Monday, December 30, 2013

Highlander: The Series 1x17 - Saving Grace


Closing out 2013 with one more Highlander post. This episode is a good one, mainly because Darius gets a ton of screentime.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Highlander: The Series 1x15 - For Tomorrow We Die

What a menacing title. This episode is the debut of Xavier St. Cloud, one of the most memorable bad guys in this series. Though admittedly, he's a lot more interesting in his later episodes; between that and various inconsistencies in this episode, it seems like he was intended to be a one-off and got brought back due to fan demand.

Xavier is the only villain to appear in seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4... as far as I know.

Friday, December 27, 2013

Highlander: The Series 1x14 - For Evil's Sake


This is the killer mime episode. It's the first one to take place entirely in France, and it's better off for it. The dramatic tone shift continues!

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Highlander: The Series 1x13 - Band of Brothers

Highlander returns with one of the series' high points. This episode is insanely good. Legend says that Adrian Paul himself went to the writers and told them that the Cop Show wasn't what fans wanted out of Highlander. From here on out, the Cop Show is almost entirely out the window. The writers would get it back with spin-off series The Raven, once Adrian Paul was out of the way. Yeah.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Mystic Ark Finale - Terminus

"I'm the King" says Remeer as he looks out from the empty castle. "King of allllll the land."

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Mystic Ark, Part 10 - Hourglass

 CINDERELLA MAN! CINDERELLA MAN!

He went to the ball in his wife-beater, lost his Nike shoe.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Mystic Ark, Part 9 - Darkova

Next up is the Dark World. This is the shortest world in the game by a longshot. It's basically a haunted house. When I first heard "Dark World" I had all kinds of crazy ideas bouncing around, so this is a little bit disappointing.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Mystic Ark, Part 8 - Colossus

Plowing through the last dungeon of the Machine World, as things take a turn for the creepy. You'll never win, Skynet!

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Mystic Ark, Part 6 - Navajo


 Mystic Ark returns after an extended break. The rest of the game starts now, so sit down and have some Tea.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Alien 3 (Super NES, 1993)



 I was going to do a full post on this game next, but the game suuuuuuucks. I didn't get very far. I did take some shots, so I'm going to take a moment to talk about it. This game has always been intriguing to me, but now I'm glad I didn't bother with it.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse (Super NES, 1992)

 Here's an old Super NES game that I'd like to highlight a bit. It's a surprisingly great game, and it's enjoyable in the Kirby's Dream Land sense: Short, easy, and fun. And really, I'm just glad to be playing something colorful and happy after playing The Last of Us.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Playstation 2, 2004)

With GTA5 hot off the presses, I figured this would be a good time to finally get around to San Andreas. This is the next game in the venerable series for me, as I played GTA3 and Vice City previously. San Andreas has a whirlwind of hype surrounding it, and I'm not sure if it can measure up.

Come on in. Punch and pie.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Dynasty Warriors (Playstation, 1997)


Today I'm looking at the genesis of one of the more popular beat-em-up series' of the past decade and a half or so. The very first Dynasty Warriors is a cult 2.5D Playstation fighter, and bears little resemblance to the badass 3D games that make up the rest of the series and are far more well-known. For this reason, it's worth taking a look at.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Nintendo Power, Volume 52 (September 1993)



 Today I'm going to be looking at a magical relic from September 1993: Issue 52 of Nintendo Power (RIP). I just picked up a used copy on Amazon, so I'm reading it for the first time.

This was nearly the first issue of Nintendo Power that I had as a kid; I subscribed in August, but it didn't get processed in time to get this issue. Instead, the first one I got was the fairly underwhelming October issue. That issue still blew my mind at the time, but I can only imagine the level of mind-blowing that would have occurred had THIS issue been my first. I was an absolute Mario fanatic.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Highlander: The Series 1x12 - Eyewitness


The last episode of season 1's first half, which might as well be a different show from the second half. This is it, the big conclusion to Highlander: Cop Show.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Highlander: The Series 1x10 - Revenge is Sweet

Tonight, the world sweats and trembles with suspense, awaiting a milestone in television.

What? Breaking Bad? Naw, I'm talking about the latest Highlander post.

Is it weird that every brightly-lit "Happy New Year" sign now reminds me of Bioshock?

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

The Donkey Kong Land Trilogy

Today I'm looking at a trilogy of games that are both sub-par and antiquated. But...they're only sub-par with the Donkey Kong Country trilogy to compare them to. Taken on their own, they aren't bad for the original Game Boy.

Note: This post will be featured in Banana Yellow, much like the cartridges for these games.


