- Finished single-player 2014-07-20
  • Super Mario 3D Land
  • Ys -- Finished 2017-02-04
  • Ys 2
  • Ys: Memories of Celceta -- Finished 2017-02-01
  • Axiom Verge -- Finished 2016-09-11
  • Stardew Valley
  • Mighty No. 9
  • Transformers: Devastation
  • Trails in the Sky
  • The Stick of Truth
  • Final Fantasy Type-0 HD
  • Shovel Knight -- Finished 2016-02-15
  • XCOM: Enemy Unknown -- Finished 2016-03-17
  • Civilization 4 -- Finished a full game 2016-01-23
  • Civilization 5 -- Finished a full game 2016-02-14
  • Undertale
  • I Am Setsuna
  • Shantae: Risky's Revenge -- Finished 2016-08-07
  • Adventures of Mana -- Finished 2022-05-16
  • Witcher 3
  • Skyrim
  • Deus Ex: Human Revolution
  • Bionic Commando: Rearmed
  • Guacamelee -- Finished 2015-02-21
  • Valkyria Chronicles -- Finished 2014-12-20
  • Valkyria Chronicles 2
  • Valkyria Chronicles 4
  • Walking Dead: 400 Days -- Finished 2014-01-05
  • The Wolf Among Us -- Finished 2014-07-18
  • Psychonauts
  • Super Mario Galaxy -- Finished 2013-06-15
  • Super Mario Galaxy 2
  • Xenoblade Chronicles
  • Last Story -- Finished 2013-07-13
  • Red Dead Redemption -- Finished 2018-04-14
  • Gears of War
  • Crackdown
  • Dead Rising
  • Tactics Ogre
  • Star Ocean: First Departure
  • Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles
  • Dragon Quest 9
  • Etrian Odyssey 3
  • Retro Game Challenge
  • WarioWare DIY
  • Half-Life
  • Cthulhu Saves the World
  • Bastion
  • DuckTales Remastered -- Finished 2013-08-22
  • World of Goo
  • Samorost 2
  • A Virus Named TOM
  • Fez
  • Brutal Legend
  • Ghostbusters
  • Penny Arcade Episode 1
  • Legend of Grimrock
  • Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril
  • Pier Solar
  • Metroid Prime 2
  • Persona 4
  • Mega Man X8

Games I've Received as Gifts and Haven't Finished Yet

  • Tears of the Kingdom
  • Fallout: New Vegas
  • Dark Forces
  • Jedi Knight
  • Jedi Outcast
  • Jedi Academy
  • SaGa Scarlet Grace
  • Anodyne 2
  • Recettear
  • TMNT: Shredder's Revenge
  • ActRaiser Renaissance -- Finished 2022-09-12
  • Guacamelee 2
  • Eiyuden Chronicle Rising
  • Streets of Rage 4
  • Bravely Default 2
  • Yakuza 6
  • Yakuza: Like a Dragon -- Finished 2021-11-19
  • Dragon Quest 11
  • Last Remnant
  • Portal 2
  • Sleeping Dogs
  • Hatoful Boyfriend
  • Shower with Your Dad Simulator
  • The Walking Dead -- Finished 2013-02-17
  • Donkey Kong Country Returns
  • Kirby's Epic Yarn
  • Mega Man 10
  • Kirby's Canvas Curse
  • Dragon Quest 6

Games I Got for Free and Haven't Finished Yet

  • Horizon Zero Dawn -- Finished 2022-10-04
  • AM2R
  • Spelunky
  • Batman: Arkham Knight -- Finished 2015-08-12
  • Batman: Arkham Origins -- Finished 2022-02-22
  • Game of Thrones
  • Monument Valley
  • GTA: San Andreas
  • Wario Land 2
  • Sonic 4 Episode 1
  • Ultimate NES Remix -- Finished 2015-05-24
  • New Super Mario Bros. 2 -- Finished 2015-03-18
  • Torchlight
  • Bioshock
  • Fallout 2
  • Bard's Tale (Android)
  • Mighty Gunvolt -- Finished 2014-09-11
  • Game Dev Story -- Made it to endgame 2014-03-29

Expansions I Haven't Finished Yet

  • Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
  • XCOM: Enemy Within
  • Shovel Knight
    • Plague of Shadows
    • Specter of Torment
    • King of Cards
  • KotOR 2 Content Restoration Mod
  • Final Fantasy 15 Royal DLC
  • Sonic Mania Plus

Compilations I've Partially Completed

  • Shenmue 1&2
    • 1 -- Finished 2022-11-30
    • 2
  • TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection
    • Arcade
      • TMNT -- Finished 2022-09-14
      • Turtles in Time -- Finished 2022-09-17
    • SNES
      • Turtles in Time
      • Tournament Fighters
    • Genesis
      • Hyperstone Heist
      • Tournament Fighters -- Finished 2022-10-04
    • NES
      • TMNT -- Finished 2022-09-04
      • TMNT 2 -- Finished 2022-10-15
      • TMNT 3
      • Tournament Fighters -- Finished 2022-09-02
    • GB
      • TMNT -- Finished 2022-10-09
      • TMNT 2
      • TMNT 3 -- Finished 2023-02-27
  • Disney Afternoon Collection
    • DuckTales -- Finished 2022-10-17
    • DuckTales 2
    • Rescue Rangers
    • Rescue Rangers 2
    • TaleSpin
    • Darkwing Duck
  • Mega Man Legacy Collection
    • Mega Man -- Finished
    • Mega Man 2 -- Finished
    • Mega Man 3 -- Finished
    • Mega Man 4 -- Finished
    • Mega Man 5
    • Mega Man 6
  • Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection
    • Mega Man Zero -- Finished 2022-08-20
    • Mega Man Zero 2
    • Mega Man Zero 3
    • Mega Man Zero 4
    • Mega Man ZX
    • Mega Man ZX Advent

Games I've Bought and Haven't Finished Replaying Yet

  • Doom (the original)
  • Batman: Arkham City -- Finished 2015-01-06
  • Valkyria Chronicles
  • Mega Man Legends 2
  • Mass Effect 2
  • Sonic CD
  • Mega Man: Powered Up
  • Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X -- Finished 2015-10-12
  • Crisis Core
  • Super Mario World
  • Zelda 2 -- Finished 2013-05-05
  • Final Fantasy 6 Advance
  • DuckTales Remastered
  • Skies of Arcadia

Remakes I Haven't Finished of Games I Have Finished

  • Metroid Prime Remastered -- Finished 2023-06-13
  • Link's Awakening (Switch) -- Finished 2021-12-19
  • Final Fantasy (PSP)
  • Final Fantasy 4 DS
  • Final Fantasy 5 (Android)
  • Final Fantasy 10
  • Sonic 2 (Android)
  • Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland
  • Dragon Quest 7 (3DS)

ROMs I've Downloaded and Haven't Finished

  • Oracle of Seasons
  • Mega Man World 5 DX -- Finished 2023-03-21
  • Super Mario Land 2 DX -- Finished 2023-02-25
  • Sonic: Triple Trouble -- Finished 2022-12-09
  • Final Fantasy 6 T-Edition
  • For the Frog the Bell Tolls
  • Retro Game Challenge 2
  • Makai Toshi SaGa (WonderSwan Color)
  • SaGa 2 (DS)
  • Earth Bound
  • Earthbound
  • Soul Blazer
  • BS-Zelda -- Time limit ran out; unwinnable; not going to start over
  • BS-Zelda: LttP
  • Sonic 2 Delta
  • Phantasy Star Generation 1
  • Super Mario 3mix

ROMs I've Downloaded and Haven't Played

  • 7th Dragon
  • SaGa 3 (DS)
  • Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
  • Soma Bringer
  • Tales of Innocence
  • Valkyria Chronicles 3