Sunday, September 22, 2013

Valkyria Chronicles (Playstation 3, 2008)


Today I'm going to take a quick look at a fairly underrated PS3 game from Sega. It's a strategy RPG that transpires on three-dimensional maps. The story runs during an alternate version of the early-to-mid 20th century. It's incredibly unique, and I haven't seen anything else quite like it. THIS... is the Chronic- (What?) cles of Valkyria! I said the Chronic (What?) cles of Valkyria!

Friday, September 20, 2013

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Mystic Ark, Part 5 - Paranoia

Time for part five. This will be the last Mystic Ark post for a while, but I'll pick it up eventually and cover the rest. Sorta like how Breaking Bad season five is split into two half-seasons.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Mystic Ark, Part 4 - Sundial

Mystic Ark: No relation to Mystical Gohan. Or as I like to call him... Mystical Brohan.

I'd really like to do some more DBZ posts in the near future. Look at some of the games, like DBGT: Final Bout and DBZ: Hyper Dimension, not to mention the various NES RPGs that were way better than anyone should expect.

In any case, on to today's Mystic Ark update, as The Eighth Saga rolls on.


Sunday, September 8, 2013

Mystic Ark, Part 2 - Lighthouse

The cook has gone missing. The question is... are we talking about a food cook, or a Breaking Bad style meth cook? I've been wondering why the cat people are locked in a nonexistent war and why their warships seem to be beached in the middle of the desert. Short answer? They're high out of their minds.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Mystic Ark, Part 1 - Reincarnation

Time for a classic Super Famicom RPG that never made it over here, like many great RPGs of the mid-90s. This is the game that would have been known as The 7th Saga II, had it gotten a North American release. It fixes many of the problems of the original game, and lets you have a three (!!!) person party.

Legend says that this was one of Enix's better efforts of the 90's. Thanks to the folks at Dynamic Designs (formerly Magic Destiny), we eventually got a fan translation of the game. If Lennus 2 was any indication, it'll be a great translation. Hell yeah, I'm excited for this.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The 7th Saga, Part 6 - Fear

Moments after this picture was taken, former President Bush began clearing the town while wearing a rugged cowboy hat. This post was brought to you by screwdrivers. Not just any screwdrivers, because the ones I make are like 70% vodka. I apologize in advance.

Monday, August 26, 2013

The 7th Saga, Part 5 - Entwine

Previously on The 7th Saga, in ye olde days of... yesterday, it was time to slay the dragon.

Now, our heroes take on the nefarious Serpent. I'm getting closer to the end of the game, but first we've got some more blisteringly difficult boss fights.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

The 7th Saga, Part 4 - Dystopia

This place is no Bone. In today's 7th Saga post, Esuna and her dwarven bodyguard square off with the nefarious Lejes and cross the meridian into the second half of the game.


Friday, August 23, 2013

The 7th Saga, Part 3 - Crescendo

On the latest episode of 7th Saga, our heroes plunder the town of Bone. They also storm a few castles, as I thrust onward into the game.


Thursday, August 22, 2013

The 7th Saga, Part 2 - Bargaining

Our heroes battle the bastardly Red Pison as 7th Saga grinds onward. Will I avenge my loss from 1995? We're about to find out.


Wednesday, August 21, 2013

The 7th Saga, Part 1 - Apocalyptos

This week I'm doing a full series for one of the more difficult RPGs on the Super NES. This game came out in 1993, and I played it in 1995. This was before I was interested in RPGs (which didn't happen until Chrono Trigger) so I didn't really know what I was doing. As a result, when I initially played this, I couldn't finish it. Not even close. Time to avenge a career loss, to put it in MMA terms. Egad! How far did I get back then? The battle with Red Pison. I played the game again a couple of years ago, which we'll be seeing screenshots of now. Tune in to find out how it went with double digit years of experience under my belt.


Sunday, August 11, 2013

Highlander: The Series 1x09 - The Sea Witch

I always forget that this episode exists, because it's quite forgettable. It also isn't very good, in general. This is to be expected, considering it's from the first half of Season 1, which is the worst run of episodes in the series. This one involves a nefarious mobster and a boat. Featuring 10% more Creepy Richie. Batteries not included.


Saturday, August 10, 2013

Highlander: The Series 1x08 - Deadly Medicine

Highlander: The Series returns with one of the worst episodes of the series. It's a comically bad episode... which is good news for this post.