Games I Got for Free and Haven't Played

  • Neverwinter Nights EE
  • Under the Moon
  • Wolfenstein: The New Order
  • The Beast Inside
  • Lorelai
  • Dead Island 2
  • The Callisto Protocol
  • Mom Hid My Game
  • Dishonored 2
  • Beat Cop
  • Evil Within 2
  • Daymare
  • Greak: Memories of Azur
  • Behold the Kickmen
  • King of Seas
  • Ghost of a Tale
  • Terroir
  • Narita Boy
  • Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Collection
  • Genesis Alpha One
  • Master of Magic Classic
  • Immortal Redneck
  • Lovecraft's Untold Stories
  • Dex
  • Stasis
  • Bananner Nababber
  • VirtuaVerse
  • Sanitarium
  • Venetica
  • Flashback
  • Iris and the Giant
  • Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
  • Cave Story's Secret Santa
  • Crime Cities
  • Beholder
  • Wanderlust: Transsiberia
  • ARMA: Cold War Assault
  • Hellpoint
  • Surviving Mars
  • Tonight We Riot
  • Subnautica
  • Abzu
  • Enter the Gungeon
  • Rez Infinite
  • The Witness
  • Thumper
  • Bomber Crew
  • Brigador
  • Butcher
  • Kingdom
  • Europa Universalis 2
  • NiGHTS
  • Serious Sam
  • F1 2018
  • Warhammer 40K: Rites of War
  • Eye of the Beholder Trilogy
  • Hitman: Absolution
  • Total Annihilation
  • Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation
  • Total War: Shogun 2
  • Pac-Man Championship Edition 2
  • Manual Samuel
  • Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection
  • Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection
  • Journey
  • Symmetry
  • Mabel and the Wood
  • Tower of Time
  • Borderlands 3
  • Serial Cleaner
  • Endless Space Collection
  • DiRT Rally
  • The Last of Us
  • Obduction
  • Tacoma
  • Teslagrad
  • SOMA
  • Lego Hobbit
  • Lego Lord of the Rings
  • Full Throttle
  • Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
  • Orwell
  • Hacknet Deluxe
  • Unreal Gold
  • Eador: Masters of the Broken World
  • Satellite Reign
  • Crusader Kings 2
  • Spec Ops: The Line
  • The Darkness 2
  • Alcarys Complex
  • F1 2015
  • Lethal League
  • King of Fighters 2002
  • Amnesia: The Dark Descent
  • Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
  • Carmageddon TDR 2000
  • Oxenfree
  • Layers of Fear
  • Homefront
  • Grim Fandango Remastered
  • Company of Heroes 2
  • Sanctum 2
  • MDK
  • Syberia
  • Killer is Dead
  • Rising Storm
  • Jotun
  • Shadow Warrior
  • Lost Odyssey
  • Dungeons 2
  • Saints Row 2
  • Corporate Lifestyle Simulator
  • Huntsman: The Orphanage
  • Fantasy General
  • Batman: Arkham Origins: Blackgate
  • Tropico 4
  • Bionic Dues
  • Divine Divinity
  • Sonic 4 Episode 2
  • Gothic 2
  • Ultima 4
  • Worlds of Ultima: Savage Empire
  • Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams
  • Akalabeth
  • Shadow Warrior Classic
  • Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games
  • Wreckateer
  • Penny Arcade Episode 3
  • Star Command
  • Magrunner: Dark Pulse
  • Warlock: Master of the Arcane
  • Aliens vs. Predator Classic 2000
  • Metro 2033 -- Bought Redux; not planning to play original
  • Teleglitch
  • Mount and Blade
  • Stealth Inc 2
  • Gabriel Knight: SotF20AE
  • Dreamfall Chapters
  • SPACECOM
  • Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
  • Outlast

Games I Got for the Multiplayer
(so finishing them isn't really the point)

  • Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
  • CTR: Nitro Fueled
  • Super Smash Bros Ultimate
  • Them's Fightin' Herds
  • Lego Star Wars
  • Katamari Damacy Reroll
  • Team Sonic Racing
  • Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
  • Super Mario 3D World
  • New Super Mario Bros. U
  • New Super Luigi Bros. U
  • Super Smash Bros Wii U
  • Splatoon
  • Mario Kart 8
  • Yoshi's Woolly World
  • DKC Tropical Freeze
  • Goat Simulator
  • Rocket League
  • Pac-Man 256
  • Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

Games I've Funded on Kickstarter that Don't Exist Yet

  • Project Phoenix

Searchin'

Updated Favorite Searches. If there are two essential truths you should always remember, they are these: alan moore still complaining and popeye bad ass. Words to live by, my friends. Words to live by.


Playing: Oh God, you'd think I have ADD or something. Recently I have played Crackdown, Last Story, Xenoblade, Sonic 2 Delta, and Mottzilla's patch for BS Zelda. One of these days I'll probably even share some thoughts on each of them.

Reading: Rule 34 by Charles Stross.

Video Games in the Media

To: NPR's Morning Edition

On this morning's Morning Edition, Kelly McBride expressed concern that Wii Sports would lead her children to erroneously believe they could actually play sports.

I think this is a very reasonable concern. I just got a Wii and spent a good portion of last week playing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Yesterday morning I got up, put on my green tunic, grabbed my sword and shield, and went to cross the bridge at Yorkshire and the I-17. When the gateway to the Twilight Realm did not open and I failed to turn into a wolf, I was forced to come to grips with the shocking possibility that video games might not be real.