Friday, August 9, 2013

Guest Review: Bioshock Infinite (PS3, XBox 360, PC, 2013)


Today, the "Deli Mane" Nick Vogt is taking a look at Bioshock Infinite. It's one of the best games of 2013. It's controversial. It's deep. What are his thoughts on the finished game? Read on to find out.


Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Suikoden IV (Playstation 2, 2005)

I've gone on record that I'm a big fan of the Suikoden series. The first three games in the series are good to great (though 3 is a step down from the others). I've never played the fourth... until now. This is because it sucks.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Game Review: Final Fantasy III (iOS, Android, PSP, 2011/2012)

Final Fantasy III
System: iOS/Android/PSP
Time to Beat: 30-35 Hours

For a long time, American gamers had no way to play Final Fantasy III outside of emulation. We got the (admittedly far-superior) Final Fantasy VI as our version of FFIII, and that was that. As for the original FFIII... despite two decades passing since the original version hit Japanese store shelves, this Famicom classic never got a direct translation from Squaresoft until the mid-00s.

Final Fantasy III for the DS brought the game to the English-speaking audience with adjusted difficulty, semi-three-dimensional graphics, and dialogue/story that barely existed in the original game. Now, years later, we get the third iteration of the game. This is a port of the DS version, upgraded significantly for modern smartphones. These upgrades include modern hi-res graphics that are far superior to the DS version, remixed music, and new postgame content. However, it's relegated to being on cell phones - historically speaking, not exactly a good gaming platform. Does this limit it, or does the game manage to shine regardless? Read on, as I review a cell phone game for the first time on the site. The game also exists on the PSP, but for the purposes of this review I played the Android version.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

50 Cent Bulletproof (Playstation 2, 2005)

Since I'd like to play at least some of a 50 Cent game, and want to be able to take screenshots, I decided to try emulating the PS2 50 game. Follow me as I test this ominous 5 GB file out. This is 50. G-G-G-G-U-NIT!


Monday, July 15, 2013

Highlander: The Series 1x07 - Mountain Men

Time for the most entertaining episode in the first half of Season 1. This is partly for the wrong reasons, and this episode isn't exactly great, but My God, is it unintentionally funny at times. It's Deliverance-like in theme. A few episodes back, Richie made a crack about Deliverance, saying that "if somebody starts playing a banjo, I'm outta here". It's obvious that someone on the writing staff liked that movie and wanted to bring some much-needed Deliverance to our favorite series.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Highlander: The Series 1x05 - Free Fall

This show and Miami Vice have some episode title overlap, weirdly enough. Free Fall and Prodigal Son - both Miami Vice titles. Deliverance / Deliver Us From Evil - both episode titles from their respective "evil main character" arcs. Wonder if they shared writing staff. Wouldn't be a bit surprised, since this show started right after Vice's end and all those writers needed a place to go.

This episode... is not good.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Suikogaiden (Playstation, 2000)

Today I'm looking at a very special game. It's an effort on my part to get my mind off of the disintegration of the Boston Celtics after trading their two best players to the Brooklyn Nets.

This is a DLC-like side-story / companion piece to Suikoden 2, one of the best RPGs on the original Playstation. It takes place during the timeframe of that game, showing you some of the things that happened off-camera. This game was never released in the United States, but it recently got a translation from intrepid ROM hackers. Let's take a look.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Revengeance: Samurai Warriors 2 and Mega Man 1's Rock Monster

Today I'm revisiting a couple of games that I played recently, as I put right what once went wrong and try to finish something that I couldn't before. One is the last stage of Samurai Warriors 2, the other is the Rock Monster / Yellow Devil / Pillsbury Doughboy of the first Mega Man. Can I overcome these obstacles?

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Game Review: Bioshock 2 (Playstation 3, XBox 360, PC, 2010)

Publisher: 2K Games

Developer: 2K Games

Time to Complete: 10-12 hours

The sequel to Bioshock delivers more of the same Rapture that we know and love, putting a new spin on the post-apocalyptic hellscape.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Highlander: The Series 1x03 - Road Not Taken

Highlander continues with an episode that shows a bit of Duncan's past in China. He also battles a nefarious herbalist in the present. Good stuff.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Highlander: The Series 1x02 - Family Tree

The Highlander series returns as I cover another episode. In this one, Duncan beats people up with a pool cue and Richie learns about his lack of family. Not sure why, but Season 1 of this show has this weird fear of two-parters. The pilot episode should have been a two-parter (and I feel like it was supposed to be). Can say the same about "Band of Brothers" - the high point of the season - and possibly the finale episode as well. But since "The Gathering" didn't get the two-parter status it deserved, we get this for a second episode. It's a good episode, but it's... different.